Chapter 28: Unseen Chains

20 December - Devil's Side

The room stank of sweat and smoke. A single bulb swung overhead, casting flickering shadows on the man sitting nervously at the desk. Papers were scattered, cigarette ash piled near a trembling hand.

Then the door creaked open.

The man looked up and froze.

Mr. Crow stepped inside — silent, slow, and terrifying without raising his voice. He said nothing at first, just looked around. His black coat swayed gently behind him, his gloved fingers tapping against the desk. Then his voice, calm and cold:

"You had three days."

The man stuttered, "I—I tried. They don't leave traces. It's like they don't even exist!"

Mr. Crow didn't blink. "Then maybe… you shouldn't exist either."

The man barely had time to react before a sharp blade hidden beneath Mr. Crow's coat cut through the air — and silence followed. Blood dripped quietly as Mr. Crow stepped back, wiping the blade clean with a handkerchief.

From the hallway, footsteps approached. It was Rex, towering and calm as ever, face blank under the shadow of the corridor.

Mr. Crow spoke as he passed him. "I want fire in the streets, Rex. Let them come to you this time."

Rex gave a slight nod and turned away.

The sun hadn't risen fully, casting a hazy orange over Devil's Side. On a high rooftop, Bunnyman stood overlooking the city, arms folded. Lady Tape sat beside him on the ledge, legs dangling, toying with a strip of tape lazily. Deadknight leaned on the wall behind them, silent as always, but somehow present in every moment.

"Three days," Lady Tape muttered. "And no sign of him. Nothing. It's like Mr. Crow disappeared."

Bunnyman didn't look back. "He's waiting. Watching. Letting the fear build."

Deadknight finally spoke, voice gravelly and quiet. "What's the plan?"

Bunnyman turned. "We hit whatever we can. Cut off his legs before he can move. But first, we need a lead—"

Suddenly, a deep rumble echoed through the streets. Then another. Sirens. Screams.

Lady Tape stood up. "That's not fireworks."

From their vantage point, they saw smoke rising from a market block. People were fleeing. Cars overturned. And standing in the chaos—tall, still, waiting—was Rex.

Bunnyman's eyes narrowed. "He wants us to see him."

"Then let's give him what he wants," Deadknight said, already walking toward the rooftop edge.

They arrived swiftly, leaping from rooftop to rooftop until they dropped into the wrecked street. Flames licked the edges of shattered cars. Rex stood calmly in the middle of it all, like a statue in a storm.

Bunnyman stepped forward. "You again."

Rex didn't speak. He simply raised a massive pipe from the wreckage and charged.

The clash was explosive.

Bunnyman met Rex's strike with a roll, kicking his knee hard, but Rex didn't flinch. Lady Tape flew in next, swinging on a line and lashing tape around Rex's arm — but he yanked her mid-air and slammed her down. She coughed but grinned. "He's still slow."

Deadknight was the last to join — fast, brutal, and without restraint. His fists slammed into Rex's ribs, forcing him to grunt and stumble back for the first time.

"You're strong," Rex muttered for the first time, voice cold and empty.

"I've been waiting to break you," Deadknight said, delivering a crushing elbow to Rex's jaw.

The fight raged longer, the trio coordinating attacks, wearing Rex down inch by inch. Tape cracked across his chest, Bunnyman's knee struck his face, Deadknight's foot landed square into his spine.

Finally, Rex fell to one knee.

Bunnyman looked at the others. "Finish it."

Deadknight stepped forward, fist raised — and then stopped.

His pupils dilated.

Then, suddenly, he collapsed.

"Deadknight?" Lady Tape shouted — before stumbling backward, holding her head, and falling herself.

"What the—" Bunnyman tried to move, but his vision blurred. His breath became shallow.

He turned… and saw nothing. No gas. No darts.

Just still air.