Underground Hoorn

Drip... drip...

In a wet and dark corridor with sounds of water rushing in the distance, someone was sneaking around in the shadow. The person's eyes glowed yellow as they traversed down the sewer, going deeper and deeper, away from the reach of the outside world.

Rats and cockroaches scurried away as the person approached. The high-pitched noise that the rodents made echoed in the passageway as they moved their tiny feet hastily. The rancid smell that the cockroaches released almost masked the damp and rotten stench of the sewer itself.

Holding a mirror in the left hand in front of their face, the person began talking to the reflection in it.

"Love, how are you doing?" it was the voice of a woman who sounded calm but genuinely worried.

"I'm good, gorgeous. We will get through this," replied the 'woman' in the mirror.

There was a smile on the woman's face as she put the mirror back inside the black coat that she was wearing. The black coat that seemed to have been clean before was now full of dirt and stains. Visible wrinkles were also dotting its surface, indicating that it had gone through a lot.

The woman had been walking in the sewer for hours and fatigue began showing on her face. Her lips were dry and chapped, with a faint sign of wiped lipstick on them. Her beautiful face wasn't showing its utmost grace because of the veil of exhaustion.

The more she walked, the stronger the foul stench of the sewer that penetrated her nose. It reminded her of the putrid odor coming from rotten eggs.

She suddenly slowed down her pace. Far in the distance, she could see a figure of a person. She couldn't see exactly what the person was doing, but she knew there was someone there.

"I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare my presence a secret!"

A thin, yellowish mist descended and covered her whole being, hiding her from detection. Quietly, she approached the figure with curiosity and cautiousness. It seemed to have been hours since she last saw another human being since her face showed joy and expectation mixed with suspicion.

As she got closer and closer, the figure became clearer and clearer. It was a man with a lean and tall body wearing a black t-shirt and dark-colored denim pants. His tight-fitting t-shirt defined his toned build. It seemed that the man could easily defend himself in case he was attacked, judging from his stance and his muscles.

The woman appeared to have recognized the man, judging from her expression. However, she didn't reveal herself yet, but stayed in the shadow, observing the man. The man looked like he was sniffing around looking for something. He raised his face and inhaled deeply. After that, he crouched down to get closer to the small stream of water running beside him and began sniffing the fetid sewer water.

Sniff! Sniff!

He took a lot of deep breaths to get as much as the smell into his nose and there was a joyful look on his face.

The woman raised her eyebrow, but it didn't seem that she was feeling weirded out. It was strange what the man was doing indeed, but to her, it was probably not the strangest thing a person had done. With a chant, she removed her Shroud of Secrecy and spoke.

"That's a strange habit you have there, Lucas," she said jeeringly.

Surprised, the man stood up and got into a fighting stance. He then saw who was speaking and suspicion showed on his face.

"Stay right there and answer my question! Are you the real Eveline?!" his voice reflected anger and frustration.

It was apparent that the moment the woman made a sudden move, the man wouldn't hesitate to attack her, so she stayed where she was.

"The real Eveline? Or not... Argh!" her head began pounding as she started thinking about the question. It felt like something was preventing her from getting the right information out of her head.

Lucas didn't let down his guard. He knew how devious the woman in front of him could be. On top of that, he had just been betrayed by a man he trusted, so he wouldn't trust anyone related to the mayor that easily.

"I... don't know. My head has been throbbingly painful whenever I think about my identity. But I'm still beautiful, right, Lucas?" her voice was breathy as she returned to her seductive self.

"Stop it, Eveline. You know I'm also a Romancer. Your tricks won't work. Now tell me, why are you here?"

He didn't let her get closer. His voice stayed stern and domineering.

"I'm in hiding, duh, if you can't see yet. And judging from your action, Hank has struck you with his cane?" she suddenly became cold and mockery filled her voice.

