Chapter 7
“……”
“These kinds of guys are actually the better ones. Some of the real psychos? They might make blades using Kia just for torture. Some might even poison your food with it.”
“If you’re just trying to scare me—”
“It’s not a scare. It’s happened before.”
I remembered the time before I became the top dog here.
The previous leader was a cruel man who got joy from hurting and exploiting the weak.
He fit in perfectly in this prison.
The prisoners’ behavior changes depending on who’s in charge. When he ruled, the place became complete chaos.
It was a living hell.
New inmates died as soon as they came in.
Now that there’s a new leader, I bet the fights will start again.
I had stopped the unnecessary violence while I was in charge.
I looked up and saw a pale face.
Even pale, it was a beautiful face.
That’s bad news.
Being pretty and weak in here just makes you a target.
“One piece of advice—if someone tries to fight you, talk with your fists.”
“…What kind of talk is that?”
“It’s how you make friends here.”
“Yeah, now I’m sure—only total lunatics get hired as guards here.”
“That’s a misunderstanding.”
“I wasn’t being serious. Don’t explain.”
So I stayed quiet.
Helios looked confused and thoughtful.
Eventually, he will awaken Kia inside this prison—something so powerful, it’ll make him the strongest in the Empire.
“One more tip…”
I suddenly reached out my hand.
Whoosh—!
The wind from my fist blew Helios’s bangs back.
He flinched and dodged, frowning.
Nice. Good reflexes.
So he wasn’t completely defenseless.
“Now hit me with your fist.”
“What?”
“Come on. Do it.”
As he swung at me, I lightly caught his punch and swept his leg.
Before he could crash to the floor, I grabbed him to lessen the impact.
“What… what was that?!”
“This is the difference between a Kia user and a non-user.”
Helios looked stunned.
“First rule—don’t accept anything someone offers you. And if someone throws a punch, aim straight for the eyes. Most people don’t guard their eyes.”
“You said yourself that guards don’t protect inmates. So why are you teaching me this?”
“Because you’re pretty?”
“You…!”
He kicked, but I dodged and grabbed his ankle. Oh, he moves quick.
“That was a compliment, by the way.”
“Don’t insult me!”
“Okay, okay. Consider it an insult then.”
“……”
Honestly, I said he was pretty without thinking. I didn’t mean much by it.
“Let’s eat together. I’ll show you how to tell if food is poisoned.”
“……”
“The fact that you attacked me means you don’t want to die. If you want to survive, sometimes you need to accept temporary humiliation, Helios.”
His face twisted in frustration.
“Oh, and remember the Tower we passed earlier?”
“……Yeah.”
“Right. To raise your rank, you have to enter the Tower and clear the trials on each floor.”
“……”
“Trials happen once a week. Tomorrow is the day.”
“……”
“But since you just arrived, you can choose to go next week instead.”
I tilted my head and looked down at him, still lying on the floor.
“So? What will you do?”
After thinking for a while, Helios asked:
“When we passed the Tower, you said the upper floors are closer to the outside. Is that true?”
“Yes.”
It was true.
The higher the rank, the closer you get to the outside. And your chances of escape go up too.
That’s why the Tower trials are both torture and hope—a cruel contradiction.
But I know the truth.
It’s all just false hope.
“By the way, the lowest-ranked prisoners are stuck on floors 1 through 10.”
Still, this guy—Helios—he eventually figured out how to escape.
The warden’s proposal will succeed, of course, but I was still interested in how things would unfold.
“I’ll join the trial.”
I smiled slightly.
“Good.”
I look forward to working with you, Mr. Male Lead.
I’ll take good care of you…
Until the day I leave this place.
The next day.
The day of the Tower trial.
The trials were in the afternoon, so the morning was free.
And as I feared, something happened.
Thud!
“Oh…”
I learned something new that day.
That Helios, the rookie inmate who looked like a baby chick, actually had a temper.
Maybe I realized it too late?
“Hey.”
“It’s not ‘hey,’ it’s Officer Garret.”
“Hey.”
“Officer. Garret.”
Helios was clenching his fists, breathing hard.
I thought back to what happened earlier in the cafeteria.
As soon as Helios walked in, eyes locked on him.
Curiosity, anger, desire, jealousy, bloodlust…
All kinds of stares followed him, but Helios just calmly ate his food.
Most rookies would have lost their appetite.
“Answer me now.”
On the ground was a bigger inmate lying flat on his back in the dirt.
This was the usual free time after breakfast, and we were in the outdoor yard.
“You said you’d protect me. Was that a lie?”
“Hearing that you needed my protection actually makes me a bit happy. I’m your guard, after all.”
“Are you joking—”
“Did you almost die?”
“……”
“Any permanent damage or missing limbs?”
“……”
Helios gave me a look like I was crazy.
But at the same time, something seemed to click for him.
I pointed at the guy Helios just knocked out.
He seemed to know how to punch, but he wasn’t a Kia user—just a low-tier inmate.
“Here’s some advice. This is just the beginning.”
“What?”
Helios had already sensed the killing intent and cruel curiosity around him.
I spun halfway around.
Contract rule: Don’t use my original Kia.
I can change the glow of my Kia, but using strong powers becomes harder that way.
But for small attacks like this, I don’t need much power.
Hmm… maybe I should make it solid.
A golden shield formed in my hand and blocked the glowing projectile.
“Learn fast.”
I turned back after brushing off the attack.
“Attacks meant to injure you permanently look like that.”
Helios blinked.
His surprised, innocent expression was kind of interesting.
It suited him better, honestly.
The atmosphere suddenly quieted down.
“Hey, guard.”
A low voice called out. I turned to see who’d spoken.
It was the guy who had thrown the attack.
Big and bald.
I didn’t recognize him, so he wasn’t a high-ranking inmate.
“Did you just protect that guy? Or did I see that wrong?”
“That new prisoner is still in his adjustment period. As his assigned guard, I’m obligated to protect him from life-threatening attacks.”
I replied calmly.
“Wow, what a load of crap. Haven’t heard that rule in three years. Hey! Did that rule really exist?”
“Uh… yeah? Sort of. I think so? But I’ve never seen a guard actually do it…”
The guy who attacked nudged his buddy for confirmation, and the friend awkwardly nodded.
Now all eyes turned from Helios to me.
I ignored them and looked back at Helios.
“See that? That’s what a killing-intent attack looks like. What he just threw at me was bloodlust.”
“…Your kindness brings tears to my eyes.”
“…You’re crying? It’s okay. You can cry.”
“……”
Why that weird face again?
As I tilted my head at Helios’s twisted expression, someone whistled nearby.
It was Sergeant Steven.
“Wow, rookie. You’ve got some guts.”
Veteran guards nearby, who were keeping watch, were also looking at me like I was some strange creature.
“Can’t believe my successor actually follows rules no one remembers anymore!”
Ah. Maybe they weren’t impressed. Maybe they just thought I was crazy.
“I get wanting to score points to get promoted, but you really don’t have to go that far. Pressure must’ve gotten to you.”
“Sergeant Steven, I wasn’t trying to—”
“Nah, it’s fine. No need to explain.”
He waved me off and glanced at the nearby prisoners.
Since we were close to the men’s main building, it was all male inmates around here.
“I’d love to watch more of your madness, rookie, but the wild dogs have to head to the Tower now.”
