"If my memory serves, those fellows belonged to the Star of Nagran, the ones I saw earlier today..."

These people had left their homes with difficulty and joined the Cavalry, only to fall prey to such schemes within a day. Judging by their attitudes, filled more with shame and awkwardness than with dark greed, it was clear they had truly believed this place was not as bad as it seemed.

Yuder thought, They don't know the difference between a regular random fight and one specifically for awakened fighters.

Though frustrated, Yuder realized he needed to act quickly before they became prey in the awakened fighters' arena.

The contracts and oaths created by the Nukijo gang, as well as the drugs they were fed, posed no real constraint to Yuder. The oaths weren't even properly certified. Thanks to Kishiar, who had intervened cleverly, allowing him to pretend not to understand the written word and avoiding direct signing, the binding power of the oaths was almost imperceptible.

Of course, to those who don't understand oaths, it could still be threatening... but that's not the case for me, Yuder reflected.

He had seen that the oath, for the most part, only compelled the participants to join the fights regardless of the situation, along with subtly mixed clauses to prevent easy escape.

In essence, for those like Yuder, who had no intention of running away and instead planned to destroy the system from within, these oaths were of little concern.

Idiots. It's evident how easily they've been operating until now.

The failure of those responsible for maintaining public order led to such situations. Yuder considered them all worth eliminating.

As Yuder surveyed the room, he counted the debts he would settle when he swept these scoundrels away.

I can overlook the drugs mixed in my food and drink, but the one who hit Kishiar's face must pay back tenfold. If there are any Awakeners detained here who came for Cavalry recruitment, I will exact a further price for each... Ah, and there's a part to show to Ershi too.

He remembered Ershi, the vengeful soul he had met in the west. She was currently imprisoned and laboring quietly. A year ago, she had narrowly escaped human trafficking and ended up in the Star of Nagran.

Her descent into vengeance was fueled by the survival of only herself, despite having a family who were also kidnapped. Her deep anger had abated only when her powers surged to the point of self-destruction.

This was reaffirmed through information gathered from several Awakeners from the Star of Nagran, including Robel, during the process of capturing and imprisoning Ershi.

To Ershi, who had screamed at Kishiar, questioning what they had done when others like her needed salvation, Kishiar had calmly replied, "I will help you see clearly again who to blame, who to avenge, and what consequences your own actions have wrought."

Since then, Ershi had been helping rebuild Tainu, atoning for the indiscriminate killings she had caused.

Now, it was time to show both Ershi and the Cavalry where she had been taken a year ago, and who truly deserved punishment.

As Yuder's gaze sharpened, a faint tapping sound suddenly echoed from above. Looking up, he saw a section of the seemingly empty ceiling retracted upwards, revealing a hidden space. From there, a voice rang out.

"Oh my, the owner of the room is still awake. Would you scold this rude night visitor who desired to see your face at this late hour?"

The voice was grandiose and embarrassingly formal, yet playful and smooth, like something out of a high-society gathering. In an instant, all thoughts cleared from Yuder's mind.

Yuder looked up at the dark void in silence, as if waiting for a response, then finally spoke.

"Come down, then."

"Since I have your permission, I shall descend."

Moments later, Kishiar leaped down from the gap. The tall, imposing man landed silently beside Yuder, making the room seem suddenly smaller.

Kishiar greeted him with a mischievous smile.

"I waited for when you might come, then decided to come myself. Waiting has its charms, but sometimes it's better to seek out what you desire."

Kishiar was indeed larger than life and never short of words.

Yuder, instead of pointing this out, exhaled softly and asked, "Was your journey here uncomfortable?"

"Not in the slightest. The ceiling had a protective magic circle, creating quite a spacious area. Plus, moving from the next room was easy."

"That's good to hear."

"I took the liberty of disabling that magic circle on my way here."

Had the Nukijo gang heard this, they would have screamed in horror at the destruction of their expensive magic circle, but Yuder was the only one present.

"That's also good. Are you alright from the drug you took earlier?"

"Absolutely fine. I haven't cultivated such a weak tolerance to poison. Besides, you ate most of it for me, so perhaps you should be more concerned about yourself."

"You already know that won't affect me."

Yuder had suspected something was amiss when Nukijo kept offering drinks. He had cunningly eaten most of Kishiar's food in his stead. It had taken time to confirm that the intended effect was sleep, as there were many possibilities for tampering.

I thought it would be more likely a stimulant or relaxant, but a sleeping drug... A rather mundane approach in retrospect.

For Yuder, food was usually consumed without much thought to the quantity. This was one of the rare occasions he had eaten so much, deliberately. He remembered Nukijo's barely concealed frustration at the sight of him devouring the food and drinks, seemingly regretting the cost.

It seems I ate more eagerly just to spite that fool's dumbfounded face.

Although he had eaten more than usual, the excess would soon be digested as he began to move and exert himself.

"But before I came here, I noticed something unusual about this place, apart from the protective magic. Have you checked it out?"

"No, what is it?"

Yuder had briefly surveyed his surroundings upon waking but had no idea what Kishiar was referring to. As Yuder shook his head, the corners of Kishiar's lips twitched upwards.

"It seems like powers don't manifest properly here. As if there's something suppressing abilities."

Suppressing abilities? Yuder immediately tried to conjure fire into the air.

But...

"...It's true."

Just like when Yuder had suffered a grave injury in the Great Sarain Forest and his abilities hadn't recovered, his powers didn't manifest properly. The flames he tried to summon flickered weakly before extinguishing. Witnessing this, Yuder's eyebrows twitched in contemplation.

"This is... Those people. They didn't just lock us up here without any thought."

"Do you have any idea why?"

"Yes. I suspect it has something to do with the abilities of someone else trapped here."

That seemed the most likely reason.

"Interesting."

"We should try to find the cause."

Yuder and Kishiar then leaped towards the still-open hole in the ceiling. This was easily achievable without relying heavily on the power of wind.

"It's quite spacious indeed."

"As I said. It's big enough to walk around."

As Kishiar had mentioned, a sizable space existed above the ceiling. It was pitch dark and bottomless, making it difficult to discern direction, but this was hardly an issue for the two of them.

Fortunately, their ability to perceive structures in the darkness remained unhindered in this situation. Yuder easily navigated through the darkness, advancing forward. From what he had briefly observed during his capture, the rooms in this place were mostly lined up in a single row, closely packed together. Listening for any signs of human presence, it wasn't long before they heard sobbing sounds.

The sounds were muffled and anguished, like a beast in rage yet restrained with a gag.

The initial intent to search for the source of their suppressed powers paused momentarily upon hearing this. Yuder turned his gaze in the direction of the weeping.

Is it over there?

Taking the lead, Yuder moved towards the source of the sound, with Kishiar following. The location wasn't far from their room. Kishiar easily lifted the floor to reveal the scene below.

The sight in the room viewed from above was harrowing. A bloodied mass was tied with chains, emitting guttural sounds.

Ugh... Ughhhh... Ughhhhh!

It took a considerable amount of time to discern that the grotesque mass before them was indeed a person, and to identify where the face was. This was not only due to the severely disfigured state of the figure, but also because its appearance was quite different from that of an ordinary human.