《Murder Game [High Fantasy/Revenge Progression]》


 Ch. 0 - Prologue

    Peace. The freedom from disturbance that the world enjoyed. After getting through their previous conflicts, wars, and their share of calamities, everyone has had enough.


    In a world where people could be ''blessed'' with powers, countries found the means to protect their peace, with the formation of the Anti-Blessed Malefactor Corp, the creation of super soldiers, most prominent in the United States.


    With these inventions, the modern era was now the most peaceful era. Tragically however, this is a story. It never ends with perpetual peace, for one man had been waiting to spread chaos.


    In a dimly lit room, two men could be seen silhouetted against the darkness as they conversed. The only light came from the faint red glow of a mask worn by one of them.


    "You''ve picked all the characters you want, developer?" The man with the glowing mask asked the other.


    "Yes." The developer said as he handed the ''NPC'' some documents. "Check them out. You''re gonna have quite a lot of work bringing these guys here."


    "Hmm..." The NPC said as he looked through. "So the first one is Jack Knight, or Jack the Ripper, a mass murderer with a speed blessing that came from a village that trained assassins. Deemed an S-Class criminal, He was defeated by several high level super soldiers and put on Alcatraz Island, away from society."


    "Yeah, a place that''s supposedly impossible to escape...if Jack didn''t have my help." The developer said.


    * * *


    A helicopter hovered of a distant island. A man in white prison overalls soaked in blood looked up at it. The helicopter dropped a ladder, and the man climbed up with a smirk.


    "Hello, Jack Knight." The NPC greeted. "I''ve come to give you another chance at freedom."


    Jack smirked. "Looks like today''s my lucky day, huh?


    * * *


    "Next, Charles Warner, also known as the battle-crazed killer. He''s murdered hundreds just to fulfill his fanatic desire to fight strong enemies." The NPC continued. "Narrowly escaped death at the hands of the strongest super soldier. Has a physical enhancement blessing."


    "He''s not even imprisoned, although he''s another S-Class criminal!" The developer happily stated.


    * * *


    The NPC approached another deep in a forest. The man seemed to be punching trees, and with his bare hands, he cracked the trunks.


    "Charles Warner, right?" The NPC asked.


    "Who are you?"


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "If you come with me, I can give you what you desire the most. A grand fight, right?"


    "Huh?" Charles said with eyebrows raised, clearly intrigued.


    * * *


    "Ada Foster. A cunning woman with a manipulation blessing. With her words alone, she convinced many people to do her every bidding, no matter how immoral." The NPC continued reading.


    "Arrested after manipulating university student Olivia Gray to poison her college mates in revenge for their bullying against her. Ada''s blessing not only allowed her to avoid the death penalty, but she talking them into only charging her with conspiracy, despite there being video evidence of her poisoning and watching as Olivia''s college mates writhe in pain."


    The developer listened, chuckling as he thought. "Grab her cell mate too, Olivia Gray''s poison blessing will prove to be exceedingly useful."


    "So these girls are both characters you chose?"


    "Yup, their kinship would work nicely." The developer responded.


    * * *


    In a prison visitation room, the NPC sat across from two women at a table.


    "Oh my! I never expected any visitors!" One of them brightly asked.


    "Well, Ada. My reason for visiting is a bit...different." He responded.


    "Oh?" Ada said. "You''ve got me very curious now!"


    Looking at the other woman (presumably Olivia), the NPC noticed her looking down, avoiding his gaze.


    "Do you guys want to...escape?" The NPC whispered as he was aware of the guards. His question shocked them both.


    * * *


    "Zack Isaac. He was abused severely by his parents. He was arrested and incarcerated for domestic terrorism."


    "The sicko blew up tons of buildings, including twenty goddamned Mcdonald restaurants." The developer interjected. "They were my some of my favorite places too..."


    "Has a volatile-force manipulation blessing. Loves explosives." The NPC continued. "His blessing definitely could turn the tides of missions within the right circumstances."


    * * *


    Inside a prison-like complex in the dark of the night, a guard approached a certain cell. His face was wrapped with a black cloth, only showing his eyes. Searching for the right key, he opened the cell.


    "Ugh...what do you want now." The prisoner depressingly asked. "Can''t you see I''m trying to sleep--"


    "Shh." The officer said. "I''m here to break you out, Zack."


    "Wha--" Before Zack could finish, the officer put his hands over his mouth.


    "You can call me the NPC, and I''m here to break you out on one condition." The NPC explained which Zack stared at him with shock.


    * * *


    "Lastly is Nathan Hayes. A guy without a blessing who lost everything just because of the familial line he''s apart of." The NPC said. "Wait, that''s it?"


    "Yeah, you''re going to get them, and I expect you to do it without fail, NPC."


    "No problem, developer." The NPC assured. "However, doesn''t Nathan seem...a bit boring to be chosen as a character?"


    "Asking questions now, are we?"


    "I''m sorry--"


    "It''s fine. I understand why you may think that." The developer said. "But I''ve been watching him. Nathan''s lost his parents, despised by almost everyone he''s called his friends, and even been outright framed for many crimes, none of which he brought on himself. Up to now, Nathan got accused of murdering a family, and he''ll have to prove his innocence in court, which he always does, to the point of becoming used to court accusations. But little does he know, the ones who hate him enough to frame him are now tired of him...and it won''t be the same as before."


    "I see."


    "He has a deep hatred towards society for how he''s been treated...and I think that''s the perfect mindset for my little game. Although he hasn''t committed any crimes...I''m sure he''ll change with a little push."


    "I guess...but his physical capabilities are questionable since he has no abilities." The NPC stated.


    "Don''t worry. I''m planning on putting Nathan through the test anyway. You won''t be saving him directly...he''ll have to save himself."


    "Oh, alright. I trust your judgment." The NPC said. "I''ll get to work immediately." The NPC said before walking away.


    Finally, after so long...I found suitable psychos to spread destruction. To carry out my murder game.

 Ch. 1 - Beginning Trial (Part 1)

    "RING RI--"


    The ear-piercing noise of an alarm clock was quickly stopped, as it was knocked from a wooden shelf onto the ground.


    Ugh...this freaking alarm clock. I need to get a less annoying one.


    Still half asleep, our character reached for his phone.


    "Nathan, you must attend court 6 hours from now, at 2 pm." That was the first notification he saw after turning his phone on.


    Today''s the day, huh? Today''s the day where I get railed by this justice system yet again...


    "Freaking hell..."


    Groggily and unenthusiastically, Nathan rolled off the bed before starting his daily routine, entailing hygiene care and a 2-hour extensive exercise. He made breakfast of an egg and cheese sandwich with chocolate tea in a white, fancy cup. Finishing his hygiene up keeping, Nathan turned on the television and switched to the news channel while he ate.


    "Good morning, I am Ashley bringing you the 11 am news. Today, we have something spicy, the trial of suspected triple murderer Nathan Hayes will be taking place later today. His parents, Tomas and Anna Hayes, were executed for treason by the state. They were known for constantly hindering technological advancements, such as the development of the super so--"


    Ashley was cut short as the television was turned off by Nathan.


    "Assholes always have to bring my parents into every conversation, damn bastards." Nathan remarked. "Sigh...since I have some time, guess I''ll go visit Lilith." He decided as he left the house. He left in a blue hoodie shirt, a black jeans and shoes.


    ''Apple Garden'' The restaurant where Lilith works was near his house. On the road, Nathan couldn''t help but notice the stares and whispers of fellow civilians.


    "That''s the murderer...to think that they allow this guy to be out on bail..." a civilian said with a disgust-filled voice. Civilians also kept away from Nathan as they walked past, while badmouthing him.


    "Tsk...if you''re gonna talk about me, at least try to whisper, bastards," Nathan muttered. It took him fifteen minutes to arrive at the restaurant. Nathan then called Lilith.


    "Nathan, Why are you calling? I''m at work, you know?" Lilith answered.


    "It''s 11:30. I know you''re on lunch break now...come outside. I wanna chat," Nathan responded.


    "You''re outside right now?"


    "Yeah."


    "Fine...Give me a minute." Lilith said before hanging up.


    "I''ll just sit and wait." Nathan decided. He sat on a bench next to the restaurant and waited for Lilith. 5 minutes later, she exited the restaurant, and sat with him.


    Lilith was a fairly tall woman. She had dark almond brown hair, which was kept in face-framing waves hairstyle that extended to her bust. Her hair color complemented her eyes, which brought out its stormy blue-grey appearance. Since she was currently at work, she was wearing her uniform, which was a white, size-fitted shirt and pants that showed all her curvatures.


    "So, what''s up?" Lilith wondered.


    "Today''s the day of my court hearing," Nathan responded.


    "Oh yeah...that''s true." Lilith frowned.


    "I just want to get the trial out of the way and go back to my regular, miserable life," Nathan said as he lay back on the bench.


    "How can you be so nonchalant about it?"


    "What do you mean? It''s not like it''s the first time I''ve got accused of a crime I didn''t do." Nathan stated, "I always get accused, go to the court trial, and then get found innocent because of a lack of evidence against me...this trial won''t be different."


    "Nathan...how can you tolerate your reputation being dragged through the mud these years?" Lilith asked.


    There was a few seconds of silence as Nathan tried to figure out how to answer that question.


    "I...don''t know. I guess I''m fine as long as you believe that I''m innocent." Nathan finally responded.


    "Of course, I would believe...I am your friend, after all, Nathan. I''ll always be on your side."


    Nathan cracked a smile upon hearing this but immediately turned away from Lilith.


    "Ooh, was that a smile I saw? That''s rare!" Lilith teased, "C''mon, don''t turn away your head."


    Becoming red from embarrassment, Lilith''s teasing caused Nathan to get up.


    "B-be quiet...I''m leaving. I have to get ready for the court hearing anyway." Nathan said abruptly.


    "But why so soon?" Lilith asked.


    "Yeah, I have to reach home before the prison officer comes to pick me up...plus your lunch break will be over soon."


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    "Oh, you''re right...you should be glad I came to talk to you in the middle of my lunch break, ya know."


    "Yeah, yeah...see you after work," Nathan said as he left and headed home. He decided to watch television to pass the time. Before he knew it, he drifted off to sleep.


    "--an!"


    "-than!"


    "Nathan!" Nathan had been awaken by the shouts of an officer in front of him.


    "Yawn...Huh? Officer Dan, it''s already time?" Nathan asked.


    "Yes, idiot...to think you could sleep so soundly in a day like this...let''s go." Officer Dan said, visibly annoyed.


    "...okay."


    "Without saying anything further to each other, they went in Officer Dan''s police vehicle to arrive at the court. Neither exchanged any words throughout the drive. They eventually reached right on time.


    "Sigh...this stupid court again...the bland monochromatic white building, those annoying pillars with cracks on the third, that useless security guard, only drinking coffee on the job...I''ve been here so frequently that I memorized even the little details...sigh." Nathan said as he stood in front of the court.


    "Get inside, Nathan." Officer Dan remarked.


    Without any objections, Nathan listened and went inside. What greeted him was a couple of things: the deafening silence in the court as everyone that should have been there was there waiting for their ''main guest'' Nathan to arrive and multiple officers guarding the entrance. To his right, the angered expressions of the members of the public. To his left, the cold gaze of the jury members pierced into Nathan''s core, and finally, the man that would decide his fate, the judge.


    "Good afternoon, Mr. Hayes," the judge said politely.


    "...Judge Reid," Nathan said with disdain.


    Officer Dan brought Nathan to a bench separated from everyone and sat with him.


    No need to be nervous, Nathan...all you have to do is prove your innocence and be on your way...you''ve been through this shit many times...you''ll get through this one too.


    "...Wait." Nathan had noticed only Officer Dan sitting beside him.


    "Wait...where''s my lawyer?" Nathan asked but was ignored by Dan.


    What the hell?


    "Alright, let''s start...Mr. Hayes, you''re being charged with three counts of murder of the Greeves family. How do you plea?" Judge Reid inquired.


    "C''mon Judge Reid, you know me, I''m always going to plead innocent?" Nathan responded.


    "Okay, let''s get on with it."


    "Where''s my lawyer, though?"


    Judge Reid smirked at him. "Can the prosecuting attorney bring the evidence to me?"


    Evidence? Where would they possibly get MURDER evidence against me from?


    The attorney brought some files to the judge, which he began skimming through.


    "I see...this file I have here shows an extensive fingerprint scan which matched the fingerprints on the murder weapon...it''s your fingerprint, Nathan."


    What!? There''s no way that''s true!


    The judge noticed Nathan''s surprise and began smirking.


    As the trial went by, a multitude of evidence against Nathan was brought to the judge and jury to be made aware of by the prosecuting lawyer. At no point was Nathan allowed to defend himself. The prosecutor then stood in front of the jury to solidify his prosecution.


    "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, as you can see from the evidence I have brought, Mr. Hayes, without any doubt, had coldly, methodically, and brutally carried out the murders of that family for nothing more than his sadistic pleasure. He has had numerous run-ins with the law, and I think I can say this on behalf of everyone that it''s about time his reign of terror ends." The prosecutor concluded his presentation and glanced at Nathan, who looked extremely nervous and hyperventilating.


    W-why does this trial seem like I''ll be guilty of a crime I never committed?!


    Nathan had truly realized the dire situation he was in.


    "Thank you, Mr. Garfield." Judge Reid added. "Before we go to the deliberation, would any affected relatives like to give a victim impact statement? No one wanted to address the ''monster'' Nathan until a woman approached the podium.


    "...My name is Vanessa Clarke, the best friend of Laura Greeves."


    "Alright, Ms. Clarke, you can say what you want to Nathan."


    Vanessa took a deep breath, "Nathan...or monster...whatever you are...not only you killed my best friend, Laura...you killed her husband...her child! You couldn''t even spare her, you wicked monster!" Vanessa''s harsh words towards Nathan had made him depressed and a bit angry. "YOU ARE A MONSTER, AND I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!"


    As if her words were getting muffled, Nathan could no longer hear what she was saying. He was so depressed and scared that he would be found guilty for something he never did.


    What the hell is she talking about!? I didn''t do any of this! Why is this even happening to me? Why does this one-sided trial remind me of my parents?


    "I...have nothing further to say," Vanessa concluded as she returned to the bench she was seated in.


    "Thank you for that, Vanessa." Judge Reid began speaking, "We will now be moving to the deliberation pha--"


    "No need...we have made our unanimous decision." A jury member interjected.


    "Is that so? Alright, please bring me the decision then."


    The same jury member brought a sheet to the judge. Upon looking at the sheet, Judge Reid couldn''t help but smile a little.


    At this point, Nathan was breaking out in a sweat, afraid to hear the decision.


    "Ahem...in the case of Nathan Hayes...you are found guilty of all charges. We, the jury, recommend the death penalty."


    Nathan immediately stood up. The sentence uttered by Judge Reid has caused him to finally reach his breaking point.


    "T-That is a complete and utter lie, and every single one of you know it," Nathan uttered. The guards were immediately on alert when he got up.


    "Sit back down, Nathan." Judge Reid ordered.


    "But, how can I sit down in a place that wants to kill me!? No lawyer defending me, that prosecutor getting evidence against me from God knows, and you expect me to sit down and listen to this...this bullshit!?"


    "Nathan...sit down."


    "Why do you guys hate me so much!? Because of you guys constantly accusing me of crimes I never did, my reputation is crap!" Everyone could hear the depressive tone of Nathan, although the effects of his words were falling on deaf ears. "I can''t get any good jobs, and I even lost my friends...my life has been shit, and now...you guys want to end it after branding me as a murderer!!"


    "NATHAN...TAKE HIM AWAY!" Judge Reid ordered in aggression.


    "YOU GUYS ARE JUST DOING THE SAME THING YOU''VE DONE TO MY PA--"


    "BANG!"


    Suddenly, the sound of an explosion followed by the shattering of glass interrupted Nathan''s ranting. Well, that wasn''t the only thing that interrupted him. It was more so that Judge Reid''s cranium was all over the judge''s desk.


    "Hu--" Before Nathan could rationalize what happened, everything devolved into chaos. Ear-piercing screams filled the courtroom along with escaping individuals, the jury members instinctively hiding beneath the jury desk, and even the officers guarding the door were distracted by the unfolding chaos. Suddenly, Officer Dan grabbed Nathan, attempting to put handcuffs around his wrists.


    "I have to secure you!" Officer Dan said.


    "Let me go!" Nathan demanded as he tried to escape from Officer Dan''s hold. "You won''t arrest m--" Nathan was once again cut short as blood splattered onto his face. It was not his blood, but the blood of Officer Dan as his head met the same fate as Judge Reid. Fright immediately came over Nathan, and he broke out in a cold sweat. "W-What the hell...wh--what''s going on?"


    In his natural instinct, Nathan reflexively hid under the bench. Hyperventilating, he tried to protect himself however he could.


    "BZZT...BZZT!"


    Nathan''s phone was ringing. Seeing the dire situation he was in, he obviously ignored it, however, a voice became audible from it.


    "...Hello, Nathan."

 Ch. 2 - Beginning Trial (Part 2)

    "Hello, Nathan"


    "Who the hell are you?" Nathan asked while frantically taking his phone out, visibly confused.


    "I doubt we have the time to explain who I am in this situation," the unknown person on the other side of the phone responded. "Just know that you are one of the lucky ones selected to be a part of my game."


    "Y-You killed those guys?"


    "Yep, also think of this as your beginning trial or the tutorial...that is, escaping this court."


    "Escaping this court, huh?" Nathan pondered. "On one hand, I''ve got you, who''s responsible for killing both the judge and Dan, telling me to escape, while on the other hand, I''ve got this whole court that wants me dead...dammit all...I never had a choice."


    "Yeah, choose wisely." The unknown man said. "I''m a pretty bad person, I may add."


    ...I just wanted...to get this trial over with...sigh...now I have to listen...to this murderer...


    Steeling himself, Nathan reached for the handgun on the holster of the now-deceased Officer Dan.


    I''m not going to shoot anyone...just want...protection.


    "I''m gonna hang up and leave you to this now," the unknown individual said.


    "Hey! Who told you to move!" Nathan''s unusual movements had attracted the attention of the other officers, who seemed to have controlled the chaotic behavior of the court members somewhat.


    "W-Wait--"


    "Oh, by the way...your phone will self-destruct in 3 seconds," the mysterious helper added.


    "What!"


    The officers were trying to maneuver around the fearful public members to grab the condemned, Nathan.


    "3...2...1--"


    Without hesitating, Nathan tossed the cell phone towards the police officers coming after him.


    "BOOM!"


    A loud bang filled the room as the makeshift explosive was directly in front of the officers, violently sending them and public members in range across the court. It was a dreadful scene in the courtroom. Numerous casualties and roasted bodies of the officers and public members littered around the court, benches and desks piled onto each other, and sheets of documents blown across the room as a result of the explosion. To add insult to injury, the efforts that the officers had made to try and calm everyone had been tossed out the window as the members, both unaffected and affected but not killed by the explosion, immediately reacted in screams of fright and agony.


    "Ugh...I didn''t expect that explosion to be so...strong. Shit...I didn''t mean for that...to happen." Nathan muttered as he broke out into sweat from panicking. The cries of every one were being drowned out by Nathan''s sudden onset of extreme anxiety coupled with hyperventilation, realizing that he could no longer go back to his original (but miserable) life. He had just killed people. However, in Nathan''s helpless state, a memory flashed in his mind.


    It was a dark and bloody memory, barely recognizable to anyone except Nathan. Instantly, however, the sweating ceased, and Nathan''s breathing had regulated. "Calm down, Nathan...these guys deserved it anyways," Nathan told himself.


    "RING RING!"


    Beside one of the deceased members was a ringing cell phone that attracted Nathan''s attention. "Huh? An unknown number again, with the same ring tone as my previous phone." Nathan pondered on the similarities of the phone call as it rang a couple more times. He finally decided to answer.


    "Yo, it''s me again, Nathan."


    "Tsk, of course, it''s you again," Nathan responded with annoyance.


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    "Yeah, I noticed you just killed a few people...you are a perfect character for my game, huh?"


    "You think this is a game?"


    "Of course it is...and for your stellar performance thus far, I decided to give you an ability of your choice to help you in your coming trials."


    "Huh?"


    "Don''t worry, no need to thank me...I''m just a normal guy."


    "What the hell do you mean ''ability of your choice''?" Nathan inquired. "I JUST KILLED PEOPLE AND YOU''RE TALKING ABOUT ABI--"


    "C''mon, stop wasting time and ask for something already...anything!" The unknown man demanded, clearly showing his disregard for Nathan''s mental state. Clenching his fist, Nathan was already fed up with the person on the other end of the phone, but he knew that he''d have to listen, especially after being forced to kill those cops.


    After contemplating for some moments, Nathan answered.


    "Fine then...there are some stuff in this court that could be useful...I want a way to store them, like an inventory, if this is a game, as you say."


    "Nice choice...done. You can store stuff you touch in a pocket dimension by thinking about it."


    "Try it." The unknown person suggested.


    Nathan agreed and stood over the dead officers. He grabbed the handgun of one, and like a magician performing a trick, it disappeared.


    "Do you like it?" The anonymous person asked but Nathan simply ignored him. He just wanted to leave this gruesome sight as soon as possible.


    With haste, Nathan proceeded to not only steal and store the handguns of the rest of the police, but also the furniture all over the room, including the benches, desks, and other equipment, leaving the interior of the courtroom empty.


    "Nice, you already understand how to use your newly gifted ability."


    "Mhmm."


    "Well, now I''m gonna leave you to it...see ya soon, bro."


    "This phone isn''t gonna blow up again, is it?" Nathan asked with suspicion written on his face.


    "Nah, not this time...don''t worry."


    "Okay," Nathan responded as he ended the call.


    With Officer Dan''s handgun, Nathan stepped around the bodies of the dead and injured and made his way outside.


    "P-Please...help me..." An injured pleaded to Nathan.


    Sorry, but I can''t help you. But I guess you guys wouldn''t either if it was me in this situation and not you.


    Steeling himself, Nathan ignored their pleas and left.


    "I need a car." Nathan thought.


    It seems as if luck was on his side, as the first thing he saw was Vanessa, the woman who gave her impact statement, frantically getting in her car to escape from the chaos unfolding. Nathan quickly darted up to her to stop her from fully entering her car.


    Sorry for this...but it''s not my fault...


    "Hey there...Vanessa, right?" Nathan said while grabbing her shoulder.


    "Ahh! Get away from me--"


    Before Vanessa could fully utter her disdain for Nathan''s proximity to her, her vision had been obscured by the handgun that Nathan was now pointing straight at her head.


    "Shut up and give me your keys, right now!" Nathan ordered. Understanding that her life was obviously in danger, Vanessa handed the keys to Nathan. "Thank you...oh, before I go..."


    Nathan both suddenly and violently pistol-whipped Vanessa right on her temple. All feeling had left Vanessa as she fell to the ground. "That''s for your slander towards me in your damn impact statement!" Nathan ended before entering the vehicle.


    "What a nice car...what is it, a BMW...must be nice having the luxury to buy something as expensive as this." Envious, Nathan cursed Vanessa before driving off.


    "Hey! It''s me once again!" The voice of the unknown benefactor was audible in the car.


    "What the...why are you on the radio!?" Nathan questioned him with surprise. "Why the hell are you everywhere!?"


    "Don''t worry about that. Good job on escaping the courtroom by the way."


    "I guess he won''t tell me how he can communicate through all these devices." Nathan realized.


    "Before you said that you didn''t need to blow up the phone you called me with for the second time...so why did you turn my original phone into a freaking grenade!?"


    "Don''t worry about that...besides, it did help you clear out those officers, right?"


    "Who the hell are you anyways! Why would you even do this to me!?"


    Then Nathan had a moment of realization.


    Wait...there''s no way Lilith would want to talk to me after this...I''m now...a murderer. With the help of this bastard, I lost the only person I cared about.


    The epiphany that Nathan had only brought depression to himself.


    "Your next step is simple, Nathan. Head over to 2064 Steuber Hill, West District." The unknown man said, ignoring his question.


    "Sigh...why do I have to listen to you...can''t I leave the country or something."


    "If you try that, you''ll die, and I won''t be able to save you," the unknown benefactor warned.


    "...I see. Fine then, I''ll play along, but it isn''t right that you know my name, and I don''t know who you are."


    "Oh, you can just call me the ''Developer'' since I am the developer of this game." He answered.


    Not really a name...but I''ll definitely use that to find you...


    "Okay, ''Developer''. I''m not sure where that address is."


    "Don''t worry, I sent it to the phone you currently have."


    Nathan checked the phone that he stole from the deceased, and just as the developer said, the address was on it in the form of GPS.


    "Well, that makes things easier," Nathan said with a sigh of relief.


    "I wonder," the developer responded.


    The blaring sounds of police sirens could be heard behind Nathan. The sirens only got louder as whatever was emitting the noise was getting closer. The worst part, however, was that the sounds were overlapping. Nathan looked through the side view mirror to confirm his suspicions. His suspicions were correct; police cars were chasing him...9 of them.


    "Tsk, dammit," Nathan uttered with frustration.


    "Well, here comes the hard part, Nathan."

 Ch. 3 - Beginning Trial (Part 3)

    "Shit. The cops are chasing me." Nathan said with nervousness in his tone. As the cops closed the distance on him, Nathan responded by speeding up. Skillfully, Nathan maneuvered around the traffic as he sped up.


    I''m sorry that those guys had to die...but I don''t want to go to prison!


    "You''re pretty good at driving even though you don''t own a car, huh?" The developer teased.


    "Just because I don''t own a car doesn''t mean I don''t know how to drive. Anyways, I need to shake off these guys." Nathan decided as he suddenly changed routes. This sudden decision was enough to split up the police cars as three of them missed the turn due to the speed at which they were going. The rest were still right on his tail, however.


    "That sorta worked," Nathan said as he looked through the side view mirror. However, his body suddenly received a hard jolt. The closest police car had driven into the back of his vehicle. "Damn! I''d be pissed if this was my vehicle...good thing it''s not." Nathan said as he sped up even more. He followed up by taking numerous turns to get rid of the cops.


    "AHH!!!!" Screams could be heard by many civilians as Nathan drove past them, nearly hitting some crossing as he passed through.


    With every turn, he damaged many properties on the sidewalks due to not perfectly turning with the level of speed he was going. Just like the civilians, other drivers were also at risk. Even something as simple as taking turns or driving at a green light was difficult for them as Nathan came darting through, disregarding the road code. Side view, mirrors, and other car parts of motorists had been damaged by Nathan''s reign of terror.


    SHIT! SORRY!


    "Lol, Nathan, you''re racking up a ton of property destruction, huh?"


    "DO YOU THINK I WANT TO CAUSE THIS!?"


    The reckless driving that Nathan was doing wasn''t in vain, however. The erratic turns he took seemed to prove effective as the cops were no longer chasing him.


    "Sigh...Finally." Nathan sighed with relief as he had finally lost the police pursuing him. "Let''s get back to finding my way to the place you told me about."


    Nathan began to drive slower as he checked the GPS on the stolen cell phone. As he checked, he heard the sirens from before.


    "What! How are they here already!?" Nathan said as he checked the side mirror to see that the cops were in pursuit of him again.


    "Look up." The developer suggested.


    "Huh?" Nathan uttered with confusion. Even before looking, he could hear thrumming sounds overhead. He looked up at the sky through the tilted side-view mirror, and immediately, the reason the cops found him so quickly was made clear to him. What he saw was a blue and white colored aerial vehicle, with ''POLICE'' on the tail end.


    "Oh my god...a police helicopter," Nathan said with frustration. "I''m starting to think you did this just to make this unnecessarily annoying for me!"


    "Nah, I didn''t." The developer replied.


    "Now that stupid chopper is gonna communicate to the cops my every location," Nathan said as he started to speed up again.


    "Yeah, now you must shake off that helicopter...I''m excited to see how you''ll do that." The developer said.


    I HATE THIS GUY SO MUCH! DOES HE HONESTLY THINK MY SUFFERING IS FUN!?


    Nathan entered a residential area and was now going over 100 mph, resulting in a high-speed chase. He had once again resorted to making numerous turns, which may have worked temporarily, but the cops would always find him. Like a bloodhound, the police helicopter never lost him once because of that bird''s eye view advantage.


    "He''s making his way to 304 Delta Avenue...now he''s heading over to 45 West Street. Take the left turn so you can catch him up, and don''t let him get away!" The pilot of the police helicopter kept exposing Nathan''s routes to the police cars through a communication device on the helicopter.


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    "DAMMIT! I can''t lose them because of that chopper!" Nathan shouted as he kept speeding up. However, straight up ahead, he saw cops parked on both sides of the road, setting spiked traps on the ground.


    "Shit!"


    Behind Nathan were cops still chasing him as well.


    "Oh my, what are you gonna do now, Nate?" The developer asked.


    AH, SCREW IT!


    Without responding, Nathan sped up even more. Without any hesitation, he drove right over the spikes. This act severely tore his tires, but he kept going. The police cars behind him stopped before driving over the spiked traps.


    "Damn...wait, he''s headed for the highway is just up ahead." the pilot of the helicopter told his comrades. Quickly, the police cars took shortcuts to catch back up to Nathan.


    "With those tires, they''ll catch you on the highway, Nathan." The developer warned him, but Nathan ignored it as he was focused, filled with adrenaline to the point of it showing on his expression.


    It took less than a minute for the police officers to catch up again. The entrance to the highway was less than 200 meters from Nathan.


    "I really hope this works..."


    Nathan opened the window of his car door and stuck his hand out. Suddenly, the furniture, light fixtures, and other equipment from the courtroom, began to materialize into existence.


    "What the--" An officer pursuing Nathan was immediately cut off by a large desk rolling into his vehicle. This strange occurrence caused some other police officers to take a drastic turn to avoid the debris, only to crash into their partners. The large amount of equipment caused a blockage in the road.


    Nathan could hear the sound of clapping in the car.


    "Amazing! What quick thinking using the stuff you stored like that...I''m so glad I chose you for my game!" The developer said as he complimented Nathan.


    "COULD YOU PLEASE, SHUT UP!" Nathan ordered, clearly having enough of the developer''s sadistic personality.


    Nathan sped up even more. He was going over 130 mph now. The rubber covering the rear tires had fully torn off, accompanied by a trail of sparks emitting from them.


    "Uh, Nathan, it''s kinda dangerous going that fast with those tires, ya know."


    "THIS WHOLE TIME I''VE BEEN DOING SOMETHING DANGEROUS, CAUSE OF YOU!" Nathan yelled. "Sigh...I''m taking a pretty big risk, I know too, but if I don''t, I''ll never get away from them," Nathan responded. He saw several cars up ahead also using the highway. Nathan caught up and then slowed down a little to drive at similar speeds to the driver behind the rest.


    "Oh my, what are you planning on doing now?" The developer asked. "I''m sure the police helicopter already communicated that you''re on this highway, so cops probably are waiting for you on the other side."


    "If this works, that won''t be a problem." Nathan assured him. What came ahead was a tunnel. Nathan immediately drove faster than the one he was following and went straight into the tunnel.


    "Damn, I lost sight of him because of a tunnel in the highway." The police pilot said. "I''ll wait for him to come out of it."


    The rubber had now fully torn off from all the wheels, causing sparks to appear from the front tires. When Nathan reached the middle of the tunnel, he decreased his speed significantly and waited for the guy he was following to enter the tunnel, which he did not too long after.


    "What the...is that guy''s wheels sparking?" The driver wondered. However, as he was about to drive past, Nathan suddenly turned his car and came in the way of the driver. "WHAT THE HELL!?" The driver shouted as he slammed the brakes. With a loud screech, he managed to stop just a few inches away from Nathan''s vehicle.


    "Please let this work..." Nathan pleaded.


    Just as he said this, the door of the driver flew open. A man in a white tank top and blue jeans exited. With balled-up fists, the driver had stepped out and angrily marched up to Nathan''s BMW.


    "HEY! What the hell is wrong with you!" The man shouted.


    "It worked," Nathan said before coming out of the BMW and confronting the man.


    "What if you had damaged my ca--" Before the man could finish his sentence, Nathan delivered a punch directly to his solar plexus, causing him to reflexively bend forward, all while coughing hysterically. Remorselessly, Nathan followed up by smacking him across the head with the handgun he stole from Officer Dan, immediately knocking him out.


    Hyperventilating from the rush of adrenaline, Nathan hopped into the man''s vehicle, reversed to gain distance from his original vehicle, and drove past the unconscious man.


    "Oh my god, Nathan." The developer''s voice was audible again on this vehicle''s radio. "No way you just did that."


    "Please...just shut...up..."


    He quickly exited the tunnel with the new car.


    "I see a car coming out." The helicopter pilot began using the communications device. "Wait, it''s not the white BMW...He might be stuck in the tunnel because his tires were sparking. He has no other option but to be caught now. I''ll wait here to see if he tries to leave on foot."


    Roughly half an hour later, the cops finally got up to the tunnel. They were expecting to find Nathan as the helicopter pilot had not given any communication that he had run on foot. However, the only thing they found was the damaged white BMW and the unconscious man lying on the ground.


    "What...the hell?" A cop said with a look of confusion.


    And just like that, Nathan was long gone.


    "You don''t know how excited I am, Nate." The developer said.


    "Why are you excited?" Nathan asked with a monotonous tone.


    "I''m so excited to have someone as smart and quick-thinking as you as one of my game characters!"


    "What the hell is this goddamned game you''re talking about?"


    "Don''t worry, I''ll explain when you get there."


    Ugh...sigh.


    "Uh-huh...I''m tired." Nathan said.


    "Don''t worry, you''re almost there. Oh, also, there will be five other game characters."


    "I see...sigh."


    Only 5 minutes later, Nathan had arrived at his destination. He parked the car and got out.


    "Huh, a warehouse?" Nathan asked, looking surprised.

 Ch. 4 - Party Introduction

    "This is the destination, right?"


    "Yes, obviously. Why would I give you the wrong destination?" The developer asked as he communicated through Nathan''s stolen cell phone.


    Nathan looked around and saw numerous trucks parked around the scheme.


    "Hurry up and head in the base already!" The developer ordered impatiently.


    He obeyed and went up to the heart of the entire place, the warehouse, but was confronted by someone. From their figure, it looks like a man of similar height to Nathan. They were wearing a black military combat uniform and their face was covered by a red, radiant visor that complemented his neck-length black hair.


    "Who the hell are you?" The figure asked in a heavily muffled voice.


    "Uhm, I''m--"


    "Let me speak to him, Nate." The developer interjected.


    "Uh...here." Nathan awkwardly said as he handed the phone to him.


    "Let this guy in. He''s one of my game characters."


    "Oh, developer! My apologies, right this way." The unknown individual said as he handed his phone back. He placed his thumb on what looked to be a fingerprint scanner in the warehouse. The scanner flashed green, and the door began rolling upwards immediately. When it had rolled up sufficiently, Nathan went inside.


    "Who the heck was that anyways," Nathan asked the developer.


    "Just an NPC."


    "Tsk...can you stop it with your damn game talk!"


    "But what else should I call the game character--." Not allowing him to finish, Nathan hung up the phone.


    "That''s enough of that sadist," Nathan said as he looked around the warehouse. Inside was empty except for a large flat-screen television on the wall and four other individuals, two men and two women, each standing around.


    "Huh, another one''s here." One of the women said.


    Suddenly, the television switched on. ''Audio Only'' was the only thing on display.


    "Hello, everyone, it''s the developer yet again...yeah, I''m sure you missed me."


    "No, we didn''t." The woman from before said.


    "...Well, it seems that everyone''s here now. Why don''t you all get to know your fellow party members, as you''ll all be working together."


    "Didn''t you say there would be five other people here and not four?" Nathan asked.


    "Oh, don''t worry about that, the last guy is just...caught up with something...you''ll meet him later. For now, just get acquainted with everyone else."


    "Fine...well, my name is Nathan Hayes, I guess."


    "Wow, really? You''re that Nathan Hayes?" One of the men inquired with excitement written on his face. He was extremely tall and very muscular. His chocolate-colored skin went well with his brown hair. He was shirtless but was wearing black sneakers and cargo pants.


    "What do you mean I''m that Nathan Hayes?" Nathan asked with a confused expression.


    "You''re the one that killed those bastards and escaped the cops! That was awesome, bro!"


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    When Charles said that, Nathan''s expression immediately changed from confusion to annoyance.


    How the hell would he know about th--, I bet that developer bastard broadcasted the events to them in real time. Seeing as how insane he is, I wouldn''t put that past him.


    "It wasn''t even on purpose, but whatever," Nathan muttered. "Anyways, who might you guys be...what''s all your deals?"


    "My name''s Charles Warner! The main reason I came here is to fight strong people. I love fighting!" The muscular man said enthusiastically.


    "Charles Warner...where have I heard that name before." Nathan thought to himself. "What about the rest of you guys?"


    "My name is Ada Foster, but you can call me Ada. Let''s all get along!" Her tone was polite, and she had a friendly smile as she spoke. Ada was an average but beautiful woman. She wore a red tight dress which not only accentuated her curvatures but also complimented her platinum blond hair color. She was the type of beauty that would come to a man''s mind when they heard the word beautiful.


    "...Wait a second, these guys..." Nathan continued thinking.


    "I...am Olivia Gray. Nice to...meet you, Nathan." Olivia softly spoke while averting the gaze of everyone. Olivia, unlike Ada, seemed to be reserved, from her way of speech to even her choice of clothing. She wore a black jacket, blue jeans, and a pair of mid-length boots.


    Nathan''s breathing sped up as he started to sweat. "These guys are--"


    "Hello...mate." The last individual said. His whole attire was a monotonous color of white. He wore an overcoat with a dress shirt on the inside. He was complete with a size-fit dress pants and ankle-length boots. Even his skin was pale, like that of an albino. Everything, even his mid-length hair - also white.


    Upon seeing him, Nathan''s body was slightly trembling.


    These guys...are actual criminals...


    "My name''s Jack Knight. I saw you-- Huh?" Jack said as he noticed Nathan''s panicked state. "Bloody hell..." Jack said as he started to smile. He came closer to Nathan.


    "You guys...are all criminals...right?"


    "Of course...we''re just like you," Jack answered. "Also, if you''re gonna team up with me or whatever...then you can''t be showing any fear, mate...I might want to kill ya for it!" Jack''s smile turned to a sadistic one.


    Everyone was looking at Nathan and Jack in confusion.


    Come on, Nathan, calm down. This is your life now...you can''t escape it, so at least try your best to adapt.


    Quickly, Nathan''s breathing regulated and his trembling stopped.


    "Heh, brilliant! Good job, Nathan!" Jack sarcastically congratulated him.


    Nathan looked at his fellow ''comrades'' as he seemed to be analyzing them.


    So first, we have Charles, the battle-crazed killer. On the news, they said he loves fighting strong opponents more than anything. Charles won''t be too problematic.


    Then there''s Olivia and Ada. I remember seeing them on the news a while back, but I can''t remember what they did, and I don''t trust the politeness of that woman.


    Nathan then glanced at Jack, who wasn''t paying attention anymore.


    None of them, however, is as much of a problem as this guy. Everyone knows about you, Jack the Ripper.


    "Well, good job everyone! Now you all got to know the names of your fellow party members." The developer chimed in. "Now that introduction''s out of the way, it''s time for your reward for escaping the cops, Nathan."


    Another reward?


    The warehouse door began rolling up, attracting the attention of everyone. When it rolled up enough, it revealed a van with its trunk opened. The ''NPC'' from earlier also exited the van.


    "Come and get your reward, Nathan." The ''NPC'' said.


    Nathan obliged and went up. When he got looked closer, he saw numerous weapons of many types in the van. Several knives, guns, and even explosives were in the trunk.


    "What the..." Nathan, with a surprised look on his face.


    "Even though it''s not the best, they will be useful. They are all yours, Nate."


    "Wow! So many weapons!" Ada said, with sparkling eyes.


    "I could use some of those knives...they look pretty sharp," Jack added.


    Nathan sighed and quickly grabbed the weapons, storing them all.


    "What the! How did you do that? Are you a magician!?" Charles exclaimed.


    "Maybe I am."


    "There''s one more thing for you." The ''NPC'' said. He opened the passenger side and handed some gear to Nathan.


    "Thanks...I guess."


    Nathan quickly changed his clothing in a private area and returned. When he returned, the van had been moved and the ''NPC'' was no longer there.


    He was now wearing a grey tactical vest and cargo pants. Underneath his vest was a black dress shirt.


    "Oh my!" Ada exclaimed.


    "Not bad!" Charles complimented.


    Nathan was looking at himself using the camera on his cell phone.


    Why am I going to need all these anyways.


    "Heavily reinforced gear. You should be thanking me for investing this much in a game character. Well, that''s to be expected, as I''ll need you to level up, Nate."


    "Oh yeah...I forgot to tell you, developer."


    "Yeah, what''s up, Nate?" The developer asked.


    "Don''t you dare call me ''Nate'' anymore...we were not and never will be that close."


    "Haha, I see...okay, Mr. Nathan." The developer said, retaining his playful demeanor. "But anyways, now that all that is out of the way...let''s get down to business."

 Ch. 5 - New Life

    At roughly the same time Nathan was getting acquainted with his party, the officers he had escaped from had returned to their station. They gathered in an office with someone around a desk staring daggers at them. He didn''t break eye contact and was silent for at least 5 minutes. The tension was so palpable that even the officers were sweating in fear.


    Finally, he decided to speak.


    "So, you mean to tell me that not only did you guys let him commit numerous crimes, but you also let him get away...even though there was a lot of you guys and even a police helicopter?" He asked.


    There was no response because the cops feared what was to come.


    "So, no one''s gonna answer, huh."


    "B-But sergeant, h--"


    "SHUT THE HELL UP, YOU USELESS IDIOT!!!" Shouted the sergeant, not giving the cop a chance to speak. "HOW THE HELL COULD YOU LET NATHAN OF ALL PEOPLE ESCAPE! DO YOU IDIOTS KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS...DO YOU!?"


    All the cops were scared as the sergeant was mercilessly chewing them out, banging his hands violently on the desk and insulting them for their failures.


    "S-Sergeant...I-If I may..." The pilot of the police helicopter from the car chase began speaking.


    "WHAT!?"


    "Y-you remember the c-criminals Ada Foster and Olivia Gray had recently escaped...since the news of their escape ha...has been covered up...and Nathan had committed the crimes he did in the court and the car chase...we can use him as a scapegoat for any crimes those girls may commit." His speech was stuttered from his fright, but the sergeant understood him.


    The sergeant was staring at him as if processing the pilot''s suggestion.


    "Hmm...yes, criminals like them are likely to be hiding their whereabouts to avoid being caught...all we just need to do is capture them quickly and pin any crime they may do on Nathan...along with all the others he''s done in the past." The sergeant said as he was smiling. "Fine then...I''ll give you guys one more chance...don''t mess it up, idiots...you may go now."


    "T-Thank you, sir!" They responded before leaving the office.


    The sergeant leaned back in his chair with a big smile. "Ha...I didn''t think of that before. Thank god that it wasn''t criminals like Jack the Ripper that escaped. Well, that would be impossible for him, though. But as bad as things turned out, I thank you, Nathan, for committing all those crimes."


    "You guys ready to know why you were chosen for my game now?" The developer asked as the scene flipped back to Nathan and his new group.


    "Stop beating around the bush and just spit it out already!" Nathan ordered.


    "Fine, fine, you don''t have to be so impatient..." The developer responded in a low tone. "You guys will have to destroy the security of the country, which includes the military and other law enforcement."


    "Oh!?" Jack and Charles, seemingly in sync, exclaimed with big smiles.


    "What...why exactly?" Nathan asked.


    "That information isn''t important right now. Just do as I said, like a good game character. Besides, don''t you hate how corrupted this country is, Nathan? Don''t you resent them for causing you to have such a hard life?" The developer asked.


    "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU SAY!?" Nathan snapped, much to the shock of his party. " YOU FORCED ME TO KILL PEOPLE AND NOW YOU''RE TELLING ME TO KILL EVEN MORE!? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!?"


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    "Heh...what if I am?" The developer asked. "Can you even do anything about it now, murderer?" Upon hearing that, Nathan widened his eyes. "Since I''m the one that saved you from the death sentence, at least try to be helpful, won''t you?"


    W-Why...why me...always...?


    "Can we kill as many people as possible?" Jack asked, ignoring Nathan''s outburst.


    "Can I fight all the strong guys?" Charles added.


    "I don''t care what you guys do...all you need to do is destroy the country''s security, so you all will just need to use any means necessary. Plus, game characters should have some fun while completing missions anyway." The developer answered.


    "Well, if that''s the case, then I think we should choose a leader." Ada chimed in. "I think I have what it takes to be the leader."


    "Oh yeah, all parties have a leader. Good idea, Ada." The developer said.


    "I don''t care, as long as I get to kill people, then fair play, love," Jack responded.


    "Same for me. I don''t care as long as I get to fight strong people so you can be the leader." Charles agreed.


    "Y-you can...be the leader, Ada." Olivia stuttered.


    "What about you, Nathan?" Ada asked.


    "...Do what you want, Ada. I don''t care." Nathan coldly said, as he was still stunned by what he had to do.


    Ada looked at Nathan strangely for a split second, which he noticed.


    "Well, that settles it...I''m the leader, guys! I''ll make sure to be an amazing leader!" Ada said, full of energy in her gestures.


    "Nathan should be tired from his long drive, so I''ll give you guys some rest. I''ll return in a few hours to give you your first in-game mission. You can watch the television in the meantime." The developer said before tuning out.


    "Wonder what''s on the TV," Charles said as he turned it on. It went straight to the news channel.


    ''BREAKING NEWS!'' This sudden alert garnered the attention of the group.


    "Good evening, my name is Ashley, and today we have a very wild and calamitic turn of events. Nathan Hayes, who was originally convicted of a triple murder and was sentenced to die earlier today, has turned not only the courtroom but also the state of Washington, into a disaster."


    "Hey Nathan, they''re talking about you! You''re famous!" Charles, congratulating him on his ''achievements.''


    "Sigh."


    "Numerous casualties and property damage was caused by one man, Nathan...Sergeant John has made a public statement, revealing the details."


    The news team switched from Ashley and started playing the public statement by Sergeant John (this was the same man that had cursed out his police team on their failure).


    "Good evening. Before I reveal the details, I want everyone to know who caused it." Sergeant John said as a display of Nathan''s face appeared on-screen beside him, "His name is Nathan Hayes, twenty-four years old, six feet three inches. He is of white ethnicity. Nathan''s hair is black with a mid-length hairstyle. Please, if you see this man, call the nearest police station immediately.


    Today, at approximately 3:35 pm, the disaster was started by the killing of Judge Donald Reid and Officer Dan Samuels. They were sniped, and according to investigation, Nathan had planned with the unknown assassin to carry out the sniping."


    You damn liar...


    Throughout the statement, pictures of the crime scenes in the court and on different roads Nathan sped on were displayed.


    "Nathan followed by using a smuggled explosive, which unfortunately took the lives of guarding officers along with numerous innocent court members. He likely proceeded to violently attack Vanessa Carter stole her white 2024 BMW M8 and drove off where he was pursued by cops. In that pursuit, he committed a large amount of road violations and endangered numerous civilians in the car chase. Despite their best efforts, however, Nathan managed to evade capture."


    As Nathan was listening, a sudden onset of depression came over him.


    "Even though this could have been avoided with better procedures such as making sure he never had explosives or had more cops on the outside of the court...you guys have my word, we will capture this criminal and bring him to justice once and for all."


    This breaking news was live, which meant it was broadcast to everyone. Lilith was no exception, as she was watching it on her phone on the same bench she sat with Nathan when he visited her in the morning.


    "N...no, t-this isn''t true, right Nathan? Please tell me this isn''t true, Nathan!" Lilith begged, visibly shocked on her face. "Y-you said that...you''d see me after work...Nathan." Lilith was forcing back tears as she watched.


    "You''re pretty cool, huh, Nathan!?" Charles excitedly asked.


    "Yeah...I mean, I''d have tried to off more buggers, but still, brilliant work!" Jack added.


    Ah, I see. I''m sure Lilith is watching this. It would be stupid to hope that she wouldn''t believe anything they say when in her eyes, there''s actual evidence. It seems this is my new life. Going from a shit life...to a life of murder. It doesn''t matter what I do now.


    Nathan had a look of defeat.


    But as much as I hate this bastard developer. I admit it. Sergeant John, you''re one of the people I have to pay back, while I''m at it.

 Ch. 6 - The Debut (Part 1)

    After seeing the events of the news and having his epiphany, Nathan sat in the corner of the warehouse, with depression written on his face. After the news ended, Charles and Jack switched to an action movie which they were engrossed in. Currently (in the film), a man was confronting another in a ruined area, littered with bodies.


    "You decided to come up here just to try and kill me...what a foolish decision, Kevin." The man criticized ''Kevin'' as he confronted him.


    "You...you will pay for everything that you''ve done to me...I will end this right h--."


    "Hello, my characters. I hope you had a good rest." The developer said, as the television immediately switched to the black screen with the words ''Audio Only'' like earlier.


    "What the hell! It got to the good part!" Charles protested.


    "It''s time for your mission now, guys!" He said as he ignored Charles. "Let''s call it...''The Debut''. Yeah, that''s a pretty nice name."


    "What are we going to do exactly," Nathan asked.


    "I''m glad you asked, Nathan. I''m sure you know, Jack and Charles, that the world thinks you guys are either dead or imprisoned, never to be released, but they''re wrong. You are the main villains here, and you''ll make your debut!"


    There was complete silence in the room. A look of cringe was on Ada''s face, with Charles coughing awkwardly.


    "Wait, they don''t have any idea?" Nathan asked.


    "Nope, that''s gonna be a major part of the ''Wow'' factor."


    "I see...so, does our ''debut'' need to be violent or not."


    Maybe I shouldn''t have asked that.


    "Wow, Nathan, I''m surprised you aren''t against the idea of being known by the world that you''re allying with psychos like these."


    "...I''ve resolved myself because I know how much of a sadist you can be. Besides, law enforcement will likely pin the crimes these guys do on me. That''s the kind of people they are."


    The developer chuckled. "Haha, I love your rationalization, Nathan." he continued, "Don''t worry. You guys will help retrieve some cargo at a specific location. I''ll probably rate the difficulty of this as B class."


    "Sigh...doesn''t sound like there will be a whole lot of killing," Jack said in a downtrodden tone.


    "Give us the location and we''ll go there immediately," Ada said, responding to the developer.


    "Yeah, I sent it on Nathan''s phone. Also, a car will be there for you guys to travel."


    Oh, it''s good that I won''t have to use that stolen car...unless the car he''s bringing is also stolen.


    Nathan checked, and the location was on his phone via GPS.


    Ada''s facial expression went sour for a second but reverted quickly.


    "Okay, guys, let''s do this!" Ada is full of energy.


    They were let out of the warehouse by the ''developer claimed'' ''NPC'' and a black sedan parked in the way for them.


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    "Nathan, you seem like a good driver...wanna drive?" Ada suggested.


    "...Okay." He responded as the ''NPC'' gave him the car keys, allowing him to open and start the car. Jack, Charles, and Ada sat at the backseats while Olivia called shotgun.


    "So Charles, why do you only choose to be shirtless?" Ada asked, starting up a conversation.


    "It''s obvious. These muscles are proof of my strength! Covering them up is an insult!"


    "I agree. I think you should always be proud of your muscles, Charles!"


    "Yeah! I''m glad you got me!" Charles happily exclaimed.


    "No problem! What about you, Jack. I think I know, but why do you wear all white clothing?"


    "Because I can see the blood on me more clearly when I kill people...it''s as simple as that," Jack responded.


    "Oh my! I hope you don''t kill little ol'' me too!" Ada playfully pleaded.


    "Hmm...probably not."


    While the back was full of conversations, jokes, and even laughs at times, the front was cold in comparison. Nathan was focusing on driving, and Olivia seemed to be staring out the window. Other than the contrasting interactions between the back and the front, nothing much happened on the way there.


    It took them around half an hour to reach their destination - a warehouse with a scheme similar to the original one Nathan and his group met up in.


    "So this is where we should help retrieve the cargo?" Ada asked. "Who are we helping, and what''s the cargo that we should be collecting exactly?"


    Nathan saw a couple of people talking near the warehouse. "Let''s ask them, maybe they''ll know."


    They approached the two men conversing but realized they were arguing.


    "What the hell do you mean I still have to wait? I''ve been waiting for freaking days!" one said to the other. "I don''t care what the developer or whatever he''s called has said to you! He told me to pick up the ''goods'' so, give me it!!!"


    "Um, excuse me," Ada interjected.


    "Hu--" before he could continue, like a bright light, he was blinded by Ada''s beauty. "Uh...what do you need, miss?" He said, with an instant switch of his tone to politeness.


    "Sorry, I couldn''t help but notice that, you were speaking about the developer?" She responded.


    "Congrats, everyone! You''ve completed the hidden part of this mission!" The developer said as he spoke through Nathan''s phone. "The entire party is together now!"


    "What?" Everyone said in sync.


    "That''s Zack Isaac, the sixth member of your group...there''s no way you guys could have made your debut with someone missing."


    As the developer spoke, the man whom Zack was previously arguing with opened the warehouse.


    "Who''s the other guy?" Nathan asked the developer.


    "That''s NPC #2, but you can call him the communication specialist, or C. Specialist for short." He had a blue business suit and tie and the same red mask as the NPC, but it wasn''t glowing.


    So why does he have an actual moniker, unlike the first guy?


    "Oh...uh, hello everyone...didn''t expect to be meeting like this." Zack awkwardly said. Zack was a relatively tall man with a brown, buzzcut hairstyle and wearing blue overalls.


    "Hey Zack, I''m Charles. Are you strong!?" Charles asked, but before Zack could answer, Nathan interrupted.


    "Since we got that out of the way, let''s hurry up, get the cargo and leave."


    Everyone agreed and went inside. In the warehouse was only one thing, a trailer truck.


    "That''s the cargo, guys, but be careful...it is stuffed with explosives."


    "Explosives!?" Zack asked with excitement."


    "Yup."


    "We came this far for explosives?" Nathan asked.


    "Well...I think it would be a waste to lose them."


    "What do you mean a was--"


    The sounds of police sirens were audible outside.


    "What the hell?" Zack said, understandably confused.


    "The reason why I wanted to retrieve this was because of this exact reason. Sources told me that this warehouse had attracted a lot of heat from the cops."


    "Shit..." Nathan muttered.


    I don''t want to go to prison...


    Simultaneously, a large number of cops stormed into the warehouse. They were equipped with firearms such as pistols and assault rifles.


    "Everyone freeze and put your hands where we can see them!" One demanded. None of them listened, however. "What the hell are you guys waiting for? We will not ask a third ti--" The cop was interrupted by the sight of Jack. "Wait...is that--"


    He never got to finish his sentence, unfortunately, as his head had suddenly separated from his body, without any warning. Like a fountain, blood was excessively spewing from his neck, forming a pool as the corpse hit the ground. The sudden change of events left both the cops and the party completely shocked.


    However, the perpetrator was realized as Jack was standing over, holding a bloody knife, and covered in the blood of the now deceased cop.


    "Ah...so this is what he meant by debuting...I love this idea!"

 Ch. 7 - The Debut (Part 2)

    "Ah...so this is what he meant by debuting...I love this idea!"


    "Shit...G-Get to the truck!!!" Nathan urgently ordered, and they wasted no time to listen. Olivia seemed to be trembling in fear.


    Immediately, the cops began firing at Jack in retaliation for murdering their comrade, but he seemingly disappeared. As if teleporting, he appeared behind the backs of the cops.


    "Too slow, buggers!" Jack said with a sadistic smile.


    Before the cops could turn around, a few had met the same fate as the first cop and had gotten decapitated.


    Nathan and the others hadn''t started the truck yet but had kept the doors open to protect them from stray bullets.


    "Zack, you can drive this truck, right?" Nathan asked.


    "Yeah, but why--"


    "Good, here''s the keys to the truck, Zack. You ladies should go in the truck too, quickly!" Nathan said as he was pushing Olivia and Ada in. Ada seemed to be scowling, however. "Keep the doors open!"


    At the same time, Jack was ruthlessly slaughtering the cops by himself. Some tried to fire at him, but it was futile as he moved too fast for them to get a good aim. Even in the low chance that he ended up in a bullet''s path, he would deflect it with his bloody knife, all with a sadistic smile on his face.


    As Zack started the vehicle, Nathan ran around from the back of the trailer and met up with Charles, who was behind the door on the other side of the truck.


    "I''m surprised, ugh...you aren''t...fighting with Jack." Nathan stuttered his words due to flinching from stray bullets hitting the truck door.


    "Those guys aren''t strong. It''s a waste of time," Charles responded.


    "I''m ready now!" Zack shouted.


    "Go, go, go!!!"


    Zack immediately started driving the truck. Nathan and Charles kept behind the still-open door. They could keep up as it hadn''t accelerated enough yet.


    "Oh, they''re driving it now," Jack said as he moved out of the way, along with the remaining cops who were still alive. Zack had run over the bodies of cops that had been killed by Jack, turning them into a bloody mess. Nathan immediately looked away to avoid too much trauma.


    Freaking hell...did you have to drive over them...


    They got the truck on the outside.


    "Keep going!" Nathan said as he equipped an Ak-47 from his spatial inventory. The cops that were on the outside immediately started firing at the truck. They were beside their police cars, likely keeping on standby in case the enemies tried to escape to the outside, which was happening now.


    "The cops are focused on the truck..." Nathan thought as he aimed at the cops.


    Suddenly, the memories of Lilith came in his mind, causing him to lower his weapon. But as he fully lowered it, he remembered the developer.


    You''ll die if you don''t listen to me, Nathan.


    "Ah...screw you..."


    Suddenly, he began to shoot them with the AR. He picked them off with immense precision. Before the cops could fully process what happened, the truck had sufficiently picked up speed and rammed through the group of police cars, heavily injuring other cops. Nathan and Charles used the opportunity to hide behind one of the cops'' cars.


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    "Are their bullets so weak that they couldn''t damage the truck that much?" Charles asked.


    "I''d assume that if you''re carrying explosives, you''d want the vehicle to have some kind of protection," Nathan explained while taking peeks from the car he was hiding to shoot at the surviving cops. "We need to get to the sedan we came in so we can leave...Jack should be here any minute--"


    Jack walked up out of the warehouse. His white clothing had been dyed red from the blood of the cops.


    "Don''t think I forgot about you, buggers!" Jack said as he instantly appeared in front of a cop. Frightened, he tried to shoot Jack, but both his hands had been slashed off.


    "AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!" The cop shrieked in pain.


    "HAHAHA! SCREAM MORE!!!" Jack shouted.


    His screams were only for a brief moment, however, as Jack slit his throat. That garnered the surviving cops'' attention as they desperately fired at him, which he easily evaded.


    "Now''s our time," Nathan said as he made his way to the sedan, which Charles followed. They successfully got in and started up the car.


    "So, we''re just gonna leave Jack?" Charles asked.


    "Did you forget who Jack is?" Nathan asked as he drove off. "To kill Jack, they''d have to get way more things than cops...they''re just his plaything right now."


    What Nathan said was right, as Jack quickly killed off the remaining cops. It was a gruesome sight as corpses were littered everywhere. He turned to the last cop, who was leaning on a police car, trembling at the side of Jack, who was approaching him.


    "D-Don''t come...any closer!" The cop stuttered as he was aiming at Jack with a revolver. The gun was not steady in his hand though, as he was shaking from intense fear. Jack, however, appeared right in front of him.


    "HAHAHA!! I LOVE THE LOOK OF FEAR ON YOUR FACE!" Jack stated ecstatically. The cop got frightened and fired at Jack, but despite being at point-blank range, Jack deflected the bullet with his knife. He then proceeded to kick the gun out of his hand. The force of the kick knocked the cop to the ground "Bloody hell, I didn''t think you''d have the guts to shoot, mate...I let my guard down for a second."


    "D...don''t kill me." The cop pleaded.


    "Man, you are lucky...I was planning on leaving the last guy to spread the word, and you''re the last one, so..."


    "W-what...word?"


    "The word that Jack the Ripper is back, mate...and he has some guys he''s working with for the time being," Jack answered. "Be sure to not let me see you again, or I''ll finish you without a second thought."


    Jack saw the C. Specialist from before, standing on a parked truck, with a digital camera. "Huh?" He disappeared and appeared in front of him. "What the hell are you doing?" Jack said, with bloodshot eyes.


    "Oh, I''m doing what the developer told me. To record the debut of you guys and upload it to the media."


    "Oh, So that''s why you''re called C. Specialist," Jack said, as his eyes lost the bloodshot and with a polite tone. "Wait, does that mean I don''t have to keep that cop alive?" Jack asked while pointing at the cop, still frozen on the ground from fear.


    "Not rea--" Before the C. Specialist could say anything, Jack had already thrown his knife. It flew through the air at extreme speeds and ended up right in the head of the officer, instantly killing him.


    "Make sure you spread it all over, mate." With a muffled bang, Jack disappeared.


    "...So fast." The C. Specialist said.


    Jack had caught up to Nathan and sat in the backseat. With the goods successfully retrieved, the party returned to the original location.


    "Well done guys. You''ve completed the mission. Although it was only B rank, I''ll give you guys a 9/10." The developer congratulated them as they got out of their respective vehicles.


    "I need new clothes," Jack said.


    "No problem. Also, I''m sure you guys are hungry, so I got my NPC to get some food for your hard work."


    The NPC came up with a bag of boxed meals.


    "Aww, yeah! I was getting pretty hungry now!" Charles exclaimed.


    They proceeded to eat their given meals. Jack was brought to an area where he could wash the blood off and change into his new clothing, similar to what he wore before. After eating, Nathan decided to go back inside the sedan.


    "I''m...tired," Nathan muttered as he reclined the passenger seat and rested on it.


    Sigh, I killed more people today. The memories are replaying in my head...It''s gonna take a while before I get used to it...


    It didn''t take too long for him to fall asleep after shutting his eyes.


    Throughout the night, residents all over the country received a video. The video reached every device and was soon all over on social media. The scene changed to Sergeant John, who was doing paperwork in the dead of night when he received an email.


    "Huh, an email this late," he wondered. He opened it and saw that it was from an unknown sender, containing a video attachment. "Huh...?" He opened the video and his confused expression immediately turned to one of horror as he watched. It was the video of the party''s ''debut''.


    "W-What is this!?"

 Ch. 8 - Realization

    In the early dawn, law enforcement was the first to respond to the video. Police officers had shown up on the scene of the party''s debut.


    "My god..." One police officer muttered upon the sight of the murdered officers.


    As the sun rose, so did the civilians'' reactions to the uploaded video on social media.


    "Was I the only one that saw the video of some of the worst criminals we have teaming up and killing cops?" A post on social media said.


    "Didn''t the state ensure that Jack would be unable to interact with society? Didn''t they say that they would ensure that Nathan was dealt with? What the hell is this video then?" Another post said.


    It rapidly became one of the most trending topics on social media, as even people globally were reacting to it.


    Sergeant John was in his office viewing these posts on social media. He seemingly had a blank expression on his face as he read them. The cops he reamed at before were also standing in his office, their expressions timid.


    "Good morning, I am Garfield Gregory, bringing you the 7 am news," the reporter announced as he turned on the television in his office.


    "An anonymously sent video titled ''The Debut'' has spread across many media platforms over 6 hours ago and is currently being talked about everywhere. If you haven''t seen the video yet, the reason for its widespread recognition is far more scary than you could imagine."


    Images of Jack, Charles, Ada, Olivia, Zack, and Nathan appeared on screen. "Mass murderer Jack Knight, battle-crazed killer Charles Warner, cult leader Ada Foster, poisoner Olivia Gray, bomb terrorist Zack Isaac, and most recently murderer and cop killer Nathan Hayes...these people who were supposed to be locked away from society are now seemingly working together, taking the lives of police officers."


    They showed the scene where the debut took place. "We have seen some posts on social media speculating that the video title''s name, the debut, meant that the criminals were debuting their alliance. Now, if that''s the case, the question is, how could these heinous criminals be back in our society again? If the state knows about their escape, how long were they aware, and why did they withhold this information from the w--" Sergeant John switched off the TV.


    Deafening silence filled the room for a few seconds.


    "So...could someone explain to me what I just saw." John began talking. "Because I could have sworn that the only escapees we knew of were Ada and Olivia."


    "I-I have no id--"


    "SHUT YOUR MOUTH! I DON''T WANT TO HEAR ANYTHING FROM YOU!!!" John shouted as he got up, cutting the cop off from speaking. "NOTHING COULD BE WORSE THAN THIS! WE JUST KNEW ABOUT THOSE WOMEN ESCAPING! WHY THE HELL IS JACK AND CHARLES TEAMING UP WITH PEOPLE ANYWAYS!!"


    "Sir..." The police helicopter pilot responded.


    "DAMN IT! NOW THE MEDIA IS GONNA BLAME US FOR SOMETHING THAT WASN''T EVEN OUR FAULT!"


    "Sergeant John..."


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    "AND THE THING THAT MAKES ME EVEN ANGRIER IS THE FACT THAT PIECE OF CRAP, NATHAN, IS IN THE MIDDLE OF ALL THI--"


    "SERGEANT JOHN." The pilot shouted, surprising everyone in the room, including John. "DON''T YOU THINK THAT IT''S TIME WE STOP FOCUSING ON NATHAN AND START HELPING!"


    "...Huh?" With a look of surprise, John responded to his sudden shouting.


    "EVERYONE''S REALIZED THAT OLIVIA AND ADA ARE OUT...AND THAT''S THE LEAST OF EVERYONE''S WORRIES NOW!"


    The other cops were sweating as they listened to the pilot''s verbal attack on Sergeant John.


    "WE''VE GOT PEOPLE LIKE JACK AND CHARLES OUT BY GOD KNOWS HOW...AND THEY''RE TEAMED UP WITH THE ESCAPEES AND NATHAN! WE SHOULD FIX OUR MISTAKES AND GET HELP FROM THE MILITARY!" He concluded.


    John stared at him for a second. The pilot was sweating from fear but kept a contrasting expression of determination. "Yeah, you''re right. I should fix my mistakes."


    "Oh? I''m glad you understand--" Before he could finish, John took a pistol from his jacket, and without hesitation, he shot the pilot in the head, killing him execution style. That caused the other cops to instinctively jump back.


    "SHIT!" A cop shouted in reaction to the situation.


    "Yeah, I need to fix my mistakes, as you said. But never should you speak to your superior like that, bastard." John said as he casually put back his pistol in his jacket.


    "Everyone realized this, so I should take advantage of the situation and get help...I''m sure the military would help a previously high-ranking officer in the army."


    As he was talking, a blood pool formed from the pilot''s head. "What are you guys waiting for...clean that up before it completely messes up my carpet." Afraid of meeting the same fate, they hastily obeyed. He sat back with a happy smile in his seat as they took the body out and got cleaning supplies.


    Against people like Jack and Charles especially, using normal police officers will be wasting resources anyway. We need super soldiers, and I''m sure the military will be happy to help me with that.


    * * *


    It was a rowdy scene. A large group of civilians were standing around what seemed to be a gallows. On it, were two individuals, a man and a woman, each with bags covering their faces.


    "Hurry up and kill them!" A civilian demanded.


    "Yeah! We don''t need people like them in our society!" Another shouted in agreement to the first person.


    An individual, dressed presumably as an executioner put the nooses around their necks. The cheers of the crowd could be heard as he tightened the ropes.


    "Yeah! Do it!!!"


    He pulled a lever, and they fell through the floor, causing the cheers to increase in intensity. Then the scene got engulfed in light.


    Nathan had awoke to the sun rays beaming through the car window, into his eyes. He rubbed his eyes and sat up.


    "Ugh...I had that stupid dream again..." Nathan muttered. He exited the sedan and noticed that everyone was in the warehouse, so he decided to check on them.


    "Oh, good morning, Nathan...you''re up!" Ada greeted.


    "...Good morning." Nathan returned the greeting, albeit in a strained tone. He looked around at the others. Jack and Zack were watching the television, Charles was exercising, and Olivia was by herself, reading a book.


    "Everyone''s doing surprisingly normal stuff," Nathan stated.


    "Have you checked your phone?" Ada asked.


    "Hmm, no, why?"


    "Our debut is all over social media. Everyone knows about us and is laying the heat on the law enforcement."


    Nathan checked his phone. The first thing he saw on the internet was posts about their video. As he continued researching, he confirmed what Ada told him about the law enforcement being blamed.


    "Ah, I see...everyone''s starting to blame law enforcement," Nathan stated. "I guess that''s what the bastard developer wants."


    "Yeah, that''s what I was saying too." Ada agreed.


    Ah, I remember now. Nathan thought as he glanced at Olivia and Ada.


    Olivia was a university student who poisoned many of her classmates, but Ada...she was a leader of a cult-like group. It''s believed that she used her charisma and friendliness to gain her group''s loyalty to her, only to force them to kill people she didn''t like and abandon them when they lived past their usefulness.


    Nathan looked at her with a bit of disgust in his eyes.


    "Huh?" Ada asked.


    I can sorta mind Olivia, but you, Ada, I hate your type the most.


    Similarly, when Charles and Jack were watching the movie, the television switched to black with the words ''Audio Only'' written in the center.


    "What the hell!?" Zack loudly questioned.


    "Hey guys, it''s me, the developer. I''m back again."

 Ch. 9 - Relaxation and Response

    "Hey guys, it''s me, the developer. I''m back again."


    Visibly annoyed at the interruption of the movie, Zack averted his gaze from the TV now that the developer was back again.


    "Sigh, you''re here...again." Nathan said with a downtrodden tone, "Now that the debut''s done, I guess...you have another task for us now, right?"


    "I didn''t come here to give you guys a task right now." The developer responded, leaving everyone looking confused. "You guys debuted well, but now we''ll have to wait on the nation''s security to respond."


    "I see," Nathan responded. "Then why are you even here?"


    "So mean, Nathan, I just came to see how you guys were doing."


    "I slept in a damn car...my body feels stiff," Nathan remarked.


    Not to mention...the nightmares I had after killing those people.


    "Yeah, plus there''s nowhere to sit in this empty place except the ground...it''s so uncomfortable!" Zack added.


    "I understand. This place was mainly for storing items anyway." The developer explained. "It would be bad to not give my game characters some autonomy, so you guys can work out a solution for that problem."


    "Oh, nice! We should stay in one of those five-star hotels, guys!" Ada said excitedly. "As the group leader, I think we should do that."


    "Yes, ma''am! I agree with you!" Zack agreed militantly.


    "But wouldn''t going to the hotel mean that we''d be identified? Unless you guys would disguise--"


    "Why would that be a problem for people like us anymore, mate?" Jack asked, interrupting Nathan.


    "Yeah, we just have to get rid of anyone that''ll get in our way of comfort," Charles stated.


    ...Oh yeah, I forgot that these guys think way differently from normal people. Whatever, it''s too uncomfortable staying here, so I can''t refuse this.


    "So, we''re all in agreement?" Ada asked. Everyone agreed.


    "If you guys are gonna stay at a hotel, I can give you coordinates to a relatively close one. It''s only fifteen minutes away, so not much driving." The developer said as Nathan received the coordinates via GPS.


    "Thank you, developer, anyways, let''s go, guys," Ada suggested. They left the warehouse and took the sedan. Zack had requested to drive, and Nathan agreed since he was still tired. He handed the phone to him to view the GPS.


    "Don''t break my phone, please...even though it''s not mine," Nathan warned him.


    "I won''t," Zack assured him as they drove off. The drive was solemn, as most of the party was not as energetic as before due to all that took place. They eventually reached the expected time.


    "Ah, Serene Resorts, one of the best hotels we''ve got," Ada said, marveling at the sight. "All-inclusive service, massages for your aching body, and most importantly, comfortable lodging...just like the good ol'' times."


    "So, we gonna kill everyone in the hotel to take it for ourselves, right?" Jack asked.


    "No, we don''t always have to solve everything with murder," Nathan said. "Think about it, Jack. If you kill everyone, we won''t be able to stay here for a significant amount of time."


    "...Tsk, fair play mate...what do we do then."


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    "P...put this on, Ada." Olivia stuttered as she got everyone''s attention. She had given Ada her hoodie for her to wear.


    "Thank you so much, Liv!" Ada cheerfully said. Nathan was watching that interaction with suspicion in his eyes.


    "What are you going to do with that?" Charles asked.


    "Don''t worry, guys, I''ll get us in."


    "How are you going to do that?" Nathan asked.


    "Let''s just say...I''ve got a way with my words." She said with a smile. Ada exited the sedan, entered the hotel, and went to the receptionist.


    "Good morning! How may I help you today at Serene Resort?" The receptionist greeted their new customer.


    "Ah, good morning. I would like to book separate rooms for five people. Is that okay?" Ada inquired.


    "Yes, that''s fine...sorry for asking, but could you pull down your hood, just to see who you are....since there are some criminals out loose now."


    "Oh, the thing is...my eyes are pretty sensitive to light, which is why I keep this on...I hope you''ll understand."


    "Oh! No problem, sorry for that insensitive request, miss.."


    "Oh, don''t worry, it''s fine."


    On the outside, Nathan and the rest of the group were waiting in the car.


    "Hey Olivia, do you have any more of those hoodies...we''ll need them too."


    "Y-yeah, I do." Olivia, as she reached into her bag. She took out five more hoodies for herself and handed the rest to everyone else. The hoodies were able to fit everyone, despite their varying sizes.


    "Wow! How the hell did you even get it to fit me!?" Charles, looking impressed.


    "T...the developer told me...something like this would happen...h-he gave me your sizes...and I knitted the hoodies according to them," Olivia responded.


    "A poisoner and able to knit...nice skills, love," Jack said, complimenting her.


    "T...thank you," Olivia said as Ada came back outside. She gave them a thumbs up, confirming that they successfully got in. They all left the sedan and followed Ada back into the hotel.


    "Oh, don''t mind my friends and what they are wearing...they''re shy," Ada told the receptionist.


    "No problem, miss."


    "How did you even do that?" Zack asked.


    "I told you, I''ve got a way with my words."


    "Is that so?" Nathan thought.


    "Also, don''t take your hoodies off, guys. That would be problematic." Ada, whispering to the rest.


    They made their way to their respective rooms (all separate) and immediately started relaxing.


    * * *


    In a different part of the city, a large audience of people had gathered in front of a stage. They were, for the most part, wearing formal clothing, and numerous cameras could be seen being held by them. On the stage stood Sergeant John behind a podium.


    "Good morning everyone. I understand recent events, especially the video titled ''The Debut'', have caused many of you to question us, law enforcement. That is understandable, as we are the security of this country, and letting something as catastrophic as this happen, puts into question our ability to protect your wellbeing, and for that, on behalf of all law enforcement, I apologize."


    Flashes of light were peppering the area as the audience took pictures.


    "But I can assure you that something like this will not happen again as both the military and the police will now be teaming up to completely remove such threats. As proof of this, I have invited Lieutenant Harvey to this event."


    The man, presumably Lieutenant Harvey, walked up to the stage. He was a middle-aged-looking man with grey hair. He was wearing a decorated military uniform. John and Harvey immediately greeted each other with a handshake. Sergeant John stepped aside so Lieutenant Harvey could speak on the podium.


    "Good morning. Sergeant John was a great asset to the military and an old friend of mine, so the military had no reason to deny his offer to aid him. We have assessed the level of danger these criminals posed, and we decided that it was necessary to use these guys..."


    As he said, two individuals, a male and female, both in white military uniforms, came on stage. They stood up militantly.


    "From the ''Anti-Blessed Malefactor Corps...Two of our special ''super soldiers."


    "Damn! Super soldiers. To think I''d be seeing, not one but two, in the flesh." A person in the audience said in surprise.


    "These two are some of our stronger super soldiers. We can assure you that both Sergeant John and I are taking this situation very seriously, and we will do everything in our power to dispose of said threats." Lieutenant Harvey assured the audience.


    The whole time, John was smiling to himself.


    This is perfect...everyone will be eating this up. Thank god I contributed a lot in the military in my younger years.


    Suddenly, his phone started vibrating. He checked it and saw that he was receiving a phone call. He went off stage to answer the call as Harvey continued reassuring the audience.


    "What? I''m at an important event, you know!" John angrily said.


    "S-sorry boss...but the thing is..."


    "Spit it out quickly!"


    "Jack the Ripper has been spotted at a nearby hotel...and likely the rest of the group he''s with."


    "What!?" John responded in a surprised tone.


    The hotel was a gory sight. Dismembered and beheaded bodies laid everywhere as the sound of maniacal laughter echoed around the partially damaged hotel. Nathan and the rest of the group, with shocked expressions etched on their faces, stared at the cause of it all - Jack, who was laughing like a madman and drenched in blood.


    "Ah, for heaven''s sake..." Nathan said, with a look of resignation.

 Ch. 10 - Super Problems

    Around 3 hours before Jack''s onslaught, everyone was relaxing in their respective rooms.


