Sir! Don't close the net!

"I know."

"You didn't save them either."

Li Yili, who was sitting in a chair and swaying her body from side to side with her hands on the edge of the chair, paused.

"No?"

Chris Dorf paused, turning his head to look. Huge, twisted cracks spread across the prison building, like an alien hand slamming down on it.

In fact, a huge hand did slap down on it last night.

Chris Dorf sighed deeply. He had always thought that he could sleep soundly in a place like Teresa's Prison, no matter what happened, but last night he suffered from insomnia for the first time in a long time. He couldn't forget the image of those absurd and despicable knights waving their weapons and charging out.

Those knights, who were they probably trying to protect?

Chris Dorf had this idea, but the situation he presented was completely unrelated to protection.

The despicable knight formed a giant hand and slammed it heavily onto the prison building, leaving behind that absurd handprint, and within that handprint... there was no living thing left.

It was because of this terrible slap that Teresa Prison had a peaceful night, and no prisoners left their cells even at dawn.

“From now on… aside from truly insane people, no one will attempt to [summon] you again,” Chrisdorf shook his head, “of course, the premise is still…”

Before Chris Dorf finished speaking, dozens of prison guards appeared nearby, forming a circle around Li Yili. These guards were no longer as composed as usual. Although they were holding batons, they looked tense as if they were about to fight a ferocious beast with their bare hands. The square-faced prison guard who had beaten Li Yili earlier was also in the group. He was even more nervous than the other guards.

This was the first time Chris Dorf had met him.

Even with such a high-ranking prison guard as a captain deployed, Chris Dougher felt that too few people were sent when he thought about the scene last night.

"You can also be [summoned]."

Chris Dougher raised his hands above his head and slowly withdrew from the encirclement.

"Everyone, don't be so tense—"

Li Yili raised her hands above her head, looked around, and finally settled them on the square-faced prison guard who had previously brutally beaten her, revealing a bright smile that was no different from before.

This time, the guard with the stern face didn't dare to rush up and punch her like before, but under the urging of the other guards, he gritted his teeth, left the line, and stood in front of Li Yili.

"The warden wants to see you."

"Ha—this is really interesting," Li Yili lowered her hands, "Aren't you going to lock them for me?"

“The warden said…it’s not necessary,” the stern-faced jailer said, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

After last night, Li Yili, or rather the King in Yellow, has become an existence they cannot imagine or understand. The means of restriction they possess may not be effective, so it would be better to make their stance clear and let this dangerous King in Yellow do something that is beyond their comprehension.

"Thank you so much. Which way should I go?"

Li Yili's communicative and even considerate responses put immense pressure on the surrounding prison guards. The yellow figure from last night was deeply imprinted in their minds, and the more normal Li Yili acted, the more unsettling it felt to them.

"Then I'll leave the guiding to you, Vida."

“I’m going on patrol, Vida.”

"Please, Vader!"

The other jailers waved to the square-faced jailer and then quickly withdrew, leaving only the square-faced jailer named Vida standing there bewildered in the wind.

Those bastards...

Vida took a deep breath, stiffly raised his hand, and led Li Yili through Teresa's Path like a puppet, until they arrived at a magnificent tower that stood independently in front of the ring-shaped prison building.

Although he really wanted to tell Li Yili that the warden was inside, Vida knew that he was all alone now and he couldn't shift the blame on his own.

Despite his resistance, Vida pushed open the tower's doors, turned around, and forced a smile. "Please follow me."

Li Yili shrugged and followed Veda to the top of the tower. Veda raised his hand and knocked on the last door. Without waiting for a reply, he stepped aside to the stairwell and turned his back to Li Yili.

Li Yili raised an eyebrow and just as she raised her hand, the door in front of her opened automatically, letting in some dazzling sunlight. However, Li Yili did not feel uncomfortable at all. She even smiled wryly and her gaze fell on the man with glasses and graying temples sitting in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.

Auguste Liam Norton, the warden of Theresa Prison.

Li Yili turned her head and glanced at the wall. A painting was hanging there, and its title was…

“The Lord is one,” August said, crossing his fingers in front of him and leaning back slightly. “Why am I beating around the bush? Levi Esther Richard, no, King in Yellow, how did you do that?”

"What do you mean?" Li Yili looked up at the floor-to-ceiling window behind Augustus.

If his intuition is correct, the glass in this window is special; it filters out starlight and only lets the sun's rays into the room. If he had known about this kind of glass, he would have built a house made of it.

“All,” August spread his hands patiently, “While I would love for you to tell me everything, I wouldn’t either. Rather than getting a bunch of embellished answers from you, let’s save each other’s time.”

"Wow—you mean?" Li Yili became interested.

"Because of the commotion Mr. Yellow King caused last night, most of the prisoners dared not leave their cells, and the planned project was delayed... That was how it was supposed to be, but two hours ago, my men went down into the mine and made a startling discovery: the shallow temple that had long been hollowed out..."

August leaned forward, his glasses turning a bright white from the sunlight.

"It was repaired, no, it should be said that it was refreshed."

"Although the temple was hollowed out a long time ago, the records of the temple when it was intact are still preserved here. The current state of the temple is very different from what it looked like back then."

"You want me to repair the other empty temples?" Li Yili crossed her arms and a slight smile appeared on her lips.

"Well... I do have something I'd like you to fix, but... not something as perfunctory as a temple—"

August raised his head slightly, and an unusual light flickered in his pale blue pupils behind his glasses.

