Very few had ever witnessed the true interior of the underground prison of Chinston City in Snowfield Province.
Those prisoners previously thrown into its depths had virtually no chance of ever seeing the sun again before their reformation was complete.
With the number of criminals captured in Snowfield Province steadily climbing, the prison’s security and facility standards had been expanding continuously. Backed by solid revenues, it had even attracted considerable outside investment; at this rate of growth, there were high hopes of listing on the Imperial Capital’s stock exchange by next year.
At the prison’s lowest level, a spacious stone platform jutted out, hemmed in by towering stone walls that formed a semi-open expanse. Dim lamps stood along the perimeter, casting a dull glow that danced across the masonry, while shifting shadows lent the subterranean chamber an air of chilling mystery.
Guards stood watch around the platform—hand-picked elite troops in whose loyalty and prowess Xiaya had utter confidence.
Anello had been escorted underground all the way from Bourne City to Chinston City under the tight grip of these elite retainers, his head still covered by a pitch-black burlap sack that barred him from seeing any of his surroundings.
As they descended deeper, the air grew biting cold, laced with the musty stench of damp, frigid iron.
Heavy drips of water and the distant hum of wind filled his ears, but there was no shouting from other convicts; it was as if this were an isolated, forbidden realm cut off entirely from the world.
At last, they halted before a cavernous, chilly iron cage.
The apparatus inside this solitary cell was exceedingly peculiar. Several heavy, solid iron chains hung from hoist rings in the ceiling, fitted with shackles and clasps designed to immobilize a prisoner's limbs.
Beyond that, another door was set into the side of the cell, leading to parts unknown.
At Xiaya’s gesture, several elite guards swiftly hauled Anello inside, binding his limbs securely with the iron chains. Then they triggered a winch mechanism. The chains slowly hoisted Anello upward until he dangled in midair, only the tips of his toes grazing the ground.
Unable to move, Anello hung like a trussed roast duck, swaying faintly with the creaking chains.
Xiaya stepped leisurely up to the cage, snatched the burlap sack off Anello’s head, yanked the cloth gag from his mouth, and turned to walk away. He left behind the sealed cage and Anello, who immediately resumed his frantic bellowing.
"Luoqi—! Your imagination is pathetic! You think a cell like this can break me?!"
Anello’s wild arrogance hadn't waned in the slightest. Though his body was suspended, every spasm of struggle carried such ferocity that it seemed as though he might rip free of his bonds at any moment.
His voice tore through the bars, dripping with venomous threats and mockery.
"You're all just puny ants! As long as you dare spare my life and keep me locked up here to torture me, once Lord Askesan comes to break me out, I will make every single one of you pay!"
His words burned with a pure malice that transcended life and death.
In his eyes, the entire world had long been his enemy. He was like a volcano on the brink of erupting—even if capped, it still held the power to lay waste to everything.
Further back...
Outside the cell lay an equally spacious stone terrace furnished like a parlor, with several plush sofas arranged to look directly upon the cage.
"Teacher Luoqi, Miss Side, please have a seat."
Xiaya motioned for the two of them to sit and rest, leaving the rest for him to handle.
Side looked thoroughly perplexed. There weren't even torture implements in this cell; aside from trying to scare Anello, she had no idea what Lanqi was actually planning.
"Luoqi! Hear this: if our roles were reversed, I'd show you what real cruelty means!!"
Every barb Anello spat sounded like a solemn vow, as if he would definitely see it through the moment he escaped.
Listening to Anello’s grating arrogance, Side only felt irritated.
"Hurry up and shut him up," Side muttered, turning her head toward Lanqi.
"Anello, are you certain you feel no remorse?" Lanqi leaned back against the sofa cushions, calling out across the distance.
"No one can judge me! No one! Sigrid, I don't regret slicing your Saintess to pieces one bit! I only wish I could taste that kind of pleasure once more! Hahahahaha!!"
Anello laughed like a maniac, his taunts aimed at both Lanqi and Side.
Just as Side’s anger flared and she moved to stand up to administer the ultimate punishment herself, Lanqi placed a steady hand on her shoulder.
At the same time, he snapped his fingers lightly.
With a deep, grinding rumble, the door on the far side of the cell slowly ground open.
Inside that dim, damp corridor, thick patches of moss and lichen clung to the coarse stone walls. Devoid of light, the shadows within seemed to ripple and sway.
Soon, heavy, thundering footsteps echoed out.
Side reined in her temper, looking toward the open portal in confusion.
Out from the oppressive darkness strode a pack of bizarre figures.
