The jeering and strange laughter continued as Axel Vance was escorted deeper into the underground maximum-security wing. Some inmates shouted nonsense from behind their reinforced cells, while others laughed in ways that made the corridor feel more like an asylum than a prison. Axel ignored them and kept walking until the corrections officers finally stopped in front of an empty cell.
"Get inside."
One of the officers pushed Axel through the doorway before immediately stepping back. The heavy door locked behind him with a solid metallic click, and neither guard showed the slightest hint of friendliness. They knew nothing about Warden Holden’s undercover arrangement and simply believed Axel was another dangerous offender being transferred into the prison’s most secure section.
Axel turned and examined the place where he would probably spend the next several weeks. It was completely different from the ordinary cell he had shared with Andy. Instead of steel bars, the entire wall facing the corridor consisted of thick reinforced glass that exposed nearly everything inside.
From his position, Axel could see the cells across the corridor and several more stretching in both directions. Anyone standing outside could observe every movement he made, while he could just as easily watch the prisoners opposite him. Privacy clearly had not been included in the design.
Axel walked over and lightly tapped his knuckles against the transparent wall twice. A dull, heavy sound came back, confirming that the material was far thicker than ordinary glass. Even with his enhanced physique, breaking through it seemed impossible.
His gaze moved toward the ceiling. Along with ventilation ducts, several sprinklers and other pieces of emergency equipment had been installed overhead. Axel guessed the system was probably connected to fire suppression or some kind of containment measure in case the inmates somehow started a riot.
The rest of the cell was deliberately simple. There was a narrow steel bed, a stainless-steel toilet, and a small sink built into the wall. Every object had been securely bolted down to prevent a prisoner from dismantling something and turning the pieces into weapons.
Axel gripped the side of the bed with both hands and pulled as hard as he could. Despite his increased strength, the frame refused to move even slightly. After checking the fastenings for another minute, he finally gave up on finding any obvious weakness.
This place had been designed specifically to hold people who were considered extremely dangerous. Even a professional escape artist would have had trouble getting out without help from the outside. Axel stopped wasting time and began reviewing the investigation plan he had discussed with Holden.
The first step was simple: keep a low profile and wait for another mysterious death. Once something happened, Axel would quietly observe every inmate in the wing and pay close attention to their reactions. Anyone behaving strangely would immediately become a possible suspect.
The next step would be more difficult. Axel would need to focus on those suspects, gather evidence, and discover how anyone could commit murder inside a section this heavily secured. Holden cared about solving the deaths, but he cared even more about finding whatever hidden weakness existed in his prison.
If several inmates could die without the administration understanding how it happened, then the entire security system might be compromised. Holden still worked inside these walls every day, so the possibility of a coordinated escape terrified him far more than a few dead criminals. Axel could understand that concern.
"Hey, new guy."
A mocking voice suddenly pulled Axel from his thoughts. He turned toward the corridor and spotted a thin white man in the cell diagonally across from him. The inmate had pressed his face close to the reinforced glass and was practically vibrating with excitement.
"What’d you do to get thrown down here?" the man asked with a crooked grin. "Come on. Give me something interesting."
He slowly extended his tongue and dragged it across the glass. A wet streak of saliva remained behind as he continued staring at Axel with wide, eager eyes. His expression suggested he was hoping for some gruesome story.
Axel ignored him.
He had no reason to entertain a lunatic, and drawing unnecessary attention would only interfere with his investigation. Instead, Axel removed the upper half of his prison uniform and placed it beside the bed, revealing a lean body that had become noticeably more defined after more than half a month of intense training.
His muscles were not massive, but every line had become harder and more compact. Prisoner Fitness had strengthened him far faster than ordinary exercise should have. Axel lowered himself onto the floor and began his daily routine without caring about the eyes watching him.
Push-ups came first, followed by pull-ups using the parts of the cell strong enough to support his weight. After that came squats and several other bodyweight movements that could be performed in limited space. The entire purpose of Prisoner Fitness was learning how to use the body and whatever environment was available to maintain strength even while confined.
Sweat soon covered Axel’s chest and back.
[Prisoner Fitness: EXP +3]
[Prisoner Fitness: EXP +3]
[Prisoner Fitness: EXP +3]
The familiar notifications continued appearing within his vision as Axel moved through each exercise. Their steady rhythm gradually drowned out the muttering, laughter, and occasional screams echoing through the wing. For several minutes, he almost forgot where he was.
Axel completed the final set and pushed himself back to his feet. Before he could reach for his shirt, an unfamiliar voice came from the cell directly beside his own. Unlike the others, there was nothing frantic or unstable about it.
"Young man, I believe you’ve frightened the children."
The voice was elegant, controlled, and unmistakably educated. Axel could not see the speaker because the concrete wall between the neighboring cells blocked his view. Even so, the man’s calm tone immediately made him more cautious.
"You’re joking," Axel replied while leaning against the wall. "Everyone down here is a murderer."
"No, no. That is an unnecessarily crude way to look at them."
The unseen man sounded almost amused by Axel’s response. His voice never rose, yet every word carried a strange confidence that made it easy to hear him despite the noise farther down the corridor.
