Prison Cell
Cries and howls sounded.
Indescribable noises echoed past Leylinâs ears as he stepped foot into the passageway. The secret that Robin had kept so tightly was about to be revealed to him.
âThere mustâve been something more to that expedition we did.â Leylin thought about other matters as he took note of his surroundings.
âRobin was evidently impatient when we last explored the Quicksand pocket dimension. And the information he held about the dimension was definitely not possible for someone who only worked internally. Heâd probably known all the secrets within Quicksand Castle long ago, and went there specifically for itâ¦â
Leylinâs guess was confirmed by the mural.
âRobinâs family clearly inherited something important, and it might even be linked to the Quicksand Organisation.â
As his journey in the long passageway came to an end, he found himself between two rows of small prison-like cells.
The walls in these cells were covered in complex runesâmany of which were familiar to Leylinâthat were identical to the bindings of his own Magus Tower.
âThe number of cells is crazy,â Leylin sized up the rows of cells that seemed to have no end to them, and caught glimpses of shadows within.
âExactly how many people is he planning to imprison?â he thought as he came in front of a cell.
âOutsider detected, warning dispatched! Destroy!â
A deep voice masculine voice sounded as Leylin entered Shadow Stealth mode, the man was a formation genie in charge of this area, holding a position similar to that of his own tower genie.
âA.I. Chip,â Leylin lightly called out.
[Spiritual force interface discovered, forcefully manipulating data!] The A.I. Chip replied mechanically, without an ounce of emotion.
The voice started to change in an instant, becoming hoarse.
âInvasion by outsiderâs spiritual force! Activating first layer of defences!â
âDefence broken, activating level 2 firewall and alarms! Beginning self-destruction!â
âInvasion of outsiderâs spiritual force into centre formation genie. Warning! Warning!â
âDestruction imminent in T minus 3, 2⦠Warning dispersed! Operation normal! Outsiderâs spiritual force intercepted. No information has been leaked.â
Its voice that was initially submersed in fright and hoarseness became choppy. Light shone everywhere, illuminating the surroundings distinctly as it turned into a unique robotic one, that of the A.I. Chip.
An intelligence of this standard was nothing in front of Leylinâs A.I. Chip, it was only a matter of time before it was breached.
The administrator of this region had already changed from the formation genie to Leylinâs A.I. Chip.
After he successfully took it over, the place had become Leylinâs backyard. Even Robin would fail to detect him.
Of course, he had to thank his luck that he took care of the formation genie in a short time. Most formation genies would have self-destructed in time, and alerted their owners, landing Leylin in a heap of trouble.
Thankfully, Robinâs formation genie was of a lower rank. If it were a core formation genie set up by a Morning Star Magus, the A.I. Chip would have faced a lot of difficulties.
Now, Leylin was in control.
âActivate the observation window of cell 0023!â Following Leylinâs command, a white ray of light shone in the cell, ridding it of the darkness, the prisoner appearing in front of Leylin.
And the prisoner appeared in front of Leylin.
âHuh?! This isâ¦â Leylinâs pupils dilated. âIâve seen him somewhereâ¦â
It was a Warlock; more accurately, a Giant Kemoyin Serpent Warlock.
This sense of familiarity between bloodlines was always accurate. The Warlock in front of him looked plaintive; not only was he almost nakedâonly clothed in pathetic ragsâhis whole body was riddled with large wounds.
Some granulation tissue could be seen squirming on the wounds, they were repairing themselves. It looked revolting.
âDonât⦠Donât come any nearer. You monster!â A low voice rumbled from the Warlockâs mouth.
âIâm not Robin!â Leylin cleared his throat and said.
ââ¦â The Warlock raised his head and Leylin could see his goblin-like face. As if on cue, hope filled his eyes, replacing the dread and despair that existed before he saw Leylin.
âSa- Save me! Please save me, Lord Leylin!â
He was like a drowning man that was grasping at the last straw as he crawled to the middle of the cell,
It was then that Leylin realised that both the legs of the Warlock were missing. He was completely disabled.
Though it could be healed using limb regeneration spells or other high-grade potions, Robin wouldnât have been so nice.
