Chapter 973: The Trap Sprung


    ?


    Erik walked into the cell. He didn''t like what he was seeing.


    As soon as the door opened, he smelled blood, but there was something else: burned flesh. Inside the room, there was a figure. Without a shred of doubt, it was Richard Stone.


    The man was held up against the wall by chains, and his body was a horrible mess of raw muscle and sinew.


    Erik had to stop for a moment because of how horrible what he saw was: Richard had been skinned while still alive.


    But not to the point of killing him. Aside from his bloodied face, Richard was almostpletely without skin.


    Erik''s stomach churned, but he pushed the nausea down. Weakness had no time to happen. He needed to get Richard out right away.


    With quick steps, he crossed the room and kneeled next to the man.


    "Richard! Richard, can you hear me?!"


    Richard''s eyes were wide open, and his head was leaning to the side. In theory, the man should have been able to see him, but his eyes were staring at the empty space.


    For him, Erik could have been or not been there at all. His mind was a mess. Whatever thought he had was so strong as to pull him out of reality.


    Whatever Volkov did to him, Richard was having trouble focusing on what happened in front of him, as if he wasn''t there to begin with.


    He croaked, "Erik," but his voice was barely audible. "You... you came..."


    "Of course I did. I promised Emily I would have saved you. There is no way I''m leaving you here."


    "No... This... you must leave... this..."


    But Erik was already looking at Richard''s chains and made a note of theplicated locks. They were unbreakable, or at least they were built to give the impression they were.


    For Erik, that wasn''t a problem, because he simply grabbed the chains and snapped them in two, freeing Richard in a matter of seconds.


    "Erik," Richard said. "It''s a trap... Volkov, he''s watching. You must leave!"


    Before he could react, an rm red. The rm was ring throughout the whole prison judging by how strong the sound was,.


    If, until now, no one found him as he entered the prison, now everyone was aware.


    Without even the time to blink, Erik felt a loud thud. The door from which he came closed alone, most likely closed remotely.


    The floor beneath them jolted violently. Erik''s stomach lurched as the entire room plummeted downward, like an elevator with its cables cut.


    Erik could understand they were going fast, and a lot at that.


    He braced himself and leaned against the wall, clutching Richard tightly to keep him from further injury, but each time he touched him, the man jolted in pain.


    There was no skin on him, after all.


    "Hang on."


    The feeling of freefall was nauseating. Erik couldn''t stop thinking about how bad it was for Richard, if it was this bad even for him.


    Erik tried to calcte their speed and the distance they were falling. But he also had to figure out what awaited him and Richard as soon as they reached it.


    He doubted Volkov was going to crush him in the room. Most likely, the room was going to be stopped at a certain point, so that the ckguards could kill or apprehend himter.


    He doubted the pricks wanted him dead. He was much more valuable alive, at least in theory.


    What they didn''t know was that as soon as he died, he would turn into a biological supeputer himself, and the one he got would leave his body.


    There were going to be two biological supeputers at that point.


    The room hurtled downward for what felt like an eternity. Erik''s grip on Richard tightened. The older man''s breathing became weaker and weaker.


    Seconds stretched into what felt like hours, the room''s descent a harrowing plunge into the unknown.


    <System, stop this thing!>


    <Understood. >


    After thirty agonizing seconds, the room slowed. The abrupt deceleration threw Erik off bnce, but he kept on his feet.


    With a final shudder, the room-free fall stopped.


    <Thanks...>


    <You are wee.>


    Erik paused to think. <Where are we?>


    <Based on the prison''s internal server, we are 10 floors underground. This is a secret part of


    the prison.>


    <How do I get out?>


    <Well, you->


    Erik couldn''t evenplete the phrase because the door slid open with a ng.


    A torrent of ck-d figures, faces obscured by ck masks, poured into the room.


    "ckguards."


    Based on how they moved, it was clear they were not acting as if just an intruder was here. Rather, they expected Erik and prepared ordingly.


    <That was a trap, as I assumed.>


    Erik''s pulse quickened, and his body coiled like a spring, ready to be unleashed.


    The first ckguard lunged at him, a gleaming mana dagger aimed at Erik''s throat.


    Thetter sidestepped, grabbing the assant''s wrist and twisting it sharply, disarming him.


    Of course, Erik wasn''t going to only disarm the guy. With the strength of a dinosaur, Erik pulled, ripping the ckguard''s arm off its body.


    Blood poured over the ground, a crimson torrent that sttered across Erik''s boots and pooled on the metal floor.


    The ckguard seemed surprised. Most likely, he couldn''t even register what was happening.


    But those around him could, in fact, the primal fear they were feeling was echoing in Erik''s


    mind.


    The ckguard made a guttural, animalistic scream and died.


    [ENEMY HUMAN KILLED: MANA ABSORBING PROCESS STARTING.]


    [0%...1%... 5%, 30%, 70%, 100%]N?v(el)B\\jnn


    [MANA SUCCESSFULLY ABSORBED, STARTING CONVERTING PROCEDURE.]


    [3...2...1...0]


    [MANA SUCCESSFULLY CONVERTED INTO EXPERIENCE. 9000 EXPERIENCE POINTS AND 90


    DNA POINTS AWARDED TO THE HOST.]


    Erik barely had time to register the gruesome victory before the next ckguard charged at


    him.


    This one conjured a swirling vortex of mes in his hands, the heat radiating towards Erik like


    a furnace st.


    <Fuck, Richard!>


    Erik sidestepped the initial burst of fire while using the Frostwindfire Tempest to conjure up


    an ice barrier for Richard.


    But Erik remained outside of the dome; he had ckguards to kill.


    While feeling the searing heat graze his skin, he seized a nearby piece of the fallen ckguard''s armor and hurled it at the me-wielder, disrupting his concentration.


    In truth, Erik sent hurtling the object at such a speed he almost killed the guy, but given the situation, he couldn''t aim at him well, and managed to miss the killing blow.


    Though, the attack had an effect, because the guy''s mes flickered and spewed all around the room while Erik closed the distance.