Saikyou Mahoushi no Inton Keikaku (LN) - Volume 12 - Chapter 65

Sixty-Fifth Chapter

In the Wedge of Sin

In a certain land in the Outer World...

All man-made objects were being worn down by time. Even what little remained was being stolen away by the never-ending flow of time. Before long, the fragments that humanity remembered of the past world would completely disappear.

Even in the Inner World...nobody recalled how the world had once been. When the Fiends appeared, all records were lost. If there were something that stirred the will of the seven nations to be directed outward...a will for exploration and adventure outside the known, then perhaps humanity could still be saved.

No. No matter what world, or what threat appeared, humans would always quarrel with one another. At best, it was reason and intelligence that suppressed the seeds of conflict. So once they lost their grip on that, they would begin to impose their ideas and ideals on each other. And in the end, they would use force to bring the other side to its knees.

Since territorial conflicts occurred even between animals, perhaps conflict was inseparable from the essence of life. It wasn’t a matter of high or low intelligence. Or rather, the higher the intelligence, the more cunning and sophisticated the methods used to make the other submit.

What were the standards and the models? Once collapsed, restoring humanity was a difficult task. Even something as simple as what they should base the rules on became far more vague.

The tentative rules that had been set up were simply bonds to keep them in check. Basically, they were doing the same things now as they did then. Regardless of how much the Fiends cornered them, they would repeat the same mistakes over and over. Even though they may shout that it must never happen again, they still retraced the same steps.

If that was karma—the karma of humanity and the Inner World—then the seven nations were like the resting place where they had cast away their sins in the darkness.

Dozens of kilometers outside of Babel’s protective barrier, built to straddle the grand nation of Iblis and the sturdy nation of Clevideet, was a building that stretched not up but down, spiraling into the depths of the earth. Its name was Trojan Prison.

It was an inverted cone-shaped prison that reached several hundred meters down, with holes dug horizontally into the walls to form the cells. Inside were magic criminals too horrible to house within a nation’s borders. The seven nations had a pact to send their criminals there. Everyone there had such long sentences that they’d likely never be allowed to see the sun again. The deeper they were, the more serious their sins. Those at the very bottom, the worst of the worst, were beyond the reach of the sun.

The prison was made with plates that didn’t allow any mana to leak through. All prisoners were also forced to wear collars that prevented them from letting mana out or constructing any spells. Anyone trying to escape would have to contend with that. Even if they somehow broke out, there were no people or buildings anywhere near them for several dozen kilometers. They would be wandering the Outer World ruled by the Fiends without the ability to use mana or spells.

The seven nations supposedly did not have the death penalty. Without it, the suspected higher-ups who’d conducted inhuman experiments and plans could continue to be exposed. In other words, if they were executed, then the true state of what had happened would never be revealed.

However, that was just an excuse. In reality, everything was left untouched in the darkness of vagueness and irresponsibility. But that wasn’t the only example. The political system of the seven nations was formed to divert the people’s attention from the myth of safety that was the Inner World. It was merely an illusion of peace; all threats were concealed, hidden in the dark, and the truth was skillfully manipulated to keep public awareness focused elsewhere.

In that sense, the Trojan Prison was a wedge of the darkness that was humanity’s karma, driven deep into the ground.

“Warden, Dr. Kwinska is descending into the no-contact zone again. What should we do?” In the surveillance room, a new guard spoke to the prison warden in an exasperated tone. He wore a flawless uniform and his shoes were polished and stainless. It was as if he were the embodiment of the prison’s strict system. Nobody would ever visit a remote place like this so there was no one to see him, but his appearance alone made him look like the perfect guard.

The man had been posted here half a year ago. Even though he was a newcomer, he was only in his thirties so it wasn’t really seen as a demotion. But it was still like a bad roll of the dice.

While it was a top secret prison run by all seven nations, its personnel consisted mostly of people from Iblis and Clevideet due to its location. The new guard was no exception as he hailed from Iblis. He’d been shocked at how remote the place was, having risked his life just to get here.

