Ukris Nightsong knew. She knew her allies’ invasion of Barilia would still come, whether her mission to eliminate the Summerbolts and those who shared their ideology was successful or not. That mission was after all meant only to remove one of the biggest obstacles in the way of the invasion’s success – hence said invasion would still take place, even if some changes in terms of strategy would have to be made.

The only thing Ukris didn’t know was when exactly the attack would begin. That changed once she heard the sound of alarms that were so loud, they reached even the underground maximum security wing for deviants in the Deckstoru prison, Lagram, where she was currently held.

Both of Lagram’s maximum security wings – the ordinari and the deviant one which were smaller versions of the medium security wings for the two species in the L-shaped building on the surface – were a complex of their own. Due to how dangerous the criminals locked up in there were, there were no alarms connected to the maximum security wings that could serve to stir the prisoners in any way and under no circumstances were their guards to leave the inmates unattended. Even if the entire building topside was destroyed and those confined within it set loose.

Yet, with all the precautions taken to isolate the maximum security wings from their counterparts above, the sound of the alarms triggered there still reached Ukris and the others dubbed the most dangerous deviant criminals in the county. Having spent almost a month in prison, Mrs. Nightsong had never heard the alarms sound so loudly and from all directions, which meant that whatever the issue was on the surface, it was of the highest level possible. Then came the tremors – something that definitely was not supposed to be felt at such a depth – to further confirm her suspicions.

It was now only a matter of time before some of her allies reached and freed her so all she had to do was wait. Another couple of minutes were nothing compared to the weeks already spent in waiting, Ukris deciding to spend those minutes sitting on the floor with her eyes closed in calm anticipation. The cell’s floor, which was the only part made of stone out of the otherwise glass structure the outside of which was encircled by white lights, was as cold as ever, but she could bare with it for a bit longer. What was harder to bear was the behavior of the other inmates around her, many of which had started banging on the inside of their cells, shouting in anger, laughing in joy or screaming in terror. And lastly, there was her despicable daughter’s voice she heard, Ulura having been put in the cell to the left of the one Ukris was currently in.

(Ulura) ‘Just what do you think you’re doing sitting on the floor like that? Maybe you know something I don’t?’

(Ukris) ‘Even if I do, I’m not about to share it with you.’

Rale, who was in the cell to Ukris’ right, joined in the mother and daugther’s conversation then, his interference annoying Mrs. Nightsong further.

(Rale) ‘I can guess what you’re thinking right now. You can’t know for sure if it’s THEM, though.’

Ukris kept her eyes closed, hoping to hold the anger caused by listening to her child and ex-husband’s voices at bay by not adding to it the frustration that would stem from looking at their faces. While efficient, this tactic still didn’t serve to show either one that the head of the family they used to be was in no mood to converse with them.

(Ulura) ‘While no one asked you for your opinion, father, I guessed that’s what she was thinking as well. What I wanted to know is why is she so sure of herself when there’s no way of knowing what’s really going on up there. Maybe she believes she can see the future now, too? I thought the time spent in prison would help crush that confidence of hers at least a little bit.’

(Ukris) ‘At first I was going to tell both of you to stop sullying my ears with the nagging sound of your voices, but you know what? Have at it. I won’t have to listen to you for much longer, anyway.’

Knowing the hour of salvation was at hand, Ukris blocked out Rale and Ulura’s retorts that quickly followed, focusing instead on the non-human-produced sounds around her. Eventually one among them would stand out and that would be the one to signal her release as she was certain the first among the prisoners in this wing to be freed was going to be her. None were as important as Mrs. Nightsong, after all.

Finally, a specific noise was added to the mix that drew Ukris’ attention, realizing it was actually two noises connected to each other: water dripping and pipes banging. The dripping became a trickle, the banging – louder and louder. But the prisoner didn’t open her eyes until she heard the piping under the floor of the corridor-shaped space between the cells burst.

The floor cracked open and through the fissure on it came out a wave of water, splashing all around and starting to fill the whole deviant maximum security wing. Only this water wasn’t the normal type, but one that was gray, almost black in color, having streaks that seemed to glow in light red here and there.

And as Ukris stepped closer to the front wall of her glass confinement, she saw the streaks illuminate a silhouette hiding within the water or rather presently being formed by it. A silhouette twice as tall as a man with massive bent horns coming out of its head, bone bat-like wings around which more of the strange water was swirling and a tail thad had multiple spikes at the end also clad in that water.

Of course, Mrs. Nightsong wasn’t the only one who had taken notice of the creature that had infiltrated her wing, ten prison guards entering as the space became more and more flooded, the prisoners within – more and more agitated. Though at least now they all appeared united in the emotion they expressed – dread. Rale alone seemed shocked to see the silhouette amid the dark waters, the reason for that being he and his ex-wife were the only ones who knew what it was.

