Dekan's Heart's Desire

As the Jailer Fasilier bowed to Dekan.

Dekan also saw the entire sixth floor clearly.

The entire sixth floor resembled a giant laboratory more than a dark prison.

A strong, pungent odor filled the air. It wasn't just the smell of blood; it seemed as if countless inhumane experiments had been conducted in this laboratory, dissolving the remains of the test subjects, which was why the odor lingered.

Looking around, the place was filled with darkness and decay, and the bottles and jars on the cabinets contained organs of some unknown creature soaking in black liquid.

Inside rows of enormous, transparent life support pods lay all sorts of creatures, including humans, demons, and many mutated and chimeric modified creatures whose races were indistinguishable.

Life support capsules were arranged in concentric circles, surrounding the laboratory.

There were still many blood-stained operating tables and laboratory instruments placed in the gaps in the aisle.

Strangely, looking straight ahead through the rings of life support pods, one can see that the center of the sixth-floor laboratory is an open space resembling an arena.

Jailer Fasilier's gaze lingered on Morion and Cornelia for a moment.

"Heh, it's rare to see jailers bringing prisoners down like this. But there's nothing dangerous on this floor. If you want to go to the Seventh Floor, you can go now."

Fasilier gestured for Dekan and the prisoners he had brought to walk into the laboratory, speaking calmly.

He acted like a host.

The sixth floor is like a shop that you can walk through at any time.

Throughout his years at the prison, Dekan had never encountered a Jailer who was so friendly from the first meeting.

But compared to any of the previous Jailer...

Fasilier was undoubtedly the one Dekan disliked the most.

No matter how harmless this guy may seem on the surface, just one glance at this horrific laboratory will tell you just how cruel Fasilier is.

Countless humans have suffered cruel human experiments here, becoming victims of forbidden magic.

Faced with such an extremely evil being, Dekan's first reaction was to kill him rather than to torture or toy with him.

But this is ultimately the Shadow World.

Dekan needs to prioritize clearing the level, and with limited time, Dekan's unwilling to spend too much time dealing with such a phantom.

"May I purchase information from you regarding the Warden and the lower-ranking officers?"

Dekan also flashed a perfect smile, and asked as he walked into the laboratory.

Fasilier: "Of course, do you want to buy it now?"

Dekan: "Hmm."

If all goes well, Dekan hopes to buy the intelligence and then quickly move on to the next level.

Fasilier was different from the Jailer of the Exile Zone.

The Jailer in the Exile Zone are inherently weaker than Jailer at the normal level, and they also have flaws.

Jailer at the normal level are only bound by rules.

Similar to the Jailer on the third level, as long as they can go all out, they can basically kill even a sixth-level opponent instantly.

Moreover, compared to the third-level Jailer, Fasilier exudes a stronger sense of oppression.

If a fight were to break out, it would be extremely bad for Dekan and his two companions.

Even though Fasilier did not make a move.

Dekan was also fairly certain of Fasilier's approach.

Without a doubt, Fasilier was a madman who took pleasure in researching forbidden magic.

Without high recovery speed, fighting a powerful enemy skilled in forbidden magic could result in instant death.

There are no stay-at-home dads in the team right now, so the margin for error is too low.

Therefore, Dekan is not considering a direct confrontation with this great demon for the time being.

"The information for the next level costs 700 Demon Point, Warden's information costs 4000 Demon Point."

"Purchase."

Dekan promptly transferred the Demon Point to Jailer Fasilier.

"The Seventh Floor is a collaborative puzzle; it will be very difficult and time-consuming if you try it alone. You'll need a good partner to significantly reduce the difficulty. And the Warden is a very indecisive devil."

"Fasilier replied."

Dekan nodded after listening.

The information you get on this floor is much more reliable than what you get on the first or third floors.

Leaving aside the mechanisms of the next layer for now, since Dekan won't decrypt them anyway.

The information about the Warden at least indicates that Warden is not the type of person with a very firm will.

That gives Dekan a lot more room to maneuver.

Are there any other unique items on this floor?

Dekan asked again.

"You can trade prisoners with me."

Fasilier seemed to have been eagerly anticipating Dekan's question.

"Um?"

This was the first time Dekan had heard from the Jailer that prisoners could be traded freely.

Fasilier: "This is a special case for the sixth level. You can buy E-level to B-level prisoners directly from me by spending a lot of Demon Point, while A-level prisoners need to be won in the arena. So buying information about the next level from me in advance is undoubtedly a wise choice."

Dekan scanned the area; besides the prisoners inside the life support pods, there were also glowing dots indicating the prisoners' levels.

