Chapter 361: Ghost Castle of the Ultra-Deep Sea (1)
It is the coldest, hottest, roughest, foulest, and harshest place in the world.
God cut it off from the rest of the world, separating it from the sunlight forever.
It is a hell that no one can imagine.
No words or illustrations can fully convey the horrors of Nouvelle Vague, and its unique and grotesque atmosphere can only be felt by breathing its air.
People of the world, please do not sin. If you have already committed it, find a way to repent as soon as possible.
For Nouvelle Vague, the Great Prison of the Deep, awaits you at the bottom of the abyss of unknown depths with its mouth open!
* * *
At the bottom of a deep, deep trench in the ultra-deep sea.
A castle rises high above a thick forest of black seaweed.
A yellowish-blue light glows eerily like the luminescence of a deep-sea fish on the peak of an extinct volcano.
It was the very nature of the Nouvelle Vague, a dilapidated old castle made of giant cube-shaped bricks stacked on top of each other.
...teoeong! kung!
The coffin containing Vikir was dropped onto the very top of the main castle, onto a huge circular iron gate.
A ghost castle of the Ultra Deep Sea, Its interior is dug deep into the social mountain.
Vikir surveyed the landscape outside through the eyes of Decarabia.
'...This is the Gate of Good and Evil.'
The huge circular iron gate was tens of meters in diameter.
The material seemed to be an alloy of adamantium and orthoharcon, like the vaults of the Bourgeois he had seen before, and he dared not imagine its thickness and weight.
White on the left, black on the right. There is only one meaning to this antithetical placement of colors.
'The Gate of Good and Evil'. The final boundary between good and evil.
It was the main gate and symbol of the Nouvelle Vague.
And now.
rl-gigigigigi!
The door slowly began to rotate 180 degrees.
Like the lid of a manhole, the open door slowly flipped up and down, sucking the coffin containing Vikir into the castle's interior along with the seawater.
Beneath the gates of good and evil, an unidentifiable sticky, mucousy membrane could be seen, which appeared to be blocking the influx of seawater.
The windows throughout the castle were also covered with the same clear slime.
kwakwang! ...cheolsseog!
The coffin containing Vikir fell to the hard ground with a heavy splash.
By this time, the coffin had been molded to Vikir's size like a suit of iron.
Next, Vikir felt sinister hands twist the lid open.
"....We have arrived."
Vikir stuck his head out as soon as the coffin lid opened.
The interior of the Nouvelle Vague's true nature came into view.
The floors, walls, and ceiling are pitch-black. The atmosphere was cold, dank, and dreary, as befits a castle built in the depths of the sea.
Guards in black uniforms peeked out from under the brims of their hats. "... 'Night Hound'. Is this the last resident?"
He heard the burly guard in front of him mutter.
He had a large burn scar on his face and a nameplate on his chest that read 'Garm Nord'.
His rank appeared to be Lieutenant, judging by the single diamond on his shoulder epaulettes.
'Lieutenant Garm Nord', he said, looking down at Vikir.
"The entrance ceremony will be held shortly. Make sure you're ready when it does."
At those words, Vikir looked up.
Sure enough, there were several more prisoners gathered in the waiting room in front of him.
They were all dressed in black and white striped prison uniforms, with BDISSEM shackles on their wrists and ankles.
Then, in front of Vikir and the others who had changed into their uniforms, Lieutenant Garm spoke.
"I'm going to give you all a brief introduction to the system here, as I'm sure you already know."
Nouvelle Vague looks like a castle atop an extinct volcano, but its interior is actually much more expansive.
A huge, vertical underground chamber carved out of the base of the volcano.
"It's divided into nine parts."
Lieutenant Garm prefaced his explanation with a simple drawing.
The 1st floor. Aka 'Level 1'.
This is where the guards live and where all events, except executions, are held, such as entrance ceremonies and promotions.
It is also a space where criminals with the lowest sentences, those with sentences of three years or less, are imprisoned.
The 2nd floor. Aka 'Level 2'.
This is where prisoners with sentences of 5 years or less are held.
One year in Nouvelle Vague is equivalent to 10 years in any other prison on earth, so in a normal prison, prisoners who would have been sentenced to at least 30 years and no more than 50 years in prison would be held here.
The 3rd floor. Aka "Level 3".
This is where criminals with a sentence of 10 years or less are held.
In a normal prison on the ground, this is where felons would be sentenced to 100 years in prison.
