For a few seconds, Aren just stared at Lian. At first, he thought Lian’s sentence was some kind of joke.
An inappropriate joke from a human he had only known for a few minutes.
But this man’s expression bore no resemblance to someone who intended to joke.
His eyes were still calm and indifferent, and even the Suppression chains that compressed the Mana inside his body with every movement had not been able to create the slightest sign of worry on his face.
Aren took his gaze off Lian’s face and looked around.
His own chains were attached to the wall and ceiling from four points. The black seals on his chest, shoulders, and the back of his neck glowed with a faint orange light.
Outside the cell, four Cindari guards stood with ready weapons.
Beyond them were five security gates.
Then the main prison.
Then the Rootspire’s military levels.
And finally, a city with thousands of soldiers.
"You said you want to leave this place?" He looked at Lian again. He didn’t want to believe that the human he had just met was literally insane.
But how else could he describe him? No other word came to his mind...
"Yeah."
Aren waited for a few moments, as if imagining Lian would give more explanation.
It was better not to judge too quickly... maybe this man really had an idea? A complete plan to escape or something like that.
"How?" When that didn’t happen, he asked.
Lian raised his chained hands.
The rings slid over each other with a heavy sound. The golden veins between the black metal lit up, and a faint pressure flowed through his Mana channels.
"By breaking everything in front of us."
"That’s the plan?"
"Yeah."
"Just that?"
"It’s worked so far." Lian shrugged.
If Seris were here, she would really be proud of him.
Aren stared at him with a look caught between disbelief and worry.
The man who had finally come to save him apparently had no secret path, exit Artifact, or complex plan.
He just wanted to break the doors, push the guards aside, and move straight from the lowest part of the Rootspire to outside Vhalaris.
For the first time, Aren considered the possibility that the human standing in front of him might be more dangerous than all the Cindari who had imprisoned him, or at least more insane.
Lian looked at his own chains.
Upon entering the cell, the guards had attached the extra part of his chains to a thick ring inside the wall.
They probably wanted to make sure that even approaching Aren wouldn’t be possible until the end of the meeting.
But after the conversation began, Lian had moved forward a few steps, and the guards had allowed the chain’s length to extend.
Now there was a short distance between him and the attachment point.
"Human? What do you think you’re doing?" A sudden voice echoed in the room. It was the guards’ voice. They couldn’t understand what this human was trying to do.
But Lian didn’t care. He pulled both his wrists apart. The golden veins on the chains immediately lit up.
The central seal on his chest reacted, and a heavy wave of pressure entered his Mana channels.
The pain rose from his wrists, passed through his arms, reached his shoulders and spine.
The skin under the metal rings quickly became hot, as if the chain intended to burn his flesh from the inside.
A System message appeared before him.
[Suppression Seal Output Increased.]
[Forced Resistance Detected.]
[Warning: Continued Resistance May Cause Mana Channel Damage.]
"Wait." Aren said immediately upon seeing the chains’ light.
Lian did not stop the pressure.
"Those chains get stronger with resistance. The more Mana you push in, the more pressure they return."
"I know."
"If you continue, your Mana channels will tear."
"Then they need to break before that." Lian gave him a brief look.
He took a deep breath.
He activated Diamond Skin. For a moment, the Skill didn’t respond.
The Suppression seal had made the Mana flow in his channels heavy and slowed the activation of any ability.
Lian pushed again. More Mana passed through the barrier of the chains.
A sharp pain formed in his chest, then the skin on his arms and shoulders became harder.
The muscles beneath them contracted, and faint gray veins of light appeared on his body.
[Diamond Skin Activated at Reduced Efficiency.]
Then he activated Iron Fortress.
This time, instead of spreading the defense over his entire body, he concentrated it on his shoulders, chest, and arms.
Heavy pressure formed around his upper body.
The air compressed for a moment. The chains were pulled with a loud sound.
The ring attached to the wall trembled.
The four guards outside the cell immediately noticed the movement.
"What the hell are you doing? Are you trying to break the chains? Are you insane?" One of them stepped forward.
"Stop resisting and get on your knees right now!"
Lian didn’t even look at him. He pulled both his hands in opposite directions. The golden veins on the chains lit up with more intensity.
The Suppression seal on his chest became like molten metal.
Blood came out from under the locked rings around his wrists and flowed over his fingers.
Aren looked at the chain’s attachment point.
