Chapter 36: Iron Bastion (MSSCF)
The convoy cut through the darkness like a procession of iron beasts.
VRRRRMMMM...
Their engines echoed across the barren landscape as towering floodlights gradually emerged from the horizon, piercing the night with cold, unforgiving beams. Long before the prison itself came into view, its presence could already be felt.
Iron Bastion.
The fortress that criminals whispered about.
The place where even monsters learned the meaning of fear.
As the convoy rounded the final bend, the prison revealed itself in its entirety.
It wasn't merely a prison.
It was a city built to cage nightmares.
Massive concrete walls rose dozens of metres into the air, layered behind one another like the fortifications of an ancient fortress. Steel watchtowers stood at every corner, each occupied by heavily armed marksmen whose rifles tracked every vehicle entering the compound.
Between each wall stretched rows of electrified fences.
BZZZZZZZZT...
Blue currents danced endlessly through the steel mesh, illuminating the darkness with an eerie glow.
Searchlights swept methodically across the grounds.
Surveillance drones hovered silently overhead.
Not a single blind spot existed.
Not a single escape route.
Above the main entrance, colossal iron letters had been bolted into the reinforced concrete.
IRON BASTION
MAXIMUM SECURITY SAVAGE CONTAINMENT FACILITY
The sight alone was enough to make even veteran officers uneasy.
Then...
The outer gates began to move.
CLAAAAAAAAAANK...
The gigantic steel doors separated inch by inch, accompanied by a grinding roar that echoed throughout the valley.
Hydraulic pistons hissed.
Massive gears rotated beneath the walls.
The convoy rolled forward without slowing.
One vehicle.
Then another.
Then another.
As the final transport crossed the threshold, the gates closed behind them with earth-shaking force.
BOOOOOOM!
The sound reverberated throughout the compound like the tolling of a funeral bell.
For the prisoners inside...
Freedom had just become a distant memory.
* * *
The prison courtyard was already waiting.
Dozens upon dozens of heavily armed guards stood in perfect formation beneath the floodlights, their polished armour gleaming beneath the harsh white glow.
Every rifle was loaded.
Every shock baton crackled with restrained electricity.
Every face remained expressionless.
This wasn't routine.
These weren't ordinary prisoners.
Tonight, Iron Bastion was receiving an entire team of Savage-class captives.
The transport trucks came to a halt one after another.
SKREEEEECH...
Engines died.
Silence settled over the courtyard.
Then came the order.
"Unload the prisoners!"
Heavy rear doors swung open simultaneously.
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
The first prisoner emerged.
Or rather...
He was dragged.
Daito Greyhell.
His body hung limply between two heavily armoured guards as they hauled him from the transport stretcher.
Blood had dried across his face.
His clothes were torn beyond recognition.
Dark bruises covered nearly every inch of exposed skin.
Even unconscious, he looked as though he had barely survived a war.
One officer glanced at the medical report attached to the stretcher.
"...He's still alive?"
Another guard nodded grimly.
"Barely."
Without ceremony, reinforced suppression cuffs were secured around Daito's wrists.
CLACK!
Then around his ankles.
CHINK!
Blue energy pulsed through the restraints.
Even unconscious...
They weren't taking chances.
Nearby, another transport truck opened.
Four guards carefully lowered Brandon onto the ground.
Unlike Daito, the giant hadn't regained consciousness.
The tranquillisers continued coursing through his bloodstream, leaving his enormous frame completely limp.
It still required four men just to support his weight.
One guard wiped sweat from his forehead.
"I've never seen this much sedative used on one prisoner."
His partner glanced nervously at Brandon.
"...The report says they used enough to knock out a charging elephant."
"...And?"
"It barely worked."
Both men instinctively tightened their grip.
Even asleep...
Brandon radiated danger.
Across the courtyard, a third transport opened.
Champagne stepped out under his own power.
His hands were restrained behind his back, thick suppression cuffs glowing faintly around his wrists.
His expression remained unreadable.
Calm.
Cold.
Defiant.
Several guards instinctively shifted their footing as he passed.
No one wanted to be the officer responsible for provoking him.
Champagne slowly surveyed the prison.
The walls.
The towers.
The guards.
Every possible route.
Every impossible escape.
His jaw tightened.
"...So this is Iron Bastion."
One guard shoved him forward.
"Keep moving."
Champagne said nothing.
* * *
The remaining transports opened in quick succession.
Wasabi emerged first.
Without her equipment belt, tools, and gadgets, she looked strangely ordinary.
Almost vulnerable.
She glanced around the prison before forcing out a small sigh.
"...I've definitely had better holidays."
A nearby officer frowned.
"What?"
"...Nothing."
Behind her came Fah-jin.
Despite the suppression restraints around her wrists, she carried herself with surprising composure.
She noticed Wasabi's attempted joke and chuckled softly.
