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Paladin's Path
Chapter 39: Thousand eyed Pooka

Chapter 39: Thousand eyed Pooka

There used to be a man who had a paranormal power that allowed him to control earth. It was in the early months of the year two thousand, he would appear every few weeks and cause havoc to anything around him with a big smile on his face.

After one month of peace people began to think that he was apprehended by a paladin, but there was nothing on the news. So eventually Thomas Waller was reported missing.

Kevin Macintyre, a man who participated in many underground fights was another man who had went missing, in the year of nineteen ninety-eight. It was later found out that his power allowed for him to make people to play on an equal playing field with him no matter how much stronger than him they were.

And the previous monarch of South Africa, Zani Langa, her disappearance happened in the year of two thousand and one, it was only after that, that forces started to find out what was happening.

It wasn't just them, the amount of people vanishing without a trace, even with all the advanced technology growing at a rapid pace was making people worried.

In the year of two thousand and five the same earth controlling ability was seen in use in England. And that was when people had started to put a name and face behind the thief who had snatched the bodies of the missing people.

The devil's name was Maeve O'Malley.

Her next public appearance was against America's monarch himself Noa Godwin. She lost of course, but with the numerous powers she had taken she had found many suitable for a slimy escape from him and any other powerful monarch that would ever come close to catching her.

She had slipped past the grips of every person set to capture her that the public believed she was never going to be caught, they set curfews and called for more paladin working for their safety.

And in the year of two-thousand and sixteen she had handed herself over to authorities.

This should have been a victory if not for the fact that it was kept secret. The decision was made under Noa Godwin and many more government and BPA officials.

They would hold her in secret, her death was on everyone's mind. But after finding out what her power was and the toll one would have to go through to kill her, a majority decided against it, believing that one day the people she has kept within her will be freed...

So instead, now she lay "asleep" in a dark cell created for her, hidden high up a mountainous area in Alaska.

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"To think someone with such a crappy power like mine could get a job in such a high security place like this."

He didn't know the full details of the job, just that it was security work for a secret prison, he had to sign multiple NDA's and only accepted because the pay was eight times more than what he got as a police officer.

"First day?" An older guard next to him asked with a tilt to their head.

Everyone wore the same uniforms, both male and female.

Pitch black, similar to police uniforms or probably more similar to SWAT uniforms since they had thick metal plates in specific places on their uniform that didn't stunt mobility.

And instead of a nameplate, they were given numbers. That was another thing he had to agree on which he thought was weird.

He was number 330, and the man in front of him was 255.

"Yeah it is, and I can't believe the look of this place. So what do you guys do on a day-to-day basis? I was just told that my position here is extremely important."

He was given a gun, whilst given the gun they got to test his control over his OD and then attached a fuel tank to his back which was connected to the gun. He assumed the level of control they were looking for, he didn't have.

The fuel tank was to be his ammo though.

He was travelling with number 255 into an elevator that went down, far far down. It took at least two minutes at a moderate speed before the elevator stopped moving.

"We are prison guards obviously," Number 255 said. "And we were chosen for how we conducted ourselves on the field as officers of peace, some people here are not even awakened." He said in a chipper tone.

That got number 330 to raise his brow. He couldn't imagine it, being a prison guard for a secure and private prison meant that incredibly dangerous people were chucked away in here, so he would have assumed that they would have more awakened as guards here than not.

"We participate in multiple training drills a day in rotation with squads that are doing their usual routine work."

He nodded, he wouldn't admit it but he was a little anxious. 330 was told that him and 255 were going to be partners for the foreseeable future.

"Have you been to the dorms?" Yes, he nodded.

"What about the rune, has it been inscribed on you yet?"

That question made 330 wince while nervously shifting around in his spot. His hand went to the back of his neck.

"Yeah, they put it on me but they never told me what the rune was for." 330 looked to his partner to fill him in.

"It's to prevent you from leaking information. It scans every thought going through your head, and if it notices that you may start to reveal something to someone your not supposed to, it will activate and stop you from speaking until your thoughts change."

So what he was just saying to him could be considered private information, another way to be sure if 330 had his rune inscribed.

But he sure was invested, he hadn't much knowledge on Runes but he knew that they were supposed to be few and simple in concept, until you met someone who could properly mix them together and create functions for them.

No function would ever be capable enough for things like taking down chimera, but they were good for things like this.

"This place is real strict ain't it. What type of prisoners are here? Are they one's that will eventually make their way to pandemonium?" Everybody knew pandemonium was not the prison you wanted to be in.

Only awakened can even be sent there, and once you are sentenced there, the chance of freedom is low. It is meant to be the perfect prison system that humans have no control over.

255 turned to 330 and told him. "It's not a place for prisoners, it was built for one specific person." The chipper tone dulled and became a little nervous when he announced that.

