The Prison That Eats People

The location of Erkstag Prison is very secluded, and the scene inside is also very dark and gloomy.

"I'll go in and scout ahead," Xiwen said softly to Newt. Then he vanished, bypassed the warden at the entrance, and disappeared into the dark underground tunnel.

The interior of Erkstag Prison is a gloomy and dark underground fortress. The prison is cylindrical in shape, with countless spiraling passageways that lead downwards. Inside each passageway are numerous openings, and in each opening hangs an inmate upside down, with a flickering lamp beside each prisoner.

The passageway surrounds a huge and deep sinkhole, from which terrifying roars of beasts often echo.

Relying on his immunity to physical attacks, Xiwen curiously floated downwards for a short distance.

In the dimly lit pit, a huge scorpion tail, dozens of feet long, could be vaguely seen swaying in the darkness if you got close.

Suddenly, the scorpion's tail lashed out, striking a small hole in the tunnel with lightning speed.

Xiwen was startled and immediately looked up at the hole where the scorpion's tail had pierced, only to find that the light there had been turned off.

Accompanied by the prisoner's desperate scream, the scorpion's tail dragged him deep into the pit. Soon followed a series of teeth-grinding gnawing sounds and the low growls of Beast...

The prisoners' shouts faded away. Then, a body, mostly just bones, was thrown into the passageway above.

'So all the prisoners here are just food for that monster down there...?' Xiwen stared at the lights that filled the prison, utterly horrified.

Each light represents a prisoner, and the going out of each light represents a living person falling into the monster's mouth!

We can only hope that Theseus is alright.

At this moment, a group of small, light yellow animals with crab claws and scorpion tails, looking fierce, rushed in one direction, as if they wanted to fight.

"Oh no, Newt!" Xiwen thought in alarm and immediately flew toward the tunnel leading into the prison.

Xiwen floated to the front of the group of small animals, intending to rescue Newt from their ferocious clutches, but instead witnessed a strange scene—

Newt remained in an odd pose, legs spread apart, arms raised in a duckbill shape to his shoulders. A group of strange little creatures with crab claws and scorpion tails also raised their claws, mimicking Newt's "dance"...

"What are you doing..." Xiwen's lips twitched uncontrollably as he asked in a strange tone.

"A move that might reduce the aggressive tendencies of arthropod Fantastic Beasts." Newt looked nervously at the small animals around him and said in a low voice, "Of course, this is my first time trying it too, I don't know how effective it will be."

"So what are these animals?" Xiwen asked in a low voice, his scalp tingling as he looked at the rings of ferocious little creatures that filled the passageways. "How can there be so many?"

"They are Manticore Hatchlings," Newt explained. "Manticore are like crabs; they lay a huge number of eggs, and the hatching rate is extremely high. They can produce tens of thousands, or even millions, of Scorpiontail at a time."

"The Manticore has a human head, a lion's body, and a scorpion's tail. It is just as dangerous and just as rare as the Chimera," Newt continued, enthusiastically explaining the Fantastic Beasts to Xiwen.

"The Manticore emits a low growl as it devours its prey; furthermore, its skin repels almost all known spells, and the stinger on its scorpion tail contains deadly venom, instantly killing any wizard struck by it! It is precisely because of the danger and rarity of this Fantastic Beasts that wizards find it so difficult to subdue them."

"Was that huge monster at the bottom of that pit the leader of the Manticore?" Xiwen asked.

"It should be Manticore Matriarch," Newt corrected earnestly.

Just as the two were talking, a light in the nearby cave entrance went out.

"No, save me!" The prisoner hanging at the entrance of the hole cried out in terror, struggling and twisting, but was still instantly hooked into the pit by the huge scorpion tail.

Then came a low growl from the deep sinkhole, which perfectly matched Newt's explanation—"The Manticore makes a growl when it devours its prey!"

However, Newt, who had been given the correct information, was not happy at all; in fact, his face showed a look of horror.

"How could there be such a huge Manticore?!" Newt exclaimed in shock.

"Perhaps it's because there's plenty of food." Looking at the corpse that had been thrown back into the tunnel, surrounded by a group of Manticore Hatchlings, Xiwen felt a chill in his heart.

"Doctor Strange, we must hurry. Every minute we delay, Theseus becomes more dangerous!" Newt said anxiously to Xiwen.

Xiwen nodded silently, and he and Newt split up to search for Theseus's whereabouts.

"Strange, Theseus is here!" Newt called out in a low voice toward the tunnel entrance.

He dared not shout loudly, lest he disturb the giant Manticore below the sinkhole.

Fortunately, the prisoners in the jail didn't dare to speak loudly, or rather, the long period of being suspended had robbed them of the strength to speak. So Xiwen still heard Newt's voice and floated towards Newt's location.

Fortunately, Theseus was still hanging intact inside a hole in the middle of the prison, with the lights still flickering nearby.

Perhaps because he hadn't been transported here long, Theseus was in good condition and could even speak easily.

"Have you come to rescue me?" Theseus asked.

"We're trying to do that." Newt held the lamp in his left hand and untied the ropes binding Theseus's feet with his right.

And so, Theseus crashed heavily to the ground.

"Ouch! I thought you'd come up with a good way to put me down," Theseus complained, rubbing his aching shoulder.

"Alright, Mr. Scamander, I think we should hurry up and get out of here," Xiwen interrupted their bickering.

Newt hesitated for a moment, then said to Xiwen, "We should go back to the entrance. My wand, Pickett, and Teddy are still locked in the cage there."

"The Portkey Dumbledore gave me should be there too; we need to get it to go back," Theseus added.

"The Portkey isn't a big problem, but Pickett and Teddy need to be brought back."

Xiwen thought for a moment, then turned to Newt and asked, "When you came in, did you notice how many people were guarding the prison entrance?"

"There are quite a few guards outside, but there should only be one warden inside Erkstag Prison," Newt said. "Maybe they don't want to be with these animals either."

"Then there's no problem." Xiwen nodded, waved his hand in a circle, and opened a Dimensional Gate leading to the entrance tunnel...

Then he saw the Teddy the Niffler carrying the Bowtruckle Pickett on its back, Pickett holding Newt's wand. The two little darlings were outwitting the bearded warden of the prison.

Upon seeing Newt behind the aperture, Teddy and Pickett felt as if they had found their anchor, and they jumped through the portal into Newt's arms.

Newt took the wand from Pickett and immediately cast a Stunning Spell, knocking the bearded warden unconscious.

"Looks like things are going pretty smoothly!" Theseus said with a smile, instinctively reaching out to put his arm around Xiwen's shoulder, before his arm slipped through Xiwen's body...

Theseus could only feign nonchalance and give an awkward laugh.

"This should be over," Newt said. "So, are we going to use the Portkey to go back? Or is Strange going to open a portal?"

Xiwen shook his head, silently turned and floated towards the sinkhole, a golden ring wrapping around his wrist.

"You should leave now," he said softly. "There's one more thing I haven't done."