Boom.

Boom.

Boom.

With a terrible shiver, Dall woke up. The beating of his heart pulsated in his cheeks. He looked around, and after quite some time noticed he was lying down on something soft. When he looked up, Avice was above him. She had her hand planted on her mouth, and it was trembling. 

“Where is he, huh?” a man’s voice boomed. “Where’s the kid?”

Avice gasped as Dall touched her arm. She looked down at him, her brown eyes quivering. Then, she bit her lip and smiled. ‘You’re okay’, she mouthed. She glanced to her left, and right next to him was a sleeping Melody. Dall's eyes widened.

Avice put a finger over her lips. She pointed behind her, over the piece of rubble they were hiding behind. He raised his head slowly and his stomach dropped.

The three of them were on the outskirts of the center of the town, where the Lupin Statue on the fountain stood. The statue was charred and blackened, and it was toppled over from its position, water spurting from where it once was. Surrounding the fountain were dozens of the townspeople, all chained together. Maria and Julian were among them, and in front of all of them was Garnell, removed of his armor and weapons.

There were a couple more faces he recognized, and some garrison soldiers were among them. Simon was there, his face covered in mud and dirt, his eyes empty.

Despairities with thick and heavy chains attached to their metallic collars stood menacingly in front of them. The individuals on top of them held on to the chains like whips, each and every single one wearing terrifying smiles. 

They circled around them, cutting off all routes of escape. Standing at attention next to the beasts were even more bandits, weapons ready, and hearts ready to kill.

He surveyed the surroundings behind him. Fires crackled in the distance, and ash fell from the sky. The stench of blood and burning, blackened smoke lingered in the air. Dall clenched his fists. What the hell happened?! He turned his attention back to the center, where he knew he would find the culprit behind this entire town’s decimation.

One man on top of a black horse strode from side to side among the people, and when he raised his wooden pipe in the air, the atmosphere tensed. The hairs on Dall’s skin rose, and his body chilled. “I asked you people a damn question. Where, is, the kid?” he said as he puffed a cloud of smoke. The people kept their eyes on the ground. And despite their refusal to acknowledge him, the man only shook his head. 

There was a lull. No one spoke, and the only noise filling the air were those of the Despairities’ heavy, impatient breathing. Then, one man on a Wolf Despairity approached the man and began speaking with him.

After a couple moments of whispering, the man nodded. “’That so?” he said.

Dall reached for his weapon. The people, his people, were in danger. And this entire situation was most likely because of him. Because of the fact that he wasn’t here earlier to save them, everything was destroyed. He scrambled his memories together, trying to figure out what happened.

The last thing he remembered was speaking with Avice in the Jail when everything suddenly blacked out. 

That was it. That was all he could remember. And in that short span of time from then and this moment, the entire city was burnt to the ground, and nearly everyone was dead.

He couldn’t handle it. 

Everything happened while he was asleep. 

“Joe!” someone behind the two yelled.

Avice tucked her arms around Dall’s head, and he nudged closer to her. 

Running right past them in a flash was the young Bantor. He fumbled forwards and dashed up to Joe. They smiled at each other gleefully. Joe, with a wide grin, tucked his pipe into his clothes. Dall and Avice raised their heads. Then, with a mighty thud, Bantor’s head was on the ground. 

Even if Dall had been watching, he couldn’t see what forced him into the dirt. The motion was too fast. It was a blur. 

“How about you listen to me next time, huh?!” Joe said, gripping his fist and rubbing it against Bantor’s head. “How many times I gotta tell ‘ya? Never trust what a Hybrid’s telling you. Damn Demons,” he scoffed. “’Do this for me, and you’ll have what you want’, what kind of stupid…” he groaned. 

“I’m sorry, Joe. I made a mistake,” Bantor said, prostrating deeply.

“That’s Mister Darius when you’re on the ground like that, boy,” a deep-voiced, heavily scarred man to Joe’s right growled.

Then the dots clicked in Dall’s head. Joe Darius? From what he could recall, Joe Darius was supposed to be the leader of an extremely proficient and dangerous group of bandits, known to the Empire as the Qalee Tribe. His group was incredibly successful in their raids, and every single time, there wouldn’t be any deaths. Any deaths on both sides.

What’s someone like that doing here?!

“Well, I’m glad that you’re safe,” Joe said softly. Bantor, with tears in his eyes, rose and saluted him. With a nod, Joe threw his hand out and said, “The Demons’ end of the deal has been fulfilled. Let’s start looking for the girl.”

