This is a story that goes back to a time when the fruits of chaos are still being formed, the cruel fates yet to be revealed.

In another volume of his journey through the Underworld, the “Adam’s Heir” will fight memorable battles and meet people who might have the answers he is looking for.

Origins, convictions, and duties. Everything will be put to the test once more.

In an incredible demonstration of evolution, Lied defeated the five Animus with his new variations of the Unda. Mare just stood there in amazed silence, her mouth agape, before joining him. She felt happy about the fact that his hard work had paid off.

“You really did it, Lied! What now?” the girl asked.

“Things are going to get even more dangerous from here on out. You’d better stay in this floor and wait until I come back with Zaccharias” the Lost Prince said.

“I knew you would say that, but you will have to respect my wishes” Mare shook her head and smiled “I’m already dead, so you don’t have to worry about me. Please” the lass asked as she made an irresistible cute face.

For the first time in his life, Lied didn’t have the courage to say no and resigned himself as he accepted Mare’s unilateral decision. Being a spirit, the aztec fugitive was bound to face the trials if she was captured, so Mare wasn’t safe anywhere in the Underworld. The Adam’s Heir sighed and gazed at the horizon.

“Let’s move!” he said.

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Underworld Level -5, Restricted Block, Prison

While Lied fought the Animus, Susumu underwent intensive training that lasted nearly three hours. Zosimus, apparently satisfied with the results, collected his chains.

“Bravo! This training session took a lot of our time, but it was worth it” the shadow said as it approved the lad’s efforts.

“Agreed” the detective nodded and looked at the Progressus Justitiae in his right hand “Next time, it won’t be so easy…” Susumu muttered as he lowkey wished for a rematch against Martyr.

Since they didn’t know which way the snake and his Illuminatus peers went, the boy and his shadow decided to follow their intuition and go up to the Level -4 floor.

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Underworld Level -2, Restricted Block

Lied and Mare headed towards Level -4, the floor where the talking crow still was supposed to be, bitter memories kept lingering in the boy’s mind.

“I wonder how Zaccharias is doing…” Mare said worriedly, assuming that even someone as strong as the crow would have a hard time against Ajax, another Full Spirit Mode user.

Lied remained silent. One of his wishes was indeed to reunite with Zaccharias, but there was also the score to settle with Pantera, who thoroughly humiliated him, and he wanted to get back at the hunter. The prince wasn’t the same as before, both spiritually and mentally.

Lied and Mare passed through Level -3. They increased their pace as they approached the battlefield where various spiritual energies converged, namely the talking crow’s prana.

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Underworld Level -5, Restricted Block, Prison

Because of his injuries, Susumu was still wearing the chain armor, but the Chains Man did not stay his hand as the detective continued down on his current path. Susumu sensed multiple presences, including some particularly powerful auras, at Level -4, and quickened his pace. The turning point for their adventures in Mictlan was nigh.

“There’s people fighting?!” the teenager wondered.

“Apparently, yes. Let’s hurry up!” Zosimus said.

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The gears of destiny began to turn again as Susumu plus the pair Lied and Mare simultaneously entered the Level -4 of the Restricted Block.

“One, no, two pranas just a few meters away from us…?” Lied used Sensitivity and said.

“Could one of them be Zaccharias?” Mare asked.

“No. Stay close to me!” the Lost Prince said with a serious tone as he feared a new threat.

Susumu shifted his focus away from the auras on the battlefield when he felt two people moving towards him.

“Two new presences and coming from an opposite direction!” the detective said and prepared for an imminent fight.

“Hold on, this prana is…” the Chains Man realized that the spiritual energy belonged to Lied and said a few seconds before both parties crossed paths.

Lied and Susumu activated their Spirit Modes at the same time as the black-haired prince wielded his sword and the blue-haired detective his pistol. The humans eyeballed one another, their mouths agape, equally astonished by the appearance of someone they hadn’t seen in a while.

“…Lied?” the detective said.

