Chereads / Akashic Chronicles: Paradise Lost / Chapter 5 - The Burning Prison: Tartarus (I)

Chapter 5 - The Burning Prison: Tartarus (I)

The moment Haruki walked out of the evidence locker room he was not greeted with an army of mobs that was itching to tear him limb from limb. No, it was a mountain of corpses riddled with bullets and wounds. Atop the said corpses were a group of highly trained killers by yours truly.

Yes. It was a part of Haruki's old squad. Although there were only ten of them it was enough to tear this shit hole asunder to hell and back.

They all wore black from head to toe. Wearing a golden insignia on their backs. It was an image of a wolf biting down on the universe. The leader looking guy of the said squad took off his hyena mask.

A Caucasian male with sharp blue eyes. His facial features were a little ordinary but screamed serious. He smiled as he handed Haruki a metallic wolf mask.

"Took you long enough. How was prison?" The man said as he grinned towards Haruki. He grabbed the mask and wore it on his face. "It's not bad. Could use a little furnishing here and there."

As the two were catching up one of the men presented Haruki his combat suit and weapons. It was composed of a handcannon and a jet black katana. As he handed Haruki the weapons he added, "Top of the line weaponry stolen from the clutches of the U.C.P., We found these bad boys on a military convoy en route so we snagged them. I hope you like your new digs."

Haruki whistled as he took the weapons and stared at them. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Alright you boys know where the exit is?"

The Caucasian man frowned, "Kaz, were leaving just like that? They tortured you for months! If it wasn't for Aurora we wouldn't have found you! You could've died here rotting inside a prison cell. A death unbefitting of a man your stature!"

The man who was wearing a pheasant mask nodded his head, "Yeah! We should be turning this place upside down! Aurora toiled for months just to find you. She barely had any rest in between. She contacted everyone who was near this system for a rescue mission. The least we could do is run a little wild." He said as he grinned staring at their prisoner victims.

He looked at the man infront of him wearing a lion mask. "Where is Aurora?" He shook his head, "We told the kid to stay put. We still have other prisons to break into to complete the entire crew." Haruki nodded his head. "That's good. The kids got a lot on her plate these past few months. The least we could do is pick up the slack."

Haruki gripped the gun on his hands slowly as he stared at the ground. He sighed as he wore the wolf mask on his face. "Fine... Samuel" He said as he looked at the man wearing the hyena mask. "Bring out the map of this area. I want the wardens head." He said. "As for you Feng. Go wild." He said towards the man wearing a pheasant mask. Feng grinned widely as he brandished his dual daggers.

Samuel pressed a button on a metal watch attached on his wrist. A holographic map of the entire tartarus prison colony then appeared in front of them.

"There are three points of interest here. The first one is your cell boss. The second one is a tightly guarded corridor that leads to nothing. It's not even included in the map diagram Aurora hacked from the U.C.P.

The last one is the Prison Main Control Room. Most likely Oslo's rat hole. It's crawling with the fuckers." Samuel said as he isolated the three main points and highlited the pathways through them.

"I've sent the diagram to your wrist drive. So which one's first boss?" Feng said as he tinkered with his daggers.

Haruki closed his eyes, "The Main control room is probably a dead end. Oslo knows that. So that corridor is most likely an open invitation."

The man wearing a lion mask whistled, "Well... we're not the type of kids to shy away from a trap. I say give it your best shot. HAHAHA!" The rest of the crew laughed with him.

All of them then made their way towards the corridor. It was hidden in an unassuming part of the prison colony. Not a sign of anyone could be spotted. The only thing they could hear was their own breathing and footsteps.

This made them even more alert. "This is a fucking grand welcome. I'm betting 1000 e-creds on it." Feng said as a trail of sweat flowed slowly on his cheeks. He gripped the handle of his knives strongly.

They split up in squads. 5 went a head and haruki along with two others were in the middle. While the rest were behind. It was a spacious white hallway and a single wide entranceway. No lock no nothing. which makes it even worse. As they got closer and closer they saw their first trail of blood. But it wasn't from an escapee. It was from the mountain of dead guards piled on top of one another.

"What the fuck!?"

Nobody was sure who uttered it. But they all had the same thoughts. 'What the fuck is going on!?'

On top of the corpses was a feral man. Covered in red crystals all over it's body. It's hands have morphed into crytalline sharp claws to easily tear anything to shreds. It wasn't eating the corpses. No it was weeping. Although it almost sounds like a low growl. They know it was in pain. After all they were all familiar with this phenomenon.

"It's Infected with the Shura Strain!?" Haruki said as his eyes opened wide. "Fuck! It's on the late stages too! What the fuck are these bastards doing in here!? I thought we wiped them out for good!?" Feng said in a shout gaining the infected's attention.

"Shit! Everyone finish it quickly!" Before anyone could respond Haruki intantly dashed forwards brandishing his blade. He leapt upwards with enough force to propel him upwards the tall mountain of corpses. As soon as he was within range he slashed once and flipped in the air. Instantly beheading the infected with one fell swoop.

He then slashed its chest and pulled out its crystallized heart and instantly crushed it. The others soon followed suit as they supported him by crushing the infected's brain matter. Once the infected was dealt with Haruki heard Magus' voice once more.

[Corrupted Mana Essence... Absorb it. It doesn't matter if it's corrupted or not. I shall take it for myself.]

Soon a trail of Blue with a trace of purple mana was absorbed into Haruki's bracelet. He jumped down and helped put charges of explosive on the corpses. "I don't know how long these guys have died, but judging from the blood... not that long." Samuel said as he motioned the others to distance themselves from the corpses.

The explosives soon exploded one by one scattering bits and pieces of the guards every where on the empty white room. As the dust settled there was a red cocoon hiding beneath the tall corpses absorbing the blood from the mountain of corpses.

"Great... This day keeps getting better and better." Haruki muttered under his breath. Suddenly an ear piercing screech filled the entire room.

KRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

The entire room shook as a red hand burst forth from the cocoon. The being inside the cocoon struggled and thrashed around until it gained its footing. Blood red skin. Two elongated crystallized horns where its eyes should be. Blood crystals covered it from head to toe acting like a carapace. Its razor sharp mouth emitted a low growl. As drool flowed from its black lips. It's sharp claws opened and closed searching for prey.