I opened a path for us into the dark slums, keeping the grabbed sky pulled down around us like a cloak using Event Horizon.
"Wait, what was that, Luci?" Isaac asked, staring at me in awe as the illusion held.
I didn't say anything. My real name was Lucian, and people usually tended to shorten it to Luci anyway. Isn't it funny, I thought, that even if my alias is Lucifer, the nickname ends up being exactly the same?
Sigh.
"It's just one of my powers," I said, giving him a flat look. "No time to waste here. Let's go."
"Ah, wait! Wait, Lucifer! Wait for me!" Isaac shouted, scrambling after me as we moved out of the illusion's range.
We moved quickly through the damp, narrow alleys of the slums. Then, I realized a minor problem: I had absolutely no idea where the hidden entrance to the underground market actually was. I abruptly stopped walking and turned to look at him.
Isaac stopped too. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a sleek, black leather glove. It was intricately woven with glowing, golden threads running through the material. It honestly looked awesome. He casually slipped it onto his right hand.
He caught me staring at it. "Oh, this?" he smiled, wiggling his gloved fingers. "I need to get ready for the fight, you know."
"Okay," I said. "Then let's go. Show me the entrance."
"Why the rush, man?" he sighed, leaning against a dirty brick wall. "We'll get there on time. We still have time to actually make a plan. Also... don't you want to know about the glove?"
"No. Not interested," I lied smoothly.
"Come on, man!" he insisted. Internally, I really wanted to know what was so special about this artifact that a Tier 4 Awakened felt the need to equip it before even entering the market. But I also knew that if I just kept my mouth shut, this chatterbox would explain it himself. I just stared at him with a deadpan expression.
"Well, this is an artifact that I like to call..." He paused, shivering slightly. "Wait. My Captain will literally kill me if I call it that. But yeah, I like to call it Hungry Boy."
What the fuck do you mean, 'Hungry Boy'? I thought, keeping my face perfectly blank.
"But my Captain says its official name is the Weeping Gluttony," Isaac clarified. "Isn't 'Hungry Boy' so much better, Luci?"
Nah, man. Your naming sense is terrible, I thought.
But when he said the word Gluttony, my mind instantly raced. It was one of the Seven Deadly Sins. The Sin of Gluttony. Was this artifact directly related to the primordial Sins? I quickly started putting the pieces together.
This "Captain" of his definitely knew a lot about the Sins and the Fallen Angel, Lucifer. When I first introduced myself on the roof, this idiot made a face that proved he recognized the name. Isaac didn't seem like the type to read ancient, forbidden cosmic lore in his free time, which meant his Captain must have told him about it.
"My Captain is such a nice person," Isaac continued, oblivious to my internal crisis. He gently rubbed the golden threads of the glove, a rare look of genuine admiration and respect crossing his laid-back face. "She even let me borrow her precious artifact for this job."
She. I filed that crucial detail away in my head. Not only was he deeply loyal to his Captain, but I now knew she was a woman. And considering she possessed an artifact named after a Sin and knew about Lucifer... she was undoubtedly a very dangerous one at that.
"Alright, enough chit-chat," I said, my voice cold and impatient. "Make a plan. Now."
"Yes, now," Isaac mocked lightly. "Ahh, man," he grumbled, finally straightening his posture.
"So, as you know, this pirate captain is working under the Devil. Mind you, he isn't mind-controlled or anything; he's following the Devil willingly. He's heading to the market to cause a massive ruckus, secure a batch of human hearts, and kidnap four specific slaves from the auction."
"So," Isaac continued, clapping his hands together once, "what we have to do is go down there, make their plan fail, and kill that pirate captain. Easy, right?"
What do you mean, 'easy'? I thought, staring at him. Still, I didn't say it out loud. I knew he was highly ranked, and he possessed an artifact named after one of the Primordial Sins. I could trust him... right?
I just nodded and said, "Good. So, where is this hidden entrance?"
"Man, it's literally everywhere," Isaac chuckled, adjusting the golden-threaded glove on his right hand.
"Huh?" I was genuinely confused. What did 'everywhere' mean?
"It means that the entrance to the underground market is everywhere," he explained, pointing toward the dirty street below. "All you have to do is find a sewer grate, drop in, and follow the main path. All the tunnels eventually lead to a massive underground cavern where every illegal transaction on this island happens."
"What?" I was completely dumbfounded.
If entering the market was that easy, why did the bartender at the tavern tell me it was an exclusive club? Why did he say I needed a special invitation or a massive bounty hunter reputation just to get through the door?
Did he lie to me? Did that bastard scam me out of my five-pound note? My jaw tightened. Shit. I should have shot a hole through his head, too. "Well, let's go then," I said, shoving my hands into my coat pockets and starting to walk toward the nearest grate.
"You are always in such a hurry, man," Isaac sighed, dragging his feet as he followed me.
"Yes," I stated flatly.
"Look, there's a sewer entrance right over there in the alley. Let's head down," Isaac pointed out. "And remember, the official slave auction doesn't start until 9 PM tonight. We still have plenty of time to scout the area and figure things out once we're inside."
"Got it," I said.
We reached the heavy iron grate, pried it open, and descended into the dark.
The moment my boots hit the stone floor, the smell hit me like a physical punch. It was absolutely atrocious—a thick, suffocating stench of rot, damp earth, and stagnant water. However, the architecture of the tunnel itself was surprisingly grand. It wasn't a cramped, claustrophobic pipe; it was a massive, arched corridor wide enough that ten people could comfortably walk side-by-side.
Down the exact center of the tunnel ran a dark, sluggish stream of sewage flowing steadily forward into the abyss.
Keeping my senses sharp, I stayed close to the stone wall and followed Isaac as he confidently led the way deeper into the true underworld of Blackwater Roost.
[Seraph and Arthur POV]
"Do we really have to enter this sewer system?" Arthur grumbled, looking dead into Sera's eyes.
"Yes," Sera replied calmly, holding his gaze.
They were back in the slums, standing near the exact spot where Sera had tracked the lingering Ether signature of the possessed man. The alleyway where the Devil's puppet had detonated himself was still a scorched, obliterated mess. The local King's authorities had cordoned off the massive crater for a while to investigate, but now, under the cover of the night's shadows, the guards were gone. Arthur and Sera easily slipped past the barricades and approached the heavy iron grate.
"The authorities are likely investigating us right now," Sera noted, adjusting his coat. "Well, let's head down."
Arthur's expression suddenly soured, his nose scrunching up in deep disgust. "You know, my senses are incredibly sharp because I'm a Dragon, right? The smell down there is going to be..."
"Yes, yes, I know, Arthur," Sera interrupted smoothly, immune to his complaining. "Do not make excuses. We have work to do."
"Okay, fine," Arthur sighed, grabbing the heavy iron bars. "But do you think we'll get lost inside? It's a massive network."
"Do not worry," Sera reassured him. "I have marked the pathway in my mind using the threads of Fate. We will follow it directly to the source—exactly where that creature came from." He paused, his amber eyes narrowing slightly. "And hopefully, we will finally figure out who this Devil is and what his main goal is."
"Let's go, then," Arthur muttered.
He effortlessly hoisted the heavy grate, and together, the Angel and the Dragon descended into the dark, foul-smelling sewers of Blackwater Roost.