"Where the hell is she…?" Mira asked, her voice tight with worry. It had been about three hours since Irielle chose to go Information gathering. By that time, she had gotten as much rest as she wanted and the same with Rene. Both of them were awake now, sitting on their beds and waiting. The room was quiet except for the sounds of the settlement outside. There were footsteps on the street below, distant conversations, and the creak of wood settling. "She'll be back soon." Azel said as he stretched on the bed, his joints popping. Rene was awake and was on his own bed now, fidgeting with the edge of his cloak. The boy looked nervous, glancing at the window every few seconds like he expected something to come through it. Mira paced near the door with her arms crossed while Azel looked at the map, studying the routes carefully. He'd been staring at it for the past hour, memorizing every detail. There were two exits leading out of the Grayside. One would lead to another settlement, a smaller outpost from what the map showed, and then another would lead to what was known as the Undead Pass. According to what he saw on the Underworld Map, it was a land of skeletons. Thousands of them wandering aimlessly through a wasteland of bones and ash. Going through the Undead Pass to reach the next settlement he was after next would take a total of five days and that was by going quickly and covering a lot of distance daily. There would be no rest stops and no delays, they had to just maintain constant movement. While if he took the other route and reached another Lawless place before going to this settlement, he would burn a week or more… maybe even two weeks depending on complications. Hellspawn attacks, Reaper patrols, territorial disputes, who knew what else could slow them down. The Undead Pass was faster but more dangerous while the other route was safer but took too much time. 'We just have to move past this.' He thought with a sigh as he sat up on the bed, rubbing his face. Once they did, and once they got to the King Of The Underworld, he would try as much as possible to ensure the madness that was happening on the surface stopped. The crimson sky bleeding into reality, the monsters falling from it, the death toll climbing every hour, cities being overrun and people dying in the streets. If he died here, he would not be able to come back like before and it made him quite afraid. The permanence of it weighed on him like a stone on his chest. But at the same time, if he didn't do it, the people on Earth would die regardless and him by extension. It seemed at the end of the day, he would die either way. Damned if he did, damned if he didn't. 'Is this what it means to be a Hero…?' He thought. If so he wanted Reinhardt to take the title back. It was just too much stress and too much responsibility, so he simply chose to stop thinking about it. Dwelling on it wouldn't help anything. Having the fate of the whole world on your shoulders was devastating no matter who or what you were. No matter how strong you became, no matter what powers you had. Power didn't make the weight lighter. Just then the window shook a bit and Irielle pulled herself into the room. The moment she got in the room, her ethereal form gave way and revealed Irielle wearing her cloak. She looked excited, her green eyes bright with success. "Master!" She said, practically running into his bed and hugging him tightly. "Are you guys alright?" "Of course…" Azel said, raising an eyebrow. Something was squishing against him and he looked down to realize she was holding a small paper bag. "What is that?" "Oh, they're called Hell rations. They're gotten from processing the livestock down here since Hellspawn can't be eaten." She said, holding up the bag proudly like a prize she'd won. "If you eat one, then you become full for about…" She dropped the paper bag onto the bed to use her fingers to count, her face scrunching up in concentration as she did the math in her head. "30 days!" He took the paper bag and brought out one of the cube rations. It was black and didn't have any smell. Completely odorless. He turned it over in his fingers, examining it from all angles. A screen appeared in his vision. [Item Name: Hell Ration] [Item Rank: C] [Item Description: An Item gotten after processing the livestock that are reared in the Underworld into a cube. It will fill your stomach for thirty days but if you are a living being, it will only work for half the days.] "I see." He said as he took the cube into his mouth. It dissolved instantly like sugar on his tongue, filling his stomach up. There was no taste at all, it was just the sensation of being full spreading through his body like warmth. "It will only work for us for about fifteen days but everyone should have a bite, we need to focus more on traveling and less on cooking." Mira grumbled from her bed. She wanted to taste more of Azel's food, his actual cooking with real flavors and spices, but she didn't hesitate. She walked over and took the cube into her mouth. It dissolved, spreading through her system. It didn't have any taste but she felt full immediately... completely satisfied like she'd just eaten a feast. The same thing with Rene. He made a face at the lack of flavor, his nose wrinkling in disappointment, but swallowed anyway. The cube dissolved and he patted his stomach. Irielle followed after, popping hers in her mouth with a smile. There were still about four cubes there so he put them in his Inventory for later use. Emergency rations in case they got stuck somewhere. "What about the information that you went down to get?" Azel asked, looking at her seriously. His tone shifted to business. She cleared her throat and her playful expression completely vanished. Her face became professional and her posture straightened like a soldier reporting to a superior. "The Grayside is a lawless settlement. A Rank 3 Reaper coming like how you did are seen as an easy target because most real Rank 3s wouldn't be caught dead in a place like this. They usually take refuge in citadels so they barely hear