Michael tried to raise an eyebrow but remembered that he was devoid of any real features so he spoke instead, which was still bothering him.

“I don’t know how.”

The teenager nods.

“Well, someone will fix you up, I hope. Anyway, you don’t have a mark anywhere. No one came to greet you on your way here?”

“Those imps did.”

The young man groans.

“No no, I meant, did any arrogant, super large, or impressive entity appear to meet you? They should’ve been the one to brand you.”

The young man then pulls away the sleeve covering his forearm, revealing a symbol. The symbol featured three vertical black lines, with the middle one longer at the bottom but shorter at the top. Across these lines ran a sole horizontal red line. Surrounding the entire symbol was a green jagged circle that appeared to be composed of thorns.

“I’m guessing you don’t recognize this either?”

Michael shakes his head.

“Well, at least you’re not that bastard’s servant.”

“What?”

The teenager shakes his hand, changing the subject.

“It doesn’t matter. If you haven’t been branded now, you’ll be branded… sooner or later.”

The teenager pulls out a circular object within his clothes and taps it. It momentarily glows, releasing a blue-colored energy. The energy then moves toward a direction.

“Okay, let’s go.”

Turning to the same direction as the blue energy, Michael saw nothing but an endless wasteland.

“Go where?”

The teenager grabs Michael’s wrist again.

“We have to be connected for the movement to work.”

Having no real reason to resist, Michael shrugs.

“Okay, lead the way but if you try anything, I’ll protect myself.”

The young man nods, understanding Michael’s apprehension.

“What’s your name?”

Michael waits for a reply.

“It’s Hanz.”

Hanz then starts to walk in a certain direction while muttering a word.

Babylon?

Michael walked alongside Hanz, this time paying more attention to his surroundings. As they continued, the world around them underwent a transformation. While the surroundings remained mostly desolate, Michael observed the terrain gradually shifting into paved rock. In the distance, the outline of a city materialized. Simultaneously, silhouettes of various creatures emerged, sparking a sense of unease in Michael. He even sees a creature that resembles a dragon, reminding him of the Draco.

“Hey, don’t tense up. You’re gonna rip my arm off.”

Michael looks down and notices that he unconsciously tightened his grip on Hanz’ wrist. He immediately lets go.

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Curious, Hanz turns to the crowd but couldn’t pinpoint which creature triggered Michael.

“So you got killed by a horror huh?”

Michael raises his non-existent eyebrow.

“What?”

Hanz shrugs, letting go of Michael. He didn't have any interest in educating Michael.

“Before we go in, I gotta set a few ground rules.”

Michael nods.

“Okay, good that you’re willing to listen. Most people that drop down here panic like a bunch of headless chickens, unable to listen to basic rules, and end up getting kidnapped or violated by this city’s rulers.”

Seeing that Michael has no complaints, Hanz continues.

“First, I’m not gonna bother explaining anything. We’re in hell, that’s it.”

Hanz waits for Michael to break down but the shadowy man in front of him does not respond at all.

What’s wrong with this guy? Usually, they’re a crying mess at this point.

Hanz continues.

“Okay… now that we’ve got out of the way, let’s talk about the second rule. Humans are slaves. I don’t want you doing some stupid heroic shit and getting me killed. You might think, how would you get me killed? Well, demons, yes demons are real and they are fucking unreasonable and if you do some stupid shit, they’ll blame me for getting some defective human.”

Michael still remains unfazed.

“Third, there’s a hierarchy. In this damned place, every human, regardless of their power or influence, remains a slave. Branded by masters of greater authority, whether they be demons, gods, yokai, encanto, or entities beyond my pronunciation, all humans are slaves.”

That causes Michael to be surprised a bit but not because of the slavery.

Gods?

Seeing Michael finally get startled, Hanz feels a bit satisfied.

I thought this guy couldn’t be surprised… Well, he’s not normal for sure. He just attacked those two imps. Crazy.

But Michael’s surprise quickly disappears. He knew that supernatural things existed. After all, Goddess existed so can these things.

“Anything else?” asks Michael.

