The Sixteenth Layer was known as the Arcane Prison World. This was where offenders, criminals, and sacrifices of the Sacred Cult would end up in. 

 

The golden-red figure walked down the stairs of one particular prison where high-profiled offenders would be placed. He took turns, entered hallways, and arrived at a cell that contained only one individual. 

 

"Nice to see again." 

 

Silence. 

 

"Come on, now. I haven't seen you in so long, and this is how you treat me?" 

 

Silence. 

 

"I know you never respected me, but you should at least respect your mother's older brother, no?" 

 

Chains rattled. 

 

"Ah! So mentioning your mother is enough to get you moving. Well, that little bitch is getting punished right now. I really have to thank you, little nephew. You getting captured really helped us find her sooner." 

 

Chains rattled harder. 

 

"And soon, your lord will also fall into our hands. Go on. Pray. Pray earnestly. Pray everyday. Let your prayer transcend these layers. Pray to your god, one who will never save you because of what you are. You vile half-blooded creature." The golden-red figure laughed on his way out. 

 

Silence returned, but was once again broken by a soft weeping. However, an explosion soon replaced all sounds. 

 

......

 

A warship was quickly passing through the Arcane Abyss toward the Eleventh Layer. On the warship, the Seventh Cardinal was fooling around with some scantily clad women. 

 

He was dressed in the blood-red cardinal cloak, and his youthful features gave an insidious impression to people who looked at him. He drank wine and ate meat while watching the women danced around. 

 

"Hah... This is the life." The Seventh Cardinal relaxed on his throne. "I can't believe Eldest Brother sent me here. Just because I'm the youngest doesn't mean he can just bully me." 

 

"Well, I guess this is a prime opportunity to get more 'meat'..." He giggled to himself, causing the servants to winced as though a razor-sharp blade was caressing their ears. "Eldest Brother has been hiding from us lately. I wonder if he's still bummed out by her death. Aye! That's just life. She was a real pretty girl, but a dead girl is just a rotten meat. Ah, Third Brother might have disagreed on that, the creep." 

 

Suddenly, the warship collided with something and stopped. Alarms sounded and people were sent into a panic. 

 

[Reporting, Lord Seventh Cardinal. An irregular heat signature had been detected in the front. Tenth-step Manifest Aspect level magical power had been detected.]

 

"What!?" The Seventh Cardinal stood up and was prepared to exit the warship, but a sudden flash of red lightning danced around him and killed everyone else on board. 

 

He shivered, but then felt blood gushing out of his knees. When he looked down, he realized he no longer had any legs and dropped to the ground. 

 

The Seventh Cardinal looked up at a black-cloaked, red-masked figure walked toward him. "You... No that shouldn't be possible... How can be so much stronger already... You are the Red-" 

 

His head was slashed off before he could finish his sentence. The wound on his sliced neck wiggled and twisted as though it was alive, but the red lightning cauterize the wound. 

 

In a few seconds, the warship turned around and blasted toward the Arcane Prison World. There were thousands of prisons in the Arcane Prison World, but the warship had a very specific target. 

 

"That's the Seventh Cardinal's warship!"

 

"What in the abyss is it doing here?" 

 

"Hold on... It's heading right toward us!" 

 

The warship crashed right into one of prisons. Red lightning flashed once again and killed most of the prison guards. A shadow quickly passed through the floors and arrived at a cell. In this cell was a single person. Or rather, half a person. 

 

The flesh of the half-corpse was rotten and gray. Bones stuck out from the side of the corpse. It was also small, though, it was unclear if it was small because it owner was small or if rotted for too long. 

 

However, to the masked person, the corpse was the most beautiful thing in the world. Tears welled up in his eyes as he reached out a grabbed the half-corpse. He hugged it for a moment before putting it away in a white marble coffin. 

 

He fled right away, but a flash of red and golden light in the sky blasted him with tremendous force. He was locked in place, but he waved his sword again to attack the light. 

 

"AH!!!" The golden-red figure was knocked away with a gaping wound on his chest. It quickly healed, but traces of red lightning still danced around the wound. 

 

"So you are the Red Ogre!" 

 

"Well met, Sacred Master." 

 

"Ho? I heard you are a man of few words. It's an honor to hear the person who escaped from my little brothers to open his mouth for me." The Sacred Master glanced at the broken prison cell. "Hm? I remember correctly, that belongs to a member of Gui Family. So you must be the remaining survivor." 

 

"I would love to cut you up to rip you in halves, but now is not the time nor will it be I who to do that. Farewell, Sacred Master." The masked person fled once again. 

 

"Not happening! You think you can escape from me!?" Magical power that surpassed the limits of the Arcane Abyss rolled off from the Sacred Master and descended onto the masked figure. However, a red gas oozed out of the masked person and cancelled the power of the Sacred Master. In fact, it struck the Sacred Master with deadly force. 

 

"What!?" The Sacred Master was forced back and watched as the masked person fled. Rage boiled in his eyes, but he was utterly helpless. Thus, he could remain behind with confusion. "How can this be!? How can he wield the power of his holiness as well!?" 

 

The masked person fled the scene, and even avoided the assault of the other cardinals. He completely defeated the Sacred Cult. No one was sure on where he fled to, but the Sacred Cult quickly sent members after him. 

 

In a remote cave of unknown land, the masked person rested while circulating his magical power to recover. He took out the white marble coffin and hugged it again. 

 

"Sister..."