Basically a Part 2 to Chapter 2, but we'll just call it Chapter 3 for the sake of separation and order.

The first OC will officially be making their appearance in the next chapter! I hope the owner is still reading!

Four Days Later after the Incident in Feita

(Nero's POV) Hamel, Prison. 2:00

It was at the dreary, early time of 2am when I was harshly thrown into a cold prison cell by some unrecognizable soldiers. Not from the group I was originally traveling with, or with the one that had "caught" me. I sighed harshly but let out a little chuckle when I recalled the kid's enthusiasm at the time. 'What was he called again? Liam? Whatever…'

Another sigh escaped me, but this one was tired. 'I need to get the fuck out of here… Especially when I just managed to find a lead.' I thought back to the words I was able to make out on that piece of paper. That was the only thing that kept be from escaping earlier. 'I need to get my hands on that piece of paper.' Once Repins or her boss figures out the whole message I'm getting that and getting the hell out of here.

I thought about it in silence for a while before the laughter of the guards pulled my thoughts elsewhere, "That is unless I'm not dead before I get out." I said to myself.

(Eir's POV) Hamel, Conference Hall. 7:00

I shifted slightly from one foot to the other as five pairs of eyes were focused on me. Five pairs. Five people. All from the famous El Search Party that pushed back the demon invasion years ago.

After the Thunderous Renegade's 'capture' by Lonnie, my team and I decided to head back to Hamel to make our report of our patrol through the region, and to put the Thunderous Renegade Nero away for good… Or so that's what the crew keeps saying, yet something still seems off. On the four day trip back Renegade was awfully docile. Never tried to escape and was quieter than I expected, minus spouting something witty every once in a while. I never tried to make contact or talk with him about what we found at the spot of the fight. I was too focused on what we found and trying to decipher it.

"Sergeant Repins, you may begin your report." the captain spoke. Hamel had no defined ruler, but Prince Seiker was the sole protector along with the former Velder Knight, our leader and captain of the revived Crow Mercenary Knights, Raven Cronwell.

"Yes Sir!" I saluted to my captain before recounting the events that occurred in Bethma with the strange enemies. He had already heard the whole story of what happened in both Bethma and Feita, but upon hearing about the Feita incident told me to get a few hours of rest and report to the Conference Hall to recount what happened for the other officials. I never thought it would involve members of the El Search Party though.

Aside from Raven and Prince Seiker, there was the Velder Knight Elsword who had come on behalf of the Velder Kingdom, also from Velder the High Court Magician Aisha Landar, and the traveling elf emissary Rena Erindel.

When I began talking about the El Crystals in Feita being stolen I noticed a few glances go around the room. "Did you see the thief at all?" Rena asked.

I shook my head at her answer, "Unfortunately, I was not present when the Crystal was stolen… However I have received intel that the being was a dark cloaked figure who wielded magic in his getaway." Rena nodded at my answer, satisfied.

"The story is similar to what you encountered, Rena." Prince Seiker mentioned as Rena looked down at some papers in thought.

"Along with the witness, I returned to the scene where the thief was apparently last seen, and we found a few of their belongings." I presented the bag and papers and placed them on the table.

Upon seeing the items the Court Magician spoke up, "May I see those?" Aisha asked. I brought them over to her before returning to my position in the front of the room. Aisha's eyes scanned over each of the papers very quickly, and Elsword also looked on from next to her. "What kind of magic did they use?" She questioned never taking her eyes from the papers.

I hesitated a little bit. As I wasn't present and heard most of the detail from an outside source there wasn't much detail I could give, "I was told they opened a vortex of some kind before disappearing into it."

Aisha acknowledged my words with a nod. "I'm going to need some time with these to decipher the meaning, and clean it up a bit, but… it's safe to say this map is a target list."

"How are they targeting the towns?" Elsword asks curious as to how Aisha figured it out so quickly.

She pointed to the towns with both the name and numbers crossed off, "These are the towns that have already been hit, and the numbers written next to the town match some research I've been doing on El Energy. If the number is below a certain point the energy is weak and that town is the next target. However the Energy is always fluctuating from independent factors, so being able pin-point the exact moment when its low enough means our thief has been researching and planning these heists for a while now."

"But now we know how the thief is targeting so we should be able to predict their next target." Chung voiced.

