Chapter 32 Underworld

Chapter 32 Underworld
"Walk with me," he offered as he reached her.

Andrea gave an apologetic smile to her audience and took his arm. They left the main hall for a long hallway. The hallway had a dim blue ambient light, which made every statue on both sides glow with an ethereal hue.

"Extra Technologies is planning an ambush for tomorrow," Gabriel started.

"Is that why you called me out here?" Andrea asked, her eyes narrowing as she let go of his arm and turned to stand in front of him.

"Is that not enough?" Gabriel asked back, avoiding her gaze.

Andrea stared back at him without a word.

Gabriel shrugged and playfully shoved her away, a smile graced Andrea's face and she skipped to join him again as they resumed their walk.

"Tell me about it," she requested.



The event soon came to an end.

"I'll take you there, but I'm not coming in," Andrea said as they headed out of the fancy hall.

"How about we go with Zina?" Lucia suggested. As soon as the words came out her lips, she regretted it.
If looks could kill, Andrea's would have gutted her a thousand times.

"I'll see you at home, then" Andrea smiled at Gabriel and gave Lucia another nasty glare.

Stunned, Gabriel watched as Andrea walked ahead of them and disappeared into the open parking lot.

"What just happened?" he asked, turning to Lucia, who could only give a helpless smile for an answer.

Fortunately, Zina seemed to see their plight and she offered to take them in her car. Gabriel was still confused but given that he had arrived with Zina, he had no other option.

"Fiona is slacking at her job," Lucia grumbled as they followed behind Zina to her car.

Gabriel did not comment. It was unrealistic to expect Fiona to prepare a car for all of them at an event she was not expecting to see them at in the first place.

They followed Zina in her car to Ophelia Hall.

Ophelia Hall was designed exactly like a colosseum on the outside, but inside, it was just a really large hall.

Right in the middle was a four-screened TV, each screen facing a direction so everyone could watch at the same time.

When they arrived, the party was just starting. Unlike what one would expect, there was no introduction or speeches, just people mingling.

Gabriel paused at the entrance. There was something off about the crowd he noticed. Despite their classy outfits and regal bearing, there was an undisciplined sway among them that attracted his attention.

"What is this?" he asked, leaning closer to Lucia.

"The part of Arclight the news will never talk about" Lucia grinned in response.

"It's a martial party, most people here are secretly or openly members of the Arclight underworld," Zina explained.

Hearing her explanation, Gabriel turned to give her an odd look. He understood why Lucia would be at a place like this but why was Zina?

"I'm still a Lynch," Zina shrugged.

Gabriel stared at her a second longer and solemnly nodded. For a brief moment, he'd felt the presence of Adam again.

"The games have started, let's go in." Lucia urged.

Gabriel followed as she pulled his arm into the hall. He noticed in another corner a very tall holographic pillar displaying names. At the very top was a name he couldn't be more familiar with.

"Andrea Zade" Zina muttered at catching sight of the name.

Since the first time she set foot in this event, that name had been dominating the list without anyone even threatening it. But year after year, Andrea would not even attend. In this space, she was a legend.

Zina glanced at Gabriel curiously wanting to see what his reaction would be to seeing something like this about Andrea. But Gabriel did not seem to think twice about it. He simply followed Lucia to a seat and awkwardly accepted the headphones he was given.

"So what's the deal with this place?" he asked Lucia after the Attendant left.

"It's all games" Lucia replied, her excitement still burning through the smile on her face.

"What's it about?" he asked again realizing that she was teasing him with information.

Lucia was even more impatient than he was. "Once a year, people of the underworld gather here to play a game called Ghost fighting. It challenges the mind and imagination. So basically, when two people are paired, you simulate a fight with words. The big screen will display a virtual battle for everyone else to watch but you and your opponent will have to turn away from the screen. The battle must take place only in your minds"

The lengthy explanation was straightforward but Gabriel still struggled to understand the practicality or purpose behind such an event.

"What's the point?" he asked curiously.

Lucia paused and her smile turned warm.
"There's no point Gabriel. This is human" she gestured with her hands at the crowd around them.

Gabriel paused and looked around, taking in the sights of people merrily chatting and drinking.

"Interesting" he muttered.

"So everyone gets a placement. The battles will begin soon, and I'll whoop your ass." Lucia grinned cheekily and downed a shot of vodka.

Gabriel shook his head in response; Lucia was always wild. He was never close with her but he very much enjoyed her presence.

The screen turned blue and then words appeared, accompanied by a slightly raspy voice.

"Welcome, everyone, to the Annual Arclight Ghost Games. Pairing will now begin"

There was a loading image on the screen which soon changed to numbers.

'234 vs 326'

Gabriel watched the screen as two animated figures appeared on it, standing within arm's length of each other.

"The arena," Gabriel noticed, and turned to Lucia for an explanation.

"It's random." she shrugged.

The animated arena had a hazardous environment. The two figures were s
tanding on a rock island surrounded by magma all around.

"Fist punch to face," a voice resounded through