A few minutes later, the wagon passed through the gate, and into the city. Jonathan felt a strange sensation sweep over him as the wagon passed through an invisible film of energy, but his elemental abilities kept him and Eliza shielded.

  Once they were inside of the wall, both of them leaped off the wagon, and headed out into the streets. The district near the wall was quite impoverished, with smaller buildings and tenements everywhere. Refuse was strewn across the streets, and in some places, bodies. The opulent exterior of the city seemed to be somewhat of an illusion. It was one of the worst sights Jonathan had seen within a city of the Infinite Hells, even compared to those the circle lords lived in.

  As soon as he and Eliza were safely hidden in an alleyway, Jonathan dropped the cloak. “Right. We need to find some sort of library, or a cartographer's shop. I doubt there’s going to be one in this neighborhood.”

  “Are you sure we should drop the cloaking skill?” Eliza asked. “I have a bad feeling about this place.”

  Jonathan shrugged. “Should be fine. All of the slaves I saw were Tier 2 or lower. Nobody’s going to try to do anything to us, especially in the wealthier districts.”

  “I suppose so. Still, this whole place seems off to me.”

  Jonathan snorted. “Yeah, of course it does. We’re in Hell. I would be more worried if it seemed like a paradise. Would mean something was being hidden.”

  Eliza nodded. “I agree. I would rather have my enemies attack from the front than from behind, among the ranks of my allies.”

  ***

  The city was massive, and quite dangerous around its outer edges. During their journey to the interior, Jonathan saw dozens of murders and hundreds of crimes. Only, they seemed not to be crimes here, given that in many cases, the guards joined in.

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  “What the hell is wrong with this place?” Eliza asked as they ran past a brutal gang war going on in the middle of the street. Blood sprayed as groups of Tier 3 thugs duked it out with crude weapons and fists. A few hundred feet away, a group of guards watched, making bets.

  “It looks like most of the people here are seen as vermin,” Jonathan replied. “If I had to make a guess, the guards only exist to protect the higher ups.”

  He fell silent as the district ended, with another wall pointing up at the energy dome above. It was smaller than the previous wall, but better defended. There were guards every few dozen feet, watching the streets below. Behind the wall, larger buildings could be seen, poking out above its top. A powerful scrying array surrounded the entire place, concentrated on the gates. Jonathan could feel his elemental mastery quailing before it. He could potentially override it by infusing his Void cloak with Divinity, but that would leave him drained, judging by how much energy was running through the wall. It felt like millions, or tens of millions of mana points, mixed with immense tides of Light elemental energy.

  No, what would be wiser here would be to rely on his strength to pass as someone who belonged in the inner city. Other than the scrying array, the defenses seemed lacking, at least towards those who were supposed to be there. A few guards tested those who headed through, and judging by the bursts of aura pressure Jonathan felt, those tests were simply ones of power.

  He and Eliza swaggered up to the gate, acting like they were above everyone else. It was the mannerism that Jonathan had noticed from watching the other entrants, and it was simple enough to copy.

  “Reason for entry?” one of the guards called out.

  “What reason do we need?” Jonathan replied. “We live in there.” Before the guard could say anything else, Jonathan expanded his aura. Normally, it would have been nothing before the Tier 6 guard standing before him, but he had a breadth of power that few else did, with his Divinity. That combined to create the illusion of depth.

  The guard took a step back, and then nodded once, stepping out the way to let Jonathan through. Eliza followed him, gazing haughtily at the guard. The man simply nodded, and a few moments later, both of them were in the interior city. The difference was vast, and immediate.