about the gruesomeness in these parts." She said. Rene looked at her weirdly, tilting his head. "What's a Citadel?" "Take it like a city, the Grayside is like a town so a Citadel will be a city." She explained patiently, making sure he understood. "It's much bigger, much more organized, and much more dangerous." They nodded in understanding. Rene was particularly curious about how a city looked since he hadn't been outside Lepreun Town in his entire life. Everything beyond the town walls was a mystery to him. "Oh right… I will report the plans they have for us." Irielle continued, her expression hardening like stone. "That maid that gave us the room tried to plant a gas bomb in our room but you kicked it out. It's designed to knock out anyone for several hours regardless of rank. Once we were unconscious, they planned to sell us at the Market and kill you off." She paused for a bit, her expression darkening with rage barely contained beneath the surface. "Me and Mira would be sold as slaves. The pale human type apparently fetches high prices in the underground markets here. Collectors pay a lot for them. And Rene..." Her fists clenched tight enough that her knuckles went white. "There's a market for children here. One of them said he has a house full of young girls." Azel's expression didn't change but his eyes went cold. The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees. Mira's face twisted in disgust. "They were planning to bid on us once we were put up for sale." Irielle continued, her voice steady despite her anger burning beneath the surface like magma. "But that's not the important part, Master. You don't need to sully your hands with that at all… I can deal with it." She leaned forward, her green eyes intense. "It's just like you thought. The Reapers don't have any way of knowing that the badges don't belong to us because the badges are recycled between Reapers. When a Reaper dies, their badge and weapon get passed on to whoever takes it. However..." She held up a finger for emphasis. "Once you reach a Reaper Citadel, you'll be asked questions on how the badge was gotten. There are five standard questions they ask: One: What was your previous assignment? Two: Who was your commanding officer? Three: How did you acquire this rank? Four: What region were you operating in? Five: State your reaping count for the last cycle. In our case, you are the Rank 3 so you are our commanding officer and will therefore be asked different questions but I haven't heard of a test that prompts us taking off our robes." She took a breath before continuing. "If you answer like a Reaper of your rank would, you're permitted to go through. If you hesitate or answer wrong, you're detained for interrogation." After that, she also elaborated a bit on the world. Apparently not only Grim Reapers existed here, but other humanly work and Bounty Hunters too. They hunted reapers and people who had a high target on their heads, bringing them in dead or alive for rewards posted on boards. There were merchants who sold goods in marketplaces, blacksmiths who forged weapons and armor, alchemists who made potions and gases for various purposes. The Underworld had its own economy and society, its own structure and hierarchy. All in all, he was happy with the information she had brought. He patted her head gently, his hand warm against her hair. "Thank you." He said and stood up from the bed. "Alright, vacate the premises… Irielle, can I trust you to kill—" "I will get it done Master." She said with a salute, cutting him off. "Alright, Mira… Rene… Follow her along." He said with a smile that had no warmth behind it. They nodded without questions. Mira took Rene up in her arms and they left by the window, climbing down the side of the building in silence. Just as they left, there was a knock on the door. Three sharp raps that echoed in the now-empty room. He turned to the door as he picked up the Reaper weapon from the side of the bed, the girls had taken theirs too. 'I planned to leave without causing much of a scene…' He thought. He really didn't care if people were being sold as slaves here. What he cared about was the fact that they had tried to kill him and had plans for the girls as well as Rene. That crossed a line he wouldn't tolerate. He opened the door, tearing it off by the hinges with one hand. The wood splintered and cracked making pieces falling to the floor with dull thuds. The maid yelped, taking a step back with wide eyes. "Grim Reaper sir! Would you like any—" FOOM! "Reap." He chopped her head off in one clean motion and reaped her soul immediately. The body turned into black wisps that flowed into his weapon like smoke being sucked into a vacuum, adding to the charge. The Death Force counter ticked up, he could feel that it was halfway full then he walked downstairs. Each step creaked under his weight, announcing his descent to those who were below. Once he got to the ground floor, all of the Reapers quieted once more. The conversations in the lobby died instantly like someone had cut all sound from the world. Though they didn't see the maid behind him, they immediately knew that they had been compromised. Something in his expression, in the way he moved told them everything they needed to know. They grabbed their weapons. There were about several Rank 4s and Rank 5s scattered throughout the room, sitting at tables or standing near the walls. Maybe twenty of them total… some had sickles, others had scythes, and a few had spears. All of them looked ready to fight. Azel simply raised up his weapon and they watched it give off a strange aura. Black energy poured from the sickle like smoke, swirling around the blade in thick tendrils. "He's using his Death Force ability!" One of them shouted, pointing with a shaking finger. "Stop him!" Another yelled, charging forward with his scythe raised high. However it was already over. Azel's hand tightened around the weapon as the words came out as if he had already known them all along. Like the weapon had whispered them to him, teaching him the command. "Release."