Their arrival completely shattered the previous mood. The gloom of the cage was abruptly swallowed by their towering bulks, the lamplight casting elongated silhouettes that made the cell resemble the very gates of hell.
Once the men fully stepped into view, their features became unmistakable.
Anello’s laughter died instantly.
The air plunged into absolute silence.
It wasn't because these beefy brutes in prison stripes glared at him with cold malice.
Rather, their eyes were brimming with an inexplicable, overwhelming adoration and delight!
A sickening chill unlike anything he had ever known crawled down Anello’s spine.
Stunned, unable to comprehend what Lanqi meant to do to him, he stared in wild disbelief at the young man seated comfortably on the distant sofa.
"For a bad student like you, imperial law dictates that even if you were spared the death penalty, your offending tools would have to be confiscated. Fortunately, you met me. Compared to physical or chemical castration—mere stopgaps that treat the symptoms rather than the root cause—I would much rather help you find genuine, heartfelt repentance from within."
Lanqi explained gently to Anello,
"These gentlemen are all rather... unique members of the Spectre Party from the snowy plains. Having been locked away for so long, they are likely ravenous by now."
"Oho, Warden, finally giving us a little treat?"
"My, where did this adorable little darling come from?"
Laser-focused, predatory voices buzzed relentlessly into Anello’s ears. He had just been drawing breath to scream another death threat at Lanqi, but the air hitched halfway up his throat.
His fiery bluster was extinguished on the spot, as though doused in freezing brine.
The hulking brutes closing in possessed lecherous glares, drunken smirks, and sickeningly revolting gestures.
One glance told him that every single one of them had exceptional talents and secret moves to spare, with a fighting spirit and endurance bound to astonish the world.
A sickening dread dawned on him regarding what they were about to do.
"Ah..."
Anello’s face drained of color in an instant, looking utterly wretched under the lamplight. Defiance and fury still flared in his eyes, but for the first time in his life, sheer, unprecedented terror gripped him.
Even when he had faced 'Loren' earlier, he had never felt this kind of panic.
What followed was bottomless dread and endless regret.
Not even a hundred thousand Lorens put together could ever be as terrifying as this pack of monsters!!
"No, don't! You fucking can't do this to me—!!!"
Watching the beefy men close in around him, thick veins throbbed against Anello’s forehead as he shrieked hoarsely at Lanqi, his voice cracking into high-pitched panic.
Moments later, his line of sight was blocked by a hulking Spectre Party convict looming before him.
"I just love this defiant little look in your eyes."
"Darling, mmm, so strong and fierce."
At the same time, another burly brute slipped behind Anello, gently caressing his cheek and whispering into his ear.
"Aaargh!! Get your hands off me!!"
Never having been touched by another man like this, the Holy Son of Extinction felt his very soul shudder.
"Word is you rival the Holy Son of Extinction, hmm?"
"You dare touch the Holy Son of Extinction?! Bishop of Extinction Askesan will slaughter every single one of you!!" Anello shrieked through ragged gasps, his voice shredding.
"Oh? Darling, doesn't that make it even more thrilling? To spend a glorious night with the Holy Son of Extinction... you think we give a damn about dying?"
The Spectre Party brutes burst into hearty, booming laughter.
"Anello, how are you feeling now?" Lanqi called out from afar, watching the prisoner's rapid shifts in expression.
Seeing Anello finally show signs of remorse, Lanqi smiled with deep gratification.
"Rest assured, this is only the beginning. This is what awaits you at the very end."
Xiaya produced a massive pair of iron tongs, waving them casually in Anello's direction. Once the big men had their fill of fun later on, he would be sure to let Anello experience an extra-amplified rendition of Family Bliss.
At this moment, Anello finally understood—
They had never planned on interrogating him at all! All that talk of love and reformation was a total lie!
Anyone who could become the Holy Son of Domination was easily several degrees crazier than he was!!!
By now, the gang of burly brutes had closed the circle around Anello, clearly unable to wait another second.
"No—noooooo—!!!"
Anello screamed himself hoarse, thrashing frantically to kick them away. But dangling as he was, his nearly numb legs possessed no strength whatsoever.
"Well then, I'll leave the rest to you, Xiaya."
Lanqi smiled, lifting a hand to cover Side’s eyes as he guided her off the stone terrace.
Listening to the bloodcurdling, soul-shattering shrieks of the Holy Son of Extinction—screams loud enough to penetrate solid stone—Side kept her eyes closed and let Lanqi lead her out of the underground prison.
Although she had no idea what was actually happening in there, the sound of his agony brought her immense joy.
Chapter 353