“The witch… killed the warden? Could such a thing truly be possible? No, beyond that, how could the guard corps have failed to prevent it?”
“I apologize. It all happened so suddenly…”
Kyle, who had believed all his worries would vanish after Elena’s departure, was utterly aghast at the news that had just reached him.
After Elena’s capture, since she hadn’t resisted at all, they had thought it impossible for her to project her power beyond her own body, even if she couldn’t be killed.
However, that proved not to be the case. His profound shock was entirely warranted.
It meant that if Elena had truly desired it, she could have shattered her bonds, massacred the guard corps, and made a clean escape.
‘But why, exactly?’
Yet Elena had only killed Krasen, who had harassed her, and harmed no other individual.
She hadn’t fled, nor had she broken her restraints.
She had simply followed Vice Warden Lunara meekly into Tartara, the very prison meant to contain her.
“W-what should we do?”
“If she remains cooperative with Vice Warden Lunara… then simply promote the vice warden to warden and transfer all duties to her.”
Kyle, his head pounded with a dull ache, ultimately decided to let the matter lie.
He no longer wished to dwell on Elena.
If she intended to remain quietly imprisoned, despite the unfathomable depths of her intentions, there was no reason to provoke her further.
He merely felt pity for the young Vice Warden Lunara, who had inadvertently been burdened with such a daunting responsibility thrust upon her.
****
“My, what an elaborate setup you’ve crafted here.”
“…Naturally. It is, after all, a place designed to contain a being of such extraordinary peril.”
Indeed, Kyle’s prediction proved accurate.
Lunara, suddenly saddled with all responsibilities, was guiding Elena, her body brimming with palpable tension.
As Elena marveled at the vast, awe-inspiring prison, ingeniously crafted from a repurposed ancient labyrinth, Lunara, who had even participated in its design, found herself inadvertently launched into an explanation of Tartara.
“There’s the entrance zone, strictly guarded by the Special Management Bureau, dedicated to overseeing Abyssal-tier prisoners. Below that lie ninety-nine floors of administrative sections, and at the very bottom, the confinement zone.”
In ancient times, the labyrinth, said to have annihilated entire kingdoms by its mere presence, still boasted an imposing, undeniable presence.
The Revolutionary Army had poured the unreserved advancements of modern technology and magic into this ancient legacy to create the prison.
All of this, constructed for the singular purpose of restraining one person.
‘Just what *is* this woman…!’
Yet Lunara was aghast, watching Elena gaze around like a student on a field trip, even after hearing of the prison’s daunting majesty, which should have been overwhelming to merely listen to.
She found it impossible to relax, having just witnessed her superior, Krasen, brutally murdered.
If Elena were to grow enraged by the prison’s internal systems, primarily designed by the insidiously cunning Krasen, then Lunara herself would be the one to face the full force of her wrath.
“What are these?”
“Th-these are…”
Nevertheless, there was no way to simply overhaul and reconstruct the entire facility.
Having arrived on the 45th underground floor via a makeshift magical elevator, powered by floatstone, Lunara hesitantly began to speak, carefully gauging Elena’s reaction.
“These are all new restraints, crafted with the forefront of modern design. From this moment on, you will permanently wear these bonds.”
Lunara ultimately clenched her eyes shut and proceeded with the prepared procedure.
The first step was to secure Elena with a more formidable set of bindings.
‘Indeed, they are crafted to be stronger than the conventional mana restraints.’
Elena regarded the items laid before her with a gaze filled with curious interest.
Traditional mana restraints were devices that used small, localized devices such as manacles or neck collars to block the flow of mana, preventing the bound individual from manipulating it.
However, the restraints now before her possessed a significantly expanded surface area. Consequently, the power hindering mana usage was also amplified.
The problem, however, lay in their form.
The maximally extended restraints took the shape of a leotard bodysuit, molding themselves snugly to the upper torso.
It was obvious that wearing it would leave the lower body starkly revealed.
