**Chapter 148**
—
Artlan screamed until the veins in his neck bulged.
“Intruder! Intruder—!”
With that cry, a loud uproar broke out from Sector C, where the underground prison was located.
WEEEOOO—!
The shrill alarm blared, shaking not only the entrance to the underground prison but also its insides.
Only then did Artlan exhale the breath he had been holding back and mutter to himself.
*‘Wh-what kind of lunatic is that!?*
It wasn’t enough that he had walked into Arcane’s underground prison of his own accord—he was even trespassing illegally with such brazenness?
The thought that he might actually be an intruder hadn’t even crossed Artlan’s mind, precisely because such a thing was unimaginable.
*‘D-damn it! He approached me so naturally, I thought he was a friend of mine!’*
A shiver ran through Artlan, and he furiously scratched at his arm.
Suddenly, the man’s name that he had just heard resurfaced in his mind.
*‘…Wait. Arthur Bayern?’*
As he mulled it over, Artlan’s eyes widened.
*‘Arthur Bayern… isn’t that the name of the legendary mercenary who supposedly massacred the search police recently?’*
On top of that, rumors had circulated that he was the *heir* of House Bayern, the ducal family that had vanished seven years ago.
Artlan’s mouth slowly fell open as he recalled this.
“This lunatic… then just now, that bastard was the legendary mercenary, Donn?”
It was at that moment that Artlan sensed an unfamiliar presence behind him.
Startled, he turned his head—but it was already too late.
Pfft—!
With a sound like air escaping, a bullet lodged itself squarely between his brows.
Artlan blinked once and then collapsed limply to the floor.
He never rose again.
“……”
Watching him in silence for a moment, Jeannie twirled the pistol in her hand and muttered.
“Leaving without cleaning up after yourself… well, I guess I’ll handle this.”
With those words, Jeannie pulled her black mask up to the bridge of her nose and melted into the shadows.
WEEEOOO—!
Arcane’s underground prison—an iron fortress that had never once been breached.
At that very moment, for the first time in its history, two intruders had set foot inside on the same day, at the same hour.
—
—
Arthur stepped into the underground prison and thought to himself,
*‘The structure is simpler than I expected.’*
As befitted the name “underground prison,” aside from the entrance above ground in the middle of the plain, the entire facility extended downward.
*‘Elder Willet was being held in the lowest level, B3, wasn’t he?’*
A special ward that confined only the most infamous of criminals among the countless prisoners.
There, not only Arcane’s rebels were locked away, but also A-class criminals imprisoned since even before Dormund had taken control of Arcane.
*‘Will Elder Willet, with his gentle heart, really be alright in a place like this?’*
Criminals would hardly show respect for an old man—he must have suffered much abuse.
Arthur’s nose wrinkled with a pang of guilt.
“I should have come to rescue him sooner, tch…”
His words trailed off as he drew *Beast*.
Simultaneously, alarms rang louder and the underground prison was thrown into chaos.
WEEEOOO—!
Along with the blaring noise came the sound of hurried footsteps.
Arthur sharpened his senses and counted.
*‘Roughly fifty?’*
There might be some margin of error, but not much.
Soon, about fifty search police appeared and shouted,
“Who goes there! Don’t tell me you’re an intru—!”
Before the officer at the front could finish, flames spat from Beast’s muzzle.
…BOOM!
The air itself detonated as the fifty search police were swallowed by Beast’s special rounds.
Arthur, watching, muttered in surprise.
*‘Oh… I thought so before, but Beast really does seem stronger than before.’*
It wasn’t just a feeling—it truly was the case.
Even seven years ago, its magic bullets had been absurdly powerful, but now it felt like firing a cannon.
Tilting his head, Arthur muttered,
“Mr. Beast, did you eat something good while I was gone? Why are you this much stronger now?”
Beast gave a faint vibration in response.
Arthur raised his brows and pressed further.
“Oh, so you really did eat something?”
\[…]
This time Beast gave no response at all.
Scratching his head, Arthur muttered,
*‘Sometimes, when it reacts like that, it really feels alive…’*
But how could a pistol be alive?
Arthur shrugged.