“W-Wait! You made a deal with a Demon?!” Bantor said. “But what you just said-”

“Damn right I did,” Joe replied. “I’d make one again if it meant I get to save one of my underlings.” Bantor, speechless, bowed his head. “Okay, then,” Joe continued. “You people,” he said, addressing the chained townspeople. “Have any of you seen a girl with short brown hair go by here? She’s got a slave mark on her right arm.”

Ava… Dall knew immediately. And he also knew that the Eldreds were definitely connected to these bandits. Oliver was looking for the same person earlier. And he was so quick to walk away from the town when he knew she was here. Damn bastards, he thought. What do they want with her?

“Why do you want to know?” Garnell asked as he stood up. A couple of bandits with spears aimed their spears at his neck. 

Joe looked down and grinned. “It’s good to see you again, Captain.”

“You’ve lost the privilege of calling me that,” Garnell said.

With a heavy sigh, Joe nodded. “Can’t even do it for old times’ sake, huh.” He took his pipe back out and smoked it. “We’re only here for the girl,” he said. “As soon as we get her, we’ll all be outta here in seconds. Including these… these beasts.”

“How did you even tame them?” Garnell asked. “What did you do to these monsters?”

Joe shrugged. “Can’t tell ‘ya even if I wanted to. My boys only command them. We haven’t done shit,” he said. “Anyways, do you have the girl or not? ‘Cause if you don’t, then we’re all pretty much dead.”

Avice stopped moving. Her skin was cold, and when Dall looked up at her, tears were falling down her cheeks. “Even here,” she whispered. “Even here I can’t...” The conversation from earlier resurfaced in Dall’s head. He thought talk of her being suspicious and responsible for this crazy day was ridiculous. How could one person affect something this big? But it was clear that she took it seriously. 

Dall got up slowly, and a sharp pain stung his back. He bent over in pain, and gasped for breath. Avice reached out to him and held his hand. His eyes shot up and he looked up at her. As soon as she realized what she had done, she let go and yanked her own back to her chest. She looked so confused that Dall’s heart broke. Here, he steeled his heart. He couldn’t afford to feel pain when there were people before him suffering.

Biting back the agony, he put a hand on her head. She flinched, her eyes batting even more tears. Dall put a finger over his lips. “We’re going to be okay,” he said.

She grit her teeth and forced the tears to stop. Then she nodded.

Okay. She’s calm now. Now let’s think of a way to get out of-

“AAAAGH!” someone screamed. Dall jumped up and looked over the rubble to see Maria being pulled away from the crowd by two bandits. She didn’t try to resist, but the way they pulled her forced her to yell in pain. Their nails dug into her skin, and they yanked her hair whenever she slowed. 

“You’re all taking too long,” Joe said. “I really, really don’t want to do this, but you’re leaving me no choice.” He reigned in his horse to get closer to her and he looked down. “Do you know where the girl is?” 

“I-I don’t! Please let us go!”

Joe grit his teeth. He paused for a moment, looking sideways and around him. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, then sighed. He opened them, and said without hesitation, “Alright, off with her arms.”

As the bandits raised their blades to remove her limbs, Dall jumped over the rubble and ran straight towards her. Within seconds, the chains around her waist and wrists were cut in half, and the bandits were pushed away from them. “You’re not hurting any more of these people,” Dall growled, brandishing his sword. The pain stung once more, and he tightened his grasp on his sword.

“Yes! You’re finally here!” Joe raised his hands in a cheer. He put a hand over his chest and sighed. “I wouldn’t know what to do if I made my boys do something that cruel.”

Dall scowled. “Get your thugs out of here before I send them to my Father.”

“Oh, no, we’re good on that. Thanks for the offer,” Joe said. He raised his hands, and the bandits around rested their weapons at their side. 

Dall stared in confusion at their sudden ‘surrender’. “What are you planning?!” he demanded.

“I don’t need to tell you, do I?” Joe said. A couple of his bandits began walking away from the center, followed by a few of the Despairities. “You and her should already know. You’ve been listening in on us after all.”

Behind him, Avice shrieked. He turned around, and a giant White Wolf stood over where she was. The Wolf lowered its head and barked. Avice faltered and scrambled away from the Wolf. She got up, and slowly backed away towards the center. Then the Wolf sprinted towards her and jumped behind her. It grabbed her collar and lifted her up into the air. Her legs swung and she struggled to get free.

“Let me go!” she growled. As she tried to break free, Dall felt a strange pulse in his bones. 

“I’ve really gotta thank you, Dall Greatsword,” Joe said with a smile. “That went off without a hitch. If you hadn’t come out right away, then we would’ve done something pretty terrible.”

