Unchained Bonds: The Message

Unchained Bonds Arc

The Message

THREE YEARS LATER...

"Stop him! Somebody help! Thief!" cried the old shop owner as three burglars ran down the market streets of Markia with bags full of items. Rune Knights notice the crime in progress and begin chasing after the suspects, only to be thrown off track when they begin jumping over fences and various stands. Once they had believed they had lost the knights, they removed their masks in the dank alleyway.

"Hah! Fools couldn't even keep up with us!" the leader of the burglars boasted. He turned his attention to his burlap sack and turned it out, revealing the treasures they had stolen. "We hit the jackpot boys!" he cheered and the three criminals laughed in unison.

"Too bad you idiots never learned how to shut up." said a voice coming from the entrance of the alleyway. Instantly, all three heads shot up in surprise but didn't expect to see two blonde women shooting daggers at them.

"Ladies, ladies." The leader began trying to woo them. "We may be rotten dirtbags, but we're not fans of beating up pretty little girls such as yourselves. So why don't you two just-"

He was cut off by a sharp punch to his stomach and a kick to the face. The blonde woman in a cowboy hat adjusted her hat and smirked at him. "Or we could just turn you scumbags in because it's our jobs." she retorted. "My name is Sergeant Hughes and I'm placing you under arrest, anything you say will be used against you."

"Tch! I should've known," the leader scoffed and looked at his lackeys. "Well what are you standing there for? Get them!" he bellowed. Upon command, they took out daggers and began stalking toward Lissa. Two sharp bangs rang out through the alleyway and their daggers were shot right out of their hands.

"This hole keeps getting deeper and deeper for you two," said the gunwielder behind Lissa. "Cease and desist immediately."

"Damn you! I'll have your head for-!" the leader began to curse but was knocked unconscious from behind. The grunts heard their leader fall and went to check on him and soon enough they both fell unconscious as well.

"Sis, that was amazing!" Lissa cheered turning to Sienna. "How'd you be in two places at once?"

Sienna looked between Lissa and the unconscious bodies. "I didn't-"

"Sorry to but in, but it was dragging out longer than it should have." said a voice. The siblings looked up and Sienna sighed. "Gia, I thought you were on watch duty." she said.

"I was, but these guys ran past me and I had to investigate." she explained, dusting her uniform skirt. "And it looked like you could use the help."

"Well now you can help us take these bodies in because now you're on this case." Sienna explained, smirking causing Gia to groan. Suddenly, a loud explosion came from the center of the market square and screams were heard from every part of the city. The explosion even left tremors that caused the ground to shake beneath them.

Lissa fell to her knees and looked up in fear. "W-what's happening?" she cried out. Sienna took out her gun from her holster and held it up. "I don't know, but we have to go check it out. The entire unit must be out investigating." she said calmly.

The three of them rushed to the center square and were left speechless at the scenery.

"Holy shit." Lissa whispered.

The entire market square had been demolished. The statue in the center had been defaced and the ground was torn up. As Sienna had predicted, all the Rune Knights and higher ups were out investigating. Cadets were around the city looking for civillians who might have been injured and the others were possibly scanning the area for the culprit.

"Who could've done something like this?" Gia wondered aloud.

"That's what we're trying to figure out Lieutenant Alabaster." Blanco said as he approached them. "It appears that the culprit had escaped immediately after the damage was done. It was almost like they were never here to begin with, these footprints are barely there!"

"This has to be the work of a Mage," Sienna said. "No normal person could manage this much damage."

"That is a possibility," Blanco wondered aloud. "But we can't be so sur-"

An explosion rocked the market square once more and caused everyone to duck for cover. Children cried out in fear for their parents and feared cries of civillians rung throughout the air. Out of the corner of her eye, Gia sees a figure leave down an alleyway. Not wanting to waste anytime explaining, she quickly stands and runs after it.

"Come back here!" she shouts angrily. "I'll teach you to mess with the innocent!"

The figure skids down an alleyway and Gia makes a B-Line for it. However, when she arrives in the narrow corner nothing is there.

"What the-" she says, but is cut off by an attack. The figure has wrapped itself around her throat and has no intention of letting go. Gia attempts to grab at it, but her fingers literally slip through it. It is then when she realizes the creature isn't a person and she opens her eyes to find herself wrapped in water. Her vocal cords fail her as she attempts to scream out for help. She feels herself about to fade when the water unwraps itself from her neck.

"Who...are you? What do...what do you want?" she manages to rasp out. She opens her mouth to say more but is left speechless when the faceless figure grows a face.

