The great prison Tantalus housed and isolated criminals whose atrocities were too unspeakable to name, as well as beings too powerful for any ordinary facility to contain. People were constantly sent in, yet not a single person was said to have come out. It was, for all practical purposes, considered a tomb.

With nobody returning alive and well, rumors about Tantalus passed from mouth to mouth, snowballing with every telling.

The Military State was experimenting on prisoners to create an ultimate weapon.

Monsters straight out of mythology roamed underground.

They called it a training camp, but really, it was just somewhere they shoved people to die.

Today, wandering through Tantalus alone, I had a chance to see how true those rumors were. This place certainly lived up to its reputation.

The bottomless pit. A hole without a bottom, cursed by Mother Earth. Built down in its depths, the prison lay in an abyss impossible to escape under your own power.

Within it dwelled beings of myth, history, and transcendent power: the King of Dogs, the vampire Progenitor, and a Regressor.

The golem had said there had been a breakout, but even that seemed questionable. What method could possibly get anyone out of this paradoxical abyss?

Still, the claim that there had been an uprising seemed true. Most of the prison facilities were hideously wrecked. The bars were bent like taffy, and the stone partitions had been smashed in places, exposing the building's steel frame in ugly patches. The signs of large-scale violence were unmistakable.

Yet there wasn't a single drop of blood anywhere. I could easily guess why.

Tyrkanzyaka, the vampire Progenitor.

The oldest vampire, sleeping beneath Tantalus, held dominion over blood. Even if there had been bloodshed, she would have collected all the blood spilled. It probably flowed toward her of its own accord, without her even consciously trying. As naturally as an apple yielded to gravity.

With the blood gone, only the aftermath of the violence remained.

Having reached that thought, I murmured blankly.

"... Maybe the ones who stayed here are actually scarier?"

That was a slightly frightening thought. In an ordinary prison, I would have sneered at the small fry who didn't even have the guts to break out... But those who remained here were monsters on an entirely different level.

The Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka was a monster of historical renown who had fought even the mighty Holy See, while the King of Dogs ranked among the strongest Beast Kings.

Thank goodness neither was hostile toward humans. Otherwise, I would have been killed the moment I set foot here.

Though, honestly, I didn't know how long even that would last in this situation...

"Anyway, there's only one thing to do."

They hadn't escaped or killed me because they bore humans no ill will.

That left me with one task.

I needed to win them over.

So that even if something rubbed them the wrong way later, or I found myself in danger... they would take my side.

My mind made up, I started off in a particular direction.

Three prisoners remained in Tantalus.

The King of Dogs, the puppy.

The vampire Progenitor, Tyrkanzyaka.

The Regressor, Shei.

Which of the three was the safest, and the easiest to win over?

It went without saying. Azi, the King of Dogs, of course.

In the age before recorded history, stretching back to the beginning of time, dogs and humans had already been friends.

Dogs were loyal to humans by nature. As their species' representative, Azi was loyal to every living human. That must have been how a mere Military State had managed to imprison a free Beast King in Tantalus. If a human told her to, Azi would quietly hold her breath and wait, even inside a cage.

Had it been another Beast King... the King of Wolves or the King of Lions, the cage would have been torn apart along with everything else. Not because they were stronger than Azi. Unlike her, they retained their wild nature and couldn't accept such confinement.

I couldn't know why the Military State had imprisoned Azi without reading its leaders' minds. But I could make a rough guess.

The King of Dogs was loyal to all humans.

To the Military State's allies, yes, but also to its enemies.

The Military State had plenty of those. They must have thought it would be troublesome if she fell into the hands of their internal enemies, the Resistance, or the neighboring Federation. So they had locked her in Tantalus, where they could retrieve her whenever they needed her.

"Heh heh. Idiots."

I couldn't help lamenting their stupidity. To shove her into the depths of a warehouse and leave her there for fear the enemy might use her.

I would teach them.

A weapon anyone could use wasn't something to keep hidden away.

Lamp in hand, I kicked open the storeroom door. Thick dust scattered like snow, and a stale, musty smell wafted out. After shoving aside the few skeletons that remained, I gathered several poles, a metal net, and a pile of firewood and carried them out.

Outside, I saw that the wires around the net's edge had snapped strand by strand, as though it had failed to catch some enormous beast. Sharpened hooks of some kind were attached to the back, with scraps of flesh and fur stubbornly caked onto them. As for how it had been used and broken, well. Let's say I didn't know.

The wooden poles were custom-made, with sharp hooks attached to their ends. What on earth had they been doing here for such vicious weapons to be lying around as a matter of course?

At any rate, I gathered the equipment and went out into the yard. I wiped away the scraps of flesh and fur with an oil-soaked cloth, then used the hooks to balance the net just right over the firewood, like a grill. Once everything was ready, I tilted the lamp toward the woodpile, pointed at the wick, and snapped my fingers.

"Volt."

The Military State's standard-issue magic, designed solely for practicality, kindled a flame. Electricity leaped from my fingers, and the lamp, fed a generous helping of mana, began to blaze.

Watching the flames spread to the firewood, I opened a can. Beneath the lid was a pitch-black lump, hardened solid. I took it out and submerged it in water. Moisture seeped into its crevices, and soon it had turned into a large hunk of meat that looked ten times its original size. Even cotton soaking up water wouldn't transform so dramatically.

