A few hours later, Kairo and Nyx met outside for a routine check. According to Camilla, their patrol would start exactly at noon.
The corridors were ghost-quiet with no officers roaming around. The only people Kairo and Nyx met were the other groups patrolling in other sectors.
"Camilla wants to make sure every prisoner is in their cells every two hours. I don't think it's a little excessive. Technically the prisoners have no way of escaping this place—even if they could get out of their cells," Kairo said.
"Camilla doesn't want to be surprised by anything. She is really meticulous in her work. According to the files, the prisoners in this sector have been condemned for... eating…" Nyx was startled reading through her tablet.
"What do you mean eating?" Kairo asked. How could anyone be condemned for something this basic? This was absurd, Kairo thought, until Nyx finished her phrase.
"Their classmates," Nyx concluded with a horrified smile. "I don't understand what could push someone to eat their classmates. This is definitely not something human," Nyx added.
Kairo too was perplexed. He didn't know the details but was pretty sure card magic was involved. Otherwise, how could someone devour their classmates?
"Nyx, I think card magic is... oh my god—" Kairo's eyes flinched.
From the bars of the dark cell, two heavy hands stuck out like venomous snakes, tightly gripping Nyx's neck from behind.
"I can break diamonds with my fingers. Make a single move and she will be dead," a dark and somber voice flowed from within.
"Don't touch me, you fool!" Nyx aggressively fought to keep the grip away. But to no avail—it was like the hands were locked into her neck, connected with her very skin.
Flipping Animate in his fingers, Kairo stroked his finger across the bars, causing them to distort and flip. With a clear creaking sound, the bars turned so much they felt like jelly tightening around the prisoner's arms.
While Nyx activated Sifa, a white living scarf moved in between the bars, tightening around the neck of the prisoner. His breathing immediately turned heavy and ugly, as if he was suffocating.
"Let's see if you too have a diamond neck. If you don't let her go now, she wouldn't mind taking you down on the spot," Kairo warned, his breathing oscillating between calm and storm. They had been careless and forgotten about the distance security.
I was distracted and now Nyx is in danger, Kairo thought.
"S-Sight… that was just a joke… don't kill me," the prisoner managed to say between his choked breaths, and released his grip on her neck.
Taking the chance, the duo immediately distanced themselves from the cells.
"Are you okay? These marks look heavy—we should talk to Camilla," Kairo said. The marks on Nyx were like they were anchored to her skin, almost fused with it.
'What kind of power is that? Is this card magic? No—impossible. They are imprisoned; they shouldn't be able to use card magic,' Kairo's mind was spiraling in all directions, guided by worry and fear.
"It's fine. If she learns about it, you'll be in trouble. After all, you're the one who brought me here. I'm sorry I was careless. This won't repeat itself," Nyx said, catching her breath.
Kairo said no more, turning his attention back to the criminal. In his cell, despite the dimly lit cage, he could catch a faint glimpse of the prisoner. Giving off the vibe of an adolescent trying to play the gangster, the prisoner had numerous tattoos all over his huge forearms. His stomach bulged forward like that of an alcoholic who didn't know when to stop.
His eyes… Kairo's heart skipped a beat. At first, it was just an intuition, but now—exactly like with the Surgeon— Kairo learned to see Dead in people eyes. his eyes were those of someone surrounded by death.
"They used to call me Fatty… hihihi… now I wonder who is fat between us," he said, touching his stomach and retreating into the depths of his cell.
'Is he the one who ate his classmates? These prisoners are damn scary,' Kaior felt a shiver run through his body. It wasn't something he could cry out loud—Nyx was here. Keeping his rising fear to himself, Kaior said,
''I know you're worried about Camilla getting angry, but we can't keep this to ourselves. These marks are way too visible. It's better we talk to her now.''
''These days, there's nothing I can convince you to do. This feels so annoying,'' Nyx complained, and could only follow after him.
.....
In the infirmary of the second level, Camilla examined Nyx's neck with furrowed brows.
