Chapter 682: Two Seconds of Hell ( Bonus )

The condemned prisoner’s dry and cracked lips slowly moved, but no sound came from his throat.

Alicia paused for a moment, the creature in front of her looked more like a sick and suffering human than one of the dangerous criminals in this prison.

Of course, she did not know what crime this prisoner had committed, she could only see that his body remained motionless among the rings of light and his half-open eyes were staring helplessly at an unknown point.

The girl moved a little closer.

"Alicia, wait." Rindo, who had noticed her movement, called out to her with concern.

But Alicia only wanted to make sure the creature was still conscious, so she reached out her right hand and placed her fingertips on the condemned prisoner’s shoulder.

At that moment....her body froze.

Her fingers remained motionless on the creature’s shoulder, and her gaze, which had been full of concern only moments ago, suddenly became empty.

Only two seconds passed.

Then a weak scream escaped from the girl’s throat.

Alicia pulled her hand back in terror and stumbled several steps backward, her legs could no longer support her body’s weight, and before she could regain her balance, she fell to her knees.

Her sword came loose from her waist and rolled across the stones with a metallic sound.

"Alicia!"

Lian immediately turned toward her.

But before he could reach the girl, she covered her mouth with her hand and bent forward.

She vomited onto the ground.

Rindo and Noah also quickly ran toward her, Rindo knelt beside the girl, while Noah looked at her pale face with concern.

"Alicia! What happened? Are you hurt?" Noah asked, but received no answer.

The girl was breathing with difficulty, both of her hands were shaking, and even after she stopped vomiting, she still could not sit up straight.

Lian knelt a few steps away from her.

"Alicia, look at me."

The girl raised her head for a moment.

But when her gaze fell on the floating prisoner, her entire body trembled again, she instinctively pulled herself backward and placed her hands on the ground to move farther away from the creature.

"No..."

Her voice was so weak that it could barely be heard.

"No... I don’t want to..."

Rindo gently placed his hand on the girl’s shoulder.

"Alicia, calm down, you’re not going to touch him again, it’s over."

But the girl seemed to hear his voice from very far away, her breathing remained short and uneven, and her gaze moved between the faces of her companions and the stones beneath her feet.

Noah, whose face no longer showed any sign of his usual humor, asked worriedly.

"Lian, what happened to her?"

Young Vorhelm did not answer and looked back at the condemned prisoner.

The creature was still in the same position, his head was lowered, and the white and golden rings were moving around his body in a steady pattern.

There was no sign of an attack, and it was as if nothing had happened.

’Four.’

The deep voice of the Nine-Venom Castellan immediately sounded in his mind.

’I am at your service, my lord.’

’One of my companions touched a condemned prisoner, now she can’t even speak properly. What happened?’

The Castellan remained silent for a moment and then answered.

’My lord, anyone who interferes with the punishment of the great condemned may receive a part of their suffering.’

Lian frowned.

’Explain it more clearly.’

’The rings you see are not only meant for imprisonment. They also carry out the Judge’s sentences, if someone makes contact with a condemned prisoner, part of that same punishment may be transferred to them for a short time.’

Young Vorhelm looked back at Alicia.

’You mean she experienced something that the prisoner is experiencing?’

’Indeed, my lord, a part of the suffering of the victims whom the condemned has wronged.’

Lian remained silent for several seconds.

So what had happened to Alicia was not an ordinary attack on her mind or soul.

She had accidentally connected with a punishment that the Judge had given to one of the great criminals.

And only a few seconds of contact had been enough to leave a girl who could remain calm even when facing powerful Withered in such a condition.

What a terrifying punishment...

Lian looked at Rindo and Noah.

"Don’t touch any of the prisoners."

Rindo raised his head.

"Do you know what happened?"

"More or less, these rings aren’t just holding the prisoners, they’re also punishing them."

He continued with a short gesture toward the condemned prisoner.

"If you make contact with them, part of that same punishment might be transferred to you."

Noah looked at the floating creature in disbelief.

"You mean just by touching them?"

"Apparently."

The young Frenchman remained silent for a moment and then looked back at Alicia.

The girl was still pale, and even though she was trying to calm her breathing, her fingers had not stopped shaking.

Noah took a container of water from his belongings and handed it to her.

"Here, drink some water."

Alicia took the container with trembling hands and drank a few small sips, but when she tried to lower it, her fingers started shaking again.

