Ery had made a mistake.
Of course a prison built to hold a Supre Magus wouldn't be simple. He should have known. The walls weren't just physical—they were laced with multiple layers of arcane barriers, enchanted seals, and embedded detection wards. The mont he disrupted the third seal, the runes flared.
A siren wailed through the prison halls, shrill and shrieking like a dying beast. Red sigils pulsed in the air, warning of unauthorized intrusion.
Within seconds, Ery's divine sense picked up a dozen energy signatures rushing his way. His mind raced for a plan.
Then ca the elder's voice, calm and resolute.
Ery let out a long, slow breath. Five more seals remained. Ti was vanishing, and with each second, the hope of success seed further away.
Then—they arrived.
The corridor echoed with footsteps as the Warden appeared, flanked by ten elite prison janitors. Three of them radiated cosmic-level power.
The Warden's eyes scanned the chamber—then narrowed at the sight of the unconscious janitor slumped by the door.
"Master Alchemist… What is the aning of this?" His voice was ice—suspicion replacing all previous reverence.
Ery raised his hands slightly. "Warden, I didn't kill him. I've no intention to harm anyone. But I need us to open this door—"
The Warden cut him off. "That door held a Supre Being! If he escapes, none of us can stop him!"
"That's the plan... he can help us... He could be the key to saving this stronghold."
The warden's expression hardened, his face like stone. "You've either been infected by the parasites… or you're being controlled by the monster inside."
Ery stepped forward, desperation in his voice.
"Warden, I am the one who created the very draught that exposed the parasites! Why would I help them...? They might even co here to kill !!"
For a heartbeat, doubt flickered in the warden's eyes.
But it didn't last.
He raised a hand—a silent command.
Two of the cosmic expert janitors surged toward Ery with deadly speed and precision. Their battle auras flared, rippling the air with oppressive energy. Ery's eyes narrowed. He couldn't kill them—but he couldn't allow himself to be captured either.
He responded instinctively.
Elysian Roots erupted from beneath his feet like a nest of awakened serpents, thick with glowing life force. They shot outward, entwining and colliding with the attackers, forming a solid wall of writhing vines. The first janitor was slamd backward into a pillar, the impact cracking the stone. The second barely managed to parry with a barrier spell before the roots swept him off his feet, tossing him across the corridor.
"Warden, you need to listen to !" Ery shouted over the crackle of energy.
"Yes… I will listen," the warden growled, "after I capture you!"
The warden stepped forward—and that's when Ery truly understood the gap between them.
Unlike the others, this was not just a senior guard. The warden was a Two-Cosmos Grand Magus, with his core at the third circle—placing him at level six, just one step from the Third Cosmos.
Massive tal gauntlets shimred on his fists, etched with ancient runes. He raised one arm—and with a thunderous roar, brought it crashing down. Ery's Elysian Roots t it head-on. The vines shattered like dry branches.
A surge of aura revealed his terrifying battle power: above 2000 marks.
Then ca the chains.
From the warden's back, a set of tallic links slithered forth like living serpents—his artifact, the Soul Hex Chains. Tier-8 constructs, capable of binding even a peak cosmic expert. They pulsed with an eerie glow, weaving through the air as if scenting Ery's soul.
Ery didn't hesitate. He activated his Twilight Form.
His body shimred, light and shadow intertwining across his limbs as he blurred into motion. His soaring wings of light burst from his back, propelling him out of the chains' reach just in ti. One of the links grazed his arm, sending a cold jolt through his entire body.
The warden's punch ca again—faster, stronger.
BOOM!
The impact cracked the floor where Ery had been standing monts before. Ery twisted in the air, his wings flaring, and countered with another flurry of Elysian Roots. They twined around the chains and clashed midair in a furious dance of energy and will.
"You are not a simple alchemist indeed!" the warden shouted.
Ery gritted his teeth. He couldn't last like this. He needed to break through this defense. He drew on his spirit power, eyes glowing with a fierce inner light.
[Spectral Gaze]—the spirit attack powered by the five-level Rainbow Pagoda. Five glowing sigils spun behind his head, and a wave of soul energy shot forth.
A beam of spiritual energy shot from his eyes—bright, searing, honed to pierce defenses. But to Ery's shock, the warden didn't flinch. A phantom image materialized around him—a towering five-floor tallic prison.
His spirit attack struck and dissipated harmlessly.
The warden had a spirit shield. And not just any kind—one strong enough to render Ery's spirit attack ineffective.
Before Ery could react, his roots were crushed again—this ti utterly—and the chains wrapped around both his arms.
"Give up now!" the warden bellowed. "Don't think I won't dare hurt you!"
The Soul Hex Chains pulsed with malicious energy. Ery felt it like iron pressing down on his soul—suffocating, draining. His spirit energy stuttered as the chains began suppressing his ability to even think clearly.
If not for the innate resistance of his Twilight Form, he would have collapsed already.
He clenched his jaw. The only way out was to unleash his Primal Form. But to what end? Even if he managed to break free, fighting the warden would burn more energy than he could afford.
No.
He stopped resisting.
He waited for a chance.
The warden was ready to apprehend him when another siren blared
Not from the chamber—but the main gate of the prison facility.
The enemy had breached the prison.
"They are here!!"
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