Chapter 788: Yorta’s Prophet (2)

“Prophet, is this really right?”

Memorial Tower, 5th underground level.

The frozen correctional facility known as the Frost Lord’s Tomb.

A cavern where icy winds raged, and prisoners slowly freezing to death, trapped behind bars.

These were individuals who usually wouldn’t even exchange glances, let alone converse, yet now they moved busily inside their cells, as if on cue.

“We still don’t quite understand why we have to do this, Prophet…”

“I believe I told you not to make me repeat myself.”

Lennok replied coldly to the prisoners, who kept glancing back at him.

“If you wish to leave this place, obey quietly. How many more times must I demonstrate?”

“No, it’s not that we doubt the mystical power you’ve shown us, Prophet…”

Someone among the hesitant prisoners straightened their stooped back with difficulty and spoke.

“What does this have to do with escaping prison right now?”

The prisoners wiped the floor and bars, their expressions suggesting they wanted to say something.

A simple task: bundling clothes or old rags to wipe the frost-covered floor.

The order Lennok had given the prisoners, using escape as leverage, was to thoroughly clean the prison.

“No matter how we think about it, cleaning doesn’t seem necessary to leave this place…”

“Perhaps it would be better if the Prophet gave us another divination.”

Of course, not all prisoners in the jail quietly followed Lennok’s words.

Since there were prisoners who didn’t trust Lennok or hadn’t received his fortune-telling, less than half of them were cleaning their cells.

But even with just that many cleaning their cells, it was enough to make this frozen prison seem bustling.

=…

Even the Pale Ghosts, who had been silently monitoring the prison corridor until now, were observing them.

It was not strange for the prisoners to show discomfort under the gleaming gazes of the Pale Ghosts beneath their grayish-white hoods.

“You have many complaints even when asked to clean up the space you occupy.”

Lennok let out a cold sigh, looking at them.

“Or do you wish to sit upright on the prison floor and pray all day?”

“Wouldn’t that be more useful?”

“…”

Lennok shook his head at the prisoners’ retort, which seemed to genuinely reflect their thoughts.

Prisoners who had stayed long in Yorta, a place with strong spiritual superstitions and beliefs, knew that prayer was not a meaningless act.

Indeed, it must be because of that tendency that Lennok’s role as a prophet worked so well here, so it was something he had to put up with.

That’s why Lennok, too, had no choice but to brazenly urge the prisoners on.

“This is a process to cleanse the karma accumulated in your unclean bodies, so shut up and cooperate. It is absolutely necessary to leave this place.”

“Hmm, if it’s a process to cleanse karma…”

“Why didn’t you explain the reason earlier?”

As he spouted nonsense, haphazardly attaching a reason, the prisoners cleaned their cells with noticeably more enthusiasm than before.

Lennok, staring at the prisoners with an absurd expression, muttered softly towards the Priestess.

“I think I’m starting to understand why cults are so prevalent on this continent.”

[It seems only your propensity for obfuscating the truth has been proven.]

“…”

Just one fortune-telling session.

While some might have resented being ordered to do such work for a single divination.

Many others, however, followed with mixed feelings of doubt and hope, as he had mentioned a means of escape while giving orders.

And for Lennok, that many people moving around the prison, drawing the attention of the Pale Ghosts, was enough.

‘Aside from playing the prophet, I don’t need anyone’s faith. Relying on belief isn’t my style either.’

Lennok fell into thought, watching the prisoners shivering as they cleaned their cells.

‘Refining judgments and revelations appropriately to create a pretext of mystical power, and thus gaining access to Yorta’s core district.’

Accepting imprisonment itself was an accidental turn of events not part of the plan.

He had to quickly grasp the structure of this place and find a way to escape.

Fortunately, with the Priestess’s revelation and his own intuition, he had secured enough clues.

‘The wind is blowing from both the ceiling and floor near the northern side.’

Lennok sat on the cold prison floor, closed his eyes, and calmly heightened his senses.

‘However, due to the internal design of the 5th underground level, an escape route cannot exist in the north.’

Through the Priestess’s revelation, he had realized that the cold wind permeating the entire prison was flowing from some kind of crack.

But after spending time in the prison and examining his surroundings, he saw no cracks from which the cold wind could flow.

The possibilities he considered were that the crack itself existed outside the prison, or that it was invisibly hidden somewhere within the prison.

Lennok was betting on the latter possibility as relatively high.

