After parting ways with Hugh, I was led by the prison guards and entered through the gate.
The first thing I saw upon entering was a crude, massive metal building.
For someone who'd absorbed Mana Material, common building materials were as fragile as cookies. That imposing structure was probably made of a substance that even a high-level Hunter-class criminal couldn't easily destroy. On top of that, barriers and other countermeasures would surely be in place.
"Is the prison inside that building?"
"......"
"How many prisoners are there, roughly?"
"......"
"How many people are managing it?"
"Shut the hell up! No way I'm answering a prisoner!"
The guard at the head of the line—whose name apparently was Jin—spoke irritably.
That was indeed a fair point. They'd said I wouldn't be given special treatment... I'd check with Hugh about that later.
There was almost no one inside the gate. When we entered the building, it was equally silent.
"It reminds me a bit of the prison in Code. Nobody was there either."
All I'd seen was a female guide and the prisoners. But that was probably because Code's urban system handled everything through some inscrutable technology—this Prison Island would be different.
"The Code...? There's no prison that's anything like this one."
"Right, right, of course. I just happened to visit once..."
Well, no matter how state-of-the-art the prison was, it probably couldn't compete with the products of an advanced technological civilization.
After passing through several locked lattice doors, I was separated from the three others who'd been brought along behind me and led to a room. Jin—the guard who'd been aggressively intense since the start—was assigned to me.
"Personal belongings are not permitted inside the prison. Surrender them here. Normally, this would've been done before you were even brought in."
No personal items, huh... That made sense. The reason Hugh hadn't taken them was because of the special treatment— "......You'll give them back later, right?"
"That depends on the situation. Hiding them won't do you any good."
I'm not going to hide anything... and where would I even hide them, anyway? I removed my Treasure Weapons one by one and handed them over.
Surely the prison security would be tight, but without the Barrier Ring, I'd probably be mostly fine. Probably.
Jin's eyes went wide at the number of Treasure Weapons I had.
"Tch... You'll need to change clothes too."
Rules were annoying. It wasn't like I was actually being imprisoned... but then again, getting to wear a prisoner's outfit wasn't exactly an everyday experience. Could be interesting.
The prisoner clothes Jin brought were soft, pleasant to the touch, and extremely simple.
"If they're damaged, there will be no replacements. They're made from a material that can't be fashioned into a weapon no matter what you try. Don't even bother attempting to misuse them."
...I see. I'd thought it was strange that prisoner clothes were so soft. They'd clearly thought of everything.
But I really wasn't trusted at all.
...Wait a second. Maybe since I'd said I wanted to tour the prison, they were actually showing me what a real prison was like?
They didn't need to go this far, but if that was the case, it was a considerate gesture.
From the next room, something like a scream could be heard. Jin shrugged and said, "If you get combative, that's what happens. Though I guess for a guy like you, there's no reason to rebel. Whether that pathetic look of yours will hold up inside the prison—I'm looking forward to finding out."
"Is the inside of the prison really that intense...? Now I'm excited."
"..........Every last one of you high-level Hunter-class types is completely insane."
Jin muttered through a frown.
I had to agree. I wouldn't go so far as to say "insane," but every high-level Hunter I knew boasted superhuman strength or mentality. Being treated the same just because my Level was high was something I dealt with constantly, and it was annoying.
But if there were a bunch of high-level Hunter-class criminals imprisoned here, Citry would surely be overjoyed.
I normally wouldn't want to meet any of them, but I'd psych myself up and treat this as a tour.
Once the change of clothes was done, I was sent back outside the room.
Following my guide through maze-like corridors that branched off in every direction, I soon spotted a large black door. Like the room Mary had led me to, it was plastered with various warning stickers.
"Beyond here is the prison block. After you see what's in there, you'll never think about committing a crime again."
The door opened. Inside, a narrow corridor stretched onward. What made it different from the ones before was that the walls and ceiling were made of lattice, allowing visibility through to the other side.
Behind the metal lattice, figures with gleaming eyes crowded together, staring intently this way. Sunken, ringed eyes, tattered clothes—some half-naked, others emaciated.
The lattice wall was several layers deep, so they weren't close enough to touch, but the pressure from their gazes made me unconsciously hold my breath.
