Chapter 648

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Chapter 648: Space Police Bureau (4)

Pahalufe.

A high-level detention facility under the Cosmic Police Bureau, capable of imprisoning even Grade-3 beings.

Because of this, everything Yeongwoo saw and heard in Pahalufe felt far from someone else’s problem.

If Pahalufe could imprison a Grade-3 being, then in other words, wouldn’t it also be possible to imprison the Chairman here?

‘If the Chairman were dragged here… would he be treated like this too?’

With his head crushed against the floor, Yeongwoo rolled his eyes upward to look at his opponent.

The first thing that entered his view was a large hand wrapped in steel bands.

The same rude hand that was currently gripping his head with brutal force.

And then—

“……?”

Beyond the raging wind that was blowing so fiercely it turned his vision gray, he saw three colors shining vividly.

‘Red… blue, and green?’

They were none other than the three primary colors of light.

Why the primary colors—purely a human concept—existed here was unknown, but that wasn’t what mattered.

The three lights in question were being emitted from the gems embedded in the belt around Ketu’s waist, and soon each gem trailed a long arc as they rose into the air.

Ketu had stood up.

Then, from behind the steel mask completely covering his face, he spoke in that same terrifying voice.

■ Move. We’re heading to the Closed Ward.

With those words, the wardens waiting on either side of Yeongwoo forcibly hauled him to his feet.

When Yeongwoo turned his head to the side, he saw wardens wearing steel masks just like Ketu’s.

“What’s with that? You guys are all from the Police Bureau, right? Then why bother hiding your faces? Don’t tell me it’s because you don’t want the prisoners learning your identities?”

Considering that the main inmates here were cosmic powerhouses—Grade-3 beings, the guess sounded plausible.

Of course, no one here—including Ketu—gave him an answer.

■ Be grateful you are not an inmate of Pahalufe. Under normal circumstances, you would have been thrown into the Punishment Ward.

“…Punishment Ward? And what the hell is that supposed to be, you bastard? This is supposed to be a tour, isn’t it? Isn’t it a bit much to throw around terms only you people understand?”

As Yeongwoo spoke while leaning against the wardens holding him up, he saw Ketu reflexively place a hand on his waist.

There, beside the belt, hung the thick handle of a whip.

‘So it’s the kind of prison where beatings are allowed.’

Normally, whenever prisoners started spouting nonsense, Ketu would simply lash that whip.

Just then, Shero pushed through the wardens and took hold of Yeongwoo, supporting him instead.

—The Punishment Ward… is a sort of communal dormitory where prisoners are allowed to move freely.

“A place where they can move freely? Then why is it called punishment?”

—Once you enter the Punishment Ward, you are guaranteed to encounter at least one inmate who holds a grudge against you. On top of that, the use of power—which has been restricted until then—is partially permitted…

Shero’s explanation was that, in nine cases out of ten, vicious fights would break out between inmates in the Punishment Ward.

“But what if someone ends up there and just doesn’t have any connections with the other inmates?”

Shero shook his head.

—Prisoners confined in Pahalufe are individuals who have accumulated cosmic-scale evil deeds over long periods of time. It is extremely rare for someone not to receive their “punishment” in the Punishment Ward.

In other words, the karma they had accumulated would return to them as punishment.

‘Hmm… In my case, that would be like going into the Punishment Ward and finding guys like Shirach or Kardal swarming the place.’

As Yeongwoo nodded to himself internally, Ketu—who had already moved ahead—shouted through the biting wind.

■ Move!

The wardens began advancing forward, and Shero practically half-embraced Yeongwoo as they walked.

After a while, Shero stared directly at him.

—By now, you should actually be able to move.

It was whispered so softly that only Yeongwoo could hear.

At this, Yeongwoo gave a sly grin and put strength back into his dangling legs.

“Ah, so it’s already time.”

As he suddenly began walking perfectly fine, Shero stepped slightly aside and muttered.

—You’re an interesting person, Mr. Yeongwoo.

“It’s this hard just surviving in space as a petty criminal.”

Even as everyone continued trudging through the slicing wind for quite some time, Shero never reported anything to Ketu.

Not even until a massive gray wall finally appeared ahead.

—That is the outer wall of the Closed Ward.

“What’s the Closed Ward?”

—It is a facility located at the outermost perimeter of Pahalufe. It serves as a barrier to prevent intrusions from outside and escapes from within.

Then Shero added one more thing.

—It is also where the lowest-security prisoners—‘petty criminals’—are detained.

“The petty criminals are locked up right inside that wall?”

Yeongwoo stared at the Closed Ward’s outer wall with wide eyes.

The wall itself was enormous, but because of the dust storm obscuring the view, it was impossible to even estimate the height of its top with the naked eye.

■ Open!

At last, Ketu raised his whip toward the air and shouted.

Soon the gems embedded in his belt flickered—and the very center of the outer wall began to split apart.

