Upon hearing the name, Rocky's pupils contracted slightly as he turned his head to look out the window. They had already left the range of Nomenge and were traveling through the mountains and forests on a winding road in the outskirts of the imperial capital.

"You might be disappointed, Lilia was too young at that time. I don't think the family would entrust her with any important secrets."

"The training of the successors in the family starts from the moment they are born. You should have more faith in your sister."

The two fell silent for a moment before Rocky spoke again, "The Celine family seems to have quite the appetite."

"A few days ago, a poet publicly insulted the church and the empire, and was thrown into prison and almost beaten to death." Crey said, "Most of his words were vulgar, so I won't repeat them, but there was one sentence I agreed with: Despite wearing the facade of civilization and enlightenment, this is ultimately a beast-like country."

The student council president took out a cigarette from the pocket of his black suit jacket and lit it, taking a deep drag. "Having a big appetite doesn't matter, because you either eat or get eaten... Being civilized and following the rules is what separates us from beasts."

"What benefit does it bring me if the Celine family wants to devour the last inheritance of the Oxias family?"

Crey laughed again, his smile still gloomy, his face partially obscured by smoke. "You returned to Nomenge just to re-enter the game of power, to once again become part of it. I can give you that opportunity..."

"Is it 'you' or 'all of you'?" Rocky asked.

"Does it make a difference?"

"Forgive my bluntness, but the opportunity you're offering is worthless. You may be the student council president, but what I need is not some ministerial position in the student council." Rocky said, "The opportunity offered by the Celine family is what counts as 'entering the game'."

Crey didn't answer immediately, but took out several documents from the compartment of his alchemy motorcycle next to him and placed them in front of Rocky. "Have you heard of the Seventh Court Guard?"

"One of the twelve court guards of the church, the elite force of the empire. Although it is under the military department, it is directly governed by the Senate. Each captain holds the rank of major." Rocky obviously knew about the court guard. Five years ago, he led the court guard through the family's secret passage to attack his own clan members.

"The elders of the family think you're a good kid. Not only do you have a five-year record as an intermediate priest, but you're also an excellent inheritable mage... After the captain of the Seventh Court Guard died in the mission to suppress the Oxias family, there hasn't been a suitable candidate to succeed him. Perhaps you can take on this heavy responsibility?" Crey handed the pen to Rocky, "Take a look, even those influential figures are zealous about it."

Rocky flipped through the documents, which were all appointment letters for the position of captain of the Seventh Court Guard. Each one had the Pope's signature and the blood-red seal of the Senate. The column for the appointed person was blank. As long as he signed his name, he would transcend from being a powerless empty shell of a priest to a powerful captain of the court guard.

He didn't sign, but instead asked, "I have one final question."

"Ask away."

"What will happen if I refuse?"

"You will die... Another mage, a hereditary mage, will take your seat. In a direct confrontation, you may not be his match, but he has no problem sensing the elemental fluctuations before your spell is cast. Before you're ready to use magic, he will use a specially designed handgun filled with anti-magic bullets to kill you. You won't have time to use any defensive magic that can block anti-magic bullets."

Rocky glanced at the person sitting behind the leather seat, pointing a handgun at him.

He still spoke expressionlessly, "But I can also instantly cast a simple attack spell to take you down with me. I've heard that you're interested in magic, but you're not a mage. It's impossible to survive at such a close distance."

"I know." Crey sneered and said, "But you're Rocky Dolaville Oxias, someone who values their own life more than anything, as shown by your willingness to betray the family and kill your own kin, right?"

Just then, a crisp sound came from above, sounding like high heels touching the roof of the motorcycle. Crey's face changed, but before he or the mage in the front seat could react, a hand had already torn through the roof and violently snapped the mage's neck!The clattering sound of overlapping bones came from the front, particularly jarring in the quiet carriage. The driver was startled and nearly collided with the rocky cliffs by the roadside.

The alchemy locomotive came to a halt. There were originally four living people inside, but now only three remained. Maybe there was still one on the roof... but was it truly human? The alchemy locomotive could reach speeds of nearly a hundred kilometers per hour, and Crie had made sure that no one was trailing them when they left the city center of Nomenge.

Tracked accurately and at a speed surpassing the alchemy machinery, then exploding and accelerating to land on the roof of the locomotive, and finally piercing a hole unimpededly through the metal roof, instantaneously killing a magician who held a hand cannon. A creature capable of completing such a series of actions could only be described as demonic.

"Rocky, you left without saying goodbye, and I had to search for you for ages," Alice's head appeared from above the side window glass, her golden-red eyes shining bright in the night.

Rocky ignored her, reached out and opened the front passenger door. Alice grabbed the magician's body with one hand and casually threw it down the cliffs. Then, without invitation, she flipped in and took a seat, looked up through the hole she had made and gazed at the night sky. "Oh, there are so many stars tonight, but why can't I see the moon?"

"Sorry, my apostles and I don't like it when someone points a hand cannon at me," Rocky said quietly.