‘What was confirmed through the revelation was a means for prison escape. If the Priestess directly enacted her ability, the likelihood of it deviating significantly from that topic is low.’

Lennok had sought to confirm two things through the Revelation Ability activated towards the Memorial Tower.

One was related to Mugan, which observes the flow of curses, and the other was related to escaping the 5th underground level where Lennok was imprisoned.

Even if Mugan’s significance had faded due to an unexpected anomaly, the revelation confirming the prison’s escape route would likely not be far off.

Lennok, trusting precisely that possibility, had incited the prisoners, deliberately making the inside of the prison chaotic.

“Shall we begin?”

The moment the prison interior became sufficiently noisy, and attention momentarily shifted away from Lennok.

Whoosh…!!

Lennok, having maximized his mana, began calculating the direction of the winds blowing from all sides.

An art of tracing the curves where wind currents clashed, diverged, and changed in intensity and flow.

He retraced a location that would have been unguessable according to the prison’s original design, following the subtly changing currents created by the prisoners’ movements.

A sharp thread of will-thought encompassed the entire prison, meticulously sweeping through the vast cavern before disappearing.

Defying the icy currents that seemed capable of freezing even will-thought, Lennok finally found the source of the wind.

‘That’s the spot.’

Among the Pale Ghosts patrolling the entire prison, there was a corridor at the easternmost end of the cells that notably never left its post.

Specifically, an empty cell where various corpses and filth lay hardened and piled up, left untouched.

Beyond the tightly sealed wall, wind irregularly seeped through, circulating throughout the prison.

That was likely the location of the crack from which the wind directly flowed, and the only escape route in this prison.

‘Perhaps those frozen corpses scattered throughout the cells weren’t left there for no reason.’

If those many corpses were part of the trial-and-error process of trying to find the opening from which the cold wind flowed, it made sense.

Now that the location of the crack was confirmed, all that remained was to decide on an escape time and act.

Just as Lennok thought that and was about to recall his will-thought and open his eyes.

=…

Behind the Pale Ghost standing blankly at the end of the corridor.

He discovered something written on a wall, subtly positioned where a Military Spirit’s gaze couldn’t reach.

[Ghostly Chronicles. I enjoy recording, but with no suitable place to write, I leave these words temporarily in the Tomb.]

Carelessly scribbled handwriting, as if hastily written.

But the content itself contained facts important enough to immediately capture Lennok’s interest.

[Ten days since I was caught tampering with the Memorial Tower and imprisoned in this Tomb. Most of the prisoners who came in with me have died.]

“…”

The message ended there.

However, Lennok soon found a continuation of the message nearby.

[This Tomb was not designed to imprison mortals; it is merely a dumping ground where the Court of Soul Pacification has left unresolved problems.]

An exquisite location, out of reach of the Pale Ghosts patrolling the prison.

Yet, once a message was found, the next inscription could be located, with single phrases carved into various parts of the ceiling, floor, walls, and even the bars.

It was remarkable how a prisoner, confined to a cell, managed to leave messages throughout the prison like this.

And the one who wrote those inscriptions briefly explained how to leave this place.

[If your senses are sharp and keen, you will know that the direction the wind blows from is the only escape route.]

[You must choose the right time and numbers to reduce trial and error. Do not look back until you leave this Tomb.]

And the final record, passed on to others by the message’s author.

[Rarely, an old man who laughs like a child roams the underground levels of the Memorial Tower.]

[He is a fallen Myriad Ghost; if you encounter him, commit suicide.]

“…”

A Myriad Ghost, a rank higher than a Thousand Ghost.

And among them, a fallen Myriad Ghost, having lost its intellect, roams the underground levels?

The moment Lennok confirmed that the inscriptions scattered throughout the prison had ended there, he opened his eyes.

“Prophet, what should we do now?”

The prisoners were calling out to Lennok, drenched in sweat.

“It seems we’ve cleaned every place that could be cleaned.”

As he said, the filth accumulated throughout the prison had been thoroughly cleared and piled outside the corridor.

Had they diligently worked even while Lennok wasn’t paying attention?

Lennok, his hood pulled low, finally leaned back against the cell wall and replied.

“Wait until nightfall.”

“…Huh?”

The prisoners blinked, questioning him.

“Thanks to your sufficient efforts, I have found the way. You will be able to leave this place by tomorrow.”

“…”

An absurd assertion compared to what Lennok, who had been sitting idly until now, had done.

