Why?
Why did this have to happen?
Where was sister Xing Cai? Didn't she promise that she would be here?
Where was General Diao, who made an oath to protect him whenever he steps in the city?
Wait, was it because their house was not inside the city? Was that it? Was it such a lousy promise?
Or did the protection only include him and not his Grandpa Ling?
Him? Did he even need protection? He was strong, he knows it. So much so that he can eradicate life with just the lift of his finger. What was he so afraid of?
He could kill the entire city if he wanted to. Destroy it until nothing was left… yes, sever the heads of all the people there. Just like what they did to Grandpa Ling.
Cut off their heads as they go on about their daily lives… yes, a punishment.
Wait, no no no.
Grandma Ling won't like that, she doesn't like using violence. Think, what will Grandma Ling do.
What does Grandma Ling do whenever someone makes a mistake…
Ah… That's right.
She doesn't let me out of the house.
[WARNING: Player's mental stability is critically low]
"Hm..?"
"What was that, Grandpa Ling? You wanted some candy? Ehh, but this is the only one I have left… Fine, you can have it.."
Walking outside somewhere in the dark, Viel was on his way to the Taizhou city gate. He was prancing like a little bunny.
"Okay, here you go, Grandpa. Say Aaaah"
"….."
"E..eeww Grandpa, you need to close your mouth. Look what you did, I shouldn't have given it to you.. ugh. Good thing we're already near the city, I think I still have some coins left given by Grandma"
"….."
"T-that's okay. I am sure Grandma won't mind if we buy more candies. We can keep this a secret, okay?"
"..."
"H-halt! Who goes there!?"
At the city gate's, the guards that were currently on duty were surprised to see someone approaching the city this late at night. He couldn't see too much because of the dark, so he squinted his eyes as he waited for the person to come into view.
Slowly, the silhouette of the approaching person revealed itself.
"W-w..what the hell…"
"I…isn't that… Viel?"
The guards were well aware of who Viel was, he is after all, the most famous student in Taizhou Academy, and General Diao has also taken quite a liking to the boy lately. Add that to the fact that they had to respond whenever this little boy accidentally damages property, Viel was very popular to the city guards.
Viel also gives them candy every time he passes through the city gates while shaking their hands with a wide grin on his face, as if pretending he was some government official.
But this… this sight that was in front of them shocked them to the core. It sent shivers in every piece of bone in their body as they stare at the slightly dripping thing that Viel was carrying.
"B..boy, w..what is that you are holding?"
"Hm?"
"A-answer us!", the other guard panicked as he raised his spear and pointed it towards Viel
"O-oi… lower your spea-"
Before the other guard can finish his words, he felt a slight breeze as he saw that Viel was already in front of them, raising the thing that he was holding and showing it towards them.
"Grandpa Ling… it seems the guards don't recognize you anymore because you lost some weight", Viel chuckled as he hugged Grandpa Ling's head.
Seeing the little boy in front of them laughing while holding a severed human head, their expressions turned for the worse.
"Q-quickly! Inform General Diao!"
"B-but… what are you going to do!?"
"Just go! L…let me handle this!"
The other guard who pointed the spear towards Viel rushed inside the city.
The remaining guard was at a lost as to what to do. He stared at the boy who was playfully laughing as he swayed the severed head in the air.
"V…viel. Can I ask what happened?", the guard slowly and carefully approached Viel.
"Is… is that L-Ling Hao?"
The guard was nearing Viel, but as he was about to touch Viel in the shoulder-
"Ugh…w…what was that!?", the guard felt a heavy force pushing him back towards the gate.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Guard. But….", Viel said as he raised one of his hand towards the sky.
[Lu Yi: Light of Eternal Imprisonment…]
[Jack: Cage of the Lost Souls…]
[Friend: Chain of Sins…]
"You are currently grounded!"
------------------------------------------------------
"What…did we drink for that long? Agh, ancestral titties…Now my wife will nag me again", a drunk man who just exited a tavern slightly covered his eyes as he looked towards the blinding sky.
"Hey! Who fired up the lanterns, can't you see we're sleeping here!?"
"W-what's happening!?"
"D-did you people see that!?"
Shouts and cries resounded throughout the city. Different qualms and opinions floated in the air as the people started to panic from the sudden change.
However, the ones who saw what happened, could not help but be in awe.
At first, they saw a light suddenly appear on the sky, slowly covering it. Then, as if it could no longer contain its hunger, it quickly opened its jaws to swallow and envelop their city. At least that was what it looked like to them.
The commotion continued as those who were inside their houses curiously went outside to see what the fuss was all about. Needless to say, they only added to the noise, which in turn also woke up the already sleeping citizens.
Inside one of the houses, Headmistress quietly looked outside of the window to see what was happening, she opened her fan to slightly cover her eyes from the bright sky. She watched as the people started to come out of their houses.
Soon, almost all of the Taizhou neighborhood were all outside.
"What happened, why are all of you so noisy so early in the morning?", an irritated man could not help but voice his annoyance, this whole commotion woke him up from his sweet sleep.
"You idiot, it's still nighttime!"
"What? Who's the idiot? The sun is clearly u-"
Before the man can finish his words, a loud explosion erupted in the skies.
"Kyaaa! What was that!?"
"Fireworks!? Isn't it too early for the festival!?"
"M-mmmoommy!"
The people jumped in surprise. They panicked as they started to fear for their lives.
Some of the people were about to go back to their houses to hide, until they saw something appear from the sky.
"W…what is that?"
"A dragon!? Is it a dragon!?"
"N…no, don't be silly… it… it looks like a.."
It was a pillar. A colossal pillar.
