Escape part 2 J
The opening led to another corridor. Goku feared the worst, but this one ended in an opening that was like a farming or central area of a cavern system except for the fact that the bulk of the area was dominated by a jagged hole.
Goku squinted downwards and saw that the ground didn't seem to be too far off, about a thirty three mile drop at most, the top though was a different case, well over forty miles away Goku was greeted by a very welcome sight as he gazed upwards, light, the only lighting in hell was from the occasional fire and a sort of eerie glow off the skin of the demons but now he saw a few shafts of brilliant white light up ahead, and it seemed to be coming from the top floor, yes floor.
The hole that Goku was seeing had certain levels along it, like racks as Goku could see no pillars to support the levels otherwise. Between each of them Goku approximated eleven miles and deduced he was on the fourth level, the fourth worse, despite the fact that the light could only be seen at the top floor Goku also sensed the heat that he had come to associate with hell increasing upwards. He shuddered, thinking that he had killed seven billion people (not without reason) and there were still three levels above him reserved for more heinous crimes. For criminals who were guilty of crimes worse than massive murder of men and slaughter of angels.
Goku feared to do so but he knew he felt in his bones that this was the only way out for him. He lifted himself a few feet of the ground and hovered close to the hole, then with one final breath he pushed himself over. As he had feared his flight suddenly left him, he fell to the ground three dozen miles away and crashed with a bone shattering thud. Literally, he felt the bones in his body shatter. Groaning and delirious with agony he pulled himself slowly out of the area off the hole. Immediately his formidable power came rushing back, his bones were re-fixed and his muscles knit themselves back together. In less than a minute he was good as new if slightly fatigued. Experimentally he stepped into the circle of light made by the hole. His power faded to nothing, yet as he stepped back it all came rushing back to him. He suddenly felt scared, whoever had made this could obviously kill him with frightening ease,, Gabriel perhaps was the responsible one, yet Goku felt that a hole that neutralized a person's power completely was not exactly Gabriel's style. He was seriously outmatched if he could lose all his strength simply by stepping into a hole, the ease with which he had dispatched the angels and demons (Gabriel excluded) had made him confident. Perhaps a bit overconfident by the look of it, but he didn't have time to waste on these doubts right now, he had to escape. He looked around the floor for an exit, surely there must be a way out, and he refused to accept the fact that there could be no way out, he would not be stuck in this hellhole (literally) forever. And hadn't Gabriel hinted at a possibility of escape? Goku refused to lose hope.
Goku found a few small passages leading out from the central area of the first floor of hell. He decided to follow in accordance with common sense the largest one he could see, and hoped he would not die a gruesome death in the process. This one was rather short; as he emerged at its end he saw a long room, with multiple holes in the wall at ground level. These he realized were prison holes, where the prisoners would serve their sentence. So this was the least of all the levels of hell. One of the demons spotted Goku and suddenly all of them were looking at him, their coordination and effectiveness had Goku seriously considering the possibility of higher consciousness controlling them all, linking their minds and perfectly transmitting their thoughts, which could be a serious inconvenience.
Within seconds they were upon him, Goku however was faster. He flew through the crowd of demons killing all those in his way and leaving the others to witness his mindboggling speed. Just as he speared through the last demon in a burst of light and approached the door he sensed something unusual. The ashes of the demon that lay on the ground at his feet were throbbing; they were throbbing with a tiny pulsating energy. A dead body never gave off energy, yet these demons weren't actually dead if they kept coming back were they?
To keep the others at bay Goku created a wall of defensive energy between them and watched as the energy throbbing in the ashes grew as it smoked and slowly lit itself, when the demon returned the energy was at its max and it flared even higher when Goku punched him in the face and the demon burst into flames. Goku watched it return to ashes once more except this time he touched it with his finger, the flames burst forth, the power in the fire rose to max and Goku finger was burning painlessly. Sucking in the energy was as natural for Goku as sucking in air. The fire curled and dissolved into his hands, he felt a tiny rush and his power increased, though the increase was small it was enough to give Goku the knowledge he needed. He dissolved the barrier between him and the demon but not of them was idiotic enough to step forward after what they had just seen. In a flash the one nearest to Goku exploded and Goku who was suddenly standing next to him sucked the energy up into his fingertips. The high was addictive.
Demon after demon followed; there were dozens of dozens and not much later the room was empty of even the ashes and smoke of dead demons and Goku stood triumphant. He snapped his fingers and the bars of the many prisons broke, yet the prisoners remained still perhaps wondering if they were to receive the same treatment as the demons. But when Goku left through the opening on the other side of the room, they deemed it acceptable to their safety to follow.
For the first time since he had been literally thrown into hell, Goku felt hope.