Chapter 16: Put On a Show!

"Strange, how did this place end up like this?"

"I remember when I came with the Archbishop last time, it wasn't this dark."

Herbert held the ancient lantern, looked at the darkness ahead where visibility was less than a meter, and raised a brow in some puzzlement.

At this moment, after attempting to capture Fu Leimei, he had passed through the Deep Water Prison of the second area and arrived at the third area of the alien prison.

The Lightless Prison.

Within this completely pitch-black, lightless space, two dangerous magical creatures were held—one a Dark Elf Archmage, and one a Vampire Prince.

Incidentally, Herbert had not seen either of these two monster girls last time.

For some reason, the Archbishop had led him straight through here without greeting the prisoners, going directly into the fourth area's Lava Hell.

He hadn't dared to ask either.

This was Herbert's first time seriously exploring this place, and he discovered the situation might not be as simple as he had thought.

He raised the lantern above his head; the faint light barely drove back the darkness within a meter around him—beyond that range, the heavy darkness blocked everything.

Couldn't see, couldn't hear, couldn't smell—couldn't sense anything at all.

"Who turned off the lights? Get a Holy Knight to turn them on... oh wait, that's right, I am the Holy Knight."

Where the hell is the Holy Light?

Herbert tried every method he could think of, and in the end found that only the radiance from his holy mark could dispel the darkness—but it only expanded the range by one circle.

Bringing the visible distance to a staggering—two meters.

That's absolutely useless!

If this place were merely dark, it wouldn't have left Herbert feeling somewhat lost.

But the problem he was facing now was—getting lost.

Herbert hadn't even caught a glimpse of the two monster girls' shadows, let alone found the path to the fourth area!

He had already walked quietly with the lantern for over ten minutes, yet still hadn't reached the end of the road.

Even if that were all, at worst he could just keep at it—eventually there'd be a day he reached the end.

But the problem was, he was afraid he'd never reach the end.

Because as soon as he turned around, he could see the path he'd come from.

He... had been treading in place the whole time!

Tch, after running into the Pen Fairy and the Harmonious God, now he's hit a ghost wall too?

After being sent back to the starting point for the third time, Herbert finally gave up on plodding along blindly and seriously considered the situation before him.

"The laws of this place... seem to have been altered?"

The Realm of No Light, where eyes cannot see.

One may only retreat, never advance.

Every prison within Misty Monastery was actually a carved-off special demiplane; though they appeared to meet the prisoners' living needs, each had its own unique restrictive laws behind the scenes.

For example, the Deep Water Prison placed extremely harsh restrictions on Fu Leimei—under normal conditions it had nearly stripped out all the water element from the cell, so that even a legendary sea demon could barely maintain a water sphere just big enough to contain herself.

But from the looks of it now, the restrictions here seemed to have been changed to target him.

Is that right?

That's a complete inversion of heaven and earth.

Herbert narrowed his eyes, several thoughts flashing through his mind.

If he wasn't mistaken, something must have gone wrong here.

But the situation hadn't reached the worst-case scenario yet.

Because if the other party could truly control the laws, he would have already been sent back to the respawn point.

The other party hadn't shown themselves, nor had any exchange with him—as if nothing had happened at all.

"They don't want to tip their hand, planning to make me give up in the face of difficulty?"

As long as they don't show themselves, I'll just think it's my own problem?

That does seem... reasonable.

If Herbert really were just a noble son who had only just become a Holy Knight, then upon encountering such a situation he truly wouldn't force his way through—he'd certainly assume it was his own lack of strength and retreat.

Herbert deliberated for a moment, nodded, and turned around to leave without hesitation.

When in doubt, better to slip away first!

No rush anyway—might as well go capture the dragon and the mermaid Young Lady for now.

The area ahead could wait for future exploration!

But just as Herbert was about to pass through the barrier back to the Deep Water Prison, his footsteps gradually slowed, and finally came to a complete stop.

"... Tch."

He was a bit annoyed.

Even though his current selling point was being weak and helpless but a good eater, and even though he really couldn't beat the opponent right now.

But still!

"I'm the Warden, and you're the prisoner."

Herbert turned his head, gazed into the impenetrable darkness, and clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"What sense does it make to let you ride roughshod over me?"

No way.

Even though his protest might not work, if he really just obediently left like this, he felt his thoughts wouldn't flow smoothly.

Even a street punk knows to drop a couple of vicious threats before leaving.

He was, after all, a prison boss—he had to put on some kind of show before leaving.

But what kind of act should he put on?

"Can't exactly bite a lighter, right? Don't have one anyway… huh?"

Herbert turned his head back and continued to study the darkness before him, when suddenly something struck him.

He set the lantern on the ground, slowly walked to the edge where darkness met light, and squinted at the overly smooth boundary.

Herbert thought for a moment, then tentatively extended a finger and lightly touched the boundary of the light.

Nothing happened.

His finger felt nothing, and after pulling it back it hadn't turned into a section of white bone either.

"……"

After a moment of silence, he turned back and extinguished the lantern, and after a brief hesitation, shut off the Sacred Mark as well.

In an instant, he felt himself passively merging into this stretch of darkness.

Submerged by nothingness.

Devoured by solitude.

But strangely, apart from these sensations, Herbert did not feel any discomfort.

Here and the outside world were, in fact, no different.

In the darkness, Herbert's eyes were bright, faintly overlaid with a thin layer of Jin Guang.

He still couldn't see a thing, yet he vaguely "sensed" the path ahead.

Not only that, he also had a faint sense of being watched.

In the darkness, someone had been watching his every move.

Buzz—

The Sacred Mark lit up in an instant, and that feeling of being watched vanished without a trace, as if what had just happened was merely an illusion.

But Herbert was not that naive.

So, when you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back at you, right?

"I understand."

The corner of his mouth curved up; he flashed a bright, easy smile at the darkness, waved his hand, and said in a clear voice:

"I'll be back again."

Having said that, without waiting for any response from the other party, he picked up the lantern and strode away.

After he left, the darkness once again returned to calm.

After a long while, a soft, low chuckle finally drifted out from the darkness.

"To think he'd leave so decisively."

"Heh heh… what an interesting fellow."

Understand what?

To tell the truth, Herbert actually understood nothing at all.

As for the changes in the Third Region, the current him simply couldn't comprehend the details, but that didn't matter.

He didn't need to figure out the reasons behind it; as long as he could confirm that there really was a problem, that was enough.

So, what needed to be done next was already very clear…

"Report it. Must report it!"

(End of this chapter)