330 wanted to laugh, one person. For that to be a possibility his mind could only think of someone with power to rival a monarch, he glanced at 255. "One man? Please tell me you're joking." 330 was sounding more chipper than he should have been.

"No man, A woman is here,"

330 now started laughing, he knew it was wrong to judge based of gender like that but he just couldn't stop himself. He then looked up to number 255 to see his face hadn't changed, his thick moustache covered his top lip but he could tell that the man looked like he wanted to slap him for laughing, as if laughing would irritate whoever was locked up now.

"You're serious?" he asked.

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He received a nod. "Yes, that thing is a demon. And we were chosen to guard it and protect the world from it. Remember the Thousand-eyed pooka?"

They had continued walking forward into a dark space, number 330 was now beginning to have doubts again. The reason he accepted the job was the pay, but...

"The pooka? That's what were guarding?" Everyone had knew of the pooka, he even remembers the stories his grandmother would tell him to try and get him to go to bed on time...

...If not the pooka would be awake to take you away.

Since there was no news about it he believed the fiendish woman was dead already.

As they stepped forward footsteps were heard. It was more guards, lining up.

The number of guards in the room was one hundred on the dot. The dark room had a single light which shone the thick steel door to a cell, it could only be opened by one person in the room who held a key card up to the door.

Some of the guards noticed the new people entering, one of them said, "New guy?" as he pointed over to 330.

"Yeah, and I see there are some newbies here too." 255 responded as he pointed out some male and female officers.

"Yeah, well be prepared for seven hours of nothing." Another number that 330 didn't bother remembering spoke, "But buckle up and prepare to see her."

The door opened, it made no sound as it slid across the ground. They were all invited in.

And immediately number 330 shivered.

A single light was shining down on a metal box the size of a human. Sticking out of it was a head and two arms. The arms were chained and had many runes on them, the chains were attached to two corners of the room.

And the head, the skin was pale, she was as white as a ghost. And her hair was short, 330 remembers the images on deleted websites now of this woman with long and silky black hair.

Hair that was now cut short, so short that they wouldn't even reach her shoulders.

There were multiple red dots aimed at the head and arms, and equal amount he would say. Lasers ready to rip through her and send her to the afterlife is she made the wrong move.

But could she,

"She's in suspended animation," 255 explained to the newbies in the room. The people that had already knew of their situation had been outside standing guard and getting ready to follow their usual routine.

"As soon as she was transported here she turned limp. They say she forcefully put herself in a suspended state, similar to being in a coma. Not sure if it were an ability or not, but she hasn't moved an inch for the past four years. So there's nothing to worry about."

He then lifted his gun.

"This gun I have is different from most of yours," It was different from 330, "If your mastery of OD is good enough you will also get this one as well, you can shoot wads of your OD out of them, don't expect to put them to use outside of training though."

He then lifted his other one, the one that everyone had attached to their backs.

"This one shoots out a special wavelength that allows us to put her in a hypnotic state before we sedate her,"

330 thought on what the point would be if she had already put herself in a coma. "Even though she put herself in that state, there is always a chance she could undo it. So we use this for twenty minutes before we go in and sedate her understood?" he said with a loud voice.

He received a resounding "Yes!".

They were told they would start now, five newbies and five veterans that had been here since the beginning doing this.

330 was one of the chosen new hires to head the sedation period. He held his gun up for the full twenty minutes without moving his arm once, after the twenty minutes was up he was told to step back and let another group of guards move in to sedate him.

He continued analysing the woman, knocked out on her own 'supply', her arms were thin, incredibly so. It was hard for 330 to imagine her being that much of a threat.

"Could she even match up to the heavy hitters of today?" he muttered mostly to himself, but it was heard by everyone in the quiet room.

Then another voice responded to spoke out in response, "Yeah, like Carmen Ford."

"Even though he's had a bad time recently I don't think Adrian Wolfe would lose."

"Yeah, can you imagine if she tried to take on the members of the Ikhiana family. They're supposed to be real powerful."

The mood in the room was becoming more energetic, no doubt coming from the new people on the team.

They felt protected, the paladins would keep them safe if the time called for it anyway.

They always did.

That's what they were supposed to do.

An old demon of the past couldn't measure up... Number 330 felt happy, he felt elated, he felt an indescribable feeling in his chest, and then he giggled.

Then the room started to laugh too, not hearty laughs but well enough to signify their joyous tone.

But why did they feel so good?

"And don't forget Noa Godwin!" A new voice yelled out, they voice was soft, silky but scratchy as if it had something to spit out of it's throat, it filled the room and stunned them into silence, where did it come from.