“Just let the professor do as she pleases. As long as she does what she has to, we can turn a blind eye to it to some degree. Besides, nothing good can come from getting involved with that mad scientist. Make sure you remember that.” The warden, wearing a uniform that looked like it would rip apart any moment now due to his bulging muscles, let out a heavy sigh.

As expected of the warden of a top secret prison, his strength was authentic. Although he’d had to give up his rank when he became the warden, he had originally been a Single Digit Magicmaster candidate. But that was why he’d been appointed in the first place. In other words, his outstanding ability was the most effective way to ensure the safety of the guards.

Even so, it was natural to prepare for any eventuality. All of the guards here, no matter how small their job might be, were strong enough to hunt powerful Fiends in the Outer World.

Incidentally, the guards rarely left the prison. They only left when Fiends approached the prison due to unforeseen circumstances, perhaps once a month. In those rare cases, the Fiends were usually eradicated instantly by a strike force.

The other times were when the prison was being supplied. Bringing in food and other supplies was a big job and the guards were often sent out to help. Overall, they had little opportunity to make use of their Magicmaster powers. So perhaps it was a demotion after all.

The warden then spoke again as if he’d remembered something. “When did the professor’s favorite guinea pig die again?”

“I believe they were already dead by the time I was appointed...though it doesn’t seem the report has reached the nation yet.”

Indeed...Dr. Kwinska’s guinea pig. It had been a long time since her image on the monitor screen had moved a muscle. Her cell in the deepest part of the prison was probably filled with an unbearable rotting stench by now.

“Well, it doesn’t matter,” the warden replied dismissively. “Nobody’s going to care who or how many die here. After all, those who are here have no way of ‘serving the people’ other than that. And it’s not like they’ll get out of here before they die...or even after they die.”

“Ha ha, that’s true. Oh, it’s almost time for the prisoners’ meals.”

“Already, huh. Hey.” The warden glanced at the clock on the wall, then gave orders to the surveillance chief in the room.

The chief adjusted his military cap, saluted, and sounded an alarm loud enough to echo throughout the prison. “Warden, how much should we distribute today? The consumption has been rather intense lately. At this rate, our supply will be eaten up and we won’t last another month.”

The amount of food that was distributed changed on a daily basis at the warden’s whim. Lately, however, due to certain circumstances, several days’ worth of food had been eaten through very quickly. Being as remote as they were, once they ran out of food it would take a while before they could be resupplied. When that happened the prisoners would get less food, and in the worst case, nothing at all for several days. It was a situation that would happen when there were delays in getting supplies, but this time it could be even worse.

The chief estimated that a quarter of the prisoners might even starve to death. However...

“Give out everything that’s left today,” the warden said in an almost cruelly clear tone.

“Understood.” The chief’s lips twitched slightly, but he crisply gave the instructions.

The new guard, who nervously listened to their exchange, frowned and furrowed his brow. He almost opened his mouth for a second but hesitated. As a newcomer, he had no right to interfere with the warden’s decision.

The prison actually hadn’t been constructed just to contain the worst of the magical criminals. No matter how serious their crimes were, it wouldn’t have been worth the trouble to build such a huge structure in the Outer World. The prisoners confined in Trojan Prison were top-class convicts, and even though there was no death penalty, they would undergo a punishment more severe than death.

For those who used magic, the provisional punishment was the harshest and most severe. Special tubes were stuck into their bodies that continuously drained mana from them. The length of the procedure depended on the severity of the crime, but for prisoners on the lowest level, the pain continued for as long as they were awake. Mana was drained out of them until just before they reached their limit...then the device would automatically shut down when the mana ran out, and turn back on when they recovered, making it a gruesome punishment with unending pain.

The stored mana was overseen with strict safeguards in the control room, and was sent to the Inner World through an underground pipeline after Dr. Kwinska gave her approval. Mana was first collected and compressed, and then the pipeline would be activated several times a month in the morning hours when the Fiends were less active.

After some hesitation, the newcomer finally spoke up. “Warden...is that because of the delays in restoring the pipeline?” He had heard that the pipeline had ruptured a few months ago and that engineers were being sent over to fix it. He’d also heard that it wasn’t going well.

