Reborn In A Perverse Monster World! My System Adapts To Everything!

Chapter 143: Riot!? [FIXED!][15/07!]

Jason leaned against the cold stone wall of his cell, eyes half-closed. The mana-draining runes pulsed steadily, trying and failing to sap the Marrow’s power from his veins. Hours had passed since the guards left. No summons for the full council. No questions. Just silence broken by the distant hum of the prison’s life-force engine.

The heavy mana-bar door to his cell slid open with a resonant click. Jason opened his eyes. A crowd of prisoners filled the corridor beyond—two dozen of the worst the world had locked away. Hulking ogres with ritual scars, sleek serpentkin assassins, a towering cyclops missing one eye but radiating raw strength, and several dark mages whose fingers already sparked with suppressed spells now stirring back to life.

None of them charged. They stared at him.

Jason stood slowly, stretching his arms despite the cuffs. "Hm, wasn’t I meant to be in solitary confinement?"

The nearest prisoner, a scarred minotaur with broken horns, blinked in disbelief. "You’re... joking? They opened every cell on this level. Yours included."

Jason stepped out into the corridor. The prisoners parted slightly, confusion rippling through them. Cells that should have remained sealed stood wide open. Mana cuffs on every inmate flickered, then deactivated with synchronized clicks. Power flooded the hallway—auras exploding outward as abilities returned in full force.

One dark mage flexed his fingers, summoning a swirling orb of black fire. "My spells... they work again. What is this?"

A female harpy with razor talons laughed sharply. "I believe someone has undone our shackles. Or someone wants us all dead and this is a trap."

Jason scanned the group, noting the handful who didn’t flinch. A quiet vampire lord in tattered finery, a stone-skinned golem warrior, and two others whose eyes held calculation rather than panic. Everyone else looked at him like he was the real threat.

"Is this some sort of game?" Jason asked, voice casual as he walked further into the open area. The prisoners shifted uneasily. Even down here, word had spread. They knew the name Jason. The one who shattered the Marrow. The one the surface called a walking catastrophe.

"How the hell did they capture someone like you?" a burly orc growled, gripping a makeshift club. "If you’re that strong, this prison should be rubble."

Jason shrugged. "I was jumped."

A serpentkin hissed laughter. "Jumped? You’re either insane or playing them. Either way, we’re not staying locked up with you."

The group moved toward the main corridor exit. Jason noticed the heavy outer door at the end of the block stood ajar. No guards visible. No alarms. Just an open path to freedom.

"Oh, so that’s what we are doing," Jason muttered to himself, a grin spreading across his face.

The vampire lord drifted closer, red eyes narrowed. "You intend to stop us? After they cuffed you like cattle?"

"Not at all," Jason replied. He planted himself squarely in front of the exit door, blocking the path. "But it appears this is my trial."

Murmurs spread. The cyclops cracked his knuckles, the sound like boulders grinding. "Trial? You must have lost your mind! You cannot even use your magic, the cuffs are on!"

The harpy flapped her wings once, hovering. "Then they’re idiots. We’ll tear through you and the entire council."

Jason raised his cuffed hands slightly. The runes still glowed on his restraints, but he showed no strain. "Gentlemen—and ladies—they turned your cuffs off. Full power. Mine stay on but even with this, do you think you can go through me?"

The dark mage hurled his black fire orb straight at Jason’s chest without warning. The flames exploded against him in a roaring burst. Smoke filled the corridor. Prisoners braced for the aftermath.

Jason stepped forward through the dying flames, completely unmarked. "Cute trick. My turn?"

The minotaur charged with a bellow, swinging his club in a crushing overhead strike. Jason sidestepped smoothly, the weapon shattering stone where he had stood. He tapped the minotaur’s side lightly with a cuffed fist. The giant staggered as if hit by a siege ram, slamming into the wall.

More prisoners attacked. The serpentkin lunged with venomous fangs and whipping tail. Jason caught the tail mid-strike, spinning the assassin into two others. The harpy dove from above, talons extended.

He simply looked up and released a controlled pulse of adapted force. She crashed down hard, gasping.

