Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Chapter 1672 Prison Complex

The vast prison of Jomuran lay deep beneath the city, carved into layers of stone that descended far below the surface.

From above, it looked like a part of the administrative center. But below... it was something else entirely.

Level after level stretched downward, each one more secure than the last. Thick walls reinforced with abjuration spells, iron doors etched with rune magic, and corridors watched at all times, with guards overlapping to leave no gaps.

This was one of the four strongholds where the Haynam Empire kept its enemies.

Of course, it went without saying that all the prisoners were Magi. They were either captured from the Sovereign Union, operatives of the Twilight Brotherhood, and even rebels from within the Empire itself - people who opposed the regime, openly or in secret.

They werenʼt treated as prisoners. They were mere resources.

Some were interrogated endlessly, subjected to controlled torment meant to extract every little piece of information they carried. Others were simply locked away and left to rot, their existence forgotten the moment their usefulness ran out.

The primary reason these prisoners were kept alive was so that they could serve as experimental test subjects for the Necromancers of the Cult. These men were isolated and preserved, meant to one day turn into undead servants and do their captorʼs bidding.

The deeper one went, the quieter it became. Not because it was empty, but because whatever remained down there had long since stopped making noise... On this day, the prison complex was alive in a way it had never been before. Loud noise spread through every level.

One could hear the strong rattle of chains, the vigorous shaking of iron doors, and the rise of voices. These prisoners didnʼt scream in fear. No, it was something sharper, something... restless.

The prisoners knew better than to hope. They knew no one escaped Jomuran. Not from the depths of this prison complex. Years of confinement had stripped that belief from them. Torture, isolation, and time had worn it down until nothing was left.

And yet... something was happening above.

They could feel it.

Never once in their lives had they witnessed such disruption, such panic, such a shift in control. Someone had infiltrated Jomuran. Someone had shaken the

system that held them for so long.

Of course, they didnʼt think it would free them. They didnʼt expect anyone to rescue them. But that didnʼt matter.

For the first time in years, their captors were struggling!

And for these prisoners, that was enough.

”Hahaha! Feel the terror! Feel the despair!”

”Theyʼre coming! Theyʼre coming!”

”This city is going to burn to the ground!”

”We will feast on your corpses, Haynam cunt!”

The prisoners crowded the bars, faces pressed close against the metal, their eyes wild with madness. They laughed loudly, broken and unrestrained.

Insults flew one after another, sharper than any blade. Some prisoners even spat through the gaps. Others rattled their chains, slamming them against the metal just to add to the noise.

Outside the cells, the guards held their positions, their grips around the weapons tightening. They knew well that the prisoners werenʼt trying to escape.

No, they were trying to get into their heads!

The guards were sweating profusely, apprehension clearly clouding in their eyes. This was the first time something like this was happening, after all. The entire prison complex had come alive. It was as if these prisoners had suddenly tapped into a kind of strength they didnʼt even have.

”What... what the fuck is going on?!” A guard couldnʼt help but blurt out.

Beside him, another guard stood with his back against the wall. ”I-I donʼt know,” he said.

”Someoneʼs managed to sneak in! B-But... how?”

The first guard gulped. He turned to his partner and was about to reply when suddenly, his eyes widened.

”Watch out!”

”What-” The other guard, completely clueless, turned toward him.

However, the next moment, something cold and leathery slithered up his back and sank its fangs into his neck.

The guard jerked. A strangled sound escaped his throat as his body locked up and his limbs went rigid. His eyes widened as ominous, purple veins became visible around his neck.

In the next moment, his body went still, and he collapsed to the ground.

A yellow serpent coiled around his body, then turned its attention to the other guard, who watched everything unfold with wide, disbelieving eyes.

HIIISSS!!!

Before the other guard could even react, another serpent dropped from the ceiling, coiled around his torso with rapid speed, and dug its poisonous fangs

into his neck.

The same thing repeated - the guardʼs body twitched, his eyes went wide, and he fell to the ground.

A red serpent emerged. It tilted its head and blinked at its yellow-skinned

brethren.

”Eat now?” It hissed.

The yellow snake shook its head.

”The sssumoner sssaid to eat later!” it replied.

”Sssumoner ssstupid!” The red serpent argued. ”Ssso much food! Why eat later? Eat now! We feassst!”

The yellow snake shook its head again.

”Mussst follow ordersss,” it said. ”Sssumoner is ssstrange...”

The red serpent sighed in exasperation. It shook his head in helplessness, then slithered away into the dark depths of the corridor along with the yellow snake. Meanwhile, the group of prisoners behind bars watched everything unfold with dumbfounded faces.

One of them rubbed his eyes and murmured. ”What... what the hell?”

”Am I... tripping?” Another one asked.

Yet the purple veins spreading through their guardsʼ skins, and their unmoving bodies, clearly told the prisoners of the surprising reality.

Further down the corridor, more and more guards fell to their deaths, poisoned

by the snakes from the Coil.

Prisoners glanced between cells and saw the shock plastered across each

otherʼs faces. Their earlier taunts gradually grew quiet, replaced by an

inexplicable feeling.

There was a shift in the air, and all the prisoners could feel it.

Chains started to rattle again, but this time it wasnʼt out of mockery.

It was in anticipation.

Some prisoners pressed closer to the bars, their eyes sharp as they tracked every movement outside. Meanwhile, others stood still, as if afraid that even breathing too loudly might affect this unprecedented moment.

And for the first time since being captured, the prisoners felt something they

had long buried...

Hope.