Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 272 – Underground Prison (4)

Embroidered Uniform Guards Fourth Office Office.

The expression of Six-Office Commander Im Gyu-wol, who had been blankly staring at the hastily revised Prison Battlefield Map, hardened.

“This is……”

Defender-in-Chief Muk Seom, who had been watching him while elegantly drinking tea, asked with a puzzled look.

“What’s wrong?”

“D-Defender-in-Chief. We have a problem.”

“Problem?”

“In the rush to revise the map……”

“Don’t beat around the bush and speak quickly.”

“If they move according to the twisted path, it leads to the special area of Eternal Hell Prison Battlefield.”

“Special restricted area? Could it be…… Are you referring to the 120s section?”

Muk Seom had served as the head of the Fourth Office before becoming the Defender-in-Chief.

Thus, he knew more details about the underground prison than most of the Embroidered Uniform Guards in the Fourth Office.

Eternal Hell Prison Battlefield was already called the worst prison in itself, but among them, the cells numbered in the 120s and beyond were the ones that even experienced Embroidered Uniform Guards had to be cautious of.

The latter half of the 120s section was so difficult to manage that there were even rules that must be followed at all times, no exceptions.

“Bring me the map.”

“…… Yes.”

Upon this, Six-Office Commander Im Gyu-wol brought the map to him.

As Defender-in-Chief Muk Seom looked at the revised map, his gaze stopped at a certain point on the map.

“Oh no……”

The same words Im Gyu-wol had uttered flowed out of his mouth as well.

Even though only a part of Eternal Hell Prison Battlefield was marked, the path on the map led to the latter half of the 120s section, which should never be entered under any circumstances.

If one were to follow this map……

‘Cell No. 126……’

If it was the Cell No. 126 he knew of,

“Are the remnants of the Nine Blood Cult still alive?”

“…… That’s right.”

“Oh my.”

At Im Gyu-wol’s answer, Defender-in-Chief Muk Seom clicked his tongue.

“Such a tenacious life.”

“Yes…… I can’t understand it either.”

“That’s not within the realm of understanding.”

“…… You are right, Defender-in-Chief. I was informed that it has been nearly thirty years since the food supply was cut off, but whenever someone approaches that area, they can still hear scratching sounds. So we have taken measures to prevent anyone from going near there, but how a human can survive for decades without eating anything……”

“If that mystery could be solved, our predecessors would have solved it long ago.”

The prisoner of Cell No. 126.

The exact name was unknown, but the identity was the Sixth Blood Saint of the extinct Nine Blood Cult.

No one knows when she was imprisoned.

However, she was known to be the longest-held prisoner in the underground prison and one of the three most dangerous individuals that needed to be guarded against.

This Cell No. 126 was classified as an extremely dangerous person, even though she was confined to the point where it was difficult to provide even a single meal, unlike ordinary prisoners.

This was due to the prisoner’s peculiar skill.

That skill was the ability to enchant people’s minds simply by stimulating their sight and hearing, which had caused many mishaps.

However, in addition to this skill, there was a strange nickname that identified this prisoner.

That nickname was none other than “Immortal.”

The higher-ups found the prisoner’s incomprehensible tenacity of life intriguing and tried to investigate, but they couldn’t uncover anything.

Unable to handle the stubbornness of Prisoner No. 126, who kept her mouth firmly shut despite torture and interrogation, the higher-ups issued an unofficial order to break her will.

That was none other than cutting off the food supply to prevent the prisoner from consuming anything.

One of the greatest desires of human beings is food.

If this desire for food was blocked, they believed it would break her obstinacy and will, but something no one expected happened.

Despite not consuming anything, she did not die of starvation.

She was still alive.

The higher-ups were astonished by this fact and blocked the information from spreading anywhere.

Only a very small number of people in the Imperial Palace knew about this amazing fact, and among the Embroidered Uniform Guards, only those who had served as the head of the Fourth Office were aware.

Even now, the ordinary Embroidered Uniform Guards of the Fourth Office still believed that Prisoner No. 126 was receiving a minimal food supply.

Defender-in-Chief Muk Seom spoke with a grave voice while looking at the map.