Prisoners at levels E to B are mostly from the second to sixth rank, and many of them are incomplete or damaged. They are of little use to the guards who have reached this level.

Some of these prisoners had even been cruelly transformed into unspeakable beings.

Class A prisoners are at the sixth or seventh rank, relatively intact, and wear prison uniforms made of special materials. There are also high-potential special individuals at even lower ranks.

Soon.

A life support pod caught Dekan's attention.

His gaze seemed uncontrollably drawn to the life support pod.

Dekan walked up to the life support pod, his hand trembling slightly as he reached out and placed his palm on its surface.

Looking at the man inside the life support pod, covered in wounds, Dekan's eyes were filled with undisguised anger and sorrow.

Do you really like this man?

A glint of shrewdness flashed in Fasilier's eyes, as if he could read a lot of stories from Dekan's gaze.

"Um."

Dekan nodded.

"You have excellent judgment. He's extremely unique even among A-rank players. I've never seen such a tenacious guy. It's a pity he's only A-rank. If you want to acquire him, you'll need to win in the A-rank arena."

"Arena?"

Although Dekan had doubts, his gaze was also fixed on the open space at the very center of the sixth floor.

"Yes, get closer, and you'll be able to perceive the true nature of this level."

Fasilier pointed at Dekan, a smile gradually spreading across his face.

If this gray- Little Succubus finds something that interests her.

That would be absolutely wonderful.

Due to the rules of this layer.

Fasilier could not force the jailers to challenge him.

The jailers would often challenge him, but only to acquire prisoners and power-up items to facilitate clearing subsequent levels.

A jailer like Dekan, who clearly has no shortage of Demon Point and even brings two prisoners with him.

Fasilier really had no way to deal with him.

Despite Fasilier's continued feigned calm.

But the moment he saw the Red-haired Girl behind Dekan, he felt an urge to keep her there.

He had never seen a human with such a perfect physique.

With her as a test subject, his forbidden magic would surely achieve a great breakthrough.

Now the gray-haired little devil has taken the bait.

Then I'll have the chance to win over this Red-haired Girl by any means necessary!

Dekan moved a little closer to the open space and sensed the mechanism of this layer through the Demon Bracelet.

[Devil King's Bestowed Arena]

[A jailer may challenge the Jailer.]

[After issuing a challenge, both sides choose one prisoner from their own forces to fight.]

[Both sides have one hour before the battle to freely enhance or modify their equipment, after which they will engage in one-on-one duels.]

[As a way to balance the Jailer's advantage, the Jailer will first reveal the prisoners to be deployed, and then the jailers will select the prisoners.]

[The Jailer can select prisoners of up to level X for modification in the level X arena.]

["X" represents a level from E to A, chosen by the jailer.]

The winner can choose one prisoner from the loser's camp to join their side.

[After a victory, the jailer can choose a prisoner of up to level X as loot in the level X arena, or choose a forbidden enhancement item of the corresponding level.]

[A loss occurs when either side's prisoners become incapacitated, or when either side voluntarily surrenders.]

Those who violate the rules or interfere with the competition will be punished by the power of the Arena Barrier Demon King.

Dekan roughly understood the content of this assessment for the prison guards.

The main purpose of this level is to Purgatory' mastery of forbidden techniques and the control of Servants.

Olive originally taught a similar subject at the Demon Academy.

However, Olive's research capabilities were nowhere near those of Fasilier.

In arenas of rank B or below, the prisoner that the Jailer can field will be restricted, and the jailer will have a chance to win by directly purchasing jailers.

Upon victory, the jailer can choose to acquire a prisoner of the corresponding level to expand their hero pool, increase their tactical reserves, or strengthen existing prisoners.

The ultimate goal of the jailer's challenge is the A-level arena.

In this level of arena, the Jailer can use A-level prisoners to fight.

The extent to which an A-rank prisoner, who was already capable of reaching level seven, would reach after being modified by Fasilier is entirely unknown.

The normal path to victory is to select and purchase high-quality low-rank prison guards, find counters through troop deployment and modification technology, and slowly earn resources from the Jailer until you can strengthen them to the point where they can challenge the A-rank arena.

But this process was too long, Dekan didn't have time to play with Fasilier slowly.

He couldn't possibly modify Cornelia either.

Morion's modifications were useless.

Dekan originally had ample Demon Point and allies, could have skipped this level.

But.

Among the Class A prisoners, Dekan noticed Croix, who was in a deep sleep.

He must win an A-level arena match to rescue Croix.

"I challenge you to a duel in the A-rank arena."

Dekan glanced again at the sealed chamber he was so concerned about, and then said firmly.