The warden lightly nodded in response. “The Fiends have been strangely active lately. So we need to gather and compress as much mana as possible for the next transfer. That’s what the food is for. So we’ll let them eat their fill of the last of the food.”

“But if it runs out...”

“They’ll have to fast for the time being. If something unforeseen happens as a result, it can’t be helped.”

“But if that happens, won’t they get desperate and use their last bit of strength to riot and break out?”

“If they could do that, I would be long gone. Don’t forget about the collar around their necks. Even if they tried to, they couldn’t release enough mana to construct a spell. Whoever invented that was a genius,” the warden explained to the new guard, while shrugging his massive shoulders. “Not even I can remove the mana-sealing collar. If you try to remove it by force, or it detects mana above its limits, it explodes. And even if they somehow deal with that and manage to escape, they would be stuck in the Outer World with only their physical abilities. Do you think they’d be able to make it back to the Inner World alive?”

The guard shook his head. It would be impossible for someone who couldn’t even use basic spells to survive in the Outer World that teemed with Fiends.

History showed what had happened to those who’d attempted to oppose Fiends without magic. That was how the population and number of countries had been drastically reduced, and why they were stuck living inside the small Inner World.

“That said, the professor said that we’re almost at capacity,” the warden continued.

“Yes, the professor’s still in the restricted area too. Should I call her back?”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll go down there personally. While I’m at it, I’ll take a look at the gloomy faces of the prisoners with one foot in the grave.”

“U-Understood. Please be careful.”

The only surveillance in the deepest part of Trojan Prison—the fifth layer—was through monitors. None of the regular guards wanted to go down there to begin with, and only a restricted few were even allowed, including the warden and Dr. Kwinska.

On the lowest layer of the prison were the worst magic criminals of the seven nations. It was truly like the bottom of hell. Just entering it could be considered extremely dangerous.

The warden’s footsteps echoed through the hallway. Right now the prisoners were eating the food he’d ordered the chief to hand out.

Normally, food was one of the biggest pleasures in prison. In Trojan Prison, the only thing that could be heard was the sound of the prisoners gorging themselves on their sustenance. But when the warden descended the spiral stairs, the prisoners stopped making any sounds whatsoever. They forced their mouths shut, even as they suffered from their mana being drained, so that they wouldn’t stand out.

At the end of the bulkhead was a hole leading down. As it opened, moist stagnant air came pouring out.

The warden ignored it and continued down. The faint stench of death grew worse the farther down he went.

***

In the darkness of the bottom layer, a strange discussion was being held.

“How about you clean out that corpse already, Professor. It’s been there a long time. Well, I’m used to it by now. Frankly, I can’t even tell anymore if it still stinks,” a strangely fearless man said from his cell. In this prison he was the only one with enough composure to speak with normal-sounding emotion in his voice.

“Huh, well, it does smell a little. But it’s not that bad. I’m used to these kinds of smells, you see. Hee hee, phew...haah.” Meanwhile, standing outside the cell was a woman in a slightly stained white lab coat. She took a cigarette out of her mouth to draw a deep breath. “This kind of rotten smell puts me at ease.”

“Well, in that case... Did you find a new guinea pig to toy with, Professor?” The prisoner happily chatted away with a sneer on his face from the other side of the iron bars, which were engraved with a magic formula. The man’s voice was the only sound in the pitch-black darkness. Outside the cell was a blinking red light that showed his mana was being drained.

Since he should be experiencing unimaginable pain, his relaxed tone was inexplicable. Dr. Kwinska put the cigarette back in her mouth, as she indifferently looked towards the back of the cell.

Her dull hair was dry and without luster, and her dirty lab coat made her look rather shabby. Her eyes were also empty like she’d lost interest in everything in the world, even more so than the prisoners in the cells.

Maybe the only difference between them was who was in chains. For her, this was hardly a treasure trove of fresh material and discoveries that would inspire research. She might as well be a prisoner herself, trapped by weariness and her own decadence.

