Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2621: Chapter 2622: Prison Cells

The door, although also covered by a Magical Energy Array, because of its simple and thin structure, makes it difficult to depict deep techniques in the array, such as Solid Magic Pattern, overlapping magic patterns, and so on. So, the extension on the door is particularly susceptible to damage within the array.

Just look at these two buildings.

The doors of these two buildings have all been destroyed. Even though the doors were attached with Magical Energy Arrays, when impacted by a large number of Ghosteye Witches, the doors were still damaged as expected.

Therefore, when Angel saw a door still perfectly intact, he was quite surprised.

Why is this particular door still intact?

With doubt in his mind, Angel walked to the door, quickly constructing the ”Server” of the Eye of Nalda in his Mind Space, using the accumulated knowledge within the ”Server” to rapidly identify various information about the door.

The material of the door, its size and dimensions, the traces left on the door... various pieces of information processed in the ”Server” gave Angel straightforward answers.

Indeed, this door is inherently different from other doors.

Its material is exceptionally high-grade stone, even surpassing the material of the building itself, allowing the door to bear more magic patterns than other doors.

Among them, Angel found at least a hundred Magic Tattoo Horn patterns related to ”reinforcement”. Other doors might only have a few similar patterns like ”tenacity” and ”sturdiness”.

This is the reason this door remains intact to this day, because it is so tough.

Unfortunately, aside from the reinforcement patterns that are still operational due to their excellent compatibility with the stone, most other magic patterns have been destroyed, explaining why the door can be opened.

However, by looking at the damaged magic patterns, one can glimpse how secure it was here in the past.

If not for the ravages of time and the continuous impact of too many Ghosteye Witches, this door surely would be an impenetrable barrier, strictly guarding the access to the two buildings.

Such meticulous protection increases Angel’s curiosity; what originally occupied the fifth and sixth floors of the building opposite?

Passing through the door, Angel walked into a secluded corridor bridge, with the other end leading to the top floor of the building he initially entered.

There were no Ghosteye Witches on the bridge, allowing Angel to smoothly arrive at the other side’s terrace.

On this terrace stood yet another door.

The condition of this door was almost identical to the previous one; the material was intact, still solid, but other magic patterns had been breached.

With a gentle push, the door slowly opened.

Behind the door was a pitch-black descending staircase.

Without hesitation, Angel stepped inside. The length of this staircase exceeds the visible spatial limits, which also signifies that the fifth and sixth floors of this building are not as small as they appear from the outside. It should have undergone a spatial expansion internally.

After quickly stepping for about ten seconds, Angel reached a turn in the staircase.

At the corner was an open door, beyond which was a noticeably bright and spacious hall.

However, this was not the end of the stairway; following the corner further leads to another downward staircase.

If the spatial expansion was carried out strictly within the original floors, what lies beyond this door should be the sixth floor, with continued downward stairs leading to the fifth floor.

But if the spatial expansion was carried out without specifications, dimensionally expanded, the specific number of floors here is uncertain.

Angel personally believes the answer is likely the latter.

For a place guarded so tightly, would only two floors not be a case of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut?

Angel did not continue downward to verify the exact number of floors here, but instead chose to first enter the nearby door.

He hasn’t forgotten his purpose; the priority is finding a suitable Ghosteye Witch for Earl Mi’s Shadow Transformation Fusion. As for exploration and verification, this is not immediate.

On entering, familiar hall arrangements are revealed inside.

Similarly, the hall contains a considerable number of Ghosteye Witches; the open space combined with the significant number of Ghosteye Witches is unsuitable for Earl Mi’s task completion.

Angel softly summons ”Speedy” in his mind.

Without needing Angel’s instructions, Speedy is already controlling the flowing wind, swiftly exploring the spatial scenario of this floor.

Due to fears that Wind’s Force might alarm the Ghosteye Witches, Speedy operates with the winds originally circulating here, which reduces its efficiency and accuracy in probing. Nonetheless, it is quicker than Angel’s solo exploration.

