"G-Good sir, I don't mean to be rude, but the doors of all the Dukes' Treasuries are made of something called 'Immortal Titanium,'" the Merchant said with a tone of warning. "To scratch, let alone cut through it, one would require strength bordering on the Immortal Emperor Realm. In the Azureflask Empire, Immortal Emperors are especially rare, so the vast majority of these Treasuries are deemed virtually impenetrable—"
SHING!
A crisp, cutting sound echoed out.
"!!!"
The Merchant's disbelief morphed into utter bewilderment as he stared slack-jawed at the nonsensical sight before him.
"T-The vault doors," he stuttered. "They were cut through!?"
Right before his very functional pair of eyes were the two golden doors, and then there was the giant x-mark etched straight out the middle of them!
"Well," Azmodeus said calmly. "What are you waiting around for? Let's head in and conduct the inspection."
The apathetic voice of the good sir took the Merchant out of his thoughts as he struggled to regain his bearings. He then fumbled toward the good sir and jointly entered into a room filled with countless shimmering objects.
'I wonder if my son is faring any better in all this,' he thought as a few of his hair strands fell off his head. 'Hopefully he got out of there as soon as he could...'
Achoo!
A heavy sneeze echoed out in the damp underground dungeons of Duke Rowan's Castle. A young, slightly handsome man rubbed his nose as he shuddered a little from the low temperature.
"It's so cold in here," Aflon said as he leaned his body against a cold stone bench. In his solitary cell, this was the only thing he had.
Even his clothes and possessions had been requisitioned by the Duke's guards after they claimed he had disturbed the peace. Now, it was just him and his underwear in a very dark and very cold cell.
"At least I showed the good sir that I have worth," he mumbled as he saw his own breath. "...Will I die here...?"
"Hopefully not... After all, I still haven't repaid the good sir for helping me tell my father what I wanted..."
The Merchant left Azmodeus's side as he jumped at the extremely hard iron bars that barred him away from reaching his boy.
"I thought you were dead...!" He shouted in a low tone while trying his best to prevent the waterworks from arriving.
"...Father," Aflon said as he mustered up the last of his strength to walk over to the iron bars. "I just wanted to show you that I was reliable as well..."
"My son! My stupid son," the Merchant shouted while banging against the bars. "In my eyes, you have always been reliable! It's just that after your mother—"
"Hey, I don't mean to interrupt this touching reunion," Azmodeus interrupted as he appeared right next to the heartwarming pair. "But, we have been found."
He pointed toward a few bright torchlights in the distance.
"They're down here!" Someone shouted. "Chase them down and stab them on your pikes! We shall bring them back to the Lord alive and ready to be tortured."
"!!!" "!!!"
Both Aflon and his father wore the same ashen expression.
"Well," said Azmodeus. "Let's do a little cardio and get a move on."
He motioned to the already sliced open cell bars.
"How did yo—"
"It's too bothersome to explain," said Azmodeus. "Just jump through and follow."
FWIP!
He had already vanished and fled through the corridors, eliciting the immediate urgency of the father-son duo as they chased after him while also simultaneously being chased by furious guards.
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