    "I hope everyone keeps their damn hoodies on...but I''m sure that this luxury won''t be for long." Nathan said to himself as he lay on the bed. Thoughts of Lilith surfaced in his mind.


    "Sigh...I wonder what you''re doing now, Lilith." He said as he checked his phone.


    He began dialing a number using the phone''s keypad. After finishing, he began contemplating if he should press the call button.


    "No, Nathan...it''s not the right time to call her now." He ultimately decided. Instead, he decided to check the internet for any updates.


    "Heh...everyone''s still cursing the law enforcement for their sloppy work...serves them right." He smiled as he scrolled through posts. After reading aimlessly, Nathan began to fall asleep. Seconds before falling asleep, a post caught Nathan''s attention.


    "Huh...what''s this...super soldiers...?" He muttered as his eyes shut.


    The scene changed over to Jack in his room.


    "Wearing the coat and the hoodie together is a bit uncomfortable. I''ll just put it on after I''m finished with this." Jack said before taking off his white coat. He rested his coat over the back of a chair and sat on the bed.


    "What a nice room...I don''t remember ever experiencing something like this." Jack said to himself.


    "Knock knock!" Zack said at the other side of the door.


    "Zack?"


    "Yeah, it''s me." He said before entering.


    "What''s occurring, mate?"


    Zack showed Jack DVDs. "I found some movies here, pretty violent ones...wanna watch it?" Jack said nothing as he just stared at him. "Uh...I-Is that no good?"


    "I mean, I like experiencing the kills, but sure...I''ll watch them," Jack responded.


    "Let''s go!" Zack said in his head, balling his fist and shaking it in excitement.


    "What movies you got?" Jack asked as Zack sat beside him, putting the DVDs on the desk.


    "Well..." Zack and Jack sifted through the DVDs and chose the most gory and action-based film. At first, Jack found the movie boring as the character introduction took place.


    "Don''t worry, bro, the action will come soon," Zack assured him.


    Just as Zack said, the best part of the movie for Jack, murder, was finally shown. That caused Jack to be engrossed in the movie.


    "Turn it up...I wanna hear the screams more clearly!" Jack requested and happily, Zack obeyed.


    Now, both men were finding enjoyment in the movie. Jack found the movie so fun (more so the murder aspect) that when he''d see a brutal kill, he''d impulsively jump up in excitement, causing his hood to cease covering his face every time, until he''d just ignore it.


    * * *


    "Damn it! Why must they watch their movie with max volume!" An annoyed guest said as they marched towards Jack''s door. "The damn selfishness of these guests!"


    They were about to knock but noticed that the door was slightly open. "Hmm...it''s not like I''m a peeper...just curious to see what these noisy guests are doing." He mentally rationalized before looking through the opening.


    "HAHA, DID YOU SEE THAT BUGGER''S ENTRAILS ON THE GROUND!?" Jack ecstatically shouted.


    "YEAH! IT''S AWESOME!!!" Zack, no longer keeping his hood on, agreed.


    Upon the sight of them, the guest started to panic. "N-no way...isn''t that..." He immediately started backing up before running off.


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    "Huh, what was that?" Jack asked as he was looking in the direction of the door.


    "It''s nothing, bro. You''re gonna miss the best part!"


    The guest went straight to the receptionist, drenched with sweat and trying to catch his breath.


    "S-Sir, are you okay!?" The receptionist asked with genuine concern.


    "Y-You huff* have to call the police!"


    "W-Why?"


    "J-Jack the Ripper is here...with his friends, I think!"


    "WHA-"


    "SHHH! Don''t shout, just call them quickly." The guest pleaded.


    With the guest''s expression, the receptionist could tell that he was being truthful.


    "O-okay."


    She dialed the police.


    "Hello?" The dispatcher picked up.


    "Ah yes, this is Serene Resort...I believe that Jack the Ripper and his group have been spotted at our hotel." The receptionist whispered, fearing that Jack may hear.


    "WHAT!?"


    "Yes...could you please send officers to deal with them."


    "Sigh...the boss isn''t gonna like this when he''s supposed to be at the event today..." The dispatcher muttered.


    "What did you say?"


    "Oh, sorry. Don''t worry. The officers will be there as soon as possible."


    "Thank you..."


    "So, what are we going to do now...I''m too afraid to go back to my room." The guest admitted.


    "Don''t worry, I will contact our security as well."


    "Alright..."


    Around ten minutes later, they had reached the end of the movie.


    "That was a pretty good movie, wasn''t it?"


    "Yeah." Jack agreed.


    "You wanna watch another--"


    Before Zack could finish, he was immediately interrupted and had their attention diverted by two men barging into the room. They were wearing security guard uniforms and pointing guns at the criminals.


    "So that guest was right...I''m not sure how you guys managed to get past us."


    "Bloody hell...is that how you guys treat your customers?" Jack said, staring at them.


    "Oh no." Zack thought, anticipating what was about to take place.


    "We have already called the police and they are on their way...it''s over for you guys." One of the security guards declared to them.


    "So you called the cops...guess it is over then, for you buggers that is." Jack corrected them as he got a knife from his coat.


    "Wha--"


    Before the guards even realized it, their arms were cut off from their bodies by Jack.


    "AA--" Jack ended their screams by beheading them.


    "Jeez..." Zack said.


    "Haha! these guys got me in the mood now...keep my coat for me...and tell the others that it''s time to go now."


    "Oh, sure." Zack agreed as they both went out.


    Jack proceeded to go around, taking the lives of everyone he could find. He would even barge into rooms just to kill them. It didn''t matter what they were doing, whether they were using the restroom, or sleeping. Nothing mattered to him.


    "NO, PLEASE! DON''T KILL M--" These were some of the many pleas he''d hear, only for them to fall on deaf ears as he''d either stab them to death, eviscerate them, or simply behead them. While Jack was tormenting the innocent, Zack had explained to the others what was happening.


    "So Jack''s killing everyone now?" Charles asked. "I''m gonna miss this hotel..."


    "We gotta get Nathan quickly before the cops come," Ada said.


    * * *


    "Psst..."


    "Psst, Nathan...wake up."


    "Urgh..." Nathan groaned as he opened his eyes.


    "Finally, you woke up, Mr. Sleepyhead," The developer teased him from his phone.


    Nathan groggily rubbed at his eyes, but snapped awake the moment the distant screams registered in his brain.


    "What...the hell was that?"


    "It''s Jack, but that''s not important right now." The developer responded. "You''ve got enemies pursuing you."


    "Huh?"


    "You know what super soldiers are?" The developer asked.


    "No, give me the rundown," Nathan said as he got up.


    * * *


    Numerous police cars and armored vehicles sped across the streets, and in the armored vehicle leading the squad were the military labeled ''super soldiers''.


    " Hey, Malcolm?" The female super soldier began to speak to the other. "How hard do you think killing those criminals will be?"


    "The answer to that question is obvious, Rachel. Those scums of society won''t be a problem for us." Malcolm responded.


    "That''s true...they did get beaten by super soldiers in the past," Rachel added.


    "Exactly...we''ll get rid of them here."


    * * *


    Nathan had left the room and met up with Zack and the rest.


    "Oh, Nathan, we were looking for you. You weren''t in your room--"


    "Guys, we gotta go quickly!" Nathan said as he looked on edge.


    "Oh, the police, those guys won''t be a problem for someone as strong as me--"


    "No, it''s much bigger problems than cops, we''ve got--"


    As they went downstairs, they heard Jack''s maniacal laughter. Nathan averted his eyes from the murdered civilians.


    Jesus...I''m sorry for bringing these guys here...


    He was standing over the receptionist''s mutilated corpse.


    "HAHAHA! THAT''S WHAT YOU GET FOR CALLING THE COPS, WOMAN!"


    Freaking hell...what the hell is wrong with this psycho!


    "Ah, for heaven''s sake..." Nathan said, with a look of resignation. "Jack, snap out of it. We have to go!"


    Ceasing his laughter, he grouped up with them. They all followed Nathan''s lead and left the hotel.


    "Why are you so on edge?" Ada asked as they entered the sedan. Zack started up the car.


    "The developer told me that it''s not just cops...but also--"


    Just as Zack was about to start the car, the vehicle carrying the super soldiers, followed by the squad of police cars and other armored vehicles, all arrived at the scene, blocking the entrance. Many cops quickly hopped out. They were stacked with armor-plated vests, high-powered machine guns, and ballistic shields. Out of the leading armored vehicle came Malcolm and Rachel.


    "Super soldiers..." Nathan said, looking downtrodden.


    "Well, let''s get to work."

 Ch. 11 - Annoying Dregs

    "Well, let''s get to work," Malcolm stated.


    Without wasting a breath, Nathan flooded the area with furniture.


    "Get inside!" Nathan shouted as the squad of police began firing at them. The furniture, even for a short period, acted as protection for Olivia, Ada, Zack, and Nathan as they ran back into the hotel. Jack, on the other hand, evaded the bullets almost effortlessly by hopping around, while Charles didn''t even bother moving and was being peppered with bullets. Jack landed on the top of a parked work van.


    "Looks like we got a lot of playmates!" Jack happily stated as he threw his knife at an unsuspecting cop. Much to his surprise, however, it was intercepted by Malcolm, despite its high traveling speed.


    "Oh!?" Charles said excitedly, while still being pelted by bullets.


    "I''ll be your opponent," Malcolm stated before shattering the knife with his bare hands.


    "Yeah! You''ll be my opponent!" Charles declared as he charged through the gunfire toward Malcolm, but before he could get close, he was forced into combat by Rachel, who got in his way. Simultaneously, the cops ceased firing at Charles. Rachel tried to deliver a high kick to his head, but Charles leaned back, dodging the attack. He jumped back to gain a distance from them.


    The cops turned to Jack and began firing at him, but he disappeared once again and appeared behind the squad, which Malcolm perceived. With a sadistic grin, Jack tried striking one with a jab, but Malcolm already had anticipated by charging at him, then interrupting him with a kick to his side, which sent him straight into a parked car.


    Not letting up on him, the cops began firing at him, not that it mattered as he evaded once again.


    "Haha, I see you guys have a plan on how to win, huh? You super soldiers or whatever will keep us from killing the easy prey, and the prey will keep us on edge. Not bad." Jack praises them with a hint of condescendence.


    I even left my knives in my coat, which Zack has...luck must be on their side.


    "The police is just assurance. We''ll be the ones getting rid of you annoying dregs once and for all." Malcolm uttered with a surety in his voice, leaving both Jack and Charles with smiles on their faces.


    * * *


    As Jack and Charles were in battle, the remainder of the group made their way to the top of the hotel.


    "How did you even do that with the furniture just a while ago?" Zack asked.


    "Let''s just say I used the furniture in this hotel," Nathan answered.


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Good thing I went around and stored as much furniture as I could when the bastard developer told me about the super soldiers.


    "Tsk, so what will we do, ''leader''?" Ada sarcastically inquired as Nathan materialized a sniper rifle and boxes of ammunition.


    "...The developer told me that super soldiers are bioengineered soldiers made to suppress and eliminate blessed humans...whatever that means, and that Jack and Charles are some of those blessed people." He explained while loading the ammunition in the rifle''s cartridge. "If that''s the case, the super soldiers plus those cops will be annoying for them...so...I''ll help them with this." He said before aiming through the hotel window.


    Back to Jack, who is currently engaging in hand-to-hand combat with Malcolm. He was doing well with avoiding numerous of Malcolm''s jabs and strikes by constantly moving backward. However, the same could be said for Malcolm, as when Jack would try to counter, he would perceive and avoid it.


    "You''re keeping up with this speed. Good for you!"


    "Shut your mouth, murderer." Malcolm bluntly stated before forcing him into a parked vehicle, reducing his options. He followed up immediately with a straight punch to Jack''s face. However, he still managed to move out of the way and create distance between them. Malcolm had punched the vehicle instead, moving it back several inches and leaving an imprint of his fist.


    Tsk, he dodged that?


    As soon as Jack created the distance, the cops began firing at him, which forced him to continuously move.


    "Ha...these preys are being annoying huh...maybe I should try upping my speed a little?" Jack thought.


    At the same time, Charles and Rachel were also engaging in hand-to-hand combat. Rachel was using a mixture of kicks, such as high, side, crescent, roundhouse kicks, and more. Charles, on the other hand, was mainly using his hands to block her kicks and attack her with jabs, hooks, and crosses, which she also blocked with her legs.


    "Ha! You''re pretty strong! I didn''t expect the cops to have people that could hang with me for this long...you must be one of the stronger ones!"


    "Sorry, criminal! I didn''t come here to play with you." Rachel said before jumping over a downward hook punch by Charles, simultaneously doing a 360 spin before delivering a spin kick straight to the side of his face, sending him hurdling several meters away into the wall surrounding the hotel, destroying a large portion upon impact.


    Without giving him any breathing room, she ran up and drop-kicked him straight through, causing him to crash into the next building. Nearby civilians were running for their lives in panic.


    "Hey! Cool it with the unnecessary property destruction, Rachel!" Malcolm shouted at her while combating Jack.


    "Don''t worry, Malie, it''s all for the greater good." Rachel jokingly responded. Charles immediately came running back. Blood ran down his face, but he seemed more excited than ever.


    "We''ve come pretty far, and I''m starting to get warmed up now!" Rachel moved out of the way, allowing the cops behind her to get a clear shot of Charles, which they took the chance immediately. The constant gunfire stopped him in his tracks, and Rachel delivered a high kick right to his chin, sending him multiple meters in the air. He landed right through the roof of the sedan that the party arrived with.


    "Hurry up and get rid of Charles so you can help me with this slippery bastard," Malcolm said.


    "Yeah, sure--"


    "BANG!"


    A loud gunshot could be heard, instantly attracting everyone''s attention. The squad of police were immediately horrified to see the result of that gunshot, that one of their men had immediately fallen over, blood pooling from their shoulder.


    "AAAHHHH!!!" The cop screamed.


    "What!?" Malcolm recoiled slightly from shock.


    The assailant of that cop was none other than Nathan, who had been aiming his sniper.


    "Okay...one down."

 Ch. 12 - Blood Doping

    "Okay..one down," Nathan said before he continued to fire at the cops, incapacitating at least 3 of them by shooting their limbs before they could react. They quickly tried to hide behind the police holding the ballistic shields. While this minimized the casualties, Nathan could still snipe the ones farther behind.


    I don''t need to kill these guys...just have to make them less annoying for Jack and Charles.


    "You fools! You all are sitting ducks!" Malcolm shouted, still engaged in fighting Jack. The officers that were far behind quickly scattered to hide behind their cars, but some had been picked off while changing positions nonetheless.


    "You''re pretty good at using that sniper, huh Nathan?" Ada stated.


    "Uh...I took some lessons in the past. Now, the cops won''t be as much of a burden to Charles and Jack, and they can hopefully take down the super soldiers. I''ll pick off as much as I can in the meantime."


    I can''t believe I''m helping Jack and Charles...well, it''s all because of the developer.


    In the meantime, Rachel was observing the fight between Jack and Malcolm. The fight seemed to be leaning slightly in Malcolm''s favor as he had Jack on the backpedal.


    "It must be hard to fight with broken ribs, huh, murderer," Malcolm asked Jack mockingly.


    "Huh, oh yeah, it is unfortunate that my ribs got messed up from your kick earlier. Plus, I don''t even have my knife," Jack responded, albeit with an odd smile. "But, I could kill you anytime I want."


    "Tsk, all bark and no bite...I''m not like those helpless victims you preyed on!"


    "It doesn''t look like Charles will get up anytime soon so maybe I can help Malcolm take down the other one...then onto the rest." But no sooner had she decided to help than Charles had confronted her. He tightly gripped her arm.


    "Wha--"


    "Never look away from a fight!" Charles advised her before lifting her over his head. Like a projectile, he tossed her across the whole yard. With screams on the way, Rachel crashed head-first into a car, causing her to be bounced off it into the air and the vehicle to roll over repeatedly, resulting in yet another car being damaged.


    "Tsk, idiot," Malcolm said after seeing her fly by.


    "Ouch! Dammit!" Rachel cursed as she stood back up, bleeding from the head. "I''ll kill you!"


    "How the hell are you still standing? I struck you multiple times on your damn head!"


    "HAHA! AS IF I''D GO DOWN THAT EASILY!" Charles retorted. "But you did do some damage to me...so I''ll reward you by trying a bit harder." He said before taking a deep breath. Right after inhaling, pulsating veins appeared on his arms, chest, face, and neck.


    "Physical Enhancement - Blood Doping!"


    "Huh?" Rachel asked before he dashed at her with a large burst of speed, leaving a small hole where he moved off, alarming Rachel. He immediately engaged her in close-quarters combat. His attacks packed a much greater intensity and power than before. It only took a few blocks for Rachel to realize how much pressure he was putting on her.


    "Ugh...why''s blocking his attacks hurting my arms and legs this much!" Rachel thought, with a look of frustration. On the other hand, Charles seemed to be elated in this battle. Rachel had to constantly move back to even keep standing due to his intensity, but she couldn''t keep it up for long, as when she blocked a spin kick with her arm, the force caused her to lose her balance. Not letting that opening go to waste, Charles delivered a straight punch directly to her face, sending her meters away to the ground.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    "Nice punch!" Zack said from the hotel.


    Charles walked up to Rachel, who was slowly getting back up from the ground. Her nose and mouth were bleeding heavily.


    "Ugh...this doesn''t even make any sense...you guys lost in the past...you should have been dead too, Charles. How is this happening."


    "You weren''t bad, but it doesn''t seem like this fight will be any more fun. I''m finished here. Charles said before turning towards Malcolm. "I wonder if fighting that guy will be more fun--"


    "Shut the hell up!" Rachel shouted, interrupting Charles. "You think this is all a game to you...well, I''m not finished until we rid the world of you criminals!"


    Seeing the spark of determination in Rachel''s eyes, Charles couldn''t help but smile even more. "That look in your eyes! I love it! You might be worth killing after all!" Charles excitedly stated before attacking her again. She was blocking slightly better as she somewhat adapted to Charles'' intensity, but that was all she could do, block. There was no room for her to counterattack, and she knew it.


    Over to Jack and Malcolm, they were still pretty even. Jack tried to palm strike Malcolm in the stomach, but he avoided and attempted a spin kick to his temple, which Jack evaded by back-dashing away.


    Tsk...he''s so fast, it''s annoying.


    He glanced at the police officers. Nathan had got rid of roughly half of them by this point.


    "Damnit...aren''t you guys supposed to support us."


    "Sergeant Malcolm!" A police officer, hiding away from Nathan''s line of sight, shouted to Malcolm. They were holding an RPG. "If I take out the sniper in the hotel, we can hopefully return to the original plan...but it would mean destroying the hotel pretty much."


    "Oh my," Jack stated.


    Malcolm remembered what Rachel said to him about the property destruction being for the greater good. He took a second to contemplate the outcome: either the cop destroys the hotel to get rid of the sniper or continues fighting a losing battle. "...Do what you must," Malcolm stated. Immediately, the officer aimed.


    Meanwhile, Nathan was firing at officers at other locations in the yard. He was missing a couple of shots due to the amount of obstruction they were hiding behind. Ada, Olivia, and Zack noticed the RPG.


    "Uh, Nathan...you should stop aiming at those cops!" Ada stated with a tone of urgency. "An officer has a rocket launcher, and he''s aiming at us!"


    "Huh?" Nathan said as he turned the sniper to the location of that specific officer.


    "Q...Quickly!" Olivia shouted, albeit stuttering. He fired and incapacitated the cop, but it was too late, for the officer had already fired the RPG. With pure fright on their faces, they could only watch as the explosive projectile hurled towards them, that is until it randomly exploded in the air. The explosion was powerful. The concussive force blew the officers, super soldiers, and the criminals in the yard a few feet back.


    "W-What the hell happened?" Nathan asked.


    Jack, who was knocked to the ground from the explosion, got up back on his feet. As he got up, Zack called out to him.


    "Jack! Catch!" Zack shouted as he threw Jack''s coat out of the hotel. Jack smiled as he seemingly disappeared. He appeared beside it in the air, took off the black hoodie, and donned his original coat, doing that all before descending to the ground.


    "Was that a defective rocket!? How annoying!" Malcolm frustratingly shouted as he dashed at Jack. Simultaneously, Jack took a knife out of his coat and swung it at rapid speeds. Malcolm managed to avoid the knife swings.


    "I was thinking that maybe I should up my speed, you know?" Jack said before attempting to stab Malcolm straight in the face. He, however, grabbed Jack''s arm, stopping the attack.


    Got him! Malcolm thought before countering with a straight punch with his next arm, but Jack used his free arm to direct Malcolm''s fist upwards, missing him completely.


    "He reacted to that still!?" Malcolm thought before jumping back.


    "Wow, you''re so focused on attacking me...shouldn''t you worry about yourself, though?"


    "What do you--" Before Malcolm finished his question, he looked at himself and noticed multiple cuts on his body.


    What! I thought I dodged them all!


    "I''m pretty good at hand-to-hand combat, but knife combat is my real forte...plus, I did say that I was gonna up my speed." He said before grinning. "What was that rubbish about you not being one of my preys?"


    Malcolm looked at Charles and Jack, who were both smiling, albeit for different reasons. "Their strength. This is not the information we received."

 Ch. 13 - Lightshow

    "Their strength...This is not the information we received."


    Jack immediately charged up to him and began to swing his knife repeatedly. The control of the fight had instantly switched to Jack as it was now Malcom on the backpedal. He had tried his best to avoid the knife attacks, but it was in vain, as more cuts appeared on his body.


    "Haha, you''re pretty tough, huh! I was sorta trying to slice right through you, but it feels like I''m slashing metal!" Jack said before thrusting his knife into Malcolm''s face, which he barely avoided. It left a graze, however.


    What the hell...his speed, it''s like it has been supercharged. Was he playing around earlier!?


    "Damn it...there''s no way I''ll lose to you--" his words, full of conviction, were immediately cut off by a surprise punch to the side of his face from Charles. He was knocked to the opposite side of the yard.


    "Hey guys, my opponent''s finished, so it''s your turn!" Charles declared, albeit covered in blood.


    * * *


    "Hey guys, I have an ability where I can sense where explosives are and forcibly detonate them," Zack said to the gang.


    "Huh, oh...is that how the rocket randomly exploded?" Ada asked.


    "Yeah, and I can sense that the cops have got a lot of explosives. Even though Jack and Charles have the upper hand, it''s not like killing those guys is light work for them, as we can see, so I think we should help them."


    "...What''s your plan?" Nathan asked.


    * * *


    Malcolm got back up slowly and looked at Rachel. She was unconscious and seemed to be very injured.


    ...She''s still breathing...I can see her chest rising and falling.


    "Man, your friend did quite a number on me even though I used blood doping. She gave me a nice fight!"


    "So you want to fight him, Charles?" Jack asked. "Fair play, I''ll go after the rest of those buggers!" He said before charging towards the officers hiding behind the police cars and ballistic shields.


    "GET BACK HE--" Before he could stop Jack, he was intercepted by yet another hook to the face by Charles. "You guys should stop looking away from a fight!"


    At the same time, Jack tackled a cop who was hiding behind a car to the ground, digging his knife into the unfortunate victim''s chest countless times. A crazed look filled the murderer''s eyes, as he admired his ''work'' with a sadistic grin.


    "Ah...that feels a lot better." He said before he continued his attack on the rest. He even went for the ones that Nathan downed.


    Charles pummeled Malcolm with left and right hooks, blood spraying from his mouth with every hit.


    "I thought you were stronger than the girl, but it doesn''t seem like--" Before Charles could finish, Malcolm, as if springing to life with energy, avoided his fists and delivered a double palm strike to Charles'' face. Charles looked disoriented from the strikes, so Malcom prioritized, kicking him straight to the chest and knocking him back.


    "I''m...more than enough...to kill you criminals." He panted out, slightly swaying from where he stood.


    * * *


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    Sergeant John and Lieutenant Harvey were sitting in an office, sipping coffee.


    "I suppose it''ll soon be time to hear back from our men," Harvey spoke.


    "Yes, I''m sure they are almost done with getting rid of those criminals. I just want this obstacle to be dealt with quickly--"


    John was interrupted by an officer entering his office. The officer appeared to be nervous, lightly tugging at his own sleeves.


    "Huh, why have you interrupted us?" John asked.


    "I''m sorry, sir, but our men have requested reinforcements!" The officer explained, his words almost tumbling over one another with how quickly he spoke.


    "WHAT!?" Both the Lieutenant and Sergeant exclaimed simultaneously, eyes wide with disbelief.


    "They said that the criminals are stronger than anticipated and that the original plan has proved useless."


    There was silence in the room for a couple of seconds until John slammed his fist on the table, spilling his coffee.


    "DAMMIT! SEND THE REINFORCEMENTS QUICKLY!" He shouted.


    * * *


    Jack had murdered almost all the police officers and was making his way to the last few officers.


    "Sergeant!" An officer shouted as he called out to Malcolm while firing at Jack. "Reinforcements are on the way! If we hold on for a little longer, we can win!" Those were the last words he could utter, as Jack removed his head from his body, finally killing the last of the police officers.


    "Haha! How annoying you guys can be!" Jack laughed as he made his way to Malcom to help Charles.


    Dammit...apparently reinforcements are coming, but now both of them are gonna attack me...can I even stay alive for this lo--


    "Jack! This is my fight! Stay outta this!"


    "Huh?" Jack asked with a puzzled expression.


    Malcolm looked over to Rachel, whose body twitched.


    No, I can''t be thinking like this...these guys are criminals, and I must get rid of them...that is my duty!


    With renewed determination, he was ready to fight again. However, Nathan and the group were exiting the hotel simultaneously.


    "BANG!"


    Nathan fired his sniper bullet that went right into Malcolm''s shoulder.


    "Ugh!" He groaned as he instinctively gripped his shoulder.


    "Guys, it''s time to go! I''m not getting caught by whatever reinforcements these guys are bringing!" Nathan declared as they were running.


    "Get back!" Malcolm shouted at them but immediately caught a kick to his face by Charles, sending him into the window of a police car, which left a spider web-like crack in it. The impact also knocked him out.


    "It was fun while it lasted, I guess...too bad I didn''t get to go all out."


    "We need to get a car, guys!" Ada suggested.


    "Ugh...you guys...are going nowhere," Rachel stated as she rose.


    "Tsk, I''ll deal with this!" Nathan stated. "Just hurry up and steal a car or something!" Everyone listened and left Nathan to deal with Rachel.


    Okay, Nathan...she''s severely injured, so she won''t be moving as fast...as long as you don''t mess up the timing, you''ll live. I won''t die here.


    Suddenly Rachel dashed at him and appeared a few feet in front of him. She was coming in for a punch, but before she could plant her feet, Nathan materialized a pillow under her foot, messing up her rhythm, and thus losing her balance. He immediately materialized a knife in the same motion and avoided her punch, which had lost its force and speed due to her lack of balance.


    In one swift motion, Nathan vertically slashed her right across her right eye as she fell.


    "AAAHHHHHHH!!!!" Rachel screamed as she regained her balance and instinctively clutched her eye. Nathan took that opportunity to escape.


    Nathan had seen them already in a car, along with the corpse of an adult male, their intestines strewn across the road.


    "I see you guys got a car..." Nathan said as he averted his gaze from the deceased.


    "Hurry up and get in!" Zack demanded. Without hesitating, Nathan jumped in, and Zack drove off. Rachel, still clutching her eyes, tried to chase them but didn''t get far due to the injured state of her body.


    "DAMMIT!" Rachel shouted, her tone filled with rage.


    "Good job guys, we won!" Ada said as she congratulated everyone.


    "Yeah, thanks for my coat, Zack. That was pretty clutch, you know."


    "Oh, don''t worry, bro. Also, do you guys think I should do it now?"


    "Do we really need to...we''ve escaped, you know?" Nathan said.


    "But what if they chase us?" Zack asked. "Those guys are pretty fast, you know."


    "As the leader I say...do what you must, dear." Ada responded, much to Zack''s happiness.


    Malcolm had also slightly regained consciousness. He was still lying in the police car, which was now glowing, along with the rest of the cars. The final thing he saw was Rachel in the distance, approaching him with a worried expression.


    "BOOM!!!!!"


    The police cars exploded. The explosion destroyed the hotel, leveling buildings with its force. Sounds of alarms and screams could be heard and cars and people were being thrown around by the shockwave of the explosion. The explosion affected the entire city block. It could even be felt all the way where the gang was.


    "Ah, what a nice breeze," Zack mentioned from the increased air pressure. Nathan looked a little dejected. "...And an even better light show."

 Ch. 14 - Degradation

    No one had expected the outcome of the fight to be this devastating. First responders quickly arrived on-scene to help to the best of their abilities. Firefighters and police officers tried to put out countless fires around the block, and save the injured.


    They located numerous bodies, either burnt and missing limbs from the initial explosion or had been crushed under parts of the destroyed buildings that they were in. Paramedics had also tried their hardest to save the injured ones as well.


    "NOO!!! PLEASE WILLIAM! WAKE UP!" The cries of an injured woman as she tried to rouse her dead partner could be heard. Officers made their way to the hotel yard where they saw the incinerated bodies of Malcolm and the squad. However, they heard something strange, pain-filled groans.


    "What...How the hell?" A police officer asked with a look of confusion.


    * * *


    The party had now reached back to the warehouse, their original location.


    "Guys...you don''t know how proud I am to see you working as a team!" The developer said with a tear-filled voice as they left the car. They made their way inside the warehouse.


    "Ugh...we''re back to this uncomfortable place," Ada said in a depressed tone. "Don''t we get a reward for defeating those guys...can''t it be a comfortable place to stay?"


    "Nah, it would be too easy for you guys to get so much help so no rewards for now."


    "Tsk, cheap bastard." Ada insulted the developer.


    "Sigh, good thing I came prepared," Nathan stated before walking around the warehouse. Everyone was looking at him with curiosity written on their faces. Nathan then materialized multiple beds in the warehouse, with tables and other furniture. Everyone was left in awe with the sudden appearance of the household articles.


    "How the hell did you do that!?" Zack asked.


    "I''m pretty tired. We should get some rest," Nathan said, avoiding Zack''s question. Ada had an annoyed expression but quickly changed to a happy one.


    "I''m so glad we can get some rest, at least!" Ada said as she jumped into a bed. "Hey, Olivia...give me my book. I wanna do some writing."


    "...Okay." Olivia obeyed by taking out a book. It had multiple lockets on the side. Nathan looked with suspicion but decided to leave that alone. He chose a bed of his own and lay in it.


    "I''m going to sleep."


    At the same time, the NPC entered the warehouse with a female. They were wearing a white nurse''s uniform with a similar red mask to the NPC but without the glow.


    "Oh by the way, I figured you guys would get injured while completing missions, so meet my new NPC...The doctor!" The developer said enthusiastically as he appeared on the TV.


    "Oh nice, my broken ribs were pretty uncomfortable," Jack said.


    * * *


    John and Harvey had arrived at a hospital. It was extremely hectic as numerous medical practitioners were passing through with heavily injured patients on stretchers. They could hear the screams and cries of the injured and their relatives in different rooms of the hospital. The sergeant and lieutenant could only walk through with a look of shame and anger.


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    They met up with an officer in the waiting area. The officer immediately jumped up in alertness to their presence.


    "O-Oh, you guys are here." The officer said.


    "...Explain to us what the hell happened." John bluntly stated with a cold demeanor.


    "U-Um, well...the super soldiers and squad of policemen failed, as you are probably aware. The explosion that occurred...was caused by our equipment."


    "What...!?" Harvey asked as anger surfaced on his face.


    "B-But the explosion yield was far stronger than what we''d use...it was around one kiloton, something must have been wrong--"


    "SHUT UP WITH YOUR EXCUSES!" John shouted, attracting the attention of others.


    "S-sorry boss..."


    "I heard that Rachel survived?" Harvey asked.


    "O-Oh yeah, follow me!" The officer said before leading them to her room. When they entered and saw her, they immediately looked repulsed by the state at which she was in.


    "T-The doctors said that she had sustained numerous injuries and broken bones, even a severely damaged eye, all before the explosion even happened. Her injuries worsened, having accumulated 3rd degree burns on at least 80% of her entire body. It''s a miracle that she''s even alive for this long."


    "I see." Lieutenant Harvey said. "So that means she''s now useless."


    "H-Huh?" The officer asked, visibly puzzled at Harvey''s response.


    "What the hell are we going to do now to shut up the media..." John sighed. "This is going to spread like wildfire.


    Just as John said, not even an hour had passed before this disaster became just as trending as ''The Debut.'' Images of the horrid sight had surfaced in the media, and the reactions of everyone were just as bad, if not worse than before.


    "You guys remember the public statement earlier today where the military and police said that they were ''taking this very seriously'' and that ''this won''t happen again''?" A comment on social media said in reaction to the disaster. The comment and numerous others just like that have gained immense agreement globally.


    Instead of simply questioning the ability of law enforcement, they were now the target of everyone''s hatred over social media. Countless posts could be found of a degrading nature towards law enforcement on how these people would not have lost their lives if they had just done their job right.


    Harvey and John were sitting around a table with other military officers. Silence filled the room as everyone could understand the tension. After all, numerous people have died, and everyone''s pointing fingers at them.


    "This degradation of our reputation is truly unacceptable!" Harvey affirmed, breaking the silence.


    "But what are we going to do?" A military official inquired. "No matter what we say, the media won''t listen to anything."


    Silence filled the room once again.


    "...We should do it," John uttered.


    "Do what?" Harvey asked.


    "Jack and Charles are already considered S-Class criminals but since they were supposedly dealt with in the past, they had been removed from the list."


    "Don''t tell me..." Harvey said with suspicious eyes.


    "Yeah, not only will Jack and Charles be re-added to the list, but that bastard Nathan and the rest of his group will be placed on the S Class criminal list as well."


    "That''s a risky thing to do." A military official added.


    "It''s the only thing we can do now."


    For the third time, silence filled the room, but this time it was due to everyone agreeing with this suggestion.


    "After our preparations, we''ll kill them this time...for sure."


    * * *


    Nathan had woken up past midnight. He noticed that only Jack was up. He was watching a violent action movie but muted it due to everyone sleeping.


    "Oh, hello, mate. You woke up pretty early." Jack said.


    "Yeah, but aren''t you going to get some sleep too?"


    "Yeah, I was gonna go get some sleep after this movie, cause I am feeling pretty knackered."


    "Oh, alright...I think I''m gonna go for a walk, ''cause I don''t think I''ll fall asleep this easy anymore."


    When I shut my eyes...the bad memories just flood in...


    "Sure."


    Nathan left the bed and made his way out of the warehouse.


    Looks like we can open it from the inside without needing that guy''s fingerprints.


    He took his phone out and stared at it. He then began to remember Lilith.


    This may be the only time I can reach you...I doubt you would want to see me again...but I just want to explain.


    Steeling his resolve, he dialed her number.


    "...Hello?" Lilith asked as she answered the phone call.


    "H-Hey...Lilith, can we meet up?"

 Ch. 15 - Resolution

    In the dark of the night, Nathan was driving. The streets were nearly desolate due to how early it was.


    "Hey, Nathan?" The developer began to speak on his phone, which was on the passenger''s seat. "What are you doing?"


    "Tsk, I''m sure you already know," Nathan responded rudely. "Since you clearly watch everything I do."


    "You gonna meet your little girlfriend, huh." The developer teased. "Don''t be telling her any unnecessary stuff, okay?"


    "She''s...not my girlfriend, just a friend...and if you do anything to her, I''ll make sure to find and kill you." He bluntly responded with bloodshot eyes.


    "Aww...you still don''t trust me, huh, even though I saved you from the death sentence? But don''t worry, I won''t intervene or anything... that''ll be good for your character development."


    "What''s that supposed to-- whatever...I''m done talking to you." He ended as he switched his phone off. With that said, silence filled the car for the rest of the drive. Nathan quickly reached his destination. He got out and parked next to the sidewalk. Nathan immediately saw Lilith, who was sitting on a bench. Sweat came down his face as he got nervous.


    No, Nathan...now''s not the time to be nervous...you must do this.


    He encouraged himself before walking up to the bench. He awkwardly sat beside Lilith. It didn''t seem like she registered his presence, as the awkward silence made Nathan uneasy.


    "Um...hey, Lilith," Nathan spoke to break the silence.


    "Hello, Nathan," Lilith responded, but in a cold voice. This detached tone made Nathan more uneasy and nervous about the conversation he wanted to have with her.


    "Um, you don''t sound so happy. How''s your day been?" Nathan continued. This question triggered a slight look of anger on Lilith''s face.


    "I''m not in the mood for jokes, Nathan."


    "N-No, I meant to ask...how are you?"


    "How I am doing isn''t the matter right now, Nathan...I decided to meet up with you to find out something."


    "Y-yeah?"


    "What is it you are planning to achieve? I know your name has been dragged through the mud, but I never thought you''d do all this!"


    Shame came over Nathan''s face as he couldn''t find anything to say.


    "Why are you teaming up with those horrible psychopaths, Nathan!? Why would you do that!?" She said before showing him pictures of the destruction his party had caused. "Children lost their lives, Nathan..."


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Hearing that, Nathan shut his eyes as if trying to not think about that.


    "...I didn''t mean for this to happen," Nathan said in a downtrodden tone.


    "Just tell me, what is going on...I know you would never do this for no reason."


    "Yes...you''re right. Nathan confirmed.


    "S-So, what''s the reason? Did someone force you to do this?" Lilith asked with hopeful eyes. Nathan, on the other hand, remembered what the developer said about not telling her anything ''unnecessary''.


    "I...I''m sorry. You deserve to know the truth, and as much as I would love to explain. I can''t tell you, not right now at least. I hope you''ll understand." Just like that, those words caused Lilith to lose all hope.


    "I see, so you expect me to just be okay with you being a murderer without any explanation, Nathan?"


    "Wait, no, I''m just trying to protect you," Nathan explained as he tried to hold her hand.


    "Don''t touch me, Nathan!" Lilith harshly ordered as she stood up.


    "I''ve always been there for you, haven''t I, Nathan!? Ever since our school days, I have been there for you. When you would get into fights, constantly being harassed in school, and when you were accused of crimes for no reason. I''ve always been there, because I cared about you!" Lilith poured her heart out to Nathan with tears filling her eyes.


    "I came here because I am clinging on the small hope that you were coerced to participate in this...mess. I''m sure there is someone we can go to get help for your situation. Even if no one helps us, we can even leave the country or something...I was getting tired of working at Apple Garden. Just tell me that you were forced, please."


    Nathan had kept eye contact with Lilith throughout the whole time. Thoughts flooded his mind. He wanted to explain everything to Lilith, to tell her about the developer and all the things he made him do, but he knew he couldn''t. He could imagine the risks that would happen if he explained everything to an ''outsider'' like Lilith. He decided that it was best to push her away.


    "I''m sorry, Lilith...I don''t know what you''re talking about. I am glad you were there for me, but I am not forced...this is something I wanted to do for a long time." Nathan spoke with a nonchalant expression. "This corrupted country deserves all that''s coming to them. I simply grouped up with those criminals because I thought they would help get revenge, and I won''t stop until I fully make them pay for ruining my life."


    Tears ran down Lilith''s face after listening to Nathan. "I...I see, then...I have...nothing more to say." She said as she turned around, preparing to walk off. She didn''t leave immediately, however, as if she was still hoping that Nathan was making a really bad joke and would tell the truth, but that never happened. Nathan was completely quiet, with his head held down.


    "Goodbye...Nathan." She ended as she departed. Nathan sat on the bench in silence for a good bit of time.


    "Great job, Nathan...I knew you wouldn''t say anything to her!" The developer said in a commanding voice.


    "I...don''t want to hear anything from you."


    "Aww, are you sad that your little girlfriend left you? Don''t worry, it''s all a part of your character development--" Before the developer could finish, Nathan broke the phone by throwing it on the ground and shooting it with a pistol that he materialized. He went back to sitting in silence for a couple of seconds, however, his expression started to change.


    With balled-up fists, gritted teeth, and heavy breathing, Nathan had gotten visibly angry and frustrated.


    I''m sorry, Lilith...I''m so sorry. I wanted to tell you everything, but I can''t. But maybe this is for the best...everyone I know had left me, but you''re different. I don''t hate you, Lilith. I never will. It''s comforting to know you''re safe...away from me...


    Nathan got up and went to his car.


    My hatred is for the ones that caused all this. Both this damned country...and that developer. I''ll do anything to make them pay for what happened today.


    With his solidified resolve, Nathan made his way back to the warehouse.

 Ch. 16 - Commencement of the Murder Game

    Back at the hospital where Rachel was admitted for intensive care, three individuals came to her room. They were two men and a woman. They wore that same white military uniform that Rachel and Malcolm had donned in their fight against the party. With anger and sadness, they stared at their injured comrade, who was currently unconscious.


    "How...could this happen?" With frustration filling her voice, the woman asked. "Rachel...she''s so injured...and Malcolm..."


    "I...I don''t know what to say, Rebecca, a situation like this has never happened before..." One of the males responded.


    "It''s obvious, Ethan, this happened because they were weak." The other male added. "The military has no use for defective super soldiers that can''t accomplish their task of getting rid of blessed individuals turned criminals."


    "Sebastian, you don''t need to act cold like you normally do...you aren''t fooling anyone," Ethan said. "We know that you are feeling bad as well."


    "...shut it," Sebastian said as he averted his gaze from Rachel. "I''m...going outside." He said before exiting the room, without being stopped by the two super soldiers.


    As Rebecca was observing Rachel''s wounds, like a fire increasing in heat, her anger had risen in intensity. Ethan noticed that her fists were balled up and shaking.


    "We...have to kill them," Rebecca said. "There''s no way we''ll let this slide!"


    Alarmed by her increase in tone, Ethan cut her off. "H...Hey, let''s not shout in the hospital. Besides, we have to leave soon. The doctors will be back to operate on her. Come on."


    "...Okay." She agreed, but not before holding Rachel''s hand. "Don''t worry, we''ll kill the ones that did this to you." Out of empathy, Ethan didn''t rush her any further. He waited at the door for her to finish her promise towards her comrade. After declaring her promise, they left Rachel in the hands of the medical professionals.


    * * *


    With the chirping of birds and the warmth of the sunlight beating onto the earth, another morning rose, signaling the second day of Nathan''s ''new life''. He was currently sleeping, however.


    "...than."


    "...Nathan."


    "Hey, Nathan!"


    Nathan was awakened from his slumber by the shoves of Zack and the callouts from Ada.


    "...what." He asked as they surrounded his personal space.


    "You sleep pretty dead, ya know," Zack said.


    "Come on and get up. The news is on now! I think they''re talking about the super soldier incident." Ada explained and so Nathan rose and turned his attention to the warehouse''s television.


    The news reporter, Ashley, usually jovial in her debriefing, wore an air of seriousness and bias to the broadcast, one of a greater nature than normal.


    "As the nation is aware, due to the incompetency of our law enforcement, numerous casualties have been realized because of criminals that should have been dealt with quite a while ago." Ashley began, depicting her opinions of who should be blamed through her words.


    "Understandably, our law enforcement has been blamed for this by the society. Their incompetency could be seen further as not one, but two super soldiers were unable to get the job done, even though super soldiers were used to detaining or eliminating Jack the Ripper and the battle-crazed killer, Charles, respectively."


    Hmm, I wonder how Charles is still alive if they intended to eliminate him in the past? How did Jack get stronger despite being incarcerated? Guess I''ll find out later or something.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    "Despite their response not taking place until morning, our country''s law enforcement has decided to return Jack Knight and Charles Warner, along with adding Zack Isaac, Olivia Gray, Ada Foster...and Nathan Hayes to the level five criminal list, or more commonly known as the ''S class'' criminal list."


    S-Class...I''ve heard of that before.


    "To understand the severity of this decision, you must understand that up until now, excluding Jack the Ripper and the battle-crazed killer, only two criminals have been recorded in the S Class list, with them both currently being incarcerated."


    "Ooh, those guys sound strong!" Charles enthusiastically said.


    "Who knows," Zack said.


    "The reason for this rare amount of level five criminals is due to the effects it could have on our society. State of emergency, constant surveillance by the military, kill-on-sight issued on the target criminals, and in the worst case situation, martial law. With the use of super soldiers, a last resort martial law could spell more ha--"


    Before Ashley could finish her explanation, the television switched to ''Audio Only''.


    "Hey guys, did you hear that? S Class! You guys are finally getting the respect you deserve as my game characters!" The developer said, in his usual twisted encouragement.


    "Couldn''t you have just waited till the news finished?" Zack asked.


    "The rest isn''t important. What''s important is what you guys will do in response to this!" The developer answered. "I''ve been waiting for this moment since I picked you guys out!" Excitement overflowed from the developer''s words as he got louder.


    "You guys have officially made your debut and killed two super soldiers! Thanks to that, the trust in the law enforcement society used to have is slowly starting to crumble away!" As the developer was monologuing, the party couldn''t help but cringe at the unnecessary excitement.


    "It''s a good thing we''re not seeing your face...I can bet you''re smiling stupidly right now, nerd." Zack whispered, causing Jack to chuckle.


    "Now, it would be stupid to pass up this opportunity to continue messing with them! The more the country hates them, the more drastic decisions the superiors will make! They''ll make completing this whole mission faster than normal!"


    "Sounds like more people will die," Jack said.


    "Exactly! Tons of people will die to get rid of the nation''s security! That is what my game is about! The actual commencement of the ''Murder Game''!"


    Upon hearing the developer declaring that tons of people would die, Jack could not help but crack a sadistic smile.


    "Oh yeah, Nathan, you don''t want to kill unnecessary people, huh." The developer mentioned. Jack turned to Nathan with an annoyed expression after what the developer said.


    "I...no longer care." Nathan clarified. "I lost the only thing that kept me sane...plus it''s as you said earlier...I do hate this country. It doesn''t matter what happens anymore..." Jack''s annoyance quickly changed into a pleased expression upon Nathan''s cold explanation.


    "What an amazing resolve, Nathan! Keep drowning in your hatred. That will be useful in completing this game!"


    "...So what do you need us to do now?" Nathan asked.


    "Easy, all you guys need to do is cause mischief. Do anything you guys want to mess with the military. Force them to take more and more drastic measures, guys!" The developer explained.


    "Killing buggers is always the best way, I''m sure," Jack said while doing knife tricks in his hand.


    "I''ve got some ideas too..." Nathan added.


    "Oh, also, I got these for you guys." The developer said before the NPC approached them with phone boxes in his hand.


    "Gasp! Are those, what I think it is!?" Ada asked, her eyes gleaming with excitement.


    "Yup, phones for everyone...some of the newest models too."


    The NPC handed each of them a phone box.


    "This way you guys will communicate with one another, even when you aren''t near...and make sure to take care of them...right Nathan?"


    "...Tsk, whatever."


    * * *


    After the announcement that the party was placed on the S Class list, the military did not hesitate to take some action. Military vehicles and police cars were parked on different streets. There were no super soldiers yet. However, just a large amount of soldiers and cops were seen surveilling the areas where they parked at.


    Civilians seem nervous going about their daily lives under the now constant observance of law enforcement.


    "Look, I''m just trying to go to my workplace, sir! I''m not a criminal!" A disgruntled individual could be seen arguing with a group of cops and soldiers who had stopped him.


    "My apologies, sir, we mistook you for a wanted individual." One of the soldiers apologized. Disrespected by their assumption of him being a criminal, the civilians stormed past them.


    * * *


    Driving on the road was Nathan. He had been watching the movements of law enforcement and took some routes to avoid them as much as possible.


    "It''s pretty hard to avoid all these guys...looks like we annoyed them for them to do this, huh...good thing I can blend in with the traffic since they won''t check everyone," Nathan said before checking the GPS on his new phone.


    "It should be around here somewhere...ah, there it is," Nathan said before parking at the side of the road. A few buildings down was a police station. Before exiting the car, Nathan put on the black hoodie he got from Olivia with a mask. The mask was a white, generic one. It had the outline of a human''s facial features.


    "Well, here goes nothing."

 Ch. 17 - Raid #1

    Back at the warehouse were the rest of the party, excluding Nathan. Charles was doing full-body exercises, Jack and Zack were watching yet another violent movie, Olivia was messing around in her bag, and Ada was writing in that book from before.


    "Why did Nathan say that he wanted to do this alone?" Jack asked. "I would have liked to murder some of those buggers as well."


    "I think he said that if we came, things would escalate, and the cops will be more inclined to call backup."


    "He''s a pretty smart guy, huh!?" Charles said as he was doing push-ups.


    "Yeah, like when we got cornered by police while trying to retrieve the cargo," Zack added. "He attacked quick to make a plan so we don''t get, ya know, shot by the cops while Jack murdered them. He''d make a pretty good leader."


    A dark expression came over Ada''s face as she was listening.


    "W-well, there''s no better leader than you, Ada!" Zack nervously added, his cheeks red like a peach while trying to avert his gaze from her, as he was enamored with her beauty. Like putting a mask on, the dark expression quickly turned to a genuine smile.


    "Thank you, Zack."


    * * *


    As Nathan approached the police station, he stared at the palms of his right hand.


    "This inventory ability I have...I should make use of it, especially in offense." He said as he materialized an AK-47.


    There are likely fewer police officers currently at the department, so this won''t be as hard.


    Nathan thought as he stood beside the police station. He took a peek inside and saw officers conversing around the reception desk.


    I''ve experienced many fights before, hopefully this won''t be any different. Alright, Let''s go.


    With guns blazing, Nathan immediately rushed into the police department. Before they could react, Nathan had already hit most of the officers in the reception area, incapacitating them.


    "GUN GUN GU--" An officer shouted as he tried to pull his gun on Nathan, but he was too slow, as he got shot three times in the legs. Not wasting any time, Nathan stored their firearms.


    "So far, so go--" Before Nathan could finish, he felt sharp pains in his side.


    "Ow!" He yelled. More officers entered and shot Nathan. However, his tactical gear had protected his body. He instantly materialized a grey side-by-side refrigerator in front of him as cover from the bullets.


    "What the hell, a fridge!?" An officer said with confusion. "The hell did that come from!?"


    "Of course, they''d come rushing in after hearing gunfire...and if I hadn''t got this armor, I''d be dead by now..." He thought. Nathan waited for them to stop firing before peeping out and shooting at them.


    He quickly incapacitated the remaining officers, but not before getting tagged a couple of times by them (not more than superficial damage due to the armor). He placed the fridge back in his inventory and reloaded his assault rifle. Groans of pain could be heard as the officers were bleeding from their injured limbs.


    "Damn...getting shot freaking hurts. I gotta do this fast." He said before making his way through a door behind the reception desk. Before going through, he cautiously peaked through.


    The door led to a passage further into the police station. Just as he peaked, the door came flying open, hitting Nathan in the face and causing him to fall over. Before he could gather his thoughts, Nathan found himself grabbed.


    "Who the hell are you!" The officer who grabbed Nathan asked before slamming him onto the reception desk. He dragged Nathan''s face across the counter, knocking off stationery, and the like. At the same time, support came through the door. They didn''t shoot, however, as the cop was closely fighting with Nathan.


    "Should we call reinforcements?" An officer said.


    "No...it looks like it''s just one man. It would be a waste to call reinforcements when S-Class criminals are running rampant now.


    Enraged, Nathan tried grabbing the officer''s face, but he gave Nathan a right cross to the face. In an attempt to further suppress Nathan, he grabbed him from behind and put him in an armlock, with Nathan facing the other officers. The supporting officers had ceased their aim as they thought it was over.


    "Dammit, I don''t know who you are, but you''re in a lot of tro--" The officer grabbing Nathan said, but was interrupted as Nathan thrust his head backward, knocking him in the nose.


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    "Ugh!" The officer grunted as he loosened his grip on Nathan. He capitalized by materializing a knife from his inventory, spun around, and jammed it right into the side of his neck. A repulsed expression immediately came over Nathan as he stabbed him.


    This distraction caused him to be shot multiple times in the chest and right arm by the other officers. While trying with all his might to hold back his screams, Nathan placed the fridge from before back in front of him.


    Shrieks could be heard from behind the fridge by the cops as Nathan finally expressed his pain, while tightly clutching his arm and chest.


    Ah, dammit! Even though I''m alive, why does it hurt so much!!! Nathan frustratingly thought amid the officers still shooting at the fridge.


    And my mind''s all messed up. I never actually stabbed a person before. It feels different from shooting someone! Not to mention I killed yet another person!


    The gurgling sounds of the officer that he stabbed as he was choking on his blood pierced deep within Nathan''s soul, causing him to break out in sweat.


    Snapping him out of his trauma, a bullet pierced through the fridge and went past his face. He grabbed the stabbed officer''s body (the knife still stuck in his neck), and like a human shield, Nathan placed him in front of him and confronted them.


    "Coward bastard!!" One of the officers shouted as they realized Nathan''s plan. Nathan proceeded to fire at them. They couldn''t do much besides shooting the officer he was using as his shield. Nathan quickly shot them all, incapacitating them. He threw the dead officer to the ground.


    "Ugh." Nathan groaned as he held his head, his mask cracked from the fight.


    This went way worse than I thought. I would have died several times over if I didn''t have this.


    Nathan checked his gear, which had visible damage on the vest, but not as much on the pants.


    Let''s hurry up and loot this station.


    As Nathan was about to go around and store the officer''s weapons, an officer that Nathan had shot before got back up, right behind Nathan. Groans of pain were being uttered by the officer as he was shot by Nathan


    "What?" A look of surprise washed over Nathan''s face as he heard his groans. As if everything happening in slow motion, Nathan turned around, and simultaneously, the officer carried his rifle upwards, to aim directly at Nathan''s head, which had no protective gear.


    Due to the proximity of the officer, Nathan knew covering himself with furniture would be futile, so the only thing he could do was put his hands in front of his face.


    The officer unloaded his magazine, but much to his surprise, the bullets had not come in contact with Nathan.


    "What the..." The officer said, visibly puzzled.


    When he ran out of ammo, Nathan instantly materialized a pistol and killed him with a headshot.


    Okay, this inventory skill is a lifesaver...but...that''s another...kill...sigh.


    Nathan thought as he was looking at the palm of his hands. Nathan looked around at the scene. The ground was littered with the bodies of over twenty injured officers, and two dead, all caused by Nathan.


    If I was Jack or Charles, I could have been much more reckless. I''ll have to work on my combat skills somehow. But I suppose that''s all the officers here now, thank god.


    Nathan quickly stored the weapons of the dead cops and quickly made his way to the storeroom. When he entered, he saw numerous types of equipment. Weapons, vests, armor plates, riot and ballistic shields, and protection helmets. Those were just some of the laundry list of items Nathan saw.


    "Jackpot." He said before storing everything he saw. With no other reason to stay at the station, Nathan walked, more so limped out, and headed back to his car.


    This will be a sample...for what''s to come...


    * * *


    Back at the warehouse, Nathan returned. He removed his mask and hoodie and stored them. Taking off his mask revealed bruises on his head, likely from the tussle with the cop he stabbed.


    "Oh, you''re back. How many cops did you escape from?" Zack asked.


    "None. I did what I wanted without issues," Nathan answered.


    "Lucky you, huh."


    "There''s nothing ''lucky'' about me, Zack." Nathan corrected him in a deeper tone and a dark expression before walking past him.


    "M-my bad," Zack said as Nathan approached the doctor. She was sitting with the NPC.


    "Hello, are you able to treat these wounds?" Nathan asked.


    "Why, of course! That''s why I''m here after all!" She responded.


    She proceeded to place her hands a few inches away from Nathan. A transparent emerald green light shined from her hand onto Nathan.


    As if being made new, all the aches and pains he had from being shot, along with the head injuries, were all lessening and lessening, until they were gone.


    Wow, so this must be how Jack felt when the doctor healed him. Amazing.


    "Thank you," Nathan said to the doctor, and she smiled.


    "No problem, but you should keep your well-being in mind next time." She advised. Nathan didn''t respond but returned her smile with his own and walked back to his group.


    Keeping my well-being in mind, funny.


    "So you got rid of a station. That''s one less nuisance to worry about, mate," Jack said. "But I hope you won''t be so selfish next time and let us come with you...so I can murder some of these buggers too."


    "Well, I want to do some raids by myself, but you guys can cause chaos in your way, too," Nathan responded. "The developer did say that we should do that anyways...and it''ll make things easier as the military and police will have to split up their forces more and more."


    "Fair play, mate."


    "Ooh, I wanna rush into the military!" Charles excitedly said. "That''ll be a challenge!"


    "I mean, don''t the military have super soldiers...well, not all of them, probably, but we don''t know which." Nathan speculated.


    "That makes it even better, though!"


    While everyone was listening to Nathan advising them on what to do, Ada began writing in her book again. Olivia noticed that, and an expression of fright came over her face.


    "U...um, guys." Olivia softly interjected. "I...I think we s-should see what...our leader thinks." As if she was a star on a show, all eyes were turned to Ada. Ada glanced at Olivia, who looked nervous, and turned her gaze to the rest.


    "Don''t worry, guys. Everything''s fine!" Ada politely and brightly said. "I don''t see anything wrong with Nathan''s suggestion."


    "Nice!" Charles exclaimed.


    "Well, that''s good, love," Jack responded. Zack, on the other hand, was admiring her beauty, which Ada noticed.


    With all the words of approval, Ada smiled and looked towards Nathan.


    He smiled at her.


    I''m starting to really hate this fake woman.

 Ch. 18 - Adas Side Mission (Part 1)

    Back at Sergeant John''s office, he played a video recording on his television. The video showed the events in Nathan''s raid against the police station. Nathan''s identity was covered due to his mask and hoodie, but John was watching the recording with suspicious eyes.


    He took a picture from his desk drawer. It was of Nathan in his debut video. Even though Nathan''s upper half was covered, the similarity of his cargo pants and boots, both in the video and in the picture, was too much to go unnoticed. With that said John calmly put the picture back.


    With a deep breath, he began to think.


    A random fridge and weapons appearing and disappearing and stealing stuff that can''t be carried by normal people.


    While recalling what he saw in the video, like a child, he couldn''t help but chuckle.


    Haha...Do you honestly think your mask would fool me, Nathan?


    "You''ve been hiding this from everyone, Nathan, but you might be a blessed human, huh? If only you''d died long ago, things wouldn''t have become so terrible." He said before leaning back in his chair. "Looks like getting in the country''s way must be in your bloodline, Nathan."


    * * *


    Currently at the warehouse, the members that were away were Jack, as he had left to help ''complete the mission'' and Charles, who was out jogging to keep up his physique. Zack was playing an online first-person shooter on the television, while everyone else was doing their usual things.


    "Olivia, we''re going on the road." Ada suddenly said. A look of worry came over Olivia''s face upon hearing that.


    "W-where are we going...?" Olivia asked.


    "I was just thinking that we should help cause some more discord in the society."


    "O-Okay..." Olivia said before leaving the warehouse with Ada. With a look of skepticism, Nathan watched Olivia as she reluctantly followed her. Now, it was just Zack and Nathan in the warehouse.


    "Hey, Zack," Nathan called. "You know how Ada''s always writing in her book...do you think she''s up to something?"


    "Huh, why do you say that?" Zack asked, not making eye contact from the video game. "She probably just likes writing or something--HAHA! GET REKT SCRUB!" Zack assumed as he trash-talked the opponents he was playing against.


    "Sigh...what do you think of Ada?" Nathan rephrased.


    "I think she''s a good leader...and a...beautiful person too."


    "Tsk...what a useless answer." Nathan bluntly said with annoyance dripping from his face. "Would you stop thinking with your emotions and think logically!?"


    Not that anyone around here thinks logically...all a bunch of crazy people.


    In response to what Nathan said, Zack placed down his controller and turned to him, giving his full attention now.


    "What do you mean? I am thinking logically." Zack said. "I''m not sure what interactions you may have had in your life that made you skeptical, but I''m sure Ada''s not like that."


    "...And how are you so sure of that?"


    "I just...don''t get any untrustworthy feeling from her...and besides, we''re all friends here now, aren''t we--"


    "No, we are not friends," Nathan interjected, not letting Zack finish. "I''m not friends with you, psychos."


    "Uh...my bad." Zack nervously responded before awkwardly turning back to his video game.


    * * *


    Olivia was currently inside a car driven by Ada. While Ada was humming, Olivia maintained a nervous expression throughout the ride.


    "W...where are we going?" Olivia inquired, initiating a conversation.


    "Remember I said that I thought we should also help." Ada reminded her. "Plus, I thought that they wouldn''t want a leader that doesn''t do anything that deserves the role." She explained before going back to humming.


    "I...I see, so, h-how will you...sow discord...in the society?"


    "I made some calls with people I knew in the past...they''ll be helpful."


    "Oh..."


    An air of silence filled the car before Olivia continued.


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    "I-Is your intention...really for the group''s...benefit?"


    Hearing those words, with a confused expression, Ada looked to Olivia.


    "Huh? What are you talking about?" Before Olivia could explain, ringing could be heard in the car. It was Ada''s phone.


    "Huh?" Ada checked. It was the developer. Unlike in the court, he''s saved in the phone as ''Developer'' and no longer an unknown caller. She answered.


    "Hey, hey, Ada." He greeted.


    "Since when do you call and not just randomly start speaking to us?" Ada said.


    "Sometimes I decide to be polite...but that''s not the point. I know what you''re up to, Ada."


    "Oh? Is that right?" Ada asked with a daring tone.


    "Of course, I would know what my game characters are up to...but I won''t stop you or anything. It''ll make for a good storyline to the plot!"


    "I see. Well, thank you for not stopping me then."


    "Yeah, and make sure to complete your little side quest since you''re starting one...good luck!" He said before hanging up.


    Once again, there was a few moments of silence.


    "So...judging by that phone call, you probably will assume that I''m up to something bad," Ada said to Olivia. "There''s no point in explaining anything to you of all people...so all I''ll say is this..."


    "Never forget Olivia, just because you got bullied, you poisoned many of your fellow university students and received the death sentence for it...I''ve told you this before, but no one will accept, or be friends with you, except for me, Olivia. So all you need to do is shut up and keep being my obedient little pet, and I''ll never leave you."


    Throughout her speech, while holding back tears, Olivia wanted to get out of the vehicle. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to leave. Olivia was also hyperventilating as Ada was talking. Her words made Olivia remember things she wanted to forget.


    "Y...you...you caused the poisoning." Very softly, Olivia stuttered.


    "What did you say?"


    "...nothing."


    "...Heh, that''s what I thought," Ada said, immediately reverting to her friendly demeanor.


    Up ahead were soldiers, inspecting the vehicles of drivers.


    "Damn, looks like we won''t be able to avoid them all...gimme my mask and hoodie, quickly...and put on one for yourself," Ada instructed Olivia. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Olivia composed herself and did what she asked.


    Ada received her black hoodie from the hotel stay, along with a theatre mask. It was grey, with the happy side of the mask being light grey and the depressed side being darker grey. Olivia had a similar mask, but hers only had a depressed expression. They put them on, and Olivia made her way to the soldiers.


    "Hello, before you can proceed, we just gotta make sure you are normal civilians." A soldier explained as he approached Ada''s side of the car.


    "No problem, sir!" Ada responded, her voice filled with politeness.


    "Uh, could you guys take off the mask and hoodie...I can''t see your identity."


    "Oh, I''m so sorry, sir, but we are both shy. However, I can assure you that we''re both upstanding, law-abiding citizens!"


    "Hmm..." With suspicious eyes, the soldier stared intently.


    "Won''t you let us through?" Ada asked.


    "...Alright, you guys may go past."


    "Thank you so much!" Ada excitedly expressed her gratitude before driving off. "Always too easy...take this back," Ada said before giving Olivia the hoodie and mask. The remaining drive was met with complete silence until they arrived at an inner city-like area.


    "We finally arrived," Ada said. They both came out of the car and Olivia was immediately surprised at the sight.


    A town containing a high density of run-down buildings, civilians dressed in ragged and dirt-ridden clothing and a lack of color or modernity to be seen anywhere. Olivia couldn''t help but wonder if this was a place that Ada, of all people, would associate herself with.


    "What are you standing around for? Come on." Ada said, snapping Olivia out of her surprise. With the onlooking eyes of the civilians, less because of them being criminals, but more so the cleanliness and beauty of their clothing, they made their way to a specific building in the town.


    Unlike the rest of the town, you could immediately feel a sense of richness from it. It was a mansion that had multiple expensive cars parked in the yard, as well as, recreational items like a pool. Ada and Olivia made their way to the gate, and they were met by a man in a black suit, presumably the security.


    "Hey, my name is Ada Foster, and I''m here to see your boss, Leon Carter."


    "Hmm...the boss is not expecting any...visitors." The security said.


    "Don''t worry, just call him...I''m sure he''ll remember me."


    "...Wait here." The security said before going inside the mansion.


    "W...Who are these people?" Olivia asked.


    "Some old friends," Ada responded. In no time, multiple men came from the mansion. They were all wearing black dress shirts with grey pants and grey dress shoes as if it were a uniform to them.


    "No way...it''s Ada! She escaped prison!" One of the men excitedly shouted. He was a fairly tall man with brown neck-length hair with a goatee. There was not much variety to his facial features as his eyes were the same color as his hair. The rest of the men with him had shared the same joy upon seeing Ada.


    "Yup, Ada here in the flesh. It''s good to see you again, Leon." She greeted him with a warm smile.


    "Who''s the other one with you?" Leon asked as he was looking at Olivia.


    "Oh, this is my friend, Olivia Gray!"


    "Wait...that''s Olivia Gray!?" An individual standing beside Leon asked, as all joy immediately ceased from everyone''s faces. "Isn''t she the one that caused you to go to prison...?"


    "Oh, Frank...uh...well..." Ada said, seemingly not finding the words to explain. Frank angrily made his way up to Olivia.


    "There''s no way someone can screw over Ada like that and get away with it!" Frank snapped. Olivia, in response, was reaching into her bag as he got closer. She had a crazy look in her eyes.


    "Wait, calm down! Olivia''s my friend!"


    Frank had already got close enough to attempt to throw a punch at Olivia, who at the same time was about to pull whatever she was going to from her bag.


    "BANG!"


    With the sound of a gunshot, Frank had dropped to the ground.


    "AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"


    Frank screamed out as he was clutching his right leg. Bloodstain dyed his pant leg. Leon was also holding a pistol in his hand.


    "I gave you a chance, Frank, but there will be no second chances if you inconvenience Ada like that again," Leon warned him. He quickly turned to Ada with a genuine smile. The other men beside Leon quickly picked up Frank, who was still groaning and brought him to the mansion.


    "Because of your intellect and compassion, Ada, we owe you everything, so I''m sure that you forgiving Olivia and taking her in is all a part of your planning and empathy."


    "Of course!" Ada responded with elation in her voice.


    "Pardon my asking, but do you need anything in particular now that you''re here?" Leon asked.


    "Well...I do have an idea that will benefit you. How would you guys like to grow this ''business'' we built?"

 Ch. 19 - Adas Side Mission (Part 2)

    "How would you guys like to grow this ''business'' we built?"


    "What? What do you mean?" With raised eyebrows, Leon asked.


    "I''ll explain, but can we come inside?" Ada asked.


    "Of course, my apologies for keeping you out here this long!"


    Leon and his men brought Ada and Olivia to the mansion. Upon entering, the girls saw numerous men and women, gathered inside. They were engaging in different activities. Some were conversing, some were playing cards, and some betting, but overall, it was lively in the mansion.


    Leon told his men he''d speak with Ada and Olivia privately, and they listened. He brought the girls to an elevator.


    "An elevator, nice. I can see that you''ve been doing well with this place." Ada said as she commended Leon.


    "It''s all thanks to you." He responded.


    The elevator brought them to the top of the mansion. Exiting the elevator, Ada and Olivia saw one room down a brightly lit hallway. There were numerous pictures of Ada on the walls. Ada wore formal attire in the picture and had her signature bright smile in them.


    "Ugh..." Olivia muttered, cringing at the sight.


    "Let''s talk in my office if that''s fine with you," Leon said, and Ada happily agreed. After walking down the hall, Ada looked at all the pictures.


    "I''m glad you still have those pictures of me up," Ada said.


    "Of course, you are important here!"


    Leon opened the door, and they entered. It seemed like a normal office, but there was a large picture of Ada on the wall behind Leon''s desk, making the picture one of the first things seen upon entering.


    "Do you guys need anything to eat or drink?" Leon asked.


    "Nah, it''s fine." Ada politely declined, the same as Olivia.


    "So, what were you saying about building this business, Ada?" Leon asked before locking the door behind him for privacy.


    "Well, let me ask, how''s the money been going?"


    "Well, the money''s been good, but the useless townsfolk are starting to run out of cash. We get less and less from them. It''s going to hurt our growth in the future."


    Extortions... Olivia thought.


    "I see. Well, that makes my proposition even more useful," Ada responded. "I''m sure you heard about my recent escapades with those other criminals, and that even the military are out for us."


    "Yeah, it must have been stressful for you."


    "It''s fine because you can use this opportunity. While law enforcement''s focusing on us, you guys can acquire money from outside of this town, by any means you want." Ada explained to him.


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    "That''s a good idea...but are you sure that will work? I mean, what if they bring out super soldiers?" Leon speculated.


    "C''mon Leon, was I ever wrong in my plans?"


    "I''m sorry, you''re right."


    "Yeah, and also, I can give you some weapons. My friend over here is pretty good with poisons. It''ll be helpful in your work." Ada said as she pointed to Olivia.


    "Thank you."


    "One more thing," Ada said. "Since I recommended this plan to you, It would be unfair if I get nothing for it."


    "Of course. Even though we are of similar ages, you helped us in the past when we had nothing and made us into who we are now. This business is yours, so anything you ask for, you will receive." Leon expressed his sincerity towards her.


    "Thank you so much!" Ada enthusiastically expressed her gratitude, while Olivia repulsed at his constant praise towards her.


    "Oh, where are Charlotte and Nolan?" Ada asked.


    "Oh, they are collecting the monthly cash, so they''re busy now," Leon said.


    "W-Who are they?" Olivia asked.


    "Oh, those two, like me, manage this business. They were also saved in the past by Ada." Leon answered.


    "I...see."


    "Alright, we can''t stay long due to complicated reasons, Leon." When Ada said that, Leon immediately became depressed. He did not expect her to leave on the same day, much less that quickly.


    "O-Oh...I understand." Leon said in a downtrodden tone.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll be keeping in touch frequently from now on," Ada assured him.


    "Oh, alright, I can''t wait to hear from you again." He said, sounding a bit happier. With that said Leon escorted them back out of the mansion. He walked with them up to the gates.


    "Remember Ada, if you need anything, we''ll help you." Leon reminded her.


    "Of course, and thank you for your kindness!" Ada ended. They went in their car and left.


    "Well done, Ada." The developer began to speak on the car''s radio.


    You like randomly showing up, huh?


    "Looks like you''ll get your pets to cause more havoc in the country, nice." The developer commended. "Keep up the good work!" He finished.


    "Pets huh." Ada smiled. Olivia couldn''t help but look depressed.


    "I wonder what the others are doing now?" Ada asked.


    * * *


    Over to Jack, he was watching an action film, in a house that was not his own.


    "This movie''s pretty good. I should tell Zack about this one." He said as he got up. Furniture had been damaged, and blood was splattered all over the walls. He also had blood on his clothing.


    "Guess I''ll go now." He said as he walked over the mutilated corpses of a man, a woman, and what seemed to be a male adolescent. While walking out, he noticed military vehicles approaching him.


    "Oh?"


    He stopped and waited for them to confront him. Numerous soldiers came out of them, carrying military-grade rifles.


    "Hey, buggers!" Jack said as he waved at them.


    Someone else came out of one of the vehicles, and by their uniform, Jack could tell they were a super soldier. He was correct, as it was Rebecca.


    "You were around here..." Rebecca said.


    "Yeah, there''s so many people I can prey on here," Jack responded. That response made Rebecca slightly angry.


    "...Do you remember what you and your group did to Malcolm and Rachel?"


    "Huh?"


    "Do you know how serious her injuries are?"


    I see. That woman likely wants revenge or something, and when she heard I was spotted here, she didn''t hesitate to come.


    "Tch, not answering me, fine then. I understand why you did it. It''s because you are crazy. But what I don''t understand is why would a sociopath like you would help those other criminals. I watched that debut video. Why did you kill off those cops so the others can escape?"


    Jack looked confused at her questions.


    "Helping them? I think you got something wrong there." Jack responded. "I''m not killing them to save the day or whatever. I kill because I like to kill."


    There was a moment of silence between them as Rebecca became more upset.


    "I see...it doesn''t matter. I promised to kill you guys for what you''ve done to my comrades."


    "Oh, that''s too bad," Jack said. "I just killed some people, so I''m slightly full now. Don''t worry, next time."


    "What!?" Rebecca said, visibly confused. "Shoot him!" She ordered the soldiers to fire, but before they could, Jack disappeared.


    "NO!" She shouted out in frustration.


    What a cheeky bugger, your frustration is lovely. Jack thought as he was hopping from building to building at extreme speeds. Things will become more fun in the future, as the developer said.

 Ch. 20 - Preparation and Explanation

    Later down the day and over to Leon, he entered a dimly lit room not located at the mansion. He could see the silhouettes of three people.


    What are they even doing?


    He immediately switched on the lights, and he could now clearly make out the scene in front of him. There were two people, a man and a woman, both wearing similar uniform as Leon, standing in front of a severely injured man, whose collar was being gripped by the first woman. The man being held was covered in blood, had numerous bruises on his face, and even had a black eye.


    "Charlotte? Nolan? What are you guys doing?" Leon asked, understandably puzzled.


    "This guy didn''t want to pay his dues. So we''re teaching him a lesson." Charlotte answered. Charlotte was a woman of slightly above-average height. She had brown eyes and short hair styled in a mullet with v-cut bangs.


    There was blood on her knuckles.


    "Don''t worry, I wasn''t planning on killing this guy," Charlotte said as she threw him to the ground.


    "We''ll just sell whatever property''s in his house," Nolan added. He was quite tall and had straight, mid-length black hair. "So, what''s up, Leon?"


    "Well, Ada visited earlier today," Leon responded. Instantly, a look of surprise filled their faces.


    "What!? Ada visited?" Charlotte loudly inquired. "Why didn''t you call us if she came then!?"


    "You guys were busy with...that person, I guess," Leon responded. In anger, Nolan kicked the man across the face.


    "Damn this bastard! He took up our time!"


    The man seemed to be saying something but was too weak and injured for his voice to be audible.


    "So, what did Ada talk about when she visited?" Charlotte asked. Leon responded by explaining Ada''s proposition of them taking advantage of the chaos in society now to get more money. He also told them about Olivia, who was supposedly good with poisons and would help them in the long run.


    "I see, like always, Ada is thinking about us," Charlotte said. "I have no problems with carrying out that plan."


    "Yeah, we have to mobilize our men for this," Nolan added.


    "Yes, let''s do this quickly, guys. It''s all for Ada''s sake," Leon remarked.


    With that said, they left the room.


    "You deserve to be stuck here for taking up our time when we could have seen Ada after so long." Charlotte coldly said before locking the door behind her. They made their way back to the mansion.


    "So, how''s your leg, Frank?" Leon asked. He, along with Charlotte and Nolan, had met up with Frank, who was lying in a bed. Frank had black eyes and hair styled in a low fade, with neat facial hair.


    "Tch, you didn''t have to shoot me...it hurt like hell!" Frank expressed.


    "Well, you shouldn''t have tried to attack the friend of Ada."


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    "What!? You tried to attack a friend of Ada!?" Charlotte looked at him with a surprised expression.


    "C''mon...Olivia, or whatever her name is, deserved it. Remember when we watched the news, and they spoke about her? Didn''t our Ada somehow get labeled as an accessory to murder when that bitch killed those students?" Frank explained. "They even called Ada a ''cult leader'' for manipulating people like that bitch Olivia to kill people, which is something our Ada would never do!"


    "Yes, that''s true, but that doesn''t mean you can go around and attack someone Ada had already forgiven and made friends with. Besides, Ada probably sees something in her." Leon countered.


    "Sigh, whatever." Frank relented.


    "But anyways, heal up fast, Frank."


    "Huh, did something happen?" He asked.


    "Yeah, we''re gonna make some cash," Nolan answered.


    * * *


    Back at the warehouse, the party members all returned and relaxed.


    "So, what have you guys done so far to mess with the cops and shit?" Zack asked.


    "Oh yeah! Olivia and I went to meet some of my old friends! They''ll soon cause some trouble for law enforcement by committing some crimes!" Ada enthusiastically said.


    "Wow, awesome! It must be nice to have some friends like that, Ada!" Zack said as he was clapping excessively.


    "Oh! I wonder if some of them are strong?" Charles asked.


    "The stronger they are, the better. While they increase the workload of the military and whatever, I can have more chances of slaughtering buggers!" Jack added. "Nice work, ''leader''."


    Ada relished in the compliments and praise, but Nathan seemed very skeptical.


