On Level B5 of Herrom Prison, outside the heavy metal door to Sinora's special cell:
Hyperion watched as the Poet of Great Love followed Antanas through the translucent barrier of the cell, her heart in her throat.
Even back during their time at Purgatory Corridor Academy, they had never encountered a genuinely unfamiliar ancient great demon.
Knowing full well that Hyperion had grown up in human society and had no understanding of demonic culture or the temperament and habits of the high-ranking demon nobility, the Ice Snow Witch had made a point of stressing this to her:
To the demon race, taking the life of another living being required no reason and brought no remorse. If a whim struck them, they would act on it.
Even if demons sometimes appeared capable of concealing their true nature and attempted to pass as humans, in reality, the two were merely humanoid species with similar appearances.
According to the Ice Snow Witch, both Sinora the Spellbreaker and Pranay of Truth were great demons whose temperaments leaned heavily toward ferocity and cruelty. In their eyes, humans and weaker demons alike were no more than ants. Give them the slightest offense, and you would be dead before you even realized it.
To Sinora the Spellbreaker and Pranay of Truth, any Protosian stepping inside their special cells was a mortal enemy, even if they never uttered a single word.
Perhaps Antanas could hold Sinora off for a brief moment, but Sinora countered Antanas far too severely; one could hardly expect much protection from her.
The moment someone proposed taking them out of the prison under a slave contract, they would undoubtedly fly into a violent rage. They might even forcibly break through the barrier's seal and rush out of the cell to hunt them down at all costs.
Standing outside the cell was therefore still exceedingly dangerous.
Hyperion kept her nerves taut, maintaining the highest vigilance. If anything went wrong, she would immediately recall the Poet of Great Love and make a run for it with her.
***
Inside the high-dimensional observation space, the Ice Snow Witch stood up from the sofa.
She saw the Poet of Great Love lead Antanas into a cell on Level B5. Even without knowing what was happening inside, she knew exactly what was imprisoned there.
"Didn't I tell them not to provoke Sinora and Pranay?"
She had explained the danger to Hyperion so clearly. She could not comprehend why Hyperion was still indulging that kid Lanqi's reckless behavior.
Even if Lanqi could control a summon that looked identical to Talia, it would be utterly useless against Sinora. Sinora was not a friend or relative of the princess like Antanas.
Judging by the earlier conversation between Hyperion, the Poet of Great Love, and Antanas on Level B4, they faced no pressure in Protos and could smoothly escort Antanas away. There was no need whatsoever to release Sinora the Spellbreaker and Pranay of Truth as cannon fodder to draw fire.
The Ice Snow Witch did not believe Hyperion lacked an independent mind. The girl was thoroughly rational and ought to know very well what could and could not be done.
The only explanation was that Hyperion had placed far too much unconditional trust in that boy.
"Loren...!!"
The Ice Snow Witch glared venomously at Loren.
Her eyes burned with the fury of someone whose precious disciple had been led astray by a wicked man.
And that wicked man happened to be a student trained personally by Loren!
"..."
Loren kept his head down, pretending to study the layout of Herrom Prison, but sweat was already soaking through his back. Every second felt like a year.
He had no idea what was actually happening during this priest mission, but he could clearly sense the Ice Snow Witch's mounting fury.
Lanqi was obviously leading Hyperion into doing something profoundly suicidal, blithely disregarding the Ice Snow Witch's warnings.
Loren could guess that the situation on the Northern Continent was not good. Over the past few months on the Southern Continent, both Ivanos, Bishop of Destruction, and Farmer, Bishop of Decay, had grown increasingly active. The Resurrection Church's schemes were still unfolding, and they were confident that the Church of the Goddess of Fate on the Northern Continent had no spare capacity to send aid south.
For that very reason, Juliana in the Aloran Kingdom had no leeway to leave her homeland. Although she had repeatedly declared her intention to visit Hutton Kingdom in person to settle matters regarding their past "date" and the "academic visit incident," the geopolitical crisis had prevented her from coming.
That alone had allowed Loren to breathe a massive sigh of relief.
If Juliana actually came to Ikerite to look for him, all the women in the Hutton Kingdom he had trouble dealing with would become utterly unmanageable.
Fortunately, Juliana could not possibly follow through on that absurd bet and go on a date with him in the royal capital, or the fallout would be catastrophic.
Even in the worst-case scenario, the stalemate between the Northern and Southern Continents could not be broken in the short term. It formed a kind of equilibrium, preventing Eighth Tier powerhouses of the alliance like them from acting recklessly.
Still...
What kind of nonsense was Lanqi up to now? Did breaking someone out of prison have anything to do with inspecting the stone slate project?
The only solace Loren had was that Lanqi was merely a student at Ikerite's School of Sages, not a disciple he had personally mentored. Even if a catastrophe occurred, it would not directly implicate him or his standing as a Great Priest in the Church.
Thinking of it that way, as excruciating as this moment was, everything would turn out fine once he endured this assessment.
The Paladin Commander looked at the Ice Snow Witch in bewilderment, then back at Loren, having no idea what was going on.
Yet at a time like this, looking at Loren felt like the right call.
"My dear friend, are you troubled by something?" the Paladin Commander muttered to himself.
***
The moment the Poet of Great Love entered Sinora's special cell behind Antanas, she stepped into a dim, enclosed space. The only source of illumination was the faint light filtering through the domed ceiling's ventilation opening, casting hazy beams into the cavernous chamber.
Amid the gloom and shifting shadows, a faint figure sat quietly in the deepest recesses of the cell.
She possessed long hair as deep as the night sky, flowing smoothly over her shoulders. Apart from her demonic characteristics, her skin was pale, resembling frost and snow bathed in moonlight. She appeared unbound by heavy chains, simply sitting there serenely with her eyes placidly closed, as though unwilling to look upon this world.
Her posture was graceful and elegant, her spine held straight, and her hands rested gently upon her knees. Even in prison garments woven with binding seals, her bearing gave the impression that she wore an exquisite, flowing gown.
Yet the formidable aura she radiated was steeped in deathly demonic power. Kept entirely understated, it was still enough to strike dread into any living soul.
Even so, Antanas and the Poet of Great Love showed no intention of retreating, continuing to advance toward her.
Sinora showed no reaction to the arrival of the two intern prison guards, utterly indifferent to their presence.
Without Antanas's intel, Lanqi would have found it difficult to imagine that such a great demon kept her eyes closed merely to conceal a weakness.
Much like when Lanqi had first met Talia in South Vantina, it had been just as hard to imagine that she had such a boundless appetite.
Chapter 428