Although the world had changed considerably, such an item was hardly suitable for someone who was once an empress, let alone a mere street courtesan.
“It’s n-not impossible to alter the form…”
“It’s fine. Go ahead and put it on me.”
Lunara flustered, her own words pricking her conscience, but Elena merely let out a dismissive snort and accepted the binding suit with an air of utter nonchalance.
‘In the original story, Karen Ballantyne, Ren Knaiz’s companion and a heroine, had developed a new spell formula that efficiently quelled the might of dark magic. Without that power, how effective would current technology be?’
Elena was currently singularly preoccupied with putting an intriguing hypothesis to the test.
“How curious. The mana-suppression circuitry has been refined. Can you, perhaps, control this at will?”
Lunara, assisted by the female guards, personally dressed Elena in the garment.
Once worn, it seamlessly integrated, making it utterly impossible to shed without external intervention, yet Elena paid no heed to this, merely savoring the strange currents of mana coursing through her form.
“Yes. We can control your power as we intend.”
“Why? For an eternal seal, such a perilous mechanism would be superfluous. What if, through someone’s mistake, I regain my power and escape this place?”
“That’s…”
Lunara could not answer Elena’s question. It was purely a technology implemented solely at the behest of her superiors.
“Never mind. What else is there?”
“This is an additional binding suit.”
Elena, having confirmed that all their preparations ultimately couldn’t suppress her mana without the unique sealing incantation devised by the original story’s heroine, gave a faint, knowing chuckle and pointed to another device lying nearby.
Unlike the jet-black suit, this item was a pristine white binding suit, its inner lining intricately etched with countless sealing spells.
The guards placed Elena’s arms into the suit and tightened the belts, sealing her securely.
Without consciously drawing upon her power, she would be utterly unable to stir.
Now rendered powerless to act independently, Elena smiled faintly, her gaze falling upon the mask that would bind her neck and half her face.
“From this moment, for twenty-four hours a day, you will obey our every command.”
Lunara declared with a grave, determined expression, looking at Elena, whose mouth was now sealed by the mask.
Outwardly, Elena appeared to be nothing more than a fragile woman, utterly powerless, incapable of uttering even a single word.
[That’s wonderful. If I don’t have to think about anything… and everything will be taken care of for me.]
“…!”
However, Elena’s voice echoed distinctly within Lunara’s consciousness.
As a startled Lunara stumbled backward, her eyes widening in profound astonishment, Elena’s own eyes creased into a wide, mirthful arc.
“Abyss-class prisoner, confirmed confined on the 100th underground floor, the lowest level.”
The 100th underground floor was unique. Once home to the labyrinth’s boss, it was a gargantuan hollow, spanning the equivalent of several floors, a place where a pervasive, somber mana still clung to the deepest bedrock, thousands of years later.
The Special Management Bureau restrained Elena on an altar at its desolate heart.
They forced her to her knees, then used thick chains and immobilizing magic to secure her in place, unable to twitch a single finger.
There would be no release barring an exceptional circumstance.
Even her meals and sleep would be controlled and managed by them in that very state.
It was akin to being preserved alive, like a morbid trophy, yet no one felt pity or compassion.
They merely shuddered with a chilling apprehension, fearing that even this might ultimately prove inadequate.
“Vice Warden… no, Warden. Is this truly enough?”
One of her subordinates asked Lunara, who was gazing at Elena, who remained utterly immobile in her confinement, in a somber tone.
“No matter how much I think about it, I cannot escape the unsettling conviction that she is simply permitting herself to be held captive.”
“Don’t think that way. Even if it were true… our course of action has been determined.”
Lunara, too, could not answer her subordinate’s question.
For all of this was the outcome Elena herself had desired, and the reason *why* she would desire such a thing remained a complete enigma.
‘It’s quite entertaining, really. To act exactly as I please, without a single thought for the consequences.’
Beside Lunara and the management bureau staff, Elena, her spirit having effortlessly slipped from her physical form, stood listening to their entire conversation.
