Chain

WARNING! This article may contain major spoilers for the Hero Killer manhwa series. Please read at your own risk!

Chain (체인) is a prominent Villain and a central figure of the major conflicts from the previous era of Nera that fought in both the War of Inheritance as a heir to the throne of Nera alongside Engen and his late wife, Islotta Rainfall and once again as a core leader of the Villains of Nera during the Great War.

He is currently the backer of Forlorn Hope, the third but weakest faction in the clan and in hiding while on the run from the Black Hand and The Fingers after the Hero Clan put him on their most wanted list for his role in helping the Nameless's attack on Dust City and targeted his business.

Chain was introduced in the District 17 Assault Arc, where he and his employees were coerced into helping the Nameless's attack on the Hero Clan's 17th Division. After Engen's public announcement of their return, he decided to throw in his own form of support for Ihwa but later became a great ally to the young villain while fighting alongside her in the Nostra City Arc.

Appearance[]

Chain is a young-looking man with deep dark olive-green hair tied in a small ponytail and eyes with shark-like teeth and a light skin tone. While youthful in appearance, he is quite old having been born in the Era of the Lords after the Chaotic Era over a century ago. His appearance has remained largely the same since his childhood.

Personality[]

Chain, at first, came across as a dim-witted and cowardly gangster boss type of man. However, behind those traits is that of a serious, deterministic, and respectful man whose only been living for countless years with the sole intention of reviving his late wife. He is also shown to be selfless when it comes to protecting peoples that are important to him with it being the catalyst of his Gift.

History[]

Engen's entire early life is currently a mystery, but he was likely born after the end of Chaotic Era. Around his childhood and early teens, it's implied that he was either abducted or willingly decided to join the King of Nera's followers. During this period of time, he met Engen, another candidate and befriend him.^[1]

Eventually, the King's power reached its limit as his body could no longer handle the capabilities of The Torch, so he gathered his strongest followers, among them Chain and Engen, to make a proposition. - Whoever that conquers the greatest number of districts until I stop breathing...Shall inherit my throne and all I have. And the War of Inheritance had begun.^[2]

At the start of the war, Chain would team up with Engen and the two fought together in countless battles. They later meet and befriended Abyss Dancer and Nugal, two powerful Gift users who swore their loyalty to Engen as they grew to love his boldness and conviction during this period of war and strife.^[3]

Chain's name became famous alongside his comrades as they gained further and further notoriety in which Engen took over and conquered Cloud Garden, the hometown of the Elder Bishop. It's assumed that the Elder came to know about him and his abilities from this achievement.^[4]

During the war, Chain met Islotta Rainfall, the leading figure amongst the Nera heirs that stood out as the best. The two would fall in love with each other and begin a romantic relationship that eventually led to marriage. She didn't want Chain to face the dangers of becoming the new king of Nera, and simply wanted him to be together with her.

However, Islotta had become a source of resentment in the eyes of the King of Nera who despised her immensely for her popularity and kindness. Overrun with envy and desiring to burn down the entire world with flames, he sent his armies to hunt down Islotta on a night of a full moon, but Islotta would fight back by using The Torch to amplify Chain's Gift but soon begin breaking down and while painfully dying from the excessive amount of EST. Chain would put his wife out of her misery after stabbing her through the stomach.^[5]

Chain buried Islotta and tearfully mourn her death for years to come. In between his grief, he occasionally used their wedding rings, a special type of Shard, to relive their happiest moments together within his memories. Chain would make vow to bring his wife back from the dead and searched for the one Gift that could do it. The war lasted until Engen and Chain reached adulthood and the king eventually died.

Engen eventually won the succession and was crowned the second king of Nera. In the following three days after he assumed the throne and was ready to inherit the The Torch, a mysterious woman appeared who called herself The Steel Witch. She would kill everyone in the area in a mere second and destroy the Torch by shattering it into 12 fragments. It's assumed that Chain watched Engen and the Witch clash along her overwhelmingly victory against him. The Witch, in a mocking tone, asked why Engen had such a gloomy expression on his face and decided to put a "smile" on it, giving him an incurable iconic scar on his face. She then disappeared. ^[6]

However, even after suffering a humiliating defeat, Engen wouldn't give up. Nera, while no longer at its peak, was still strong enough to fight for a place of dominance in the world.

After the time in which the Witch defeated him, certain rumors started to spread around the same time. A man known as the Skysword had gained the attention of the world after he killed numerous district lords and defeated one of the Elders, Yushin in a duel. The Skysword had gained enough power to establish an organization called the Hero Clan based around his fame. It was only a matter of time until the clan, having operated underneath the banner of justice, clashed with Engen and the remaining remnants of Nera in what would be called the War of the Reeds or the Great War.

Chain fought on the frontlines in numerous battles and at one point have his life saved by Engen's life during the war. ^[7] But eventually Engen and his forces were defeated once again after losing two major battles. The word of "Nera" ceased to exist with the clan banning its name after their victory.

Chain retired from his villainous life in the coming Age of Heroes and Villains and went on build a courier business named after himself, Chain Logis that handled delivering black market items to any sort of customers regardless of their identities while living in luxury from the eyes of the clan.

Aside handling his business ventures, Chain's activities in the decades following Age of Heroes and Villains aren't fully known. He was assumed by many to have died during the war and, but others saw that he could possibly be amongst the Nameless, survivors of the war.

Story[]

District 17 Assault Arc[]

Years later, Engen and the Nameless requested explosives from Chain so they could attack the 17th Division's Hero Clan HQ after they captured his underling Number Nine. Chain outright refused saying it would bring too much attention to him and endanger his business but with some "convincing" from Engen, Chain agreed to hand over explosives but not enough to blow up the entire division so it could act as insurance.

Hero Candidate Arc[]

Between the downfall of the 17th Division and Hero Killer infiltrating Cloud Garden, Chain approaches Ihwa with the intention of throwing his hat into the game. He gives her a detailed map of District 16.

Nostra City Arc[]

While arriving in Nostra, Chain encountered Dalia Mendoza in an ambush as she tried to kill him. After escaping the assassination attempt, Chain arrives in his sword form inside a delivery box to Ihwa's apartment. Chain gives Ihwa information about the Clan and the Fingers of the Black Hand in exchange for an alliance and a loan so he can start a small online store in Nostra. Chain also begins to look after Nenya as he protected her from unknown attackers.

Hero Clan's Civil War Arc[]

Battles & Events[]

Etymology[]

• Chain means "A lucky and peaceful individual".

Trivia[]

• Chain has allowed only three people to wield him while in his Sword Form. They include his late wife, Islotta, Engen, and Hero Killer.

References[]

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