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Monarch of Profound Toxin - Chapter 76
🕑 Added 2024-11-29 16:00:10 +0000 UTCThey woke up at the crack of dawn and headed for the prison to try to get their hands on information about Menka’s final sentence.
Eik’s evolution from Acolyte of Toxin still didn’t seem to have finished “estimating” and he was beginning to think it would never happen. If this was one of those situations where it was stuck at 99% loading until the end of time he would be… pissed.
He had tried to force himself to not think about it but that had only made it take up even more space in his mind. It was cruel. Yes, it was cruel to keep him stuck right on the edge like that. Alertness was necessary for what was to come and he had to focus, and get something to eat.
Luckily a store in one of the parks on the way served them food that they brought with them and ate while walking. It was a dark green, sour puré topped with a sweet glaze which, when mixed together was pretty tasty.
The store advertised it with some rather lofty promises. “Looking to power up? Gihi’hoho’hik serves the breakfast of heroes every single day! Make us a part of your daily routine and see your power rank climb in a few days. S-rankers swear by our uniquely delicious and healthy recipe, passed down from generation to generation.”
“We’re not believing that, are we?” Heath asked as he sipped the drink.
“No way, man.” Eik took a big gulp of his own.
“It’s not bad,” Sonja said. “I wonder what’s in it.”
“Algae? Grass?” Heath suggested, squinting as he held up the glass in front if his eyes.
Michael pulled a face. “Dude…”
Despite the distance, the prison was not particularly difficult to find. The headquarters was rife with landmarks, memorable buildings and areas of unique nature that made it easy to maintain a sense of direction. Even most of the indoor spaces had large windows so they quickly noticed if they passed something unfamiliar.
The prison was situated in its own building. A windowless dome of thick, rough brick made for an intimidating sight, only a single door providing a way in and out. The guards checked them over and inspected their identification cards closely before letting them come inside.
The stale smell of stagnant air hung thickly just as it had when they’d come here a couple of days ago. There didn’t even appear to be a way to air out in the first place, but maybe they had a skill for that too.
What would something like that be called? Breath of Fresh Air, maybe? Airus Outus? Househusband’s Delight, perhaps? The possibilities were endless.
They entered into a large foyer which only seemed to have two paths away. One leading to the bathrooms and the other leading further in to the actual holding area. The latter was only accessible through another security check.
The first time around, Atla had simply flashed her card yet again and brought them through with only a cursory confirmation of their identities but now they were subject to a thorough check which they could not provide sufficient documentation to pass.
“We just want to visit a woman you’re holding here,” Sonja tried. “Menka Tokanami. We’re the victims here. We just want to see her for a little bit. Nothing more, I swear.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t just allow that without anything more than your word. Please leave or I will have you escorted out of my prison.” The woman at the reception wasn’t swayed even slightly by their plea. This probably wasn’t the first time someone had come around to visit an inmate or to argue for the release of a friend or a relative. And it had been someone else last time they were here.
“We’ve been through before. Just two days ago, actually,” Sonja pushed.
“The answer is no. I’m calling the guard.”
“No, no, wait!” Eik hurried to say, glancing over his shoulder as two guards approached from the entrance. “It was… Harfol! Warden Harfol! He’ll remember us! Please, you don’t even have to let us through. If you could just call him here to speak with us. Is he in his office in the east wing again today?”
The receptionist hesitated, giving them a stern gaze through braided bangs complete with beads woven into the hair. She tapped her pen on the edge of the table for a few seconds as she thought. She clicked her tongue and sighed before waving the two guys back to their posts.
She sent an assistant to fetch Warden Harfol from his office while the group waited awkwardly by the front desk, the receptionist going back to her paperwork without another glance in their direction.
“No.”
“Warden Harfol, we just want to talk briefly with Menka Tokanami again, like we did a couple of days ago, you know,” Eik said.
“No.”
“But—”
“Do you have a written permit? You need a written permit.”
“I— Well, no, but you know us, right? You already saw the permit that Atla showed you, so can’t you just allow us to see Menka one more time?”
“No. Get another permit — one that’s valid today — then I’ll let you in to see her. Without a permit, the answer will remain no.”
The sun baked down on them from above as they walked across the courtyard in front of the prison building. “Shit!” Eik hissed and kicked a bush. An older woman shot him a displeased look as she shook her head. “How the hell are we going to get a look at that information now?”
They walked in silence for a half a minute. “We’ll just have to get a permit then,” Heath said.
“How?”
“I’m pretty sure Mikla’s not at work today.”
“He would definitely want to come with us. It would be way riskier with him there.”
Heath just shrugged. “So? It’s not like we have a choice at this point, right? We’re never going to get in there after quadruple refusal like that. We need him, and frankly, as far as I’m concerned, it’s better to bring him than Atla.”
Eik sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose.
They found Mikla in his apartment. He was dressed in a heavy, comfortable robe when he opened the door. When Eik peeked around the fracture specialist the man’s apartment was filled to the brim with potted plants and ceiling lights that imitated natural sunlight.
“Are we allowed to decorate our rooms so radically like that?” he asked, already imagining his dream apartment full of plants and the smell of nature.
“And hello to you too. Yes, I can introduce you to my guy if you’d like.”
“I’ve already got a guy. Wanji down at Leafy Sundries,” Eik said, walking up to sniff a bright blue flower when Mikla invited them inside.