"So, does that mean you really want to reject the Celine family?" Crie's surprise didn't last long. He didn't care much about the life or death of his followers, but he couldn't believe that Rocky would refuse the deal. "You already know the Celine family's secret. If you don't participate, you won't survive either."

"So let me go meet Lilia first," Rocky said. "Anyway, if she doesn't know any hidden fortune, I'll die anyways."

Crie fell silent and finally spoke to the driver, "Drive."

The alchemy locomotive started up again and continued to climb along the mountain road.

..................................................................................................................................

Black Prison was located on a mountaintop in the outskirts of the empire's capital, Nomenge. If it weren't for the driver who knew the route inside out, it would be difficult to even find it, let alone enter. Nomenge was a city surrounded by mountains on three sides, and it was as difficult to find Black Prison in the continuous mountain range as it was to ascend to the heavens.

True to its name, it was an entirely black building, but only a small part of it was visible on the ground. It had already penetrated deep into the mountain, and the only way to escape for a fugitive was to go straight up, where the hard mountain rocks served as the best prison.

The alchemy locomotive stopped in front of Black Prison, and Crie led Rocky and Alice out of the car.

Their arrival had obviously been arranged by the Celine family. Prison guards wearing heavy armor and black masks saluted them and opened the prison's gate, which was made of an unknown black metal. It was clearly alchemical in nature; otherwise, it would be impossible to move such a heavy and massive object with mere manpower.

The sound of gears turning echoed inside the mountain, and the massive black gate split open, revealing that there wasn't just one gate inside. More than ten metal gates operated simultaneously, leading to the opening.

A chilling breath overwhelmed them, accompanied by the scorching heat of alchemy machinery in operation. The strong wind surged at the mouth of the deep cave, sounding like the howl of a beast.

"Crie Kalligula Celine." The leading prison guard walked over to block their path, holding a scroll in hand. He glanced at Crie before nodding and allowing them to pass, and Rocky noticed that there was a copper eagle engraved on the collar of his black armor. In the Reles Empire's army, different animals represented different ranks—wolves for lieutenant, eagles for colonel, bears for general, while lions were unique to marshals. For a prison official at Black Prison to be a major, it seemed that the empire valued this place greatly.

The prison official checked the contents of his hand one by one, and the cold eyes behind the black mask swept over Rocky, finally nodding in approval. "Rocky Dolaville Oxias."

It was Alice's turn, and he clearly noticed something was amiss. "Val Barks... who is this woman? No prior notification, no prefabricated image."

"She's my apostle, and she won't be entering," Rocky turned to Alice and said, "Wait for me here."Alice pouted her lips with obvious dissatisfaction, glaring fiercely at the prison guard and began to move her fingers.

Krieger began to feel a bit nervous. Although others were unaware, he had personally witnessed this fair-skinned, delicate hand easily kill his subordinates. This redhead girl was like a human weapon... If she were to kill the prison guard here, it would cause significant trouble, even for House Celine.

"No messing around," Rocky added.

"Tsk!" Alice helplessly walked away, leaning against the alchemical motorbike. She casually deformed the bike's steel rearview mirror into various shapes, causing the driver inside to turn purple with rage... She couldn't disobey the orders of her contract holder, but it didn't stop her from venting her own emotions.

The prison guard didn't say anything more, gesturing for Rocky and Krieger to follow him. The black giant doors behind Rocky closed in order, enveloping them in darkness. It felt like they had arrived in another world, a black... hell.

"This place isn't truly a prison yet. We still have a long way to go before we get there," the prison guard lit the torch in his hand. The weak flame could only dispel a small part of the darkness, while most of it remained hidden in chaos.

Rocky extended his hand, summoning and condensing elements that transformed into a flame in his palm. Although the flame wasn't large, it was brighter than a regular one, driving the darkness even further away.

With his azure eyes sweeping back and forth, he saw an unusually large underground space. The rock walls were lined with all kinds of weapons, over ten thousand long guns and short cannons aimed at the central position.

There was an alchemical elevator there, entirely made of brass, resembling a birdcage.

"This is the only entrance, or should I say... exit," the prison guard explained. A smug, sinister laugh echoed from beneath the iron mask, "The Black Prison is a combination of alchemical machinery and magical engineering. There may be hidden traps capable of killing under every stone. Since it was built three hundred years ago, there has never been a successful invasion or escape. Not one."

After the three of them boarded the alchemical elevator, Rocky realized that there were no buttons inside. In other words, even if a prisoner or an intruder arrived here, they wouldn't be able to pass without assistance from within the Black Prison. This elevator wasn't controlled by the passengers.

The elevator started moving, sliding down slowly with a slight frictional sound between the metals. The speed gradually increased, becoming faster and faster. The distinct feeling of weightlessness made people feel uncomfortable. Rocky took out his pocket watch, wanting to know how long the elevator had been traveling, but he found that the hands on the watch had stopped moving. Obviously, there was some kind of power within the Black Prison that affected timekeepers.

His own people were being held in a place like this? Rocky looked down at his pocket watch in a daze, realizing that there was only one individual in the Black Prison who truly deserved to be there.