Not long after.
"Knock knock knock—!!"
Bronya squatted at the entrance to the basement, knocking on the wooden board door beneath her feet.
Something inside seemed to respond to the knocking with muffled thuds.
"…"
Bronya turned back, looking toward the fat old man who was being held by two Silvermane Guards, and said gravely:
"What's inside? If it's just remains, why is there still sound?"
"Huh? Sound? I didn't hear anything!" The fat old man let out an awkward laugh. If his hands weren't bound right now, he really would have wanted to wipe the fine sweat beading on his forehead.
"Master! There is! I-I-I heard it!" The strange guard shouted honestly.
"Shut the hell up!!"
The fat old man glared furiously at this guard, disappointed and angry:
"Damn it, where are the Silvermane Guards?! Can't you just sew his mouth shut?!"
"Huh? Master, did I do something wrong? Why sew my mouth?"
"Don't call me Master! I'm not your master right now!"
"Then should I call you Young Master?"
"…"
"Enough." Bronya interrupted their exchange and said gravely to the surrounding Silvermane Guards:
"If you're unwilling to hand over the key, then we'll have no choice but to open it another way."
Five Silvermane Guards stepped forward at her words. Once Bronya moved aside, they began smashing the door beneath their feet with brute force!
"Bam—bam bam bam—!!"
Finally, with a sharp crack, the wooden door was quickly shattered to pieces.
But after clearing away the wooden fragments, there was still an even sturdier reinforced steel door below!
At the lock position was a small square screen, apparently requiring a password input or fingerprint scan.
"Oh dear, Bronya… don't waste your energy!" Seeing the reinforced steel door below, the fat old man's heart, which had been in his throat, finally settled completely.
As long as this door didn't recognize his fingerprint, not even a cannonball could blast it open!
"There's just some aged wine stored down there. You really shouldn't unseal it."
"Aged wine? Master, does aged wine need to be locked behind a reinforced steel door? We can't just lie with our eyes wide open!"
"Fuck!!"
"You motherf—!! You motherf—!!"
The fat old man's face flushed crimson. He straightened up and angrily rammed hard toward the talkative guard beside him.
The guard shifted slightly backward, narrowly dodging the heavyweight old man's charge, and looked at him with innocent eyes:
"Young Master, what are you doing? Could it be that our secret weapon is really inside there?"
His mind turned, and he suddenly realized. His face lit up with delight:
"Haha! So that's it—I was wondering why Young Master was so worked up. There must be the key to turning the tables inside! I'm so smart!"
"You're full of shit!! You… you're not allowed to speak anymore!"
"But I…"
"Shut up!"
"Fine."
"…"
Nearby, a Silvermane Guard officer raised an eyebrow under his helmet, glancing sideways at the pair, and said gravely:
"The key to turning the tables? So what exactly is inside?"
"No—he's sick! He's really sick! We're law-abiding citizens—what turning the tables?! I don't even know what he's talking about!!" The fat old man lay on the ground, wriggling like a maggot as if trying to hide his panic.
"I never let any guards go in there—how could he possibly know what's inside? This guy just loves spouting nonsense… hahaha."
"Master, I didn't say I went in either—I was just guessing… Did I guess right?"
"You're fired—!!" The fat old man raised his voice and roared.
His volume had reached the peak of what he could achieve in his lifetime.
He really couldn't hold back anymore.
This guard was practically insane!
Just like… just like those Silvermane Guards earlier!
"…"
"?"
Suddenly, the fat old man seemed to realize something. He slowly turned toward the equally bound strange guard and asked in confusion:
"What's your name?? I feel like… I've never heard your voice before?"
"Oh, I'm called…"
"You all step back—let me handle this!" Bronya suddenly shouted.
The five Silvermane Guards who had smashed the wooden door slowly retreated. At some point, Bronya had picked up a Flame Lance in her hand.
She slowly walked to the reinforced steel door and thrust the lance upward!
Instantly, the surrounding temperature skyrocketed.
Under the red glow, scorching heat scorched every inch of the air.
The surface of the reinforced steel door gradually turned bright red under the high temperature.
"Bam—!!"
The Flame Lance embedded itself in the reinforced steel door and quickly melted a large hole through it. The entire lance sank deeper and deeper into the molten iron.
The fat old man watched helplessly as the steel door melted into liquid iron, revealing the staircase hidden beneath.
Once the entire iron door had melted away, the crimson light gradually cooled.
Bronya pulled out the lance, slowly turned back, and stared at the fat old man:
"I'll ask you one more time—what exactly is inside? This is your last chance."
"…"
"Sigh." The fat old man let out a sigh and looked despondently at the girl before him—the future Supreme Guardian.
He said coldly:
"I already told you—it's just some aged wine. If you don't believe me, go down and see for yourselves."
"…"
Bronya gave a light nod, then raised her Flame Lance and pointed it at the strange guard beside the old man:
"You—go down and take a look."
"?????"
The strange guard seemed to find it unbelievable. He looked at Bronya in confusion:
"Me? Are you okay? You're sending me down?"
Bronya nodded:
"That's right—you. Any problem?"
"Uh, isn't this decision a bit too hasty?"
Whoosh—!!
Facing the Flame Lance now pressed against his neck, the strange guard still said firmly:
"Since you've put it that way, I'll reluctantly go down and take a look."
As soon as he finished speaking, he felt the ropes binding him severed by the Flame Lance.
The strange guard stood up, stretched his limbs, and excitedly said to the fat old man:
"Young Master, rest assured—I won't let you down!"
"Good kid—my guards need exactly this kind of awareness!" The fat old man, still lying on the ground, suddenly broke into a brilliant smile.
Heh—she actually dared to send one of his own people down to scout.
As long as the person was on his side, whatever was seen down there could still be spun however he wanted with his mouth.
"Wait—I'm going too," Bronya added.
The strange guard smiled upon hearing this:
"Hey, it's just checking a basement—I can handle it alone!"
"Right right right." The fat old man chimed in:
"No need for so many people—just let him go alone!"
"No need." Bronya said calmly:
"Just the two of us will go down. The rest stay outside to provide support."
She pressed the gun barrel against Zeig's back and said gravely:
"You go in first."
"Uh, how about you go first, ma'am?"
"Say that again and see what happens?"
"…"