And so she would head to the bottom layer on a whim, and toy with people’s bodies to kill time. It was her little way of distracting herself. “No, I’ve gotten bored messing with guinea pigs. Not to mention that the mana tank is almost full. So today is more of a pleasure trip.”

Exhaling smoke, the professor turned her clouded eyes to the prisoner. Thanks to the lit cigarette, she could faintly see the man chained to the wall in the cell. She then casually walked up to the iron bars and looked him over.

The man laughed a little, seeming to have his own thoughts about what she’d said. “Hmph... You’re quite the villain yourself, Professor.”

“Oh, not as much as all of you. Well, the ‘waste’ from my human experiments not only reduces the number of mouths to feed, it can also serve as rat food. Without it, they might eat up our precious food supply. But perhaps I’m the winner after all. You just kill, but I enjoy killing. It’s hard to judge who is worse.”

“I’ll never understand why you’re not in a cage,” the man sarcastically said. At the same time, he could hear the sound of a small critter running in the corridor. It was unclear how they had gotten in, but Trojan Prison had a rat problem. The sound disappeared into the quiet cell next to the man’s cell.

Soon after, he heard sounds of delight as the rat found some food. It was a small janitor scavenging for decaying flesh...

“By the way, little prisoner. What would you wish for when you die? Like, what would you want for your final meal?”

“Nothing. When I die, I’ll die in silence.”

“A good answer.” The professor smoked the last of her cigarette and flicked the butt at the prisoner. For just a moment, the light of the cigarette falling onto the floor illuminated the man’s rough figure. “I would choose coffee or a smoke. But I couldn’t wander around with a cup, so I guess it’d be a cigarette.”

That’s when the sound of footsteps approached the professor from behind. “I’ve told you time and time again... No casual contact with the prisoners, Professor.” The warden said the last part more forcefully and towered over the professor as he looked down at her. His eyes beneath his military cap were chilling.

“If it isn’t the warden... Good work coming all the way down to the bottom layer like this. Oh, is it already time?”

“Closing time’s not an issue. More importantly, how are the adjustments to the tanks going? I got a report that they’re about to fill up.”

However, the professor kept her eyes on the prisoner and her back to the warden. She also pulled out a new cigarette as she spoke in an uninterested tone. “You’re going to tell me that, Gordon? Not to worry, it’ll be full in another minute or so. I’m more concerned about the ruptured pipeline...!”

Suddenly, the professor’s face was smashed into the wall. A flurry of red bloomed. The warden had grabbed her small head from behind and driven it into the wall.

Blood stained the wall’s surface, dripping down to the floor and pooling there. Anyone could see that death had been instant. However, the warden responsible for it was as calm as could be. There was no emotion in his eyes.

“That sure was flashy, Gordon.”

“It was the least bit of mercy I could show her. Even if I let her live, the freed prisoners would’ve beaten her to death after this. I’m sure she’s thanking me with tears of joy in the afterlife.” As a finishing touch, the warden half crushed her body into the wall, and closed his eyes.

The next moment, a loud alarm sounded throughout the prison, signaling an emergency. The mana storage tanks had reached their limit. The light on the panel near the cell went out. The provisional punishment had stopped.

“I’ve got the signal from Mekfis. What are you going to do, Dante? Are you going to help?” The warden opened his eyes, and casually questioned the man in the cell.

“One of Kurama’s executives, huh... It’s worth considering. Still, I would’ve liked to have talked with Dr. Kwinska a little more. Not only did she seem to know something about the ruptured pipeline, but...about our escape plan too.”

“Oh, so she wasn’t just some mad scientist. In that sense it was a bit of a waste. But do you really think that lunatic would have helped?”

“Well, I’m grateful for what you did,” Dante said. “We couldn’t have her watching us, after all.”

“It was just in case. It’s better that nobody knows the truth about the pipeline.”

“The pipeline was ruptured to fill the mana tanks. A survey team will be sent out from the Inner World, but they won’t make it in time before the tanks fill. The sequence of events up to the breakout is straightforward. But if there was any miscalculation, it’s that the warden of Trojan Prison is also connected to Kurama. You leaked the plan, didn’t you, Gordon?” A freezing glare pierced Warden Gordon through the shadows.

