Overwhelming Firepower

Right beside the barracks in Ironhold was its prison. Located in the new underground tunnels.

The walls were carved directly from bedrock, reinforced with thick iron braces driven deep into the stone. There were no runes etched into the walls, no glowing crystals, no enchantments humming quietly in the background.

The corridors were wide enough for two armored guards to walk side by side. Iron sconces held steady-burning lamps, their flames shielded by metal grates to prevent tampering. Light spilled evenly across the stone floor, leaving nowhere for shadows to gather.

Cells lined the passage in rigid symmetry. Heavy iron bars sealed each one, every hinge thick, every lock mechanical and overbuilt.

Inside, the cells were bare, with a stone floor, stone walls, and a narrow slab for rest. Nothing that could be broken. Nothing that could be used. In this area, mana did not flow properly.

Every prisoner here was bound to black iron chains wrapped around wrists, ankles, and sometimes the torso, bolted directly into the walls or floor. These were not ordinary restraints.

When worn, the chains disrupted the natural flow of mana and aura within the body, not by force, but by interference, as sand poured into a set of turning gears.

Several aura knights patrol the prison, and there’s only one entrance and exit. Even if a criminal manages to get out of the chains and escape outside, since the prison is beside the barracks, what awaits the prisoner is either a beating or death.

This is the place where the agents of the Hawk’s talons were placed; aside from them, there were no other prisoners currently.

They were all bound by the black chains in one large cell. A few of them haven’t regain consciouness yet after the fight they had.

”Do you think the leader was able to finish her mission?” One of them suddenly spoke.

”I’m not sure... The leader was the strongest among us, and she had never failed a mission before, but the people in the Thornehart mansion aren’t exactly normal.”

”... So we have failed...” There was a moment of silence when one of the agents said those words.

”Well, didn’t we already expect this?” The eldest of the agents spoke. ”We should have already died.”

”Yeah... Not only did we fail the lord, but we even failed to die properly.”

Chains shifted as a few of them adjusted their posture, the dull scrape of black iron against stone echoing faintly through the cell.

”So what are we supposed to do now?” One of them asked, but none could answer. It was at that moment that an unfamiliar voice answered instead.

”How about switching sides and joining me instead?” From beyond the steel bars, a young man appeared.

Silver hair and ruby-red eyes, just seeing that the agents already understood who the person standing before them was.

Lucen Thornehart, the person their leader was supposed to kill. Seeing him standing in front of them without a single injury, they could already guess the fate of their leader.

The group of agents shut their mouths tight as they lowered their heads, not wanting to speak or even look at Lucen.

Seeing their reactions, Lucen smiled a little as he had already expected them to react that way. Lucen then sat on the floor and started speaking.

”Your leader is still alive.”

When the agents heard what Lucen said, a few of them reacted unconsciously.

”I didn’t harm her or anything. I simply told her the truth about herself, and your so-called Lord.”

”... What do you mean?” One of the agents finally spoke, which then made the others glare at him.

Lucen tilted his head slightly, unfazed by the glares.

”What do I mean?” he echoed softly. ”I mean exactly that.”

He rested his back against the cold stone wall, crimson eyes calm, almost reflective. There was no arrogance in his posture, no sense of triumph, only patience.

”I mean, she broke down when she learned the truth. I’m sure you think everything your lord has made you do is for the good of Norvaegard, but the truth is it was simply for the good of his version of Norvaegard.”

One of the agents clenched his jaw. ”You’re lying.”

”Have you guys ever wondered why you can’t remember the days before serving under Marquis Valeire? Don’t you find it strange that your memories seem hazy?”

Several of the agents stiffened, and a few were starting to have a headache.

”Try it,” Lucen continued. ”Think about the days before you became loyal dogs, the Marquis. Do you remember who you were before then?”

There was a heavy silence in the prison as a few of the agents started trying to recall what they were doing before they met the Marquis.

One agent frowned deeply, brows knitting together. ”... I... I can’t. I can’t remember a single thing.”

Another sucked in a sharp breath. ”I remember training, being told that what I was doing was for the good of Norvaegard, but... I can’t remember ever being recruited. I can’t remember my real name... I can’t remember anything from my past.”

”It’s like pages were torn out of your book called your memory. Who do you think did this to all of you?”

The answer was obvious, but not a single one of them spoke the name.

”You have been used, and were disposable. Why do you think the Marquis sent you here to do an impossible mission that I’m sure he himself knows can’t be done with the few of you?”

Lucen let the question linger, allowing it to gnaw at them. ”Because,” he continued quietly, ”you people were never meant to return.”

A few chains rattled as bodies stiffened.

”The moment you stepped into the Thornehart mansion, you were already dead in his eyes. If you succeeded, good, he gets more than he expected. If you failed, it works out for him as well. Loyal martyrs, silenced forever, unable to speak of what you might have learned.”

The eldest agent’s fingers curled slowly against the stone. ”The lord must have his reasons for doing this. I might not remember who I was before, or what I was doing, but I do remember the lord’s actions. He is a good man who has saved us all and helped not just us but many others. Everything he does is for the good, Norvaegard.”

”Is that what you truly believe?” Lucen asked as he looked at the older man straight in the eyes.

”When he ordered you to kill that knight who protected his family until the very end, was that for the good of Norvaegard?”

When Lucen said those words, even without saying who the knight was, the agents understood who Lucen was talking about. There was only one knight in their memory who fit that description.

A former loyal knight who served under Marquis Valeire. They were told he had betrayed their lord and was planning to kill him, so they were given a mission to eliminate him.

Of course, a few of them found the order weird. Many people in Marquis Valeire’s land knew of this knight. He was famous for always trying to tell other people how good his wife and children were.

He was a kind man who upheld chivalry. He was a humble person who always spoke to them with a smile on his face and made friends of those of a lower station.

None of them could ever imagine such a knight ever thinking about assassinating their lord. Still, since it was the order of their lord, that could only mean he was truly evil.

”He wanted to kill the lord...”

”Do you really believe that? Do any of you believe that?!”

Lucen’s voice grew louder, and it made a few of the agents tremble not in fear, but in shame. They were starting to doubt their lord.

”How about your other missions? Did you not find it strange that no matter what kind of mission it was, it benefited your lord more than it benefited Norvaegard? Doesn’t it bother any of you that none of you have ever questioned the orders given? I know you’re loyal to your lord, but even the most loyal of knights would still think before doing things like killing, kidnapping, and even burning down villages.”

The more they heard, the more the heads of the agents started hurting. The eldest agent groaned softly, pressing his forehead against the cold stone.

”... Stop,” he muttered. ”My head...”

Another agent let out a sharp gasp, chains clattering violently as his body jerked. ”I-I remember fire,” he said hoarsely. ”A village at night. We were told it was harboring traitors. But there were children-”

The agents were now starting to remember parts of their missions that they did not want to think about. Why did they never hesitate when doing the orders?...

No, they did at times, a few of them even questioned the lord, but when they did, they simply returned with even more loyalty to the lord.

”What have we done?”