Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 586 Barzel's Loyalty
The concrete walls, the ventilation openings spaced at intervals, and the huge painted signs at the corners all felt somewhat familiar to Hughes.

"The network system here is more like an air-raid shelter," Hughes remarked.

Ash glanced back at her lord but didn't reply. Hughes would occasionally say something inexplicable, but the banshees were mostly used to it.

After walking a short distance through the net tunnel, Hughes could hear the sound of flowing water coming from the next room. That must be the sewers of Bloodharbor. All the sewage and industrial water in Bloodharbor would flow away through a dedicated channel in the net tunnel.

After advancing a while, two equally tall figures appeared in front of Hughes. Their dark heavy armor looked even more menacing under the dim lights of the net passage.

"Lord Lord."

A deep voice came from under the mask, echoing dully in the concrete passage. The thought of the dungeon just ahead only heightened the eeriness of the place.

It would be even better if the two of them didn't have such a heated discussion in the "Gwen and Her Three Pieces of Luggage" live stream on the Mind Link platform.

Hughes sighed. These banshees looked intimidating, but beneath their heavy armor, they were all pretty noisy and boisterous.
Ash is still the best.

Hughes couldn't help but pat Ash's leg armor and tail armor.

Ash glanced at Hughes with a puzzled look, thought for a moment, and then reached out and patted his head.

Hughes: ?
What kind of strange ritual is this?

Two guards made way, and Hughes followed Ash down one more floor, arriving at the most heavily guarded underground prison in Bloodharbor and even the entire Castel.

This place is completely isolated from the outside world, with female demons stationed here to guard it. The concrete is so thick it can be used as an air-raid shelter. It is generally used to detain only the most important and dangerous prisoners.

There aren't many prisoners here now, just a few nobles from the North, all stubborn fellows, and a Candlelight Investigator, a survivor Isaac snatched from his grandmother in the North, the first superhuman prisoner Castel captured.

That person is still being interrogated and has remained silent for a long time.

Besides that, there's Bazell.

Bazel's cell is at the very back. Ash just notified the Banshee's duty squad via telepathy, and now a whole squad of Banshees is standing at his cell door.

Chloe is here too.

Hughes glanced at the diary lying on the table and asked, "What did he say?"

He said he had been controlled, that Lina had controlled him and lured him to find the Temple of Bones—you know that, right?

"What was written in the previous report? I've read it. He actually believed that? Does he really think he can become the Lord of the Undead?"

He firmly believed that Lina used some ability to impair his judgment, and based on the logical reasoning he displayed during his confession, it seemed to be true; his cognition did indeed appear to be affected.

"So it's all Lina's fault?" Hughes sneered. "Did Lina find out anything?"

"Not yet. All we know is that she has a close connection to the Firemoth. She claimed to be the leader of the Firemoth in Bazel's group and recounted many details about them. I compared them one by one and found that there were basically no errors." "I remember she was one of the members of the Firemoth before?"

"Her infiltration of the Firemoth seems to be deeper. According to Bazel's confession, Lina's familiarity with the Firemoth far exceeds what her identity would allow. I suspect she joined the Firemoth under another identity before, and may even still be lurking there now."

Hughes frowned. This matter was somewhat strange. The name "Fire Moth" wasn't exactly a good one, so why would she go to such lengths to borrow it? It seemed that Lina and the Fire Moth might indeed have some connection.

"However, you don't need to worry about the Fire-Chasing Moths on Castel's side. Although the Moth Lord has mysteriously disappeared, our people all have their souls imprinted within the [Chrysalis], so there's no possibility of betrayal. I myself exist solely through the [Chrysalis]."

This "pupa" sounds like a good thing. I wonder if I can get a few more people to work overtime in it.
Hughes suppressed the wicked thoughts in his mind and gestured to Ash: "Open the door."

Ash stepped forward and placed his hand on the heavy steel door. The twisted characters etched on the door lit up for a moment, and then with a "click," the lock popped open.

"This is our secret seal. While its protective capabilities aren't as strong as steel, it offers decent resistance against supernatural objects," Chloe explained.

The steel door was pushed open, revealing a pile of twisted and gnarled bones inside. Hughes squinted and barely managed to make out a skull among them.

"How did he become like this?"

To prevent him from regaining his powers, I designed a machine to periodically crush him, ensuring he remains in a broken state for easier control.

Hughes then noticed a huge mechanical structure on the ceiling, with a thick steel plate suspended above it, designed to periodically come down and smash Bazel.
"hiss"

"It's okay, he'll be able to put himself back together soon. I timed it perfectly."

Sure enough, not long after, the bones in the room began to wriggle, and Bazel's cracked skull gradually appeared before Hughes' eyes.

"Kill me," Bazel said weakly.

Hughes: "."

“I have no intention of being your enemy. All the provocations and attacks were instigated by Lina. You are also a border count, right? We were both appointed by the Queen, and we should not be fighting each other.”

"By the way, during my interrogation, he showed extremely high loyalty to the Queen, even calling out her name as he was being crushed," Chloe whispered, leaning closer.

Loyalty to the Empress?
Hughes's expression turned strange. Bazel probably didn't know that his empress had changed her identity and that he was now in the empress's nominal territory.

What an irony.

"The Empress—no, even the former empire no longer exists—do you find it laughable to discuss the conferment of a border count, Your Excellency Bazel?" Hughes replied slowly and deliberately. "Besides, you even attempted to assassinate me during the trial."

"No, that wasn't me! I just suddenly broke free from Lina's control when we made eye contact. Then I felt something inside my body burst out. It was beyond my control, and I don't have the ability to attack like that. Otherwise, I would have used it during the battle!"

Hughes narrowed his eyes. Bazel's explanation sounded reasonable, and he also felt that the skeletal body was indeed rather useless in battle.

(End of this chapter)