MLII C4, P4- "Unbound"

"Unbound" is the fourth Part of "Miracula Luxia II" 's fourth Chapter. It was released on 05.03.2021.
== Plot ==
Jared and Annie arrive in the city of Formello, only to find out that another problem has appeared in their absence. A powerful creature of draconic origin known as the Unbound has been released in the farmlands near the city and has been devastating the place ever since. It is clear that it will launch an attack on Formello very soon and there is only one way to stop it from destroying everything that the Formellians fought so hard for.
Our hero decides the mighty beast all by himself, wishing to protect his friends and family from harm. It will be a difficult task, but the boy's determination to protect the innocents does not fade away.
== Story ==
After three long hours of walking towards their destination and avoiding Slithzerikai scouting parties, Jared and Annie reach the city of Formello- the place where the Council is supposed to reside.
Immediately, the boy notices that the atmosphere in the city is not what it used to be when he left it behind not too long ago. The warriors have lost their courage and are now dispirited. The rest of the residents walk on the streets while looking at the ground, not daring to look at each other.
It is more than clear that Formello's situation is not better than that of Silvar. Maybe even worse.
One of the soldiers sees Jared enter the city and salutes him. He whistles to another soldier and the man leaves within mere seconds.
Soon, the second soldier returns with another man- someone whom Jared knows very well.
"Mr. Jones!"- The boy says.
Commander Jones smiles and shakes his hand.
"The pleasure is mine, old friend."- He says- "What brings you in our troubled city?"
Jared looks around and sighs.
"Well, I came with my father and my friend Devin to see if the legendary Council is hiding in here. And, if so, speak with them about a very urgent matter."
Commander Jones.
"I would love to help you out."- He says- "However, there is a problem that we cannot take care of and we... we... "
He looks down. He is too afraid to say that he needs help to the person who has helped him so much in the past few years.
Jared nods.
"I can see it in your eyes, sir. Something is worrying you, that is for sure."- He says stoically- "Fear not. Whatever it is, I will be glad to help you out. Just say the word."
Commander Jones looks up, his eyes filled with newfound hope.
"Well, I would never dare to make you do something suicidial like this, but you asked way too nicely, so... "- He says and sighs- "It's... it's about a new creature."
Jared raises his eyebrow.
"A new... creature?"- He repeats the phrase- "What do you mean by that?"
Commander Jones sighs.
"It's a dragonlike creature of unknown origin. Little is known about it, but the devastation that it has caused... "
He sheds a tear.
"We know that is called an "Unbound". It was recently created by the Slithzerikai and unleashed into Avernum, to weaken our defenses while they prepare to attack us themselves. A nightmare in physical form, its attacks are unmatched. Stronger than any dragon that has ever existed, this beast alone has decimated twenty of our soldiers with ease."
Jared ignores the things that the Commander tells him about the creature's powers, for now. Instead, he is interested about the fact whether there are more of them in Avernum or not.
"It was created recently, you say?"- He says- "I would imagine that it is still a Prototype. Is that so? Or are there more of them in Avernum?"
Commander Jones shakes his head.
"Fortunately, this is only the first one. Unbound are very difficult to create and takes the lizards a lot of effort to even make a single one, let alone an army of them."
"However."- He adds grimly- "From what by agents told me, they seem to be planning to do something horrible. Revive the Demon Lord Grah-Hoth himself and ask him for aid in the creation of the Unbound. If they succeed, they... they will... "
He shudders.
"I don't want to imagine how painful it will be, for all of us."
Jared sighs and shakes his head.
"Even though the Slithzerikai will likely be slain for their foolishness, forcing Avernum to fight the legendary Grah-Hoth for a second time in its history will be virtually impossible."- He mutters- "Most of Avernum's greatest heroes are dead. And those few who are still alive, well, let us just say that they will be unable to defend Avernum from this fiend. Because they are too old for the job."
Commander Jones nods.
"That's why me and the rest of the Avernite leaders hope that you can stop them before it happens."- He adds nervously- "Can you promise that you will defeat the Slithzerikai leader and stop this madness once and for all?"
Jared smiles.
"Commander, you know that I am not going to allow this world to fight such a powerful enemy once again."- He says- "When I find their fortress, they are going to receive an unpleasant surprise."
Commander Jones smiles back.
"We knew that we could count on you! Thank you, Jared!"
He sighs.
"But first, we must take care of the Unbound."- He continues, his tone changing from cheerful to very serious in mere seconds- "The creature lives in a cave west of here. It is content to simply trample our farmland and devour our livestock whenever it has the chance. However, I felt a strange energy in the air recently. It seems like the Slithzerikai are trying to control it and force it to launch an attack on our city. Worse, they are succeeding!"
He looks up at Jared hopefully.
"Please! Kill this creature as soon as you can! If nothing is done, it will kill us all!"
Jared looks at Annie. She seems concerned.
"You aren't thinking of doing something like that, Jared."- She mutters- "Or... are you?"
Jared sighs and shakes his head.
"I am afraid that there is no other way, Annie. It is either do... or die."- He says calmly- "So, I will either die as a hero, trying to protect the city from the Unbound. Or I will die as a coward, sitting in the city and awaiting the inevitable. And I do not want people to remember me as a fool who broke his promise."
Jared takes Annie's hand in his. Suddenly, the young girl blushes.
"Annie, in case I die in that cave, I want you to know this."- He says- "I... I... "
He blushes, but manages to get his feelings under control. He takes a deep breath and says:
"Thank you... for being one of the most amazing people I have ever known."
Annie looks up.
"Y-you're welcome, my friend."- She says nervously.
For her, Jared is still much more than a simple friend. However, she is wise enough to not talk about it anymore.
She hugs him.
