Nether Sovereign Reborn

Chapter 4

"Eh? Why is nothing happening?" Lux asked, his face an expression of total confusion, if you could look past his mask, that is.

"Maybe you should try again?" Lilith said, the confusion in her tone evident.

"Sure... Totem Link...

Totem Link...

TOTEM LINK!!!

Why is it not working?" Lux, at this point, was devastated.

The silence from the crowd wasn't helping. Never in his life had he faced this level of disappointment and embarrassment.

"Your totem didn't even manifest," Lilith muttered in a low tone.

"Are you really a totem wielder?" Lilith continued, looking at Lux with an inquisitive gaze.

"How would I know? I didn't even know what totems were until I met Ms. Elenore, who said I was a totem wielder," Lux replied. Turning around, he walked down the stage.

The alliance members looked at him—some with pity, some with condescending gazes, and some indifferent.

"Matriarch Raizen, I have embarrassed myself. I will take my leave now," Lux said, his tone a bit shaky.

He straightened his back and walked out of the hall with confident, large strides.

"Good thing I wore a mask..."

___

**Raizen Alliance Underground Dungeon**

Three silhouettes could be seen within a prison cell.

They sat in a circle, with two staring intently at one.

"Ummm... Twilight, when do we move?" one of the silhouettes finally muttered in a low voice.

"Change of plans, boys. We have a second target. A named appeared. Danzai—you're in charge of making contact with the named. I'll make contact with the Raizen heiress. Aurmir... wreck havoc," Twilight, who had been the center of attention, said after a slight moment of hesitation.

"Eh? A named?" Aurmir and Danzai asked in unison.

"Yup, a named. And you, Danzai, are in charge of him.

Since you seemed so eager to start the operation, you will handle the anomaly," Twilight said, a mischievous grin flashing across his face for a brief second, but long enough for Danzai and Aurmir to notice.

"What's the plan?" the slightly muscular Aurmir asked as he stood up slowly.

"First, we break out of these cuffs. Second, Danzai gets my blade. Third, we proceed with our designated missions," Twilight responded.

_Clink, clink, clink._

"Objective one accomplished, yayy," Danzai's cheerful voice came from the side.

Aurmir and Twilight looked at their initially cuffed hands with a speechless expression.

"As expected of the ex-convict among us... tsk," Twilight muttered under his breath.

"Yo, Aurmir, my good man, we need a door."

"Sure..."

_Bang, boom._

As if he had been waiting for that statement, Aurmir sent a kick toward the cell door, ripping it apart from its hinges.

"Great kick, man," Danzai said, raising his thumb in acknowledgment.

_Riiiiinnnnnggggggg._

"ALL UNITS, PRISON BREAK ON FLOOR TWELVE. PRISONER GRADE: CLASS S - COMPLETELY DANGEROUS. ALL AVAILABLE PERSONNEL SHOULD AID THE RECAPTURE OF THE ESCAPEES."

"Noisy..." Twilight muttered, waving his hand at the radio speaker hanging on the wall of the twelfth floor.

"Oiiiii, Twilight, I've seen your blade and knocked out some lazy guards in the process," Danzai's energetic voice came from the end of the twelfth floor's hallway.

"Bring it. Let's move. We need to finish up before they can react," Twilight shouted back as he started running toward the elevator, catching up with Aurmir midway.

"Set destination: first floor," Twilight said as he walked into the elevator.

Aurmir, who had been waiting, nodded slightly before hitting the close button.

_Whoosh, bang._

"You bloody bastards, send me to the farthest edge and then abandon me?" Danzai, who barely made it through the gaps of the already closing elevator doors, cursed out loud.

"I had faith in you," Twilight said, a slight smile appearing on his face.

"Faith your balls! Believe me when I say your mother had faith she'd have a daughter when she had you... #@%&¤%%&#"

_Ding._

The chime of the elevator reaching its destination finally brought an end to Danzai's rain of profanities.

"Sword," Twilight stated, his tone calm and cold.

