Chapter 55: Visiting the SSS-Rank Prisoner

Fortunately, Ilya didn’t ask anything else, so Summer was spared from having to explain herself.

Around three hours later, they finally reached the prison in Zone 0.

It was one of the largest prisons in the area, so the security was no joke. Guards were stationed everywhere, and every entrance was heavily watched.

Even though people said the prison was located at the edge of Zone 0, the actual building stood at the top of Mount Nivara, a massive mountain whose peak was always covered in ice.

Getting there wasn’t simple either.

They first had to take a helicopter up the mountain. After landing, they still had to continue higher using a special elevator powered by a manual pulley system.

Summer looked up at the frozen peak above them and she knew immediately this place really didn’t make escaping easy.

They probably had all kinds of special equipment made to take down elite Sentinels, but against an SSS-Rank like Archer, none of that would matter if he simply refused to let them cuff him.

After all, Archer only needed to open a portal and disappear.

No one would even know where he had gone unless... they had managed to put a tracker on him beforehand and maybe that was the case.

"Your IDs and weapons. Put them here," the guard said the moment Summer and Ilya finally reached the top.

Fortunately, Ilya had a few coats stored in his car, so Summer didn’t have to freeze to death the moment they arrived at the prison.

She handed over her ID. "Summer Beaumont."

"Ilya Noctis," Ilya reported. "We’re here to see Archer Reed."

The guard looked like he had already given up on life. His face was completely blank, and even when he spoke, every word came out painfully slow, as if talking itself was too much work.

"Archer Reed..." He stared at the screen in front of him for several seconds. "SSS-Rank Sentinel. Temporary detention. Restricted visitor access."

His voice was so flat that Summer honestly couldn’t tell if he was bored, tired, or simply born without emotions.

Ilya leaned slightly closer to the counter. "So can we see him?"

The guard slowly lifted his eyes. "Yes."

Summer almost sighed in relief. Then the guard added, in the exact same dead voice, "After inspection."

The guard pushed a tray toward them. "Phones. Terminals. Weapons. Storage items. Anything that can record, transmit, explode, cut, poison, burn, or open a hole in the wall."

That was... oddly specific.

Beside her, Ilya casually placed his weapon on the tray. Then the guard’s eyes moved to his metal arm and leg. "Everything."

Ilya paused for a moment. He looked down at himself, then back at the guard. "How about just the arm?"

"Everything," the guard repeated in the same lifeless tone.

"I can not walk properly without my metal leg," Ilya said seriously.

The guard stared at him for a few seconds, then he slowly bent down behind the counter. When he straightened up again, he was holding an old crutches that looked like it had been sitting there for years.

"You can use this." There wasn’t even a hint of sympathy in his voice.

"Okay," Ilya finally said with a tired sigh. "That can work, I guess."

A few minutes later, Ilya was standing on one leg with the crutch tucked under his arm while the guard calmly stored his metal limbs inside a locked case.

"Are you sure you can walk with that?" Summer asked, eyeing the crutch with doubt. It looked like it might break if Ilya leaned on it too hard.

Ilya gave her a helpless smile. "I think so."

Then he adjusted the crutch under his arm and added, "I used to walk with crutches all the time back then, so I should be fine."

Unfortunately, Ilya had gotten too used to walking with the help of advanced technology. Going back to something as simple and old-fashioned as the crutches clearly wasn’t as easy as he remembered.

The moment he took his first step, his balance shifted awkwardly. Summer quickly reached out and grabbed his arm. "Careful."

"Sorry," Ilya said with an awkward smile.

"It’s alright," Summer replied quickly. Without waiting for him to ask, she slipped one arm around his and moved closer to support him. "I can help you."

Ilya opened his mouth, clearly about to refuse.

"I insist," Summer added before he could say anything.

Ilya chuckled. "Thank you."

After that, Summer took one of the crutches from him and let Ilya lean more of his weight on her instead of depending completely on those old things.

Luckily, they didn’t have to walk too far before they finally reached a private room on the top floor, where visitors could meet elite criminals.

"Your time is fifteen minutes," the guard said as he let Archer walk into the room without removing his cuffs.

He didn’t say anything as he walked over and sat across from Summer and Ilya.

He was wearing a plain beige prison uniform and his black hair was kind of messy, but somehow, Summer felt like it didn’t make him look any less handsome.

If anything, he still looked annoyingly good.

Archer leaned back in his chair and let out a rough sigh and then his eyes moved to Ilya, more specifically, to the fact that his brother was missing both his metal arm and leg.

"Are you mad at me?" Ilya asked after noticing Archer’s gaze slowly growing sharper, especially after he saw the mark on Ilya’s neck.

Ilya gave him a slightly guilty look. "Is it because I took your Guide?" he added in a quieter voice. "And your mate?"

Summer immediately joined in. "You said our relationship is just business, so it’s fine, right?" she said. "Besides, I don’t think there was any other Guide who could’ve guided your brother at that moment."

Archer closed his eyes for a second and took a slow breath, like he was trying very hard not to lose his patience.

A moment later, he finally looked at them again. "I’m not mad because of that."