Was everyone here a dangerous criminal?
I looked around carefully, but I didn't recognize a single face.
Maybe I'd just forgotten...
Despite so many people being there, not one of them raised a voice. They just stared. And that was somehow more terrifying than anything.
It was like man-eating monsters silently lying in wait—even though I was at my weakest right now, without a single Treasure Weapon.
Jin was right. After seeing this place, I definitely wouldn't think about breaking the law again.
"Looks like everyone's welcoming the new guy. Make sure they don't strip you clean."
"...There's not even a shred of order in there?"
Wasn't that part managed at all? What about meals for the prisoners?
"Nobody has ever broken out of this prison since it was established. Best you just try to get along."
"Huh...? I'd rather not."
"Suit yourself. Now move."
I didn't so much "not want to get along" as I'd prefer not to enter the lattice. These people didn't seem restrained at all—weren't they dangerous?
I'd already gotten a general idea of the prison, so if I could just get some information about the inmates, that would be plenty for a souvenir to bring back to Citry.
I was led up to the lattice door. Between five layers of doors, a crowd of people waited on the other side.
"Let me lay down the rules. The ones in here are the relatively safe ones—they're the ones cast out by every group inside the prison."
"Huh? Really?"
They sure didn't look safe...
Jin unlocked the first door. So I really was going in there.
It wasn't like I wanted to communicate with prisoners, but...
"Ah... new... prey... blood... flesh..."
"Male, huh... Tch, looks pathetic..."
"New clothes..."
"Weak... I can take him... My eyes don't lie..."
Right, right... I'd be envious of new clothes too if I were half-naked like them.
Looking more closely, the prisoners were covered in wounds. Conditions inside must have been quite harsh.
The final door was even sturdier than the rest. But upon closer inspection, its surface bore shallow scratches—like claw marks. Meaning the people locked in here had, at least on the surface, managed to scratch metal with their bare hands.
...Was it really safe for me to go in there?
Jin left me standing there, unable to hide my hesitation, and walked back to the first door.
"The last door can only be opened from the inside. Once you open it, close it behind you. I don't want them spilling over to this side—it'd be a pain to push them back."
"!? That's a pretty aggressive sightseeing experience."
"...Feel free to take your time and look around as much as you want."
Even so, safety should come first when touring... No, wait—Zevledia was an advanced nation. There might be some system in place—like Code's automatic defense mechanism—that kept things safe despite appearances.
The prisoners stared with bloodshot eyes, licking their lips. The moment I opened the door, they'd probably pounce.
What to do... Just as I was thinking this, one of the figures who'd been positioned near the door suddenly let out an absurd cry.
"!? !!??? Ghhhh—it's you—《Thousand Transformations》! What are you doing in a place like this!?"
"Huh...?"
Excuse me?
"?! Who the hell are you?"
"That guy—that's the leader of the abominable 《Mourning Specter》! He lured low-level members into joining our group, let their guard down, and wiped them out—the scum! There were others he ambushed out of nowhere, and others he used for potion experiments on human subjects!! I knew we'd catch up to him someday, but I never thought he'd end up in this prison!"
...I'm sorry, who are you again?
"And on top of that, he lured Monsters right to our hideout without getting his hands dirty—that's how thorough he is. And he climbed all the way to Level 8! This guy is pure evil!"
"...Hold on, I can't narrow it down at all."
Harsh words, but from the perspective of Red Hunters, my Party probably looked villainous too. I barely remembered any of it, though.
"We got destroyed too! We never even picked a fight with the 《Mourning Specter》!"
"He kept score of us and turned it into some kind of game!!"
"He beat us to a pulp and then did a tap dance on our bodies!"
"We got slighted just once and our entire allied organization cut us off!"
"After seeing 《Immovable》, all the young ones quit!"
"My friend was turned into a frog and is still stuck like that!"
The complaints just kept pouring in... and I didn't recognize a single face.
But I couldn't stay here. I didn't recognize any of them, but these surrounding prisoners clearly meant business. They were gaunt and desperate-looking—some even trembling—but that level of handicap meant I'd lose. No, I'd definitely lose. They'd been captured by the 《Mourning Specter》, not by me. And there were simply far too many of them.
