novelraw Chapter 24 : Chapter 24
Chapter 24 : Chapter 24
Chapter 24: It’s That Guy
Even though bedtime was approaching, the prison block was restless.
Prisoners were constantly whispering inside their cells.
Prisoners had disappeared without a trace from a notorious prison.
Since it was an unprecedented incident, the fallout was bound to be significant.
“Hm?”
The interest of the prisoners focused as they discovered Ered accompanied by a prison guard.
Faces mixed with curiosity.
The cells were lined up in rows across three floors.
Every time he walked down the central corridor, diverse and villainous faces passed by evenly on both sides.
“Who’s that kid?”
The prisoners' attention tilted toward Ered.
“A green sapling like that shouldn't be frequenting such a rough place so early.”
Snickering laughter broke out.
Ered stopped walking immediately.
“Open it.”
He pointed to the cell of the prisoner who had insulted him.
“Heh heh heh. Did you get triggered? What are you going to do if it opens?”
Even then, the prisoner’s mockery continued without rest.
“Acting all tough for his size—”
As soon as the door opened, he entered the cell and grabbed the guy's throat.
“Guh—”
The guy's two feet lifted off the floor.
“I really hate vermin who have nothing but big mouths despite being incompetent.”
“You son of a—”
“How do you think I feel being ignored by such vermin?”
Ered recalled Marcus, who had neutralized the lunging Spark in an instant.
He understood now why the noble personage had gone out of his way to exercise his strength.
He couldn't stand by and watch his honor being tarnished by an inferior being.
“I-I get it, so just let go of...!”
“Look at my eyes. What color are they?”
The guy’s pupils gradually widened.
“Red... Pro... minence...?”
“Do you understand now? What kind of attitude you should take.”
The terrified guy nodded his head repeatedly.
'I think he's understood enough by now.'
Ered finally released the guy's throat.
The fallen man coughed and massaged his reddened neck.
“Guys like you are infinitely merciless to the weak, but as servile as rats before the strong.”
He spoke while looking around the entire prison block.
It wasn't a remark intended only for the prisoner who had mocked him.
“This was a warning. The second time won't end at just a warning. If you've figured out your place, shut your mouth and stay small. You should pray that I don't have to use violence again.”
A heavy atmosphere hung over the entire prison block.
There were still those who showed hostility toward Ered, but when they met his eyes, they lowered their gaze as if they had never done so.
Having finished the "education," he decided to return to the main point.
'It’s this guy.'
He stopped in front of a man whose face was covered in a messy beard.
Shadows hung under the man’s eyes.
His fingertips were rough and pale.
'Typical symptoms of drug addiction.'
Since he belonged to a trashy group that distributed drugs, it was inevitable that he would fall for the temptation of drugs.
Clang.
This time, even before Ered gave the order, the guard opened the cell door on his own.
“Manu Rianto. Are you Ekano’s right-hand man?”
“...Yeah.”
Perhaps because he had witnessed the scene of the "education," the man's answer came out immediately.
“Your boss must have wanted to live as a one-armed man. Seeing as he left you, his right hand, behind.”
“What do you want?”
“Since you were Ekano’s confidant, you must have overheard things by his side. Spill everything you know.”
Manu was hesitating.
If he maintained silence, he would end up like the previous prisoner.
But if he confessed, he would become a traitor to the organization.
“Think carefully. The one who will suffer a rough fate trying to keep some measly loyalty isn't your boss, it's you.”
Ered made a threat.
He could make Manu open his mouth in no time if he put his mind to it.
Which part, and in what way, to strike to make the opponent suffer the most pain.
It was an easy task for a Prominence.
'Well, violence isn't always the answer.'
Ered relaxed his fist.
He had already given enough of a scare.
If he pushed further, it might actually provoke a backlash.
Or perhaps he might commit perjury.
While detecting perjury wouldn't be difficult, it would delay time that much more.
He had already identified Manu’s weakness from the first moment they met.
There was no need to choose violence when he knew that.
“Isn't it hard to endure?”
Ered whispered subtly into Manu’s ear.
“The withdrawal symptoms, I mean.”
Manu’s shoulders flinched.
An expression of being hit where it hurts.
“It must feel like death. You haven't had any fun ever since you came to prison. It’s all written on your face.”
“…….”
“And I can provide what you want.”
“What? But...!”
Manu gazed over Ered’s shoulder.
He seemed to be checking the guard's reaction.
“This matter won't reach the guard's ears. I promise.”
Prominence is a privileged class.