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“…Susumu?” the prince said.

Lied did remember Pantera mentioning “another kid”; so he was talking about Susumu.

“A friend of Lied?” Mare wondered aloud, breaking the ice.

“No, he’s not my frien…” the Lost Prince was saying before Mare glued herself to the detective.

“Hello, my name is Mare!” without further ado, the smiling aztec introduced herself.

“A spirit of Mictlan? She’s so young” Susumu thought as he looked her up and down.

“M-My name is Susumu. Susumu Shinichi” the blue-haired young man said as he didn’t know how to react to the fact that he was practically being hugged by a stranger, then the detective stared at his shadow “And this is Zosimus. Our relationship is… complicated” he said, putting the emphasis on the last word.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you” Zosimus greeted her by waving his dancing chains at the girl.

“The shadow spoke!” Mare was stunned by that, unlike Lied, who was no longer surprised by the supernatural.

Silence reigned again as the humans gave each other an icy stare. Things weren’t exactly amicable between Lied and Susumu and neither of them forgot what happened in the past, which wasn’t that long ago, even though it seemed like an eternity.

They both had flashbacks of this conversation:

“To be honest, I find it pathetic. The way they played you like a fiddle and how you tried to resume the case already too late… a pretty foolish attempt to redeem yourselves.”

“Who do you think takes care of the people of this island in the shadows? You have no idea… how hard it is to uphold justice. You don’t understand our pain.”

“…Just to be clear, I don’t take back what I said before” Lied asserted.

“… I also have no intention of apologizing to you” Susumu answered back.

The Adam’s Heir clenched his fists, deactivated the Spirit Mode and faced the dark ground with a guileless expression on his face.

“Nevertheless, I met someone like you who made me rethink my opinion” Lied said as the image of Eduardus and the aztec policeman’s words came to his mind “What I want to say is… well… I think I understand you a little better now” he mumbled awkwardly.

Susumu’s spiritual form disappeared as he was caught off guard by his disarming frankness. The young detective closed his eyes and smiled gently.

“I see. At the end of the day we all learned something…” he said, reflecting on his own journey through the Underworld.

Little Mare felt excited to meet new faces as she stood between Lied and Susumu and held their hands, leaving them equally embarrassed.

“Friends, then?” the girl asked as she stole a glance at Lied and then at Susumu.

“Friendship…” Susumu said in a low voice.

“I don’t know about us being friends, but allies would be a good idea” Lied looked at him and said with conviction.

“What?” the upright member of the Ganeden police force said, he never stopped surprising him.

“You came to the Underworld because you want to defeat the Illuminatus… Martyr, right?” the prince asked a rhetorical question as he hit the bullseye “We are on common ground, so how about joining forces with me?” Lied said and invited him to shake hands.

“Mm. Alright, let’s work together” Susumu accepted his proposal and shook his hand.

The trust was reciprocal and the ultimate team was about to be born; thus Lied and Susumu partnered up with the mutual objective of overthrowing Martyr and therefore ruining the Illuminatus’ plans.

“It’s good to know that you’re willing to cooperate with each other, but we have company” the Chains Man chipped in with a warning as he forefelt the arrival of old acquaintances.

Dozens of figures split across the entire perimeter of the floor and cornered Lied, Susumu and Mare. The three gathered in a circle with their backs turned towards each other.

“Animus!” Lied activated his Spirit Mode and exclaimed.

“They’re already here…!” Susumu gritted his teeth and did the same.

“There’s too many of them… it doesn’t seem like we can escape from here” Zosimus said.

“Yes, by my count about twenty enemies” the detective determined the number of beasts, ten type B and another ten type C.

“You’re wounded, aren’t you? Are you sure you can fight?” the Lost Prince asked as he observed the armor protecting his companion’s upper body.

“It’s not a problem, the bleeding has already stopped” Susumu reassured him.

“That’s great to hear. I want you to follow my instructions. Efficiency is the watchword in the sense that we can’t afford to spend all our energy here. Mare, stay close to us” Lied said as he cast a glance at the lass.

