A quiet night.
“[Yawn…]”
The man, who was monitoring an area surrounded by nothing but trees and sea except for where he worked, let out a yawn as fatigue washed over him.
“[Hey, John! Falling asleep on your first day? Should I deduct it from your paycheck?]”
“[Huh! Ahem! N-no, Bob!]”
Seeing him like that, the man next to him chuckled and playfully teased him.
He was Bob, John’s senior, who was teaching him the ropes during the handover period.
“[I know you’re tired from training on your first day and pulling a night shift, but hang in there, buddy!]”
“[Sorry…]”
John was a rookie prison guard who had just started working at this prison.
As a newbie, he still had a lot to learn, and on top of that, he was forced to take the night shift, which was originally supposed to start a week later, as part of the seniors’ initiation ritual. For him, it was pure torture.
“[But don’t get too discouraged! Actually, guard duty can be a bit lax~]”
“[Huh?]”
Bob laughed warmly and put an arm around John’s shoulder.
John didn’t understand what Bob meant.
Even so, this is a prison, right?
Seeing John’s puzzled expression, Bob burst out laughing.
“[Where are we working right now?]”
“[Huh? Well, Tartarus…]”
“[Right, Tartarus. The world’s worst prison for dangerous ability users, a hell for ability users. What kind of lunatic would willingly come here?]”
“[Ah.]”
Bob’s strong confidence in his workplace.
John couldn’t help but nod in agreement.
The world’s worst underground prison, Tartarus.
Though the building had been standing for 70 years, Tartarus had never once collapsed.
“[Inside there is an antlion’s pit. Once you go in, you can’t get out.]”
If they come, let them come. It’s not like prisoners would willingly walk in.
Bob smirked and took a swig of whiskey he had secretly brought.
Seeing this, John nervously glanced around.
“[Bob, even so, drinking on duty is a bit…]”
“[It’s fine~ It’s fine~ I’ve been working here for years, and nothing’s ever happened even when I mess around like this.]”
Glug… glug…
“[Haha! Friend, you want some? To celebrate your first day, I’ll give you a special drink.]”
“[…I’ll have just one then.]”
After some hesitation, John decided to drink with him.
‘Well, it should be fine.’
Unless something was seriously wrong, no villain would come here.
Swish.
‘Huh?’
Suddenly sensing something, John turned his head to look around.
No one was around except for his senior, Bob.
“[……]”
“[John? Is something wrong?]”
“[…No.]”
Shaking his head at Bob’s question, John sat down at the table Bob had set up and started drinking.
‘Yeah, it must be my imagination.’
-They didn’t notice.
“Shh.”
Little did he know, the presence he felt was real.
-Tartarus, entry successful!
“It’s Tartarus.”
It was easier to get in than I thought.
Thanks to the guards on duty throwing a drinking party, I was able to enter without any issues.
‘Honestly, getting in wasn’t that hard…’
The real challenge was figuring out how to escape.
“Then, Narin, please guide the way.”
-I’ll guide you as comfortably as if it were your own backyard~
“It’s Tartarus.”
For now, it’s better to put off thinking about escaping.
I haven’t even achieved my goal yet, so I can’t think about leaving already.
-Beep. Turn right ahead~
With Narin’s help, I began heading deeper into the prison.
-This is where the prison really starts.
With Narin’s guidance, I managed to avoid the guards’ eyes and pass through the first floor, eventually reaching the prisoners’ detention area on the underground first floor.
“[Come on, hurry up!]”
“[If you slack off, you’ll just have to work longer! The others are already done and back in their cells. Are you planning to work until tomorrow morning?]”
“[Eek! Sorry!]”
Peeking around, I saw some prisoners working under the guards’ orders.
Seeing this, Narin, who was checking the situation through the camera on my jacket, looked disappointed.
-What? Why are they so obedient? It’s just like any other prison!
Tartarus.
Certainly, as one of the worst prisons, the public perception was similar.
‘A hell where prisoners suffer immensely.’
The standards for that hell might vary, but ultimately, people thought the prisoners would be in extreme agony.