“This has become troublesome. If it were just approaching Cell No. 129, it would be equivalent to bringing death upon oneself, so it wouldn’t matter, but if they were to approach Cell No. 126……”

Before he could finish his sentence, Six-Office Commander Im Gyu-wol stood up and said,

“Defender-in-Chief. I will go down personally. If it’s not that bastard Bae Ji-seok, I can handle it at my level.”

“…… No. The trainee is not the problem. If the worst-case scenario occurs, even you won’t be able to handle it.”

With those words, Defender-in-Chief Muk Seom rose from his seat.

***

Somewhere deep inside Eternal Hell Prison Battlefield.

Trainee Joo Woonhyang, who had been surveying his surroundings, tore a tiny piece of his sleeve and attached it to the torch.

As it burned, smoke rose.

‘Ah……’

When he held his breath, the smoke drifted towards the right path among the four intersecting passages.

Joo Woonhyang looked at the right passage.

The direction the smoke flowed seemed to have the most possibility.

So he moved in that direction.

As he walked, his shoes became completely tattered, and he had to take off his other shoe as well.

If it weren’t for his innate true energy, the soles of his feet would have been injured by the damp and cold cave floor.

As he aimlessly moved forward,

“Save me! Please save me.”

Hearing a voice pleading for help from somewhere, Joo Woonhyang listened attentively.

Could someone have fallen into a mechanism trap like him?

The only person who could be in such a situation was Yeom Gyeong, who had been assigned to the inner part of Eternal Hell Prison Battlefield along with him.

With this in mind, Joo Woonhyang ran towards the direction of the voice.

There, he found a sunken area on the floor with a diameter of about 1 jang.

“Save me! Please! Please!”

The voice was coming from below.

Joo Woonhyang immediately held the torch towards that spot.

In the flickering torchlight, he saw a figure with firm-looking thighs pierced by a rope, hanging helplessly in the deep sunken floor.

Joo Woonhyang shouted towards that figure,

“Is that you, Yeom Gyeong?”

In response to Joo Woonhyang’s call, the figure gave no answer.

Joo Woonhyang frowned.

Could he not hear his voice?

As he was puzzled, a voice came from the bottom,

“Save me. Please!”

Is it really him?

Judging by the voice, it sounded almost like begging.

He thought he should save him first.

Pondering how to do it, Joo Woonhyang looked around while illuminating the bottom with the torch.

But when he shone the torch below, apart from the person hanging by the rope, there was a skeleton that appeared to be a corpse.

It seemed someone had fallen here and met their death.

‘Did they fail to dispose of the corpse?’

They had mentioned that the mechanism devices were being repaired in between, but it seems they hadn’t inspected everything.

However, on the opposite side above the person hanging by the rope, something protruding was visible.

It was obscured by the shadow cast by the torch, but,

‘A sword hilt?’

A sword with a unique shape was stuck in the wall.

It had a smooth blade with the hilt directly attached to it. There was also a rope-like object tied to the hilt.

It seemed possible to reach down and pull it out directly.

‘I can use that.’

Having made his decision, Joo Woonhyang moved to the opposite side and reached down.

It was just within reach, and he soon grasped the sword hilt stuck in the wall.

He tried to pull it out, but at that very moment,

-Thump!

His heart pounded violently, and his innate true energy fluctuated.

“Ugh.”

Along with it, convulsions spread throughout Joo Woonhyang’s body as he held the sword.

Unable to control the trembling, numerous noises filled his head, turning it upside down.

[Kill! Kill it!]

[Why, why are you doing this?]

[Please spare me. Please……]

It wasn’t just one or two voices.

The number of voices gradually increased, seeming to reach dozens or hundreds.

In the midst of this, Joo Woonhyang’s eyes wavered.

He clearly saw someone hanging below, whom he thought was Yeom Gyeong, but there was no one there.

It was as if he had seen an illusion.

As he was perplexed by this,

[Give me your body!]

[Die! Die!]

‘Ugh!’

The noises that sent chills down his spine further clouded his mind.

The noises were filled with murderous intent and resentment, and they tried to quickly erode Joo Woonhyang’s mind and body.

