"Can't those bastards ever shut up? Their screaming's driving me insane."
"You should take that up with General Ross. That collar installation isn't just painful — it's the kind of agony that can make a mute start screaming for mercy."
The two guards chatted idly as they strolled through a blind spot in the surveillance system. Neither of them noticed the two shadows sliding out from the corner until hands shot out, dragging them silently into the darkness.
Because the Mach-V visors obscured the guards' faces, Marcus couldn't smother them effectively — so he opted for precision. His fingers morphed into razor-sharp blades, driving straight into the base of one man's skull. The blow severed the spinal cord instantly, killing him without a sound.
Beside him, the Winter Soldier handled the second one with brutal efficiency — a twist of his metal arm, and the guard's neck snapped completely, his head turning almost one hundred eighty degrees.
Two muffled thuds. Two corpses.
The blood-red flames of Marcus's power flared briefly, reducing both bodies to fine gray ash that scattered into nothingness. Within moments, Marcus and the Winter Soldier were dressed in full prison-guard uniforms, their suits' ID systems already hacked and cleared of any biometric data.
They stepped out casually from the shadows, continuing the earlier conversation as if nothing had happened.
"You seem to enjoy the sound of their screaming."
"They deserve it."
In the courtyard below, General Ross was still reveling in his newfound dominion, barking orders at his guards as prisoners writhed in agony under his command. He had no idea that death itself was creeping quietly above his head.
Disguised as guards, Marcus and the Winter Soldier moved with unhurried precision down the corridor toward the control center. Prisoners cursed at them from behind reinforced glass, their eyes burning with hatred. Judging by their condition, this place's "treatment" of inmates bordered on sadism.
Then, just as the pair approached the final hallway leading to the control room, a vigilant sentry stepped into their path.
"Hey! You two — back to your posts. Now!"
Marcus stopped, feigning a weary shrug. "Hey, relax, friend. We're not—"
He never finished the sentence.
Before the word 'supposed to' could leave his lips, the Winter Soldier had already acted. With a flick of his cybernetic arm, he disabled the nearby surveillance feed, lunged forward, and slit the guard's throat in a single, seamless motion. The man didn't even have time to gasp before being dragged into the shadows.
Marcus evaporated the blood in the air with a quick pulse of his bloodflame, leaving no trace behind. To any onlooking prisoner, it looked like a flicker of red light — maybe just a warning beacon malfunctioning.
None of them dared report it. If it turned out to be a false alarm, General Ross's punishments were far worse than silence.
---
Inside the control center, operators suddenly noticed that one of the camera feeds had gone dark. A technician frowned and ran diagnostics.
"This isn't a hardware fault," he said, his tone growing tense. "This is an external hack—"
Before he could hit the comm button to alert Ross, a surge of blue light washed through the room — a pulse of electromagnetic energy rippling outward.
The entire control center went dead in an instant.
Screens flickered out. Lights shut off. Consoles fell silent. The sealed room was plunged into pitch darkness, the kind where even your own breath felt loud.
"Stay calm! Non-combat personnel, get down!"
Trained soldiers snapped into formation, their discipline kicking in. They switched on the tactical flashlights mounted beneath their rifles, beams sweeping across the room as they shouted orders and searched for any sign of the intruders.
At first, they saw nothing — only frightened staff crouched on the floor.
Then, one of those staffers looked past the soldiers, eyes widening in horror. His mouth opened, but all that came out was a broken stammer — half gasp, half moan.
"A–ah… ahh… wh-what is—"
A faint red glow flickered to life among the soldiers — a small flame, no larger than a lighter's spark, dancing on the fingertip of a shadowed figure.
It wasn't the warm orange of firelight. It was crimson. The color of blood. The color of death.
Even from a distance, the heat radiating from that tiny flame felt like molten rock.
Marcus smiled faintly and flicked his wrist.
The flame stretched into a burning line — then erupted.
"Behind us!"
The shout came too late.
The entire squad was engulfed in an instant. A torrent of blood-red fire roared through the room, devouring everything in its path. The air itself seemed to ignite, the shockwave rattling every steel panel in the chamber.
The soldiers didn't even have time to pull their triggers. In seconds, they were reduced to blackened husks, their armor bubbling and collapsing before disintegrating entirely. The inferno left behind no bones, no ash — just silence.
Huddling together for protection had been tactically sound. Against Marcus, it was suicide.
---
While Marcus's flames devoured the guards, the Winter Soldier leapt from cover, his silenced pistols drawn. He moved with surgical precision, firing methodically into the line of terrified technicians still kneeling on the floor.
Each suppressed shot claimed a life.
Each bullet found its mark.
By the time the last cartridge clicked empty, the room had fallen completely silent. The clerks hadn't even realized they were dying — they simply slumped forward, their blood already cooling on the floor.
Once the last heartbeat faded, the Winter Soldier slammed his metal hand onto the console. Blue arcs of energy crackled through the room, rebooting the systems one by one.
Monitors flickered back online. Power surged.
Across the displays, the thirty automated laser turrets came back online — all of them locked onto the prison courtyard below, where General Ross was still "disciplining" his prisoners.
Marcus stepped forward, his crimson eyes glinting with amusement.
"Well," he said quietly, "let's raise this place to the surface… and give those down below a little light show they won't forget."
__
T/N:
Hello everyone! My Patreon is just $3 — a perfect opportunity to access 60+ advanced chapters and support.
🔗 patreon.com/user?u=79514336
Or simply search Translator-Sama on Patreon