Chapter 138: Chapter 138 - The Capital(Part 6)

Point-of-View: Argent Stryker

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"How much further is it to his cell? You’re not leading me on a wild goose chase, are you? I’ll kill you if you are," I frowned suspiciously.

"N-no, I’m not! He’s on the third level, it’s just down this flight of stairs and not much further after that!" He shook his head in response.

"You better not be lying, or else...," I warned him.

"I-it’s the truth, I swear!"

As we reached the bottom of the stairs, he led me towards a row of cells, making his way to the one at the very corner of the corridor. I glanced at the cells we passed through, to see people with dark looks in their eyes in each of them. If looks could kill...

They’ve all got collars around their necks and shackles around their wrists and ankles, but no chains connected to the shackles.

"What are those collars and shackles? Enslavement Magic Items?" I inquired with a frown.

"No, the collars are Mana blockers, and the shackles prevent the use of Skills and Soul Weapons," He informed me.

Each cell had barred metal doors in front, but there weren’t any locks or handles...instead, they had electronic locks, with number pads at the side of each door. The doors must be unlocked with codes, this guy better know what the codes are.

We then reached the last cell in the row, before he stepped away meekly as I approached it, my chest pounding and a lump in my throat. As I looked through the bars of the door, my eyes widened...

A skinny figure was sprawled on the ground at the back of the cell, covered in scars and festering wounds. I let out a slight gasp as I inadvertently took a step back, a sense of horror rising up inside me.

It’s him...my father. But...his physical state, he looks like he’s on the verge of death. What...what the hell have they done to him!? My distress began boiling into a cold, furious rage, as I turned to the Knight with an enraged glare, causing him to flinch and stumble back...

"Wh-what...what have they done to him!? Why is he in this state!? He’s a Royal, isn’t he, so why is he in so much worse condition than any of the other prisoners in this place?" I snapped furiously, as I grabbed his collar.

"I-it’s the Crown Prince’s doing! H-he’s been torturing him regularly, a-and using Dark Spells to manipulate the other members of the Royal family into seeing him in perfectly good condition whenever they come down here to see him! H-he told us to keep quiet about it and not tell the King or the other Royals!" He stuttered fearfully.

"Why...why would he do that!? Isn’t he his brother!?" I growled angrily, seething with rage.

"B-before Prince Rhyle abandoned the capital, he was third in line for the throne, but th-there were rumors that he would be elevated to first in line ahead of Prince Drakkar! P-Prince Drakkar resented him for that, a-and not long after Prince Rhyle was brought here, Prince Drakkar began torturing him regularly!

A-and today, a few hours ago, he came down here to torture him again, and poisoned him with a slow acting toxin, with the intention of having him die by tomorrow morning!" He cried in response.

"Unlock the door immediately!" I commanded him, as I grabbed his collar and began to swing him towards the cell in my rage.

"W-wait, don’t throw me, the doors are h-highly electrified, I-I’ll die if I touch it without entering the code first!" He exclaimed in alarm, as I halted the swing of my arm just in time before letting go.

"Tch...go on, then, enter the code and unlock it," I remarked in a cold fury, before he nodded fervently and rushed over to the number pad, typing in the code.

A clicking sound echoed out, before the door automatically slid open and I rushed into the cell, dragging the Knight in with me just in case he got any funny ideas about locking me in.

"Wh-who’s there...?" Muttered dad weakly, slowly lifting his head, a dead look in his eyes as he met my gaze, before a hint of light appeared in them as his eyes widened slightly, "A-Argent...? Is...is that you?"

"Y-yes, it’s me, dad...I’m here, I’m getting you out," I replied as my voiced cracked, walking over towards him and collapsing onto my knees in front of his as I got a closer look at the horrible condition he was in and let out a choked sob...he’s so badly injured all over, it hurts so much to see him like this.

I took out the healing Magic Item that Gior had given me and gently pressed it onto the middle of his chest as I activated it, his injuries closing up as he let out a weak, hollow cough.

"W-wait, did you say ’dad’...?" The guard’s voice came from behind me, sounding shocked, but I ignored him.

D-damn it, this isn’t enough...I could heal him a countless number of times with this device and it wouldn’t do much more than give him just a small amount of relief. The external injuries have closed up, but his body is still in really bad condition.

He needs proper medical attention, or he won’t last much longer in his current state...I have to get him out of here and to a hospital as soon as possible! Otherwise...otherwise he’ll be dead before much longer.

"Hey, you, get the collar and shackles off him," I said to the guard quietly through clenched teeth as my shoulders trembled, struggling to hold back tears.

"O-okay...," He nodded, walking over and taking out a key from his belt, unlocking the collar and shackles, which fell off and hit the floor with loud clangs.

I then gently carried dad on my back, my heart sinking as he winced in pain as I lifted him up. They’ll pay for this...I swear, once I get him to safety, I’m coming right back here and killing them all.

"Show me to the exit," I instructed the guard, who nodded and led the way back out.

We headed up the stairs, up to the second level and then making our way up to the first. I uses Jet Soles to fly up most of the way in order to move as smoothly as possible, and avoid jarring dad’s injuries.

I kept close track of my Mana reserves to ensure that I didn’t use up too much of it...he kept drifting in and out of consciousness, he feels so frail right now.

As we then reached the first level of the dungeon, the guard led me to another flight of stairs which led upwards. Looking at how high the ceiling is, plus how thick the floor was when I dropped down into this place, this staircase is probably really long.

"Once I’m up there, how do I get out of the castle?" I inquired as I turned to the guard.

"At the top of the stairs, there’s a sliding door disguised as a large painting, once you go through it, turn left and head straight, then take the second left turn. After that, it’s the first right turn, and then right again, the entrance to the castle will be straight ahead from there," He answered somberly, before adding, "S-so, um...are you going to kill me now?"

"Huh? No, I said I’d spare you if you helped me, so I will," I replied, as I activated Jet Soles again and flew up the staircase before he could respond.

I had considered killing him anyway, but I don’t care anymore...I just want to get my father out of this damned place and somewhere safe where he can get the medical attention he needs.

Tch, this staircase is a long, winding spiral, why couldn’t they just make it a straight path? I picked up the pace a bit more by fueling the Spell with more Mana...I’ll probably have used a bit more than half my total Mana by the time we get to the top, but that’s fine, I really need to hurry.

I then activated Area Detect to prepare for any Knights or anyone else who might be around at the top of the staircase. Hm, I can sense a lot of people running around up there...a lot are dying too, and rapidly at that.

Is it Gior and Phyurio? No, even I couldn’t wipe out enemies this quickly, most humans can’t pull this off...did Izzy come into the castle? Well, guess I’ll find out soon enough. My eyes then lit up as the exit came into sight, I flew towards it, grabbing the handle and sliding it open.

I stepped out and shut it, and sure enough, it was a large portrait of who I’m assuming is the King...I then flew across to the left, grimacing as I sensed someone heading this way, coming from the corner that I was supposed to make a turn towards.

I picked up my speed to reach the corner before they did, manifesting my Soul Weapon as I closed in and slashing it outwards as the person I was sensing appeared around the corner.

My eyes widened as a floating blade zipped across in front of them and blocked my slash, meeting the familiar gaze of the Knight Commander as we shot past each other.

Damn it, of all the people to...! I don’t have time to fight her, I have to get away-...huh? She isn’t chasing after me, she’s rushing straight towards the entrance to the dungeon.

Not sure what she’s upto, but I don’t care...this is my chance to get out of here, I won’t waste it...!

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