"Greetings, sister." said the figure. "Isn't it comforting to finally meet someone of your own kind after all these years?"

"S-sister?" Gia gasps. "I have no brothers or sisters! If you're looking for a fight I'm definitely the wrong person."

"Oh contraire, ''little sis." ''it continued. "You may have no human siblings, but all demons refer to each other as such."

"You're a demon?" Gia's eyes widen and suddenly become dark. "What makes you think you can come up here and wreak havoc? You all just keep coming, damnit!"

"You're on to something there." the figure says snidely. "The Etherious attacks from the past three years have been because of me. I am sick of your "holier-than-thou" complex and quite frankly this mudball has been ours since the beginning of time. So I think I can do whatever the hell I want."

"I'll find you, do you hear me?" Gia said, voice becoming hostile through each word.

"No, you really won't." the figure laughed. "And this is where I deliver my message. Thanks for stalling, sissy."

Suddenly, various giant water creatures from around the city appeared and they all showed the same face as the one Gia had chatted with.

"Citizens of Markia!" it began. "Listen up and listen well! Your days of owning this pathetic mudball are about to come to an abrupt end."

Below the creatures, citizens booed and screamed in fear of what was to come. Blanco was commanding attacks on the creatures, but nothing was working.

"Keep firing!" he commanded.

"We can't do this any longer, our bullets are just phasing through them." Sienna explained, at a loss of what to do next. "The last thing we need is for someone else to get seriously injured and our hospitals are rapidly filling by the minute!"

"My name is Alejandro Cross," the figures continued over the loud noises which caused a pregnant silence among the crowd. "And I am the son of Hades, who was wrongfully killed by the King of Light for merely pursuing his goals of gaining power. His dream was to show this backwater planet that he was fit to rule and what better way to honor my father's historical legacy than to continue his plans?"

The crowd below gasped as Alejandro continued his message. "I will rig this planet with my father's strongest spell and wipe out all of humanity, showing everyone that I truly am my father's descendant! I know this city in particular has a wide variety of heroes..."

The word heroes caused the crowd to cheer for their military squadron and it's many mages, causing Alejandro to cringe in disgust.

"But even they can't save you now. See, no ordinary human can defeat me or conjour up a counter for this spell. The counter for this spell is only known by one person and they have not been around for centuries." he said, bringing the atmosphere back down. "So enjoy your final days on this planet, because Hades will return!"

The figures then rose into the sky, shrunk and fled in the same direction quickly. The crowd was clearly in unrest and beginning to panic. Blanco decided to release a statement in attempt to calm them.

"Citizens of Markia! I can assure you we are working on this case to secure your safety!" he spoke into a megaphone. "There has been various damages around the city so we please ask that you all return home so we can clear out the city!"

Immediately after his statement, Cadets moved out to guide the citizens away from the scene. Gia returned to the where the message was delivered and sighed when she found Blanco with his squad.

"This stuff never ends huh? Who knew being a half-demon would bring such trouble for you all?" she laughed bitterly.

"Nonsense, this has nothing to do with you. Not all evil is your fault." Blanco said to her. "So this Alejandro appears to be a strong breed of demon is that right?'

"Yes, he's the son of Hades." Gia explained. "He used to be the ruler of the Realm of Dusk until he was killed trying to take over the Realm of Shine. I didn't think his children were allowed to live after that fiasco."

"Apparently they were," Blanco huffed. "Is it possible that we could go to the Realms and defeat the source?"

"No, that's impossible. Nobody is allowed to go to those realms, it's forbidden." Gia said.

"Forbidden, eh?" Blanco wondered aloud. "Well I think I know someone who's an expert at all things forbidden. Follow me."

Blanco walked ahead and came face-to-face with his squadron. "I would like all of you to follow me to the maximum security center." Behind him, Gia huffed in realization of who they were going to meet causing him to smirk in amusement.

"Sir, why would you ever want to venture into that hellhole?" Axel asked. "I thought you hated it in there."

"We're going in that hellhole to see my father, asshat." Gia retorted, walking ahead. "Now let's hurry up and get this over with before I decide to let you guys go by yourselves."

"What makes you think we need you?" Axel combated at her retreating form. "You haven't seen him in three years."

"If it was only me who went then Abraham wouldn't give much information." Blanco explained for him. "He's a bit softer when his daughter is present."

"He wasn't so soft when he sealed all those god forsaken creatures inside her." Axel said. "Are you sure she's ready to see him?"

"No," Blanco said honestly. "But she's always been up for a challenge."