The group walked through the central monorail station, towards the very back of the building until they reached the bathrooms.

“After you,” Fox said, while gesturing his hand towards the male bathroom.

“I’m a lady!” Elaine exclaimed with visible frustration peeking through on to her face.

“I’m not asking you to clean the place,” Fox replied in a joking manner, something Elaine did not appreciate.

“Not in a million years,” she snarled.

“Suit yourself,” the figure retorted with a scheming gaze, as he walked into the bathroom. Zeke and Ulmak soon followed, leaving Elaine standing confused and flustered. She briefly looked both ways to see if anyone was looking and hurriedly went in after them.

“Fox, why are we here? Aren’t we supposed to be going to the Undercity?” she voiced her frustrations.

“You’re dumber than you look,” Zeke remarked without thinking.

“What did you say!?” She raised her hand with the intention of hitting him.

“He’s right,” Ulmak giggled.

“The way to the Undercity is through here,” Fox explained while pointing to an out-of-order bathroom stall.

“Now, before we go in. Elaine,” Fox cleared his throat, “If you attempt to strike Zeke again, I’ll have to hurt you really, really bad. You’ll likely become a cripple or even die,” he remarked while adjusting his mask.

“Have at it,” she replied while confronting Fox face to face. “I’ve been wanting to see what you’re all about.”

“Just kidding!” Fox scratched the back of his head. “I’m not much of a fighter. Plus, Zeke’s only here because I couldn’t find anyone else to join our team. I don’t care what you do to him. Just do it after you win the competition.”

“Fine,” she snarled while crossing her arms.

This strange indifference when it came to his safety made Zeke somewhat anxious. However, the boy’s determination did not waver. If anything, Zeke felt even more determined to prove himself.

Fox kicked the bathroom stall open, revealing a reinforced metal door behind which a deep tunnel was neatly tucked away.

“Welcome to the Undercity,” Fox said and pointed toward the door.

The group didn’t mutter a word. Each of them simply waved their heads and stepped forth, walking into the damp, dark, mossy tunnel. The crevice descended into a flight of stairs and, as the last bits of light escaped their eyes, the group knew that there would be no turning back.

“Follow me,” Fox said as he suddenly appeared in front of the three.

“Wasn’t he just behind us?” Elaine pondered while feeling a certain unexplainable chill.

The tunnel led on for miles. It was damp and claustrophobic on descent. Cut out roughly through stones, rock and remains of buildings. It didn’t seem like tools were used for its construction, it was too well-made. This left only one option: the tunnel appeared to be made with magic. Zeke contemplated what kind of earth mage would be skilled enough to construct something so precise. Such an exquisite use of magic would be almost unheard of.

3 hours later, the group reached an opening, the interior of an office building that had sunk below the ground during the cataclysm. The clearing stood dimly lit by hundreds of glow sticks. It reeked of mold. Fungi of various colors and sizes could be seen dotted around the corners and columns, creating a strange, almost mystical allure.

Inside, several hundred people were standing in wait. Most of them appeared well equipped, armed to the teeth. Cyborgs, mercenaries and regular dwellers all gathered for a chance to meet the King of contractors.

Suddenly, a mysterious figure, a man wearing a long black trench coat, emerged from the crowd. His long greasy black hair waved through the air as he slowly made his way towards Fox.

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“Fredric! I didn’t think you would show up,” the man smiled with a wide grin, exposing his jagged, beast-like teeth.

He looked at Ulmak with a slight smile. He glared at Elaine with a grin, and by the time his eyes reached Zeke, he began bursting into laughter.

“Is this all you have?! Three worthless parasites from the upper city?!” He remarked in a mocking manner.

“Oh, quit your barking, you old dog! My kids might look weak now, but once the competition starts, it has very little to do with strength and much more to do with other qualities. The King does not seek the strong, he only seeks the worthy,” Fox explained with a slight smile on his face.

“Even so, you only managed to gather 3 people. While my team consists of over 50 challengers,” the man replied with a serious expression.

“Ludwig, there is a saying - quality over quantity,” Fox remarked.

“We will see,” the man whispered, diverting his cold, animalistic gaze directly at Zeke before leaving.

“Who was that?” Elaine asked.

“An ally of mine. Just like me, he is a guardian appointed by the contractor king. However, unlike me, he often lacks common sense,” Fox explained.

“So, your name is Fredric?” Ulmak inquired with a stern stare.