Before the container could fall, Rindo took it from her hands.

"You don’t need to get up for now, just rest here."

The girl slowly nodded.

Several seconds passed before she finally managed to open her lips.

"I’m sorry..." Her voice was weak and hoarse.

Rindo immediately shook his head.

"You don’t need to apologize."

Alicia pressed her lips together.

"I thought... I thought he was asking for help."

Her gaze fell on the condemned prisoner for a moment, but she immediately lowered her head.

"I didn’t know..."

Lian looked at her for several seconds.

Since the day Alicia had joined the group, she had shown concern for the suffering of others.

Even when they encountered the Withered, she tried to understand whether they could still be helped before making a decision.

This time, her actions had come from that same part of her personality.

But in a prison where even touching a condemned prisoner could have such consequences, good intentions alone were not enough.

"Alicia, it’s over now." Lian said in a calm tone. "Don’t think about anything for now, Rindo and Noah will take care of you."

She looked at him for a moment and then slowly nodded.

But when Lian stood up beside her, her gaze returned to the floating prisoner once again, and a slight tremble appeared in her shoulders.

Young Vorhelm noticed it, and his frown deepened.

He walked a few steps away from the group and stood in front of the rings of light.

Interesting, of course, not what Alicia had experienced, but the punishment system itself.

The Judge could force a condemned prisoner to experience the suffering of the victims of his past crimes.

And in a way that apparently made all their feelings and pain seem real, but if that was the case, perhaps this punishment did not only include pain and terror.

Are memories also part of it?

Lian looked at the condemned prisoner.

If this structure really recreated the victims’ experiences, perhaps it could also show places, faces, and events from the prisoner’s past.

Information that even the condemned prisoner himself might no longer remember, and if such a thing was possible, perhaps there was a way to learn more about the history of this prison.

Of course, there was no guarantee.

It was possible that the only thing he would receive was the same suffering that had left Alicia in that condition within a few seconds.

But it’s worth investigating.

Lian thought about the structure of his own soul for a moment.

The nine golden dragons within his soul had protected him against spiritual threats many times before.

But he was not foolish enough to believe that this protection would definitely work against the sentence of an ancient Judge.

Especially when he still did not know the true nature of the Hollow Sun’s authority.

Young Vorhelm looked at the rings of light for several seconds.

Then he activated [ True Sequence ].

The mana flows around the condemned prisoner became visible to his perception.

Several white and golden threads passed through the rings and were connected to the creature’s body.

Their flow was steady, and there was no sign of a physical attack being prepared.

But Lian knew that such an examination could not remove the danger of the punishment being transferred.

He took one step forward.

Rindo noticed his movement.

"Lian?"

Young Vorhelm turned around for a moment.

"Take care of Alicia."

Rindo raised an eyebrow.

"What are you going to do?"

Lian looked back at the condemned prisoner.

"There’s something I want to try."

Noah, who realized what he meant, immediately stood up.

"Wait! You saw what happened to her, right?"

"I did."

"Then why do you want to do the same thing?"

Young Vorhelm looked at him for a moment.

"Because I want to know exactly what she saw."

Rindo also stepped forward.

"Lian, don’t rush, we still don’t know what effect that experience had on her mind."

He nodded.

"I know, that’s why I examined the structure first, you should stay back for now."

Alicia, who was still sitting on the ground, raised her head with difficulty.

When she realized that Lian was moving toward the condemned prisoner, her fingers tightened around the edge of her clothes.

"Lian..."

Young Vorhelm turned his head, and the girl continued in a trembling voice.

"Don’t... What I saw..."

But before she could finish her sentence, her breath shook and she lowered her gaze.

Lian looked at her for several seconds, the strength of her reaction was enough to show how dangerous it was.

Even so, if he wanted to better understand the truth behind the sentences of this prison, perhaps this was one of the few chances he had.

"Don’t worry. If I can, I’ll break the connection before things get worse."

Of course, even he did not know whether he would really have such a chance.

He turned toward the condemned prisoner again.

The creature was still floating among the white and golden rings, his head was lowered, and his half-open eyes were not following anything.

Lian raised his right hand, and his fingers were only a few centimeters away from the creature’s shoulder.

Let’s see what the Judge has to show me.

Then he placed his hand on the condemned prisoner’s shoulder.