    Why does anything that comes out of Ada''s mouth, I can''t seem to trust?


    "Speaking of strong guys, I ran into a super soldier earlier today," Jack said. "She was spouting nonsense about wanting revenge for us killing those two comrades of hers."


    Oh boy.


    "Wait, really!?" Charles interjected. "Then why didn''t you call me? You know how bored I am because I haven''t gotten to fight anyone strong in so long!?"


    "Calm down, mate, it''s not that serious," Jack responded. "She was probably weak anyways, but if you want to fight her, you can find her because I didn''t bother attacking her."


    "I wonder, how strong are super soldiers anyways?" Zack asked.


    "I''m glad you asked, Zack!" The developer said, instantly appearing as his usual ''audio only'' on-screen. "I have just the explanation for that question."


    I wanted to hear about these super soldiers and their level of strength, so I could know what I''m gonna deal with in the long run, and how to properly use my inventory against them.


    "So before I explain, you guys should understand what these super soldiers are. Basically, they were normal soldiers experimented on to increase their bodies beyond the normal means a human can achieve through strength training. It''s a pretty tortuous process, and a lot of humans that undergo it die in the process. If they survive, however, they''ll become war machines capable of beating people like you who were gifted powers, or blessed individuals in other words. Those war machines form what is known as the Anti-Blessed Malefactor Corps."


    Does that mean all of us here have powers? Nathan asked himself. I guess that would make sense...


    "Most super soldiers can easily defeat dozens of normal humans in a fight with their bare hands. But depending on how many enhancements they receive to their bodies, some of the strongest ones there can destroy entire city blocks with their strength alone. Sounds like an awesome fight? Right, guys!?"


    "What the hell? City blocks!?" Nathan asked, his face dripping with surprise. "How the hell am I supposed to beat guys that can destroy city blocks!?"


    "Don''t worry, Nathan! The one who''ll be fighting those guys will be me!" Charles declared, clearly looking excited.


    Ah, oh yeah. I don''t have to fight those guys. Hopefully, Jack and Charles will be enough, but fighting super soldiers that can take dozens of men still does not sound doable! Maybe if I use my storage ability to the best of my capabilities, but how long will that even sustain?


    "No need to thank me for giving you guys that information. Make sure you do your best to get rid of them!"


    "Wait, I have a question," Nathan asked.


    "Yeah, sure. Ask away!"


    "Since you know so much about super soldiers, do you know how much there are anyways?"


    "Well, last I checked, there were over two thousand of them."


    Two thousand!? There are two thousand people like those super soldiers we fought at the hotel!?


    "Also, the reason I know that much about super soldiers, Nathan...well, never mind."


    "Huh?" Nathan asked with a puzzled expression.


    "Well, gotta go, guys. Your developer is a busy man after all! Have fun tearing society down!" He said before disconnecting the communication.


    What was he going to say?

 Ch. 21 - More Chaos

    A few days passed, and havoc still mercilessly reigned in different parts of the country.


    Over to a police station, screams and shooting could be heard. Civilians were scared for their lives as they kept far from the station.


    "AAHHH!! WHY CAN''T WE KILL THIS ONE GUY!" A police officer frustratingly asked as he was shooting his firearm. However, he could not do much as a bullet pierced his shoulder and arms, wounding him.


    There were many officers wounded and one or two dead on the ground, and there was no furniture in sight. Nathan, who was wearing his hoodie and mask, walked out and entered a car.


    I''m getting much better at fighting a lot of enemies at once. I''m increasing my understanding of my powers more and more. I don''t need to be as cautious because law enforcement are very occupied with the others by now.


    Just as Nathan assumed, over to Jack, he was indiscriminately murdering numerous civilians in the area he was in. At the same time, he was running from military vehicles chasing him.


    Haha! You buggers are such fools! Why don''t you get your super soldiers if you don''t want more people to die!?


    It was a pathetic display by the military in attempting to stop Jack from killing civilians as he ran by. The civilians also were pathetic, as they could do nothing more than cower in fear as he mercilessly murdered them.


    I love the look of fear in these buggers'' faces! If I had more time, I could break them by torturing them...I can''t wait to get rid of the country''s defense so I can have all these prey to myself!


    They fired at Jack, disregarding civilians, and ended up grazing his sleeve, tearing it.


    Wow, good job! That was kinda close! That won''t be happening again though!


    "Damn it! Why can''t we get any more reinforcements!" A soldier in one of the vehicles asked.


    "Everyone''s occupied all over the country!" The soldier driving the vehicle answered. "In case you forgot, there are five S-Class criminals on the loose now!"


    "Then why doesn''t the military let the super soldiers on them!?"


    "Because they''ll end up destroying everything! It will take multiple super soldiers, so something as destructive as that is a last resort."


    "Damn it...the state''s gonna wait until everything goes to shit..."


    At the same time, Charles was alone in an alleyway. He seemed to be eating some meat.


    Sigh, this meat that the NPC gave me is good, but this would be even better with a good fight. I''m the only one that hasn''t gotten anything good. I know we''ll eventually fight super soldiers, but I''m bored out of my mind right now. Can''t something just come to entertain me for a bit?


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    Just as he said multiple military vehicles blocked the entrance of the alleyway, and many soldiers got out.


    "Huh?" Charles said with curiosity.


    "S-Class criminal Charles Warner. You and Jack really don''t like hiding when you''re wanted." A soldier said. "Well, you are S-Class so we can kill you on sight if you don''t immediately surrender."


    Charles quickly got excited.


    Haha! These guys may not be super soldiers, but it''s better than nothing. They even have powerful firearms, too, so if I hold back, I can make this fun!"


    "Judging by that battle-crazed smile, I suppose you won''t surrender. That''s fine."


    Just as the soldier said, another aimed an RPG at Charles.


    "Wow!" Charles exclaimed with a look of excitement." The soldier fired the rocket, and Charles didn''t move. The soldiers put their hands with their firearms in front of their faces in advance. It impacted and exploded on his body.


    Smoke filled the alleyway after the explosion.


    "Wow, guys! I didn''t expect you to shoot a rocket launcher in a passageway between buildings!" Charles excitedly said as he walked out of the smoke. His cargo pants were tattered, and burns were on his body.


    "Of course, that bastard ate it." The soldier said. "There''s no point in worrying about buildings if it means that we''ll get rid of you!"


    "HAHA! I LOVE CRAZY GUYS LIKE YOU!"


    "Fire!" The soldier ordered, and they all obeyed. Charles got pelted by several bullets. The strength of the bullets when they hit him surprised Charles.


    Armor Piercing Rounds?


    "Not bad! You guys prepared yourselves!" Charles complimented before running at them while getting shot. He wasn''t moving fast, however.


    "My turn!" Charles said as he balled his fist to attack, but when he got close, the soldier who told him to surrender aimed a shotgun at his chest and blasted him. It sent him back a few feet. He didn''t take his feet off the ground as he got knocked back, so his feet left a trail.


    "Ooh, I felt that!" Charles said. He had a discoloration on his chest, where he got shot.


    "Don''t let up, guys! Keep firing!" The soldier ordered as they quickly reloaded their firearms and fired.


    Their weapons are strong enough and have enough piercing to damage me with each bullet. Plus, they didn''t get scared when I started to run at them. What an amazing performance by people who aren''t even super soldiers!


    "You guys likely can''t hear me because of the shooting, but I thank you for this. I was so bored waiting for super soldiers to finally be sent out, so I''m super glad for this. I''ll gift you with this." Charles said. His muscles and abs got more toned and noticeable on his body.


    "Physical Enhancement - Adrenaline Doping"


    Charles dashed at the group of soldiers, much faster than before. The soldier tried to raise his shotgun but was immediately met with a clothesline by Charles. He threw him so hard with the clothesline.


    It was so strong that it rocketed the soldier into one of their vehicles, sending it a few feet back, busting his head on impact, and instantly killing him. It had also generated enough air pressure to blow the surrounding soldiers away.


    Charles didn''t let up and attacked each and every one of them with his punches. They tried to fire at him, but the bullets did no damage. A soldier even got hold of the shotgun that the previous soldier had as Charles was killing his comrades and fired. Charles didn''t flinch whatsoever from the shotgun shells.


    "Sorry, that won''t work anymore. You guys were very entertaining, though!" Charles said before appearing in front of that soldier, grabbed his head, and bashed it on the alleyway wall, busting his head open. He finally finished up the remaining soldiers.


    "Well done guys. I hope you''re happy I killed you guys for giving me a good fight." He said before walking off, his muscles going back to normal.


    * * *


    At the warehouse, Olivia and Ada were engaging. Olivia seemed to have numerous glass bottles on a table, filled with a purple substance.


    "Good job, Olivia," Ada said. "This amount of poison will make a difference for them for a good while."


    Olivia didn''t respond. She seemed to have a tired expression. Olivia took her phone out and dialed a number. After several rings, the line on the other end connected.


    "Hello?" A voice that was none other than Leon answered.


    "Hey Leon, we have the batch of poison ready," Ada responded. "When do you want to meet up?"

 Ch. 22 - Encounter

    Skipping a day, Ada and Olivia had just left the warehouse and were driving on the road. Keeping their masks and hoodies on, prevented them from being immediately identified by law enforcement if they were unlucky enough to run into them.


    If they did run into them, Ada would magically talk her way out of them from taking any action.


    "So, you remember to bring the stuff, right?" Ada asked Olivia.


    "...Yes," Olivia responded in a low tone.


    "Good job," Ada said before she began to dial a number on her phone. After several rings, the line on the other end connected.


    "Hello, Miss Ada?" The voice of Leon could be heard.


    "Yeah, just letting you know we''ll soon arrive at the location."


    "Oh, no problem, we''ve already arrived."


    "Alright, see you there then," Ada said before hanging up.


    They traveled to a car park. There were numerous people standing around, and judging by their uniforms, they were a part of Leon''s gang. After taking their covering off, the girls were met with the gang members'' stares. They couldn''t help but stare at Ada with admiration.


    Ada and Olivia were greeted by Leon, Charlotte, and Nolan''s presence.


    "Hey guys." Ada greeted. She immediately received a hug from Charlotte.


    "Ada, you don''t know how much I wanted to see you!" Charlotte expressed as she was stuffing her face in Ada''s chest.


    "I missed you too!" Ada said, returning the hug.


    "It''s good to see you again, Ada," Nolan added, to which Ada happily reciprocated the feeling.


    "Um...here you go," Olivia said as she stretched her bag towards Leon. "The poisons...are in there."


    "Oh, thank you."


    Olivia, clearly not wanting to be here, quickly returned to the car. Everyone stared at her in confusion.


    "Oh, don''t worry about her. She''s a bit of an introvert." Ada explained.


    "I see," Leon responded. "Oh yeah, I noticed those criminals that you''re unfortunately tied up with are giving everyone hell. Looks like we''ll be able to do our business without much hindrance by law enforcement."


    "Yup, I told you everything would be fine," Ada said.


    "Um, Ada?" Nolan interjected. "When will you come back to the business permanently? We all miss you, and I''m sure the other guys who joined after you left would want to meet the big boss."


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    Leon and Charlotte were watching Ada, hoping that what she would say in response would be something they''d want to hear.


    "I''m sorry guys, I''d love to come back but can''t, not right now at least. I have some other plans I want to accomplish first."


    "Oh?" Charlotte said with an intrigued look. "What''s on your mind now?"


    "I can''t say for now because it''s too early, but in the end..." A large ear-to-ear smile came over Ada''s face. "It''s about getting to the top."


    * * *


    Olivia and Ada made their way back to the base. Ada, still happy over recent events, immediately jumped into her bed. She noticed that everyone but Nathan was there.


    "So, what''s Nathan doing now?" Ada asked.


    "He''s attacking cops or something," Jack responded.


    "Oh? He''s out by himself?" Ada asked. "Would be a shame if he ends up running into something he can''t fight by himself."


    Though I''d love it if that cocky bastard would die.


    "Nah, I doubt he''d die. I''m sure he wouldn''t be careless enough to get himself killed, love."


    A slight look of annoyance came over Ada''s face.


    "Unless he somehow ran into that super soldier that wanted vengeance. That would be bad then." Jack added. "Too bad then."


    Jack turned his attention to Olivia, who isolated herself in a corner.


    "Hey, love," Jack said as he approached her, gaining her attention.


    "Y-yeah?" Olivia said, not making eye contact due to her personality.


    "I remember that you said you knew how to knit, right? Well, my sleeve got torn yesterday, so I was wondering if you could fix it for me."


    Jack''s manner of speaking was very polite towards Olivia. This encouraged her to make eye contact with him.


    "O-Okay..." Olivia softly responded. "B...But why...didn''t you ask me...yesterday when you came home?"


    "Because you looked pretty tired. I thought it would have been the wrong time to ask."


    Jaws dropping, and looks of surprise came over everyone''s faces upon hearing Jack''s response.


    "What?" Jack said as he looked around at everyone.


    Olivia got out her needle and a ream of white thread from a drawer placed in the warehouse by Nathan.


    "Gimme your coat," Olivia responded.


    Jack obeyed. She proceeded to knit it. Jack had watched her the whole time, which made her feel a bit nervous.


    At the same time, the scene changed to the NPC, who was outside the warehouse on a bench, speaking with the doctor.


    "So, what do you think of the characters that the developer has selected for the game?" The doctor asked the NPC.


    "I have no opinions on them." He bluntly stated. "They are just pawns anyway."


    "Really, not even Nathan?"


    The NPC didn''t comment. Immediately after, he got a phone call from the developer. He did not hesitate to answer.


    "What''s up, NPC?" The developer began.


    "I am fine. Do you need anything?" He answered.


    "Yeah, I need you to go check on Nathan. Might be trouble."


    After a few minutes of careful concentration and skillful knitting, Olivia had fixed his clothing.


    "H-Here you go," Olivia said as she gave him back the coat.


    "Wow, amazing!" Jack said. "My coat looks as good as new. Thanks, love."


    "Y-You''re welcome..." Olivia said, smiling a little.


    * * *


    Nathan had just finished raiding yet another police station.


    I have a ton of materials. If I can find a blacksmith or something, I can make some pretty tough armor and weapons with them. Maybe I can even go for a military base...with Charles or Jack that is.


    "I just want this all to be over...and I''ll explain everything to you, Lilith," Nathan muttered to himself as he made his way to his car. Right before he could enter the car, something crashed onto the roof, crushing the car upon impact.


    That made Nathan jump back in pure shock.


    What the hell!?


    Nathan immediately noticed the cause. It was an individual that dropped on his car.


    That white uniform from before and that obvious superhuman-level strength...a super soldier.


    Nathan was right. The super soldier was also none other than Rebecca. With a look of anger, she stared dead at Nathan.


    "S-Class Criminal, Nathan Hayes," Rebecca stated. "You''ll pay for everything you''ve done."


    Shit.

 Ch. 23 - Similarities

    Shit.


    Without wasting a second, Nathan made a run for it. Rebecca, without moving from the car, watched him as he ran.


    "Idiot," Rebecca remarked.


    Shit, Shit, Shit. Why the hell did I run into a super soldier of all people!? I gotta call the guys to help me quickly!


    Nathan materialized his phone from his storage and dialed Jack.


    "BANG!"


    Nathan''s phone suddenly flew out of his hand. Blood was also seeping from it. Rebecca was holding a pistol, which she had just fired.


    "AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!"


    Releasing an ear-piercing scream, Nathan immediately clutched his hand in pain. The intense pain in his hand after just being shot had made him feel like it was no longer there.


    It hurts...so damn much...but I have to...stop the bleeding...


    Without ceasing to run, Nathan materialized bandages and began to wrap them around his hand.


    At the same time, Rebecca jumped off the top of the car. "I could have killed you just like that, but there would be no point. I''ll make sure you experience the suffering that Malcolm and Rachel went through." She declared as she started to move towards him, albeit casually.


    Nathan ran as fast as he could and kept clutching his hand.


    This pain...I''ve never got shot before, so it''s making it hard for me to concentrate. But I''ll have to ignore it, or I''ll die.


    He thought to himself as he materialized a couple of smoke grenades in his hand.


    Even though I have a few, I''m glad the developer gave me these.


    He threw them behind him as he ran. In the air, trails of smoke were released from them as they descended.


    "So, he does just create things out of nothing," Rebecca said as she watched the smoke grenades descend, not looking the least bit alarmed. Upon landing, they released a massive cloud of smoke that covered a large portion of the area.


    Nathan took the opportunity to take multiple turns and hide in an alleyway. He hid behind a dumpster. He looked at his injured hand. The bandages were now dyed by the color of his blood.


    Holy hell...my arm hurts so damn much. If I try to move, I''ll only end up running into some soldiers or cops, so my only option is to hide out for a while...until I''m sure that the super soldier''s off my ass.


    Only the sounds of Nathan''s breathing were audible due to Nathan keeping as silent as he could. However, just as he thought he was in the clear, he felt a tapping sensation on his shoulder.


    With surprise, he instinctively drew back.


    "You thought simple smoke would work on a super soldier?" Rebecca asked as she was sitting on top of the dumpster. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Nathan materialized a Tommy gun and began to spray her with bullets.


    She effortlessly jumped over the bullet spray onto the side of the alley building. Using the building as a stepping stone, she hopped off and landed behind Nathan.


    What the fu-


    As Nathan tried turning around, she delivered a straight right to his jaw. It had so much force that it knocked Nathan back, rolling him violently across the dumpster and onto the ground.


    Ouch...


    "How strange," Rebecca said as she was doing arm stretches. "It doesn''t seem like a weakling like you could do anything to Rachel or Malcolm."


    Nathan slowly stood up as Rebecca walked up to him. With a nervous expression, Nathan put up his fighting stance.


    Damn it...I have to fight her!?


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    "Yeah, try harder. There''s no use in running!" Rebecca said with a smile.


    She began throwing jabs at Nathan. He was doing well with weaving. But he knew this would not sustain. He could tell by her smiling facial expression that she was not trying.


    "Your fighting skills are very good...for a regular human, that is!" Rebecca taunted.


    She immediately grabbed both of Nathan''s hands and started to squeeze them.


    "AH!!!!" Nathan''s screams made Rebecca smile more in response. Nathan tried his hardest to break from her grasp, but the difference in physical strength was far too great. She then followed by headbutting Nathan, sending him across the alleyway.


    "Ugh..."


    "Don''t worry, I''m holding back so you won''t die. I need you to suffer for everything you''ve done."


    I see...she''s the super soldier Jack said he ran into.


    Once again, Nathan slowly stood up. Blood was running down from his head.


    "You know...I''m not the one responsible for this. I''m innocent...in all this." Nathan responded. Rebecca''s expression changed to a look of confusion mixed with annoyance.


    "Innocent? Don''t screw with me. You bastards that murdered people and caused all this destruction...even took and ruined the lives of my comrades. You are not innocent." Rebecca countered.


    Nathan started to laugh. "Haha...the only ones I''ve killed were cops. I never even wanted to kill them. But, I''ve never tried to kill any civilians. Although I...do have a grudge on some of them...killing them isn''t something I''ve thought about."


    Nathan''s words made Rebecca more annoyed. "Although...I do sympathize with you somewhat since we are kind of similar."


    "Huh?" Rebecca stated with an even greater look of confusion on her face. "What the hell do you mean by that?"


    Nathan instantly materialized numerous cop cars in front of him. It quickly filled the alleyway, and he made a run for it.


    That conversation gave me some time to get used to this pain. I can thank all those fights I''ve been in my life for building my pain tolerance. Unfortunately, I''ve never been shot before so it still hurts like hell.


    The blockage of cars was blasted away as Rebecca punched her way through them. She immediately appeared in front of him.


    What the hell? That speed!? Is she faster than that male super soldier from before?


    "You did not answer my question. What the hell do you mean we''re similar?" Rebecca asked with a look of anger.


    Knowing it''s pointless to run, Nathan decided to oblige in her conversation some more in hopes of stalling for some miracle.


    "You are...similar to me because we both have hatred...for the ones that took away precious people from us," Nathan explained. "Even though your comrades attacked us, they died for it, and you want revenge."


    "Just like me. When I was much younger, my parents who were the nicest people on earth were hanged by the state for some bullshit reason. They said it was for treason, but there''s no way people as nice as my parents would even bother with something like that for no reason. Which is why I also want revenge on you guys...even if it means killing more."


    Although the developer forced that way of thinking in me.


    After Nathan explained, both of them went silent.


    To think I said something as personal as that.


    "I see," Rebecca said, smiling again. "I remember your parents now, haha. There''s no way we''re alike after all. I''m quite offended you even said something like that. I''m going to attack you now."


    Upon hearing that, Nathan immediately became alarmed and started sweating. Rebecca dashed at Nathan.


    Shit! I can''t fight in my condition!


    Rebecca immediately swung her leg and delivered a side kick to Nathan''s right arm, the same one she had shot. Cracking sounds were audible as her leg made contact. Nathan was knocked into a building wall at the side.


    "OOOOOOWWWWWWW!!!!!"


    "If I had put a little more power, I could have taken off your arm," Rebecca said as she approached him. Trying his best to ignore the pain, Nathan materialized yet another Tommy gun to shoot, but before he could even aim, Rebecca dashed up and knocked it out of his hand.


    "I''m getting tired of this," Rebecca said.


    She proceeded to deliver multiple hooks and jabs to his face and body. She punched him so much that blood sprayed from his face and mouth. Nathan could do nothing but take them all.


    She ended it by moving him away from the building and delivering a punch to his gut. He instantly coughed up blood and was sent meters across the road.


    With numerous broken bones, swollen body parts, and covered in his blood, Nathan was having a rough time.


    "I don''t understand why Jack and Charles would even team up with someone like you...nor do I understand how you got classified as an S-Class. Well, maybe it''s because you are associated with those guys."


    It hurts...it hurts so much. I...don''t want to die...


    "I guess that''s enough suffering now. It''s time to kill you." Rebecca said as she slowly walked up to him.


    I''m going to die...I''m sorry, Mom and Dad. I couldn''t get revenge...for you. At least I can leave this horrible world. I hope that I get to see you guys again.


    Tears flow from Nathan''s eyes, but just when he gives up, he remembers Lilith. A vision of her smiling appeared in his memory.


    Sigh...I''m an idiot.


    Suddenly, Nathan began to move his body.


    "Huh?" Rebecca said, clearly confused as to how he was moving.


    Mustering the remainder of his strength, he used his left arm to push himself up until he stood up.


    "Sigh, what''s the point of getting up? So you can get killed while standing? Just give up and die already." Rebecca said.


    I''m so ready to die that I forgot about Lilith...she''s always been there for me, and I returned her kindness by becoming a murderer...So until I explain to her everything,


    "I WILL NOT DIE!" Nathan shouted. "I REFUSE TO DIE!"


    "SHUT UP!" Rebecca shouted as she ran at him, balling her fist up.


    Nathan did the same. Despite his injured body, despite his broken arm flailing around as he ran, he went at her with pure determination. When it seemed like she was about to deal the killing blow, someone dropped in between them both.


    "What!?" Rebecca said, both her and Nathan looking surprised.


    The one that landed in...was the NPC.


    "Good job, Nathan. I now understand why the developer likes you."

 Ch. 24 - You are Me

    "Good job. Nathan. I now understand why the developer likes you."


    The presence of the NPC greatly annoyed Rebecca.


    What? There''s no way he got to call someone. I definitely shot his phone before he could.


    "Just wait, Nathan. I''ll take care of this."


    Suddenly, the NPC appeared in front of Rebecca and attempted to deliver a swift kick to her chest. Alarmed by his speed, Rebecca couldn''t dodge and had blocked just in time. Despite blocking, she got sent into a building meters away.


    Nathan''s jaw dropped at what he had just witnessed.


    I-I''m saved?


    Rebecca slowly came out of the building she crashed into.


    "You bastard! Who the hell even are you!?" Rebecca shouted as she was riddled with anger. Without exchanging words, the NPC continued his assault. He forced her to engage him in hand-to-hand combat.


    Damn it. Who the hell is this guy. and why are his movements so fast for a regular person!!


    He delivered an uppercut to her chin, causing her to cough up saliva. He immediately tried following up with a swipe to her face, but Rebecca leaned back in time. She tried to draw back to gain distance from him, but he immediately grabbed her arm.


    What the--


    By grabbing her arm, the NPC pulled her into a palm strike to her gut. The palm strike was so strong that the impact behind it sounded like an explosion. Reflexively, blood came from her mouth.


    "AAAHHHHHH!!!!!" Rebecca screamed as she was sent through multiple buildings, across the block.


    Nathan was left in utter shock as to what he had just witnessed.


    What the...who the hell...is this guy anyway...


    As if letting go of the urgency of the battle due to being saved, Nathan''s adrenaline had worn off. With his vision going, the last thing he saw was the NPC walking towards him. The NPC was trying to communicate with him, but to Nathan, his words were muffled due to him losing consciousness.


    Finally, he blacked out.


    * * *


    An officer entered Sergeant John''s office. He handed him a file containing some papers.


    "These are the reports for today''s casualties, sir." The officer said.


    "Sigh...this is getting annoying to go through. It''s only been a week, and so much damn carnage has unfolded!" John said as he angrily threw the documents on his desk.


    The officer seemed fearful at the sudden outburst by John, but surprisingly, he managed to regain his composure.


    "My bad...how has the media been taking this...I''ve purposely avoided going on the internet because I''ve got an idea of what they''re saying." John asked.


    "Well, there are numerous negative posts describing the horrible situation they are living in, comparing it to a warzone. People outside the country have also expressed their concern." The officer explained.


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    "Sigh...if it wasn''t for Jack or Nathan, the death counts wouldn''t be this high. It''s ironic that there isn''t much activity from the other criminals"


    Nathan...you''re really leaving me with no options.


    "I really don''t want to, but we might have to start sending out super soldiers," John remarked. "For that, people like the president would need to be made aware."


    "That will put the civilians in even more danger, though." The officer said.


    "Did I ask you?" John said in an annoyed tone. Remembering who he was speaking to, the officer became fearful again.


    "S-Sorry..."


    "You can go now." John bluntly stated. Without hesitating, the officer took his leave. As John was reading the reports, he was getting increasingly angry. He tightened his grip on the documents, crushing them.


    Nathan Hayes, for the things you''ve done to annoy me, killing you isn''t enough. You really are just like your parents...always getting in my way. I promise that I''ll watch you suffer.


    * * *


    Suddenly, Nathan awoke from his state of unconsciousness. He was lying in a hospital-like bed. He had a look of confusion at the change of setting.


    Huh? Where am I? The last thing I remember was getting attacked by that super soldier and then saved by the NPC. After that, I think I blacked out.


    Nathan slowly sat up on the bed. He noticed that bandages were wrapped around his arms and that the intense pain he felt in the fight was reduced to a minor sting.


    "Oh, you''re up." Nathan heard a voice. He looked and saw the NPC sitting on a chair to the side of the room.


    "...Where are we?" Nathan asked.


    "We''re underneath the main warehouse room." The NPC responded.


    Was there a room underneath the warehouse?


    "You''re a pretty tough guy. Those injuries you sustained were pretty severe. Even though I tried to dispatch that super soldier as fast as I could, most people wouldn''t survive for that long, but you managed to survive being carried so the doctor could treat you."


    "I...see," Nathan responded. A few seconds of silence had passed until Nathan continued talking. "You came just in time. If it wasn''t for you, I would have died, so thanks."


    "Actually, I was there the whole time, watching your fight." The NPC admitted.


    "WHAT!?" Nathan said, raising his tone in confusion. "So you watched me as I got the hell beaten outta me!?"


    "Yeah, I was wavering on whether or not I should save you. That is until you won me over with your determination to live." The NPC explained. "I have a soft spot for selfish people like you who''d refuse to die."


    "Sigh...that''s not something I''d necessarily want...but whatever. Thanks still."


    "Oh, no need to thank me. You should thank the developer because he was the one who told me that you were in danger."


    "What? The developer?" Nathan asked in confusion. Suddenly, the NPC''s phone began to ring. Without letting it ring for too long, he answered.


    "Hey guys!" The developer began talking, automatically putting himself on speaker. "It''s true. I was the one that told my NPC to save you."


    "But why? Why would you even save me?" Nathan asked. "If I died, then you''d have the other characters to complete your game or whatever."


    "Because Nathan, you aren''t like any of my other characters. I actually like you." The developer responded.


    "What. Don''t screw with me!" Nathan shouted, his tone taking a noticeable shift. "Sure, it''s nice that I didn''t get put on death row because of you, but you made my life worse than it already was." The NPC and developer were silent as Nathan started to vent.


    "Murdering officers, fighting super soldiers, and getting revenge on the state for publicly hanging my parents. I watched my parents die before me and...it is something I''ll never forget." Nathan brought his trembling hands to cover his face as he recalled his past trauma.


    "I hated the country more than anything. Both the state for killing them and the civilians for cheering at their deaths. But as much as I hated them, I never cared for revenge, because I at least had Lilith to keep me whole. But now you ruined that and forced the idea of revenge in my life....and you say...that you actually like me!? DON''T YOU EVER SAY THAT AGA--"


    "Nathan." The developer calmly and in a peaceful tone, interrupting Nathan as he was drowning more in his anger.


    "That''s exactly why I like you. I understand your hatred. I understand all the suffering that has happened in your life."


    "SHUT U--"


    "I understand, and I like you because Nathan...You are me." The developer said.


    "Huh? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"


    "Don''t worry about that. For now, just understand I won''t let you die so easily." The developer said. "And if you want revenge against the country and against me...you have to get stronger. Get stronger so you can get rid of everything in your way so you can return to Lilith, your little girlfriend."


    Damn you...I hate you so much.


    "My NPC here will make for a great teacher for you. Use him. After all, that''s what NPCs are there for."


    Nathan looked at the NPC when the developer said that.


    "Goodbye for now, Nathan."


    "Just...go away," Nathan said as the developer hung up.


    "So, I''ll be training you, huh."

 Ch. 25 - Training

    Picking up from where Rebecca was left after being defeated by the NPC, she was regaining her consciousness. Her vision was blurry as she came to.


    "Ah...help...please," The groans of civilians was audible around her.


    What happened?


    Rebecca slowly got up. As she stood up, she felt a great pain in her chest. She coughed up blood as she fell to her knees.


    Ah, I remember now.


    Rebecca got back up again and looked around her surroundings. She was inside a heavily damaged building. It was a ruin of broken furniture, along with numerous casualties and injured people under building rubble.


    As if feeling helpless, Rebecca could not pick who she should try to help first. She stood there in utter despair. But in the midst of her helplessness, first responders rushed into the building.


    They wasted no time to do what they can for the injured. Firefighters carefully removed the rubble from the injured, and medical professionals used first aid to stabilize them. They were so focused on saving the people that they didn''t realize Rebecca''s presence and simply moved around her as they worked.


    Thank goodness...at least, there will be some survivors.


    Rebecca limped outside and observed a similar scene in the buildings she was sent through by the NPC. First responders were providing aid for the injured in those buildings. Rebecca could only watch in sorrow.


    Instead of getting rid of that criminal and avenging my comrades, I let them get away...and allowed them to cause all this destruction...what a pathetic display...for a member of the Anti-Blessed Malefactor Corps...


    Disgusted with her performance, she limped away in shame.


    * * *


    Nathan and the NPC had returned to the warehouse base on the ground floor. They were both outside, facing each other. The rest of the party and the doctor were spectating them from the side.


    "So, Nathan got saved by the NPC, and now he''s gonna train him?" Zack asked.


    "I guess so," Jack responded. "Looks like he really ran into that one super soldier."


    "I wonder if the NPC is strong!" Charles added with enthusiasm.


    "So, we''re just sparring, right?" Nathan asked.


    "Yeah, this is to increase your combat skills. Don''t think I will be going too easy on you, though." The NPC responded.


    "...Okay," Nathan responded in a slightly nervous tone.


    "Hey, don''t play too rough with Nathan now." The doctor advised as she was watching.


    "Yeah, yeah. Just come at me when you''re ready. You can use any weapon, and we''ll stop when you can''t continue anymore."


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    I''m pretty sure this guy saved me by beating a super soldier low difficulty. Sigh, no need to worry about getting beaten up, because the doctor will heal me...just use this...to get stronger.


    After encouraging himself, Nathan was now ready. Without wasting time, he charged at the NPC. He simply watched Nathan as he quickly approached him.


    Nathan started his attack with a sequence of left and right punches. Without any effort, the NPC was blocking them all with just his left hand.


    "Not bad, I guess." The NPC casually began conversing with Nathan as he was blocking his punches. "Not bad, but you should put more intent behind your punches.


    Huh!?


    Frustrated at the NPC''s casual behavior, Nathan began to mix his attacks with kicks. This only proved useless, as the NPC was now blocking his punches and kicks with the same arm.


    "Come on, put more intent in it, as I said." The NPC repeated as he delivered a quick palm strike onto Nathan''s chest, causing him to move backward. "Strike me like you''re trying to kill me!"


    "Damn, Nathan looks like he''s gonna get cooked," Zack remarked, and the rest of the party nodded their heads in agreement.


    Nathan was visibly shaken from that simple palm strike, but he continued his attack with a knife now in hand. He rushed at him and swung the bladed instrument at the NPC.


    He said I can use any weapon, so I should be fine with doing this. Plus, his casualness with me is getting annoying.


    Unsurprisingly, the NPC began to easily weave around Nathan''s knife attacks. So far, Nathan has not made the NPC move around. He''s been in one spot this entire time.


    "So this is how you interpret me saying that you should strike me like you want to kill me, huh? That''s fine, I guess. I can tell you''ve been in many fights in your life, but against experts, you''re full of so many openings, you know."


    The NPC monologued before sweeping Nathan''s legs, faster than he could even react.


    Wha-


    As Nathan was falling, the NPC grabbed him by the face and slammed him onto the ground, after raising him in the air. Nathan reflexively clenched his head after the impact.


    AAHHH!!! MY HEAD, GODDAMMIT!!!


    "Hey, isn''t that a little too much?" The doctor said with a concerned expression.


    "Don''t worry, I didn''t slam him too hard--" The NPC was interrupted by Nathan''s attempt at shooting him in the face with a pistol at point-blank range. He avoided the bullet by leaning his head to the side.


    Why the hell is this guy so fast!?


    Nathan attempted to shoot him some more, but the NPC literally deflected the bullets with his hand. Even though he didn''t damage him, after releasing Nathan''s face, he moved away to gain distance from the NPC.


    "Wow, Nathan, that was a close one! Good job!" The NPC said as he complimented Nathan. "I suppose this is a good start, so I''ll end it for today."


    The NPC started casually approaching Nathan.


    Shit!


    In response, Nathan obtained a shotgun from his inventory and aimed at him. It was too late, however, as the gun flew out of his hand. The NPC had moved much faster than Nathan''s eye could track and slapped the firearm out of his hand.


    The last thing Nathan observed was the NPC''s fist inches from his face.


    For the second time on the same day, Nathan blacked out. He was laid out like a mat on the ground.


    "Jeez...why did you go so hard on poor Nathan?" The doctor asked as she made her way to Nathan''s body.


    "This is the only way he''ll learn. If he can''t combat superhumans like me physically, he''ll have to use other means."


    "Hmm, the NPC is stronger than I thought," Jack said. "Makes you wonder who the developer actually is."


    Suddenly, Charles confronted the NPC.


    "HAHAHA!! YOU DESTROYED NATHAN!" Charles loudly remarked.


    "It was nothing." With humility, the NPC responded.


    "HAHA, YOU SEEM STRONG! LET''S FIGHT!"


    Upon hearing Charles'' request, everyone looked at him in surprise. Immediately after, they looked to the NPC, anticipating his answer.


    "W-Wait, Charles. I''m not sure that would be a good idea." The doctor warned.


    "Oh! It definitely is a good idea!" Charles countered. "I''ve never had a chance to fight someone strong since the time I fought and lost to a strong ass super soldier all those years ago! After hearing that you easily beat a super soldier to save Nathan, I was already interested! Now I definitely have to fight you, after seeing you beat Nathan so easily!"


    As if processing Charles'' declaration, the NPC didn''t answer immediately.


    "Okay, I was gonna spar with you guys anyways."


    This statement left everyone dumbfounded and left Charles very much excited.


    "PERFECT!"

 Ch. 26 - Rush

    "It''s over for you, battle-crazed killer." A man spoke. By his uniform, he was a super soldier. However, there were some odd features to him.


    First of all, his right eye was glowing purely in crimson red. His black hair was rather long, bushy, and very spiky. He had numerous scars on his face, making him look rather scary. The strangest characteristic of him was that he had a metallic glove on his right arm.


    He was standing over a grievously injured Charles, who was bleeding profusely. Charles'' intestines were exposed on the floor, and his right arm was severely mangled.


    "You''ve killed many people to fulfill your battle lust, but in the face of true power, you could do nothing but get crushed." With a cold expression, the super soldier mocked Charles.


    * * *


    I was never motivated to get stronger until the day I fought that guy. But I''ve been able to go all out since! But maybe, with the NPC...


    "Anytime you''re ready." The NPC said.


    With an excited smile, Charles responded, "Yeah! Let''s go!" before running at him. They immediately started to fistfight. Right off the bat, the fight was more intense, as they were both moving around, unlike when the NPC only had to stay in place when fighting Nathan.


    Despite the difference in Charles and the NPC''s body proportions, they seemed dead even so far.


    The doctor had healed Nathan, and he regained consciousness. He immediately noticed their fight.


    "What the hell is going on now...?" Nathan asked.


    "Charles got excited when he saw you get your ass beat that easily, and now they''re fighting," Jack responded.


    Get my ass beat...you didn''t need to say it like that.


    "Don''t worry, Nathan, you''re pretty good when it comes to leadership and decision-making," Zack said, attempting to console Nathan. Ada looked a bit annoyed upon hearing that.


    "C''mon, let''s take this ''sparring'' up a notch!" Charles said before attempting to deliver a much harder punch to the NPC''s chest. However, he avoided it and countered with a palm strike directly to the side of Charles'' face.


    That only made Charles more excited as he grabbed the NPC''s arm.


    This guy.


    Charles proceeded to throw the NPC into the wall surrounding the perimeter of the warehouse. The NPC landed on the wall rather gracefully, and with physical strength alone, he stuck his right hand into the wall to stay on it.


    Instantly, Charles rushed the NPC and tried punching him as he hung from the wall, but he blocked his fist with his free arm. The force sent him straight through the wall, though.


    "The reinforced walls!" The doctor said in surprise.


    Charles and the NPC continued their fist fight. They were moving around at rapid speeds now.


    "HAHAHA! THIS WAREHOUSE IS IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE! LET''S GO ALL OUT USING THE OPEN SPACE!" Charles declared with a crazy smile filling his face.


    "Physical Enhancement - Adrenaline Doping!"


    Charles'' muscles got noticeably larger and more defined after saying this. As he was going in for a punch, the NPC was about to block and attempt to counter as he did before, but this time he noticed something.


    Huh?


    Just before Charles struck, the NPC moved out of the way. As Charles missed, a large gust of wind was generated from Charles'' attack. Without letting up, Charles continued attacking the NPC. Instead of blocking, the NPC decided to dodge his attacks, with each of them creating large gusts of wind due to the pressure.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    "Damn...I can''t see anything!" Nathan said as he had to protect his eyes with his hands due to the air force. Everyone else had to do the same thing except for Jack.


    "Damn, that bugger is pretty strong," Jack noted. "I wonder how much effort it would take to kill him." Although Jack said this, the gusts of winds were so loud that no one heard his statement.


    "Haha! Why are you dodging all of a sudden!" Charles asked, still smiling immensely as he attacked.


    "You did something to get stronger, didn''t you?" The NPC responded as he was dodging.


    "Haha! Yeah, I forcefully activated my adrenaline to send more blood to my brain and muscles, which increases my strength and speed!" Charles responded. "I''m glad that you can keep up for this long!"


    "Heh, what makes you think I''ve been going all out?"


    "Huh--" Much to Charles'' surprise, the NPC caught his fist. That resulted in a massive gust of wind blowing all around them. The NPC immediately grabbed his arm with his next arm. Having both arms holding Charles'' fist, the NPC turned around in front of him.


    Suddenly, Charles felt himself being lifted off the ground. The NPC was about to do a throw on him.


    This guy. He definitely reminds me of that super soldier.


    As Charles was being lifted, the memory of the super soldier that defeated him flashed in his mind.


    Their strength...strength that''s enough to eat me up! This is the rush I miss!!!


    With a smile on Charles'' face, the NPC slammed him on the ground. The force of the impact was so great that it created many cracks in the ground and felt like it was the sound of an explosion.


    Nathan and the rest of the party''s jaws were dropped at what they witnessed.


    The NPC stood still and watched Charles to see if he wanted to continue. Unsurprisingly, Charles got up with a grin.


    "HAHA! YOU KNOW THIS ISN''T OVER YET, RIGHT!!!" Charles declared as he was bleeding a little from the head. That didn''t phase him however as his eyes were bloodshot, and his signature battle-crazed smile was at its peak.


    "Su--" Before the NPC could respond, the doctor came up.


    "Guys! That''s enough! You''re causing way too much of a ruckus!"


    "Come on! Just a little more!" Charles pleaded. Suddenly, the NPC''s phone rang, attracting everyone''s attention. He quickly answered.


    "You heard the doctor, NPC. That''s enough." The developer said. "Besides, if you guys accidentally destroy the warehouse, especially the trailer filled with explosives, that''ll be a huge problem."


    "Yes, developer, I understand. My apologies." The NPC said. "Sorry, Charles, I guess that we have to stop here for now." The NPC stated as the developer hung up.


    "Sigh...okay," Charles said, immediately losing all excitement. "But next time, we''ll have to finish this!"


    "Sure." The NPC agreed. With the doctor sighing with relief, they returned to the warehouse. Upon returning, Ada noticed she had received a message on her smartphone. She checked to see what it was about, and after reading the message, a devious smile formed on her face.


    Good, they''re wasting no time...this is why I like you guys.


    In an attempt to not be noticed, Ada quickly wiped the smile off of her face. Unaware of the fact, however, Nathan had noticed her expression when she checked her phone.


    * * *


    Over to Rebecca, she had made her way back to her military base. She was limping in a passageway. The concerned eyes of fellow super soldiers were upon her.


    "Hey Rebecca? Are you okay?" A super soldier asked, but she limped past them without responding.


    This is all my fault...I let that disaster take place earlier...I need to make my way to the infirmary and get better quickly so I can go out and properly get rid of those criminals--


    As she was internally resolving, she bumped into a super soldier.


    "S-Sorry--" As Rebecca apologized, she noticed who she had run into. The super soldier was the same man that was in Charles'' flashback.


    Shit!


    Fear immediately came over Rebecca as she looked at him.


    "Rebecca." He started to speak. His voice was cold as ice, and he had a demeanor that pierced through Rebecca''s soul. She was completely frozen in fear.


    "What were you doing." He asked.


    "I-I encountered one o-of the S-Class criminals." She stuttered. The fear was evident through her expression and her voice. "B-but they had back up, and I was--"


    Before she was finished, he gave her a slap to her face. That stunned not only Rebecca but all the other super soldiers in the passageway who had noticed.


    "Were you given orders to go deal with the threats of the criminals?" He asked. "Was it not the regular law enforcement dispatched around the country and not us, to mitigate collateral damage due to our strength?"


    Rebecca, even though she was still fearful and shocked from the slap, started to shake in anger at his words.


    "The...regular officers and soldiers aren''t enough." Rebecca countered. "More people will just die if we don''t help!"


    And...I can''t just sit by and do nothing after what they did to Malcolm and Rachel!


    "You don''t understand. What you feel isn''t a factor. Going against the directions of superiors is not tolerated, Rebecca. But, go get patched up. I will give you one chance." He said as he walked past her. "Do not do anything on your own like that again."


    Rebecca was left in her frustration, and spectating super soldiers were just looking at her in surprise and concern.


    Damn it...stop acting like you''re the greatest thing. You failed to get rid of Charles all those years ago.

 Ch. 27 - Intensification

    Going to the next day, Zack was woken up by the sounds of shooting outside.


    "Ugh, what the hell is that," Zack asked. "It''s seven in the morning..."


    "Nathan''s training with the NPC again," Ada answered as she was scrolling through the channels on the television. "He''s been doing this from around 4 am."


    Olivia also looked stressed. She had eye bags under red, bloodshot eyes.


    "Did you even get any sleep, Olivia?" Zack asked.


    "No..." She softly answered.


    Damn, Nathan''s pretty determined about this, huh.


    Zack went outside. Upon exiting, he saw Charles and Jack spectating Nathan''s spar with the NPC. Nathan had numerous bruises on his body, and his clothing was covered in dirt.


    "Oh. Hey, mate." Jack greeted.


    "Hey, did you guys not sleep either?"


    "Yeah, I was too interested in watching Nathan, but so far he''s just been getting knocked down," Charles responded. "Besides, my body is so strong that I don''t need as much sleep as normal people!"


    "Yeah, I''m similar too," Jack said. "Back at the village I used to live in, we were trained to go without sleeping for long periods."


    "Village--" Before Zack could ask but was interrupted by the sounds of gunfire.


    Nathan tried shooting the NPC, but he deflected them with his hand and dashed up to him. Nathan tried to attack but was too slow and got punched in the face, causing him to roll across the ground.


    "C''mon, you''ve been at this for hours. Let''s take a break now." The NPC said.


    "No, just...a little...more," Nathan said as he ran at the NPC. He attempted to strike him with his fists, but he dodged them all and countered with a sudden punch to Nathan''s gut. With a sudden onset of coughing, Nathan fell to his knees.


    "Alright, Nathan, that''s enough now. Go to the doctor so she can heal you." He said before walking off.


    Ugh...


    Zack came up to Nathan.


    "Need help?" Zack asked as he put Nathan''s arm around his shoulders.


    "Ugh...I can...walk on my...own." Nathan protested, but Zack didn''t let him go.


    "C''mon on, what type of friend would I be if I let you go?"


    "Tch, are you an idiot...you aren''t my friend..." Nathan muttered.


    "Yeah yeah."


    Zack, followed by Jack and Charles, brought Nathan inside.


    "Wow Nathan, you look terrible, haha!" Ada mocked.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Tsk, so annoying.


    "Jack, could you open the door to the bottom floor?" Zack asked, and Jack agreed.


    "Huh...you guys knew how to open it?" Nathan asked.


    "Yeah, unlike you, we were conscious and saw the NPC opening it."


    Jack proceeded to slide a part of the floor which revealed an underground bunker. Zack and Nathan made their way down the bunker. They descended to the room where Nathan had woken up after being saved by the NPC.


    The setting was that of a hospital room. There was a bed, various medical equipment, and cupboards holding medicinal supplies. The doctor seemed to be restocking a container with medicine tablets when they entered.


    "Uh, hello." Zack awkwardly greeted.


    "Oh my!" The doctor exclaimed upon seeing Nathan.


    With her strange green light of healing, she quickly repaired Nathan''s body.


    "Jeez, that''s the 3rd time in less than twenty-four hours I''ve had to heal you." She said in a concerned manner. "You need to stop being so reckless."


    "If I''m not reckless...then I have no chance of surviving." Nathan replied.


    Gotta get strong enough to get revenge on the developer.


    With a sigh, the doctor shook her head. "Well, you''re all healed up now."


    "Thank you," Nathan said before immediately leaving.


    "Nathan is one hard guy, isn''t he?" The doctor asked.


    "He''ll come around," Zack responded.


    After Nathan and Zack returned, the party members were all in the same spot.


    "It''s been a while since we''ve heard from the developer, huh, guys," Ada asked. "We should communicate on what our next move would be."


    "Yeah, it''s slightly more dangerous now that Jack and Nathan ran into super soldiers," Zack added.


    "Yeah, we should--"


    "We should wait it out," Nathan interjected, getting everyone''s attention.


    "Wait it out? But why?" Olivia asked.


    "Well, you said that you had an entire gang mobilized for some dirty work, right?" Nathan recalled. "Then, while they''re causing mischief, that''ll distract the law enforcement. We just gotta hide for a bit, maybe a couple of days, then continue to attack again."


    Hearing this, Ada looked a bit annoyed but she kept her usual smile.


    "I think it''s better if we keep up the attacks so the law will have a tougher time with so many threats." Ada countered.


    "Yeah, well, that''s a stupid idea." Nathan bluntly stated. "We have no idea what the military''s strategies are, but from what we''ve seen...especially me, the threat of being attacked by super soldiers is genuine. I''m not going to get killed because of our ''leader'' making stupid decisions."


    Zack and Olivia gasped, with Olivia''s expression becoming increasingly fearful.


    "You know, Nathan...you say some rather...hurtful things," Ada said, her smile becoming less apparent. "Believe me, I am aware of the super soldiers, you just have to tru--"


    "Trust you? Why should I?" Nathan cut her off again. "Didn''t you get arrested for being a cult leader who threw away her followers without the slightest care? So why can''t you use your presumably loyal gang as dispensable people to distract them while we hide? Or is it that you are planning something..."


    Those words made everyone glance at Ada with a bit of suspicion. Olivia was breaking out in a sweat as Nathan was verbally tackling her.


    "Wait, Nathan. Calm down, man." Zack said in an attempt to diffuse the situation.


    "Nah, let me finish." Nathan denied. "Ada, everyone''s been pretty helpful here. Charles and Jack doing their usual things, me raiding those police stations...hell, even Zack was useful when he blew up those two super soldiers at the hotel."


    "Hey!" Zack exclaimed.


    "But you, the leader. All smiles and always writing in that little damn book of yours."


    I''ve had experience with unnecessarily friendly individuals...they always betray you in the end.


    "You''ve been nothing but useless."


    "Nathan, that''s enough--"


    The TV suddenly switched on. Immediately to the news, garnering everyone''s attention.


    "Good morning, I am Ashley bringing you the news. It seems the state is finally intensifying their efforts to deal with the disaster that they''ve caused, even though it had to take half the country to become a warzone before they realized normal military units aren''t enough."


    "Huh?" Nathan said in a concerned tone.


    "In a few days from now, numerous military officials will be meeting with the president to discuss the full release of the super soldiers and a full-scale evacuation of civilians."


    "Haha!" Nathan laughed upon hearing that. "Looks like we''re kinda screwed anyway"


    Ada had kept her head down after Nathan had called her useless. Her head was not down to hide any shame, it was the opposite. It was to hide the intense rage that she was feeling.


    I will kill you for this, Nathan!

 Ch. 28 - Control

    I will kill you for this, Nathan!


    "What''s wrong, Ada? Why''s your head down?" Nathan mockingly asked.


    "I''m...going to go for a walk," Ada responded. Without another word, she got up and left. Nathan scoffed at her reaction. Olivia, on the other hand, was shaking with fear.


    "Guys, we should get along...you know," Zack said as he looked right at Nathan, to which he averted his gaze.


    I won''t get along with people like that. I shouldn''t have been associating with you guys in the first place.


    As Ada walked into the plane area, memories started to surface at the back of her mind.


    "Ada, didn''t you say that guy did you wrong?" A female from her memories said to her. "I can kill him for you!" She stated with enthusiasm.


    "Ada, I got my monthly paycheck!" A male again from her memories said. "As usual, I''ll gladly give you it all!" With outstretched arms, he handed the cash to her.


    What the hell...


    "I should use my poisons to kill the students that bullied me?" A younger version of Olivia asked Ada. "Well, if you think that...I''ll gladly do it!"


    I''ve always controlled everyone I desired and got rid of anything I despised.


    "Trust you? Why should I?" Nathan''s words echoed in her mind.


    But my ability that placed everyone beneath me with my words alone...is not working on Nathan! Ever since I met him, he''s been unusually cold towards me!


    Her rage was becoming even more apparent on her face. Pulsating veins had surfaced on her forehead.


    "You''ve been nothing but useless."


    HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT TO ME! ME OF ALL PEOPLE! IF I CAN''T CONTROL YOU, I''LL JUST KILL YOU!


    Meanwhile, Nathan and the party were starting to plan after hearing the news.


    "Alright, if their meeting goes well with the president, super soldiers are gonna be on our asses now," Nathan said. "So it doesn''t matter whether we hide or not. Ada''s gang will easily get taken out by those soldiers. They won''t act for much distraction."


    And since they''re thinking of evacuations, I''d hope they move Lilith as far as possible from this shit.


    "Um..." Olivia muttered.


    "What''s wrong, love?" Jack asked.


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    "W-well, what if...they have...abilities as well?"


    "Her gang?" Nathan asked. "I mean, that could be a possibility, but I thought abilities were kinda rare. Wait, Olivia. Do you know something about Ada?"


    "...no." She hesitantly said.


    "But don''t you hang around her alo--"


    "Nathan, would you stop your yapping about Ada and get to your usual planning!?" Zack snapped. "After all, there''s no way someone as... good-looking as her would betray us!"


    This guy''s an idiot.


    "Okay, my bad." Nathan yielded. "As I was saying from before, since super soldiers are gonna be sent out to the streets, there''s no point in hiding, so you guys can do anything you want, I guess."


    "I guess I''ll go out and find more prey soon." Jack decided.


    "If you come back too late, you''ll miss the good movies," Zack warned.


    "Don''t worry, mate. I''ll be there in time."


    "THERE''S NO WAY I WON''T TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO FIGHT THOSE GUYS!" Charles declared.


    Maybe I''ll even find the one that beat me before!


    "While you guys are doing that, I''ll be training with the NPC," Nathan said. "I''ll likely get killed if I carelessly go out now, so I gotta get stronger or, at least, more adept in using my ability."


    "What is your ability anyway?" Zack asked. "You just keep saying you''re a magician whenever we ask."


    A few seconds of silence passed as Nathan decided whether or not he should tell them.


    Hmm...Ada''s not here now, so I doubt it''ll be used against me, but what about Olivia?


    With a glance at Olivia, he decided.


    Well, from what I''ve seen, she seems fearful of her. So not friendly, I suppose. Maybe she doesn''t trust her as well.


    "Sigh, my ability allows me to store anything I touch in like an inventory, I guess," Nathan answered.


    "Oh! So that''s why you decorated this warehouse with the hotel''s furniture. You stored them, ya little thief." Zack teased.


    "Shut up. What about you guys? What''s your abilities? It''s only fair that you tell me as well." Nathan said.


    "I mean, my ability is kinda one-dimensional, mate." Jack responded. "I''m a fast guy," Jack answered.


    "Same, I''m just a strong guy," Charles added.


    What was I even expecting?


    "What about you, Olivia?" Nathan asked, and Jack quickly turned to her with interest.


    "Um...I make poisons...I guess..." Olivia softly responded.


    "Nice, I can''t wait to see that in action, love," Jack remarked. "Seeing you poison tons of people will be a sight to behold."


    "O-Okay..." She responded with a slight smile.


    "And I can forcibly deto--"


    "We already know, Zack," Nathan said, refusing to let Zack finish.


    "Oh..." Zack responded with a downtrodden expression.


    "Well, now that we got that out of the way, I''m going to ask the NPC to spar with me now," Nathan said as he got up.


    "What the...didn''t you just get healed!?" Zack asked. "Why don''t you eat something first!?"


    Instantly, a bottle filled with orange juice along with a sandwich in a transparent zip-lock bag materialized in Nathan''s hands.


    "Don''t worry about that," Nathan said with a sly smirk as he walked off.


    "Hey! That''s cheating!"


    * * *


    Fast forwarding to later in the day, there was gridlock in the city, Severe traffic congestion could be seen for many miles. It''s as if a switch in the citizens'' heads were flipped after hearing this morning''s news, for they wasted no time to leave the parts of the country that had been attacked by Nathan and his party the most.


    Numerous posts online spoke about this as well.


    "I''m glad that the state is finally taking things seriously even though things have already gone to hell, but there''s no way I''m staying in a city that most likely many super soldiers will run rampant in now." A person posted, which received tons of likes. "I''m not gonna wait on the state to evacuate us. I''m gonna evacuate myself as fast as possible!"


    Lilith was scrolling through the posts and reading them. She was curled up in the fetal position in her bed, clearly looking depressed. Her eyes were red, which could indicate that she had just finished crying.


    Nathan...

 Ch. 29 - Where did it all go wrong? (Part 1)

    Nathan...


    Becoming more depressed and on the verge of tears, she turned off her phone.


    Nathan...how did things turn this way...


    As she began tearing up, she began to reminisce.


    You were such an innocent person...before everything...


    Lilith recalled her days in middle school. When she first met Nathan. A younger Lilith was having a snack as she sat under trees, protecting her from the sun.


    While she was eating, a trio of boys approached her.


    "Hahaha, Lilith! Are those braces!?" One of the kids said as they began to tease her. Lilith quickly covered her mouth, her face red with embarrassment.


    "Train track teeth! Magnet mouth! Tinsel Teeth! Hahahaha!!!" The children relentlessly teased her to almost the verge of tears. Right before crying, however, one of the boys was drop-kicked out of nowhere, stunning everyone.


    That boy was a much younger version of Nathan. He landed on the ground like a superhero.


    "Hahaha! Are you okay, little one?" Nathan brightly asked Lilith. Lilith was stunned at his expression and couldn''t respond immediately.


    The boy that he drop-kicked had got up back in a mix of anger and tears. "G-Get him!" He ordered his friends.


    "Ha! I''ll beat the crap out of you for bullying that poor girl!" Nathan declared, clearly playing the part of a superhero he likely saw on television.


    Nathan proceeded to fight all three of them by himself, with Lilith watching in surprise. Although Nathan had been beaten up, he beat them badly enough for them to run away.


    "W-We''ll get you for this!" The boy that Nathan drop-kicked declared as he and his friends limped away. Nathan simply stuck his tongue out at them. He then turned to Lilith.


    "T-Thank you..." Lilith expressed.


    "Don''t worry! What''s your name?" Nathan asked.


    "M-My name''s Lilith Ashley."


    "I''m Nathan Hayes!" He brightly responded with a smile. "Let''s be friends, and I''ll always protect you!"


    You were my first real friend.


    Nathan and Lilith quickly became close throughout their years in middle school. They found numerous similarities, such as video games, anime, and movies, which they''d spend a lot of time watching and playing together.


    Those were the best and most peaceful two years of my life...and then we moved to high school.


    "Lilith? Is that you?" A teenage Nathan asked with an excited expression.


    "Wow! We''re going to the same school!" Lilith responded, matching his excitement.


    Their friendship only became closer as they went through high school. Nathan had retained his protective personality towards Lilith and would be hostile towards anyone even slightly bullying her but would be pacified by Lilith, as she feared for him being punished by teachers.


    One day, Lilith approached Nathan with a cake.


    "Ooh! Where''d you get that?" Nathan asked, his eyes gleaming at the cake.


    "It''s chocolate cake! I made it in cooking class today." She responded. "Try it!"


    "Don''t mind if I do!" He said before taking a slice. After chewing for a bit, he nodded in approval. "Mhmm...this is good!"


    With a smile, she said, "Right!"


    I was excited that I found something new...and that you liked it. But that was the last time in a while I''ve felt happiness.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    Another day in high school, Lilith noticed that Nathan was absent. She decided to message him.


    "What''s up, Nate? Why aren''t you here?" After messaging, it didn''t take too long for Nathan to respond.


    "Oh, I''m not feeling well."


    "Oh, hope you get better soon!" Lilith responded.


    "Thanks."


    However, he didn''t ''get better''. He continued to miss more days, which worried Lilith greatly. She messaged him frequently, but he kept giving the same vague answer. When she pressured him further, he started to ignore her questioning altogether.


    She quickly became bored at school and very concerned for Nathan until one day, she saw something on the web that brought light to Nathan''s absence for her.


    "Tomas and Anna Hayes, convicted of murder and treason, sentenced to death." An article on the news section of the internet is outlined.


    I remember feeling like my heart had sunk...after all, I knew that those were the names of your parents, Nathan.


    Lilith broke out in a sweat and hesitantly clicked the news article.


    "Tomas and Anna Hayes, who were known social activists, were arrested and convicted for the murders of several US soldiers, along with the attempted murder of Sergeant John Walker. Evidence against them conspiring to wage war against the military has also been brought to light."


    "W-What...?" Lilith said in disbelief. She immediately dialed Nathan and called him.


    "Please pick up...please pick up..." She begged.


    "...Hello?" Nathan eventually picked up, and in a depressed tone, he answered.


    "Hello...Nathan...I-I heard your situation," Lilith admitted. There was silence on Nathan''s end as she revealed that. "Could we meet up...please?"


    After contemplating, Nathan agreed, so they met up at the lounge of a coffee shop. Nathan had arrived first. When Lilith arrived, she was immediately concerned at Nathan''s visibly befuddled expression.


    Now that I think about it, our meeting up back then was kinda similar to our recent meeting.


    "Um, hey, Nathan." Lilith greeted as she sat beside him nervously.


    "You said you understand why I was absent...?" Nathan, not beating around the bush, responded.


    "Um, yeah...your parents..."


    "So, what do you think about it?"


    "Um...well, I don''t think your parents would even want to wag--"


    "I never saw the reason," Nathan interjected.


    "What?"


    "I only know that they''re sentenced to death. I don''t know what for, nor do I care to know because I know my parents would never do anything to warrant them getting sentenced to death."


    "...I understand," Lilith said compassionately.


    "No, you don''t! My parents were the nicest people in the world! Why would this happen to them!" Nathan said as he raised his voice. "My parents always wanted to do good for the world, so someone has to have it out for them! But why, my parents were such go--"


    Suddenly, Lilith hugged Nathan, surprising him.


    "I understand, Nathan." She repeated. "I''m sure there''s been some kind of mistake and your parents will be freed, so please, don''t become angry and depressed...I don''t like seeing you like this."


    "...You sure they will be released?" Nathan asked in a hopeful tone.


    "Of course! I''ll also be with you the whole time, so you won''t feel lonely!" Lilith assured him. His anger had subsided because of Lilith''s words.


    "Y-Yeah...you''re right, plus my parents wouldn''t want me missing school this much." Nathan assumed. "Thank you, Lilith." He said with a smile.


    Even though you were going through a difficult time now, I was determined to be there for you so we could return to the old times. I even worked on my cooking skills harder than ever. How wrong was I for thinking things would go back to normal...


    As time passed, Nathan returned to school, and he quickly received attention from bullies. Word of his parents being ''murderers'' and ''traitors'' quickly spread around the school, which people would use to grossly mess with him.


    "Oh, hey. It''s the son of the murderers!" A classmate said to Nathan, which caused other guys to jump in and laugh. That quickly infuriated Nathan.


    "What the hell did you say?" Nathan looked at them with bloodshot eyes.


    "Just...ignore him, Nathan," Lilith advised him.


    "What? Are you gonna murder us like your parents?" The same classmate continued to mock him. I a burst of rage, Nathan responded by delivering a straight punch to his face.


    "No! Nathan!" Lilith shouted, but Nathan was too annoyed to listen.


    It very quickly broke out into a fight, which resulted in Nathan being sent to the principal''s office and receiving a warning.


    It didn''t stop, however, as the more his classmates and/or schoolmates insulted him and his parents, the more fights he got into. He would receive several suspensions.


    It seemingly got worse and worse. Everyone would pick on you for no reason other than to upset you. You''d slowly lose the joyful and hero-like personality you used to have, Nathan.


    Well, not that any of that compared to what you''d witness on the thirteenth of October...your sixteenth birthday...


    Nathan and Lilith were walking to school together. Lilith was very concerned about Nathan''s visible depression.


    "Nathan...cheer up, I made some of your favorite food!" Lilith begged.


    "I see...thanks, Lilith," Nathan said, faking a smile. Lilith could tell that his smile was not genuine and did not feel any better. Suddenly, they heard a commotion nearby, like the sounds of an angry mob.


    "What...what the hell is that?" Nathan wondered.


    "I-I don''t know."


    "Let''s check it out." Nathan decided.


    "But what about school?"


    "Anything is better than going to that damn place right now," Nathan remarked.


    Yeah, Nathan. Anything would have been better, I agree, anything except for what we had seen.


    Nathan had run toward the source of the commotion.


    "Hey, wait up!" Lilith pleaded as she followed him. Since Nathan had arrived first, he had reacted to the scene. A look of pure horror flushed his face. Lilith had also reacted in the same way upon arriving.


    Before their eyes, were Nathan''s parents being brought up to a gallows, surrounded by the civilians who were cheering.


    I hate this memory.

 Ch. 30 - Where did it all go wrong? (Part 2)

    I hate this memory...


    "W-What...what is this?" Nathan asked with a look of despair. Lilith was so stunned that no words of comfort could reach Nathan could come to her.


    Suddenly, a man in a green-decorated military uniform. It was a slightly younger version of Sergeant John.


    "Thank you all for taking the time to see these traitorous murderers be put to death," John said.


    "Yeah! Kill them!" A civilian shouted, which was supported by cheers from the crowd.


    "Don''t worry, I don''t want to take up your time, everyone. So we''ll get this out of the way quickly." He responded. "Do you guys have any last words?" He asked Nathan''s parents. They were both wearing ragged and dirty clothing.


    "We have nothing to say to anyone here," Tomas responded.


    "I do wish we had got to see our son once more," Anna said to Tomas.


    "Yeah, but we can hopefully take solace in the fact that he''ll be living on," Tomas said, which made the parents smile in satisfaction.


    "Tsk, how annoy--"


    John''s attention was brought to civilians in the crowd being pushed to the side.


    "Get outta my way!" Nathan said as he violently shoved the civilians aside. His voice immediately attracted his parent''s attention. He quickly got to the front, with Lilith following right behind him.


    "Mom, Dad!"


    "Son..." Anna responded with a look of despair.


    I could tell by their facial expression, that they didn''t want you to see this, Nathan. After all, which parent would want their children to watch them die?


    "What the hell is th--" Before Nathan finished, he was pinned to the ground by several police officers.


    "Nathan!" Lilith called out to him in concern.


    "Who the hell is this?" Sergeant John asked with a look of extreme annoyance.


    "L-Leave him out of this!" Tomas pleaded.


    John stared at Nathan. Despite being pinned down, Nathan matched his gaze, with his being a look of pure hatred.


    "Haha! So you had a kid, huh?" John asked. "You guys were pretty secretive about your personal lives...Let the kid watch."


    "No! Please! He doesn''t need to see this!" Anna desperately pleaded.


    "Finally...you guys are no longer smiling," John said with a victorious expression. A man dressed, presumably as an executioner, came up on the gallows.


    "NO! LET THEM GO!" Nathan shouted as he started to struggle but was stopped with a punch straight to his face by an officer.


    "Shut up and watch!" The officer ordered.


    That angered Anna, Tomas, and Lilith, but they could do nothing.


    "You...you called Nathan''s name, right?" Tomas said to Lilith.


    "I''m not sure how close you are with Nathan, but--" Before Tomas could finish, the executioner put bags over their heads. Ignoring the bag, he continued.


    "It''ll take a while for him to recover...but please support him always, I beg you." His words were muffled due to the bag, but she understood.


    "HURRY UP AND KILL THEM!" A civilian ordered. The more impatient they became, the louder their orders were.


    "Okay, Okay. You can go on with it." Sergeant John said to the executioner, who approached a lever to the side of the gallows.


    "Also, Nathan," Anna interjected. Knowing that her voice would be muffled, she spoke louder than normal.


    At this point, Nathan was in a state of panic. He was hyperventilating, sweating immensely, and starting to tear up.


    "Never forget, we always have loved y--" Not letting her finish, the executioner pulled the lever, causing them to descend through the floor.


    "NNNNOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!" Nathan screamed at the top of his lungs. In contrast, the crowd had begun to cheer at the top of their lungs.


    Their necks were not broken instantly. Instead, they were left to suffer...The sounds of them choking and the involuntary twitching of their bodies as they lost oxygen. All made worse with the cheers of the spectators...I''ll never forget something like that, but I''m sure that Nathan had it far worse.


    After they had died, their bodies were removed from the noose.


    "Thank you all for your time!" Sergeant John said as the civilians began leaving in satisfaction.


    "Sir, what should we do with the kid?" An officer asked. Nathan had an expression of brokenness. There was no life in his eyes.


    "Eh, leave him there. He''s not important now." John responded. He looked at Nathan and smirked. The officers obeyed as they let him go.


    Lilith immediately rushed to Nathan''s side. Without caring, Sergeant John had left with his officers.


    Even though my mind was messed up from what I had just witnessed...I had to be strong, for you, Nathan.


    Lilith had placed Nathan''s head in her lap and waited for him. He laid there all they and waited for him, even when it was becoming nightfall. Even though her legs were numbing, she didn''t move.


    "L-Lilith." Nathan softly spoke.


    "Yeah...?" Lilith responded.


    "I don''t think...that I''ll be going to school...for a while." He said as tears ran down his face.


    "Yeah...I understand. Let''s at least get you home now." She advised, trying to keep strong for him. After encouraging Nathan, she brought him home.


    Just as Nathan had told her, Lilith did not see him at school the next day.


    "I heard the news that Nathan''s parents were offed yesterday, Lilith." A classmate said. "I bet he''s still crying at home, huh."


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    A sudden bout of anger came over Lilith. She wanted to put that classmate in his place but kept silent.


    You wouldn''t have wanted me to bring unwanted attention to myself, right, Nathan?


    Nathan missed many, many weeks of school. The teachers were surprisingly understanding, as even though they thought Nathan''s parents were criminals, they understood that the loss of his parents would have greatly affected him.


    Every single day after school, Lilith would visit Nathan at his home. Her being there would slowly pull Nathan out of his depression, until he returned to school, five months later. Lilith was the only thing keeping him sane.


    Nathan still went through bullying, but he tried to ignore them by keeping Lilith in the back of his mind. With that said Lilith and Nathan quickly reached their final year of high school.


    That was our last year in this...hell. I was determined to ensure that you and I made something of our lives.


    Despite the bullying, the periodic misses from school due to sudden bouts of depression, and the fights he''d get in, with the help of Lilith supporting and tutoring him at times, Nathan would graduate from high school.


    "So, you''re gonna go to uni?" Nathan asked. They were both walking from school in their blue graduation gowns.


    "Yeah, I''m gonna major in culinary arts," Lilith responded.


    "Well, I might as well go to university too. I''ll probably major in business or something. It''ll be boring if I''m not with you."


    "Oh great! Let''s go to the same uni! I''m thinking of the University of Washington!" She excitedly suggested.


    "Sure." He agreed. "Also, thank you...for everything you''ve done for me."


    Hearing this, she couldn''t help but smile. As they were walking, she hugged Nathan. "Aww! No problem!"


    With red flushed cheeks, she noticed that Nathan was blushing, which also caused her to blush. She quickly let him go.


    "Um...I''ll always be there to support you..." She said awkwardly as she was still blushing.


    "Y-Yeah," Nathan responded. With that said, they applied and were accepted into the University of Washington.


    As we spent our summer together, we were filled with hopeful hearts, that our university experience would be much different. We were right...for a time.


    Nathan and Lilith found their university experience at the start to be rather pleasant. Even though their bonds were unbreakable, they also made common friends. No one had extended any negativity to them.


    In their second year, they met a woman by the name of Serena Collins. She was a beautiful woman with brown braided hair and a light brown skin color. She also wore expensive-looking clothing like a fur coat and knee-length leather boots.


    From the get-go, she was very friendly to them, especially to Nathan which made Lilith a bit jealous occasionally.


    I remember her hanging out with us a lot, and even though she was like an angel to us both, she was also very flirtatious with Nathan. Thinking about it now, I wonder if she was doing that on purpose. Even on Valentine''s Day, she didn''t stop.


    "Hey, Nathan?" Serena asked. "Wanna be my valentine?"


    Hearing this question, Nathan immediately blushed. Lilith, who also heard, felt a pain in her chest. She seemed to be scared of his answer but wanted to know.


    "S-Sorry, I can''t," Nathan responded. "You''re nice and pretty and all but...I like someone else."


    With relief, Lilith sighed.


    I wasn''t sure who Nathan liked, but I was glad that it wasn''t Serena.


    "Aww, that hurts a bit. At least I got that off my chest." Serena responded. "I''m not going to give up!"


    For the first time in years, Nathan had felt happy around someone other than Lilith, even though he felt the most happiness with her.


    However, good things always come to an end.


    One day, while talking with Lilith and his friends during a break in classes at his university, a group of officers approached Nathan.


    "Nathan Hayes?" An officer asked.


    "Y-Yes?" Nathan nervously confirmed. With balled-up fists, he looked on edge after seeing them, likely due to his experience with officers. Instantly, the officers grabbed Nathan, putting a handcuff on him.


    "What!?" Lilith shouted. His friends were also confused at this turn of events.


    "Nathan Hayes, you''re under arrest for the rape of Serena Collins. Anything you say can and will be used against you..."


    "WHAT!!??" Nathan shouted with an understandably bewildered expression. Lilith and her friends were also utterly confused by this accusation.


    Without a moment''s notice, they took Nathan away.


    That was when I realized that you would never get peace, Nathan.


    In jail, until his court hearing, Nathan would be visited by Lilith. He would adamantly declare his innocence, which Lilith immediately believed. She knew that he was not the type of person to do something like that.


    On the other hand, some of Nathan''s friends were skeptical about his innocence. Their suspicions were also increased after hearing an announcement that Serena had been undergoing therapy for her ''trauma''.


    However, when it was time for the court trial, even though Serena had testified against him in court (which made Nathan and Lilith feel betrayed by her lies), the evidence just wasn''t enough, coupled with Lilith stating on his behalf that he''s a good person and would never do that.


    With that, Nathan was proven innocent.


    "Why...why are you always...on my side?" Nathan asked Lilith after the court case.


    As much as I wanted to tell you that I loved you at that moment, I doubt you''d want to hear that after the woman who proclaimed her love to you had just betrayed you.


    "Because Nathan, we''ve been friends for so long that I know you more than anyone. I know you''d never do that. Of course, I''ll believe you." Lilith explained.


    "...Thank you."


    After that, we never saw Serena again, but because of her, everything went to hell again.


    Even though Nathan was cleared of the accusation, not everyone believed that to be true.


    "Sorry...I don''t think we can be friends any longer. I''m sorry, but I don''t trust you." A previous friend of Nathan said to him in front of Lilith. Lilith noticed that Nathan didn''t protest, but his expression seemed cold.


    Nathan gradually lost more friends, and his enemies started growing.


    Because of a stupid accusation that was proven false, life was slowly going back to how it was in high school. Until it became exactly like high school.


    It didn''t take long for people who disliked Nathan to dig up stuff in his past. Stuff that he was desperately trying to hide. His parents condemned and their execution.


    "Hey, bastard!" A university student called out to Nathan rudely as he was walking with Lilith. "You may have gotten off someway from your rape charge, but I know that you''re a criminal, just like your parents."


    "What...?" Nathan turned to him with bloodshot eyes.


    "You heard me. A criminal just like your pare--" Before he could finish, Nathan had knocked him to the ground. Nathan would have had a chance to get out of this if he didn''t do it in front of a lecturer passing by.


    I already knew it was over. Perhaps this was for the best in a way, so you wouldn''t have to suffer here anymore.


    Later in the day, Lilith received a text from Nathan.


    "Looks like I won''t be coming back here. I''m expelled apparently." Nathan''s message read.


    "What!? But how!? You only punched the student because he had provoked you!"


    "Well, they said I''m problematic. After my rape accusation, they said numerous students reported not wanting me at the school, and since the news of my parents being criminals is made public in the uni, I''ll only attract and cause trouble. So they said I should leave now."


    "But...that''s not fair." Lilith messaged him as she was tearing up.


    "Yeah, that''s what this world has always been...unfair and corrupted," Nathan responded. "But, I hope you have a nice life for the rest of your university."


    After that, I realized that high school and university were filled with the same people. All selfish people with absolutely no empathy whatsoever.


    From this point on, Lilith would not associate much with fellow students and teachers outside of work.


    Even though Nathan was no longer attending the university, he still kept in close contact with Lilith. They''d both share their experiences.


    Nathan would tell her of hobbies he''d make down the line. He''d even tell her that he''d learn to drive even though he had no license.


    She''d also tell him about some achievements she received, especially increasing her culinary skills. When they''d meet up, she''d prepare for him what she had learned, and he''d always love it.


    Lilith would however notice his depression that he''d desperately try to hide from her.


    Nathan would also find himself being accused of a few other crimes, such as theft and assault, but Lilith would always immediately believe him when he proclaimed his innocence. He was always right, as he would be proven so, which made her glad.


    She stopped reminiscing now.


    I eventually got a job as a chef at Apple Garden but...you couldn''t get any good jobs because you had no degree, and no one wanted to accept someone accused of numerous crimes...even though they were false.


    How stupid am I...I who said that I''d be on your side, left you because you committed a crime...You''ve gone through so much, and yet I still left you because you understandably couldn''t take the suffering any longer...


    Lilith began to cry.


    I''m so sorry...Nathan...forgive...me.


    "DING!"


    Suddenly, her phone rang, snapping her out of her sorrow. She checked, and it was a message from someone she had never met. It was a message from a recipient known as ''The Developer''.


    "H-Huh?" She said before opening it.


