Chapter Fifty Five

I am Prometheus

JANUS

He let the pellet slide through the grills of the air vent he was still crouching on top of, and waited for it to hit the ground in between two soldiers who were just walking past. The pellet made contact with the ground and shattered.

Thick, black smoke rose from the ground, obscuring everything from sight and he heard the soldiers exclaiming and coughing. Janus kicked the vent out from underneath him and landed directly on top of one of the soldiers, and there was a sickening thud and snapping of bones, followed by a scream of agony.

Before anyone could react, Janus hurled the vial over at the stack of muskets by the wall. A contained explosion rocked the room and four soldiers standing in close proximity were caught in it, their charred bodies flying backwards like rag dolls away from the point of impact. In addition, the explosion blinded the occupants of the room temporarily, giving Janus more time to strike. The smoke still heavy in the air, Janus went about dismantling another soldier, and as the smoke spread, he dealt with a seventh.

An eighth swung his fist wildly at him, cutting through the smoke. A simple forearm obstructed the blow, and Janus swung both his arms against the sides of the man's head, delivering a thundering ear clap. As he clutched his skull and screamed, Janus executed a simple roundhouse kick, flooring him. Eight.

By this time, his luck had run out and the smoke had cleared. The soldiers were very aware that there was an intruder present, and knew exactly where he was. Sixteen to go. This was going to be tricky.

"Get to safety." He said sharply, gesturing at the king and queen to steer clear of what was about to happen. There was no time for formalities in a time like this, and it seemed that the two royals understood.

He faded as someone lashed out at him with a wild haymaker. Employing a textbook forearm block, Janus delivered a straight jab to the other side of his opponent's jaw which was open and susceptible to attack. Pulling the reeling man forward towards him, a small blade slid from the sleeve of his wrist and he neatly slashed the man's throat. Nine.

Pushing aside the man, he employed an elbow block to counter another punch from someone else, and kicked his legs out from underneath him. As the man sprawled, Janus gave him a sharp kick in the ribs which sent him reeling, and a dagger flew into the side of his neck. Ten.

Backpedaling, Janus put some distance between himself and a few other soldiers who were charging at him, and vaulted over the writing desk. Behind the safety of the desk, he drew his bow and began firing. These bunch weren't stupid. While the rest sprung out of the way to avoid being hit, only three of them stupidly caught arrows in their chests or shoulders and went down in a tangle. Thirteen.

The remaining eleven came at him from all angles, and he hurdled over the desk, delivering a spinning kick to two as he went. Two more daggers flew from his hands, blood splattering across the ground. Fifteen.

Throwing aside his bow for the time being, he drew the cavalry saber - the heavy wretched thing was slowing him down - and parried a downward cut from a pocket knife. Using the weight and size of his weapon, Janus forced the pathetically sized blade out of his attacker's hand and sank his own sword into the man's stomach. Sixteen.

Someone swung at him, and Janus narrowly avoided the fist by dropping to the ground. As the man he had just stabbed hit the ground head first, Janus rolled and grabbed the saber, wrenching it free from the man's body, and blood flew everywhere.

Janus dove low and slashed at the calf of a soldier, and watched as blood exploded from the wound. Moving in one graceful rotation, he sliced downwards diagonally, gashing a wound in the off balanced soldier's throat.

Someone slammed Janus' right arm against the writing desk and pain lanced through his arm. He dropped the sword and faded sideways just as a soldier brought his knee up with the intention of crushing Janus' ribs. The knee met the wood of the writing desk with an awkward thock.

Janus threw his leg's weight into the small of the man's back, who hit abdomen first into the desk. Janus grabbed the man's collar and turned him around to face him. With his left arm, Janus heaved and hoisted the man above the ground, slamming him into the desk which crumbled beneath the man's weight. He used the fallen soldier's body and pushed himself up to his feet.

Seventeen. Eighteen.

Two more barrelled into him from behind, forcing him forward. A third thrust his knife straight into the already injured shoulder of the mercenary, and his vision went spotty for a moment as pain in its purest, most saturated form worked its way through his arm and up to his brain which registered like a Christmas tree lighting up in its fully glory.

If not for his impressively high threshold for pain tolerance, a lesser man would have screamed and thrown in the towel, but Janus just gnashed and ground his teeth. He grunted as the three men forced him to the ground, pinning his injured arm behind him and the blade was driven further into his shoulder by being pushed against the ground.

