(Brendan POV)
I am utterly, helplessly and completely lost.
I have no idea where Sylphy is and I've wandered so far in that right now I don't even know where the exit was. It's hard to follow the sounds of screams when the screams literally come from everywhere.
The worst thing was that I've seen the state of the prisoners on this level and most, if not all of them, were tortured quite brutally.
At this point, I was dreading what I would see if I were to find Master.
Also, I'm just a little bit worried about Sylphy.
The potion should be wearing off soon and if needed, I have extras to extend the duration but Sylphy does not have any on her.
I went past a few more locked cells, pausing at each one to check if any of them contained Master within them, only moving on when I confirmed they did not.
I continued deeper into the dungeon, trying to follow the screams of pain and despair that made my footsteps grow heavier and heavier with each passing second.
Walking past another row of prison cells, I stopped in front of a wrought iron door where the screams seemed to be the loudest. No doubt that this is their torture room.
I contemplated opening the door but decided against it since it might alert anyone inside.
Without much else to go on, I settled down in a corner to wait, hoping to use the same trick that Sylphy did with the main door to go through it.
All of a sudden, the room went quiet before the sound of metal clanking from within could be heard.
I leaned against the door to try and hear what was going on, just as the sound of a bolt sliding out of its lock emanated from behind the door.
I scurried away from it just in time to avoid the door opening on me, revealing a guard with a stern face behind it.
"Come on then. Throw the bastard back in his cell and we'll go grab some beer," He called out behind him.
He stepped aside to allow two guards to walk past him, dragging along a prisoner between them.
Even from here, I could see he was in bad shape.
Both wrists appear to be broken and his hair was matted with blood, dirt and what I guess to be piss. His clothes were torn and tattered, revealing bruises and lacerations across every visible part of his skin.
I noticed they had even cut off both pinkies of his hand and a toe on each foot.
I wonder what this guy did to incur such punishment on him. I mean... We're only this brutal to the idiots who dared sully Master's name.
"Damned Beiyang scum, useless!" One of them spat on him.
Bei... Yang? That can't be...
The guards dragged him away before I could comprehend his words.
I quickly followed after them, watching them dump the prisoner inside a solitary cell with metal bars on one side and brick walls on the others. The guards spat on him one more time before stomping off, not even caring that he wasn't moving on the ground.
My heart sank to rock bottom when I saw the bracelet on his wrist, recognising it as the one that Elaria had given Master.
I got down on my knees, my hands grasping against the bars, "Mas... Master... Forgive this useless disciple for being so late... If only we were sooner... I will accept any punishment you see fit!"
The only response I got was a painful groan.
I gritted my teeth, reaching into my pouch to pull out one of the vials filled with acid that would help me melt the bars.
Just in case, I also brought out Elaria's device, only to realise that it was no longer blinking.
Even if the device was invisible, the blinking would still cause a visible light to appear which is now missing.
I frowned, the light was indeed blinking when we were outside the fortress and they wouldn't have moved Master out of here without us knowing since there was only a single entrance.
Not to mention the fact that the bracelet this device should be tracking is right there, it doesn't make sense that Elaria's device would be inactive here.
Since the person inside the cell was lying down on his stomach, I couldn't confirm his identity from here either.
I slowly put away the acid, deciding to trust the device for now.
I was in the midst of considering my next move when I heard the jingle of keys from my right, surprising me from my thoughts.
I turned to see a bunch of floating keys hovering in the air, each one being inserted into the keyhole, wiggling for a bit before being pulled out.
"Sylphy?" I whispered.
The keys jumped.
"Sugar cakes?"
"Where have you been?" I seethed.
"Well, back at the entrance, I saw one of the guards had the keys on him so I followed them until I could grab it off him without them noticing."
I admit I did not notice nor thought of that.
I pointed to the prison cell, stopping myself when I realised I was still invisible so she couldn't see me, "I'm guessing you figured out this was Master's cell?"
"They had a map of the place and this was the only one they had labelled to have a 'Beiyang dog' on it."
I brought out the tracking device, once again stopping myself when I remembered she could not see it, "The tracker stopped working though... I'm... I'm not sure if the man there is actually Master."
The key floating in the air twisted and the gate swung open. Right at that moment, Sylphy's figure slowly appeared, the invisibility effect having run out.
"Well, only one way to find out right? Honey buns?" She smiled, gesturing to the cell.
I steeled myself and walked through the doors, Sylphy following right behind me.
Kneeling down, I flipped the man on the ground over, revealing the unmistakable figure of my Master.
"Ugg... Please... No more... It hurts..." Master groaned, his eyes a lifeless shade of grey.
"No... This... Damn them!" I cursed, bringing out the bottle of Master's God Pills to heal Him.
I swear... After we get Master out of this place... Everything here will BURN!
I was just about to pop the pill into Master's mouth when a portal appeared out of thin air, depositing Master in the corner of the cell.
At the same time, the tracker I had left on the ground started blinking again.
"Mmhmm... I told you that island had nice fishes didn't I? That was defin-- Woah, when did you two get here?"
I looked at Master who had just appeared, then at the Master lying on the ground, then back at the standing Master again.
Master pointed to the one on the ground, "Oh, er... That erm... That's a fake... Sorry about that."
Master snapped His fingers and the one I was holding disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Ma... Master... What is going on?" I asked, still in the process of comprehending the situation.
Even Sylphy looked as lost as I was.
Master raised his eyebrows at me, "Aren't you here to get me after the peace treaty is signed? Or did something happen and made things more complicated?"
"Peace treaty?"
"Yeah, so that the two countries can avoid war, right?"
I blinked, "Master... Beiyang and Dong are currently at war for you..."
Master stared at me for a good few seconds.
"What."
