Chereads / Akashic Chronicles: Paradise Lost / Chapter 3 - Deepest Circle of Hell (II)

Chapter 3 - Deepest Circle of Hell (II)

From a distance, a loud rumble was heard. It felt like the entire prison colony was shaking. Even inside his prison cell at the lowest and most secure, felt the shaking. Distant explosions rang and multiple screams of pain passed through the locked prison door.

Haruki narrowed his eyes as he stood there. As if waiting for something. Distant footsteps were heard seemingly in a rush. They all circled the only cell in a long and wide hallway. It was spotless white, they could even see their reflections on it.

"Guard this door! Do not! I repeat Do not let this man inside escape. He is priority number one! Everything that's not part of our squad will be killed on sight. Even if they're wearing the same uniform.

This man must not escape at any cost!" The soldier shouted his orders towards his men which earned him a chuckle from Haruki.

"That's sweet of you, but that's not enough to stop me." He cracked his knuckles and stretched his stiff muscles. Beyond the door, he could hear slightly nervous chatter.

"Who's behind this door commander?" The young guard asked. The commander shrugged and steadied his aim towards approaching inmates armed with stolen weapons from the dead guards.

"I don't know... All I know is. If these fuckers want a piece of him. He's probably bad fucking news." He said as he raised the muzzle of his gun.

"Halt! Go back to your cells! If you don't we'll open fire on three!" His gun whirred with electricity as it buzzed softly.

One of the inmates scratched his scaley head as he towered over most of the prisoners beside him. His tail slowly swayed as he calmly approached the men in blue. The flashing red lights bounced off his lustrous green scales.

"Oh, I don't know about that. I just want to meet the guy behind the door. Call it a professional courtesy." He said as he smiled and showed off his razor-sharp teeth. The Guard narrowed his eyes and started counting down.

"Well don't get your panties in a bunch. We just want to talk to him. I'm a special case you see. We're friends." He said as he showed off his cybernetic arm.

"An old friend you say? Come and let me give you a hug!" Haruki's voice came from behind the door. Everyone looked towards the door in panic but it suddenly detached and flew towards the guard in front flinging him across the wide hallway.

A pristine but chiseled Hand then quickly grabbed a nearby guard pulling him inside. After a series of cracks and muffled screams were they snapped out from their daze. Before they could fire however two smoke grenades rolled out the dark room.

"Fire towards the smoke!" the guard captain said, ignoring the equally stunned escapees. Loud gunshots rang as bullets flew and laser beams charred and pierced the cell's walls.

After a long round of silence and nervous gulps of air. A series of slow claps were heard. "I really appreciate the hospitality Tartarus has shown me. I'll mail my review to the U.C.P. Later today." A handsome yet filth ridden man wearing the guard's colors stepped out of the smoke all relaxed. Although the uniform he was wearing was clean his face however was covered fresh blood and grime.

With a refreshing smile, he looked at the stunned onlookers and said, "Why's no one taking a shot? I thought this was a party?"

The Argothian man then laughed madly as he threw the guns aside. "Hahahahahaha!! Even prison isn't enough to douse your flames! How admirable wolf." He cracked his knuckles as he eyes his prey. He thought the man would be hollowed out like a broken doll. In actuality, it was quite the opposite. He was chipper and more than eager to waste some people, or so he thought.

Haruki shrugged his shoulders and before the guard next to him could aim his gun he has already stolen it. He dashed forwards and aimed the gun behind him. He fired several times while rolling on the floor to avoid the bullets. All his shots hit dead center on the head of all the guardsmen.

Although he was shot in the back. The U.C.P. Standard Tactical gear withstood the shot. He then grabbed an unassuming prisoner along with a guard he nabbed along the way and used them as meatshields.

"Hold your fire! Stop! Damn it! Were all going to die at this rate!" The captain of the guards immediately shouted to stop the onslaught. The crossfire of inmates and guards decorated the clean hallways with shredded corpses. The sight alone was hell and in the middle of it all was this man who doesn't even give a shit about the entire thing. He even looked slightly bored.

When the smell of gunpowder and dust settled, an Argothian man whistled as he tore off his orange shirt as he approached Haruki. "I've been waiting a long time for this." He said as his orange eyes glared at Haruki.

"Tkarv'os You look... Different. Did you get a haircut?" He said as he raised his eyebrows. Tkarv'os scoffed and continued, "By Argothian Tradition. I challenge you to a fight of honor."

Haruki was amused, "A mob boss on Trakis-1 wants to have a duel?"

