The master of the office, Warden Corendan, sat behind his desk, his face pale and etched with confusion.
He had already lowered his posture. All they had to do was pass their intern guard assessments normally and everyone would walk away happy. Why did these students seem completely unhinged?
"..."
Warden Corendan clenched his hands tightly, trying his best to keep his composure.
Meanwhile, not far off to the side...
Even if Hyperion wanted to intervene, she felt it was already too late. Jumping in to disrupt their momentum would only cause trouble for Lanqi and the others!
"Times are tough for everyone, but rules are rules. It's time to settle your debt."
The three intern guards displayed an attitude completely at odds with their supposed profession.
Their bearing and air exerted an unprecedented pressure on the warden.
The young men standing before him were no longer the cautious, obedient intern guards he was accustomed to seeing—those who stepped into the prison with proper deference. Instead, they carried the distinct aura of hardened outlaws.
Warden Corendan had no choice but to handle the situation with utmost care to prevent things from spiraling out of control.
"I don't understand what you mean. Speak plainly, please," Corendan said in a low voice.
Seeing Corendan play dumb, the male priest gave a small chuckle. Leaning in even closer, he hooked an arm around Corendan's neck and asked, "Mr. Luoqi McCarthy's reputational damages, the emotional distress inflicted upon our two esteemed young ladies, and the confidentiality fee for keeping quiet about what transpired today so you don't get sent down to Basement Level 6 for 'reeducation' by Chief Warden Bakas... you didn't think all of that was free, did you?"
Their voices were low and powerful, their words blunt, spoken as if they did not care in the slightest about any consequences.
"You're blackm—!"
Just as Corendan began to protest heatedly, he looked up and saw the three figures looming over him like black iron walls. Their sinister demeanor was indistinguishable from that of Resurrection Church cultists; they bore not the slightest resemblance to students of the Protos Royal Magic Academy.
They leaned forward slightly, arms hanging loose at their sides, fingers curled inward as though ready to ball into fists at any second, giving off an unmistakable vibe that violence could erupt at any moment.
At such close range, even with the prison's barrier to suppress rule-breakers, Corendan was not certain he could survive an unavoidable, lethal strike before the array triggered.
Moreover, Corendan had just promised Chief Warden Bakas that he would treat the students from the Protos Royal Magic Academy with absolute care.
If he made a move and injured these academy students right after hanging up the communicator, Chief Warden Bakas would undoubtedly tear him to pieces with his own hands to settle the matter!
In this situation, fighting back offered no guarantee of victory, and whether he won or lost, he was dead either way!
Cold sweat poured down Corendan's neck. He forced reason to override his panic, frantically analyzing the best course of action.
"Haha, fellow students, let's talk this out calmly. If you have demands, we can discuss them step by step."
Soon enough, Corendan offered a relieved smile, donning the agreeable expression of a man who knew when to yield.
Hyperion parted her lips, letting out two incomplete syllables, only to realize that anything she said now would be too late.
The three men had cornered Warden Corendan and executed their intimidation, shakedown, and extortion in one seamless, flawless routine.
Now, Corendan was smiling obsequiously at her, and the three Domination priests had turned their gazes toward her as well—as if all the dirty work was done, and they were inviting her to dictate the settlement terms of their successful negotiation.
***
Inside the higher-dimensional observation space...
It was not just the High Priest and the Paladin Commander who fell silent.
Even the Ice Snow Witch herself, seated on the divine hall's sofa, was struck speechless.
Setting aside whatever social professions these three assistants actually held in reality, none of them looked remotely like believers in the Goddess of Fate!
The Ice Snow Witch's expression was a tangled mess of conflicting emotions. She seemed to be desperately trying to convince herself that these three men could not possibly be Resurrection Church cultists, and that Hyperion would never betray them. Hyperion was a peerless, wonderful child and her most cherished disciple; she had to believe in her.
And yet, the Ice Snow Witch could not shake the feeling that the blurred, luminous silhouettes of High Priest Loren and the Paladin Commander were both staring directly at her.
Silence spoke louder than words.
Their gaze made Almis feel as though she were sitting on pins and needles.
The most awkward part of the priesthood assessment was that if an issue arose with someone's candidate, everyone else would stare at that supervisor, silently piling on pressure without needing to utter a single word or show an expression.
***
Meanwhile, back in the warden's office, faced with this unreal situation where everything had been settled...
Hyperion buried her face in her hands, her shoulders trembling. It was impossible to tell whether she was laughing or crying. She had only been a single step too slow.
Yet the moment those three opened their mouths, there was no going back.
Since things had come to this, she might as well skip ahead.
"Here's the deal: grant each of us 1,000 duty points, write our evaluations exactly as we dictate, and use your authority to teleport us directly to the prison's inner levels," Hyperion said, her voice completely devoid of emotion.
"What...?"
Corendan's eyes went wide.
The evaluations were one thing—though having students hold him hostage to write their reviews was rather humiliating. And using his teleportation privileges to send guards straight to the inner levels—namely Basement Level 4—was generally strictly forbidden.
Even so, under these circumstances, Chief Warden Bakas would probably understand if questions were asked later.
The only real sticking point was the duty points. While points could be freely traded among guards, giving 1,000 to each of the five meant paying 5,000 duty points entirely out of his own pocket!
Just as Corendan opened his mouth to haggle...
"Double it,"
the Poet of Great Love said softly and abruptly from the side.
"Wait, this—"
"One more word, and it doubles again."
All three priests leaned half a step closer to Warden Corendan, their posture carrying a distinct threat of violence, as if ready to teach him how to address important figures.
The icy gaze they directed at him, as though looking at vermin, made it abundantly clear that in his current predicament, he had no right to bargain at all.
"Two thousand points each! Ten thousand duty points in total! I'll transfer them immediately! Please, convey my sincerest apologies to Mr. Luoqi McCarthy..."
Corendan's tone turned entirely submissive. Nodding repeatedly, he began operating the magic apparatus before him, granting the intern guards top-tier ratings and diligently drafting their records.
"I preferred the arrogant look you had earlier," the Poet of Great Love remarked with a smile.
Corendan looked up, unsure of how to respond, his face shifting awkwardly between a placating grin and an embarrassed grimace.
Although the black-haired, green-eyed girl's lower face was concealed behind a mask, the corners of her eyes held an intoxicating, bewitching smile.
Warden Corendan was utterly incapable of discerning what was going on in her mind. In that moment, he also realized that the three men behind him were merely puppets under her control.
Despite giving off the impression of being the purest and weakest among them, she exuded an impenetrable, eerie aura.
Every time she spoke, his heart grew restless and dread surged within him. It felt like a spell, yet also like an innate talent.
It terrified him to the point where he did not dare speak with her or meet her eyes again.
"..."
At the head of the group, Hyperion watched the warden's meek obedience, so exasperated she wanted to cry.
*Why did you have to go and double it?!*
Admittedly, things had gone far too smoothly. They had bypassed the outer prison levels entirely and walked away with a massive haul of duty points. Once they entered the inner levels, they should be able to meet the great demon on Basement Level 4.
Yet she could not shake the terrifying feeling that by the time this mission was over, the Church of the Goddess of Fate would formally cut all ties with her, presenting irrefutable proof and officially branding her a fallen priest.
*I don't want to become clergy of the Resurrection Church!!*
Chapter 399