"Arghh!"
"Please no more, it hurts..."
"Urghhh..."
The painful screams of the prisoner came to a subtle end as his eyes closed and his head slumped forward.
"Tch, no good. Waste," Galric muttered in annoyance as he observed the dead subject, pinned to an experiment table. On the other side of the table stood Alric, still examining the now lifeless man.
"It's the same symptoms as before. I think it's because these guys have been under mana suppression for so long, their bodies start to adapt to it," Alric said after concluding his observation.
"You think so? Then what we need to do is replace the prisoner with someone newly arrived here with the Mana suppressing belt around their neck," Galric replied.
"Yes. inform the officers to remove this one and get a new subject. We can't delay this. Father is supposed to arrive tomorrow, and we need to finish this today."
After Alric's words, the two of them left the experiment room. Shortly after, a few officers arrived to clean the place.
"These are the latest few who came to our prison. If you see a fitting one for your research, I'd gladly bring them to you," said the officer in charge, handing the twin brothers a display with pictures of Auran, Henry, and Nimuk.
"We can't judge whether they're compatible for experimentation just by looking," Galric said.
"Yes, but... this bastard's face annoys me," Alric muttered as he pointed to one of the faces on the device. After looking at it, Galric also frowned. The guy's smug expression reminded them of their father's younger days—the same expression that once graced the face of the greatest technician of this era. And it irritated the two brothers to no end.
"Bring him," Galric ordered, pointing at the image.
. . . . .
"Here, as you requested. This will be the last batch we can provide for today," Marian said as she secretly handed over a small amount of scrapped Tentagun to Auran. Auran, on the other hand, calmly grabbed it and hid it among his clothes.
"Yes, that should be it. The last of the preparations," he said.
At his words, the other three silently looked at him.
"You mean..."
"Yes. Tomorrow, we launch our plan."
The three individuals each showed a different reaction to Auran's words—one of excitement, one of hesitation, and one of caution.
"If that's true, then when do you plan to explain the actual plan to us? All this time, we've known nothing except the vague things you've told us," Marian asked.
"Don't worry about the plan. Just follow my instructions exactly as I say tomorrow. Also, remember this—if you don't do what I say, one wrong move could cause the entire plan to collapse. So keep that in mind before you decide to do anything stupid," Auran said, taking a sip from his dinner, a faintly steaming soup.
"Blah! It's bland! Why can't they give us a proper meal once in a while?" he exclaimed after tasting it.
"We're in prison for committing crimes, so I doubt they'd think of giving us a proper meal as a reward," Henry said, like a wise old man.
"True. I can't remember the last time I tasted meat, and it would've been good if we had a proper and nutritious meal—since we have a lot of work ahead tomorrow," Henry added.
As he spoke, Auran's eyes slowly turned toward Nimuk, who always remained silent in the group. Following his gaze, both Henry and Marian also looked at him. Feeling their stares, Nimuk gulped in fear, his fish-like face sweating heavily. Then, he suddenly stood up and screamed,
"Please don't eat me! I'll do twice as much work tomorrow for everyone's sake!"
His words echoed through the hall, attracting the attention of everyone nearby.
"Idiot, sit down. They're not going to eat you..... right?" Marian said as she yanked Nimuk back down—but even she looked at Auran with doubtful eyes in the end.
All she saw, however, was a sly smile on his face. But that smile quickly faded as his eyes shifted in another direction. Following his line of sight, Marian also noticed that a few officers were entering the dining area. A moment later, she realized they were actually heading in their direction.
"Prisoner number... come with us," one of the guards said, calling out a specific prisoner.
All three of them instinctively looked at the badge on their uniforms, but Auran stood motionless—he already knew his badge number very well.
Even before Auran could respond, the officers seemed to already know him. They approached and grabbed hold of him, lifting him from the table.
"What's the meaning of this?" came Henry's voice as he stood up. Following him, Marian and Nimuk also rose to their feet. But they were stopped from taking a step forward by the officers.
"Do not interfere with our duties. If you do, you will be punished," one of the officers warned.
"Calm down, guys. I'm sure the officers have a clear explanation for why they need me," Auran said, then looked at the officer who had spoken.
After hesitating for a moment, the officer finally spoke—but it was a disappointing response for everyone at the table.
"He's being taken for work. And why should we give explanations to prisoners already serving a life sentence?" With those words, they dragged Auran away, while the others at the table stared after him.
"Well, there goes our escape plan," muttered Marian after the officers left. She slammed the table with enough force to crack the dish on it. "What do we do now?" she asked, turning to Henry—the only one capable of making a decision at the moment.
But he too had been silent, staring in the direction Auran was dragged.
"Let's wait until he comes back," he finally said after a moment of silence.
"But—" Marian was about to reject the idea, but Henry spoke again.
"He told us to calm down. And don't you remember what he said? If we act just because we want to, it might cause his entire plan to shatter. So my suggestion is—wait for him, and trust him."