    "Do you want to know the truth about Nathan''s predicament? Do you want to help Nathan?" The developer''s message outlined.


    H-Help Nathan?


    Suddenly, the memories she reflected on immediately flashed through her mind again. After a few moments of hesitation, she began to respond.


    "Yes."

 Ch. 31 - Opportunity

    Three days later, the day of the meeting with the president arrived. Sergeant John was traveling with Lieutenant Harvey. They were being escorted via a grey armored sedan.


    "So, it seems the gridlock has cleared up quite a bit," Harvey stated as he looked out the window.


    "Yeah. About half of the population that lived in the designated ''danger zones'' have moved to safer cities now," John responded. "That also helps us to narrow down where those criminals are hiding since the danger zones are the areas they attack. Their location wouldn''t be far off, although it''s proving difficult to find them."


    "Yeah, and there''s been some criminal activity outside the main S-Class criminals. Other criminals are taking advantage of the chaos. It''s throwing us off." Harvey added.


    "This situation is getting worse and worse, and the citizens are cursing us more and more. All because of Nathan and his damn group!"


    "He is very much like his parents," Harvey remarked.


    "...There''s no way President Garfield will reject the deployment of the super soldiers, especially when many civilians have moved.


    "We''ve arrived at the White House." The driver said to them as he parked. Immediately, Harvey and John exited the car. They were now standing in front of the White House.


    The White House is the home and workplace of Damian Garfield, President of the United States, and the headquarters of the president''s staff members. Inside its white, detailed architectural structure were over one hundred rooms, spanning six floors. It perfectly displays wealth.


    John and Harvey made their way to the security guards guarding the building.


    "Good morning, we''re here to meet the president about the super soldier deployment situation," John said to the guards. "We are John Walker and Harvey Keith."


    "Oh, yeah. We were expecting you guys. Follow us." One of the guards said in an amicable tone. Happily obeying, they followed.


    In the White House, numerous staff members were working. They were all wearing business suits and were so focused on their duties that they ignored John and Harvey''s presence.


    They took an elevator and made their way to the fourth floor. They were escorted to a lobby room. The setting of the lobby room was that of a living room in an expensive house. There were five chairs set around a glass table, a fireplace, a flat-screen television mounted on the wall, a makeshift kitchen comprising a coffee area and refrigerator, and other decorations.


    "Please wait here. The president will be with you shortly." One of the guards said before they left. The military officials took a seat.


    "When was the last time I''ve been here?" John asked as he looked around. "The interior looks nicer than before."


    "John," Harvey interjected. "Are you sure that the president will accept the proposal?"


    "Well, if he doesn''t, our country will continue to spiral into disaster. I''m sure, as the president, he would not want that." John said with a smirk on his face.


    "I see."


    They waited for the arrival of President Garfield. In approximately fifteen minutes, he had entered.


    "Sorry I took so long, I was in a meeting." President Garfield apologized. He was a tall, elderly-looking man with grey mid-length hair and a beard. He also wore a black business suit.


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    "Oh, don''t worry, we didn''t wait too long," John said as they both got out of their seats and approached the president. They greeted him with handshakes.


    "It''s good to see you guys again." Garfield expressed.


    "The feeling is mutual, president," Harvey added as they took seats. As if catching up on old times, they made small talk before diving into the main topic.


    "Well, President, I''m sure you''re very busy, so we''ll do this quickly." John began. "I''m sure you are aware of everything that''s been taking place."


    "Yes," Garfield said in a low tone.


    "In the span of two weeks, they''ve killed hundreds of people, cost hundreds of millions in property damages, and reduced our numbers somewhat." Harvey outlined.


    "I understand you guys want to deploy the Anti-Blessed Malefactor Corps," Garfield said. "But, I can''t understand deploying them all around the city...their destructive capabilities will only cause us to incur more expenses."


    "Although using soldiers and officers would have been sufficient for most other criminals...maybe even blessed criminals with the right equipment, but these criminals have some of the strongest abilities we''ve seen and have likely trained them to the utmost of their capabilities," John explained. "We have sent a couple of super soldiers at them, but it proved futile."


    John took a picture from his bag.


    "Do you remember this person?" John said as he showed Garfield the picture. It was the super soldier that defeated Charles in the past. "He is nicknamed the ''Blessed Slaughterer''. He is our strongest super soldier who had fought the battle-crazed killer in the past. Although he had defeated Charles, he somehow survived his attack."


    "Yeah, and knowing Charles'' personality, he''ll likely try to get stronger so he could fight him again," Harvey added. "Not to mention Jack the Ripper, who somehow escaped Alcatraz Island, stronger than before his incarceration."


    "We don''t even know if the rest of their group have abilities, but it''s safe to assume they do." John continued. "The wise decision would be to deploy all the super soldiers on a search and destroy of those S-Class criminals.


    The president seemed to be taking his time to process the information.


    "Sigh...I understand." Garfield relented. That caused the military officers to smirk. "I didn''t expect the traitorous Hayes couple to continue being a pain in our side...even extending to their son."


    "Yeah." John agreed.


    Those Hayes have always been such a pain in the ass...in any generation.


    "Thank you for accepting our proposal. Hopefully, we can locate the criminals'' hideouts and destroy them finally--"


    As John spoke, a guard entered the office, attracting their attention.


    "Mr. President, someone would like to talk with you." The guard said.


    "Someone wants to talk with me? I only remember booking a meeting with Sergeant John and Lieutenant Harvey today...who is it?" John asked with a look of confusion.


    The guard allowed them to enter. The individual was wearing a black hoodie and a grey theatre mask. Judging by their body, they were a female.


    "What!? Why would you let someone up here without even seeing their identity." Garfield raised his voice in a panic.


    The woman took off the mask and hoodie. As you''ve probably guessed, it was Ada.


    "Don''t worry, I''m not hostile or anything."


    "Ada Foster!? What the hell are you doing here!?" John shouted. "How did you possibly get up here!?"


    "C''mon guys, won''t you listen to what I have to say?" Ada said, making a puppy-eyed expression. Strangely, all the panic quickly left everyone.


    "W-What do you have to say?" Garfield asked.


    "I''m here...to make a deal with you guys," Ada said. She had a nice, teeth-showing smirk. "I can help you."


    * * *


    Back at the warehouse, everyone was doing the usual. Jack and Zack were watching a violent movie, Charles was exercising, Olivia was keeping to herself, and Nathan was currently training with the NPC.


    "Sigh, I wonder why I couldn''t have used the trailer filled with explosives to blow up everyone while they were trapped in gridlock," Zack asked in a downtrodden tone as he watched the movie.


    "Didn''t the developer say something about saving that trailer for the right time?" Jack asked.


    "Yeah, but...sigh, I just want to do something big. To be the star of the show, ya know." Zack added.


    "Oh, that''s rough, mate," Jack responded before focusing on the movie fully.


    * * *


    As Nathan was sparring with the NPC, he was lasting longer in close-quarters combat. He was using nunchucks and seemed fairly adept in swinging them around, albeit the NPC was still avoiding them.


    The NPC tried palm-striking Nathan in the chest, but he blocked with the nunchucks in time. He still was knocked back a few feet but kept his feet planted on the ground.


    "Not bad." The NPC praised. "You''ve gotten much better in the last few days. I can tell you''re taking this seriously."


    Of course, I am. I''ve been consciously trying to improve myself with every fight.


    Nathan rushed at him and continued to fight.


    Even if I''ll never be able to clear my name, I''ll continue to improve so I can at least see Lilith...and explain everything to her.

 Ch. 32 - Hunt (Part 1)

    Skipping a few days, not much happened in the country. For some reason, the military had ceased their patrolling around cities.


    While Nathan was a bit confused about why they would let up their efforts, he took advantage by stealing stuff from buildings that its citizens mostly evacuated.


    Jack and Charles were also rather sad that there weren''t as many people to kill, nor were there any soldiers to entertain themselves.


    * * *


    "In today''s news, civilians are upset about the lack of communication the state has done since the meeting with the president regarding the deployment of super soldiers." The usual reporter, Ashley, spoke on the television in the warehouse.


    "Sigh, I wonder what the hell the state is doing. They''ve withdrawn their forces and haven''t said anything about the meeting." Nathan said as he checked posts in the news section on his smartphone.


    "Maybe the meeting went poorly, and the president rejected the proposal?" Zack speculated.


    "And maybe those buggers think that because everyone has moved away from us, we won''t go out of our way to hunt them down," Jack said as he was tossing a knife up in the air. "I definitely would."


    "Either way, weirdly, they''re just letting crimes take place," Nathan added.


    Ada, who was writing in her usual book, shut it and hopped from her bed. "Let''s go on the road, Olivia." She suddenly decided.


    Olivia, who was knitting some garments, was surprised at her sudden decision. Her surprise quickly turned to nervousness.


    "Where are you guys going?" Zack asked.


    "Oh, I just feel like going on a walk." Ada vaguely answered. "You can come too if you want, Zack."


    "M-Me?" Zack pointed at himself in a confused expression. "You want me to come with you?"


    "Yeah. Come on, guys!" Ada called them with a smile.


    Hesitantly, Olivia followed her. Zack, on the other hand, happily followed her, likely due to his attraction towards her.


    With suspicion, Nathan watched them go.


    Where the hell is she bringing them...Whatever, it''s the first time I ever saw her bringing Zack. I don''t trust her, but as ironic as it is, it doesn''t seem like Zack is smart enough to do anything stupid.


    "I''m gonna go back to training, I guess," Nathan said before going outside to request a spar from the NPC.


    Since there was not much to do, Jack and Charles decided to find an action movie to watch.


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    * * *


    Taking a look at the ''Blessed Slaughterer'', he was walking through a passageway of a military base. With silent footsteps, he made his way to the end. Upon exiting the passageway, he arrived at a large plane of land.


    On the plane of land, he was greeted by numerous super soldiers, gathered in formation. They were all lined up in many rows and columns, and standing at attention. It was as if they were waiting for the ''Blessed Slaughterer'' to arrive, as they immediately saluted him.


    He made his way to the front, in which he stood on a pedestal.


    There was an air of pure silence as he looked around. There were numerous super soldiers of varying features. Most had the characteristics of normal people, but there were some with strange, to say the least, characteristics. What seemed to be battle scars were visible on many of the super soldiers, which disfigured their attractiveness but made them quite intimidating.


    While there were some with disfigurations on their bodies, a scant few were equipped with modified equipment, like the metallic right arm of the blessed slaughterer''s. The Anti-Blessed Malefactor Corps were truly a force to be reckoned with. He had looked at Rebecca, who was also there.


    "Well." The Blessed Slaughterer began, breaking the silence. "I''m sure you guys already know what will happen later, and you guys have probably encouraged yourselves."


    He paused and looked around again before continuing. "But encouragement is not enough. As you know, our comrades Malcolm and Rachel have fought and failed to eliminate the S-Class criminals. That has resulted in many deaths and destruction. They were failures."


    He glanced at Rebecca again, who seemed frustrated that he was bad mouthing her comrades.


    "But still, they are our comrades, which means we have also failed. Especially me, who have failed to kill Charles all those years ago."


    Seeing the blessed slaughterer admit responsibility for his failure made Rebecca surprised.


    "We are super soldiers that make up this Corps. We are given strength for the sole purpose of getting rid of threats like these, and we failed multiple times. So simple encouraging or ''pumping yourself up'' isn''t enough. Never forget our past failures...to ensure it never happens again!"


    In response to this, a roar of agreement came from the mouths of the super soldier army. Even Rebecca had vocalized her agreement.


    Yeah! I''ll never lose again! I''ll kill those guys...for both the world and Malcolm and Rachel...our fallen comrades!


    "Let''s go on a hunt!" The blessed slaughterer declared, and the cheers of everyone became louder. They were all successfully motivated.


    * * *


    Later in the day, Nathan and the NPC had finished sparring and they were resting in the warehouse. Nathan was staring intently at the palm of his right hand.


    "What are you doing, mate?" Jack asked.


    "Oh, nothing really," Nathan responded. "Just thinking about how much stronger I''ve got with the help of this ability, I guess."


    "Oh."


    "Yeah, you''ve gotten much better than how you were before." The NPC added. "The thing that''s motivating you is effective, I can tell."


    A strange thing to say...


    * * *


    Nearby, numerous armored vehicles and aerial vehicles were approaching the warehouse. The rumbling of the vehicles as they charged through the plane area could be heard.


    * * *


    "I''ll do anything to kill all these corrupted fools." Nathan declared.


    And I''ll do anything, even if I have to destroy myself, I will live through this to see Lilith again.


    "By the way, Ada and the others haven''t returned," Nathan said.


    "Yeah, they are taking quite a while--" Before Jack could finish, the developer suddenly started speaking from the television.


    "Hello, my game characters! We''ve got companyyyy!" He said in a joyful tune.


    "Huh? Company--" Nathan''s words were cut off by the sounds of vehicles and helicopters close by. Everyone''s attention was now directed toward the noise.


    Nathan took a peak outside through small slits in the walls. He saw the armored vehicles and helicopters, very close to the yard of the warehouse.


    After stopping, numerous individuals hopped out of the helicopters. Nathan didn''t need a second to know they were super soldiers based on their uniforms.


    What...the...hell.

 Ch. 33 - Hunt (Part 2)

    What...the...hell.


    "Shit! How the hell did they find us!?" Nathan frustratingly inquired.


    "Some buggers came on our property?" Jack asked.


    "It''s not just some ''buggers'', Jack! Goddamn super soldiers are attacking us!" Nathan yelled. Hearing this, Charles got excited.


    Repeated banging could be heard on the door of the warehouse, alarming Nathan. They were shooting at the door with firearms.


    "Dammit! They aren''t giving us any time!" Nathan said.


    "The warehouse is pretty sturdy though." The developer said.


    Suddenly, Jack seemed to be more attentive. Out of his coat, he took his knives, which he began to do tricks with. Charles was also taking the time to do stretches. They were both smiling excitedly.


    "What the hell are you guys doing?" Nathan asked with a look of confusion.


    "I''ve been waiting for this entire time for this moment!" Charles exclaimed. "Finally, super soldiers!"


    "Nathan, you should quickly leave." The developer advised. "You can leave through the back, and take the vehicle parked."


    He wants me specifically to leave. I guess it''s because he considers me valuable and knows that there''s no way I could take on this much. Either way, I was gonna leave...there''s no way I was going to stay and get myself killed by a bunch of super soldiers.


    Without wasting a second, Nathan made his way to the back. At the same time, the door of the warehouse had exploded. Nathan had tripped up from the explosion.


    Now that the door had been destroyed, the super soldiers had a clear view of the gang and vice versa.


    Upon gaining a vision of the gang, the super soldiers continued their gunfire. Nathan had instantly materialized metal to shield his body as he made his way out the back.


    "Nathan, we''ll protect you so hurry up." The NPC said as both he and Jack were avoiding the gunfire. Charles on the other hand happily charged towards them, while being pelted with bullets.


    Beds, tables, chairs, and other furniture were being damaged and destroyed by the gunfire.


    As Jack was avoiding the bullets, he was also making his way towards them. "So, how the hell did you buggers find out we were here!?" He asked before swinging his knife at a super soldier. They moved out of the way in time, however.


    At the same time, another came up to Jack from behind intending to strike him, but before he could, Charles had intercepted them with a straight punch. The super soldier had changed his striking intent to a block against Charles. Although they blocked, they were knocked back.


    "Haha! Excellent reaction time!" Charles commended. "I missed you super soldiers so much!"


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    The NPC noticed that mounted mini guns began to extend from the helicopters.


    "Watch out!" The NPC shouted urgently. Immediately after, the helicopters released a shower of bullets from the minigun. Carefully avoiding his comrades, the pilots had aimed right at the gang.


    Jack and the NPC had avoided the trail of bullets, but Charles decided to block them instead of trying to dodge them.


    The bullets that were avoided by the other two had given the warehouse a severe ''reconstruction''. The building was now filled with countless holes.


    "Haha! Your bullets aren''t enough to kill me!" Charles said as the bullets were falling off his body.


    There were slight bruises on his upper body and his cargo pants were tattered from the bullet swarm. "You''re gonna need mo--" Suddenly, a super soldier appeared at his side. Before Charles could properly react, he got punched in the side of his face, sending him across the yard.


    "Haha! Hit him right on the mark!" The super soldier said with a laugh.


    Two super soldiers each had tried to attack Jack and the NPC in close quarters, but they were consistently avoiding their attacks.


    "Hmm, that guy isn''t on the list of S-Class criminals, right?" The super soldier that had punched Charles said. "Looks like the information we received about you guys is somewhat right.


    Both Jack and the NPC jumped away to gain distance from the super soldiers that were attacking them.


    "What information, now?" The NPC asked.


    "Don''t worry yourself with that."


    "Remember, my NPC." The developer suddenly started to speak in the NPC''s head. "You aren''t allowed to use ''that''. Not for now."


    "I remember." The NPC responded.


    "Hey NPC," Jack called out. "How many super soldiers are in our way?"


    "Hmm...I can count thirty right now." The NPC answered.


    "Thirty huh," Jack said as he started to smile. "I can get quite a bit of kills then."


    "A lovely start to this war!" Charles shouted with pure excitement as he was walking up from getting punched moments ago. Jack and Charles were both smiling with pleasure (for different reasons).


    Suddenly, the super soldiers and aerial vehicles noticed a car driving away at high speeds.


    "That''s likely one of the criminals!" A super soldier said. "Should we chase after them?"


    "No, that''s not necessary. It''s not like we are the only squad of super soldiers out now." The super soldier that had punched Charles said. He had an eerie smile. "We''ll focus on hunting these guys in front of us for now."


    * * *


    Nathan was driving as far away from the warehouse as fast as he could.


    "Hey, Nathan." The developer began to talk in the car. "Well done on escaping those super soldiers, but it''s gonna get much worse from here on out!"


    "Why the hell do you sound like you know what''s going to happen?" Nathan asked as he was sweating. "You always sound like you knew everything coming in the future...your mysteriousness is annoying!"


    The developer simply chuckled, which infuriated Nathan even further.


    "Where the hell are Zack, Olivia, and that woman, Ada," Nathan asked with a bit of suspicion in his eyes.


    Suddenly, a super soldier holding a weapon jumped from a building and landed right in front of where Nathan was going. Nathan''s eyes widened as he noticed that they were holding an assault rifle with a grenade launcher mounted under the barrel of the rifle.


    Without hesitation, they immediately fired a grenade at him.


    Shit!


    The entire car had exploded.


    * * *


    Taking a scene change to a bedroom, Zack and Ada were both on the bed. While Ada was lying down, Zack was right on top of her. His flushed cheeks had made it obvious that he was feeling attraction towards her.


    "Good job, Zack. You made the right choice." Ada said as she stared right into his eyes.


    "I know you''ve always been attracted to me, ever since we met. So for your lovely decision, It would be unwise for me not to return your desires." Ada explained. Zack was completely in awe at this situation.


    Is this... happening to someone like me? I-I''m so happy right now!


    "Come to me, Zack," Ada said as she held his face with both hands. "You are a really lucky man, you know?"


    But as happy as I am right now...Something just feels wrong about this.


    Zack thought before closing the distance of their faces. Without hesitation, their lips were connected in a passionate kiss. They quickly became intimate with each other.


    What''s happening...with Olivia now?

 Ch. 34 - Sleight of Hand

    Looking at the fight at the warehouse, the gang continued to hold their own against the super soldiers.


    Although they were outnumbered, the super soldiers, struggled with fighting them, especially the NPC. As Jack was engaged in combat, he noticed super soldiers flying across the yard, slamming into the enemy''s vehicles.


    The super soldiers that were attacking the NPC were getting beaten down without much issue. His fighting sense and physical prowess displayed were above even the likes of Charles.


    "Haha, this guy is something else!" Jack said in awe.


    With excitement from the NPC''s performance, Charles started to fight harder. Although he was up against six super soldiers currently, Charles was tagging them with many hits, even knocking them to the ground.


    "Dammit! Who the hell even is that guy!?" A super soldier said as he stared at the NPC. "The information we got is pretty useless when we don''t even know what he does!"


    "That''s the second time you said something about information." The NPC said as he was gripping the shirt of an unconscious super soldier. "You seem useful to get some info." He said before charging towards the super soldier, which shocked him. However, the NPC was stopped in his tracks by the developer.


    "Alright, that''s enough." The developer said to the NPC telepathically. "It''s annoying to see you, an NPC, participating in the big stuff with my game characters.


    "Why''d he stop?" Jack said as he glanced at the NPC while in his fight.


    "You''re an NPC, so act like it." The developer said. "Go and escort the doctor out of danger from her bunker."


    With that said, the super soldier the NPC wanted to pursue took advantage of his sudden lack of movement and rushed him, attempting to catch him off guard.


    Just as quick as his decision to rush him was his regret right after, for the NPC delivered a straight punch right to his face, causing him to ragdoll across the floor.


    "Guys, I have to help the doctor." The NPC said as he communicated to Jack and Charles.


    "Aww, going so soon?" Charles said. "Oh well...more super soldiers for me I guess!"


    "You don''t have to worry about us, mate," Jack assured. "I''m guessing the developer gave you that order. Go do what you have to do."


    Giving a nod of understanding, the NPC rushed inside. Trying to not let him go, the super soldiers tried chasing him, however, their paths were intercepted by Jack and Charles blocking their way.


    "Haha, you guys aren''t going anywhere! Let''s take it up a notch then!" Charles said. "Physical Enhancement - Adrenaline Doping!"


    In usual fashion, Charles'' muscles increased in mass and became more defined. The super soldiers that they had previously knocked down had stood up once again.


    "Don''t get in my way, okay Jack?" Charles advised.


    "I could say the same thing." Jack countered. "These guys fooled us into thinking their meeting with the president went south, but their proposal being accepted only means that they will surely die by me."


    Without wasting a second, the opposing sides charged at each other. The clashing of knives and the trading of blows could be heard throughout the battlefield. Due to there being thirty super soldiers, the criminal duo had to keep up with fighting a fluctuation of thirteen to seventeen super soldiers at once.


    The duo had comfortably been keeping up, even with smiles on their faces, but the more they fought, the more they noticed something.


    Wow, these guys aren''t as fast as me, but even as a team, they can keep up with my hypersonic speed combat. Not to mention their physical strength...these guys seem to be relative to that male super soldier I fought at the hotel.


    As Jack prepared to slash a super soldier with one of his knives, his arm had been grabbed by another. Simultaneously, his second arm was grabbed as well.


    "What?" Jack said with surprise as he tried to struggle from their grasp, however, they used their strength to hold Jack down.


    "Yeah! Hold him in place!" The super soldier said. As Jack was held in place, the super soldier delivered a manji-geri (kick) straight to his face. They instantly let Jack go after he received it.


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    With a dropped jaw, a stunned expression, and a disoriented vision, Jack was shaken up from the kick. He began stumbling from the hit.


    "There''s more where that came from!" The super soldier said before triple punching Jack in the chest, which sent him into the surrounding walls of the warehouse, seemingly taking him out of commission.


    "Wow! Jack''s done?" Charles asked with a bewildered expression. "Well, more for me!"


    * * *


    The NPC quickly made his way to the underground infirmary, where the doctor usually resides.


    Surprisingly, he did not find the doctor immediately upon entering.


    Where did she go?


    He quickly looked for her and eventually found her hiding under the hospital bed.


    "What are you doing?" The NPC asked.


    She immediately looked in his direction upon hearing his voice.


    "Oh! It''s you!" The doctor said in a relieved tone. "I know what''s going on up there. I''ve been hiding because I''m sure they''ll kill me if they find out I''m a healer."


    "Oh, I see. Don''t worry, I''ll get you out here." He said as he dragged her out, to her surprise. "Let''s go."


    * * *


    Charles was currently fighting numerous super soldiers, even more than before due to Jack''s incapacitation.


    Charles was having a lot of fun despite being heavily outnumbered. Both sides were trading blows with each other, with Charles'' attacks being much more powerful, creating very large gusts of wind.


    "HAHA! IF FIGHTING YOU GUYS IS THIS FUN, I WONDER HOW FUN FIGHTING THE STRONGER ONES WILL BE!?"


    Suddenly, an aircraft began to aim the mounted mini-gun at Charles. Releasing a shower of bullets, they pelted Charles relentlessly.


    "Tsk! Your stupid bullets are in the way!" Charles said as he was visibly annoyed. Digging his fingers in the hood of one of the enemy''s vehicles, he picked up the armored vehicle.


    "What the hell is he doing!?" A super soldier said. Suddenly, he tossed the vehicle right at the helicopter.


    "BOOM!"


    This resulted in a loud explosion after the vehicle had impacted the aircraft, causing it to go down. There were three other aircraft and Charles was getting ready to toss more vehicles at them.


    "What do you think you''re doing!" The super soldier that had incapacitated Jack had shouted as he rushed at Charles in an attempt to stop him. Right before he could do anything, he felt the sensation of someone grabbing his face.


    His senses were true, as Jack was right behind him, clutching his face.


    "You thought I was done, huh?" Jack said to the super soldier with a sadistic smile. The soldier was sweating profusely at Jack''s sudden appearance and his menacing smile.


    The other super soldiers tried to stop him, but it was too late. Jack had plunged his knife into the super soldier''s Adam''s apple. Like music to his ears, the choking sounds of the super soldier made Jack very happy.


    He instantly dragged his knife through the side of his neck, taking a chunk of flesh from him as he removed his knife.


    "YOU BASTARD!" A super soldier shouted as they rushed them with renewed aggression.


    Jack stuck out his tongue in a psychotic expression.


    Killing a super soldier...I feel so amazing right now!


    Charles and Jack continued to fight them. Unlike before, they were doing significantly better. Likely due to the injuries the super soldiers had sustained, coupled with the fact that Jack and Charles were somehow fighting much harder than before, they were now getting killed off.


    They quickly dispatched the super soldiers, especially Jack, who had got the majority of the kills.


    "Sigh, this was a fun battle, but it''s only the appetizer I guess," Charles said, as he took down the remaining aircraft by tossing the armored vehicles.


    "Oh well," Jack said. "I''m really in the killing mood, so this war will be fu--


    Suddenly, a bullet appeared inches away from the side of Jack''s head. Before contact, Jack had perceived it, and in a single, extremely fast motion, Jack deflected it with his knife.


    The duo''s attention was immediately turned to the cause of the bullet. It was by an injured super soldier who was holding a sniper rifle.


    "Dammit...how did you even do that..." The super soldier asked in a defeated tone.


    Wow, even though I was caught off guard, you made me use my sleight-of-hand technique.


    Without giving him an answer, Jack instantly appeared in front of him and beheaded him, successfully eliminating all the super soldiers in the warehouse yard.


    Suddenly, the NPC left the warehouse. He had held the doctor in a princess-like carry.


    "Wow, you guys didn''t need help, huh?" The NPC said.


    "Just as we said." Jack confidently said.


    "Well, I''m going to go bring the doctor to a safe area, for this warehouse''s location is somehow compromised."


    "Alright," Charles said. Not staying any longer, the NPC left with the doctor.


    "So, where should we go now?" Jack inquired.


    "I wanna find more su--"


    "Wait, what is that?" Jack said as he pointed in the air. High above were multiple jets approaching the area.


    "I think we should get outta here, mate," Jack advised. "They''re coming towards our direction most likely."


    "Ooh! More people to fight!?" Charles asked excitedly as he ignored Jack.


    "No, you meathead. I don''t know about you but I''m not planning on continuing to fight near that thing." Jack said as he pointed at the trailer full of explosives. "If we get blown to hell, how will you get good fights in the future?"


    "Sigh...fine." Charles relented. "But are we going to leave the trailer here?"


    "Yeah, I haven''t seen much use for it. There''s no need to care about that stupid trailer. Let''s just go." Jack said. With Charles'' agreement, they quickly left.


    It is strange how they even knew where we stayed.


    * * *


    Over to Nathan, the super soldier that had confronted him aimed the underbarrel grenade launcher at his car. Without wasting any time, Nathan jumped out of the speeding car. He had materialized a soft cushion to negate his injuries.


    After firing the grenade which exploded the car, Nathan''s body was propelled into the air.


    "AAAHHHHH!!!" Nathan screamed as he soared through the air, constantly flipping which disoriented him somewhat. However, before landing, he materialized another soft cushion to land on.


    "Tsk, you survived that." The super soldier said as he walked up.


    Nathan had re-stored the cushions and turned his attention to the super soldier.


    Damn...looks like I''m gonna have to fight this guy.

 Ch. 35 - Growth

    Damn...looks like I''m going to have to fight this guy.


    Nathan noticed his weapon.


    Hmm...an M4 with an under-barrel grenade launcher...that could be useful if I can store it.


    The super soldier aimed the rifle, which immediately snapped Nathan out of his thoughts. Right before he fired, Nathan materialized a large cover of metallic materials.


    "What the hell!?" The super soldier exclaimed as Nathan began to run.


    Although I''m a better fighter than before, I know my limits. I won''t go out of my way for close-quarters combat with these monsters. I''ll have to...kill this guy.


    "What the hell is all this!?" The super soldier said as he ran up to the obstruction of metal.


    Seems that this guy really can store and materialize random shit.


    Like a monkey, the super soldier rapidly climbed the obstruction.


    * * *


    As Nathan used the obstruction to slow the super soldier down, he immediately ran into a nearby building, a two story house.


    "Don''t you think it''s a bad idea to go into this building?" The developer suddenly spoke on his phone that was in his pocket.


    "Huh?"


    "You''ll just be a sitting duck, especially with the gap in physical capabilit--" Before the developer was finished, Nathan stored the phone in his inventory.


    You talk too much, I don''t want to give away my hiding spot. Besides, I didn''t come into this house without a plan.


    * * *


    Understandably, the super soldier had not seen Nathan entering the building, So he began to survey the area.


    Where the hell did he go now? He couldn''t have gone far.


    He began to walk around, trying to search for him. Suddenly, however, a bullet went straight into his right arm.


    "OW!" He exclaimed as he dropped the rifle. Immediately, a second bullet pierced into his left leg.


    Reflexively after getting shot, he fell to the ground.


    Damn it! Is that bastard sniping from somewhere!?


    His assumptions were correct, as Nathan was at a window frame of the building he occupied, aiming a scoped rifle.


    Damn, even with high-caliber bullets, they didn''t go right through his limbs. I at least wanted to try and incapacitate him...


    Without letting up, Nathan kept shooting, however, the super soldier quickly ran to use Nathan''s obstruction as a shield.


    You might have gotten me a couple of times, but now I know exactly where you are from the sounds of the shooting and trajectory of the bullets. I''m going to make you pay!


    Like a shield, the super soldier had grabbed and placed a thick plate of metal in front of him as he made his way to the building.


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    Nathan noticed this. Instead of being fearful that the super soldier was approaching, he was oddly smirking.


    Okay...he''s coming...


    Strangely, Nathan ceased his firing, which slightly surprised the super soldier. Although he worried that Nathan might have been plotting something, he shunned that thought and entered the building.


    Much to his surprise, he didn''t see Nathan. He however heard footsteps, going upstairs.


    Got you!


    Despite his injured leg, He immediately rushed upstairs. As he ran through the hallway upstairs, he spotted Nathan hopping through a window frame.


    "Hey! Stop!" The super soldier exclaimed to no avail. He ran to the window and saw Nathan running around, likely back to the front. Annoyed at this cat-and-mouse chase, the super soldier started to get frustrated.


    I''ll just go back downstairs and catch him there!


    He did just that and went back downstairs. However, he quickly came to regret that action. Upon returning to the living room, he noticed burning wood on both sides. Nathan, in addition, was guarding the entrance, with a shotgun in hand.


    "Hello," Nathan said with a smile. A feeling of surprise that was quickly turned into an expression of defeat came over the super soldier''s face.


    "...How?" He asked Nathan.


    "That''s simple." He retorted. "Shooting your limbs, leading you into this house...it was all for this."


    * * *


    As the super soldier chased Nathan around the house and jumped out of the window to return to the living room, Nathan quickly materialized a bunch of wood on both sides of the room.


    He proceeded to materialize multiple Molotov cocktails in hand.


    It''s good that it''s so easy to make these type of explosives.


    Nathan threw them onto the wood and lit it on fire.


    * * *


    "Now you only have one place to go, and that''s straight at me, and I''m sure your speed isn''t top-notch with that injured leg," Nathan explained.


    The super soldier was filled with frustration.


    "Dammit!" The super soldier shouted before running at Nathan. However, anticipating his first movement, Nathan pulled the trigger of his shotgun and blasted him in the chest, sending him straight into the wall.


    With groans of agony, the super soldier slowly tried to get up.


    "Still alive?" Nathan asked in confusion. "Whatever."


    Nathan walked up to him to finish the job. He switched his shotgun for a hunting rifle and aimed it at his head.


    "S...Screw...you." The super soldier muttered in a pain-filled voice.


    "Yeah...you''re right...screw me."


    But screw this country...and the developer too...screw everyone.


    As he pulled the trigger, Nathan immediately turned his head away. With a bang, the blood of the super soldier had now painted the walls.


    Ugh...that''s a very messy way...of killing someone...sorry...it''s just that you guys...are too tough...


    Purposely averting his gaze from the splattered blood, Nathan noticed that the uniform that the super soldier wore had not taken much damage from the sniper bullets and the shotgun shells.


    Damn, that uniform might be stronger than my armor. I have an idea...


    A couple of minutes later, Nathan left the house and picked up the super soldier''s rifle with the under-barrel grenade launcher.


    This will be good to have.


    He stored it.


    Even if it might have been a weak one, and even if I had to use wits, I managed to beat a super soldier by myself. Looks like I have grown.


    Suddenly, a look of shock came over Nathan''s face.


    Damn it...I can''t believe that I''m happy with myself for killing a man...


    As Nathan was being proud of himself, he noticed several jets passing through. He knew that it was military-owned.


    What the hell...this is all so sudden. What''s going on in this country?


    Super and regular soldiers were being deployed around cities. With nowhere to go due to their deployment, this was the start of the war against the S-Class criminals.


    * * *


    The jets that were approaching the warehouse landed in the yard. Numerous super and regular soldiers came out. They were all greeted by the gruesome sight of their dead comrades, along with multiple destroyed helicopters.


    "Jeez...the superiors did say this wasn''t going to be easy," Ethan said. He''s one of the trio that had visited the injured Rachel in the hospital.


    Beside him was Rebecca. She looked rather frustrated at the sight.


    "Hey guys, look what we found." Sebastian, the third member of the trio that had visited Rachel said. He was behind the trailer.


    They approached him and were immediately surprised at what they saw. The trailer was filled, to the very limit, with dynamites and other explosives.


    "What the hell...?" Rebecca asked in a concerned expression.


    "These criminals were plotting something very big with this," Sebastian said. "Well one of those criminals is Zack, who''s a fanatic when it comes to explosives, so it wouldn''t be too far-fetched to say that they were gonna bomb to hell some random place."


    "We gotta confiscate this," Rebecca said.


    Damn criminals...

 Ch. 36 - Trust

    At a military base, were Sergeant John and Lieutenant Harvey. They occupied a room along with other military officers.


    They were all sitting around a long horizontal table, facing a large holographic screen that displayed images of the deployed super soldiers around the cities.


    ''I''m glad that you''re closely related to this search and destroy mission, John." Lieutenant Harvey said to him with a smile. "You were always a helpful addition to the military in terms of your intelligence and achievements."


    "Thank you, Harvey," John thanked.


    "I agree, you were a fine officer in the military." An officer said, which was backed up by the agreement of the others. After thanking them, John decided to dive into the main part of the meeting.


    "So far we''ve deployed sixty-five percent of our super soldiers and fifty percent of our regular soldiers to support them. They''ve been deployed in the danger zones, mainly Washington and Oregon." John explained to the officers.


    "How many soldiers do our country have exactly?" An officer asked.


    "We''ve got one million four hundred thousand active military personnel," Harvey answered. "For the super soldiers, there are two thousand four hundred."


    "And fifty percent have been deployed immediately?" The officer continued.


    "Yeah, the rest will be used as gradual reinforcements," John explained.


    With approval, the officers nodded their heads, which caused John to smile in response. Before thinking the questioning was finished, an officer spoke.


    "This is good and all, but I don''t understand something." The officer asked. "Why did we have to do what...you know, said to us?"


    "Ah yes," John responded with a smile. Just like that, he recalled the meeting he had with the president.


    * * *


    "I''m here...to make a deal with you guys. I can help you." Those were the words Ada said to them.


    "Hmm, how so?" President Garfield asked.


    "If we''re being honest, you guys have been doing a pretty poor job of eliminating us as threats." Ada bluntly said which slightly annoyed John and Harvey, which she noticed. "You guys were so hopeless that you''re having a meeting with the president to gain permission to deploy super soldiers."


    "Hey! Would you get to the poi--" Harvey said but was cut off by Ada mid-sentence.


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    "With my knowledge, I can take away that hopelessness of you guys." She said as she had a confident smile. "I can tell you everything you want. Their location, their abilities...anything."


    Hearing this, sparks of curiosity could be seen in the expressions of the president and the officer duo.


    "Ah, looks like you guys are interested, huh?" Ada teased. "I''ll tell you everything if you do something for me in return."


    "...How do we know if we can trust you." President Garfield asked.


    "Heh, don''t worry," Ada said. "I''ll even give you guys something in advance."


    * * *


    "Working with that criminal is all for the sake of the country." Sergeant John said as he stopped reminiscing. "It''s doing what one person said to save millions upon millions of people."


    "Sigh, I guess that''s true." The officer said.


    Even though I''m saying this...it''s rather annoying having to do what a criminal said. These damn criminals have ruined everything, especially you, Nathan...I will kill you!


    * * *


    After storing the under-barrel grenade launcher, Nathan took off on foot.


    It would have been nice if I still had the car, but that super soldier blew it up. I could use a car that I have stored but I''m not sure what''s going on in the city...and I don''t want another super soldier to turn my car into scrap.


    As Nathan ran, he encountered numerous super soldiers and other military personnel a few blocks down, which stopped him dead in his tracks.


    They had not seen Nathan and were nonchalantly standing by, however, they were blocking any paths Nathan would hope to advance.


    Of course...


    Immediately, Nathan took refuge in a nearby house, similar to what he did against the super soldier he killed earlier. He immediately sat on the floor of the house as he leaned on the wall.


    I don''t understand. I checked the news every day but I didn''t hear anything about the president permitting them to deploy those guys. You''d think something like that would make the news...unless they''d want to keep it a secret to surprise us, the criminals.


    But that doesn''t even make sense as to how they even located the warehouse we stayed at. Where the hell are Ada, Zack, and Olivia too? I swear that they...Ada specifically, did something that would piss me off.


    Sighing in frustration, Nathan took his phone from his inventory.


    "Hey, developer, I''m sure you can hear me," Nathan said as he stared at his phone which was currently turned off. "There''s no way you''re gonna let your ''precious'' game character die to those super soldiers around the corner, now would you?"


    "Oh my! That is very much true!" The developer answered as the phone turned on to the call screen. "Especially for someone who''s so similar to me."


    That''s the second time he''s said that now. Nathan thought as he scrunched his eyebrows. And it''s just as annoying as the first time...


    "Do you know what Ada and the other missing guys are doing now?" Nathan asked.


    "Yeah, they are completing some side missions. You''ll have to use in-game clues to figure out what they are." The developer stated.


    His annoying game terms make understanding him next to impossible.


    "Okay then. Just use your powers or whatever to help me."


    "Sorry, as much as I like my game characters, if I help you guys with every little thing, no growth will take place." The developer explained.


    "Then am I supposed to just die?" Nathan asked with raised eyebrows. "You know I can''t fight so many super soldiers by myself."


    "Not to worry. Although I may not help you, your party members can help."


    "Huh--"


    Suddenly, the shattering of glass was seen as someone bursting through the window.


    "Always trust your party mates." The developer remarked.


    The person that burst through the window, was Jack. He stared at Nathan and he stared back in surprise.


    "Wow, you were here, Nathan."

 Ch. 37 - Ironic Savior (1)

    "Wow, you were here, Nathan," Jack said.


    "Jack? How did you even find me?" Nathan asked with a confused expression.


    "Well..."


    * * *


    A few minutes earlier, they continued on foot after Jack and Charles had eliminated the wave of super soldiers that attacked the warehouse.


    As they were running, they were spotted by several super and regular soldiers. Some of them had occupied the interior and the top of buildings while some were hiding around their military vehicles outside.


    "Where are we gonna go now?" Charles asked Jack as they unknowingly ran towards them.


    "Well, murdering as many super soldiers as possible is a priority I gu--" Jack was cut off due to the sight of bullets approaching them both in his peripheral vision.


    The super soldiers immediately started firing. Although they had caught Jack and Charles off guard, Jack managed to deflect them with his knife in hand. He deflected a couple then moved away to avoid the rest.


    Charles, as usual, just stood there and took them head-on.


    "Oh? More people to murder?" Jack happily said as he hid behind a car. Suddenly, his phone began to ring.


    "Huh, who''s calling me now?" Jack curiously said as he checked. It was none other than the developer. Interested, he answered. "Hello?"


    "Hey Jack, sorry to interrupt your fun time now." The developer said. "But I need you to do something for me."


    "What?"


    "I need you to help Nathan. He''s by himself now and I''m sure you know how bad that would be with all the super soldiers out here now. You''re the perfect guy for this too."


    As the developer explained, the super soldiers who shot at Jack and Charles approached them, which excited Charles.


    "Why should I save Nathan, huh?" Jack asked. "You make him sound like a protected princess, mate."


    "Don''t you want to get the military out of the way so you can kill people without worry?" The developer asked. "The more of your party that''s alive, then the higher chance the mission will be completed."


    "Sigh, fine." Jack relented. "Where is he?"


    "Lemme send you his location."


    Jack looked over to Charles, who was preparing to attack the soldiers.


    "Hey Charles, I''m gonna go save Nathan," Jack said. "Will you be fine on your--"


    "Oh great! More for me then! Hurry up and go!" Charles exclaimed.


    What a meathead. Well, I guess that''s why his power''s so strong.


    Not wasting time, Jack moved off.


    "Hey! Don''t let him get away--" A super soldier shouted but was distracted by Charles charging straight at them.


    Jack was hopping from building to building. He checked the location that the developer sent on his phone''s GPS.


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    Although he was moving at high speeds, he somehow didn''t generate a single ounce of noise from his movements. He saw many soldiers (who didn''t notice Jack) around the city blocks that he had passed.


    There''s ants everywhere. I could be killing but instead, I''m saving. How ironic is the fact that I of all people is saving someone?


    * * *


    "And that''s what happened," Jack said after describing the events.


    "So there''s super soldiers everywhere now. I''m surprised I only ran into just one when I was driving." Nathan said.


    Damn, being alone with Jack is kind of...unsettling, but I gotta keep calm.


    "How did you even get here without attracting attention?" Nathan asked.


    "I''m fast, remember?"


    Really? But weren''t they fast enough to react to you? Whatever.


    "Thank you, Jack." The developer spoke on Jack''s phone. "You got to the location successfully. As expected of my game character."


    The developer really doesn''t want me to die...this is the second time he''s sent someone to save me.


    "I''m sure you guys would want to group up to plan for this war situation. The location that the doctor and my NPC are at should be the perfect place...well, the only place you can meet without having to go up against the army of soldiers."


    Nathan and Jack''s phones pinged as the new location was sent to their GPS.


    "Good luck, my game characters!" The developer said before hanging up.


    "Huh, well I guess we should get a move on," Jack suggested.


    "In that hoard of soldiers?" Nathan asked with raised eyebrows. "In case you forgot, I''m not as fast as you."


    "Yeah, mate. I remember. That''s why you''ll use a car."


    "Huh?"


    "I mean, I''m sure you''ve got a car or two stored in your little inventory."


    "...Sigh."


    They proceeded to go outside where Nathan materialized an armored car. Strangely, the driver''s door was wide open.


    "You cheeky bugger." Jack teased. "You must''ve stolen that huh?"


    "...I don''t think this is a good idea," Nathan said, ignoring Jack''s comment. "Don''t you think we''ll get blown up by them in this?"


    "Don''t worry, just start the car."


    Relenting, Nathan obeyed and entered.


    With the press of a button, the engine started. Nathan noticed that Jack wasn''t entering.


    "Uh, aren''t you going to come inside?" Nathan asked as he stared at Jack. Much to Nathan''s surprise, he began to climb the car.


    What the hell is this dumbass doing!?


    "This is perfect, let''s go now," Jack said as he sat on the roof of the car.


    "Bro, what the hell is wrong with you?" Nathan asked.


    "Just start the car, mate. I''ll be up here to keep any gunfire away while you drive."


    Sigh, if you say so.


    Finally, Nathan began to drive. For fear of Jack falling off, however, he wasn''t driving at high speeds.


    Annoyed, Jack began dialing Nathan.


    "Huh?" Nathan said as he answered.


    "You better not be driving so slow if you think I can''t handle it. Go faster already!"


    "...My bad, I guess," Nathan said. He began to pick up the pace, accelerating more and more until he was nearing 100mph.


    "This is more like it," Jack said, not hanging up.


    Unsuspecting soldiers noticed Nathan rapidly approaching them.


    "Wait...is that Jack the Ripper?" A super soldier said. Nathan had driven straight past them, with Jack waving at them while smiling deviously.


    "IT''S JACK! KILL HIM AND WHOEVER''S DRIVING THE CAR!" The super soldier ordered as he seemed to be communicating on an earpiece. The duo was quickly spotted around the area.


    Nathan noticed that soldiers were aiming at his car.


    Shit, even if this car is armored...it''s quite a lot of them!


    "Um, Jack." Nathan communicated on his phone. "Do something!"


    "Haha! I keep telling you not to worry and just drive!"


    The soldiers began firing at the car. Although Nathan was bracing for the impact of the bullets, his anticipation was left unfulfilled. All the bullets were being deflected.


    Huh?


    The bullets were deflected to random buildings.


    Jack was masterfully deflecting them, all while smiling. In a slow-motion frame, it''s revealed that while Jack was expertly swinging his knives, each swing drew an air wave, which was deflecting the bullets. His knives were not making contact with the bullets.


    I''m not sure what happened but I guess Jack is deflecting them...he''s faster than I thought he was.


    The lack of damage because of Jack had annoyed the super soldiers. In response, they decided to aim with an RPG, which Nathan noticed.


    Shit! Not again! Am I going to have to ditch this vehicle!? But if I do then they''ll kill me!


    "JACK!" Nathan desperately shouted. The super soldier fired a rocket which hurdled toward the car.


    Thinking quickly, Jack tossed his knife at a very fast speed toward the incoming rocket. Upon impact, the rocket exploded, leaving Nathan in awe.


    "Didn''t I tell you, mate?" Jack said with a sly smirk. "Just don''t worry."


    "Yeah, Nathan." The developer suddenly spoke on Nathan''s vehicle''s radio, surprising him. "Jack is much more capable than you think."


    "I guess that''s true..." Nathan softly said.


    "There''s something more about his power than he lets on." The developer said. "It''s not just speed, don''t you think?"


    Maybe so...

 Ch. 38 - Chase

    Jack continued to deflect and destroy incoming fire and missiles as Nathan focused on driving. Quickly having enough of Jack, the super soldiers began to chase the vehicle on foot. They easily caught up while the regular soldiers kept and kept firing.


    "You super soldiers are pretty fast. Good for you!" Jack sarcastically commended.


    The regular soldiers aren''t a problem now since Nathan is driving too fast for them to even hit and even if they get lucky, the car won''t be too damaged since it''s armored.


    When the super soldiers caught up, Jack swung his knives, sending multiple waves of air to mess them up. Due to how fast they were currently moving, the super soldiers could not avoid the equally fast air slashes, which left cuts on their bodies.


    "Ugh! DAMMIT! JACK THE RIPPER!" A super soldier shouted at him in frustration.


    "HAHA! I LOVE THAT LOOK ON YOUR FACE!" Jack taunted as he continuously sent air slashes, which disrupted them enough to no longer keep up. He did this with other super soldiers that tried to chase them.


    It seemed like smooth sailing for Jack and Nathan. However, as stubborn as they are in their nature, the super soldiers did not sit by.


    "DON''T WASTE ANY TIME AND CHASE THEM!" A super soldier ordered and in the same breath, the military personnel hopped into their vehicles.


    Meanwhile, the duo was celebrating their escape.


    "Haha! Those pathetic soldiers thought they''d kill me with bullets that easily!" Jack mockingly said.


    "Mhmm..." Nathan muttered. As they were getting away, however, Nathan saw military vehicles pursuing them in his rearview mirror.


    "...Jack?"


    "Yeah, I see them," Jack responded as he watched them. "These buggers just don''t let up, don''t they."


    Jack stood up, setting his stance, and prepared for the inevitable gunfire. He noticed that one of the armored vehicles had a mounted minigun attached to the roof, with a soldier occupying a chair behind it on the roof and aiming it.


    "You''ve got experience with car chases, right mate?" Jack teased. "You''re gonna have to put your fast driving skills to use now."


    Maybe I should use the chained blades for this.


    As the barrel of their minigun started to rotate in preparation to shoot, Jack switched out his knives with dual knives that were connected with a fairly long chain, that was no more than three feet in length.


    After its rotating startup, the minigun unleashed a shower of bullets. The barrel was rotating at extremely fast speeds as it fired.


    Expertly and with complete focus, Jack held the chain and swung the connected blades at such fast speeds that he was deflecting them all.


    Little sparks were generated from his blades as he deflected each bullet, which started to resemble mini fireworks.


    "Tsk, how the hell is Jack even doing all this?" A super soldier said to another in a pursuing military vehicle. "He got beaten and arrested by a couple of guys like us years ago and sent to Alcatraz Island. There''s no way he should have even escaped...much less gotten stronger!"


    Nathan began to pick up the speed, now going beyond 100 mph and continued to accelerate.


    As the cars were in pursuit and Jack was preoccupied with deflecting the bullets, soldiers began to peek through the windows of the vehicles that they were riding in and began shooting at Jack.


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    Heh...these guys are making me work quite a lot, huh?


    Although Jack was still doing well with deflecting the gunfire, a couple of bullets had managed to get past him and hit their vehicle.


    "Tsk, Jack...I''m gonna do some evasive maneuvers." Nathan said.


    Just as he said, Nathan began to make some sudden turns. Although he was going nearly 200 mph, he was expertly drifting as he turned, a clear difference from his previous driving after meeting the developer for the first time.


    "HAHA! THAT''S MORE LIKE IT, NATHAN!" Jack excitedly exclaimed. Nathan was in full focus mode so he had tuned him out.


    Just like his first car chase, Nathan had managed to lose some of the vehicles pursuing him. Some tried to keep up, but even if they did, they were unable to get clear shots due to Nathan''s erratic but masterful driving.


    "Nice, you''re doing good!" The developer spoke on Nathan''s radio again. "At this rate, you''ll reach the forest where you''ll be out of harm''s way."


    Jack would protect me from gunshots so it should be alright if I help too.


    Nathan brought down his window and stuck his hand out. From his hand, he materialized and placed down numerous caltrops, while swerving the vehicle so that it wouldn''t just be placed in a straight line, but also fully across the road.


    Unable to stop in time, the pursuing vehicles ran over the caltrops, which significantly damaged their tires.


    "Shit! Those bastards messed up our tires!" A soldier driving one of the vehicles exclaimed as he lost control.


    Nathan didn''t stop at simple caltrops, however, as he placed numerous metal beams in the way.


    "Tsk... they''re gonna get away."


    "No way they aren''t!" A super soldier said before touching his earpiece communication, seemingly turning it on. "We need artillery fire!"


    "But what about the buildings?" A super soldier asked.


    "This is a war! We don''t have time to worry about buildings!" He rebutted.


    * * *


    "We''ll soon reach the destination," Nathan said as he drove at a slower speed due to no longer being pursued.


    "Awesome driving, mate! I knew this would have been somewhat fun although I didn''t get to murder anyone!" Jack expressed. "But, is it finally over now..."


    Tsk, you just jinxed us I bet.


    Nathan''s suspicions were right, as a spontaneous explosion formed very close behind their vehicle, surprising them both. Jack nearly fell off the vehicle but he held on by stabbing the hood with his knife and brought himself back up.


    Jack immediately looked up and spotted the cause. A black fighter jet was now rapidly approaching them.


    "Located the enemies." The pilot said on his earpiece.


    From a mounted cannon underneath its wings, it fired an explosive at them.


    "BOOM!"


    Another spontaneous explosion formed behind them, shaking them up.


    "Nathan! We''ve got grenades!" Jack exclaimed. Once again Nathan sped up.


    As Nathan drove, numerous explosions with few seconds intervals as the grenades descended after being shot formed behind them. The explosions were causing extensive property damage.


    The car''s armor was visibly accumulating damage as well.


    Excessive sweating and an increased heart rate, Nathan was understandably fearful of being blown up.


    Shit! Shit! Shit! These guys are insane! I''m not used to shit like this!


    To calm down, however, Nathan began to think of Lilith. Happy memories of interactions with her in his school life flashed through his head. His heart rate and breathing quickly decelerated to regular patterns.


    Sigh...okay, I''m a bit calmer now. Thanks, Lilith.


    Jack focused and sent air slashes at the grenades as they were descending, to blow them up before they''d land. Due to the grenades which he slashed and exploded mid-air, the explosion, and smoke acted as cover for other grenades to come closer before Jack could slash them, and when he did, the force of the closer proximity explosions somewhat affected the duo.


    "Hey, Nathan! Shit...How close are we!?" Jack asked.


    "We''ll be there any minute!"


    Nathan and Jack were desperately trying to do their parts for survival.


    "Haha, there''s no point in driving, you won''t get past a fighter jet with a car." The pilot said.


    The car started to steam as it took numerous grenade hits, which Jack noticed.


    Uh oh.


    After taking a couple more hits, the car started to light on fire.


    "Uh, Nathan?"


    However, when the chances of escape became lower, a stroke of good luck took place. Beside the road, Nathan''s driving were numerous trees.


    "We''re here! Let''s ditch now!" Nathan instructed. Wasting no time, Jack hopped off the roof and Nathan jumped out of the moving vehicle, placing a large, soft cushion as a landing pad.


    Simultaneously, the grenade that would have finished the job was hurdling towards the car.


    Jack quickly grabbed Nathan and dashed into the forest. He saved Nathan just in time, as the car had fully exploded, turning into a wreck.


    "Uhm...I don''t think they''re dead..." The pilot said in a downtrodden tone.


    * * *


    Nathan and Jack had gone deep into the forest.


    "Alright, you can let me go now," Nathan said as Jack was still holding him like a child. Agreeing, Jack released him.


    "Sigh...with all these trees, it does make sense why this place is good for temporarily warding off attention," Nathan said.


    "Yeah."


    After walking some more, they encountered a small wooden hut. Outside was the doctor and the NPC who were sitting on a porch.


    "Well done, you two." The developer spoke on Jack''s phone. "You''ve arrived."

 Ch. 39 - The Blacksmith

    "Well done you guys, you''ve arrived."


    "Hello, guys." The doctor greeted them as she waved at them. Jack reciprocated her wave.


    The doctor wasn''t wearing her mask, which allowed Nathan and Jack to see her face. She had vanilla-colored, unblemished skin contrasted with her mid-length straight jet-black hair and eyes. The NPC had his mask on, however.


    "So that''s how the doctor looks, huh," Jack whispered to Nathan. "It makes sense why the NPC is always hanging with her."


    Meh, Lilith''s far better looking.


    "Two locations and now a cottage located deep in this forest. How many places do you guys even have?" Nathan asked.


    "This cottage is for emergencies where the locations of the warehouses are exposed, which happened now." The NPC said.


    Sounds to me that the developer knew this would have happened ages ago.


    "Anyways, let''s go inside." The NPC said. Agreeing, they followed him as they entered the cottage.


    Upon entering, they noticed that someone was sitting in the living room, apparently watching the news on the television. Upon a closer look, the person wasn''t paying attention to the news and was scrolling the media on their phone.


    "Who''s that?" Jack asked.


    "Huh? Oh yeah, you guys didn''t meet him with his mask off." The NPC said. "That''s the communications specialist."


    Upon revealing this, Jack and Nathan immediately turned to him.


    "Oh? It''s you again." Jack said.


    Just like the doctor, the C. Specialist had taken off his mask. He seemed to be an adolescent, with black magnetic earrings, a right nose ring, and three rings lodged below his right eye in a line. The rings, his hair, eyes, and even his clothing were very non-standard, fitting for his role of essentially being the social media manager.


    "Oh yeah...hey Jack." The C. Specialist responded.


    "Nice recording skills by the way. You got my good angles when I was murdering those cops."


    "Uh-huh."


    While they were talking, Nathan decided to look around on his own. He heard the sounds of metal clashing together in a separate room.


    Hmm?


    Hesitating, Nathan looked over to the others but the NPC and the doctor were focusing on the C-Specialist and Jack''s conversation.


    "You interested in what lies beyond this door, my game character?" The developer suddenly spoke on Nathan''s phone.


    "...The noise is just annoying."


    "Don''t worry, you can just enter."


    Taking a moment to decide whether this was a good idea, Nathan listened and entered.


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    The cause of the clashing metal sounds was made known to Nathan, as someone was busy hitting metal with a black cross-peen hammer.


    Nathan noticed that the room he had entered was like an armory. A large variety of bladed and firing weapons, armor, and other strange creations hung on the walls and decorated armor stands.


    "Uh, hello?" Nathan said in an attempt to gain their attention, which he did as they stopped and turned towards him.


    "Congrats! You met my last NPC!" The developer said. "The blacksmith!"


    The blacksmith was a young-looking woman of average height. She had dark skin, which complemented her short-length, honey-brown hair. Her eyes were almond-brown and had a strange glow to them, which greatly interested Nathan.


    She was wearing a black apron with a grey shirt and green cargo pants underneath, along with a pair of long, thick grey gloves with almost reached her elbow.


    "Oh, are you Nathan?" The blacksmith asked.


    "Yes, I am."


    "How''s my weapons been treating you?" She asked with a smile.


    "Weapons?"


    "Yes. Didn''t you get weapons when you became a character?"


    "Wait, you were the one that made those?" Nathan asked.


    "Yup, that''s me." She said with a cocky smile. As she looked at Nathan''s armor, her smile quickly wore off. It was heavily damaged (due to all his fights and raids) with numerous knife slashes, bullet imprints, and other damages.


    "Huh...what did you do with the armor I made!?" She angrily shouted. Her sudden change of demeanor confused Nathan.


    "Huh?"


    "Tsk! How could you do that to my creation, you brute!" She angrily vented.


    "..."


    "Sigh, give me the armor." She said.


    "What?"


    "Give me it and I''ll fix it up I guess."


    "...Oh," Nathan said. She went outside to let him change. and returned when he was finished. He changed into casual clothing and placed his armor and cargo pants on a table beside other metallic materials.


    "Good, I''ll fix it right up...don''t mess it up again." She said.


    "Oh, I also got this," Nathan said as he materialized the uniform of the super soldier he killed. This greatly surprised the blacksmith.


    "Wow! You had something like that and you''re just telling me!?" She said with great interest.


    "I also have quite a bit of stuff like weapons, explosives, tons of metal, and whatnot. Can you make them into stuff?" Nathan asked.


    "Haha! I knew you would have been pretty interesting. I watched your escape and saw that you chose that inventory ability. Gimme all your stuff."


    "But, I don''t think all of it will hold in this--" Before Nathan could finish his sentence, the blacksmith picked a remote up and pressed a button, which opened up a space in the ground, alarming Nathan.


    "You can dump them in here." The blacksmith suggested.


    I''m not even going to ask.


    He proceeded to dump a large amount of metallic materials, weapons, and other things he had stored (keeping some in his inventory, however) in the open space.


    "It''s going to take some time, but I''ll make it better than ever." She said. "Make sure you keep bringing materials like this in the future!"


    "Okay." He responded before leaving her to continue with her work. Nathan saw that Jack was eating, so he decided to go back outside. He sat on the bench that the NPC and doctor had sat on when they arrived.


    Looking up in the sky, he began to think.


    Ha...I''m in a lot of danger now Lilith. The army and everyone it has is now on my tail. I don''t really know how well this is going to go, but I''m glad that you''ve evacuated at least...you''re away from this shit.


    "Oh my, you look kinda sad." The developer said. "What''s wrong?"


    How the hell can he even see my facial expression?


    "...None of your business."


    "Is it about Lilith?"


    "I said, it''s none of your--"


    "Lilith is still in this city. She hasn''t evacuated." The developer revealed. Hearing this revelation stunned Nathan, causing him to sweat.


    "H-Huh?" Nathan stuttered. "W-What do you...mean?"


    "It''s all cause of me!" The developer ecstatically said. "I told her to not evacuate so she''ll find out about why you became a--"


    Suddenly, Nathan materialized a dagger, and in rage, he attempted to drive it into the phone but stopped short.


    "Aww, are you going to destroy another phone?" The developer said. "This will be the third phone you''re gonna destroy now."


    Although his hands were shaking with anger, he stored the knife back in his inventory.


    "Good, I knew you were capable of reason."


    "...I''m going to make you regret this," Nathan said before shutting his phone off and storing it to stop the developer''s speaking.


    It''s always one bad thing after another...


    With clenched fists, Nathan made his way back into the cottage. Although Jack wasn''t finished eating, Nathan approached him.


    "Jack, let''s talk about what we came here for," Nathan said with an annoyed expression (due to his previous interaction with the developer). "Let''s hurry up and plan now."

 Ch. 40 - Boredom

    Above the forest was the fighter jet hovering over. The pilot was doing reconnaissance to locate Jack and Nathan.


    "I''m sure they''re hiding around here." The pilot communicated on his earpiece. "I suggest sending forces to corner them."


    * * *


    Nathan sat with Jack and the NPCs (except for the blacksmith for obvious reasons), each on different couches in the living room.


    "As you already know Jack, the developer wanted us to meet here and formulate a plan to be victorious in this war," Nathan remarked. "However, most of our group is missing. Any ideas, Jack?"


    "I''m not the calculating type. I''d just want to go for the ideas that result in the most deaths...wait a second, that''s perfect!" Jack responded before an idea clicked in his mind.


    "Hmm?"


    "Almost everyone''s evacuated from the zones that we attacked previously, right?" Jack began to explain. "Then let''s bring the war to the civilians!"


    Everyone reacted with shocked expressions (except for the NPC as he had his mask of course).


    What an insane plan...as expected from Jack though. Although, the civilians would put the military at a disadvantage. No...I don''t want to be responsible for so many innocent deaths.


    "I mean if nothing else comes to mind...I guess we''d have no choice but to use that plan."


    Suddenly, noise could be heard outside, which garnered everyone''s attention.


    "Someone''s here...?" Nathan said with a serious expression. Jack also took a knife from his coat.


    "Wait...it''s probably someone we know." The NPC said.


    "Are you sure?" Nathan asked.


    "Yeah...if it wasn''t, the blacksmith would have already done something."


    What does he mean by that?


    Suddenly, Charles entered. He had some bruises on his body.


    "Hey guys! I made it!" He said in his usual excited demeanor.


    "Oh, Charles," Jack said as he placed his knife back in his coat. "From those bruises, I can tell you had some fun."


    "Haha...yeah I...did." He responded in a strained tone as he looked to the side.


    * * *


    Going less than an hour in the past after Jack had left to find Nathan, Charles was fighting the super soldiers he encountered.


    "Damn it...Jack left." A super soldier frustratingly said. "Well...at least we definitely can take out Charles, now that he''s by himself."


    "Haha, is that right?" Charles asked. "Don''t you guys know that it took the strongest guy to take me down!?"


    "More accurately, you got horrifically beaten by that guy. Plus, he was the first super soldier that fought you." The super soldier countered. "You may be a bit stronger than most blessed people, but you''re still blessed...and we specialize in killing you guys."


    "Haha...I like your mindset."


    He charged straight into the group of super soldiers. The regular soldiers began firing at him in response.


    Haha...Physical Enhancement - Blood Doping.


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    Pulsating veins surfaced on his face and neck, more than when he fought Rachel at the hotel. Having no choice as he charged at them, the super soldiers did the same. The regular soldiers stopped firing to not hinder their allies.


    With the use of knives, brass knuckles, clubs, and other melee weapons, the super soldiers attacked. Although they had the number advantage and their sonic-speed movement seemed to make them faster than Charles, they just couldn''t hit him.


    Reacting and redirecting knife and club swings to miss him and blocking punches and kicks, Charles was blocking everything, much to the super soldiers'' chagrin.


    "Tsk, why the hell can''t we hit you!" A super soldier shouted as he desperately attacked, still being blocked.


    "It''s a skill I''m using...blood doping!" Charles said. "Blood carries more oxygen around my body which boosts my attack and reaction speed to great amounts!"


    "What the hell is your body..." The super soldier said in confusion. "That''s just drug--" Before he could finish, he caught a punch to the face from Charles, sending him away.


    Charles continued to block and eventually started to overpower them with his sheer attack speed. It quickly got to the point where the super soldiers were getting thrown and punched across the block.


    Slamming one''s head into the ground strong enough to make a hole, punching one several times in the face before one could react, and only taking a few hits, it was obvious that they were losing.


    His knuckles were bloodied from beating them, and Charles started to become bored.


    Sigh...these guys aren''t enough to excite me. I need to fight that guy again.


    The soldiers frantically started to shoot at Charles after seeing him overpower them. They even tried to fire missiles at him from launchers, which annoyed him.


    "Tsk, you guys are just in the way!" Charles said before throwing a super soldier towards them like a projectile. Before the soldier crashed in, however, he was caught by another.


    "Oh?" Charles said. The soldier who caught the other gently leaned their unconscious body against a military vehicle. He then turned to Charles.


    Seeing his face, Charles looked surprised. The soldier had scars on the right half of his face. Charles was reminded of the man who defeated him in the past.


    Hmm...I wonder if this guy will be better than the others.


    "You''re a strong guy aren''t you." The scarred super soldier said. "You''re like a natural-born super soldier. It would have been nice if you weren''t a criminal."


    "Oh well, enough talking!" Charles exclaimed.


    Charles immediately ran at him and they started to fight. He was keeping up with Charles''s increased attack and reaction speed much better than the others could. They started to move around as they took their fight around the city block.


    The scarred super soldier even surprised Charles as he landed several hits on him.


    Charles smiled but in the back of his mind, he knew that this wasn''t enough to fulfill his battle-lust.


    "Heh, you aren''t too bad," Charles said. "But I''ll end this now."


    "End this, what do you me--"


    Adrenaline Doping.


    Charles'' body immediately shifted from having veins to greatly increased muscle mass. Dragging his right leg back, Charles prepared to charge at him.


    "Watch out," Charles warned with a smirk which alarmed him. Despite his warning, however, Charles dashed at him, breaking the ground that he planted his feet on and emitting sonic booms.


    The scarred super soldier tried to move but wasn''t fast enough and received a direct uppercut to his chin. He was sent many meters into the air, his jaw broken from the force.


    W-What...?


    Charles jumped up and caught up to him in the air. He proceeded to grab the scarred super soldier by the face. Charles punched the air with his free arm, generating enough force to propel him back to the ground, still holding the super soldier.


    He brutally smashed the scarred super soldier face first, breaking the ground on impact. Shattering his teeth and with a busted face, the super soldier was down for the count.


    "I guess the only similarity you had was the scars."


    Charles''s phone suddenly started ringing and he answered.


    "Hey Charles, nice fight!" The developer commended.


    "Yeah, but these guys aren''t enough...maybe if they all come at me, but still..."


    "Oh don''t worry, you''ll get your long-awaited fight and many more." The developer reassured. "For now, I need you to meet up with your party."


    "Hmm...Sure, why not? It''d probably be better than these boring people."


    * * *


    "Yeah, I...had...fun for a while, I guess," Charles responded as the scene returned to the present.


    "Well, at least you came here," Nathan said. "We have yet to hear from the other three."


    I don''t mind if Ada''s not here...but what about Zack...or Olivia for that matter. She always seems scared of Ada too so it''s strange that she''d be away with her for so long.


    * * *


    In a dark hallway, an officer walked down. As he walked, he passed what seemed to be several prison cells, with each containing individuals. He stopped at a cell, however, as something caught his eye.


    "Ha...oh yeah, I forgot we had you for a second." The officer said. "It must suck to be you, am I right, Ms. Gray?"


    The prisoner was none other than Olivia Gray. Filled with depression and with an empty expression, she was curling up in the fetal position in the middle of her cell.


    "Aw, sad?" The officer taunted. "Well, you should have thought of that when you killed your fellow students. But don''t worry...your misery will end very soon."


    Olivia didn''t even seem to register his presence so having enough of her, the officer left.

 Ch. 41 - Betrayal and Humiliation

    Over to Zack, later in the evening, he was lying on the bed where he shared his intimate time with Ada. He was wearing his overalls with the bed sheet covering his lower half. He stared at Ada.


    She was wearing a white-furred robe and doing her makeup while looking at herself in a mirror.


    Although she was turned away from him and focused on doing her makeup, Zack could not help but watch her beautiful self.


    "Beautiful..." He said. Hearing that, Ada turned around.


    "Oh? You''re awake?" Ada said with a smile.


    Ah shit...did I say that out loud?


    Ada got up and sat on the bed beside him, which caused Zack''s cheeks to flush red.


    "So, how was it?" Ada asked as she folded her legs and rested her face in her hand while smirking.


    "U-um...i-it was good." Zack stuttered. "I never thought I''d ever be this lucky."


    Really...I never thought something like this would have happened to me.


    "Aw, I''m glad that it was you as well," Ada responded as she reached and placed her hand on Zack''s right cheek. "I hope we can share more good experiences like this."


    They kept each other''s gaze for a few seconds as they smiled at each other.


    To think that Nathan was unnecessarily mistrustful of you, Ada.


    "Oh yeah," Zack said, breaking the silence. "Do you know what happened to Olivia? She left with us, but now we heard nothing from her."


    Ada''s smile immediately became less bright after Zack asked that question.


    "Don''t worry about her, Zack. She''s not important anymore." Ada said, maintaining her smile.


    That response confused Zack.


    "Hmm? What do you mean by that?" He asked, sitting up on the bed. "S-Shouldn''t we meet up with the oth--"


    "I meant what I said. Olivia''s gone...and the others will be too."


    A concerned expression quickly surfaced on Zack''s face, which Ada noticed. She proceeded to caress his cheek.


    "Don''t you remember what I told you when we left the warehouse?" Ada asked.


    * * *


    After leaving the warehouse, Ada, followed by Zack and Olivia, went to her gang. They were met by Leon, Charlotte, and Nolan.


    "Huh? Who are these guys?" Zack asked.


    "Don''t worry, it''s my gang I told you guys about," Ada explained. "It''s fine."


    Leon''s group looked at Zack with pure apathy unnerved him.


    "Take Zack inside," Ada told Leon. "Olivia and I have to...go somewhere."


    Olivia reacted with nervousness and confusion.


    "Where are you going?" Zack asked. Ada smiled and touched his nose with her index finger, causing him to blush.


    "Don''t worry, Zack, I''ll be back soon," Ada reassured. "You love and will always be there for me, right?"


    Hesitating at first, Zack answered, "Y-Yeah." Which made Olivia more worried, as she knew Ada''s tricks.


    "Good. Then I''ll always come back to you, Zack."


    * * *


    Ada did come back here...but not with Olivia. Zack thought.


    "You need not worry about the rest of our ''party''. Olivia has been ''dealt'' with, and the super soldiers will kill the rest of them."


    Zack''s eyebrows immediately became furrowed, drawing together as he displayed extreme worry.


    "Y-You did something to them?" He asked. At this point, Ada stopped smiling.


    Is he somehow resisting my manipulation? Ada thought.


    "Zack, you don''t need to worry about those murderous criminals anymore--"


    Zack immediately jumped off the bed and shoved her against the wall, resulting in a thud.


    "You''re saying I shouldn''t worry about my friends!?" Zack shouted. "TELL ME WHAT YOU DID TO THEM!"


    Ada looked visibly upset and stared at him with cold eyes. She took a deep breath before starting to chuckle.


    "Ha...Hahaha. You want to know, okay...I''ll tell you." Ada said. "I made a deal with the president and some military superiors to get me off the S-Class criminal list."


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    "Y-You what?"


    "I told them about the location of the warehouse to make it easier for them to get rid of those criminals. Because of Olivia, I also told them about everyone''s abilities, including yours. She was so ready to tell me too. Crying and hoping that I wouldn''t abandon her since she was useful... too bad the deal I made entailed giving her up to the state in advance...haha." Ada chuckled after coldly revealing what she had done.


    As Ada explained, Zack became more and more distraught.


    "But don''t worry, I brought you to this mansion because I thought you''d be useful to me since you loved me so much...at least, I thought," Ada added. "The war on the criminals is probably going on by now, which is why I kept telling you not to worry."


    "W-Why." Zack with a look of despair. "Aren''t we all friends?"


    "I would never be friends with that bastard, Nathan, and I wouldn''t be friends with the ones that thought of him as the better leader than me."


    "S-So, you betrayed...us?"


    "It''s not betraying if I never considered myself an ally to them."


    In a burst of anger, Zack wrapped his hands around her neck and tightened his grip.


    "Then if you aren''t an ally...I''ll just kill you!"


    As he tightened his grip, Ada grabbed his hands in an attempt to make him release her, but he had the strength advantage, so she could only buy time. Ada''s eyebrows furrowed as she was getting choked.


    "Haha...so, this...is what you''re...going to do, Zack...after I went...out of my way...to remove you...from the danger?" Ada said in an attempt to talk Zack out of killing her. "I would...have never...hurt you...because...I love you."


    Zack''s anger started to wear off as her words were affecting him. He stopped applying pressure to her neck but still held her.


    Good. Zack may be able to resist it somehow, but my manipulation still works.


    "I''m sorry, Zack," Ada said sincerely. "I just wanted you and me to be safe, that''s all...so please, don''t...do this."


    Tears ran down Ada''s face as she pleaded with him. Feeling remorse, he let her go and stepped back. Ada rubbed her neck to soothe the pain and wiped the tears from her face.


    Damn it...what she did was unacceptable but...seeing her cry was too much.


    "Thank you, Zack," Ada said.


    "Um, I''m sor--"


    "Thank you, for being a fool."


    "Huh?" Zack asked as Ada was looking right at Leon, who was behind him. Leon had raised his clenched fist in the air, obviously preparing to attack Zack. Suddenly, Zack received a punch to the back of his head, knocking him over.


    "AAHHH!!!" Zack screamed.


    Without hesitation, Leon grabbed him and slammed his head into the wall. He fell to the ground, delirious from the impact.


    "I heard some ruckus going on, so I thought I''d check," Leon said nonchalantly. "How dare you attack Ada."


    "Took you long enough, Leon," Ada said.


    Zack tried to get back up albeit slowly as he was still shaken up, however, Leon didn''t let him, as he delivered a kick straight to his face. Leon then grabbed Zack and kneed him in the stomach, causing him to cough excessively.


    "P...Please cough*...stop...him..." Zack pleaded to Ada.


    "Ha, stop him? Are you out of your mind?" Ada coldly responded. "How dare someone like you lay your hand on me and then ask that?"


    Leon continued by repeatedly punching Zack in the face, causing blood splatter and extreme swelling in his right eye.


    "I generously helped you and then you tried to kill me." Ada continued. "You will not be forgiven."


    Leon slammed him on the desk drawer Ada used to do her makeup and dragged his face across it.


    "Hey, you''re gonna fix that, you know," Ada advised.


    "No problem," Leon responded.


    He then threw him to the ground where he started to violently kick him in his stomach repeatedly. Zack started to cough up blood from the brutal beating he was receiving.


    "You know what''s funny, Zack?" Ada spoke. "You aren''t the first man I''ve slept with, but you were the worst."


    Zack looked humiliated at what she said, but Leon still didn''t stop. He stooped over him and started to relentlessly and repeatedly punch him in the face. He did it so much that blood was flying everywhere. Zack''s body involuntarily shook with every punch.


    "Hmm...he''s messing up the room too much. Let''s finish this outside," Ada suggested.


    "No problem," Leon said. Grabbing him by the shirt with both hands, Leon brought him out, with Ada following him. They took the elevator and made their way past everyone.


    No one even batted an eye at the barely conscious Zack. Instead, they greeted Ada and Leon as they passed, with them returning their greeting, Ada being especially friendly about it.


    Zack was brought outside to a nearby alleyway. Still grabbing his shirt, Leon shoved him against the wall.


    "You should have been smarter, Zack," Ada asked. "Now, you''re going to die."


    Leon proceeded to take a pistol from his belt and placed it at Zack''s head.


    Although his right eye was swollen and he was barely conscious, Zack could tell that he was about to die.


    With tears running down his eyes, Zack began to plead.


    "I...I-m...so...rry." Zack weakly said, surprising them. "Please...don''t...kill me..."


    Right before Leon pulled the trigger, Ada strangely stopped him.


    "Wait a second," Ada said. "If you''re apologizing, you should do it properly...prostrate yourself."