Krrrrrrrk…!

The sight of the outer wall—resembling a mountain itself—splitting left and right was truly astonishing.

However, the entrance passage created by Ketu’s command was only ten meters wide, meaning that compared to the wall’s enormous scale, it was little more than a tiny crack.

“Breaking out of prison definitely wouldn’t be easy.”

As Yeongwoo followed Ketu and the wardens into the passage, Shero spoke in a startled voice.

—A prison break? Please refrain from saying such things.

“Is that considered criminal speech too?”

—Only criminals need to break out of prison.

“…Can’t argue with that.”

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The Closed Ward’s outer wall was absurdly thick.

Even after walking nearly a hundred meters, the walls on either side showed no sign of ending.

Instead, the cutting wind from outside gradually faded, and another sound began rising from deep beyond the passage.

Goooooo…!

It sounded like the operation of a massive machine, yet also like wind roaring through a canyon.

Because the strange sound continued without pause, Yeongwoo finally asked.

“What exactly is that sound?”

This time, Ketu answered instead of Shero.

■ The sound of the prisoners in the Closed Ward waiting for you.

“The prisoners…?”

■ For them, the opening and closing of the entrance passage is the greatest change in their daily lives. By now, they’re probably clinging to the ‘window frames’ like insects.

At that moment, the mysterious sound grew even louder, and its texture diversified.

‘Ah.’

This was when Yeongwoo realized the sound was actually the cheers of countless prisoners.

—Ooooh…!

—WAAAAAAAH!

—Hiiiyaaa!

Shouts of every kind.

No—if anything, they were closer to screams.

As the echoes shattered into tens of thousands of fragments between the outer walls of the Closed Ward, goosebumps rose on Yeongwoo’s skin.

And when he realized that, the further they walked, the source of the sound was shifting downward, a strange sense of dread began creeping into him.

“The sound… seems like it’s coming from below?”

The moment Yeongwoo muttered this, the entrance passage of the outer wall ended, and the floor beneath them changed from solid stone to iron that produced a thinner sound.

Kwiing.

“…?”

At the strange metallic noise, Yeongwoo looked down.

The floor was made of densely woven iron bars.

And beneath those bars were countless prisoners staring upward with wild eyes.

—GRAAAAAAH!

—AAAAAAAH…!

The screams rose again like steam.

And with the eyes each of them possessed, they desperately tried to convey something to Yeongwoo.

“…What.”

Feeling an odd sense of dissonance, Yeongwoo hesitated.

Ketu let out a low laugh.

■ All prisoners in the Closed Ward are forbidden from speaking.

“They’re forbidden from speaking? Then how do they communicate?”

■ The way your kind originally does.

Like villains who let blades speak before words, they conveyed meaning by fighting with their bodies.

But it didn’t seem to be only that.

Looking closely at the prisoners screaming beneath the bars, Yeongwoo noticed that some of them were using their hands—or something resembling hands—to perform a type of sign language.

‘Sign language? That’s definitely sign language.’

The prisoners were repeatedly displaying specific patterns, but since Yeongwoo didn’t know the language used in this prison, he couldn’t even guess their meaning.

—Let’s go. Visitors are also prohibited from remaining in the Closed Ward for long.

Shero lightly pushed Yeongwoo, who still couldn’t take his eyes off the floor.

When Yeongwoo lifted his head, he saw that Ketu and the wardens had already opened another barrier on the opposite side of the Closed Ward.

“And what kind of hellhole does that door lead to?”

—The Security Ward. It’s an area equipped with forces and traps meant to subdue high-risk inmates. Once we pass through there, we will immediately enter the Containment Ward, the highest-security sealed zone in Pahalufe.

“…Containment Ward.”

That absurd prison where Grade-3 beings were confined lay somewhere beyond that barrier.

“Wait. Then the ones we saw earlier in the Closed Ward…?”

—Mostly Grade-4 to Grade-5 prisoners. Grade-6 prisoners do come in as well, but they don’t last long.

Which probably meant that Grade-6 beings almost always died after arriving here.

‘There are really that many Grade-4 villains who deserve to be locked up in a place like this?’

As Yeongwoo turned to look back in disbelief, Shero pointed ahead.

—We must board the transport path before it’s too late. Hurry.

Just as Shero said, beyond the second barrier—now wide open—stretched a massive corridor that extended endlessly.

Near its entrance floated a large stone slab in midair, like a platform.

“That’s the transport route?”

—Yes. Walking through the Security Ward would be madness—something only escapees would attempt. We’ll be taking a transport device.

The moment Shero said this and stepped toward the slab where Ketu and the wardens had already climbed aboard, Yeongwoo suddenly felt a warmth near his chest.

“……?”

At first he thought it was simply tension without realizing it.

But after blinking a few times, he realized that wasn’t the case.

‘The letter…’

The blood-colored letter that Chancellor Herisa had given him was slowly heating up inside his clothes.

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