Sir! Don't close the net!

One of the problems is the lack of a body search.

They didn't even take his shiny bag, let alone search him.

If this can be explained by the fact that he has Valkyrie's backing, so minor violations like the fanny pack can be ignored, then why wasn't the section on Theresa Prison rules explained?

When to go to bed, when to eat, and when to go to labor camp.

He didn't even get to see the warden.

That being said...

Li Yili leaned against the wall to get up and looked towards the prison door, her lips twitching slightly.

The cell door, constructed of crisscrossing metal pipes, had no lock, as one would expect. And it seemed that the person who had slammed the door down earlier had done so with too much force that the door bounced back about five or six centimeters after hitting the frame.

After hesitating for a moment, Li Yili got up and walked to the cell door, sticking her finger out and poking at the door.

A gap of five or six centimeters, silently

It has expanded to thirty centimeters.

Li Yili raised an eyebrow and tentatively extended her right hand. Before her fingertips could even touch the crooked space of the cell door, a loud bang came from next door—the sound of the cell door colliding with the frame.

Li Yili's pupils contracted, and she swiftly withdrew her finger, pulling the cell door shut to ensure it was completely flush with the frame.

The next second, a near-humanoid creature, resembling many pink sponges stacked together, appeared in front of Li Yili. Its eye-like organs swept across the cell door, and it moved towards the next cell as if it hadn't seen anything.

A bead of cold sweat trickled down Li Yili's forehead.

The cage of hell was unlocked.

Chapter Three: The Iron Maiden Wandering at Dusk

Li Yili stared solemnly at the unlocked cell door in front of her.

There are many reasons why a prison cell door might not be locked.

If it's a private prison and a prisoner's cell door is unlocked and they can come and go freely, it means that the person is a big shot and is in jail just to avoid trouble.

But Teresa Prison is a public prison known as hell, and no important person would come to such a place to avoid trouble.

Entrapment by law enforcement.

It is common knowledge that if a prisoner attempts to escape, even if he has only been imprisoned for a month or two for petty theft, the prison guards can shoot him dead.

And referring to the newspaper descriptions of the prisoners in Theresa's Prison...

Anyone with a conscience wouldn't want the other person to leave this prison alive. In fact, based on their appearance, his first reaction was that such things absolutely couldn't be allowed to go outside. So, in order to have a reason to kill these "rare beasts," he deliberately didn't lock the cell door, waiting for these prisoners to push open the cell door and walk out, just like that sponge man from before.

But the problem is...

Li Yili turned to look at the aisle.

Like a humanoid sponge covered in white film, his audacious neighbor had already reached the sixth cell and was about to go down this floor, but there was no situation where the sponge man self-destructed on the spot, or someone suddenly jumped out and killed the sponge man.

Could this prison be a free prison where prisoners can come and go as they please?

Li Yili was somewhat eager to try, but the thought of a sponge-like figure moving around outside, and the fact that the cell doors of the various rare beast prisoners he had seen along the way were unlocked and they could freely enter and exit, made his idea of ​​going out for a stroll vanish.

Judging from the pause SpongeMan made in front of him just now, it seems that he will not voluntarily enter other people's cells, which means that he will not encounter danger as long as he stays in his own cell.

Li Yili reached out and gripped the iron bars that formed the cell door in front of him, staring at the world outside the cell.

For some reason, he felt extremely unhappy.

"never mind……"

Li Yili loosened her grip, wobbled back to her bed, put her hands behind her head, crossed her legs, stared at the dark ceiling, and let out a long sigh.

"As long as I stay in the cell, I won't be in danger... Ha—for a moment, I actually had such a shameful thought. It seems my resolve isn't strong enough—"

As long as you stay in the cell, you're safe...

who said it?

It's just self-deception stemming from a desire to avoid confronting the cowardice of those "rare beasts".

The cell door wasn't locked; anyone could open it. The door was openwork, so people could see inside and outside. Those rare beasts didn't come in... they just stood at the door watching him. Did they expect him to cover his head, cry, and shout that he was already asleep?

Damn it, just thinking about it makes me want to slap myself.