‘I need to…… let go…… of my hand.’

Joo Woonhyang tried to remove his hand from the sword hilt.

However, as if it was stuck, the sword hilt wouldn’t leave his palm.

Rather, with the sword hilt in his grip, the blade smoothly slid out from the wall.

If the blade had been stuck there long enough for the corpse to become a skeleton, it should have been rusted, but surprisingly, it was intact and even emitting sword energy.

‘Let go! Let it go……’

Joo Woonhyang tried to remove the sword from his hand with all his strength.

But it was useless.

The innate true energy in his middle danjeon was generating intense heat, resisting this murderous energy, but the screams and vengeful spirits contained in this unknown sword were too strong.

Eventually, the trembling in Joo Woonhyang’s hand that held the sword stopped.

Then, as Joo Woonhyang raised his head, a strange light flowed from his eyes.

-Swish!

With his eyes changed, Joo Woonhyang, holding the sword in one hand and picking up the torch, walked towards somewhere.

On the way there, a warning was written in red letters on both walls.

[No entry within thirty steps]

It meant not to approach within thirty steps.

However, Joo Woonhyang ignored this warning and walked forward.

The moment he stepped on the spot corresponding to thirty steps, an eerie wind began to blow from inside the prison cell.

-Whoosh!

The torch flickered violently.

The shadow touched by the light was rippling like waves.

Despite the strange phenomenon occurring, Joo Woonhyang didn’t seem to care at all and approached further.

And he stood in front of the prison cell.

[One hundred and twenty-nine]

It was engraved on the thick bars of the cell.

It was the cell number that had a warning written in the prison register to never approach.

At that moment, Joo Woonhyang raised the sword and swung it towards the bars.

-Swish!

A sharp aura enveloped the blade, and with a clanging sound, the thick iron bars were sliced off.

Joo Woonhyang kicked the cut-off bars, and they fell into the cell.

-Thud!

Without hesitation, Joo Woonhyang entered.

In the flickering torchlight, a grotesque figure leaning against the wall could be seen.

The corners of Joo Woonhyang’s mouth twisted bitterly as he looked at it.

***

“Hmm?”

Mok Gyeong-un, who had easily passed through the section with mechanism traps, tilted his head and looked somewhere.

Originally, he had intended to just pass by since it had nothing to do with his plan, but one prison cell was open.

Above the entrance of the open cell, it was engraved as follows:

[One hundred and twenty-six.]

Seeing this, the words of his subordinate Mong Mu-yak came to Mok Gyeong-un’s mind.

[The cell where Holy Fire Priestess is located is No. 130. But just in case, I’d like to tell you something that you should keep in mind.]

[What is it?]

[It would be better to avoid the vicinity of Cell No. 126 and Cell No. 129 as much as possible.]

[Why?]

In response to his question, Mong Mu-yak had mentioned the warning he had seen.

Perhaps Cell No. 126 was where the Sixth Blood Saint of the Nine Blood Cult was imprisoned.

He said there was a warning that one should not approach within ten steps of that place, and even when approaching for the purpose of delivering meals, one must cover their eyes and ears without fail.

‘Eyes and ears?’

Why did they give such a warning?

For a moment, a hint of curiosity arose, but since it was unrelated to his goal, he quickly dismissed it.

There was no need to enter Cell No. 126 anyway.

However,

‘Did that guy open it?’

The cell that should have been tightly closed was open.

And someone had entered that cell and was doing something inside.

That someone was none other than the trainee named Yeom Gyeong, a disciple of Huashan Sect.

Wondering what he was doing, Mok Gyeong-un saw that Yeom Gyeong was pulling something out of the body of someone who was fully restrained with a blindfold over their eyes and a gag in their mouth.

-Pluck!

The moment he pulled out each one,

-Roar!

The energy of the restrained person began to surge rapidly.

Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes gleamed as he watched this.

That was because, in the eyes of Mok Gyeong-un, who had opened the Ghost Eye, energy was visualized, and this energy possessed a nature he had never seen before.

-Crackle! Crackle!

It was generating blue lightning that spread like roots in a downpour.