Martial Arts Worlds

In the bathroom, Kiernan looked at himself in the mirror, looking all spotless and handsome like a prince.

He had to change that.

Luckily, he received an item from the lottery that would do that nicely.

From his inventory, he pulled out a mask made out of human flesh and put it on.

It felt sticky and quite uncomfortable when he put it on.

In that moment, his appearance changed to that of a bushy-bearded man, and he looked at least twenty years older.

Rough, weathered face, with old and tired-looking eyes. The hairline was further back, and his hair was V-shaped, going slightly grey at the temples.

His body was broader, as if he had spent years laboring in the fields, and it would be easy to mistake him for a battle-hardened pirate like Captain Jack.

'…That will do nicely.'

He opened the bathroom door, and Antigone was waiting outside, her eyes widening as she saw him.

She initially wanted to help him change his appearance, as she was very knowledgeable when it came to makeup and stuff.

However, Kiernan was confident enough with his item to do it himself, and since Antigone was quite curious about just how he would look, she stayed outside.

"A-Are you really Kiernan?"

She asked with a stunned look.

"Yes."

Kiernan said.

His voice was still the same, and thus, he had to put on a fake accent while in the prison.

"Unbelievable… This isn't just a simple transformation. Even your body looks different. What did you do?"

She asked.

"Secret."

Kiernan said with a chuckle, and Antigone let out a deep sigh with a wry smile.

She knew that this must be the doing of some magical artifact—a shapeshifting artifact—but since he had no intention to dwell deeper into it, she didn't push him.

They then went to meet the ship captain, and when he saw Kiernan, he completely thought that he was a stowaway.

It took him a moment to be convinced that he actually was Kiernan and not someone sneaking on board his ship.

"We will be arriving at the Downed Prison early next morning. I suggest you to get a proper night's sleep, as that is a luxury you cannot afford over there."

The ship captain said.

"…I'll do that."

Kiernan thanked him and headed back to his cabin to get a final good night's rest.

He already planned to not sleep in the Downed Prison, as he didn't have much time to escape, and he had to use every single minute to his advantage.

Luckily, the collar might be able to seal his martial soul. It couldn't change his body that had already evolved.

He couldn't utter Martial King's strength from his body, but the collar wouldn't be able to remove his lenghtened lifespan.

Thus, he could still survive without sleep and food. He could stay awake for over a month if he wanted to.

And since he was only planning to stay in the prison for about three days, it was easy for him to stay awake.

While lying on his bed, Kiernan pulled out his phone and looked at the picture of Aoi with a deep sigh.

'Do not fail… Do not fail…'

He put the phone close to his heart, closed his eyes, and fell asleep just like that.

…

The next morning.

With the sun's bright rays of light coming from over the horizon, a ship was sinking down through an abyss of dark swirling waters.

Through an open ceiling, the ship splashed against the pond of the prison, and the ceiling above them closed up.

The excess water got sucked out of the room, and the crew walked out from indoors with serious looks on their faces.

The doors of the prison opened up, and close to twenty prison guards stepped out, armed to the teeth.

"Welcome, welcome!"

In that moment, a demon-horned man stepped through the door with a big smile on his face, dressed in a black and red prison guard uniform.

However, he had more stars on his shoulders than any other prison guard.

"…He is the Vice Prison Warden."

The ship captain said with a deep frown.

They didn't expect to see him today, as most of the prisoners wouldn't meet either of the Prison Wardens.

Shackled and cuffed, Kiernan hung his head low and looked towards the Vice Prison Warden with a suspicious gaze.

He was then pushed down the gangplank by the ship's crew, and they met the prison guards at the bottom.

"Vice Admiral Adamas reporting! We have brought infamous Captain Jack to the Downed Prison to be judged and sentenced for his heinous acts of piracy!"

The ship captain saluted and shouted.

"I am the Vice Prison Warden, Daemon, and I will therefore take Captain Jack into my custody. I appreciate taking a trip here."

Daemon said with a smile.

"…I just have a question. Why is Vice Prison Warden himself going out of his way to greet a prisoner?"

Adamas asked curiously.

"Curiosity! I have heard of Captain Jack for a while, and since even his appearance is a mystery, I wanted to take the opportunity to meet him in person."

Daemon said and looked at bushy-bearded Kiernan with a chuckle.

"You look exactly like I thought you would. A crude pirate with an ugly, rough face and a heart of pure evil."

"…I am innocent. You guys got the wrong guy."

Kiernan said.

"Hahahaha!"

Daemon laughed, and the rest of the prison guards joined the laughter. They almost laughed to the brink of crying.

Adamas glanced at Kiernan and shrugged his shoulders.

With that said, it at least brought some credibility that he was wrongfully jailed if he happened to fail to break out, and they would have to come to pick him up.

"You have a VIP suite ready for you on the eighth level. I hope you like the cold!"

Daemon said with a grin, grabbed the chain that was tied to Kiernan's shackles, and started dragging him towards the door.

The crew headed back to the ship, and they watched Kiernan disappear into the depths of the prison.

"…"

Antigone looked from the window, a heavy look in her eyes, and she clutched a cross close to her chest.

"Good luck…"