Debuff Master

Chapter 683

The horned demon guarding Block F4, Mamon, snickered while walking merrily toward the cell, thinking that the new inmate was already dead. Willie Harrington was a vicious criminal who had strangled all of his cellmates to death, which was one of the reasons the guards loved him.

It was against the rules for a guard to kill an inmate, so they could not help but be grateful to Willie whenever he killed another inmate for them. All the guards had to do was wait until Willie had killed someone, and they would leisurely stroll over and harvest the deceased’s soul.

“Hum~ Hum~ I was slowly starting to get worried our harvest of souls was dwindling these days,” Mamon muttered while humming a tune at the thought of gaining a soul completely for free.

But then...

“Huh?”

Mamon could not believe his eyes and was baffled by the sight in front of him.

The seemingly clueless newbie was on the bed snoring with his figure flickering into nothingness. On the other hand, Willie Harrington was lying motionless on the ground with blood covering his lower body.

But that was not all...

Fwoosh! Fwoosh!

A small blue flame was floating a few centimeters away from Willie’s body.

“W-Willie’s soul?!” Mamon gasped in horror, realizing that the small blue flame was none other than Willie Harrington’s soul.

Based on Mamon’s expectations, Willie was supposed to be the one snoring on the bed, and the newbie was supposed to be the one covered in blood on the floor, but...

“No way...” Mamon muttered in utter disbelief and looked at the newbie snoring on the bed.

He did not expect that the young brat would be able to beat Willie, who was a large man weighing more than one hundred fifty kilograms, to death. Moreover, he was leisurely snoring on the bed as if nothing had happened.

“Did that newbie really...?” Mamon muttered.

It was then.

“It seems you have crossed the line you should not have,” Ninetail said, suddenly appearing behind Mamon. Then, she added, “Were you in a rush to harvest souls that you put my inmate in the same cell as that criminal?”

“A-Ahem!”

“What will you do now? Looks like you’ve lost a valuable prisoner. He must’ve been quite the hunting dog for collecting souls. And judging by the state he’s in... he probably was more like a dog in heat rather than a hunting dog,” Ninetail sneered while staring down in contempt at Willie’s pitiful bloody remains.

“W-Who the hell is that kid? How did he–”

“He must look like a soft fluffy kid to you on the surface. You know? Just a slick little con artist, nothing more than that.”

“I thought he was just a con artist...?”

“Will a mere con artist be sentenced to imprisonment here?”

“That is...”

“That guy is a vicious one. He might specialize in scamming people, but his combat capabilities are quite impressive. Ah, I must have forgotten to mention that he worked as a mercenary, too.”

“So he must be stronger than he looks.”

“He is strong. It’s a relief he can’t use mana. Not only is he strong but he’s so cunning that he stabs his comrades in the back without an ounce of hesitation.”

“I-I see. I made a mistake... I didn’t realize he was that strong,” Mamon said, wiping away sweat from his forehead. Then, he clicked his tongue and asked, “Tsk... By the way, about Willie’s soul...?”

“It’s only right that you have it. After all, this is your block,” Ninetail replied nonchalantly with a shrug, pretending to offer Willie’s soul to Mamon without any hesitation.

After all, Ninetail couldn\'t even see Willie’s soul to begin with, as she was a human. Plus, it was definitely more advantageous for her to foster a good relationship with Mamon.

“Hmm? You’re willing to hand his soul over to me just like that even though I tried to steal your prisoner’s soul?”

“I am a rookie while you are a senior. Showing a little respect doesn’t hurt, right? And also...” Ninetail said before subtly running her fingers down Mamo’s chest. Then, she flashed him a seductive smile and said, “I don’t really mind a little workplace romance.”

“W-What?!” Mamon exclaimed, his face turning bright red.

He was completely flustered and caught off guard by Ninetail’s seduction. This was only normal, as Mamon had spent the past few decades only focusing on growing stronger by obsessively harvesting souls in the Fortress of Hell.

