Lian saw the fourth guard.
The man was retreating toward the door, dragging one hand on the wall to find the exit path.
He covered the distance in two long steps. His hand closed around the guard’s throat. Before the man could make a sound, he was lifted off the ground.
His legs moved in the air... and terror had taken over his entire mind, disrupting his ability to think and decide.
"Where is the key to the chains?"
The guard tried to free his hand, but Lian’s finger pressure increased.
"There’s... no key..."
"Then how do they open?"
"The seal... Warden Keln..."
Lian looked at him for a few moments and then slammed the guard against the wall. The strike wasn’t strong enough to kill him, but it was enough to knock him unconscious.
The Cindari’s body fell to the ground.
"What happened?" Aren asked in the darkness.
"He said we need to find the prison head."
"You can see in the dark?"
"Yeah."
"Great, because I can’t see anything."
Lian turned toward him.
Night Eyes allowed him to examine the details of Aren’s chains in the darkness, but showed nothing beyond what could be seen with the eye.
Three main seals were directly on his body.
One on his chest, another behind his neck, and the third near his spine.
The chains attached to them extended like metal roots to the wall and ceiling.
"You can’t break my chains the same way." Aren said.
"Why?"
"Three seals are directly connected to my main Mana channels." He pointed at the marks on his body with a limited movement.
"If you destroy the seals, the Mana backflow will burn my body from the inside."
Lian looked at the chain connections.
"Then I won’t break the seals."
"You’re going to pull the bases out of the wall?" It took Aren a few seconds to understand.
"Yeah."
"This cell was built to hold powerful prisoners. The entire wall is reinforced with the Rootspire’s main roots, and I can’t endure pain like you." Aren gave a short, disbelieving laugh.
Lian wrapped his hand around the chain attached to the ceiling.
"Let’s see how well they built it."
He pulled the chain. The seals on Aren’s body immediately lit up.
Severe pain passed through his body. His jaw clenched, and his breath stopped for a moment.
"Slower, damn it!"
Lian stopped the pressure. Pulling directly transmitted too much force to Aren’s body.
He wrapped the chain around his own arm, then positioned himself so the pressure would be applied directly to the ceiling base instead of the prisoner’s body.
Iron Fortress was still active. He planted his feet firmly on the ground.
Then he pulled down with all his strength, and the sound of stone cracking was heard from above.
Dust spread in the dark space.
Aren lowered his head to keep particles out of his eyes. The metal base resisted, and the surrounding roots stretched.
Lian applied pressure a second time. The muscles in his arm contracted, and the chain trembled like a stretched wire.
This time, part of the ceiling collapsed. The metal base, along with a piece of stone and a few black roots, broke free.
The freed chain fell on the cell floor.
Aren looked at the stone piece hanging from it. Even in the darkness, disbelief could be heard in his voice.
"Your plan really is to break everything?"
"How many times do you need to ask?" Lian moved to the next connection.
The second base was inside the wall. He wrapped both hands around the chain and pulled.
This time, the wall showed more resistance.
He released the chain, stepped back a few steps, and instead of pulling, used the free end of his own chain like a hammer, striking around the base.
The first strike cracked the stone. The second broke part of the roots. On the third strike, the base loosened.
Lian grabbed Aren’s chain and pulled it out with all his force.
Another part of the wall collapsed. One after another, the ceiling and wall connections were broken.
A few minutes later, Aren still had the main chains and Suppression seals on his body, but he was no longer attached to the cell.
He placed both his hands on the ground and tried to stand up. It had been a while since he had stood properly, so it was a little difficult.
His muscles existed, but they were weak and stiff.
On the first attempt, his knees buckled, and his body fell toward the ground.
Aren lost his balance again at that same moment and had to grab the wall.
The sound of forces moving was heard from behind several gates.
The Rootspire was reacting to the escape. Lian placed one of Aren’s arms over his shoulder and pulled him up.
"Let me help you."
Aren did not object. He had probably realized himself that pride was only worth it if they got out of the prison alive.
A sound came from the eye-like Artifacts on the wall.
