22 Down Under

The woman looks at the child sleeping in her arms before staring at me. She tries to say something but the translator in my ear doesn't recognize the language, so I can only answer with a confused expression and a shrug.

She bows several times before rushing into the darkness and quickly disappears from my sight.

*I didn't expect to fight giant bears, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised anymore…*

I don't want to fight other creatures and I don't doubt that my actions probably caught the attention of whoever is leading them. So I holster my weapon and run as fast as I can towards the other end of the area.

The haggard people don't spare me a glance as I rush through the muddy streets. I look up to see if there are leeches following me, but there are none, so I slow down and lean against a wall to rest for a few minutes.

I then continue my journey, this time I only walk and head towards a large building protected by a metal fence that is completely different from the others. This square windowless building is made of white polished stone and metal, and the open engraved metal doors look sturdy enough to endure a nuclear blast.

The people guarding the building also are completely different from the thugs that attacked me earlier. They exude an oppressive aura of power that makes me weak in the knees despite being more than thirty yards away from them. The more I approach the building, the nicer the area gets. The road goes from a muddy path to a cobblestone path and the crowd of rag-wearing beggars is nowhere to be seen. Instead, the people swarming the building are either wearing expensive looking clothing or well-worn suits of armor that have seen many battles.

Now I'm closer to the building, and the piercing gaze of the helmeted guards make me nervous as I approach the engraved gate and pass through what looks like a metal detector from an airport. I hold my breath as I pass through, but the guards don't react to me and wave their hand to indicate that everything's fine.

My muscles relax as I enter the bustling building, the beauty of the interior stops me in my steps for a second. The floor is made of something resembling polished marble and I can see dark lines freely moving in the white stone. Beautiful chandeliers holding globes of pure lights are hanging from the ceiling and amazing mosaics of constantly shifting colored glass add to the prestigious aura of the building.

However, my gawking ends when someone bumps into me. I realize that I was standing in the middle of the entrance and hurry to the center of the building where multiple transport gates are lined against the wall.

*Now, where should I go… That dwarf only said to go down.*

I look around and spot a floating stone tablet near a wall, I approach the artifact and notice a control rune in a corner so I touch it. The piece of stone hum and text appears on its glass-like surface.

*Is this a search bar?*

I enter the information the dwarf gave me, and a map appears on the tablet along with written instructions.

*This is neat! Now, where's Gate four-*

My eyes scan the area, and I join the queue in front of the gate with a big number four made of green flames floating above the black metal ring.

It's my turn to step through the gate, so I take a deep breath and enter the portal. The scenery in front of me shifts and I emerge in a building similar to the one I just left.

*It looks like those buildings are a sort of hub for teleportation gates.*

Someone bumps into me again, and I mumble an excuse before stepping away from the gate and leaving the building.

The scenery that greets me is completely different from the last one. The ceiling isn't made of drab concrete, but is painted over and perfectly imitates a real sky, with moving clouds and all. The area is also much nicer since the air is crisp and pure without a hint of a bad smell.

The teleporting station blends in fairly well with the rest of the buildings, which are all built in a similar sturdy and minimalist style.

*How is this possible?! And why is it under the Bazaar?*

I shake my head to remove the questions that keep popping in my head and recall the instructions displayed on the tablet.

*Let's go, I'm not here for sight-seeing.*

...Zarand's PoV…

The last thing I remember is a blinding light.

The sensation of having my existence erased by the unknown force is still carved in my brain. It wasn't painful, but it felt like pieces of my soul shattered at that moment.

Really, I should've been more careful. But how was I supposed to know that an Outsider had access to such powerful magic? It just never happened before…

But it's too late for regrets now, I'm floating in this dark abyss and it's likely that I'm never getting out. I believe that most religions would call this place Purgatory?

*A place to atone for the sins that are staining one's soul… It's ironic that an assassin ended there. But if the afterlife is real, then I wonder what kind of monster one has to be to end up in hell?*

Usually, I would stop my wandering thoughts, but there's no sense in focusing when I'm floating in this endless ocean of darkness.

I sigh and look around, but there's nothing to see so I close my eyes.

Time pass and nothing happens, I lost track of time so I couldn't tell how much time I spent drifting in the abyss.

*Has it been days, years… or even centuries?*

Something tells me that it doesn't matter and that I'm going to be here for a while-

A faint bead of light appears above me. Normally I wouldn't notice it even if I used a spell to focus my vision. But even the slightest hint of movement or light is going to stand out in this dark and unmoving place.

The bead grows, and I feel a tingling in my limbs while my ears pick up faint hints of sound. The tingling gets stronger, and I finally recognize a sensation I haven't felt in an eternity.

