As a former citizen of the Lower City, Luke knew well that the neighborhood tended to be dominated by several distinct criminal factions, who also worked different types of services.
The Tournament of Legends had managed to distract well the watchful eyes of these people who control this region. Still, with the end of the competition, gradually, everything was starting to get back on its own road. Luke didn't mind this; after all, he knew that he could never again live in the shadows from the moment he won this competition; however, that didn't mean that he couldn't act in the shadows.
In the area where the southeast of the Lower City is divided from the northwest of the Middle City, in other words, the border of two social strata, there are many empty buildings and warehouses, bought by big tycoons and companies as a form of real estate speculation. In the end, the greed of these rich people turned the place into a ghost region during the night, when there is no movement of adventurers and the stores are closed.
To get to the Oukiwa sewer expansion that has been discontinued, Luke had to be cautious. The henchmen of a notorious criminal called 'Straw Hat' made regular patrols to ensure they would not be caught by surprise by an operation of City Guards, Adventurers or rival gangs.
Unlike before when Luke visited the 'Goat Tail' tavern, if Luke was spotted now and recognized, he had no doubt that the criminals would try to kill him because they think the half-wolf is after them.
"Hey, Edu..."
"What's up man? Can't you walk without opening your mouth?"
"You're very grumpy. Tell me, have you been in that new brothel that opened near the Dungeon in Midtown? Some friends told me that there are some students there. Do you want to go?"
The other man stopped, looked around for a moment and answered:
"Okay, but you'll pay for it, and no way do you want to do it in the same room as me like you did last time."
"Deal, promise made."
The two 'Straw Hat' men, standing on the street in front of the abandoned construction area, soon walked back and turned a corner to the left. Luke emerged from the shadows at that moment and jumped over the tall wooden fences without making a noise.
Immediately, he smelled traces of Alexis and Matthew in the air. In addition to the faint but existing odor, Luke found two pairs of footprints on the sandy ground.
'It is obvious that those two have indeed been here, but where did they go?' Luke asked himself.
On that night, the half-wolf's sense of smell was so keen that it practically formed a trail that he could follow with his eyes. So, he could tell that although his two friends had entered the wasteland, they didn't come back the same way.
Luke followed the tracks and found an open lid to the sewers. Jumping in without a second thought, he landed on dry ground, which made the sound of his landing reverberate through the dozens of paths that the tunnels formed.
The enclosure was dusty, and there was no water sign, not even through the pipes in the walls.
'Their smell is even stronger in here...'
If Luke's olfaction was more acute still, he could sense Matthew's fear of being completely in the dark.
For the half-wolf, the environment was not that dark, and for that reason, he naturally followed the scent of his friends. He walked very carefully to not make any noises, holding tightly to the bag in which he carried the Black Egg.
The underground sewage system was complex. The tunnels made sharp turns that connected to others, forming long paths and a confusing maze, but at no time did Luke think he would lose the trace he was following. Since the whole place had the specific smell of dust, it was not difficult to identify the distinctive smell of the S-Class, which was always smelly, nor the odor of Matthew, which indicated that he hadn't showered in a few days.
After a few minutes of walking, Luke heard the wind's whistling and felt that he was walking in the direction of a current of air. Only the wind made noise, and there were no rats in the place, yet the smell of Alexis and Matthew was getting stronger and stronger, so he continued on his way until he finally reached an open chamber.
The half-wolf came face to face with a vast empty chamber, where many tunnels were located. The main feature of the place worried the half-wolf a lot. There were clear marks of an intense battle in every chamber corner, whose walls were cracked by clear impacts, like the floor.
When Luke got closer to where Alexis and Matthew's scent was strongest. Strangely enough, as their trail grew stronger, they too disappeared and made a place for someone else's smell, which, although it was very faint, was still extremely recognizable to Luke.
'This is the smell of Yoelona... What the hell is that smell doing here?' he asked himself, his heart racing wildly.
Finding the scent of his Master in the place where his friends disappeared was such a thud to the half-beast, that he simply refused to believe it.
'No, no... It can't be... The things don't make sense. Why? Why would she do that? And how could Alexis have disappeared? She's a S-Class, she can't have been defeated.'
In the place where the scent of the half-dragon was most marked, there was a piece of red cloth with detailed stitching. At the moment, he recognized that that fragment was part of Alexis' skirt.
'If she was caught... how are we going to fight the First Servant? She is the strongest person I know.'
Luke was on his knees on the ground and had his back to the tunnel from which he had arrived.
Suddenly the half-wolf heard footsteps approaching slowly, nonchalantly.
This person's feet pushed up some dust, which Luke could hear perfectly falling, at the same time as his heart was racing like never before.
'Calm down... Calm down...' Luke tried to control himself. 'If it happens to be her, I will show that I do not depend solely on her teachings.' in his mind, the possibility that his own Master had kidnapped his friends was considerable, as well as the chance that she could have defeated an S-Class as well.
Then, Luke turned quickly and simultaneously summoned the Behemoth Axe, but his arms locked when he saw a boy with completely white eyes and not Yoelona.
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