The vampire lord blurred forward in a streak of shadow. "You bleed like the rest of us!" Fangs aimed for Jason’s throat.

Jason met him head-on. Their collision shook the corridor. The vampire rebounded, clutching a cracked rib. "What are you?"

"Someone who adapts," Jason said simply.

The stone golem swung massive fists. Each impact cratered the floor, but Jason weaved between them, landing precise strikes that chipped the golem’s exterior without breaking stride. The handful of calm prisoners hung back, watching.

The dark mage chanted, summoning chains of necrotic energy that wrapped Jason’s legs. Jason flexed once. The chains dissolved into harmless dust. "Nice try. Next."

Panic set in among the aggressive ones. "He’s not even using full strength!"

The orc roared, rallying a group charge. "Take him down together!"

Jason stood his ground as they closed in—spells, claws, brute force. He moved like flowing water, redirecting attacks into each other. An ogre’s hammer smashed into the cyclops by mistake. The harpy’s dive was intercepted by the serpentkin’s tail. Chaos reigned in the confined space.

Throughout it, Jason never killed. He disabled, disarmed, and exhausted. Broken bones, singed flesh, but no corpses.

Finally, the survivors staggered back, breathing hard. The calm ones still hadn’t joined.

Jason dusted off his sleeves. "Gentlemen, shall we?"

The corridor fell into tense silence. The prisoners exchanged glances—fear, respect, and dawning realization that this so-called trial had only just begun.

Jason stood amid the groaning prisoners, blood and dust coating the corridor floor. Spells fizzled out. Broken weapons lay scattered. The fight had dragged long enough.

He had enough.

The council wanted proof he could still access power despite the cuffs. Pretending further served no purpose.

Jason exhaled once. "Kneel."

The word rolled out low and heavy, carrying weight far beyond sound. Power surged from him unchecked, the Marrow flooding every syllable.

The entire corridor buckled. Prisoners dropped instantly. The minotaur hit the stone with a thud, knees cracking. The harpy crumpled mid-hover. The serpentkin and ogres slammed down together. Even the stone golem’s legs folded with grinding protest.

The vampire lord resisted longest. He hissed, fangs bared, body trembling as invisible pressure crushed downward. For two full seconds he stayed upright, veins bulging, shadows flickering wildly around him. Then his knees gave way. He knelt, red eyes wide with disbelief.

"What... sorcery is this?" the vampire snarled, voice strained. "Your cuffs—your mana should be sealed!"

The dark mage gasped from the floor. "Impossible. The suppression runes are active. How are you casting?"

Jason’s gaze swept over them, voice hoarse and cold, each word dripping with menace. "This is the difference between our powers. You are all insects. The day any of you decide you’re tired of living, step out into the world so I may take your life."

Silence fell heavy. No one moved. The orc who had charged so boldly moments ago now stared at the ground, sweat dripping, all defiance drained. The harpy whispered, "We... we surrender."

One by one, their mana cuffs flared back to life. Runes glowed brightly as suppression slammed down again. Spells died, strength vanished and the prisoners slumped further, will to fight completely shattered.

Jason scanned the cells. His neighbor—the scarred prisoner from earlier, the one who offered alliance—was nowhere in sight. That cell door remained sealed tight. No one had emerged from it. It had never opened.

"Hm..."

The vampire lord lifted his head slightly, still kneeling. "You... you knew this was a test?" This was the only explanation of why this had happened, it was to test Jason’s moral compass to see if he would lead a revolt to escape.

Jason didn’t answer immediately. He glanced at the open exit, then back at the group. "Of course. The council is probably watching their little show fail."

A defeated chuckle came from the dark mage. "You could’ve killed us all. Why hold back?"

"Because I am not like you lot," Jason replied flatly. "Now stay down until the guards return. Play your roles."

The minotaur muttered, "You’re no prisoner. You’re something worse."

Jason turned away, walking back toward his own cell. "Remember what I said. Insects only live because I allow it."

He stepped inside. The door slid shut behind him on its own. The prisoners remained kneeling in the corridor, cuffed and broken, the echo of that single word still ringing in their minds.