“Don’t be so upset. I worked hard enough. And unfortunately, I only have a passing acquaintance with Kurama.”

Dante shrugged at the warden’s blunt answer. He shook himself, then stood up. At the same time the needles and tubes used for the provisional punishment fell off. “No matter. Still, I’d love to see the face of whoever appointed you as warden.”

“It was the brainless clowns of Clevideet who sent me here. I plan on paying them a visit later.”

“That sounds good. Personal grudges can be trusted. I’m curious about Kurama’s intentions for taking advantage of the situation, but more importantly, now’s the time to celebrate our freedom!”

Suddenly, his cell made a sound and opened.

The cell next to his did the same, and the one after that, and so on. The cries of guards who’d rushed to the scene could be heard in the distance, but were quickly drowned out by the joyous shouts of the freed prisoners.

Dante gave them a sidelong glance as he scratched his head. “That Mekfis bastard, huh. Well, I didn’t need their help to escape. I already had preparations made. But if they were able to see through it, that’s a little interesting. Maybe I’ll have a chance to greet them before long. I was planning to return to the Inner World for a minute anyways.”

“For revenge?” Warden Gordon asked.

“Oh? Yeah, that’s not bad. Very fitting for an escaped convict. But while I didn’t like being locked up here, I’ve been thinking about this and that.” Dante was practically half naked due to how worn through his prison uniform was. His build was so big that it was hard to imagine he’d been stuck in prison for so long.

Glancing at the red emergency light, he walked over to the dead Dr. Kwinska who was buried into the wall. He then crouched down, scooped up some of her blood with his finger, and licked it. “Yeah...hungry or not, blood is still disgusting.”

“What are you doing?” asked the warden, frowning.

“That said, it doesn’t taste particularly off either... Huh. I predicted that the professor would’ve been mixed with a part of Mekfis, but I guess I was wrong,” Dante muttered, giving the blood another lick as if tasting wine.

“So is it this one...?” Next, he peeked into the neighboring cell, but the only thing there was a rotting corpse hung up on chains. “Guess it was just my imagination,” he concluded, shrugging.

He found it a little confusing. The professor had shown signs of knowing the truth behind the ruptured pipeline. But he had no way of confirming that now, and he didn’t have the time to poke any further into it. “All right, it’s time we get out of here, guys.”

Several people walked into the hallway as Dante spoke. Each one a convict.

“I should make my own move,” the warden muttered. “Everything’s gone as expected so far...” He looked up.

Something came falling down, accompanied by the sound of breaking glass. Falling dozens of meters down through the stairwell and onto the floor...were several people. They were the guards who’d been in the surveillance room on the top layer.

Among them was the newcomer guard. Having crashed onto the floor, their bodies were twisted and broken, a big pool of blood forming beneath them.

“Sorry about that, newbie.” The warden had only told his inner circle about the plan. And the other guards were probably being slaughtered by prisoners venting their grudges. But it was an inevitable sacrifice.

As if he’d just remembered, the warden gave Dante a bunch of keys. “Here, use these to remove the collar.” Only the warden was allowed to carry the keys.

However, Dante only grinned and shook his head. “I’ll be fine for now. Give it to the others who just stepped out of the boxes. But the guys on the fourth layer are different... Don’t give the keys to them. It’ll be better for them to keep their collars. There will be some ways to use them.”

“Hm? What are you thinking, Dante?”

“You’ll find out eventually. And one more thing. This will sound strange, but you should obey it. Warden, you put on a collar as well.”

“...?” But he followed Dante’s instruction. He and his inner circle put on mana-sealing collars. From there, they finally moved into action.

The Trojan Prison’s closed gates were flung open at last. The number of convicts stepping into the Outer World for the first time in a long while easily exceeded one hundred. All of them were serious magical criminals who’d been practically exiled from their nations.

