I Became a Prison Officer of the First-Class Prisoners

Posted by Lilac, Released on June 24, 2024

[ Chapter 42 ]

“Vampire. Isn’t it your kin?”

The corner of Deon’s mouth twisted.

“You’ve read too many fairy tales.”

“Not fairy tales, but ghost stories.”

“Wow, seeing how well you know this, it seems even the great divine beast quite likes human culture.”

“So are you going to run away or watch? Don’t you know we don’t have time?”

The tension between Deon and Ian ended with Leilia’s interruption, who couldn’t bear to watch anymore.

“…Vampire. Follow me. The woman and Officer, step back and protect Cedric.”

Deon became childish when he was with Ian. As if he knew this well himself and had nothing to say, he let out a faint sigh and took the lead. Then Ian, who had kept his hands in his pockets the whole time, followed him without hesitation.

My heart was pounding. Even before the possession, I had never looked at a real bat, let alone a picture of a bat’s true appearance, for more than 2 seconds because it was so creepy. If that elongated diamond shape unfolds its wings, it would reveal that bat I saw in the picture, right?

It was horrifying. Just imagining it made my heart pound with goosebumps, but the three people, except for Cedric who was hiding behind me, pale-faced, seemed to have no particular thoughts.

“Lemony, don’t space out, stay alert.”

That meant I should be pointing my gun at the bat too. Because I wasn’t Cedric.

“Yes.”

Brought to my senses by Leilia’s low warning, I aimed my gun as I had learned in training. Through the sight with one eye closed, I could see the two men moving away without hesitation.

“Just stab it? It’s quiet. Is it sleeping?”

I could see Ian’s mouth moving as he spoke to Deon. Ian even tilted his head as he poked the bat with his dagger to check its reaction.

“If it’s not responding, there’s no need to make a big deal out of it. Let’s just pass by.”

“Ah, but I do believe to some extent.”

“Believe what?”

“Ghost stories.”

Their conversation was too light for those dealing with beasts. If there was a single flaw in Deon and Ian as comrades fighting against monsters, it was that they underestimated the beasts in front of them too much. Of course, they had reason to. But the problem was that the faces of Cedric and me behind them were becoming increasingly pale.

“…The conversation you’re having about a 2-meter monster is quite innocent. It’s like watching a conversation between 5-year-olds.”

When Cedric, who had been deliberately refraining from speaking to avoid interference, finally opened his mouth, I agreed.

“Indeed.”

In any case, I decided to think positively.

“Still, they’re both first-class prisoners, so they’re the strongest people in this prison. They must be acting like that because they have confidence,”

No, I should have thought negatively. While the two men were arguing again, I suddenly froze with fear. It was too fast to distinguish at first, but at some point, the magical beast had spread its black wings and taken to the sky, puffing up its body.

The wind from its wingbeats shook my tied hair. It was as if a black demon had revealed its true form.

A flat face with wrinkles and black pupils without whites. The features oddly resembling a human face sent chills down my spine.

“Is it really related to vampires? The face is unpleasantly similar to our ancestors.”

Ian, who wore the most disgusted expression among them, lightly threw his dagger, which accurately hit the wing joint and fell, tearing the wing. The magical beast, seemingly greatly affected, wobbled in the air like a drunk and slowly crashed. It was like watching feathers undulating as they sank.

“I see why you two were having such a casual conversation. It seems it wasn’t much of a beast after all.”

“Indeed.”

Focused on the conversation with Cedric, I felt deflated watching the slowly falling magical beast. Of course, it was a relief that it wasn’t a big deal, but I had thought it might be a chance to use the gun I had become quite familiar with. Well, can’t be helped. I should be grateful for a situation where I don’t have to use the gun.

“Move aside, Lemony.”

That’s when it happened. Leilia gently pushed my shoulder.

“It’s less painful to kill it in one go than to wound it to the point where it can’t move. If it survives in that state, it will be torn apart alive by other magical beasts.”

Her words were right. But as I turned my upper body to make way for Leilia, I couldn’t help but let out a startled scream.

With a gunshot that seemed to tear through the air, a thick fog flowed from the front where the men were. For a moment, time seemed to stop. The target of the gun clearly flew towards where the people were, not the sky. Are they dead? No way. They couldn’t die so anticlimactically. Ten seconds that felt like an hour passed. As the gradually thinning fog cleared the view, Deon, who had twisted his upper body to avoid the bullet, was frowning.

“You.”

“Ah, sorry. My mistake.”

Leilia shrugged her shoulders playfully.

◆

After the bat monster, no other monsters appeared, so our group focused on reaching our destination. However, the atmosphere had been strangely tense since Leilia fired at Deon. Of course, people can make mistakes. Especially novices like me who nearly died because of a gun.

