A Glimmer of Hope

Immediately.

The scorching Rock Prison, which had briefly stalled at the sound of that cough, surged like a waterfall of fire falling from the heavens!

The grayish-red lava turned crimson in an instant. The entire Rock Prison blazed with fire, and the extreme heat nearly reduced everything in sight to ashes!

Within the prison's lava flow, the stone pillars that had once seeped with Black Fog seemed to have suffered a heavy blow. The sturdy pillars melted into torrents of blazing lava, flames filling the sky. A fissure marked with black sigils barely maintained its existence amid the lava.

That black light was like a divine engraving. Even the boundless Rock Prison could not completely conceal that black crack!

Outside the Rock Prison.

A warm current gently set down the man whose skin had split open above.

"Your Majesty..."

His voice was somewhat hoarse. Hatred utterly at odds with his features surged onto the face of the man who had been set down. Seemingly beside himself with rage, he opened his hand and crushed the letters he had intended to send to the other races into powder.

Terrifying cold filled the space around him, forming a stark contrast with the blazing hell far below.

"Your Majesty still refuses to give up?"

Suddenly, a fair-skinned, red-lipped woman approached the man, carrying a trace of vibrant greenery with her.

Yet the aura around the woman was just as sorrowful and furious as the man's.

"Clearly, Your Majesty did it for..."

"Why are none of those races willing to lend us a hand?"

Resentment filled her voice. A faint darkness reflected in those green eyes, and in that single instant, the man's heart jolted.

"Don't say that."

"Lord Xilos is already having a hard time maintaining things as they are. Are you going