It seemed as if they were determined to rescue him.

"Oh? You're sure you want to challenge an A-level opponent directly?"

"Um."

"It seems you're very confident in your prisoners and your skills. No problem! I accept your challenge!"

Fasilier was first surprised, then burst into unrestrained laughter.

For a moment, he couldn't even hide his greedy expression, and brazenly looked at the Red-haired Girl behind Dekan.

This girl with a miraculous physique is about to become his possession!

Because if Fasilier really wanted to win, he would spare no expense to use all the forbidden items he had treasured to modify a prisoner, and could even strengthen him to a level that the jailer could not even imagine.

This is something that neither the fourth-tier girl nor the fifth-tier young prisoner in front of them can match.

Then, Fasilier's lips curled into a sinister smile as he walked to the life support pod that Dekan had been paying attention to.

After accepting the challenge, Fasilier lost all his previous elegance, as if he had shed his disguise.

Are you acquainted with him?

Fasilier knocked on the life support pod with ill intent and asked the man inside.

He is my mentor and friend.

Although Dekan seemed somewhat unwilling to acknowledge Fasilier, he appeared unable to resist the tide of memories, muttering to himself in a choked voice.

"Then I'll choose him. He's the perfect material for modification! He can definitely withstand all my forbidden tools! No matter how painful it is, he probably won't break!"

Fasilier said with a mocking laugh.

It was as if it were mocking the gray-haired little devil's foolishness.

This caused Dekan's pupils to shrink sharply, then he clenched his fists and said through gritted teeth:

"Mean..."

"Don't worry, I'll definitely reform him properly. When you see him again, he probably won't be the same person he is now. If I'm not mistaken, he must be very important to you, right? Hahaha! I hope you can order your prisoners to go all out later, okay?"

Fasilier no longer bothered to hide his perverse sense of humor.

It's as if they've found the perfect target for torture.

He couldn't wait to see the Little Succubus's expression later.

It would be incredibly exciting if she saw her mentor and best friend cruelly reformed and mentally controlled, and then had everything ruthlessly stripped away from her!

Do you need to buy prisoners?

Fasilier asked with a mocking laugh.

"Unnecessary."

Dekan replied coldly.

"Then which of them do you want to go?"

Fasilier looked at Dekan's two prisoners with disdain; no matter how talented they were, their rank was indeed too low.

Dekan looked at Cornelia and said earnestly, "I'm counting on you."

Cornelia nodded.

"Oh."

Fasilier sneered, as if victory was already assured.

He had assumed that the jailer's trump card was a young man with Pearwood -colored hair whose methods were still somewhat unclear.

Unexpectedly, he ended up with a brute Red-haired Girl.

With such a disparity in rank, she had no chance of winning.

"The duel will begin in one hour, during which you are free to use the operating table and tools here."

After speaking, Fasilier opened the life support pod he had identified, removed the humanoid figure from inside, placed it on the operating table, and pushed it into his private laboratory.

It seems Fasilier won't be coming out of the lab anytime soon.

"The stars twinkle, the moon draws a question mark, the demon drags its long tail, and the vampire builds a bridge."

Dekan hummed a tune from his hometown as he led Morion and Cornelia to the vicinity of the portal.

You can order takeout here.

An hour is enough time for the three of them to have a good meal and recover their energy.

"By the way, who was in that life support pod just now?"

Morion looked at Dekan and asked with a hint of doubt.

Morion also noticed Croix's presence on this floor.

But he discovered that Dekan was pretending not to see the life support pod where Croix was.

Instead, he poured all his acting skills into another life support pod, using it as a smokescreen to mislead Fasilier.

However, Dekan's acting just now was just too realistic.

That feeling of reuniting with an old friend after a long separation truly reflects Dekan's sincerity.

So Morion always felt that Dekan really knew that unlucky guy in the life support pod.

"I never expected to see him here... It must be a special destiny bestowed upon us by heaven..."

"I can't believe it, "Dekan remarked.

"Um..."

Cornelia chimed in.

It seems she knows that guy too.

Morion: "???"

This made Morion even more confused.

I always feel like I'm being isolated.

However, Morion quickly understood, pointed with his finger, and hesitated to speak.

He was momentarily unsure whether to sympathize with the Jailer or with the Jailer who had been dragged away for reformation.

Seeing that Morion understood, Dekan didn't explain further.

He simply gazed into the distance toward the laboratory where the brutal modification surgery was taking place.

Her clear, bright eyes were full of anticipation.

"Professor Batchel, I never thought we'd actually meet again... Are you my guardian angel?"