As Corey descended down the transparent slide, his senses heightened, alert to every detail of his surroundings. The smooth surface of the slide glided beneath him, cool against his skin, as he descended into the unknown depths below.

The environment around him shifted from the dimly lit interior of the taxi to an eerie, otherworldly darkness. Colors swirled around him, vivid hues of indigo and violet dancing in the shadows, casting strange, shifting patterns against the walls of the slide. Corey's light blue and deep violet eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness, scanning the surroundings with a keen gaze.

The air around him grew cooler as he descended deeper, carrying with it a faint scent of ozone and mystery. Strange whispers echoed in the abyss, faint murmurs that seemed to tease at the edges of his consciousness, hinting at secrets hidden in the depths below.

'What are these murmurs I'm hearing?'

Corey frowned as he heard these strange murmurs which was enough to cause and bring about disorientation and hallucinations to an average tier 2 or even tier 3.

'Is it a defense mechanism or am I being targeted?' Corey briefly contemplated this thought, and then he shrugged. 'Doesn't matter. Whatever they throw at me, I'll just outsmart it or destroy it.'

As Corey continued his descent, the slide twisted and turned, winding its way through the darkness like a serpent through the night. Strange symbols and sigils flashed by, etched into the walls of the slide with an otherworldly glow, with most of their meanings lost to Corey's understanding.

Although he could not understand most of the symbols and sigils, he made sure to at least take a glance at most of the symbols and sigils.

Time went by, and Corey looked down, then he looked up. He saw neither Divine nor the taxi driver, though he could sense both their presence.

'How long does this slide go on for? It's been over two minutes by now.'

Despite the uncertainty of his surroundings, Corey remained composed, his mind sharp and focused on the task at hand. With each passing moment, he grew more determined to confront whatever challenges lay ahead in the depths below.

Approximately three minutes later, Corey saw a bright light appear some meters away from him, and he exhaled a sigh of relief.

"Finally."

Corey readied himself, and a few seconds later, he got to the light.

His pupils instantly adjusted to the light, then a second later, his eyes widened to the limit, and he cursed out loud.

"Fucking hell!"

In front of Corey was a vast amount of liquid. The liquid had a dirty yellow color, and bubbles formed and popped at completely random times.

Not only did the yellow liquid have an ominous appearance, the pungent smell it gave off was so terrible that it could ward off even the worst flies.

The smell was what made Corey curse out loud, and he could not help but reflexively cover his nose due to the terrible smell.

He had never smelt something so terrible, and he could not help but wonder how he did not perceive such a terrible smell while he was on the slide. Nor did he understand why his Ears of Omniscience did not hear the sound of the bubbles even when he got to the end of the slide.

'Was it the runes?'

Corey wondered as he fell and got closer and closer to the pungent yellow liquid.

Despite his situation, he calmly assessed his surroundings, and he realized that his surroundings were akin to a sewer. After taking a glance at his surroundings, he raised his brows slightly, and with a thought, lightning sparks appeared on his body.

'Thunder Step'

'Focus'

Corey's pupils constricted, and the instant his feet touched the pungent yellow liquid,

Clap!

A loud thunderclap resounded, and Corey disappeared. A bright flash filled the environment, and a curse immediately followed.

"What the fuck man?! Do you want to destroy my eardrums?!"

Divine's familiar voice filled the air, which was then followed by a cough.

"Fucking hell. I hate this smell."

Divine cursed out loud once again, and Corey, who landed beside Divine, glanced at him. He noticed that around Divine's nose was a tiny orange flame, and Corey guessed that Divine was using the flame to burn away the smell.

Although it sounded simple, Corey knew it was not, and the level of control Divine had over his flames must be exceptional.

Corey did not have the ability to manipulate flames, so instead, he did the next best thing.

He brought out a face towel and then tied it around his nose. Although it wasn't the best, it significantly alleviated the suffering he went through because of the smell.

Divine looked at the face towel around Corey's nose, and then he looked at his flame.

The thought of doing something as simple as using a cloth to cover his nose never came to his mind. His first thought was to use his flames, and after seeing Corey's actions, he felt that maybe he went overboard?

Divine scratched his head, and with a shrug, he looked around.

"I never knew there was a place like this in the Underworld."

Divine spoke with his voice containing a tinge of awe. As he kept on observing their surroundings, Divine's expression changed, and his expression twisted to one of disgust.

"Wait. Don't tell me we're actually in the sewers."

"Yes, you are."

Just as Divine spoke, a familiar voice flowed into Corey's and Divine's ears, and they both turned to their left.

Emerging from a human-sized hole in the wall to their left was the taxi driver, who wore a respirator.

Divine and Corey glanced at the respirator on the face of the taxi driver, and Divine could not help but question out loud:

"You couldn't tell us we'd need a mask? And why didn't you allow us to pass where you passed?"

The taxi driver chuckled, and with a nonchalant shrug, he replied:

"I knew somebody like you won't need the mask."

The taxi driver glanced at the tiny flame in front of Divine's nose, and then he glanced at Corey. A tinge of surprise flashed in his eyes when he noticed Corey's spotless figure.

'His reflexes must be good I guess.'

The taxi driver thought indifferently, and then he shifted his gaze back to Divine.

"Only official employees of my workplace can use the path I used to get here. If you also used it, we'd all die."

The taxi driver replied, and then he started walking.

"Let's go. We need to meet my boss, then you can safely leave the central area."

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