Unchained

Aiden walked slowly. He didn't know what time it was exactly, but it was already night. Few people still wandered around, which really did him favor. After all, he was currently carrying Rin's unconscious body on his shoulder.

"...She really is light." He said, to no one in particular, lighting a cigarette that was on his mouth.

It didn't take long for him to reach his destination. He was now in front of a three stories high building. A haunted house, or at least that's what anyone would think if they saw it for the first time. It was just that run down. It was dirty, some part of it were missing, some would even wonder how it was still standing.

Aiden didn't seem to mind, however, as he stepped right in. The interior wasn't any better than the exterior. There wasn't a single place that the dust has spared. No furniture was usable anymore, and, of course, there was no electricity.

"Finally back, boss." The voice of a woman said from the corner of the room. She had blond hair and blue eyes, and was seemingly in the middle of drinking.

Aiden didn't pay her any heed and gently placed Rin's body on a canopy (who was probably the most comfortable thing in the house)

"Oh!" The woman's eyes widens seeing that. "I knew you were a piece of crap, boss, but to think you'd go as far as kidnapping a girl." She made a face of surprise, advancing slowly to Aiden.

Aiden breathed the smoke from his cigarette, and responded. "Honestly, who do you even take me for, Ursa?"

"Hm? Didn't I say it?" She responded, holding a can of beer on her left hand. "A piece of crap."

Hearing that, a wry smile appeared on Aiden's face. "Unfortunately for you, this girl isn't a normal civilian anymore." The woman listened while drinking from the can. "She's our new member."

Ursa paused for a good ten seconds before intensely spitting out the liquid in her mouth on Aiden's face. "Wow, that's a surprise."

"You damn drunkard!" A vein appeared on Aiden's forehead, immediately searching for something to wipe himself.

Ursa, on the other hand, crouched down and looked at Rin.

"Did you use your singularity on her?" She asked.

"Eh? Ah, yes." Aiden answered, struggling to search for something clean to use.

"Did it go well?" Her glare still glued on Rin, she continued.

"I would say," Aiden finally gave up, and used his own shirt to wipe his face. "It worked."

◇

A little earlier....

"So... What exactly am I supposed to do?" Rin asked, sitting on the ground like she was told to by Aiden.

"Nothing, really." Aiden responded. "I just use my power, and you just have endure. Though, before we begin, I have to ask, how much do you know about my singularity?"

"As I recall," Rin's back was currently facing Aiden, so she needed to turn a little to be able to see him. "It's 'upgrader', isn't it?"

The singularity of power up, that is Aiden's power. He supposedly has the ability to bring someone to a higher level. However, to be more accurate, this ability is more akin to that of a boost. From the data known about him, he only has a total of three slots. In other word, Aiden can only use his singularity on three persons at the same time. In addition to that, he cannot use it on Elite.

Nevertheless, to make up for all the bad side, upgraders' effect is tremendous. As said earlier, it can bring someone to a higher level. Although, all it does is give an increase on the overall capacity of the subject, that increase is phenomenal. To the point of equalizing or even outclassing the power of an Elite.

"...That is all I know." Rin said.

"Well, that pretty much sum everything up." Aiden advanced closer to Rin. "Except for one detail, my singularity is much more demanding than that." He placed his right hand on the girl's head.

"In what way?" Rin asked, a little surprised by his action.

"To put it simply, not everyone can resist receiving my upgrade." He continued and stroked Rin's hair. "To put it harshly, you could die."

Rin frowned hearing that. "...Is that so?"

"It is so."

It would be a lie to say that Rin wasn't afraid of death. After all, mostly everyone is, whether it be an animal, a kid, an adult, let alone a highschool girl. However, she couldn't back out now. Without taking any risk, she will never accomplish anything. She needed to press forward.

"I'm ready." Taking a deep breath, she expressed.

Aiden smirked, and took out a piece of clothing from his pocket. He tossed it to Rin.

"Put that in your mouth." He said.

"Huh?"

"How should I say this? The next ten minute will be a little, no," He continued, his smile never leaving his face. "Extremely painful for you."

Doing as she was told, Rin bite into the clothes. Instantly after that, her body began to glow a little. She noticed that Aiden has already activated his singularity. And sure enough, only a fraction of second later, Rin was assaulted by an immense painful sensation throughout her body.

It should already be known now that this wasn't the first time Rin was subjected to pain. She had fought many people in the past that dealt her heavy blow. Some of her injuries even resulted in her taking a quick trip to the hospital. She even recently received her most severe injuries, that literally gave her a near-death experience. But, she never felt as painful as right now. She was certain that if her scream weren't muffled by the clothes she was biting, it would be heard across the entire city.