    Hearing that, Leon immediately let Zack go, causing him to fall over because he was weak from his beating.


    "Hurry up, we don''t have all day," Ada said impatiently.


    Mustering his strength, Zack kneeled and lowered his head in front of Ada.


    "I...I''m...sorry..." Zack repeated. Ada couldn''t help but smile, which quickly turned into a laugh.


    "HAHAHA!!! YOU''RE SO PATHETIC, AREN''T YOU!" Ada berated him as she began to step on the back of his head, rubbing her heels on him. "YOU''RE SO USELESS! BOTH TO ME AND TO NATHAN! INSTEAD OF HELPING THEM WITH ELIMINATING THE SUPER SOLDIERS, YOU''RE HERE, ATTACKING ME, AND NOW APOLOGIZING FOR IT!"


    Zack''s tears began to drip down to the ground. Sure, the physical pain that Zack was going through was immense, but was that really the cause of his crying? In this case, the psychological pain far exceeded the physical injuries.


    "TRULY USELESS! WHY WERE YOU EVEN BORN, HUH!" Ada asked with a sadistic smile across her face. With no answer, however, she removed her foot from his head.


    "Heh...you can live. But don''t let me see your worthless self again." Ada warned. "But knowing you, you''ll probably just die in this war. Let''s go, Leon."


    "Alright."


    They casually returned to the mansion, leaving Zack.


    WHY WERE YOU EVEN BORN, HUH!?


    Those words Ada said replayed in his head.


    I''ve heard...those words...before.


    Suddenly, the silhouettes of a man and a woman appeared in his memories. The words that Ada said were also being said by those individuals.


    "WHY WERE YOU EVEN BORN, HUH!?"


    "O-Oh yeah...them..." Zack weakly stated. With pursed lips, his tears began to flow more. "I...really am...useless."


    Feeling humiliated, in pain physically and mentally, and most importantly, feeling used and betrayed by Ada, he began to curl into the fetal position.


    "AAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Zack released an ear-piercing scream, bursting into tears.


    "Come on, Zack, get up." The developer suddenly spoke, which attracted Zack''s attention. Although his phone was in his pocket, he could hear the developer as it was on speaker and rather loud. "You gotta complete the game''s mission, ya know."


    "I-I can''t...go back." Zack weakly said. "I won''t...be of any...use...to you."


    "Dang, your character development is about to go crazy." The developer said, which confused Zack. "But don''t worry, I have a specific job that only you can accomplish."


    "A...A job?"

 Ch. 42 - Pups

    "So we are going to use the civilians as an advantage?" Charles asked as he sat with Nathan and the group.


    "Yeah," Jack responded.


    "Wow, Nathan," Charles said. "I didn''t expect you to go for a violent method like that."


    "I''m not the one that came up with that plan. Well, we don''t have the choice of minimizing casualties in this situation anyway," Nathan remarked.


    "Well, I''m fine with anything as long as I get to fight a specific super soldier!" Charles declared.


    "A specific super soldier?" Nathan asked. "Are they strong?"


    "Ha...the strongest!" Charles stated.


    "I see...sure then." Nathan agreed. "You can fight that guy or whatever, but please don''t focus on that one person only."


    The fewer people I need to fight...the better.


    Suddenly, alarms went off inside the cottage, surprising everyone.


    "What the hell is that!?" Nathan inquired with shock.


    "Damn...I think we''ve got some intruders." The NPC said. He quickly approached and knocked on the blacksmith''s door.


    "Hey, I''m sure you''re aware, but we''ve got company!" The NPC shouted.


    * * *


    Throughout the forest, super soldiers and regular soldiers alike were cautiously searching. They came from all directions and equipped with their usual firearms and equipment. The number of enemies was well over a hundred in the forest.


    "They should be here...make sure to search thoroughly!" A super soldier instructed.


    * * *


    "If we got intruders, then let''s kill them!" Jack happily suggested as he took out some knives.


    The blacksmith came out of her room.


    "Yeah, yeah, I heard!" She said to the NPC, annoyed that he was banging on her door. "I already sent my pups at them!"


    "Pups?" Nathan asked.


    The blacksmith turned on the television and switched it to a specific channel. It displayed the soldiers in the forest.


    "Behold! My pups!" The blacksmith happily exclaimed.


    * * *


    As the soldiers approached the cottage, holes in the dirt began to open up, confusing them.


    "Do you guys see what I''m seeing?" A soldier asked.


    From the holes, robotic-looking wolves emerged. The soldiers reacted by aiming at the wolves.


    "What the hell are those!?" A soldier asked in confusion. However, his question was left unanswered as a wolf moved towards him at rapid speed and lunged at them, ripping their throat with its metallic teeth in the process.


    Realizing the danger of these wolves, the soldiers and super soldiers immediately began to shoot but the bullets were not piercing the wolves'' steel-like body. The wolves rushed towards them, far above the regular speed of a wolf, and began ravaging the soldiers.


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    "AAHHHH!!!! GET IT OFF ME!!!" A soldier screamed as a wolf was biting through its abdomen, nearly tearing his stomach out.


    The super soldiers abandoned their guns and tried to attack the wolves in hand-to-hand combat, but they were also having trouble.


    "Damn it...those criminals led us into a trap!" A super soldier said as he struggled to keep the wolf from biting his face.


    * * *


    "Wow!" Jack said. "You''re my favorite NPC!"


    "This is just many of my inventions." The blacksmith stated with a smug look. "But you guys should leave this cottage, though."


    "Why?" Jack asked. Nathan and Charles were also confused at this sudden suggestion.


    "Since the army''s looking for you guys in the forest, they won''t stop and will eventually find this cottage, our hiding place." The blacksmith explained. "That would expose us too...and it would make finishing up your armor and weapons complicated."


    Hmm...that is true. I do need my stuff finished without issues.


    "Alright, but what armor am I supposed to wear in the meantime?" Nathan asked.


    "Sigh...first you want me to make better stuff for you, and now you want me to give you armor." The blacksmith said while facepalming. "So demanding...follow me."


    Obeying, Nathan followed the blacksmith back to her smithing room. She brought him in front of an armor stand.


    "Here, use this in the meantime." She said. "It''s similar to your old armor, so don''t be reckless, especially against the super soldiers."


    Better than wearing police or regular military gear.


    The reinforced vest and the cargo pants, Nathan took each of them off the armor stand and put them on. After finishing, he went outside with Jack and Charles waiting.


    "Make sure to kill many of those guys before leaving the forest." The blacksmith advised. "So my pups won''t have to work too much."


    "Oh, I''ll make sure to kill a lot," Jack said with a sadistic grin. After Jack and Charles waved goodbye to the NPCs, they left. Each of them split up to pursue the soldiers, who were still being brutally slaughtered by the wolves.


    The super soldiers had taken down a couple of wolves, however, but their hopes were quickly lost when Jack and Charles appeared at different sections.


    "Hello, buggers," Jack said.


    "Shit!" A super soldier said as he and his comrades were preoccupied with wolves. Without mercy, Jack proceeded to attack them. Stabbing them in their throats, slashing their carotid artery, and even exerting enough force to behead the abnormally hard-bodied super soldiers, he only went for kill shots.


    Their methods of counter-attacks were vastly limited as the wolves were constantly attacking them like the wild, robotic beasts they were.


    Haha, the wolves aren''t attacking me. I was concerned that they''d get in my way, but I guess the developer and his NPCs will always look out for us, his ''game characters''.


    As his psychotic grin became larger, Jack continued his attack.


    I can''t wait to end this damn war...so I can kill as much as I want, without any worry!


    * * *


    "Come on, guys! I know the wolves are attacking you, but can''t you do any better!?" Charles angrily stated as he held the shirt of an unconscious super soldier.


    Damn... there are so many weaker super soldiers...how much of them did the developer say there were? Nearly three thousand? So why haven''t I come across any truly strong ones yet!?


    Charles dropped the super soldier and specifically went for the ones who weren''t being immediately attacked by the wolves. His veins were pulsating on his face and neck, which indicated that he was using ''Adrenaline Doping''.


    The super soldier he was currently engaged in close combat was having trouble with his attack speed. It didn''t matter though, as a wolf lunged at them from the side and began violently tearing at him with its teeth.


    "AAAHHHHH!!!!" The super soldier screamed. Charles quickly became bored.


    Sigh...just endure it. You''ll get to fight that guy again...


    * * *


    As soldiers were being attacked by wolves, they began to get shot from seemingly nowhere.


    "Huh!?" A soldier asked in confusion as he witnessed his comrade falling to the ground, whimpering in pain. The soldier soon followed as another bullet flew into his legs. The wolves immediately rushed them to finish the injured preys.


    The other soldiers could not even analyze the situation, due to the wolves'' relentless attacks, so they were being picked off.


    The cause of the shooting was none other than Nathan. He was hiding up a tree and shooting them with a scoped rifle.


    It''s nice that I have these wolves as support so I don''t need to kill them directly. I''m not like Jack and Charles, who can dive into a group and still somehow win.


    Nathan and the wolves quickly picked off the regular soldiers, which caused the wolves to focus their efforts on the super soldiers.


    I need to hurry this up...so I can get Lilith out of this warzone. All because of that dumbass developer...

 Ch. 43 - Blessed Hunters

    Over to John and Harvey, they were escorted by soldiers and officers in armored vehicles.


    "What''s the situation looking like now?" Harvey asked an officer wearing a green decorated uniform. "How much closer are we to eliminating the S-Class criminals?"


    "Well, we''ve lost over a hundred super soldiers and even more regular soldiers." A general asked. "However, at their hideout, we located a truck filled with explosives, so we safely secured it at a military camp."


    "I see. It''s unfortunate that we had losses, but that''s to be expected," Harvey remarked. "The super soldier casualties were without disfigurations on their bodies, right?"


    "Yeah." The officer answered. "The deceased did not have many scars."


    "Well, it''s fine," Harvey said. "As you know, the stronger and more their bodies are modified, the more messed up their bodies are. With our stronger soldiers, we still have criminals in the palm of our hands. Especially with the blessed hunters, our ten strongest, the special forces of the super soldiers. Those guys are in a league of their own in terms of strength and body modifications...you could say that they have those blessed abilities of their own."


    "Yeah, but I wish those guys weren''t so lazy and would try to find and eliminate them," John added.


    * * *


    Nathan, with the help of the robotic wolves, cleared up the soldiers left in the forest. He made his way out after.


    Jack and Charles went their separate ways, so I''m by myself again...sigh. Most of the materials I had were with the blacksmith too, so I gotta be extra careful.


    "I gotta find Lilith..." Nathan said before materializing an armored car and driving off.


    * * *


    Sebastian and Ethan were following Rebecca, who was walking ahead.


    "Hey! Wait up!" Ethan begged as he increased his walking speed. "What''s with the rush?"


    She didn''t respond and kept her stride.


    "Rebecca!"


    "Stop trying to stop her, Ethan," Sebastian said. "She''s hellbent on finding those criminals herself."


    Sigh.


    "I get your hate for them, but can''t you just communicate with your comrades?" Ethan asked.


    "...We super soldiers are useless if we can''t eliminate blessed criminals, right, Sebastian?" Rebecca asked. Sebastian looked at her with confusion. "If I fail to kill these criminals for the second time then I don''t deserve this role in life. Besides, we may be treated as war machines, but I care for you guys, which is why I cannot let what they did to Rachel, Malcolm, and every fallen super soldier go unpunished."


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    "Sigh. I guess that attitude of yours is why you''re this strong." Sebastian remarked. Even though you don''t look disfigured like the rest.


    "Anyways, have the blessed hunters made their move yet?" Rebecca asked.


    * * *


    At a different side of the city was the ''Blessed Slaughterer.'' He was walking with three other super soldiers, scarred just as he was.


    "It seems our comrades are having trouble with the criminals." The blessed slaughterer said. "We should help them. I hope you guys remember the plan."


    "Of course we do." One of his comrades said. His skin was grey and seemed to look decomposed, and his voice was hoarse. His physical features were like a man who died, decomposed and came back to life. Out of the comrades, he was the ugliest to lay eyes on.


    "Good. You specifically don''t need to worry about being injured, ''Zombie''." The Blessed Slaughterer responded to the decomposed super soldier.


    "Jack has grown a lot stronger despite his unusual place of imprisonment." Another comrade interjected.


    He had plenty of scars like the rest but was rather slender. In his hand was a red spear with a black blade attached at the end. It was around eight feet in length. "Hearing reports of him, I doubt he''d die to most super soldiers. I want to see if he''s as fast as I am."


    "As long as you stick to the plan, Lancer." The blessed slaughterer responded. "...And make sure to keep Nailhead in your sight at all times..."


    "Yeah," Lancer responded as he looked at the third comrade behind him. ''Nailhead'', as referred to by the blessed slaughterer, was a super soldier, towering over his comrades at well over seven feet tall.


    He had a nasty scar over his eye and one on the top of his head, which was exposed due to his very low-cut hair. He did not possess the sleeves on his uniform that all the others had, which exposed his muscular and highly scared arms.


    "Tsk! Let''s just hurry up and find these criminals!" Nailhead demanded. "I want to kill them so badly!"


    "Shut up and wait." The blessed slaughterer ordered. "Did you forget how much of a danger we are to the environment because of how strong we are?"


    "Tch..."


    "Cryostasis, Pyrostasis, and the Death-bringers are in different parts of the labeled danger zones, so depending on where the criminals are, we probably won''t even need to intervene." The blessed slaughterer concluded.


    But...I still want to at least murder the battle-crazed killer. I want to right my previous wrongs...


    * * *


    Ada and Leon were conversing in her room, a separate one from which Zack was beaten up by Leon.


    "How are the final preparations going?" Ada asked.


    "Charlotte, Nolan, Frank, and many of our forces are being mobilized as we speak," Leon said. "It is all going how you envisioned it, Ada."


    "Good, I don''t want any hiccups in this plan."


    "There won''t," Leon assured. "You have done so much for us, for me. There''s no way we will fail this one favor you''ve asked of us. You have my word."


    Ada smirked.


    Heh...My power is the greatest. I really am the god of this world.


    "If you''ll excuse me, Ada. I have to--"


    "Don''t worry, I know you''re working hard. You can go." Ada said with a sincere smile.


    With a bow, Leon left. Suddenly, Ada''s phone began to ring.


    "It''s about time I heard from you," Ada said, anticipating who the person calling would be. She answered.


    "I see you''ve been hard at work with your side mission, Ada." The developer said.


    "Yes, I have. I hope you didn''t think I would only be mindlessly doing your ''missions''." Ada snarkily replied.


    "Oh no, no, no. Not at all!" The developer said. "I think what you''re doing is great actually! It makes for a good side plot!"


    This guy...he thinks my life and actions are a side plot!?


    "Well, you can think whatever you want," Ada said. "But when all is said and done, I''ll kill all your ''characters'' and be the true ''developer'' of this ''game'' called life. So shut up and watch as everything you made come crumbling down, just because they opposed me."


    "...Oh? Alright then." The developer said. "We''ll both see how things play out."


    Oh, yes, we will.

 Ch. 44 -Reunion

    Nathan had been driving for quite a while and hadn''t seen any enemies, which caused him to be suspicious.


    Hmm...I expected to ditch this car as soon as I saw any soldiers, but I haven''t seen any. I don''t mind, but this is strange.


    As Nathan approached a park, however, the reason why his path was void of soldiers was made clear to him. He exited his car to check.


    What...the...hell.


    It was a gruesome sight. Throughout the park, protruded numerous spikes, long enough to where they spanned the entire area. The spikes were made from the ground and surrounded by the park grass. Weak groans were audible as countless amounts of regular and super soldiers were impaled on the spikes.


    Due to the sight and the scent of blood, a nauseous sensation overtook Nathan''s senses. Feeling something rushing from the depths of his throat, Nathan fell to his knees. Suddenly, Nathan uncontrollably began to gag, before throwing up the contents of his stomach.


    "Freaking...hell..." Nathan uttered as he materialized a towel to wipe his mouth.


    "W...Wh-y." A super soldier muttered as he stared at Nathan. Quickly, Nathan averted his gaze.


    Jesus. Who the hell...even did this? Now we''ve got...more things to worry about. This might be morbid though...but at least I''ll get to Lilith easier. I won''t have to worry about running into enemies for a while...But first...


    Covering his mouth and nose with the towel, Nathan proceeded to go around the park and store any weapons and equipment that the now-deceased soldiers had. The still-living ones could do nothing but watch in agony as they slowly die. Nathan had kept his head downwards, to not look at the horrid sight.


    This is going to give me nightmares...but I''ll need this equipment...


    Thoroughly content with his looting of the area, Nathan quickly ran out, returned to his car, and drove off.


    Just as Nathan had predicted, he did not encounter any enemies on his way to Lilith. The soldiers that should be around here were likely lured and killed, at least, that''s what Nathan assumed.


    As Nathan was nearing Lilith''s home, he found himself beginning to get nervous. With his usual heightened breathing and heart rate, breaking out into a sweat and feeling uneasy, he immediately understood that meeting her would not be easy, especially with how their last meeting went.


    Ha...come on, Nathan, this isn''t the time for nervousness. You''re gonna save Lilith, aren''t you!?


    Encouraging himself and calming down, Nathan arrived at Lilith''s home. It was a normal-looking apartment complex.


    * * *


    Lilith had been oddly peeking out her window, seemingly expectant for something. When she saw Nathan''s car pulling up, a sense of happiness came over her.


    I-Is that Nathan?


    * * *


    Nathan left his car and made his way to the door. He wanted to knock but hesitated.


    W-What if...she doesn''t want to see me...That feeling of rejection keeps eating away at me. But, if the bastard developer told her my...situation, then I wonder if she would under--


    As Nathan was deep in his thoughts, Lilith suddenly opened the door. Shocked at the sight of each other, their eyes locked with no words immediately exchanged.


    No...now''s not the time for this.


    "L-Lilith...why haven''t you left?" Nathan said, breaking the silence. "You know this is a danger zone, right?"


    "W-What?" Lilith asked with surprise on her face.


    "Why are you surprised? Didn''t you hear about everyone else leaving?" Nathan asked. "Whatever, you have to come with me...you won''t be safe he--"


    "It''s not that," Lilith interjected. "Y-You''re still looking out for me, even after all that happened."


    Huh?


    "I-I always said I''d be there for you, yet still, I cursed you out and left you. All because...I let what''s considered as wrong and right drive my thoughts."


    Oh...that''s what she meant.


    "You have all right to abandon me...but as always, you''ve been looking out for me--"


    "Come on, Lilith. Don''t say that." Nathan said. "I never resented you and your choice. It was reasonable actually...considering I''ve done some...irredeemable things. I also thought that if you left me, you wouldn''t be in danger--"


    Before Nathan could finish, Lilith wrapped her arms around Nathan, hugging him tightly, which caused him to blush.


    "I won''t leave you again!" Lilith declared. Nathan couldn''t help but smile at her declaration as he felt warm inside.


    Honestly, you always know how to make me happy.


    "D-Did you hear from a certain person why I''m in this mess?" Nathan asked.


    "Y-Yeah, someone called the ''developer'' messaged me. He told me everything, which is why I felt like such an idiot for abandoning you so coldly."


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Sigh...freaking developer...when I find out who you are...


    "But don''t worry, I can complete the mission given to you by the developer. I know I ca--"


    "Absolutely not, Lilith." Nathan quickly declined. "This is far too dangerous, and I won''t let you do anything that you''ll regret."


    "But I won''t regret it! I''ve accepted the developer''s offer to become a ''character'' or whatever they called it, to help you!"


    DAMN IT! WHY THE HELL WOULD HE MAKE LILITH ONE OF HIS CHARACTERS!!!


    Nathan was angry but internalized it as he knew Lilith was not at fault. Keeping his ire on the inside, he loudly exhaled.


    "Sigh, let''s just get out of here," Nathan suggested. "It''s risky to stay out in the open like this."


    "Oh, yeah. You''re right!" Lilith realized. "Let me just get something inside."


    Huh?


    Lilith didn''t take long to retrieve what she wanted. When she returned, she was holding a katana in her hand, which surprised Nathan. I seemed to look like a standard katana, except the blade and handle was pitch black and over 4 feet long.


    "What the!? What are you doing with that sword!?" Nathan asked as he scrunched his eyebrows, showing visible concern.


    "It''s...a secret. For now, at least." Lilith responded.


    I bet the developer somehow gave her that.


    "Whatever, let''s go," Nathan said, and they approached and entered his vehicle. With their seatbelts fastened, Nathan drove off.


    "So, where are we going to go?" Lilith asked.


    "Well, I want to get you out of the danger zones hopefully," Nathan responded.


    But there''s that plan that Jack proposed which entailed getting the civilians out of the danger zones in the crossfire...


    "But I said I could help you!" Lilith exclaimed. "You don''t have to be the only one that does the protecting, Nathan!"


    "Sigh, you''re so persistent, Lilith..." Nathan commented. "But I won''t let you--"


    Nathan was cut off by the sudden sounds of bullets hitting the car, alarming them both.


    "Damn! We''re being attacked--!"


    Much to Nathan''s surprise, the bullets pierced his armored car and flew past his face. If his body was a few centimeters to the left, that would have been the end for Nathan.


    "Quick! Take off your seatbelt!" Nathan ordered. Understanding the urgency of the situation, Lilith obeyed. He proceeded to grab Lilith''s arm, pulled her close (which made her blush), and hopped out of the car. Skillfully placing a mattress underneath, Nathan softened their fall.


    Lilith was resting on Nathan''s body, her cheeks completely red. Nathan, on the other hand, kept focused and materialized objects as cover against the unknown shooter.


    * * *


    Over to a nearby building was the shooter. It was of course a super soldier.


    "Tsk, what the hell. I wanted to kill him with that...and I''m pretty sure that there was another person with him." The sniper said in shock. He was lying on the roof of the building and looking through a rifle mounted on a bipod. "Whatever, I''ll just kill him them both." He said before getting up.


    * * *


    Nathan grabbed Lilith''s hand and ran to an alleyway. He placed more objects to act as cover as they ran.


    "Quickly, put this on!" Nathan said as he materialized a vest and riot helmet and frantically gave her. "It might not be much, but it''s better than nothing!"


    Obeying Nathan, she quickly put them on.


    Wow, Nathan really does have an inventory ability...so cool.


    "Alright, we need to get out of here, but I''m not sure where the sniper is--"


    "I''m right here." The super soldier said.


    Shit!


    Nathan outstretched his hand to materialize objects, but the super soldier immediately appeared in his face and grabbed his arm, squeezing it. With his other arm, the super soldier grabbed Nathan''s neck and slammed his head into the alleyway wall.


    "NATHAN!" Lilith shouted desperately. The super soldier turned his attention towards her.


    "Hmm, you aren''t on the list of S-Class Criminals, nor do you look like any allies we heard about." The super soldier stated as he stared confusedly at her. In response, Lilith gripped her katana in sheer anger for what he had done to Nathan.


    Imagine yourself...protecting Nathan with all you have... Lilith strangely began to think as she clenched her katana.


    "Whatever, I''ll kill anyone I see with these criminals...without any remorse--"


    Suddenly, Nathan jumped in between them. From his hands came grenades, which alarmed the super soldier. Simultaneously, Nathan materialized numerous objects and soft pads. The super soldier had no time to react, as the grenades exploded rather quickly, knocking him to the ground.


    The force propelled Nathan and Lilith away, but they were protected by Nathan''s quick thinking to place down objects as shields for the explosion. They rolled across the ground along with the destroyed objects.


    "Ugh...Sorry about...acting so reckless..." Nathan said as he got up despite his injuries. Due to being slammed into the wall, his head was bleeding, and now he had bruises on his body from the propelling force of the explosion. "We have to go...now."


    Lilith also got up. Surprisingly, she was unscathed. She quickly held Nathan stay upright as they escaped the alleyway.


    "Why...why do you have to go through all this...?" Lilith said, her tone filled with sorrow. "Why is this world so unfair to you...?"


    "I''ve...gotten used to it," Nathan responded. "But I will murder anyone that threatens you...I guess that''s why I did something so risky."


    Lilith gripped her katana in frustration for Nathan.


    "Anyways, that guy probably won''t be down from that," Nathan said. "I have an idea that will put that bastard down."


    "Why don''t you let me do it?" Lilith pleaded once again.


    "No, Lilith. Just trust me...I''ve got this."


    "But..."


    "Well, if you really want to help..."


    * * *


    "GODDAMMIT! THAT PIECE OF SHIT!" The super soldier angrily cursed as he stood up from the ground. His body was burnt and he was bloody. Shrapnel was embedded in his chest and right arm. Nathan''s reckless plan was effective. "I''LL KILL HIM!" He declared before deciding to chase him.


    The super soldier could not move at his usual super-sonic speeds, but could still move faster than a regular human. He could not locate Nathan, which made him angrier.


    Tsk! I''m sure they got affected by those grenades too! There''s no way they could have gotten far!


    His assumptions were correct, as he saw Lilith running away. She seemed to be speaking to someone on her phone.


    "HEY! WAIT UP!" The super soldier ordered as he chased her down. She went through an underpass, and he chased her through it as well.


    "Now, Nathan!" Lilith shouted on her phone as she exited the underpass.


    Huh? What does she mean by no--


    Just as the super soldier exited the underpass, he was involuntarily forced to the ground.


    Nathan, who was waiting at the top of the underpass, dumped numerous cars from his inventory when Lilith gave the signal. She had passed safely, and the cars dropped on the super soldier, crushing him.


    "AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" The super soldier shouted as he coughed up blood. Nathan casually made his way down the underpass and stood beside Lilith. They were now standing face-to-face at a good distance from the super soldier.


    Sigh...can''t believe I put Lilith in a risky situation like that...


    "AAHHH!!! GET IT OFF ME!!!" The super soldier exclaimed as he was struggling to get the cars off.


    "You see, I''ve learned a lot of things about my inventory ability," Nathan said to the super soldier. "When I store something, the inside of the inventory leaves it in suspended animation, so any food I store never expires. That also extends to things like explosives. I took the pins off some grenades and then stored them, in case you were wondering why they exploded so fast." He monologued.


    Nathan materialized an RPG.


    "Close your eyes, Lilith." Nathan softly said. Reluctantly, she obeyed.


    "Now...you should have never threatened Lilith," Nathan said with a cold expression. "Perhaps I wouldn''t have been so hard on you."


    "DA-MN...YO-U!!!" The super soldier shouted with blood filling his mouth.


    Without hesitation, Nathan fired a rocket at the middle of the car mound. Simultaneously, Lilith secretly opened her eyes. The missile, coupled with the engines of many cars, created a massive explosion, destroying the super soldier''s body.


    Wow... Lilith thought as she witnessed the massive explosion.


    I''ll kill anyone that threatens Lilith...

 Ch. 45 - Stains

    I''ll kill anyone that threatens Lilith...


    Nathan watched as the super soldier''s corpse burned in the flames. The underpass was damaged, and it came crashing down in the fire.


    "Um, Nathan?" Lilith asked as her eyes kept closed, pretending she hadn''t seen anything."


    "Oh, sorry," Nathan said. "I had no choice but to kill him..."


    "Oh, no worries," Lilith said. "I know you''re just defending yourself."


    "Yeah, let''s get out of here now."


    With that said, they left the area. They didn''t go too far and settled in a large abandoned home (since almost everyone was gone.)


    Nathan smashed the window with a rock. Materializing thick gloves to protect his hand from the shards, he climbed in.


    "Hold on, I''m going to open the door," He said, to which Lilith nodded. After opening the door and letting Lilith in, Nathan placed a couple of metal beams that acted as a barricade.


    Sluggishly, Nathan sat on a couch.


    Ugh...my head hurts...so bad...


    Lilith looked at him in concern, which he noticed.


    "Ugh...don''t worry. I''ll be fine. I just need to...rest for a bit." Nathan assured. Still stricken with concern, Lilith began searching around the house.


    "What are you looking for?" Nathan asked, but she didn''t respond. She went to another room.


    What is she doing?


    Returning after a few minutes, Lilith carried a bucket of water and a roll of bandages.


    "That''s what you were looking for..."


    Lilith set another couch and sat in front of Nathan.


    "Ahh...it''s alright..." Nathan shyly said. "You don''t have to--"


    "No, I have to stop the bleeding!" Lilith said as she took a soaked rag in the bucket. She began to wipe the blood from his head, and Nathan reluctantly allowed her.


    She then began to wrap the bandage around his head. Her proximity caused Nathan''s cheeks to flush red.


    "There. All better." Lilith said. Realizing their closeness and having eye contact with each other, Lilith began to blush as well.


    "Ah...thanks..." Nathan awkwardly said in an attempt to break the equally awkward mood.


    "Aww, I was hoping I''d get to see more." The developer suddenly said on Nathan''s phone. An expression of annoyance quickly rushed over Nathan''s face as he heard the developer''s voice. "It''s surprising that you guys haven''t gotten together yet."


    "W-What?" Lilith stuttered.


    "Would it kill you to go fuc--" Nathan was interrupted by the sounds of talking outside.


    For heaven''s sake! Is it so hard for us to get just a little rest!?


    "Looks like you guys are gonna be busy again." The developer said. "I''ll leave you to it."


    After hanging up, Nathan peeked through the window to understand the situation. He had expected some soldiers, but it was far worse.


    There were no super soldiers in sight, but numerous enemy soldiers were approaching the home that they occupied.


    Shit. There are at least eighty of them...maybe a hundred! Incapacitating them is out of the question!


    Nathan materialized his RPG and looked towards Lilith.


    "When I shoot, I want you to run full speed to escape through the back," Nathan advised.


    "Right..." Lilith agreed.


    I wish he''d allow me to help...


    Suddenly, Nathan fired a missile through the window. The soldiers could only watch in fright as the rocket traveled towards them and exploded. It killed quite a few of them. The soldiers instinctively dropped to the ground to take cover.


    "DAMN! THE CRIMINALS WERE HERE AFTER ALL!" A soldier angrily said. "QUICKLY, SURROUND THE BUILDING!"


    * * *


    Right after firing, Nathan followed Lilith (who knew the layout of the house) as they ran to the back. Simultaneously, bullets started flying through the walls as the soldiers began retaliating, frightening Lilith.


    Damn, these guys don''t care about property damage...


    A bullet struck Nathan''s leg, causing him to stumble.


    "Ouch!" Nathan shouted, to which Lilith looked back in concern.


    "Are you okay--"


    "It''s fine," Nathan said. "My armor protected me. Just don''t stop running."


    Steeling her nerves, Lilith listened and continued with Nathan right behind her. Upon reaching the back door, she began to open it. However, Nathan heard footsteps nearby.


    Wait a second...


    No sooner had Lilith opened the door than Nathan dragged her back. Bullets came flying past, which came very close to her face. He immediately shut the door after dragging her back in.


    Lilith began to hyperventilate as she realized that she nearly died, but Nathan took her hand and went upstairs. He also materialized a ballistic helmet and placed it on his head.


    Shit...we''re surrounded now, caged in.


    He was right, as the soldiers stood at different points around the scheme. He looked up and noticed a four-section chandelier in the middle of the passageway. Seeing him looking up, Lilith did the same out of curiosity.


    Hmm...I have an idea...


    The soldiers closest to the doors and windows around the house communicated with one another using hand signs. Deafening silence filled the area as no one moved.


    The eerie silence caused Nathan to be suspicious as he was waiting at the top of the staircase. Taking a deep breath, he calmed any lingering nervousness.


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    Suddenly, the soldiers made their move. Breaking the doors and windows, they entered, which alarmed Nathan as he heard them.


    You can do this, Nathan. To protect Lilith...you have to kill them!


    The soldiers quickly but cautiously searched around the house. Allies carrying riot shields let them in anticipation of a confrontation of gunfire. However, as soldiers turned to the staircase, Nathan was already prepared.


    Holding the under-barrel grenade launcher that he stole from the first super soldier he killed, Nathan immediately began shooting at them down the staircase.


    Although their riot shields would aid in bullets, this would not be the case for explosives, especially after shooting multiple grenades. Nathan succeeded in killing more men, but the loud bangs of the explosions only revealed his location to the rest.


    Lilith was staring at the bodies of the soldiers, and with a frustrated look, she once again held onto her katana tightly.


    "Come, Lilith!" Nathan instructed, snapping her from her trance.


    The soldiers pursued them up the staircase and aimed, but to their surprise, Nathan and Lilith hid behind an armored vehicle at the end of the hallway.


    "Tsk, this brat is so annoying...but he has nowhere to run now...FIRE!" A soldier said, and readily obeying, they began to fire. With their high-powered assault rifles, they pelted the vehicle with bullets.


    Sigh...I''m tired.


    They slowly approached them as they fired. The relentless shooting scared Lilith, but being used to it, Nathan kept his composure.


    Closer...


    They kept moving as they fired. The car glass began to crack as the bullets continued to bombard it, causing Lilith to yelp in fright.


    "N-Nathan..." Lilith softly said.


    Closer...


    The soldiers were now under the chandelier (which had eight Molotov cocktails, two tied at each section), right where Nathan wanted them.


    Perfect!


    He immediately stood up, exposing himself, and fired at the chain supporting the chandelier, causing it to fall. However, at that moment, Nathan exposed himself. He was shot numerous times on his armored vest and once on his head, but thankfully, the ballistic shield was enough to protect him.


    The chandelier came crashing down with the cocktails, shattering as they hit the ground (or on soldiers unlucky enough to be in the way) and dousing the area and soldiers in oil. The fire quickly spread and engulfed the soldiers.


    "AAAHHHH!!!" They screamed in agony as they desperately tried to put out the flames. Their screams and the sight pierced deep into Lilith.


    Shit...getting shot always hurts...


    Nathan, as quick thinking as he usually was, stored the vehicle and placed another one. This time, it was facing the soldiers and not so much as acting as a shield. He quickly opened the passenger''s door and placed numerous explosives inside.


    Turning on the engine and placing a brick on the gas, he shut the car and grabbed Lilith.


    "We''re jumping!" Nathan said before running towards the window at the end of the hallway. Simultaneously, the car drove straight towards the soldiers.


    With Lilith following closely behind and in a slow-motion sequence, Nathan jumped through as the car exploded, flooding the passageway with flames.


    "AAHHH!" Lilith screamed as gravity took effect, causing them to fall. However, Nathan easily cushioned their fall with soft padding.


    "Ha...Hahaha." Nathan chuckled as they lay on the padding. "I was betting on the soldiers thinking that the chandelier was just on and not Molotov cocktails tied to it...boy, am I glad that it worked out..."


    It always does with you, Nathan...but I wish...you didn''t have to carry this burden alone...


    "Sigh, I''m pushing myself quite a bit today," Nathan said as they stood up. "But, I told you that you wouldn''t need to h--"


    In Nathan''s peripheral vision, he noticed a couple of soldiers preparing to fire at him. Saving both of their lives, Nathan immediately placed a third vehicle for protection, grabbed Lilith, and stooped down with her.


    Damn! Some survived all those explosions!? It''s only a few, but still...


    Nathan proceeded to gun them down one by one after waiting for them to stop shooting. His judgments were not always correct, as he''d be shot multiple times, only being saved by his armor.


    Nathan would bear through the pain and pick them off, with his mind set on keeping Lilith from harm.


    Thank god for this armor...and for these armor-piercing bullets against these guys.


    Nathan saw a grenade rolling toward him.


    CRAP!


    Immediately, Nathan grabbed the grenade and stored it. That was only a trap, as out of nowhere, Nathan got hit in the head with the back of a rifle, and the soldier who tossed it quickly ran up.


    "Ugh!" Nathan groaned as he stumbled to the ground, greatly concerning Lilith. The soldier followed up by delivering a powerful kick to his gut.


    "NATHAN!" Lilith shouted, but before she could even do anything, she received a backhand from the soldier.


    "SHUT THE HELL UP!" The soldier angrily shouted. "I''M GOING TO KILL YOU AFTER I GET RID OF THIS BASTARD THAT KILLED MY COMRADES!!!" He declared as he took a knife from a sheathe on his leg and tackled Nathan.


    He attempted to stab Nathan in the neck, but he caught the soldier''s arm in time, stopping it short. It quickly became a struggle.


    THIS SON OF A BITCH JUST HIT LILITH, AND I CAN''T EVEN DO MUCH ABOUT IT! HE''S PRESSING ON MY LEGS, AND I CAN''T USE MY ARMS TO GET SOMETHING FROM MY INVENTORY BECAUSE IF I LET GO, THEN HE''LL STAB ME...DAMMIT!!!


    As they were struggling, the soldier pressed down with all his might, and the knife got closer to Nathan''s neck.


    "HAHA! The soldier laughed. "I WONDER HOW MUCH MONEY I''LL GET FOR KILLING AN S-CLASS CRIMINAL!!! DI--"


    Right as the knife was about to pierce Nathan''s neck, Lilith came from behind, running her katana right through the soldier.


    "W-What...?" The soldier weakly said as he turned around to Lilith. Nathan noticed, and a horrified expression filled his face.


    "I told you...Nathan..." Lilith said as she began to pull the katana out of his body, causing the soldier to scream in agony. "You''re not the only one...who''s strong enough to do the protecting..."


    "STOP!" Nathan pleaded as he stood up, but it was already too late. She pulled her now blood-tainted katana, and the soldier fell over in a pool of blood. All Nathan could do was look in pure shock.


    Lilith stared at the soldier, clearly shaken at what she had done, but Nathan was shaken up for a different reason. All the convictions Nathan had to keep Lilith away from harm, to keep her from doing anything she''d regret...all of that was now broken, with one mistake Nathan made.


    "N-No..." Nathan softly muttered. Hearing that, Lilith, with trauma-filled eyes, looked upon him. However, she saw something more urgent. Another soldier stood behind Nathan, ready to shoot.


    "NATHAN! BEHIND YOU!" Lilith desperately shouted as the soldier fired. Nathan turned around but was hit by multiple bullets, along with Lilith. Enduring the pain, he ran towards the soldier and quickly knocked his gun from his hands. Lilith, on the other hand, fell to the ground.


    Dammit...Nathan...you''re such an idiot.


    Nathan and the soldier went into a short fistfight before the soldier got the upper hand, likely due to the injuries Nathan had sustained. He punched Nathan in the face twice before putting him in a chokehold.


    "Go to sleep, bastard." The soldier said as he squeezed Nathan''s neck at full strength as they dropped to the ground. Nathan began choking as he unsuccessfully tried to get himself from the chokehold.


    Nathan''s eyes began to roll to the back of his head and saliva began flowing from his mouth as he was undergoing asphyxiation.


    As his vision became blurry, a memory of Lilith''s smile towards him came to him. The memory was followed by her trauma-filled eyes after her first murder.


    I''m...getting tired...but I can''t...go to sleep...not after putting Lilith through that...!!!


    Materializing a knife, Nathan began to stab the soldier in the abdomen several times.


    "AAHHH!!!" The soldier screamed as he released his hold. Nathan got up and desperately gasped for air as the soldier was in pain.


    You just couldn''t leave Lilith so she could be safe...look what you caused, you dumbass!!!


    Finally controlling his breathing patterns, Nathan angrily stood up. He materialized a combat axe as he made his way to the soldier. He stooped down over him.


    "W-Wait..." The soldier pleaded as he held his wound.


    You couldn''t protect the one thing you cared about...


    Raising the axe high in the air, he brought the sharp edge straight into the skull of the soldier, splitting his head somewhat and causing blood to splatter. Struggling to pull it out, he raised the axe in the air once again and came down.


    Nathan kept repeating this process a few more times, as blood splattered from the soldier''s head onto Nathan''s body until it turned into a bloody mess.


    You don''t deserve a good life...Nathan.


    With a cold stare and covered in blood, Nathan stared at the soldier''s corpse.


    "N-Nathan?" Lilith weakly called out, snapping Nathan from his...frenzy.


    "Lilith, are you okay!?" Nathan responded as he remembered that she had just been shot.


    "Yeah...the vest you gave me saved my life," Lilith said. "Thanks, by the way--" Lilith was cut off at the shocking sight before her. Nathan was covered in blood, the soldier''s horrid corpse, and his cold and apathetic expression visibly scared Lilith.


    She stepped back a few and covered her mouth from fright. She had felt nauseous from the sight.


    "Oh..." Nathan muttered, realizing her fright. "You''re right...you shouldn''t be near me."


    "W-What?" Lilith asked.


    "I''m...just a killer...I''m not a good person, and now...I ruined your life, too. Because of my limitations, you had to murder someone, too. I''m just...horrible."


    Silence filled the area as Lilith had to take in everything. She remembered Nathan breaking down upon witnessing his parent''s hanging.


    C-Come on, Lilith...you can''t...break. You vowed to be there for him.


    "Well..." Lilith said as she broke the silence. "I guess you have no choice but to let me fight with you...because we''re the same now." She said, with a smile to hide her trauma.


    Hearing this, Nathan wanted to get angry. He wanted to yell at her so she wouldn''t want to stay with a dangerous person like him. But he couldn''t...he didn''t want her to leave him.


    "Damn it...Lilith."

 Ch. 46 - Warm Up

    "Damn it...Lilith."


    "Well done guys!" The developer suddenly said. "Your devotion to each other is so admirable!"


    "I''m...not in the mood...for your shit," Nathan said.


    "Killing anyone in your way to protect each other''s lives...I do enjoy a nice love story in my game!"


    "Developer..." Nathan coldly said.


    "And especially you, Lilith! You cast aside your morals to protect your partner! Amazing!" The developer commended, but Lilith didn''t seem too happy. "You''ll get much stronger with that mindset--"


    "SHUT THE HELL UP! YOU BASTARD!!!" Nathan exclaimed as he could no longer control his rage. "IT''S YOUR FAULT SHE HAD TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT IN THE FIRST PLACE!"


    "Oh my. Nathan''s having an outburst again. Time to go!" The developer teased before immediately hanging up.


    Silence filled the air as Nathan and Lilith processed everything.


    Nathan said with fatigue in his voice. "Sigh...we can''t stay here. Our location is likely compromised. We have...to go."


    "You sound tired..." Lilith said with concern.


    "I...am. I''m so tired...but I fear that if I fall asleep or not continuously be on guard...then things will turn out bad." Nathan explained.


    "Sigh...You''re right." Lilith said. "But you don''t need...to go through this alone..."


    Nathan simply looked at her with sorrow in his eyes.


    Sigh...


    * * *


    A military base. The home of military vehicles, tanks, fighter jets, and most importantly soldiers and super soldiers. It is the stronghold of the country. No one in their right mind would dare set foot in that area. Unless, of course, you are Charles Warner.


    Nonchalantly, Charles approached a military base. To his excitement and their surprise, he was greeted to hundreds of soldiers and dozens of disfigured super soldiers.


    Yes! I knew that there would be guys here!


    "Huh, what the hell is this?" A super soldier asked as they noticed Charles. "It looks like you''re asking for a death wish."


    "Although I gotta help my group destroy you guys...this will make for a good warm-up!" Charles stated.


    Not exchanging any more words, the army of soldiers immediately started firing, turning the base into a lightshow. In response, Charles smiled and dashed towards them.


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    Before he could throw an attack, however, he was intercepted by a super soldier who struck him in the face with a left and sent him across the base.


    "No, you don''t, idiot." The super soldier said. Having a slower reaction time, the regular soldiers shot their ally, although it wasn''t very effective. "Don''t worry, just keep shooting...it won''t kill us anyways."


    "Haha..nice save." Charles commended as soldiers adjusted their aim back to him.


    "Physical Enhancement - Adrenaline Doping!" He declared as the super soldiers rushed to attack him at once.


    Increasing his muscular frame, Charles engaged them in hand-to-hand combat. It was evident that Charles had higher physical strength as his punches visibly shocked the super soldiers as he knocked them away.


    However, he could only enjoy having the upper hand for a short time, as the number of super soldiers and their physical capabilities were troubling.


    Delivering blows to super soldiers, Charles would have to worry about being hit by others, which he could not block completely.


    Upon punching a super soldier, Charles received a kick to the side of his face, causing him to stumble. Two super soldiers followed up by delivering a simultaneous kick to his gut, causing him to crash into a military vehicle.


    Haha...nice. This is so fu--


    BOOM!!!


    An explosion occurred on Charles from what seemed to be a guided missile hurdling towards him.


    "Nice shot!" A super soldier complimented soldiers that had fired the missile.


    The force of the explosion caused Charles to crash into even more military vehicles. The military infantry ceased their fire and assault as they waited for the smoke to clear, to confirm Charles''s death or survival. Through the smoke, however, Charles tossed the vehicles at the regular soldiers, surprising the super soldiers.


    More explosions occurred as the vehicles made an impact, killing multiple soldiers. Annoyed, the super soldiers continued their assault. At the same time, the regular soldiers took cover behind their vehicles and tried their best to keep firing, despite having trouble keeping up with Charles and the super soldiers.


    Charles was still having a hard time with them. With every hit he''d successfully land, the super soldiers would return double to him. He was getting hit so much that he started to spit blood.


    "What the hell?" A super soldier said to himself. "Even though this bastard is losing...why does he have such a big smile on his face!?"


    HAHA! THIS IS TRULY FUN! I KNEW I SHOULD HAVE ATTACKED A MILITARY BASE LONG AGO!!!


    Charles was again sent across the military base. As he got up, however, he was looking straight into the barrel of a tank.


    BOOM!!!


    Charles received a tank shell directly to his face, exploding on impact. Not wasting any time, other tanks fired more exploding shells at Charles.


    Like a demon, Charles walked through the smoky fog. The damage was stacking on, as Charles was getting grievously injured. As he was walking, several armored vehicles with mounted machine guns (aimed by soldiers) on the roof fired at him, causing his stride to slow.


    Suddenly, more guided missiles hurdled and exploded directly on him. Leaping high in the air, Charles began to focus his efforts on eliminating the soldiers firing the missiles. His plan was quickly proven futile as super soldiers intercepted him upon his descent.


    Using Charles as a pinball, the super soldiers proceeded to hit him towards each other around the military base until finishing by spiking him downwards which destroyed the ground and caused an explosion-sounding impact.


    "Jeez! Calm down with the property damage!" A soldier shouted.


    "It''s fine. This is a war anyways." A super soldier responded. "It''ll be fixed later."


    Charles was laid out on the ground, seemingly barely conscious. It seems that the injuries he sustained were too much to bear. The super soldiers approached him to finish him off.


    "I bet you thought that because you defeated some of us before, that you were invincible." A super soldier assumed as he stooped to Charles''s level. "Or that being defeated by the blessed slaughterer, the greatest super soldier, boosted your ego...thinking that no one else could do it. A stupid way of thought." He said as he clenched his fist and raised it upwards. "Regret your stupid thinking in the afterlife!"


    Ha...Physical Enhancement - Adrenaline Doping: Maximum!

 Ch. 47 - Maximum

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 Ch. 48 - Stasis

    Checking back on Nathan and Lilith, Nathan materialized a car so they could leave the scene of dead soldiers.


    "Ugh..." Nathan groaned with pain as he entered the driver''s seat. Strangely, Lilith had not entered the car but was watching Nathan with concern.


    "Huh? What''s wrong?" Nathan asked.


    "...Let me drive, Nathan," Lilith suggested.


    "But why? I can drive...just fine."


    "You''re tired, aren''t you?"


    "Um..." Nathan murmured. Lilith''s assumption was correct, and Nathan didn''t have any counters.


    "Just let me do this...at least." Lilith pleaded.


    "Sigh...okay." Nathan relented as he got out, allowing her to take his place in the driver''s seat.


    "Thank you," Lilith expressed her gratitude to Nathan for relenting. After starting the car, she drove off.


    The drive was somber as the couple was rather tired. Nathan, especially, felt an onset of drowsiness. Lilith recognized his sleepiness, so she drove slower to avoid wake him.


    "I can see...that you''ve learned...to drive well," Nathan said in his drowsiness.


    "Hehe, yeah. I did get my license."


    "Ha...ha...ha." Nathan chuckled with exhaustion in his tone.


    You were doing well for yourself...I''m sorry...Lilith.


    With that, Nathan finally succumbed to exhaustion and fell asleep, leaving Lilith to herself. As she drove, a vision flashed in her memory. It was her first killing just a few minutes ago.


    Almost immediately, she reflexively put her hand over her face, as if trying to cover her trauma. Tears ran down her face as she started to sob.


    No...now''s not the time to cry...you can''t let Nathan see you like this...you''ll just burden him even more...


    Wiping her face, she began to compartmentalize her trauma, so she could focus on driving. However, Lilith noticed an issue as she was driving.


    "Uh oh...we''re running out of gas," Lilith said as she noticed the fuel gauge nearing empty.


    Fortunately, there should be a gas station nearby.


    Little did Lilith know, her drive would not be normal, as they were spied on from several buildings away.


    * * *


    In the building were two super soldiers, watching Lilith as they drove past.


    "Oh my! My infrared vision picked up something good, Cryostasis." The super soldier happily said to the other. His pupils were oddly bright red.


    "What?" The man referred to as ''Cryostasis asked. "S-Class criminals, I''m assuming?"


    "Yup! Nathan and a woman, probably an accomplice."


    "Oh? Haha..." Cryostasis chuckled. "Looks like we''ll be the first of the blessed hunters to get rid of an S-Class criminal in this war, Pyrostasis."


    * * *


    While Lilith drove, she noticed a gas station down the block.


    Okay, good...let''s do this quickly.


    However, as Lilith made her way, Cryostasis descended from a building, landing right in front of her.


    What!? Is that a super soldier!?


    Cryostasis pointed at the car, making a finger gun gesture. Suddenly, from his finger, chilling air was fired off. Upon making contact with the road, the cold air immediately converted into ice, freezing a good portion.


    Not grasping the situation, Lilith unknowingly drove over the ice. Almost immediately, Lilith found her control over the car to be severed. The car began to skid due to the reduced traction, frightening Lilith.


    "OH NO!" Lilith shouted as she lost control, waking up Nathan.


    "Huh, what''s wrong--" Before Nathan realized, they crashed into a nearby tree.


    "Oh my!" Cryostasis said.


    "Ugh...are you okay, Lilith..." Nathan asked.


    "Yeah...sorry about that." Lilith apologized. "We''re being attacked...again."


    My body''s too tired for a fight...but I have to protect Lilith.


    "Hurry and come out, guys," Cryostasis ordered. His super soldier uniform had a hood, which he was wearing over his head currently.


    On his back was a circular, goo-like transparent container, having several transparent tubes connected to the goo. The tubes coiled around his arms until they went inside his forearms. The inside of the container contained a strange blue liquid, which flowed through the tubes and into his arms.


    Having no choice, Nathan disembarked from the passenger seat. Figuring it would be better for them to stay together, Lilith exited the vehicle on Nathan''s side too.


    "Stay next to me..." Nathan whispered, which Lilith nodded.


    "Cryostasis here," Cryostasis said.


    "Pyrostasis here too," Pyrostasis said as he casually walked up.


    Shit...two of them!?


    Pyrostasis had the same attachments to his body as Cryostasis, except that the liquid circulating was red and not blue.


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    "We''re here to execute you guys," Cryostasis said.


    Not wasting any time, Nathan materialized an assault rifle and sprayed them with bullets. It was ineffective, however, as the bullets deflected off their body, even the seemingly fragile-looking tubes connected to them.


    Those things on their bodies are tough, too?


    Pyrostasis slowly raised his right, causing Nathan to go on guard. Not waiting to find out what he''s planning, Nathan placed a couple of vehicles to shield himself.


    Suddenly a burst of air was generated from Pyrostasis palm and travelled to the couple. Upon reaching them, the air inflicted light burns on Lilith and Nathan.


    "Ouch!" Lilith yelped.


    Shit!


    Grabbing Lilith''s hand, Nathan began to run.


    "Running, are we?" Cryostasis asked with a smirk. "Not a bad decision."


    * * *


    Although running a bit sluggish, Nathan tried his best to escape with Lilith from their enemies.


    "W-What do we do?" Lilith asked. "You''re too tired...Maybe I--"


    "No...not this...time, Lilith," Nathan said. "Even if you fight...these guys...are too strong."


    "HEY GUYS!" Cryostasis yelled as he was chasing them on the roofs of buildings. "LEAVING SO SOON!?"


    He suddenly made the finger gun gesture again, to which Nathan noticed. Cryostasis sent a chilling wave of air at them, but they barely avoided it with a clutch car placement by Nathan. As the air touched the car, however, it quickly froze the entire side.


    "HAHA! HOW MUCH CARS DO YOU EVEN HAVE!?" Cryostasis shouted. Following up, chilling air generated from his hand, forming into a sphere of pure ice.


    "HERE! CATCH!" Cryostasis warned as he winded up to throw it.


    Does this guy have an ability--


    Cryostasis tossed it, and Nathan placed yet another car. However, the ice ball was tossed with so much force that it lifted the car on impact, thrusting it towards them.


    Shit!


    Before the car slammed into them, Nathan recklessly touched it, re-storing it in his inventory.


    "AH!!!" Nathan yelled as he clenched his hand, which was throbbing from making contact with the car.


    "I-Is it broken!?" Lilith asked with concern filling her voice.


    "N-No...I don''t think it is...I stored it quickly, so I didn''t take the full brunt...but still..."


    Why doesn''t this guy just charge at us...I''m sure he''s physically superior...besides, where''s the other guy...? Nathan thought as he squinted his eyes in suspicion.


    "Wow! You aren''t bad for a criminal!" Cryostasis complimented. "How about this then!?"


    Raising his hand in the air, Cryostasis released a plume of chilling air into the environment, which immediately froze into the form of ice spikes. They began to rain down on Nathan.


    Pulling Lilith close (making her blush), he materialized a riot shield to cover them both. As he ran, his riot shield was collecting ice spikes. Seeing this, Cryostasis simply smiled.


    As Nathan blocked the spikes, Cryostasis abruptly appeared right in front of them, making the finger blaster gesture as before.


    With widened eyes and a dumbfounded expression, Nathan couldn''t react. At point-blank range, instead of punching them, Cryostasis released a large gust of chilling air on them. The wave blew them back several feet as they rolled across the ground.


    The air in the atmosphere was chilling. It was as if it was winter now.


    "Wow, I was half expecting you guys to die from that.'' Cryostasis said.


    Just as he said, they survived, however, they were in a bad condition. Lilith''s right arm was covered in ice. She had frostbite on parts of her neck as well.


    Nathan''s skin was cracked on his entire left arm and there was ice and frostbite on different parts of his body. Every breath they took was visible, due to the coldness of the air.


    Just when it couldn''t get worse, Pyrostasis casually walked up from behind.


    "What the hell...are you...guys." Nathan strained to say. He held Lilith close as that was the most he could do with his condition.


    "Oh, you probably haven''t seen any other super soldiers with things like these," Cryostasis said as he turned around and pointed at the goo-like container. "Let''s just say after many...many experiments, we were turned into people that could withstand extremely low and extremely high temperatures," Cryostasis explained.


    "Because of our resistance to those temperatures, we got this stuff," Pyrostasis interjected. "Liquid nitrogen and highly reactive liquid flowing throughout our bodies at all times."


    "Our arms were even modified to be like a firearm! Look!" Cryostasis said as he screwed his hand off to show the inner workings. It was comprised of various mechanisms. "So the flowing liquid is the ammo and our arms are the guns."


    As they monologued, Nathan and Lilith''s conditions were slowly worsening. Suddenly, the elemental-like users appeared on a building far away. Of course, neither Nathan nor Lilith could have perceived their fast movements.


    "Do you...know what happens...when cold air is rapidly heated?" Pyrostasis asked with a sadistic smile, alarming Nathan.


    From his palm, warm air started to get generated.


    Shit...I have to...do something...


    The air Pyrostasis generated started to increase rapidly in heat as it acquired visibility. The air quickly became pure fire.


    I won''t...let you die, Lilith!


    Right on time, Nathan placed several steel beam cages over himself and Lilith. Pyrostasis fired a blast of flames, which superheated the molecules in the cold atmosphere, resulting in an explosion.


    The explosion was so powerful that a lot of the city block was affected by it, severely damaging buildings in the process and blowing away many of the steel beam cages that Nathan placed down. In one combo attack by the duo, destruction was brought to the environment.


    Reveling in the destruction, the super soldiers spectated as they waited for the smoke to clear to confirm the criminals'' deaths. When the smoke was gone, Nathan and Lilith were both lying on the ground.


    "Hmm..." Pyrostasis said.


    Suddenly, Nathan returned to his state of consciousness as he slowly got up. With disoriented vision, severe burns, and excessive blood loss, Nathan was conscious because of his adrenaline.


    L-Lilith...?


    He slowly looked around as his vision became slightly more clear.


    "Wow, to think that he survived that...that''s what you call annoying," Cryostasis said.


    He located Lilith, who was lying on rubble. Her body was set in a very uncomfortable state while she was unconscious.


    "L-Lilith...!" Nathan weakly called out as he slowly got up.


    N--No. Please no!


    Using the remainder of his strength, Nathan slowly made his way to Lilith. Her right arm and parts of her neck were significantly burnt, and she was also excessively bleeding like Nathan.


    Seeing her state devastated Nathan. He was stunned to the point where he did not move any part of his body.


    "L-Lilith?"


    Suddenly, memories of their time in school started to flash in Nathan''s mind. Of the times where she cooked food for him.


    * * *


    How does the spaghetti taste, Nathan?


    Amazing, as always!


    * * *


    When they would always hang out.


    * * *


    You wanna watch the Talking Dead?


    If you''re watching it, I''m down.


    * * *


    And especially when she would always be there for him in hard times. In times when he''d get reduced to nothing more than tears.


    * * *


    Don''t worry...it''ll all be okay. You''ll find the light...you always do, Nathan.


    * * *


    "Ahh...AAhhhh.." Nathan stuttered as tears started to fill his eyes. However, what might be the first fortunate thing that has happened to Nathan in a long time, or just another cruel ploy to regain his hopes, Lilith''s chest was rising and falling, which Nathan realized with widened eyes.


    Wasting no time, Nathan picked Lilith up and held her in a princess carry.


    S-She''s alive! Thank God!


    "Let''s put an end to this now!" Pyrostasis declared as he aimed at Nathan from the building he stood on with the finger gun gesture.


    I...I can''t even run...I''m in so much pain, that it feels like I''ll pass out any minute! But I''ll protect you! Even if I have to die!


    Generating a fireball from his fingers, he prepared to shoot.


    You said...your characters were valuable...so at least try to help...BASTARD DEVELOPER!!!


    "SAY GOODBYE, CRIMINAL!" Pyrostasis said. However, as he was about to shoot, the container on his back, along with the tubes, started to glow.


    "Huh?" Pyrostasis uttered in confusion.


    "What the hell--" Before Cryostasis could finish, Pyrostasis''s liquid combusted, engulfing them in a large explosion.


    Nathan had used his body as a shield to protect Lilith in anticipation of the enemies'' final blow, but he was confused why he felt a large gust of wind (from the explosion) instead.


    His confusion was quickly dispelled as someone approached.


    "H-Hey, Nathan." It was none other than Zack. He was still heavily injured due to the altercation with Leon and Ada, but he still came to the rescue.


    "Z...Zack?"


    "Yeah. Your friend...is here...to save you!" Zack declared.


    "Ugh...I''m not...your...friend." Nathan muttered as his adrenaline wore off. Losing the remainder of his energy, Nathan fell unconscious. Zack watched as Nathan fell to the ground, lowering his head in sorrow.


    "Sorry, Nathan..." Zack muttered in a downtrodden tone. "It''s all...my fault..."

 Ch. 49 - Unbelievable Acts

    Meanwhile, the scene changed to the yard of a prison complex. The sound of the ambient wind flowing through the air was the only audible noise, as the inmates were under lockdown due to the time of day.


    However, the officer who had taunted Olivia is walking with documents. Although very dark, he was hastily moving across the prison yard. He approached a small building situated in the complex.


    Knock, Knock.


    The officer alerted whoever was on the other side of his presence.


    "Come in." A male voice said. The voice had a heavy and rough tone. Obeying, the officer entered.


    In the building was a standard office. What caught the officer''s eyes was the man sitting behind the desk, doing paperwork. On his desk was a golden nameplate saying, ''Warden Mathers''.


    "Good night, Officer James." The man said, not shifting his attention from his paperwork. The man seemed to be middle-aged. His bearded hair and heavy voice gave him a sense of seriousness, which Officer James felt.


    "Good night Sir. I''ve brought the execution warrant for Olivia Gray." Officer James said.


    "Oh? It''s been prepared that quickly?" Warden Mathers asked as he looked up, slightly surprised.


    "It''s a revised version of the execution warrant that Olivia previously received before her escape."


    "Let me see it."


    WARRANT OF EXECUTION


    Now, on this day, Appellant, Olivia A. Gray, is in custody under a sentence of death heretofore rendered against her by the District Court of Kootenai County and affirmed by this Court, it is therefore considered, ordered, and adjudged by this Court that Olivia A. Gray be and remain in the custody of the Department of Corrections, and, after that, within the twenty-four-hour period beginning at 1:00 p.m. on March 28, 2024, under the supervision and direction of the director of said department, shall suffer death.


    Said director is directed to make a return of this warrant to this Court showing the time, mode, and manner in which this warrant was executed. STATE OF Idaho ¨C Sct. I, Elise Clarke, Clerk of the Supreme Court of the State of Idaho, certify that the preceding is a full, true, and complete transcript of the order of said Supreme Court, entered of record at the March Session thereof, 2024, and on the 27th day of March 2024, in the above-entitled cause.


    "Hmm, you''re right. It''s pretty much a revised version of Olivia''s death warrant last year, before she escaped." Warden Mathers said after reading the warrant. "Not to mention, they want us to execute her the day after this warrant was finalized."


    "It might be since she posed such a huge threat in the country...and the fact that she should have been executed last year." Officer James assumed.


    "Yes, that''s true."


    It''s still weird how Olivia was caught so suddenly...whatever.


    "Well, the electric chair was for another inmate," Mathers said. "Might as well use it on Olivia tomorrow."


    "Yes sir."


    * * *


    It skips over to Sergeant John and Lieutenant Harvey. After being escorted by super soldiers, they entered a military base.


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    "Ah, the perfect place away from the dangers of the war that''s taking place now," John said.


    "Yeah, we even have protection too," Harvey mentioned as four disfigured super soldiers were walking with them. There were three males and one female super soldier.


    "The death-bringers...we won''t need to worry if they are our bodyguards," John said with a smile.


    Suddenly, Harvey''s phone started ringing.


    What is it now?


    "Hello?"


    * * *


    The one calling was Cryostasis. He had survived Pyrostasis'' equipment exploding, albeit with extensive injuries on his body. He was also carrying Pyrostasis'' body on his back.


    Pyrostasis was missing his right arm and left leg, and had extreme burns on his body.


    "Ugh...sir..."


    "What is it?" Harvey asked. "Why do you sound like that?"


    "The criminals...they''ve got Pyrostasis and I...the--"


    "WHAT!?" Harvey angrily exclaimed, frightening John, the military officers, and the super soldiers walking with them. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE CRIMINALS GOT YOU!?"


    "W-We were fighting...Nathan...and a woman who wasn''t...on the S-Class list...but on his side. We were winning...but suddenly, Pyrostasis...his equipment...exploded," Cryostasis explained. "H...He''s dead, I believe."


    "...Get yourself patched up," Harvey said before hanging up.


    "What the heck happened?" John asked.


    "Sigh...two of our blessed hunters are out of commission, it seems."


    "WHAT!?" John exclaimed. The super soldiers and officers seemed to look shocked as well.


    Aren''t they some of the best!? Why are they useless all of a sudden!?


    "Which two had been defeated?" The female super soldier asked, garnering their attention. Her voice gave off an air of coldness, further amplified by her pitch-black hair and eyes, as if looking into an abyss. She was wearing a black cloth wrapped around her mouth and neck., along with a white-colored archer''s cloak, with the hood kept over her head.


    "Cryostasis and Pyrostasis," Harvey said. "They were fighting Nathan Hayes and an unknown woman with him."


    "I see."


    "Tell the damn blessed hunters, no, all our forces to stop messing around and attack them with everything!" John yelled.


    "...Yeah, you''re right," Harvey said.


    Why can''t Nathan die, already!!! But an unknown woman...who the hell could that be...


    * * *


    Back in the danger zones, the trio consisting of Rebecca were still walking.


    "Damn, where the hell are the criminals?" Ethan said. "We''ve been walking for hours."


    "If we had just made it to the warehouse earlier, we wouldn''t have had a problem searching for them," Rebecca responded.


    Suddenly, their phones pinged as if they received a message. Knowing it could be something important, they quickly checked.


    It was a message. The message had informed them of the two blessed hunter casualties in their altercation with Nathan and that they should step up their game.


    "What!?" Sebastian uttered in shock.


    "A blessed hunter lost to Nathan!?" Ethan asked. "How is that even possible?


    Rebecca was speechless as she was stunned from the message.


    N-Nathan did this? Did he somehow get stronger than the last time I fought him? If that''s the case...I am a useless super soldier for failing to kill him and letting him grow...


    As they were reading the message with looks of surprise, they were snapped out by the sounds of screams.


    "What was that!?" Rebecca asked as her face turned to concern.


    "Let''s check!" Ethan surmised. Agreeing, they quickly dashed in the direction of the screams.


    * * *


    Soldiers were in the middle of gunfire, desperately firing although it was futile. Who they were shooting at were not any of the developer''s characters, but an entirely different group.


    Wearing black tops (and bullet-proof vests) and grey pants, they were members of Leon or more so Ada''s gang.


    As they shot soldiers, whether lethally or not, the soldiers reflexively vomited blood. Screaming in agony as their bodies developed discolorations, the soldiers fell to the ground.


    "Wow, the poison that Ada gave us is freaking good, isn''t it, sister?" Frank said as he was watching the soldiers in agony.


    Charlotte on the other hand was being engaged by a super soldier.


    "Who the hell are you guys!?" A super soldier asked as he dashed at Charlotte to attack her. Before he could land a hit, it seemed as if the ground itself rose to protect her It created a wall between them, causing the super soldier to punch it on accident.


    "DAMMIT!" The super soldier yelled but before he could react, numerous spikes protruded from the wall and impaled him multiple times.


    "That''s another one," Charlotte stated. Before her were the corpses of other super soldiers. "Also yes, the poison is pretty useful...too bad we won''t be using Olivia anymore."


    "Yeah, I''m glad that Ada has finally ditched her...she does care about our organization''s growth." Frank said.


    Suddenly, Rebecca and the trio came up to the scene. They were shocked at the sight of their dead comrades.


    "What...the hell..?" Rebecca uttered in despair. "Who...the hell...are you guys?"


    "Oh, more super soldiers..." Charlotte calmly stated.

 Ch. 50 - Seed

    "Oh, more super soldiers..."


    In a fit of rage, Rebecca dashed at Charlotte.


    "Wait!" Ethan warned, but she had already begun charging.


    "Stupid..." Charlotte insulted her as spikes protruded toward her. They formed and moved at very high speeds, which alarmed Rebecca.


    Taking advantage of her abnormal physical capabilities, Rebecca leaned her body mid-air to avoid the spike closest to her. She then hopped on each spike as she continued to Charlotte.


    Surprised by her agility, Charlotte raised her hand, and a rock wall formed in front. Simultaneously, Rebecca performed a roundhouse kick but stopped by the wall.


    Tsk! It''s hard!


    Suddenly, spikes protruded from the wall, shocking Rebecca. Although the proximity she had to the wall was small, she was able to throw herself out of the way, albeit getting grazed on her body.


    "Tsk, we''ve got an annoying super soldier over here," Frank stated with an annoyed expression. Meanwhile, Charlotte was watching Rebecca to see her next move.


    The way she''s manipulating the ground is not something a regular person can do...is that woman a human blessed with powers?


    "Who the hell are you people!?" Sebastian inquired in a demanding tone.


    "We aren''t here to chat with the enemy," Charlotte responded. "Frank, make yourself useful."


    Suddenly, from the ground, a rock club was formed.


    "Yeah, yeah," Frank said as he picked up the club. The club was rather long and had jagged sides like sharp rocks. Suddenly, his skin began morphing colors, becoming silver, surprising the trio.


    What''s happening to his body? Thought Rebecca.


    "You guys are here to eliminate blessed users, right!?" Frank said before suddenly charging at Rebecca.


    "Hey! What are y--" Ethan said but was interrupted by spikes heading his and Sebastian''s direction. Narrowly dodging them, they shifted their focus on Charlotte.


    "Damn it...who the hell are these guys..." Sebastian said in frustration. He looked over to the regular soldiers who were still in gunfire with the gang members. "We''ll take the woman down, Ethan."


    Simultaneously, Frank swung the club around at Rebecca, which she skillfully weaved. His swings were rather slow, which made it easier to avoid and for openings to be noticed by Rebecca, which she took advantage of.


    After missing a swing, Rebecca countered with a powerful hook to his jaw, generating winds and causing him to recoil somewhat on impact. On his jaw were cracks, showing proof of damage.


    It''s hard...I knew it. This guy also has an ability...maybe a defense type. It feels like steel.


    To her surprise, her attack was not enough to knock him unconscious - he was still up and swinging again.


    "Ha! Stronger than the other soldiers too! Nice!" Frank sarcastically complimented as he continued his assault.


    As Sebastian and Ethan focused on Charlotte, they had to avoid the many spikes protruding from the ground. They had to constantly move to not be run through by the spikes, even resorting to hopping on spikes to avoid other spikes.


    It was a very tough task for them to get close to her. Charlotte was not underestimating her opponents.


    "Damn! They''re so fast!" Ethan exclaimed in annoyance. "We can''t get close to her--"


    Cutting Ethan off as he was hopping on a spike, the same spike protruded smaller spikes, stabbing his right leg, left arm and puncturing his stomach.


    "AAHHHH!!!!"


    "Ethan! Damn it!" Sebastian yelled.


    "Got one," Charlotte said before spikes elongated from the ground and coming to finish Ethan. With sheer willpower, Ethan removed his limbs and body from the impaling spikes, powering through the gut-wrenching pain, and narrowly dodged the spikes before they struck him.


    Landing beside Sebastian, Ethan was in a bloody mess.


    "Sigh...it''s a shame I couldn''t have finished you just now," Charlotte said. "But, no matter...it''ll work out in the end."


    Strangely, Charlotte glanced at Rebecca as she was fighting Frank, which Sebastian noticed.


    Huh?


    Left and right hooks, straight punches, and even uppercuts here and there, Rebecca landed attack after attack as she saw openings in Frank''s attacks. Just like her first attacks, they didn''t prove effective. In fact, with every attack she had landed, it seemed less effective, as his skin cracked less and less.


    What? Why does his body...feel tougher?


    "Die!" Frank shouted as he performed a downward swing, which Rebecca narrowly avoided by moving to the left. Upon missing, Frank struck the ground with the club, breaking the ground apart on impact.


    What powe--


    Not letting up, Frank swung the club sideways, straight at Rebecca''s face. Reflexively, she shielded her face with her arms.


    BAM!


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    Taking the brunt force of the club to her arms, Rebecca was knocked back several feet into a nearby railing. Rolling her sleeves down to check, her arms were shaking and bruised as the sharp edges of the club had struck her directly.


    Ouch...this sharp pain...


    Dragging the club behind him, Frank approached her with a smile.


    His face has many cracks...if it''s just like metal...I''m sure I can get past his durability if I keep hitting him...


    "Haha, look on you. So sad." Frank said, much to Rebecca''s confusion.


    "Tsk...what the hell are you talking about now?" Rebecca responded as she got back up.


    "Risking your lives to kill us while your superiors made deals with the same people you call criminals."


    "What?" Rebecca said with a stunned look. Suddenly, Frank started charging at her.


    What...does he mean by that?


    "Poor little puppet...you don''t realize that your superiors only care about themselves!" Frank mocked her as he swung at her. Snapping out of her confusion a little too late, Rebecca had to block his swing with her hand again instead of avoiding.


    Urgh!


    Keeping her pain inside, Rebecca avoided her next swings. Seeing as his swings were still slow to hit her, Rebecca clenched her fist.


    Even though my arms hurt from taking those strikes...it isn''t too bad...I''m thankful...that I''m a super soldier!


    Using all her power, she delivered a straight punch directly to his jaw, which already had extensive cracks.


    "Shi--" Before Frank could react, the metal surrounding his jaw was shattered, and he was blown away by the force of Rebecca''s attack, sending him violently as he bounced across the street.


    "Sigh...phew." Said Rebecca as she took a deep breath. "Time to help my--"


    Suddenly. a large spike protruded from the ground and was inches away from skewering Rebecca from behind. Right before piercing her, however, she was pushed out of the way.


    Shplort!


    Rebecca was confused by the sudden push. Her confusion quickly turned to horror as she realized what had taken place. While Charlotte was attacking the duo she sneakily targeted Rebecca with a spike. Sebastian had saved her, but he had been impaled right through by the spike.


    "SEBASTIAN!" Rebecca yelled.


    "You aren''t...killing...Rebecca." Sebastian weakly said as the spike was removed from his body and returned to the ground, causing him to fall over. Rebecca had caught him before he hit the ground, though.


    "D-Don''t..die..." Rebecca pleaded.


    I...I have to get him medical attention quickly! But I can''t leave these criminals!


    Rebecca was stunned, hyperventilating even. She knew she wanted to eliminate the threats, but she didn''t want Sebastian to die.


    "Tsk, so annoying! Just die already!!!" Charlotte shouted before six smaller spikes were sent towards Rebecca.


    Damn it!


    They stopped short, however, as Ethan followed Sebastian''s actions and protected Rebecca with his own body. He was impaled by all six of them.


    "NO! ETHAN!" Rebecca shouted with a look of despair.


    "Sigh, so annoying," Charlotte said. "At least those two are done now. You okay, Frank?" She said as she turned to Frank.


    "Ugh...what do you think..." Frank said. His jaw was swollen, and he was bleeding from the nose.


    The spikes were removed from Ethan''s body. Catching Ethan before he fell over, Rebecca''s breathing rate increased dramatically.


    "P...Please...hold on, guys!"


    "It''s fine...you''re the...strongest...of us...anyways..." Ethan struggled to say due to his injuries.


    With blood filling Sebastian''s mouth to the point of leaking out and the large hole in his stomach, with Ethan''s body covered in blood as they both were straying in and out of consciousness, Rebecca was distraught.


    While she hated Nathan and his gang for what they had done to Rachel and Malcolm, it was because they were comrades. Super soldiers weren''t allowed to associate with society due to the danger they could pose to regular life, so Rebecca had gained a sense of camaraderie with her super soldier allies.


    It was different with Sebastian and Ethan. Unlike the rest of the super soldiers, those two were ones Rebecca had called friends.


    You know. I''ve always admired your care for every super soldier, Rachel. Said Sebastian in a memory. The memory involved them sitting around a table and eating what seemed to be lunch as other super soldiers were sitting around different tables and eating.


    Yeah! You''d stop at nothing to get revenge for a fallen super soldier! No wonder you''re strong! Added Ethan, I''m sure you could get promoted to a blessed hunter!


    * * *


    "Please...just...hold on!" Rebecca pleaded as tears started to run down her eyes.


    Suddenly, Frank approached the trio with his club.


    "Poor super soldier. Having to go through this because of your superiors'' disrespect for calling our amazing boss a criminal." Frank mocked as he raised the club in the air.


    "Thanks...for being...our friend..." Ethan said as they both weakly smiled at her, breaking her even more. The moment was interrupted, however, as Frank swung the club and struck Ethan and Sebastian''s heads in a single attack, knocking them away.


    "G...G-Guys?" Rebecca asked in disbelief. Her friends...were dead.


    "Haha! How you like that!" Frank gloated. Slowly turning her head towards her friends, Rebecca saw as they lay unresponsive on the road, blood pooling from their bodies.


    "You know, you should have probably gone for the woman first," Charlotte said.


    "Huh--"


    "RRRAAAAHHHHH!!!!!"


    Suddenly, Rebecca tackled Frank to the ground in a massive burst of anger. She pinned him to the ground.


    "DIE!!!!"


    Rebecca declared as she attempted to strike his face, but he shielded with the club. Upon impact, it created a massive burst of wind, which even the soldiers nearby could feel.


    WHAT THE HELL!? THIS POWER!!!


    "DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!!!!" With tears running down her face, Rebecca repeated as she continued striking at him. With every blow, it created strong force winds.


    "Sigh...told you so," Charlotte said as she facepalmed.


    Despite Rebecca''s knuckles becoming bruised, the club was increasingly becoming cracked. Not to mention the point on the club at which she was punching had contained holes. At this point, Frank was breaking out in sweat as he was scared of her rage.


    SHIT! SHE''S GOING TO BREAK THROUGH! I''M GOING TO DIE!!!


    Before she could break through, a large spike was thrusted at her face, which she narrowly avoided by jumping to the left.


    Tsk! Stay the hell out of my way and wait your turn!


    Strangely, the spike began to break apart. It shattered into countless tiny little shards that were floating in the air.


    Huh?


