(MC POV)
I admit, I miscalculated.
I thought for sure that the guards would tell their higher ups about me and those people would come and find me on their own accord. It would make sense to figure out why someone that strong was captured right?
Apparently not.
Nothing happened for the first two days and then someone that looked important came in on the third.
I thought for sure he was going to call me to his office or something but he merely looked around before leaving without a word.
I thought he was just scouting out so I decided to just wait for a bit more while the other prisoners treated me like some sort of king. Not that I told them to but they just did that on their own, but you won't hear me complaining about it.
The guards were also very quiet whenever they came back in, even personally delivering the food to me before leaving with their heads bowed.
I thought to ask them about the important guy but that would have been too obvious so I refrained from doing so.
In the end, five days passed in the blink of an eye.
I thought of checking up on my girls but in order to do that, it would mean breaking the inscription that is restricting all Techniques. That might cause a much bigger issue than me beating up the guards. But since I'm not getting any alarms from the protection inscriptions on them, they should be fine.
Over the last few days, quite a lot of people were shoved into this room as well, almost doubling in number in a short amount of time.
I won't say that I had to step in to control those newcomers from rioting and hurting the people in here… But I did.
Feels weird to actually treat Dark Sect members so nicely to be honest. Usually I would be trying to skewer them or something.
Had to keep reminding myself not to get attached to them.
By now, about the entire hall was filled, totaling the number to about a few thousand or so which was a dramatic increase in number from the few hundred of before.
At least they still let me get a specific area of the hall to myself while the others need to start sharing whatever space they could find.
For people on what was basically death row, they're taking to this fact rather surprisingly well.
Then again, it might be due to the fact that I bashed a few heads when they disturbed me so that contributed to their submissiveness.
When the fifth day rolled around, I decided that this would be the day to go find what I needed, consequences be damned.
Just as the time where our afternoon meal would come, I walked out of my corner to head towards the front door, preparing to just break out of here after the guards brought us our meal.
The other prisoners bowed their heads when I passed them, greeting me with 'Boss'.
Again, I did not ask for this, it was something they decided to do on their own. I'm not narcissistic ok?
The kid who had tried to warn me about the guards before ran up to me with a big smile on his face. Somehow after the incident with the guards, everyone had thought of him as my lackey or something and he took to the role quite readily.
"Boss! Do you need anything? I can go get someone to get it for you!"
I shook my head, "It's fine, I'll be going out for a bit after the guards bring in our lunch."
"Oh, got it boss! Do you want anything done when you get back?"
Funny how no one batted an eye when I said I was leaving.
"No, it's fine. Just carry on as you guys have."
"Understood boss! Have a nice trip!" He saluted before running off again.
Nice kid, if only he wasn't part of the Dark Sect, I might keep him around as a servant or something.
I reached the door just as it opened, but instead of the usual four or five guards who would bring in the food, a whole detachment of twenty guards accompanied with ten Abyssal Knights showed up. Behind them was the guy who 'caught' me in the first place, looking all smug and what not.
Huh… A little bit too much security just for the powerless me don't you think?
"Ah, there you are," He called out upon seeing me. "Carved yourself a little paradise here didn't you? Well come along then, we'll see what we can do with you."
I was a little confused but since this was playing out exactly as I hoped I just followed along.
Outside the prison were another four Abyssal Knights that were waiting for their summoner, all of them immediately moving to surround us when we stepped out into the hall.
"Let's have a chat in my office eh?" He chuckled, leading the way without looking back.
His office turned out to be a simple room with a bookcase, desk and chairs. Either he had very simple tastes or he's not in here often. My bet is on the latter.
"Sit," He ordered, collapsing onto his own chair with a grunt.
I looked behind to see the Abyssal Knights blocking the door before I moved to sit on the chair in front of him.
"So, we don't have much time since it has already begun. I'm sure you let yourself be taken so you can escape from that traitor right? Simple thing then. You want power right? Just pledge yourself to us and you can be one of the Inner Circle. With your talents, a Cardinal is not an impossibility."
This guy really loves to talk huh?
I leaned back in my chair, "What makes you think I'm actually here for that?"
"Haha! No need to be modest here now. We all know what's going to happen right? The ritual is already done, the sacrifices should be dead by now so you are free to join them or--"
I stood up violently, my chair crashing into the ground behind me.
I never really was attached to any of my fellow prisoners since I know they were Dark Sect members, meaning they would have done some really screwed up stuff that I definitely don't agree to. But if they were already being sacrificed then that means I am already too late.
Manipulating the sliver of Quarks I could still control, I activated the inscription I had drawn on the back of my hand, attuning myself to the security inscription and freeing me from its restriction.
There was a small shockwave and a loud boom when I did that, most likely alerting everyone in the vicinity of my action.
Now is not the time for subtlety though.
I moved my hand over my face and returned my figure back to normal, no point in having the disguise now.
His eyes widened when he saw me, his finger pointed at me and shivering, "Mas… Master Lin?! You… You were…"
I turned and blocked sword slash from the Abyssal Knight trying to sneak up on me with my arm. Placing my palm on its chestplate, I blasted it away from me and sent it crashing into the other Abyssal Knights behind it.
The group of them then exploded in a gout of flames that was black in colour, consuming them into nothingness.
"What were the sacrifices for?" I demanded, summoning ice spikes from the ground that poked at his neck.
"Hiiieeeee!! They… They're for summoning Lilith! That's all I know, I swe--"
I made two ice spikes pierce through his neck, letting him die there while I rushed back to the hall where we came from.
Before I even stepped into the hall, I could already feel an ominous presence behind the door and the place seemed a lot darker than before.
Stepping into the hall revealed a rather gruesome scene.
All the prisoners were dead, their blood painting the entire hall crimson with their blood. There was not a part of the wall, ceiling or pillar that was not stained with blood.
The Abyssal Knights were already gone since I killed their summoner, but for some reason the guards that had accompanied them were dead as well.
And right there, in the centre of the hall was the demon.
She was a tall woman with pale skin dressed in a leather corset that left nothing to the imagination. She wore a pair of elbow length leather gloves and high heeled boots that stretch to her knees.
She might have passed for a human if it wasn't for the black leathery wings on her back and the wicked curved horns that grew out from the sides of her head.
"Oh? Another mortal? Have you come to offer your blood to this Lilith too?"
…
...
Who?