"Hm?"
Seeing the opened cell, Silas's eyes narrowed.
He'd passed so many cells just now, all locked and empty. Only this one had a key inserted in it and stood open.
Combined with the messy state inside, it indicated that someone had very likely been held here before. In other words, the prison's only inmate had escaped custody.
The guards here aren't very competent. Just one prisoner, and they still let them break out... Even though the circumstances weren't appropriate, Silas couldn't help but chuckle.
But just then, he suddenly heard footsteps coming from the other end of the corridor.
"Thud, thud..."
The prison was dark and quiet, so even subtle sounds seemed exceptionally clear.
The footsteps came from the depths of the shadowy corridor, their rhythm steady, the gait slow and heavy.
Closer and closer they came.
Silas gripped the Lava Sword, his expression solemn as he looked toward the source of the sound.
The first things to appear in his field of vision were two points of deep crimson light.
That light rose and fell with the footsteps, looking fierce and terrifying.
Gradually, the outline of a tall figure emerged at the edge of the firelight.
This figure stood nearly two and a half meters tall, covered entirely in black armor, with a cold and dark aura.
Every step it took carried a suffocating, terrible pressure. Those two masses of deep red were actually its eyes shining through the helmet.
In its hand, it carried a broad straight sword, equally pitch-black, radiating a heavy presence.
Just from appearance alone, this seemed to be a knight.
However, no normal knight would give off such a heavy and twisted feeling!
Except for one type of being.
A Black Knight.
The Aurora Order's saint trapped deep within the Battlefield of the Gods Ruins, a Sequence 4 Black Knight!
So the Queen Mystic sent me here to give me a hint about the Black Knight's location?
Silas suddenly understood.
But he had no time for further thoughts, because the moment he identified that "Black Knight," the other party had already begun to move, raising the black greatsword high above its head toward him.
Can't let it hit me!
Silas had suffered at the hands of Mr. A before and knew how terrifying a Black Knight's sword was.
It was a weapon that dealt tremendous damage to both soul and flesh.
Even though this was a dream, the corresponding effects might still feed back to his physical body in reality.
"Whoosh!"
His body instantly transformed into crimson flames, using "Flaming Jump" to materialize behind the giant knight.
At the same time, the Lava Sword in his hand had already slashed down toward the opponent's head at extreme speed.
"Bang!"
A muffled sound rang out abruptly. The Lava Sword didn't take off the Black Knight's head.
The blade scraped across the pitch-black, icy armor, with both the high temperature and damage absorbed by the armor.
This is going to be tough! Silas thought.
When one strike failed, he quickly retreated to create distance.
"Swish!"
The black, broad straight sword swung past his face, its cold and terrible aura close enough to make his heart palpitate.
The massive knight had already turned around, greatsword pressing forward step by step.
Can't keep fighting...
Medici had separated from his body. Right now, at most he could only mobilize a few Sequence 5 Shepherd souls, which wasn't quite enough against a Sequence 4 demigod.
If they remained locked in a stalemate much longer, he might end up in trouble.
"Clang!"
Just as he was pondering how to escape, a cell door not far ahead suddenly opened.
A man wearing a linen robe jumped out and shouted, "Hey! I'm over here!"
After saying that, the man turned and ran!
The Black Knight had already raised its sword, about to cleave down vertically at Silas, but hearing this commotion, it actually stopped dead in its tracks.
It abandoned Silas and turned to chase after that man.
"You better run quick!" the man's figure called from the darkness, his face unclear. "Then find someone to rescue me!"
The Black Knight charged after him with single-minded focus while the man also ran at full speed, desperately fleeing.
The two quickly disappeared into the depths of the corridor, leaving Silas's field of vision.
What just happened...?
Silas was somewhat confused about the situation.
The Black Knight was chasing that man in the linen robe?
Most likely, he's the prisoner who escaped... This guy is pretty kind-hearted.
Seeing me in a tough spot, he actually drew the guard's attention to let me escape.
But he also tried to ask me for help, to assist him in getting out of his predicament...
Silas's mind was full of confusion and puzzlement.
He was just about to explore this dream further when a blinding light suddenly flared before his eyes, pulling him back to reality.
The dream had ended.
After returning to reality, Silas sat up and held the black cat beside him.
While stroking its smooth fur, he recalled what he'd just experienced.
That dream should have belonged to the Aurora Order saint, to the "Black Knight" who had come on a pilgrimage but gotten trapped in the ruins.
As for the other protagonist in the dream, that required further consideration.
In the dream, the man in linen robes and the Black Knight had a prisoner-and-guard dynamic.
The Black Knight was obsessively focused on pursuing him, to the point of ignoring Silas, an intruder. Clearly, this man was extremely important.
Perhaps that's the reason he can't leave this place... I wonder if I can use this to my advantage...
While Silas was still thinking, Anderson had already opened the room's door.
"You're awake. Why aren't you coming out?" Anderson asked.
After confirming he was fine, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Hurry up and come topside.
We need to decide which direction to head... You said you wanted to continue exploring, so you've got to give us a heading, right?"
"Hold on."
Silas carried Luna out of the room and walked onto the deck.
All preparations were complete. Now was the perfect time to set sail and leave the island.
"Luna, come on. Divine which direction would be best."
He spoke to the black cat in his arms and loosened his hold.
"Meow~"
The black cat landed lightly on the deck.
As if it understood Silas's words, its expression became solemn, and it began spinning in circles.
"Whoosh..."
Spirituality surged across the deck.
At some point, Luna's azure eyes had turned pure black, silently peering at something, appearing cold and mysterious.
Its tail swayed freely back and forth like a separate creature, finally fixing on one direction.
East, deeper into the Sonia Sea.
"Alright, we head that way," Silas made the decision.
"You serious?" Anderson couldn't help but ask.
"Of course." Silas glanced at him. "Luna consumed a 'Seer' Beyonder characteristic, so it can divine.
That's better than the two of us wandering blindly at sea."
Previously, his black cat had successfully divined that the hope for advancement lay in the Sonia Sea, and the Queen's "prophecy" had confirmed that.
Plus some earlier small divinations had also succeeded, so Silas had quite a bit of confidence in his cat.
"Oh, it's a Seer. Well, what more is there to say?" Anderson quickly broke into a smile.
"So we set off right now?"
After Silas nodded, he turned to look at the blood-colored marionettes spread throughout the ship and shouted:
"Set sail!"