Only I Am A Reader

"Hey… Is he really behind these walls?"

Stepping through the empty hallways that connected the whole prison, one of the guards turned to his partner with an inquisitive whisper as his eyes laid on the sealed-off walls.

Although Asterisk was a maximum security prison, it still couldn't compare to the places that housed the truly dangerous supernatural villains.

"Hehe, are you scared? He is not only here, but he also listens to everyone that passes through!"

With a grin on his face, the partner mischievously teased his friend once he saw his apprehensions. In reality, however, he completely denied that possibility.

"Re- Really?!"

A Suppression Bracelet that could completely turn an ability user into a normal person existed, but that only worked on low-level thugs.

Those were the only type of Awakened that stayed in Asterisk!

While the closed-off wing was suspicious indeed, the middle-aged guard dared to bet a whole year's salary that they were just doing some renovations. In fact, anything was possible aside from the 'Cassian' himself being behind these walls…

"Hah! I'm just messing with you. Can you not believe everything that those stupid prisoners tell you? You aren't going to last long at this job."

The older guard wanted to keep his joke going, but seeing the blood drained from his partner's face. He ended up calling it off.

"But you had to see it. It was Big Johns who said he definitely saw C… him being moved in the day before this wing was closed off. Since then, he doesn't even dare to step into any place that's dark anymore."

Big Johns wasn't just any thug, he was the one that called the shots over every other prisoner, but the look of horror on his face every time he told the story was undeniably real.

"Boy, that's what they call good acting. Who do you think lives here? These are people that scammed people for life until they were caught. Why would Cassian really be kept here when there are so many places specially made for people like him?!"

Astaroth, Big Dipper… There were many containment facilities that kept disasters like the Lord of Shadows locked up. Some were even meant to hold a single person.

'Well, that's because they were afraid I would change my mind and let everyone else out.'

Slipping through the thick walls, the shadowy spot that Leo was traveling through stealthily merged with the guard's shadow.

Since they were already one, Leo felt no need to refer to Cassian as another person. Though Cassian's personality has developed beyond his into a route of its own, it was all still part of him.

"Shhhh! Don't say his name out loud!"

Although Cassian had promised to obediently stay still as long as they kept their condition, the ones responsible couldn't risk putting him in a proper facility.

Since they couldn't contain him either, letting him into a sensitive location meant that everything could backfire if he changed his mind. This was just how much of a menace Cassian was.

"What a scaredy cat. It's not like he is some sort of ghost or a demon. He wouldn't be summoned at the mere mention of his name…"

Cassian not only answered the old guard's question inwardly, but he was also using his shadow for a hitchhike.

'I can get used to this.'

Traveling through shadows was both a new and a familiar experience for Leo. Once he melted into it, the sense of having a physical body completely disappeared, the only thing left was his vision and thought.

While it wasn't a complete omni-directional view, Leo could see everything as if his face was planted at the center of that shadow. If he wanted to, he could move that center around for a more direct glimpse.

Through his unrestricted observation, Leo could navigate the route of his bodiless shadow. He could even merge it with the darkness all the same, albeit while being more vulnerable in that state.

'It's an ability that almost has no bounds.'

Although abilities were usually restricted by their descriptors, Cassian was a plot-breaking character, and that was precisely why he had to retire so early in the novel.

'Though it can still go further…' 𝐛𝗲𝐝𝐧𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝗼𝐫𝗴

Limitations were meant to be removed, especially in an ability progression novel, but that still had to wait till Leo was completely free.

"See, we already went past the whole wing and nothing happened."

Ignoring the smug guard's remark, Leo focused his sight forward. He could already see the prison's gate!

'See you later.'

Latching to the guard was just to quickly get through the parts where the lack of light weakened him. Now that they reached the brightly illuminated management area, it was time to test 'Shadow Movement' even further!

One might think that moving around as an ownerless shadow was quite noticeable, but now in full ability, Leo could almost instantly teleport from one object's shadow to another.

It only took a part of a second for a thin thread-like link to form between them, so that Leo could slip through.

'Sorry for sneaking out.'

Passing through the gate took no effort either since Leo just jumped into another shadow outside of it. No such thing as sensors or alarms sounded out.

Those responsible gave up on implementing extra precautions, simply because Cassian could bypass them by expending some effort, but in this way, they only ended up making this prison break more convenient for Leo.

'At least I didn't cause any chaos on my way out.'

Speeding through the empty land that surrounded the Asterisk Prison, Leo kept his shadow form on. This place was built at the border of the city, so he needed to go a bit further to reach proper civilization.

Purrr!

After moving at full speed under the moonlight, Leo estimated that it took him about 10 minutes before he heard the sound of speeding cars mixed with people's footsteps.

'Finally.'

Leo made one more turn into a random clothes store before heading into a dark alley. He hadn't actually taken anything from the store. Nonetheless, the black prison clothes that he wore before were now replaced by a fancy suit once he emerged from the ground.

'Isn't it about time?'

As Leo's heart beat faster and faster, he finally called out to his Personal Book!