Chapter 303 - Living Together

In the interrogation room located in the basement of the Association.

I had been sitting there for quite a while before I was finally allowed to move.

Apparently, the results of my summary trial had finally come in.

"Um... Mr. Egostic, you need to be transferred to Carceris now. If you could please stand up..."

Guided by an Association employee who was strangely polite for someone dealing with a captured villain, I was able to leave the interrogation room.

Of course, throughout the entire transfer process, I smiled and cooperated willingly. Inwardly, I was actually getting impatient about why we weren't moving faster.

Anyway, as we exited the interrogation room into the pristine white basement research facility of the Association, I could see numerous employees there.

...They all flinched when they saw me. Why react that way when I'm even wearing handcuffs? I'm a harmless villain. I won't hurt you.

'Speaking of which...'

After glancing around briefly, I quietly thought to myself.

'...Stardust isn't here?'

She had been sitting in front of me applying pressure just hours ago, but now she was nowhere to be seen.

...Actually, that was fortunate. Her presence would have been quite troublesome for me... It's not like I could say anything here anyway.

Anyway, under the escort of the employees who treated me with surprising courtesy, I boarded what looked like a villain transport truck to depart for Carceris from the underground parking lot.

I found it impressive how carefully the Association agents handled me throughout the process. Anyone watching would think they were escorting the chairman himself, not taking a villain to prison.

Until this point, I hadn't thought much about it.

However, after boarding the transport vehicle and reaching the surface...

Suddenly, a thunderous sound reached my ears.

"FREE EGOSTIC!!!"

"...?"

Though the transport vehicle was completely sealed and I couldn't see outside, I was startled by what sounded like a massive crowd of people protesting.

...What on earth was that noise?

Similar sounds continued to come from outside, only fading away after the vehicle had traveled quite some distance.

...It seemed my fans were engaging in collective action after hearing about my capture. Well, I had considered this possibility, but I didn't think they'd actually do it. Still, they must be a small minority... But thinking about it, the voices were quite loud... They are a minority, right? I don't know. Let's not worry about it. Surely there can't be many people supporting a villain? Such a reality couldn't exist.

Anyway, after driving a bit further, I was finally able to disembark.

And what unfolded before my eyes as I stepped onto land again with handcuffs still on was:

Whoooooosh

A vast blue sea stretching out before me, with cold winds blowing fiercely along the coast.

"We need to transfer to the boat now...!"

Seeing the agent gesturing toward us, I smirked before heading toward the prisoner transport ship with the Association employees standing on either side of me.

Finally, it was time to head to Carceris.

***

Night had fallen.

On the boat, rocking violently on the sea.

I sat at the back, watching the waves visible through the window.

I was sitting facing iron bars at the back of what resembled a large motorboat.

As threatening black waves crashed around and fog gradually enveloped the boat, I thought to myself that we must be arriving soon.

And after several more minutes, finally.

It revealed itself before my eyes.

Booooom-

Behind the foggy black sea, a massive gray structure resembling a castle.

On a large isolated island in the middle of the terrifying, wave-tossed sea, spread out in an enormous size, was:

The prison island known as the villains' grave.

Eastern Carceris.

Looking through the window at its imposing presence, standing firmly as if refusing to allow any external intrusion or escape, I quietly fell into thought.

...Indeed, I had seen photos since coming to this world, but seeing it in person made it even more threatening. It truly looked worthy of being Carceris, where the worst villains are imprisoned. Its appearance was all the more bizarre with its mix of medieval castle and modern gray building styles.

This fortress, the culmination of human wisdom designed to incarcerate paranormal ability users who are dangerous by their very existence. Carceris, where all the villains Stardust had captured so far were gathered.

I was voluntarily entering this place that all villains feared.

...In truth, when I thought about it, getting in was actually harder than breaking out, which is why I was doing this.

Anyway, the boat finally stopped in front of the island.

Following instructions, I obediently disembarked and entered the prison island.

And after some time had passed.

Step. Step.

After going through all sorts of tedious verification processes and security protocols.

