Chapter 122 - The Imprisoned Ones

I broke through the metal door. The heavy iron could have been styrofoam for all I cared, as hitting its weak point essentially caused it to crumble as such. As the dust cleared and I stepped through the entrance, I came upon an unexpected scene.

I had expected a dungeon of sorts, but in front of me was an awkward scene where guys seemed to be hovered over someone in a bed. I had a strong feeling of déjà vu, similar to when I had interrupted Yi Long earlier.

My immediate response was to back away and recoup my bearings, but I heard a feminine voice within the crowd.

“Knight Claude?”

“Wait, that voice? Lady Kaguya?!”

Well, I hadn’t expected for her to be the one trapped here. Since my mind had mistakenly decided that Wen Lu had been the one imprisoned here, I had backed away in reflex, thinking that I had stumbled onto a BL scene.

At her voice’s signal, my mentality did a complete 180, and I sprang into action.

Even if she hadn’t been considered a friend at this point, I didn’t think I could stomach the idea of what that scene had alluded to. Of course, I would have saved Wen Lu too, if he had been stuck in the same situation… eventually. After I steeled myself a bit further.

The anger that started building up within had lured me into trying some cynical attacks. Tapping the nearest few men in several of their pressure points, they momentarily froze before a jolt of electricity ran down their body.

“Ugh!?”

“Wargh!?”

“Hnnnn!!”

Immediately, their entire bodies started to spasm in place. Their arms flopped around like they were enacting some demented cross between the chicken dance and the robot. Their hips thrust forward periodically like they were humping the air.

The others still on the bed gawked in surprise at the ridiculous state that they were stuck in.

“It’s going to take a while before they return to normal. If you don’t want to end up like them, you better back off!” A bit of venom in my voice, I pushed the men off to the side, stacking them up in a line. Unsatisfied by just that, I pushed them together so that they were doing the arm flapping, hip thrusting motions in a conga line. Their hips gyrated into the next one’s backside as their feet were frozen to the ground.

My tests on Wen Zhi had yielded scary results. By overloading a person’s nerves, one’s body could end up in an unending, tortuous cycle of spasmic motions until the mana used in the attack wore off. I had accidentally used a bit more than I meant to, so they weren’t getting out of it any time soon.

Already, the three men were pleading with their eyes to the others to free them from their sentence.

The other men bolted into action, but I chuckled as I realized that none of them were any more intimidating than the rest. Apparently, my days of training with Lau and the twins had made the movements of these fighters easy to predict.

The room was filled with agonizing screams in the following moments.

Kaguya nearly forgot to cover herself back up as she cocked an eyebrow at the resulting state of the men who tried to assault her before. Though they received a punishment that was quite appropriate for the situation, she couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for them. But only in the slightest bit.

“Knight Claude… I didn’t realize that you had such a… ahem… whimsical streak in you.”

I looked at my handiwork. The remaining men in the room that hadn’t been knocked out by Lady Kaguya had been placed in a single conga line, creating a mesmerizing symphony of arm waving and hip thrusting. If it weren’t for the fact as to how silly and vulgar it looked, I would’ve nodded my head at the creative scene that resulted.

“Well, they shouldn’t have tried such things on you, Lady Kaguya. It made me furious to see.”

“I take it that you forgot that we are in the audience of children?” Kaguya pointed behind me, where Chrys and Yi Long were peeking from the broken doorway with cherry-tinted faces.

“Ack! Show’s over! Nothing to see! The Oracle is saved! Let’s be on our way!” I rushed over to the two and turned them around, edging them away from the imagery that was likely too mature for them.

Kaguya took one last look at the unfortunate men and stood up from the bed. Fixing her clothing so that she would look somewhat proper once again, she walked by the men and teased them.

“You are lucky. If it had been one of my guards, you would’ve ended up skewered at the end of their spears.”

And with that, she exited the room and left them to their misery.

Moments later, I came back to the room for one final action to satisfy my lingering annoyance. Aiming right for their necks, I smirked as this would be rubbing salt in their wounds.

“HARD FOUR HOURS!”

Not bothering to see the result, I cackled loudly as I dashed away and back to the others, leaving them wishing that they had died instead.

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Wen Lu lifted his head, a heavy fog clouding his mind. His vision was still hazy. His body felt heavy.

The shackles that secured his arms and legs rattled slightly as he stirred. Slowly, a bright light flooded his vision as his eyelids opened.

“Grr…” The brightness stung his eyes, causing him to flinch. Now partially awake, he could pick up faint battle cries in the distance. What had happened while he was unconscious?

“Damn them. Not even Chen could slow them down? What a disgrace!”

A loud voice boomed in front of Wen Lu, coming from a large, blurry form. His eyes soon started to focus, seeing a strong warrior with a thick aura of mana around him.

He remembered now. He had been captured by Zhao Lei Dao, the leader of the Thunder Phoenix Clan. He, along with Lady Kaguya, had been taken to the Clan home and imprisoned.

