Inside the Imperial Police Headquarters.
It was chaotic. Off-duty officers were called in and they quickly geared up and quickly. Enough were running around that small quakes could be felt.
Guns were rocked and loaded.
They were about to invade the slums and quickly gathered in swarms outside the slums. Waiting behind Ogre. His appearance had noticeably changed. His head was bandaged—going over his eye. He was seething with anger and would get back for this.
The Imperial Police weren't the only ones getting ready.
Inside the slums, the Gravekeepers were eager to fight back. Being passive for so long made their blood boil for action. The animal instincts screamed for a fight.
Nenet deeply regretted her actions. No matter what she tried, it didn't seem like a situation she could solve. She tried talking to calm them, but she ended up resorting to a hard fist which just made the situation worse.
With a wave of his hand, Ogre signaled the officers to invade. They charged in an organized formation.
The closer they came to the dirty poorhouses, the eagerness intensified in the hearts of the hiding Gravekeepers. They weren't soldiers—but hunters.
On the rooftops, in the alleys, or in houses. They waited for the prey to invade their territory.
Nenet let go of any doubt and did the same. It was just her way of doing things meant taking it head-on.
She listened intensely from inside the nearest poorhouses to the charging police officers.
When she concluded they were just about to reach it, she took a few steps back and transformed into something similar to a crocodile.
And shoulder charged into the poorhouse.
**Bang!**
Corrugated iron burst in the direction of the police officers and successfully blocked the first few rows from taking a step further.
Dirt and dust obstructed their view. Still, the stupid ones choose to fire their guns anyway and let it up to luck.
Nenet wanted to use the cover to go back into the slums and do the same once more.
But a sudden cut in the dust cover followed by a massive,
**Booom...!**
Put her on edge. It meant whoever appeared might have equal or higher strength than her. Both sides watched the silhouette wave his hand and waved the dust cloud away. Into the slums.
Nenet and the other Gravekeepers hiding got covered in dirt and coughed frantically.
"What do you think you're doing?"
She heard Haco's familiar firm voice. At first, she was happy, then a little ashamed. After all, things had played out this way because of her.
Ogre watched how Haco's arm turned back to normal from a multicolor—but a mostly blue wing of fire.
He knew who Haco was. Being rumored to be immortal was a striking one. More than being a member of the Four Beasts.
Ogre wouldn't have been able to live so long if he couldn't recognize when he could push the limits. And Haco could be pushed without offending Esdeath.
As long as he doesn't kill Haco, then offending Esdeath shouldn't be a problem.
So he made way and told Haco, "We are here to catch a criminal charged with blackmailing and harming a hand of the law."
Nenet quickly cried out in defense, "I didn't do any—"
"Silent!"
Haco was angry. The problem wasn't what she had or hadn't done. He could care less. Now he just wanted to fix this mess.
He looked around and found a lot of police officers hurt. But none of them were fatal. That should make things easier.
"Let's end it here," said Haco while he shook his pouch. The clear sound of heavy gold clanking reverberated. It looked like he was just adjusting it after his fall. But it was a clear sign to Ogre: Let's settle this with money.
Normally, that would have been fine. It's just, could his missing eye be settled with that? The man who called himself The King of the City wouldn't be able to swallow that.
"Hand that girl over to the police and we can negotiate the punishment."
Piss off! That is what Haco wanted to say. But that wouldn't solve anything. He had to stop being so unreasonable. It was unfit for a leader.
"Let's negotiate now," said Haco as he pointed to a narrow dark valley.
Ogre acknowledged and told the officers to stand guard.
Haco did the same to the Gravekeepers. Especially Nenet that wanted to follow without any tact.
Nenet stood ready to attack with the rest of the Gravekeepers. She knew Haco. He was bad with words, so no matter how he tried, it would always end with it being solved with a fight.
The two stopped inside the narrow valley. Two swole men stood face-to-face with almost no space between each other. The intimidation game had already started.
"Hand over the girl and two big pouches of gold," stated Ogre.
"Three big pouches of gold and you keep your men out of my territory," countered Haco.
"The girl and one big pouch of gold. If not, I will make your people's life a living hell in the Capital."
Haco was getting infuriated and tried to settle it with his identity, "Don't bite more than you can chew little King of the City. If you really wanna' start a fight, remember who you're fighting against."
Ogre scoffed, "She will not assist you."
"Seems like you have misunderstood something. The general might not want to help me, but she sure as hell won't hinder me from killing you!"
Haco's arm burst into flames and before Ogre could react in the narrow valley, he was pressed into the hard mud wall by a wall of fire.
"Two pouches of gold. Take it, or your soul can piss the hell off to hell."
"You go to hell!" Ogre's reaction speed was excellent and while he was held against the wall, he quickly pulled out a dagger and stabbed Haco in the heart.
He waited and waited. The seconds felt hellishly long. The flames holding him didn't die down. Instead, the pressure intensified and the mud wall began cracking.
"One big pouch of gold and you stay away. Last offer." Haco was frighteningly calm despite having been pierced.
To begin with, all he had was that one pouch. Any more, and his debt would be hardly salvageable in the short term. And it was pretty clear that the relationship between the Imperial Police and the Gravekeepers would be the same.
Out of his gritted teeth, Ogre carefully squeezed out, "Accept," without whining. It showed how tough he was. Haco wasn't sure any other Gravekeeper other than Nenet could do the same.
Humans in the Capital were tough. Even if the Gravekeepers were accepted into the Capital, Haco was sure they weren't necessary.
The axe of execution could fall at any moment if they didn't change to be necessary.
Haco let go of Ogre and pulled the knife out. Not a single drop of blood leaked or any sort of discomfort on his face. Esdeath had personally trained his pain tolerance which increased his threshold to a terrifying degree.
The knife was thrown to Ogre with the pouch of gold.
Negotiations were over and Haco left. Ogre took a mouthful of air and quickly followed out.
They scattered their forces and quietly left.
Clear disagreement was on many faces.
Nenet frowned. This was out of her expectations.
'Is this really the same Haco?', she wondered.