The 4th floor. Aka 'Level 4'.
This is where criminals with sentences of 15 years or less are held.
You won't find any common criminals on this level.
War criminals and other heinous criminals involved in at least city-scale terrorism and genocide are locked up here.
The 5th floor. Aka 'Level 5'.
Criminals with sentences of 20 years or less are held here.
This is where those who have caused great damage to the country through state terrorism, civil unrest, or conspiracy are held.
It is also a place where the quarters of high-ranking officials at the guard level are located, and several special facilities such as a 'breeding house' and an 'execution house' are also located there.
The 6th floor. Aka 'Level 6'.
This is where criminals sentenced to life imprisonment in Nouvelle Vague are held.
The purpose of this level is to keep dangerous people who could overthrow the state away from the world forever, and prisoners here are treated more like monsters than human beings.
The 7th floor. Aka 'Level 7'.
Even the same life sentence is divided into grades and weights.
Under Imperial law, a judge may impose multiple life sentences if it is deemed that a mere sentence of life imprisonment is not enough to absolve the offense, and this level contains prisoners who have served at least 100 life sentences.
The 8th floor. Aka 'Level 8'.
Prisoners with 1,000 or fewer life sentences are held here.
The 9th floor. Aka 'Level 9'.
....
Lieutenant Garm finished his explanation, tapping the picture with the three-stage baton he wore around his waist. The prisoners about to be admitted giggled and murmured among themselves.
"I was sentenced to eight years in this place, this is awful."
"Shit, I got a 13-year sentence, this means that if you live on earth, you will have to rot in bread for 130 years! I'd rather serve my sentence here short and sweet."
"Tsk tsk tsk... I'm a life sentence. Fuck, you want me to live in this shitty place for the rest of my life?"
"They are young chicks, you do realize that life imprisonment has a count, right? I've served three life sentences."
The prisoners were engaged in a nerve-wracking battle, matching each other's strength and brutality.
One in particular drew all the attention.
He was huge, with black spots covering his body, and facial features like a demon.
There was no one among them who did not know him.
'Sakkuth De Leviathan'. His earthly nickname was 'Plague Leper'.
An extremely evil criminal who was expelled from the Leviathan family for his outrageous human experimentation, the bounty on his head once reaching 11 figures.
He grinned, baring sharp teeth.
"Have you ever heard of a plague called the Red Death, child? It was created by this very body."
Recognized as a danger by the Empire, Sakkuth was sentenced to life imprisonment, 666 times over, and imprisoned here in Nouvelle Vague.
He now resides on Level 1 to wait for the news of admission, but he is not the person who was originally supposed to be here.
When he opens his mouth to speak, the mouths of the prisoners around him shut in unison.
As if enjoying the heavy silence, Sakkuth continued.
"We even completed clinical trials on the indigenous people of the jungle. Out of nowhere, Quovadis intervened and messed things up. ugh... It's a shame. It was an opportunity to see the pandemic, an infectious disease spreading at an all-time high. Uhuk-uhuk-uhuk."
Clean. There was one more unique thing about him besides his appearance and biography.
He'd come in as a self-declared prisoner.
"Grrrr! I came here of my own volition to meet 'Him', So, we are on a different level from minnows like you who were forcibly brought in."
Sakkuth was ignoring not only the prisoners who were to share in the ceremony, but even the guards.
However, the momentum he was giving off was so vicious that not one of the guards came forward.
They kept their distance for fear of the plague he might carry.
Meanwhile.
Lieutenant Garm was briefly explaining the procedures for the upcoming entrance ceremony.
"There will be a total of three steps in the process. First, an inspection of belongings. Second, a medical examination. Third, bathing."
The prisoners looked surprised.
"We don't need to be searched or have our weapons removed, do we? We can't bring them here in the first place."
"They're going to do a physical and then a health check? That's like a medical service, not a prison welfare center."
"They also disinfect and bathe you! Haha, the Nouvelle Vague is more comfortable than I thought."
"Ugh, I can't wait to get cleaned up, the saltiness of the sea water made me sticky all the way here!"
Contrary to the rumors, the Nouvelle Vague was quite comfortable.
The prisoners seemed to be relaxing into the idea that the news that would soon follow would be no big deal.
... but.
'It's begun.'
Vikir knew.
The entrance ceremony mentioned here does not really mean simply the entrance ceremony.
And how terrifying this series of events, wrapped up in ordinary words like 'belongings check', 'medical examination', and 'bathing', was.