“Well, if angels can exist, why not a living pistol too? Right, Beast?”
\[…]
Beast stayed silent again.
Arthur didn’t ask further. Instead, he turned his head and scanned his surroundings.
Amid the wreckage of the underground prison, only one staircase remained intact.
*‘That must be the entrance below.’*
Nodding, Arthur strode toward it without hesitation.
Step, step.
As he descended the stairs, his eyes flickered.
“Save me—! Somebody save me!”
“What’s happening?!”
“I don’t know!! Just save us!”
Prisoners locked in cells were screaming.
All of them were bloodied, bearing the marks of harsh torture.
Search police swung clubs and whips at them.
“You bastards—!”
“Save you? You die here, scum!”
“Even if the prison falls, you die in here! Got it!?”
The prisoners shrieked, while the search police snorted in excitement.
Arthur stroked his chin as he watched.
*‘Hmm… come to think of it, the mayor asked me to free the other rebels in here too, if possible.’*
But how was he supposed to distinguish them among all these prisoners?
After a brief thought, Arthur shrugged.
It wasn’t something he needed to worry about.
Hadn’t he and Jeannie already agreed—he’d smash the prison, and she’d handle the cleanup?
*‘If I just kill all the search police here, Jeannie can sort out the rest later.’*
Decision made, Arthur cleared his throat and shouted,
“Attention, everyone—!”
“…?”
Both the whip-cracking search police and the screaming prisoners froze.
Arthur raised his voice again.
“I usually don’t give chances, but who knows? So I’ll give you one.”
“…?”
“Among you overseers here, if you’re *not* a pirate or search police, step forward. Don’t lie—it’ll be a problem if you do. I can tell truth from lies.”
At his words, a warden in a black eye-patch asked nervously,
“Who the hell are you?”
Arthur beamed.
“An intruder. But tell me, are you one of the search police?”
—
—
A man once called a pirate captain.
Now known as Arcane’s Chief of Police.
His name was Massius.
He looked down at the special A-class criminals of Arcane, kneeling before him, and asked,
“So then, have you all made your choice?”
“……”
“Will you follow me back into the world? Or rot away here until death?”
One prisoner chuckled.
“…Heh, you’ve come up in the world, Massius. Even when you were big, you weren’t *this* big.”
Massius turned his gaze.
An old man missing an arm was grinning grotesquely.
Massius stroked his chin, then recalled his identity.
*‘Ah. That was Hitran, the Second seat of the Seven Sovereigns.’*
A once-mighty syndicate that split the underworld with the pirates.
The *Seven Sovereigns*, each with the highest bounties in Arcane, ruled by their king.
Hitran had been their “Second seat.”
Massius smirked.
*‘How ironic. That the Second seat of the Seven Sovereigns is kneeling at my feet.’*
On the day Dormund invaded Arcane, both the pirates and the Seven Sovereigns received the same offer from the empire’s ruler, Cain Dormund:
*Open Arcane’s gates, and I’ll grant you glorious power to change your life.*
The pirates, after some thought, accepted. The Seven Sovereigns refused.
*‘Their excuse was something about honor or duty, wasn’t it?’*
Massius smirked again.
The idea was laughable. What honor did criminals have to protect? More likely, they just couldn’t stomach bowing to another.
But Massius had known then it was no time for pride.
Dormund’s invading army was merciless, and Cain Dormund’s rage—fueled by the death of his beloved son—was sky-high.
So Massius accepted his offer. And the result was spectacular.
Arcane was occupied, most of the Sovereigns’ leaders were slain, and the pirates became the new power.
The city transformed—once a free city, now a decaying ghost town.
*‘At this rate, Arcane itself will collapse within years. But we pirates will feed off its carcass forever.’*
He sometimes missed the old romance, but only briefly.
The power he now enjoyed as Chief of Police was intoxicating.
*‘And to keep it, we must erase the remaining rebels of the underworld.’*
They were relics of a bygone age. Doomed to vanish anyway, but Mascius wasn’t about to underestimate them.
*‘Rebels or not, they’re mercenaries. Arcane’s mercenaries.’*
Called another symbol of Arcane, they were not to be taken lightly.
Even he, at the height of his pirate power, had failed to unify the underworld.
