There was a notable shift in the air surrounding Axegate as soon as an indescribably massive singularity appeared before the fore walls of the great stronghold.
However, mounted at the top of the massive wall of the Penitentiary were twelve large turrets, whose holding capacity could reach a maximum amount of ten individuals.
Inside each of these large turrets were ten empire class soldiers; an extremely rare division of officers, who were considered to be on par with several high ranking military officials in the US army.
Each and every one of these soldiers had been substantially briefed by the General on the cataclysmic events that took place outside the prison walls, and had been urged to keep their eyes open for any singularity event similar to the ones they had already witnessed.
The General even went further by persuading warden Ray, the warden of the Penitentiary, to consider the safety of the inmates by freeing them all, in order to spare them of the destruction that was inevitably going to occur in Axegate.
But the warden, being an arrogant and self-opinionated man, said, "I'd rather die defending this prison, than to live to see all those murderers and rapists roam freely after all this madness is over.
Besides, I daresay that I own an elite group of soldiers that blows yours out of the water. So if there's anyone who can take down whatever it is you've been going on and on about, then it would most definitely be my soldiers."
The warden's blunt reply could be attributed to either his ignorance and overconfidence.
Ignorance because he doesn't and can't even begin to comprehend the type of threat posed by the creatures the General had spoken of.
And overconfidence because he thinks that bullets and other munitions fired from weapons could literally take down every thing that breathes.
Even when he was face to face with the supposed singularity, himself and the entirety of his soldiers stood tall with an unwavering confidence, prepared to face whatever may emerge from the singularity.
Their wishes were eventually granted because a few moments later, a dark-cloaked figure emerged from the singularity.
Despite the constant and mystifying billowing of this figure's cloak, its facial features were still discernible to its onlookers: A pale and frigid skin, a humanoid face, barefooted and equipped with a long and taut staff.
After its emergence, this figure slowly and gracefully floated towards the fore wall of Axegate with a condescending look on its face as it gazed at the humans who seemed a bit tensed by its mere presence.
"Foolish as always; you humans truly don't disappoint, do you?" The strange figure uttered as it slowly glided towards the large wall.
"That's far enough!" The warden shunned. "Look, we don't know who or what you are, or what you are supposed to be, and we couldn't care any less about your purpose of being here.
But what we do want is to see you exit this very place the same way you entered, as this place is a very restricted area.
Understand that this is just me extending the courtesy of leaving the decision-making to you, but if you fail to co-operate and eventually force our hand, then that's utterly on you... whatever you are."
The floating figure uttered a second after the warden finished his piece:
"I must say: In all my years of living, I have never met any human brazen enough to stare directly into my eyes for so long, let alone negotiating with me, a high demon."
The demon chuckled and continued:
"You amuse me, foolish human man. Perhaps you would make a fine pet for me."
The blood of the warden ran ice cold at the demon's condescending words.
"Waiting for your orders, Sir." A soldier who was also a fellow occupant of the turret the warden was in, asked.
The warden turned to him and said: "Shoot to kill... And don't miss."
The soldier quickly relayed the order to his fellow comrades occupying the other turrets.
And in the next second, the air was torn to shreds as multiple bullets and munitions left their barrels, each varying in tone and size, but all were heading towards the demon who wasn't even close to feeling perturbed by the sheer amount of shots fired at him.
The soldiers half expected to see the demon's plummeting body as soon as they fired every bullets left in their magazines, but to their dismay, they only found that the demon's body exuded a crimson aura that disintegrated every munition that came too close to him.
"You humans and your feeble sorcery." The demon said, his voice dripping with pure contempt.
"Let me give you a taste of what true magic is called." The demon pointed his staff to the sky and summoned an innumerable number of large icicles that rained down from the sky and unto the bewildered soldiers.
But luckily, their bewilderment hadn't been paid for with their lives, because the moment those countless icicles rain down on them, the warden reacted fast enough by activating a contraption that sealed every single crevice in each turret, evidently shielding them from the hail of ice.
Under the cover of the shield that protected them from the hail of icicles, the soldiers prepared their next attack. If the demon wishes to go all out, then there was truly no reason for them to hold back anymore.
As soon as the battery of ice finally came to an end, the shields on each turret were retracted back into their holes, and what followed were the hurling of several massive grenades through the air and towards the floating demon.
To ensure that they achieved an optimum aim at the demon, these grenades where knocked into a launcher before being fired at the latter.
But tragically, those grenades exploded even before reaching their target: The demon.
"Cute." The demon remarked. "But let's take things up a notch, shall we?"
The demon pointed his staff to the sky again.
And this time, unlike the last, the sky roared as it darken with an ambient cloudy hue.
"Fulminis...!!!" He bellowed with a foreign tongue.
An incalculable number of lightning streaked down from the sky and simultaneously struck all the turrets, sparing none of its devastation.
The fore wall of Axegate may had been made with the best earthen materials ever known to human kind, but it was of no match against the lightning devastation summoned by the demon through spell-casting.
Some part of the wall crumbled with an upsetting cracking and rumbling sound, and those soldiers whose turrets were unfortunately caught within the lightning blast range all met their demise.
"Had enough?" The demon asked, his voice laced with a cold, condescending pitch.
But at that very moment, an RPG whistled through the air before striking and exploding on the demon's body — with the most brilliant fiery explosion that engulfed the latter's body.
It took quite a while for the demon to regain his balance in the air after suffering a few damages from the explosion, but as soon as he achieved that, he shifted his gaze to the one who had taken the shot at him.
The soldier who had launched the RPG at the demon was already in the process of launching another one when he noticed the demon's icy gaze.
"How courageous of you," The demon uttered. "However, it shall be your las—"
The soldier fired a second bolt, not waiting to hear the end of the demon's taunts.
"Feeble magic from a bunch of feeble creatures." The demon snapped his fingers which responsively altered the RPG's trajectory by sending it back to the soldier who had fired at him.
The soldier was visibly taken aback by the abrupt turn of event, but his alacrity was quite impressive. He knew fully well that he couldn't vacate the turret he was manning before the RPG catches up to him, so he launched another RPG in attempt to intercept the one inbound for his position.
But tragically, his mind was filled with so much turmoil that he missed his target, which was ultimately paid for with his life, and that of his other comrades who were also occupying that particular turret.
The explosion from the RPG obliterated and blasted everything in that turret, leaving just the one the warden was manning, and a few others.
However, the RPG bolt that had been launched by the now-deceased soldier, who had intended on preserving his life with it, was now soaring through the stiff air, inbound for one specific and distinct destination in Axegate:
The Axegate Asylum.
Coincidentally, the soldier who had fired that RPG had been positioned on the west side of the Penitentiary. So as he fired and missed his target, the bolt was now heading eastwards towards the Asylum, which would be ultimately hindered by the Asylum's brick walls.
And even more of a coincidental occurrence: that RPG bolt was bound to hit the very spot in the building where John was being held.