Chapter 30: Node
"How can there be Demons here? Fuck! Move out!"
"Help! I-I can't stand! Please! Somebody, help me!"
Frantic screams and cries for help echoed across the entire facility. It was accompanied by explosions, tremors, and sounds of battle. The convicts were obviously panicking, it caused them to become unable to fully comprehend what was happening around them.
Some desperately tried to run away, others hid, some locked themselves in their respective cells, while opportunists tried to use the chaos to their advantage.
The wardens were busy trying to pacify the scared convicts. Most of them are helping with the efforts of quelling the chaos that descended around them. Sadly, this development completely took them by surprise, and thus, they didn't have any time to prepare themselves.
Beast Demons took the Risk Management Center like a storm. Nobody knew where they were coming from. All they knew was that the demons were killing everybody who didn't look like them, and for the convicts, this was bad news since the demons were too strong for them to take care of.
The wardens were doing their best. They summoned their weapons and called upon their powers to drive the demons back. Sadly, there's just too many.
Furthermore, the demons were too swift and strong. They're certainly not your ordinary demons. It's like they took steroids before arriving here, causing them to go completely berserk.
Within the Reception Hall, a group of wardens covered each others' backs while defending against a group of Beast Demons...
They're facing one Pig Demon, three Avian Demons, and four Bull Demons. The wardens went all out. They have armor equipped as well as weapons. They threw spells, skills, debuffs, and many more. Unfortunately, the flesh of these demons was too tough. They just tanked whatever they threw at them.
Demons already possess an innate physical superiority compared to humans, add the fact that there are Beast Demons who prided themselves on their absurdly strong physical bodies, and it is no wonder why the wardens were having a difficult time.
And if the wardens themselves had it hard, what more could be said for mere convicts of this place? It's not like they're here because they are strong, it's the opposite in fact.
"D-Damn it! I don't want to die here!! I never wanted to be in this place! This is so fucking unfair!" Cried out by the dying man from one corner of the facility.
He wasn't alone in this sentiment. Pretty much everyone who just lost their lives within the first few minutes since the raid started, shared the same thoughts as him.
They never wanted this. They never wanted to live like this. If they had a choice, they would rather choose to be normal, unevolved, humans instead of living in a miserable place like this.
And to think that this is the way they died...it's just so fucking unfair. They simply can't reconcile with their deaths being like this.
The worst part about this is that the demons were also spreading corruption wherever they went. Said corruption, carried horrible power which consumed the victims of the demons, turning them into mere puppets — Undeads that just added to the number of demons invading this place.
"...well, I'll be damned!"
BOOM!
A loud explosion shook the entire facility. A cloud of dust kicked up, obscuring the vision of both the convicts and the wardens. Raising their guards, they all felt nervous, thinking that a demon caused that loud explosion. That's when they heard a deep and gruff voice rousing them from their stupor.
"You punks! Get the convicts to the bunker in the basement! You'll find the rest there! Come on! Move along already!"
"Sir, yes Sir!"
As it turns out, that voice belonged to the Chief Warden himself, Lucas Brightstone.
While the wardens gathered the scared and trembling convicts, the Chief Warden took a puff of his cigar. He then turned around and faced the Beast Demons who were now looking at him warily.
"Hmph!"
BOOM!!!
The demons didn't even see what happened. In their perspective, they only heard the human snort and suddenly, everything turned black for them. Their heads exploded like watermelons, scattering bits and pieces of their flesh all over the hall, painting it with gruesome and filthy black blood.
Chief Lucas wore a somber and frightening expression. He certainly didn't like what was happening.
"To think that someone turned into a 'Node' right under our noises..." He mused as he scattered his senses to locate the other demons that invaded his turf. "...It's either our security turned lackluster, which shouldn't happen, or there's foul play here."
In the years that he had been assigned the Chief Warden here, there had never been an event like this. His punks might be timid sometimes but he could confidently say that he trained them well. As such, he doubted that it was their fault for not seeing this coming.
Moreover, he was there when they reviewed the list of convicts who were at 'Extreme Risk'. He personally monitored the candidates and almost all of the convicts they had each day. With his experience as a soldier for almost decades now, there's no way he'd make such a rookie mistake like this.
With this in mind, he could only think that there must be foul play here. And being the Chief Warden came with some privileges. He had connections outside of this place, and there have been talks about a certain group of cultists who became a prime suspect for all of this.
Blowing up another cluster of demons, Chief Lucas groaned in irritation. If his thoughts were proven correct, this means that this little group of cultists managed to orchestrate this event right under his nose.
If that wasn't enough to make him irritated, there's also the fact that he would take the burnt of this in front of his supervisors since he's the one in charge here.
"Human..." Chief Lucas heard a call from behind him.
He turned around and saw a lone demon towering over him. Chief Lucas wasn't surprised about its presence as he already felt this one coming already. He wasn't intimidated by its size either so he just looked up at it calmly.
"You look strong for a Human." The demon uttered, there was a trace of curiosity in its voice. "That's no good. You will have a problem with our plans. As such, you shall remain here. You shall be my playmate until we finish our task here."
"Tch." Chief Lucas clicked his tongue as he realized that he was already trapped and isolated.
"Great...my Boss will chew my ass for this..."
***
In the basement where the bunker was, chaos reigned.
Gunshots, explosions, flashes of light, and colorful projectiles rained as the wardens, along with a few capable convicts, did their best to defend the bunker that was keeping them safe.
Numerous Beast Demons swarmed towards them, hell-bent on sinking their claws into their flesh. Their attacks were barely doing anything to the demons but at the very least, they could push them back.
"Shit! We can't go on like this! We only have so much energy to spare! These demons are like sponges, they're just absorbing our attacks and shrugging them off like they're nothing! We will be overrun soon!" One of the wardens cursed.
"What do we do? I-I don't want to die here! I'm still too young! I still have a future beyond me!"
"Fuck! If you don't wanna die, keep attacking! You lot as well! If you have the energy to complain, use it to kill these fuckers instead! Complaining won't get you anywhere!"
"That's right! Less talk, more gas! Fire!"
"Die, you fucking demons! This is all your fault!!"
Chaos continued happening around the bunker. People could hardly see anything due to how many attacks were being thrown everywhere. Unfortunately, even with their fearsome firepower, they were barely doing damage to their foes.
ROAAR!!!
That loud roar shook everybody's soul, causing them to freeze. An overwhelming sense of dread washed over their entire being, causing them to sweat coldly. It didn't matter whether it was a warden or a convict, they all felt that primal fear, and some even passed out completely.
From the large dust cloud, a towering figure emerged. It was another Beast Demon — a Tiger Demon.
Standing tall in its hind legs, the creature was about 10 meters in height. Its very presence brought a level of despair to anyone who laid eyes upon it.
Its eyes were crimson red, emanating a palpable killing intent that caused anyone's heart to constrict. It has large paws, bloodied with bits and pieces of flesh hanging from it. Not only was this demon huge, but its body looked incredibly tough as well. Just from a single glance, one could tell that they wouldn't be able to damage its flesh using the weapons they have now.
"...it's over..."
It was unknown who said this, or if it wasn't even said by someone in the first place. Either way, nobody refuted this statement, especially when the Tiger Demon started walking towards them.
But just as they were bracing for their imminent deaths, something shocking happened.
The Tiger Demon whined pitifully and collapsed on the ground, kicking up a large dust cloud as it did so. When the dust cloud cleared up a bit, they saw a blond-haired man with gleaming golden eyes standing over its corpse with a bloodied sword in hand.