Due to their uniforms consisting of black short-sleeved shirts and boots and gray trousers, the guards were barely distinguishable from the water pouring from the crack on the floor, the only thing that helped them stand out being the yellow-colored bands on their shoulders and soles of their boots. The streaks in the water glowing in light red reached them then, revealing they had their anti-deva batons ready in their right hand while out of the gauntlets on their left had now come out anti-deva miniguns.

The two weapons constituted the main tools the wardens had to maintain order throughout the prison, but they were going to be of little use against the enemy they were faced with now. Even versus a normal deva at a 100% output, those toys could all but delay the inevitable death of their users and the deva unleashed by the silhouette was far from normal. It didn’t originate from any point on Saiten. Ukris recognized this because she too had otherworldly powers dormant within her and the powers of the infiltrator shared a source with hers – they came from hell.

Having reached the fissure out of which the water was coming, several of the guards smashed the tip of their batons in the ground around it, causing masses of rocks to form there so they could seal up the source of the flood, the others moving to engage the bringer of this whole calamity. Keeping their distance, they opened fire with the miniguns on their gauntlets, three using projectiles that turned to ice upon contact with the water, stopping it from spreading any further in the prison wing. The rest fired streams of electricity from their left-arm weapons aimed at the infiltrator who was standing in the middle of all the water, planning to electrocute him to the max through that – an attack that fell short as Ukris had expected.

The inhuman creature turned itself into dark water that fell to the floor, evading the streams, meanwhile the ice that had contained a part of its deva cracking and breaking under the might of the unholy substance. The masses of rocks used to block the crack from where the flood wave had originated were also pushed away by an even bigger wave, as the wardens wavered between shock and despair their enemy forming once again out of a pillar of water amidst their ranks.

Before it had fully taken shape, each of its ten fingers transformed into an extremely thin and condensed stream of dark water, reaching every single one of the guards and cutting through them. No opportunity was given to block, the corpses falling to the ground, some directly splitting apart into several pieces due to the detachment committed by the streams, their blood mixing with the water around.

Having finally returned to its complete form and no longer using its water deva to cloak itself, the inhuman creature now stood in front of Ukris’ cell with a low growl. If anyone else were to witness up close what she saw then, they would’ve discovered their faith in God in that very instant and started praying for the salvation of their souls.

It was a male demon with dark green skin and horns, his shoulder-length straight hair being made of dark water, the back of his palms and his ankles being clad in the same deva in a similar fashion to the end of his tail and his wings. His eyes lacking pupils and irises almost seemed like cracks on his face rather than actual eyes because of their irregular shape were azure. The inside of his mouth was of the same color and like the eyes it looked like a crack, this one having sharp teeth in it here and there. His tongue glowed in light red, as did the marks on his cheeks that were in the shape of two squares on each, symbolizing tears. Lastly, the creature’s attire included light armor that mixed azure with light red and bandages of a darker shade of blue for the length of his tail, his torso and the lower half of his legs.

All Ukris did upon seeing this being of horror was smile. To be visited by an old friend when surrounded by enemies was a gift she had not received in far too long to be able to recall.

(Ukris) ‘Kar Summerbolt.’

(Kar) ‘Don’t address me with that last name, Ukris. Everytime I hear it, I’m reminded of those loathsome bastards, the Summerbolts.’

(Ukris) ‘It’s not my fault your family name matches theirs. What do you want me to call you then?’

(Kar) ‘The members of our family have started calling each other Devibolts between us. Try using that from now on.’

Ukris chuckled at the demon.

(Ukris) ‘It is rather fitting, I’ll say that much. Alright, then, Mr. Devibolt. I suppose you’ve come to free me?’

(Kar) ‘I’ve come to free everyone here, actually, but first I want to complement you on your look. You do look great in that red jumpsuit.’

Ever the joker, Kar was. He’d probably been waiting to say that to Ukris since he had learned she’d been sent to prison. Though what he didn’t suspect was she had a most fitting quip ready for such an instance.

(Ukris) ‘You should know, old man. You’ve worn one way before me.’

That seemed to have taken the demon back to the past, but judjing by his smile, he remembered it with fondness.

(Kar) ‘Too true. And now to business. The controller for all the deviant inmates’ neutralizing chips … they keep moving it for security but you know where it is right now, right?’

(Ukris) ‘Who do you think I am? Of course I know.’

(Kar) ‘You’ll take me to it, then, so we can remove the restraints on the devas of everyone here.’

(Ukris) ‘Release me and I will.’

Kar looked at the glass cell, a second later placing the palm of his right hand on its front wall, which immediately led to streams of blue energy being run through the structure’s outer and inner surface. Ukris jumped back when that happened, knowing the cell’s defence mechanism would hurt both those outside and within if an unauthorized person touched any part of it.The energy that was run through upon contact detection  was capable of causing burns as severe as those suffered when using a 100% deva output when the allowed level is only 15%. Mr. Devibolt most likely knew that, but didn’t seem bothered by the burns that had started to form on his skin, instead focusing on covering the cell’s exterior with a thick layer of water.

