Beneath Aztec Capital.
A group of more than twenty people walked in a tunnel path like people that were about to commit massive genocide.
After they passed a tunnel path, they were greeted with a beautiful sight that was stained with blood.
In front of them was another masked group that stood in what looked like a massive open field linking to the tunnel path.
Surrounding the masked group was bodies of Aztec soldiers. There were easily recognizable to their dress style and the Aztec insignia pinned on their shirts.
All of them, regardless of their strength, were dead and their blood helped to die the green grass red.
The strange place had multiple channels that led to it, one of them being what the other group used to get to space.
However, this was not the most eye-catching thing in this underground open space.
The most spectacular occurrence in the open location was an eerie grey wall that was fixed at the end of the open field, opposite all the channels.
It was easily noticed as it was the only grey wall in the brown wall. Also, from the way it was fixed into the wall, one could tell that it wasn't the same as the others.
The grey wall continuously released a wailing screamed that deeply scared the heart of anyone that looked at it.
Its surface squirmed as if it was made of raw flesh.
It was definitely detrimental to the eyes of anyone that looked, but when the two groups stared, they didn't feel anything nefarious. Instead, they felt at home.
Focusing on what was in front of them, the masked group removed their masks and bowed to a man in the center of the other group, "Second Evil, this is the place."
They had been tasked by the man called the Second Evil to clear the path for them.
Obeying their orders, they killed all the Aztec soldiers, including some Knight Captains and a Knight Major, without alerting those above ground.
Now that they had finished their tasks, they were free to regroup with the main group.
As the groups joined one another to form a unified, the Second Evil nonchalantly nodded.
He had personally divided the two groups for specific tasks.
The first group, the previously masked group, was made up of those he had originally brought with him for his mission.
They were unrecognizable, which made it easy for them to walk in broad daylight. This was especially good as the Aztec Capital and the other cities were not small enough for everyone to know one another.
The second group was made up of those he had recruited from Aztec Kingdom.
It was a well-thought decision on his side as they served as spies and a veil to the first group.
Currently, the others in the group were in the Capital fulfilling a mission he had given them.
Among the unified group, one of them, a middle-aged man held another man on his shoulders.
The man on his shoulders looked badly beaten, almost to the point of death, and was missing one arm.
If one looked closely, one would recognize the man.
He was Grif, one of the king's direct five subordinates and his captor was also recognizable, being the head of the Forst Noble House, Duke Forst.
Contrary to what others might think, he was not a traitor or an arrogant rich noble.
He was just a man that hitched a ride that guaranteed his survival. Even till this point, he buried his nervous spirit as he knew the weight of his actions.
It was not only him. There were other nobles who joined this strange organization.
......
Grif was barely alive on the shoulders of Duke Forst. He had followed his king's orders, and surprisingly got captured after months of spying.
His original thought was that Duke Forst was clean, but that quickly changed when he got captured and nearly killed.
It was then he understood that they had known of his presence all along, but chose not to act, playing along with him.
Even after capturing him, they didn't torture him as they already had what they wanted.
They had captured him today which showed that they understood the protocols established by the king and his subordinates. They knew that if he didn't report back after two days, it would mean something had happened to him!
Such detailed planning scared him.
Only a few people in Aztec could possess the patience and the brains necessary for that.
After cooling down a little, he realized that the group was planning something big today and that was why they finally captured him.
They had taken him to their head, the Second Evil, and from there, had taken a tunnel path to where they currently were.
Everything seemed to be extremely planned and it dulled Grif's hope of informing the king of this nefarious plan.
Grif only needed one look at his current location to understand the answer that has burdened Aztec Kingdom for close to a year; the purpose of the organization.
Ignoring his body state, he wallowed at the group, "What are you doing? Do not open it!"
Annoyed by his screams, Duke Forst aggressively threw him down.
However, Grif kept trembling, "Do not open it! Please, do not open it! Ple--"
His head was kicked by Duke Forst and he lost consciousness.
Duke Forst then looked at the strange leader of the group, the Second Evil.
The man was strange. He wasn't beautiful but had a normal, pleasing, and cool face, capable of mesmerizing anyone who looked at it.
