Rise of the Eromancer

Chapter 209 I Knew You Were Trouble When You Walked In

"Poisoned…?"

Talia promised herself just moments ago that she would completely ignore Rhys and not heed him any mind anymore, or at the very least, not get flustered with everything that he does. She was old, she had already seen everything there was to see in the world — but now, it was almost as if she was being brought back to her youth with how angry, curious, confused, and utterly clueless she was.

"What do you mean poisoned?" Talia then asked; slightly pushing away her disdain for now as she looked at Rhys, "The fruits?"

"Probably all of this," Rhys turned to look at the fruits, barbecue, and cool beverages provided to Talia, "I can already feel trace amounts of poison in the grape I ate, it's very faint, almost non-existent, but it's there. Your other food probably has even more of it."

"You… can also feel poison?" Talia could not help but lower her eyebrows as she also looked at her table that was filled with all the things she requested, she then turned her eyes back to Rhys, only to see him still eating the grapes, "Then why are you eating them if they really are poisoned?"

"I also have a way to bring my body to its optimal condition," Rhys shrugged, "I heard from the other prisoners that you were able to remove whatever they placed in our necks? I'm guessing that's also when you gained authority within the prison and started requesting food for yourself, right?"

"I… don't believe you, dregger," Talia squinted her eyes as she once again looked at the table, "I've been eating all of these even before you were born — I'm still alive."

"You are," Rhys stood up from the sofa as he looked at Talia from head to toe, "But could it be you're weaker than you're supposed to be, Talia…?"

"That's just how life works, boy," Talia scoffed and shook her head, "Even the mightiest of the mighty fall to the curse of time, I'm just old — my food is not poisoned, the people of this prison will not betray me like that."

"But you're just a prisoner here, Granny. Like me, like the rest of these people," Rhys turned to look at the other prisoners, who quickly moved away their prying and nosey gazes as soon as he and Talia looked at them.

"I am not like the rest of you," Talia also stood up from the sofa as she slightly raised her voice, "I am superior. I can leave this prison anytime I want to, I am here by choice."

"Are you?"

"I am," Talia looked Rhys in the eyes, "And you can't even prove there's any poison in my food."

"We'll see," Rhys then started looking around for a few seconds before he settled toward a couple of guards who were chatting with each other while looking at them. Rhys then snipped another piece of grape and just flicked it straight toward one of the guard's mouths with utmost precision.

Talia watched as the guard's face went through different phases when the grape just went straight down his throat — confusion, realization, and then… panic. The guard even inserted two fingers into his mouth to puke out the grape, but when it did not come out, he just quickly rushed out of the yard.

"See…?" Rhys then pointed at the guard's disappearing back, "Even I wasn't expecting them to react like that since the poison is too weak to even notice."

Talia did not really say anything as she just stood there with a blank expression on her face; none of her wrinkles showing as she remained completely still; soon, however, her age once again showed as her face practically just curled. The ground beneath her feet, slowly cracking open like Jenga.

"Mcconell!" Talia then let out a very loud scream as she ran; each of her steps completely slicing the floor as she made her way back into the building — completely disregarding the gates and just slicing them open.

"Talia! Do not move! Do not—" The guards warned her, but they also just started shooting at her at the same time with their extremely high-caliber bullets that were capable of piercing thick steel. But alas, none of them even reached Talia before they got sliced into hundreds of pieces along with their rifles.

Fortunately for them, their body and even hands were still completely intact as Talia only destroyed their weapons as she rampaged her way to the buildings to go and find the warden.

As for everyone else left in the yard, none of them really even attempted to do anything even though all the guards responded to the threat at hand. Because, unlike Talia, their necks were still literally in the hands of the prison. The only thing they could really do was look at the person who caused the entire chaos to ensue in the first place…

…only to see him just casually enjoying Talia's food. And then, after he was done putting some refreshments onto his plate, he just took a seat on Talia's sofa.

"Hm…" Rhys just raised his plate as he noticed the other inmates looking at him, "You guys should relax…

…Free Time's extended."

And with that, in what could be considered his first actual day in prison without counting his solitary confinement… Rhys was able to establish his dominance.

But of course, Typhon's Island still held the most dangerous people in Amerka — that title was not just for show. And now, some of those dangerous people were looking at Rhys; what was in their minds, however, was something only they would know.

Hours passed and night came, and yet the situation with the warden still had not passed. Some of the inmates even returned to their cells voluntarily so that they could just rest; there was, after all, no use trying to escape the prison — the thing in their necks would melt and blow their heads off as soon as they stepped outside the prison's perimeter.

The prison was confident enough to leave the inmates alone to do whatever they wanted because they literally controlled their lives. If anything, they were more like pets in a cage rather than prisoners; except for Talia, they were insects in a terrarium.

Well, Talia's head may not be blown off by leaving the perimeter, but what awaited her outside was still a death sentence as the top-ranking Explorers would probably hunt her down. She was incredibly strong, but if Rhys could hold her down, then he was sure that anyone in the top 15 could too.

But…

"...Just how strong were you in your prime?" Rhys then whispered to himself as he just remained in the yard; lying on Talia's sofa as he stared at the boxed sky above the prison and the full moon that adorned it.

"What are you doing here all alone, sweetie?"

And as Rhys was about to lose himself in his own thoughts, a woman suddenly approached him. The first thing that Rhys noticed was the 5 Hearts floating above her head, with 2 already completely filled up.

He then turned to look at her face; a large scar, adorning her left face and completely taking away her eye — but she wasn't ugly, not at all. And with the way she was approaching Rhys with her sultry steps and wet lips, she knew she was hot.

"Want some company?" The female prisoner smiled; the look in her eyes, even more suggestive than her voice, "Name's Rose. Rhys, Rose — we already have something in common."

"We're both criminals," Rhys let out a small but very deep breath as he sat up and looked at Rose from head to toe. Her body was nice, but Rhys had probably already seen all the spectrum of beautiful shapes from his current women… and not to mention Arachnea.

"A man with a sense of humor, I like that," Rose then just leaped onto the sofa before leaning in closer to Rhys, "There's a lot of humor here, but you're the only one who seems to have the guts to actually finish with the punchline."

"...Right," Rhys only glanced at her.

"I'm going to be straightforward, Rhys…" Rose then placed her hand on Rhys's thigh, "...I want to fuck you — and with all the guards busy with something else, we could just do it right here and now…

…and I'm already wet."

"...What are you in here for?" Rhys asked.

"Oh, is that your idea of foreplay?" Rose chuckled as she just grabbed Rhys's crotch, "Fine, I'll bite…

…I used to run a certain medicinal operation in the Underworld."

"Drugs," Rhys breathed out, "And what's your ability?"

"It's better if I show you…" Rose then slightly opened her lips; a faint smoke, escaping her mouth, "...I have the power to—"

"Produce aphrodisiac with her breaths."

And before Rose could finish her words, Rhys watched as pieces of her head started to fall off from her neck, and as they did so, they very slowly revealed Talia who was just casually approaching Rhys.

"I think this makes us even…

…Rhys Wilder."