A brilliant blue portal appeared out of thin air like a vortex, flashing into existence before the prison gates.

This prison resembled a solitary castle, with towering steel walls standing on the earth.

A massive net-like steel gate hung on the walls, with eerie green light overflowing from within the castle.

Steel towers soared into the clouds, the silent sky casting a dark shadow over the vast, desolate land.

Green light radiated from the towers, constantly sweeping over the empty ground, monitoring all visitors.

This was Guanta Prison, the largest prison in Balo County.

The criminals locked away here were beings extremely feared in the outside world.

Like those senseless murderers, arsonists who deliberately burned down banks.

And even those madmen who, like demons, devoured their own kind.

Yet even these criminals could not be confined to the deepest part of the prison.

A man wearing a black coat stepped out of the portal, closely followed by two young women.

Although it was daytime, not a ray of light penetrated the sky above this prison.

As Aurelianne set foot in this place for the first time, the brief darkness caused her vision to blur.

After a moment of adjustment, she looked around.

What kind of place was this?

Aurelianne was from the Empire after all, so it was normal that she hadn't seen a Kingdom prison before.

Fortunately, beside her was someone native to the Kingdom.

Pricis surveyed the surroundings, her crimson eyes particularly bright in the dim, hazy darkness:

"This is Guanta Prison in Balo County, a place of exile used to imprison the Kingdom's most dangerous criminals."

Aurelianne found it strange - could this really be considered a prison?

She couldn't see it at all.

And the next second, something even stranger appeared.

From the glowing green light of the towering tower, a floating skull slowly descended.

The skull's upper and lower jaws clashed together, making a bone-clattering sound.

Behind the skull was a deep ghostly fire supporting it, like a ghostly long snake, floating down from the sky.

A flying skull, combined with this gloomy prison, was indeed somewhat eerie.

Pricis, having once been undead herself, didn't feel much seeing the floating skull.

Aurelianne wasn't so fortunate; she trembled as she looked at the skull.

However... it seemed she could barely accept it.

After the battle in Shulbon, her tolerance had improved considerably compared to before.

The skull circled in the air a few times before landing in front of Viktor:

"You must be Mr. Viktor."

"Our prison has received your appointment information, and today I, Karin, will accompany you throughout your visit."

Viktor looked at it and nodded calmly.

The skull bobbed in the air, floated to Aurelianne's side, examined her carefully, and then exclaimed in surprise:

"Oh my goodness, is this Princess Aurelianne?"

"I heard you are the granddaughter of Grand Duke Balo. Please be sure to put in a good word for me when you speak with him."

It seemed so excited that its upper and lower jaws clattered "ka-ka-ka" at a rapid pace.

Aurelianne found it somewhat difficult to deal with, only managing a stiff smile and a nod.

The green ghostly fire circled past her and floated to Pricis's side:

"Oh! Praise the God of Death, look at this poor little thing, Pricis. I knew your father, he was a respected count."

"I didn't expect you to come as well. It seems your father successfully pulled you back from the brink of death."

At the mention of her birth father, Pricis's mood immediately darkened.

She lowered her head, as if weighed down by melancholy emotions.

Then, a cold voice sounded from in front of her:

"Have you said enough nonsense?"

Karin immediately fell silent, even the sound of bone clashing disappeared.

Like the speed at which noon sunlight vanishes, Karin's attitude instantly became humble:

"I'm very sorry, Mr. Viktor. My habit of getting excited when seeing living people acted up again."

"As you can see, I will control my habit. Now, for the upcoming tour, please follow me."

The three of them entered the castle with Karin, passing through a land burning with eerie green flames.

Various forms of skeletons wandered on the ground, including dog-like skeletons that crouched low, sniffing scents all over the street.

As if they were patrolling.

Soon, a tall stone building appeared before them.

The huge steel door rose, and green aura spread out from within the building.

Like water flowing from a cage, it rolled over the ankles of the three.

In that instant, the chill in Aurelianne's heart immediately rose to her spine.

Just then, it felt as if a cold hand had mercilessly brushed over her ankle.

She instinctively stamped her foot, only to find it was just the mist on the ground playing tricks.

Aurelianne breathed a sigh of relief.

It seemed she had been too nervous.

Pricis only felt a bit damp and forced an awkward smile.

But as soon as they stepped inside, the smell of mold, like frantically twisting worms, filled their nostrils.

Decay and dampness were almost intertwined, and the already oppressive atmosphere seemed layered with a deathly stillness.

Viktor couldn't help but frown, raising a gentle breeze around him to disperse the incoming odor and mist.

"This prison needs cleaning."

"Oh! Yes, yes, yes!"

Aurelianne and Pricis watched as the mist was blown away by the breeze, letting out a relieved sigh.

This dampness and coldness was truly not something an ordinary person could bear.

The building was dizzyingly large, yet the corridor ahead was eerily narrow.

Drip—drip—

The sound of dripping water echoed in the dark tunnel, reverberating off every wall, like a voice of despair with no end.

Thick, mesh-like iron doors were embedded on both sides of the tunnel, each door five meters apart, standing silently on either side.

