~ Netherworld ~

Zaki was sitting in his Asura Skeleton Throne with his eyes closed. He looked like he was sound asleep.

There was a crease on his forehead as he kept on thinking about the previous incidents in the Netherworld.

Many absurd things kept on happening. The book of death was actively changing the time of death of some people.

He was so stressed these past few days and his mood didn't improve. Other grim reapers were avoiding visiting his sacred hall, afraid that they would suffer from Zaki's wrath.

They knew the consequences if they further pissed their moody supreme leader. It was better to avoid seeing him.

But some still suffered from scolding. They were the grim reapers who had something to report to him. They had no choice but to see Zaki in his ugly mood.

Failure to report on time also meant punishment. Zaki was merciless when punishing grim reapers especially if he was in a bad mood.

Zaki remained still in his seat when one of the elite grim reapers who was assigned to capture the dark soul sought his presence.

He went back to report the progress of their mission. Azrael and others were still in the human world, searching and locating the dark soul.

"Supreme Leader, I came to give you some updates about our mission," the grim reaper said, kneeling in front of him.

Zaki lifted his finger, signaling the man to stand up. His eyes were still closed but he was paying attention to his surroundings. He already felt the presence of the elite grim reaper the moment he entered his sacred hall.

"What have you got this time, Eyon? Seeing that you are the only one who returned means you failed again in catching the escaped soul." Zaki's voice was calm but still, it sent shivers down his spine.

But Eyon maintained his composure. He was one among the few grim reapers who could still face Zaki despite his bad mood.

He was not showing his fear toward Zaki since Zaki hated to see grim reapers who cowered in fear by just facing him. Those cowardly grim reapers would just worsen his mood.

"Pardon us, Supreme Leader, for our incapability. Indeed, we failed again in catching the dark soul," Eyon admitted their failure immediately.

Zaki just massaged his temples, not liking this progress.

"But we confirmed it! The escaped soul is using the power of the dark spear. Azrael saw it with his own eyes when they fought. It was helping him to feel our presence so he knew whenever we were near him. He was also fast and can move quickly like us."

This time, Zaki opened his eyes and he sat up straight, looking at Eyon. Meanwhile, Eyon just continued speaking to him, supplying him with pieces of information.

"He was hiding his aura by possessing the body of a human. Fortunately, the dark soul was not harming those humans."

"But last night, something happened. The dark soul attempted to kill another human. Luckily Azrael was there to stop it."

Azrael told his fellow grim reapers another version of the story. He didn't mention Eros. Zaki would not be happy if he learned that a cupid tried to take their task.

He was a prideful man. He didn't want other beings to meddle with the grim reapers' mission even if their intention was to help them. He was a little bit stubborn when it came to that!

"I became careless! I didn't expect that a mere soul would be able to steal the dark spear!" Zaki clenched his fists as he admitted his shortcomings.

There were four divine weapons in the Netherworld. Each of them had the power to open the gates.

Dark Spear was for the Southern Gate. Sword of Despair was for the Northern Gate. Bloodlust Axe was for the Eastern Gate. The Demon Hunting Bow was for the Western Gate.

"Supreme Leader, don't blame yourself. There were guardians who were assigned to safeguard those sacred weapons. The Southern Gate Guardian was the one who failed and became careless," Eyon said, consoling Zaki.

Zaki couldn't help but laugh dryly. He didn't need those consoling words from Eyon. Besides, the Southern Gate Guardian was already punished for that incident.

"Catch the escaped soul as soon as possible. I will give you one week in the human world to accomplish this mission. If you fail to do it, I will come to the human world myself," Zaki declared to Eyon.

Eyon was dumbfounded when he heard that. Zaki didn't often come to the human world. It seemed that Zaki was really pissed by this dark soul. He already gave them deadline.

He was willing to leave his post just to catch the dark soul in the human world. Eyon didn't know what to feel about this. He could already imagine the pressure his fellow grim reapers would feel if ever Zaki would come to visit the human world.

'Argh. This will be embarrassing for us elite grim reapers if we let him down. We should catch the dark soul as soon as possible! We can't let the Supreme Leader do this kind of task.' Eyon thought to himself.

After he recovered, Eyon spoke to him again.

"Supreme Leader, we will do our best to catch him this time. We already have a clue. That dark soul might try to harm that woman again so we will monitor her and keep an eye on her!"

Zaki frowned upon hearing that.

"Who is the woman the dark soul is trying to kill?" he asked Eyon.

"Her name is Micaela Go," Eyon promptly responded.

"Micaela Go," Zaki repeated her name.

After a few seconds, Zaki closed his eyes again as he murmured Micaela's name. Using his clairvoyance, he managed to have a glimpse of Micaela's identity.

Zaki sneered upon learning something about Micaela.

"Mmmh. Interesting. This woman… her parents both committed suicide and she witnessed it with her own eyes."

Eyon's eyes widened in surprise when he heard that.

"So the main question is... why is this dark soul targeting this woman?"