It was obvious that the prisoners did not know how they had gotten here, but there was still an intensity behind their eyes that showed just how dangerous they were! There were so many different types of creatures, and Jason listened as they began to mutter quietly to themselves.
"Huh? Where am I? Am I free?" a tall black-skinned creature with long horns spoke with a hiss.
"Growwwll~! Bring me something to eat right now!" a green short goblin with large arms and an even larger stomach.
"Blood! I need blood! I want to make you all bleed!" a humanoid creature with blood red eyes, a bald head, and long fangs peeking from its mouth.
"Yawnn~ I’ve been asleep for a long time, haven’t I? I think I need to stretch my legs for a bit." A humanoid female that was completely naked and had hair that was made from literal fire.
"Who’s that over there. A Machina bastard. I’m going to kill him." a reptilian creature with green skin and a long tongue that slicked across the floor as he glared at Destro.
"Hehehe. So I’m not the only one who was captured. You fools will regret the day you put me in a cage." A round, hairy creature that looked like an armadillo.
All these creatures and even more silent ones felt their restraints breaking off, and they came down from their large cylindrical prisons and looked around with narrowed eyes as they enjoyed their first moment of freedom in centuries. There were black collars attached to their necks, and they each had on the same black and white striped outfit, as well as a number tattooed on their shoulders. The creatures that were being released at this moment were not regular monsters. They were criminals, killers, murderers, and conquerors. Each of them had once been a rampaging monster that was chased down across the Primordial Expanse just like Jason, but after being branded as a Black Enigma, they had been captured by the Machina and imprisoned as punishment for their crimes. But now, they had a chance to alter their fate.
"Listen up, you animals!"
A loud voice suddenly echoed through the field, and all the criminals turned their attention towards Destro. The Machina general was standing tall with a deep frown on his face, and he roared out to them in a commanding tone.
"You have all been briefed about what you came here for today! That man over there is Jason Marc, and it is the will of the Overlord that he is captured! Just like the deal stated, any criminal who is capable of capturing Jason Marc, dead or alive, will have their sentence lifted! This is not a deal that comes by often –"
Woosh!
But before Destro could finish what he was saying, one of the prisoners suddenly flashed over and stood over him imposingly! The prisoner was a member of a race known as the Gisra that had long legs and arms that allowed them to move at abnormal speeds. There were runes covering his arms and chest, and he stared down at Destro with wide orange eyes that were filled with madness as he spoke.
"And who are you to order us to do anything, Machina? We are out of our cells, and the only thing standing between us and freedom is you. What’s stopping me from just killing you right now?"
The Gisra had an imposing presence that would have been enough to put fear into anyone’s heart! Now that he was out of his prison, his SSS Rank mana was flowing freely through his body, and it pressed down on everything around him with intensity! But Destro was not phased at all by the Gisra’s words, and he just brought out a button and pressed it!
BZTTTTT!!!
"GRAAAA!"
"HHHHHHNNN!"
"ARGGGHHH!!"
"RARRRGGHH!"
"ROARRR!"
Screams and shouts echoed through the area as all the prisoners felt an intense shock pass through their bodies! They fell to their hands and knees and grabbed the collars around their necks as they tried to pry it off, but no matter how much they pulled, they couldn’t get rid of the shock collars!
"You shouldn’t try to get rid of it. It’ll only cause you more pain. Or are you so stupid that you already forgot the deal that we made with you all? If you try to escape, you will die. If you try to kill me, you will die, and if you disobey any of my orders, you will die. The only way you can live is by killing that man, Jason Marc. Do that, and you will be granted the freedom you so desperately desire."
The shocks finally stopped, and Destro watched as the criminals all turned to him in anger! For a moment, he thought that they would all attack him and ruin their plans, but he let out a small sigh of relief when he saw them turn their attention towards Jason! Jason was still standing on the black platform and looking down on them all with a condescending gaze, and the moment the prisoners turned to him, Destro saw Jason’s mouth split into a grin.
"So this is what the Machina had planned for me? In a way, I’m almost flattered. If you’re doing this, then I can only assume that you truly had no other option, and you had to give me your very best. I’m proud that I managed to push the mightiest race in our Primordial domain into adopting such a dirty tactic. But this shield you’ve put over our heads. Don’t tell me it’s because you don’t want anyone to know what you’re doing."
Jason’s eyes turned towards Destro in the distance, and he grinned when he saw Destro frown in anger! That single act confirmed exactly what Jason had been thinking. It didn’t make sense that the Machina would go out of their way to use such an intricate defensive artefact to hold everyone in one place, so the only explanation that made sense was that the Machina were trying to make sure no one outside this shield would notice what was going on.
’So they are even willing to go against the law themselves just to prevent me from reaching Riyad.’
Jason smiled mockingly as he looked over all the criminals, and his eyes travelled towards two people that he knew would be far more troublesome than the others. One of them was a shirtless bald man with white paint drawn all around his body in runic lines. There were so many runes covering his body that you wouldn’t be able to figure out what he looked like due to how dense the lines were. The man was standing in a nonchalant way that made it look like he didn’t have a care in the world, and his face was calm and expressionless. But there was no way he could hide the mana that was swirling inside of him. Jason had already felt hundreds of different mana signatures from the different people he met on his travels, but this was the first time he would feel an actual threat just by sensing the Magic essence inside someone else. The mana Jason was feeling was at least ten times denser than his own. And even though Jason knew that he was stronger than this man, he still felt wary since the density of mana plays a big part in how powerful any spell you activate will be. A simple fireball could become as strong as dragonfire if the mana you use to activate it is dense enough.