The Black Robed Woman stood before the door of the deepest cell. The door, forged from Magic-Inhibiting Obsidian, slid open soundlessly.
Unlike the occupants of the other cells, the Blind Wizard seemed to have anticipated her arrival. Still seated cross-legged, he "looked" toward the doorway with his hollow eye sockets.
An unreadable expression surfaced on his wrinkled face—part relief, part acceptance.
"Teacher."
The Black Robed Woman called softly again.
Her low voice sounded through the cell, carrying an almost imperceptible tremor.
"Mm."
The Blind Wizard raised his head slightly, a complicated smile appearing on his wrinkled face.
"You came." His voice was as calm as if he were speaking with students in the teaching hall of a Magic Academy. "I can sense the commotion above. Is there a purge underway?"
The Black Robed Woman fell silent for a moment. Her hood dipped slightly before she finally nodded. Her voice was hoarser than usual. "The contamination has already emerged. It must be stopped before it erupts completely. Everyone who has come into contact with that power could become a vessel. We cannot allow that to happen."
Those words revealed the truth behind all the previous killings—she was carrying out necessary work. This was not a bloodthirsty massacre, but an emergency response to a terrible contamination.
Those prisoners.
Perhaps they had already been influenced by the Fallen Deity incident without realizing it.
And had become potential sources of contamination.
In truth.
This was perhaps not easy for the Black Robed Woman either.
Her hand trembled slightly inside her sleeve. She remembered the cells she had passed, those despairing eyes, those dying struggles.
"I guessed as much. I noticed something was wrong earlier."
The Blind Wizard nodded lightly.
His gaunt fingers brushed over his hollow eye sockets. "What you are doing is right.