The water and the blue energy clashed, eventually that energy being dissolved, the glass cracking in many places, Ukris standing in the center of her cell now, waiting for her prison to shatter. So it did amid a squall of glass and water, Mrs. Nightsong kneeling and covering her face to make sure she would suffer minimal damage.

Once the clatter of glass falling to the ground stopped, she opened her eyes yet again and got up to find she luckily only had a few scratches on her that weren’t too deep, the flooding of her cell having only partially soaked her. The rough manner of her release still wounded the prisoner’s pride to a certain extent, though, so she gave Kar an annoyed glare to which he responded with a shrug and an obviously fake apologetic smile.

(Ulura) ‘For someone much older and more experienced than me, was that really the best you could think of to release me?’

(Kar) ‘It was the fastest way to free you and we’re in a hurry. Plus, I allowed myself to suffer some damage by the cell’s defences, too, so let’s call it even, shall we?’

(Ukris) ‘If these scratches are all I’ll have to pay to gain my freedom, it’s fine. But still, Kar, your style needs a bit of refining.’

(Kar) ‘Give me a break, kid. I haven’t used a complete demonic transformation for over two decades and got pretty excited. Refinement is the last thing on my mind right now.’

As she stepped out into the corridor-shaped space between the two rows of cells, Ukris turned to look at her ex-husband and then her daughter, Kar studying her reactions with unabashed curiosity. Ulura was still a little surprised by all that she had seen while Rale wasn’t even looking at his ex-wife, but rather at Mr. Devibolt.

(Ukris) ‘Once we’re done with the chip controller, you can take these two under your command if they’re still willing to serve, Kar. I won’t have anything more to do with them.’

(Kar) ‘That’s fine by me. So long as they can be of use to us.’

(Rale) ‘I know where the chip controller is as well, Kar! Free me from this cell and I’ll help you get to it even faster!!’

(Kar) ‘I’d like to do that, Rale, but knowing the history between you two that went quite public from a month ago, I’d guess you’ll try to strangle Ukris the moment I let you out. I could stop you from hurting her, of course, but I’d rather not get involved in your family fights at all. So sit tight. You’ll be out of there in no time.’

Rale wanted to say something else, but Ukris and Kar ignored him, just like they did with all the other prisoners that had started banging on the cell walls and shouting again, having seen one among them had already been released and hoping the same would happen to them. Mrs. Nightsong walked over the dead bodies left in her liberator’s wake along with him, the two reaching the end of the maximum security wing for deviants and stepping on the platform attached to a ramp beyond it. There, the newly liberated villainess stood still, clearly confusing her companion.

(Kar) ‘Well? Where is it?’

(Ukris) ‘The controller is currently placed in a three-layer bunker integrated in the foundations of the surface-level prison building. The outermost layer is perfectly visible from the ramps that go down to both the ordinari and the deviant maximum security wing. Can’t you see it?’

Kar seemed rather annoyed by her question, which of course was a purposeful action on her part to make up for how he had freed her moments ago.

(Kar) ‘I may be able to transform into a demon, Nightsong, but that doesn’t mean I see better in the dark. That’s your damned family’s speciality.’

Ukris let out another chuckle after confirming the success of her mockery.

(Ukris) ‘Sorry. I was joking. I’ll point you to it, but you have to make sure you’ll be able to pierce through all the defences placed around it, both of the concrete and the anti-deva type, as fast as possible. Once the bunker is under attack, the signal for controlling the chips will be transferred to a back-up device the location of which is known only to the chief of staff from what I’ve heard.’

(Kar) ‘I was chosen for the task of destroying the controller because of my high piercing ability. So just point me in the right direction, brat.’

(Ukris) ‘Piercing alone won’t be enough for this, but OK. Your 3 o’clock. Aim straight in that direction.’

Kar turned to the right side of the platform, bringing his palms together with the fingers directed forward, then proceeding to transform his hands into dark water, out of which were shot ten thin and condensed streams.

(Kar) ‘You seem to have forgotten since the last time you saw it in action … that you’re not the only one who uses techniques the power of which changes depending on the number of fingers used.’

The ten streams were pooled together in one that became even more condensed while remaining as thin as each of the separate ones that had formed it were, shooting through the darkness until it came in contact with something in the distance. A tremor much stronger than the ones from earlier followed, after everything calmed down and the single water stream disappeared, rays of light coming through the hole it had punctured through the outermost layer of the chip controller’s bunker. Fires suddenly burst through the hole made by Kar, Ukris indeed being reminded of what the ‘other’ Summerbolt family’s members were capable of.

(Ukris) ‘Just what did you do in there without even seeing the inside of the bunker? How’d you use water to make that place catch fire?’

(Kar) ‘I simply flooded it with death. Just as I’m about to do with this entire prison.’