    "That''s enough outta you," Charlotte said as she made a swiping motion with her hand. Simultaneously, the shards flew towards Rebecca at very high speeds. Due to there being a ridiculous amount, Rebecca could only protect her face.


    "AAAHHHH!!!" She yelled as she was blown away by the shards, sending her a few blocks down.


    "Ugh...I thought I was going to die..." Frank said as he got up.


    "Don''t worry, I wasn''t going to let you die," Charlotte assured him. "Despite your bad decisions, you played your part pretty well."


    "Sigh...Did you make sure that she was dead from that attack?"


    "I doubt it...she seems quite physically capable," Charlotte said.


    How annoying. Frank thought.


    "Well, let''s help our boys and move on," Frank suggested.


    * * *


    Rebecca was sent to a faraway building, which had been filled with holes, and the windows destroyed, presumably by the ground shards. She was limping up to the hole she had created from making an impact and looked out.


    Rebecca had cuts all over her body, and her uniform was in tatters.


    Suddenly, the memory of her failing to stop Jack when she had run into him surfaced in her mind.


    Useless...


    Then the memory of her failing to kill Nathan and letting him escape.


    Useless...


    All culminating in what just happened. Now, her friends had died because of her mistakes. With clenched fists, she began to tear up again.


    So...damn...useless...


    * * *


    The scene changed to the sight of Lilith after she had slain the soldier, committing her first murder. The bloody katana, the trauma-inducing look of the soldier as he bled out, and most importantly, Lilith''s broken expression. It was all vivid.


    Lilith...I''m sorry...


    Suddenly, Nathan woke up. Tears were running down his eyes, which could indicate that he''d been crying in his sleep. Looking around, which left him in confusion.


    Where am I?

 Ch. 51 - Gratitude

    Where am I?


    Looking around, Nathan noticed the area he was in was dominated by grass, with trees here and there. He also noticed that the sun was rising, meaning it was early morning.


    A grassland...


    Checking himself, Nathan noticed that his burns and injuries were gone.


    ...Did I get saved again?


    "Oh, you''re up, Nathan?" Zack said as he approached Nathan.


    "...Where are w-- wait...Lilith!" Nathan suddenly exclaimed with an expression of extreme despair.


    L-LILITH! I HAVE TO GO BACK...TO SAVE YOU!!!


    Suddenly, Zack placed his hand on Nathan''s shoulder in a calming manner.


    "It''s alright bro," Zack assured as he pointed with his other hand. "The woman that was with you is fine...see?"


    Looking in the direction he had pointed, Nathan saw Lilith lying on the grassland several feet away and being cared for by the doctor. Although she still wasn''t conscious, Lilith''s injuries were gone. He also saw the rest of the NPCs conversing with each other.


    "See? It''s all good." Zack said. With the assurance that the person Nathan cared for was fine, he sighed with relief.


    Thank goodness...


    Wow. I didn''t expect Nathan to be worrying about someone else this much.


    "It''s a good thing the developer told me to check with you guys," Zack said. "If he didn''t, I wouldn''t have been able to save you."


    Ah...it''s always the developer...that''s the third time he''s saved me..I must be valuable in some way.


    "That''s good and all," Nathan responded. "But...where have you been this entire time? While we were going through hell in the war. What were you doing with Ada?"


    Suddenly, a downtrodden expression came over Zack as he held his head down, confusing Nathan. With trembling limbs, increased breathing rate, and breaking out in sweat, Zack was getting nervous.


    Huh? Did he actually do something wrong?


    "A-Aren''t you going to say anything?" Nathan asked, clearly confused at Zack''s sudden behavior.


    "I-I''m sorry...you...were right." Zack stuttered.


    "Right about what?"


    "About Ada...she betrayed...us."


    "...What happened?" Nathan asked as his demeanor became cold.


    "She...made a deal with law enforcement...to remove her from the S-Class list...and in return, she''d tell them our original location..." Zack explained. "She...even gave them Olivia..."


    Ah...so that''s why we got ambushed.


    "But...she saw my...attraction towards her...and thought I''d be useful...so she never...gave me in." Zack continued. "She pulled me in even further...with her words...she even...slept with me...not because she loved me...but because I was useful!"


    Hearing this, Nathan scratched his hair.


    "When I found out about what she had done...I wanted to kill her...but I just couldn''t. I couldn''t even do a damn thing...because I let my feelings for her overtake me! A part of me...thought we could all still be friends...if we just worked it out together...how stupid of me..."


    Zack began to break down. Gripping his face in despair as tears formed, Zack fell to his knees.


    "Failing to kill her only got me beaten...and humiliated...before she threw me away when I begged for my life. That woman did that...without a second thought! I''m just a useless bastard! I was never worth anything!"


    Um...I didn''t expect Zack to become such a wreck...sigh.


    Just as Zack did to Nathan, Nathan placed his hand on Zack''s shoulder in a calming manner, which snapped him out of his breakdown.


    "Sigh...calm down, Zack," Nathan said.


    "But, I--"


    "Sure, you got laid with a narcissistic sociopath while the rest of us were fighting for our lives...But it doesn''t matter now." Nathan said. "If it weren''t for you, the one I cared about the most would have died...due to my limitations."


    "...I was only able...to save you guys...because the developer gave me...your location..." Zack responded with sorrow in your voice.


    Sigh...to think I''m cheering someone up...


    "Look, Zack. You saved me, not the bastard developer. That''s all I care about!" Nathan added. "I may not have considered Ada...or any of you guys in this...murder game...as friends of mine, and I don''t think I will...but I thank you. Thank you for saving Lilith."


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    With a warm and friendly smile, Nathan expressed his gratitude, causing Zack''s eyes to widen.


    "Ooh! She''s waking up!" The doctor shouted excitedly, grabbing Nathan''s attention.


    "Lilith!" Nathan called out as he ran towards her.


    "Ugh...Nathan?" Lilith asked as she sat up. "What...happened?"


    Suddenly, Nathan wrapped his arms around her, embracing her with a hug.


    "Oh my!" The doctor uttered.


    "Thank god...you''re okay..."


    With bright red cheeks, Lilith blushed from the close contact with Nathan.


    "N-Nathan?" Lilith stuttered. Becoming conscious of his actions, and seeing the stares of the NPCs (except for the NPC due to his mask still being on), Nathan immediately pulled away.


    "S-Sorry..." Nathan apologized.


    "Hehe..." Lilith chuckled due to his shy demeanor. "Wait a second..." Lilith said as she began to frantically look around. "W-Where''s my katana!?"


    "Here it is," Zack said as he approached her. In his hand was Lilith''s katana, in a black sheath.


    "Oh, thank you!" Lilith said as Zack returned it to her.


    I''ll need this to continue protecting Nathan.


    Nathan didn''t seem too happy about Lilith getting back her katana, however.


    Damn...whatever. I''ll make sure to get strong enough so she won''t need to use it again!


    "Hey, Nathan!" The blacksmith called out. "Since you''re up, I''ve got something for you!"


    "Huh?"


    "C''mon, follow me!"


    It must be items she has ready for me.


    With a look of jealousy, Lilith watched as Nathan followed the blacksmith.


    Hmm...who''s that...actually, who are these people?


    He followed the blacksmith to a parked truck in the grasslands.


    "Here we go!" She said as she opened the trunk. Inside contained several weapons, but catching Nathan''s eye was a strange suit.


    "What''s that?" Nathan asked as he pointed at the suit. "Is that my armor?"


    "Yup! Take it out and wear it!" She suggested.


    Obliging, Nathan proceeded to take out and change into the suit. The blacksmith respectfully waited for him at the other side of the truck.


    "I''m finished," Nathan said as he came around.


    "Wow, nice!" The blacksmith said as she was checking him out.


    His suit consisted of a thick black military vest, with its collar kept up, covering his entire upper body, and black cargo pants. On the inside of the vest was a white uniform, similar to the super soldier''s uniform, except there were black, rectangular accessories on the sleeves and black cuffs at the sleeve ends.


    "So, I''m guessing this is a mixture of my old armor and the super soldier uniform." Nathan assumed. "So, how is it any different?"


    "Lemme show you." The blacksmith said before taking a pistol from the truck.


    Why does she need a pistol?


    The need for the pistol became clear to Nathan, as suddenly she fired at his chest.


    "WHAT THE HELL!?" Nathan yelled as he instinctively covered his face. Much to his surprise, however, he didn''t feel any pain, nor was his armor damaged in any way.


    "What the..."


    "The suit you''re wearing is one of the strongest suits I''ve created!" She said. "It''s 400% more durable than the original armor you had and the super soldier uniform combined! The material it''s created from renders most weapons ineffective. It also has shock-absorbing properties, so if you get hit by super soldiers, you don''t just get one shot."


    "I see," Nathan said. "That is pretty good, thanks."


    "No need to thank me. You just continue bringing more stuff for me!"


    "Sure. What about the other weapons in the truck."


    "Oh. Cluster grenades, EMP grenades, super-piercing ammo, and even a blessed shield. I I''ll leave what they do as a surprise, but understand that these will also prove helpful for you." She explained.


    "Wow, you did these pretty fast," Nathan said with an impressed look.


    "Eh, I just prioritized the ones I thought would help you the most. There are still many other materials left."


    "Even so...it''s pretty impressive," Nathan said before storing the weapons in the truck.


    That makes you wonder where the hell the bastard developer got these guys.


    "What are you doing, Nath--?" Lilith asked as she and everyone else approached Nathan. Noticing his gear change, everyone was stunned, especially Lilith.


    "Wow, looking good, Nathan." The C. Specialist complimented.


    "Yeah, you look pretty cool, right Lilith?" Zack goaded, much to Nathan''s shock.


    "Y-Yeah...you look...pretty nice." Lilith complimented with red cheeks. Zack smirked, and Nathan shyly turned away at her response.


    It''s good to see you have someone you like, Nathan. Zack wholesomely thought as he looked on him and smiled.


    "Well...I have to go now." Zack said.


    "Go where?" Nathan asked.


    "I have to break Olivia out of prison."


    "Break her out?" Nathan repeated with confusion. "She''s incarcerated, right? So why would you risk doing such a reckless thing?" Nathan asked. "We don''t need everyone to finish the bastard developer''s stupid ga--"


    "She''s still a friend, Nathan," Zack interjected. "Knowing the state, they''d put her back on death row. I''m sure it must hurt for her knowing that her oldest ''friend'' Ada betrayed her and left her to die."


    Sigh...this guy is too nice to be a criminal...


    "Fine then...how are you going to save her?"


    "Well...I''m not sure yet...but the developer will help me."


    "That''s right! I''m here to help you all!" The developer suddenly spoke on Zack''s phone. Instantaneously, an expression of great annoyance filled Nathan''s face upon hearing him. "It would be heartless of me to leave my character to be executed!"


    "That would be heartless of you?" With bloodshot eyes and pulsating arteries on his head, Nathan asked. "Not you dragging Lilith into this mess and giving her trauma!? Not to mention everything else that you''ve done!"


    "Sigh...do you always have to get angry, Nathan?"


    The NPCs awkwardly turned away in response to the tension.


    "A little trauma for Lilith is nothing." The developer added. "It''ll be nothing compared to the strength she''ll attain in the future if she keeps her mindset!"


    Clenching his fist, Nathan was getting angrier with every word proceeding from the developer''s mouth. Before he could release his anger, Lilith held his hand.


    "Don''t get angry. I don''t like seeing you angry, Nathan." Lilith said. "It''ll be okay."


    Tsk...


    Taking a deep breath, Nathan calmed down.


    "Sigh...you can do what you want, Zack," Nathan said. "I''ll continue with the war. You stay with the NPCs, Lilith."


    "But Nathan!" Lilith yelled. "I''m s--"


    "Don''t worry, Lilith." The developer assured. "You''ll get your time to shine later. All my characters do, after all."


    "...okay."


    You''ve taken my conviction to protect Lilith from all harm...to protect her from doing regrettable actions...and sullied it, developer. I''ll murder you...with everything I''ve got.


    "Anyways, where''s Charles and Jack?" Nathan asked. "They could be helpful right about now."


    "Charles has been going to work on some military bases." The developer explained. "And Jack...well..."


    * * *


    "AAAHHHHH!!! GET AWA--" The screams of a civilian were quickly shut up as they were tackled to the ground. The one who tackled them was none other than Jack.


    "I don''t think I want to get away from you, mate!" Jack taunted.


    "P-Please...don''t ki--"


    They could not finish their sentence, as the last thing the civilian noticed was Jack''s sadistic smile before he jammed his knife into their throat. Repeating the process four more times, he stabbed them multiple times, carving their neck into a bloody mess.


    "Haha...that felt alright," Jack said as he stood back up. He was covered in so much blood that his white clothing was now dyed red.


    "I wonder how long the buggers will take before they come here," Jack said as he began to walk. "How many more civilians will they let die!"


    Behind Jack were the corpses of numerous people strewn across the road. Some were missing different limbs, their entrails, and even their heads. It was all done by Jack the Ripper.


    "I''LL KEEP HAVING FUN MURDERING AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE!!!"

 Ch. 52 - Purpose

    "I''LL KEEP HAVING FUN MURDERING AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE!!!"


    * * *


    "Ah, of course, that''s what he''s doing," Nathan said.


    He was the one to propose that crazy idea of pulling the civilians into this war...It makes me glad that Lilith hasn''t evacuated after all. Nathan thought. Speaking of which...I can never let Lilith out of my sight unprotected...with Jack being as insane as he is...


    "Anyways, I suppose it''s time for me to go now," Nathan stated, much to Lilith''s displeasure.


    "Yeah, me too," Zack added. "I can''t waste any time lingering while Olivia could be executed at any time."


    "Don''t worry, Zack." The developer said. "You''ll be sure to save her if you follow my lead."


    "Will you be fine...on your own?" With a pouting expression, Lilith asked Nathan. "You''ll come back, right?" Seeing her pouting face, Nathan simply smiled.


    "Yeah, I''ll come back. It''s the least I could do for you, who has never left me."


    "...Alright." Lilith accepted.


    Your concerned face is...cute. Nathan thought as he smirked.


    "Now that that''s settled, how do we return to the city anyway?" Nathan asked.


    "Check your GPS." The developer suggested. Obliging, he checked his phone, and saw the location.


    "...Okay."


    "Not going to thank me?" The developer teased.


    "Well, see you later, guys," Nathan said to Lilith, Zack, and the NPCs, ignoring the developer. "Oh, Zack. You should take this." He said before materializing a vest and ballistic helmet. "I''m not sure how useful it would be...but at least it''s something."


    Widening his eyes, Zack simply stared at Nathan.


    "...What?" Nathan asked in confusion.


    "You...do care..." Zack said with teary eyes.


    "Sigh, just take the damn thing." He responded as he shoved the protective gear onto Zack''s chest, forcing him to hold them.


    "Thank you, Nathan," Zack said with a smile. Annoyed, Nathan simply rolled his eyes.


    "Whatever...anyways, later," Nathan said before running off. Zack was left smiling and staring at the gear he received while everyone else looked at him with cringe.


    I''m not going to need these...but this is the first time I''ve ever been given something by a friend...


    * * *


    In only five minutes after Jack''s massacre of innocent civilians, fighter jets appeared on the scene, which he noticed.


    "Oh, my?" Jack said as he watched the fighter jets were descending, while he was using the corpse of a civilian as a seat. "It''s about time you buggers come."


    Suddenly, as the fighter jets descended, super soldiers hopped out and landed in Jack''s proximity.


    Wow. What a grand entrance they''re making.


    Immediately after landing, the super soldiers hastily marched up to Jack. They had guns and other equipment on their person. Jack did not look or feel threatened, as he still sat on the corpse and watched as they approached him, before casually getting up when they were up close.


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    "Hey, mates!" Jack greeted.


    "JACK THE RIPPER!" A super soldier yelled.


    "C''mon, guys. You can call me Jack." Said Jack sarcastically. "We''ve known each other for long enough, don''t you think?"


    "WHY ARE YOU HERE!" The super soldier continued. "YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE CAUGHT UP IN THE WAR!!!"


    "Huh, that is a good point, mate," Rubbing his chin, Jack responded. "The reason I''m here...well, you guys could just look around and see for yourselves!"


    They already knew what he meant as they saw the corpses littering the area.


    "YOU BASTARD! YOU SOMEHOW ESCAPED OUR FORCES...JUST TO TAKE ALL THESE INNOCENT LIVES!?"


    "Yeah...I just couldn''t help myself." Jack responded with his trademark twisted smile.


    "KILL HI--"


    "Wait, buggers," Jack interjected. "Are you going to fire in a residential area...where people are hiding?"


    "Haven''t you already murdered everyone in this area?"


    "Have I?" Jack asked as he pointed to an assortment of bushes. In the bushes were people desperately hiding. Seeing Jack point in their direction immediately caused them to become frightened.


    "You...bastard..." The super soldier scowled.


    "What about over there?" Jack continued as he pointed at a car. Under it was a small child, hiding from the killer that is Jack.


    "There''s likely more buggers hiding around here." Jack continued. "And I''m sure you guys know I can dodge bullets."


    As Jack was speaking, the super soldiers lowered their guns as if weighing the risks of shooting in an area where civilians were hiding.


    "If you shoot, you''ll run the risk of killing the civilians you should be protecting!" Jack said as his smile got bigger. "Unless your job to eliminate ''blessed'' criminals outweighs the safety of the civilians!"


    ''Tsk, dammit...what do we do..." A super soldier asked his comrades.


    "...We have to...lure him back to the war zones...somehow..." Another responded.


    "You guys are thinking about getting me back in the war zones, right?" Jack easily deduced, much to their annoyance. "Well, too bad. Killing civilians isn''t the only reason I came here!"


    Suddenly, Jack disappeared, and in a muffle bang, he appeared in front of the bushes where the people were hiding.


    "NO! STOP!" The super soldier yelled, but it was too late. With knives in hand, Jack did a quick set of movements, resulting in excessive blood splatter. The civilians didn''t even get a chance to scream, as he murdered them that quickly.


    "DAMN YOU!" The super soldier yelled, and in retaliation they began firing at Jack. As he said before, however, Jack easily avoided the bullets by doing a singular, long-distance covering backflip. Thankfully, the bullets did not hit any innocents. He then jumped up on the top of a building.


    "Let''s play a game, guys!" Jack yelled. "I''m going to go around and murder anyone I see, and you guys are going to try and stop me!"


    "DO YOU THINK THIS IS A GAME!!!"


    "Actually, yes...it is a game," Jack responded. "Anyways, I''m going to go now. You guys can call as many reinforcements as you want!"


    "DON''T MOV--" The super soldier yelled as they aimed at Jack, but it was too late as he had already started running.


    "SHIT! FOLLOW HIM!!!" Upon his orders, the super soldiers started to chase Jack. They quickly found themselves to be lacking, however. Despite their super-sonic levels of speed, Jack was far faster.


    He was free to do what he wanted, and he knew. Randomly choosing a civilian as he ran past, they would be slaughtered before they knew what happened, due to the speed at which he was going.


    Slicing their throats so deep that they were almost beheaded, or even the complete beheading, they were killed. As if death himself, Jack showed no mercy to the unsuspecting victims as he passed through.


    "Tsk...how the hell can someone be this way..." A super soldier asked as they passed the corpses.


    "I''m alerting everyone that Jack''s spotted here...the other criminals may come here too." Another advised.


    "...That may be the right idea...But, I fear for how many people will die when this war is over..."


    Haha, this is great! I get to murder so many buggers. Although I would have liked them to suffer more, it''s still good! I can''t kill too much yet though, as we''ll need as many civilians as possible to put these destructive buggers at a disadvantage.


    As he was running, Jack turned to see the civilians he left alive processing and reacting to the deceased in despair. As if uncontrollably, Jack''s sadistic smile became full-blown.


    Yes...this is it! I truly understand why the developer chose me to carry out his mission! Each of us has different purposes in the murder game. Charles''s purpose may be to take out the strongest super soldiers, and Ada''s purpose may be to form a group of her own to fight against the military...but mine...


    Suddenly, Jack began to chuckle.


    Killing, ruining and destroying. My purpose in this is to murder as much as possible! That''s always been my purpose...ever since I was born!


    * * *


    Over to the blessed slaughterer, he and his fellow blessed hunters received the information about Jack''s location in a safe area.


    "Damn...that Jack is an annoying bastard..." Said Zombie.


    "Yeah, I''m surprised he managed to get past all of the military forces," Lancer added. "Don''t you think, blessed--"


    Looking at the blessed slaughterer, they were met with a great feeling of tension. The blessed slaughterer was angered, and they had felt it from the top of their heads to the tip of their toes.


    "...Enough messing around." The blessed slaughterer responded with a stone-cold face. "We have a job to finish...now."

 Ch. 53 - Fear

    Information spreads, just as it did in the criminals'' debut, and so shall it spread in this war. Jack has been wreaking havoc in residential areas, and the country was starting to become aware.


    Helicopters labeled ''EYEWITNESS NEWS'' were hovering over the city where Jack was murdering civilians. From the helicopters, individuals were looking down on the city, with cameras in hand. In addition, underneath the helicopters were mounted cameras, rotating to get a view of the area.


    Due to his speed, they obviously could not perceive him, but he noticed them.


    Ah, news helicopters. I''ll spare them so they can spread the good word. That''ll cause more confusion between the army and civilians...


    "Good morning, I am Ashley bringing you the breaking news. Yet another screw-up by our ''law enforcement'' as S-Class criminal Jack the Ripper has been spotted in the state of California, yes, away from the state-sanctioned and civilian-evacuated ''danger zones''." Ashley reported from her news station as she received information from the news helicopter team.


    "J-Jack the Ripper...is...in this city...?" A scared civilian uttered as he listened to the news on his phone.


    "You could all guess what the mass murderer is up to." Ashley continued. "Taking the lives of innocent people, all which could have been avoided."


    "There''s no way the super soldiers of all people managed to screw up this badly!" Another civilian reacted to the information while watching the news on television. On the screen, the news team placed pictures of deceased victims at the hands of Jack.


    "Our sources confirm that roughly a thousand victims across the city, with the numbers rising as we speak. Who knows what his other criminal mates are up to? I''m sure they aren''t dead, as the military would have already confirmed it. So they could be as big a problem as Jack.."


    "Dammit! I knew I should have left this country when I saw that debut video!" A man exclaimed as he and a group of coworkers in an office. "I''m not staying here any longer, goodbye everyone!!!" He declared before immediately leaving.


    "Hey, I''m coming with you too!" Another worker said. "I''m moving out of this country too! Not going to wait to get murdered by Jack!"


    Agreeing to this decision, almost every worker stormed out of the building. That was not the only place people thought about migrating, as this took place in many different areas.


    Dropping everything they were previously doing, packing necessities such as money and clothes for themselves, and setting their sites to the airports, many people across multiple states prepared to migrate.


    However, as everyone had the same idea and was trying to get to the airport, traffic started to build up rapidly. Quickly, it became akin to gridlock.


    The deafening sounds of horns were audible, overlapping each other as impatient drivers blasted their horns.


    "DAMMIT! GET OUT OF THE WAY!" A driver yelled. "YOU GUYS MIGHT NOT CARE ABOUT YOUR LIVES BUT I DON''T WANT TO DIE!!!"


    Everything happened in less than half an hour after Jack arrived in California. However, the civilians in California were too afraid of leaving to be killed by Jack, so fearfully, they hid in their houses and other infrastructures.


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    * * *


    Jack had decided to temporarily pause his massacre against the civilians. Simultaneously, more super soldiers and now regular soldiers had arrived. Being aware of the situation, they supported their comrades in their chase against Jack.


    However, chasing was all they could do, as opening fire would only result in civilian casualties.


    More and more buggers are coming, which is good, but it''s still not enough yet. I''ll wait some more before I truly begin my attack.


    Since the regular soldiers could not hope to keep up with their super counterparts, much less Jack, they opted to search for both hiding and possibly civilians that survived Jack.


    They weren''t lucky to find any injured civilians, only corpses. They did however, locate hiding civilians, such as one hiding underneath the cars.


    "Don''t worry, we''re here to help." A soldier said as he crouched underneath the car to communicate with the fearful child. Hesitating at first, the child left their hiding spot and rushed into the arms of a soldier. Shielding their face, the soldier blocked the child''s vision from the bodies around.


    "Sigh...I don''t think...this is for us..." A soldier said as he looked around.


    "What do you mean?" The soldier shielding the child asked.


    "The criminals we''re dealing with are blessed. Not just blessed, but some of the strongest blessed criminals we''ve ever seen." They explained. "We can''t even see Jack''s movements, and not to mention the other criminals are just as dangerous as he is."


    "Well, we can still help out in any way we can." The soldier holding the child countered. "Like helping civilians like these."


    "Yeah...I don''t know about that..." The soldier said with a negative expression. "Maybe it''s better if we do what everyone else is doing...and just leave the country..."


    "What the hell are you talking about!?"


    "You don''t understand! When it all comes down to it, we''re just regular people. We should just leave it up to the super soldiers, you know?"


    "...I don''t agree..."


    "...Whatever."


    * * *


    "Regular and super soldiers are currently in California," Ashley added. "That could be good because they could finally restrain Jack...even though their track record hasn''t been good as of late. It could also be bad, however, as even regular soldiers could cause property destruction with their weapons...not to mention super soldiers, who are literal war machines."


    "It''s not feasible." Sergeant John said as he was listening to the news. He was sitting around a table with Lieutenant Harvey and his fellow military officers. In the military base, it was dimly lit, like that of a usual cinema. "It''s not feasible how things turned this way..."


    "As the war''s intensity is increasing, so is the amount of lives lost and property damage," Ashley said. "Even if the nation''s security finally eliminates these threats, the damage has already been done. Law enforcement has become lazy due to the long period of peace we have enjoyed. The United States will never be the same again."


    Silence filled the room as everyone listened.


    "...This would have never happened if we had completed project ''Zero''," Harvey said.


    "...Indeed," John responded.


    If only the Hayes couple never got in my way...


    * * *


    Back in the danger zone, Nathan made his way back. On his phone, he caught up with the news, now having a better understanding of what Jack was up to.


    "Murdered thousands of innocent civilians...what the hell, Jack?" Nathan said. "Still, it seems like the forces are making their way to the safe zones. Jack''s plan is working."


    I''ll have to get there quickly so I can help...I''m not going to be killing any civilians...just the super soldiers. Hopefully, Charles will be there soon, too.


    * * *


    At her mansion, Ada is watching the news and seeing the carnage that Jack is causing. With her legs folded, she sat in a lounge chair, still wearing the same white robe after kicking Zack out.


    "It seems you''re having quite a lot of fun, Jack," Ada said as she changed her leg position. "If only you weren''t so focused on killing everything, you could have been another loyal dog."


    Checking the time on her smartphone, it said 7:35 am.


    "I still have some time to relax," Ada concluded. "You keep having fun, Jack. You likely will be eliminated by the strongest super soldiers soon, but kill as much of them as you can...to make this easier for me."


    * * *


    As everything was taking place, Rebecca was walking down the street.


    Despite her injuries and streams of tears coming down her eyes, Rebecca was still moving with a determined expression.


    I have to...keep moving. I have to...get rid of these criminals...I can''t let...my friends'' sacrifice...be in vain...

 Ch. 54 - Trouble

    Muffled bangs followed by murdered civilians were heard and seen as Jack continued his massacre. Putting the super soldiers on a cat-and-mouse chase and rendering their regular counterparts useless, Jack was still on the run. Reinforcements arrived at a rapid pace. Both aerial and land military vehicles holding regular and super soldiers arrived.


    I suppose that''s a good amount now.


    Suddenly, as if taking a rest, Jack stopped to sit on the roof of a building. He was immediately confronted by the super soldiers who had a hard time with his speed.


    "Great job, guys." Jack strangely said. He was greeted by negative expressions of the super soldiers. "It''s been at least an hour, and I can see many more of you buggers."


    Interrupting him, the super soldiers immediately fired at him. Unsurprisingly, he avoided them by moving to another building, emitting a sonic boom in the process. His constant running only fanned the flames of their anger, as pulsating arteries were visible on their heads.


    "How the hell can this shithead keep moving around so much!" An annoyed super soldier asked. "Does he just not get tired!?"


    "Alright, alright. I know you buggers are annoyed." Jack mocked. "Don''t worry, tho. I''m done running now. There''s a ton of you buggers here now!"


    Killing many super soldiers...that does sound nice!


    "I''m gonna come at ya! If you don''t want to die, you better not worry about civilian casualties!!!"


    Due to Jack''s advice, the super soldiers seemed alarmed. Dragging his right leg back, Jack prepared to charge at them.


    "HERE I CO--"


    BOOM!!!


    Like a meteor, someone fell from the sky and attempted to crash into Jack, however, he avoided it by jumping off the building. Upon their impact, the entire building exploded, spreading rocks and dust in the area.


    "What the hell?" A super soldier exclaimed with a confused expression. A similar expression to not only his comrades but also Jack.


    Which bugger is this now?


    "Damn, you missed." Said another individual, attracting the attention of everyone in the vicinity. The one who uttered those words was the blessed hunter, Zombie.


    "Tsk, he dodged by dumb luck!" Said the one who crashed into the building as he walked out of the rubble and broken pieces. His rough voice was familiar to the super soldiers, and they were right. It was their comrade, Nailhead, the massive hulking super soldier.


    "Phew...It''s about time you guys showed up..." A super soldier said as he sighed with relief.


    "Yes, that was a poor decision of us to not act sooner than we did." Said Lancer as he walked up with his lengthy spear in hand.


    Taking note of the new foes, Jack smirked.


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    "You guys must be strong, I''m assuming?" Jack said. "Charles would probably love a spar with you guys."


    They didn''t utter a word in response but simply stared at him with cold expressions.


    "So you guys aren''t talkers?"


    "I''m going to rip you limb from limb, dumbass." Nailhead bluntly stated, to which Jack stared and scratched his hair with his knife.


    "Is that so, mate?" Jack responded. Suddenly, the other super soldiers fired at Jack, thinking he wasn''t focused on them. However, despite having his back facing them, he still moved out of the way, avoiding them yet again.


    "Damn it! He still dodged that!?"


    "You guys will never hit me like that!" Jack said. "Your killing intent is too obvious. Wait your turn though...I''ve got to teach that big guy a lesson!"


    Suddenly, Jack appeared above Nailhead.


    Big or small...you all get killed the same!


    Successfully, Jack struck Nailhead''s chest with both knives.


    CRACK!


    Much to Jack''s surprise, his knives did not pierce Nailhead''s chest. Instead, the blades shattered upon impact.


    What the hell? His body is so tough--


    Suddenly, Nailhead delivered a powerful punch to the side of Jack''s head. However, he blocked with his hands just in time. Cracking sounds could be heard as Jack''s arms contorted, much to his surprise. He immediately dropped his knives as his arms contorted.


    The strike was also strong enough to slam Jack through a building, knocking into hiding civilians before ending up in another building.


    "Hey! There are civilians in those buildings!" A super soldier yelled. "What the hell are you doing--"


    "Who the hell are you talking to?" Nailhead interjected as he stared at the super soldier. "Do you want to be next?"


    Nailhead''s towering figure along with his scary, scarred face, greatly intimidated the super soldier. "...no."


    "Nailhead, no intimidating our comrades," Lancer instructed.


    As Jack lay in the building he crashed into, he tried to move his arms around.


    Bloody and in a contorted position, his arms were not responding to his movements.


    Damn, my arms busted. If that guy hadn''t radiated so much killing intent, I probably wouldn''t have blocked in time since that punch was fast...that would have been my head and not my arms. I''d survive though...


    Using only his legs, he rolled onto his stomach to pick himself up.


    Hearing groans of agony, Jack noticed that there were civilians crushed underneath building rubble.


    I can tell that guy does not care about civilians...haha. That''s a fun type of guy.


    Coldly walking on the rubble that was crushing the civilians, Jack returned to the battle.


    "Still alive, huh." Lancer noticed. "Seems you aren''t just fast, but can also take a hit..."


    "Haha...I guess." Jack shyly acted as he scratched his hair.


    "But with those wrecked arms, you can no longer murder anyone, nor can you fight," Zombie stated. "You''ll be eliminated right here, right now."


    Jack simply smiled at him.


    "Yeah...this isn''t fair play," Jack said. "So bye!"


    Suddenly, with an immediate sonic boom, Jack began to run, much to the other super soldiers'' annoyance.


    "Don''t let him get away--"


    "Don''t worry, we''ve got the blessed hunters with us." A super soldier assured his comrade.


    As Jack zoomed across the city, his broken arms were flailing behind him.


    I''ll go back to running and wait for my other party members...or I could just leave and get some more kills...


    "How disappointing." Said Lancer as he was right on Jack''s tail. "It doesn''t seem like you''re faster than me."


    Wow...I''m going full speed too--


    Suddenly, Lancer began thrusting his spear at Jack, causing him to stop running and have to focus on weaving. While he successfully avoided being impaled by his superfast spear thrusts, Lancer suddenly did a downward swing, slashing Jack across his chest. It was too fast for him to avoid.


    "Ugh!" Jack uttered as he jumped back in an attempt to gain distance. Simultaneously, Nailhead and Zombie stood at Jack''s sides, while Lancer stayed in front of him.


    "For someone blessed with speed, it truly is disappointing." Lancer mocked.


    "Remember I promised that I''m going to rip you limb from limb?" Nailhead reminded. "Since your weak little arms are broken, I''ll start with that first!!!"


    Zombie didn''t say anything but coldly watched Jack.


    Sigh, one with Charles-like strength, another with a spear and extreme speed...and I don''t even know what the third guy does. To think that super soldiers would be this annoying...

 Ch. 55 - Brutality

    Sigh, one with Charles-like strength, another with a spear and extreme speed...and I don''t even know what the third guy does. To think that super soldiers would be this annoying...


    In a burst of speed, Nailhead charged towards Jack. Narrowly avoiding a jab thrown by him, Jack continued to move.


    I can''t afford to get hit by that guy anymore.


    Suddenly, Jack was intercepted by Lancer, who swung his spear in an attempt to slash his face. Jack barely weaved but as if anticipating that, Lancer spun his weapon around quickly, smacking Jack''s face with the blunt end of the spear and knocking him several feet away.


    After rolling on the ground for a few moments, Jack regained his composure and continued the only thing he could do at this point, running. He had sustained a large bruise on his right cheek from Lancer''s attack.


    Well shite...I''m at a disadvantage here...


    From the sheaths on his belt, Zombie pulled out two tactical knives. The blades were slightly curved and were grey. Supporting his comrades, he charged at Jack.


    Much to Jack''s surprise, Zombie was quickly catching up to him.


    What? He''s basically as fast as the guy with the spear?


    Stopping Jack in his tracks, Zombie began swinging the bladed weapons at high speeds, aiming for his face and upper body mostly. Although Jack was weaving them, he had a hard time keeping up with Zombie''s speed, especially with how injured he currently was.


    Blood started surfacing as cuts appeared on Jack''s face and chest. Zombie was successfully cutting Jack. Not deep, but he was still being slashed.


    Dammit, haha...I need my arms for this!


    Suddenly, Jack felt a sharp pain in his back.


    "UGH!" Jack uttered in pain. While he was focused on avoiding Zombie, Lancer approached from behind and struck Jack in his upper back with his spear. Lancer then followed by slashing him across the back of his right knee.


    "UGH! RRRAAAHHH!!!!"


    With a shout, Jack pulled off an extremely quick spin kick to Lancer''s head, however, he reacted and blocked with his spear in time. Jack followed up with a high kick, which was just as fast, to Zombie, who also blocked in time. They were both knocked away by Jack''s kicks, however.


    Ugh...I''m getting too injured...Even if I use ''that'', I can''t win against these guys with my current strength...I need to kill some more buggers--


    After Jack knocked both his comrades away, Nailhead suddenly rushed at Jack and appeared in front of him.


    Shit!


    Not being able to react in time, Jack received a straight punch directly to his jaw from Nailhead, which created massive gusts of wind. With loud thuds, he violently bounced many times on the ground, as he was sent across multiple city blocks.


    "Good job on that follow-up," Lancer said as both he and Zombie approached him. They had sustained no injuries from Jack''s kick.


    "Let''s slaughter him now!" Nailhead ordered.


    After taking that attack, Jack lay on the ground, with his stomach facing down. His jaw was heavily bruised and seemed crooked as if it was broken.


    Ah...damn. This is quite unfortunate.


    "That kick of yours, the speed and power weren''t bad." Lancer suddenly said. They had already caught up and approached Jack. "Still, I''m better. You''re going to die because we three have been made to be better than you."


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    What''s he talking about now?


    "This big guy here, Nailhead. He''s a result of experiencing the most intense strength modifications in one instance...making him ruthless. My slender frame is a result of going through many modifications for my speed, so I use this spear here. If you couldn''t keep up with us two, you especially have no chance against the walking corpse that is Zombie." Lancer monologued.


    "That''s rude," Zombie interjected.


    These guys...honestly think I care, don''t they?


    "That''s enough!" Nailhead exclaimed. "I want to keep my promise about ripping this guy limb from limb!"


    "Sure, why not," Zombie said as he gave Nailhead one of his knives. With a twisted smile, Nailhead stopped down beside Jack, with Zombie standing on the opposite side.


    What are they going to do--


    Suddenly, they grabbed Jack''s contorted arms.


    "Ugh!!!" Jack uttered as he felt intense pain. Suddenly, they both jammed the knives in both of Jack''s hands. They stabbed right through his arms, and it stuck into the ground.


    "AAAHHHHH!!!!!" Jack yelled in pain.


    "Hold down your side!" Nailhead ordered as he kept his hand on the knife that was now through Jack''s hand.


    "Okay..." Zombie agreed as he rested his foot on the other knife, pushing it down slightly. The palms of Jack''s hands were quickly stained with red as blood seeped from the wound.


    Suddenly, Nailhead grabbed the back of Jack''s head and pulled him up a bit to stare right at him.


    "Remember what I promised you!?" Nailhead asked with a sadistic smile.


    Huh--


    Suddenly, Nailhead began pulling Jack up harder.


    Wait...is this bugger...trying to...


    "AHHHH!!!" Jack yelled once again as Nailhead was pulling him up strongly, while he and Zombie kept the knives in Jack''s hands. Suddenly, stretch marks could be seen in the middle of Jack''s arms as his flesh was starting to break apart.


    "HAHA!!!" Nailhead laughed as he kept going. Zombie, on the other hand, coldly watched as Jack''s arms were tearing. Jack''s right hand was being slowly sliced through by the knife.


    "AAAHHHHH!!! STOP IT!!!" Jack exclaimed, but it was futile.


    No longer withstanding the pressure, his arms gave way as they tore off. Nailhead held Jack high in the air and observed the injuries.


    Jack''s left arm was completely torn off up to his elbow, with veins and bone exposed. His right arm was also nearly torn off, but barely kept together by veins and exposed tissue. His right hand also had a split in the middle. With a pale expression and a pain-induced trembling, Jack stared at Nailhead as well.


    "JACKPOT!" Nailhead ecstatically yelled before tossing Jack into a building wall, creating many cracks on impact.


    Lancer proceeded to accurately throw his spear, deeply impaling Jack and the building wall after cutting through the air, from the sheer speed it was thrown at. Jack was left with a deadened expression.


    "Years ago you were beaten by a group of super soldiers. Today, the same thing happened...disappointing." Lancer said.


    "Hey! Why did you do that!?" Nailhead inquired. "I wanted to rip him limb from limb before killing him!"


    "That''s enough torture," Lancer said. "Our job is to eliminate these guys, not to put them in immense pain."


    In their bickering, Jack slowly began to walk, with the spear passing through the other side of his body.


    "Well, it doesn''t hurt to have fun ya know!" Nailhead countered.


    "He''s not wrong," Zombie said. "Nothing wrong with having fun as long as you complete the mission."


    Jack had powered through and got the spear out of his body. He immediately fell to the ground in a pool of blood, which the blessed hunters noticed.


    Hehe...I got...it out...


    "Sigh, this guy put up a fight, even up until the end, huh," Lancer said with an annoyed expression.


    "Tch! If it weren''t for you throwing your damn spear, I''d have gotten more fun!" Nailhead responded, still clearly annoyed.


    "Are you still on that?"


    "Well, the other S-Class criminals are probably still alive," Zombie said. "So there''s that, at least."


    "Tch...whatever."


    Suddenly, the other super soldiers approached the blessed hunters.


    "There you guys are. Did you kill Jack yet?" A super soldier asked.


    "Yeah, he''s done for now," Lancer responded. "That''s one less S-Class criminal to worry about."


    "That''s good!" The super soldier happily said. "But...where is Jack, exactly?"


    "What are you talking about?" Lancer asked with a look of confusion. "He''s right there--"


    Much to the blessed hunters'' surprise, Jack wasn''t anywhere to be seen. Only the large pool of blood he had left.


    "What! He ran?" Zombie asked in surprise. "We didn''t even notice him move, somehow..."


    "H-He escaped?" The super soldier asked with a nervous expression.


    "Apparently, but he''s severely injured so he likely won''t get far." Lancer deduced. "You guys should quickly track him down and finish him."


    "A-Are you sure?"


    "Yes, he doesn''t have the ability to fight someone in his current state. You guys can kill him...that''s if he doesn''t succumb to his injuries before."


    "Okay..." The super soldier agreed before him, and the rest moved off.


    "While they are confirming Jack''s death, we should go for the rest," Zombie suggested. "We can''t sit by all idle."


    "Sure...I better have fun next time!" Nailhead loudly said to which Lancer ignored. Lancer proceeded to remove his spear from the building wall.


    I wonder what the blessed slaughterer is up to now. Has he found Charles yet?

 Ch. 56 - A Long-Awaited Encounter (Part 1)

    Meanwhile, Ada''s faction continued attacking the super and regular soldiers. Charlotte, Frank, and their men continued to poison and kill any soldier that they saw. Even Nolan and Leon, the other bosses of the gang organization, took part in the attack.


    Nolan and Leon led their gang members and walked throughout the city.


    "Is Ada doing alright now?" Nolan asked. "I know you were the last to check on her before we left to clear up these loose ends."


    "Yes, she''s fine," Leon responded. "She''s relaxing now, so it''s up to us to be the victors. Ada''s transition must be as smooth as possible."


    "Of course," Nolan said. "Nothing will get in our way."


    Up ahead, they encountered a company of soldiers and a few super soldiers.


    "Huh? Who are those guys?" A soldier asked as he noticed the gang members approaching them.


    "Well, here''s more loose ends to clean up," Leon said. "I take it you can handle this without my help?"


    "Of course." Nolan confidently stated. "Men, get your weapons ready!"


    In response to his words, the gang members removed knives that hidden in belt sheaths. Strangely, the knives were dripping a purple, viscous liquid.


    "Make sure you don''t accidentally get the poison on yourselves," Nolan advised.


    "What the hell are they doing?" A super soldier asked as he and his company were alarmed by their suddenly pulling bladed equipment.


    "Since there are many enemies, plus a couple of super soldiers, I''ll give you guys a helping hand," Nolan said. Suddenly, a red, vibrant, fire-like aura radiated from the gang members'' bodies.


    "HA! YES!" A gang member shouted as they all looked excited. "This feels much better!!!"


    "What the...prepare for an attack!" A super soldier warned his comrades. Almost immediately, the gang members rushed their targets, moving at speeds far beyond the limits of a regular human.


    "What!" A super soldier uttered in surprise. Before the regular soldiers could react, some got slashed with the poison-drenched knives held by the gang members. No sooner had they been slashed than the skin of the soldiers began to become discolored, changing to a blue pigment.


    A couple of gang members tried to strike the super soldiers, but they were fast enough to react and avoid the swings.


    Who the hell are these guys!?


    Agony-filled groans, mixed with vomiting could be heard as the soldiers were succumbing to the effects of the poison. In a very short time of suffering, they fell to the ground, with puss coming from their mouth before their bodies gave out.


    "What the hell is going on!!!" A super soldier exclaimed as he witnessed his dying comrades.


    "The poison is really useful, huh?" Leon commented. "It only takes our men one swing to take out a soldier. Unfortunately, our poison source won''t have been permanent, though."


    "Yeah, it turns a lot of the difficulty of fights down," Nolan responded. "However, even with my power and the poison, our men won''t find it easy to eliminate the super soldiers."


    Nolan was correct, as although his men had no problem with the regular soldiers, the super soldiers present could avoid their knives.


    "It would be heartless for a boss to watch his men die and not help, so I''ll lend them a hand!" Nolan said as his body was enveloped in the same red, vibrant, fire-like aura as his men, but he was much larger. That attracted the attention of the super soldiers.


    "WHO THE HELL ARE THESE PEOPLE!!!!"


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    "Let''s hurry up with these guys," Nolan stated with a smirk.


    * * *


    Over to the military base where John, Harvey and their fellow military officers were settled and protected by blessed hunters. The female super soldier in the archer''s cloak and the other death-bringers, received a ping on their phones.


    "May we?" The female super soldier asked.


    "You may, Queen Deathbringer." Harvey allowed, and so they checked their phones.


    "W-We need backup!" A soldier desperately pleaded, shocking everyone. "We''re being attacked by an unknown group of enemies! They''re poisoning and killing our men! We need backup! We don''t have much ti--"


    A loud and ongoing beeping sound was audible as the communication ended. Pure bewilderment - the one word that could describe the atmosphere in the military base right now.


    "...If you''d allow it, could you let me investigate the matter?" ''Queen Deathbringer,'' as referred to by Harvey, asked. "That message might have sent to the blessed hunters and possibly other super soldiers in hopes that reinforcements would arrive, but I''m sure everyone else is preoccupied with the S-Class criminals."


    "It may be unwise to let you go when you''re supposed to protect us." Harvey reminded.


    "But letting a potential threat we may not know about run rampant and killing our comrades isn''t wise either." She countered. "But, don''t worry, the other Death-bringers are competent enough to protect you, that I promise."


    Silence filled the room as Harvey was deciding whether to let her go or not.


    "Sigh, fine...you''re allowed." Harvey relented. "Make sure you get to the bottom of what''s happening."


    "Yes, sir." She exclaimed before leaving.


    I wonder if it was smart to let a valuable asset like her go.


    "Damn it...why is nothing going our way!" John yelled, garnering everyone''s attention. "More and more variables keep popping up out of nowhere!!!"


    "Yes...it''s gotten to the point where our reputation is unsalvageable, even if we successfully get rid of all these threats," Harvey responded as he facepalmed.


    "IT''S MORE THAN UNSALVAGEABLE! SO MUCH THAT I''VE WORKED SO HARD FOR IS BEING DESTROYED!!!" In a fit of rage, John shouted, surprising everyone. Realizing the concerned stares of his comrades, he had calmed down.


    "...Sigh. I''m going to get some fresh air outside..." John decided.


    "...Okay," Harvey said.


    Leaving everyone, John went outside.


    Reaching in his pocket, he pulled a lighter, and a box of cigarettes. After a few clicks of his lighter, an ember of flame emerged, which he used to light a cigar.


    It''s been a while since I''ve become so stressed that I''ve needed to smoke...


    He kept walking as he approached the entrance of the military base, the security gates.


    * * *


    Over to Nathan, he was speeding on the road with an armored military vehicle.


    Damn, this city is quite long...I''ve been driving at full speed for over an hour without any traffic, and I''m just leaving one...I wonder if the blacksmith could make a faster way of traveling in the future.


    "I just want to finish this tiring battle..." Nathan stated with annoyance. Straight ahead, Nathan noticed he was approaching a military base.


    "Sigh...I''m using this vehicle to blend in, but hopefully, nothing annoying happens..."


    From the security gates, someone exited. That person was Sergeant John.


    * * *


    Staring into space as he smoked, John seemed angry.


    These S-Class criminals have ruined so much of what I built. Many super soldiers that I have build up have been killed...and the Hayes has always been in the way...damn them all!


    Hearing rumbling that became louder, John saw the approaching military vehicle.


    Huh? What''s a lone troop doing out here...whatever. I have no time for that.


    * * *


    "Who is that now..." Nathan wondered as he noticed the individual standing. "It doesn''t seem like a super soldier, judging by the uniform, so I''ll simply ignore hi--"


    Suddenly, Nathan''s eyes widened. He had realized who the man was. While driving past him, as if he perceived everything in slow motion, he turned his head towards John.


    The loathsome...!!!


    Suddenly, a loud screech occurred as Nathan did a hard drift, surprising John.


    "What the hell!?" John uttered.


    Suddenly, the driver''s door burst open as Nathan disembarked.


    "JOHN WALKER!!!" Nathan yelled with pure disdain written on his face as he materialized an assault rifle.


    Shit!


    Without a slight bit of hesitation, Nathan fired. However, John ran back into the military base, barely avoiding the bullets. No longer having an aim on him, Nathan decided to chase him. He had also switched his assault rifle for a tactical knife.


    Nathan Hayes!? Why the hell are you here, dammit!!!


    "GET BACK HERE YOU BASTARD!!!" Nathan yelled as he was closing in on John.


    There''s no way you''ll be able to outrun me! Finishing the mission can wait until after! This bastard that ruined my life is my main priority!


    "YOU WON''T GET AWAY! YOU''LL PAY FOR EVERYTHING YOU''VE DONE TO MY PARENTS AND ME!!!"


    "Dammit! Come on out already, bodyguards!!!" John yelled as Nathan was very close behind.


    Right before being able to grab John, Nathan got tackled to the ground. He was brought to the ground by one of the death-bringers.


    "Ugh!" Nathan uttered as the super soldier held his face into the ground while pinning him down.


    With a sigh of relief, John had stopped running.


    "GET OFF OF ME!!!" Nathan yelled as he struggled. It was futile,, however, due to the difference in their strength.


    "Stop moving!" The death-bringer ordered as he squeezed Nathan''s head on the ground harder.


    "Dammit...that was close..." John said. "A very close one, Nathan...How about we have a little...talk?"


    A talk...?

 Ch. 57 - A Long-Awaited Encounter (Part 2)

    "Let''s talk, Nathan," John said. "Bring him inside."


    "Yes, sir." The super soldier obeyed.


    Picking Nathan off the ground, the death-bringer brought Nathan into the headquarters of the military base, led by John.


    "Let me go, you bastard!" Nathan yelled as he continued to struggle.


    "Make sure you hold him properly," John advised. "Can''t be too cautious around a creation-type blessing that he has."


    "Yes, sir." The death-bringer said. He kept a tight grip on both of Nathan''s arms and made his palms face his back.


    * * *


    Approaching the same military base that Nathan and John currently occupied, was Rebecca. Although still injured from her previous fight and visibly depressed from the loss of her friends, she clearly had not given up.


    A military base...maybe there are bandages and first aid that I can apply...to my wounds. I''ve been nothing but useless in this search-and-destroy mission.


    Suddenly, images of Sebastian and Ethan came into her mind. In response, tears filled Rebecca''s eyes and streamed down her face.


    "N..No..." Rebecca said as she quickly wiped her face.


    Put those...feelings away now. I need to treat myself quickly. I must prioritize performing my duty of killing these blessed criminals...to carry on the will...of my fallen comrades!!!


    Resolving herself, Rebecca limped her way to the base.


    She noticed the armored car (that Nathan hopped out of) and drift markings along the ground.


    What the hell? Did something happen here?


    * * *


    They entered the heart of the headquarters, where Harvey and the officers were. With looks of surprise, they noticed the restrained Nathan.


    "Is that Nathan!?" Harvey inquired with surprise. Whispers were audible among the officers.


    "Yes. It seems Nathan thought it would be a good idea to rush into a military base by himself." John mocked as he approached and sat in his seat. "It''s a good thing our bodyguards here are keen enough to watch where I go."


    "Did you carry me here because you needed an audience to kill me?" Nathan asked. "That''s pretty familiar, don''t you think--"


    "No, I wouldn''t go through all of that to kill an annoying bastard like you." John countered. "It''s a low chance, but you could probably do something to get away from the death-bringer that''s holding you, but you''d have no chance of the three of them watching you."


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    Nathan looked around and noticed two other super soldiers on opposite sides of the room observing him. They had the regular super soldier uniform but modified with a hoodie like Cryostasis and the Queen Death-bringer, proving it difficult for Nathan to see their facial features. The super soldier restraining Nathan also wore a hood over his head.


    "Moving well over the speed of sound, expert combatants and most importantly, some of our greatest assassins. These are our death-bringers." John stated. "This is the perfect place for questioning you."


    "Questioning me...?"


    "Yes, why don''t you make it easier for us and tell me where exactly your comrades are," John suggested with a smile. "So far, Jack the Ripper is being dealt with, but there are Charles, Zack, and a couple of unknown people our men have seen you with."


    Silence filled the room as Nathan processed John''s suggestion. Suddenly, however, he burst out into laughter.


    Those unknown people he''s talking about are probably the NPC and Lilith, as I''ve been spotted with them by the enemy. Telling him where Lilith is, is out of the question.


    But the fact that he didn''t call Ada''s name means that Zack was telling the truth.


    "Hahaha! Do you want me to help you? Well, that wouldn''t be the first time you''ve gotten help from S-Class Criminals!" Nathan mocked. "First Ada, now me? Just how corrupted are you guys anyways!?"


    John still had his smile, but it became less pronounced as Nathan mocked him. Harvey and the military officers listened with annoyance written on their faces.


    "Would you tell us the information we need--" Harvey asked, but before he could finish, Nathan interjected.


    "I''M NOT TELLING YOU PIECES OF SHITS ANYTHING!!!" Nathan declared.


    "Watch who you''re talking to!" The super soldier restraining him ordered as he tightened his grip even more on Nathan.


    Ugh!


    "Shut...the hell...up," Nathan responded. "You guys...are always just...puppets...that listen to everything...these corrupted superiors of yours...tell you! You don''t even know...who the real bad ones...are..."


    "Sigh, Nathan, you are so infuriating." John continued. "I had a feeling we''d meet again, ever since your parents'' execution. To think that we''d meet like this, though. You''ve ruined so much that I made...degraded the reputation I''ve built. For that, I hate you with every fiber of my being. I do want you to suffer, you know that, right?"


    Nathan chuckled again.


    "Haha...I never thought I''d say this, but we finally agreed on something." Nathan admitted. "I also hate you with every fiber of my being, even more so than you hate me. You ruined my life, so it''s natural I feel this way! I can''t even look at you without becoming irrationally angry! Hell, even listening to your annoying voice pisses me off! If and when I get my hands on you, I''ll murder you!" Nathan declared.


    They stared at each other with twisted smiles while the officers watched nervously.


    "Tsk, let''s just kill this bastard already, John," Harvey suggested with annoyance.


    Don''t worry, Lieutenant Harvey. I''ll kill you as well... Nathan thought.


    "Hmm, that''s true." John agreed. "We should end this long hatred for each other."


    Damn it...I have to do something. I promised Lilith that I''d return safe, so there''s no way I''ll die. I need to find something in my inventory which is helpful enough--


    "But first...would you like to know something?" John asked.


    "Know what?"


    "The full story of your parents'' deaths," John added, surprising Nathan to the point of widening his eyes. Harvey and the officers looked shocked and nervous in response.


    "H-Huh?" Nathan stuttered.


    "What are you doing!?" Harvey asked with great concern.


    "It''s fine, he''ll die right after. I want him to understand why his life turned out like this." John reassured. "Listen carefully, Nathan, because from here on out...it''ll be the truth."


    The truth...to my parents'' death...?

 Ch. 58 - The Truth (Part 1)

    The truth...to my parents'' death...?


    "So that means...you''ve been hiding information." Nathan surmised.


    "Yes. To understand everything, though, we''d have to go back thirty years in the past, where similar to now, ability-blessed criminals have over-run society."


    "Wait, over-run?" Nathan repeated what John said with confusion. "I thought people with abilities were kinda rare."


    "It isn''t rare. They were just more controlled by super soldiers," John responded. "Anyone with powers and tried to commit a crime...would be suppressed by those soldiers. Anyways..."


    In a time when criminals blessed with abilities became uncontrollable, crime rates were perpetually high. With frequent robberies, assaults, murders, and other crimes, no one was safe from these criminals. But I wanted to change that. I wanted to bring the peace that everyone greatly desired.


    With blood, sweat, and hard work, I joined and made my way up the ranks in the military as an officer. I thought if I could train soldiers to properly combat those criminals, it would have been enough...


    In John''s memory, he reminisced about a scene. Around him were many deceased soldiers and an individual in civilian clothing.


    "Sir, we''ve cleared the threat, but the casualties confirmed were over sixty percent." A soldier reported to a younger John. John''s hair had its black color, and his skin was richer in color.


    "Damn it!" John said. "We can''t keep losing men just to kill one criminal! The crime rates aren''t even falling! There has to be a way to deal with this more efficiently!"


    I yearned for an idea, or even a miracle, to counteract these bastards. As much as I yearned, though, the only thing I could have done at that time was continue training soldiers. There was nothing to lower the crime rates. It wasn''t until I met them...your parents.


    "Damn it...I''m so tired." The younger John said. "I''ve got bags under my eyes and everything, sigh. Nothing''s changing whatsoever--"


    "Selfishness, discrimination, feelings of superiority, and other immoral reasons. That is why crimes are committed." Attracting John''s attention was a masculine voice.


    "Huh? What''s going on over there?" John asked as he made his way to the voice. Upon arriving, he noticed a man and a woman speaking to a large group of civilians.


    Coincidentally, I met your parents for the first time as they were speaking to the public.


    "While it is human nature to prioritize ourselves, fearing the unknown, and even taking advantage of each other, we cannot let those instincts control us!" Nathan''s mother, a younger version of Anna said. "Destroying and taking from the weaker will only hurt us all in the long run."


    John stood and listened to their speech intently.


    "Yes, exactly." Nathan''s father, a younger Tomas, agreed. "What is needed is true empathy, among everyone. Using our skills for each other instead of for ourselves will benefit us all. Accepting each other despite our differences will bring the peace we so desire."


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    "I know we can all commit to this!" Anna encouraged.


    The sounds of clapping were audible in the crowd as the audience agreed. After finishing their speech and the audience left, John approached the couple.


    "Hello, you two. My name is John Walker." With an outstretched hand, John introduced himself with a charismatic smile, attracting their attention. In response, they smiled back.


    "My name is Tomas Hayes, and this is my wife, Anna Hayes." Tomas introduced as he and Anna shook John''s hand. "How can we help you?"


    "I was listening to your speech. I must say, your points are really interesting, assuming you are talking about blessed humans." John explained. "I''m an officer in the army, and I have trouble seeing how empathy would help, considering I''ve seen many blessed criminals undeserving of empathy."


    "Ah, I see," Anna said. "We understand that it may be hard to extend empathy to them, but did you know that many of them became that way due to their friends and family becoming fearful of their powers? While they may use their powers for wrongdoings, that could have been mitigated if we were more accepting of them."


    "...I see."


    "Our dream is to bring back the peace our country once had. Treating everyone as equals and empathizing with one another is the best way to do that." Tomas explained. With widened eyes, John stared at them.


    "I...I want to help you guys, too!" John declared, much to their surprise.


    "Oh my!" Anna uttered. "There''s no need to work up yourself, officer. We--"


    "I want to...no, I need to help you guys." John reaffirmed. "I too want peace!"


    I didn''t expect your parents to have been social activists, but I wanted to support them. I wanted to support them because although we had different methods for achieving our goals, we both strived for peace to return.


    So that is where our relationship began. I funded your parents so they could continue their speeches, and their name quickly spread around the country as social activists. It seemed that their speeches were working, as crime rates have decreased over the decade since I''ve met them.


    "I hope we can all truly treat each other equally!" Tomas urged as he and his wife were speaking to a crowd of people once again. In response, the audience clapped, and so did John, who was a bit away from the audience.


    While crime rates were lowering, it wasn''t next to enough. While Anna and Tomas enjoyed speaking to the masses, I still struggled with the idea that I''d never be able to bring back true peace. However, it wouldn''t be too long until I finally received the idea...the opportunity, to truly eliminate the threats in my way.


    The younger John was fast asleep in his bed. Tossing and turning, it seemed uncomfortable when suddenly, he woke up and lay upright. Breaking out in a sweat and hyperventilating, John had a strange smile on his face.


    "T-That''s it!" John said. "I can''t believe...it took me this long...to come up with this! I must act as fast as possible!"


    As if it was finally my turn to become blessed, a miracle came in the form of a vision in my mind. After all the stress I''ve been through...I could finally remove the disturbances.


    "Don''t tell me..." Nathan said.


    "It''s exactly what you''re thinking, Nathan," John responded. "And I wanted to share it with your parents...I wanted them to know since we''ve become so close."


    The trio of John and Nathan''s parents were walking in the passageway of a military base.


    "Wow, this is the first time I''ve come to this place," Anna said as she looked around in awe. "Seeing new places is incredible!"


    "Yeah, it is." Tomas agreed. "But why did you call us here again, John?"


    "Sorry for the sudden call, but I had to show you guys that I found my way to bring peace to this world," John explained, much to their excitement.


    "Wow, really?" Anna said with excitement. "Now I''m interested."


    "Me too!"


    They approached a room. With an ID card, John placed it on a keypad, gaining entry to the inside. Upon entering, however, the excitement on the faces of the Hayes couple immediately turned to an expression of horror.


    In front of them was an unconscious man whose legs and arms were strapped to a chair. His body seemed to have sustained extensive injuries, as he was covered in blood. Numerous tubes that were attached to intravenous drips were stuck in his arms and body via needles.


    "W-What...is...this...?" Tomas asked with fright written on his face.


    "I told you guys. That is my way to bring peace unto the world!" John said. "It''s only in the testing phase, but I call this guy...a super soldier."

 Ch. 59 - The Truth (Part 2)

    "I told you guys. That is my way to bring peace unto the world!" John said. "It''s only in the testing phase, but I call this guy...a super soldier."


    "W-What...did you do to that person?" Anna asked with a terror-filled expression.


    "It''s in the test phase, but to create super soldiers, test subjects like these guys have to undergo extreme modifications to their bodies to surpass the physical limits of a human," John explained. "It''s a painful, torturous process for them, but it''s all for the good, of the country."


    "F-For the good?"


    Suddenly, the unconscious man began uttering agony-filled groans. He slowly lifted his head. In a broken expression, the man looked at the Hayes couple.


    "P-Please..." He uttered with his remaining strength, surprising them. "Ple...ase he..lp...me..."


    That was all he could say. His head hung back down as he returned to his state of unconsciousness.


    BEEEEEP!


    A long, ear-piercing, and constant sound was audible from the life support machine, along with a straight green line on the display.


    "Aww, another one died?" John nonchalantly asked. "I guess a few more tweakings are in order."


    "Another...one?" Tomas asked. "Just how many people...have you tested on...?"


    "Only a few," John responded. "I got the vision about this not too long ago."


    "No, this cannot work! We''re leaving!" Anna said as the couple stormed out. Surprised at their actions, John followed them.


    "What''s wrong?" John asked. "Why are you guys angry?"


    "This is the opposite of what we are striving for!" Tomas exclaimed. "We want peace through overarching empathy, with no one viewing each other as tools. What you''ve shown us is the opposite!"


    "C''mon, don''t you think not fighting for peace, even a little is unrealistic?" John countered as he was following closely behind. "These super soldiers will theoretically be enough to stop those criminal bastards. It''s like having blessed humans of our own but on a leash."


    "That''s the type of idea we want to avoid! Everyone should be free, so why turn some into tools!?"


    "In life, sacrifices have to be made at times!" John said. "I appreciate your speeches as they have contributed to lowering crime somewhat, but if we take our heels off the problem, we''ll never fix it completely!"


    The Hayes couple suddenly stopped and turned to John.


    "Nothing is more important than human lives...all of them," Tomas said before they continued. Knowing it was futile to continue, John let them go.


    "Tsk, dammit! What''s the matter with them all of a sudden?" John asked.


    I didn''t expect your parents to act this way. I valued their relationship so much. I''ve been supporting all their speeches and even told them about this super soldier plan...but they rejected me so coldly. Wondering if I was truly wrong, I decided to get advice from a trusted individual, my lieutenant.


    Entering an office, John noticed a younger Harvey around his desk, seemingly expecting his arrival.


    "Lieutenant." John greeted him with a salute.


    "C''mon, you don''t need to be so formal." Lieutenant Harvey stated. "Have a seat."


    Obliging, John sat down.


    "So. How has the super soldier project been going?" Harvey asked.


    "They keep dying, but my men and I have gotten closer to keeping them alive and stable."


    "That''s good, that''s good." Harvey commended. "I can''t wait to see the fruits of your labor. That will be the key to our nation''s stability."


    "Thank you, Lieutenant." John expressed. "But I don''t think everyone thinks that way."


    "Hmm? What do you mean?" Harvey asked.


    "Do you remember the social activists I''ve built a relationship with?"


    "Oh, yes. You told them about your vision, right? How did it go?" Harvey inquired.


    "Not well. I thought because the Hayes couple were striving for peace, they would agree with my vision." John explained. "However, they were very much against it because we were sacrificing other people to turn them into war machines."


    "I see...in their speeches, they always heavily emphasized empathy and equality." Rubbing his chin, Harvey added. "However, I don''t think there''s anything to worry about."


    "Really?"


    "Yes. Normal people will have a hard time accepting things if it violates their ''moral standards,'' but if they think it over, I''m sure they''ll come around."


    "Ah, that is true," John said with a smile.


    "Exactly. Like the Hayes couple striving for peace, you do the same in your own way. Perfect the modifications for the super soldier, so you can advance to project ''Zero.''" Harvey advised. "Once it is finished, Tomas and Anna will see the good in this."


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    "Yes, sir!" John said with determination.


    With renewed determination, I continued the ''tests''. Harvey allowed me to understand why your parents reacted like that, so I no longer felt any anger towards them.


    Although we never spoke as much, I continued to support them in their speeches. I even watched as their name spread across the nation. I was proud that they became known as inspirers. However, nothing else made me proud more than the Super Soldier project, which just made a breakthrough.


    Dripping was audible in an infirmary-like room, as liquid from spilled canisters drained from the table. On the walls and floor were heavy bloodstains, and the room was filled with human-sized containers, eerily glowing blue liquid on the inside.


    Lying on a hospital-like bed was a heavily scarred, shirtless male. He was attached to an intravenous drip and a heart rate monitor, keeping track of his vitals. Surrounding him was John, with professionals in lab coats and medical gear.


    "H-He''s alive!" One of the professionals excitedly said as they watched the heart rate monitor. Showing the usual jagged lines, the monitor indicated his vitals were normal. "We finally kept a test subject stable after all the modifications to his body!"


    "This is a breakthrough! We must take note of this for project ''Zero''!" Another professional stated ecstatically. In response, John simply smiled.


    Finally, after all my efforts, it finally became real. To be safe, however, we decided to test his physical aspects.


    That''s exactly what we did. We brought the super soldier to a training ground to understand the true extent of his capabilities. Effortlessly beating large groups of trained soldiers by himself, he had the endurance and the skill. Dodging multiple bullets fired at him, he had the speed and reflexes. Punching walls to the point of destroying them with his bare hands, he had the strength. Surviving being struck by numerous combat weapons easily, he had the durability. Even gaining perfect scores on object tracking exercises, he had the reaction speed and visual acuity. He truly was the perfect soldier that I envisioned.


    So when we were alerted of criminal activity taking place by a blessed criminal, we didn''t hesitate to take him for a test run. Of course, he gave amazing results.


    John entered inside of a bank, where the super soldier had someone pinned down to the ground.


    "Target is suppressed. There are no casualties." The super soldier reported. Not being able to hold it, John chuckled.


    "Haha...good work!" John commended.


    This continued for weeks as my first super soldiers generated amazing results against the blessed criminals. I even gave him the nickname the ''Blessed Slaughterer.'' I knew that Tomas and Anna heard about those events, so I thought they would see the good in it.


    However, that was only the beginning, as project ''Zero'' was ready to be implemented. We needed funds, however, so we had to speak with the president, who at the time, was President William Gregory.


    Sitting in a lounge similar to when John spoke to President Garfield, John and Harvey met with President William.


    "Good afternoon, Sergeant, Lieutenant." William greeted in a deep and base-filled tone. He was a man with a bald hairstyle and bushy eyebrows. His charismatic smile was similar to the one Garfield has. Fitting for a president, after all. "I''m aware of the good you have done so far with the super soldiers, which is why I agreed to this meeting."


    "Yes. For the power of the super soldiers to become fully realized, we have to go through with Project ''Zero''." Harvey explained. "Which is why we need the funds for research and development."


    "I understand. I want to give you guys the funds, but I also understand that it could go against human rights." William countered.


    "You don''t have to worry," John assured. "We only use existing soldiers that have given their full consent."


    "Hmm..." President William mumbled. "Well...for the good of the country--"


    Suddenly, the television in William''s lounge was switched to a specific channel, attracting their attention.


    "Huh? What''s this?" William asked in confusion. "I thought I had the television off."


    Yes, Nathan. This is where the story takes a turn for the worse. Just when things were going in the right direction, a random live broadcast took place.


    "The crime rates have gone down a great margin," Tomas said as he and his wife were making a public speech, surrounded by numerous civilians as the audience. Flashes of light were visible as many people were taking pictures. "The peace we all desired is on the horizon now!" He said with an excited look on his face, which quickly disappeared. "Or...is it?"


    "Is this the peace we wanted?" Anna asked, grabbing onto the audience''s emotions. "Didn''t we want empathy and equality among every one of us? So why is it that we are turning people into disfigured war machines to suppress and even eliminate broken criminals!?"


    As they were talking, John and Harvey''s face slowly warped into an expression of great nervousness.


    "Are some lives more important than others!?" Tomas asked.


    "NO!" Members of the audience shouted.


    "Is the answer to violence more violence!?" Anna asked.


    "NO!!!" The audience angrily shouted.


    "It''s clear that they only care about themselves! They don''t even see their subordinates as humans...just tools!" Tomas stated, riling up the audience even more.


    "This is not true peace..." Anna stated. "We do not, and will not support anyone who agrees with the abominable act of the super soldiers!"


    In response, the crowd went wild with their cheers and roars.


    "W-What...?" John stuttered in utter confusion.


    "...Well, I think that they might be right." President William awkwardly stated. "From the information I received, super soldiers are created by putting the subject under heavy modifications, which is equivalent to torture...it goes against human rights no matter what you say..."


    "But, Mr. President..." Harvey softly uttered in hopes of swaying him. It was futile, however.


    "Sorry. Besides, the Hayes couple said they wouldn''t support anyone who agrees with the super soldiers." William said. "If I''m found to be on the side of the super soldiers, that will hurt my reputation, considering how many followers the Hayes couple has."


    Isn''t that unfair?


    "It''s a shame because I think super soldiers are a good idea...but to keep my reputation, I''m afraid I''ll have to reject your request your funding," William stated as he got up. "If anything changes, which it likely won''t, I''ll change my mind." With that said, William left.


    "John..." Harvey called out. John had a confused expression on his face, as he was stunned by the public speech he heard.


    After all my support for them, they returned it by vilifying the military... vilifying me and ruining my chances at success! I was mad...and I wanted to know how your parents could do this to me!!!


    Immediately driving to the scene, John confronted them after their public speech.


    "Hey!" John called out to them in anger. "What the hell are you guys talking about!!!"


    "Huh? Oh, hello John." Anna greeted him coldly, confusing him.


    It''s as if we''ve never met each other, with how they were acting!


    "...How could you say all those things in your speech! You just put the public against us!!"


    "What...we were just telling the truth," Tomas stated, angering John to the point of clenching his fist.


    "Because of you guys, the president withdrew his funding for Project ''Zero''! What I envisioned is now ruined because of you guys!"


    "I see," Anna said. "At least the president understands that people''s lives aren''t playthings."


    "DAMN IT! YOU GUYS SAW THE NEWS REPORTS OF THE SUPER SOLDIER GETTING RID OF THOSE CRIMINALS! THE IDEA IS GOOD, AND YOU GUYS ARE STILL REJECTING IT!!!"


    "If you think that idea is good, then you should have never joined the military," Tomas said, utterly shocking John. "Let''s go, honey. We have nothing more to say to him."


    "Yes, darling." Without any more exchanging of words, they left. John simply stared in the distance with a shocked expression and widened eyes.


    "Y...You...bastards..."


    Your shit parents honestly thought they would ruin my dream...my reputation...and get away with it!? No, I just had to pay them back!!!

 Ch. 60 - The Truth (Part 3)

    Having my work forcibly shut down by your parents, hatred quickly manifested in me. It intensified as society vilified us for just trying to help them. My ever-increasing anger even affected how I led my platoon of soldiers.


    "Tsk! Can''t you bastards do anything right!" John insulted them as he walked past his men, lined up horizontally. "Apart from the blessed slaughterer, you guys are just useless maggots against blessed criminals!!!"


    Although the soldiers maintained their composure, sweat ran down their faces, indicating a feeling of intimidation.


    "YOU GUYS ARE A WASTE OF TIME!!!" John exclaimed as he suddenly smacked one of his men to the ground, surprising the rest. In fear, the soldier looked at John while on the ground.


    "What!? Aren''t you going to get up, Corporal Mark!?" John angrily inquired. Corporal Mark, as referred to by John, broke out in sweat. "CAN''T YOU TAKE A LITTLE BEATING!!!" John yelled as he repeatedly stomped on Mark''s head. Mark had to protect his head with his arms.


    In my men''s eyes, I went from being a good officer to being unnecessarily cruel, but I never cared about their opinions. My reputation was affected, and my anger was justified. As time passed, the military continued to face backlash due to your parents. I hated their success at my expense, but I had no idea how to get revenge, so I continued abusing my men.


    But like before, Harvey gave me good advice.


    John was once again sitting in Harvey''s office.


    "The Hayes'' popularity has increased like never before," Harvey said. "Even the government has offered their support to them."


    "...Yes, he has," John responded in an annoyed tone.


    "So the amount of traveling they''ve done to speak at different areas has increased exponentially."


    "Yes, it has..."


    "Which means security is even more necessary for them," Harvey added. "Don''t you think?"


    "I''m sorry, I don''t think I follow," John said as he wondered why John was saying all this.


    "I thought...you could ''recommend'' a bodyguard for them," Harvey responded with a smile.


    "Hu--" Suddenly, the memory of Corporal Mark''s fearful face as he was on the ground surfaced in his mind. With widened eyes, John realized what Harvey was alluding to.


    "I-I think I understand."


    "Great...I''m excited to see who you''ll recommend."


    And just like that, an idea was manifested. I didn''t waste any time, and in a few days, I put it into action.


    Entering Harvey''s office was Corporal Mark. He was greeted by the sight of Harvey and John sitting at the side, immediately making him nervous.


    "Have a seat, Corporal," Harvey said with a friendly smile. Hesitating at first, he obliged and sat down. There was a long pause, which made Mark more nervous.


    "Listen, corporal," John said, breaking the silence. "I don''t think you''re cut out for this...you can''t take a little tough training."


    "S-Sir?" He uttered.


    "Be honest, don''t you think you''re unfit for this career?"John asked. "Don''t you want something easier?"


    Mark didn''t answer. He simply held his head down, silently agreeing with his words.


    "You can get an honorable discharge," John suggested. "If you can do one thing for me."


    Holding his head back up, Mark was curious.


    "W-What can I do?" He asked, which caused both John and Harvey to smile.


    "The Hayes couple require more security...sounds like something you could do, right?" John asked.


    "You want me...to be their bodyguard?" Mark assumed.


    "Well...I want you to play the part." John corrected. "Become close with them while you''re at it...that''s a necessity."


    "Oh...how long would I need to be their bodyguards?"


    "Don''t worry, you''ll get more information later," John said. "I hope you''re willing to do anything we tell you."


    "...Okay..."


    Corporal Mark Wright. He was broken, and tired from my treatment, which made him the perfect guy. Remember when I said it took just a few days to implement my idea? Well, without Mark''s knowledge and with the help of Harvey and the military, I had already honorably discharged him. Think of it as erasing any traces back to us...for what''s to come.


    Of course, he was accepted for the position of their bodyguard.


    "It''s a pleasure to have you as our bodyguard, Mr. Wright!" Anna happily said, and behind her was Tomas, giving him a friendly smile.


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    "Um, thank you for this opportunity. I''ll do everything I can to protect you two!" Mark declared.


    Acting as their protection, Mark supported them wholeheartedly in their public speeches. It reminds me of myself when I just met your parents. To be safe, I ensured not to communicate with him. I just had to hope his endeavors were turning out well.


    In his time as their bodyguard, Mark truly became a trustworthy man in their eyes. Going on many outings with them, whether work or leisurely related, Mark was chosen as their main bodyguard. He had accomplished John''s sub-mission of becoming close with them.


    As time passed, a new president was elected. Our president now, President Garfield. In celebration of the successful election, he hosted a large ceremony. He invited numerous people: politicians, celebrities, and even your favorite social activists. Harvey and I were also invited...which meant the final phase of our plan could be initiated.


    In a deserted park, a nervous Mark was sitting on a bench. Suddenly, a man in a black trench coat approached and sat beside him. That man was John.