Ninetail was the first opposite sex that had openly seduced him in years, so it was only natural that his heart was thumping wildly in response.

On top of that, Ninetail was an absolute beauty that possessed a sensual charm that was truly captivating, so her seduction was super effective to him.

“Go ahead and collect that filthy criminal’s soul, and while you’re at it, could you go get me something to drink? I’m a bit parched,” Ninetail said nonchalantly, looking at her nails.

“Ah! Y-Yes! Of course!” Mamon exclaimed in response, his face still flushed.

He hurriedly harvested Willie’s soul and rushed off to get her a drink.

“He’s kinda cute,” Ninetail said with a smirk. Then, she unlocked the cell as soon as Mamon disappeared and casually stepped on Willie’s corpse to shake the sleeping Siegfried awake.

***

Yaaaawn!

Siegfried stretched his arms and woke up.

“Oh? You’re back already?” Siegfried asked.

“It must be nice sleeping while I have been busy running around gathering intel,” she grumbled in response before sitting down on the edge of the bed. Then, she grimaced and complained, “These shoes are killing my feet after walking around in them for so long.”

“Haha! Who told you to wear such an over-the-top disguise?” Siegfried asked, cheekily teasing her with a smirk. Then, he added, “So, did you manage to find anything?”

“Nothing that we could use so far,” she replied, shaking her head. Then, she said, “But I mapped out an escape route while I was going around. The layout has changed a bit, so it is not a bad idea to familiarize ourselves with the terrain ahead of time.”

“That makes sense,” Siegfried replied with a nod.

“And what about you, Your Majesty? Did you just beat this piece of trash to death and then take a nice little nap?”

“What do you take me for?” Siegfried grumbled and glared at her with his nostrils flared up. Then, he proudly said, “I already found where Quandt is being held.”

“W-What?! How?!” Ninetail asked, jumping up from surprise.

“I’m not telling you~ Haha!”

“W-Wait, what do you mean by that?”

“It’s a trade secret, so I’m not spilling it.”

“...?”

“Anyway, I can see everything in the Fortress of Hell from right here.”

“No way, that must be a lie.”

“It’s true.”

“Really?”

“Yup!”

“That does not make any sense.”

“It does.”

With that, Siegfried began to explain the capabilities of Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance to her.

“That artifact sounds like a perfect fit for my skill sets,” Ninetail said, with her eyes sparkling.

“It kind of does, to be honest,” Siegfried replied with a shrug.

“May you please grant that to me, Your Royal Majesty?”

“Nope, not happening.”

“Hmph!”

“Anyway, let’s focus on planning out how we’re going to rescue Quandt now that we know his location.”

“Alright,” Ninetail replied with a nod. Then, she said, “But even if we know his location, getting him out and escaping with him will not be easy.”

“I know that, too.”

“The twentieth basement level... Honestly, I was not even aware that such a place existed in the first place.”

“Really?”

“Yes, if it is that deep, then they should have started digging it decades ago.”

“True, that makes sense.”

“I have never heard of anyone working or of any cell blocks down there.”

“Hmm... What does that mean then?”

“I will have to investigate this first.”

“Yeah, you definitely have to look into it. According to the map, the security over there is quite intense. It’s clear he’s not being held in an ordinary place.”

“I agree.”

“You should look into it for now. You can move much freely than I can, so—”

Siegfried was about to finish his sentence when he was interrupted by the sound of footsteps echoing from afar.

“Mamon is coming,” Ninetail said.

“I’ll pretend to be asleep,” Siegfried replied, quickly laying back down on the bed and pretending to be asleep.

***

‘I have no idea where he’s being kept, but it seems there were at least five thousand other prisoners down there...’

Siegfried continued to observe the basement level where Quandt was being held captive while pretending to be asleep.

The twentieth basement floor of the Fortress of Hell had only one way in or out. Judging by what was shown on the map, it looked like the only way to get there was by traveling through an elevator.