Dall’s face twisted in anger. “You’ve already destroyed the town and killed hundreds of innocent people! Their blood’s already on your hands.”

“No, the blood’s on my boss’s,” Joe said grimly. “None of my boys or girls personally killed them. It’s all on those damn Despairities.” Dall balled his fists. How could this man just waltz into the town like this? That he could claim no responsibility for the destruction all around him. The way that Joe just sat on his horse, his tired eyes looking down at Dall with nearly no emotion churned his stomach. “Anyways, we’re done here. Let’s head on out.”

“Let me go!” Avice yelled once more. She punched at the Wolf’s jaws and kicked backwards at its chest, but nothing seemed to work. Drool spilled down her back, and every hair on her body froze. “Fucking drop me! I’m not going with anyone!” she screamed. 

Dall would’ve dashed in to get her free within seconds if it weren’t for the other bandits staying behind, their weapons pointed directly at the tied-up townspeople. If it were up to him, he’d be done with all of them in an instant and have Avice saved in minutes. But his body was tired and weak. The pain in his back was getting more and more intense. He knew that any second he would fall over and pass out. 

The Wolf dangling Avice from its mouth walked slowly away from them, towards the Northern Gate. And behind it, the other Despairities began to follow. 

“Fucking hell! Release me!” Avice thrashed around, throwing her body back and forth. Despite the Wolf’s attempts to rein her in, she continued to flail and throw a fit. She swung her body so hard that she nearly did a flip onto its snout. Avice continued yelling and screaming at them, demanding her release. 

Every time she would raise her voice, the Despairities around her would grow uneasy, and they would shake their heads in frustration. At this point, Avice was at her wits’ end, and something inside of her snapped. She yelled with all her might, and when her breath ran out, she yelled again. 

Let me go let me go let me go let me go!

The Despairities fell out of formation. The riders on top of them were restless, and they tried soothing their mounts, but it was fruitless. The Despairities, too, were thrashing around, crashing into buildings, throwing their riders onto the ground and ripping their flesh apart instantaneously. Joe turned around to see what the commotion was, and when he saw what was happening, his deadpan face twisted into one with panic. 

“What the fuck’s going on?! Get them to stop!” Joe commanded. But no one was listening to him.

No longer were these feared monsters under anyone’s control. 

Every single one of them now stood still. Their eyes swirled with hatred and confusion. And their focus was all on Avice. The Wolf holding onto her spat her onto the ground. She crawled away from them as quickly as she could, and the Despairities only watched her. 

Her arms and legs wouldn’t stop shivering, and she couldn’t find the strength in herself to get up to run away. Not only that, the millions of voices in her head were screaming at her to run as far away as she could. 

To her, it felt like she had lost all control of her body. Almost as if she were watching from another perspective - just waiting for her inevitable death.

Again... she thought. Again, and again, it's always the same! Her heart pounded like never before. Her teeth ground against each other, her skin burned hot. Why can't I ever have a normal life! Why am I getting fucked over every, single, time?!

Her mind raced back, her memories flashing and disappearing. Not a single one of them, to her, were happy.

The first that went was the memory of her father, beating her with a metal bat, yelling at her for not trying hard enough. Her mother, standing to the side, just watched with a frown, and told her the same thing.

Then she saw herself in her classroom, her desk splintered and covered in black ink, "Die bitch" sprawled all over it.

Then when she was yelled at by her teacher for not being good enough.

Then her classmates teasing her, tearing her clothes and pulling her hair.

And then that boy. That one boy who's mere look into her eyes would be enough to make her throw up. The way he held her arms. The way he leaned in close to her.

Avice couldn't hold back the tears. I don't belong. I never will. She was just thrown here into this random world, forced to bear the mark of a slave, and locked up in jail. Despite her efforts to keep up her smile - to try to get on the good side of the people around her - everything still came crashing down. 

Nothing she did would work. It was as if fate and the universe itself wanted her to face hell every day of her life. 

"Why is it always me?!" Avice yelled aloud. "I don't deserve this!"

And, as if on cue, the Despairities howled in unison, and all charged at her, their glaring, razor-like teeth pointed at her. 

Avice grit her teeth, but then let go. She couldn't care anymore. At this point, she might as well resign herself to her fate. No matter how hard she tried, it would always end up the same anyways.

"Ava get up!" Dall screamed.

She couldn't hear him. She couldn't hear anything.

The Despairities were closing in fast. 

"This isn't what you're supposed to do." A voice rang in her head. "Why don't you calm down for a second, Avice."

Avice widened her eyes, and as she did so, an ear-piercing sound resonated around her, and a brilliant flash of white encompassed her surroundings.