CLANGG...CLANGG....
The sound of metal bars colliding filled the dungeon walls, Red looked towards the outside.
"What's going on now?"
Mikah lets out a sigh, cradling his hand through his hair.
"They're as annoying as ever. Sigh... I guess it's time for 'that' already." He stands up, stretching his lengthy limbs.
"What's 'that'?"
Her eyes followed him as he stood up. Her hand moved to secure her on the wall behind, and she stood up, too.
"It's the selection process, Tsk. Damn annoying."
Mikah grips the back of his neck, shifting his head left and right to loosen the stiffness he feels.
"Selection process?"
Red looks over to Mikah as he heads towards the cell bars and leans against one, his eyes focused outside.
"Yeah, about three times a week, ten people from every cell level are chosen to go out and fight-no, more accurately to die." His eyes narrowed as three soldiers and two prison guards came into view. The soldiers were tall, with bulky and intimidating builds. One of the guards was also tall but had a leaner build, and the shorter guard had a more feminine build. Two of the soldiers were carrying swords, with the last carrying a spear, and the taller guard was holding a metal bat that he hit against the steel bars.
"OI, LISTEN UP!"
The soldier with the spear stepped forward, his voice roaring through the whole cell block. "Today's yer lucky day, all who've been wishing to die, yer wishes' come true." He said with a snicker, and the other soldiers behind him smirked.
"Who are they?"
Red walks over to the cell door, looking through, next to Mikah.
"Escorts to the pits of hell."
Mikah smirks, crossing his arms as he leans against the cell bars. The prison guard opened a few cells at the top, dragging out whoever they wanted. Screams and pleas filled the cells as they were dragged away. A woman tried to claw at one of the soldiers' faces in retaliation but was met with a brutal fist to the face, knocking her to the ground, where her head split open on an upturned stone. Her eyes rolled back as she spasmed helplessly on the floor, blood gushing from her open head.
"Ah f**k! The damn b**ch, now she is dead. Shit..."
The other soldiers laughed at the sight, dragging off their chosen prisoners while the guard stayed behind. The soldier stomped heavily on the woman's face until it was a mess of dirt and blood and broken and distorted features. With every heavy stomp, the soldier grunted, the woman's blood splattering on his boots, and with a final groan, life left the woman. Satisfied, the soldier smirked. He glanced at the others in the cell.
"Hah... That's better, it's a lot quieter now.'
"You can take one from the cells to the back."
The tall male guard grips the soldier on his shoulder and then points to the darker section of the cell block. "There are some good ones down there." The soldier huffed, heading down to the further cells. With every cell he passed a glance at, the prisoners retreated, not daring to look. He then locks eyes with Mikah, still standing there with his hands crossed and his expression cold.
"The f**k are you looking at?"
The soldier spits out, annoyed at Mikah's expression. But unlike the others, Micah didn't rush to the back of his cell or look away like the soldier expected.
"An idiot. A violent one."
Mikah smirks, his tone mocking and indifferent. The guard clenches his jaw, pissed off even more.
"Huh? You think you're something just because you beat a Sage Lion?"
"No, you just asked what I was looking at, and I responded."
The soldier felt his anger boiling over, and he flung open the cell bars, stomping inside. He grabs Mikah by the collar and slams him against the bars and leaving the bars trembling.
"NN! cough...cough...Pissed off much? Aren't you people taught how to handle things without violence?"
Mikah kept his smirk, the soldier cocked back his fist like a rifle before discharging and connecting square with the center of Mikah's stomach. Mikah's eyes went wide, and he gagged, choking on his saliva. His body trembles, and he curls over, the wind knocked out of him. His legs shake unsteadily, and he drops to the floor, clutching his stomach, gasping and spluttering.
"Wheeze---cough...agh..."
"You're lucky you fought already or else I would have thrown you into the damn pit myself."
The soldier spits out, he moves his bloodied boot to the top of Mikah's head, twisting and pressing and wiping his shoes into Mikah's hair. "Know your f**king place." The soldier's eyes snap to Red, his jaw clenched as he sees her almost expressionless look at Mikah. "The hell did you come from?"