I was finally able to enter the massive prison castle.

Walking down the all-gray corridor inside Carceris.

With Association employees flanking me on both sides, I was walking down this corridor.

Unlike its bizarre exterior appearance, the inside was quite modern and clean.

However, this area was newly constructed... The Creation of the Sun God, "The Wish Granter," who was my reason for infiltrating this prison and my target, wasn't held here. That place would be quite old, having been built when Carceris was first established.

That place would be located in the underground section of Carceris.

And my cell would likely be nearby. Prisoners are placed in different areas according to their threat level, and naturally, I, considered the most dangerous villain in the Republic of Korea, would be isolated in the deep levels.

And that was definitely good news for me.

The Wish Granter. I needed to reach where that being was, so the closer the better. This place was already too large and dangerous. Though it would probably be extremely old and dirty... but that didn't matter since I wouldn't be staying here for long.

So I continued walking with handcuffs on, my cape fluttering behind me.

...Actually, saying I was wearing handcuffs was meaningless. These were supposed to suppress ability activation, but I was just pretending they worked while they actually didn't. True, they did inhibit weak teleportation, but for someone like me whose psychokinesis and teleportation grow stronger proportionally to accumulated power, they were meaningless. Still, I had to wear them to enter this prison without arousing suspicion.

Notably, even after entering this place, I was still wearing my mask, hat, cape, and coat. Since the summary trial was just to isolate dangerous villains in Carceris with the formal trial to be held later, they were focused on getting villains into Carceris as quickly as possible. Thanks to the spell that prevented my clothes from being removed, they put me in prison without taking any other measures.

Of course, all of this was possible because the Association had absolute confidence in Carceris's security.

There's a saying that "once you enter, you can never leave"... Though that doesn't apply to me, of course.

"Prisoner Egostic. This is your room."

"...Yes, I understand."

Finally, following the Carceris guard's guidance, I arrived at my cell. A perfect sealed room where the outside couldn't be seen from inside, nor the inside from outside.

After entering, the door slammed shut, leaving me alone.

Click. Clack.

With the handcuffs automatically unlocking behind me.

Standing there, I could finally let out a deep sigh.

"Haah..."

I had finally arrived.

At Carceris, known as the grave of S-class villains.

I smiled while dusting off my hands that had been bound by handcuffs.

...Although the process was a bit complicated, just getting in here could already be considered half a success. Given that this place was a fortress, this was the only way to enter.

Additionally...

"...Phew."

Putting my hand in my coat pocket and making a few adjustments, I sighed as I felt an object naturally come into my grasp.

...I had successfully smuggled in a voice recorder, hidden by magic. Now everything was truly going according to plan.

Then, a thought occurred to me, and I looked up at the ceiling.

As expected, there were no CCTVs—it was completely empty.

Not out of consideration for villains' human rights, of course. Rooms holding higher-ranked villains typically lacked such things. Some villains with unusual abilities had used them to hypnotize staff watching the CCTV feeds, so they were removed.

Anyway, I'd stay here for a while, biding my time, and then escape according to plan when the time was right.

...With such thoughts, I looked around my prison cell.

"...?"

Only then did I notice something strange.

"Why is this room so nice?"

I muttered to myself.

I had expected an old room near the sealed underground area after walking so far, but this was a surprisingly comfortable and large room.

Although it was full of ability suppression devices, it had separate shower facilities and was spacious and well-appointed.

And... the strangest thing was:

'...Why are there two beds?'

Looking at the two adjacent beds, I inwardly wondered.

...What's going on? Could there have been some mistake?

Just as I was thinking this:

Beep beep beep beep.

Ding-a-ling.

Suddenly, a sound came from the prison door.

Someone entered my cell.

When I went back to see who it was:

"...Huh?"

"Hello, Egostic."

It was Stardust, her golden hair gleaming, smiling at me.

...With what looked like a carrier in hand.

And at that moment.

My mind was already going blank.

"No..."

...What on earth is going on?

And so.

My unexpected imprisonment life began.