Lennok smiled, looking at the prisoners who hesitated, unable to easily believe him.

“I will personally show you the way.”

After a round of cleaning, night fell, and the prison grew dark.

It was strange that day and night could be distinguished even on the 5th underground level, but it wasn’t inconceivable considering the Memorial Tower’s power.

Prisoners shivered in the cold, lying on the prison floor, trying to sleep.

But instead of closing his eyes, Lennok watched the now quiet prison.

He didn’t need to try to stay awake; insomnia meant he wouldn’t fall asleep anyway.

Though he had largely alleviated the penalty, staying up all night without sleeping pills was something Lennok was accustomed to.

Just as he silently gazed at the ceiling, leaning against the wall in a familiar posture.

“Why aren’t you sleeping?”

Swish!!

A blurry shadow settled before Lennok’s eyes.

“This is the only time the wind fades enough for one to sleep. If you don’t close your eyes, tomorrow will be difficult.”

“…”

“Weren’t you planning to spend your time comfortably, giving fortune-telling to other prisoners and being revered?”

At the shadow’s question, Lennok stared at him from behind his mask, then chuckled.

“Because there will be those who want to confirm if I’ve truly found the escape route.”

“…”

“If they were people who entered the prison before me and were seeking escape, they’d undoubtedly want to verify the truth. Wouldn’t they?”

“…Indeed.”

The shadow nodded, slowly rose from its spot, and approached.

At that moment, the shadow’s bulk and presence rapidly expanded, transforming into that of a giant man who looked down at Lennok.

The hairy giant, who had been imprisoned right next to Lennok’s cell.

The one who had started a quarrel by complaining about noise, and who had been the first recipient of the revelation, was now staring at Lennok from the darkness.

“You weren’t the type to be imprisoned in a place like this for long.”

“…”

Unlike when Lennok saw him during the day, there wasn’t a speck of excitement on the giant man’s face.

A calmness that made him seem like a completely different person from how frantically he had acted, as if he wanted to kill Lennok.

Perfect stealth, unsuited for his thick physique.

“You knew from the beginning, didn’t you?”

“You were overly dramatic. I could tell you were deliberately trying to provoke a reaction from me.”

Lennok nodded indifferently.

“Besides, when you grabbed me by the collar through the bars, I saw what technique you were using.”

“What technique do you think it was?”

“A type of Body Transformation Art.”

At the time when Lennok was conversing with the Priestess and the giant man grabbed him by the collar through the bars, complaining about the noise.

Lennok had perceived that the giant man twisted his own joints and muscles to force his hand through the bars.

Transformation Arts are specialized for infiltration, stealth, and covert combat, so not many physical ability users master such techniques.

If there was a prisoner who had mastered such a technique, there was no way he wouldn’t try to escape from this cold, gloomy prison.

Lennok had looked around the prison and was convinced that there were already people who had escaped this prison in such a manner.

“Even with the doors locked, there were a few empty cells. Those must belong to prisoners who already attempted to escape, right?”

“…”

“If there were successful cases, someone with such a useful ability wouldn’t fail to try.”

“Good. Very clever.”

The giant man nodded readily.

His eyes, fixed on Lennok, gleamed sharply.

“Aside from possessing mystical power, I knew you weren’t foolish. This should be enough.”

The moment he said that and rubbed both his wrists, the giant man’s hands shriveled, becoming as small as a baby’s.

Clink!!

The giant man, who had effortlessly released himself from the handcuffs, waved his hand at Lennok and spoke.

“As you can see, I’m a hitman who uses Body Transformation Art. I have a knack for passing through narrow gaps, walls, or even safes.”

“…”

“I left my organization to start my own contract agency, but was betrayed by a fellow contractor and ended up here.”

The giant man’s gaze, fixed on the obsidian mask, shone strangely.

“Even though you knew nothing about my background or abilities, your divination was incredibly accurate. It was enough to give even me, who knows the circumstances, chills.”

“I’m not particularly interested in your tedious past.”

Lennok chuckled.

“What do you want to say?”

“I’ll help you escape this place. Come with me.”

The giant man said that, extending a hand to Lennok.

“I don’t know why you’re imprisoned here, but your mystical power is too valuable to be buried in this place. Don’t you agree?”

“…”

“If we escape this place and get out of the Tower, we can reach the residential district. How about we cooperate to find a way to sustain ourselves?”

“So you weren’t planning to leave Yorta.”

“Of course not. Why would I be crazy enough to come all this way just to leave?”