"They have certainly stained their hands with blood," the man continued. "But psychologically, many of them are remarkably fragile. Some are little more than frightened children wearing the masks of monsters."
Axel glanced across the corridor. "You’re saying they all have excuses?"
"Not at all."
The answer came immediately.
"I’m saying they received exactly what they deserved."
Axel raised an eyebrow.
"Consider the man directly across from you."
Axel followed the suggestion and looked toward the opposite cell. A large muscular inmate sat on the edge of his bed with his knees pulled tightly against his chest. Despite his intimidating build, the man rocked slowly back and forth while whispering in a childlike voice.
"Mommy..."
His fingers tightened around his knees.
"Mommy, where are you?"
Axel watched him for several seconds. The man looked physically capable of tearing apart most ordinary prisoners, yet his behavior suggested severe psychological damage. He had not expected someone in such a condition to be housed among the prison’s most dangerous offenders.
"He misses his mother very much," the unseen neighbor said.
Axel glanced toward the wall beside him. "That’s supposed to make him sympathetic?"
"Quite the opposite."
The man’s voice remained pleasantly conversational.
"Before his arrest, he murdered three people. He also violated his mother’s grave because he could not accept her death."
Axel’s expression slowly changed.
"He dug up her corpse and brought portions of it home. Later, he killed again and used parts of his victims to create grotesque household objects. Chairs, decorations, pieces of furniture fashioned from human remains."
The inmate across the corridor continued rocking on his bed.
"Mommy..."
The unseen speaker continued without any disgust in his voice. "Because of his severe intellectual disability and mental condition, the courts treated his case differently than they would have treated a fully competent offender. The legal outcome did not make his victims any less dead."
Axel remained silent.
"My point," the man continued, "is that appearances can be misleading. These people scream, threaten, posture, and act insane because madness frightens ordinary men. Yet many of them become remarkably timid when confronted by someone they believe might actually hurt them."
Axel frowned and looked around the wing again.
Only then did he realize how much quieter everything had become.
The thin inmate who had been licking the glass earlier was no longer shouting. He had retreated toward the rear corner of his cell and was watching Axel from a distance. His shoulders were tight, the muscles in his face twitched slightly, and a thick vein stood out near his temple.
Fear.
Axel recognized it immediately.
The man had spent the first few minutes acting like a deranged predator, yet the moment Axel began training and displaying his physical ability, that confidence disappeared. Several other prisoners were also keeping noticeably farther away from the fronts of their cells.
Their madness was partly intimidation.
A performance.
Axel slowly turned toward the thick concrete wall separating him from his unseen neighbor. The man speaking beside him had understood the entire situation from the beginning. He had observed the inmates, analyzed their behavior, and explained their psychology with an almost clinical level of precision.
That realization made Axel far more uncomfortable than the screaming prisoners had.
The loudest lunatics in this wing might not be the most dangerous people here.
The truly frightening ones could be the men who remained calm.
Axel wiped the sweat from his face before leaning closer to the wall. His throat suddenly felt dry. "What about you?"
There was a brief silence.
Axel continued, "What kind of man are you?"
A quiet chuckle came from the neighboring cell.
There was unmistakable satisfaction in it.
"I’m afraid I’m not quite like the others."
Axel waited.
"Some people call me a monster. Others prefer something more colorful."
The man paused again, almost as if he were savoring the moment.
"They call me the Cannibal."
Axel’s expression froze.
"But you may call me..."
The calm voice carried through the wall.
"Dr. Hannibal Lecter."
Axel stopped breathing for half a second.
Hannibal Lecter?
That name struck him harder than Hammer ever could.
In his previous life, Axel knew exactly who Hannibal Lecter was. He was the brilliant psychiatrist who understood the human mind with frightening ease, a cultured and sophisticated man whose intelligence made even experienced investigators uncomfortable. Beneath that polished exterior was something far worse—a calculating serial killer and cannibal who could dissect another person psychologically before ever touching a knife.
Axel slowly looked toward the concrete wall.
The voice, the intelligence, the calm confidence, and the title all matched.
There could be no mistake.
Axel had originally believed he had simply transmigrated into 1980s America. He had assumed the strange memories about monsters and demons might have been unreliable fragments left behind by his predecessor. Now that explanation was becoming much harder to believe.
Hannibal Lecter was real.
That meant this was not merely another version of America.
It was a world connected to movies.
Worse, it appeared to be connected to horror movies.
Axel’s heartbeat gradually accelerated as countless possibilities crossed his mind. If Hannibal existed here, then other killers from the stories he remembered might exist as well. The same possibility extended to demons, supernatural creatures, cursed objects, ghosts, and monsters that could not be stopped with ordinary police work.
His Prisoner Fitness specialization suddenly seemed far less impressive.
Axel stared silently at the wall separating him from Hannibal.
For the first time since entering the prison, he began reconsidering everything he thought he understood about the mysterious deaths.
Perhaps he had been investigating them from the wrong direction all along.
Perhaps the killer was not using a hidden passage, corrupt guards, or some flaw in the prison’s security.
Axel’s heart continued pounding.
The truth behind these murders might be far more terrifying than anything he had imagined.
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