“Okay” the child nodded and said.

“Do you have a plan?” the detective asked Lied.

“The variations of the Unda, right, Lied?” the optimistic Mare barged in on the convo between the two fighters and pretty much replied for the prince.

“’Unda’”? Susumu said, confused.

“Listen carefully…” Lied said and then explained succinctly how the Unda and its variations worked.

After that, the Adam’s Heir sketched out the strategy which involved a combination of their attacks in order to cut down the enemies in one fell swoop. It was a plan that required impeccable coordination between the teenagers, perhaps the only way to get them out of a pinch.

“Interesting. Susumu, we should do as he says” Zosimus agreed with his proposal, curious to see how their team would fare.

The detective consented. It was indeed a perfect strategy if well executed.

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Everyone was on standby. Zosimus’ role was to protect Mare while Susumu and Lied fought a deadly battle with a handicap: they had to conserve as much stamina as possible so they could be ready for the ‘big’ upcoming fights. It was time to showcase their teamwork.

“Let’s go!” the Adam’s Heir loudly announced the start of the operation as the humans dashed towards the guards of the Restricted Block.

Susumu summoned the Progressus Justitiae and fired at the creatures without a specific target as he looked to buy some time for Lied to make the first Unda. The Animus defended themselves from the shots. The detective immediately directed his gaze towards the Lost Prince, who was holding three fingers up on his left hand.

“3-Kai!” Susumu thought as he interpreted the hand sign.

Lied aimed the plunging breaker at the monsters as his first targets were one type B and two type C Animus. The wave brought the type B and one type C down, leaving the detective responsible for eliminating the remaining beast with a headshot. 17 Animus were left.

The Adam’s Heir once again signaled a new attack against the guards of the Restricted Block, this time raising only two fingers up.

“2-Kai” Susumu thought.

Lied blew one type B Animus away with the spilling breaker. At the same time, his companion took one type C Animus down. 15 Animus were left.

Everything was going as planned. The chemistry between the two young men couldn’t be better and at this rate they would dispatch the horde of beasts with their stamina levels high.

“4-Kai” Susumu thought as he interpreted Lied’s hand gesture of holding up four fingers.

The prince hit two type B Animus with the surging breaker. Susumu had to deal with the other three type C Animus and the blue-eyed lad did not disappoint, overwhelming them with his pistol and martial arts. Lied was grateful to have such a competent mate, strong in both long and short-range combat. 10 Animus were left.

Rivulets of sweat dripped down Lied and Susumu’s faces as they were starting to get tired. Nevertheless, none of them were feeling the pressure and that was admirable. The boys formed a small circle and took the opportunity to make wisecracks, at one point they had started to compete between themselves to see who could last longer.

“Hey, need a break?” Lied asked as a cheeky smile crossed his mug.

“Hehe, who do you think you’re talking to?” Susumu, panting slightly, replied.

The Lost Prince shot a 4-Kai Unda at two type B Animus, as for the student council president he once again showed off his skills at melee combat by defeating two type C Animus. 6 Animus were left.

Lied held up one finger as he aimed a collapsing breaker on a type C Animus’ abdomen and it broke with a loud bang. Consecutive Undas followed one another and took four more monsters down. Two minutes later, the green-eyed boy sliced the last beast with the Anima Sancta. Finally, what they couldn’t have done alone, they did together.

“Not too shabby” Zosimus praised their performance.

“Wow! They are both amazing!!” Mare said and clapped as she was beaming with delight.

“You grew up so much, Lied. I wouldn’t expect anything less from his son” the Chains Man thought as he acknowledged the prince.

Lied didn’t let his guard down as the Adam’s Heir insisted on waiting for the opponent he cut with his blade to evanesce. Susumu stared at the unfaltering lad in whom he saw for a moment the broad shoulders that leaders have.

“Was he always this dependable?” Susumu thought, admiring him.

[END OF CHAPTER]