The sound of their footsteps filled the silence within the rooms as all of the Abyss Beasts were currently resting. Those that were awake dare not make a single sound less the man in the armour turned his attention towards them.
Seeing the fear within their eyes and the way they shrunk into a corner, Alice was reminded of herself.
How she wanted to be ignored so that she could be spared from the experiments.
Glancing around the prison, Alice could say that her room within the Zenia household was much better than what they got. Bloodied and rusted chains that hung off the ceiling, constant echos of water drops filling their mind, the humidity of the rooms and the stench given off by other beasts.
Both the smell of rotting flesh and mould forming on wilted and dried up plants mixed into a horrendous blend that invaded the nose.
Reaching the end of the prison, there was another elevator that greeted them as the man opened his mouth.
"This is the last elevator, get in. Once you're at the bottom, someone else will take over. You'll be given a task and I'll collect you once it's time for you to fight in 2 days." The man explained coldly before tugging their chains and pushing the two of them into the elevator.
Without waiting for a response, he watched as the two descended into the darkness before turning around.
Now that they were left alone, both Alice and Lilia sighed in relief.
"Urg what a rude b*stard. I didn't want to say anything the entire time since I know what kind of person he is. The more we talk during that moment the more he'll just hit us." Lilia complained while stretching her body. Standing up, she helped Alice to her feet.
"From the sounds of things, we'll be staying at wherever we're going for the next to days then we have to fight again. Do you think he's sending us to the mines?" Lilia asked while trying to get a peek of what was below them, but she couldn't see anything.
"Don't know… But unlikely. This place for beasts." Alice shook her head.
From the rooms above, she could tell that this entire place was for keeping Beasts. There were other levels to the prison but the man had taken them straight to the elevator down. Meaning their destination was not within the usual prison cells.
As they continued to descend, their questions were answered.
"Say Alice… You don't suppose our job has something to do with that thing now do you?" Lilia asked hesitantly.
"Don't know. But hope not." Alice shook her head.
She's heard of Abyss Beasts, she's experienced their blood and she remembers their information. Yet despite all of this, she had never imagined or heard of a beast of this magnitude.
Large chains with each segment bigger than the cages the two were in hung from the walls and ceiling towards a pit of crimson within the depths of this cavity deep below the surface. Charred skeletal plating served as land to walk on with what seems to be skin ripped and burned into the surface.
Two large dorsal fins cleaved the chasm in half as large metal spikes were stapled through the flesh and bones of this behemoth.
Jagged bone dyed with the brightest red erupted from the back of the head, spine and elbows, threatening to destroy anything that stood in its way.
The plating around the arms and body seemed to mimic muscle anatomy as cracks could be observed across the surface, yet there were signs that such armour could be abandoned at will. Red flesh peaked through the gaps and twitched with life.
Its skull was segmented into four parts that was split with a cross, each covering a quarter of its monstrous head. Three gaps in the bone armour revealed dormant eyes that threatened to awaken at a moments notice while waves upon waves of teeth are sheathed behind the plating.
It had four large arms pierced and chained tightly against the walls while two smaller arms could be seen hugging its chest.
Each breath it took caused the plates around its body to shake while a pulse of orange spread across the gaps. Smoke formed from its body and shot out of the gaps across the plating while the unstable ground beneath the titan would quiver at each breath.
A monster of this size dwarfed the arena and Alice couldn't imagine the devastation such a beast could bring.
Yet there was another thought surfacing in her mind.
What if she drank its blood? The beast was still alive that was certain. What power could she harvest from such a beast?
Just thinking of the possibilities caused Alice's mouth to water.
'Could it be enough to go against the Zenia family?' She wondered to herself but rejected the notion.
While she was imprisoned for ten long years, she knew that her family was famed for its research and strength to protect itself. With her new knowledge regarding Sigils and how they seemed to be more permanent forms of Abyss Blood power without side effects, there was no doubt that her family must own Sigil warriors of their own.
'I don't know what kind of power this monster's blood would give me but if I get a chance, I should harvest some into a container. It might come in handy when I fight again in the arena.' Alice thought to herself. However, it couldn't be any random container since the purity of the blood will drop as time passes. Ideally it should be a glass vial designed to hold Abyss Blood with a cap.
But such a handy thing was too hard for Alice to get her hands on right now so any sealed container would do.
'Though I doubt they'll let me carry a container of blood with me no matter how much I try.' She sighed inwardly before turning her attention towards the buildings that surround the titan.
Tall towers could be seen at each mass of stone protruding from the pit of crimson. Interconnecting bridges stretched across the towers at different levels, creating a labyrinth of paths with slaves walking in single file lines.
Protruding platforms could be seen with bipedal Abyss Beasts crouching on the edges with wings folded on their back. Iron armour decorated their bodies and guards could be seen saddled on the backs of such beasts.
Large bodies of lava pooled out from gaps within the towers, forming lavafalls that poured into the depths without signs of stopping and the heat rising from below warped the light around the buildings.
The sound of metal clashing against one another melded into loud rhythmic symphonies that welcomed Alice and Lilia into the pits of hell while the screeches of Abyss Beasts sounded their arrival.
Looking at one another, the two couldn't help but swallow their saliva in nervousness.
"At least it's only two days right?" Lilia forced a smile in an attempt to lift the mood.
Nodding her head, Alice was now grateful that it was only two days. While the allure of powerful blood was nice, she didn't want to be anywhere near the titan when it might wake up!
Upon arriving at the bottom, the two could see an old man waiting with a list in his hands. He wore a pair of glasses, large white beard, bald with several scars showing from his eye to the back of his head. His outfit consisted of a single cloak with a hood, a sleeveless shirt, some basic pants and a pair of brown boots. Strapped to his waist was several pouches and leather whip.
"Hmm let's see… Only two for area 4." He muttered before eyeing both Alice and Lilia up and down.
"Can you two even lift the bloody thing? Whatever. I'm not one to distribute what the slaves do here. You two! Follow me. Your job for two days is to harvest some plates from the big b*stards back and carry it to the other slaves." He sighed deeply while gesturing for both Alice and Lilia to follow him.
Bringing his finger to his mouth, he whistled loudly as soft rumbles could be heard nearby.
What they thought was a large boulder was in fact an Abyss Beast that stood up on all fours. The rock acted as a shell on its back as soft flesh could be seen through the gaps now that it was standing up. A small round head poked out of the body and glanced towards the man as though awaiting orders.
Deep cuts could be seen carved into its forehead, allowing a metal helmet to be stabbed into its skull, permanently embedding itself as the flesh bulged out and grew around the helmet.
Grabbing onto one of the rocks on its shell, the man hoisted himself onto the back and glanced towards Alice and Lilia.
"Climb on however you want. If you fall you're getting dragged across the floor." He warned while grabbing their chains and cuffing it against a hoop that was pierced through one of the rocks.
Hearing this, the two quickly grabbed on and found some footholds to keep themselves attached to the beast.
Without waiting to see if the two were ready, the man ordered the beast to move towards their next destination.