Li Yili suddenly sat up, ripped the yellow raincoat off the bed and put it on, standing in the center of the cell staring intently at the world outside the cell door.

Now he needs to wait and observe.

Time passed slowly, and Li Yili stood like a stone statue in the center of the cell, the faint light filtering through the window carrying the slightly tattered hem of her yellow raincoat fluttering gently.

SpongeMan moved past Li Yili's cell door once again, its head turning towards Li Yili's cell. A yellow figure with indistinct features was reflected in what appeared to be an eye-like crystalline organ. The light deflected, and the dazzling starlight spread through the narrow window above the cage. The writhing shadow and the slender figure together resembled a large, dark hand reaching out towards the world outside the cage.

The sponge-like body covered in a white membrane suddenly contracted, and in the blink of an eye, the soft sponge shrank into muscles as hard as rock. But the next second, pale bone fragments splashed out from the sponge, and the magnificent and powerful body instantly went limp like mud. With a wail, the sponge-man dragged its bleeding body back to its cell.

The blurred face in the shadows trembled slightly, and its white teeth slowly revealed themselves, forming a crescent moon.

------

In the evening, after harvesting all the strawberries, Chris Dorf hurriedly returned to the cabin, closed the wooden door, braced a chair against the doorknob, sat in front of the clock, held the doctrinal in his arms, and stared intently at the swinging clock.

Although the jailer assured him he wouldn't be the target of an attack, he was still uneasy—or rather, anyone would be uneasy knowing such a thing existed.

The clock hands silently stopped at 11:59, and the prison became utterly silent for a moment.

A deep, guttural roar echoed through the entire Instas prison, carried by the wind.

here we go--

Chris

Dov's heart tightened.

It was an ordinary day a few months ago when a strange dog, seemingly made of some kind of viscous liquid, silently emerged from a blind spot in the prison and attacked the prisoners and guards.

For months, no matter how hard the prison guards searched, they couldn't find the passage through which the strange dog infiltrated Teresa's prison, nor could they stop it from appearing. Fortunately, the strange dog's appearances were at fixed times, and it wasn't that powerful; its strength lay in its elusiveness and its constant stream of appearances.

“It’s so quiet…” Chris Dorf couldn’t help but whisper.

Knowing when the strange dog appears and that it is not powerful, the prisoners here treat it as a hunting target, often playing out a game of roles reversal between prey and hunter.

This should be the busiest time of day at Teresa Prison, but today it's eerily quiet. Not even a single patrolling guard has appeared, as if someone had spoken to the prisoners and guards beforehand, telling them not to make a sound tonight.

Just as Chris Dorf hesitated, he heard a strange sound carried on the wind.

It sounded like gears meshing, but not crisp at all; instead, it had a sticky feel to it. As time went on, he also heard the sound of grass being crushed by a hard object.

Something is wandering around his cabin!

Chris Dorf glanced uneasily at the stopped clock, hesitated for a long time, then got up and carefully moved to the window to look out. The moment he saw it, Chris Dorf felt as if an invisible hand was gripping his heart.

Beneath the dazzling yet dim starlight, strange dogs flowing with viscous liquid moved slowly. Between them stood a colossal iron maiden, nearly five meters tall, with what appeared to be a treadle-like component at the bottom. Black, viscous liquid continuously seeped from the face of what looked like a screaming woman atop the iron maiden.

What's this?

Chris Dorf swallowed hard. Under the warning of his instincts, he abandoned the dangerous idea of ​​trying to see what was going on, staggered back to the clock, and began to pray devoutly, holding the doctrine in his hands.

Chapter Four: The Yellow King Who Is Not Dangerous at All

As the only remaining official responsible for carrying visitors across the Teresa Trail, Chris Dorf has many connections.

A prison is a prison because it has stricter and more unforgiving rules than the outside world. But where there are people, there are interests, and interests will drive people to find loopholes in the rules.

After escorting the frail visitors away from Teresa Prison, Chris Dorf, with two sizable waterproof bags strapped to his legs in the rushing river, found himself struggling against the current. These bags were a considerable burden, but Chris Dorf managed to drag them back to the shore, using the various plants growing around the cabin as cover to pull them back inside.