“Yes, quite so,” Fox replied while scratching his head.

“Is it not dangerous to reveal your names to us?” Ulmak wondered.

“Oh, he did that with the assumption that all of you will die during the trial,” Fox laughed.

Zeke stumbled.

“What do you think?” he asked.

“Good question!” Fox enthusiastically replied, before placing his hand atop Zeke’s head. “Let’s get going. Things are about to get started,” he said while moving forward to where most of the people had gathered.

He parted the crowd, taking off his mask and placing it inside of his pocket.

He climbed on top of a pile of rubble and screamed, “attention!”

Five other guardians assembled behind him, each stranger than the last. There was a tall, muscular man with short crimson hair, a thin nun with crosses tattooed on her eyes, a lanky, pale, slouched over mime with disproportionally long arms, and a white-haired man with red piercing eyes and a bored expression. Ludwig was there too, staring intensely at Ulmak with a strange sense of satisfaction on his face.

“Listen here, young bloods!” Fredric screamed out, “You all gathered here for the chance to meet the King of contractors. As such, you need to win this competition. Once you leave this building, a series of tunnels will open up in front of you, a maze of sorts. To start, you must find your way to the Undercity in pitch darkness. Various demonic beasts inhabit these caverns. It is likely that most of you will die on the way there. For those who survive, you will find out just how the Undercity feeds,” He explained with a slight smile.

The room suddenly became filled with silence. Not a sound could be heard, almost like the entire crowd had immediately stopped breathing.

“GO!” the tall, muscular man exclaimed.

“Run little lambs!” Ludwig screamed.

These two comments caused a stampede of contestants flooding forward, spilling into the treacherous caverns in front of them.

“Shall we?” Ulmak asked, looking over at Elaine.

“Let’s go,” she replied before rushing forward.

“Wait for me!” Zeke said, trying to keep up with the two.

“Don’t slow us down,” Elaine remarked with frustration, throwing Zeke into a saddened state.

“Don’t mind her. Just do your best to keep up,” Ulmak said in an attempt to reassure Zeke.

As the group entered the pitch-black caverns, they immediately felt a sudden stench. The smell of death and decomposition permeated the area. And soon after, they heard screams coming from the distance.

One after another, the contestants were dropping like flies to an unknown, hidden threat. Sounds of intense clicking filled the caverns, echoing throughout, creating an intense melodic rhythm that sent chills down the spines of those perceiving them.

Suddenly, something attacked the group with a sideways slash. Ulmak blocked the attack with his spear, counter attacking his unseen adversary with a twist of his weapon. But to no avail, his attacks simply bounced off the shell of the beast.

“What is that thing?!” Elaine exclaimed in shock.

“Judging by the sound and size, it’s a deep ant crab,” Zeke said while grabbing onto the back wall of the cavern. “Watch out for its claws. They’re quiet, sharp, but can only strike horizontally, so as long as we avoid a direct line of sight, we should be fine,” Zeke explained in a shaky tone.

After hearing this, Ulmak proceeded to block the creature’s attacks while Elaine kept striking it. But no matter how many times she struck, her attacks could not get through.

“Zeke! How do we take this thing out?!” Ulmak asked, while sweating profusely.

“I’m on it. Take three steps back!” Zeke ordered in a confident tone.

As Ulmak backed away, the creature charged him, swiping both of its claws directly at him, but just as they were about to reach his body, the beast suddenly stopped moving.

Its body began to shake violently and as its claws slammed into the walls behind, the creature dropped to the ground.

“What happened?” Elaine asked in shock.

“I killed it!” Zeke screamed from under the creature. “It has a soft sack filled with liquid it uses as an echolocation apparatus. When I asked Ulmak to back away, I crouched down in wait, thinking it wouldn’t be able to track me as long as I stayed motionless. And just as it climbed over me, I stabbed it with my knife,” He continued explaining while trying to stand up.

“But how did you know where to stab? I can’t see anything out here,” Ulmak wondered while helping the boy up.

“I can see well in the dark,” Zeke whispered, leaving the two seasoned combatants in shock.

image [https://i.postimg.cc/Kvwyg5cC/Name-Alias-X-Species-Demon-Age-80-Height-182cm-Affiliation-Knights-Rank-Special-grade-investigator.png]

image [https://i.postimg.cc/nrxGWg1N/Name-Alias-X-Species-Demon-Age-80-Height-182cm-Affiliation-Knights-Rank-Special-grade-investigator.png]