“Right, I remember him. Seemed like a nice guy. So what’s up?”
They explained their wish to get back into the prison while he served them tea. Or, it was a drink of hot water with dried leaves and fruits. More or less the same flavor.
“Didn’t you just go?”
“Yes, but that didn’t end well,” Sonja said. “I didn’t even really get to say anything to her in there. She flipped out so much when she saw Eik again that she barely seemed to even register than anybody else was in the room besides him,” she explained.
“I’m sure Atla will take you again if you ask h—”
“Could you take us today?” Michael asked. “We don’t want to bother her more than we already do. We know she’s in meetings all day today and we’d really rather get it over with today. We need to be able to focus. I mean, Eik almost killed himself yesterday experimenting with the recipe for Potion of Mighty Strength class 1. Isn’t that right, Eik?”
“Oh, uh, yeah. Close call, man. It was scary,” Eik hurried to agree, not expecting to be pulled in like that.
“We just need to be able to focus. Please. We already went, so it should be okay.” Eik was beginning to feel like they might be pushing their case a bit too hard. That’s what would make Mikla suspicious if nothing else.
“You’re working on a Potion of Mighty Strength?” Mikla asked with a frown. “Are you crazy, Eik? Even if it’s the class 1 that’s just way too dangerous for someone at your level! You really could die working on that!”
The two vials of Potion of Mighty Strength suddenly felt extremely exposed, even hidden away under the hem of his shirt. Even though he wasn’t decked out in full gear, his supply belt of medicines, poisons, and poisons, as well as Viper Fang he never left his apartment without. “Right, you’re right. I know you are. I’ve just been feeling a ton of pressure recently. I need to get stronger, and quickly.”
Mikla leaned back in his sofa and regarded them. It’s not like they were asking for something outrageous, right?
“So, will you do it?” Sonja asked. “Mikla, the alliance owes us after this. We know this incident wasn’t your fault personally, but I don’t think this is too much to ask.”
“I’ll see what I can do. Atla should be between meetings in about an hour, so we can catch her then and get her to sign off on a permit for visitation.”
Outside the meeting room they waited for Atla to come out and after hearing their explanation, she agreed to sign the permit. She had to go directly to another meeting and couldn’t stay to talk, but she also didn’t seem suspicious. Well, it made sense that she wouldn’t be.
What was there to be suspicious of? All they wanted to do was go one more time to a place she had already taken them before. Nothing strange about that. They had been traumatized after all and simply wished to be allowed to move on with their lives once and for all by confronting Menka Tokanami one last time.
Now that Mikla was going with them after all, they had no reason to refuse his offer to simply transport them to the fracture hall closest to the prison.
With Mikla escorting them and the permit in hand, the receptionist let them pass into the depths of the prison where they made their way to the cell block holding Menka. The guards checked them here as they had done before, and Eik was fairly sure that one of them was the same person who had been stationed there last time, judging by his size. The mask made it impossible to be sure.
“You’re back,” Warden Harfol rumbled as he came out of his office to see them. “I supposed you got a permit then?” Like it had the first time they came, the heavy door to Harfol’s office slowly swung back on its own.
Just as it was about to close, extra thin, golden strings sprung forth and wrapped over the lower of two door latch thingies, Michael’s fingers weaving a pattern out of sight behind his clothes. The upper one had retreated into the mechanism when the warden had operated the handle of the door, so they were pretty sure that the lower one was a spring loaded bolt.
All four Earthlings held their breaths as the door closed. The sound of the latch impacting the strike plate in the frame was brought relief. The slight tension in Michael’s jaw alone was enough to inform them that he still maintained the Bind on the lock.
“You already came here today?” Mikla asked.
Eik shrugged nonchalantly. “Didn’t want to bother you. Turns out we needed you all along,” he said with a cheeky grin. Mikla snorted a laugh.
Harfol, clearly a stickler for proper procedure, took his time going through the documentation and their identification cards despite having seen all of it before. Slivers of sweat sprung forth on Michael’s temple. Eventually the warden nodded and called for the reinforced door to be unlocked.
“Alright, let’s get this over with then,” Mikla said and started through the reinforced door. Eik and Michael didn’t move to follow. “Are you guys coming or what?” the fracture specialist asked, sticking his head back into the small, windowless waiting room.
“Ah, no, I don’t think so, man,” he said, breathing a deep sigh as he leaned wearily against the wall. Michael tried to look relaxed but to Eik’s eyes he could just as well have been holding up a neon sign describing his exhaustion in detail and it wouldn’t have been that much more obvious than it already seemed.
“I though you needed to see her again as well?”
Eik tilted his head with a grimace. “I thought so too, but I just can’t after all. I’d really rather not see her face again, actually. Can you just take Sonja and Heath instead, please?”
The fracture specialist eyed the healer. “Mike?”
The young man simple shook his head, his eyes clenched shut.
“Alright. Wait for us here, then.”
They both nodded and the reinforced door creaked shut, followed by the many locks sliding back into place.
And now the time had come to work quickly.
Comments
Green Forest
Thanks for the feedback! I see your point!
Eric M
Honestly, unless this is leading to some big reveal, I don't really follow spending all this time on verifying Menka will die, especially if she really is supposed to die, and will be executed shortly.