The giant man snorted.

“Yorta is a closed-off place, but it’s also a source of rare artifacts and spellcraft that can’t be seen anywhere else. If we can just break into that distribution network, raising funds will be easy.”

He hadn’t given up on business, even after being betrayed by a partner once.

“I’ve already gathered a few like-minded prisoners and formed a team. If you’re thinking of joining, I’ll remove your handcuffs right here. With my Body Transformation Art, if I manipulate your joints, such handcuffs will quickly—”

“No. I decline.”

Lennok smiled and shook his head.

“What I want isn’t for a small number of people who secured information in advance to escape.”

“What do you mean?”

“All the prisoners confined here will leave the prison simultaneously. That is the only way to escape this place.”

At Lennok’s words, the giant man asked in a cold voice.

“You seem to be more compassionate than I thought. Are you really being that generous to prisoners you just met today?”

“Generous? I believe I said it was the only way.” Lennok chuckled and replied.

“Let me repeat. This is the only way to escape the prison.

It’s not your plan; my plan is correct.“

“…”

The giant man, who had been silent, subtly shifted his gaze and quietly asked.

“Have you ever wondered why this prison is so cold?”

Without waiting for an answer, the giant man immediately continued.

“There’s a hole somewhere in the prison. Through it, a very strong cold wind is freezing the prison solid.”

The giant man continued, paying no mind to Lennok’s indifferent reaction.

“Most people wouldn’t even try to go near that cold wind, nor would they guess where it’s blowing from…”

The giant man kicked aside a frozen corpse and said.

“Among the predecessors who escaped this place, there was a madman who was curious about the location of that hole.”

“I know.”

“…You know?”

Lennok chuckled, looking at the giant man who blinked, apparently not expecting that answer at all.

“Not in the prison corridor or ceiling, but in the empty cell located at the easternmost end. A crack is hidden within it, isn’t it?”

“…”

“It took a little time to find the direction with only fragmented images. I stayed up all night to prepare for that.”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying. No, no… let’s talk from the beginning.”

The giant man, seemingly confused, waved his hand and massaged his forehead.

“Did you really find the escape route’s location through divination? That… how much time we spent trying to find it—”

BOOM!!!

At that moment, an enormous roar erupted from the other side of the prison corridor, accompanied by a shockwave.

Most of the sleeping prisoners awoke with a start from the sudden explosion, springing to their feet.

“Wh-what happened!!”

“It’s an explosion!! Someone set off a bomb!”

The empty cell at the eastern end of the corridor collapsed, revealing a massive crack beyond it.

Those who realized that a strong wind containing immense cold was blowing from within it gasped and muttered.

“An-an escape route…”

“How did a hole like this appear in an empty cell…!!”

“Did the Prophet really make a path?”

Click!!

Lennok casually opened his cell door and walked out, raising his head toward the other prisoners.

“I told you I would show you the way out, didn’t I?”

“Pr-Prophet!!”

“Then that useless cleaning was actually…!!”

The moment he confirmed the crack was hidden within the prison wall, Lennok solidified his resolve to greatly expand the scale of the prison break.

As long as he hadn’t precisely grasped the Memorial Tower’s structure or principles, the likelihood of being discovered during an escape attempt was very high.

Furthermore, according to the inscriptions left in the prison, various problems and dangers were scattered throughout the Memorial Tower’s underground levels.

Given that, he decided it was better to increase the number of escapees to divert attention and make their direction unpredictable.

Lennok, standing in the center of the frozen cavern, nodded, looking back at the overwhelmed prisoners.

“I have opened the path. Let’s go.”

Clank, clank, clank!!

The moment Lennok lightly swept his hand downwards, the prison’s iron bars uniformly unlocked, and the doors swung wide open.

“Waaah!!”

Seeing the wide-open doors before them, the prisoners charged out, screaming like madmen.

They didn’t even question how the doors opened or why an escape route appeared before them.

They simply abandoned themselves to this rapidly heightened tide, surging forward vigorously at Lennok’s words.

“Freedom!! I’m getting out of here!”

“Thank you, Prophet!!”

Tens, hundreds of prisoners raced through the frozen prison cavern, throwing themselves beyond the crack.

Lennok, standing atop the crack from which the cold wind blasted, smiled, looking back at the prisoners rushing out around him.

“Those who wish to live, crawl out on your own. From now on, we will escape the 5th underground level of the Memorial Tower and ascend to the surface.”