Even so, it wasn’t all of them. Many had been crippled by the provisional punishment, and even with the cells open, could only stare at the walls and floor with vacant eyes as they muttered to themselves. The ones still able to stand were more or less physically and mentally damaged, with wobbly legs and pale faces.

However, Dante was walking around with folded arms as if he’d never received the provisional punishment. His appearance stood out among all the other notorious criminals.

“What next, Dante?” A woman called out to him in a resonant voice as she approached. She didn’t flinch even when standing close to a giant like Gordon.

“First class criminal, Mir Ostayka. A renowned assassin with more than fifty kills to your name...wasn’t it?” Warden Gordon said, as if confirming her identity.

The woman showed no signs of answering and only gave a bewitching smile instead. Unlike the other convicts, Mir had already stolen a guard’s clothing and had boldly opened up the front to show off her cleavage. She also had what appeared to be a stolen AWR at her waist.

Dante glanced at her, then spoke to the warden. “Let her help out too. It’s in exchange for breaking her out.”

“You heard him. You didn’t need to go through the trouble of introducing me to everyone, Warden.”

Looking around, Dante saw that not only had his own allies gathered, but so had other criminals not related to him. From his fearless smile, they sensed that he was the mastermind behind the escape. That was just how Dante liked it. “I’m always looking for loyal workers. That said, I can’t bring all of you... Let’s hold a selection,” he finished in a low voice, to which Gordon nodded.

Gordon lined up the prisoners and removed the mana-sealing collars from those that Dante signaled to him.

Eventually, a tall and lean man stepped forward from the line. Dante gave him a look that asked what he wanted. At a glance, he was nearing his sixties. He looked healthy, as if he’d kept up his training even while undergoing provisional punishment in his cell. His hair was gray, but uneven in length like he’d cut it upon his release. His dark eyes and sharp glare gave him the look of a seasoned criminal.

The man’s voice was hoarse. “Mr. Dante, I’m Vector. In spite of how I look, I am from the fourth layer and quite confident in my skills. I won’t forget the debt I owe you for freeing me.”

Dante silently stared at the man as if appraising him.

“However, I have something I need to prioritize. I swear I will group up with you afterwards, so order me to do whatever you want.”

“Yeah, I don’t mind. You look pretty useful. So feel free to enjoy your revenge, or your hunt or whatever it is after refreshing yourself, Vector.” Dante grinned, then looked over at the warden and Mir. “Now then, I think that’s enough. Let’s head for the Inner World. The Fiends might be tough, but it could be interesting depending on how they’re handled, especially with these numbers.”

Dante continued, now speaking to the crowd of convicts in a clear voice, “Once we reach the Inner World, you’re free to run wild, or get to the cities and hide! Either way, there’s no future for us unless we reach the human domain. I also have an idea as to what to do about the AWRs...so let’s get going.”

Thus the former prisoners began making their way towards the Inner World, with Dante in the lead. He wore a pasted-on smile. “Look, the Fiends are coming...”

A large number of humans had stepped into their territory. There was no way the Fiends would overlook such an excellent opportunity. It didn’t take long for a dozen or so of them to appear, including some B-class ones. Battle soon broke out between the front of the group and the Fiends.

In the midst of the chaos, Dante and his group retreated in secret, and watched over the battle.

“They’re putting up a pretty good fight for makeshift weapons. It was worth letting them eat up before starting everything. Is this what you were after, Dante?” The warden glanced over at Dante. He’d figured that the plan was to have the small fry clash with the Fiends first to save on strength and reach the Inner World with minimal attrition.

However, Dante smiled fearlessly. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

The inmates who were fighting at the front had had their mana-sealing collars removed and were able to put up some resistance. But they hadn’t fully recovered either mentally or physically from the provisional punishment. A minor boost to morale wasn’t enough to beat their enemy. One after another they fell to the Fiends, as blood splattered in every direction.

“Fuck! Dante, help!!!” Seeing the others around him fall, one inmate turned to Dante, seeking help.

