They entered an enormous circular chamber,
with a vast chasm at its center.

Finde walked toward the railing.

He looked down.
His breath caught.

A vertical shaft, more than two hundred meters wide,
stretched both above and below him.

An endless abyss,
carved into the bowels of the earth.

“Don't lean too far over"
Javier said with a sinister smile.
“It's a nasty fall.”

“What kind of place is this?”
Finde asked, stunned.

“We're on Level -523.
Each level has 104 cells.”

Finde looked around.
All along the circumference countless cells carved into the rock.
Every one of them empty.

“Where are the prisoners?”

“At work... You just saw them.”

“I don't see any stairs.”

“Gravity freight elevators.
Only the guards can operate them with a magnetic keycard.
Each level is isolated.”

Silence.

“You either use the freight elevator...
or you fall into the abyss.”

Finde stiffened.
He didn't like that place.
And he didn't like Javier.
“So you're a guard?”

Javier laughed.
“Not exactly.”

They walked along the circular passage.
The cells on their right.
The abyss on their left.

They continued until they entered another large chamber filled with prisoners.

Among them, one individual wore a ridiculous pink kimono with white polka dots.
A bizarre mask covered his face.
He seemed to be staring at Finde.

Finde looked away.

“Here we are”
Javier said.
“Come inside.”

Javier led him into a gray, bare room,
nearly one hundred square meters wide.

“This is the freight elevator.
Wait here.
I'll go activate it.
Before you know it, you'll be at the storage room.
One of my associates will return your sword.”

Javier stepped out,
closing the heavy metal door behind him.

Silence fell over the room.

Two minutes.
Five.
Ten.

Finde clenched his jaw.
Something was wrong.

“Javier!”
He shouted.
“JAVIER!!!”

A metallic noise echoed behind him.
He spun around.

Three hidden passages had opened in the smooth stone wall.

Armed men emerged from each one.
Swords.
Axes.
Hammers.
Spiked maces.

There were dozens of them.

They formed a line, their eyes filled with hatred as they stared at him.

Finde let out an exasperated sigh.
“Perfect. Just what I needed.”

He raised his hands.
“I'm warning you.
If you act with hostility...
I'll have no choice but to hurt you.”

He counted them in his head.
Forty.... Wonderful.

“That bastard Javier...
he smelled fishy from the very beginning...”
he muttered.

The mob didn't say a word.

Then, all at once...
they charged.