Ash raised an eyebrow when he heard that.

"Right." he said.

"Guess I'm off to the holding cells." he commented.

"....I assume the animal pens are being used for that?" he then asked.

"Animal pens?" Sorrel asked. "Oh, downstairs in the basement?" he asked further.

"Yeah." Ash replied.

"Then yes." Sorrel confirmed.

"Well... see you both later, then." Ash said to them.

"Mana can be faked. To a degree." Sorrel responded.

"Which is to say, signatures can be mimicked, but strength can never be faked." he then clarified.

"He seemed like a bit of a buffoon... but he also seems reliable. And there's one thing that makes his claim undeniable in my mind." he went on.

"Look." he said, gesturing to a small patch of dark soil. It was normally empty. Nothing ever seemed to grow there. But now, it seemed that emerald green shoots were starting to sprout out from the ground.

"It seems those were planted long ago by Ashley. She said that they would only react to his mana, and her mana, as they were given to them as a wedding gift." he reminded her.

"And he doesn't look or seem anything like Ashley." he continued.

"Which can really only mean one thing." he finished.

"...she is." Sorrel agreed.

"But he should be able to deal with her, regardless." he said.

"If the stories are anything to go by, that is." he then added.

Meanwhile, Ash made his way down to where the holding cells were, being ignored by those he met... until he met less and less people, realizing he was now alone.

'....hm.' he thought.

'Guess not many come down this way.' he thought further.

"...definitely an air of death around me now..." he mumbled to himself as he entered the two doors that normally led to the animal holding area.

"........hm." Ash muttered as he heard that.

He then sighed, and continued his way forward, before stopping.

He paused, looked around, and then cleared his throat loudly, knowing it would echo about.

"Hellooooo?" he called.

"I'm here to talk to the activities director here!" he said, his inner smartass shining through.

"Sorry, bad joke." Ash responded with a snicker.

"But seriously, I was sent here to assist you in any way." he told her.

"Emi told me to look for the one called 'Spear'." he went on.

"So... here I am." he muttered.

"How goes things down here?" he asked.

"Name's Ash." he told her.

"I went by 'AJ' as a code name when I worked at this place back in the day." he said.

"I remember when this area was used to house animals and creatures..." he then said further, looking around some.

"Seems it's... a bit bleaker now..." he mumbled.

"Anyway, there anything I can do to help out down here?" he asked.

Ash was silent as he heard all that.

"Oh?" he asked.

"Is that so." he said.

"Hmmm..." he muttered, thinking about it.

"I can deal with those that would attempt harm to those in charge." he told her, venom and darkness in his tone.

"Tell me." he then said.

"Can I use mana in here, and not have it affect those mana things that roam outside?" he asked.

"Excellent." was all Ash responded with.

"Then I will MAKE him listen." he told her.

He then cracked his knuckles, and grinned slightly.

"This'll be fun." he said.

"Jokers in the past thought they could overthrow Cass at times." he continued.

"They never thought that for long."

Ash chuckled when he heard that. A low and unnerving chuckle.

"Oh... yes. Yes, lovely." he commented with a smirk.

With that, they approached the cell that the individual was locked in.

"Any rules or restrictions?" he asked.

"What if I accidentally kill them?" he asked further.

"There any trouble from that?"

Ash just nodded, and stepped inside.

Spear waited outside the cell, tending to various things, and she heard some things that were... not nice. Including some screams that she hadn't thought possible from a person.

However, she then felt an extremely strong mana from the cell, and noticed a rune on the floor.

"OKAY! OKAY!" she heard the person yell.

"I'LL LISTEN! I'LL LISTEN! PLEASE STOP! I BEG OF YOU! PLEASE!" he hollered.