''This is going to be troublesome. Why didn't you simply listen and stay twelve feet away from the cells? Aie... the
prisoner has left the Death Mark on her.''
''The death what?'' Kaior asked in fear.
''I didn't want you to know about this, but I have no choice now. Have you all heard about the project Limit Breaker?'' Camilla asked in a low voice.
''Limit Breaker... I think I read something about it in the archive of the Headquarters while going through some classified files. It's about a project that was suddenly retracted and all evidence about it discarded,'' Nyx said, massaging her neck.
Listening to her, Kaior's face darkened. She sneaks into the restricted archive now? What does this girl not dare to do in there? At first, he thought it was only Danzan who was the troublesome one, but it was clear no one in the Card Mage could stay in one spot.
''Yeah, you're right. All I know is Project Limit Breaker had an objective—like its name implies—to break the limit of the three cards per user.''
''Not surprising. This limit is really frustrating for many,'' Kaior agreed. If there was really a way to circumvent that limit, the Card Mage would reach a whole new level of power. But at last, if it had succeeded, then the Limit Breaker project wouldn't be in the archive. But then Kaior was curious and asked,
''What did they do? And why was the project stopped?''
''The creators behind this absurdity thought that if the card mage user could not carry more than three cards on them because of the energy drainage, maybe they could just get them inside themselves. They ate the cards. Creating the Card Eaters,'' Camilla said, leaning slightly on the table.
''Most died because of the siphoning of aura, which sucked them to death. But a few survived and developed abilities based on the card they ate. The prisoner you met—Corry—was one of the patients who ate the card Death Mark.''
Kaior gasped at the revelation.
''They ate the cards? Are they crazy? Who could be behind such an inhuman absurdity? The person must be a real devil,'' Kaior said.
It was probably after Corry ate the card Death Mark—and some others—that he developed the strange ability to 'eat' his classmate. No matter who was behind this project, Kaior sincerely hoped he was arrested or locked in a place so far away he wouldn't be able to continue this.
''You mean they can now use card magic directly from within their body? This is insane,'' Nyx added.
''I personally know nothing about the originator of the project nor where it started. All we know is it somehow spread, and Selis Variant and her acolyte used it on a few people before giving up and turning to the Surgeon and Promised Result,'' Camilla explained, taking a series of statistics about Nyx's condition.
''The Death Mark in itself is not really scary. Unless you get wounded in battle, you will be fine until the effects fade on their own. If you were to get wounded in battle, the wound wouldn't heal no matter the kind of medicine or card used. The only thing that will await you will be death,'' Camilla said with a serious gaze.
''You should under no circumstances get wounded, Nyx. Do you understand?''
''I do,'' Nyx said with a lost expression. Her jovial smile vanished, replaced by a stern and lifeless one. She placed her hands on her neck, and her fingers could be seen visibly shaking on it.
''There should be a way to revert the effect of this? Cards always have inner mechanics. If I talk to Corry, maybe he will have a solution?'' Kairo said, feeling his frustration grow.
''Sorry, I can't allow you to do that. Corry is not the only prisoner in this place to be an ex-patient of Limit Breaker. The other is even scarier. I can't get you near their cells. The only reason he didn't kill Nyx on the spot is due to the metallic necklace they all wear. It can temporarily seal off their aura to prevent them from using card magic—even if, through some magic, they got their hands on it. But for the two prisoners of Limit Breaker, it is different. The necklace is only a frail limiter. That's how dangerous real grade three criminals are,'' Camilla warned.
Kaior, after defeating the Surgeon, felt he was stronger than most criminals—unless they were above the fourth grade. After all, the Surgeon was not a weakling.
Yet, after listening to Camilla, he felt how naive he had been. Corry alone was far more dangerous than he had ever thought. Whether it was the grade two criminals on the first level, the grade three on the second level, or the grade four on the third level—they weren't on this submarine for show.
They were the real deal. Real monsters who wouldn't hesitate to bite at them if they made the slightest mistake. Exactly like Nyx had done.