"Lian." Tharos’s voice echoed in the cell.
"Stop resisting right now."
Lian turned his head toward one of the Artifacts.
With Night Eyes, he could see a black, oval-shaped object on the wall with a very faint light coming from its center.
"No." He answered calmly, and a few seconds of silence followed.
"You are in the lowest part of the Rootspire. You are completely surrounded!" Tharos continued with the same cold calmness.
"I know."
"You have no way out."
"Then why are you so worried?" Lian leaned Aren against the wall near the entrance.
Tharos’s voice cut off for a moment and then played again.
"Release the classified prisoner and get on your knees."
"If you do, your punishment will only be limited to long-term imprisonment. A good offer?" Of course, he wasn’t actually going to give such a small punishment to this bastard.
He planned to torture this human himself every day for a whole year once he surrendered! Freedom? Impossible. This human would be their slave for the rest of his life!
"Enjoy your last moments. I’ll be coming to see you soon, Mr. Prison Head." Lian nodded calmly, then raised his hand and struck the Artifact with his fist.
The black object inside the wall shattered. Orange sparks scattered for a moment, and Tharos’s voice cut off.
His goal from the start had been to leave this place, and he had no interest in hearing offers.
He and Aren left the cell. The first security gate was completely closed.
Thick plates had been placed on top of each other, and living roots had filled all the gaps. Normally, opening it required several security seals and guard confirmation.
"How are you going to open it?" Aren looked at the gate.
"I won’t open it." Lian took the remaining chain around his hand.
"Then what?"
He swung the chain in the air, and the heavy metal end struck the gate’s center. An explosion-like sound echoed in the corridor.
Only a small dent was created on the outer plate.
Lian raised the chain again. The second strike shook the surrounding roots, and dried leaves and black chips fell on the ground.
The third strike was deeper.
One of the plates bent slightly inward.
He really had to give credit to the material used. Breaking them was not easy.
"You’re going to go all the way like this?" Aren looked at the gate and then at Lian.
"Yeah."
"This method might work for one door. What about the next ones?"
"Then after this one, we’ll talk about the next."
He concentrated Iron Fortress over his entire body. Defensive pressure formed around his shoulders, chest, and legs.
Then he ran at full speed toward the gate and slammed his shoulder into the center of the metal plate.
The impact sound shook the entire corridor.
Aren was forced to place his hand on the wall to keep his balance. The gate bent in the middle, and the surrounding roots stretched and tore.
Lian stepped back a few steps, ran again, and the second strike broke the internal locks.
The plates separated from the frame and were thrown into the next corridor. A large cloud of dust, chips, and hot steam covered the space.
"One broken." He passed through the gap.
"Four more left."
"I know."
The second gate was thicker.
More roots moved around it and twisted defensively as Lian approached.
He placed his palm on the gate’s surface and activated Cataclysm Pulse.
The Suppression seal on his chest immediately reacted. Severe pain spread through his Mana channels.
Blood ran down from his nose, and the veins beside his temples bulged, but the Skill took form.
[Cataclysm Pulse.]
The compressed wave entered directly.
The entire gate surface trembled inward for a moment, then the explosion occurred from the other side.
The plates separated from the frame and scattered in the corridor behind the gate.
The backlash pushed Lian back a step. A thin line of blood ran down from his right ear.
"Your body can’t take many of those strikes." Aren said.
He was really getting worried about this insane human. He didn’t want the most insane human he had ever seen to die here like this.
"Then I hope there aren’t many doors left. There should be three left, right?" Lian wiped the blood under his nose with the back of his hand.
The third gate had a different structure.
Living roots grew back as soon as a small part of its surface was broken, closing the gap.
Lian struck once with the chain. The roots split, but before the second strike, they reconnected.
"Interesting. This door regenerates itself." It seemed each door was built so that if another was destroyed, it could hold the attacker longer.
He raised his right hand. To activate Glacial Reaper Claw, he had to push more Mana through the seal’s barrier.
The chains around his chest became hot. Burning pain twisted through his body.
But ice gradually formed around his fingers.
[Glacial Reaper Claw.]