"...Still trying to lighten the mood?"
"What else am I supposed to do?"
"Fair enough."
The brief exchange earned both women another shove from the guards escorting them.
"Quiet."
Neither bothered responding.
Farther back, another transport door swung open.
Zachia stepped onto the concrete.
Heavy chains wrapped around his wrists, ankles, and waist.
Even so, every movement carried the unmistakable confidence of a seasoned fighter.
Several guards instinctively kept their distance.
One whispered quietly.
"...Don't underestimate him."
"I wasn't planning to."
Wei-Wan followed shortly afterwards.
Unlike the others, his attention wasn't on the guards.
Nor the walls.
Nor the floodlights.
His sharp eyes constantly moved from one corner of the prison to another.
Counting.
Measuring.
Analysing.
Every camera.
Every guard rotation.
Every defensive position.
Even as a prisoner...
His mind refused to stop working.
Finally...
Avenor was escorted from the last transport.
Additional suppression collars had been fitted around her neck to interfere with her stealth abilities.
She tested them once.
A faint shimmer appeared around her body.
Then vanished immediately.
"...Figures," she muttered beneath her breath.
"They really did prepare for everything."
* * *
"Line them up!"
The command echoed across the courtyard.
One by one, the prisoners were forced into position beneath a towering concrete wall stained by decades of rain and rust.
Towering above them hung a weathered iron sign.
PROCESSING UNIT
The words carried no emotion.
Only procedure.
A surveillance drone floated silently into position.
Its mechanical lens rotated before locking onto the first prisoner.
A correctional officer stepped forward carrying a digital tablet.
"Prisoner identification sequence begins now."
Another guard barked the next command.
"Stand straight!"
No one obeyed willingly.
The guards forced them into position anyway.
The drone emitted a sharp electronic tone.
BEEP!
Then—
FLASH!
A blinding burst of white light illuminated the courtyard.
Daito's photograph.
Another flash.
Brandon.
Another.
Champagne.
Then Wasabi.
Fah-jin.
Zachia.
Wei-Wan.
Avenor.
FLASH!
FLASH!
FLASH!
Every face was recorded.
Front profile.
Left side.
Right side.
Front once more.
Names.
Biometric data.
Savage classifications.
Threat levels.
Known abilities.
Criminal charges.
Everything was entered into Iron Bastion's permanent records.
The drone slowly retracted.
"Processing complete."
The officer lowered his tablet.
A second group of guards immediately stepped forward.
"Separate them."
Behind the prisoners, a row of reinforced steel doors slowly unlocked.
CLUNK...
CLUNK...
CLUNK...
Each doorway led toward a different wing of the prison.
Different security levels.
Different methods of containment.
No one would remain together.
No one would be allowed to communicate.
The rebellion was being dismantled piece by piece.
"Move!"
Brandon was the first to disappear, his unconscious body wheeled toward Block C, the reinforced containment wing reserved for prisoners whose physical strength exceeded conventional limits.
Champagne was escorted toward Block D, a maximum-security sector designed specifically for speed-type Savages, where every corridor and every cell had been engineered to restrict movement.
Wasabi and Fah-jin exchanged one final glance before guards separated them.
Both were taken toward Block E, the intelligence suppression wing, where communication, technology, and strategic coordination were systematically eliminated.
Zachia was forced into Block B, home to Iron Bastion's most violent combat-class prisoners, where strength alone determined whether one survived.
Wei-Wan disappeared into Block F, a heavily isolated sector reserved for tacticians, masterminds, and high-risk intellectual threats whose greatest weapon was their mind.
Avenor was escorted toward a specialised containment unit unlike any other, a facility designed exclusively to suppress stealth and concealment abilities through advanced optical disruption systems.
Finally...
Only one prisoner remained.
Daito Greyhell.
Still barely conscious.
Still unable to stand.
Two guards dragged him through a long corridor lit only by dim overhead lamps.
Their boots echoed against the steel flooring.
CLANG...
CLANG...
CLANG...
Rows of reinforced cell doors stretched endlessly into the darkness.
Behind thick observation windows, unseen eyes quietly watched the newest arrival.
One guard glanced down at Daito.
"...That's him."
"The one who fought Director Cassian."
His partner swallowed.
"...Poor bastard."
Neither man spoke again.
They eventually stopped before a heavy steel door.
The identification panel glowed green.
ACCESS GRANTED.
Hydraulics disengaged.
CLAAAAANK...
The door slowly swung inward.
Without hesitation, the guards threw Daito inside.
His battered body struck the cold concrete floor.
THUD.
The door slammed shut.
BOOOM!
Then came the sound every prisoner dreaded.
One lock engaged.
CLACK.
A second.
CLACK.
A third.
CLACK.
The reinforced mechanisms settled into place.
Daito Greyhell had officially become Prisoner of Iron Bastion.
to be continued....