However, what was strange about him was his bandaged left arm. The man moved it very efficiently, so it made one wonder why it was even bandaged in the first place.
Duke Forst stopped guessing and asked the man, "What do we do to Grif?"
The duke spoke in normal terms with Second Evil and no one objected to his tone.
Hearing the question, Second Evil faced the duke, "We need him."
Noticing the duke's dilemma, he assured, "Don't worry. Whether this works out or not does not matter, our "back-up plan" is sure to work with or without it."
His words seemed to remind Duke Forst of something as the duke looked up, at the ceiling of the tunnel, and smiled, "Yes, I'm sure "it" is happening right now."
After burying the duke's doubt, Second Evil spoke to all the members in the group, "We are starting. Wear your mask!"
All of them proceeded to wear masks that resembled that of the masked men Jake encountered.
Even Second Evil wore a mask, but in his case, it was a small earring that had the same material as the mask.
After preparations were made, he leads the way by grabbing a nearby dead body and throwing it at the grey wall.
The moment the body touched the wall. It stuck to it like a predator catching its prey.
The grey wall only let the corpse go after it had sucked enough of its content, leaving nothing but a dried husk that resembled a dried straw.
The whole group was dumbfounded by this occurrence, except for Second Evil who had predicted it.
He ordered his men, "Dump all the dead bodies at it."
At first, they were scared but after a few people did exactly as the Second Evil and felt nothing strange on their bodies, the rest followed suit.
"Stop," shouted Second Evil at his men.
He had noticed something and ordered them just in time.
Following his words, the grey wall began to peel off, layer after layer.
Its skin-like surface peeled and was absorbed back into the wall.
This continued until the wall revealed its true appearance, which was, as expected, not a wall!
Its true appearance resembled a large doorway that made one see what was at the other side.
However, this particular "doorway"'s other side was murky and unclear. Grey gasses exuded from it and polluted the environment with a disgusting smell.
Looking at it, anyone with a brain would be able to recognize it.
It was a Nether Rift!
The Nether Rift of Aztec was actually under their feet all this time.
Its true appearance was very compelling, so much that Second Evil, who understand more than the others, was swept in its "beauty".
Only after he was nudged by one of his men did he give further instruction, "Throw Grif into the rift."
His words alarmed Grif who had just woken up.
Grif tried to escape, but he was injured and Duke Forst grabbed him back.
Holding Grif like a javelin, the duke proceeded to throw him straight into the rift and see what happens.
A period of silence enveloped the group as they waited for something to happen.
One minute.
Two minutes.
Three minutes.
Four minutes.
Five minutes....
It wasn't after ten minutes that heard a gruesome sound!
Accompanying the roaring and snarling of whatever was the other side, was the heart-wrenching screams of Grif.
The screams became drowned in an unusual munching that the entire group could interpret.
After a few minutes of munching, a massive creature, over seven(7) feet tall, came out of the rift.
Its hair dried and bald, its skin dull and decayed, eyes that were fully black with a ball of red light replacing the pupil.
Apart from that, it sharp, terrifying claws and teeth that currently had blood and pieces of flesh on them.
There was no doubt that this was a zombie. Just that…..it looked too scary to just be a zombie.
Its looks managed to make the entire group cower except for Second Evil, who walked closer to it.
When they were within close proximity, the first thing the massive zombie noticed was the bandaged arm of Second Evil. It looked for a while before focusing on the owner of the arm
The two abnormalities engaged in a stare-off, with each of them understanding each other's intention.
After a while, Second Evil pointed his finger at the closest channel and the zombie roared to the rift and stomped off, following the path commanded to it.
Other zombies began rushing out of the rift and not one of them looked like the day-to-day zombies Jake met in the zombie mine.
Ignoring the countless zombies, Second Evil faced his men and spoke out, "Leave! Go up and join the others. I will protect here for a while."
Before they left, one of his men was instructed to erect a camouflage wall that would connect to the channel the first zombie took, making it easier for the other zombies to follow.
Now alone, Second Evil laid on the bloodied grass and closed his eyes.
The next time he opened his eyes was thirty minutes after, looking at the silhouette of two figures that were dashing to his location.
He nonchalantly sighed, knowing fully well that they could hear him, "What took you so long?"