Danzai passed him the blade he had been holding.

"Opening in 3... 2... 1."

_Ding._

"Well... hello, everyone... hehe," Danzai said, followed by a rather awkward chuckle.

A team of fully kitted men waiting at the entrance to the elevator greeted the trio as soon as the elevator door opened.

"We are cosplayers, as you can see," Danzai said, his tone confident and full of energy, leaving the team of Raizen Alliance warriors dumbfounded.

They did look like they were part of some cosplay set, though.

Twilight donned a pair of white boots, white pants, a white shirt, a fully buttoned white overcoat, and a white oni mask with red trimmings, topped up with the white Tachi with a golden dragon-carved sheath in his left hand, giving off the vibe of some ancient demon HR bladesman.

Aurmir, on the other hand, was dressed in a very simple manner: worn-out brown pants, a patched-up brown overcoat, and a golden warrior's helmet with two horns protruding at the sides, leaving his chest bare. The overall get-up was nothing short of nightmare-inducing, considering his tall, muscular build.

And there was Danzai. The only thing that could be seen on him was the oversized mage's robe with astral patterns sewn into it, topped up with a clown mask.

They did look like a complete clown show.

"Oh, how I miss the light. Inside that dungeon is so damn dark," Aurmir muttered as he looked around.

"Which dungeon? Don't mind my rust bucket friend here. He doesn't know what he's saying. We'll be on our way," Danzai said, waving Aurmir off before dragging Twilight's arm and pulling him through the team of Raizen Alliance soldiers.

"Get them!!!" Only then did the leader of the Raizen Alliance team snap back to his senses and order the rest to attack.

"Aurmir, in your hands I commit their mortal bodies!! We're off," Danzai said, stuffing his hand beneath his robes. He took out a spherical object.

_Clink, pffftttttt._

"Astalavista, suckers! Hahaha," Danzai yelled amidst laughter as the spherical object he threw on the ground emitted thick smoke.

"Dang it, some of you chase after the two that escaped! The rest of you, join me. Let's take down this one," the man who was leading the charge yelled as he turned his attention back to Aurmir, who was standing right in front of the elevator.

"Oh, you're ready to fight me now," Aurmir said, his voice barely audible.

"Alright then. Let me see how long the Raizen Alliance members will last...

ARISE IN BLOOD... TOTEM!!"

___

"He went this way! Get him, quickly."

Lux, who was walking down the hallway, had his destination: out of the Raizen villa, which he had obviously gotten lost in.

After leaving the talent testing hall, Lux decided that he had overstayed his welcome and wanted to leave. Unfortunately, with Elenore still in the testing hall, he got lost after a few turns.

He was aimlessly walking around, hoping that he would miraculously bump into the exit, but of course, life doesn't work that way.

He was on the billionth corridor that led to absolutely nowhere when he heard the clamour of Raizen Alliance soldiers behind him.

He was turning to know what was happening when a speeding silhouette bumped into him, forcing him to face forward.

As soon as the figure bumped into him, everything seemed to be going in slow motion.

Lux raised his head to look at the figure that bumped into him, just in time to see a clown mask and an oversized robe.

Danzai stared at Lux for a few seconds before blitzing forward.

"Totem... manifest," Danzai muttered in a low tone, barely audible enough for Lux to hear.

A gust of wind suddenly materialized, pushing Danzai down the corridor and out of Lux's line of sight.

"Eh? Clowns? In this century?" Lux's confusion was evident by the look on his face.

___

"Copy, do you read me, Twilight? Title: Whispering Blade has successfully completed his part of the mission. Currently retreating to rendezvous point. Over," Twilight spoke into the walkie-talkie in his hand as he stood inside a large bedroom.

___

"Aurmir. Title: Crimson Knight has successfully completed his mission. Over," Aurmir stood in the middle of bodies screaming in pain. He held the hilt of a crimson great sword with one hand and his walkie-talkie in the other.

