Ten minutes later, Huang Yi walked to the entrance of the Stone Chamber with an air of ease and waved to Laus, saying, "Laus, come quickly, I got the number 11 key!"
"Ah! Have you finally got the key?" Laus and the four guards behind him were immediately delighted, and they ran towards Huang Yi, stopping just before the threshold of the Stone Chamber.
"Where’s the key?" Laus stared at Huang Yi, his gaze sweeping over him.
Just then, Huang Yi suddenly reached out and grabbed Laus like lightning, violently dragging him into the Stone Chamber!
All of this happened in the blink of an eye, and neither Laus nor the four guards had time to react!
"Ah!" The next moment, Laus let out a piercing scream, slumping onto the golden floor of the Stone Chamber in extreme pain, like a desperate wail before death, "Mr. Instakill, why would you do this?"
"At this point, you’re still pretending?" Huang Yi looked at Laus and slowly said, "You are Hydra Death Scales, aren’t you?"
At that moment, Laus trembled all over, staring at Huang Yi with a face full of shock, his green eyes filled with disbelief, as if he had forgotten the pain in his body.
Seeing Laus’s expression, Huang Yi was even more convinced of his speculation and pointed to the golden walls around them, saying, "Why have you been unwilling to enter this Stone Chamber? It’s not that you don’t want to, but that you simply dare not!"
"What are you talking about? I don’t understand, you—get me out of here first!" Laus pleaded in agony.
"If I were to get you out, then it would be my death. There’s no other way; I can only rely on this Stone Chamber to kill you, for you are the powerful Hydra Death Scales, and this Stone Chamber is your nemesis—the Realgar Stone!" Huang Yi stared at Laus struggling on the ground, but he had no intention of stepping forward to help.
Laus’s complexion turned deathly pale! The small amount of color that was on his face instantly faded away, leaving it looking like that of a dead man, "Wha, why would you say that?"
Huang Yi looked at him and said, "Originally, I didn’t realize this stone chamber was made of realgar stone, but just now, I suddenly remembered what realgar stone looks like, its color and texture are exactly like this chamber! Once, I took out the scales of Death Scales inside this chamber, and those scales simply melted away, turning into a pile of black ashes. At that time, I thought no auxiliary items could appear in this chamber, but now I know, this is a Realgar Stone Chamber! It is the natural bane of insects and snakes! Of course, I can’t rule out that it’s a special kind of realgar stone that can isolate all criminals in the prison, and you are just one of them."
Laus, struggling with pain, collapsed onto the golden-yellow floor of the stone chamber, and with difficulty, he looked up, his green eyes staring intensely at Huang Yi, "Is it just because of this point that you suspect I am Death Scales?"
"Of course not!" Huang Yi shook his head, "Actually, I didn’t know you were Death Scales at first, not until today when I connected all the doubts and details together, then I finally guessed it. First, you, as the Prison Warden of Heroes’ Prison, managing the prison under the Death God, such a famous figure, actually treated me with courtesy—this itself is very abnormal. Second, these days you’ve been waiting here for me to complete the task, without showing any behavior of managing the prison, this isn’t like a Prison Warden’s style. Third, as the Prison Warden here, you can’t enter this stone chamber, what kind of place is that? Even the mighty Prison Warden can’t enter? This is very abnormal. Fourth, if you really can’t get into this stone chamber, how would you know that the key to the cell is in the northeast corner? Isn’t this contradicting yourself? All signs indicate that you are not at all the Prison Warden!"
"Even if I am not the Prison Warden, why must I be Death Scales? The material of Heroes’ Prison is extremely special, with the functions to Silence and Seal Magic, indestructible, unable to use magic inside, and unable to let anyone with mana fluctuations leave. If I were Death Scales, being imprisoned in such a strong cell, how could I have come out?" Laus demanded in anger, his legs already starting to turn into black ashes under the stimulation of the realgar stone, with destruction not far away.
Huang Yi did not pay attention to his rage, shook his head and said, "Although the prison door of Heroes’ Prison has the functions to Seal Magic and Silence, on the introduction plaque outside Hydra Death Scales’ cell, it is written that it can shed skin! After shedding its skin, it can become 9 small, human-shaped avatars with no mana fluctuations, and can easily come out of the magic-sealed prison door, unobstructed. And out of all the criminals I know of, only it can eliminate mana fluctuations! So, the only one I can think of that could escape from the prison is Hydra Death Scales. Since you’re not the Prison Warden, you’re most likely Death Scales!"
"This is just your speculation and there’s no evidence!" Laus, enduring extreme pain and with a grotesquely twisted face, said, as his hands too began to disintegrate, his limbs all turning into black powder.
"Evidence? The black powder you’re turning into is evidence!" Huang Yi looked at the black ashes that Laus’s legs had become and took out 8 green beads from his storage ring, waving them in front of Laus, "That day, I found these 8 green beads in this chamber, next to a pile of black powder. At the time I didn’t know what it was, but now it seems apparent, these 8 beads and your eyes are dreadfully similar! The same size, both green! And that pile of black powder is the ashes of your avatars!"
Looking at the 8 green beads, Laus’s face changed, and he closed his eyes in pain, clenching his teeth, "Is it merely because they look similar that you suspect they are my eyes?"
"It’s only part of the reason! Here we have 8 beads, which suggests that 4 individuals died here. Adding you and those 4 jailers outside, makes it 9 people in total! And Hydra Death Scales, after shedding its skin, turns into 9 human-shaped forms! The numbers match perfectly! So, these 8 beads are what your 4 avatars left behind! After you escaped the cell, you must have wanted to come here to retrieve your key, but to your misfortune, this was a Realgar Stone Chamber. Your avatars, having no magic and being extremely weak, couldn’t withstand the erosion of the realgar stone, resulting in the death of 4 avatars here, leaving behind only 8 beads!" Huang Yi finished and turned to look at the 4 jailers outside the door who, too, lay collapsed on the floor in extreme pain, seemingly affected by Laus.
"Even so, why can realgar stone only erode my body but not my eyes? Does realgar stone also show mercy?"