‘It’s impossible to sneak in with just one path. I’ll have to use that elevator somehow if I want to reach Quandt-nim...’ Siegfried pondered his next move while Ninetail was busy keeping Mamon wrapped around her finger.

“You’re very kind.”

“This is nothing. Bringing you a drink isn’t exactly hard.”

“Really? I’m just not used to considerate men after being around so many bad ones.”

“D-Do you think I’m considerate?”

“Of course. How many supervisors would be this warm and caring toward a junior who has just started working?”

“Haha! A-Ahem!”

Mamon’s heart was getting rattled by Ninetail’s signature charm, lies, and playful yet seductive gestures.

Seduction was truly her greatest weapon.

Perhaps this was the privilege a woman blessed with natural beauty could enjoy?

“Could you tell me more about this place? It’s hard for me to get used to it since this is my first time,”

Ninetail said with a seductive wink, emphasizing on the last two words.

“O-Of course!”

“Shall we talk over a glass of wine?”

“Hmm... It’s still work hours and—”

“But I’m in the mood to get a little tipsy today.”

“Oh my! Look at the time! Seems like work is over!”

“Shall we go then?”

“Right this way!”

And just like that, Ninetail and Mamon disappeared together...

“Man, he’s done for,” Siegfried muttered after witnessing Mamon getting caught in Ninetail’s seductive trap. Then, he turned his eyes back to the minimap of the Fortress of Hell produced by Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance and thought, ‘Hmm... Is it just me or is this going to take more than a few days?’

In the end, he decided to lay down on his bed with those thoughts lingering in his mind. He figured that he might as well catch up on all the sleep he had missed out on these few days, as he would have to live as a prisoner in the Fortress of Hell for the time being.

On that same evening, the prisoners in Block F4 left their cells to welcome the newcomer—or, more accurately, to haze the newcomer in a cruel and unusual way.

This was a common occurrence.

In the world of criminals, it was routine for senior inmates to gang up on and torment the ones newly incarcerated, and this was either by beating them to a pulp or doing something far worse.

Ironically, the mindset of criminals, whether it was in the real world or in a demon-run prison in a game, seemed to be quite the same. What about the demon guards? They made sure to unlock the doors and allow the prisoners to roam freely.

Why?

It was all because they had nothing to lose; they could harvest the souls of those who died during the welcoming of the newbie, after all. It made no difference to them whether the newbie or one of the seasoned inmates died, as they would get to harvest their souls, anyway.

“We need to teach him a thorough lesson from the start.”

“But be careful. He’s not just any ordinary guy. Remember, he killed Willie, so we have to show no mercy from the get-go.”

“That bastard will think he can run wild here and play king just because he killed Willie.”

“That’s why we have to teach him a lesson.”

The inmates made their way toward Siegfried’s cell, but then—

“Where do you think you’re going?”

The inmates froze and slowly turned to the sound of the voice coming from behind them.

Yaaawn!

The newbie they were planning to lynch, Siegfried, was casually leaning against a wall, letting out a loud exaggerated yawn as if openly showing that he was bored.

“The inmates will come after you tonight, Your Majesty. They will most likely try to lynch you. Some might, well, aim for your backdoor...”

“Ugh!”

“That is how they usually welcome someone new. I will convince Mamon to unlock your cell in advance, so be prepared.”

Thanks to Ninetail’s advice, Siegfried already knew what the inmates were planning against him.

“Oh, by the way, Your Majesty should try and become this block’s boss.”

“Block’s boss?”

“The toughest prisoner in each block is called the Block Boss. There are plenty of perks to the role. In a place like this where the law of the jungle prevails, whoever is the strongest will be followed and trusted by the rest. Life will get much easier if one is powerful in their eyes.”

Siegfried recalled Ninetail’s advice on how to not only survive but thrive in the Fortress of Hell.

Crack! Crack!

Siegfried clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles popped on their own.

And just like that, Siegfried began beating up the inmates who had dared to come at him—and his backdoor.