"And that's not the only thing he did, that backstabbing bastard. Now I can't even go look for my wife because of this 'sickness' he inflicted upon me,"

Lucas took another deep breath and inhaled the hellish smell of the sewer.

"Look for your wife? Did he kidnap your family? How did you know it was him?" she asked suspiciously, looking down on Lucas who was crouching near the stream.

The man got up and sniffed his palms that had been touching the sewer floor. He didn't seem to want to let even a sliver of the odor escape him.

"I just know, and I fought him! That's how I got this sickness! And the fucker managed to get away! Once I'm done here, I'll go look for my family," he sniffed his palms one more time before cleaning them.

Dash!

He suddenly charged towards Eveline and pinned her down to the wall, obstructing her escape. His nails suddenly grew long and sharp, like the claws of a bear.

After overcoming the initial shock, a smile surfaced on Eveline's face.

"I wonder why you didn't just kill Hank while you had the chance. With your invisibility and your claws, it should have been easy," she chuckled as her own nails grew longer.

"If I had wanted to kill him, he would have been dead. I needed to weaken him enough to interrogate him, but that bastard was too cunning. Now tell me, where is the hidden place where you and that man often go to. And what are you guys doing there?"

"*Chuckle* Do you think I'll betray Hank for your little family, Lucas?" she looked at him condescendingly.

His grip over her neck became tighter and his nails sank into her flesh, causing blood to come out. Eveline, however, didn't try to stab him since it would do nothing but slightly injure the man who was stronger than her. Besides, she knew that he needed her alive, so he wouldn't kill her.

"If you value your life, you should. And why would you still protect the bastard? I'm sure right now he is having sex with your replacement. The whole thing must surely be his plan, don't you think? But I know you don't," he replied mockingly.

Anger surfaced on Eveline's face.

"I dare you to repeat what you said, you whoreson!"

Grab!

Eveline tried to stab the man in anger but he grabbed her right hand with his left hand and held it in place. The man then used his knee to pin down her left hand to the wall, immobilizing it.

"Don't you even try!" his grip got even tighter, choking her. When he saw that she was in pain, he loosened his grip a little. "Now answer me, where is it?!" he sounded restless like he was in dire need of something and he needed it soon.

As doubt grew even stronger inside her heart, she began thinking about the truth behind the man's words. What if it was indeed the mayor that had orchestrated the whole thing. She could choose to protect him, but the fact that he didn't even believe her back during the impostor incident broke her heart and hurt her a lot. Especially the way he looked down on her like she was some kind of worthless insect.

"Let go of me first and I'll tell you. You're hurting me!"

Lucas tightened his grip.

"Not in a million years. You tell me first, then I'll let you go," his voice was cold and demanding.

"Okay! Okay! It's in Hoogland! Under the abandoned mansion owned by Bjergsen!" she answered desperately as she was running out of breath, "You should have already suspected the area, right!"

The grip around her neck was loosened as Lucas quickly let go of her. She could finally breathe normally now. Eveline took a deep breath and felt that blood began flowing into her head again.

Meanwhile, Lucas retreated to a distance and crouched near the stream, inhaling as much rotten stench as he could. His twisted expression gradually became normal as his restlessness faded away.

Not wanting to have anything else to do with the man, Eveline took the chance to run away. She went in the other direction and then turned to the deepest and darkest part of the sewer, following the flow of water that had merged into a bigger underground stream. The loud noise of the water rushing masked the sounds of the high heels that she was wearing.

Lucas didn't seem to care about the escaping woman as he kept on sniffing the smell of the sewer.

The sewer floor started going downhill, so Eveline had to tread carefully. The slippery floor and her high heels were not a good match, after all. Everything was pitch black around her, but thanks to her Night Vision, she could see things in shades of yellow outlining the objects.

"Love, what do you think about what Lucas just said?" she asked her reflection in the hand mirror.

The 'Eveline' in the mirror tapped her lips as if thinking.

