"Cough... Cough cough..."
When Yila woke up again, he coughed almost immediately. The burning sensation in his chest and throat came from within his soul, and the location on his spine where he had previously activated the *First Wing Column* also felt the same.
This was the price for forcibly using the Governor's power while ignoring the Rune Bond's consumption.
It was similar to how casters who overdrew their internal magic power would fall into a coma.
"Cough cough... Cough cough cough..."
Yila kept coughing as he looked around at his surroundings. What he saw was a dim cell, with steel bars and a door forming a barrier between the cell and the hallway. Naturally, there were other cells on the opposite side of the hallway.
In Yila's memory, he had completely detonated his final *wing*. That kind of power should have been enough to block the pursuers, and he had used the last of his strength to throw himself into the rushing river.
If all went as planned, he should have drifted all the way to the Elf Kingdom.
But the surrounding prison suggested that perhaps he hadn't escaped... Could they have really imprisoned me?
"Isabella! You wouldn't want to make me a knight master, would you?!"
Yila shouted with a headache. He had keenly sensed the empire's turmoil and prepared to make his escape, but... did he fail to escape?
*Maybe an internal war would indeed break out next. Although he would win, it would prove that the situation had turned to a dire conclusion... he didn't want to be dressed in the imperial yellow robe either.*
*He vaguely remembered the old king, who had given him a thumbs-up with a toothy grin, saying weird things to Yila such as, "{Lord Yila~ I'll leave my daughter to you in the future! Train her into your plush ball!}"*
*He really was a memorable king...*
"Did Yose foresee this day long ago? I hope I won't become the prince's plush ball..."
As Yila helplessly speculated, his eyes noticed the manacles on his hands... With just one glance, his expression changed, and the calm and nostalgic emotions disappeared instantly.
Because these were Forbidden Magic Stone manacles.
The Forbidden Magic Stone, as the name implied, was a special material that could strip spellcasters and other magic professions of their ability to use mana (magic power) upon contact. It was the bane of magic professions.
However, although the Governor's ability activation also required the use of mana, it was often misunderstood to be affected by the Forbidden Magic Stones. But due to the origin of that mana, it wasn't actually restricted.
If it were the empire, they would undoubtedly know this fact.
Yila pondered this while touching his neck. As he had expected... the feedback from the World Rune clearly told him—it had recovered by 3/5.
The World Rune in the Governor's Spell Tie would recover 1/5 each day, meaning...
Yila had been unconscious for three days.
...
As Yila was still thinking about which force's prison this might be, he seemed to hear something, directing his gaze toward a certain direction beyond the cell bars in the hallway.
"Clang~"
"Clang~"
From there came the sound of armor clashing against armor, sounding as if heavily armored knights were approaching from that direction. There were two of them... were they here for him?
Confirming this, Yila prepared for combat, softly triggering his ability's *triggered effect*, just as he had done earlier: "First..."
But Yila's words halted abruptly, not because anyone did something, but because... he had already exhausted all of his *wings* while being pursued.
If it were Wing Spread, the wings would only slowly wear down.
But if it were Wing Shattering, the stored wings would shatter directly.
What came with the extreme power burst was a disproportionate efficiency and wear rate—low efficiency and high wear rate.
"Clang~"
"Clang~"
"..."
Under Yila's grim gaze, two suits of armor appeared before his cell. It was striking that these armors had no helmets and no organs that should have been under the helmets.
Instead, a small blue flame floated where the head should be.
The dim blue light illuminated the otherwise dark cell, but it didn't alleviate the eerie atmosphere, instead making it even more bizarre.
"Durahan (Headless Knight)..."
As Yila uttered this, he instantly realized his current location... Though he had roughly guessed it earlier, he was undoubtedly now on the territory of magical creatures.
Was he captured by them after drifting downstream? But it still wasn't clear which city he was in.
Since these were such high-level magical creatures, he was either on the frontline of the battle or in the depths near Demon King City... hoping it was the former.
"Clang~"
"Clang~"
As the sound of clashing armor continued under Yila's watch, the two headless knights outside the cell showed no intention of communicating with him. Instead, they simultaneously cleared the passage, seemingly waiting for someone's arrival.
Yila had naturally killed Dullahans before, and their mana was very suitable as material for the Second Wing Column and Fourth Wing Column... Of course, the current Yila was definitely not a match for the Dullahans.
While Yila was musing, he heard the sound of running from the other end of the hallway, followed by the "click-clack click-clack" sound of high heels.
"Demon King! Please don't take risks!"
A woman's anxious voice could be heard, reminiscent of a mature professional woman. She chased while urging, "We haven't confirmed whether the opponent has lost the ability to fight! Demon King?!"
Demon King?
Yila froze, and he realized what kind of place this spacious and extremely psychologically oppressive cell would appear in. Coupled with the title "Demon King," his current location was undoubtedly...
*Demon King City·Half-plane Prison*
Because it wasn't set up in the Main Material Plane, the difficulty of escaping was extreme.
For Yila, this was not good news.
"..."
"Demon King..."
"..."
Facing Yila through the iron bars was a young girl who looked around ten years old. She had dark red, blood-colored scales on her wings, and a pair of red horns on her head.
Following her was a female demon wearing high heels and black stockings, observing the now-awakened Yila. With a distinctive tail and horns, her species was immediately recognizable—*Succubus*.
Undoubtedly, the so-called Demon King was the black-haired young dragon lady in front of Yila.
This was a worse reality because... Yila had always used and considered his trump card, the First Wing Column. The source of mana was the former Demon King, a Crimson Dragon that Yila had killed. And the young Demon King in front of him was probably that guy's... daughter?
*Yila felt somewhat guilty... thinking about how he might kill the Demon King before him, take her mana, and replenish his empty wing reserves.*