Before they could constrain his other arm, Janus reached for his own dagger and stabbed the ribs of one of his assailants. As the man loosened his grip, Janus quickly rolled onto his back and landed a vicious kick on the second, causing him to stumble backwards and crash into one of the flimsy chairs. In one quick motion, Janus ripped the knife out of his own shoulder and grimaced, tossing the knife aside with contempt.

The third man lunged at him with a right cross meant to puncture the wounded shoulder even further, but Janus caught his arm with his left hand. He twisted it over his shoulder and yanked it downwards till he felt an audible pop and heard a shriek of agony. Ignoring the man's cry, Janus bent forward and hurled the man over his shoulder, causing him to land atop the soldier with the dagger still stuck in his ribs. Twenty. Four more to go before my shoulder falls apart completely.

The man Janus had kicked away was being helped to his feet by another, while two more brandished bayonets. The other two drew broken pieces of wood from the broken chair, holding them like baseball bats.

Blood was soaking through the wound and dripping big red drops onto the stone floor. Clutching his hurt shoulder which had been further aggravated, he gritted his teeth from behind the mask, secretly glad that his opponents couldn't see the look of agony on his face. His eyes darted to his weapons. The longbow was too far out of reach, and so was the saber. The plethora of knives he carried had been exhausted…for once in his life, and now the only thing he had left were a couple of arrows. No, he would save them just in case.

With his unwounded arm, Janus unslung the quiver and dropped it by his side. Narrowing his eyes, he walked towards the four remaining soldiers who were all brandishing weapons while he remained unarmed with one arm compromised.

Janus snatched up a dagger from one of the fallen bodies as he closed the gap, and held it in an icepick grip. Upon reaching striking range, he faded as a soldier with the wooden fragment swung at him. He spun, delivering a backhand slash across the man's chest and swiftly dropped to the ground as someone thrust at him.

Slicing the tendons, he waited for the man to buckle before he sprung up, delivering a high impact knee straight to the man's jaw. Before he could land on top of the man who was falling backwards, he drove the dagger into the side of the man's temple.

As the soldier hit the ground with a loud thud, Janus got off him and stood up as quickly as he could, blood dripping generously from his wound. Just two more to go.

Someone grabbed his hood from behind, tugging it backwards to reveal his tousled brown hair. The soldier held on to his hood, trying to keep Janus leaning backwards as the other man gripped his bayonet, readying himself for a straightforward lunge.

Janus twisted out of the man's grasp and pivoted till he was behind the man, turning the tables. He pushed the man straight into the bayonet before the second could recoil or withdraw. And as the stabbed man doubled over, Janus vaulted over him, using his back as a launching pad. He delivered a vicious forearm straight to the man's nose, and as his feet touched the ground, Janus reached back with his left hand and pulled the bayonet out. Twenty three.

The final soldier grabbed his wrist before he could do anything else, and the two wrestled for control. Janus thrust his knee up into the man's sternum, wrenching the bayonet free. Then as his final stroke, he slammed the hilt of the bayonet into the man's temple and caught the man's neck in the crook of his elbow in a reverse grip. Giving a short but firm jerk, there was an audible pop and the soldier went limp.

Releasing the man, Janus staggered a few steps and then dropped to his knees. Blood continued flowing from his wound, soaking through the makeshift bandage entirely. His black jacket was coated in splatters of red as if paint had been splashed onto him by accident, and he found himself to be feeling slightly dizzy.

Nevertheless, he levered himself to his feet slowly and pulled the hood over his head. He looked round. The soldiers he had laid out were strewn across the room, blood sprayed freely across the stony ground of the cell. It was a massacre, to say the least. His eyes fell on the king and queen who were hiding beneath their beds.

He crouched down beside the beds. "Your Majesty. Your Highness. It's safe. You can come out now."

"Who are you?" The queen called out.

"I was sent here to rescue you."

"Who sent you?" The king said as he got out from under the bed and helped his wife.

"I'm…an associate of your daughter." He said. The term "associate" was used loosely of course. Melody hated him after all, and he wondered if what he'd done here would change anything. "There's an insurgency outside right now, reclaiming the castle from the Exonians."

"That's…that's good news." The king stood to his feet and sized him up. "You're a friend of Melody's, you said? Is she alright? Where is she?"

"I don't know," Janus admitted truthfully. "She was on a separate mission to sabotage the Exonian army's supplies."

