Brainwashed Then Woke Up To Find My Childhood Friend a Hero

6. I’ve Been Thrown into the Punishment Cell?!

“Come on! Walk faster!”

The guard yanked on the chain attached to the handcuffs, causing me to grimace in pain as they dug in.

I walked silently, pondering what to do. After a while, the guard stopped in front of a steel door. It felt eerily familiar, reminiscent of the massive iron doors I had seen before entering the Empire.

With practiced ease, the guard entered a complex code on the panel beside the door, and it suddenly swung open.

As I marveled at this being the technology of the Magic Empire, a sharp pain from the tugging on my arm brought me back to reality.

“Come on! Keep up!!”

The guard yanked the handcuffs again, causing me to lose my balance and stumble forward.

“What are you doing? Get up!”

I hurriedly stood, astonished by the scene before me.

Several inmates lay sprawled on the ground, their faces pale and drained of color. In the center of the room stood a large pillar, emanating a bluish-purple light.

“Now, you’ll spend half a day here.”

The guard said only that before exiting the punishment cell.

In that instant, the iron door slammed shut, the heavy sound echoing through the room.

I tried to ask a few of the inmates what was going on, but—

—

—

Everyone has lost their sanity, their consciousness hazy,

and those who seem capable of conversation…

As I glance around, I notice a remarkably

muscular man sitting cross-legged in the corner, seemingly asleep.

I sense that this man, despite his slumber, exudes an air of danger.

However, with no one else appearing to be sane,

I muster my resolve and approach him.

“Hey, you there!”

A bad feeling washes over me, and I wrap my body in a layer of enhancement,

leaping back from the spot.

A dark aura lingers like an afterimage.

Then I see the man’s fist has shallowly pierced the ground,

cracking the earth in a circular pattern around him.

I break into a cold sweat as I look at him, and he yawns,

stretching his body.

“Yaaawn, what the hell do you want?”

The giant seems annoyed at being disturbed from his sleep, cracking his neck as he looks my way.

He’s huge… the man from earlier was about 2 meters tall,

but this one seems close to 3 meters.

I remain on guard, unable to lower my stance as I watch the giant.

Then, as if fully awake, he glares at me with an even more intense gaze.

I feel a tension I haven’t experienced in a long time enveloping me.

This is on par with, or perhaps even greater than, the Four Heavenly Kings…!

The giant, observing my reaction, lets out a low laugh and says,

“Gahaha…! You’ve got some guts, huh? But I don’t recognize your face. A newcomer?”

The giant’s glare shifts to a scrutinizing gaze.

I swallow hard, the sound echoing in my throat,

and respond.

“Yeah, that’s right. I’m sorry for waking you. It’s my first time here, and I wanted to ask someone about the situation, but given this atmosphere…”

—

I try to speak my apologies and reasons to calm the situation, but the big man grins and says,

“Oh? This is your first time here, and with that stamina, you must be either a soldier or an adventurer, huh? You seem to be quite the capable one.”

The big man nods as if satisfied and continues to ask,

“Why don’t you join my crew?”

I’ve just been invited to join a crew again after being thrown into the punishment cell!?

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I’m sorry, I wasn’t able to schedule the post.

I will take utmost care to ensure that such a thing doesn’t happen again in the future.