Emperal froze when he heard that voice; his head snapped back. And what he saw shocked him.

At the far end of the prison cell, a man was tied with chains all around his body. He was suspended in the air, supported only by the chains bound to his hands.

Emperal was stunned, "...Calder?"

He rushed towards the man. And upon coming closer, he finally saw the man.

Unlike the previous short, slim-framed Calder, this was a tall, slightly muscular man.

But, at that moment, his entire body was covered in blood. His eyes barely focused, but nonetheless, he recognized Emperal in an instant.

The moment Emperal’s voice echoed, a wry smile spread across his face.

"Took you so long."

Saying that, his eyelids shut. And he entered a state of deep slumber.

"What in the...Calder, what happened to this guy?" Emperal couldn’t help but mutter, a rare trace of worry flashed in his eyes.

Looking around, he saw that the chains holding Calder were a bit special and different.

"Could I even break those?"

Without hesitation, he took out his Stormvein sword, which he had hidden inside his spatial ring.

The sword buzzed slightly as a denser layer of Verth covered it. Additionally, a fiery glow was ignited at the tip.

"No, the noise will be too loud."

He halted.

"Don’t worry, there is an advanced noise cancellation formation here. No matter the noise...it won’t travel out."

The Infernal Dragon’s reassuring words echoed inside him. Taking a step back, he swung his blade violently at the right chain!

Sling!!

BOOM!!!

A loud explosion resounded through the room, but not a single wall was broken...nor did any sound escape.

But to Emperal’s surprise, the chain remained unbroken. Though there was a small scratch on the surface.

"That thing...sure is hard," he muttered.

"No shit, Sherlock. It is used to hold down a Verth Shaper."

Emperal’s hands froze...he almost mechanically blinked his eyes.

"...Come again?"

"Yes, he is a Verth Shaper now. And the blood flowing inside him is, as you know...a noble blood."

"..."

Emperal almost doubted his ears, "This guy...became a Verth Shaper and here I am...still a Verth Seeker. How unfair."

Emperal couldn’t help but speak. But then, he shook his head.

"Whatever, at least this guy did it."

Saying that, he slashed at the chain.

Sling!

BOOM!!

Nothing. Again.

Nothing. Slash. Nothing.

He did it over a dozen times, but the chain, although a small crack did appear on it. It wasn’t even worth noticing.

"Damn, these are tough. Infernal Dragon, any solutions?"

He asked inwardly, though even if the Infernal Dragon did have one...he didn’t think it would be of any use in his situation.

"Hmm, try using the sword made from Soul Energy and have a good amount of momentum."

The Infernal Dragon spoke, though even its voice sounded a bit doubtful.

"That might be a better idea...or the only idea."

Emperal chuckled, stretching his hands. He materialized his Soul Sword, but he didn’t rush.

Concentrating a bit, he began to add the Verth from the Verth Spring in his body.

In an instant, the previous milky white sword. Which had a light colour, instantly brightened. Its mere movements made a slew~ sound in the air.

"Alright, this should be enough."

Saying that, he walked a few steps away. Forty meters to be precise, the present hallway was just that length.

The Soul Sword in his hands burned brighter than ever; the Spring-infused Verth in it had drastically changed the blade’s quality. The milky white had deepened into something denser, something...better.

The only downside of this sword was...

"I just have one minute before the sword dissipates."

It had a timing, maintaining both energies, that too of sky-high purity, required not just skill. It demanded his mental strength, and for the current Emperal.

One minute was already stretching it.

He exhaled once, his movement shifted. Then...he moved.

Sol’vethrak was used in its full glory. The forty-meter distance was covered in a single second, the insane momentum built was poured into the swing before his feet could even leave the ground.

The Soul Sword descended on the chain in an instant, the moment it connected...

SHING!!!

CRACK!!!

BOOM!!!

The chain split, no, it was clean. It was blasted through sheer violence. The links were scattered across the harsh floor.

Calder’s right hand was released in an instant, and his body dangled down. Emperal looked at it with a satisfied nod before once again creating some distance.

"Three more chains to go, fifty more seconds left." He muttered, his feet once again leaving the ground.

SHING!!!

CRACK!!!

BOOM!!!

Again, he made some distance.

SHING!!!

CRACK!!!

BOOM!!!

Again.

SHING!!!

CRACK!!!

BOOM!!!

And finally, the final slash descended, breaking the chain that was wrapped around his left ankle.

Four strikes, that was enough. The four unbreakable chains that held Calder now lay shattered on the ground under the dissipating blade of Emperal.

Thud.

Emperal slouched on the ground, his breathing heavy.

Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip.

He was sweating buckets, as his heart thundered against his chest.

"Shit, that was way too taxing on my body."

Emperal muttered, a second later. His body slowly calmed down, and his stamina began regenerating along with his cracked forearms.

Yes, the rebound force had mildly cracked a few of his bones. The reason for his recovery? That was, of course, the work of the Elven blood flowing through him.

It was oddly...weird.

Emperal took a deep breath and slowly stood up, walking toward Calder. He picked him up and dragged him towards one of the prison cells.

...

POV- Calder.

My eyelids felt really heavy, and my head and body both hurt really badly.

"Uhh, I think those bastards even hit my head. Because I saw that guy’s ugly face before falling unconscious."

I did indeed see his face, but I think it was just an illusion.

"Mhmm, strangely, my arms don’t hurt anymore. Did my arms finally give up on me?"

I couldn’t help but think that it had been like this for the past two weeks. For no reason, Daereth held me and forced me into this prison. And not satisfied with that, that bitch even sent men to beat me daily!

"Hmm, I wonder what Emperal would have done if he were in my situation. Haha! I think he would defi—"

SLAP!!!!

"...Slap me?"