The people watched with their mouths agape as the pillar slowly descended from the sky and landed just outside their city walls. The city shook as the pillar embedded itself in the ground.
"Wha-"
Before the people can react, another loud explosion erupted. And then another, and then another.
71 pillars. The city quaked even stronger as all the pillars simultaneously penetrated the ground surrounding their city. Their cries and shouts were drowned by the cracking noises.
The noise only stopped when the pillars planted itself halfway to the ground. Still, the exposed pillars were still as tall as their city walls, a testament to how big they are.
"I…is it over?"
And then, as if answering the curious individual, a chilling sound reverberated throughout the city. Like chains of metal hitting each other, being dragged without care.
They waited, they waited until the source of the sound shows itself. But nothing. The sound just disappeared. The people looked left and right but there was nothing.
It wasn't until one of the people moved that they once again hear the sound of metal, but this time, it was quieter… and it came from the person who walked.
One by one, the sound of chain can be heard again as the people started to move around.
It was them. The sound was coming from each of them. The moment they take a step, a sound of chain can be heard. The only ones that were not emitting the sounds were the smaller children.
It was as if they were dragging a chain by their feet. A chain that they can't see, can't feel, but can hear.
Soon, the clanging sound filled the city.
The people started to panic.
The light, the pillars, and now this invisible chain that was seemingly tied to their feet.
What exactly was happening?
---------------------------------------------------------
[WARNING: Player is not capable of sustaining the current energy consumption. Immediate termination of skills is highly recommended]
Back at the gates, Viel was currently sitting on the ground while embracing Grandpa Ling's head. His face was already full of sweat, his breathing, uncontrollable.
"V…viel… W-what did you do!?", the guard was not pointing his spear towards Viel.
"Heh..hehehehhehehe..HAHAHAHAHA! Grounded… all of you are grounded…no one can go out…"
Viel laughed as he repeated the same thing he has been saying ever since he finished casting his strange skills.
[WARNING: Energy Consumption above Maximum]
As soon as Mr. Voice said so, blood erupted from Viel's nose. However, it was like Viel did not even feel a thing and he just continued to talk to himself. The blood coming from his nose seemed to have no plan in stopping.
"V…viel!? Y-your nose", the guard slowly approached Viel, his spear still pointing at the boy.
However, as soon as he got some little distance from the city gates, his steps became heavier as he heard the sound of chain getting louder and louder.
The guard was about to take another step before he heard a loud shout coming from behind.
"HALT!"
The guard instinctively stopped on his track as he looked back towards the source of the voice. The guard quickly saluted as he saw the giant man that suddenly appeared in front of the gate.
"General Dia-"
Before he can finish his words, General Diao strongly pulled him back as he flew towards the city wall. He was confused as to why the General did that, but when he saw his spear, he immediately thanked the General in his mind.
The spear that the guard was holding was cleanly split in half, it was as if it was cut by the sharpest of razors. He looked at where he was previously stepping, he didn't notice it earlier because of so many things happening. But he almost stepped on the line where the dome of light that surrounded their city ended.
He gulped. Any farther and he would have definitely died.
"Boy…"
General Diao has been calling Viel for a couple of times now, but it was as if his call was not being heard.
Viel just continued to mutter. His face was already pale from all the blood he has lost.
"Viel, can you hear me? We are already tracking who did that to your Grandpa. We will find them"
General Diao carefully touched the end of the light, blood flowed from his palm as the light seemed to have scraped a part of it effortlessly.
General Diao has already been briefed of the situation. The guard that reported the situation to him said that Viel was currently outside the city, carrying Ling Hao's head. The guard also said that the boy was dangerous and he might have been the one to decapitate Ling Hao.
General Diao immediately slammed his fist on his desk, breaking it into pieces. He saw how much Viel valued his grandparents, he knows that Viel was not capable of even hurting a strand of their hair.
General Diao quickly rushed to the scene, he only stopped when he heard the loud explosions that erupted in the sky, but he soon ignored it and prioritized in making it to Viel.
"Viel, I promise… We will find them"
"You… promise?"
Hearing General Diao's words, Viel recovered from his stupor and slowly stood up. He looked at General Diao, his expression was eerily calm.
"You…promise?...He..ha..hahaha", even while laughing, Viel's expression remained stoic. However, with his next words, Viel started to shout as his expression twisted.
"You promised protection! I heard your promised it to Grandma and Grandpa Ling! You lied! I don't like liars!"
Soon, blood also started to flow from Viel's eyes.
General Diao could only grit his teeth in silence. Stupid, it was stupid of him not to think that something like this was going to happen. He was going to offer the Lings to move out to one of their manors as a birthday gift to Viel, there, protecting them would not be a problem.
He did not think that only 2 days after he promised to protect Viel, he already failed.
"I am sorry, Viel. But I assure you, my people are trying to find who did this. If they live in this city, the guards will have a record of people who entered and exited the city. But their jobs would be easier if they can go outside."
General Diao looked around. They were trapped here. It was evident, and his palm that was bloody from touching the dome of light proved that.
Not even him, the 2nd strongest person in the city, is confident that he will die if the tries to pass through this dome of light.
There's also the pillars and the sound of the chain he keeps on hearing. They haven't done anything yet so far, but he did not want to find out what they were for.
"You're lying!", Viel shouted as the blood from his face spewed everywhere.
[WARNING: HP is lower than 40%. Immediate termination of skills is highly recommended]
"Viel… look at your Grandpa, he is tired. Please let him rest"
"N-"
"K-KYAAAAA!"
Before Viel can reply, he was interrupted by a shout that came from behind General Diao.
"Little Mei!? What are you doing here!?"
It was Diao Mei.