Chapter 491: The Greyside After three days of walking through the new path, Azel finally saw land up ahead. It was like the gates of a town except that these gates were made with skulls... actual skulls stacked and mortared together to form an archway that rose at least twenty feet high. ’Those Reapers could fly but we can’t...’ He thought, staring at the distant gate. If he knew how to fly then he would have just flown all of them over where that damn skeleton reaper had blasted and they would be much closer to the Castle by now. Instead they’d spent three days walking through barren wasteland. "Master..." Irielle whispered as she looked at the two guards up ahead standing at attention. They were positioned on either side of the skull gate. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎 Azel used his enhanced eyesight to sight their badges. After all, Reapers had their ranks engraved on their badges in clear numbering. He could see the number five etched into the metal. The two guards were Rank 5 reapers and from what he could guess, these Rank 5s were given the low tier tasks like guarding the gates against Hellspawn attacks or something. Grunt work for the lowest ranked... Nobody important would waste time standing at a gate. ’We also managed to charge our weapons up with power.’ He thought, glancing at the sickle at his side. They had killed Hellspawn during the three day journey. Those monsters that weren’t killed by the runes were killed by their weapons and it apparently charged their weapons up significantly. The Death Force counter had kept climbing. Even now, he could guess that the final attack that the Reaper had done originally was using up all of his charge in a powerful strike which was why he was able to clear 200 meters+ of land in one move. It had been complete obliteration powered by stored death energy. They reached the gate and the reapers gave them a look. They were smaller skeletons, maybe five feet tall with thin bones. However upon seeing the badge on Azel’s chest and his crimson eyes staring at them directly, they immediately fumbled to open the gates. Their skeletal hands shook as they grabbed the handles. "Rank 3 Reaper Sir! Forgive our Impudence!" One of them squeaked out, his voice high and nervous. ’Is Rank 3 actually a big deal?’ Azel thought, keeping his expression neutral. He could get if his face was scary. Powder wasn’t the only thing that would make them seem like they were dead so he had applied some makeup with the help of the girls, making his eyes have dark circles around them and seem hollow. Dead eyes staring out of a pale face. Makeup could really change up a person’s whole flow. "Welcome to the Grayside! Reaper sir!" The skeleton called out, bowing slightly as the gates swung open. Azel as well as the rest passed by them effortlessly, infiltrating the town without issue, not a single question asked. He didn’t know what he expected when he saw this place on the map. From the name itself, he had expected it to be like some barren town or something but it was actually pretty lively. People that were dead, ones that looked both like pale humans and pale monsters, moved around everywhere. They walked through the streets carrying goods, talking to each other, haggling at stalls, living their afterlives. It was strange seeing so much activity in a place called the Underworld. As they walked, the path was subconsciously cleared for them by those who saw his badge. People stepped aside quickly, their eyes lowering in what looked like fear or respect. Children were pulled back by their parents and conversations died as they passed. Apparently the reason why this place was busy was because there were Mission boards hung up on the street, meant for Reapers. Jobs and bounties posted on wooden boards nailed to buildings... He could see crowds gathered around them, reading the postings. ’You can’t really differentiate this place from a lively town on Earth.’ He thought, looking around. The Underworld and Earth truly didn’t have much differences honestly. Same systems, same hierarchies, same problems. It was just different aesthetics. They reached a place that had been pointed out on the map as a Reaper’s Rest. In the Rest, Reapers could use their badges to rent out places to stay temporarily. It was a large building, fifteen stories tall with wooden construction. He entered the Reaper’s Rest with the girls and the place immediately quieted down. Every conversation in the lobby stopped and all eyes turned to him and his group. He walked right to the counter and flashed his badge. The pale monster maid immediately shook and bowed a bit, her hands trembling against the wooden surface. "What would you like... Rank 3 Reaper Sir?" She asked, her voice nervous and slightly breathy. Azel cleared his throat, activating the voice-changing rune that he had bought from the System and inscribed on all of their throats with careful precision. His voice came out deeper and more detached than his original voice. "A room... a single room with four bedrooms." Azel replied, secretly hoping that there wasn’t a different term for this whole thing here in the Underworld. He didn’t want to blow their cover over something stupid like hotel terminology. The woman nodded in understanding, her relief visible. "I understand, please let me show you to your room." She fumbled with the keys hanging on hooks behind her. She grabbed the one labeled Room #493 and led them up the wooden staircase. Her hands were still shaking slightly as she climbed. The stairs creaked under their weight with each step. ... They arrived at the door and the maid opened it, letting the door creak open on rusty hinges. Even if the door sounded old, the room looked very much new with four beds like he asked. It had clean sheets, proper furniture, and even a window overlooking the street. "Thank you for using the Rest." She said with a nod and then turned around to leave. In that half second that she did, something flew out of her back pocket and into their room. A small cylindrical object that tumbled through the air. However Azel kicked it aside without her knowledge, his boot sending it outside into the hallway before it could roll to a stop. The maid didn’t notice as she just kept walking. The girls entered and then he closed the door behind them with a soft click. The lock engaged. They were finally alone however they didn’t remove their cloaks yet. They all sat on their beds, the mattresses surprisingly comfortable with actual springs. Except for Rene who settled down on Azel’s bed and laid on Azel’s lap, curling up like a cat. ’The room’s clean.’ He thought while expanding his senses around, checking every corner and surface. There wasn’t anything out of the regular... There were no bugs, no traps, and no surveillance runes or enchantments carved into the walls or furniture. "Alright... Step one of our plan is complete." Azel said, looking at each of them in turn. "I guess Rank 3 is a really big deal... but judging from whatever that maid wanted to plant in our room, it doesn’t seem much of like a good thing." He gestured toward the door where he’d kicked the object. "It’s like you expected Master." Irielle said as she saluted and arranged her boots, pulling them off to check them. He had used Aurum Hand on their clothes as well as their weapons to make them high quality over the three day journey. Everything was reinforced now. "It’s time for Step two." They had created a series of steps to get more information about Grim Reapers and the Underworld at large during their walk. Planning while walking... and amongst all of them, Irielle was the best for Information gathering. It literally said so on her status too. "You’re free to go. Just come back within three hours. We’ll try and get some sleep, Rene... you can go first and Mira, you too." Mira needed her beauty rest especially after crawling around in the Underworld for two weeks being attacked by Hellspawn left and right, losing men in the process, nearly dying multiple times. The woman was exhausted both physically and mentally. And Rene needed it because he was a kid and needed his rest more than anyone. Growing bodies required sleep. Immediately after he gave the order, Mira got unconscious and snored. She was out like a light, not even bothering to get under the covers. Rene took a little more to get to sleep, fidgeting a bit and shifting positions before his breathing evened out into the steady rhythm of sleep. Gwendolyn floated above them in her usual ghostly form, her translucent body drifting near the ceiling like smoke. "You can sleep too Azel, I’ll keep watch over you." She said, her voice soft and concerned. Azel turned to Gwendolyn with a smile, his eyes warm. ’You don’t need to stress yourself Gwen...’ He thought toward her. ’Elves don’t need sleep... that much.’ It was true. He could go weeks without it if necessary. Meanwhile Irielle was wondering why her Master was smiling at the air but she shrugged nonetheless. He probably had his reasons. Maybe he was just tired. "I’ll be going Master." She said as she stood and turned completely ethereal, just like her spear could. She could vanish, however unlike the weapon, she could vanish completely from sight and masked with the Grim Reaper’s cloak that suppressed life presence, she became virtually invisible to everyone. The perfect spy. The window opened on its own as she approached it, the latch clicking. She turned to him, blowing him a kiss that he couldn’t see because she was invisible. "Come back safe, Irielle." "Will do Master." She leapt down from the window and focused magic into her leg muscles. She walked down the side of the very tall building, her boots finding purchase on the wooden exterior like it was flat ground. She reached the ground in seconds, landing silently. Immediately she did, she held her cloak tightly around her body and walked onto the street, back to where they had came from. The main road where most of the traffic was concentrated and it was also where people gathered and talked. Immediately she heard something from a nearby alley. "Psst... did you see that Rank 3 that came here just now?" One voice whispered to another from the shadows. She stopped and listened in while people walked through her ghostly body, passing right through her without noticing. Their bodies went through hers like she was mist. It tickled a bit, like static electricity. Though she could phase out of physical attacks, soul attacks would be very effective against her in this state. She was vulnerable on a spiritual level when she used this. "Yes, I’m sure he’s a guy that just managed to see the badge and cloak on the ground or something... because there’s no way one can be that dumb." The second one said with a sigh. She felt the need to use her lance to pierce his head for insulting her Master. Her fingers twitched. "If you’re a Rank 3 and come to a lawless place like this, all that awaits is death... especially if you’re looking for rest, I saw him and his girls and even that other short stuff go into the Rest so they must have already hit them with the Gas bomb. Rank 3 or not, getting hit with those kinds of gas can knock you out for several hours." She blinked, processing that information. That was probably what Azel had kicked out of their room. A gas bomb designed to incapacitate them while they slept. Smart of him to catch it. "He came with two girls and they are the Pale Human kind... They’ll probably be sold on the Market later, Ooh I have to prepare to bid... the one with black hair looks like she’ll be very good in bed." Her teeth gritted once more and she felt the urge to pull her lance out and slaughter them both right here in this place and paint the walls with their blood but she calmed down, forcing herself to breathe evenly. ’The only man that can touch my body is my master.’ She thought as she breathed out slowly. She would kill them later for coveting something that only their Master could touch. They’d sealed their own fates. "I don’t know about you but I’m more interested in the kid... you know I have a house full of female pale-human kids, they’re really tight down there." Her expression twitched in disgust and even more disgust flooded through her entire being. This was why it was called the Underworld. She immediately moved away from the alley, determined to get more information before going back to the room. Information that would actually be useful.