## **Chapter 314**
Deep beneath the gleaming skyline of Coruscant, far below the polished towers and senate halls, the industrial sector stretched like a wounded underbelly—dark, loud, and forgotten. Steam hissed from ruptured pipes, dim lights flickered overhead, and the hum of heavy machinery echoed endlessly through the cavernous corridors. It was the kind of place where things disappeared.
Or were made to.
Tonight, it hosted something far more dangerous.
A meeting.
At the center of a half-collapsed loading platform stood Cad Bane, arms folded, hat casting a long shadow over his red eyes. Around him, a deadly assortment of killers waited in uneasy stillness.
The assassin droid HELIOS-3E stood motionless, optics glowing faintly. Nearby, the rebuilt Todo 360 hovered nervously, its servos twitching. Robonino leaned casually against a crate, while Shahan Alama paced like a caged predator. Behind them, seven BX commando droids and three IG-87 assassin units stood ready, weapons primed.
Their mission had been simple.
Efficient.
Final.
Finis Valorum was dead.
Now they waited for extraction.
"Oh dear, Master Bane…" Todo 360's voice quivered. "What if the Jedi find us?"
Bane didn't even look at him.
"Shut it, Todo," he muttered. "Run your calming subroutines or something."
The droid emitted a soft, anxious whirr.
"And relax," Bane added, adjusting his gloves. "We might have more work soon. Heard there's a few senators causing problems…"
He smirked faintly.
"…especially a certain Pantoran."
"Ah," came a calm, almost amused voice from the shadows. "I can't allow that."
Everything froze.
Even the machines seemed to fall silent.
A figure stepped forward, emerging from the darkness like it belonged to him.
Dagon.
But not as they had ever seen him.
Black armor traced his form, sharp and deliberate. The white cloak was gone—replaced by something far more… functional. His mechanical arm gleamed faintly under the dim light, and the scars across his face seemed more pronounced in the gloom.
In his hand—
A lightsaber ignited.
Not the usual hum of a Jedi weapon.
This one *snarled*.
A violet-red blade burst to life, unstable energy flaring along the crossguard vents, casting jagged shadows across the platform.
"To be honest," Dagon said quietly, "as a Jedi, I can't collect any rewards."
His gaze swept across them.
"But I do have plans."
A pause.
"And you," he finished, voice lowering, "would only cause problems."
Bane reacted instantly.
"Open fire!"
The platform erupted.
Blaster bolts screamed through the air, red and green streaks converging on a single point—
Dagon moved.
Not fast.
Not rushed.
Precise.
His blade traced a circular arc, energy bending around him as if pulled by an unseen force.
**Flame Breathing, Fourth Form: Blooming Flame Undulation.**
The motion was fluid. Continuous.
Blaster fire vanished into spirals of light.
And then—
He stepped forward.
The first BX commando droid fell before it could react, cleaved cleanly in two. The second lost its head. The third didn't even finish raising its weapon before Dagon's blade carved through its torso.
HELIOS-3E fired a concentrated burst.
Dagon twisted slightly—just enough. The bolts grazed past him as he closed the distance in a heartbeat. One upward slash—and the assassin droid's core split open in a shower of sparks.
"Scatter!" Bane barked.
Too late.
Shahan Alama charged, roaring, vibroblades extended.
Dagon didn't stop.
Didn't hesitate.
Their clash lasted less than a second.
One motion.
One cut.
The Trandoshan's momentum carried him forward—before his body collapsed in two separate halves.
Todo 360 shrieked, spinning wildly.
"This is highly irregular! Highly—"
A flick of Dagon's mechanical hand sent it crashing into a wall. It sparked violently, systems failing.
Robonino tried to retreat.
Didn't make it far.
A precise throw—the lightsaber left Dagon's hand, spinning once before slicing clean through the fleeing figure, returning to his grasp with a sharp snap.
The IG-87 units opened fire in coordinated bursts.
For a moment, the platform became a storm of destruction.
Then—
Silence.
Dagon moved through them like inevitability itself. Each strike was efficient. Each step calculated. One by one, the droids fell—limbs severed, cores pierced, systems annihilated.
Bane was the last.
Blaster drawn, firing rapidly, backing away toward the edge.
"You should've stayed out of this," he growled.
Dagon advanced steadily, deflecting every shot with minimal movement.
"You should've stayed out of my war."
Bane reached for a device—
Too slow.
The blade pierced through him before he could activate it.
For a brief moment, the infamous bounty hunter stood still.
Then he collapsed.
And it was over.
—
### **Dagon POV**
Silence returned to the industrial sector.
Broken only by the crackle of burning circuits and the distant hum of machinery.
"…That was quick," I muttered.
Honestly?
After facing the Yuuzhan Vong hunter… this felt almost trivial.
I deactivated the blade. The unstable hum faded, leaving only the quiet.
Stepping over the remains, I approached a reinforced crate half-hidden behind debris.
Locked.
Of course.
A small application of the Force solved that.
The lid lifted.
"…Well."
Credits.
Stacks upon stacks.
I crouched slightly, examining the contents.
"Over two billion," I estimated.
Not bad.
Not bad at all.
But that wasn't the interesting part.
My gaze shifted.
A secondary compartment.
Inside—
Crystals.
Rare ones.
Unrefined. Untouched.
"…Now this," I murmured, picking one up, "is useful."
"Sir," came a calm, mechanical voice behind me.
I didn't turn.
"Yes, Ethan?"
"My systems are ready. Do you require assistance?"
I closed the case.
"Yeah," I said. "Prep the transport. Get this to the Finalizer."
A pause.
"And activate the emergency beacon," I added. "Let the authorities find… this."
Ethan processed the command instantly.
"Yes, sir."
I glanced once more at the bodies scattered across the platform.
Bane.
His crew.
Gone.
"Less problems for me," I muttered.
Turning away, I pulled my cloak tighter and began walking back toward the upper levels.
Toward the light.
Toward the Temple.
Before anyone noticed I was missing.