Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

"Have you made a mistake? The prisoners here look completely normal. They don't seem to have contracted any kind of disease. You made it sound so reasonable, yet it turns out that you were actually wrong!" Fiona could not help but say.

They had checked the prison under the guidance of the prison guards, yet not only did none of the prisoners show any symptoms of the disease, they seemed to be more energetic than the people outside. When the prisoners saw the elegant beauty, Xinxia, and the adorable, little loli, Lingling, they had the urge to force their way out of the cells.

"Something isn't right about them," Xinxia said.

"What do you mean?" Mo Fan asked.

"Something is weird about their minds. I should be able to easily read their minds and understand their emotions, since their mental strength isn't as strong as Mages, but when I try to peek into their minds, it feels like they are shrouded by a mist," Xinxia explained carefully.

Xinxia was a Psychic Element Mage. Not only was the Parthenon Temple known for its outstanding Healing Magic, it was reputable because of its excellence in other Elements too, especially White Magic. Instead of calling it a Temple of Healing, it was more fitting to call it the Sacred Hall of White Magic!

With Xinxia's current strength, it was too easy for her to read the minds of the prisoners, even when she knew their minds must be filled with lewd thoughts. However, when Xinxia trying to feel their emotions and understand their thoughts, it felt like something was blocking her off.

"That does sound strange. I think we should really ask the government to send someone here, I'll go make a call," Zhang Xiaohou said.

"There...there's no signal here," the middle-aged prison guard said with a weird expression.

"Then I'll make the call outside," Zhang Xiaohou headed for the exit.

The way out of a prison consisted of many doors. Zhang Xiaohou asked another prison guard to lead the way. There was a foul odor in the prison, so he wanted to get some fresh air too.

"Let's head deeper," Lingling said.

The group followed the guard and passed the place where the normal prisoners were kept. They arrived at the cells where the serious criminals were kept.

After crossing a bridge, they arrived in front of a thick door made of metal. Mo Fan glanced at it and said to the middle-aged prison guard, Morgano, "That's a pretty solid door, I bet even Mages have a hard time breaking through it."

"Yeah, we are worried that some Mages would come stir trouble in the prison, so we have to make sure that even Mages will have a hard time breaking through it."

Morgano continued to lead the way as he explained the situation of the prison to them.

As soon as they walked past the door, it immediately shut behind them. The place was pitch-black, and the light only came on after a brief delay. The whole prison was made of icy iron, thus the place was cold as a fridge...

-Brother Mo Fan…-

Mo Fan was figuring what kind of prisoners would be kept here when he heard Xinxia's voice inside his mind.

Mo Fan turned around slightly and looked at Xinxia with her lips close together. He was puzzled, as he did not understand why Xinxia was using the Psychic Voice to talk to him. Did she have something that she could not say to the others?

-I tried reading the guard's mind too, but it's the same situation as the prisoners. I think... - Xinxia said to Mo Fan in a cautious tone.

Mo Fan immediately straightened his face. "Hey, guard, can you please open the door, I would like to speak to my friend," Mo Fan said to Morgano.

Morgano slowly turned around. His pitch-black eyes flickered slightly as he looked back and forth between Mo Fan and Xinxia.

Morgano suddenly smiled. It looked oddly strange under the dim glow of the prison light.

"You're my prisoners as soon as you came in here!" Morgano burst into laughter. His voice was stacked with another ghastly, piercing voice!

"What do you mean by that? Are you trying to trap us in here? You're just a little prison guard… do you have any idea who we are!?" Fiona immediately snapped, pointing at Morgano.

A crimson-red aura started to rise from Morgano's body, as if dozens of dark red spirits were circling him. His pupils had turned eerily red, as he stared at Fiona with a hint of greed. His grin grew wider, and his drool was coming out too!

He was not trying to abuse Fiona sexually, but it was obvious that he was thinking of killing the tender young woman!

"I should have known that if something was wrong about this place, these prison guards would surely be involved too! Tell us, what exactly are you? Why did you bring the plague to the people?" Lingling was utterly fearless. She even started to interrogate the thing righteously.