"These chains were made for high-level prisoners. Even if your physical power isn’t restricted, you can’t—"
The sound of metal cracking echoed in the cell.
Aren fell silent.
One of the chain’s rings had deformed. Not enough to open, but the flat surface had bent under the pressure of Lian’s hands.
The guards raised their weapons. They had just realized that these chains seemed breakable!
But how? Was this human that powerful? No one had ever been able to do such a thing with these chains before!
"Final warning!" the commander shouted.
Lian applied pressure for the second time. This time, his target was not the chain itself.
He changed his body’s direction and applied all of Iron Fortress’s force to the attachment point.
The chain stretched, and the metal ring inside the wall resisted.
But the stone and old roots around it began to crack.
A thin crack spread from beside the base, and dust fell from the wall.
"Impossible..." Aren whispered in disbelief... what was he witnessing right now...?
Lian planted his right foot firmly on the ground. The muscles in his back and shoulders contracted.
With a short shout, he pulled the chain toward himself, and part of the wall exploded.
A large piece of old stone, black roots, and the metal base came out together. The broken piece fell on the cell floor with a heavy sound in the enclosed space.
The chain was still wrapped around his hands, shoulders, and chest, but it no longer connected him to the wall.
He dropped the stone piece hanging from the chain’s end.
"One less."
The guards didn’t wait for orders. All four attacked at the same time, the tips of their spears and the edges of their swords lighting up with red Mana.
They didn’t know what kind of monster they were facing, or what kind of monster had the ability to do such a thing.
But they couldn’t just wait for these chains to be destroyed and this monster to be freed!
"Get on your knees!" the group commander shouted loudly.
Lian grabbed the long chain attached to his right wrist. He had no intention of kneeling.
The first soldier came forward with a spear.
His movement was fast and direct. The weapon’s tip went toward Lian’s shoulder; a point that could disable his right arm’s muscles without killing him.
Lian stepped aside, swung the chain in the air, and the heavy iron rings moved like a metal whip, hitting the soldier’s side.
The impact sound echoed in the cell. The guard’s black armor dented, his body was lifted off the ground and slammed into the wall beside the entrance.
The armor prevented his bones from completely shattering, but the air in his lungs was forced out, and he fell to the ground.
The next two soldiers attacked from two directions. One blocked the direct path with a spear, and the other brought his sword from the side toward Lian’s neck.
Lian wrapped the chain around the spear’s shaft. With a sudden pull, he unbalanced the soldier.
The guard’s body was pulled toward him.
Lian brought his shoulder forward.
[Iron Fortress]
His reinforced shoulder hit the soldier’s chest center. Part of the armor cracked with a dry sound.
The guard was thrown back and collided with the sword-wielding soldier. Both fell on the ground, but the second one got up faster.
He moved his sword from low to high.
The blade reached Lian’s back.
Diamond Skin prevented deep penetration, but the heated edge passed over the skin’s surface, creating a bloody line from below his shoulder blade to his side.
He turned and grabbed the soldier’s wrist.
The man tried to free his hand, but Lian’s fingers were locked around his bone like a metal clamp.
The pressure increased, and the wrist joint made a short sound.
The sword fell from the guard’s hand. Before he could step back, Lian brought his head forward.
His forehead hit the soldier’s face, and the sound of the helmet’s nose guard breaking was heard.
The guard’s body went limp and fell to the ground. The last soldier stepped back. Terror had taken over his entire being.
They are not mindless monsters who can’t feel fear! And now, seeing a real monster in front of him... he was terrified.
He threw away all desire to fight and perform his duties... what did this damn prison have to do with him anyway?
Instead of attacking, he placed his hand on the red seal beside his armor.
Lian saw his movement, but the distance was too great to stop him.
The seal activated with intense light, and all the lights in the corridor and cell went out at that same moment.
Absolute darkness took over everything. At the same time, the sound of a deep bell rose from within the walls.
[Prison Breach Detected.]
[Classified Prisoner Containment Compromised.]
[Lower Rootspire Lockdown Initiated.]
The roots inside the walls began to tremble. The distant gates closed one after another.
"Damn it." Aren said in the darkness. He really felt like everything had been going too well.
But how was escaping from this hell supposed to be that easy?
Lian lazily looked around. He couldn’t see anything, but that wasn’t a problem... he activated Night Eyes.
The darkness gradually faded. The cell’s environment appeared before his eyes in shades of gray, faint green, and cold shadows.
Even the darkness was not going to stop him from leaving this place...