"Don't say that!"- She says- "You will make it! I'm sure of it!"
Jared smiles and shakes his head.
"You know that I am never going to abandon you, right?"- He says- "We will always be together, you and I. Friends, no matter how far away we are from each other. It is the promise that we made, that we will never give up on our friendship, no matter what we have to face!"
Annie falls to her knees.
"F-forgive me for being so ignorant."- She says- "All this time, I wanted to travel with you just because I wanted to protect you... "
She looks at Jared. Her eyes betray no emotion anymore.
"But now, I see that it was futile. Everything I fought for, it was all in vain."
She clasps her face into her hands and begins to cry.
"I am so sorry, Jared!"- She yells.
Jared kneels and hugs her.
"No, please! Do not cry!"- He says, concerned- "Your crying makes me want to cry!"
Annie looks up at him, her eyes filled with tears.
"You... you may go without me."- She stutters- "But remember this. You will make it. And I will do my best to keep you alive, no matter how far away I am from you. Understand?"
Jared nods.
"I am more than sure that I can count on you."- He says- "Now, stay here and protect the city in my absence. Make sure that the Slithzerikai pay for unleashing such a monstrosity into our world."
Annie wipes a tear from her eye and makes a reassuring noise.
"I'll do my best."- She promises- "For Avernum!"
Jared smiles.
"For Avernum!"- He says and wanders off.
As she watches him leave the city, Annie wonders if her dearest friend is really brave or just foolish. However, she never dares to think of him as a fool.
For her, he has always been a true hero. And he will always.
As Jared leaves Formello to enter the Unbound's cave, three warriors leave the city as well and walk behind the hero, hoping to see him in action.
The young hero nears the dark cave. As he does, he prepares himself for this perilous fight.
"I have nothing to fear."- He says to himself- "No matter what our enemies send to attack us, I will destroy it. And there is no going back!"
By now, the Unbound has already hears our hero's footsteps, even if he hasn't entered the cave yet. It emits a threatening roar, daring him to enter at his own risk.
When the soldiers behind Jared hear the roar, they scream and run back into the safe confines in the city.
Unfortunately for them, Jared has already witnessed their cowardice. He watches them silently as they flee into the mist.
He shakes his head.
"Cowards."- He mutters and enters the cave without another word.
When he does, he stares at the ceiling. It is illuminated by the glowing moss common in Avernum.
Then, he meets the denizen of this small cave. It is the Unbound which the citizens of Formello fear so much.
It is clear that this creature is an experimental model that is still under development. It is dirty, mishappen and weak. Also, it is walking on two legs for some reason, completely unlike any dragon that Jared has ever seen.
A normal adventurer would think that this Unbound is an easy target and will simply rush in, without a second thought. However, Jared knows better than to underestimate the enemy that is in front of him.
As he unsheathes Demonslayer, he analyzes the creature, searching for a weakness.
Moments later, the Unbound roars. Its dry skin cracks, revealing soft, black flesh underneath.
Jared is horrified by this grisly sight. Not only is this creature painful to watch, there is something worse that he immediately notices.
Its flesh is pulsating. Glowing, in a strange way. It is as if this creature has been infused with unimaginable power, something that few beings are able to do.
However, the power that was given to it has also erased any traces of intelligence it might have possessed when it was created. Trying to communicate with it will be like talking to a brick wall- hopeless and futile. It is out of its mind, irreversibly so.
As Jared prepares to fight, the Unbound raises its claw. It swings it at him and a massive bolt of energy is launched into his direction.
Our hero nimbly dodges it and decides not to engage it in melee just yet. Instead, he points his bow at it and shoots a few arrows that pierce its delicate flesh.
It roars and shoots another devastating bolt of energy at him.
This time, Jared is unable to completely avoid the attack. As he leaps in the other direction, the bolt of energy hits his right leg and severely wounds him.
The Unbound takes a few steps forward as Jared is forced to fall on his knees. It kneels and snaps its jaws at him. It is clear that it wants to devour him alive while he is unable to fight back.
However, the young hero does not plan on giving up just yet. As the creature continues to snap its teeth aggressively, he suddenly lunges forward and grabs one of them.
The creature snarls, confused by what the boy is doing.
During its moment of unawareness, Jared uses whatever strength he still has in his body to pull the massive tooth towards him.
And, just a few moments later...
*CRACK!*
Jared pulls with all his might and easily manages to rip one of the Unbound's massive teeth out of its mouth. As the creature roars in agony, he lunges forward and uses the weaponlike tooth to stab it in the left side of the neck.
The Unbound takes a few steps away from Jared. It is shocked that its prey is actually fighting back.
It touches its wound with a clawed hand. Something is disturbing it. Perhaps it is the pain?
Either way, it cannot keep itself together anymore. It roars as loud as it can, preparing to strike again.
However, it does not. It simply watches Jared and he does the same.
Suddenly, the cave grows very hot and its only gets worse with each passing second. Soon, the heat becomes way too much for Jared.
He starts to feel weaker and falls to his knees. He feels like he is about to pass out from the heat, but he knows that this is not the right time to rest. Not in a dangerous place like this.
As he struggles to stay awake, he notices that the Unbound is approaching him. Its left arm is lifted in the air. It prepares to strike the boy with another devastating spell. Once again.
Moments later, it launches a huge bolt of fire towards him.
He tries to leap away from the giant, fiery globule of death, only to realize that he is too weak to move.
As it gets closer and closer, Jared concludes that it is the end of the line for him.
He shakes his head.
"I am sorry, everyone. I am very sorry."- He mutters- "Please. Stay safe."
He calmly closes his eyes, accepting his fate with dignity. Ready to die a hero.
== Trivia ==
* This Part also has an alternative title- "The Unbound".