“Well… Not really… Oh yeah, you better go to the seat of power once you’re in.” Hanz taps his arm, trying to remember every bit of information he has to relay.

“Why?” Michael replies.

“Well, you don’t have a slave mark, right?” Hanz gestures to his slave mark.

Michael nods.

“Yeah, that doesn’t fly in Babylon. If a demon or spirit discovers that you aren't marked, you're essentially painting a target on yourself. Every low-ranking spirit is gonna want to get you. A single marked human can elevate even the lowest-ranking spirit to some level of power. And believe me, there are as many spirits as there are dead humans. And by dead, I don’t mean those that died on Earth and wound up here but… Nevermind. For now, just go to the seat of power. I’ll get you through the gate but once you’re in, you’re on your own.”

Before Michael could reply, Hanz walked ahead.

Once he was alone, Michael sensed many eyes turn toward him. He quickly jogs toward Hanz.

“Hanz, I have a few questions.”

Hanz nods, keeping a straight eye on the city’s gates. Even he feels the immense curiosity and greed of the creatures around them.

Whatever. I’m going to get paid as long as I get this guy in.

“What’s your question?”

“After I go to the seat of power, is there a place I can rest in?”

Hanz nods.

“Yeah. After you get your mark, go to the slums. That’s where the humans live. Don’t try to go to the common areas alone. If you’re not accompanied by a demon or spirit, you shouldn’t attempt to go there. And don’t even think of trying the luxury areas. You’d become food there, mark or not. That's rule four, I guess.” Hanz shrugs.

Michael nods.

The two of them reach the gate. Michael feels an eye trained on him as they're about to enter. Then he hears a voice from above.

“Name.”

He immediately looks up and sees an immensely large snake that’s attached to the ceiling of the gate’s archway. It had four eyes, two on both sides with each eye having multiple pupils.

Without missing a beat, Hanz reveals his slave mark to the creature.

“Hanz Becker. Marked by-

“Slaved by.”

Hanz rolls his eyes when the snake corrects him but he continues.

“Slaved by Pelorraw, servant of Trast, who is a servant of Crimiel. I’m a collector and he’s my haul today.”

The giant snake’s eyes stare into Hanz’s eyes but it eventually nods.

“You may go in.”

It then turns to Michael.

“Name.”

“Michael Laurent.”

The snake tilts its large head.

“Slaved to whom?”

Michael shakes his head.

“To no one.”

Almost instantly, Michael sees a flicker of greed in the snake’s eyes.

“Slaved to no one??”

Michael nods, regretting his answer. The snake seems to shudder due to some unseen pleasure.

“Go to the side building. And you! Go to your masters and report already.”

Seeing the snake’s greed, Hanz mutters.

“Shit.”

Without his supernatural body, Michael couldn’t hear Hanz nor really go against this Draco-sized snake. Still, in a constant fight or flight mode, Michael followed the creature’s order but was ready to run away at a moment’s notice.

Entering the gate, he sees a large doorway leading to the side of the building. He sees Hanz try to approach him but the snake's tail blocks its way.

"Go on, collector, do your job. I'll handle this one." The snake hisses at Hanz.

Hanz looked at Michael but seeing that the dark humanoid shadow didn't seem bothered, he eventually had to go.

If I'm quick enough, I can get my master to slave-mark him. At the very least, my master isn't as cruel as the other demons. He's still a fucking bastard though.

Realizing this, Hanz quickly runs to report to his superiors, hopeful that he can save Michael from a far more horrid fate.

On the other hand, Michael was pushing his mind to think of a way out of his situation.

This thing wants to slave-mark me. But nothing about the combination of those words makes me feel at ease. Evelyn, I miss you.

After letting Michael in, the snake turns toward the line and screams.

“Break time you filths!”

The crowd starts to stir up a commotion but the snake shuts it down.

“Yeah yeah, say whatever you want. I’m still the gatekeeper!”

The snake then snaps its tail, causing the gates to close.

“Now then.”

The snake snaps toward Michael.

“You there.”

Sensing trouble, Michael internally sighs.