While the Fiends feasted on their victims, Dante slowly walked up to the man, paying no heed to the gruesome scene. “You’re asking for help? Don’t be stupid. You’re destined for a Fiend’s stomach too.” He grabbed hold of the man’s neck with a single hand and easily held him up, then threw him into the mouth of a Fiend approaching from the side.

As his skull creaked between its strong jaws, the man squeezed out a final “Why would you...” before meeting his end.

Dante and his crew remained unharmed as the Fiends devoured the inmates. Even when he’d walked over to the man, the Fiends had ignored him completely.

He wore a creepy grin as the man’s skull was crushed. He pointed at his own neck as if to reveal the reason why. It was the mana-sealing collar that Dante had chosen to keep on. He’d realized an unexpected use for it... It had the special property of preventing any mana from leaking out of the body.

Fiends in the Outer World had the habit of choosing their prey based on mana. Humans inherently had mana in their blood, which was why Fiends tended to ignore animals and go for them instead. Of course, the Fiends had normal vision, but if easy prey was right in front of them, they wouldn’t bother going after something that wasn’t hostile and that they didn’t sense any mana coming from.

There would still be a risk that Fiends might attack anyway, but if they did, they could just remove the collar to fight properly. This was the strange plan that Dante had put into action.

“I see. What a brilliant idea. You’re able to effectively use what would normally be discarded as sacrificial pawns,” Warden Gordon murmured to himself, impressed by what he saw.

Mir, Vector, Dante’s inner circle, and the other chosen convicts didn’t seem very disturbed. Seeing the results, the ones who hadn’t had their collars removed had realized that they were actually the chosen ones.

Meaning that the ones who’d been so happy about having their collars removed were the ones who weren’t thinking straight. It was then that they finally realized that Dante hadn’t removed his own mana-sealing collar. The fools who’d jumped at the chance were cut down one after another.

Behind Dante, there was laughter at the victims who’d taken the initiative to become bait for their sake. And as the chosen ones laughed, they understood how cold the worst of the worst in the fifth layer truly were. Even as they felt chills run down their spines, they couldn’t help but laugh in the current atmosphere. At the same time, a clear hierarchy was established between them and Dante.

“Next is the repair site for the ruptured pipeline. They might have noticed not only what just happened at the prison, but that something’s going on with the Fiends. So we’re going to kill the entire repair team and take their equipment and food.”

There was no longer anyone left who would go against Dante’s chilling orders.

***

At the horrific scene of the pipeline repair site, with blood splattered everywhere, Dante mentally reviewed the surrounding area.

If they were to take the shortest route to the Inner World from here, Iblis was closest. However, the nations differed in their vigilance, including how detailed and frequent their patrols were in the Outer World. Iblis was a large nation that was active in eliminating Fiends, so Dante chose to go for Clevideet instead, which would give them a relatively smaller risk of being discovered.

But he didn’t start moving that way immediately. It was hard to enter the protection of Babel’s barrier without being detected by any nation. And there was no time to casually probe for a spot where it was thinner, not to mention they’d stand out with their numbers and appearance. So Dante decided to enjoy some rest while they waited for a certain person.

“Hm, judging from how you look, it seems I am a little late.”

A person who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere approached Dante and spoke in an aloof tone. “Looks like things went well for you. I was having a good time myself and just accidentally happened to overdo it. Dear me...”

“Sounds like a good time to take a breather,” Dante replied. He looked in the direction of the voice.

The voice belonged to a beautiful man with long hair. He wore a dazzling outfit as if attending a formal ball. The first impression was of a gentle nobleman, but considering they were in the Outer World, that would just be far too unnatural. “Ha ha, I’m glad to see you haven’t changed much, Dante. I’m also relieved that Gordon seems to remember me.”

Having the attention suddenly turned on him, Gordon’s expression was sour. “Mekfis, don’t think I’ve started working for you. This is just an alignment of interests. I’ll be doing as I please.”

“Yes, I know. And you’re free to do so. You were practically another inmate yourself, after all. In that dark prison, I suppose the only difference between guard and prisoner was what side of the bars you were on. It must have bored you to death.” Mekfis wore a thin smile, but suddenly closed one of his eyes and pressed the point. “But I will have you fulfill our requests. I thank you for your cooperation,” he finished with a civil smile, not letting any of his thoughts show as he bowed like a gentleman.