Naturally, the others were completely unaware of Elena’s presence, freely moving about as an ethereal presence.
‘And it’s comfortable, too. Compared to constantly tormenting myself with worries about the future, always thinking and rethinking to eliminate any unforeseen variables that could alter the course of events.’
Elena looked down at her bound body.
Despite being constrained to an almost stifling degree, she felt far freer now than she had when playing the role of empress and shadowy manipulator within the imperial palace.
For her, at this moment, willingly entering and being confined in prison was a more comfortable and satisfying choice than strenuously navigating the relentless, inescapable currents of destiny.
For no matter how the world outside progressed, this sanctuary would remain untouched and unchanged.
“Perhaps I’ll just have a good, long nap first.”
Returning to her body, Elena began to drift into a profoundly peaceful slumber, her mind utterly unburdened.
With the weight lifted from her spirit, she could truly sleep without a single worry.
More comfortably and deeply than she ever had alone in the soft, vast bed of the imperial palace.
After all, a body that transcended human limits felt no discomfort. Moreover, if anything happened, they would surely wake her.
Such was the paramount significance of inner peace.
“Wake the prisoner.”
Thus, it was two days after her incarceration that the management bureau staff woke Elena from her peaceful repose.
“What’s going on?”
“After your meal, you will proceed to the 88th floor. Your first task of forced labor shall begin there.”
With her mask removed, Lunara, her visage strained with tension, approached Elena alongside her staff, finding Elena still shaking off the remnants of sleep, a yawn escaping her lips.
“Ugh, get that away from me. I’m not eating this!”
The meal, her first in two days, was presented, but Elena recoiled in disgust at the sight of the gruel served in a bowl attached to a long pole, vehemently refusing it.
It was a low-quality meal, similar to what common prisoners received.
The problem wasn’t even the expectation that she would lap it up like a dog, using only her mouth from the bowl.
The menu itself was utterly displeasing.
Since gourmet food had been her sole means of stress relief since her transmigration, her palate was now even more discerning than that of the original Elena.
“If you refuse to eat, we will forcibly…”
“What is this ‘forced labor’? I don’t recall hearing about such a thing.”
“The newly formed Republic Council has assigned you to lifelong penal servitude, so you may atone for the Empire’s atrocities.”
Lunara could only sigh and accommodate Elena’s conversational style, which simply ignored anything she didn’t wish to hear.
There was no other choice.
They had all witnessed Elena summarily execute Krasen.
Lunara sternly warned her subordinates never to provoke Elena.
“Hmm, so they did manage to establish that republic after all?”
Elena’s lips curved into a faint smile at this unexpected news from the outside world.
Indeed, just the day before, Equitas, with Kyle as its leader, had changed the nation’s name to Lydia and inaugurated the republic.
What should have appeared only at the story’s conclusion, after the fully awakened original protagonist had steadily progressed through stages to defeat the fully awakened final boss, Elena, had now manifested prematurely.
Elena offered a deep smile, watching them advance toward an unknown destiny, one even she, the transmigator, could not foresee.
“So, what do you want from me? Forced labor? Do you expect me to carry bricks or something?”
Elena adopted a ‘let’s hear it’ attitude.
If the labor involved something she considered too mundane and unappealing—like carrying bricks or digging—she fully intended to refuse.
Who knew how many might die in the process?
Fortunately, however, the labor Lunara described succeeded in piquing Elena’s interest.
“The demonic power residing within your body. That corrupt mana, accumulated through the exploitation of the imperial citizens, will be forcibly extracted. The refined, highly concentrated mana will then be used to pay for your sins.”
“Oh?”
It was tantamount to a declaration of challenge.
A laughable proclamation that they would attempt to harness a power that the original protagonist and his companions could only attain after overcoming immense trials and tribulations, all through their own capabilities.
“Go on. If you can.”
Intrigued, Elena unexpectedly offered her body without resistance.
She was strictly adhering to her principle of acting ‘as she pleased,’ without a single thought for the consequences.