‘Where was Lady Kaguya now?!’ He tried to move with a jolt, but the shackles had him restrained. Of course, he had no weapon nor armor. They had taken those away from him. Now, he was tied up, with merely a cheap cloth wrapped around him, like a slave waiting to be sold.

“Hmph. So, you’re finally awake, demon worshiper.” Zhao turned his head and scoffed at him.

“Release me! What do you plan to do? Why am I still alive?”

Given Zhao’s disgust with those involved in demonic powers, Wen Lu had expected to be killed on the spot. However, it seemed like Zhao had other plans for him.

“Why, you’re bait. To lure your other half. It’s not going to end perfectly unless I can rid the both of you at once!” Zhao looked over a low wall, clicking his tongue in irritation. “Underestimated his power a bit. Was hoping that the brat would wear himself out before arriving here. I’ll use that instead!”

Wen Lu looked around him. He appeared to be on the roof of a large building. The sky was above him, with large walls of rock rising high around the building he stood on, like a dome with an open top. Markings were scribbled across the entire roof, hinting of some ritual that would take place here.

“Why? Why go through the trouble of holding me hostage? To lure my brother to this place? What plans do you have in store?” Wen Lu questioned Zhao, an evil scheme likely brewing in his mind from the hints around. They suggested that something had to happen here.

However, he didn’t expect Zhao to just answer him.

“Hmph, don’t think you can fool me, demon worshipers! If I try to kill one of you, the other one will just turn from rage! Can’t let that happen. You two are already powerful enough as is. Can’t afford to have a power boost happen from the transformation.”

Wen Lu was confused. “Transformation? What do you mean? Why would we transform?”

Zhao snapped his head towards Wen Lu and glared at him for several moments, studying his expression. “You telling me that you really don’t know what happens? What would happen if I murder you?”

“My brother will swear revenge and take you down or die trying!” Wen Lu glared back with a fire in his eyes.

It was Zhao’s turn to be surprised. “So, she never told you? That anger is a trigger that starts the demonification. A burst of strong emotions leads to the weakening of the human wall that surrounds your demonic core. Certainly, your blood on my hands would trigger his awakening.”

Wen Lu had never considered that possibility. Lady Kaguya had said nothing about a trigger that would lead to demonification. She had always told them to exercise control of their actions and state of mind. Had this been the reason for it? Was it inevitable for them to fall into depravity?

No, Master Lau had lived a successful life to an old age. But perhaps, that had been because he had avoided confrontation. Wen Lu couldn’t decipher all the new information and possibilities that were swimming in his head.

“And what do you think happens to the summoner when the Electi falls?” Zhao continued his interrogation.

‘As Lady Kaguya explained, the mana of the Electi is transferred to the master. If an Electi was to demonize… then!’

“Lady Kaguya! No!”

“I see that you’ve figured it out. Your dear Lady Kaguya would end up turning into a demon as well. While Wen Zhi rampages around the country, our beloved Oracle would be lost to the demonic forces. That is why we must rid the both of you at once!”

Wen Lu lost the strength in his legs. Were they just ticking time bombs after all? Had Lady Kaguya hid these facts just to protect them? He couldn’t fathom why she would go so far to do so. It was one thing to care for a summon, but to endanger herself and the entire country in the process? Even Wen Lu himself couldn’t justify doing that.

He felt bitter that she had chosen to hide the danger from them. If that were the case, the two siblings had fought for the wrong purpose to begin with.

Tears stung the corner of his eyes as he lamented being summoned to this world.

“Is that so?”

A familiar voice echoed from a distance away. There was Wen Zhi, standing at the entrance to the rooftop and holding two spears and a bag over his shoulder.

“Brother?” Wen Lu squeaked out.

“I frankly don’t give a damn about this kind of complicated stuff. Call me an idiot if you want, but I know one thing – I will never let Lady Kaguya become corrupt. I’ll slit my throat before that day comes. Even if you had killed my bro and I ended up turning into a demon, I’d make sure to grind your ass into the ground before it was too late for Lady Kaguya. Who cares about the consequences? I’ll overcome it with my will!”

Wen Zhi threw aside the spare weapon and bag and charged forward.

“Release my brother! You’ll regret it for not killing him when you had the chance!”

Tears streamed down Wen Lu’s face.

That was right. His younger brother was always there for him, like he had been for Wen Zhi. Their goals, their doubts, their strength – it had always been shared, long before they had set foot on this world. What was he doing worrying about it all by himself? He had a reliable younger brother there to help him. He couldn’t give up just yet and let him get ahead. He would lose face as the older of the two, even if it was by mere minutes of separation.

He watched as Wen Zhi launched an assault against Zhao, who had quickly dropped into a stance. Since Wen Zhi had arrived, it wouldn’t be long before the others would join in. He had to focus on regaining his strength for the moment that he was released. Then, they could show Zhao Lei Dao what a pair of twin brothers that had dedicated their lives could do.