    "...I thought you didn''t want us to be seen meeting together," Mark said nervously.


    "Tomas and Anna chose you to be their bodyguards for the upcoming ceremony they were invited to, right?" John asked, ignoring his statement.


    "...Yeah."


    "Good, that makes things easier. That will be your last mission...after that, you can retire...live a normal life."


    "...What is it...?" Mark asked.


    "A mass shooting. You''ll disrupt the ceremony by opening fire on the attendees." John nonchalantly stated. In response, Mark stood up in shock.


    "What!?" Mark yelled. "Why must I do that!?"


    "Calm down," John advised. "I simply want to crush the Hayes'' reputation. If you, a trusted member to them, do something as deadly as that, the Hayes'' will be ruined!"


    "This...isn''t what we agreed on!" Mark said. "I was only supposed to protect them...I''m not murdering them!"


    His declaration caused John to become visibly annoyed.


    "I...I have gotten close to them...they truly want this world to be peaceful. It''s not fair that I ruin such nice individuals!"


    "Sigh, you let your emotions get in the way of this..." John said as he rolled his eyes. "If you don''t do what I tell you...you''ll never have a free life."


    "...That''s fi--"


    "You don''t understand." John continued as he didn''t let Mark finish speaking. "This will extend to your family too. I have made contingencies with my comrades in advance. If you refuse this, I''ll kill your family without remorse. No one would even find out since it''s the military that would carry out their murders."


    Hearing this, despair came over Mark''s face. He clenched his fist in frustration as he understood he had no choice.


    "So, are you going to refuse and let your family die?" John said. "It would be a shame to have to murder your fianc¨¦e, Carla Smith."


    Hearing that, Mark began to tear up. "W...Why are you...doing this to me...?"


    "Sigh, stop your crying," John said with annoyance. "Sure, your girlfriend and family might hate you, but when it''s over, I''m sure you''ll get a good ending. You''ll move to a faraway country, get a new identity, and there you can find new love and make a family of your own, or whatever."


    "...It''s not easy...to forget...past relationships..." Mark uttered as tears continued to flow.


    "Well, it''s between accepting the mission and leaving them or rejecting it, and they all die," John explained.


    "...I''ll...I''ll do it." After much thought, Mark relented.


    "Good choice. You should be a good soldier and follow orders," John said with a smirk. "Also, plant some evidence beforehand. You can send messages to their phones about planning the mass shooting. Make sure to delete it afterward. Oh, and be sure to shoot me too...not lethally, but just enough to make it seem more believable."


    "...Okay."


    "Good. I look forward to a successful completion." John said before getting up and walking away, leaving Mark frustrated.


    So now, the pawn accepted the final task I had for him. However, I wasn''t sure that he wouldn''t try to escape the country or anything in secret. So filled with nervousness, I waited for the ceremony, to see the outcome.


    The ceremony took place in a large ball setting. Seated in groups of three and wearing formal clothing, the guests sat around fancy-decorated tables, conversing with one another. Their bodyguards, dressed in suits, stood close by to them. Waiters and waitresses came with prepared meals and served at each table. Also, classical music was played by violinists and pianists.


    On the day of the ceremony, there were numerous well-known individuals. Singers, dancers, politicians...it was a bargain sale of important people. However, who I looked for were your parents. To my happiness, they were there...along with Mark.


    "It seems the main guests are here," John said to Harvey as his eyes were fixated on the Hayes couple. They were happily speaking with other guests. Suddenly, Tomas caught wind of John''s gaze. He suddenly averted his eyes, shocking John.


    "Tch...bastards..."


    John turned his gaze to Mark, who was sweating up a storm. In a shock, Mark noticed John. John smirked, and as if understanding that cue, John became even more stressed.


    "Are you okay, Mark?" Anna asked, noticing his expression.


    "Y...Yeah." Mark replied. "I just need to...use the restroom. I feel a bit under the weather."


    "Oh...Okay." With concern written on her face, Anna allowed him. Wasting no time, Mark headed for the bathroom.


    I''m not sure if his conscience was eating away at him, but he had to go to the restroom. He probably was crying or something. But, I knew he would do it...because he wouldn''t have come here in the first place.


    Time passed, and there was no sign of Mark, which started to make John nervous. But, it was time for President Garfield to thank his guests.


    A younger Garfield stood in the middle of all the guest tables. He was holding a glass of wine in his hand.


    "I just want to thank you all for attending this ceremony." Garfield expressed. "But most importantly, I express my gratitude for choosing me as the next president of the United States. I dedicate this ceremony to you all...I hope you have been enjoying yourselves thus far."


    Looking around, the president could see smiles. Everyone was enjoying their time. Reciprocating the smile, he raised his wine glass in the air.


    "I offer a toast," Garfield suggested. "To build a better country. A world of peace enjoyed by us all."


    Hearing that, John became slightly annoyed. However, he had to mask it as everyone else raised their glass in agreement, and he did the same.


    The president was appealing to everyone...but he was sucking up to Tomas and Anna. I guess like the last president, he didn''t want to be on the bad side of people with a revered reputation. However, I didn''t have to live through this any longer...as finally, the man I was waiting for returned from the restroom.


    Right as they raised their glasses, Mark suddenly barged in, grabbing everyone''s attention. With an unhinged expression and holding an assault rifle, he aimed at the crowd.


    "F-FOR PEACE!!!" He declared before opening fire. John had shot multiple people, including John, Harvey, and the president, causing them to fall to the ground.


    Almost immediately, loud screaming was heard as everyone went into a panic. Some ran around, desperately heading for the escape, while most, including Tomas and Anna, hid underneath their tables.


    "W-What are you doing...?" Tomas asked with a stupefied expression. On the other hand, John, who was clutching his bleeding stomach in immense pain, was smiling.


    The shooting didn''t take long, however, as he was tackled to the ground by numerous bodyguards. Mark didn''t try fighting back. He just accepted it with a depressed expression.


    And that...was what you could call a ''mission success''...

 Ch. 61 - The Truth (Part 4)

    The plan was a success. The ceremony was a disaster; first responders called, and the injured rushed to receive proper treatment.


    As for Mark, he was quickly detained and questioned. I''m sure your parents were bewildered about why he would do something like this, but they were in for an even bigger surprise.


    John was now lying in a hospital bed.


    "Damn, did that bastard Mark have to shoot me in my stomach." John annoyingly stated. "I had to receive an emergency surgery because of him..."


    He proceeded to check his phone. There was a message on his notification.


    "Oh?"


    He opened it, which revealed a voice-recorded audio. It was titled ''Interrogation Footage''. With a sly smirk, he played it.


    "Why did you do it?" By the deep base of the voice, a man presumably asked. "It''s not like you can get away with this, so don''t waste our time and answer."


    "I...I was ordered..." By the voice, John knew it was Mark. In the background, a static noise played.


    "Huh? Ordered? By who?" The interrogator asked.


    "...Tomas and Anna Hayes. They ordered me to do it." Mark softly responded.


    "Huh? The social activist couple that''s been pushing peace?" The interrogator asked in a confused tone. "Stop lying. We''re not in the mood for your games! Hurry up and tell the--"


    Suddenly, Mark released a loud sigh.


    "It isn''t a lie." Mark stated.


    "Sigh, okay. Why would the activists order you to do it, then."


    "I''m sure you guys know, but they believe heavily in everyone''s well-being, which I greatly admire them for. However, some bastards defiled people''s well-being...treating them like pawns." Mark explained. "When we heard that they dared to attend the president''s ceremony...we just had to punish them."


    "Are you...talking about the military officials that attended?" The interrogator asked in suspicion.


    "Well, they''re some of the few."


    "So, they ordered you to murder and endanger the lives of numerous people, including the president...just to punish those people?" Asked the interrogator. "What the hell kind of fanatic mindset is that!?"


    "...There''s proof of them giving me the order if you still don''t believe. They ended the lives of innocent people to create super soldiers. That apathy is useless for this world...and I share their sentiment." Mark explained.


    "...I see. Well, let''s investigate the evidence you claim to have." The interrogator stated. That was the end of the recording. John simply had a smile on his face.


    "Good work, Corporal Wright."


    Mark truly prioritizes his family over everything...how admirable. He even put on a good show in the interrogation. It was annoying he called me a bastard, but that didn''t matter in the end. With that, your parents were incriminated successfully.


    John and Harvey, fully recovered from being shot, were listening to the news on the television in Harvey''s office.


    "Good afternoon, my name is Valerie Madison, bringing you the 5 pm news. I''m sure you''ve all heard, but the magnanimous social activists, Tomas and Anna Hayes, may not be as forgiving as we thought." Valerie began. "Just this morning, they were indicted for organizing a mass shooting, which resulted in multiple deaths, injuries, and even near assassination of President Garfield."


    "Oh, how they have fallen." John mockingly said.


    "Their motivations seem to have stemmed from hatred towards the military for their disregard for human rights in creating the super soldiers."


    Mark''s ''confession'' was then played on television for citizens to hear.


    "The date of their court hearing has yet to be set," Valerie stated.


    As you''d expect, there were many defending the Hayes still. However, their reputation was starting to crumble...but I wanted it destroyed...like they did mine. As the trial drew near, I used my military network to acquire a judge and some jury members...motivated by money. Bribing them to be biased against your parents was simple.


    I did all that I could. Now, it was time to wait for the trial. However, a happy surprise came a couple of weeks before.


    "Good evening, this is Valerie with your 5 pm news. There has been a grim update on the mass shooting. The perpetrator, Mark Wright, was found dead in his cell this morning. He seemed to have taken his life by hanging himself using the bedsheets."


    You don''t know how happy I was when I heard that! It seemed like Mark couldn''t handle the guilt anymore. I was nervous because he was the only person who could have ruined me completely by confessing what happened. But he didn''t! He truly cared about his family!


    But, when I thought of his family, I realized they could be a nuisance. I''ve seen many families thoroughly investigate cases if their relative or a significant other they believe was a good person committed a serious crime. So, to keep them from potentially unraveling my plan, I used some ''trusted men'' to silence them.


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    "S-Silence them?" Harvey asked. "W-What did you do?"


    "Oh yeah, I didn''t tell you about that, huh," John said. "In summary, my men kidnapped, murdered, and discarded their remains."


    "So...that''s why they were reported as missing...for so long."


    "Yes, anyways. Back to the story." John abruptly said, showing no sympathy whatsoever.


    Everything was now in my favor. Your parents had no chance in the trial, and that was proven on the day.


    The trial was a spectacle. Politicians, celebrities, and military officials including me were there to witness the trial. It felt like deja vu from the ceremonial event. It went just how I imagined, with your parents losing.


    Sure, their lawyer gave valid points for the defense, such as how ridiculous it would be for the Hayes to attend the ceremony just to endanger themselves in the mass shooting or how the deleted messages of their plan with Corporal Wright could be falsified, but their defense didn''t matter. The judge and jury were all bought by me, your parent''s executioner.


    The best part of the trial was seeing the despair on their faces...when they were found guilty and slapped with the death sentence. My long revenge plan...had finally been completed.


    So, there was outrage in society. Although your parents'' reputation was as good as done, their most die-hard supporters could not accept your parents'' conviction. With that said, crime rates continued to be an issue.


    I wondered if I could request funding from Garfield to revive my super soldier vision, but it seemed he also had the same idea.


    Once again, John and Harvey were meeting the president in his lounge. However, instead of William, it was Garfield.


    "I never thought we would ever be able to get funding for Project ''Zero''," John said.


    "Yes, I understand the concerns William had with funding it." President Garfield replied.


    Those concerns were obviously because of your parents'' heavy influence on society. Now that they were out of the picture, nothing stopped the president from making the sensible decision.


    "About the super soldiers, creating them wouldn''t result in unnecessary deaths, right?" Garfield asked.


    "Of course not. In creating the ''Blessed Slaughterer'' a couple of years ago, we understood how to create a super soldier without dying. We just did not have the funds to do so." Harvey responded.


    "I see, that''s good then," Garfield said. "One more thing. I''d like to know exactly what Project ''Zero'' is.


    "Ah, Project Zero. It''s named that way because that is what we want for a super soldier - zero room for anymore modifications." John explained. "While a super soldier is already a greatly modified human, we theorize that they can reach their complete limit if every part of their body has become extensively modified."


    "Oh? That does sound interesting." Garfield said. "However, what are the odds that someone will survive that theory?"


    "...Well, the chances are less than five percent," John added, to which the president frowned. "However, with more research, it would become more feasible!"


    "I understand. I will fund your cause." Garfield stated, to which Harvey and John smirked. "However, under the condition that you don''t put any test subjects under that project."


    "...I understand. Thank you." John said with a cold expression.


    There''s always a catch, but at least I could continue my goal of creating super soldiers from years ago.


    Throughout the years of Nathan''s parents'' imprisonment, they tried appealing their sentence numerous times. However, it was futile.


    With my funding, I used the blessed slaughterer, and newly made super soldiers to deal with crimes. As the crime rates decreased, it seemed people finally came to their senses and understood that super soldiers were the true step to peace.


    The best part was that everyone realized your parents were getting in the way. Their spouting of equality and empathy talk and their disdain for how the super soldiers are made, it was nonsense in the grand scheme of things, and they received more hate than ever before.


    I did the same thing they did to me! I vilified them!!!


    "The Blessed Slaughterer and Zombie have defeated S-Class criminal, Hell Spawn," Harvey told John in office.


    "Heh, that guy was a troublesome individual..." John said. "But, he was no match for the super soldiers...just like the rest."


    This lengthy ''battle'' was now ending, as their execution date was set. I was lucky enough to take part in their execution, but before that, I wanted to speak with them...one last time.


    In an interrogation room, John confronted Tomas and Anna. They were sitting in chains with their wrists handcuffed from behind, and their feet cuffed to the chair leg.


    "Hello, guys," John said with a smile. "It''s been a while since we''ve talked, huh."


    "...Why are you here?" Anna asked as they both stared at him with malice.


    "What''s with those stares?" John sarcastically asked. "I was just wondering how you guys were doing...considering your execution is coming up."


    "We do not want to see you, Mr. Walker." Tomas coldly stated.


    "Yeah, I know you hate me. Isn''t that why you tried to kill me?" John countered.


    "We never--"


    "Yeah, yeah. You never did it. That''s what you''ve been saying the entire time. You''ve been pleading your innocence even though you did it."


    "...It doesn''t matter anymore," Anna interjected. "We have accepted death. Our only hope is that whoever orchestrated our downfall, whoever took innocent lives, will be granted no mercy."


    There was a long pause in the room as John processed what she said.


    Ha, your parents didn''t even know that I was the one! How foolish could they be!


    "The ones who have orchestrated this is you two." John continued. "You did irredeemable actions because of your hatred towards me, which is why you''ll be executed!" They coldly stared at John as he mocked them. "If only you guys had woken up, and realized that this is the dawn of the super soldiers!"


    "That is why...we will always hate you." Tomas calmly stated.


    "Haha, likewise."


    Now that I spoke to them, it was all over. I no longer cared about ruining them anymore than I already did. I would talk about the execution...but you saw that with your own eyes. However, when I saw you and realized you were their child, immense anger came over me.


    To think that they ruined me and dared to have an offspring. I originally should have had funding for Project Zero from President William, but they ruined that, and up to this day, I couldn''t put the theory into action. Judging by their faces when they realized their precious son would watch them die, I just had to ruin your life, too!


    Immediately killing you was too boring, so used my network. I bribed people at school to bully you. I bribed your ''friend'' to accuse you of rape. I framed you in numerous crimes. After getting tired of you, I bribed Judge Reid and the jury to sentence you to death for the murders you never committed. I even bribed your lawyer to not show, and planted fake evidence.


    "Well, there you have it, Nathan," John said. "That was all the truth. Kinda long, but I''m sure you were interested till the very end."


    There was a long pause, as everyone, even the super soldiers, had their heads down in shame.


    "So...that''s the truth...huh?" Nathan said. "Pfft!" He suddenly chuckled, surprising everyone.


    "What''s so funny--"


    "I-Is that the truth?" Suddenly, a voice was heard, attracting everyone''s attention.


    "Rebecca!?" John exclaimed in surprise as Rebecca entered the room. With furrowed eyes and gritted teeth, she had a distraught expression written on her face.


    "H-How could you...?"

 Ch. 62 - Monster

    "H-How could...you?" Rebecca softly asked.


    "You were listening?" John inquired with an annoyed tone. "You look rather injured. Why not prioritize treating yourself instead of impolitely eavesdropping?"


    "I noticed...a military vehicle...strangely left outside...so I thought there was a problem...here." She explained in her visible suffering. "But...I overhead...you...and Nathan Hayes..."


    "Hmpf, this conversation wasn''t your business--"


    "We were created...with the blood of innocent people!" Rachel exclaimed as she put her hands on her head in anguish. "Because of a petty grudge...so many lives were lost!"


    The death-bringers looked at Rebecca empathetically, understanding their comrade''s feelings.


    "Instead of eliminating blessed criminals...we unknowingly tormented an innocent person. Y...You used us...to quell your hatred!" She yelled as she shook her head in despair.


    "...Tch, you shouldn''t even be here," John replied. "Instead of dealing with the S-Class criminals, you got injured, and the situation has become worse than it has ever been. You super soldiers have fallen so far from grace. Even after getting information from the cult leader about their whereabouts, you guys still are having such a bad time."


    In response to what John said, the death-bringers and Rebecca looked at him in surprise.


    "W-What? Did y-you get the information...from an S-Class criminal?" Rebecca stuttered.


    "Yes, in return, she would be removed from the criminal list. It was distasteful having to make a deal with a criminal, but I figured it would have been better for you guys to ambush them." John explained. "If only you guys were good guard dogs and killed them from the get-go, my reputation wouldn''t have suffered this much."


    His blatant apathy completely bewildered everyone, to the point of them breaking into sweat.


    I knew everything that you did. Harvey thought. But I never thought you''d go back on your word and kill Corporal Wright''s family...


    "How wretched..." Harvey stated.


    "Truly evil..." Added one of the death-bringers as they disdainfully side-eyed him.


    "You''re really...a monster!" Exclaimed Rebecca.


    "Whatever, I don''t care what you guys think," John responded as he rolled his eyes. "You guys would never understand anyway."


    "Pfft...Ha...Haha." Nathan began to chuckle. His chuckle quickly turned into a heartfelt laugh.


    "Tsk, what the hell is so funny!?" John asked.


    "Haha, sorry. It''s just...I knew my parents were the good ones." Nathan responded.


    I knew it, Mom, Dad. I knew you guys were always innocent. It never mattered what anyone said about you...I always believed. Now I have the truth...and I''m truly happy. I can''t wait to tell Lilith about this!


    Nathan had a bright, genuine smile, which made John even more upset.


    "Wipe that smile off of your face. It doesn''t matter if I told you the truth because you''re dying here!" John stated. "You will never tell anyone about this...not like they would believe a criminal!"


    "I don''t care about telling anyone else." Nathan corrected. "As long as I know my parents were innocent...I''m okay with keeping it to myself. Also, I''m not going to die here...not before I kill you!"


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    "Tsk, what are you death-bringers waiting for!? Kill him already!!!" John ordered. One of them looked at Rebecca, who was still distraught before sighing. They approached the still-restrained Nathan.


    "Damn it..." Nathan muttered. Suddenly, the super soldier delivered a straight to Nathan''s gut. Simultaneously, the other death-bringer stopped restraining him, so Nathan fell to his knees from being punched.


    "Ow, shit!" Nathan uttered as he clutched his stomach.


    "What a tough armor." The death-bringer said to Nathan.


    That didn''t hurt as much as I thought, but he''s going to go for another one!


    That''s exactly what the death-bringer did, as he followed up with a powerful spin kick, which Nathan barely blocked with his hands from striking his face. Although he blocked, he was still sent to the other side of the room, rolling violently and even knocking his head on the ground.


    He lay on the ground momentarily before mustering the strength to get back up.


    My arms...and stomach aren''t hurting that much...it must be because of this armor...but getting rag-dolled like that...hurts...


    "Stop toying with him and end it," John instructed. Obeying, they approached him quickly.


    Shit...think Nathan...what can you do to survive now?


    They were now right in front of him. Clenching their fist, one of them prepared the finishing blow.


    Damn it...at least let me kill John!


    As they were about to strike, the walls suddenly exploded.


    "AAAHHHH!!!!" The officers yelled in surprise. Someone had crashed right into the walls, destroying it upon impact. The rubbles from the wall flew and struck the officers, which grievously injured them.


    "HAHA! JUST AS THE DEVELOPER SAID, YOU WERE HERE, NATHAN!!!" Charles enthusiastically stated as he stood up from out of the rubble. He still had his injuries from attacking the previous military base, but he "Look like you were in danger, huh!?"


    With his vision disoriented from the attacks he received, Nathan noticed him.


    Charles?


    "The battle-crazed killer!?" Harvey exclaimed with a mix of surprise and fear on his face.


    "I see there are four super soldiers! Let''s have fun then!!!" Charles excitedly declared.


    "Shit! Kill him!" John ordered. Wasting no time, the death-bringers rushed him. However, Rebecca was still too distraught to fight.


    The death-bringers all engaged Charles in hand-to-hand combat. Due to not using his physical enhancements, Charles was getting quickly overpowered. Jabs, hooks, and a multitude of kicks, they were able to land it all, forcing him to his knees.


    "How stupid are you to rush into a military base that injured." One of them stated, to which Charles smiled at them. "Do it, Claw."


    "Yeah." ''Claw,'' as referred to by his comrade, responded. From his fingers on his right hand, thick metallic-looking claws emerged. He immediately thrust it into the middle of Charles'' upper back.


    "Ugh!" Charles uttered with a flinch. Claw continued by dragging his claws downward before pulling it out. He left multiple deep gashes in Charles'' back, which bled profusely.


    Yeah, these guys are the real deal! Physical Enhancement - Adrenaline Doping!


    With his muscle mass increasing, Charles suddenly punched the ground with a terrifying amount of force. With a loud boom, the death-bringers were knocked away, and the officers were frightened like never before.


    "Tsk! It''s too dangerous to stay here...I''m leaving!" John said as he frantically got up. He ran to a door behind him with ''Emergency'' written on it and opened it. Harvey, the uninjured, and the mildly injured officers quickly followed behind.


    "Tsk! You''re not getting away!!!" Nathan declared as he chased them.


    "Where do you think you''re going!?" One of the death-bringers shouted before rushing Nathan.


    Adrenaline Doping - Maximum!


    Charles appeared right in front of the super soldier and delivered a right hook to his chin. Charles''s strike produced great winds, which sent the super soldier crashing into the walls and even knocking Nathan to the ground.


    Ugh...did you have to use so much force, Charles?


    "Shadowgun!" Claw called out in concern.


    "Haha! Don''t look away from a fight!" Charles commented.


    "Shut up! I''ll rip your heart out!" In retaliation, Claw charged at him and thrust his claws into his chest. However, he was unable to pierce Charles this time.


    What!? I could have pierced him before! These claws could pierce diamond!


    Charles swiped at Claw, but he narrowly avoided it by jumping backward. Nathan used the opportunity again to chase John.


    I''ll leave these guys up to Charles. Right now, I have to kill that bastard.


    Just like that, Nathan escaped through the emergency exit.


    "Damn it! He''s getting away!" Claw angrily said.


    "It''s fine." The third death-bringer said.


    "How is it fine, Deathgrip!?" Claw asked.


    "We''ll take care of Charles. If Nathan kills them...I suppose it''s karma for what they''ve done." Deathgrip, as called by Claw, explained.


    "But..." Claw muttered. Simultaneously, Shadowgun came out of the rubble and returned to his comrades. His face was badly bruised, but he seemed extremely angry.


    "Charles is a bigger threat right now," Deathgrip stated. "We have to prioritize him now."


    "YEAH! COME AT ME ALL AT ONCE!!!"

 Ch. 63 - Deathbringers

    "YEAH! COME AT ME ALL AT ONCE!!!" At the top of his voice, Charles mightily declared.


    Just as he requested, they simultaneously charged at him. With a quick reaction, Charles grabbed and tossed one of the chairs at Deathgrip.


    "What--" The chair slammed onto the super soldier so hard that it broke apart upon impact, slowing Deathgrip''s movements, if only temporarily.


    "Damn!" Claw uttered as he and Shadowgun lunged at both sides of Charles. They each delivered a straight. It was ineffective, however, as Charles took the strikes with each of his arms.


    Their efforts were not completely in vain, as they noticed Charles''s arms shaking somewhat after blocking their strikes.


    Heh, with these injuries from having fun fighting in military bases, I''m not in my best condition.


    With Deathgrip catching up, the trio of death-bringers engaged Charles in close-quarters combat.


    Unleashing a flurry of punches, kicks, and occasionally strange grabs from Deathgrip, Charles was on the backpedal, trying to dodge them. As if dancing throughout the room, Charles and the super soldiers fought each other while avoiding the furniture.


    They would flip and hop over the chairs and even hop onto the center table, which the officers sat around to continue their battle.


    These guys are fighting in sync! How entertaining!


    Suddenly, Deathgrip grabbed Charles''s forearm. Charles immediately tried shaking him off, but he surprisingly couldn''t.


    What a strong grip!


    Following up, Claw swiped at Charles''s face, slapping him right through the room''s walls once again. Blood seeped down Charles''s face as claw marks were etched on his cheek.


    For some reason, I can''t pierce him like before...but I can at least scratch him with my claws.


    Wiping the blood from his face, Charles smirked. Quickly turning his smirk to curious interest, he noticed Shadowgun making the finger-gun gesture.


    BANG!


    With a loud noise and a flash of yellow sparks emitting from his index finger, a bullet was fired, which caused Charles to instinctually dodge. Not only did the bullet penetrate the wall, but it penetrated all the walls of the military base and soared in the distance outside.


    "Wow!" Charles said as he looked pleasantly surprised.


    "Tsk, I wanted to kill you with that bullet, but I guess I''m a bit rusty," Shadowgun said with disappointment. Strangely, he began twisting his arm. He twisted it until it came right off.


    The inside of his arm seemed to look like the inner mechanisms of a gun, which surprised Charles.


    "Seems like everything''s in order..." Shadowgun said. At the same time, Deathgrip looked over to Rebecca, still in despair after John''s confession.


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    "Tsk! Can''t you snap out of it, Rebecca!" Deathgrip yelled. "You''re on the higher end of super soldiers, so why don''t you help instead of sulking!?"


    "...I...I''m sorry..." Rebecca softly spoke. Suddenly, what Frank said had resurfaced in her memory.


    Risking your lives to kill us while your superiors made deals with the same people you call criminals. Poor little puppet...you don''t realize that your superiors only care about themselves!


    "M-My friends...were killed because of our superiors''...greed..." Rebecca muttered. "I...I can''t fight...now..."


    Deafening silence filled the room as everyone listened.


    "Oh well, it doesn''t look like she''ll be a good fight," Charles stated. "She''s weakened both physically and mentally right now...you guys can continue to entertain me, though!!!"


    He immediately dashed at them to resume the fight. They were more than ready as Shadowgun fired a couple more bullets after making the finger gun gesture. Charles weaved them barely, but they grazed his abdomen, causing mild bleeding.


    Powering through, Charles used his full strength and struck Claw by delivering a thrust kick, which he preemptively blocked. He got knocked through multiple rooms.


    Simultaneously, Rebecca could be seen limping her way to the emergency exit.


    W...What is my purpose...? Rebecca thought. Am I...a tool...for our superiors to get rid of things they hate...or am I a tool...to eliminate the blessed criminals...


    Although I''m pretty injured, my physical capabilities are still enough to do significant damage to them...all I need to do is to break up their teamwork by splitting them up! Charles thought as he was sent through the rooms.


    Charles immediately pursued Claw, surprising the other two. As Charles ran through the rooms, bullets pierced the walls and flew passed him. Shadowgun was trying to shoot him by attempting to predict where he would go. He did not get any lethal hits, but he did graze Charles several times.


    "It doesn''t seem like you understand which super soldiers you''re dealing with," Deathgrip said as he chased Charles. Suddenly, Claw lunged at Charles, swiping at him multiple times with his metallic claws. They left even more bleeding scratch marks on his body.


    Charles started to weave the rest of his swipes, but before counterattacking, he was shot right through his right leg. The perpetrator was Shadowgun, who entered the same room Charles and Claw were in.


    "Ugh!" Charles groaned as he mildly lost balance. Claw did not waste the opening and swiped at Charles''s left eye with his claws.


    "Ouch!!" Charles yelled as he instinctively closed his now bleeding eyes.


    "Super soldiers specialized for murder," Deathgrip said. "One with claws that could cut diamonds, another with a modified hand cannon with bullets capable of piercing anything..."


    Suddenly, Deathgrip lunged at Charles, who was distracted from being shot in the leg and scratched in the eye, wrapping his hands around Charles''s neck.


    "And one with grip strength like any other, capable of strangling anyone and anything...finally, I got my hands on you."


    Suddenly, Charles started to choke as his grip got stronger. Immediately, Charles tried grabbing his hands in an attempt to remove his grip, but to no avail.


    "It won''t work. These modified arms are like a vice...it''ll involuntarily squeeze on anything I wrap my hands around."


    He was right, as Charles''s neck was being squeezed more and more. Bone-crushing sounds were audible as Deathgrip was ruthlessly strangling Charles while smiling. Claw and Shadowgun simply watched while also smiling as Charles was audibly choking.


    T...This is...the closest to death...I''ve been...in a while...!!!


    Suddenly, Charles grabbed Deathgrip''s neck, specifically the area of his Adam''s apple.


    "Hu--" Before Deathgrip could say anything, Charles mercilessly tore his entire throat out from his body, greatly surprising the other death-bringers.


    "DEATHGRIP!" Claw and Shadowgun simultaneously yelled. Although Deathgrip seemed mortified by what Charles did, he was right about his hands involuntarily gripping like a vice as it continued squeezing Charles''s neck.


    Haha! These guys'' teamwork damaged me this much! I''ll use my full strength then...to take them down in one shot!!! Charles internally decided.


    Having enough of being strangled, Charles grabbed Deathgrip''s face and slammed him into the ground, with everything he had.


    "Wai--"


    BOOM!!!

 Ch. 64 - Acknowledgement

    Meanwhile, Nathan pursued John and the officers. Upon leaving the military base, Nathan noticed them frantically entering military vehicles.


    "Tsk! Nathan''s coming!? How did he slip past the death-bringers!?" Harvey asked in confusion.


    "It doesn''t matter, get the hell in!" John responded as he entered the passenger''s side. Snapping out of the confusion, Harvey entered the driver''s side and started the vehicle.


    These bastards think I''m letting them get away!?


    In response, Nathan materialized a military vehicle and hopped in immediately.


    Great...does this make the third car chase? At least I''m not the one getting chased this time...


    With quick acceleration, Harvey drove through the open gates of the base, with Nathan following suit. Harvey did not take much time to accelerate to the maximum speed - nearly 100 mph.


    However, Nathan''s vehicle was faster, which he took advantage of.


    "If we lure Nathan to super soldiers, we''ll be perfectly safe!" Harvey said as he drove. He seemed to be sweating. "I just have to keep this speed--"


    BANG!


    Nathan rammed into the rear of Harvey''s military vehicle, resulting in them swerving left to right as the car went out of control.


    "TSK! DAMMIT!" Harvey yelled as he desperately tried to regain control, which he successfully did after a few seconds of swerving.


    "THAT DAMN KID! WHY IS HE SO HELLBENT ON GETTING IN MY WAY!!??" John yelled.


    "HAHA! There''s more where that came from!" Nathan shouted.


    CLANG! CLANG!


    Nathan could hear his vehicle getting pelted with bullets. Looking through the rear-view mirror, he noticed the officers approaching with several military vehicles. The officers on the passenger side were leaning out the window and firing at Nathan.


    "We gotta take this bastard down!" An officer yelled to his comrades. They kept a decent distance behind Nathan while driving at a constant speed.


    Tsk, these shitheads are still helping trash like them...I don''t have time for this. Let''s use one of those gadgets or whatever the blacksmith made for me.


    In his hand, Nathan suddenly materialized a strange-looking explosive. It was a blue sphere with many red spots on it.


    "Hmm, the cluster grenade," Nathan remarked while looking at it intently. "Hopefully, this will be good."


    After winding his window down, Nathan pulled the pin on the cluster grenade. Suddenly, the red spots began flashing.


    "Wow..." Nathan said before tossing it out the window, right to the pursuing officers.


    "SHIT! WHAT IS THAT!?" An officer yelled as he saw the grenade rolling on the ground. They had no time to react, as the numerous red spots ejected from the sphere omni-directionally. Instantaneously, they all exploded, displaying why it got that name as it produced a cluster of explosions.


    "WHAT THE HELL!?" Harvey exclaimed as he and John looked at the explosion in their respective rear-view mirrors, with extreme shock on their faces.


    What resulted in the burst of explosions were destroyed military vehicles rolling around, which got engulfed in flames.


    "Jeez...I didn''t think it would be that effective..." Nathan muttered. "Well, I feel no pity...those guys were also trash anyways."


    After dispatching the officers, Nathan could now focus on John and Harvey. Up ahead, they were approaching a cliff road as well.


    Once again, Nathan began ramming into their vehicle, causing Harvey to frantically regain control.


    "SHIT! HE''S INSANE!" John yelled in frustration.


    Following up, Nathan materialized a cartridge of ammunition. The bullets seemed to have a golden glow to them.


    Sper-piercing ammo made by the blacksmith... let''s see if it''s as effective as it implies in the name.


    Nathan quickly proceeded to empty the cartridge of his assault rifle and load in the super-piercing ammo. Aiming through his window at their military vehicle, Nathan began shooting Harvey''s rear tires.


    With only a few bullets, the seemingly bulletproof tires were quickly stripped of their rubbers, with sparks emitting from them. As Harvey drove, a trail of sparks was coming from the back of the vehicle as the rims made contact with the road.


    "DAMMIT! THE REAR TIRES ARE GONE!" Harvey exclaimed in frustration as he desperately kept the vehicle straight to not fall over the cliff.


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    "Just keep going straight!" John advised. "At least there are no turns--"


    As if jinxing themselves, they noticed a bend up ahead.


    "Goddammit! There''s no way this vehicle will turn in time with two working wheels!" Harvey said as his frustration became more visible.


    "J-Just slow down! You can make the turn if you slow down!" Harvey suggested.


    "B-But what about Nathan--"


    As they reached the bend, Nathan suddenly rammed into them for the third time, but this occurrence yielded a different result. The force of being rammed, plus the damaged tires, caused their vehicle to go right off the cliff.


    "SHIT!!!" Harvey yelled as both he and John could only watch their demise with extreme panic.


    As they descended the cliff, the vehicle violently smashed against the rocky side of the cliff multiple times. Finally, they crashed to the ground with their vehicle turning upside down.


    Stopping his vehicle, Nathan stood at the edge of the cliff. He coldly looked down. There were no responses from Harvey or John.


    "Hmm, that death doesn''t feel deserving, considering everything you''ve done," Nathan said. "But...good riddance, bastards."


    BOOM!


    Suddenly, the military base that Nathan had left exploded, which surprised him.


    "What the..." Nathan uttered in shock as he looked in that direction. He noticed a massive plume of smoke rising. "What is Charles doing?"


    As if knowing Nathan was speaking about him, Charles suddenly landed in front of him. Immediately, however, Charles fell to the ground, violently coughing. Nathan noticed the extensive injuries he had on his body, even the bruises on his neck from being strangled by Deathgrip.


    "A-Are you okay, Charles?" Nathan asked with a mix of confusion and concern.


    With a big smirk and a thumbs-up gesture, Charles assured Nathan. "I...m all...good!"


    I never thought I''d see this freaking superhuman get so messed up.


    "That''s enough...warm up..." Charles spoke in a hoarse and strained voice due to his injured neck. "Time for...the fight. I''ve been looking forward to it!"


    "Fight!? How the hell can you fight in that condition!?" Nathan inquired.


    "Ye...ah, I gotta find...the doctor. It would be...stupid...to not fight him...at my best!" Charles replied.


    "How can we find the doctor without running into enemies--"


    Interrupting Nathan, they heard a car horn, attracting their attention. Behind them was a grey work van, with the blacksmith waving to the duo from the driver''s seat. Along with the blacksmith was the doctor in the passenger''s seat.


    "Hello, boys!" The blacksmith greeted.


    Where the hell did they come from!?


    Parking the van, the NPCs disembarked and approached them.


    "Perfect...timing..." Charles commended.


    "Jeez...why do you guys have to injure yourselves so badly!?" The doctor remarked with concern in her voice. Using her green healing light, she placed her hands in front of Charles, relieving him of his injuries rather quickly.


    "Haha! I feel amazing now!" Charles ecstatically noted as he flexed his muscles.


    "Where''s Lilith?" Nathan asked the blacksmith.


    "Don''t you worry your little head, Nathan," The blacksmith said. "She''s with the NPC. No one could harm Lilith with him as her bodyguard."


    For some reason, I don''t doubt that...


    "I tried out a couple of the weapons you gave me," Nathan added. "It''s way better than--"


    "Hold that thought, someone''s coming." The blacksmith interjected. "We gotta go. We can''t let anyone see us yet."


    "Huh?"


    Frantically, the blacksmith and doctor hopped in their work van and drove off.


    "I''ve asked this before, but who the hell are those guys..." Nathan questioned, and Charles scratched his head in confusion.


    "...Nathan."


    Hearing the voice, Nathan and Charles turned around. Just as the blacksmith notified about a person approaching, the injured Rebecca came up.


    "What!? You''re alive?" Charles asked. "I thought you would die when the base fell apart!"


    "...Just as you said...I couldn''t help my comrades defeat you with the way I am now..." Rebecca admitted. "Many things...are eating away at me...and I can''t seem to shake it..."


    Isn''t she going to get medication for those wounds? Nathan thought.


    "For now, I''ll say this, Nathan..." Rebecca said before suddenly lowering her head, shocking Nathan.


    "I am truly sorry...for all the suffering you experienced..." Rebecca apologized. "You were right, always right, Nathan. We are similar. We both had lost people close to us and were persecuted relentlessly without any reason...although you were just an ordinary civilian..."


    Hearing an apology directed towards him, Nathan couldn''t help but cringe.


    "I am sorry that we ruined your life..."


    "Tch! What''s done is done!" Nathan responded with frustration. "Go back to wanting to kill me! Why are you trying to make it hard for me to hate you!? Don''t tell me you want to switch sides or something--"


    "That''s...not it," Rebecca replied. "I understand the suffering you went through at the hands of my corrupted superiors, so the very least you deserve...is an apology. But my original purpose is to eliminate blessed criminals...and you and your comrades have committed many crimes. If I continue living, I will fulfill that purpose...and nothing more, I promise this."


    With her resolve, Charles couldn''t help but grin.


    Oh ho, looks like you could be entertaining!


    "...I see," Nathan said. "Let''s go, Charles."


    "...You''re leaving?" Rebecca asked.


    "Yeah, you''re not in the condition for fighting now...so there''s no point," Nathan responded.


    Yes, Rebecca, that''s how it should be...I''m an unlucky bastard turned criminal, and you''re a good-natured super soldier who had corrupted superiors. Even though we have similar experiences, we are enemies, so let''s focus on that alone...


    "You''re making a mistake..." Rebecca said.


    "...I know," Nathan said. "I don''t have a grudge on you, so we''ll settle this later."


    Just like that, Charles and Nathan went off. Rebecca simply watched as they left her, not even trying to pursue them.


    "I should...get patched up now," Rebecca said as she looked down the cliff to the military vehicle. Letting a sigh, she walked off.


    * * *


    Upon closer look at the military vehicle, the passenger side suddenly flew open. Suddenly, John dragged himself out. He was bleeding extensively, and he was injured, but he was alive.


    Mustering the strength, he got to his feet. He immediately clutched his left arm as if trying to soothe the pain.


    "Ah...ouch..." With groans of agony, John was limping away.


    "He...Help...me..." Harvey softly pleaded from in the car, grabbing John''s attention. He was gravely injured and bleeding heavily, but his condition was much worse. Through the window, Harvey was impaled in the chest by a sharp rock. He had gotten impaled as the car rolled down the cliff.


    "P-Please...he...lp. I don''t...want to die..." Harvey desperately pleaded with hopelessness and fear on his face. John, however, noticed that the car was smoking and that even a small fire was forming at the hood.


    There''s no way...I can help him in our conditions. Plus, I wouldn''t anyway. I remember you calling me wretched when Rebecca showed up...


    Coldly, John averted his gaze from Harvey and continued limping away, much to his despair.


    "J...John...?" The last thing Harvey saw as his vision blurred was John limping away. The vehicle quickly engulfed in flames.


    I value how much help you''ve given me in the past, Harvey...but this is where it ends.

 Ch. 65 - Zacks Side Mission (Part 1)

    After leaving Rebecca, Nathan traveled in his military vehicle at maximum speed, with Charles on the passenger side. Strangely tapping his fingers on the dashboard and clicking his tongue sometimes, Charles seemed rather annoyed.


    "Is something the matter?" Nathan asked.


    "With this slow vehicle, we''ll never reach the good stuff!" Charles responded.


    "Well, this is the best I can do with what I have," Nathan replied. "Unlike you, I don''t have access to beyond fighter-jet-like speed."


    "Wait, that''s a great idea!"


    "What is--"


    Suddenly, Charles grabbed and pulled Nathan out of the moving car. No longer having anyone to control it, the vehicle went off-road.


    "What the hell are you doing!?" Understandably, Nathan asked. Charles held Nathan like a bag of potatoes without responding to his question.


    "Wait, you''re not going to...?"


    "Haha! It''s way faster like this!" Charles excitedly stated. "Let''s go!"


    In a sonic boom, Charles rushed forth, which caused Nathan''s head to jolt back from the force.


    "LET''S GO!!!"


    This guy''s insane!!!


    * * *


    Returning to the military base (or what''s left of it, at least) was Rebecca. The first thing she noticed was Shadowgun and Claw, who carried the body of Deathgrip on his back.


    "Oh, you''re alive, Rebecca." Claw noted with a smile. "I thought you''d have been trapped under the building like us when Charles destroyed it."


    Seeing the state that Deathgrip''s throat was in (after being torn out by Charles), along with Shadowgun and Claw''s injured states, Rebecca couldn''t help but lower her head in sorrow.


    Deathgrip''s...dead...isn''t he...?


    "I-I''m sorry...because of my uselessness, I didn''t help you guys..."


    "Don''t worry, Rebecca. We understand how you felt." Shadowgun said in an attempt to comfort her. "We don''t hold grudges with our fellow super soldiers that easily, especially after hearing what Sergeant John did."


    "But..."


    "Besides, I''m sure you''ve had a hard time too, haven''t you." Claw added.


    Immediately, Rebecca remembered Ethan and Sebastian''s deaths.


    "Yeah..."


    But I won''t be useless anymore. I won''t lose again.


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    "Well, the battle-crazed killer didn''t destroy the entire base, so we should fix ourselves up," Shadowgun suggested before taking his cell phone out of his pocket. "We also should alert the Queen Deathbringer about the situation..."


    * * *


    In a different part of the city was a ruined area littered with the bodies of numerous soldiers and even super soldiers, although to a lesser amount.


    Walking around and observing the disaster was the Queen Deathbringer.


    "Damn, the unknown perpetrators have already left. I was too late." She said. Suddenly, her cellular device started ringing.


    "Hmm, hello?" The Queen Deathbringer answered. Silence filled the air as she listened to the other end of the call.


    "Ugh...oooowww..." Surprising the queen deathbringer, was John groaning in pain from the other side of the phone.


    "S-Sergeant John?"


    "Dammit...h--hurry up...and help...me!" John uttered. "I''m...dying...over here..."


    "...What!?" She suddenly uttered.


    * * *


    Changing the scene to Zack, he was at a different location. He was pulling up in a vehicle to a military base.


    "Uh, I''m here," Zack stated.


    "Good, you remember the plan, right." The developer responded from the car''s radio.


    "Yeah, retrieve the truck of explosives that the military confiscated, then drop it off," Zack said. "I can see how that would help everyone in the fight, but how will it help Olivia get outta prison?"


    "It''ll all work out. You just need to listen to me." The developer assured. "My current ideal is for all my game characters to stay alive."


    Current ideal?


    "By the way, while the large majority of soldiers are gone to help in the search and destroy mission, there are still a few at this base, so you better be careful."


    "Okay," Zack said before he opened the car door. Before leaving, however, he picked up a backpack lying on the passenger''s seat.


    Alright, Zack...you let your friends down with Ada...but you have a chance now. It''s my time to shine!


    Encouraging himself, he entered the military base.


    "Who the hell is that!?" A soldier said as he spotted Zack. Before he could do anything, Zack had hid behind one of their parked armored vehicles. Knowing this wasn''t a regular person by their behavior, they brandished their guns.


    Okay, it doesn''t seem like there are a lot...thank goodness.


    Sticking his hand into his backpack, Zack pulled out a couple of dynamites. Immediately, he chucked them over the vehicle and at the soldiers. As they soared through the air, the dynamites started to glow orange.


    "Wha--"


    BOOM!...BANG!


    Although the dynamites were not lit, they exploded. Tossing the soldiers and even moving their vehicles, the explosions had a concussive force well beyond the usual explosive yield of a dynamite.


    Instinctively, the surviving soldiers took cover, but that was when Zack made his move. Moving from his cover, Zack ran around and tossed more dynamites, quickly filling the place with more explosions.


    "AAAHHHHH!!!" A soldier screamed as he was missing both his legs. His pain was relieved after being blown up by another explosion.


    It did not take much time for Zack to get rid of the soldiers.


    "Wow, I always knew since you are my game character, but you''re quite capable, huh?" The developer said to Zack on his phone. Although his phone stayed in his pocket, the developer spoke loudly enough for him to hear.


    "Phew, I''m glad that I got these from the blacksmith. My ability is a cheat code in times like this." Zack said with a smug smirk. "Now, let''s go find that trailer."


    "Probably, it''s kept in a vehicle storage warehouse." The developer responded.


    "Yeah, good point," Zack said as he looked over to a large warehouse on the right of the heart (headquarters) of the military base. "Let''s go--"


    Suddenly, Zack heard footsteps, which were rapidly becoming louder. In a shock, he quickly spun around. Much to his surprise, Zack noticed a fist just inches from his face. In the nick of time, he put his hands up to block.


    When he was struck, the force was enough to send Zack into a car that was heavily damaged by his dynamites.


    "Ugh, freaking hell..." Zack muttered as his arms were trembling. "That...hurt."


    "You''re the terrorist bomber, right?" The one that attacked Zack inquired. It was a super soldier. With popping sounds audible, he was cracking his knuckles. "Just my lucky day...you''re not leaving this place alive, especially after what you did to these guys."


    Damn it...a super soldier is the last person I want to see...

 Ch. 66 - Zacks Side Mission (Part 2)

    Damn it...a super soldier is the last person I want to see...


    "I''m not sure if you are blessed or not, but since you took out so many soldiers by yourself, I should get rid of you." The super soldier assumed.


    "Get rid of this!" Zack yelled as he reached into his bag. Before he could toss a stick of dynamite, the super soldier interrupted by rushing forth and delivering a strike to Zack''s gut.


    "Ugh!" Zack uttered as he slammed into the military vehicle again. The super soldier followed up with a powerful straight punch to Zack''s face, which he narrowly avoided by running to the left. His punch left a dent in the vehicle.


    What? This guy is weirdly tough?


    As he ran, Zack tossed an explosive at the super soldier, which instantly began glowing. In shock, the super soldier quickly avoided it while the dynamite simultaneously exploded. The blast radius was more than he expected, as the super soldier got knocked to the ground.


    Tsk! Those aren''t normal at all!


    While the super soldier was on the ground, Zack used the opportunity to plan his next moves. Moving at speeds above normal means, he littered the armored vehicles with dynamites.


    "You should be more frugal with the explosives." The developer advised. "It''s not like you got a lot."


    "Yeah, I know..." Zack responded. "I only have a couple left..."


    Regaining his bearings, the super soldier rushed Zack once again. Zack was ready, however, as he detonated a dynamite beside an armored car, which got propelled, causing it to slam into the super soldier.


    "DAMMIT!" The super soldier exclaimed as he got knocked away yet again. After being thrown near another vehicle, Zack gave him no time to rest as he detonated a dynamite underneath it. The super soldier got propelled through the air from the blast.


    This son of a bitch! What the hell is he doing to me!?


    The super soldier had visible injuries such as burns and bleeding, which accumulated as Zack continued to detonate more dynamites he had placed. As if becoming a pinball, the super soldier got violently tossed around by explosives.


    Shit! I can''t...do any...thing!


    The dynamite explosions damaged the cars to the point of blowing up, resulting in secondary explosions. When Zack''s explosive combo was over, the super soldier fell to the ground unresponsive. He was severely damaged, and his super soldier uniform was also in tatters. Not to mention, the vehicles got destroyed, and parts of the environment were in flames.


    "Ha...Haha! I did it!" Zack said with a relieved expression. "I was worried for a second...phew!"


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    With that said Zack made his way to the military vehicle storage warehouse. He couldn''t open the warehouse door, so he simply did what he had always done - use a stick of dynamite. He blew a large hole into the door and casually went inside.


    "Alright, now where is that trailer..." Zack said as he looked around. He noticed armored cars, trucks, humvees, and even bikes around. Finally, he located the trailer, which was kept towards the back of the storage house.


    "There it is."


    With a look of joy, Zack made his way to the trailer.


    With this, I can make it up to my friends!


    "You damn bastard!!" The super soldier uttered in a rage-filled tone, startling Zack.


    "You''re still alive--" Zack said as he frantically turned around, to which he saw a steel rod (which the super soldier had thrown) hurdling towards his face. By the skin of his teeth, Zack tilted his face to avoid being run through by the rod. It, however, grazed his cheek, slicing it open to the point of exposing his premolars at the side.


    "OOOWWW!!!" Zack yelled as he felt the sharp pain in his cheek.


    While Zack was in pain, the super soldier immediately punched Zack in the face with a left hook and then followed it up with a right hook. Blood flew out of Zack''s mouth and the side of his cheek, which got torn off. He then struck Zack in the nose with a knee strike.


    Not letting up, the super soldier grabbed and violently slammed Zack''s face into a vehicle. In his frenzy, he delivered a straight to Zack''s gut, causing him to cough up blood. He tried going for another with his left hand, but Zack suddenly put his backpack in the way, which was glowing.


    "WHAT THE--"


    Suddenly, the backpack exploded and propelled them both on opposite sides, with Zack getting thrown into the wall.


    While lying on the ground, the super soldier felt an intense pain in his left arm, or what''s left. The explosion had blown off his left arm and left extensive burns on his body. His uniform was greatly damaged, which revealed his severely burnt chest. Immediately, he clutched the bleeding stump of his left arm and coughed up blood.


    Ah! DAMMIT, MY ARM! Super soldiers have a much higher pain tolerance...but this hurts like hell!!!


    With him slouched over as he leaned on the wall, Zack was significantly injured as well. Blood ran down his head, from his mouth, and even from his slit cheek as a result of the beating he had received. Beside Zack was the steel rod that the super soldier tossed.


    "That was a dangerous thing you just did." The developer said.


    "I take...less damage...from my own explosions..." Zack responded in a low tone. "But...why is he...still alive...that was my last explosive..."


    Damn it...Ada was right...I''m useless...all the other guys have defeated super soldiers, but I can''t even take out this one guy...


    Using his tattered uniform, the super soldier tied it around his severed arm in an attempt to stop the bleeding.


    I noticed...it before...but that criminal is way more durable than a normal person...I struck him six times...and he''s still up! Is his body modified...? Whatever...it doesn''t matter...That damned bastard...he scarred me for life! I''m going to kill that piece of shit!


    Mustering his strength, the super soldier very slowly stood to his feet. Swaying from side to side, he could barely stand.


    "Zack, aren''t you going to get up?" The developer asked.


    Taking a step, the super soldier approached him slowly. Zack was still leaning on the wall, seemingly waiting for his death.


    All I just gotta do...is beat him to death with my fist...


    "Aren''t you going to help your friends?" The developer said in an attempt to encourage Zack.


    "Is that...bastard...talking to himself...?" The super soldier muttered as he noticed Zack''s mouth was moving.


    "My...friends...?"


    "Yeah, did you forget where you started?" The developer added. "Are you really going to end the same way you started?"


    Where...I started?


    Suddenly, a memory surfaced in Zack''s mind. In his memory, a male silhouette was visible and shouting at him, with a female silhouette visibly angry towards Zack.


    HOW USELESS! WHY THE HELL WERE YOU EVEN BORN, HUH?


    "Oh yeah...that''s where I started..."

 Ch. 67 - Development

    "Oh yeah...that''s where I started..." Zack said.


    I started as a child born into a home from parents devoid of any empathy for their son...


    "USELESS! WHY THE HELL CAN''T YOU DO ANYTHING RIGHT!!!" In his memory, the silhouette of an adult male was shouting at a younger Zack.


    "You are nothing but a disappointment of an offspring." The silhouette of an adult female responded.


    Birthed from successful parents, I was expected to be just as successful, if not more, but those bastards took it to another level. If I did anything that was even slightly below what they''d want, I''d get abused relentlessly.


    "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!" The male silhouette exclaimed as he violently beat Zack with a leather belt. Belt Scars could be seen on his body as Zack profusely cried.


    "SHUT YOUR DAMN CRYING!" The mother yelled as her silhouette sat on a brown leather couch and watched television. "DON''T EXPECT ANY DINNER TODAY FOR YOUR SUBPAR PERFORMANCE!!!"


    To the outsider''s eyes, I''m sure they were nice, but to me, they were monsters. For as long as I remembered, I was their plaything, which all their abuse was meant for.


    I couldn''t even have fun. They wouldn''t allow me to make friends in school and only wanted me to focus on excelling in my studies.


    "I''m...going to leave for school now..." A teenage Zack said to his parents.


    "Hurry up and get the hell out." The mom said as she was reading the newspaper and drinking what seemed to be tea. With a depressed expression, Zack opened the door.


    "Oh, and don''t forget..." The dad added. "If I hear you''re making any friends and not focusing on school...I''ll beat the shit out of you."


    "...Okay."


    As I aged, the abuse only got worse. With people being born with abilities becoming increasingly common, they wanted a child with one, but their disdain for me only grew when I showed no signs of power.


    "GODDAMMIT! YOU''RE SHIT IN ACADEMICS, ATHLETICS, AND YOU DON''T EVEN HAVE ANY OF THOSE BLESSED POWERS!!!" The mother berated Zack as he silently listened. "AND NOW YOU''RE JUST LYING AROUND INSTEAD OF STUDYING!!!"


    "...Sigh..."


    "DID YOU JUST SIGH AT ME!?" The mom snapped. "DO YOU WANT ME TO KILL YOU!?"


    "...I''m not even bad in academics..." Zack softly responded. "I''m third in my class--"


    Before he could finish talking, the female silhouette smacked him across the face, causing Zack''s head to knock into the wall.


    "YOU THINK THIRD PLACE IS GOOD ENOUGH!? HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND!?" The mom said as she repeatedly slapped him. Zack''s face quickly became red. "I SUPPOSE I SHOULD KNOCK SOME SENSE INTO YOU! WAIT UNTIL YOUR DAD COMES HOME FROM WORK!!!"


    Those monsters never gave me anything good. On top of the abuse and pressure I experienced daily, I was forced to take part-time jobs to acquire ''job experience''. Well, I guess if all that stuff to erode my mental state never took place, I wouldn''t have watched what I did on that day.


    Coming home from school, Zack noticed that his parents weren''t home. Cautiously, Zack looked around the house to make sure.


    "T...They aren''t home..." Zack said. "They probably have a busy day at work..."


    He stood for a second before snickering. Immediately, he turned on the television.


    "Finally, I can finally watch the TV!"


    Without any hesitation, Zack searched for movies. He watched a few movies in different genres, even violent action movies, which he enjoyed. As he watched the films, it quickly became late evening, and his parents were not home.


    "Hmm...that''s strange," Zack said as he ate chips on the couch. "My parents were never this late..."


    Suddenly, he heard a knock on the door.


    "Oh...they are here!!!" Zack said as he frantically turned off the television and brushed off any crumbs off the couch. Feeling contempt with his covering of evidence, he opened the door.


    "Good even--"


    "Are you Zack Isaac?" An unknown man said. The male seemed to be wearing a trench coat, and beside him was another male, both wearing officer badges.


    "Huh?"


    "We have...unfortunate news." The other officer said. "You might need to sit down to hear this."


    The reason why my parents weren''t home that day was made clear. They were murdered in an alleyway, as told by the officers that came to my house. They were killed by a serial killer who was at large. However, I never felt any sadness.


    "Thank you...for letting me know, officers," Zack said as the silhouettes left.


    "If you need anything...we will be there for you..." The officer with a trench coat stated. After they exited, Zack quickly locked the door.


    There was no noise as Zack was silent. Suddenly, a twisted smile emerged on his face.


    "Ah, finally..."


    Even though I hated them, I still attended their funeral. Seeing them go six feet under was my way of severing all ties. But I guess they still had control over me...even after death, as I attended school to become successful...so I wouldn''t become useless like they said I was.


    I was nearly 18 when they died, and I could care for myself, so I continued to live alone in their house. Since no one was at the house to abuse me, I could do things like watch the television more...I even got into a habit of...watching the news more.


    "Please beware of the serial killer, Jack the Ripper, as deemed by law enforcement, who is at large." The news reporter said as Zack was watching the television. "His modus operandi involves torturing his victims by either cutting off their body parts or even eviscerating them, before murdering them by decapitating or removing their hearts."


    "Wow, what a sociopath," Zack said. "I wonder if this is the guy who killed my parents."


    "Unlike most serial killers, there are reports of him murdering at any time of the day. It''s suspected that he has a speed blessing. Please, if you see his whereabouts, contact the nearest police station."


    "He attacks at any time of the day, huh?" Zack said. "He doesn''t worry about anything, huh...how envious."


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    I was oddly fascinated with him, so I''d always watch the television and even search the web for any updates about Jack. For two years, I''d follow up on Jack, even to the day he was caught.


    "Ladies and gentlemen of America, the worst mass murderer known as Jack the Ripper has been apprehended." The reporter said, which piqued Zack''s interest. "Jack the Ripper, real name Jack Knight, is responsible for the murders of over a thousand innocent people."


    Displaying on the screen, was a younger Jack. In the picture, he had a smug smile.


    "Wow, that smile is kinda cool," Zack said. "Wait, have they confirmed the people that Jack killed?" Zack said before immediately grabbing his phone. He began to search for Jack the Ripper''s victims.


    Upon clicking a link to an official criminal details website, Zack saw a very long list of Jack''s victims. After a seemingly endless scrolling, he found what he was looking for.


    "Ah...Samuel and Erica Isaac...my parents." Zack said with a smile. "So that is the guy that killed them...Thank you, Jack."


    "When asked why he committed this atrocity, this was the deranged psychopath''s response," The reporter said before a video of Jack came on-screen. He seemed to be sitting in an interrogation room, his hands and legs chained up. He was also surrounded by super soldiers. Sitting in front of him seemed to be an interrogator.


    "So, why did you do it." The interrogator asked.


    "Do what?" Jack responded in confusion.


    "Don''t play dumb. Why did you kill all those people!?" The interrogator snapped. "Do you realize you''re the most hated person in America!?"


    "Oh, that''s what you mean," Jack said before smiling. "It''s simple...I slaughtered those buggers for the same reason you guys eat, mate. There was no deeper meaning or anything. I was never scared of being hated by anyone...I just wanted to kill. I love it more than anything."


    The clip stopped.


    "As you can see, Jack the Ripper is just a sick man."


    Strangely, Zack''s eyes widened in admiration.


    I never bore any grudge it was the opposite. I was just in awe at how Jack could be so free. I was also jealous. While he did what he wanted, I still was haunted by my parents, even after they were dead. The thought of defying my parents was still impossible but Jack had placed a big seed in my mind, which would quickly grow.


    I became addicted to watching crime documentaries about Jack...I was truly envious of how unshackled to anything he was.


    The innate need to live up to expectations instilled in me by my parents was eating away at my mental state. When I''d get what my parents would consider as subpar results, I''d become depressed. But the nail in the coffin quickly came...


    In class, Zack seemed to be by himself, studying.


    "Damn...I have to prepare for the finals..."


    "Look on Zack." A silhouette said as they stared at Zack. They garnered the attention of a group of silhouettes. "He''s always studying. Does he never try to make any friends?"


    "He''s just an introverted nerd. Just ignore him." Another silhouette said as the group started to chuckle.


    Hearing their conversation, Zack immediately turned to them with a shocked and distraught expression. In response, the group averted their gaze.


    Those bastards that knew nothing about my life were saying all that shit...I''ve always yearned to make friends, but I never could! My parents affected me so badly that I couldn''t make friends. That little conversation they had caused me to snap...


    After hearing them bad-mouthing him, the only thing that Zack could think of was Jack''s monologue about his reasons for murder.


    "You...bastards..." Zack softly said. "You think...I can''t do what I...want? I''m just as free!"


    "Huh--"


    BOOM!!!


    In a different area, the school''s cafeteria exploded.


    "AH!!!!" Screams were audible as students from around the school were seen frantically running. Even Zack and his classmates were surprised as some hid and others (including Zack) hid underneath their desks.


    "W-What...?"


    In the sudden disaster, professors tried to help students, and first responders quickly arrived.


    Oh yeah, the gas cylinders in the cafeteria blew up. Numerous students, teachers, and cafeteria workers died. It was a scary time, but everything returned to normal...until it didn''t...haha.


    One day in Zack''s home, he heard knocking.


    "Huh, someone''s there?" Zack said. "I don''t even have any friends..."


    Reluctantly, he opened the door. He noticed several men in black suits waiting.


    "Hello..." One of them said.


    "Who are you--" Before Zack could ask, one of them put a cloth on his mouth, much to his shock. Immediately, he tried to struggle, but it was futile.


    "Shhh...go to sleep." The man with the cloth said. Eventually, all the energy left his body as Zack fell unconscious.


    * * *


    "--Up."


    "-Aking up."


    Zack''s vision came to as he awoke. The first thing that met his eyes were numerous men with black suits and ties standing around him.


    "You''re awake, kid." An individual said. His clothing style was different from the rest - along with the black suit and tie, he donned suspenders and a dark grey fedora hat. "You can call me Director...because that''s who I''ll be to you soon."


    "W-Where...am I?" The visibly scared Zack asked. He realized that he was unable to move, as he got chained to a chair.


    "You are in an experimenting room of an illegal organization." The individual responded with a strange smile. "That''s all you need to know...bring the goods in."


    While Zack was stricken with fear, another individual in a black suit entered. In their hand was a glass box, and in it was a frag grenade.


    "W...What are you...doing?" Zack asked as the individual rested the box on the ground away from everyone.


    "Do you remember the recent explosion that occurred at your school?" The Director asked. "The explosion was a result of a blessed ability being used."


    "Huh? W...Why are you telling me this--"


    Suddenly, the director placed the barrel of a pistol at Zack''s head. Immediately, Zack broke out in sweat and began to hyperventilate.


    "We know it, Zack." The director said. "You were the one that did it..."


    "W...wha...t?" Zack stuttered due to extreme fear.


    "All our sources point to you."


    "I...It wasn''t me!" Zack exclaimed. "I...I don''t have a blessed ability!"


    "Oh, don''t lie." The director advised. "My organization is looking for blessed humans to combat those pesky super soldiers that might get in the way of our business. Do you see that grenade over there?" He asked before pointing to the grenade in the glass box. "You have five seconds to make it explode, and if you don''t...you will die."


    "But...I don''t--"


    "5...4...3..." The director began counting down, much to Zack''s distraught. "...2..."


    In desperation, Zack looked over to the grenade.


    "...1--"


    BOOM!


    Suddenly, the grenade exploded, immediately causing the shattered glass to be tossed around.


    "Heh, you pass..." The director said as he removed the pistol from Zack''s forehead. Zack, on the other hand, was sweating profusely as he nearly lost his life, but for some reason, he was smiling strangely.


    I nearly died...I nearly freaking died, but for some reason I was happy! Even though I was responsible for killing all those people in the cafeteria...I couldn''t help but smile. My parents were angry that I never had an ability, but I did have one the entire time, and they weren''t alive to see it!!!


    "Looks like you''re going to be useful..." The director added as the men were untying Zack. His words made Zack surprised.


    I knew I was weird because even though I nearly died, I felt happy that I was called useful for the first time in my life. So even though they treated me poorly to turn me into a war machine, I was grateful, because I learned a lot more about my power. They even strengthened my body with drugs to be over the level of regular humans...


    I was even forced on missions to commit terrorism for them...but I didn''t care, because...I felt free, like the ones I watched on television. But when you, the developer, came to rescue me...I was elated.


    You offered me the chance to do missions with criminals I admired, including Jack. Killing my abusive parents and encouraging me to be free...that was when I realized who my true friends should be...


    "So, you remember now?" The developer asked.


    So, that''s what it''s like for your life to flash before your eyes...


    "...Yeah, I do remember," Zack responded. Beside him was the steel rod the super soldier threw, which he picked up. "Where I started...and why I''m doing all this..."


    "What the hell...is that bastard doing...?" The super soldier muttered as he noticed Zack picking up the steel rod.


    This must be the reason why I''ve been training my volatile manipulation blessing...


    "I want to be free...like Jack and the rest," Zack said as he slowly stood up. "And for that freedom...I''ll blow away any damned obstacle out of my way!!!"


    Surprising the super soldier, Zack mustered his strength and ran at him.


    But how...how can he still run with those injuries!?


    Suddenly, Zack whacked him across the side with the rod.


    "Ugh! Dammit!" The super soldier grunted as he staggered, but in rage, he grabbed Zack''s neck with his working arm. He began to choke him.


    "DIE!!!" The super soldier declared.


    Clenching the steel rod with a determined expression, Zack raised his arm. Suddenly, the rod began glowing.


    "WHAT!?" The super soldier exclaimed with a bewildered expression.


    SCREW OFF, OBSTACLE!!!


    Putting his back into it, Zack struck the super soldier in the face with the rod.


    BOOM!


    The rod released an explosion after connecting, knocking the super soldier to the ground. With the side of his face and eye that Zack struck burnt, the super soldier died instantly.


    Zack was running on adrenaline as his breathing patterns sped up. His faster breathing was blended with coughing after being choked by the super soldier.


    What...what the heck was that? Did I just make the rod, a non-explosive...explode...???


    "Haha, great job, Zack." The developer commended. "I knew you had some development in ya."

 Ch. 68 - Final Stretch

    "Good job, Zack. I knew you had some development in ya." The developer commended. "You guys ought to have room to grow since you are my game characters."


    "Huff, Huff..." Zack staggered as he tried to catch his breath. He dropped the now-steaming rod to the ground.


    "Haha...I''m not sure...what I did...but I won..." Zack said with an awkward chuckle. "Ugh...I have to complete my mission...now."


    Although his determination was as high as ever, Zack''s physical condition was not on par, so he staggered to the trailer.


    "Wait...how am I...going to drive this thing...?" Zack asked. "The...keys are gone..."


    "Don''t worry about that." The developer responded. "For a vehicle like that, no keys are needed."


    Believing him, Zack attempted to open the driver''s door. Surprisingly, it opened without any issues.


    "Huh? Neat." Zack said as he hopped into it. "Ouch...my body hurts like hell..."


    VROOM VROOM!


    The sound of the engine was audible as the trailer was starting up.


    "Wait, Zack." The developer advised.


    "Ugh, what''s wrong...?" Zack said as he was clenching his stomach.


    Shit...I feel like I''m gonna pass out.


    "Do you know how to fly a plane?" The developer randomly asked.


    "Huh?"


    * * *


    In the prison cell was Olivia. She was still curled up in the fetal position on the ground. Beside her was a dish of vegetables, chicken, and rice, none touched.


    Her eyes were rather red, which indicated that she was crying, and for good reason, too. Being alone in this cell, Olivia had no choice but to recall memories...bad memories.


    W-Why...?


    Olivia reminisced about conversing with Ada in the warehouse where the developer''s ''game characters'' usually stayed.


    "H-Hey...Ada? I...I think I have some...information t-that you would...find useful." Olivia said.


    "Oh? Do you now?" Ada responded in an intrigued manner.


    "I-I know what everyone''s powers are..."


    "Really? Did they tell you their powers?" Ada questioned.


    "Y-Yes..."


    "And they didn''t tell me, huh..." Ada said with an annoyed expression. "Even though I''m supposed to be the leader...tch. I suppose they trust you enough...especially that damned Nathan."


    "I-I''ll tell you...because...you''re the only one...that stayed by my side," Olivia said. "I...just hope...you won''t throw me away..."


    Ada gave her a sincere-looking smile in response.


    "Don''t worry, Olivia. I''d never throw you away." Ada assured. "Especially if you''ll continue to be useful..."


    Tears filled Olivia''s eyes as she was reminiscing.


    Y-You said you''d never...throw me away...


    As she continued to recall her memories, Olivia, with a devastated expression, was being restrained by a group of officers. While being restrained by officers would usually be devastating for someone, Olivia was more so in distress because of Ada, who watched her happily.


    "Y-You said...you wouldn''t...throw me away..." Olivia muttered in disbelief.


    "Has anyone ever told you that you should speak up more?" Ada responded as if mocking her.


    "W-Why...?"


    "What do you mean why?" Ada asked. "Did you forget who I am? You people mean nothing to me...I only let you tag along with me simply for my pleasure...I was always going to abandon you..."


    With tears filling her eyes and her body slightly trembling, Olivia couldn''t fathom what Ada said to her.


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    "Since I got the opportunity to throw you guys under the bus so I could receive a pardon, what could be a better time to betray you than that," Ada added as she turned around, about to walk off. "Look on the bright side, at least you were useful to me..."


    "HOW COULD YOU, ADA!!!" Breaking her usual introverted nature, Olivia yelled at her, surprising Ada.


    "You bitch...how dare you shout at me..." Ada retorted. "Hurry up and take that criminal away."


    "I DID EVERYTHING FOR YOU! WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME!!!" Olivia continued as the officers were dragging her away.


    "You should have thanked me for helping you out of your worthless, miserable life in the first place..." Ada said as she started walking off. "...Instead of daring to shout at me..."


    I...I did everything for you...


    * * *


    Over to the prison yard, Officer James was seen leaning on the fence surrounding the yard. He was having a smoke break. While smoking his cigar, he checked his wristwatch. On his watch, the time was 11:00 am.


    "Well, now''s the time, huh." He stated before tossing his used cigar and leaving.


    * * *


    After remembering Ada''s betrayal, tears now fell, but to the side of her face as she was lying in the fetal position.


    "I-I happily did everything...for you, Ada..." Olivia muttered as she sobbed. "A-And...you repaid me...this way. I was so afraid of you...throwing me away, so I...betrayed the others."


    Her sobs became louder.


    "I did everything for you...because...I had no one else. Nobody...was nice to me... So...why, Ada...?"


    A poisoner and able to knit...nice skills, love. Suddenly, the words of Jack echoed in her mind.


    "...Ugh."


    Wow, amazing! My coat looks as good as new. Thanks, love.


    "Oh...I do...deserve to die..." Olivia surmised as she wrapped up even more in the fetal position.


    Suddenly, Officer James came knocking on Olivia''s cell door, garnering her attention. With him were three more officers, seemingly as backup.


    "Olivia?" Officer James said. "It''s time."


    Oh...


    * * *


    Lancer, Nailhead, and Zombie were walking around the city where they had fought Jack. As they walked, the super soldier trio kept their silence, but Nailhead seemed visibly frustrated, with arteries surfacing on his forehead.


    "Tsk! Where the hell are the other damn criminals!" Nailhead suddenly yelled.


    "If we had known where they were, we wouldn''t have been aimlessly walking around, Nailhead," Lancer responded.


    "Dammit! I wanted to rip the limbs off of those bastards! This is so annoying!"


    "Speaking of criminals, we haven''t heard from Jack the Ripper," Lancer added.


    "Either the other super soldiers finished him off, or the murderer died from blood loss," Zombie replied. "Also, we don''t need to venture too far."


    "Why not?" Lancer asked.


    "Since the S-Class criminals are working together, I''m sure the others know that Jack was in this city fighting super soldiers. If my assumption is correct, then that news will no doubt attract the battle-crazed lunatic that is Charles."


    "Hmm, that is a good point..."


    BOOM!


    "AAHHH!!!" A super soldier''s screams were audible as they flew past the blessed hunters.


    "Looks like something came up that might prove me right..." Zombie said.


    * * *


    Zombie''s hypothesis was right, as Charles entered the city, still carrying Nathan like a sack of potatoes. Noticing super soldiers around the area, he quickly entered a building and dropped off Nathan.


    Nathan fell to the ground, visibly disoriented due to Charles carrying him at supersonic speeds.


    "Ugh...Is it...finally over..." Nathan asked as she tried to regain his bearings.


    "Looks like there''s a lot of super soldiers around here..." Charles said with a smile. "But I wonder if the one that beat me years ago is here..."


    "Ugh...what are you...talking about."


    "Sorry, Nathan, but you''re going to have to stay here," Charles said. "I''m going to enjoy myself, so I can''t afford to protect you like a baby."


    Baby!? No need to be rude...


    "Physical Enhancement - Adrenaline Doping!"


    Suddenly, Charles, whose muscle mass enlarged, rushed out, leaving a wave of dust.


    "Cough, cough! You could have left...normally, cough!"


    * * *


    Wasting no time, Charles began fighting any super soldier that he saw. Immediately, he overpowered his enemies, tossing them aside like ragdolls.


    "Shit! It''s the battle-crazed killer!" A super soldier yelled in fright. "We gotta get the blessed hunters to deal with this!"


    "Blessed Hunters?" Charles asked with interest. "Who are the blessed hunter--"


    "That would be us." Zombie appeared as he struck Charles in the face, causing him to crash into a building. Nailhead and Lancer were right behind.


    "Oh good, you guys are here!" The super soldier said. "We''ll help--"


    "No, go with the others and confirm Jack''s death. "We''ll handle this guy," Zombie said.


    "But--"


    "Don''t forget, there are still criminals like Nathan and Zack." Zombie reminded.


    "Okay..."


    "Yeah, get lost already!" Nailhead bluntly stated. In agreement, the super soldier and his comrades in the nearby area went off, but not before giving Nailhead a bad look.


    "Haha...that was...a good strike." Charles commended before leaving the now ruined building.


    "Oh my, what do we have here?" Lancer asked. "The S-Class criminal that got utterly beaten by the blessed slaughterer back then, and strangely without any injuries too."


    "Ah, the blessed slaughterer..." Charles responded with a happy expression. "So, that''s the alias of that man...how fitting."


    "I know what you''re thinking," Zombie said. "But you better not focus too much on the blessed slaughterer. Just like him, we are considered the very top of the super soldiers."


    "Oh? That''s making me excited, then!"


    "Haha! It''s about time one of you bastards show up!" Nailhead interjected. "I''m going to rip your limbs off!"


    "Haha! I like the sound of that!" Charles said. "But it''s strange, I thought Jack would have been here--"


    "He''s dead," Lancer stated. Suddenly, Lancer appeared in front of Charles, with the blade of his spear inches away from Charles'' face.


    Maximum!


    Just in time, Charles leaned back to avoid the spear. However, in a quick, expert motion, Lancer spun his spear and tried attacking Charles with a downward thrust. Charles barely moved away in time.


    "Tsk, how agile..." Lancer commented.


    Wow! That guy is fast! Faster than Jack even!


    In an attempt to intercept, the hulking Nailhead rushed to Charles and delivered a straight punch, which Charles blocked from being hit in the face.


    How fun!


    In retaliation, Charles delivered a headbutt to Nailhead, causing him to stagger backward from the force.


    "Ugh! Bastard!" Nailhead angrily yelled.


    "Haha! I''m all healed up, so you three will be the perfect warm-up for the fight against the blessed slaughterer!" Charles declared, much to the trio''s annoyance. "C''mon, guys! We''ve reached the final stretch!!!"

 Ch. 69 - Charles vs Blessed Hunters

    Over to Nathan, he continued to hide in the building that Charles had left him in. Curiously, he decided to peek out the window to observe his surroundings. Just as he expected, he spotted many soldiers in the area. They seemed preoccupied with locating and lending aid to injured civilians.


    Damn...why did Charles leave me in the middle of these guys?


    Changing his view, Nathan checked on Charles. He noticed the trio of blessed hunters confronting his ''ally''.


    What the hell...those super soldiers look quite different from the others. One wielding a spear, another even taller than Charles, and another that straight up looks like a rotting corpse...Yeah, I think I''ll stay here for the time being...


    * * *


    "Haha! I''m all healed up, so you three will be the perfect warm-up for the fight against the blessed slaughterer!" Charles declared, much to the trio''s annoyance. "C''mon, guys! We''ve reached the final stretch!!!"


    "Warm up...us?" Lancer asked as he began to do spear tricks. "You must be crazy. We''ve taken out numerous blessed criminals like you before, and you won''t be any different, so hurry up and die!"


