The Four Basilisks were quite enjoying the attention they were receiving, but were at the same time, restless as none of them would be safe until the thirty-nine were found and killed.
And so, the Four Basilisks pooled all their resources to locate them, and the relative powerlessness, deference and sense of duty toward the Four Basilisks meant that thirty-eight members of the Suicide Squad were rounded up fairly quickly.
“We’re not deserters! We’ve thwarted the Avengers’ ambush, and one of us even killed the Northern Demon himself!” they remonstrated.
But their efforts were only met with derision. “In the whole of Erudia, who does not know of your desertion? How dare you even try to defend yourselves?”
“Would you listen to that? That it was one of them who killed the Northern Demon? Have y’all bumped your heads so badly?”
“Killed by one of y’all? Do y’all have any idea how formidable the Northern Demon is? What a joke! He was defeated by the combined efforts of the Four Basilisks!”
“That it was your guys who killed the Northern Demon? Can’t you at least come up with a cover story more credible than that?”
The captors, who had witnessed the prowess of the Northern Demon for themselves, naturally did not buy into that version of accounts and continued to lambast the men from the Suicide Squad whom they thought little of.
The Suicide Squad then began to protest furiously. “No, we saw it for ourselves that one of us landed the killing blow. And his name is Malcolm Langston!”
“The Four Basilisks are the real deserters! They tricked the other nine hundred over men into holding off the Northern Demon in order to facilitate their own escape! Over nine hundred members of the Suicide Squad have perished because of them!”
“The Four Basilisks are shameless! Claiming credit when it’s clearly someone else who defeated the Northern Demon!”
“And they’ve also silenced all of the prisoners of war who have borne witness to the truth!”
They tried to defend their own honor, their attempts at persuasion fell upon deaf ears.
“Why stop there? Show us what else you got!”
“Are you going to say that the Northern Demon isn’t dead and would resurface one day?”
“Go on and say it. See if we’d believe you.”
And the men who captured them began to guffaw, and looked upon the thirty-odd members of the Suicide Squad as though they were fools.
Who would believe anything which came off the tongue of a bunch of deserters, no matter how reasonable they may sound?
“Watch these lot closely! Our jobs will be done as soon as the Four Basilisks arrive!”
The men from the Suicide Squad started to fear for their own lives when they heard that the Four Basilisks were on the way, as their arrival would seal their own fates.
“We’re not deserters! It was the Four Basilisks…”
No one would believe them as anything they said would be dismissed as part of their attempts to get themselves off the hook.
Very quickly, the party were met halfway by the murderous looking Four Basilisks who had come for the captives.
“Alright, hand them over. We’ll take it from here!”
And with that, the others departed, leaving the Suicide Squad to the mercy of the Four Basilisks who regarded them with sinister intent.
“Run? Where will you run?” Eastern Beast said with a smirk.
“You despicable b*stards! Sooner or later, everyone will learn the truth!”
“Bunch of traitors. It’s a disgrace to be associated with the likes of you!” the Suicide Squad cussed.
“Hahaha. An awful shame then, cause you’ll never get to see that day arrive!”
A murderous glint flashed across the eyes of Eastern Beast.
“Hold up. There’s someone missing! There’s supposed to be thirty-nine of them, so how come there’s only thirty-eight here?” the Western Monk suddenly asked.
