The prisoners, panicked by Herman's arrival, dispersed into the mist, their footsteps echoing in the oppressive silence of the fortress. Some rushed back to their cells, hoping that the stone walls would offer a temporary protection, while others searched desperately for an alternative exit, knowing that their only chance of survival was to escape.

Herman, mad with rage, strode through the mist like a menacing shadow. Every scream of terror from the prisoners seemed to fuel his anger, and he showed no mercy to those who crossed his path. His fists lashed out at anyone who dared stand in his way.

He reached the corridor where the door to purgatory, destroyed earlier, stood. Despite the fog, he noticed the damage at the entrance to the antechamber leading to the basement and quickly realized that something was going on down there. With a terrifying smile, he arched his body slightly and magic enveloped his legs. He jumped with force, falling violently back to the ground and creating an awesome tremor that spread throughout the prison.

He repeated the operation, further weakening the fortress. Some of the prisoners threw themselves to the ground, hoping that the ceiling wouldn't collapse on them, as did those on the upper floors. He prepared himself for a third leap, gaining even more height, and when he fell again, the floor was finally destroyed.

The purgatory was greatly weakened by these jolts, but the last one was the last straw. The ceiling above Bojan and Octavia shattered, and all the stones came crashing down. Bojan managed to avoid the biggest blocks despite his injuries, having been lucky enough not to be directly under the impact. Octavia, for her part, was far enough down the corridor to avoid being hit.

A massive figure falling with the debris landed violently on the floor of the purgatory. Terrified, Bojan immediately recognized the warden, Herman, who was straightening up after his fall, a look of rage on his face.

"I finally understand what's going on here now," he said, raising his head towards them. "I recognize you, you're one of the two prisoners at the top of the silver tower."

Bojan took a step back, looking grave, positioning himself, knowing very well that he had no way out. The director then looked at the executioner leaning against a wall.

"What a disappointment, Octavia. It was well worth spending so much on that axe for such a disappointing result." Octavia remained silent, fearing Herman when he was in a bad mood as he was right now.

The warden advanced towards the prisoner, who trembled at every step he took towards him. He raised his right arm slightly, which was enveloped in a purple magic with a tentacular appearance. Bojan, for his part, once again charged his fists with electricity. He didn't know the specialization of his opponent, whom he had never seen fight despite all these years. All he knew was from rumors: before becoming director of the Silver Fortress, Herman had been a vice-lieutenant in the Imperial Guard.

Some twenty years ago, he had resigned after repeatedly refusing the rank of lieutenant in the Imperial Guard. Tired of the incessant demands, he longed for a quiet life, far from boring guard missions. He then challenged the former warden of the fortress, pitting his title against his life. The duel was one-sided: Herman beat his opponent almost to death, stripping him of his title and his dignity. When it comes to fighting, this man is a real beast.

Herman stopped and positioned himself, ready to charge, while Bojan shook his head to stay focused on his opponent. "I'm going to make you regret ever getting out of your cage, Arubaean!" he shouted before charging at Bojan, who did the same. The impact of their fists created a shockwave throughout the corridor, further weakening the place and pushing Octavia against the wall, as well as the prisoner hiding in his cell, spared by the falling ceiling.

On Armand and Carolina's side, the spiral staircase leading to the purgatory had collapsed due to the numerous tremors, particularly the last one, which had buried the room. They were both against a wall, trying to climb up despite the debris slowing them down.

They were safe thanks to Armand, who had created a kind of dome with his orange magic, reinforced by a green aura to increase its resistance during the violent tremors. As a precaution, he maintained this greenish state in case of another landslide, all the while hearing Bojan's fight at the top.

"I feel the aura from earlier is right up there with Bojan. Who could have such strength to do so much damage so far?" thought Armand aloud.

Carolina, who felt nothing, had an idea of who it could be. She shuddered at the thought that Bojan had to face him right now and that they were bound to meet him once they got to the top, if they made it.

"The warden, I can only think of him to have strength like that," she replied feverishly as she held onto the wall, looking down as she climbed the partially destroyed steps.

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"The warden? Now that you mention it, it would make sense, but I didn't expect such excess of power..." he said, a bead of sweat running down his forehead.

"We rarely see him in the fortress, even less in the tower. But from what Bojan once told me, he'd be powerful enough to be a lieutenant of the guard."

"A lieutenant..." Armand thought back to the first day of his arrival, when he'd seen a lieutenant knock out a thief in the middle of the smoke, who today had an arm amputated because of this event.

