Chapter 55
The prison remained silent.
Cold stone.
Dim torchlight.
The sound of dripping water echoed faintly through the underground halls.
Princess Flora stood quietly beside the iron bars, arms folded as her thoughts continued circling everything Guinevere had revealed earlier.
Gods.
Dreams.
Awakening.
None of it felt holy anymore.
Chris suddenly frowned.
Chris: "…Wait."
Marco looked toward him immediately.
Marco: "What is it?"
Chris stepped closer toward the opposite side of the prison.
Chris: "…They're waking up."
Princess Flora lifted her gaze.
Two figures stirred weakly against the cold floor.
Captain Bochy's fingers twitched first.
Then Esabell.
A quiet groan escaped Bochy as he slowly forced himself upright.
One hand pressed against his forehead.
Breathing rough.
Chris let out a quiet breath.
Chris: "…Damn."
A faint grin appeared afterward.
Chris: "Not gonna lie. I thought you were dead."
Captain Bochy slowly raised his head.
His eyes were bloodshot.
Heavy.
Burning with rage.
Captain Bochy: "…Not yet."
He grabbed the nearby wall and forced himself fully to his feet.
Captain Bochy: "They slaughtered my crew."
His voice lowered.
Cold.
Controlled.
Captain Bochy: "I'll hunt down every last one of them."
A pause.
Captain Bochy: "…Until then, dying isn't an option."
Silence settled briefly afterward.
Even Marco looked unsettled hearing it.
Beside him—
Esabell slowly opened her eyes.
The torchlight reflected faintly across them.
Unfocused.
Distant.
She slowly pushed herself upright, one hand trembling slightly against the floor.
Esabell: "…Everyone…?"
The whisper barely reached them.
Princess Flora immediately stepped closer.
Princess: "Esabell."
Esabell blinked slowly before looking toward her.
Still disoriented.
Princess: "Are you alright?"
Esabell looked around weakly.
Confused.
Esabell: "…Princess?"
A pause.
Esabell: "…Where are we?"
Guinevere glanced quietly toward the iron bars surrounding them.
Guinevere: "…A prison."
That answer alone seemed to wake Esabell completely.
Her expression slowly changed.
Memory returning.
Fear following immediately afterward.
Princess Flora's expression sharpened slightly.
Princess: "Tell us what happened on the ship."
The prison became still again.
Everyone listened carefully.
Esabell lowered her gaze.
Trying to remember.
Esabell: "…After all of you left…"
A pause.
Esabell: "…John changed."
Princess Flora's eyes narrowed slightly.
Esabell: "At first… it was small."
Another pause.
Esabell: "…But something felt wrong."
Her fingers tightened slightly around her arm.
Esabell: "Then suddenly people started attacking."
Chris frowned immediately.
Esabell: "They wore masks."
Marco stayed silent beside him.
Listening carefully.
Esabell: "The crew didn't even understand what was happening."
Her voice weakened slightly.
Esabell: "…People just started dying."
Captain Bochy's jaw tightened violently.
The veins along his neck tensed.
Esabell lowered her head further.
Esabell: "When they came for me…"
A pause.
Esabell: "…John stopped them."
Silence.
Princess Flora exchanged a glance with Guinevere immediately.
Esabell: "…After that…"
Her voice became quieter.
Esabell: "…they took me away."
Another pause.
Esabell: "I think they used some kind of magic…"
She hesitated briefly.
Then finally—
Esabell: "…John chose their side."
The atmosphere changed instantly.
Heavier.
Colder.
Guinevere leaned quietly against the stone wall.
Guinevere: "Yes."
Everyone looked toward her.
Her expression remained unreadable.
Guinevere: "We already realized John is involved in something far bigger than we thought."
Princess Flora stayed silent.
Because deep down—
she had already reached the same conclusion.
Guinevere slowly lifted her gaze again.
Guinevere: "…Where is Tomasi?"
Esabell blinked once.
Then slowly shook her head.
Esabell: "…I don't know."
A pause.
Esabell: "I haven't seen him since the attack."
Marco frowned slightly.
Marco: "…Maybe they imprisoned him somewhere else."
Princess Flora lowered her gaze slightly.
Thinking carefully.
Princess: "…Or maybe not."
Everyone looked toward her now.
Princess Flora folded her arms quietly.
Princess: "We reached the resting place of Monessa."
The torch beside them flickered softly.
Princess: "If Tomasi resisted them…"
Her expression darkened slightly.
Princess: "…then it's possible he never made it here alive."
Silence followed immediately afterward.
Even Chris looked uncomfortable hearing it aloud.
But Guinevere slowly shook her head.
Guinevere: "…No."
Princess Flora looked toward her.
Guinevere's expression remained calm—
but firm.
Guinevere: "Tomasi isn't someone who dies easily."
That line alone carried strange weight behind it.
Princess Flora studied her quietly for a moment.
Then nodded once.
Princess: "…Maybe you're right."
But her expression hardened again afterward.
Princess: "Still… that's not our biggest problem anymore."
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
Princess Flora stepped away from the bars slightly.
Thinking aloud now.
Princess: "From everything we've seen until now…"
A pause.
Princess: "…something major is going to happen in three days."
Chris crossed his arms quietly.
Princess: "And whoever truly controls this place…"
Her gaze sharpened.
Princess: "…their objective still isn't clear."
