Chapter 550 Aetherhold Penitentiary
"Not really. I just came for Blake, but you surely won\'t let me take him for free, so I had no other option than to do all of this." The Masked man said shocking both Prince Bryon and Colonel Darius.
"So you were the one behind Gunnar\'s death?" Prince Bryon asked.
"Why ask as if you all in the council didn\'t know from the start." The Masked man chuckled before continuing. "You should be thanking me for highlighting the Empire\'s weakness. Now you can go back and work on yourselves."
The masked man knew the personality of all 4 council members, so it was very easy for him to see the weakness that sprung up from the greed of the Frostborne and Blackthorn families.
"Why the long face? You don\'t have to worry; I won\'t hurt him. I actually have plans of taking him where he would be respected and treated right, and not like a second-class human being." The smile on the mask of the masked man widened.
"Sorry, but I won\'t let you take him." Prince Bryon\'s stance changed as the inscriptions on his pocket lit up with a golden light.
"It\'s not as if you have an option." The Masked man chuckled.
\'Go to the prison and make sure that Blake is safe.\' Prince Bryon said in a mind-link connection with Colonel Darius.
\'I don\'t think so.\'
The Prince and Colonel were shocked when they heard the Masked man\'s voice in their head.
At that point, the Masked man\'s shadow split in half, and another Masked man appeared right beside him, further shocking everyone on the battlefield.
\'He has the Shadow element?!\' The same question was on everyone\'s mind.
The League of Assassins had existed for centuries, and only on a few occasions had the Masked man been seen in combat. During those times, he had either made use of the lightning element or very powerful artifacts.
They had never expected that it would be the second-rarest element!
While everyone was still in shock, the shadows began flickering around the bodies of the Masked man and his clone. Instantly, the flickering shadows spread out, forming a black dome that covered the 3 of them, causing Bryon to snap out of his reverie.
"Flames of Chaos, burn ever bright, Lord of destruction, bring forth your might. Activate the artifact, banish the night, Inferno\'s embrace, bathe in pure light!"
As he said the incantation, the golden light of the sliver pocket chain began increasing in intensity before covering the entire area.
The darkness element was dreaded by all, including the Royal family. That was why they had crafted and given to all important members of the family, artifacts that countered it.
Accompanied by the golden light were intense gold flames that began attacking the shadow dome, but that was when the Masked man spoke up.
"Sorry to inform you, but that won\'t work because this is Primordial Darkness."
Almost instantly, Bryon began noticing that the darkness that formed the dome was actually feeding on the golden flames!
"Shit!" Prince Bryon cursed as he realized that the Masked man had checkmated him.
"Don\'t worry, I won\'t attack if you guys don\'t. My work is just to make sure that 2 of you don\'t leave here." The Masked man grinned.
"Seems like you win." Prince Bryon said as he deactivated the pocket chain and sat in a cross-legged position.
"Not really." The Masked man said. "The rest is up to Blake to prove that he is worthy of joining us. If he can\'t escape then all this will be for naught."
"Stop trying to console me; there is no doubt that he would be successful." Prince Bryon said in a sad tone because he felt he had failed Blake.
…
"Where were we?" Once the shadow dome had covered the 3 powerhouses, Verdigris turned to Zola and Richard with an evil grin on his face.
\'Shit!\' The 2 family heads cursed as fear gripped their hearts.
"What did I miss?" At that moment, Brock Ulrik flew into the sky and stood beside the 2 of them. This gave Zola and Richard hope, but after seeing the unchanged expression of The Arboreal Reaper, they were disheartened.
…
The pocket dimension prison, known as Aetherhold Penitentiary, was a highly secure facility designed to house the most dangerous individuals. Situated within a pocket dimension with 1 entrance that also served as an exit, the Aetherhold Penitentiary was divided into eight sections.
The first section was the entrance and Control area. It consisted of a massive enchanted gateway formed by two large pillars adorned with intricate magical runes. On passing the gateway, the magical devices set in place would scan the visitor including his or her dimensional amulet.
The area beyond the entrance acted as a control center, with a security checkpoint, reception desk, and surveillance monitors, where guards and staff oversaw the prison\'s operations.
To the right of the entrance, a sprawling administrative wing housed various offices, meeting rooms, and research chambers. Here, the prison staff manages inmate records, conducts investigations, and develops countermeasures against magical abilities. The administrative wing was heavily fortified, equipped with enchantments to prevent unauthorized access.
The 3rd section of the Aetherhold Penitentiary was the cell blocks. They comprise the heart of the prison, located in the central part of the facility.
These blocks consist of multiple levels, each designed to hold different types of dangerous individuals. Each inmate was confined to specially created cells, fortified with anti-magic materials and individual containment fields, tailored to counter their unique abilities. The layout within the cell blocks is organized with branching corridors that intersect at a central hub for ease of supervision.
Scattered throughout the prison were common areas where inmates could interact under controlled circumstances. These spaces include shared recreation yards, magical suppression rooms for supervised spellcasting, and communal dining areas. Such areas are closely monitored and equipped with safeguards to prevent the misuse of magical abilities.