Sob sob!
Mustering his courage, Hilbert took a few steps forward, but the chilling sound of weeping made him pause his steps. He reconsidered his decision before moving backward toward his position.
'Let's not go there alone…'
Making up his mind, he employed other guards to come along with him. They made fun of his cowardice, but Hilbert couldn't do anything except swallow his pride.
Sob sob!
Not long after, the sobbing echoed in the surroundings, and Hilbert stopped his steps. Seeing them move instead of waiting, Hilbert followed their tracks with some hesitation.
Soon, they reached the premises and found everything shrouded in darkness. The candle had gone out once again.
Finding it a bit suspicious, one of the guards went ahead and lit the candle, while Hilbert handed the key to the other guard.
Entering the prison, Hilbert went ahead to check the corpse while the other guards looked into the cell.
It didn't take long for them to figure out that two groups had formed inside the cell: one that was mourning the dead, while the other remained calm, tucked in their corner.
"They are the cultists..." his partner whispered.
Nodding, the guard moved ahead and asked his regular questions, "Hm! When did he die?"
Hearing this, Minner moved forward and explained the situation, "That guard had come to deliver something, and when he moved out, the candle burned out on its own, and after a while we heard their cries."
"How did the candle burn out? Did you all do something? And don't lie to me, the consequences won't be small."
"No... we just ate our food and were trying to sleep."
"Was there any sign of struggle… uhh! And why is he this much injured? Did he do something?" The guard asked, pointing toward Ash.
"No, he came from doing the dance."
"And this one... did he do something?" he asked, pointing toward the giant, who was sleeping soundly in all this mess.
"No, sir... because of hunger, he mostly sleeps all day long."
Scratching his chin, the guard made all the prisoners undress and checked for anything hidden. Aside from the cloth hiding their dignity, there was nothing in the barren cell.
"Did you find anything?"
The guard asked the others, but all of them shook their heads. No matter how much they looked, there wasn't anything out of place.
Empty-handed, the guards moved out of the cell and patted Hilbert on his shoulder.
"You are worrying without a reason. See, there was nothing out of place." The guards steadied him, and then they all returned to their posts.
After dropping the corpse in the morgue, Hilbert explained the situation to the office, and to his surprise, the officer agreed with his sentiment.
"Hmm! There sure is something strange about the place."
"That's what I'm saying, sir. Should we perform a cleaning ritual there..."
Hearing it enough times made even Hilbert believe that the cultists had cursed the place somehow. Their indifference to the death didn't present things in their favor either.
"No.. they aren't free at the moment."
"Then?"
"Let's do this for now. Go toward the cell and keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Things will become clear as well... and if they are being killed by the prisoners, it will become apparent as well."
Hearing this, sweat began forming upon his head. Hilbert suddenly imagined getting his neck snapped in the darkness.
Shaking, Hilbert pleaded, making an excuse, "Sir... can't you choose someone else? I'm feeling quite ill today."
"No.."
"Please sir... look, there is bound to be someone who is free."
"No means no... go and assume your duty. Report everything at the interval of two hours."
In the end, Hilbert gave up persuading the officer and accepted his fate.
Praying to the gods he believed in, Hilbert moved closer to the cell. Fortunately, there wasn't any sobbing this time; the candle was still burning as well.
Phew!
Heaving a sigh of relief, he warned the prisoners, "I will remain here to watch you all. Don't do anything funny."
Saying this, he moved a few meters away from the door and watched their movement.
It hadn't even been half an hour when suddenly the candle went out. Darkness encompassed the surroundings, forcing Hilbert to instantly go on alert.
Gripping his spear he quickly shouted, "Nobody move from your spot... I have remembered all your locati—"
Arghhh! Blech!
Before Hilbert could finish his warning, he heard someone struggling to take a breath. Dashing toward the candle, he lit it and looked inside the cell.
As the light shone inside the cell, Hilbert felt a chill run down his spine.
'T-They didn't move an inch from their spot...'
Heeding his warning, the prisoners had remained in their spots. Still, a prisoner now lay motionless, flat on the cold surface.
His instincts warned him to run away, but he calmed his nerves down. With slow, steady steps, he unlocked the gate and entered the cell. Under the watchful gaze of cultists, he dragged the corpse away.
This time, Hilbert didn't blame the prisoners, nor did he shout.
Wanting to disappear altogether, he lifted the corpse on his shoulder. Coldness seeped into his body as he moved toward the morgue.
***
No matter how much Hilbert tried, the officer wouldn't grant him his leave. Cursing his luck and the officer, he could only pray for the day to end quickly, which it wasn't.
Standing beside the cell, Hilbert felt like counting his heartbeat when the candle suddenly went out on its own. The tiny flame disappeared, plunging the cell into complete darkness.
"Don't move… anyone…"
Warning them, Hilbert waited, but the familiar sound of them gasping for breath never came.
Swallowing the unease, Hilbert moved and relit the candle before returning to his position. In the light, he found no new dead body.
'Maybe it is over…'
Convincing himself that maybe it was over, Hilbert had barely settled down when he saw the candle slipping from its position.
Clank!
With a clink, the candle dropped on the ground. The light went out, shrouding the cell in darkness once again.
'What… how…'
Frowning, he walked over and carefully placed it back where it belonged, making sure it was secure before stepping away, yet even after waiting several long moments, nobody inside the prison died.
The same thing happened again, only a short while later, the candle tumbling onto the floor for no reason at all, forcing him to repeat the same motion. Then it happened again... and again... until Hilbert could no longer count how many times it had happened.
Ring!! Ring!
Fortunately, just as Hilbert felt like going insane, the prison bell rang through the hall. It announced the end of his shift.
'I will take a leave for the next few days…'
Letting out a long breath of relief, Hilbert quickly stepped out of the cell block and spotted the guard who was on night duty.
Not wanting to spend a second in this place, he immediately walked over to hand him the keys.
His hand instinctively reached for his waist, and the moment his fingers touched empty air, the ground seemed to vanish beneath his feet. Every color drained from his body as he realized the horror.
The ring of keys that had been hanging from his waist only moments ago was gone.