“Congratulations on your freedom,” Mekfis continued. “However, that being said...” He looked around with a deliberately troubled expression. “There are more here than I had anticipated. At this rate we’ll stand out too much, and there are some who are even dragging us down that are mixed in. Fortunately, there’s no problem with your back up. A certain noble is lending a hand, you see. Of course, only a minimum amount of supplies and a safe house is being provided.”

“A noble?” Dante asked. “Who is it?”

“Someone known in Alpha. Well, they want your fighting power I imagine.”

“Hm, I’ll take whatever help I can get, no matter who they are. So...are we reducing the numbers?”

“Yes, I think so. Ah, but there’s no need for you to sully your hands, Dante. To be frank I am feeling quite on edge. After all, a precious figurine was crushed the other day, not to mention their head being blown off in such a tragic manner. And they were working so hard to create a snow landscape cold enough to freeze anyone to the core.”

With a graceful smile, Mekfis volunteered himself. He looked at the convicts with an icy stare, assessing them. As eyes full of madness glared down at them, they flinched. His appearance was that of a graceful young nobleman, but the bloodlust he emitted for just a moment made the hardened criminals cower like prey facing a snake.

Mekfis made his first choice. And he didn’t need a cue to execute it.

The man who was targeted sensed the bloodlust and clenched his fist in reflex, preparing for a fight. During the attack on the repair site, his collar had been temporarily removed, so he was now able to use mana. His survival instincts kicked in next, and he readied the strongest spell he could use as quickly as possible. But he was given no time for that, as his spell was dispersed.

“Ugh...” The man recoiled and his upper body stiffened. In the blink of an eye, Mekfis had closed the distance.

He gazed at the man’s face in appraisal. “Is that as fast as you can react? As expected, you won’t be needed.”

“—! Ack?!”

In an instant, Mekfis’s hand had plunged into the man’s mouth and in the next second removed his jaw. Once Mekfis’s fingers touched the back of his throat, his head fell off as if it had been cut in a circle.

The sudden act made the other convicts shudder and tremble. Mekfis gave them a sidelong glance and muttered, “To think you’d jump over something like this... You are all hardened criminals, aren’t you? So show me how bold you can be.”

Mekfis next turned to another man. The second he sensed that, the man turned around to run away.

But before he could take a single step, he’d been stopped. His head was grabbed and his neck twisted. With a snap , his vertebrae shattered and the skin of his neck was nearly ripped off. With the bones supporting it now broken, his head dangled by a single piece of his skin.

Seeing that, those who understood the situation reacted. Believing they would be next, they chose to strike first.

In a split second, another convict extended his palm towards Mekfis’s head from behind. A ball of fire appeared at his fingertips. He was aiming to hit him directly in the face. But before the man knew it, his fireball had disappeared, and Mekfis’s thin finger had gone through his ear. He’d at least managed to try and put up some resistance before his eyes rolled back and his body trembled slightly.

“You’re not needed either,” Mekfis said in amusement, as he pulled his bloodstained finger out of the man’s ear. When he did, blood spurted out of the man’s ears, nose, and mouth, and he collapsed in place. It was like his blood had boiled and shot out of his head. The large amount of red spewing into the air looked like a fountain of blood.

Mekfis went on to dispose of several more without any trouble before wiping the blood off himself with a handkerchief and strolling up to Dante. “I still feel like there are too many, but dealing with any more would be a waste.”

Dante had been watching the slaughter with a warped smile, as if it was a good show to forget the boredom of prison life. “So did you find any of the blood to your liking?”

“Unfortunately not. If possible, I’d like to test the blood of that woman...as well as some of yours, Dante,” Mekfis said with a crescent-shaped smile.

“Ugh...you’re even worse than you look,” Mir spat out, and even Dante wryly smiled as he shook his head.

Mekfis’s expression returned to his normal, creepy smile, and he bowed graciously. “I look forward to the next time we meet.”