There is no idiot who doesn't know that.
Secretly handing a handful of drugs to a prisoner is nothing.
If it means getting a precious clue in return.
“...Damn it. Anyway, the boss tricked us and ran away alone. There's no reason to protect a man who betrayed our loyalty first.”
Finally, Manu succumbed to the temptation.
“Tricked you guys?”
“The boss—no, Ekano—said he found a way to escape this hellhole and told us to just do as he said. I didn't think it meant he would slip out alone.”
“Did he order you to start a riot?”
“Right.”
Manu nodded his head.
“There's a gang called Black Dust. They’re guys we clashed with frequently ever since our organization jumped into the drug business. Coincidentally, we’ve become close enough now to eat from the same pot as those 'Poop Dust' bastards here.”
Disgust flashed across Manu’s face.
He seemed to recall the ill-fated relationship with Black Dust.
“We picked a fight with the Poop Dust guys just as Ekano instructed. The fight became much more intense than expected. We were already itching for it. When we came to our senses, Ekano had vanished without a trace.”
“What do you think prompted your boss to carry out the prison break? For instance, did he make contact with someone?”
“I don't know that much either... Wait.”
Manu paused and then looked up as if he had remembered something.
“There was a visitor who came to see the boss yesterday. It was an unusual event. No one had come to see Ekano until then. That man, he was estranged from his family. Even though he himself missed his wife's embrace.”
“Ekano gave the riot order after he returned from the visitation?”
“Right.”
“Do you know anything about the visitor?”
“I really don't know that either. Actually, I was curious too, so I asked Ekano. But for some reason, he avoided answering. I let it go at the time, but...”
This was enough testimony.
“Thanks for the cooperation.”
“Hey. I spilled everything as you asked, so you'll keep your promise, right? Huh?”
Manu asked urgently.
His trembling eyes were dyed with expectation.
Of course he would keep it.
Even if the opponent was a piece of trash, a promise is a promise.
There is only despair ahead for the guy.
Since he caused a riot, he will pay a harsh price.
At the very least, it's solitary confinement.
'Well, even if you’re going, one hit of drugs should be fine, right?'
***
It was fortunate that the Beholder system was well-established.
If even this weren't here, the investigation would have faced difficulties.
'I should look at the Beholder records installed in the visitation room.'
Ered manipulated the observatory.
The video that was being recorded in real-time rewound back through time.
'He said the date of Ekano's visitation was yesterday.'
...Found him.
He captured Ekano just as he entered the visitation room.
It was exactly yesterday's date.
Ekano kept looking around.
He was checking the visitors.
Through that fact, he realized one thing.
'Ekano and the visitor are meeting for the first time.'
That was why Ekano hadn't recognized him.
Ered’s gaze landed on a person sitting in a corner of the visitation room.
It was difficult to recognize the face because a brimmed hat was pressed down low.
Looking at the build, he could only guess it was a man.
Other visitors were busy chatting with prisoners respectively.
The only one who hadn't met a prisoner yet was 'Brimmed Hat'.
Brimmed Hat raised one hand and signaled.
Seeing this, Ekano sat down tentatively across from him.
The two of them shared a quiet conversation.
It was impossible to eavesdrop on the content of the conversation.
Beholders cannot record sound.
The time allowed for visitation was only 10 minutes.
It was quite tight.
Of course, just allowing the luxury of visitation to serious criminals was enough for them to bow and scrape.
When 5 minutes had passed since the visitation began.
Brimmed Hat stood up.
'Is it already over?'
...No.
The direction he headed was the restroom.
The Beholder installed in the visitation room's restroom was... none.
It was also the only area that escaped the Beholder’s persistent gaze.
It was natural.
Unlike prisoners, innocent visitors have human rights.
Sure enough.
The Beholder stopped in front of the restroom door.
It could only confirm the fact that Brimmed Hat had entered the restroom.
In the meantime, 5 minutes passed.
The short visitation ended.
People saying their goodbyes with regret.
He saw the backs of the visitors leaving the prison according to the guards' instructions.
'...What?'
Ered furrowed his brows.
Even until then, Brimmed Hat had not come out of the restroom.
Even Ekano, who had met him, had already returned to the prison block.
Guards began to check the empty visitation room.
Soon, they headed to the restroom and threw the door open.
He pulled his chair close and watched the observatory intently.
How much time had passed?
The guards came out of the restroom.
...Brimmed Hat was not dragged out by the guards.
“How did this happen?”
