21 Where Are You?

As the formless energy entered inside him, he could feel an abrupt change occur within his body.

Elias couldn't exactly describe the feeling. It was liberating, as though the shackles hidden within him were shattered in the presence of the energy.

The formless energy spread all over his body, leaving a short-lived light along its way, as though purifying him from the inside.

After a while, the formless energy fully spread all over his body and integrated with him entirely, disappearing silently.

Shortly after, Elias immediately examined his own body. After he saw the results, he couldn't help but be overjoyed.

'I can finally sense and control my mana!'

Within him, the mana originally restrained in his throat by the anti-mana collar was now endlessly circulating all over his body.

Instinctively, he knew that with just a single thought he could control this mana and move it all over his body.

Undeniably, that also meant the anti-mana collar that restrained and suppressed him was now useless.

'With this, I no longer need the keys…'

Elias couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. On his palm, the crushed shining crystal had long turned into specks of dust.

The crystal was the one responsible for the change. It has an incredible and mysterious origin.

It was referred to as—Dragonic Tears.

Legends say, the Dragons were the master of all kinds of energy and were immune to all kinds of negative influences.

Any part of their body was a heavenly treasure with many uses, even their tears were no exception.

Once in a hundred years, a dragon would cry and weep. Their tears would then be crystallized and contain a small fraction of their power.

Dragonic Tears was a one-time consumable item with one particularly useful ability; to eliminate all negative influences in the body.

'Excellent.'

Elias smiled as he carefully controlled his mana. The mana inside him moved where he wanted.

Although he mentioned there were only two ways to solve the influence of the anti-mana collar, there was also a hidden third one he didn't bother to mention.

That was to directly eliminate its restraining or debuff effect without removing or destroying the collar.

The anti-mana collar, in essence, was an item that procured negative influence to the wearer's mana and body.

With an item like Dragonic Tears that removed negative influences in the person's body, it could be solved rather easily.

However, he didn't bother to mention that third method because it was impossible to do that without a special item or skill.

Back then, he didn't even know that Goblin was in the prison, that was why he didn't bother to think about it.

Seeing his joy, Goblin snorted and grumbled loudly.

"Alright, give me my storage bag now that you're done."

However, Elias didn't do so and merely smiled as he shook his head. He raised his hand into a number 'five' and pointed at the bag.

"I need five more of these tears."

Goblin already had a bad feeling beforehand, but now hearing the request, his eyes were slightly dizzy. He angrily shouted.

"Are… are you trying to rob me?! Those are Dragon Tears! They're not simple commodities! I-if you want to remove your subordinates' collars, then just break them! You have mana now."

Elias shrugged.

"I can't do that. It would alert the security team, as much as possible, if we were to escape, we need to be sneaky as much as possible."

"Tha… that's not my problem!!"

"It is. If I get caught, then you will never find those places."

"You…. You son of a…!"

Elias and Goblin argued for quite some time, but with the latter eventually relenting with heavy breathing.

Feeling extremely aggrieved, Goblin bit his lip as he fumed in rage, his small body shaking.

"Five more Dragonic Tears… That's all! Alright! No more!"

Elias nodded and waved his hand in dismissal, pausing his words.

"Relax, that's all I need for now. But…"

Goblin's eyes turned red and his body trembled more fiercely. However, Elias ignored him, finding it a bit funny before he continued.

"...I need you to do something for me. I'll give you your second mission."

Hearing that, Goblin deeply breathed as he inwardly sighed in relief. He nodded and asked:

"What is it? As long as it's within my capabilities."

Elias nodded and directly told him.

"It's simple. I want you to explore the entire facility and make a map. Write down the places where security is sparse and large. Additionally, note down the routine of the security team."

Goblin nodded.

"Alright. I can do that."

After saying that, he immediately vanished, as though afraid Elias will continue to take more of his treasures.

As soon as Goblin disappeared, the seal in the room was gone as well

Elias lightly looked at the camera in the top corner before moving his gaze to the ceiling. The smile on his face was wiped out, replaced with a serious expression.

While the nightly silence carried on, he clenched his fist tightly.

Now that the end of the month was approaching, It was time to finalize his plan to escape. He needed to escape fast, not just because of the mission but also for another reason.

Ever since he slowly managed to integrate his memories, besides the time limit… there was also someone he needed to see okay.

'...Wait for me.'

Elias thought as he let go of his clenched fist. The night was still long and he was not yet sleepy or exhausted.

***

Far away from Tartarus.

In a large multi-floor luxury mansion, the wind blew quietly, slowly entering one of the rooms with their window left unclosed.

The moon shone of luminous light, entering that particular room and illuminating it dimly, and behind that window was a small figure covered with silver moonlight.

It was a young girl about eight years old adorned with an emerald green dress.

The young girl had long black hair tied into a ponytail, with pale white skin and large dark beady eyes, she stared at the moon in deep sorrow.

It was unthinkable for such deep sorrow to appear in a young girl like her.

Despite her age, the young girl had already experienced deep, heart wrenching sorrow continuously in the past weeks.

It was just a few weeks ago that everything was fine and okay. However, in the span of one night, everything she held close was abruptly destroyed and shattered into pieces.

She couldn't comprehend how and why it happened.

In her sleep, she still dreamed that her family was still okay. Even now, she still held desperate hope that they were still alive and living well.

But the dawn of the morning and the light of her wake made her slowly realize that everything was truly gone and away.

But she wouldn't accept that. She couldn't.

As she lost herself in sadness, only the desolate moon and starry night sky can calm her stirring, unexplainable sorrow.

The young girl turned her head to the side, looking at a picture frame of three people that was on her table. One was her, then beside her was a young man with a striking appearance, and behind them both was a large man with a gentle expression.

Beneath the frame, large letters formed a name.

'Castellano Family'

Looking at the frame, the young girl held back a tear as she miffed.

"Father… Big Brother…"

"Where are you…"

In the peaceful night, beneath the starry sky and luminous moonlight, the young girl cried once more and yet nothing had changed.