It's pain, an agonizing pain that spreads through my body and sets every single one of my nerves on fire, I feel like my insides are melting. I want to scream and escape the growing light, but the noise in my ears turn into unintelligible whispers while something pulls me towards the light.

The voices get louder while I'm sucked towards the light, and my suffering gets worse the closer I get. I want to pull away but the force is simply too strong to resist, I curse the voices just as I am immersed in the light.

"There was a reaction! Quick, another dose of elixir!" a voice that feels familiar shouts and I feel a cold liquid flowing into my veins, causing my pain to get even stronger.

My lungs feel like they are on fire, so I take deep breaths before opening my eyes.

I see four blurry figures watching over me, I blink until my vision clears and recognize the healers of the Scalebound family. My eyes scan the area and I recognize one of the operating rooms located in the basement of the family's residence.

*So I survived? How? And what was that dark abyss-*

My thoughts are interrupted when strands of light invade my body, I can feel my broken bones moving under my skin and I can't suppress the wails caused by the sudden agony.

My breathing is ragged once the healing finally ends. I want to ask questions, but no words come out of my mouth. I can't speak so I might as well see how badly wounded I am, and I am horrified to see that my right leg is gone. It's replaced by a charred stump. My left foot is also gone, along with the entirety of my left forearm and my right hand has only three fingers remaining.

I want to scream in horror at the wounds. I'm not a healer, but I know that these missing limbs won't grow back.

My consciousness slips away, so I use the few remaining seconds of awareness to swear an oath. I, the leader of the Black Claws, swear to kill John Thomson and avenge my comrades.

No matter the cost.

...John's PoV…

I scratch my head and look around again to make sure that I am in the right place, but there's no mistake possible since I clearly followed the tablet's instructions. In front of me lies a building in a state of disrepair, it looks like a strong gust of wind would be enough to make it collapse, with a rusty metal sign hanging above the door.

*The sign reads "Krognar's Magical Emporium", and it looks like it's the only shop in the area so it must be this place. However, I don't have a good feeling about this…*

I take a deep breath and take a step forward. After all, going into a small isolated shop that looks like a perfect setting for a horror movie can't be a bad idea, right?

My hand wanders on the weapon hanging at my side, the cold piece of metal isn't enough to make my anxiety completely disappear but it still helps with calming my pounding heart. I stop in front of the door and take a deep breath. Nothing is going to happen to me, and I can always shoot my way out if things get hairy, right?

Or maybe there's something that can endure my bullets, and pierce my shield. My talent in enchanting is more than lacking and I don't doubt that someone already developed something similar to my equipment, so countermeasures probably already exist.

*At least there's still something that can't be countered…*

I adjust the phone strapped to my arm and push the door open, causing a small bell to ring. The shop is… unique looking. There are piles of random artifacts strew around the place without any discernible pattern. I glance at an unstable pile of metallic objects near my left foot. The oddly shaped items are complete unknowns to me, and I can't figure out any of their potential uses.

"A customer?" a shrill voice comes from under the counter in the back of the shop, it's followed by the sound of a chair being dragged on the floor and a figure soon appears above the counter. The man, or rather Goblin, is a small humanoid creature with green skin and short, droopy ears. I can discern a lot of wrinkles under his sparse white beard, so the creature is probably quite old.

Or maybe all Goblins are like that, it's literally the first time I see one so I don't really know.

But the shopkeeper's most striking feature isn't the fact that he can't be more than four feet tall, but the silver arm piqued with rust that's mostly hidden under his oil-stained brown clothes.

*Looks like that dwarf didn't lie…*

"I assume you're Krognar?" I ask the shopkeeper who nods and smile, revealing all his missing teeth.

"Yes I am, now what can I do for you today?"

I approach the counter, "I'm looking for a strong barrier for my property, I want one that can stop Enforcers from eavesdropping and makes it impossible for them to teleport into my home."

The Goblin grins and nod before rummaging into a pile of dusty metal cubes made of various types of metal haphazardly riveted together. He grabs one and weighs it before throwing it away and grabbing another one. This time he narrows his eyes and traces the runes with his finger before nodding to himself with a satisfied expression.

"This one will do," he says as he places the fist-sized dusty cube on the counter. "That will be 290,000 Credits."

I flinch while the Goblin hands me a yellow glowing orb similar to the ones I saw in most shops and place my credit card over the construct. It beeps, signaling that the transaction is successful.

"Thank you for your patronage, is there anything else I can do?"

I rack my brain for anything I could want from the old Goblin, and something immediately comes up.

