Chapter 109 Chapter 109 You still have more than two hundred bones to...
Along the rammed earth and gravel road compacted by countless wheels and horseshoes, Elio and Spedo drove their horses out of the orange sunset; on their left was a sea of lemon and olive groves, and on their right was the inky blue Ionian Sea, which was tirelessly beating against the dark volcanic rocks.
"See those hideous black rocks ahead?" Spedo raised his chin. "That's the Cyclops Islands."
"The Cyclops?" Elio said. "The Cyclops from Homer?"
"I didn't realize you'd read the Odyssey," Spedo said lazily. "Yes, it's about the Cyclops that Odysseus encountered, offended, defeated, but didn't kill, and ultimately brought Poseidon to them."
"You sound like you have a point."
"I only hint to those who can understand."
Spedo gave him a meaningful look, and Elio understood what he meant. He couldn't help but laugh and cry. "I won't question Giotto's decision, Spedo."
"You're one of his most loyal friends, and I completely understand that," Spedo said slyly, "but isn't one of a friend's duties to dissuade your friend from making a bad decision?"
Elio had finally figured it out. This illusionist would resort to sarcasm when he wanted to offend, but his tone would be incredibly soft and beautiful when he wanted to win someone over or please them. Elio didn't respond, simply shaking his head. "We have more pressing matters to attend to right now."
Spedo snorted, but didn't insist. "The Scalera family is just behind the town ahead."
To avoid being seen, they dismounted and tied their horses to a tree by the roadside. Elio didn't leave immediately. Instead, he whispered a few words to the horse, then smiled and leaned back, avoiding the horse's attempt to chew his hair.
Spedo glanced sideways.
"We're not even the Mafia now, Spedo." Elio patted his horse one last time, stood up and said to him, "You have to wait until he gets over that mental hurdle."
Spedo realized that Elio wasn't trying to change the subject, and his expression eased slightly, but he still replied unhappily, "I don't know if I can wait until that day!"
"That day will come," Elio said, glancing at the darkening sky as he walked towards the town. "But you have to know that one of your obligations as a friend is not to force him to do something he doesn't want to do."
"Even if you know it's right," Spedo followed up, "it can better protect the interests of everyone?"
"Uh-huh," Elio replied. "That's why we're here now, to do what he doesn't want to do, isn't it?"
Spedo was speechless for a moment. Elio looked back at him and smiled.
"Let's go," Elio said, tugging at his gloves. "The Scalera family is just ahead, isn't it?"
They followed Elio's advice and Spedo's method and "sneaked" into the town. Scalera's fortress was located high behind the town, and thanks to the magician, they walked in so openly that no one could see them.
This is like a bug in the game Revolution, Elio thought.
"Well, we can choose any method we like to attack them." Spedo looked around. "Do you have any good suggestions?"
"Let's find the chief's office first," said Elio.
"Then?"
"That depends on whether the chief is inside."
Spedo laughed. He and Elio exchanged a glance, as if everything was clear. They crossed the courtyard and entered the main tower, passing the Mafia members stationed there. Spedo hadn't studied the structure, but Elio quickly found the chief's office, as if he were exploring his own backyard.
"How did you know it was here?" asked Spedoch.
"I'm a professional," Elio said. As Spedo watched curiously, the assassin glanced from one end of the room to the other at the towering bookshelves, then at the desk piled with several stacks of letters. Finally, he turned and walked towards the fireplace, where Spedo had completely unexpectedly come. There was a bronze candlestick on top. Elio tried to pick it up, but when he realized it wasn't possible, he decisively tried to turn it.
Next, a dark room opened its entrance.
Of course, Spedo could find such a mechanism. But he still showed a strange expression, because he really couldn't understand how Elio found it after just a few seconds of observation. And Elio obviously didn't want to explain it to him, and walked into the dark room on his own.
"There's a drawer on the left side of the desk," Elio said. "There might be a compartment in there."
Spedo frowned, but he went to check anyway. There was indeed a compartment inside. He pried it open with a knife and pulled out several yellowed letters. His expression suddenly changed. He had just finished examining the correspondence between the Scalera family, the Bourbon dynasty, and other Mafia families when he heard Elio calling him from the darkroom.
"Spedo!" Elio whispered. "Come and look at this."