I glanced back at Jin, but he just stood there with a sour expression, silently watching the situation unfold without a word.
This prison was way too harsh on me, one and all.
I took a deep breath and tried to reason with them.
"C-calm down! Why don't we let bygones be bygones?"
"!? Don't you dare say that!"
...Fair point. But honestly, they were the ones in the wrong. As a general rule, criminals like Red Hunters were considered pests of society. They were troublemakers on a level where even Luke's arrest wouldn't faze them.
Maybe I really shouldn't go in there... Even if there was a defense system, it was way too scary.
I turned to tell Jin I'd changed my mind when I heard a mocking voice.
"Heh heh heh... Revenge, they say? What a bunch of idiots. A former Level 8 Hunter who just got to this island—there's no way you lot, even ganging up, stand a chance against him."
"!?"
The voice came from the corridor I'd just walked through.
Without realizing it, three people dressed exactly like me now stood there—the same three who'd been transported on the same ship. Their body searches must have been completed.
The one who'd spoken was a man with sharp eyes and dark auburn-red hair. He was still in handcuffs, but his restraint suit and blindfold had been removed.
Just like me, they were led by a prison officer, the lattice door opened, and the three of them walked through.
Striding confidently down the corridor as if asserting dominance, the man bellowed, "Your only options are submission or slinking away with your tails between your legs. Think hard about which one's smarter with those empty heads of yours. Right, 《Thousand Transformations》-sama!"
The tall man with black-framed glasses who'd been walking behind him surveyed the prisoners crowding the corridor and continued, "Based on the data, the probability of you defeating 《Thousand Transformations》 is virtually zero. Now that his Mana Material has been depleted, you stand even less of a chance. For starters, you have no coordination whatsoever, and no resolve either. Step aside."
"......"
The last of the three—a girl who'd been trailing behind him—said nothing. She simply frowned, staring intently at me.
With hair as white as fresh snow, she was probably younger than me. Even including all the imprisoned population, she was overwhelmingly the youngest. What kind of crime could you possibly commit to end up on Prison Island at that age?
Also, why were they acting like my companions? I didn't even know their names.
Jin looked exasperated, but said nothing more.
The man walked up to my area and casually threw an arm around my shoulder.
"If you still want to go at it, then this 《Thousand Transformations》's ally—former Level 6 Hunter, known to all as Blood-Stained Jack—will be happy to oblige. Heh heh... being transported in the same carriage must be fate. Right, 《Thousand Transformations》-sama?"
"Ah, yeah..."
...Well, I wasn't going to stick around, but if they wanted to fight, I figured it was up to them.
As I gave a completely passive response, the bespectacled man behind Jack looked around as if sizing everyone up and chimed in reassuringly.
"Please rest easy. We are magnanimous. If you cast aside your grudges and follow us with reason, we'll treat you fairly. 《Thousand Transformations》, leave the menial matters to this pacifist Grand. The data is already compiled."
"...Not bad."
People with glasses always seemed reliable. That was entirely Eva's fault.
And "pacifist" had a nice ring to it. Though, well, they were all dumped on Prison Island too.
Looking at the last one, she spoke as if it were a bother.
"...Zack the Vile Eater. Highest executive of the secret organization 《Corpse Devourers》. I'm here as a result of the Great Will. The charges are... I killed and ate five hundred people. My favorite body part is... testicles."
!?
This girl was off the charts. She was way scarier than Blood-Stained Jack or anyone else.
I'd thought "Vile Eater" was a strange nickname for a girl, but what she said was on a completely different level of horrifying.
The others who'd been looking bewildered by Jack and Grand's words went deathly pale.
Criminals were a dime a dozen, but cannibals were rare. There were plenty of delicious things in this world, after all... Someone, please help me.
"...I look forward to working with you."
"...Yep, yep, sure."
Well, I really had no grounds to complain when facing someone who'd killed and eaten five hundred people.
The prisoners who'd been waiting before the door scattered like a receding tide, clearing a path. Jack and the others threw open the doors and positioned themselves on either side, as if carving a route for me. It seemed there was no escape.
I let out a sigh and stepped through the door.