More than a dozen men in gray clothes rode on sturdy horses. The black sword emblem was on their chests as they loyally guarded the carriage in the middle of the road.
Inside the carriage sat a girl with light hair and unusual, almost black eyes, deep as an abyss. Her carefree appearance contrasted sharply with her majestic appearance and the elaborate clothes she was forced to wear to make an impression.
"Lady Laura, we are approaching," said the man sitting opposite her. Unlike their guards, he wore a long black coat, white gloves, and dark boots. His black hair reached his pale neck, and his keen green eyes pierced Laura's soul.
She nodded.
"I know that, Enor, you don't need to remind me every time. My father wanted me to come and show the prisoners how insignificant they are — fine, I'll do it."
Enor narrowed his eyes. "That's not enough. You are the eldest daughter of the Wurhen Family. You must strike fear wherever you go, everyone in this region must fear you as much as they fear your father."
"Tsk. Isn't that going too far? I have to mock the prisoners to establish our authority? That's fine with me, but…" Laura looked into the distance, at the frosty peaks. "Everyone knows we're in charge here. What's the point of proving our rights to this shithole over and over again?"
SLAP!
Enor's hand struck Laura's face, leaving a bright red mark on her skin.
"Lady Laura, with all due respect, even you have no right to insult the greatness of the Wurhen Family," Enor said coldly as he put his glove back on. "As your mentor, I am obliged to guide you in the right direction for the good of the family. I hope you understand that."
In response, Laura clenched the fabric of her pants and gritted her teeth.
"Yes, s-sure."
The monster in front of her would never understand her desire to go further, beyond the Frost Ridge.
Perhaps... another monster would have a different opinion?
...
At the same time, Kreyn stood over the table with a frown.
'So that wasn't enough?' He glanced at the warden cowering in the corner. 'I captured the prison but didn't get the Epos? It turned out to be much harder than I thought, or... did I just misunderstand how it works?'
He looked again at the warden, who flinched at his gaze. The warden had nowhere to run. The handcuffs would not allow him to leave.
'I got my first Epos by destroying Groza's frigate, but... It's not just what I did, it's the circumstances. My world was initially at a disadvantage against Groza's. At the same time, capturing the prison was not difficult for me at all.'
A few moments later, Kreyn nodded and jumped over the table, rushing forward.
Stumped, Valyra ran after him.
"Wait! What are you doing?!"
One floor after another, Kreyn soon reached the top of the prison, where the flat roof offered a view of distant frosty peaks, swamps, and a winding road where a dark carriage with a convoy was moving slowly.
"Is that them?" Kreyn asked, immediately latching onto this possibility.
Valyra nodded.
"Yes. That's Laura von Wurhen's carriage. She visits the prison from time to time, like the other bastards from their family, but..."
"Hmm?" Kreyn raised an eyebrow. "But?"
"Agh. Although I would gladly rip her throat out, honestly, I don't think she's the main problem. Enor, her mentor. Every offspring of the Wurhen Family has one. They report directly to the head of the family and often lead these kinds of inspections. Especially Enor, he's a tough one."
Kreyn hummed.
"You know quite a lot about them, don't you?"
Valyra snorted. "Well, I've been here for several years. Whether you like it or not, during that time you'll get to know each of them by sight and what they like to eat for breakfast."
"How strong are they?"
"What?" Valyra flinched. "What do you mean? Do you want to fight them?"
There was no answer, but Valyra understood everything.
"Look, I admit that what you did earlier is impressive. I still can't believe the prison is after us, but we have to run. Like, right now. Laura and Enor are both the Origins. Even if all the prisoners attack them, we're much weaker!"
Silence.
For a while, Kreyn said nothing as the cold wind ruffled his hair.
"But that doesn't mean they're invincible."
"Agh?"
Kreyn turned around as his eyes twisted like two abysses.
"If I shove a bunch of dynamite deep into their throats and blow it up, they'll die, right?"
...
BAM! BAM! BAM!
One pickaxe after another crashed into the rocks, smashing them to pieces. The prisoners continued to work under the watchful eye of the guards.
Strangely enough, one of them was sitting on a box at the time, puffing on a cigarette and blowing out clouds of smoke. Only one prisoner had the right to do so.
The man with thick black hair, tanned skin, and tattoos covering his right arm was resting after hard work.
"Another day and nothing new." Daren shook his head. "What time is it now? Shouldn't our shift be over already?"
Daren threw away his cigarette as he was about to continue working when a scream rang out from above.
"AHHHHH!"
THUMP!
The guard who, just seconds ago, was arrogantly watching the working prisoners crashed right in front of Daren.
"Gha!" The guard coughed up a mouthful of blood and looked at Daren. He was injured, with one or two broken bones, but clearly alive.
"BOSS!" A young man with tousled brown hair waved his arm. "There's a riot in the prison!"
"Agh? Are you serious?" Daren raised an eyebrow.
The young man nodded several times. "Yes! Someone named Kreyn, a prisoner from the death row wing. He's in the warden's office right now, the prison is under him!"
"H-Help, me..." The guard croaked, crawling forward.
Daren's eyes darted from the guard to the young man as he took in the situation.
Soon, a smirk spread across his face as he turned to the bewildered prisoners.
"Guys, it's break time! Maybe the last one!"
They exchanged glances as one of them pointed at the guard.
"But, boss, what about him?"
Daren shrugged. "What do you mean? We're good people — we'll help him!"
The guard smiled, but in an instant, his face paled as Daren grabbed his pickaxe.
CRACK!
The blunt tip of the pickaxe crashed down on the guard, smashing his head into bloody pieces.
A few drops of blood fell on Daren's face while his unusual amber eyes trembled with anticipation.
"Kreyn, huh? Death row? Let's see where you lead us, because that bastard, Enor, will be here very soon, won't he?"
Daren slung the bloody pickaxe over his shoulder.
"Hah, even if we die, his expression when he sees what happened to the prison will be worth it!"