So they needed to be eliminated, and now was the perfect chance.
*‘They won’t sit idle while their leader, Willet Christol, is executed. They’ll try to rescue him. And when they do, I’ll crush them all at once.’*
But since they’d fight desperately, his current forces might not be enough.
Thus Massius planned to use the special A-class criminals imprisoned in Arcane’s underground prison.
“Keh-heh… I just need booze, Massius.”
“I need women… I’m starving for women…”
“M-Massius! If I help you… can I have drugs?”
Apart from Hitran of the Sovereigns, the other criminals slobbered as they spoke, their minds long broken.
*‘Hard to control, but they’ll cooperate if it means escaping.’*
Massius nodded.
“Of course. Booze, women, drugs—you can have it all. Just kill the rebels who come to attack.”
The criminals grinned.
“Heh-heh… I like killing, Massius!”
“Give me pretty girls if I kill a lot!”
“Just give me liquor! That’s all I need!”
Finally, Hitran laughed.
“Kuhahaha… A Sovereign like me stooping under you… but fine, not so bad.”
He stood, licking his lips.
“Give me a blade, and I’ll kill them all. Rebels, whoever. In exchange, give me freedom.”
Massius smiled thinly.
“Of course, Mr. Hitran. Let’s forget the past and work well together.”
As he drew the cell keys from his breast pocket to recruit them, a tremendous vibration shook the prison.
BOOM—!
Massius, the search police, even the A-class criminals gaped in shock.
Hitran was the first to recover, muttering,
“…What, did someone fire a cannon?”
Massius frowned, then replied,
“Seems the rebels have arrived.”
“…Already?”
“It’s not surprising. I announced Willet Christol’s execution for tomorrow.”
Hitran instantly grasped the situation and cursed.
“…Damn! So that’s why you were rushing things! Should’ve bargained more.”
“Hu-hu… patience, Mr. Hitran. Just freeing you has already sullied the name of the Chief of Police.”
Massius chuckled, opened the cell, dragged over a chair, and sat.
Dozens of search police lined up beside him. Lighting a cigar, Massius inhaled deeply.
*‘…Who will it be?’*
Jeannie, leader of the Ear Clan?
The old knight of Arcane?
The lightning girl?
*‘Or maybe… all of them together.’*
From the cannon-like sound earlier, it seemed likely.
Massius smirked and leaned back leisurely.
*‘Better this way. I can wipe them all out at once.’*
If so, Arcane would fully belong to the pirates.
As he waited for the rebels to reach the B3 prison, the door finally opened.
A man walked in.
“Oh. So this is the end of the line.”
Everyone stiffened.
The man was drenched head to toe in blood.
Even Massius was startled by the ghastly sight and asked,
“…A face I don’t recognize. Who are you?”
Brushing blood from his shoulder, Arthur answered.
“Me? Arthur Bayern.”
Massius’s eyes widened.
“Arthur Bayern… You mean the legendary mercenary Donn, returned after seven years?”
Arthur let out a little exclamation.
“Oh? Not quite legendary mercenary Donn, but at least someone among the search police knows who I am?”
Massius faltered.
He hadn’t expected Donn himself to show up in person.
*‘Wait… so he’s real after all?’*
*And if so… then was it this brat who killed my first mate seven years ago?*
Still locked behind bars, Hitran suddenly muttered,
“…Strange. I only hear his breathing. Nothing else.”
Massius turned to him.
“Breathing? What do you mean?”
“Exactly that. Beyond these bars—I hear only that guy’s breathing.”
Massius’s eyes grew wide. He turned back to Arthur and asked,
“…Just to be sure—did you come alone?”
Arthur nodded.
“Yes. Right now, I’m alone.”
“Truly?”
“Yes, truly.”
Massius blinked.
“You really came here… alone?”
Arthur answered proudly,
“Yes, alone.”
“……”
Massius fell silent, unable to hide his discomposure.
Arthur, ignoring him, turned his gaze forward, eyes gleaming.
*‘Oh.’*
Beyond that crowd, he caught a very familiar scent.
His lips curled slightly upward.
“Elder Willet. You’re over there, aren’t you?”
—