As Ered turned around with a shout, the Warden’s face turned beet red.
“How exactly do you do your jobs!?”
“T-This can't be!”
The guards cried out in dismay at the Warden's reprimand.
“There's no space to hide in that restroom! You know that well, Warden...!”
All of them had aggrieved expressions.
“Are you sure you checked properly? For instance, the ventilation duct.”
When Ered threw the question, a guard shook his head firmly.
“Even if there is a ventilation duct, it's impossible for a person to go in and out. It’s barely the size of two palms put together. Not that we didn't check the duct. There are cases where prohibited items are hidden in such places.”
As expected, is there an informant among the guards? Or...
'...Wait.'
Ered recalled the battle he fought in the Academy garden.
The guy who disappeared taking the Unnormal who manipulated wind with him.
The guy had vanished without a trace right before his eyes.
'It’s that guy.'
The visitor who came to see Ekano is undoubtedly him.
'What on earth is that guy's ability? Wasn't it teleportation?'
There must be a reason why he had to do the legwork of coaxing Ekano and triggering a riot.
It must mean there are constraints on the ability, or the ability itself isn't teleportation.
“Re-search the visitation room immediately!”
The guards dashed off at the Warden's instruction.
'Re-search? At this late stage?'
Ered clicked his tongue.
'It’s a meaningless act.'
Ignoring the guards, he focused on the observatory.
Moving his hands restlessly, he turned the video record forward, and forward.
'I must track the guy's tracks.'
Time in the video flows rapidly.
1 hour, 2 hours...
...A full day passed.
The time frame shifted to the current day.
Until then, the firmly closed restroom door had not opened.
'Is it really meaningful to keep watching this?'
Right when he felt such skepticism.
“……!”
Ered almost jumped out of his chair unconsciously.
The restroom doorknob seemed to turn slowly, and then the door opened.
However, no one walked out the door.
...No, perhaps they had already walked out.
They just couldn't be seen.
A perfectly fine doorknob wouldn't turn on its own.
It was an entirely artificial phenomenon.
Which means...
'...Invisibility?'
In that case, the reason the guards couldn't find the guy is also explained.
'He can even make the targets he touches invisible. Damn it.'
That means they hadn't actually left that spot in the Academy garden either.
If he had paid a bit more attention, he could have captured them by sensing their presence.
'What time did the guy leave the restroom?'
He checked the time frame of the video record entered in the observatory.
'20:30. It coincides with the time the prisoners started the riot.'
The current time is 23:20.
It's a fresh record from less than 3 hours ago.
Brimmed Hat, namely the invisible man, had been persistently holding his breath in the restroom since yesterday.
Until Ekano led the riot and grabbed the guards' attention.
Ered hurriedly turned the screen to the solitary confinement area.
The point when the guards of the solitary area were absent due to the riot.
Clatter.
The solitary cell door where Spark was locked opened.
Following that, Spark's full-body restraints were released one by one.
'It must be the invisible man's doing.'
The guy’s form is still not visible.
Thus, it looked like Spark's restraints were released on their own.
Spark, having regained his freedom, made a wound on his finger and scribbled words on the cell wall with blood.
The guy approached the Beholder and raised his middle finger as if to show off.
Soon, the guy disappeared.
He must have made physical contact with the invisible man.
That was the last sight of the two.
'It was only 3 hours ago. Those guys might still be hiding in the prison. In that case...'
Right when Ered was about to order the guards to conduct a search.
His head felt dizzy as if struck by a hammer.
“After the riot broke out, has the main gate of the prison ever been opened before I arrived?”
He asked the Warden pressingly.
“No. It’s been closed the whole time. Today isn't even a visitation day, and there were no newly transferred prisoners.”
“Dammit!”
Ered slammed the desk with his fist.
“W-Why are you doing that...?”
The Warden asked in surprise, but there was no leisure to pay him any mind.
The opportunities given to the escapees must be extremely limited.
The guards of Alkaz are long-term shift workers.
In an isolated island like Alkaz, a commuting system is inefficient.
Shifts would take place at intervals of at least several months.
They must be able to be self-sufficient for a long period within the prison.
Furthermore, outside the prison is nothing but the vast ocean.
There is no reason to go out.
In other words, it’s extremely rare for the main gate of the prison to be opened.
'The alarm went off when I visited the prison with Isel.'
That it was a simple malfunction?
There’s no way such a coincidence would occur out of the blue.
'Those guys were waiting. For that very moment when we would visit the prison to investigate the prison break incident.'