Spedo put the letter close to his body and walked away as if nothing had happened. Then, even he could not help but raise his eyebrows in surprise.
It was a spiral staircase that spiraled downwards. Unlit lanterns hung on the walls, and they could only see the staircase descending deeper and deeper into an unfathomable darkness.
"It seems Scalera is hiding a secret," Spedo said. He exchanged glances with Elio, then pulled a small tin box from his vest pocket. With a flick of his finger, the lid snapped open. As Spedo pulled out a yellow phosphorus match and struck a flame, Elio unsheathed the oil lamp from the wall and, as the darkroom door rumbled shut, handed it to the flame in Spedo's hand.
"What do you think is hidden down there?" Spedo asked in a chatty tone.
"Prison?" Elio asked. He held up the torch and lit the candlesticks on the wall one by one.
"Is there such a secretive prison?"
"That's true."
They descended the steps, the firelight on the wall illuminating the passage and lengthening their shadows.
“… people,” Elio said. “A lot of people.”
His tone was filled with confusion. It wasn't a tone of speculation. Spedo frowned, then wrinkled his nose; he smelled something terrible, like something from the slums. But soon, Elio, who was walking a little ahead, stopped on the last step. Spedo saw his eyes widen with shock.
"What's going on?" Spedo walked forward in confusion. Then, he was also stunned.
People. Lots of them. They were locked in cells, tattered and motionless, so still that Spedo would have thought them dead if Elio hadn't been so sure they were alive. Elio stood there, taking a controlled breath and letting it out slowly; it didn't sound unusual, but Spedo could tell a quiet rage had swept over him.
The oil lamp in Elio's hand suddenly flickered, and he thrust it into Spedo's hand. Without a word, Elio dashed out. He paused in front of each cell, as if he could see perfectly well in the darkness that enveloped them. By the time Spedo, slowly moving with the lamp, reached halfway, Elio had already finished his inspection and was back in front of him.
"I found this," Elio whispered, practically slapping a booklet in front of Spedo and flipping through it, oblivious to Spedo's subtle attempts to avoid the dust. "They're experimenting with these people, trying to recreate Giotto's flames."
When Giotto was mentioned, Spedo's eyes immediately became sharp, "Oh?"
But just as he was about to take the booklet, Elio immediately pulled it back and stuffed it into himself. Before Spedo could question him, Elio quickly and coldly explained, "I need to find the person in charge according to the signatures on this. Do you want to stay here and watch over them, or come up with me?"
Of course, Spedo chose the latter. He carried the oil lamp and followed Elio's almost flying pace.
"Are they really stupid enough to leave their names in the experiment log?" Spado asked behind him.
“They didn’t,” Elio said. “But they left a code name.”
Spedo didn't ask any more questions. As he hung the lamp back on the wall, the door leading to the study opened. Elio swooped in and grabbed Scalera, who was napping on the sofa, holding him there. Suddenly, a small sword popped out of his wrist and stabbed Scalera through.
Scalera screamed. Spedo removed the illusion from him, slowly stepped out from behind Elio, and nodded gracefully.
"Who is 'Prometheus'?!" Elio demanded.
"You—" Scalera cried out, seeing Spedo's attire, "we give a large sum of money to the Bourbons every year!"
"Oh, he might have misunderstood a little," Spedo chuckled softly, "Elio, you should wake him up."
Elio crushed Scalera's knee with one foot before he could finish his words. While Scalera screamed and cursed, Elio turned a deaf ear to the booklet from his pocket and flipped it open in front of Scalera.
"'Prometheus,'" Elio said, "answer my question."
"If I answer..." Scalera ventured, "will you let me live?"
Elio looked at him and smiled.
"No," he said, "but I'll make you die faster."
"Then I don't--Ugh!"
Another scream of broken bones. Spedo stood there, his eyes gazing in admiration. Unaware of his reaction, Elio coldly insisted, "You still have over two hundred bones to break. Tell me who this bastard who's leading this human experiment is, or I'll assume you're Prometheus."
Scalera yielded. He gestured to his breast pocket with his eyes. Elio looked him down in the eyes, but did not move immediately. Spedo stepped forward at just the right moment and pulled a note from Scalera's pocket.
"The new medicine is left at the old place. Pick it up tomorrow," Spedo read. "May the Father of Insight guide us. Prometheus."
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