My Ultimate OP System: Summoning All Dragons, Gods, Heroes & Villains-Chapter 80: The Lucky Hand Casino

The elevator doors slid open, and Lucien stepped out into the penthouse suite on the top floor, directly above the casino below.

The space was lavish, with the main area opening into a lounge furnished with plush leather seating arranged around low glass tables.

To the left stood a full bar, and behind it, an elf with pointed ears was already at work, pouring drinks into two glasses without being asked.

A distraught looking Joe sat on one of the bar stools with his head lowered.

Lucien crossed the room, and when he reached the bar, he took one glass from the elf bartender with a slight nod of acknowledgment. He then slid the second glass toward Joe.

The glass stopped just short of Joe’s elbow. But without looking up, Joe shook his head and raised a hand in refusal.

Lucien said nothing, instead he lifted his own glass, took a slow sip, then turned and walked toward the corner of the room where there was a cushioned seat

He settled into it, crossing one leg over the other as he stared out at the city.

For a moment, no one really spoke

Then—

Ding.

The elevator chimed again, and when the doors slid open, a young woman stepped out, yawning loudly and revealing her fangs as she stretched her arms overhead.

Eula Morgenstein.

She had long orange hair, the red eyes of a vampire and was still in red nighties.

"Where are the others?" Lucien asked without looking at her.

Eula let out another yawn and waved a hand dismissively as she walked further into the room.

"Luci, honey," she said in a half-teasing, groggy voice, "you forget this is an all-night casino. Most of them are still in bed."

Lucien sighed and shook his head.

Eula’s eyes then finally landed on Joe sitting at the bar and devious smile spread across her face.

"Oh, look who decided to show up today," she said in an amused tone.

Joe barely turned toward her as his gaze remained fixed on the untouched glass in front of him.

Lucien then began. "Joe here has a bounty on his head."

Eula shrugged as she walked over to the bar to get one a glass herself. "Well, it’s not totally unheard of, there’s a bounty for Casper in three other countries."

When Tom the elf finished pouring her drink, she took it and walked over to Lucien’s side of the room, sliding onto the armrest of the same couch he was sitting on.

"It’s one million gold grits," Lucien said.

Eula froze for a second and her eyes widened slightly before she let out a low whistle and chuckled. "Now that is something."

She took a sip from the glass, then asked, "Who placed it?"

"The State of Gritnia," Lucien replied. "It’s got the King’s seal."

Eula’s grin faded. "That’s... pretty serious."

Lucien set his glass down on the table before him and turned his gaze to Joe. "You can’t be here."

Joe’s head lifted his head up with a surprised expression, almost disbelief, before finally saying; "I’m invoking the Right of Protegitur."

Lucien shook his head slowly. "What is the first rule?"

Joe looked down again and remained silent.

"Don’t make me ask you again, Joe," Lucien spoke in a cold tone.

Joe sighed, then muttered, "Liga Primum."

"And what does that mean?" Lucien pressed.

"’The League first,’" Joe said bitterly.

"Good." Lucien leaned back in his seat. "That rule is the most important in the book. It requires that the League be protected first, above all else."

There was a brief pause before he added, "But with you here, we risk ourselves... even to the Grand Class. So, Joe, you will leave this place."

Grand Class was the general term given to those who had reawakened.

Before Joe could respond, Eula spoke up; "Since it’s the State of Gritnia," she began, "then this bounty was issued by Parliament."

Both men turned toward her.

She continued, tapping one finger on her chin as she thought aloud. "But the biggest hits we’ve done in this country have been sanctioned by them. They couldn’t possibly just issue that bounty out of nowhere."

Lucien nodded. "There’s also the issue of the reward itself. The men in those seats are too greedy to part with their money easily, especially an amount like that."

He paused, then added, "I’ve thought about all of this already. I’ll make a few calls later to confirm how it really got issued."

He turned back toward Joe, who had been sitting in silence throughout this exchange.

"In the meantime," Lucien continued, "Joe—you will go with Tom over there."

He gestured toward the elf bartender behind the bar.

"He will provide you with whatever you might need. I expect you to be out of here within an hour... and out of Gritnia by nightfall."

Tom bowed slightly toward Lucien in acknowledgment.

Joe stood from his stool. As he turned toward Tom and began walking toward the elevator, he stopped suddenly and turned back toward Lucien.

"There’s something you said," Joe began hesitantly. "About the amount..."

"Hm?" Lucien muttered without turning his head fully toward him.

He continued, "This is my guess, but I think it has something to do with my last hit."

Lucien now turned to him with full attention "Who was your last hit?"

"Ethan Stark." Joe replied.

Eula’s eyes widened in deep shock while Lucien gave no particular expression

Joe continued quickly before either of them could respond:

"He’s dead... but perhaps his estate is pulling the strings now. I say this because there aren’t many people who could put up that kind of money, and his estate certainly has reason to do so."

"Hm," Lucien muttered before gesturing toward the elevator with a slight tilt of his head. "Well... be on your way."

At that point, both men then exited the room through the elevators.

Eula immediately broke her thoughtful silence:

"I think Joe is wrong about one thing," she said firmly as she turned toward Lucien with conviction.

Lucien raised an eyebrow slightly but said nothing, waiting for her to continue

"Ethan Stark isn’t dead," Eula said "I know Joe doesn’t miss his shots... but I have a sister who would tear down the family house if she lost her boyfriend."

She paused for effect before adding:

"That hasn’t happened yet, so that’s how I know he’s not dead."

Lucien considered this for a moment before nodding. "Then you have your task set out for you. Find out what Ethan Stark’s current status is... and whether there’s truly involvement from his family in all of this...

I’ll do my own part with members of Parliament. When we’ve discovered how all of this was set up, then I shall invoke Pro Nostrīs." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

A little smile spread across Eula’s face as she said: "We go after those who come after ours."

Lucien nodded and picked up his glass.

——

Tom led Joe down a hallway until they reached its end. On the wall was a large engraved symbol of; two crossed scythes with an arrow at the point where they intersected.

Tom pressed his palm against the wall, and the symbol glowed briefly. Then, suddenly, the walls parted, revealing a vault filled with weapons.

There were several swords, short blades, guns of different types, even axes. Amongst them were also enchanted weapons of different kinds radiating magical energy.

Each one was at least Rare-tier quality if not higher

Joe’s eyes swept across everything displayed before him until they stopped on something mounted near along the side:

A gauntlet crossbow

His gaze lingered on it for a moment. Tom who noticed, then said, "Just the right one for you. After that, he walked over and carefully removed it from its mount before handing it over

——

Eventually, Tom led Joe down another corridor until they reached an underground parking area hidden beneath the casino itself

A vintage sedan was waiting near an exit ramp leading up into an alleyway outside.

Joe had changed clothes again; this time into an all-black three-piece suit and a black glove covering his hands. The black cap was still worn, and on his eyes were dark-tinted glasses.

In one hand he carried a simple black duffel bag containing whatever supplies he had gotten from the storage above

Tom reached into his pocket, pulled out the car keys, and tossed them toward Joe, who caught them effort mid-air.

"Good luck," the elf said.

Joe nodded, then climbed into the driver’s seat. In the next moment, he drove off.

——

A/N:

"Estate" means the dead person’s wealth, property, and the people now controlling it. In the context used above, it’s the people managing it that is being referred to.

"The right of protegitur." - This is one of the Rules Of The League, that means "we protect our own"