Aisha shook her head, "Not exactly. We'd need to physically go to each town to get a reading, or to at least set up some sort of contraption to capture the energy levels."

Raven was beginning to catch on to what Aisha was saying, "That's time we can't afford to waste, but the thief has his set up already."

Elsword suddenly came up with an idea, "If we need to be fast about it why don't we send a party to every location on that map to read the levels then? A small party that can move fast."

Small smiles went around the room, "It sounds as if you're trying to get the Search Party back together." Chung laughed a little.

Elsword smiled and scratched the back of his head, "Haha did it? I didn't mean for it to. As much as I want to go adventuring with you all again I have duties back in Velder that I have to report for."

Aisha had a sly smirk on her face and nudged him, "Oh ho~ Elsword being responsible? Impossible!"

No matter how dire the situation, or dangerous the enemy was I could see the bond that had formed between them as laughs and little banters went around the room.

Raven spoke up, "I'd volunteer as a good opportunity to stretch out my legs, but regrettably there'll be no one here to train in the new soldiers if we're to bolster our defenses."

"I would offer to go, but I don't want to leave Hamel unguarded with such a mysterious figure on the loose." Chung inputted, "and we're going to need someone to let Eve and Lu know about this."

Rena raised her hand slightly, "I'll be headed in Eve's direction so I'll let her know of what transpired."

Aisha turned to Rena, "If you're headed down there could you tell Eve and Mad Add that we'll be needing something to read El Energy Levels It's gotta be something small and portable, and easy to set up. I'll show up later to help specify and make adjustments."

Elsword tilted his head to the side, "Where are you headed, Aisha?" He asked, as it sounded like she wasn't going to return to Velder with him to make the report.

"I'm going to get in contact with Lu and Ciel. Looking at this document it reminds me of some old demon scripture Lu showed me once." Aisha held up the old yellowed paper. "She may be able to help decipher it, and plus I'll also let her know about what's occurring."

Everyone nods in agreement with the plan so far. Chung looks around the room, "Though everyone's busy I would still like to send a party out to check the areas on the map that have the lower numbers written on them. As Raven said we don't have much time, and while we're preparing for a counter-measure I don't want to leave things as they are."

Without thinking too much about it I raise my hand, "If I may…" I catch their attention again, a few surprised looks that I was still standing there listening to their conversation. "I volunteer my team to scout the locations."

My captain nods in appreciation of my actions.

"How many are on your team?" The Lord Knight asks.

I answer strongly, "Seventeen, Sir."

I see Rena tilt her head to the side and places her cheek in her hand, "That might be a bit too much, a big group will be slow and stand out." I shift back and forth on my feet worried I would not be given this mission. I felt that I had a duty to stop this thief. An attack on my hometown is an attack on me, and I would not let this thief go unharmed for hurting Albaer and Ezer.

Rena and Captain Cronwell knew my abilities as a soldier, "Repins is strong, but it's best not to let her go alone when we don't fully know what the enemy is capable of." Raven points out, "Perhaps another person or two would be the safest bet."

Everyone nods in agreement to that fact.

At that piece of information my mind is set. I knew who would come in handy for this mission as much as I loathe to admit. I raise my thoughts once more, "If I may, can I select my partner for this mission?"

All eyes are on me once more, but I receive a nod in confirmation from Prince Seiker, "And who will your partners be?"

I salute to the team before me, "I'll only need one other person Sir, he's a strong fighter and fast when it comes to running away." I smirked slightly at the thought. "By your authorization my partner will be..."

(Nero's POV) Hamel, Prison. 7:40

"Hey! We know you're not sleeping you monster." A guard shouted at me.

'Why are prison guards the worst?' I thought to myself. I kept my eyes shut in an imitation of fake sleep with my back pressed up against the far wall.

A second guard came around, "Huh, so this is the Thunderous Renegade?" I heard a loud clang of him trying to scare me as he harshly leaned against the cell. "Heh, what a shit stick. To be one of the most wanted criminals only to be caught by little Lonnie. More like a Blunderous Rat to me…" He taunted as the first guard laughed with him. "Hey, you listen 'in to me? I know you can hear me, Rat!"