"Little girl, you will learn it all once I've eaten you!" The evil presence of Morgano grew stronger.

His skin began to crack open, as if something was trying to come out underneath it. Long, wriggling tentacles burst out of his head like a centipede, eerie hair densely covering his body.

His legs had turned into black roots of an old tree, and were spreading rapidly across the ground.

The dim light threw the prison guard's shadow on the smooth wall, yet it was no longer the silhouette of a man. It was clearly a monster, with tentacles covering its back!

"What...what the hell is this thing?" Fiona completely lost her nerve and hid behind the group.

Xinxia's face turned pale when she saw the enormous changes occur to the prison guard who had looked completely normal just a moment ago. Could this monster be the source of the plague?

Mo Fan noticed the Essence Orb emitting a brilliant glow when the monster revealed its true appearance, implying that the creature was the source of energy he desperately needed.

Mo Fan was curious. Why would the Essence Orb react to a monster?...

Mmm, now was not the time to be worried about that, he should be focusing on why the prison guard had suddenly transformed into the monster, as if he was possessed by some devil!

Speaking of which, Mo Fan felt like he had seen something similar before.

"I know what you are," Mo Fan suddenly said calmly.

The prison guard was twice his size, and his face had changed beyond recognition. The eyes fully covering his forehead had all locked onto Mo Fan as he burst into weird laughter.

"You seem to have something nice. Hand it to me, and I'll give you a quick death!" The monster spoke in human tongue, yet its tone sounded very odd!

"I bet you have a master. I wonder if he's here?" Mo Fan asked.

"Oh, it seems like you do know something, but how could our master come to a little prison like this..." the monster said.

"Why are you acting so smug when he's not even here, die!" As soon as Mo Fan raised his head, a bolt of Tyrant Lightning struck the monster fiercely.

The monster was sent flying. It rolled down the stairs and fell heavily into the spacious area below.

The monster did not die yet. It slowly rose to its feet, with eyes emitting an enraged, blood-colored glow. It raised its head and let out a blasting roar!

(BANG!)

Meanwhile, the cells down the stairs slammed open, as prisoners rushed out and tore the clothes and chains on them with incredible might...

Even though they did not transform into monsters like the prison guard, they also had tentacles on their backs and a ghastly appearance!

"Mo Fan, do you know what they are?" Lingling was shocked when she saw many prisoners turning into monsters.

"Mmm, I stumbled into something similar in Japan. These prisoners have lost control of their minds. Don't kill them, but half of the prison guard's body is already corrupted. He's the source, he must be eliminated!" Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan had experienced something similar before. Not long after he and Mochizuki Chihaya stole the Evil Essence Orb from the East Guardian Tower, Mochizuki Chihaya had almost turned into a demon on the street!

Mo Fan finally understood why the Essence Orb was glowing, and why the prison guard appeared to be interested in the Essence Orb. They both originated from the same source, the evil power that was accumulated from the endless hatred, anger, and pain over time, a power that could immediately control the mind of a person after making contact with them!

The Red Demon!

The East Guardian Tower had given birth to the first Red Demon!

The embryo of the second Red Demon was in Mo Fan's hand, the Essence Orb. Old Bao had managed to erase its evil presence, turning it into an orb that could store energy!

The master that Mo Fan addressed when talking to the prison guard was the first Red Demon!

The prisoners were brimming with evil, their minds were being controlled. The city was troubled by the plague, bringing suffering and pain to the people. However, Mo Fan had never thought it was all the Red Demon's doing!

Luckily, the Red Demon, the old friend that Mochizuki Ken had mentioned, did not decide to stay around in this little prison. It had only raised a little Red Demon. Otherwise, they would be in great trouble just barging in and investigating the matter so mindlessly. According to Mochizuki Ken, the first Red Demon was as strong as a Great Ruler-level demon creature!

If the little Red Demon was the culprit behind the plague, it was not as difficult to resolve as Mo Fan initially thought. Once he dealt with the little Red Demon, and cleared away the evil presence scattered across the city, the plague would soon be gone!