In his peaceful, silent room, the warden was reviewing a few reports. In front of him, on the table, was a well-cooked fish, from which he occasionally took a bite.
"Hmm, should I request another section from the government? At this rate, the cells in this prison will soon be full," he muttered.
Thud! Thud!
Suddenly, a loud banging came from the door, startling the warden. The disturbing noise shattered the calm atmosphere of the room.
"Which unruly bastard of an officer is this?" he growled in anger. Standing up, the warden stormed toward the door and opened it with an annoyed expression—only to be met by an officer whose face was filled with fear.
"Warden! It's a riot! The prisoners have started a riot!" the officer screamed.
"What?!" the warden pushed past him and rushed to the observation balcony, from where he could overlook the entire prison. There, he saw pillars of fire and smoke rising into the sky from numerous locations.
"How could this happen? What about the mana suppression necklaces?" he asked, furious but trying to contain his emotions.
"It's unknown. But the prisoners seem to have broken free from the mana necklaces and regained their original powers," the officer reported, his voice trembling.
Hearing those words, the warden felt his legs give out, and he fell to his knees.
"Warden!" the officer quickly reacted and caught him before he completely collapsed.
"If the prisoners have regained their powers, it's all over… The mana suppression system is the core security of this prison," the warden muttered in a shallow, broken voice.
After a moment of weakness, the warden steadied himself and stood back up.
"Wait, what about the two sons of the Grand Technician?" he asked sharply.
"The two of them are still in their room. To my knowledge, they have no idea about the riot yet," the officer replied.
"Good. Let's keep things safe for them until the Grand Technician arrives. He's supposed to be here within the hour. Until then, maximize the security around their room and keep them safe." The warden gave his orders as he walked past the officer and back into his room.
"Warden, what about you?" the officer asked before heading off to carry out the orders.
"Although currently, the main security factor of this prison is the mana necklaces… that wasn't always the case. And thankfully, I didn't agree to remove the old system from this prison," the warden said with a grim look.
The warden once again sat down in his seat and looked through the drawers in his desk.
"Found it."
From one of the drawers, he took out a switch with a red button on it. Without any delay—like his life depended on it—he pressed the button. Then he stepped outside and looked at the sky, where a blue-colored layer was stretching across it.
"Sir, isn't this the Shield-G protocol?" asked the officer from behind.
"Yes. Now, until I push this button again, nobody can escape from this prison," the warden muttered in a reassuring voice. "To be honest, I was afraid it wouldn't work. It's been so long since we've used this thing, I thought it might have shut down for good. But it's a good thing I didn't completely remove it—despite those newly appointed revolutionary higher-ups and their bullshit."
"But sir… isn't the Grand Technician supposed to arrive in about an hour?" the officer suddenly reminded him. But the warden's face didn't change.
"That's the best part. This system has sensors that grant access to government ships."
Boom!
Another loud explosion echoed from Section Two.
"Damn bastards are demolishing this place. Quickly, go and protect the Grand Technician's sons! I'll see what else I can do to contain this situation."
After his words, the officer quickly left, and the warden also left his quarters and took charge of the higher officer command.
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Argh!
With a kick to his stomach, Kahla was sent stumbling several steps back and collapsed to the ground.
The screaming of others drowned his voice, as the prisoners moved in rallies—some helping others break their suppression necklaces using tools or force.
"Somebody, please, help me," Kahla muttered and cried, but though a few glanced his way, no one came to his aid. They had seen the figure who had just kicked him and weren't about to interfere.
"Stop with the pointless begging," the figure said, stepping forward. "Since I'm the one who gave them their freedom, do you think any of these 'grateful warriors' would meddle in my business? You remember what I said, right? I'll definitely kill you." Auran's tone was calm, deadly, as he slowly approached.
"We probably got another five minutes until the warden gets his shit together and swarms this place with officers. And from that point, all these guys trying to break out will have to fight their way through hell to finally escape. Which means..." Auran's eyes narrowed.
"We've got only about five minutes to settle this thing before chaos claims the entire prison."
"I'm not gonna be an asshole—I'll give you one chance to fight for your life. Go get that mana suppression broken. Right after, we'll settle this debt."
After Auran's words, Kahla felt as if he'd glimpsed life once again. He got up and ran to another prisoner, begging to have his mana suppression necklace removed—which the prisoner eventually did.
"Ahaha! Finally, I can feel my mana flowing through my body! You slimy bastard, you're gonna regret giving me a second chance!" Re-energized and feeling his magic return, KahlA turned back to face Auran—but instantly went silent as his head was pierced.
"What just happened?" was the final thought that flashed through his mind, but no answer came as he collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
"It took you four minutes to get your mana suppression broken, and I only needed two seconds to end you. What a waste of time."
"Brother!" came a scream as Kahla's brother, who had seen the scene from afar, recognized Auran standing near the corpse with a mocking expression. Enraged, he charged.
Auran simply waved his hand, sending another Blade of Time at him. Kahla's brother couldn't even react.
As his body fell to the ground, lifeless, it was trampled underfoot by nearby inmates running amok—some still wearing mana suppression necklaces, others already freed and wreaking havoc.
It was around this time that the main gate of the section burst open, and officers armed with mana blasters came rushing in.
However, they were unable to subdue the situation easily, as the prisoners now had access to their magical abilities.
Amid the chaos, Auran became a silent figure slipping back, unnoticed, until he eventually arrived near the main prison gates.