After a while, Angel receives a general floor distribution map from Speedy in his mind.

”Even larger than imagined?” Moreover... it’s tiered, with multiple descending stairways at differing heights.

There’s no need to verify the stairway below the corner; it’s virtually confirmed the space here is expanded in dimensional levels, and Angel doesn’t know exactly how many floors it comprises. Surely it’s not limited to two.

Although Speedy has scouted the general space distribution, detailed information still requires Angel to personally investigate.

The rooms on this floor are relatively large, and the central room is not the current hall but a different round hall.

All other rooms are built around the circular hall, including this current hall.

Angel’s first stop is naturally that round hall, being the best transit spot with its connectivity.

Upon entering the circular hall, seeing the scene before him, Angel’s brows slightly furrow.

Though it’s mostly ruined here, from the fragments scattered on the ground and familiar metal handles, it’s safe to conclude this round hall used to be a laboratory.

Moreover, it was a large, public laboratory.

Even bigger than the laboratory previously seen for a hundred people’s collaborative work.

What kind of research was Naraku City conducting back then? Requiring so many and such large laboratories, especially given such a concealed location for this laboratory?

From the numerous debris, Angel is unable to derive clues and can only set this curiosity aside for now.

The Ghosteye Witches are more concentrated in the circular hall, prompting Angel to cautiously evade them as he roams through different corridors and rooms.

After exploring about two or three rooms, Angel decides to give up this search. The rooms here are all quite spacious, possibly used for various experiments. Anyway, it’s not an appropriate site.

However, this unsuitable floor doesn’t imply other floors won’t suit.

According to Speedy’s scouting, there are three stairways leading downward here. It only briefly explored one; the other two are too deep, with sparse winds inside, making enforced probing likely to attract Ghosteye Witches’ attention.

On the level Speedy briefly explored, the rooms are not large, featuring quite a few partitions. Perhaps a favorable spot can be found there.

Thinking of this, Angel doubles back to the circular hall, guided by Speedy, crossing numerous corridors to locate the first stairway.

This stairway is the one Speedy lightly probed.

The stairway maintains a normal height, and soon Angel observes the layout below.

A room that’s not too big, along with three corridors leading in different directions, with rooms spaced out along each corridor.

It’s worth mentioning that while many of these rooms are damaged beyond recognition, Angel gathered some clues from the traces left behind about what these rooms were used for.

”Imprisonment,” Angel murmured softly to himself.

These rooms were likely places for imprisoning people.

Angel had previously speculated that with such tight security on the fifth and sixth floors, it might be a temporary prison for those criminals.

It seems now that this speculation might be correct.

However... the lower floors are for prison, and the upper floors are for laboratories. This design gave Angel some disturbing thoughts.

Did large-scale live experiments happen here once?

Angel squinted, refraining from thinking further. Or rather, he dared not to think too much.

Although the specific reason for the decline of Naraku City is unknown to Angel, it’s likely that Naraku City isn’t entirely an innocent party.

This place has many secrets; it’s very deep and complex. Angel doesn’t plan to investigate further... If he needs to investigate, he’d prefer to do so in the Nightmare Abyss City projections.

After all, there are still ancient monsters alive here. Like the Wise Sovereign that Daymouth mentioned.

This is just the Hanging Jail Stairway, an official institution of Naraku City, and it already has ancient monsters that have lived for millennia, not to mention other places.

Perhaps, there are even more ancient monsters here.

They coldly watch the decline of this place, watch it be plundered, yet remain indifferent, haven’t even left... just thinking about it sends cold sweat down the back; it’s not right, incredibly not right.

Angel exhaled deeply, suppressing the sudden unease within him.

Then, deciding not to think about other matters, he quickly walked through the prison.

He no longer wants to know what happened here, what secrets it held in the past. All he needs to do now is find a suitable place for Earl Mi to sense the shadow fusion status...

