"Open the door! I'm Langris from the Golden Dawn. I have some questions for the prisoner!"
At the outermost layer of the Magic Prison, Langris swaggered inside, acting as if he owned the place.
Seeing him, even the Wizard King and the others looked grim.
Because before this, Ethan Hayes had already explained to everyone what would likely happen — and the first point he mentioned was that Langris would definitely show up at the Magic Prison today.
"Could it really be Vangeance?"
"Are you crazy? No way!"
"He's just going to the prison, it doesn't prove anything. Besides, he has the keys to the prison — the Wizard King himself approved that. He's authorized to interrogate Rades. What's strange about that?"
Everyone talked among themselves. Although Ethan's predictions were accurate so far, Langris' actions didn't seem unusual.
If they tried to condemn him just for this, it would be hard for anyone to accept.
Ethan didn't say anything. He just smiled faintly.
Just watch. Everything next would unfold exactly as he predicted.
As the magic barriers opened, Langris put away the keys and carried a tray of food into the prison.
But today felt a little different.
Normally, there would be a lot of guards in the Magic Prison.
But today, two-thirds of them were missing.
"Maybe it's a shift change..." Langris shrugged it off and moved forward without thinking too much.
His mission was simple: personally watch Rades eat the poisoned food. Everything else was irrelevant.
He placed the food by the iron door, but didn't immediately leave.
Instead, he stared at Rades' back.
Turning around, Rades casually picked up the tray, not sparing Langris even a glance.
In his mind, Rades kept thinking about what Ethan had told him.
According to Ethan, Licht would send someone to kill him within the next few days.
But up to today, he hadn't heard any noise outside.
Well, the only odd thing today was the lack of guards — maybe they had all gone up to the first floor to have fun with Catherine.
Rades didn't know whether she was dead or alive.
But even if she was alive, after so many days, she was probably hanging on by a thread.
Sniffing the food, Rades picked up his chopsticks.
Even though this was prison, his meals were pretty luxurious — fish, meat, and even wine at every meal.
His neighbor had complained countless times, saying Rades was always flaunting his food.
Thinking about it, Rades set his chopsticks down.
As long as he made it past today, Ethan would keep his promise and set him free.
Might as well give this meal to his neighbor who had kept him company these past days.
"Hey, Crody, you can have this meal."
Crody, the prisoner in the next cell, was overjoyed and quickly took the food.
He hadn't tasted meat in ages!
But Langris was startled.
He tried to stop it, but Crody had already stuffed a piece of beef into his mouth.
"You fool! That food wasn't meant for you!" Langris shouted, hurriedly opening the cell door.
Rades frowned, feeling something was off.
Since when did prison meals need to be personally eaten under supervision?
Wait... something's wrong.
Frowning deeper, Rades noticed Crody's reaction.
After just a little physical contact, Crody's face turned pale —
And the next second, he collapsed to the ground, foaming at the mouth.
It was obvious — the poison wasn't meant for Crody. It was meant for him!
By sheer accident, he had dodged death.
Just as Ethan had said — Licht wanted him dead and had sent someone to kill him!
"Necromancy Magic — Deathly Orb!"
Without hesitation, Rades opened his grimmoire.
Seeing the magic form, Langris froze.
Where did he get a grimoire!?
A loud crash — the iron bars of the cell shattered.
Caught off guard, Langris was knocked to the ground.
But Rades didn't stop — stepping out of the cell, he sprinted toward the wide-open prison gates.
"Why? WHY! Why do they want to kill me!?"
Running at full speed, Rades screamed aloud.
He couldn't believe it — Licht, who used to value him so highly, actually wanted him dead.
"No... This can't be true. It must be Ethan's trick!
I must hear it from Licht himself!"
It wasn't far — only about a hundred meters.
With no soldiers blocking his way, Rades burst out of the gates and into the streets, finally seeing the sunlight again.
Everyone watching from the high platform, including the Wizard King, was stunned.
Once again — Ethan was right!
"Where's Langris!? Why didn't he stop him!?"
Several squad captains got restless, ready to move in and capture Rades.
But the Wizard King stopped them.
"Did you forget Ethan's words? No matter what we hear, no matter what happens — act like nothing's wrong!"
As he spoke, Rades had already reached the outer layer of the Magic Prison, leaping into the city streets.
Civilians screamed in horror at the sight of a sickly, wild-eyed man suddenly appearing among them.
But hidden troops, already arranged by Ethan, closed in from all sides.
Explosions echoed throughout the royal capital.
There weren't many soldiers seriously chasing Rades.
If Rades had been calmer, he might have noticed that they were only trying to contain, not capture him.
But lost in his panic, he had no time to think.
With Ethan subtly allowing it, Rades alone stirred up chaos in the capital, making it seem like an entire squad was wreaking havoc.
The roars of magic shook the skies.
Meanwhile, inside the Golden Dawn headquarters—
Vangeance, who was under twenty-four-hour surveillance, received the news:
"Captain! Bad news! Rades, the prisoner caught earlier, has escaped!
The Capital Guard is chasing him right now!"
Vangeance's face changed dramatically.
Didn't he arrange for Langris to take care of it?
Did Langris mess up!?
If Rades was caught again, there would be no chance to silence him.
The entire plan would be exposed.
Even if Vangeance's own identity stayed hidden, it would take forever to craft another perfect opportunity.
"Quick! Take me there!
I can't let him escape!"
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