Another pause.
Princess: "They talk about awakening the gods…"
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
Princess: "…but I don't think that's all they want."
Marco glanced around the prison uneasily.
Marco: "We're trapped underground, surrounded by guards, and unarmed."
A pause.
Marco: "…How exactly are we supposed to stop any of this?"
Princess Flora slowly turned toward Esabell.
Princess: "We'll figure that out later."
Another pause.
Princess: "Right now, there's something more important."
Esabell looked toward her quietly.
Princess: "You studied the Heaven Books."
A pause.
Princess Flora's eyes narrowed carefully.
Princess: "…Do you know how the gods were truly meant to be awakened?"
For the first time—
fear crossed Esabell's face completely.
The torchlight flickered harder.
And far away—
beneath the volcanic island of Dumase—
BOOOOOOM.
The cavern exploded apart.
Black lightning collided violently against layers of holy barriers.
The shockwave shattered obsidian stone across the battlefield.
Justice worshippers were thrown backward instantly.
Several crashed directly into the cavern walls.
John stood at the center of the destruction.
Black lightning crawled across his arm like living veins.
Violent.
Ancient.
Opposite him—
the commander slid several meters backward across cracked volcanic stone before stopping himself.
Golden holy energy flowed around his body like armor.
Not destructive.
Protective.
Sacred.
Every movement reinforced itself with layers of divine defense.
The commander slowly lifted his head.
His expression darkened immediately.
Commander: "…Monster."
John remained silent.
The volcanic heat twisted through the cavern between them.
Behind the commander—
the massive sealing formation continued expanding across the obsidian floor.
White symbols pulsed repeatedly beneath the volcanic stone.
Closer.
Closer.
Almost complete.
The commander slowly tightened his fists.
Holy energy erupted harder around him.
Barrier after barrier formed instantly across his arms.
Commander: "Do you even understand what you're trying to do?"
John stared at him quietly.
Cold eyes.
Unreadable.
Commander: "This world is already collapsing."
A pause.
Commander: "The awakening was written long before any of us were born."
Another.
Commander: "All gods must return."
BOOM.
Holy energy exploded beneath his feet as he charged forward instantly.
The obsidian floor shattered behind him.
His fist slammed toward John's chest—
wrapped in layers of reinforced holy protection.
CRACK.
Black lightning erupted violently.
The collision shook the entire cavern.
Lava burst upward from nearby cracks.
Several ritualists screamed as molten stone exploded beside them.
John blocked the strike with one hand.
Effortlessly.
The commander's eyes widened slightly.
Because the holy barrier around his fist—
was cracking.
Then—
John grabbed his arm.
Black lightning spread across the holy energy violently—
corroding it.
Tearing through the barriers piece by piece.
BOOOOOOM.
John slammed him directly through a pillar of volcanic stone.
The cavern trembled violently.
Dust exploded everywhere.
Several justice worshippers froze completely after witnessing the impact.
John slowly walked forward through the smoke.
Calm.
Unhurried.
Black lightning crackled softly around his fingertips.
John: "…You talk too much."
The commander burst from the collapsing stone instantly.
Holy energy exploded around his blade.
Layer after layer wrapped around the weapon like divine reinforcement.
SLASH.
The strike tore through the cavern—
but John disappeared.
The commander's eyes widened.
Then—
CRACK.
Black lightning erupted behind him.
John's voice echoed quietly through the darkness.
John: "…And you understand too little."
The commander spun instantly—
barely raising a holy barrier in time.
BOOOOOOM.
The impact shattered the ground beneath both of them.
White light exploded outward.
Black lightning screamed across the cavern walls.
Justice worshippers stumbled backward from the pressure alone.
The commander gritted his teeth.
Commander: "You people disgust me."
Holy energy erupted harder around him.
Commander: "For your own selfish desires…"
A pause.
Commander: "…you would oppose faith itself."
John's expression didn't change.
Commander: "The awakening of all gods was written in prophecy."
Another violent clash shook the cavern.
Commander: "You're trying to defy fate itself!"
His voice roared across the battlefield now.
Commander: "We will never allow that!"
For the first time—
John's eyes narrowed slightly.
Not anger.
Not fear.
Something colder.
Then—
very quietly—
John spoke.
John: "…Fate?"
Black lightning spread wider around the cavern walls.
Violent.
Unstable.
Ancient.
John slowly raised his hand.
His eyes darkened slightly.
John: "Justice…"
A pause.
John: "…Tell me something."
The commander frowned slightly.
John: "…What does justice actually mean to people like you?"
Silence.
Black lightning twisted harder around his arm.
John: "You call this salvation."
Another pause.
John: "…I call it stealing."
The air itself trembled afterward.
John's voice lowered.
Cold.
Dangerous.
John: "I'm only reclaiming what should've belonged to me from the beginning."
CRACK.
Suddenly—
the sealing formation beneath the floor trembled violently.
The commander's expression changed instantly.
Because the ritual itself—
had reacted to John.
The glowing white symbols flickered uncontrollably now.
The cavern trembled harder.
John slowly looked toward the formation.
Then back toward the commander.
John: "…And you still believe this will save the world?"
The volcanic island shook violently.
Far beneath Dumase—
something ancient shifted.
And for the first time—
even the justice worshippers looked afraid.
…CHAPTER 55 ENDS…