Principal Valerius looked at the dead body on the ground and asked his king, "What now, My King?"
King Kendrick glanced at the body, looked at Valerius, and said, "What do you mean?"
Valerius looked at King Kendrick and said, "What should we do? Aeren and some prisoners were taken by someone."
King Kendrick looked at Valerius with disappointment and said, "First, let's kill these prisoners."
Valerius was startled by the King's order. He studied Kendrick's serious expression and didn't know what to say.
Seeing the people in the grand hall-like prison, everyone looked half-dead, but Valerius said, "We could use them in future wars."
"No. They'll be useless and might switch sides. Killing them is best for the kingdom."
Valerius didn't know what to say, so he looked at the guards behind him and ordered them to kill everyone there.
Valerius and Kendrick both watched the slaughter unfold. Blood dripped everywhere, slowly becoming a river of blood throughout the area.
Day turned to night, and by then everyone in the Prison of Dungeon had died. The place now looked like a 'Blood Prison.'
Valerius and Kendrick witnessed this massacre from beginning to end.
Valerius looked at King Kendrick and said, "I need to cancel the main event."
The King glanced at Valerius and said, "You need to find their identities and locations. And what do you mean by main event? We saw the danger earlier—there might be more casualties. Cancel all events and protect the academy. They are our future, and I want to discuss my upcoming trip. We'll see each other again."
King Kendrick added, "We need powerhouses like you for future incidents."
Valerius stared at King Kendrick, stopped in place, looked at his retreating back, and sighed.
Afterward, Valerius announced that there would be no main event, nor would there be any in the future. There would only be one final event at year's end.
All students were shocked by the announcement but accepted the conditions. They didn't argue with the teachers and resumed their regular classes like normal days.
Meanwhile, Aeren had entered the 'Unknown Forest' with several people from the prison. Some people had come to them, recruited others, and taken them along. Aeren agreed and came with them.
Aeren looked at the silent forest—no people around, not even monsters existed here. He observed the leader ahead of him, who wore bear-like knight armor, though not quite traditional armor. He glanced at the other prisoners around him. No one spoke to each other, so Aeren studied all the prisoners.
Some looked bulky, some like him, and some were too thin. But Aeren could sense all their power—it was above S-rank in this world, and their potential hadn't reached its limit yet.
The others also stared at Aeren but didn't understand why he was included in this group. Aeren didn't seem to fit, but no one said anything because they couldn't judge others by looks alone.
While everyone was looking at each other, the group leader said loudly:
"We've reached our hideout. Behave yourselves and don't do anything that will cost you your head instantly. Show respect to our Liege."
Aeren peered at the massive mountain—no life signs could be seen, and everything looked dead and useless. The red moon shone here more brightly than in other places.
The leader took all of them inside the mountain, where everyone felt darkness swallow everything around them. They couldn't see anything, but somehow they knew the way forward, as if they'd been walking this path for years.
They finally reached a massive hall with a throne. A man sat there with a book in his hand, and someone stood beside him—a woman who appeared to be in her twenties. Both stared at all the people.
The group leader knelt and said, "I've brought potential people for our plan. I've explained our motives to them, and they came to support us."
The man gazed at all of them and said, "They all look useless to me."
The leader began feeling fear from within. "I'm sorry, my Liege. I'll kill them all now," he said hurriedly.
The man saw his panic and said, "No. They're no help to me, but they might be helpful to her."
Everyone glanced at the young woman in her twenties, who stared at them and said, "You're all disrespecting my Liege by not kneeling before him."
She released her mana, bringing almost all of them to their knees—except for two people: Aeren and a bulky guy. The bulky guy with red hair and red eyes stared at her defiantly before saying, "We meet again, you bitch."
She looked at the bulky guy but didn't remember anything. Looking at him again, he seemed familiar, so she asked, "Do I know you?"
The bulky guy looked back with anger and said, "Did you forget? A few months ago, you bullied me with three other men. Someone helped me that time, or you would have killed me that day. You bitch."
She stared at him for a few seconds, then laughed. "HAHAHAHA! Now I remember you, fatty. But you have a lot of guts to speak to me like that."
She increased her mana pressure, and he finally gave up. Only Aeren remained standing. She stared at Aeren, applying more force, but nothing happened.
She looked at Aeren and asked, "Who are you?"
Aeren said nothing and glanced at the book. Then he said, "I'm a knowledge seeker."
The man looked at Aeren, impressed, then looked at the leader and said, "You brought a capable boy." A smile appeared on his face.
"Yes, my Liege," the leader said with relief.
All the prisoners tried to look at Aeren, but they couldn't even lift their heads, so they gave up. But the bulky guy saw Aeren's face and stood up too, saying, "I won't be controlled by anyone. Give me proof that you're stronger and better than me, or I won't follow anyone."
She stared at him menacingly.