But Leilia was a first-class prisoner. Even if she was imprisoned due to a false accusation, with her skill to teach me, she shouldn’t have missed her target. Of course, hitting a falling bat wasn’t easy. But considering that the bat and Deon were in completely different places, her aim was somewhat strange.

Did Leilia dislike Deon?

…To the point of wanting to kill him?

“It seems we’re done with Building D now.”

Cedric was right. Gradually, the lush landscape overgrown with vegetation disappeared, and downhill slopes increased. The vines entangled between trees and strange poisonous plants were becoming less frequent.

“If we’re going to pass through Building E, it means we’ll have to camp or walk through the night. I’d rather pull an all-nighter. I’ve got camping trauma from last time.”

As Ian grumbled beside me, Deon, who was leading, turned his head towards me.

“Officer. Can you stay up all night?”

The decision-making power naturally passed to me. It seemed Deon didn’t care either way and was asking me, so the final decision would be based on my opinion.

I had similar thoughts to Ian. After nearly dying once, I didn’t think I could sleep outside even if we camped.

“I don’t mind staying up all night. We have the keys anyway, so let’s just pass through quickly.”

“Why? My legs hurt from walking all day, why don’t we just rest? I’ll take the night watch.”

At Leilia’s plea, Deon snorted.

“If you’re on night watch, we definitely shouldn’t rest. I feel like if we fall asleep once, we might sleep forever.”

“I told you it was a mistake!”

“Of course it was.”

A chilling light flashed in his red eyes.

“If it wasn’t a mistake, you’d already be buried next to that bat.”

That wasn’t a joke. Even if it wasn’t Deon, Ian and I would have stopped Leilia. But ignoring his serious warning, she casually linked her arm with mine, pretending to be scared.

“How did you survive in such a harsh environment?”

“Well, there were no near-death experiences by mistake when you weren’t around.”

Ian threw a jab at her, but Leilia ignored him and clung to my arm more tightly, using me as a shield. Finally, Deon sighed as if fed up and turned his head, taking the lead again.

But you know what? This time, it seemed Leilia was indeed at fault.

“Leilia.”

“Yes?”

I hesitated after calling her suddenly and closed my mouth. What should I say here? Was it her fault, and should she apologize?

“Never mind.”

In the end, all I could manage was a lukewarm sigh. This incident would make not only Deon but also Ian and Cedric wary of Leilia. If Leilia wasn’t going to leave our group right now, there was no need for me to step in and criticize her.

“Then shall we keep walking to the main gate, even if it’s a bit tough?”

“I agree. We’ve gathered the keys, and I want to escape this godforsaken prison as soon as possible.”

When I changed the subject, Cedric, who had been watching Deon and Leilia’s reactions, concurred. Leilia seemed displeased with the conclusion that went against her opinion, but she shrugged as if there was nothing she could do.

“By the way, Princess. What’s in Building E that makes you want to skip it?”

It was when we had been walking for quite some time. Cedric, who seemed as tired as I was from carrying a gun, struck up a conversation as if bored.

The sunset light was already seeping through the boundaries. I wiped my sweat while staring at the prison walls in the distance that looked like a huge mountain.

In fact, Building E was safer than the other buildings. There were no monsters that bound human limbs, nor humans plotting more cruel thoughts than monsters. But personally, what made Building E uncomfortable was its unique quietness.

“Building E houses invisible monsters. When magicians can’t control their summoned mediums, or when strange mediums pop up, they request Dreys Prison to seal the mediums immediately. Building E is where these sealed mediums are confined.”

To explain simply, a medium was a life form with a soul but no physical shell. In our country, it would be like a ghost with abilities.

“…So, are these mediums locked in cells?”

“No. Since they have no physical form, confining them in physical spaces is useless. So most of them are sealed inside books, and those books are kept in glass cases. The seal breaks if the book is opened.”

That’s why it’s scary. If the guards who resided in Building E had survived intact, rescue operations would have been carried out through official documents or communication stones to contact the outside. But currently, no one had entered the prison except for Cedric, who came in without knowing anything.

Something must have happened in Building E as well.

“Anyway, I’d rather not enter Building E if possible. My colleagues said that the moment you step foot in there, you instantly realize it’s Building E. It suddenly gets cold and gives you goosebumps—”

I was about to say “they said,” but I stopped walking.

“…Cedric?”

I’m not sure why I called him, but suddenly chills ran down my spine and my hair stood on end.

“Deon? Ian?”

“This is troublesome.”

As I called out to the others and looked around, Deon quickly approached me and grabbed my wrist which wasn’t swollen, as if to protect me.

“Looks like we’ve entered the snake’s den.”

When I came to my senses, I found that we were surrounded by antique-style wallpaper. The air around us smelled of stale dust, as if cut off from the outside. The lighting had also dimmed to the brightness of soft candlelight.

No way.

When I looked up, I saw an impossibly long corridor that made me dizzy.

This was Building E. The place where things that shouldn’t exist were confined.

◆

Thank you for reading! ♡