Elder Prison.
This was the Guardians' prison, built specifically to hold interstellar criminals.
Of course, if you asked Duanmu Huai for his opinion… this was nothing but a waste of time and money.
But it was too late to say that now.
When Duanmu Huai, Olgis, and Cayde-6 arrived at Elder Prison, the entire facility was already under lockdown. Outside the gates, a woman stood waiting for their arrival.
"Hey, Petra Venj, thanks for the invitation," Cayde-6 greeted casually, then asked, "So, what's on the menu for this party?"
In response, Petra drew the dagger from her belt.
"The same as always."
"Oh!"
Seeing Petra draw her blade, Cayde-6 instantly perked up, pointing both hands at her and gesturing excitedly.
"Come on, show us! Let our Inquisitor friend see some tricks."
At Cayde's urging, Petra opened her palm. The dagger floated up from her hand, spun twice in midair, then dropped neatly back into her grasp.
Watching this, Duanmu Huai raised a brow.
"An Awoken?"
He was at least somewhat familiar with them. They were one of the three races of the Last City. Though "three races" was a bit misleading—after all, they all started as humans. The EXOs, for example, were originally human minds uploaded into mechanical bodies, turning into a skeletal machine race. Cayde-6 was one of them.
As for the Awoken, their origin was just as strange. When Darkness first invaded this system, humanity's once-glorious civilization collapsed, leaving only the Last City alive. But not all humans stayed behind to await their fate. Some boarded colony ships, leaving the system in search of new worlds.
Whether it was luck or misfortune, those ships drifted into another dimension, where the colonists settled. Generations later, they finally found a way back to their original world. Some Awoken, following their queen, founded a kingdom in the asteroid belt. Others returned to the Last City.
That queen, however… rumor had it she perished long ago in a mutual death with a race of enemies called the Taken. With her gone, the Awoken kingdom was little more than ruins.
Well, that wasn't important.
What caught Duanmu Huai's attention was how the Awoken had mutated during their time in that other dimension. They developed powers like psychic abilities, and their skin had turned a bluish hue.
Coincidentally, that reminded Duanmu Huai of certain figures in the Imperial Navy.
During the long voyages of Imperial warships, crew often married and had children aboard. But since pregnancies sometimes occurred under the influence of the Warp, the children born bore mutations or powerful psychic gifts. They were called "Children of the Void."
Hmm. Pretty much the same as these Awoken. Maybe the "other world" they described was just some part of the Warp.
If not for the Black Hole Project severely weakening the Chaos Gods, these people probably wouldn't have made it back alive.
"Well? Pretty cool, right? Not like I'd hype it up for nothing," Cayde grinned, pointing at Petra again. "Come on, do it again!"
"Later," Petra replied, sheathing her blade. Her smile vanished as she grew serious.
"The prisoners are running rampant inside. Luckily, the central arena and lower levels are still sealed. But if the core security system goes offline…"
"Then we just pull out and blow this place sky-high," Duanmu Huai said flatly. He had always believed one good shot solved most problems. And if one wasn't enough, fire two.
More guns, more truth.
"Absolutely not. We need the core systems stable, and we need to recapture the escapees."
"Fine, whatever," Cayde sighed, pulling out his hand cannon. "How about we make it a contest?"
"What's the prize?"
"Loser buys the drinks."
He pointed at Duanmu Huai and Petra.
"Two rounds."
"I'll take Olgis and mop up the runaways," Duanmu Huai said, hefting his warhammer. "You handle the security system. I can't make heads or tails of that stuff anyway."
"Two-on-two. Fair enough."
Cayde nodded.
"Alright then, let's move, partners! This is Cayde, the magnificent number six—keep your eyes on me, try to keep up!"
He stepped backward to the bridge's edge, then leapt off with a yell.
"See you down there! Wooooohooo!!"
"…hah."
Rolling his eyes, Duanmu Huai tightened his grip on his hammer and charged forward.
"Come, Olgis!"
"Yes, Master."
When they stormed into the prison, chaos already reigned. Prisoners, freed from their cells, waved weapons wildly, venting their rage. Hardly surprising—no inmate would be happy to rot in a cage.
Duanmu Huai's sudden appearance immediately became the focus of their fury.
"Kill them!!"
At the cry, the convicts raised their guns and opened fire. A hail of bullets poured forth, a storm of lead meant to tear them apart.
But Duanmu Huai didn't even blink. He didn't dodge, didn't flinch, simply charged straight into the storm. Bullets pinged off his power armor without leaving a scratch, deflecting harmlessly. In the next instant, he was among them, his hammer raised high.
BOOM!!
The hammer came down, and the nearest prisoner was reduced to a mangled heap of flesh, hurled across the room.
Meanwhile, Olgis moved smoothly. With her right hand she cast out invisible threads, weaving them into a massive shield that blocked incoming fire. Her left hand flicked gracefully, summoning doll-like constructs from the shadows. Each tiny puppet clutched a gleaming blade as they leapt silently at the convicts, stabbing deep into exposed flesh.
Clearly, Olgis had grown stronger. She could now control puppets beyond her guardian doll.
According to her, these new creations were inspired from her studies—stealth puppets, similar to her old murder-dolls, but more versatile. Effective little helpers, indeed.
"Oh-ho! These guys actually want to throw down, huh?"
Even mid-battle, Cayde's chatter didn't stop. His voice still crackled through comms in Duanmu Huai's ear. Honestly, Duanmu Huai suspected the Tower sent Cayde out on missions not just because he was a Hunter mentor, but also because they wanted peace and quiet back home.
"This riot must end here! If these murderers escape, they'll ravage the Reef unchecked!" Petra's worried voice cut in.
But Duanmu Huai only snorted.
"Then kill them all. Problem solved."
He swung his hammer again, smashing a Cabal commander into paste, his voice calm.
"You knew they were murderers, yet you kept them alive. What is this, a charity ward?"
No one answered. Instead, a deafening explosion shook the prison, walls and floor trembling.
"Heh-heh-heh!"
Cayde's laugh came over the comms.
"That wasn't me! So who's playing with bombs now?"
"I'll check—damn it!" Petra cursed.
"What's wrong?" Duanmu Huai asked.
"The blast knocked out security on the lower decks! That's where the high-value prisoners are! I need to verify—"
"In other words, the scum worth killing. Fine, leave it to me."
Duanmu Huai translated her words into his own terms, then waved at Olgis.
"Olgis, with me. We're going down!"
"Wait—you don't have access to the lower decks, you can't—"
"Do I need permission?" Duanmu Huai raised a brow.
"I'll just jump."
At that, Olgis lightly bounded onto his shoulder, nimble as a cat. Duanmu Huai seized her securely, then vaulted from the bridge in a single tremendous leap.
Wind roared past as they plummeted, until at last he slammed into the lower deck platform like a falling meteor.
Slowly, he raised his head to face what lay ahead.
"Well, well. Hello, you damned alien trash."
"..."
In the pitch-dark prison depths, silence reigned. Then, one by one, hundreds of Fallen emerged from the shadows, surrounding him and Olgis. From their ranks stepped several massive figures—and among them, a cloaked man at the center.
Clearly, he was the mastermind behind this uprising.
Duanmu Huai hefted his warhammer.
Looks like this bet is mine to win.
The Fallen surged forward from every direction. Duanmu Huai launched himself straight into the fray.
(End of Chapter)