-Where did its infamous reputation go?
Coming here expecting that, it’s only natural to be disappointed by such a bland sight.
‘Maybe 40 or 50 years ago, but you can’t find that kind of scene on the underground first floor now.’
“After all, it’s the underground first floor.”
From the underground first to the third floor, it was a space for relatively minor offenders.
They were locked up in Tartarus because their abilities were troublesome, but they were lacking in both ability and mindset.
If there were a C or below in villain rankings, the guys on the first floor were at D or E level.
The real villains started appearing around the third floor.
“Probably, to see the scene Narin wants, we need to go deeper.”
Anyway, our goal is the deepest part of Tartarus, so we’ll naturally see it as we go down.
“Let’s start heading down.”
-Okay~ Hacking complete!
“Even though it’s night, the guards are patrolling, so please guide me somewhere I won’t get caught.”
-Wait, then let’s set it up like this…
After a brief typing sound came through the communicator.
-Got it! Ready!
Narin’s cheerful voice came through.
-Ready, right?
“I trust you.”
-Eeeh…
Narin made a sound as if disappointed, wondering what I expected from her.
Well, what can I do?
Asking me to react to a joke that’s way past its prime, I don’t know what to do.
“…Of course, right.”
-Yeeeah~! Let’s go!
Sigh.
After a brief internal conflict, I decided to play along with her rhythm.
As I joined in, Narin got even more excited.
-Follow the instructions well, big bro!
“Let’s break through quickly.”
With the briefing starting, I began to run.
-At the fork ahead, go left!
-Guard straight ahead! Turn right for now!
-Go into the room and catch your breath for 30 seconds!
-Run along the path for about 2 minutes, and there’s a large vent! Go in there!
-And!..
-Here!..
Thanks to Narin’s briefing, I managed to avoid the guards and make my way down.
-The second floor seems like it’ll be just like the first?
Passing through the underground second and third floors, which were almost identical to the first, I eventually reached the underground fourth floor.
As soon as I descended to the fourth floor, I hid in a blind spot of the CCTV and looked around.
Zzzz…
-This is…
“The solitary confinement area.”
The fourth and fifth floors were spaces for those who had committed various serious crimes.
And there were also those who had been sent down here after resisting the guards but lacked the strength to stay above.
-It’s like a mental hospital.
Narrow doors neatly lined up.
Occasionally, there were places where you could hear faint screams.
The prisoners on the fourth and fifth floors lived under much stricter surveillance than those on the previous floors.
They could do nothing.
All they could do was stand and stare at the walls.
“If they cause trouble, like screaming just now.”
Squeak.
Immediately, a guard would appear and start beating them.
The guard would beat them without saying a word.
Showing no emotion, they would punish the prisoners mechanically.
-Wow…
“You said it’s like a mental hospital, right? It’s similar.”
Though there’s a difference between locking up the mentally ill and locking people up until they become mentally ill.
In this frozen space, the prisoners could only slowly go insane on their own.
“After some mental cleansing, those who seem capable of rehabilitation can move up to the underground first, second, or third floors.”
-It’s more systematic than I thought.
Though it’s common knowledge that there are still many who can’t be fixed.
“Let’s get going, now that we’ve recovered some stamina.”
-Okay!
The solitary confinement area covers the fourth and fifth floors.
Except for the much more numerous CCTV cameras compared to the upper floors, the layout was similar.
-Route’s all set, big bro! Run!
‘Let’s move quickly.’
I started moving again, following Narin’s briefing.
*
“Phew… huff, ha…”
‘Somehow, I made it.’
The door labeled B6 in front of me.
It seemed like a signal that the destination was close.
‘Stay alert, it gets a bit dangerous from here.’
From the underground first to the fifth floor.
I managed to get here safely with Narin’s help.
All I had to do was avoid the guards and the prison’s gaze.
But the floor ahead is the underground sixth floor.
This place was slightly different from the others.
‘From here, the guards don’t intervene.’
This floor was the reason Tartarus was considered the worst prison.
