The demon base was far larger than anything they expected. The dark red walls pulsed like burned flesh, and the buildings had twisted, uneven shapes, as if they were made by creatures with no understanding of human geotry.
And that was exactly the case. Unlike humans and a few other races like elves, most races didn’t care about beauty at all. They simply built a place to exist.
Demons were one of those examples. Though, unlike others, they at least tried to make their structures and fortresses terrifying and imposing.
A trembling red glow rose from the glowing lava veins flowing under the ground, and the sll of hot tal and rotten flesh filled the air.
The carts slowly entered. Their wheels crushed the black sand beneath them, and the surrounding demons watched with glowing, hungry eyes.
At that mont, Commander Orsius stopped, threw a short glance at the group, and said:
"We separate here. I have to report the mission."
Without waiting for a reaction, he walked up the main path toward the massive fortress standing at the center of the base, like a giant bone tower covered in shadows.
"I’m guessing the main targets are there... in that fortress." Kayn quickly spoke through ntal communication.
Daniel nodded, but there was no ti to answer. The demons violently separated the two of them from the girls, Lyra and lia, and dragged them toward another area of the base. This part was filled with smaller demons, but they were not any less dangerous. These looked more like jailers and torturers than soldiers.
"New prisoners?" one of them said with a rough voice.
"Yeah. And not regular ones—special." The demon escorting Daniel laughed.
"Oh? Special prisoners?"
The smaller demon gave a deeper look at the four of them. Special prisoners were extrely rare.
In general, demons weren’t the type to keep prisoners. In battles and raids, they slaughtered anyone they saw unless the person was extrely important. Only then would they capture them.
But being "special" among demon prisoners was even more unusual. It ant the person had caught the attention of the highest-ranking demons.
Yet this demon couldn’t see anything special in these "lowly humans."
"Throw them in the circle." he growled.
They brought them to the center of a small courtyard where a dark, cracked circle was carved into the ground. Before Daniel and Kayn could understand what was happening, they were both thrown inside.
Only a few seconds passed before a burning heat and a strange vibration spread under their feet.
And then—
Their energy was pulled out of their bodies.
Not strong enough to knock them out, but enough to make any combat power or strength vanish like a fla dropped in water.
Daniel frowned for a mont, but the expression disappeared quickly. It was obvious they were inside an array designed to absorb and scatter the energy inside living beings, while also creating seals inside the target’s body to prevent power from recovering.
Even an S-Rank would have a hard ti resisting an array like this. This thing was definitely made by one of the best in the field.
Still, he wasn’t worried. If anything, he relaxed and didn’t even try to resist it.
"Damn... my powers..." Kayn whispered in panic.
His worry was stronger because he didn’t know how Daniel would handle this situation without powers.
But when he looked at Daniel, he saw his calm and composed expression, as if nothing had been taken away. That alone made Kayn exhale with relief.
Daniel gave him a short look that ant, "Calm down."
But everything didn’t end there.
Above Lyra’s head, light began to gather. A small sphere of golden energy... tiny, but pure. Its glow wasn’t sothing anyone could ignore.
The demons stepped forward with excitent, like animals slling fresh at.
"Ha! There it is! Finally, what we were searching for..."
Before anyone could even react, two demons grabbed Lyra at high speed.
lia scread and grabbed her sister’s hand. They struggled and cried. Lyra was sobbing, lia was shouting, shaking uncontrollably.
"No! Please! Let go of her!"
"Please... no... no..."
But one of the demons kicked lia brutally in the stomach, ripping her away from Lyra. The sound of choking escaped her mouth, and her cry turned into a painful gasp.
They dragged Lyra away, her screams echoing through the entire base, but no one cared.
Daniel and Kayn both watched with blank expressions. Both of them were confused, mainly because they had no idea what that golden sphere ant.
After that, several other demons grabbed Daniel, Kayn, and lia and pulled them out of the courtyard. A twisting path led them under a stone arch and into the underground section of the base.
The underground prison looked like the insides of a monster. Long rows of cells made from unfamiliar material, not tal, not stone, sothing between bone and darkness. A faint red light dripped from the ceiling, like coagulated blood.
Kayn felt disgust twist his face. How many beings did they have to kill to build an entire prison out of bones?
Inside the cells, humans, elves, dwarves, and creatures that couldn’t even be identified sat with empty, hopeless eyes.
So unconscious, so chained, so stuck to the walls and trembling. The sound of weak groans and the clinking of chains echoed in the damp air.
The demons threw the three of them inside one of the cells and slamd the door shut with a screech.
The sa demon who had attacked them earlier stepped forward with a sly grin.
"Enjoy the rest of your ti. Orsius will co for interrogation soon."
He slamd the door again and walked away with the others.
The mont they left, Kayn rushed to lia without hesitation.
"lia? Are you okay? Breathe... slowly... calm down..."
lia had her arm wrapped around her stomach. Dried blood stained the corner of her lips. She clearly had internal injuries, her body shaking nonstop, and her eyes were red from pain and crying.
But when she saw Daniel and Kayn beside her, sothing in her gaze brightened. Maybe they could help her?
But then she thought about the fact that they were all powerless, and the little hope she had faded again.
"My lady... Lyra... we have to... help her..." she whispered weakly.
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