As the big bald man walked in, the old man began to tremble in fear. He stammered,
"I-I didn't talk about anything! Please, believe me!"
Lensin held his head, furious at the man's words that contradicted his actions. Just by listening, it was clear what they had been talking about.
"Huh? Weren't you talking about us? Everyone heard you."
People started looking at each other and nodded. Settee was filled with despair. Lensin had no intention of helping him. Settee looked at him as if pleading for help—
But Lensin ignored him completely. Settee's eyes burned with anger.
"You were talking to me about them too, weren't you?"
His voice was filled with rage and fear. Settee's face twisted with both despair and a strange satisfaction. Lensin grew slightly annoyed before letting out a laugh.
"Everyone heard you talking to yourself. I even told you to stop, didn't I?"
As the argument grew louder, a voice suddenly shouted—
"Enough! You have no right to be fighting right now!"
It was the warden. His face was filled with fury as he looked over everyone involved and sighed.
"You all have work to do. That's the only thing you should be doing. And now, your workload will be doubled."
Everyone fell silent at the warden's words. They glared at Settee with hatred but said nothing. Lensin remained calm and continued walking until he saw a light ahead.
He found himself behind a mountain. In front of him was a massive cave filled with ores of all kinds. Lensin wasn't surprised—he had already guessed that this underground prison's labor would involve mining. A guard came to remove his handcuffs.
Inside were countless ores—precious ores, hard ores, magical ores, mysterious ores, even ones formed from living beings. Most of them were extremely tough. Near the entrance, there were helmets with lights and mining equipment.
People grabbed tools and began mining. Some were strong enough to dig, others struggled. Lensin took a set of tools and began mining as well.
Though his power was gone, his physical strength remained. He kept digging deeper. The upper layers only had common ores.
As he went further, the ores became rarer. At around thirty meters deep, most people had stopped. Lensin chose to stay there and mine.
While digging, he found several corpses. It seemed this area had once been a battlefield between prisoners. He inspected each corpse and found several blood bottles in one of their bags.
He took the bag and the blood bottles. Suddenly, he felt a touch on his shoulder. He turned around quickly—and saw a woman with white hair and gray eyes.
Lensin recognized her. She was the woman who sat across from him during meals. He looked at her curiously and stood up, slipping the bag over his shoulder. He asked quietly,
"What is it?"
The woman didn't seem to hear him. She only smiled faintly. Lensin was confused and wary. He didn't know what she wanted or why she had come to him.
"What do you want?"
She said nothing. So Lensin ignored her and continued deeper, looking for more corpses. On one of the bodies, he found a piece of white chalk — which puzzled him. But what puzzled him even more was that the woman continued following him.
Lensin turned toward her, slightly irritated. She seemed to notice his annoyance; her smile vanished, and tears began to roll down her cheeks. Lensin was even more confused by her reaction.
He analyzed her behavior — her mind was broken, he concluded. Her sanity was likely gone. So he ignored her completely, showing his irritation openly.
Yet, she continued following him. To her, Lensin felt like a light — a faint warmth she couldn't explain.
She moved closer to him. Startled, Lensin stepped back. Unsure of her intentions, he sighed.
"Alright… can you at least tell me your name?"
She smiled faintly and replied,
"Onna."
Lensin nodded slightly and allowed her to follow him. He continued deeper until he found a peculiar corpse — dressed in a black cloak, holding a notebook. Lensin picked it up and read through it. After finishing, he let out a quiet laugh.
"I see… I get it now."
Then a shout echoed from above.
"That's enough! Your work is done for the day."
The guards ordered everyone to return. Lensin put his tools away and allowed the guard to cuff him again.
They all returned to the dining hall. Each prisoner took a tray and sat at their assigned tables. At Lensin's table, there were only two people — himself and Onna.
As they ate, Lensin asked about her life before prison. She answered every question calmly.
Then, a group of men came and sat beside Onna. Usually, when she was with Lensin, her smile was cold and distant. But when they arrived, her face became expressionless — her smile completely vanished.
Lensin noticed the subtle change in her mood but did nothing at first. The men hadn't done anything — until one of them grabbed Onna's hand.
Lensin was startled. She had once told him she'd never been harassed before. This was the first time. He stood up and pulled Onna to sit beside him instead of across.
The men looked displeased but didn't act. Lensin felt the tension but ignored it. Onna looked at him, smiling sincerely for the first time.
"Thank you."
Lensin simply nodded.
When mealtime ended, the guards escorted them back. Night had fallen. Lensin felt tired and returned to his cell. Darkness closed over his vision.
As he lay down, he heard screams — cries and stabbing sounds echoing faintly. Lensin wasn't surprised. He closed his eyes and went back to sleep.
Later, he felt someone holding his hand. He woke to see Onna standing beside his bed.
"How did you get in here?"
He was surprised but had half-expected it. He stood up, glancing around her — and saw a knife in her other hand. Lensin took it from her calmly, unsurprised, as if he had already foreseen it.
Then he looked down — there were chalk markings and blood on the floor, forming a circle. He remembered the notebook he had found earlier. It described a ritual — one that required a woman who loved the summoner.
Lensin understood everything.
"This all started when I came to this place — this prison. It's not my world. Everything here is strange. A woman follows me, I find a book… It's possible that whoever brought me here wants me to perform this ritual. A demon summoning. The summoner and demon make a pact — the demon receives something, and the summoner gains power. Maybe the reason my power is sealed is because that person already made the pact on my behalf."
Realization dawned on him. He had been manipulated all along.
Lensin smiled at Onna, holding her knife.
Step one: draw the circle with chalk and blood.
Step two: use the corpse of a woman who loves you — you must kill her yourself.
Step three: recite the given incantation.
Final step: make the pact with the demon.
He plunged the knife into Onna's body. Her blood spilled, yet she smiled.
"See you next time in heaven," she whispered.
Lensin nodded slightly and replied,
"See you next time…"
Her final breath faded. Now lifeless, she lay before him. Lensin placed her body within the circle.
"In hell," he finished.
Then, he began to chant the ritual incantation.