Chapter Twenty Actually, I've always wanted a dog

Li Yili was somewhat surprised. She walked to the painting on the wall with the name "The Only One" and reached out to tug at it.

“Mr. August, are you sure? I am the former King in Yellow.”

“I am currently making a deal with Levi-Istyl Richard, whom the Galar Horn has planted within the old days,” August said calmly.

"Ha... Now you know I'm an undercover agent planted by Galar Horn?" Li Yili sneered. "You haven't shown any reaction all this time."

August was taken aback and asked in return, "Didn't you, Galar Horn, have your own ideas?"

This time, it was Li Yili's turn to be stunned.

Noticing the change in Li Yili's expression, August's expression turned strange for a moment. "Hasn't Valkyrie contacted you?"

Li Yili took a deep breath, her forehead veins bulging. "Do I look like it?"

Li Yili paused, then raised her hand to her forehead.

"I only just learned that the Valkyrie guarding Theresa Prison is named Valkyrie Ling."

August's expression became even stranger. "This is very strange."

Recalling the way Valkyrie had patted her chest and made her promise, Li Yili raised her eyes, and her resentment and displeasure vanished instantly.

"No, thinking about it carefully, it's not surprising at all..."

"Is that so?" August paused for a moment, then leaned forward slightly, his brows furrowing.

He had always thought that Li Yili was lying low in Teresa Prison under the instruction of Galarhorn, acting as the King in Yellow. During this time, he had been trying to figure out what Galarhorn was up to, but now he was being told that he had been thinking too much.

August didn't know whether he should be distressed or relieved.

"So you... were abandoned by the Galar Horn?" August shook his head with feigned regret. "How pitiful."

Does it matter?

“Of course it’s important. It means I have to reconsider my price,” Auguste said, tapping the table. “Without the greedy middleman, the Galar Horn, I can confidently set my price.”

Li Yili crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow with interest. "What do you want from me? No... what don't you want me to fix?"

Well—

August turned his chair around to face the French windows, his arms outstretched as if to embrace the filtered sunlight.

"It all depends on the Yellow King's abilities."

"ha?".

"Mr. King in Yellow, what do you think of this Theresa Prison?"

August stood up, gave Li Yili a mysterious smile, and then made way for her. Li Yili frowned and stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. The tower, symbolizing the authority of Teresa Prison, naturally stood above the entire prison. Standing in front of this floor-to-ceiling window, one could overlook the entire Teresa Prison.

“A garbage dump,” Li Yili glanced at August and deliberately raised her voice, “I’m saying, putting aside the Church of Steam and Steel, what price did you, Bishop Azazel, offer to allow the Horn of Galar and the Black Gate and the Celestials to conduct your own experiments in this public prison?”

August's eye twitched, but he immediately put on a calm smile. "As expected of the King in Yellow~ But I'm curious, how did you find out?"

"To be able to lie low in Instas for over twenty years, making masks and potions for over twenty years..." Li Yili laughed coldly, "With that kind of execution and obsession, do you think Bishop Azavet would only conduct his experiments in Instas?"

Even now, he can't forget the reaction of Bishop Servi, the bishop of Azawi, when he saw those faceless men.

The Faceless Man is exactly what Bishop Azavet wanted.

But something like the Faceless Man can't possibly be allowed into society. The best way to cover it up is either to silence him or throw him into Teresa Prison.

“Although it may sound like nonsense, Mr. King in Yellow, this is not an experiment, but a redemption,” August pointed to Theresa’s prison below the French windows, “The path to redemption is right here.”

Li Yili crossed her arms and didn't say a word.

August shook his head, thinking that Li Yili did not agree with this statement, but he did not feel regret. If everyone could understand this statement, they would not need to conduct experiments in secret, nor would they need to prepare this Teresa Prison.

“So, since the path to redemption is right here, what more do you want?” Li Yili raised her finger and poked in the direction of Teresa’s prison. “Aren’t these all people… whom you have redeemed?”

“We saved others, but who will save us?” August sighed deeply, his hands behind his back, his face full of weariness. “They found their unique selves again, but what about us? What will we be like after helping them find their original selves?”

【hypocritical】

Li Yili withdrew her gaze from August.

"So, may I assume you're seeking salvation from the King in Yellow?"

August smirked and turned to look at Li Yili. Just as he was about to speak, a bolt of lightning struck without warning. The pale light shone through the special glass and landed on Li Yili. In just an instant, a slender yellow figure appeared in August's azure eyes.

Thick, dark clouds obscured the starry sky, and the entire office gradually darkened. Torrential rain fell like giant hands, pounding wildly against the glass. Blinding flashes of lightning struck, and the shadows of Li Yili and August cast on the wall swelled and shrank.

“I only seek salvation from the Lord,” Auguste said with a smile, turning to face the French windows that were shaking violently in the pounding rain. “And… can salvation truly be found from the King in Yellow?”

As he spoke, August raised his hand and pointed to the distorted palm print on the building, which became even more glaring under the lightning.

Who knows?

Looking at the blurry figure reflected in the floor-to-ceiling window, Li Yili grinned.

August smiled silently.

“Although the path to redemption lies in this Teresa Prison, some very important parts are still missing, and I hope you can help fill in those gaps.”

"What can I get?" Li Yili narrowed her eyes slightly.