"Do not laugh at my resolve wolf. Even I have respect for your skills. These guys won't interfere. If you win you'll have to deal with them. If I win all we have to do is escape." He said as he clenched his mechanical arm.

Haruki shrugged his shoulders, "Fair enough." He threw away the gun and grinned towards his opponent. He lowered his stance as his black pupils turned red. The Argothian man charged at him like a raging bull.

"Uhh, Captain? shouldn't we stop this?" The young guardsman said as he shivered in fear. The captain on the other hand shook his head. "Let them tire themselves out. We only need that man back inside his cell. The rest can die, let's just say it was a revolt and you the bright young cadet stopped it." The captain said in full detail as he watched the two slug each other.

The young guard frowned but ultimately held it in, a promotion this easy is hard to find especially in a prison colony.

Meanwhile, the two were having a full-blown fistfight. They each slammed their tough fists to each other's faces. One would think that the human would immediately lose to the argothian but contrary to popular belief he held his ground and had the advantage. Matter of fact he was even enjoying it. Treating it like some kind of early morning exercise.

The two stepped back creating some distance between them. "Not bad wolf. It seems prison has not turned you into some used rag." He said trying to catch his breath. Haruki nodded his head but didn't tell the truth.

He lowered his stance and dashed madly at Tkarv'os and when they're about to collide he gave a swift and powerful straight towards his opponent's chest.

With a loud thud, Tkarv'os slid across the tiled floor. His feet scratched the pristine floors as he tried to regain his footing. Once he steadied his self he coughed out blood as he struggled to breathe. He stared at the man who was standing still as if nothing happened.

Haruki slowly stepped forwards before his opponent could defend himself he crouched and did a leg sweep knocking the Argothian man out of balance.

He then sent another punch that pierced the Argothian's scaly hide. Although their chest had less protection than their back it's still leathery tough, but Haruki pierced through it like it was paper.

He pulled out his heart and crushed it. He threw the pulpy organ aside and slowly stood up glaring at the others. "Who's next?" He said as he was rummaging around the argothian's corpse.

"I am Devo- - " Before he could continue two knives pierced his eyes, lodging deep instantly killing him. "Yeah no... we're not doing that anymore. Come at me all of you, stop wasting time."

He eyed each and everyone that circled him as he wiped his hands free of the bluish blood that covered them. They started to run at him all the same time. The moment anyone wanted to use a gun Haruki would immediately appear in front of them snapping their necks with an unnatural strength for a human male.

Some even died the same way Tkarv'os did. Haruki on the other hand was unfazed by the bloodshed. His formerly pearl-like black eyes were shimmering with a crimson glint. The more the pristine white floors get dyed by blood the deeper the shade of red his eyes become.

Unseen by their eyes was the torrent of black and red mana swirling on his wrist. The blood that was previously on the ground was slowly being absorbed as it dried up like its been there for days. No one noticed because they were preoccupied from the wanton slaughter.

A voice resounded on Haruki's head.

The Guards on the other hand stood idly by as if sure that they'd have this man back inside his cell after he does the work for them. However, the alarms all around the prison colony never stopped. Making the Captian frown deeply. He held his chin as he pondered deeply completely ignoring the one-sided slaughter taking place in front of him.

If it was any normal prison break the warden would have told them that the matter has been resolved. However, although explosions were still happening he still hasn't heard from the warden. The weirdest part is how come only his squad purely composed of cadets and rookies were stationed here. None of this makes sense he thought, as he recognizes the faces of the inmates in front of him. Notorious criminals of the U.C.P. personally detained that they couldn't even touch because of complete immunity from several galactic treaties.

Then a frightening revelation came unto him. They weren't here to detain him, no they were incapable of ever harming him. He was a monster from the deepest underbelly of Tartarus unleashed to kill those the U.C.P. can't even touch. It was a fucking setup. The worse one in the fucking world.

Yes... It can only be him. Now that he has seen his face clearly. There is no one else in this galaxy ballsy enough to disregard treaties and backend political dealings.

The Wolf of Ragnarok.

Kazama Haruki...

His quaking voice managed to utter a single word as he stared at the man mired in blood unharmed. Standing on top of the mountain of corpses he built himself.

"Run!"

But everyone was frozen in fear as Haruki wiped the blood from his hands and face. His red eyes shone in a menacing light.

"Hey, Captain! Don't be an ass! After all the shots we've taken together you're going to leave the afterparty cleanup to me?" His casual words etched fear from the depths of their souls. At this moment they weren't guards they were nothing but lambs to the slaughter.