"I would like to have a GPS with maps of this area. Mine doesn't seem to detect anything besides coordinates…"

Really, not relying on shady vendors for information might be a good idea, and I could go anywhere I want with the help of my Portal Gun-

I'm interrupted by a stifled laugh, and the Goblin wipes his eyes, "I'm sorry, but... You're new in the Underworld, right?"

I nod, "Yes, so what's so funny about my request?"

"You see, the Underworld is made up of old abandoned dimensional shards dating back to the construction of the Bazaar eons ago. These Shards are considered part of the Bazaar but are not complete dimensions so any mapping spell that I know of won't work here. "

He leans on the counter, "And between you and me, the gangs that own the Shards are very protective of them, so they won't hesitate to attack you if they think you're from a rival gang looking to invade their Shard."

I'm not looking to make more enemies since I already have an uncomfortably large amount of them, so I refrain from asking too many questions. I thank the shopkeeper before leaving the small building and teleporting home with my new barrier.

...Riley's PoV…

Something explodes above me, and I grit my teeth when the blast of scorching hot air washes over me. A smell of burnt fur invades my nostrils but I'm not fazed by it. It's not the first time that's I've been burnt to a crisp.

"Come on you bastard!" my brother yells as he lunges towards the lonely figure wearing a three-piece suit. The enemy's red horns glow for a brief moment before Steve is sent flying into the wall, causing cracks to appear on the concrete slab.

*Fucking Devils and their Telekinesis!*

The devil smirks, revealing his long canines, and raises his left hand covered by pale red skin. I can't believe my mana sense when I feel the enormous amount of power that he gathered in less than a second, it's on par with my mother's most powerful magic!

A pained groan takes me out of my stupor and I grab Steve before Shadow Walking away just as a red beam vaporizes the place we were standing just a second ago.

"Phew… You're all right?" I ask while scanning my wounded brother's body for any severe wounds, and relief courses through me when I finish my inspection. There was no serious damage, just superficial cuts and scrapes.

"Of course-," he says before coughing a mouthful of blood and broken teeth, "But I don't know why those bastards were here."

I lean against a wall and scan the dark alleyway I emerged in to find any potential threats; I only relax my tense muscles once I'm sure that we're alone.

"I have no idea since they attacked us as soon as we stepped into that club. Maybe we interrupted a deal or something?"

Steve nods. "You're probably right… Who was that guy anyway? He handed our asses to us without standing up from his chair, and we didn't even hit him once."

"I have no idea, but we need to report to Mom as soon as possible. A gang of Devils is already worrisome, not to mention when they have people with enough power to launch Strategic magic on their own."

Steve stands up and smirks, "Let's go home then, you already look like your last attempt at cooking so-"

"Who talked? It's a bit lonely now that Steve tragically died in that freak accident."

"Hey, I'm not dead yet!" he says while stifling his laughter, "And don't make me laugh, my ribs hurt like hell."

I smile back and grab his forearm before sinking into the shadows of the alleyway.

We arrive in a familiar place, a large underground grey room lit up by a couple of light orbs encased in the ceiling. I activate the intercom near the door and lean against the wall since my burns are starting to heal.

"Patrol Two is back, we are moderately wounded. We encountered an unknown dangerous threat and we need to report to the Matriarch as soon as possible."

The intercom cracks to life and a slightly distorted female voice answers, "Welcome home Patrol Two. I'll arrange a meeting with Alice as soon as possible; in the meantime, please proceed to the Med Bay."

I nod and the door leading out of the room opens, revealing a long corridor where dozens of similar rooms are lined up in a neat row. I support Steve and we head out, the other werewolves discussing in the corridor stop their conversation for a brief second once they notice our pitiful state and get out of our way.

We finally arrive at the Med Bay, and a woman in her twenties with shoulder-length brown hair wearing scrubs greets us with a smile, "We were expecting you, please follow me."

She guides us to two beds that we sit on; she examines me while another nurse takes care of Steve.

"Third degree burns all over the body… " she mumbles to herself while adjusting her glasses and keeps examining me.

"It's not as bad as it looks, so a quick healing spell with plenty of rest should be enough. I'm sorry, but it's going to hurt a little…" she looks apologetic as she raises her palms towards my torso and a circle of yellow light appears on her hands.

I know what to expect, as having any type of severe damage mended by a healing spell is not a pleasant experience, so I grit my teeth while the magic invades my body. I clench my fist while tears form at the corners of my eyes when my skin regenerates.

The agony only last for a minute according to the clock on the wall, but it sure felt a lot more than that for me. The nurse helps me lie down and I quickly fall asleep, completely exhausted by the intense fight against the Devil.