Eyes still open, the corpse stared at the soldier, as if pleading for mercy. The guard touched it and found it colder than the surface of the cell.
Clicking his tongue, he whispered to himself,
"Tsk! Now I have to clean this shit… can't he have died in the arena… tsk tsk"
The soldier was more concerned about the work he would have to do than the loss of life. Well, he wasn't to blame either. After all, those apprehended here were the worst of the worst.
It was mercy giving them food and a place to sleep. They deserved to rot in the deepest part of hell, vultures pecking the skin off their bodies. That would at least mean something was gained from their cursed existence.
Examining the body, the guard looked for any sign of a physical altercation but couldn't find any.
Looking around, he asked the others,
"Did any of you know what happened here?"
To his question, the cell remained silent; no one wanted anything to do with the dead man.
"Did the cat get your tongue? I asked something."
The guard lashed out, and Ash thought it was better to talk than let the situation escalate.
"Now, sir guard, we didn't see anything. Uhm! H-he had eaten his food a-and after that went to sleep... huh! We didn't know what happened in between... and in the morning.. uhmm! It is right in front of you."
Looking straight at Ash, the guard tried to gauge whether he was lying, but there was nothing malicious to be found there.
"Sigh! Alright!... I'll clean this mess. All of you face the other side of the cell. Don't try to do anything funny… well, even if you did, you wouldn't be able to do shit to a Primor like me."
Saying this, the guard waited for them to turn around. Hanging the keys on his waist, he leaned down and grabbed the corpse by its shoulders.
'It's the perfect time... should I attack?'
Seeing him vulnerable and at the same rank as him, Ash almost leaped to attack the guard, but he stopped. Even if he managed to escape this room, the rest is still unknown.
Clenching his fists, he stared as the guard dragged the body out of the cell.
Locking the cell, the soldier grabbed the body and disappeared into the gloom, never to be seen again.
"Cultist... curse... he is cursed... he touched the man, and he died today."
Suddenly, one of the prisoners began panicking, pointing in Ash's direction.
"Kill him… kill him; he will curse us to death."
Fearing for their lives, they were about to attack him, but their courage didn't allow them. And how would it be allowed when a literal giant was standing in front of him?
"What nonsense are you spouting? I did nothing. I just treated his wounds."
Ash found it strange that even an act of kindness could be interpreted as such.
"Meh! There really is no place for kindness left in this world."
They continued murmuring something among themselves, but Ash didn't pay any attention to them and turned his attention back to what mattered the most.
'Imp, can you draw the map?'
[Didn't I tell you already? I can't interact with physical things.]
Ash heard him talk in an annoyed tone.
'Got it... I get it... you don't have to be rude like this...'
For some reason, the little creature was rather sharp and annoyed today.
'I will move my hand, and you tell me where I should move: right, left, or continue moving straight. Got it?'
[Of course. Do you take me for an idiot like yourself... huh!]
'Of course not, my dear.... Lord. Now let's get to work.'
Leaning on the ground, Ash positioned the giant in a way to cover his movements and dragged his finger around.
[Yes, good... now make three points here... continue on the left part... two points here, again left.. straight... yes straight... hmm! Now three ways... ughh! Now keep taking the center route.]
While Ash and Imp were busy doing their work, the giant was looking at the scribbles with a hint of curiosity.
"Ba ba, what doing? playing... me want..."
Pointing toward them, he asked to be involved.
"No... no, this is important.. I will play with you later."
Hushing, he calmed the giant and went back to finishing his map. After a few minutes of work, it was completed.
'Are you sure? This is it…'
Ash asked and found Imp looking at him like he had committed some sort of atrocity.
Imp looked at him with an indignant expression, as if offended that he would doubt his intelligence.
'I get it... so calm down.'
After studying the mural for some time, he wiped it clean and wanted to train his abilities some more.
There was just one little bit of a problem. He was hungry… really hungry.
Because of the lack of sustenance, his essence wasn't regenerating as intended, so Ash didn't risk using whatever he had left. He was rationing it for eventual use in the arena.
Soon, a guard came and distributed the food. And once again, the cultists got nothing.
The giant was so angry with this that he had almost attacked the guard; if it weren't for Ash, someone would've died today. Probably both of them.
Soon, the cells found their silence, and only the sound of prisoners munching on their food remained. They were eating as if nothing had happened. In fact, they seemed happy that one had died... for that left more for their portions.
And this was something Ash had noticed: the rations were decided for a cell, and they would be divided among the remaining prisoners. If there were fewer mouths to feed, everyone would get more.
Soon, the guard collected the dishes and left the prison. Soon, silence settled in the cells, and after what felt like an eternity, Ash heard the sound of someone getting closer to the prison.
'So, whose turn is it… today…'
Ash thought, looking as the bearded guard emerged from the darkness.
Before he could predict anything, the guard pointed his spear toward him. His lips curled into a cruel smile.
"Cultist… It's your time to shine… pray to whatever god you love that you haven't forgotten how to fight… for today it is your day to dance."
With those mocking words, he unlocked the cell. Moving Ash out of the cell, he draped him in a blindfold.