When he didn't receive a response or reaction from me I heard him growl along with some shifting. The cell door began to open and footsteps approached me. Suddenly I was pulled up to my feet by the collar of my shirt and the guard's face was right next to mine. "Think you're so cool and quiet, huh?!" He pushed me into the wall. I moved to regain my balance but he shoved me back again. Once again I tried to regain my balance, but the third time he tried to shove me back down I threw all my weight at him, reared my head back and slammed it against him.

He stumbled backwards at the force holding his nose in his hands and blood seeping between his fingers. "You little bitch!" He picked me up by the collar once more and held me at arm's length so I couldn't pull the same trick on him, at this realization I tauntingly smirked at him. His eyes narrowed and he reared back his arm and swung it at me, however it stopped right before making contact with my face as the voice of the other guard startlingly echoed through the prison.

"M-M'am!" the guard outside the cell near the front door shouts. I can't see anything from where my cell was located as it was in the farthest corner of the prison.

The other guard holding me set me down before straightening out his uniform. For my own amusement and satisfaction I nudged him, "Hey." I whispered and he looked at me. "You got a little something there." With my hands cuffed together I indicated to his bloody nose. His face twisted into anger and frustration before he wiped his nose on his sleeve and left to greet the visitor.

I sat back on to the floor of my cell with nothing else left to do but listen to their conversation.

"There's no need for you to go in there." The second guard said.

"Are you telling me to ignore orders from the higher-ups? I've received permission to…" A recognizable woman's voice trailed off. "Is that blood on your sleeve?" She asked.

"N-No! I-I mean yes!" I smirked in triumph at his unprofessional response. "That's exactly why you shouldn't head in there! He's dangerous!"

The other guard spoke up again, "Precisely! The Thunderous Renegade is a dangerous criminal and a murderer! We don't want to see you get hurt Serg! He's crazy! As soon as Drev walked in he attacked him!"

'So his name was Drev.' Not that it mattered to me. Honestly it wasn't a name or face worth remembering once I got out. 'Playing the innocent card are they? Whines and lies, that's all I hear spouting out of their mouths.'

"It sounds as if you're doubting my abilities to protect myself, Anders." The lady said. I couldn't see her, but I can only imagine an eyebrow being raised with that sentence.

"N-No M'am, you're fully capable of handling any criminals that come through this prison." The first guard, Anders, quickly responds.

"Riiight." I can hear the sarcasm in her voice. "Now hand me the keys to his cell, or do you want me to have to call the higher-ups?" She practically ordered him.

"Y-Yes M'am!" Anders shouts.

I can't see what happens next but I hear the jingling of keys as it's passed from one person to the other. I hear footsteps walking towards my cell, but they stop short as the newcomer yells something back towards them, "and stop it with the 'M'am' thing, it's just plain weird. We were in the same class together, Anders." The footsteps finally continue on the stoned ground but it only takes 5 more steps before they're in front of my cell.

"No wonder the voice was so familiar." I said to her.

"No wonder Drev got a bloody nose." She mocked back while unlocking the cell door. Repins steps inside before waving at me to get up. I oblige and she steps forward to unlock my hand cuffs. When they fall to the ground I rub at the sore raw skin around my wrist. She turns and walks outside the cell. 'Are they really going to just let me off like that? No way… there's something else going on here.' At my hesitation Repins looks back at me and gestures with her head to follow.

I walk out of the cell following behind her and we make our way back towards the front doors. As we pass the guards' desk I look at Anders and Drev and give them a mocking victory smirk. The way Drev's face lit up in anger, and Anders' buried his head in his hands made me feel a little better about the events that happened before. We stopped at the heavy front doors as Repins pushed open the prison doors. Through the growing crack between the doors a bright light flooded my vision. I brought my hands up to shadow my eyes as they began to adjust. Slowly the doors became fully opened, but my eyes had still not fully adjusted. I saw a dark blurry shadow move forward before turning back towards me.

"Come on." Repins said to me.

I stepped to follow as my eyes slowly grew accustomed to the brightness. "What's going on?" I finally asked.

"I'll explain along the way, but unfortunately for the both of us we're stuck as partners for this mission." She sighed.

'Wait… Mission? …Partner…?'

Elsword Character Classes in the story -

Elsword: Lord Knight

Aisha: Elemental Master

Rena: Grand Archer

Raven: Blade Master

Chung: Tactical Trooper