"I think he has a point, dear. Why else would Hank not help you back then?" she said, in a higher pitch than her. The reflection's voice was much calmer but there was still a sign of fatigue in it.

"Yes, 'dear'. The mayor must have been the one pulling the strings from behind the scene, teeheee..." suddenly came the voice of a man from the darkness ahead of her. Through her eyes, she could see the yellow figure of the man walking towards her from the distance.

She was surprised since she hadn't felt anyone's presence so far. The man's sudden appearance alarmed her. She grew her nails rapidly and got into a defensive position.

The man that was approaching her slowly was wearing glasses. His body was thin, and he looked just like a normal peddler that she could find in the streets. His shirt was tucked neatly and the cotton pants he was wearing had no wrinkles. However, the smile on the man's face unsettled her.

"Relax, darling. I'm just here to help, heheheheheee..." the man's creepy laughter echoed in the dark sewer.

...

It was very early in the morning at around six o'clock. Valentine Hymes woke up in his hotel room feeling refreshed, although he could still subtly feel the soreness of several spots in his body. He got up and opened the curtain to see the morning view from his hotel.

Outside, the fog was still covering the land. However, it wasn't as thick as the previous night. The low hanging fog also didn't cover the bright morning sky up above. The sun was shining beautifully, casting its warm light upon the foggy land.

The morning air felt fresh. Valentine inhaled deeply to get as much air as possible and then exhaled slowly. At that moment, he felt lucky to still be alive.

"How's your progress, G? I don't mind staying here longer, so you don't need to rush," he muttered joyfully.

Valentine went to the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth. He hated going out with dragon's breath, so he always did so even while knowing he would have breakfast later. Once he was done, he returned to the bedroom and got dressed.

The hotel room was warm because of the radiator, but he knew that it would be very cold outside, so he put on a t-shirt and a green sweater with a picture of a red tree on it. He also put on a pair of denim pants and his favorite leather jacket. After that, he equipped all of his weaponry that was still covered in mysterious yellowish mists. The cane was one of the things he would carry today since he really liked its effect and the fact that it was almost indestructible.

"Let's check out that abandoned mansion that you got from the mayor's memory today. If that bodyguard managed to find a clue to its location, he should also be there looking for his family. We can then use illusion on him while maybe freeing those prisoners they are holding there,"

He left his hotel room and locked the door behind him. After that, he went down to the lobby to find Stefan, since he needed to know about the area before going in.

"Good morning, Mr. Hymes!" came a friendly sound of greeting from behind the reception desk just as he took a step on the first floor.

"Good morning, Stefan," he replied and looked around the lobby.

There were not as many people as last night, and almost all of the present individuals there were knocked out cold, probably from overdrinking. Their faces were still red and there were empty bottles with dead snakes in them. Sounds of snoring filled the room, but Stefan didn't seem to mind.

Since it was none of his business, he didn't ask either. He was not a busybody like Graham.

"Stefan, what can you tell me about Hoogland?"

Being not a local himself, he tried to recall his memory. After a while, the young receptionist and manager finally answered.

"Based on what I've heard and learned about this city, Hoogland is on the highest elevation here and it's surrounded by gorges, so there is only one entrance. It's a gated community where not everyone can enter. Only the richest and the most influential people live there. I'm sure the mayor is one of them," he said, sounding like a textbook reader.

"Have you been there? Is it easy to enter? While here, I want to enjoy every corner of the city, and it would be a shame to miss Hoogland,"

"In fact, I haven't, Mr. Hymes. My father has, however. I think as long as you can prove that you have been invited by someone from inside, you are allowed to enter," he smiled awkwardly while scratching the back of his head.

"I see," Valentine then looked over his shoulder, "Not that it matters to us, G. We can just stealth our way inside," then turned back to Stefan, "Thank you for your help,"

"You're welcome, Mr. Hymes!" he smiled wildly and proudly.

Valentine then walked towards the main doors of the hotel after smiling back.