"..."
She didn't respond, her eyes on Mikah still, her mind reeling, trying to process what had just happened.
"Oi, I'm talking to you."
He moves his foot off Mikah's head and walks over to her. He grabs the collar of her shirt, gripping her so tightly that he lifts her off the ground. "I ain't seen your face before. You're new here, huh? Now that I look at ya..." His eyes drop down on her, trailing her uncomfortably. "You ain't half bad. Short hair or kids ain't my thing, but... clean skin and you got a nice mouth on ya too, I'll make an exception." He moves one of his hands to her chin, his thumb tracing her lower lip, his lips curled into a cruel smirk. "Looks like you're a fallen noble, eh? I never did it with a noble before." He tosses her to the ground, his hands moving to his belt. "I guess I have to make this quick since those f**kers will be back soon."
"..."
Red's face remained expressionless, but her hands and legs trembled. "...Who says I'll let you have your way?" She manages to steady her voice just enough to speak. The guard laughs, pulling off the belt and gripping the flat end, letting the buckle clang ominously against the stone floor.
"You really are new, huh? Let me tell you how this runs. Here, we are the gods, and you are our servant. If I want to beat, kill, harass, or r*pe you, you have no choice but to humbly accept it."
He suddenly grabs her throat and pins her to the ground. She struggles against his grip, her hands grasping his forearm, but it is useless. "Scream, cry, resist, no one will save you, and besides, I like a bit of resistance." She felt as if her windpipe was being crushed by the force of his grip. He laughed like a maniac as he secured the belt tightly around her neck like a leash and ripped her dress. "Go on! Cry! Scream! Beg! Let me see you-" The guard stopped in the middle of his sentence. Suddenly, everything became still, accompanied only by the sound of something soft hitting the rocky ground and rolling. Red looks down at the soldier's arm, and her eyes widen. The guard looks down as well to see bright red blood gushing and spraying down from what was left of his right arm.
"...What---AAAGGGGHHH! MY ARM!EEUGGHHH!"
He writhed in agony, clutching his bicep, just above the clean cut that took off his arm from just above the elbow downwards. Red watched as the arm that was once ripping at her clothes, now leaking a pool of blood where it lay unattached to its owner.
"Tsk. Don't do that shit in front of me."
Mikah was now standing with a bloodied long dagger in his left hand. His eyes filled with murderous intent, the air around him grim. The soldier's eyes widened with fear and pain as he sobbed.
"KUEEK----HHHHGGGG!"
Mikah sighs, rolling his eyes.
"Tsk. Tsk. Can't even handle a little wound like that? Don't be such a p**sy." He then smirks, toying with the bloodied dagger, spinning it along his fingers skillfully. "First, you almost knock me out, then you wipe your nasty shoes into my hair, and then you try to r*pe a girl in front of me? Honestly, where is the respect?" He looked over to Red, whose torso and dress were now covered in blood. He stares for a quick moment before taking off his top-layer jacket and throwing it to her. "Cover up, after you clean up the blood first." She manages a nod, and with shaky legs and arms, she crawls away to the other corner of the cell. Mikah looks down at the soldier, and a slow, menacing smile spreads on his face.
"Aghhh...it hurts...It hurts...eeugh..."
Mikah chuckles, walks over to the soldier, and kneels close to him.
"Of course it does, I never did it for it not to. That's boring. Now then, it's time for you to go to a place far away." With a sadistic laugh, he grips the leg of the soldier, pulling him back as he tries to crawl desperately away. Mikah clutches the dagger before thrusting it through his neck. The guard's eyes widened, the sound of blood gurgling and tissues and muscles ripping filled the cell, his eyes rolled back as he suffocated on his own blood. With pure glee, Mikah pushes the dagger deeper and deeper as the guard weakly tries to resist. "Night, night." His smirk drops to a cold, condescending look, his eyes resembling those of an emotionless statue. Red watches him from the other side, her eyes unable to move away from him, glued to his bloodied figure.
What's going on right now...?