Cigarettes, beer, books—things common outside are strictly prohibited in Teresa Prison. Even the guards must abide by this rule, of course…

Why?

As the beneficiary of the rules, why should we follow them?

Chris Dorf didn't intend to point out such behavior; he wasn't that inflexible, and his life did indeed improve considerably because of his sensible and cooperative behavior.

During the handover, Chris Dorf recalled the Iron Maiden he had seen that night, surrounded by strange dogs, and subconsciously struck up a conversation with the jailer who was smoking.

"By the way, why was it so quiet last night?"

The prison guard, who was blowing smoke rings, was taken aback, then suddenly realized, "Ah~ you didn't know? No wonder, after all, you're the only ordinary person in this Theresa Prison."

The jailer pressed the cigarette butt against the windowsill and crushed it hard.

“We can hear sounds, even though I thought it was just a rumor a few months ago,” the jailer said, crossing his arms, looking up at the starry sky, exhaling a breath of air, and sighing.

"sound?"

“That’s right. I don’t know why we can suddenly hear sounds, but all the nerves in my body are buzzing and telling me that if I don’t listen to that sound, I’m dead. It’s not just my group of guys, it’s the same,” the jailer said, shaking his head toward one of the cells. “That’s why those guys were so quiet last night.”

“Huh…” Chris Dougher scratched his head. “That voice is related to the Iron Maiden?”

The jailer raised an eyebrow and then waved his hand.

“That’s right. The last time I heard about it, those disgusting dogs appeared. This time, an even more frightening one has come. I wonder if something even more outrageous will happen later. Ah… But don’t worry, those strange dogs only target those favored by the gods and those who possess the legacy of the ancient gods. The Iron Maiden’s target is probably the same. But I’m sure she won’t attack ordinary people. Otherwise, Mr. Chrisdorf, you wouldn’t be able to stand here and talk to me properly.”

The jailer chuckled, but Chrisdorf didn't find it funny. Being attacked by an Iron Maiden like that would definitely result in a horrific death, but Chrisdorf still grinned in agreement.

After thinking for a moment, Chris Dorf cautiously asked, "By the way, that King in Yellow..."

"Ah~ you mean that one? Don't worry, don't worry, it's not as terrifying as the rumors say," the jailer waved his hand dismissively. "He's just a puppet used to cover up the deal between the Galar Horn and Bishop Azawi. If he were really that dangerous, he wouldn't be locked in the most remote cell; he'd be in Theresa's prison like that 'Family of the Stars.'"

"The deepest part."

The jailer bent down, took a jug of wine from a waterproof bag, and waved it at Chris Dorf.

"Remember Simon, that coward who always broke his bones? How scary could the prisoners in Simon's area be? But it's surprising that he hasn't screamed for his mother yet. I heard that the Valkyrie has a close relationship with someone, which is really enviable."

After saying this, the jailer hid the wine in his clothes and turned to leave.

After that, several more guards patrolled to the cabin. After a few rounds, the waterproof bags that were full were mostly deflated. Not every guard answered every question as the first one did. Their answers were all similar. Regarding the question about the King in Yellow, each guard's tone and attitude were different. But one thing was certain: the King in Yellow posed no danger whatsoever.

One jailer even said that the King in Yellow was like a breath of wind blowing into a storm; if no one told him, no one would remember that there was such a faint breeze.

Chris Dorf recalled his feelings when he met the King in Yellow, and the sense of harmlessness he felt from that frail body seemed to be real.

The first jailer was right. Being able to be locked in the same area as Simon, the coward who always broke his own bones, was enough to prove the opinion of Theresa Prison itself, given the sheer scale of the place where the King in Yellow was imprisoned.

In the days that followed, nothing major happened at Theresa Prison, and Chris Dorf gradually got used to the presence of the Iron Maiden, who would appear with the monster dog. Although the Iron Maiden looked terrifying, he was quite grateful to her, because her presence made the nights at Theresa Prison very peaceful.

Chris Dorf gradually forgot about the existence of the King in Yellow.

Another week later, a piercing scream brought the title "King in Yellow" back into Chris Dorf's view.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.