The footsteps of the bandit group drummed against a hidden trail, cutting through the lush thickets at the foot of the hills leading towards Antrows City.
Keyzier walked in the middle of the line, his posture seemingly relaxed, yet his sharp eyes constantly recorded every detail of the route they traversed. Behind him, Donovan and Novalia were dragged roughly, their bodies tightly bound by the bind magic Keyzier had cast earlier.
Suddenly, the one-eyed bandit leader stopped in front of a cliff wall covered in creeping vines. With a single hand gesture, his men shifted a hidden mechanism, and the stone wall slid open slowly, revealing an entrance to a massive cavern.
As he stepped inside, Keyzier's eyes widened. He could not hide his awe. The cave looked nothing like a filthy or damp den of thieves. On the contrary, the walls had been carved smooth, the ceilings towered high, and light from magic crystals embedded in the walls provided a warm and luxurious glow.
The cavern truly possessed the form and structure of a grand manor, or perhaps more accurately, an underground fortress. There were organized corridors, spacious rooms furnished with expensive teakwood furniture, and thick rugs covering the cold stone floors.
"Incredible..." Keyzier muttered. He turned to the bandit leader with a feigned yet seemingly sincere expression of admiration. "I never imagined you had a place as magnificent as this. The carvings, the layout... it's truly wonderful!"
Keyzier unconsciously continued to praise everything within the cave. He complimented the cleverness of the ventilation system and the beauty of the crystal light reflecting off the stone pillars.
The praise flowed so naturally from his lips that the bandits, who were usually looked down upon by society, felt a surge of immense pride.
The bandit leader laughed boisterously, slapping Keyzier hard on the shoulder. "Hahaha! You have good taste, kid! I wasn't wrong to accept you. Most people just tremble in fear when they enter here, but you actually appreciate its beauty!"
Feeling delighted by Keyzier's flattery, the leader took him on a tour of the cave. He wanted to flaunt his power through the grandeur of the headquarters.
Naturally, Keyzier was not about to let this golden opportunity slip away. As he walked and threw out one compliment after another, his mind worked like a mapping engine. He desperately wanted to know where the group kept their plundered loot.
However, the short tour did not lead him to what he was searching for. The deeper they went into the belly of the earth, the more the air felt stale and cold. The atmosphere of a comfortable manor slowly vanished, replaced by the stench of waste and despair.
Before long, Keyzier arrived at the deepest end of the cave. There, he saw a heartbreaking sight: a giant prison made of thick, rusted black iron. Inside the prison, dozens of people were held in deplorable conditions.
Keyzier held his breath for a moment. He saw men, women, children, teenagers, and even the elderly who had grown very weak. Their eyes were vacant, reflecting a profound fear. They were mere merchandise to these bandits, human beings waiting to be ransomed for gold coins or sold on the black market.
One of the bandits acting as a guard stepped forward, turning a large key with a deafening metallic clang. He then roughly shoved Donovan and Novalia into the prison, causing them to stumble onto the dirty ground.
"Get in! Enjoy your new home!" the guard mocked.
Donovan immediately scrambled up and gripped the iron bars with trembling hands. The wounds on his face from Keyzier's previous blows were still oozing fresh blood, but the rage in his eyes burned much hotter than his physical pain
.
"Key! You've gone too far!" Donovan roared. His voice echoed violently through the cave, drawing the attention of the other prisoners. "How could you truly betray us?! We grew up together in the village, and now you join this pack of scoundrels?! You are the foulest piece of trash I've ever known!"
Keyzier stood outside the bars, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked at Donovan with a cold gaze, as if they were strangers who had never met.
"What of it? It's none of your business what I become, Novan!" Keyzier replied in a haughty and hurtful tone. "This world doesn't need justice; this world needs power and money. Worry about yourself in there! Have a nice day, Novan!"
Hearing that response, Donovan seemed to lose his mind. He was beyond furious and continued to curse Keyzier with the harshest words he could think of. The verbal abuse didn't stop; it was as if Donovan wanted to pull Keyzier into the cell with him through the sheer power of his voice.
Keyzier furrowed his brows. Suddenly, he raised his right hand. In an instant, a heat aura began to gather at his fingertips.
Fwoooosh!
Keyzier unleashed a mid-tier fire spell. A massive tongue of flame shot from his hand and slammed into the ground inside the cell, right in front of Donovan's feet. The fire blazed with intense heat, scorching the dust and moisture on the cave floor. The distance between the burning ground and Donovan's feet was only five centimeters.
"If you chirp one more word, it won't be the ground I burn, but your head!" Keyzier threatened in an extremely low, cold, and deadly voice. "You'd better shut up before I decide to kill you right here and now, Novan!"
A sudden silence blanketed the prison area. Donovan fell still, his breath coming in gasps, staring at the flames at his feet with wide eyes. He had never seen Keyzier so serious about wanting to kill him.
Meanwhile, Novalia, huddled in the corner of the cell, could only clasp her knees and weep silently, terrified by the drastic change in the youth who had previously seemed so kind.
Outside the bars, the bandit group laughed with satisfaction. They felt incredibly happy and proud. Not only had they gained a useful traitor, but also a talented mage who did not hesitate to slaughter his own friend for the sake of loyalty.
"Hahaha! Incredible! You've really got guts, kid!" the bandit leader laughed, putting his arm around Keyzier's neck and leading him away from the prison area.
Keyzier's arrival was a force to be reckoned with for the bandit group. In their eyes, Keyzier was a new weapon that would lead them to greater glory in the territories of the Altoria Kingdom.
However, behind the cruel mask and the fire he had unleashed, Keyzier continued to walk through the darkness of the cave, carrying a secret locked tightly within his chest.