◇

"...And she fainted after that." Aiden said, concluding his flashback.

"I...see." Ursa responded with a drunk face, all her canned beer were completely empty and she struggled to even stay awake.

"Don't joke around with me!" At that moment, someone appeared through another room and shouted loudly. "You mean to say that that girl is going to join us! I didn't agree to that!"

"Ed..." Aiden rolled his eyes toward the person that just entered. He already expected this kind of reaction. "Of course you didn't."

"Are you even sure she will be of any use," Ed continued his ranting. "If a weakling were to take your upgrade, it wouldn't change anything you know!?"

Aiden's singularity is, just as stated previously, very demanding. In addition to the already stated demerit, the amount of the boost obtained is also proportional to the target's original strength. For example, if an ordinary man were to obtain an upgrade, he would only gain, let's say, an ordinary amount of boost. In the contrary, if a veteran of fight were to obtain it, the boost he would acquire would be more consequential.

In other words, the stronger you already are, the stronger you will become.

However, that demerit isn't that much of an inconvenient because,

"Weakling, like you pronounced it, wouldn't survive receiving my singularity to begin with." Aiden stated, which somehow rendered Ed silent for a second. But, before he could reopen his mouth, Aiden continued. "Don't worry, I assure you she is strong."

"That doesn't permit you to involve a kid to the underworld!" This time it wasn't Ed that shouted. It was a massive man that descended a set of stair. He visibly came from the second floor.

"Stone," A tired look showed on Aiden's face, recognizing the voice. "Not you, too."

"Bailey, explain yourself." Stone ordered loudly.

Aiden turned to look at the taller man. "There's nothing to explain. We just needed strength."

Hearing that, something snapped inside of the massive man. His fist was immediately enveloped in aura and was launched at the leader's head. An enormous shockwave then ensued, breaking down some of the already fragile wall. Ursa who had nearly shut her eyes, was fully woken up by the cloud of dust.

*Cough*cough*

"Damn, would you two, please, knock it down a notch?" She said after coughing.

In the middle of the smoke of dirt, Aiden blocked Stone's punch using both of his hands. The two of them stared at each other for a moment, neither backing down.

"This is a final decision, big guy." Aiden broke the silence. "I won't take my upgrade off of her."

"...Tsk!" Stone finally retracted his fist after a long moment.

"Besides, I didn't force her to do this." Aiden stated, patting off the dust from his clothes. "I gave her a choice, and she choose this path on her own."

Stone didn't say anything in response and just quietly headed upstairs. He was, however, stopped by the voice of another man.

"I think you ought to stay her for a little while more, Stone." This man also came from the second floor, but compared to the previous two man, he didn't shout nor was he angry.

"Turner," Stone muttered his family name, like he did to Aiden. "...Why?"

"That girl," the man responded calmly. "I think she'll wake up soon."

◇

What greeted Rin when she finally opened her eyes was something she'd rather not have seen in her entire life. To begin with, the building she found herself in was without a doubt, an abandoned one. She could even see the outside through broken wall.

Though, what caught her attention the most was the five person that fixedly stared at her. One woman and four men. According to her memory, they were the current member of the terrorist group called 'unchained'.

To her foremost right, she could see the only other woman beside her. Ursa Saith. Aging around her mid-twenties, she had blond messy hair about shoulder length and had deep blue eyes. She couldn't be said to be tall as she was just a little bit taller than Rin.

A little away from her, stood a man who had a very angry look on his face. Edward Warray. He was probably twenty years old this year. He had azure colored spiky hair and blue eyes. His facial feature wasn't that good, but it was further worsened by his current annoyed expression.

Right next to him, was the one that Rin supposed took her here. The only person she already knew beforehand, Aiden Bailey. 27 years of age and a silhouette that didn't change from the last time she saw him.

Two feet from there, standed the most massive man Rin had ever encountered. Stone Fist. Having 34 years of age, he was probably the oldest person present. If one didn't know any better, he could also be seen as the strongest. Rin was a little intimidated by his bulky figure, but she also remarked a hint of pity from his face.

The last man present could be described by one single word, red. Flame Turner. Twenty-two years old. He had crimson hair and red eyes, and from top to bottom he wore things that put value in flame. Anyone, even a kid, would probably guess that he liked fire. To the point where even his singularity was related to it.

Faced with these people, Rin needed to be vigilant. She was, after all, before five dangerous individuals that rivaled the very same monster she couldn't do anything against.