"Very strategic... Despite the fact that the artificial river flowing through Gorun City is rather small due to the limits of the terraforming works, this is an ideal place for smugglers, slavers and other criminals' to hide. After all, who would check to ensure that the number of pa.s.sengers and boxes on every boat or vessel is exactly as per the bill of lading? Especially if those people had already been bought off..."

Lars whispered to himself, appreciating the location of what he a.s.sumed was one of the enemies' headquarters - though he was also quite certain that they wouldn't reveal all of their cards, and this was probably just one of the many major hideouts of the Laughing Man.

And when Lars came near the base of the stairs, he saw a large, circular sewage outlet, big enough for 3 horse carts to enter side by side.

'Sewer pipes huh... More like smuggling outlet...' Lars commented as he deduced the purpose of this pa.s.sageway. He waited for a minute and a half as he tried to discern what was in the pitch black culvert. He squinted and attempted to look into the darkness but found that even his Infra and Night Vision could not pierce the darkness.

'Either it'stoo dark or...'

Lars then tentatively extended his spiritual sense, using the lightest touch of his spirit to scout out the area of the sewage pipe. True enough, from the moment he extended his spirit senses to cross the mouth of the sewage pipe, all he sensed was blankness, a void.

'So that's what you meant... Thanks Kizorik, I wouldn't have noticed it without you. It's clearly the right place. Though I seriously wonder - was it always their intention for us to find this way? Or was there another place that we were supposed to meet them at?' Lars couldn't help but voice out his curiosity, but finally just shrugged as he slowly entered the cavernous sewage pipe.

Kizorik was quiet for just a short moment before he seemed to worriedly reply, 'Kiddo... Be careful, alright...? I have a bad feeling about this place... Something... Smells off. I can't quite put my finger... I mean, nose on just what it is but... Yeah. And I know you care about your friends, and I do too - but please keep yourself safe. I'm counting on you, m'kay?'

'Yup, buddy, we'll definitely save Seline and Charley then get out of here quickly. After all, I don't think even Duke Leanne is necessarily my match anymore, what more this leader of the local thugs! And once we're settled with this, let's travel back to Earth... And find out the truth about your past, and the history of the Demon-Hunting Arts Founder!'

'....Okay. Just... Just be careful! Okay?!?'

'Okay okay! I got it already!' As Lars spoke, he decided to allocate some of his mana to defence pre-emptively. Though he didn't expect much trouble here, it didn't hurt to prepare early, right?

And so he covered his body in numerous defensive spells and stepped one foot into the sewage pipe...

And immediately found himself in an entirely different place - in the middle of an immense, high-ceiling warehouse that was brightly lit, so bright it looked like it was suddenly high-noon...

In the middle of a cage, submerged underwater!

"Glurg glurgg glurgg!!" (What the f***! Is that any way to receive your guests that you're going to blackmail for money?!?)

'Shut up and save your breath kiddo, and get us out of here!'

As Lars cast his gaze about, he realised that he was in a cage constructed of solid cylindrical bars, a container about 10 feet cube in measurements. The cage was suspended from the air and immersed in a large body of water on one side of the large warehouse - most likely a section of the river bordering the building.

And through the running waters, Lars could make out the figures of several men training weapons at him in the cage such as bows, wands or crossbows. He held his breath and waited for the attacks to begin, but when he saw that none of the men were making any move to fire, he was puzzled and drifted over to the bars slowly to see if they would react.

But instead of opening fire, the blurry figures parted way for a lone and scrawny looking man to walk up to the water's edge. He saw the man wave his hand; immediately after, the cage began to rise up out of the water inch by inch, taking nearly 60 seconds to rise enough for Lars' head to break the waters and for him to catch his breath.

The moment his head breached the surface, he caught sight of his captors and their leader. A gang of black-clad men, looking to be experts in combat and well-coordinated, led by a man in a mask painted with the visage of a laughing man!

"Greetings, young lad! Congratulations on your glorious win in the Gorun City tournament! It is my pleasure to invite you here today for some... Business dealings. I trust you managed to find this place easily enough with your worth capabilities...?" Lars felt as if though the Laughing Man were smiling behind the mask as he spoke like a congenial host - though whether that were truly the case, only the crime lord himself would know.

"Why, thank you so much! Yes, though it was a very interesting journey to find your secretive location. Yes, may I a.s.sume that I have the pleasure of speaking to the Lord and Ruler of the Underworld of Gorun City, the great Laughing Man himself...?" Lars probed, forced to ask as he could not ascertain the ident.i.ty of the speaker, as the Laughing Man was an elusive and secretive person who no one had met and lived to leak his ident.i.ty! Even Susano himself had confessed that every time he met the Laughing Man, he, she or it seemed to be a different person entirely - whether in terms of height, att.i.tude, size or aura!

The masked man nodded enthusiastically and spread his hands while he bowed slightly, looking like a humble and magnanimous host, causing his billowy black robes to flutter as if though there were a wind in the enclosed warehouse. This was contrasted by the taciturn and silent men surrounding him, also decked out in black leather gear with their weapons locked on to Lars.

"Yes, yes! It is I, though I am too lowly to be of any importance... Why, it is MY pleasure to meet such a glittering genius such as yourself!" A sinister gaze could be felt through the eye slits of the crime lord's mask, leaving his words as empty as tin cans clanging together.

"I'm intrigued... Pleased and intrigued! And also... Fascinated by how daring you are to come alone. I had thought that you would certainly inform at least your master Lord Mikael and that child Boa or the worm Susano before coming here... Unexpectedly, you really didn't reach out to any of them and came alone! How brave!"

He paused a tick and added, "...And how naively foolish... I would have been more than pleased to host a welcome more than suited for such a worthy guest as your master... Kehahahaha!"

Smiling laxly and seeming to share in his host's mirth, Lars chuckled in reply, playing along with the act as the cage rose enough such that half his body was now exposed to the cold air, causing him to s.h.i.+ver slightly.

"Thank you, thank you! I am honoured once more to be regarded so highly! I have been called many things, and naively foolish is also one of those! It's too bad those who've considered me as such are already no longer in this world, while I still live! Muahahahah!!" Lars' sharp gaze shot daggers at his opponent even as he gave as good as he got, but he could sense that the Laughing Man was not even slightly disturbed by his jibe.

Lars then continued as the clanking of pulleys and gears resounded as the cage was raised out of the waters. "Anyway, this is certainly a "colder" welcome than I had expected...! And forgive me if I cut to the chase..."

His eyes slowly narrowed into an intense stare as he slowly and deliberately spoke his question, "What is your intention capturing my friends and asking me to come here?"

His question was met by silence, broken only by the continuing sounds of the gears turning, which finally ended with a solid BANG! when the cage reached the maximum height of the pulley mechanism. Then without any signal or apparent action being taken, the bars of the cage liquefied before Lars' eyes forming an opening for him to exit from.

"Follow me and you'll find out. I have a proposition for you and your master... Don't worry - your friends are fine... Though I can't guarantee their safety if you don't cooperate..."

The masked leader of the Underworld then beckoned for Lars to come out and follow him, then quickly turned and walked away while the men around him kept their weapons aimed at Lars.

Shrugging, the boy jumped out of the cage, over the waters and landed on the ground 15 metres away to follow his "captor" and find out what he wanted.