Someone in front of 330 laughed and said, "Yeah, I almost forgot, how could I forget? We have the strongest man in the world on our side--" And that someone in front of 330 had his head crushed against the wall with a helmet thrown from inside the prisoners cell.

The elation within 330 wouldn't die down, but he knew he was scared.

Something had went wrong.

"Everyone. Come in!" It wasn't an ask, it was a demand.

The guards got up, barely paying any mind to the blood smeared on the wall. And they walked into the cell.

330 finally felt the elation die down as he was ready to hurl his breakfast.

Blood and guts painted everywhere, the ceiling, the floors, the chains and the runes inscribed on the papers supposed to be holding the containment box together...

That same containment box that was left completely in tact.

'She's... out...' .... "She's out."

330 looked toward the woman, her hair was supposed to be cut short but it was growing, flowing down her long and alluring body that was covered in rags. It was flowing wildly as she was guzzling down blood that she was wringing from a detached leg she had picked up off one of the dead officers.

As her head went down and faced the officers in uniform, her red cat slit eyes pierced through them.

"Four years it's been right. That's a long enough slumber." Her voice now sounded refreshed, it was compelling. "Would one of you like to tell me about some current trends?"

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"OPEN FIRE!!!" An older guard screamed out at the top of his lungs. Everyone grabbed a hold of their guns and fired, the lasers in the room were deactivated. Sounds of customised gunshots and waves filled the room.

A shot hit here right in the center of her forehead and she fell.

The sound of gunshots stopped,

"She dead?"

"She can't be... this is the dam pooka we're talking about."

Nobody wanted to move, but nobody shot either.

A hand went up, "I'll check, if there is movement just shoot. Don't even worry about me."

There was a nod, and the man, number 005 went up to the body.

They were both still, he bent down and analysed the body, gazed at the hole the laser of Od had penetrated to put her down.

And then her head turned and her eyes opened in his sight.

Before he could say anything, his throat was pierced by... by what...?

Her tongue.

The pooka's tongue had stretched to the length of sword and had it's piercing power too. Her tongue entered through the Adam's apple and come out the other side shocking the prisoners who had all aimed their weapons again to fire.

But their fingers never reached the triggers.

They were all stopped by an individual strand of hair, a strand so tough that if they went against it, it would slice their finger off.

"What's happening?... "

"We're going to die?"

"Shittt... Fuck, Aaaghh"

A scream was heard as someone tried going against the strand of hair only for more strands to shoot out of her head like a drill and pierce through his skull.

And then everyone.

Screams and breaths were cut short as the hundred number started to dwindle to fifty, and then twenty, then five.

"How is he doing this?"

"Why now of all times?"

303, the last survivor had thought that too. He had just started today, he wanted to at least work here for a year while stacking up as much as he could. Pay off debts and pay his grandmother back.

'It was all for naught now.'

The red piercing slitted eyes were right in front of him now. Sections of hair all in drill formation as the pooka was crouched to his level, giving him a wide smile at his incoming death.

And then she asked him.

"Tell me. What is the power you were blessed with?" Again, the compelling voice made him talk without the words even entering his mind.

"It's called Enhance; a simple ability that allows me to enhance the strength of objects and other people's OD."

A slight and sultry laugh escaped her lips.

330 didn't feel it before, but he now felt so small, like the room had gotten wider, the lady in front of him had gotten larger.

'Was I always this small?'

His eyes couldn't move from her even though he wanted them too. And then he heard her again, like her voice was deeply rooted in his mind.

"A simple ability indeed. Now show me!" Her red eyes glowed brightly.

330 instantly stuck a hand out, his OD moved on it's own and went to touch at the devil in front of him. And his power got to work, in the worst ways possible, he can not enhance boost himself but when boosting the power of someone else, he boosts their OD by two.

The aura surrounding the pooka's OD was overwhelming, a violent and mesmerizing manifestation of raw power.

It began as a deep, blood-red core, it's edges barely visible against the shadows that seemed to warp and bend in response.

From the dark center, tendrils of vibrant red energy spiked outwards, twisting like flames reaching for the heavens. Each spike was sharp, jagged, and pulsated with a relentless rhythm, as though the air itself was being ripped apart by the surge of her power.

"And I will still take it, I will take you, as a trophy of my newly self-granted pardon." She gave a devilish little eye-smile. "Goodbye."

The room shuddered under the weight, walls groaning as if they too could feel the pressure that was building.

330 couldn't feel it anymore. He couldn't feel anything but immense grief. And then his world darkened and he felt as if he dissolved and was locked away behind a small cupboard with the want to lift his hands up and push himself out.

But the darkness continually closed itself in on him.

He was lost now, forever.

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Soft footsteps were heard as they were walking out of an elevator...

"They kept calling me, 'demon' or 'devil', but I already like the other name they gave me. Thousand-eyed Pooka."

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