Grey's eyes turned colder as he glared at the Black Phantom. The latter seemed to also be staring into him even though he was a mere video on the screen.
It was as if Kai had known where Grey was standing and made sure to stare directly at him, with his sharp words delivering a blatant threat.
"What did you say?" Grey murmured. "Hahahahaha! You piece of shit! I have been waiting for years!" His anger turned into maniacal laughter as he clenched his fists.
"Hunt me down? Let's settle this, one-to-one!"
Even though everyone knew that the Black Phantom didn't hear Grey's words, they still could only watch in silent shock.
'So the one that tried to seek the Black Phantom was Grey? Fucking hell!'
'This is insane! Hahahaha, who would thought I would end up seeing another clash between these two after the abomination that happened 5 years ago!'
'This fight might end up destroying the whole HQ if it happens anywhere near here.'
Different thoughts popped up in people's minds. However, they all shared one mutual feeling… Dread.
Grey was a freak of nature who was at some point Agent 1 officially called the strongest hitman in the world. As for the Black Phantom, well, words didn't even need to describe him as his name is more than enough to deliver a sufficient description of who he was.
Now, these two, presumably way stronger than 5 years ago, were about to have a fight of life and death that couldn't happen at the time.
"I've killed your subordinate, massacred your pity Executioners, and even poisoned your body without the need to even see your face. I'm sure that was more than enough of a message that I don't want anything to do with the Guild anymore. However, you still tried to make me target you. In the end, I must say, you truly exceeded yourself. Now, before you do your usual foolish acts of barbarism, there is a matter I need to settle with everyone else, so sit down and listen." Kai said.
Grey was speechless for a second. How could this guy be so confident even though it was a mere recording? It was as if he read Grey's mind completely. Still, for the Kai on the screen, the matter with Grey was over for now. His focus was now pointed at the hitmen.
"To all the top 100 hitmen. We all shared the same stage at some point. We all were born with powers that people don't usually possess. So, we certainly felt different. That's when we found the Hitman Guild that raised us into natural-born killers. People that murdered for a living. We all believed that the Guild was the right place for people of our nature because of their Rule 0: Rules are to be followed and any breaking of the rules shall be met with punishment. However, I'm saddened to say that this turned out to be nothing but a lie."
Kai's tone changed a little at the end as if he truly felt disappointed in the Guild. In reality, he couldn't care less about the Guild. However, to make his speech believable, acting a little bit out of nature was needed.
"As you all heard, a certain top 100 agent, -Agent 74 precisely- was Blacklisted a few months ago. I do not know what kind of reason they put public for everyone to see but I'm certain to say that it was all a lie. They targeted Agent 74 for one simple reason: a benefit they could get from that Agent. They were ready to break their own rules simply to fulfill the wishes of another individual. Now, I don't know about you, but this is certainly against what the Guild tried to convince me with. How many times did they threaten the Hitman that made the Guild what it is today with rules? How many times did they sell the idea that Rules are the most sacred part of the Hitman Guild?"
"Turn it off…" Grey murmured as he signaled for V.
"I can't sir.."
Meanwhile, the Hitmen's expressions were starting to change. What they heard from Kai was certainly alarming. No, it was simply massive news.
'What? There was no reason behind the Blacklisting? They said that she had killed another hitman without a proper duel!' One of them thought.
"What is the meaning of this?" Another voiced their complaint.
"When I saw with my own eyes how much they were ready to destroy their oath to all the Hitmen, I became certain of one thing: The Guild has long lost any credibility. They are simply greedy bastards who are ready to destroy anyone who works for them as long as they benefit from it. If this happened to Agent 74, who says it won't happen to another one of you soon? What stops them from breaking their own rules again?"
"I said turn it off!" Grey said.
"Sir! He is in complete control of the screen!"
"What is the cybersecurity team doing?!"
V quickly came in contact with them only to hear the distressed voice of the cybersecurity lead programmer.
"Sir! We have been completely hacked! The target has been able to reach our Admin server! We can't close the loophole!"
"Do something!!" V whispered as he covered his mouth from everyone. His face was crunching with distress.
"We're trying! But, our attacker is easily avoiding every attempt we try to take back control! He even kicked us out of the Admin server!"
'God fucking dammit! That bastard completely tricked us!'
As the situation was getting more and more chaotic.
"Listen to me, all the Agents of the Guild. You are all Origin Users. People with special powers. You can do things normal people can't. Yet, you let an Organization use you like a piece of scrap before throwing you away. I, for myself, won't allow this to happen to me. Now, I know some of you still have their uncertainty. So, I decided to dig a little bit more, and what I found in the Guild's Admin Server is something that I can only call as 'Balatant Heresy' of the Guild's rules. I have found terabytes of files, all filled with deep information about every Hitman that joined the guild across its history. All files encompassed each Hitman's life, family, previous jobs, crimes, and even secret information that none of you want to be seen by anyone else."
Kai said as he picked up a laptop and showed it to the screen. On it, heaps of information could be seen that the hitman could catch bits and pieces of it.
'That's… That's my real name there!' A hitman thought as he looked a the pictures. 'They even have my kids names!'
'That's the address of my wife's workplace!'
'How did they know where I was born and raised?!'
Everyone was mind-blown by the sudden assault of information. They didn't care how the Black Phantom got them, they were panicking at the fact that their real lives, the ones they kept secret, were there, stored in the Guild's servers.
"They were ready to blackmail you with this information in case they needed to."
"I said turn it the fuck off!!" Grey quickly rushed toward the screen and pulled it from its socket before he threw it across the room. The screen crashed against the wall as cracks appeared on its surface.
However, shockingly enough, the screen was still working. On it, a distorted, even more horrifying image of Kai as he spoke in a broken voice continued.
"The Guild is a lie. Let this be known to the world. Whoever wishes to leave, you can leave. Whoever wishes to take revenge, you can take revenge. Let them know that with foolish actions… Consequences are going to follow."