Chapter 2: The Underworld
Time passed quickly and soon it was midnight. Xander was standing at the dead end of a dark alley with a hint of nostalgia as he thought of the place he was heading to.
The Underworld - the haven for those incapable of walking in the light. From its name and the slogan attached to it, most people would immediately realize that it wasn't a place for regular people. And they would be right.
This place was the gathering of the most sinister of people. A lawless land where anything goes as long as you can withstand the retaliation. As a result, most of the people there bear crimes so heavy the city magistrate should have had them hunted down like dogs, tortured then executed without a shred of mercy. Unfortunately, some of the people guarding the place were individuals even he couldn't afford to provoke. A fact that had been proven by countless tragic losses suffered from past quests to raid the place and the subsequent assassinations of the magistrates that led them along with their entire family.
The magistrates that came, later on, could only turn a blind eye to this ever since. After all, who would take on such a futile job and court death? Only self-righteous idiots would dare.
As a result, the Underworld had been flourishing in recent decades. But this wasn't necessarily a bad thing though. Due to the ' safety ' and opportunities available in the Underworld, most criminals, especially the bloodthirsty and demented ones, would migrate there leaving behind the small fries for the city magistrate to deal with. Thus law and order were steadily improving in the city while the rate of crime was moving toward zero. At least from the perspective of the noble families. Of course, this was only for the city.
The Underworld, on the other hand, had slowly been developing into the spitting image of hell. Except, where there were demons to provide torment, fellow humans had taken on this duty as the strong preyed on the weak and the weak on the weaker ones, casting a savage and brutal air on the place.
Xander had lived here for eight years since he was eight years old. And as you could imagine, it wasn't a pleasant experience. If not for the head physician coming to his rescue, he would still be here, living in slavery, witnessing the ugliness of humanity at its finest as everyone and everything took away all that he had and was.
The air around him seemed to grow colder and his gaze sharp as he thought of the misery he called a life. But just as quickly, it disappeared as he came back to his senses and frowned slightly.
" I should get going "
Saying this, Xander placed his right hand on the wall and it passed through it like water. Then the rest of his body followed, quickly vanishing from the alley. It became empty once again.
*****
A hand suddenly came out of the dead end of an alley and soon the rest of the body followed, revealing Xander's frail appearance. Then he began looking around.
This alley held a striking resemblance to the alley Xander had just disappeared from, if not the same. A fact that would confuse most people who were familiar with the layout of the city as there shouldn't be two alleys that are the same. This wasn't the only strange thing about the place. There was also a sinister aura in the air and the perpetual tinge of dusk in the sky despite the fact that it was nighttime.
This was the Underworld - a mirror dimension of the city. In other words, a modified replica of the city with sinister scenery and a massive population of wanted criminals.
After checking around and seeing that no one was around, he took out a white devil mask and a black cloak from the pouch attached to his waist and wore them. Then he sneakily made his way out of the alley and toward the main street where he joined countless others in black cloaks walking about peacefully. A sight that would come as a shock to most people after all the rumors they had been hearing about the place. Yet the pedestrians didn't seem shocked or confused about it.
There was an unspoken rule in the Underworld. While it is true that no crimes are penalized here, all individuals within the Underworld are expected to be well behaved on the main road.
This was inevitable though. After all, even a lawless city like the Underworld needs to do business to survive. As such, they had to create a safe zone for their customers to tread on. Either that or their customers would constantly get mauled or worse whenever they came to visit. If that happened, would people still dare to patronize their goods and services?
Hence, the top figures of the Underworld made the city's main road a no-crime zone. Anywhere else could be a living hell for all they cared.
Under normal circumstances, Xander wouldn't have taken the main road to get to his destination. He had made a lot of enemies during his stay here - very powerful ones - and if he hadn't been rescued by the head physician, he would probably be rotting in some secluded corner of the city.
Sure, he may have hidden his face and figure under the mask and cloak, but the methods those people had weren't something that can be undermined with just this disguise. To make matters worse, this was the main road. Prominent people from the city and others frequented this road to conduct business with the Underworld's major powers. Due to this, the road is heavily guarded and under constant scrutiny.
Unfortunately, Xander didn't have much of a choice at the moment. He couldn't risk taking a detour and getting caught up in a conflict with his current state of mind. That would certainly impact his plans negatively when he got to his destination. Thus he could only take a risk and use the main road.
' Hopefully, I can get this done with before they get hold of my trail otherwise it'll be troublesome getting out of their claws. They'll be on to me like sharks out for blood... especially her. She definitely mustn't find me '
A figure appeared in Xander's mind - tall, slender, fair-skinned, voluptuous with a face of exquisite beauty. But within those bright eyes of hers lies the contradictory feeling of endless wisdom, serenity, and dementia.
He quickly shook his head to clear out that figure and the uneasiness that came with it. Then he looked towards the end of the road. A massive coliseum easily twice the size of the city Magistrate's castle came into view. That was his destination - Battle King Paradise.
' Now the first part of my plans can finally begin '
*****
Unknown to him though, a cloaked figure had been staring at the entrance of the coliseum ever since he went in. A look of doubt and shock was evident in his/her gaze. Then he/she took out a compass-like instrument, then spoke in a hoarse yet shaky voice.
" Mistress, I think... I think I may have caught onto his scent... yes, that ' him '... not completely... he's at the coliseum at the moment... yes, I'll keep you informed, Mistress "
The conversation came to an end and the cloaked figure put the instrument back in her cloak. Looking back at the entrance, the cloaked figure could not help but be a bit absent-minded as he/she muttered.
" The notorious Xander is actually not dead. Could it be another power is going to fall ?"
The outcome Xander least hoped for seemed to be fast approaching.
Weekly Power Status
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