"That sounds like Melody alright." The king glanced at his wife who sighed. He turned back to Janus. "Thank you. I would've joined in to fight the soldiers, but I didn't have a sword with me."

"It's alright." Janus was slightly taken aback. "Look, Your Majesty, I better get you both out of here." He motioned for the king and queen to follow him out of the room.

"Is the coast clear out there?" The queen asked as Janus forced open the hefty steel door with one arm and threw it open.

"Yes, I-" Janus paused as they were about to exit the cell, halting in his tracks. Wait. Twenty four soldiers, but where's Dolan?

A fist came flying out from behind the door right at the threshold, catching Janus off guard. A pair of hands grabbed his collar and hefted him outside into the dim passage.

"Get back!" Janus shouted as he fell back first to the ground with a thud. He tilted his head up to see the face of Dolan towering over him.

"I don't believe it." Dolan lifted his boot to stomp on Janus' face but he rolled out of the way. "Twenty four soldiers."

"Maybe you should train your men better." Janus said flippantly as he forced himself to get up.

"They were your men, until you betrayed us all." Dolan drew a thin rapier. "You betrayed us for a witch. A damn siren. What was so important about her that you had to abandon the Empire for her?"

"None of your business." Janus favoured his wounded shoulder which was soaked in blood.

Obviously Dolan noticed this, as his eyes traced to the wound. "I always knew that you couldn't be trusted. You're a mercenary."

"Are you going to stand round all night and insult me, or are you going to fight?" Janus stood his ground. "Or are you going to run away with your tail between your legs?"

Dolan lashed out with the grace of a professional fencer, very nearly nicking Janus on the side of his neck. "When I'm done with you," he snarled. "I'm going to slowly carve up your pretty little blonde girlfriend and listen to her scream." He lunged again, and Janus managed to catch hold of his wrist and twisted the rapier free. It clanged to the ground.

With one hand, Janus attempted to hoist Dolan over his uninjured shoulder, but Dolan drove a sharp knee into the small of his back. The sadistic lieutenant then turned the tables, viciously twisting Janus' hurt arm behind his back and pinning it there.

He forced Janus to the ground and rolled him over, placing a heavy army boot on Janus' neck. Janus tried to reach for a dagger hidden in a holster at the back of his knee with a shaky hand, but Dolan was too sharp.

Dolan snatched it away and drove it deep into Janus' wound, and Janus couldn't help but gasp in agony.

"The night's fighting took a lot out of you, didn't it?" Dolan twisted the dagger in his shoulder mercilessly. "Frankly, I'm disappointed. I expected more of a fight from Bruvesqk's most feared mercenary."

Janus writhed in pain, unable to mount any counter-attack out of the sheer sting that was engulfing his arm. His heart pounded in his head and his vision grew slightly blurry at the loss of blood.

"Oh don't tell me you're going to die on me now." Dolan sniggered, leaning in close. "I'm not-"

A bright purple light illuminated the dark passage and Dolan looked up squinting. Janus took the opportunity to force himself up, catching his distracted opponent's uniform collar and rolling over. With Dolan now on the ground, Janus landed a solid blow across his jaw and felt his knuckles make impact with teeth.

Again, Janus removed the dagger from his shoulder in one swift motion, shifting his grip to that of an icepick, and plunging it straight into Dolan's collar. The man shrieked like a banshee, and Janus silenced him with a quick but effective jab to the nose.

"How…" Dolan stuttered as he quivered in pain, unable to comprehend how the mercenary had managed to snatch victory from him in a split second. "How did-what…what…are you?"

Janus ripped the dagger free which brought about a whimper of pain from Dolan. He leaned in close.

"I am Prometheus."

A quick slash across the throat, and it was all over.

Slowly, Janus staggered off his fallen enemy, nearly falling to his feet again as he tried to get up. Looking up, he saw the two girls, Melody and Tracy, gaping at him incredulously.

Author's Commentary:

This was…stupidly hard to write. But hopefully the effort paid off. I took reference from the warehouse fight scene in Batman v Superman and listened to Junkie XL's soundtracks along with Hans Zimmer's Dark Knight compositions to set the tone and mood.

But the idea of it is just insane. One mercenary taking on twenty four soldiers in a room? I didn't know how I was going to pull it off, but well here we are. More to come, I hope. Let me know via a review or PM if you would like to see more of these scenes :)