Soon, Angel finished examining this level of the prison. Inside was an enclosure with six Ghosteye Witches, hanging upside down from the ceiling, engaged in ”cultivation.”

This was the most suitable location Angel found.

However, there are two points to consider: first, there are Ghosteye Witches roaming in the two adjacent enclosures and in the corridors outside. Once a battle ensues, it might alarm the Ghosteye Witches outside. Since Ghosteye Witches can communicate information through shadows, they might immediately alert all the Ghosteye Witches on this level.

Second, Earl Mi’s first attempt at shadow fusion involves six Ghosteye Witches. Could this be a bit too much? Might it endure excessive cluttered information, leaving potential hazards?

The best choice would be two or three Ghosteye Witches.

Due to these considerations, Angel temporarily abandoned this enclosure. However, this is only a temporary decision.

He suspected that the other two staircases, which Speedy hadn’t explored, might lead to similar prisons. He planned to check other prisons, and if there wasn’t a better option, he’d return here.

As for further investigating the staircase at the corner or returning to the previous dark alley, Angel didn’t plan to do so.

He’d been away for almost five minutes now. Although this isn’t too long, he didn’t want to be delayed by a small matter.

There are still two staircases he hasn’t visited yet, which Speedy hasn’t thoroughly explored, but that’s unimportant as long as the positions are known.

Since he didn’t know the situations on either side, it didn’t matter which staircase he chose to start with. To save time, Angel picked the closest stairway.

Once down this staircase, Angel subtly sensed a different atmosphere.

This staircase... seems unusually long?

Moreover, there’s barely any trace of Ghosteye Witches here.

The walls on either side of the staircase lack significant claw marks or signs of damage, which seems to suggest fewer Ghosteye Witches are present?

This is good news.

With fewer Ghosteye Witches, whether fighting or departing ultimately, it would be relatively easy.

Moreover, if the area below is still a prison, it will certainly be a relatively closed space. Placing a sealing array plate at the staircase entrance or cloaking it within an illusion should prevent disturbance to Ghosteye Witches outside even if they become unruly.

With these thoughts, Angel descended rapidly.

Ten seconds later, Angel landed, encountering a familiar ”prison manager’s” room. Though still dilapidated, compared to other places, its furniture was intact, indicating genuinely few Ghosteye Witches here.

Additionally, unlike before, there’s only one corridor here.

And this corridor is a dead-end, terminating in a wall, meaning exit requires retracing steps.

If this remains a prison, then those imprisoned here likely were far more significant than those in the other prison.

This is apparent from the layout and size of the cells.

The cells here are distinctly larger, and the materials used for the prison doors seem relatively superior. From a distance, Angel noted several doors that weren’t entirely destroyed.

With an eager heart, Angel entered the corridor.

The first cell gave Angel a surprise; inside were five Ghosteye Witches, curled in circular formations.

Even though the number is still significant, the position is ideal, close to the staircase, allowing swift escape upon achieving the goal.

Angel quickly forgot the cell with six Ghosteye Witches, prioritizing this location.

However, Angel didn’t immediately prompt Earl Mi to act; since entering this prison, he decided to continue exploring. The corridor isn’t long and extends visibly to the end, there might be a room with even better options ahead.

Angel’s intuition proved sometimes not too far-fetched.

Avoiding the Ghosteye Witches patrolling the corridor, Angel advanced inward, quickly finding a room with only two Ghosteye Witches cultivating.

From a numerical standpoint, this surpasses the room with five Ghosteye Witches!

However, somewhat regretfully, in the cell directly opposite, two Ghosteye Witches remain outside the cultivation state.

If these two were also cultivating, it would be perfect. He could pick either room to begin.

Yet at this moment, Angel still preferred the first room.

Shaking his head, Angel proceeded a bit further; he could already see the wall at the corridor’s end. Clearly, he was now in the latter half of the prison.

Alas, no better choice emerged than the first room.

As Angel sighed softly, suddenly, a faint fragrance drifted in from nearby...