Military compressed canned rations, one of the Military State's seven great inventions. State-of-the-art compressed food that supposedly increased storage capacity more than twentyfold by removing all moisture. Processed with preservation magic, it returned to its original size in an instant with nothing but water, its flavor and aroma completely intact! Or so they claimed.

Of course, like all overhyped products, its texture and aroma fell short of real fresh meat. Still, it was more than good enough for dog food. I placed the restored hunk of meat on the grill.

Meat this thick would take ages to cook, but I wasn't the one eating it, so it didn't particularly matter. And the intended recipient probably wouldn't care much either. What mattered was the smell it gave off as it cooked.

Leaving the meat on the grill, I took out the bell I had brought and rang it.

DING-A-LING.

After one vigorous ring, I put it away again and built up the fire to cook the meat. The red meat began to dull as it cooked, as though the even redder flames were stealing its color. Juices seeped out and dripped onto the firewood, rising again as smoke and soot. The smell of roasting meat spread in every direction.

It was about time. I lifted the bell and rang it again. A moment later, I heard a voice in the distance.

"Yummy smell! Food! Food!"

Though she was clearly speaking without a pause, each syllable came from a different location. She was running at a speed comparable to the speed of sound. I calculated how long Azi would take to arrive, braced my arms, then skimmed her thoughts and pulled the net away at just the right moment.

The woodpile exploded an instant later. Ash, smoke, and splintered pieces of unburned wood flew everywhere. The lingering heat gulped in a rush of air and flared up all at once. Flames spread, swallowing the debris. Azi, who had leaped onto the woodpile aiming for the meat, flailed in the fire.

"Woof! Hot! It's hot!"

Without a word, I raised my cloak and beat her with it. Once I had knocked off all the sparks, Azi stood up, her fur singed and tears welling in her eyes. But her pain was short-lived. Her eyes soon lit up at the hunk of meat in my hand.

Not a chance. I held out my palm and shouted.

"Stay!"

She flinched.

Azi lowered herself, staring at my palm. Her tail wagged frantically, and even as she stayed still, her eyes kept darting about. She twitched as though she wanted to lunge for the meat right away, but whenever she began to tense her muscles, I thrust out my palm at precisely the right moment. With me anticipating her every move, Azi couldn't make a rash dash. She simply watched my palm and whined.

"Stay? How long?"

Without answering, I took out the bell and moved it slowly from side to side, careful not to make a sound. As the curious-looking object moved, Azi momentarily forgot the meat and watched my hand. Slowly, I kept swaying it back and forth until she was just about to lose interest. The moment her attention returned to the meat, I rang the bell.

DING-A-LING.

Timing it for the moment Azi fully registered the sound, I roughly cut off a piece of the undercooked meat and tossed it to her. Startled though she was, Azi caught the flying meat in her mouth. Even as she chewed it vigorously, her gaze never left my bell.

Through stimulus control, I had firmly impressed the bell's presence on her. Now all I had to do was reward her.

"Good! You stayed so well! Well done! That's my girl!"

Azi's eyes widened in puzzlement at the sudden praise. No matter. I began praising her in an excited voice.

"You're such an amazing puppy! You can tell the bell's sound apart! And you stay when you're told! You're incredible!"

"Huh? I did good?"

"Yes! You're the best puppy ever! I love you! You're adorable!"

I kept praising her, pouring in emotion without saying anything of substance. An ordinary person would have grown suspicious first, but Azi, whose heart was open to practically anyone, grew more excited with every compliment. At some point, she gulped down the meat and began bounding around, shaking her head from side to side.

"Woof! Woof!"

"All right, Azi! Shall we play fetch?"

"Awooooo!"

Right then, at that very moment, the King of Dogs looked happier than any other dog in the world.

I applauded her enthusiastically while laughing wickedly to myself.

Watch this, Military State.

You don't hide away a tool that anyone can use.

You just need to use it a little 'better' than everyone else.

I put the bell in my pocket. It wasn't enough yet. This single session with canned meat today wouldn't come close.

But after a day, a week, a month...

If I patiently let her hear the bell throughout that time, associating its sound with pleasant sensations...

This bell would become a controller that could command the King of Dogs.

Heh heh heh. Just you wait. You locked me up, but in doing so, you also gave me time.

Time to train the King of Dogs!

"Bwahahaha!"

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

Oblivious to the sinister undertone in my laughter, Azi circled me in sheer delight, barking furiously. She seemed beside herself with anticipation for our upcoming game of fetch.

Yes, yes. I'll play fetch with you. A little work for my shoulder in exchange for getting closer to the King of Dogs would pay off for years to come!

I was just about to take her to a larger clearing when it happened.

'I wondered what he'd get up to on his first day, and he's been with Azi? I can't figure out what this man is after.'

Whoa, that startled me.

Thoughts suddenly reached me. The Regressor was following close behind. I was about to turn and greet her when...

'Perfect timing. I'll conceal myself with a stealth technique and follow him to observe in secret. That way, if he tries to corrupt Azi, I can cut him down on the spot.'

I turned around, but nobody was there. I couldn't sense anyone's presence, either.

Her thoughts, however, came through perfectly clearly. The thoughts of a certain woman disguised as a man, cautiously following me with her arms held together, about three meters behind me to my right.

Pretending I hadn't seen anything, I scanned the empty air, then slowly turned to face forward again.

Uh, so.

You're using a stealth technique, are you?

I'd better pretend I didn't see you...