Lion Heart Royal City, underground prison.
Sigma walked slowly through the dark, deep corridor, holding a candlestick.
The weak flame could not dispel the bone-chilling cold, and the floor was already covered with a thick layer of blood plasma, with countless shadowy contours writhing and shuttling through it.
Squeak squeak squeak...
Fist-sized shapes emerged one after another in crimson, the rat swarm with their heads covered in numerous eyeballs was restless, they stared at the living creature before them, their eyes filled with malice and hunger.
Sigma’s expression remained unchanged, his steps steady, as if surrounded by an invisible ’repulsion field,’ which kept the filthy blood plasma and hungry rat swarm entirely separated by an invisible barrier.
"Deprivation of soul... blood sacrifice to the abyss..."
Religious fervent murmurs hovered deep within the shadowy corridor.
Sigma slightly quickened his pace, and moments later, he stopped at the deepest part of the corridor, and the prison cell holding Ryan Prince came into his view.
The elegant and graceful Ryan Prince sat at the dining table, absorbed in his mutterings, meticulously cutting the food on the silver plate with a dining knife.
What was once an empty cell was now filled with items; the floor was covered with thick golden-thread carpet, the walls and ceiling adorned with expensive bricks, exquisite paintings, and bookshelves decorated on both sides.
This cell was no less luxurious than a noble’s bedroom.
Yet Sigma paid no attention to the luxuriant environment enjoyed by the prisoner, his gaze solely fixated on the infant’s arm on the plate, and he furrowed his brows tightly.
"Truly an irredeemable mess..." he sighed, not hiding the disgust and irritation in his eyes.
Ryan Prince naturally noticed the figure outside the bars.
He turned around and smiled politely at the Alliance official.
"Welcome to my humble abode, Mr. Sigma, meeting the Alliance envoy is truly my honor."
Ryan’s gaze locked onto the diplomat’s handsome face, he licked his lips: "You’ve finally decided to communicate with me..."
"I have no interest in feigning friendliness with you."
Sigma’s expression was indifferent, he adjusted his monocle, his tone full of oppressive meaning: "Tell me, what is the true origin of the Blood Plague Curse."
"Is this an interrogation, Mr. Diplomat? I think... there may be some misunderstandings between us."
Ryan stood up and approached step by step.
The smile on the Prince’s face grew softer: "In fact, I’ve always been happy to share knowledge with you, it’s just that you’ve never given me the chance."
They stood facing each other, separated only by a few fragile bars.
Sigma remained silent.
"You are a smart man, Mr. Sigma, I very much admire talents like you."
Ryan laughed joyfully, his tone eager: "So what do you want to know? I can tell you everything."
Sigma took a deep breath, as if resolving a certain decision.
"Everyone knows, the Celestial Calamity never lands on the earth unless there is a certain ’medium’ tightly linked to it on earth."
He asked solemnly: "What exactly is the ’World Core’ that Arthur King excavated from the Forbidden Route?"
"It is a flawless ’body.’
Ryan immediately responded: "As long as you offer flesh to it, it can answer your prayers and fulfill all your wishes."
"Body?"
Sigma was slightly startled: "What does it look like?"
"It cannot be discerned by mortal eyes, for it is the most good, most high, most beautiful..."
Ryan’s expression grew increasingly fervent: "Until the former king cast his closest kin into the blood plasma, it finally announced its origin to the world, and the greatness of the Master of the Abyss behind it..."
Unnoticed, the mist of blood rose around them and spread outwards.
Ryan opened his arms, and at this moment his voice surprisingly contained a touch of sanctity: "From then on, we called it..."
—"The Remains of the Scarlet Angel!"
A gigantic scarlet eye suddenly opened in the mist.
Sigma groaned, instinctively supporting his head, as fine threads of writhing blood appeared deep in his eyes!
The moment abyssal knowledge was acquired, madness and corruption naturally followed in succession.
Ryan Prince’s eyes flashed with ecstatic joy.
Spreading specific knowledge would ’take away’ the power bestowed by the Angel upon himself, but it was worth it, assimilating the Alliance official into a pawn of the Abyss was undoubtedly the most wise decision!
"The blessing of Angel can greatly enhance human flesh, look, just like this..."
Ryan’s body suddenly stretched and swelled, his head split into six parts, grotesque terrifying sounds rumbled between dense sharp teeth and layered eyeballs: "So powerful... so wonderful..."
Sigma’s body began to tremble, he clutched his head, writhing painfully on the ground.
"I have already understood this power..."
His voice turned incredibly raspy: "How much... force... do we have?"
"The Red Angel needs adequate flesh to nourish its body, the power divided to the Knights is ultimately limited."
The flesh monster issued a satisfied, frenzied laugh: "But none of that matters, when the apocalypse descends, we will all become followers of the ’Serpent’!"
Its gigantic shape rapidly contracted back to its handsome form: "We will enjoy eternal bliss in the eternal paradise, regardless of age or status."
"Come, Sigma, praise the great Master of the Abyss with me."
Ryan’s tone grew softer, reaching out his hand towards the man writhing on the ground: "This will free you from pain forever, we will no longer be separate, united under the Master’s magnificent power..."
The next moment, the Prince’s words came to an abrupt halt, he withdrew his arm abruptly, realizing that the part above his wrist was missing, countless square-shaped blurry garbles climbing up along the break!
Without hesitation, Ryan tore off his own arm, the falling limb devoured entirely by the bizarre squares before it hit the ground.
His face turned ice-cold in an instant; he stepped back, spotting a mask intricately engraved with patterns taking shape behind Sigma.
The candlelight began to flicker.
The masked woman clad in wide robes appeared out of thin air, she pressed her palm on the diplomat’s forehead, the densely jumping squares quickly dyed a scarlet hue, restoring to normalcy in the blink of an eye.
"Celestial calamity pollution in your deep memory has been cleared, Mr. Diplomat."
The cold voice resounded in Sigma’s ears.
"Hah...hah..."
Sigma knelt on the ground in disarray, snot flowing, in a sorry state, his monocle stained with dirty filth.
Yet at this moment, the corners of the man’s mouth curled into a victorious smile.
Sigma had been gambling all along.
He gambled that after obtaining cooperation with the Apocalypse Ark, the Alliance high-level would grant the Grey-clothed Secret Guard operational clearance.
—The clearance to protect him.
The fact proved he was right.
Sigma weakly laughed, with this key intelligence, he could prove his value to the Governor.
As an absolute radical faction, the Alliance officials on the Fortress Main Island have never been cowards!
"Thank you for the intelligence you provided, Ryan, it will be useful."
The man struggled to stand, dusted off the dirt from him, his expression returning to confidence and indifference.
Ryan stared fixedly into Sigma’s eyes, his mouth twitching unnaturally.
The Prince muttered with extreme spite: "You will pay the price..."
"The ones paying the price will be you."
Sigma focused on wiping his glasses, speaking coolly: "As far as I’m concerned, you guys are merely savage scum who eat raw flesh and blood."
"No matter how many routes you open or new continents you discover, this world will always be a mess because of your scoundrels."
He smirked contemptuously: "I would never stoop to wallow in the blood filth with you bog creatures."