Chapter 22: Bound in the Depths (2)
Underground.
Deeper than the extraction chambers where dispensers were still hard at work getting milked even now, the prison was in a place you couldn't reach with any physical means from the start.
It was pretty much just plopped right under the ground, no different from that.
Holding Lilith's hand as I followed her in, I looked around the place.
I'd figured a prison would have some gloomy vibe, but it wasn't like that at all. If anything, it felt more modern than upstairs—futuristic design, maybe?
Not sure if you could really call it futuristic, though.
Everything was stark white all around, a single straight corridor that gave off more of a research lab vibe than a prison.
"Here we are."
We walked down the passage until Lilith stopped in front of a door and said that.
"Here?"
"Yeah."
I eyed the door at her reply.
It was metal, but there wasn't any lock or anything—just a plain old door. Looked like any decent non-human could bust right out of it.
Take Eileya, one of the non-humans I'd seen with my own eyes—she crumpled an elevator door thicker than this like it was a sheet of paper, barehanded.
Sure, she was a werebeast famous for her super strength, a werewolf known for being especially powerful, so that made sense. But even that satyros bitch probably couldn't match that, and yet she'd have no trouble smashing through a door like this.
And they thought this would hold her?
"This door... it's really okay?"
"Oh, this? Don't worry about it. It's basically just decoration."
The door was decoration?
As I stood there puzzled, Lilith giggled at me.
"Why're you laughing?"
"Eh, you'll see. No need to freak out."
With that, she opened the door.
I flinched, wondering what the satyros bitch inside would do, but no matter how long I waited, she didn't suddenly lunge at Lilith or anything.
"What're you waiting for? Coming in or not?"
"It's really fine?"
"I said it's fine, you little pussy. Shit, you're such a scaredy-cat. Want mommy to hold your hand?"
She smirked, waving her hand at me, and I nodded.
"I'd appreciate it."
"...For real? You got no shame?"
"Shame worth more than my life?"
"Fair point... Hey, I said it's fine."
"Tch, mom. I'm scared. Hold my hand..."
Lilith shot me a rotten look like she couldn't stand watching. Finally, she let out a huge sigh and spoke.
"...Quit fucking around and get in here."
Figured more messing around would get me decked, so I did as she said.
"Take a look. Still scared?"
Peering inside like she told me, I finally got a good view of the damn satyros bitch.
Her arms and legs were locked in restraints glowing blue, wrapped in thick bands that bound her body tight in multiple layers. On top of that, a metal mask covered most of her face.
Her mouth was gagged with a ball gag too, so no matter how super strong she was or if she could use magic, it looked utterly fucking useless.
"Whoa, that's no joke."
"You think we'd leave criminals just lying around in this fucked-up world without half a brain?"
"Yeah, makes sense."
Magic existed.
Superpowers too.
And martial arts, shamanism, all sorts of supernatural abilities coexisted.
In a world like that, you had to go at least that far, right?
Of course, for a plain human like me, slapping on some iron cuffs and tossing me in a cell would do the trick. But the world wasn't just full of humans like me.
Not every human was weak.
Humans ranked at the bottom on average across all races, but every now and then, some ridiculously strong ones popped up.
Humans who'd mastered martial arts, magic, shamanism, superpowers—or even enhanced humans or ones with gifts.
Not me, obviously. I wasn't special like that.
Anyway, the world was packed with all sorts of races beyond just humans.
Werebeasts who could crumple elevator doors barehanded, non-humans wielding magic, shamanism, martial arts—you name it. Seemed crazy that already strong races would bother learning that shit, but hey, that's the world they lived in.
Seeing this bitch trussed up like that, I finally got why this messed-up world kept pretending to function.
"So, what's all that stuff?"
"This?"
Lilith glanced at me and explained.
"Arms and legs are restraints made from dragon scales—fucking tough as hell. The bands binding her body are threads spun by an Arachne, twisted hundreds of layers thick. Weak to fire a bit, but even a few dozen layers would stump an ogre; over ten times that? Ogre or whatever, good fucking luck getting out. The face mask seals away evil eyes or superpowers—artifact. Ball gag blocks incantations, seals the mouth, and keeps her from biting her own tongue to off herself."
I couldn't even respond to Lilith rattling it off so casually.
Couldn't blame me.
Dragon scales?
I thought back to the dragon I'd seen just a day ago, soaring through the sky.
A massive beast hundreds of meters long easy. The kind where you worried the whole sky would go to shit the second it decided to fight something.
Scales from that?
Dragons weren't scary just because of size.