Suddenly, new tremors from the battle above shook the entire basement, accompanied by lightning bolts ricocheting all over the interior, destroying staircases once again. He had no time to create a new dome and wrapped himself entirely in his green aura before placing himself above her to cover her with his body as she kneeled by reflex. He was shaking because of the narrow space they had on the end of the step they were on, taking the rocks that fell on him as best he could. His priority was to make sure Carolina didn't get hurt.

When that finally came to an end, he straightened up and stepped away from her before climbing onto the step just above, which was even narrower. He looked up and saw that most of the stairs had been destroyed. Carolina worried for him, seeing all the trouble he was going to to protect her without even knowing her, on this endless climb.

"No choice, I wanted to save myself as much as possible, but we're wasting too much time!" exclaimed Armand. His eyes turned indigo and he created a portal right beside him.

"What are you going to do?" she asked, worried.

He didn't answer. He changed his aura back to red before wrapping it around his feet. He then arched his back as best he could because of the step and jumped to the opposite wall. The force of the leap created a slight draught that almost made Carolina lose her balance, as she stood on a brick protruding from the wall, still on her own step.

He bounced from wall to wall before rolling to the top and landing. Proud of himself, he stood up and slapped his cheeks between his hands to refocus. He then created a new breach and shouted to Carolina to pass through the one in front of her. She nodded, although she'd found it unpleasant the last time. She jumped down from her step, which collapsed immediately afterwards, and narrowly passed through the smoking breach. She found herself at Armand's side on the floor, almost losing her balance once her feet were on the ground, her spread arms making circular movements to keep from falling.

"That was close," she said aloud to herself.

They barely had time to breathe when a strong current of air hit them, knocking them back slightly. There was no doubt about it, it was coming from the end of the corridor behind the warped gate where the fight was raging. Armand took Carolina's arm and ran towards the gate, while she did her best to follow, unable to see what was going on behind it because of the ceiling stones that had collapsed, partially concealing what lay behind. Once close enough, he infused his fist with his red aura and hurriedly struck the debris to reach Bojan as quickly as possible. Stones were thrown everywhere in the purgatory after the impact and the way was finally cleared.

The dust cloud gradually dissipated. Armand's eyes widened at the scene in front of him, while Carolina, behind him, shielded her face from the dust. Bojan was there, with his back to them, kneeling and completely shackled by purple chains. He was terribly banged up and his face was bloody. Carolina reopened her eyes and saw him in such a state that she couldn't believe her eyes, which were on the point of crying.

"Bojan!!!" she cried, wanting to run towards him, stretching out her arm in his direction before being held back by Armand, who wrapped his arms around her, his gaze fixed on the massive man standing in front of Bojan as well as Octavia, seated against a wall and weakened.

Herman wasn't surprised to see them arrive, suspecting that Carolina was their target. He laughed loudly when he saw the spectacle in front of him. At the same moment, he made a gesture with his arm and the chains binding Bojan retracted towards his arm before dissipating into pure magic. He then gave Bojan a powerful kick, sending him towards Armand who barely caught him, sliding backwards under the shock of speed and the weight.

"I suppose you're the cause of all this trouble, kid. I expected better from the chaos you've created in my prison," Herman said, his anger growing as he spoke. His chains reappeared on both arms, encircling them tightly. His arms suddenly contracted, gaining in volume as if these chains were increasing his strength.

Armand made the connection between these chains and those he'd encountered so far, whether those decorating the door leading to the basement or those surrounding Carolina's cage. This was Herman's magic, he was now sure. These chains were to enable him to absorb the strength of those who dared touch them and increase his own. He quickly reached into his belt for the small bag containing the two remaining green vials and handed it to Carolina.

"Make Bojan drink this and get as far away from here as possible with him," he ordered her, stepping towards the warden.

"Are you really... ?" she began.

"Go away!" he shouted.

She remained silent, her gaze worried for him. Despite her anguish at seeing him ready to fight such a monster, she finally respected his choice. She took Bojan by the arm and hoisted him onto her shoulder, she was strong enough to carry him, then turned back towards the corridor they'd just come from to get as far away as possible.

"They've got no way out this way, you should know that. It looks like you've lost your mind. Do you really think you have a chance?" exclaimed Herman, laughing as he took him in.

Armand braced himself, his aura gradually transforming into a reddish glow as his rage grew as he thought back to what Herman had done to Bojan. "No matter how powerful you are, I won't let you touch Bojan or Carolina again."

Herman burst out laughing, his laughter reverberating through purgatory like an sinister echo. "You've got guts, kid, I'll give you that. Come here!" he shouted, excited by the idea of unleashing his rage once again.

End of chapter 17.