The light was dim, the weak candlelight flickering, struggling with all its might to dispel just a little of the darkness in this passage.

It couldn't even illuminate the cells on both sides.

Broken chains hung from the ceiling of the passage, seemingly abandoned for a very long time.

The entire tunnel seemed to constantly emit a thick fog from beneath the rock floor, seeping through holes into the cells on both sides.

Prisoners were confined in the cells one by one.

Their faces showed despair and numbness, all wearing uniforms of the same style, covered with various runic formations.

If they dared to revolt, these runes would destroy them completely like bombs.

Despite this, skeleton soldiers wearing armor and burning with green flames stood outside the cells.

They held heavy weapons, monitoring each prisoner.

Want to escape?

Want to try various ways of dying?

Aurelianne and Pricis, like children exploring the world for the first time, looked around curiously, their eyes full of surprise.

After all, in all their years, this was the first time they had seen the inside of a prison.

However, Aurelianne's heart was filled with confusion.

Teacher, why bring her to such a place?

Karin, floating forward and leading the way, bones clattering like a machine gun, introduced to everyone:

"This is the first level, mainly holding prisoners who have committed minor offenses."

Those imprisoned here were basically sentenced to less than three years, petty thieves and pickpockets.

But the eerie atmosphere of this prison was enough to deter them from committing crimes again.

As Karin floated forward, it said to the three:

"In this fortress prison, there are more levels, of course, they are all underground."

"The deeper into this castle, the greater the density of guards."

Viktor listened to its introduction, frowned, and simply asked directly:

"Take us to where the death row inmates are."

Karin was stunned for a moment, the green fire supporting it seemed to become agitated.

It turned back, looking very troubled:

"This... Mr. Viktor, you should know, although I am the warden, I cannot make this decision."

The death row inmates who could be imprisoned here were all beings that Grand Duke Balo would personally deal with.

Karin didn't doubt Viktor's strength,

But Viktor was an outsider after all, and it was a bit uneasy.

If Viktor were to release a few, it wouldn't have enough heads to lose.

Oh! It almost forgot, its head was already gone!

But the next second, Viktor took out a piece of paper from his pocket.

On it was clearly printed Grand Duke Balo's exclusive mark, an undead skull burning with ghostly fire.

Below the icon was a name:

[Festan Balo]

Karin took one look and was so shocked that its lower jaw fell to the ground.

It quickly searched in the thick smoke, but in the end, it was Pricis who picked it up and attached it to the bottom of its skull.

"My goodness! Miss Pricis, you are so kind!"

"Thank you! For finding my most precious jaw!"

Then it cleared its non-existent throat and showed deep respect.

"I understand. Since you have Grand Duke Balo's endorsement, I can take you all to visit the final level."

Saying this, it floated ahead on the path, with Viktor and the two girls closely following.

Aurelianne and Pricis became curious.

Why so mysterious? Even requiring Grand Duke Balo's seal to pass through.

Afterward, they walked to the end of the first floor and stood together on a spacious elevator.

The skull bit a handle and pulled it down.

Rumble—

The elevator slowly began to move, emitting heavy echoes and the creaking sound of rusting steel.

As the elevator moved, Karin said to Pricis and Aurelianne:

"Ladies, please relax from now on. If necessary, you can close your eyes and cover your ears,"

"Because the scenes and sounds below may make you uncomfortable."

The two looked at each other, somewhat confused.

The elevator quickly descended to the second level.

The green flames here were more vigorous than before, like poisonous snakes licking the cold stone walls.

Miserable screams echoed in this deep passage, penetrating Aurelianne and Pricis's eardrums, making them feel as if every pore was contracting.

By the third level, it became even more terrifying.

Burning torture instruments were scattered randomly on both sides of the passage, the flames more intense.

The torture instruments in the hands of the skeleton soldiers and the screams of the prisoners formed a miserable symphony,

Such a scene seemed to wound Aurelianne's eyes.

Pricis took a deep breath, trying to stabilize her trembling emotions.

Soon, the elevator reached the fourth level.

Here, red flames flooded the passage like a deluge, as if every inch of ground was burning.

Iron Maiden carts roared, pushing prisoners into cells already surrounded by flames.

The unfortunate souls imprisoned here would endure eternal suffering.

They had been sentenced to life imprisonment and had also been stripped of their dignity and rights as humans.

The two girls' faces were pale with discomfort, and at this moment, they deeply regretted.

Regretted not covering their eyes and ears earlier.

Just one glance was enough to make them feel incredibly cruel.

Perhaps even the pain of having one's heart ripped out couldn't compare to this endless misery.

Karin turned around, with a hint of apology in its tone:

"I apologize, young ladies, the scenes ahead will be better."

With its words, the huge elevator also slowly stopped its rumbling.

Suddenly, a shower of starlight filled the path ahead.

Aurelianne and Pricis looked up, their eyes reflecting a sky full of stars.

They were like beacons in a dream, twinkling endlessly.

Karin now appeared more solemn, its voice deep:

"We are almost there."

"This is the fifth level where death row inmates are held—the Place of Spirit-Dependent Stars."

"""

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