Saturday night in the prison was louder than usual. Screams, cheers, metal clashing — the whole yard buzzed with energy. The caged 1v1 arena glowed under flickering red lights, a place where prisoners trained, fought, and healed instantly after each match.
Jack cracked his knuckles. "Yo, Lucifer. You up for a fight?"
Lucifer twirled one of his axes. "Sure. It heals us anyway."
They stepped into the cage. The bars slammed shut behind them with a metallic boom.
Jack summoned his weapons in a burst of hellfire—a pistol, a shotgun, a riot shield with RAID glowing faintly, and an AR floating beside him.
"Ooh," Jack said, eyes sparkling. "I don't even know what the AR does yet."
The weapons hovered around him like loyal spirits. Jack grabbed the RAID shield and shotgun, slipping the pistol into his pocket.
Lucifer stretched his shoulders. "Ready?"
Jack grinned. "Born ready."
Lucifer didn't waste time. He hurled one axe toward the top‑right corner of Jack's side of the cage.
Jack laughed. "Oooh, you missed!"
Lucifer didn't respond. He threw his second axe straight at Jack.
Jack dodged—but Lucifer opened a portal midair, stepped through, grabbed the axe, and swung it at Jack's head.
Jack barely blocked with the RAID shield. The letters began to glow, heating up.
Lucifer stepped back before the shield could activate. "Too slow."
He opened two portals—one behind Jack and one above him. A crackling link formed between them, lightning dancing along the edges.
Lucifer grabbed the glowing link like a rope and hurled it at Jack.
Jack didn't react fast enough.
The link hit him, and he vanished into the top portal — then shot out the bottom one, slamming into the ground and stumbling to his feet, dizzy.
"Bro—" Jack groaned. "That sucked."
Lucifer didn't let up. He threw his single axe again.
Jack parried with the shotgun, sparks flying.
Meanwhile, the first axe—the one Lucifer threw into the corner—was now drifting between two small portals Lucifer had quietly placed. It bounced back and forth, collecting charge, gaining speed, and humming like a storm.
Lucifer smirked. "Jack. Heads up."
He snapped his fingers.
The charged axe shot out of the portal like a bolt of descending lightning.
Jack lifted his shield — the RAID letters glowing bright — but the axe smashed through it, splitting the shield in half.
Jack summoned another RAID shield instantly.
It broke.
He summoned another.
It cracked.
Another.
It shattered.
Lucifer's axe kept coming, faster, louder, charged with portal lightning.
Jack roared, summoning one more RAID shield — this one glowing brighter than the rest.
The axe slammed into it… and stopped.
The shield held.
Jack's grin widened slowly. His hair flickered into flames, burning upward like a torch. His eyes widened, pupils shrinking, a crazed fire lighting up inside him.
Lucifer stepped back, raising an eyebrow. "Jack…?"
Jack's voice dropped into a low, feral growl.
"Round two."