âTell me, what happened? Why are you here?â Leylin looked dreadfully displeased, and his voice was low as ever.
âItâs Robin! He captured me, my wife and my children and caged us here right after he attacked my family! He- Heâs a demon!â
He seemed to have undergone an overly traumatic experience that caused him to stumble over his words.
âMaster! Master! Take me away please, Iâm begging you!â He shouted himself hoarse as his eyes watered.
Leylin could only shake his head at this scene. Though the advancements of Warlock were largely a result of their bloodlines, making moving up the ranks easier, to see such low willpower from a Warlock was still very rare.
High-ranking Magi usually had tenacious spirits, and could compose themselves quickly even in huge events.
âTell me, what exactly did he do?â Two rays of lights shot from Leylinâs eyes, and made the Warlock speechless.
âHe- He-â The Warlock sobbed and hugged his knees close, coiling into himself as he trembled endlessly.
âHe- How dare he eat my Gwen! Oh Lord, she was only 7â¦â
âAnd Hugo, and Ronâ¦â He could not stop listing name after name and looked absent-minded. He ended up wrapping his arms around his head, refusing to think anymore.
âA drastic change in temperament, imprisoning people, rumours of cannibalism, a mural to Beelzebub, the prince of gluttony!â Leylin let out a long sigh. The pieces came together to form a complete picture in his head.
âWow, this isâ¦â He did not know what to say. Robinâs desire for power had already reached such sick levels.
Though Leylin didnât label himself a good guy, he would never go as far as Robin had.
Just then, the A.I. Chip relayed a piece of information to Leylin.
[Beep! Scan of underground laboratory completed! 341 prisoners: 34 Giant Kemoyin Warlocks, 22 Rank 3 Warlocksâ¦]
âOther matters aside, things will be over for Robin the moment he gets exposedâ¦â As Leylin went further, he saw that the cells on both sides were full of all kinds of Warlocks. Most of them had portions of their bodies missing, and he even saw a few elders from Robinâs own family.
It seemed like the elders who disappeared were all captured by Robin and locked up here.
Upon seeing Leylin, all the Warlocks went mad; some were wailing, some were bellowing in fury demanding that Leylin punish Robin for his sins. Even the eyes of the elders from Robinâs own family were filled with hatred and rage; they had evidently given up on Robin long ago.
âThese Warlocks, most of them should be from the families that Robin eliminatedâ¦â Leylin sighed. Who would know that Robin would have the guts to seize his enemies and lock them up in a secret cellar like this?
And judging from their faces, Leylin bet they would rather have died on the battlefield.
Though Leylin pitied them, he didnât order the A.I. Chip to deactivate the defence in the cells and allow them out.
After all, there were still many prisoners here that could cause chaos if let out.
Furthermore, Leylin still had more tasks to be performed that needed to be hidden from Robin.
âThe core cell! Who is the one imprisoned there?â At the end of the passageway was a large cell. A few sparks could be seen jumping along the blood red electrified cage every now and then, firmly caging a Magus inside.
[No information found within the formation genieâs data, this place is marked top secret!] The A.I. Chip sent back.
âWho are you?â
Standing beside the cage, Leylin was curious about the shadow inside. As the criminal who was under the tightest form of imprisonment in the entire cellar, this person could not be simple.
The prisoner raised his head after hearing Leylinâs voice, and Leylinâs pupils constricted in an instant before he broke out in cold sweat.
âRoâ Senior Robin?â
The person in the cage possessed a face that was bewitching, but malnourished beyond recognition. It was as though all flesh and blood had been drained from him. Robin could only force a smile before calling out for Leylin.
âLeylin, youâre here?â
âWhat is going on? Who is that âRobinâ out there?â Leylinâs expression was dark.
He felt an unusually familiar aura from this Robin who was in front of him, his smile unforgettable.
When heâd first entered Phosphorescence Swamp, Robin wore this exact same smile when welcoming Leylin as he stood by the entrance to the Ouroboros Clan headquarters.
âYou should be able to guess by now,â Robin was very weak and had to pause after every other word.
All muscles seemed to have disappeared, leaving Robin a sack of bones.
If not for his features, Leylin would have thought the person in front of him was a skeleton.