Capítulo 736: Detained
(Planet Wamir, Righteous Faction’s Subterranean Detention Facility, Veyr’s POV)
The air beneath the detention facility reeked of cold iron and burnt ash, thick enough to sting Veyr’s lungs with every shallow breath that he took.
Before him, a narrow corridor stretched endlessly ahead, lined with slabs of dark stone that glowed faintly with runic chains carved into its surface.
‘Where… where am I?’
He wondered, his mind fading in and out of consciousness, as he felt three Monarchs beside him dragging him through a dust-laden hall.
*SKRRRR*
His boots scraped the ground as he was pulled forward, his head hanging low, black hair clinging to his face in wet strands while a dull ache throbbed behind his eyes.
His body felt unbearably heavy, his veins sluggish and cold under the weight of whatever sedative they had pumped into him, as although he tried his best to lift his gaze toward the cell at the end of the hallway, his vision trembled, smearing the edges of light and shadow together.
‘Why does Mauriss want to keep me alive?’ he thought faintly, his mind drifting somewhere between confusion and exhaustion. ‘Aren’t Cult Dragons supposed to be their greatest enemies? Isn’t killing me the Righteous Faction’s highest goal?’
He wondered, as he almost wanted to laugh at the irony, however, unfortunately for him, even his lips refused to obey his mind at this moment.
*Huff–*
The only sound that escaped his throat was a shallow breath, weak and uneven, as the Monarchs came to a stop before a heavy steel door reinforced with layered barriers.
“Open the seals”
One of them ordered, as the guard standing outside began undoing the mechanism that sealed the prison door shut.
*Crank*
*Creek*
Soon, the door creaked open, as they dragged him inside, before tossing him aside like discarded cargo.
*Thud*
He hit the cold floor with a muted thud, his shoulder screaming from the impact as he blinked against the dim light, trying to focus.
‘Blurry…. Everything feels too blurry.’
He concluded, as the world around him swayed and tilted like a ship on rough seas.
‘Can I escape? Do I have any hope of getting out of here alive?’ he wondered, his thoughts slow and fragmented, as the sound of rattling chains filled the chamber.
He had once heard that Leo had been trained by Charles in every art of infiltration and escape known to the Cult, however, he himself had never undergone any training of the sort.
His upbringing had been different; he had been a symbol, a messiah to the people, never a warrior built for survival.
He had no idea how to dislocate a joint to slip out of restraints, no knowledge of how to disable mana seals, and no strength left in his body to resist them anyway.
*Clank*
*Clank*
His wrists were bound first, the heavy iron cuffs locking around his arms as glowing blue runes flared to life, sealing his mana within his body.
Then came the chains around his ankles, drawn tight until he could no longer stretch his legs, with two more being fastened across his torso, as they anchored him to the wall until he could barely move his head.
“Good, he can’t move at all now….”
One Monarch said, as he watched the process with close supervision, while the others looked at him with disinterest.
“So,” another said after a long silence, “why do you think Lord Mauriss wants to keep this lowlife alive?”
He asked, as the third shrugged.
“Who knows. Maybe he wants to question him. Maybe he just wants to humiliate him before killing him later.”
The third suggested, as the first one shook his head slowly.
“No,” he said.
“Lord Mauriss is too smart for theatrics. He’s not repeating the same mistakes we’ve made for the past two thousand years.”
The others turned toward him, their expressions puzzled.
“What do you mean?” two asked.
“I mean this,” the first Monarch continued, his tone grave yet calm. “Every time we’ve killed a Dragon, the Cult simply chooses another.
It’s built into their doctrine—slay one Dragon, and another will rise from his ashes.
So in the grand scheme of things, killing a Dragon achieves nothing but martyrdom.
However, if he’s alive and helpless, they can’t appoint a new one.”
The chamber fell silent for a moment, the sound of dripping water echoing faintly in the distance, as everyone’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Last I heard,” the first Monarch went on, “they already have someone ready. A Shadow Dragon, waiting for confirmation of the Dragon’s death to take over.
So if we kill this lowlife now, that successor immediately steps up.
But—-
If instead we keep him here, barely breathing, for the next hundred—no, two hundred years—then they remain leaderless, divided, desperate.
A new Dragon cannot be appointed as long as the old one still lives, meaning the Cult will have no new messiah.”
The other two Monarchs exchanged glances, realization dawning across their faces.
“Brilliant,” the second Monarch whispered.
“That’s… that’s genius.” the third one added, as they rejoiced at the brilliance of this plan.
Veyr however, felt his heart sink as he listened, every word stabbing him deeper than any blade could.
His stomach turned cold, his mind spinning with disbelief as he finally understood the cruelty of their plan.
‘They won’t kill me… they’ll instead let me rot.
They’ll use me to paralyze the entire Cult.’
He realized, as the Monarch who had spoken smiled faintly before turning to leave, his boots echoing against the stone.
“Right now,” he said, glancing back one last time, “their only option is to try to rescue him. And in doing so, they’ll march straight into their graves…. So in my understanding, we hold all the cards now.”
*CLANG*
The door shut behind them with a heavy clang, sealing Veyr behind in complete darkness.
He tried to move, but the chains only bit deeper into his skin, as his breaths came slow, shallow, while his mind sank into a haze of dread and exhaustion.
This whole plan did not sound good to him.
He felt like a helpless bait dangled on a bait hook.
However, unfortunately he could not do anything about it either.
Guys there is some server issue ongoing with today, chapters are not being published as soon as us authors hit publish.
And the entire backend system was down for hours.
So in-case chapters come out later today than usual, just know it’s not my fault.
I would have most likely published them as usual, but it might come out 2-4 hours later than I did.