___

"Yoooooo, Danzai here. Title: Ungodly Sage has glamorously completed his mission and is currently dancing through enemy ranks while under flashy pursuit. Over," Danzai, who had a mini army of Raizen Alliance soldiers hot on his tails, spoke into his walkie-talkie as he wove through different corridors.

___

_Thud._

Exhausted, Lux slumped down on his average-sized bed, in his average-sized room, with average interior decor.

"After going to the Raizen Manor, I'm suddenly made aware of how poor my living conditions are," Lux muttered in a depressing tone.

"I'll just take a quick shower and have a well-deserved nap. I've been through too much within the past two days," Lux muttered as he took off the black overcoat he was putting on.

_Clank._

Just as he was about to hang it, a cellphone fell out of the coat pocket and landed on the ground.

"Huh?"

Lux picked up the phone and, after scrutinizing it, turned it on.

"This seems like a restricted-dial burner phone, entitled to just dial one number alone, and the number is already saved. When did this end up with me?" Lux was a bit confused after operating the phone for a few minutes.

"Or could it be..."

The realization suddenly dawned on him. A clown mask kept resurfacing at the back of his mind.

"It couldn't be... right? Guess there's only one way to find out."

And of course, curiosity got the best of Lux.

_Beep, beep... beep, beep._

"What mask?" a calm tone came from the phone speaker, sending a chill down Lux's spine.

"What mask did you see?" the cold and calm voice came again from the speaker.

"A clown mask?" Lux replied after a moment of hesitation.

"I have some information that may help you with your totem, but I also have a proposal for you. If you want to know more, meet me at Pier 7, Royal Bay docks, by 9 p.m. Come alone and make sure no one is following you. Don't disappoint me... I'll be waiting."

_Beeppppp._

Lux exhaled as soon as the beep to signify the end of the call rang out.

"It wasn't an accident. My encounter with the clown wasn't a coincidence," Lux muttered, his brain going haywire.

"Now the question is... do I go or do I not go..." Lux muttered. He was in a dilemma and genuinely at a loss about what his next course of action would be.

"Scrap that. First things first, I need to take a bloody hot shower," Lux muttered before making his way to his bathroom.

___

"Young master Davon, the boy named Lux has finally returned to his apartment. What are your orders?" Regal's voice reverberated through the room.

Davon, who was reading a book, raised his head and nodded slightly.

"Monitor his movements. Find a good chance to eliminate him. His existence can cause unforeseen errors in my plans. Since logical discussions didn't work with the Raizen heiress, emotional leverage has become unavoidable. She pays too much attention to the Lux boy," Davon's cold voice resounded through the room.

"Order received, young master..."

"Sigh... If war is what is needed to bring peace to this world, then violence shall be my mercy," Davon muttered before focusing back on his book.

___

**8:58 p.m., Pier 7, Royal Bay Docks**

"And in the end, here I am," Lux said in a soft tone, exhaling in exasperation.

"I'm either up for an enlightenment session, or I applied for the 'available for adoption' course... and paid in full," Lux let out a sigh. The sound of chains clanking and the smell of seawater added tension to the air.

After taking a shower, Lux tried to sleep, but he couldn't. Flashbacks of the battle between Lumiere and Elenore kept replaying in his head.

In the end, he put on a black hoodie, a pair of black pants, and a pair of black sneakers with red trimmings before hailing a taxi to drop him off at Royal Bay docks.

"Eager. That's good," a calm voice reverberated through the surroundings.

Lux unconsciously shivered as he felt a chill run down his spine. The voice was all too familiar. It was the voice from the other end of the call.

Turning around slowly, he saw a figure wearing a black oni mask with red trimmings.

The figure wore a black shirt, black pants, and a pair of black corporate shoes.

The only thing on him that wasn't black was the white Tachi that was sheathed in a white sheath with golden dragon carvings.

The figure bowed slightly, his right palm on his chest and his left arm behind his back.

"You can call me Twilight.

Though some prefer to call me by the title Whispering Blade...

The smart ones... choose none."