They were monsters wielding unimaginable magic.
Strong enough on raw bulk and power to rank top among all races, and then they piled on magic—hopeless.
Not just brute force and spells, either.
Their bodies were weapons, scales so hard only another dragon could scratch them, dispersing magic itself.
Succubi like Lilith were high-rank compared to puny humans, but dragons were on another level—or hell, were they even a "race"?
Each one a walking nuke. Could you even call them living creatures?
Anyway, hard to buy Lilith's claim they'd made restraints from dragon scales.
The bands around the satyros were Arachne silk too. Arachne weren't as rare as dragons, but still uncommon.
And damn capable.
Post-cataclysm, high-end clothes were basically monopolized by the few Arachne around—their threads tough yet silky smooth.
They could spin different types for different uses, and the super-durable ones? A single strand out-toughed steel rods centimeters thick, with killer durability.
One strand did that—twisted into bands, hundreds of layers wrapped around her.
No matter the super strength, brute-forcing out of those was near impossible.
And that was on top of blocking magic and other powers at the root... Suddenly Lilith calling the door "decoration" clicked.
If something could ignore all that, no door would matter.
But the first thing that hit me after hearing it all?
"...Gonna be fucking expensive."
"Fucking expensive."
Right now it was for locking up criminals, but those materials could've made a fortune repurposed.
She was basically draped in priceless artifacts. I muttered that, and Lilith nodded.
Even Lilith—who'd casually fed me something like an elixir—called it pricey. How much we talking?
She shrugged at me.
"Worth every penny, though. In theory, even that bitch couldn't budge if bound like this. Some of it's stuff she made herself, even."
"That bitch? Not this one?"
"Not her. Someone else like that exists."
You don't need to know. Lilith reached for the satyros but paused.
"Anyway, just in case—stand behind me."
I did, and she nodded at me before peeling off the mask-like thing from the satyros's face.
"H-hng...!"
Guess the mask sealed hearing too—bitch startled at Lilith, freaking out.
Couldn't move an inch, mouth gagged, so all she managed was going pale real-time.
"Shh... Make noise and you're done."
"Hng...!"
She whispered it, and the satyros froze stiff. Lilith giggled at the terrified bitch, not even breathing loud.
"Good girl, listens well. So this is the shit you pulled?"
"H-hng... Hnng...!"
"Can't make out shit. Stay still, I'll un-gag you... But noise? You're fucking dead."
She removed the ball gag, and the satyros started babbling desperately.
"P-please spare me! I'm sorry...! Really sorry...! I didn't know this was under your management...! Just once, please...!"
"Ha, you fucking bitch."
Lilith sneered.
"Didn't know it was mine, so let you off? Then what, slut? If it wasn't mine, what were you gonna do? Huh?"
"Th-that..."
"Don't answer. I can guess."
She stroked the satyros's cheek with her nails. As the bitch trembled, Lilith continued.
"You know? Every month, one of you idiots shows up. Overstepping without knowing your place. Guess what they all say when dragged in?"
Blood trickled from the scratch.
"Spare me. Sorry. My bad. Won't happen again—fucking identical every time. They got a script or what? Huh? And 'spare me'? Who'd think I'm some psycho killer offing people left and right?"
She didn't stop. Nails danced across the satyros's face, carving lines.
One, two—blood welled from each.
"H-ah... Uk..."
Minor scratches for a satyros—gone in a day. But she acted like flesh was being sliced off, terrified.
Fair. Even I thought Lilith looked fucking scary right now.
I'd asked her to shake down the satyros bitch, but not this hard. Didn't know she was such a good actress.
Or... was it acting?
"And apologies go to the kids you fucked over, not me. Right?"
Her nail jabbed the satyros's eyelid.
It dug deep—the bitch's pupil shook wildly. Even regen-heavy non-humans couldn't regrow burst eyeballs easy.
Satyros weren't on that short list.
Her face drained from blue-white to ghost-pale. Lilith pressed.
"Answer me, you cunt. Right?"
"Y-yes, you're right...! P-please..."
Lilith smirked at the shivering bitch.
"Yeah? You think so too? Then apologize properly."
"Y-yes...! Sorry, I—"
"Not to me, bitch. You deaf? There's someone else you owe an apology."
"Hng, uk...!"
Grabbed by the hair, head yanked up—the satyros's eyes locked on me.
"Ah... Uh? E-eh...?"
Finally spotting me, shock on her face. I waved casually.
"Looking real fucking good all trussed up like that, you deadbeat bitch-mom."