    Suddenly, Lancer tossed his spear at Charles. As it cut through the air, the spear came close to Charles''s cranium. Charles weaved just in time, but that was when Nailhead rushed him from the side. Immediately, Nailhead delivered a sequence of jabs, forcing Charles on the defensive.


    The spear penetrated a building before becoming stuck in the wall of another.


    With every punch Nailhead delivered, gusts of winds and loud bangs resulted.


    "Haha! Your punches pack a lot of power to them!" Charles commended as he continued to block. "Out of all the super soldiers I''ve faced in this war, you''re the strongest physically!"


    "SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH!" Nailhead exclaimed as he quickly lost his temper. Seeing an opening, Charles decided to counter with a straight punch to Nailhead''s jaw, but it was unsuccessful as Nailhead grabbed his arm before his fist connected.


    "You dumbass!" Nailhead insulted as he used his other arm to palm Charles''s face. With a good grip on him, Nailhead lifted Charles before slamming him into the ground.


    Immediately tagging in, Lancer quickly grabbed his spear from the building and attempted to stab Charles in the face while he lay on the ground. Although it connected, the spear was unable to impale Charles.


    Tsk! Why is this bastard so tough!?


    Lancer tried harder to impale Charles''s face, but Charles suddenly grabbed the staff of the spear. Much to Lancer''s annoyance, he could not continue piercing Charles''s face.


    "Tsk! This bastard''s strength is ridiculous!" Lancer yelled.


    "Can''t you do any better than that!" Nailhead angrily asked as he tried to stomp Charles in the stomach. Showing off his tenacity and battle prowess, Charles bent his right foot, causing Nailhead to stomp his shin and create wind gusts.


    "What--" Before the super soldiers could follow up, Charles threw the spear, resulting in Lancer (who still held it) slamming into Nailhead. Nailhead and Lancer crashed into a nearby multi-story building.


    "Haha! Lovely!" Charles excitedly commended as he kickflipped to get himself back up. A stream of blood fell down the right side of his face due to being stabbed by Lancer, but the wound wasn''t much more than superficial.


    "You guys call yourselves blessed hunters?" Zombie asked as he rushed forth and engaged Charles in close-quarters combat. They stalemated for the first couple of blows as they avoided each other, but Zombie was the first to deliver a blow.


    Charles attempted to deliver a strike to Zombie''s side, but he expertly deflected and then countered with a right horizontal jab to Charles''s face, bruising it somewhat.


    Wow! This guy''s strong too...nearly as strong as the big guy!


    Zombie then followed up with a hard strike to Charles''s liver, which caused him to flinch.


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    * * *


    Nailhead and Lancer had crashed into the building. While lying on the ground, they noticed the eyes of frightened civilians trying to hide.


    "Get the hell off of me!" Nailhead ordered as Lancer laid on him, with his foot resting on Nailhead''s face. Obliging, Lancer removed himself and stood up.


    "Damn...when the blessed slaughterer fought him, he was just slightly better than the usual blessed criminal," Lancer stated. "How much stronger did that bastard get?"


    "GET THE HELL OUT, NOW!!!" Nailhead yelled at the civilians. In fear, the civilians listened and ran out.


    "What the hell are you doing!?" Lancer asked with a confused expression.


    "Shut the hell up and go back to fighting!" Nailhead yelled.


    * * *


    Charles and Zombie continued their 1v1.


    "Good job on keeping up this much even though I''m using my adrenaline at maximum!" Charles commended.


    "Do you criminals love talking so much?" Zombie asked.


    Seeing an opening in Zombie, Charles immediately delivered a right hook to his face. It was so powerful that it literally twisted Zombie''s face 180 degrees.


    "Oh...that doesn''t look good," Charles said dejectedly. "Well...I guess that''s one do--"


    CRACK! POP!


    With bone-cracking sounds, Zombie twisted his head back in place, shocking Charles. Seeing Charles''s bewilderment, Zombie smirked.


    "What, something wrong?" Zombie mocked. "Why did you think I got the codename Zombie?"


    "W-Wow!" Charles responded with renewed excitement.


    ''HAHAHA! YOU BETTER WATCH OUT, ZOMBIE!" Nailhead suddenly yelled, garnering their attention. Much to their surprise, Nailhead lifted the multi-story building he was tossed into. The foundation was being uprooted from its bearings.


    "So, that''s why you ordered the civilians out..." Lancer muttered.


    Nailhead managed to remove a significant portion of the building, and without hesitation, he tossed that same chunk at Charles. The battle-crazed killer moved away, causing the chunk to hurl into another building, destroying it in the process.


    * * *


    "What the hell..." Nathan uttered as he was spectating. He began to sweat from a slight onset of fear over him. "These guys are...chucking buildings now? Sigh...give me strength, Lilith..."


    * * *


    "This is why we aren''t allowed to go out with regular people..." Zombie muttered as he saw the property destruction. Wasting no time, Lancer rushed Charles and unleashed a flurry of spear thrusts. After taking a few, Charles moved away.


    Wow, that guy is so very fast, huh...if I used blood doping maximum, I could consistently react to his speed, but that would reduce my durability. Oh, I love having to try in fights!


    Having enough of Charles, the trio decided to attack him simultaneously.


    "YES! GOOD!" Charles happily exclaimed.


    Jabs, hooks, uppercuts, roundhouse kicks, spinning kicks, side kicks, and even the use of the spear; they took all the moves they had and used them on Charles, which granted them the upper hand quickly. Charles was unable to keep up with the three of them, although he used the maximum output of his adrenaline doping.


    Ah...this is what I adore. A fight where the enemy is using everything to devour me. It''s the greatest...


    "Time to go for the kill!" Nailhead declared as both he and Zombie took knives from holders on their legs. Seeing this momentary opening, Charles immediately grabbed Lancer.


    "Let me--" Before Lancer could finish, Charles tossed him into Zombie, knocking them away and surprising Nailhead.


    "You can still fight!?" Nailhead asked.


    "I told you! This is a good warm-up for the blessed slaughterer!" Charles reminded him before delivering a full-strength uppercut to Nailhead''s chin.


    "UGH!" Nailhead yelled before being sent numerous meters in the air. Charles wasn''t finished, as he did a mighty leap, catching up to him in the air.


    "Good warm-up, boys!" Charles said before spiking Nailhead right into another large building, severely damaging it upon impact.


    "AAAHHHHH!!!" Civilians screamed as Nailhead crashed into their hiding place. Some were also unfortunately killed by debris as the building was falling in on itself.


    "Freaking hell...this bastard is a monster," Lancer stated. "I''m starting to think we need the blessed slaughterer for this--"


    "No, we are enough." Zombie corrected. "We are some of the strongest, and the battle-crazed killer has no way of killing me, the second strongest super soldier."


    "But..."


    "We just have to wear him down--"


    "Seems you guys are having trouble with Charles." A voice interjected, grasping everyone''s attention, especially Charles, who heard the voice behind him.


    That voice...!!!


    His suspicions about who the voice belonged to were correct, as the blessed slaughterer was behind him, clenching his strangely glowing metallic fist. Reflexively, Charles defended in advance, and the blessed slaughterer struck.


    BOOM!!!


    Upon impact, the blessed slaughterer''s punch released a massive explosion, which tore through the area, ravaging property nearby and even sending Charles across the city block.


    "Sigh, our savior''s here, huh?" Zombie stated with sarcasm dripping from his words.


    "I''ll take care of this one." The blessed slaughterer advised. "Focus your efforts on finding and eliminating the other criminals."


    "What...?"


    Simultaneously, as they were talking, Charles approached the blessed slaughterer after being knocked away. His arms got scorched from the explosion, but his battle-crazed smile was brighter than ever.


    "FINALLY! I''VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU FOR SO LONG!!!" Charles exclaimed.


    "You lost the first time we fought, yet you dare show your face again?" The blessed slaughterer asked.


    "Haha! Our battle never finished. You didn''t kill me, so I never lost!" Charles corrected.


    "I see, well in a way, you''re right." The blessed slaughterer said as he went in his battle stance. "I''ll make sure to finish this battle...so there will be a clear winner and loser."

 Ch. 70 - Stacking

    "I''ll make sure to finish this battle...so there will be a clear winner and loser." The blessed slaughterer declared.


    "Heh, by the way, I always wondered if that metallic arm had anything different," Charles replied. "But it looks like that arm will make this fight more exciting than it already will be!"


    "Ah, yes. This arm is a modification." The blessed slaughterer responded as he lifted his sleeve, revealing his entire metal arm. Unlike before, it was not radiating with energy. "Although not completely charged, I was trying to kill you...still, your arm got scorched. Using it to the full extent was unnecessary the first time we fought, so you have something to brag about at least."


    "Is that so!?" Charles ecstatically asked before rushing the blessed slaughterer. Immediately, they began close-quarters combat.


    * * *


    Nailhead left the building he got knocked into by Charles, and angrily regrouped with his comrades. His face was bloody, and he had bruises on his body.


    "Damn it! That bastard super soldier took that dumbass from me!" Nailhead yelled as the trio watched the blessed slaughterer in action with the criminal.


    "Sigh, there''s nothing we can do now," Zombie stated. "I just hope he doesn''t screw up with killing Charles like last time."


    "Yeah, we murdered Jack, so he should murder the other extreme threat," Lancer added.


    * * *


    "Damn, is that the guy Charles been whining about wanting to fight?" Nathan asked as he continued to spectate. "He doesn''t seem as scarred as that walking corpse over there, but I bet he''s strongest if Charles longed to fight him so much."


    The bastard developer seriously expected me to do anything to them with my current strength...what a piece of shit.


    * * *


    As they fought, Charles began throwing numerous gust-creating jabs while the blessed slaughterer parried them with his palms.


    "I can see you''ve got stronger than the last time we fought." The blessed slaughterer commended as he parried Charles. "Your attacks are pretty powerful. So the other three blessed hunters weren''t just weak then."


    "Ha, you haven''t seen nothing yet--"


    "But you don''t seem fast enough to hang with me." The blessed slaughterer interjected before striking Charles in the side of his face with his palm. The strike packed so much power behind it that it disoriented Charles for a split second.


    Before Charles regained his composure and attacked again, the blessed slaughterer delivered a triple-palm heel strike to his jaw. In response, blood flew from Charles''s mouth.


    "Yeah. You aren''t fast enough, nor can you react to me." The blessed slaughterer said.


    Physical Enhancement: Blood Doping - Maximum!


    Suddenly, Charles''s muscle mass decreased in exchange for extensive arteries surfacing on his body. In addition, Charles''s eyes became bloodshot.


    "Oh?" The blessed slaughter said with a look of interest. Charles continued throwing attacks, but they were noticeably faster than before. Creating whipping sounds, his punches cut through the air.


    The blessed slaughterer still blocked his attacks, but unlike before, his counters were not as successful. In his attempts to deliver any palm strikes, Charles could react and weave them.


    "Hmm, you learned some strange tricks since our last fight too," The blessed slaughterer said as they were both weaving (and the blessed slaughterer parrying) each others'' attacks and counters. "But unlike before, your attacks don''t pack the power."


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    Suddenly, the blessed slaughterer caught Charles''s fist, and without hesitating, he delivered a powerful straight to his face. That significantly affected Charles, as he was visibly staggering and disoriented. Following up, the blessed slaughterer performed a sequence of left and right jabs, causing Charles to fall to his knees.


    "You''re still not enough." The blessed slaughterer said as he spin-kicked Charles while he was on his knees, sending him across the city block. Digging his hands into the ground, Charles stopped his movement.


    Noticing parked vehicles, Charles did what he usually does - chuck them. The blessed slaughterer noticed oncoming cars and even trucks being hurled towards him.


    Seriously?


    Effortlessly, he moved around to avoid being hit by them. The vehicles instead crashed in the ground or the property, resulting in multiple explosions.


    Tsk, this criminal is just causing unnecessary property damage...I should end this fast.


    The blessed slaughterer stopped him from throwing anymore by quickly dashing up to him, where their close-quarters battle continued. Once again, the blessed slaughterer managed to block every punch and kick that Charles performed.


    Charles did everything he could, even alternating between blood and adrenaline doping for faster strikes when attacking, and better durability for defending. That proved ineffective, however, as he still lacked the attack power in his attacks, and the reaction time needed to counter after successfully defending.


    With the blessed slaughterer''s overwhelming physical prowess, he executed a brutal combination of palm-heel strikes and punches all over Charles''s body. With each attack, visible bruising emerged, and blood was coughed up.


    Mercilessly, the blessed slaughterer grabbed Charles and spun him around. As he spun Charles around, powerful winds were generated. Contended with the speed he was spinning Charles, the blessed slaughterer tossed him.


    Like a pinball, Charles ended up bouncing around numerous (already damaged) infrastructure and vehicles, before soaring high into the air. Finally, the blessed slaughterer, who was hovering over Charles, delivered a downward hammer fist, sending him crashing into a very large building, wrecking it in the process.


    Damn...I got a bit engrossed in the fight...but it''s fine. I''ll just kill him...


    * * *


    "Looks like our ''strongest'' won''t be having any trouble, huh," Lancer said. "At least he gets to redeem himself now."


    "Tsk! Who the hell do I even get to rip apart then!?" Nailhead angrily asked.


    * * *


    "Damn, they are moving too fast, so it''s rather hard to see what''s going on, but I think Charles is getting his ass handed to him." Nathan surmised. "Tsk, hopefully he has a trick up his sleeve, because if he dies, then I literally have zero chance of winning this war."


    The blessed slaughterer approached Charles, who was lying in debris from the destroyed building. Charles was rather visibly injured but was slowly trying to get up.


    "You remember, Charles?" The blessed slaughterer suddenly spoke. "When we fought last time, I beat you so badly that your entrails were strewn across the ground."


    "Ugh..."


    "But even though I put you in such a bad state and left you for dead, you somehow managed to survive." The blessed slaughterer continued. "Well, who would''ve guessed that someone could survive the injuries you sustained."


    "Haha...there''s no way...I would have died in such a mundane way...as being left for dead!" Charles declared as he stood on his feet."


    "Yeah, you''re right, and that lesson taught me to always make sure my opponents are dead." The blessed slaughterer added. "I''ll crush your heart, your lungs, your liver, and your brain. You''ll die from that, just like the other criminals I''ve done that to!" He declared before performing a thrust kick, which Charles barely blocked.


    Charles was knocked out of the building, which the blessed slaughterer nonchalantly walked out of.


    "Haha...you really are...strong." Charles complimented. "You truly are my greatest rival..."


    "You were never my rival." The blessed slaughterer corrected. "Since you''re so weak."


    "Nah, you are my rival. Which is why I''m glad I trained." Charles said, which intrigued the blessed slaughterer somewhat. "I''ve been keeping this skill, just for you!"


    "Huh--"


    "Physical Enhancement - Stacking!"


    Charles kept the increased muscle mass from his maximum adrenaline doping, but strangely, his body was littered with arteries and his eyes were bloodshot from maximum blood doping.


    What is this now?


    Far surpassing the speed of sound, Charles rocketed towards the blessed slaughterer, surprising him. Charles delivered a flurry of punches, which although the blessed slaughterer blocked, he managed to break through his defenses. Much to the trio of super soldiers and Nathan''s shock, Charles delivered a clean right hook to the blessed slaughterer''s face.


    "What!?" Lancer uttered as the trio watched with shock.


    As he was knocked away, the blessed slaughterer kept his feet planted, causing a trail to be left in the ground. His jaw had a slight visible bruise from the hook.


    "What...the hell is this...now?" The blessed slaughterer asked, with a look of annoyance.


    "Hah...this is the first time I''m using this in a fight," Charles responded. "But I''ll soon get the hang of this. The real fight starts now, blessed slaughterer!!!"

 Ch. 71 - Hedonistic Thrill (Part 1)

    "The real fight starts now, blessed slaughterer!" Charles exclaimed. He had meant what he said because as Charles once again engaged the blessed slaughterer in close combat, he had a much greater intensity than before.


    Unlike before, the blessed slaughterer could not simply block and counter. Charles kept up with every attack he threw and pushed the blessed slaughterer to the point of having to move their battle around the area.


    Annoyed at the stalemate, the blessed slaughterer executed a palm heel strike to Charles''s right jaw. However, the blessed slaughterer simultaneously noticed Charles''s fist millimeters away from his face.


    He attacked at the same time--


    With a loud bang, Charles''s punch connected, thus trading hits with each other. The blessed slaughterer''s face recoiled from the impact, allowing Charles to follow up with a hard straight to his face, which knocked him away. Wasting no time, Charles pursued the super soldier.


    * * *


    "Charles is doing better than before...?" Nathan said with a confused expression. "I''m convinced this guy likes getting beaten up before he starts trying..."


    "You should have more confidence in your party." The developer spoke on Nathan''s phone, surprising him.


    "Huh? I didn''t hear from you for so long that I nearly forgot about you." Nathan responded.


    "I''ve been helping Zack. You don''t need to fear Charles losing. There''s no way the party members I chose would lose, especially in this ''tutorial''."


    "H-Huh? You call...this war...a tutorial?" Nathan asked with disbelief. "Are you...out of your mind?"


    "Aww, you''re hurting my feelings, Nathan." The developer said in a bashful manner.


    Nearby, a couple of soldiers were still around the area when one of them heard talking in the building Nathan occupied.


    "Huh? Are there civilians in there?" The soldier asked. "I thought we already evacuated the civilians in that building.


    Coming closer, the soldier went for a closer look. Nathan, who was still spectating the fight, didn''t notice whatsoever. The soldier saw him at the window spectating but couldn''t quite recognize him until he came closer.


    With widened eyes, the soldier realized who was occupying the building.


    "Wait...it couldn''t be..."


    * * *


    "We''ve come a long way, and I''m just getting warmed up!" Charles exclaimed as they fought. Much to the blessed slaughterer''s annoyance, their fight became increasingly closer to an undamaged residential area.


    Damn...I wanted to keep the fight in the city where Jack and Charles had already wrecked...but it''s hard when this guy can keep up...


    The blessed slaughterer delivered a hard straight to Charles''s forehead, but with excitement, he countered with a strike of his own. The blessed slaughterer defended while being knocked away from the force.


    Charles kept laying on the force, striking the blessed slaughterer and knocking him away as he kept on the defensive. Random explosions occurred as nearby vehicles were affected by their battle.


    Running on the sides of buildings and hopping on others, the blessed slaughterer tried to return to the original battlefield, but Charles followed.


    "Haha! Why are you running so much!?" Charles exclaimed. "C''mon! Fight me!!!"


    The criminal seems to be relative in speed with Lancer...but I''m faster, so I''ll lure him back to the original--


    As they hopped in the air to another building, Charles suddenly swung his right arm backward, striking the air hard enough to propel himself.


    "WHAT!?" The blessed slaughterer exclaimed as he was surprised by Charles''s increased speed. Before he could react, the blessed slaughterer got smacked in the face with another straight. The punch generated so much power upon sending the blessed slaughterer that a sonic boom was generated.


    * * *


    "Tch...what the hell is that idiot doing!?" Zombie yelled as he quickly dashed in the direction of the battle, leaving the other blessed slaughterers.


    "So...what about us?" Lancer said in a downtrodden tone.


    "Blessed hunters!" The soldier who spotted Nathan frantically ran up, garnering Nailhead and Lancer''s attention.


    "What do you want!?" Nailhead retorted.


    "The S-Class criminal...Nathan! I saw him in that building!" The soldier responded as he pointed to the building Nathan was in, surprising them.


    "What!? Are you sure?" Lancer asked.


    "Yes! I''m sure!"


    "Haha, finally!" Nailhead said. "I can finally rip someone to shreds!!!"


    * * *


    In a shelter, numerous civilians hid from the disaster lurking around.


    "Mama...I''m scared..." A girl timidly said to her mother. She was shaking from fear. "I wanna...go home..."


    "Don''t worry...we''ll be fine..." The mother responded in an attempt to comfort her child. "There''s no need to worry...I''m here--"


    BOOM!


    The walls exploding, windows shattering, and furniture tossed, the blessed slaughterer crashed in. The building collapsed on itself, killing the civilians in the shelter, all because Charles struck him into the building.


    Damn it! The people!!!


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    Charles rushed in and grabbed him by the neck. Immediately, he started dragging the super soldier across the shelter. Angered by the deaths, the blessed slaughterer repeatedly stomped on Charles''s stomach as he was getting dragged. However, Charles easily countered by tossing him into another building, causing it to collapse and killing even more civilians.


    Although Charles loved the fight, his smile didn''t seem as bright as before. He seemed a bit apprehensive, however.


    "Damn it! Must you criminals keep killing so many civilians!!!" The blessed slaughterer said as he violently burst out of the rubble. He seemed to have the blood of slain civilians on his uniform.


    "Ah, so that''s why," Charles responded. "I was wondering why you weren''t fighting me with your full strength, but you''re worried about accidentally killing the civilians, huh?"


    "Something you clearly don''t care about..."


    "Don''t you realize, blessed slaughterer? This country and its people...none of that matters! There''s no meaning to worry about them! You''re a super soldier, right!? Then try to eliminate me with everything you''ve got!"


    Tch! Battle-crazed maniacs like you are the worst...


    "This will be the long-awaited conclusion of the fight between us, so why don''t you enjoy it to the fullest instead of worrying about the weak!?" Charles advised. "Who cares about killing a few? If you use everything to eliminate me, then you''d save even more lives!!!"


    There was silence as the blessed slaughterer thought about what he should prioritize - keeping destruction to a minimum or killing Charles by any means. Deep in his thought, however, Zombie appeared beside the blessed slaughterer, surprising him.


    "Don''t listen to that criminal''s nonsense," Zombie said. "If we both work together, we can take him down."


    I can damage Charles with my punches, and there''s no way his attacks can kill me. With the blessed slaughterer''s strength and my own, we won''t have to worry about getting too many innocent people killed.


    A look of annoyance filled Charles''s face.


    "Tch...how dare you interrupt our fight!" Charles angrily exclaimed. "This should have been a fair 1v1 between the strongest, but you showed up to desecrate that!"


    "Shut up...our responsibility isn''t to entertain you criminals..." Zombie said. "It''s simply to kill you..."


    Although I was kind of a hypocrite when I told Lancer that nothing was wrong with having fun...


    "Okay, let''s go then, Zombie--"


    Suddenly, super soldiers appeared in the area, confusing Zombie and the blessed slaughterer. From their quick running, they seemed to be alarmed by something.


    "Huh, what''s going on?" Zombie asked. "Why are you guys returning?"


    "Sir..." A super soldier said as he and some of his comrades stopped near the blessed hunters.


    "Did you guys forget that you were supposed to confirm Jack''s death?" Zombie asked. "Have you guys done that? What about the S-Class criminals, Zack and Nathan...did you find them yet!?"


    "No..." The super soldier responded.


    "Then why are you here!?"


    "It''s because..."


    * * *


    "Damn, where did Charles and that super soldier go?" Nathan asked as he was looking around outside the window. "I wanted to continue watching..."


    "Well, you should watch your back, ya know." Lancer suddenly said as both he and Nailhead were standing behind Nathan. With terror in his eyes, Nathan quickly turned around and saw them. Nailhead had a sinister smile on his face.


    Shit!


    Immediately, Nathan tried materializing a gun, but no sooner had he materialized it, than it was knocked out of his hands by Nailhead. Nailhead knocked it out of his hands so hard that Nathan was also knocked to the ground.


    Shit...I got careless!


    "W-Wait, don''t come any closer!" Nathan said as he was crawling away from them. With his words falling on deaf ears, Nailhead simply approached him.


    "What should I start with? Should I pluck out your eyes? Or should I rip off your legs?" Nailhead asked. "I''ll let you decide..."


    "Dammit...get away!!!" Nathan yelled. In a strange occurrence, he suddenly disappeared, which bewildered the super soldiers.


    "What!" Lancer exclaimed.


    "DAMMIT!!!" Nailhead yelled at the top of his lungs.


    * * *


    Strangely, Nathan found himself outside, on top of a building specifically.


    What the...how did I get here!?


    It finally hit him. He was being held by someone.


    "Wow, that was a close one, mate," Jack said. "If I came a bit later, you''d be screwed."


    J-Jack!?


    Jumping out of the building, Nailhead and Lancer noticed Jack.


    * * *


    "It''s Jack...he''s alive..." The super soldier revealed. Upon hearing this, Zombie immediately looked alarmed.


    "What!?" Zombie yelled. "How!?"


    "I...I don''t know...But, he''s coming here..." The super soldier added.


    But how...could he survive...


    * * *


    "What!? How the hell are you alive!?" Lancer asked with extreme confusion on his face. "You have your arms...and your wounds are gone...how!?"


    It''s exactly what Lancer noticed. With the broken bones he sustained from being struck by Nailhead, being impaled by his spear, losing most of his left arm, and his right arm being significantly damaged, all Jack''s wounds were gone. He was missing his arm sleeves, and parts of his coat got destroyed from his fight with them, revealing his muscular frame.


    "You honestly think that I''d die without killing you buggers?" Jack retorted with a smirk. "Don''t be idiotic..." Jack said as he had his hand on Nathan''s shoulder in a friendly manner. Nathan seemed a bit annoyed by this gesture.


    "But how! The wounds you sustained were mortal! You should have bled out!"


    I guess Jack went to the doctor? Nathan thought to himself.


    "I know what you''re thinking...but Jack never visited the doctor." The developer suddenly said on Nathan''s phone, which only he and Jack could hear.


    "Heh, since you''re so interested...I might as well tell you." Jack responded. "I survived thanks to my...what do you buggers call it? Oh, yeah...blessing."


    "What!? Your speed blessing saved you?" With eyebrows raised, Lancer asked. "Don''t be ridiculous. No way would that heal your injuries!"


    "Nah...the speed blessing was one I inherited quite a while ago..." Jack corrected. This revelation surprised everyone, including Nathan. Suddenly, super soldiers approached the scene, causing Jack to get ecstatic.


    "Oh, there you guys are..." Jack said. "I''ve been wondering when you''d show up! Since I''ve massacred so much of you!"


    "Massacred?" Lancer asked.


    "Shut the hell up!" Nailhead yelled as he charged at Jack. However, Jack disappeared, and he simply felt a gust of wind passing his face.


    Jack was already beside Nailhead, with his back turned and a bloody knife in his hand. Suddenly, Nailhead''s eyes exploded with blood.


    "AAAAHHHHH!!!!" Nailhead yelled in agony as he clutched his eyes. Lancer was shaken at what he had just witnessed.


    T-That speed! I didn''t even see him move!


    "Ha...Haha...Yes, massacred."


    * * *


    "Sir...most of our forces are almost here..." The super soldier said to Zombie.


    "Most...what do you mean most?" Zombie asked as he looked around. "I know we have incurred losses, but there should be more than this!"


    "Sir...because of Jack...our forces have gone down to seven hundred super soldiers."


    "WHAT!?"


    * * *


    "HAHAHAHA! By myself, I killed over a thousand super soldiers!" Jack revealed as he stretched his hands to his sides while smiling as if he was high. "And I feel so good right now!!!!"


    "You damned bastard...instead of fighting us, you escaped just to kill more of our comrades!?" Lancer angrily asked. Nailhead was still writhing in pain from getting his eyes slashed.


    "C''mon, bugger. Don''t be like that." Jack replied, still cockily smiling. "I was only being strategic, because..."


    * * *


    "He killed that many super soldiers!?" Nathan asked with surprise.


    "Hey, Nathan." The developer said. "Remember when I said that there''s more to Jack''s power than he lets on?"


    "Uh huh...it''s not just speed, right?" Nathan asked.


    "Yeah, I''ve been watching Jack this whole time, and I finally know what his true power is." The developer said. "A blessing not seen in centuries. A blessing of murder."


    * * *


    "I get stronger with every kill!" Jack declared, which frightened Lancer. "And you guys will add to my power!"


    * * *


    "Tsk! How annoying!" Zombie said as he was visibly frustrated.


    "If he''s alive, you must regroup with the other blessed hunters to finish Jack." The blessed slaughterer said.


    "But what about you--"


    "I''ll be fine...I''ll kill the battle-crazed killer." The blessed slaughterer declared. "Use the help of the remaining super soldiers as well...we must defeat them!"


    "...Alright." Zombie relented. "But make sure you don''t die." With that said, he went off, followed by the super soldiers.


    "Finally! No more distractions!" Charles happily said.


    "I''ve made up my mind, Charles." The blessed slaughterer said. "You''re right. If I want to save even more people, I must use everything to eliminate you. So, I''ll fight you as you wish!" He exclaimed as his metallic arm began glowing once again.


    "Excellent!"

 Ch. 72 - Hedonistic Thrill (Part 2)

    The scene shifted away from the battle to Ada. She held her self-image in high regard as she viewed herself in the mirror, fixing her hair and doing her makeup. She occupied herself with beauty care since she kicked Zack out - she loved herself that much. The news also played in the background, allowing her to keep up with the events of the war.


    "At 12:05 pm, the S-Class criminal Charles Warner and the super soldier nicknamed blessed slaughterer started to fight. The destruction and casualties in their fight and Jack the Ripper''s onslaught in California is unprecedented." Reporter Ashley stated. "So much death, so much destruction...this disaster could have been avoided if much better decisions were made by our nation''s security."


    As Ada listened, a devious smile was formed on her face.


    "Thank you, guys," Ada said. "I had a good feeling you criminals wouldn''t die so easily. So, because of the threat you all imposed on this country...all eyes are focused on you."


    Putting away her makeup, brush, and other beauty care products, Ada stood up.


    Thank you, criminals...developer. You all made it easier for my people to fulfill their roles. I''ll achieve my goal without any issues.


    Looking at a clock on the wall, she checked the time. It was 12:25 pm.


    "Well, I suppose it''s time to get ready now."


    * * *


    "You buggers ready to die?" Jack mockingly asked, which unnerved Lancer more than he already was. In the eyes of the super soldiers, Nathan and Lancer, Jack disappeared. He instantly appeared standing on the side of a nearby building. What resulted after was a loud sonic boom.


    Splat!


    Jack disappeared once again, and a couple of super soldiers found their throats sliced. The sight of blood splatter from his comrades frightened Lancer.


    Jack didn''t stop at just a few. He continuously slit the throats of super soldiers as he zoomed through the area, hopping from buildings without losing any of his speed. Lancer watched in frustration as his comrades were getting murdered.


    Amid the slaughter, Nathan sneaked into a shelter in order to hide from the enemies.


    Jack! Damn you!


    Jack''s menacing cackles filled the air as he zoomed around, intensifying the feelings of helplessness among the super soldiers.


    How the hell is he not dead!? I don''t understand-- Lancer thought but was interrupted by a super soldier close beside him being slain.


    Out of pure instinct, Lancer lifted his arms to shield his neck, and immediately after, his right arm was sliced.


    "HAHAHA! NICE PREDICTION!!!" Jack commended condescendingly. "Good for you!"


    "How the hell did you get this fast!" Lancer blurted out, knowing Jack would hear as he moved at superfast speeds. "Were you just hiding your speed the first time we fought!?"


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    "Didn''t you listen to what I told you, bugger? I said I got stronger with every kill!" Jack retorted. "The stronger my victim is, the higher my physical attributes increase! My physical speed goes up higher cuz of my inherited speed blessing."


    When the hell did he even have that blessing!? It was only supposed to be speed, dammit!


    "Nailhead!" Lancer called out, who was still clutching his bleeding eyes. "We super soldiers have inhibited pain receptors, so would you stop acting like a damn baby and do something!?"


    "Shut the hell up!" Nailhead angrily yelled. "That bastard sliced my f*cking eyes!!!"


    It''s not just your eyes that''ll get messed up! Jack thought. My daggers aren''t strong enough to pierce your body, so let''s try this!


    Jack began to move even faster. His speed attained such preposterous levels that pure white line streaks were everywhere as he moved. The lines even manifested through buildings, indicating that not even infrastructure could get in Jack''s way.


    Simultaneously, Zombie arrived with his group of super soldiers.


    "What the hell is going on!?" Zombie asked as he noticed the fallen comrades and Nailhead''s bleeding eyes. "Where''s Jack!?"


    "I-I have no...clue..." Lancer responded. "Even if I listen to the bangs resulting from the sonic booms, it''s only futile. It''s as if sound is nothing but an illusion to him."


    Yeah...this is enough...with this speed, I can take down that meathead!


    Using the speed he had accumulated from moving around, Jack suddenly charged at Nailhead. Nailhead could not hope to realize this, especially with his damaged eyes.


    In a flash, Jack delivered a knee strike to Nailhead''s chin. Jack''s physical power was greatly amplified by the air pressure he generated from zooming around. That resulted in a devastating strike, which sent the super soldier through many buildings.


    "Oh, that was a good strike, huh, buggers?" Jack nonchalantly asked both Lancer and Zombie, to which they finally noticed the criminal standing before them. "Let''s see if he''s still good," Jack said before once again disappearing before their eyes.


    "Dammit! Get him!" Zombie frantically ordered.


    After being struck by Jack, Nailhead struggled to pull himself up. His mouth was open and unable to close, as his jaw was hanging much farther than what was physically possible, only connected by a few pieces of skin. Even worse, his teeth fell out as he desperately tried to close his mouth forcibly.


    "Wow, bugger," Jack said as he appeared before and stooped to Nailhead''s level. "You''re jaw is just f*cked, huh?"


    Nailhead turned in Jack''s direction, and although his eyes and mouth were destroyed, Jack could tell that Nailhead was seething with rage. Unsurprisingly, Jack became amused at his anger.


    "Unfortunately, your body is so tough. Otherwise I wouldn''t have to go for soft spots on your body," Jack said. "Oh well. Die, bugger."


    In a swift motion, Jack sliced a large part of Nailhead''s tongue, and like a fountain, blood immediately flowed excessively.


    "JACK!" Lancer yelled as he and Zombie rushed Jack to land an attack. It was futile, of course, as Jack moved away.


    "Just in time, guys!" Jack said as he appeared a good distance away. "You came just in time to see one of your strongest comrades kick the bucket!"


    With concern and frustration on their faces, they looked over to Nailhead. They saw just in time as the life left their ally''s body, and his body relaxed to the ground. He was lying face-first in the blood that was flowing from his severed tongue.


    This guy became a super soldier when crime was most rampant. Zombie thought. Out of us all, he was forced to make the most modifications to his physical strength to combat the crime, which was why his mind...became skewed. Apart from the blessed slaughterer, he had the highest physical strength...and Jack killed him!?


    Suddenly, Jack began moving around once again. The super soldiers, who arrived a bit later due to being slower, wanted to attack Jack, but they knew it was impossible with his current speed. The blessed hunter was the same, as the only thing Lancer could do was hold his spear.


    Once again, Jack''s maniacal laughter was audible.


    "HAHAHA! Lancer was it!?" Jack suddenly asked, shocking Lancer as his codename was yelled out. "I''ll kill you next! Didn''t you say that my speed was disappointing!? So why the hell can''t you keep up!? Haha...How the hell do you think you guys can win!?"


    This declaration by Jack only caused Lancer to become fearful. For the super soldier, thoughts of his own death might become real.

 Ch. 73 - Hedonistic Thrill (Part 3)

    Meanwhile, Jack was massacring the super soldiers, and Charles and the blessed slaughterer continued to fight.


    The blessed slaughterer held to his word and fought without restraining himself. Buildings were collapsing on themselves as they fought.


    He sent Charles rolling across the terrain with a kick before quickly pulling two combat knives from leg holsters. Charles regained his balance and stopped rolling. Simultaneously, the blessed slaughterer charged at Charles, breaking the ground apart where he moved from.


    Charles quickly backpedaled to keep up with the blessed slaughterer''s incoming attack. As he caught up, the super soldier swung his knives at Charles repeatedly. He swung them very quickly and masterfully, even spinning around.


    Although Charles nicely avoided them as he was moving backward, it was clear that his speed was not enough. Cuts appeared on his body as the blessed slaughterer landed a few, although it was superficial.


    "Ha! Those sticks can''t take me down!" Charles confidently declared. "My body is too strong for that--"


    Waiting for him to dodge a specific knife slash, the blessed slaughterer struck. He delivered a strong elbow strike to Charles''s nose, propelling him into another building. That was when Charles realized that all those knife swings were, but a feint, just for the blessed slaughterer to read the timing of his dodges.


    What an idiot...you must be stupid if you thought I didn''t know that. The blessed slaughterer said before throwing his knives away and chasing Charles while he crashed into the building.


    The blessed slaughterer slammed into Charles with his foot planted on his face. The super soldier jumped off, causing Charles to slightly lose balance. He attempted to counter by swiping as the blessed slaughterer landed, but showing off his flexibility, the blessed slaughterer bent backward to a ninety-degree angle and avoided.


    He immediately followed up with another elbow strike with his left before spinning around and following up with a hook with his right, both to Charles''s jaw. He launched him into an already destroyed building.


    If I keep laying on the hits, it won''t be long before he goes down! The blessed slaughterer thought as he dashed up to the ruined infrastructure. I don''t need to kill anymore--


    Charles suddenly dashed out of the building and grabbed the super soldier''s arm, surprising him.


    "Good! Let''s fight some more!" Charles declared as he spun around with him before tossing the super soldier across multiple city blocks. He eventually crashed into a diner.


    "Ugh..." The blessed slaughterer groaned as he leaned up from the debris. He was not able to hear his groans as he could hear the intense screams of civilians inside. While he leaned up, he felt a strange sensation in his hand. Looking at his hand, the blessed slaughterer noticed his palm covered with red liquid.


    As he looked around, he noticed bloodstains everywhere, and both injured and dead civilians were crushed under debris, injured from the broken window shards, and impaled by obstructions.


    He could feel his heart and breathing rate increase as he had a clear view of the disaster.


    Tsk! More innocent lives--


    As he let his emotions distract him, Charles rushed in and delivered a powerful strike to his gut. The entire diner was destroyed, and the survivors died as a result.


    "HAHA! MORE! LET''S FIGHT MORE!" Charles declared with pure excitement on his face.


    Charles did not let up as he caught up and began striking his opponent through other buildings. He struck him several times before grabbing the blessed slaughterer''s face and tossing him straight into a gas station.


    Civilians who were inside the gas station''s convenience store, hiding from the intense destruction they witnessed, had no idea what just happened when suddenly, the entire gas station exploded.


    The explosion flattened nearby buildings and tossed vehicles. All life in the vicinity died from either the explosion or the hurdling vehicles. A large smoke cloud was also generated from the explosion.


    * * *


    Meanwhile, Jack still had fun with slaughtering the super soldiers. Nathan peeked from his hiding place and saw the super soldiers being cut down by seemingly nothing.


    Yeah, Jack can handle this. Nathan thought. I don''t need to be reckless...and I don''t need to kill, at least.


    "I-I''ll deal with the criminal that went to hide in that building!" A super soldier said to Lancer and Zombie. Before they could say anything, Jack suddenly appeared beside the super soldier, resting his hand on his shoulder.


    "Huh? How can you deal with him?" Jack asked as the super soldier continued gazed at Zombie and Lancer, not yet registering his presence. "When you''re already dead?"


    Jack''s presence finally hit the super soldier, and he immediately tried to punch him. It was pointless as Jack disappeared once again.


    Almost instantly, the super soldier''s right arm fell from his body.


    "Huh?" The super soldier said as he noticed. He was rendered helpless, as his left arm also fell off. Next was his right leg, causing the super soldier to lose their balance. As he fell, his limbs came apart, along with his head.


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    Lancer and Zombie watched in pure shock. Sweat fell from Lancer''s face as he became even more fearful.


    "HAHAHAHAHA!" Jack cackled.


    "W-We need...to do...something..." Zombie stuttered.


    "D-Do...what?" Lancer asked.


    "Something...anything!" Zombie exclaimed. "Anything to--"


    Amid Zombie''s sentence, Lancer was suddenly dragged away. He got forced to the ground, where he noticed Jack on top of him.


    "J-Jack!" Zombie yelled when he finally realized. Jack didn''t even acknowledge him as he stared at Lancer with a maniacal smile.


    "I told you..." Jack said as he raised his knife in the air. "I''ll kill you next!"


    What made it worse for Lancer was Jack''s psychotic smile and blood-lusted eyes as he drove the knife into his neck. Instantly, he drove the knife sideways and tore the side of Lancer''s throat out.


    Zombie tried to rush him but was too late as Jack dashed away.


    Zombie looked at his comrade, who helplessly was choking on his blood as he approached death. He could only helplessly look, with his mouth gaping open in shock.


    Not even giving him any time to process his comrade''s death, Jack appeared in front of him and jammed his knife in his tongue while Zombie''s mouth was open. Upon realizing this, Zombie held Jack so he wouldn''t escape before punching him in the face.


    Jack was knocked away but quickly stopped himself by stabbing his knives into the ground. His jaw was severely bruised, as was bleeding from the strike.


    "Wow, there''s no blood coming from your mouth, huh, bugger?" Jack said as he noticed no bleeding from Zombie. The bruises on Jack''s face instantly disappeared, going back to his usual, unblemished self. "And normally, people would be writhing in pain from being stabbed like that, but you look pretty composed."


    Dammit...He didn''t die from that! Zombie thought with frustration.


    "That''s strange, but I can have fun with you then!" Jack added.


    * * *


    The pungent smell of burning corpses filled the air as the smoke from the explosion cleared up. The blessed slaughterer slowly walked out of the remains of the smoke, revealing himself to be alive. Unsurprisingly, Charles was happy to see his survival.


    "Ah...dammit..." The blessed slaughterer muttered as he held his side. His uniform was in tatters, and he was bleeding profusely.


    How many cities...have we run through...? The blessed slaughterer thought. How many thousands...of civilians have died...?


    "This is fun, isn''t it!?" Charles asked. "I''m sure you feel the same way, right!?"


    Ignoring Charles, the blessed slaughterer looked around. He witnessed the utter destruction that they caused before gazing back on him.


    In anger, the blessed slaughterer began to rub his blood-stained hands in his hair.


    "You think...this is fun!?" The blessed slaughterer asked. "You really are...out of your mind!"


    "Haha! You say that, but I''m sure you''re finding this fun!" Charles countered. "You''re strong like me, so of course you''d find this fun--"


    Suddenly, blood began to run down Charles''s face from his eyes and mouth. Blood also began seeping from the arteries on Charles''s body, which surprised them both.


    What the hell? The blessed slaughterer thought with a look of confusion but immediately changed to a focused expression. Who cares. There''s an opening. I''ll kill him!


    He instantly charged at Charles and performed a right hook to his jaw, knocking him away. Knowing that would not nearly be enough to kill him, the blessed slaughterer caught up and delivered a flurry of attacks.


    Ugh...I knew this would happen. Using physical enhancement stacking for the first time would result in side effects since I am pushing the blood flow in my body beyond normal limits. Charles pondered. Haha...I won''t be able to use this for much longer.


    He proceeded to grab Charles''s head before delivering a knee strike. He followed up with a gut punch, sending the criminal.


    You know Charles...you might be right. The blessed slaughterer thought to himself. This might not be fun...but I guess this is stimulating.


    Charles got knocked into the air with a powerful uppercut. Immediately jumping up, the super soldier struck and sent him with another hook.


    There was a look of pure focus on his face as the blessed slaughterer struck the air behind him with his fist to propel himself through the air to catch up with Charles.


    My parents were killed by criminals like you, leaving me with nothing. The blessed slaughterer continued pondering as he kept the intensity of his attacks. And at age sixteen...I was experimented on...to become what I am now...


    He hit Charles with multiple aerial strikes, each creating devastating sonic booms.


    In my entire time as the blessed slaughterer, for sixteen years, I never lost a battle to any criminal. I was the strongest. I even got this arm to ensure that no criminal would survive. I never had to push myself, so I suppose I felt an emptiness in my heart...but...


    Charles tried counter-attacking, but his arm was deflected. He immediately performed a palm-heel strike to Charles''s face. Large amounts of blood flew from Charles''s mouth as a result.


    I''m all loaded up! The blessed slaughterer thought as he clenched the fist of his metallic arm. It radiated an intense glow of energy. I''ll strike him with everything! I''ll kill him, then help the others with Jack!


    Using everything he had, the blessed slaughterer delivered a powerful haymaker to Charles with his glowing fist. As if transferring the power from his arm, the right side (where the blessed slaughterer struck) of Charles''s face had the same orange glow.


    He sent Charles crashing into a nearby building, causing a massive explosion. The explosion was so large that it covered an entire city block, destroying all property.


    The blessed slaughterer saw the damage he caused and looked with a face of slight regret. Distracted by his emotions again and unable to see Charles through the smoke cloud generated from the explosion, Charles immediately rushed him and delivered a devastating drop kick.


    The right side of Charles''s face was heavily burnt, even to his eyes. It was as if he had two faces. That didn''t bother him, though, as he was still excited.


    Blood flowed out the blessed slaughterer''s mouth as he soared across the area from the drop kick.


    Yes...this was the stimulation my heart wanted...But this is not how I wanted it! The blessed slaughterer thought while he crashed into a collapsed building.


    Ugh...I never had a problem with killing criminal bastards...they killed my parents, after all. But, so many innocent lives are lost today...and it''s because of me...!


    Suddenly, Charles picked up the remains of what seemed to be a skyscraper before spinning around and tossing it at the blessed slaughterer. Simultaneously, the blessed prosthetic arm began glowing again.


    Noticing the building hurdling at him at extreme speeds, the blessed slaughterer knew it would be hard to dodge, so he decided to strike it with his radiating arm. He blew the building up, causing countless rubble to be propelled and rain down on the area, resulting in even more destruction.


    Dammit...I never wanted this. I can''t focus fully...because of how many lives I took. I''m...sorry.


    Through the raining rubble, Charles charged up to the blessed slaughterer. He then delivered a combination of right and left hooks before spiking the super soldier into the ground. The blessed slaughterer''s impact destroyed the ground.


    The blessed slaughterer was on his last legs. He was on all fours as he found it difficult to get up. Charles, also significantly injured, landed in front of the blessed slaughterer.


    "Urrrggghhh..." The blessed slaughterer groaned before coughing up more blood.


    "It looks like you can''t continue anymore," Charles said. "Thank you for this fight! It was the greatest I''ve ever had!"

 Ch. 74 - Hedonistic Thrill (Part 4)

    Meanwhile, Jack stood face-to-face with Zombie. He felt no harm, as he even began performing knife tricks in his hands, spinning them around his fingers.


    "I''m sure you''re aware, but you have no more allies remaining," Jack said with a smirk. "Probably, there are a couple out and about, but that''s nothing, and we both know the regular soldiers are useless. Speaking of which, I haven''t seen much of them."


    How can I combat his speed? Zombie asked himself as Jack monologued. Since my pain receptors are dead, if I let him stab me...I can counter without worry...but landing the hits is the hard part!


    "Eh, I guess they''re far too slow to keep up with any of us," Jack concluded before ceasing his knife tricks. "Well then..."


    While holding his knives, Jack lifted his right arm to his neck and his left to his stomach, putting himself in his fighting stance. Seeing his preparation to attack, the super soldier became focused.


    Jack suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind the back of Zombie. Before the opponent could react, Jack swung his knives several times, which left numerous graze marks on Zombie''s back.


    After registering his movement, Zombie quickly turned around while simultaneously performing a roundhouse kick. Jack effortlessly leaned back, and Zombie''s leg brushed against his hair.


    Jack kept his flow and continued inflicting cuts on Zombie''s body. The super soldier could not bring him down due to the speed at which Jack moved and avoided his strikes.


    "Haha! My knives were made from some of the strongest metal, but the best I can do is leave small cuts." Jack stated as he slashed Zombie. "My knives will break if I attempt lethal stabs!"


    Zombie was slightly frustrated as he couldn''t land any hits. His frustration was slightly intensified by Jack''s casual talking as if he felt no danger whatsoever.


    "My knives normally would break before piercing your body." Jack continued. "But with people like you, there''s always a way!"


    Suddenly, Jack thrust his knife right into the jaw of the left side of Zombie''s face. Due to its softer nature compared to other parts of the body, he could drive his knife right through.


    "How''s that, bugger?" Jack cockily asked. Much to his surprise, however, Zombie casually pulled the knife out of his jaw and swung it at Jack. Of course, he dodged, but his reaction time was slower due to the surprise of witnessing his opponent''s actions.


    What? Does this bugger not feel pain? Wait, does he even bleed?


    "Oh ho, using my weapon against me?" Jack teased as he regained his smile. "You''ve done it now!"


    He pulled another knife from his coat to compensate for his lost equipment before continuing his assault on Zombie.


    Let''s see how much this bugger can take!


    Jack made his killing intent clear, as he only went for the usual weak spots on a human body. As he attacked, he drove his knife into Zombie''s jaw once more. He continued by slicing his right ear off.


    Zombie made no flinches as if the pain didn''t register to him, which slightly confused Jack. He simply continued to attack the criminal in hopes of landing a strike.


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    What the hell? Is this guy even human? Jack thought as he stopped attacking. Zombie seemingly saw an opportunity to unleash a rush of attacks. That opportunity he saw was false, as although Jack stopped attacking, he never let his guard down.


    Jack avoided his attacks before stabbing him in the throat faster than he could perceive. Simultaneously, with his other knife, he drove it into the weakest point of Zombie''s head - his temple.


    Jack moved backward to create a distance and to see what Zombie''s next move would be. He wondered if he had landed killing blows now.


    As if it was a minor inconvenience, Zombie pulled the knives from his throat and temple, revealing the wounds but no blood. That understandably shocked Jack heavily.


    "What the...how aren''t you dead?" Jack asked. Zombie strangely had a downtrodden expression.


    "Damn it..." Zombie muttered, which confused Jack. "Is this...all I can do...?"


    You were just a regular soldier before all this, Zombie... He began pondering. You were killed on duty...You died, and then you were awake. You were an exclusive test for the military - a super-soldier made from the dead.


    "What are you thinking about?" Jack asked as Zombie strangely kept still.


    Your bodily functions were mostly dead...except for your brain and muscular system. The scientists preserved those for the experiments. Zombie continued pondering. After getting your body significantly modified, you became a super soldier who could not die. You became one of the best...and this is all you can do?


    "It''s not as fun when my victims show zero signs of pain," Jack spoke. "You''re called Zombie, huh? Well, it makes sense, considering the things you survive. For a criminal like me who loves murdering, I guess you would think that the best counter would be someone who''s basically dead."


    ...The other criminal, Nathan Hayes, is in that nearby building. Zombie thought as he gazed at the building. If I can''t kill Jack the Ripper...I''ll at least eliminate him!


    "I wonder if you''ll die if I''m able to decapitate you?" Jack wondered. "If you''re going to just stand there, then I''ll kill you!" Jack declared before running at Zombie. He attempted to slice his throat once more. Simultaneously, however, Zombie also moved off, which messed up the timing of Jack''s attack.


    He unintentionally struck his shoulder, which caused his knife to shatter upon impact. Zombie completely disregarded him and went straight for Nathan.


    "Going for Nathan, huh?" Jack said with a sly smirk. "I''m not done with you, though!"


    * * *


    Nathan was chilling in his shelter, waiting for the fights to pass over.


    I wonder what''s going to happen after this. Nathan thought as he was lying on the ground, staring at the ceiling. There''s no way we''ll be free, especially after everything that happened. It doesn''t matter though! I''ll use everything I have to protect Lilith and ensure we both survive! He thought while he gripped his fist in a determined manner.


    "S-Class criminal, Nathan Hayes!" Zombie said as he suddenly appeared before him.


    "What!?" Nathan uttered as he suddenly sat up.


    "Die--" Zombie declared but was interrupted by Jack, who jumped on his back and drove his knives into both of the super soldier''s eyes. He also wrapped his legs around his back amid the stab.


    "J-Jeez!" Nathan spouted as he took multiple steps backward.


    "Damn it! Jack!" Zombie exclaimed as he tried to grab Jack, who was clinging to his back. That proved unsuccessful, as Jack moved to the sides on his back while avoiding his grabs. He removed his knives from his eye sockets before plunging them consecutively.


    Nathan witnessed in pure shock at Jack''s sheer brutality. What made it worse was that he had his usual psychotic grin.


    "What...the hell..." Nathan muttered.


    "HAHAHA! WHAT A FOOLISH MOVE, BUGGER!" Jack loudly mocked. Having enough fun, Jack came off his back and proceeded to hold the knives which were firmly planted in his eye sockets, and tossed Zombie back outside.


    "That was a good try, but you underestimated how fast I am now," Jack said. "And I thought you guys already experienced it firsthand already."


    "Dammit...sometimes...you have to...try." Zombie stood up as he pulled the knives out of his eye sockets, revealing black husks where his eyes were supposed to be.


    "I suppose that''s true." Jack agreed. "Even though I could go even faster..."


    "What!?" Zombie asked.


    "Haha, you''re conversing with me when you have no eyes and one ear." Jack laughed. "Bloody hell, whatever experiments they did to make you super soldiers, it''s pretty crazy, mate."


    Amid his conversation, something caught Jack''s eye. At around cloud level, he noticed a long streak of strange clouds. The cause was clear to Jack as he noticed a jet approaching their vicinity.


    Huh? A plane? Are more buggers showing up for reinforcements?

 Ch. 75 - Hedonistic Thrill (Part 5)

    Huh? A plane? Are more buggers showing up for reinforcements? Jack thought. Well, that means more enjoyment for me.


    RING! RING!


    Suddenly, Jack''s phone began to ring, which surprised him because he was not expecting a phone call amid a battle.


    What now?


    Zombie did not try to engage Jack in combat as he no longer had his eyes and an ear. With his significantly diminished senses, he could not pinpoint Jack''s location, and the murderer knew it.


    Knowing that he was safe, Jack decided to answer the phone call.


    "Hello, what''s occurring?" Jack asked.


    "Jack, you gotta get out of the vicinity!" Zack''s frantic voice echoed through the phone, which surprised Jack.


    "Huh?"


    * * *


    Going back around a half hour in the past, Zack had just defeated the super soldier.


    "Do you know how to fly a plane?" The developer randomly asked.


    "Huh? Fly a plane?" Zack repeated. "What type of question is that--"


    "C''mon, quit wasting time." The developer snapped. "You can, right?"


    "W-Well, I was taught in the organization I got forced to work for..." Zack replied.


    "Good."


    "Hello again, Zack." A familiar voice said, which attracted Zack''s attention. Looking in that direction, Zack saw all the NPCs and Lilith approaching.


    "Huh? You guys?" Zack confusedly questioned.


    "Jeez, you look horrible!" The doctor said in concern as she noticed Zack''s injuries. She quickly skipped over and applied her miraculous green glow of healing onto him.


    "I-If you guys were going to come here, then why didn''t you follow me in the first place!?" Zack asked with an annoyed expression. "I nearly got my ass handed to a super soldier!"


    "You did well on your own," The NPC countered, to which Zack scoffed. "But we can''t focus on that."


    "Hmm?"


    "Your party mates will soon fight some of the strongest super soldiers the military has to offer, and Olivia is in preparation to be executed." The developer explained. "The only way you can help in time is if you drop the payload from an aircraft...and activate it onto the battlefield."


    As if realizing what was at stake, Zack became unnerved. Taking a deep breath, however, he calmed himself and immediately set forth to an aircraft in the military base hangar.


    "Tsk! I get how it will help in the battle, but how will blowing shit up help Olivia escape death?" Zack asked.


    "Your blessing can significantly enhance the explosive yield of all explosives. If you use your blessing on the explosives in the trailer...it''ll create widespread effects." The NPC replied. "And that''s where your party mates should come in..."


    "...Is this why you wanted us to retrieve the trailer from the warehouse back then?" Zack questioned.


    "Yup, I knew it would have come handy." The developer replied. "I saved it...for you, Zack."


    "...Sigh, I hope your plan works," Zack said. I hope all my friends survive this...


    Zack wasted no time and located an aircraft - a cargo plane. Zack entered it without any keys, which he assumed to be the developer''s help. He proceeded to open the end of the aircraft, which caused a ramp to be extended from it.


    He quickly hopped in the trailer and drove it up the ramp while the NPCs and Lilith simultaneously entered the aircraft. After completing the necessary preparations, Zack closed the end before hopping into the cockpit. The rest of the group also stood around his seat.


    "Uh...how does this work again..." Zack said as he looked at the array of controls with slight confusion.


    "W...We can''t waste any time," Lilith said. "We need to help Nathan."


    "Yeah, sorry...I think I got it now..." Zack said before flicking a few switches. A whirring sound was audible as the plane''s engines were starting up. The plane also started moving out of the hangar.


    "Heh, Pilot Zack, ready for takeoff," Zack stated with a smug smile, to which everyone looked away with cringed expressions. After finally leaving the hangar, the plane took to the air, its landing wheels folding in as its use expired.


    As Zack controlled it from the cockpit, the plane quickly ascended to the skies.


    "Let''s go!" Zack exclaimed as the plane quickly accelerated, emitting a sonic boom.


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    * * *


    At the same time, Olivia was taken out of her cell. She was escorted by Officer James and his officer comrades. The walk was a solemn one, as no one spoke. Olivia and the officers knew what they brought her out of her cell for - this was the last walk Olivia would ever do.


    It did not make it any better that she was still majorly depressed from being betrayed.


    "We''re here..." Officer James said as they suddenly stopped. Beside Olivia was her destined room. The first thing that caught her eye was Warden Mathers. He stood there, expectant of her arrival.


    Her gaze upon the warden was only temporary, as Olivia noticed why she was brought to this room. In the center of the room was a metallic chair equipped with numerous straps on the legs and back, along with wire connected to it, that ran from the walls.


    That was the last chair Olivia would sit in - the chair that would spell her end, which unnerved her greatly. She immediately broke out in a sweat, and the life in her legs gave. She began falling but was immediately caught by the escorting officers.


    Oh...god...


    * * *


    Back on the battlefield, the fight between Charles and the blessed slaughterer was all but concluded.


    "Urrrggghhh..." The blessed slaughterer groaned before coughing up more blood.


    "It looks like you can''t continue anymore," Charles said. "Thank you for this fight! It was the greatest I''ve ever had!"


    I...I can''t go out...like this! The blessed slaughterer thought as Charles began to approach him. Mustering his strength, the blessed slaughterer suddenly lunged at Charles when he got close enough. He delivered a headbutt, which was strong enough to cause heavy blood spray from Charles''s nasal canals.


    Desperate to kill Charles, he followed up with a powerful right hook to the burnt side of the criminal''s face. The punch forced Charles to move backward several meters.


    "Haha, nice..." Charles commended as he wiped blood from his nose and mouth. "Fighting till the end...good."


    Charles immediately rushed forth, striking the blessed slaughterer with his own headbutt, and followed up with a double downward handle strike, slamming him into the ground once more.


    "Too bad...I''ll never lose a fight!" Charles added.


    The blessed slaughterer knew he was out of gas now, for he was barely conscious.


    I''m sorry... The blessed slaughterer mentally apologized. I used everything I had...but my mind could never completely disregard the loss of lives...I suppose that''s why I lost...


    "Before I kill you...I want to know something..." Charles suddenly said. "What is your true name?"


    There was a few seconds of silence as the blessed slaughterer breathed audibly due to his injuries.


    "...My...name..." The blessed slaughterer responded. "I have...no memories...of that...I suppose it comes with...being a blessed...hunter...and even...if I did...I would never tell...a criminal...like you..."


    "...I see," Charles said in a slightly disappointed manner. Suddenly, his muscles began decreasing in size and returning to normal. The arteries also ceased visibility on his skin. "Well, I will never forget you, blessed slaughterer..."


    Charles decided to end it by stooping over his enemy while clenching his fist.


    "...Someday...you criminals...will meet the same fate...as your victims..." The blessed slaughterer softly uttered. "You...will not go...unpunished..."


    "Haha...that just sounds like a good fight!" Charles countered. "I can''t wait for that day!"


    Charles delivered the finishing blow - five powerful strikes to the super soldier''s dome. Each strike caused sporadic movement in the blessed slaughterer and intense blood splatter. When Charles delivered the fifth blow, he realized the super soldier was no longer conscious.


    The blessed slaughterer had died.


    "Phew..."


    "Hey, meathead!" Jack suddenly called out, which shocked Charles. Jack suddenly appeared in front of his ally while holding Nathan''s collar.


    "What gives!" Nathan exclaimed with annoyance. "Why did you suddenly grab me!?"


    Suddenly, Jack pointed in the sky, specifically to the plane that was in the vicinity.


    "Do you guys see that!?" Jack asked. "That''s Zack, and he''s going to nuke this area."


    "Huh, what!?" Nathan uttered with understandable confusion.


    "The developer told me. If we don''t get out of here, we''re getting blown to hell, mate." Jack remarked. Nathan suddenly began breaking out in sweat from that revelation.


    Why the hell am I surrounded by crazy people!? Nathan asked himself.


    "Heh, I''m fine with leaving," Charles said. "I''ve already accomplished what I set here for."


    * * *


    "Zack, this is the perfect area." The developer said. "Open the back and drop the payload."


    "What about Nathan?" Lilith asked with understandable concern. "Won''t he get caught in it?"


    "Don''t worry, I''ve planned for that." The developer said. "And make sure to ascend as high as you can. The explosion will be rather powerful."


    "Okay...I''m going to drop it." Zack agreed as he switched on a few buttons. Suddenly, the back of the plane began opening. While it was opening, it hit the group - the air pressure which attempted to suck them out.


    The NPC acted quickly, however, as he grabbed Lilith and the others. He didn''t seem affected whatsoever as he stood his ground.


    As the ramp protruded, the trailer slid out before dropping completely. Simultaneously, Zack began ascending the plane, just as the developer said.


    * * *


    Back to Olivia, they had strapped her in the electric chair and were waiting for the analog clock to strike at 1 pm. It was 12: 55 pm currently.


    "Olivia...do you have any last words?" Warden Mathers asked as he stood by a lever fixed to the execution chamber wall. That was the switch to activate the voltage and end Olivia''s life.


    "Last words..." Olivia muttered. "Yes...I have a few words I''d like to say..."


    * * *


    As the trailer fell from the sky, it began to glow orange. To the human eyes, it would seem like a shooting star or a ball of fire descending onto the earth.


    * * *


    "Huh? What''s that?" A soldier said to his comrades as they seemed to be helping injured civilians to safety in other cities.


    "Huh? What the hell is that now!?" Another soldier said as their attention was turned. "Tsk! That is why we should have gone with the other soldiers and left this godforsaken country! We should have left it to the super soldiers!!!"


    What was about to happen in a few moments, no one could imagine the scale. Not the civilians in hiding, not the civilians in the airports attempting to leave the country from the threat of the S-Class criminals, and not the civilians in other states going about their daily lives, thinking that they''re safe from the chaos.


    * * *


    "I''m sorry, guys...for betraying you," Olivia said, which bewildered everyone. "And...I hate you, Ada..."


    Ramblings of a murderer... Warden Mathers concluded.


    Warden Mathers saw that the clock struck one. He looked over to an officer who had several cell phones in front of him.


    "No calls, huh..." Warden Mathers said as he put his hand on the lever.


    * * *


    Jack immediately grabbed Nathan and Charles and dashed off. A streak was visible as he moved.


    BOOOOOOOMMM!!!!


    The ball of energy that was once the trailer instantly expanded into a ridiculous explosion. The explosion annihilated everything in its path - infrastructure, wildlife, and all living beings...everything was gone instantly.


    After ascending to the maximum, Zack spectated the explosion. As it formed into a massive mushroom cloud, a psychotic smile strangely formed on his face. He just couldn''t help it.


    Beautiful...

 Ch. 76 - Ironic Savior (2)

    Beautiful...


    The explosion''s mushroom cloud stopped increasing in size after enveloping the city. The resulting shockwave, however, did not stop. The shockwave moved at transonic speeds and lay waste to everything in its omnidirectional path.


    Zack kept watching his handiwork, blissfully unaware of the incoming shockwave.


    "Wow, I''ve never seen an explosion as big as that--"


    BANG!


    Zack was interrupted by the sudden shaking of the plane.


    "Ugh! What the..." Zack uttered as his body was being forcibly jerked. "Why is there turbulence!? We''re over ten thousand meters in the air...freaking cloud level!"


    "It seems you underestimated how powerful the yield would be." The NPC stated, as he seemed perfectly fine, unlike his comrades and Lilith, who were uncontrollably shaking from the turbulence.


    BEEP! BEEP! An alarming noise filled the plane as if warning Zack about the dangerous air pressure.


    "God dammit!" Zack yelled as he tried his best to regain control of the cargo plane but to no avail. His nervousness was matched with Lilith, who desperately tried bracing herself in the plane.


    "NPC," The developer suddenly said.


    "Yes, developer...I know." The NPC said before suddenly grabbing Zack and Lilith on their shoulders.


    "Huh?" Lilith uttered.


    "Let''s get out of here." The NPC stated.


    * * *


    After covering many miles from ground zero of the blast, Jack finally stopped moving.


    "Why the hell did Zack do that!?" Nathan said as Jack let both him and Charles go.


    "You''re asking me, mate?" Jack responded with an odd smile. "I don''t know, but the amount of destruction Zack caused, plus the deaths are likely immense. In my twenty eight years of living, I don''t think I''ve experienced a better day than this."


    This psychotic piece of f*cking shit... Nathan thought as he stared at Jack with contempt.


    Meanwhile, Charles looked at the horizon and noticed the incoming airwave.


    "Huh, I don''t think you carried us far enough, Jack." Charles casually said, which garnered their attention.


    "Hu-- WHAT THE HELL!?" Nathan exclaimed with clear panic in his voice. In contrast, Charles and Jack kept calm in the situation.


    "Oh my," Jack said as the rush of air came dangerously close. "Eh, it''s survivable..."


    "HELP ME--!"


    Just like that, the shockwave carried the trio with it.


    * * *


    "I''m sorry, guys...for betraying you," Olivia said, which bewildered everyone. "And...I hate you, Ada..."


    Ramblings of a murderer... Warden Mathers concluded.


    Warden Mathers saw that the clock struck one. He looked over to an officer who had several cell phones in front of him.


    "No calls, huh..." Warden Mathers said as he put his hand on the lever.


    BOOM!!!


    What sounded like an explosion on the walls of the complex, the prison shook slightly. That frightened the Warden Mathers, his men, and Olivia, but what shook them more was that the lights in the execution chamber began flickering.


    What the hell was that noise!? Warden Mathers thought. Prioritizing the execution of Olivia, however, he pulled the lever to activate the electric chair. Seeing this immediately made Olivia''s heart drop, but by some saving grace, it failed to activate - the lights went out in the execution chamber.


    "Damn it! Why now!" Warden Mathers yelled.


    "Sir! The power source is already hooked up to our backup generator! All I have to do is turn it on!" Officer James suggested with quick thinking.


    "Yes...do that quickly!" Mathers responded. "And the rest of you check outside for the cause of that loud bang!"


    Understanding their orders, the officers immediately set out. There was a slight look of life in Olivia''s eyes. She did not want to gain any false hope, so the light slightly diminished.


    "Tsk! There''s always something annoying with you S-Class criminals." He remarked.


    Oh...it must be a coincidence...I still...won''t live...


    * * *


    Back to where the trio of criminals were, Jack pulled himself out of the rubble on the ground.


    "See, I''m sure you guys survived that," Jack stated as he looked around. Just as he expected, so were his allies alive.


    "Ugh..." The groans of Nathan were audible as he pulled himself from the ground. He was rather bruised from being rag-dolled across the ground by the airwave, but he was alive, which relieved him. "I''m never...doing shit like this...again..."


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    "Haha! It wasn''t too bad!" Charles interjected as he approached them.


    "Jeez...how the hell are you alive?" Nathan asked as he noticed Charles''s injuries in his fight against the blessed slaughterer.


    RING! RING! Jack''s phone began to ring once again, which shocked him.


    "Huh? There''s still a signal here!?" Jack questioned. "What type of phones did the developer even give us!?"


    "Hey again, Jack, good job on saving your party mates. I''ll make this quick, though." The developer said on the phone. "Olivia was about to be executed, but the explosion Zack caused resulted in a halt. But it''s only a matter of time until the ones responsible for the execution work around that halt. That''s where I need you to save Olivia."


    "Woah, woah, woah. What do you mean me, mate?" Jack retorted. "Why should I save her?"


    "You''re the only one fast enough who can." The developer explained. "Plus, you did say you''d be a team player when I brought you in on my little game."


    In response, Jack scoffed.


    "Meh, fine, I''ll do it." Jack obliged. "Where is the prison?"


    "It''s at the Kootenai County in Idaho." The developer revealed. "Around a hundred miles southeast from where you are."


    Sigh, I''m only doing this cause Olivia would probably be useful in killing more people. Jack concluded as he dragged his foot back. Hopefully, there are a lot of buggers at the prison to murder...


    Before Nathan and Charles'' eyes, Jack disappeared, instantly producing a sonic boom.


    "Sigh, I just wanna sleep..." Nathan muttered.


    * * *


    It was only thirty seconds after the developer called Jack''s phone when he arrived at the prison complex. Simultaneously, the officers instructed to check what caused the bang they heard coming outside.


    "Hmm...I don''t see anything strange..." An officer said. "That''s weird...what the hell was that noise then..."


    "I don''t know--"


    "Hello, fellas!" Jack suddenly greeted them, which gained their attention. He was standing before the officers, who just registered his presence. Almost instantly, fear shrouded them to the point of breaking into sweat.


    "What''s wrong, buggers? Cold feet?" Jack mocked them.


    "S-Shit...I-Is that...Jack the Ri--" The officer couldn''t finish, as Jack instantly slashed their throat. Their words turned into a choke-filled unintelligible mumbling as blood filled their mouth. Unsurprisingly, the officer fell, and his allies finally registered what happened.


    "Sorry, guys. Don''t have much time to play." Jack said. "So, unfortunately, I''ll have to kill you quickly."


    * * *


    Meanwhile, light returned once again in the execution chamber. Officer James successfully switched on their backup power source to execute Olivia''s sentencing.


    "It''s all set now." Officer James stated.


    "Thank you, officer." Warden Mathers replied.


    There was a massive contrast between the light''s return and the remaining light in Olivia''s eyes - one returned while the other shimmered away. Olivia had completely run out of hope.


    "Finally..." Warden Mathers said as he held the lever. "It''s time to end this--"


    BANG!


    Suddenly, the door burst off its hinges and flew several meters across the room, which bewildered everyone. Casually, Jack entered.


    "JACK!" Warden Mathers immediately realized. In his realization, however, an immense fear came over his face. Sure, it may be the usual fear of an extremely powerful mass murderer like Jack in front of him, but it was more than that. What truly shook the warden was the fact that Jack''s clothing was completely drenched in blood.


    Was that his blood, or were others'' blood mixed with his own? If so, how many people could this psychopath possibly murder? These were the questions that ran through the warden''s mind. His thoughts were quickly interrupted by the realization of Jack being inches away from him.


    "Hello...'' Jack sarcastically greeted as he held the arm of the warden who was holding the lever.


    J-Jack? Olivia thought with confusion as to why he was there.


    "Get away from the warden--" Officer James yelled as he quickly tried to aim a firearm at Jack. Without averting his gaze from Warden Mathers, however, Jack tossed a knife right into the dome of the officer, killing him immediately.


    "Aww, you were so close to killing her, mate!" Jack mocked as he kept holding his arm. Warden Mathers attempted to struggle but could not move his arm even an inch. Jack''s strength was far too much for him.


    "Hey! I have an idea!" Jack suddenly stated as he threw the Warden to the ground. "Don''t you think it would be a waste to not use the electric chair!?"


    "H-Huh?"


    Suddenly, the straps used to restrain Olivia onto the chair were all destroyed. Jack freed his ally faster than they could register.


    "W-What?" Olivia uttered as she quickly stood up, finally registering being freed. Almost immediately, Jack grabbed the Warden and forced him onto the chair.


    "W-Wait...stop it!" Mathers desperately pleaded, which Jack ignored. Using his knives, he jammed them right through his hands into the arms of the electric chair.


    "AAAHHHH!!!" The warden yelled, but Jack continued. He did the same thing to his legs, which turned his scream into a blood-filled screech. Olivia simply watched from the side in the process. Feeling content, Jack returned to the lever.


    "See! You''ll get some use out of the chair after all!" Jack exclaimed with a sadistic smile.


    "STOP...IT...YOU...BASTARD!!!" Mathers strained to say as he was still under extreme pain from the knives.


    Ah...I love it when you guys beg for your lives...


    Without remorse, Jack pulled the lever and what resulted was the immediate transfer to deadly voltages through the chair and unto the Warden.


    "UUUGGGAAHHHHHHH!!!!" The warden screeched due to the gruesome pain he experienced. The scream was not the only indicator of its effect but also the soiled trousers of Warden Mathers. Jack watched this all with a satisfied smile on his face.


    In a short amount of time, Mathers succumbed to the voltage. Jack didn''t even bother to turn it off and simply left the electricity running.


    "Well, I''ve had my fun," Jack said as he turned to Olivia. "Let''s go, now."


    "G-Go...?" Olivia said with surprise before her expression changed to a downtrodden one. "I...I can''t go..."


    "Huh? Why not?"


    "I...I betrayed...you guys..." Olivia said as she slunk onto the ground. "I...t-told Ada...about your abilities...because I didn''t want...her to abandon me. She used that information...to strike a deal...with the military for a pardon...I''m sorry...I just wanted to be useful in her eyes...as she was my first...friend..."


    Jack listened to her as she vented.


    "I...was bullied...for being a weird kid in university that''s strangely good...with poison making..." Olivia continued as she began to sniffle with tears forming in her eyes. "I felt suffocated by...everyone...until I met Ada. I know she never cared for me...but she saved me...because of that...I betrayed you guys...and got you in all...this mess...I don''t deserve to live..."


    Silence filled the room for a few seconds before Jack broke it.


    "Really? That''s the reason you don''t deserve to live?" Jack asked, which surprised Olivia.


    "Y-Yes! I...was so stupidly focused on Ada...I didn''t think of anything...else!"


    "Sigh, well, I agree with you on one thing," Jack replied. "Focusing on other people is a really stupid thing to do."


    "What?"


    "Have you seen Charles, love?" Jack asked. "That meathead loves fighting more than anything. He doesn''t let anything or anyone get in the way of what he enjoys."


    "Yes, but--"


    "Take a look at me, love." Jack continued. "I''m a sadistic murderer, and I enjoy every second of it! Why do you think we''re so strong? We don''t let ourselves get shackled by anything...we simply do what we want. I''m a damn serial killer, and I understand that, so why the hell can''t you?"


    "Um..."


    "Sigh, you''re pretty good at sewing and poisoning right? You like those things, right?" Jack asked. Suddenly, he stooped in front of her and stretched his bloodied and bandaged hand towards her. "Free yourself from Ada and do the things you want...that''s the best way of getting back at her, I suppose."


    With widened eyes, Olivia stared at Jack. Jack was radiating light - as if he was the knight coming to rescue the princess. In her eyes, Jack was her savior.


    "So?"


    Mustering the courage, Olivia took Jack''s hand. Immediately, he pulled her up to her feet.


    "Good choice," Jack said. Looking at Jack, Olivia''s cheeks flushed with red, and she shyly turned away, which slightly confused Jack.


    Huh? Whatever, I don''t care...I can''t believe I helped someone...f*cking hell...the developer better treat me good to some murder in the future...


    "Anyways, let''s go back to the others now."

 Ch. 77 - Grand Reveal

    Shifting over to Ada''s point of view, she was being escorted in a sedan by a gang member.


    "What time is it now?" Ada asked her driver as she sat comfortably in the backseat.


    "It''s 12:59 pm, miss." The driver responded. "Is something the matter?"


    "No, it''s nothing," Ada replied. "I''m just eager to reach my destination as soon as possible."


    "Don''t worry, we''ll reach soon." The driver assured.


    Heh, Olivia''s supposed to be executed any minute, huh? How unfortunate for her--


    BOOM!!!


    The explosion caused by Zack happened on the horizon, which frightened Ada and her driver.


    "What the hell!?" Ada yelled as she instinctively took cover in the car. Simultaneously, the driver put all his force into pressing the brakes.


    What the hell is that explosion? A nuke? Ada thought as she noticed the mushroom cloud expanding.


    "There''s no way they''d drop a nuke on their own country just to get rid of threats!" The driver assumed. "They can''t be this dumb!"


    Yeah...that is true... Ada internally agreed. Why do I have a feeling that the developer is at play here...


    Suddenly, the driver noticed obstacles and whatnot coming in their direction at high speeds. The resulting airwave carried them.


    "Shit...Ma''am! Stay down!" The driver exclaimed as he quickly attempted a U-turn to gain distance. He could only go so far, as the airwave quickly caught up and carried the car like the rest of the obstructions.


    * * *


    Returning to the current time, Nathan and Charles had just witnessed Jack''s departure. Charles noticed a peculiar melancholic expression coming from Nathan.


    "What''s with the long face?" Charles asked. "Today was pretty exciting! So how could you be sad?"


    "Sigh, you wouldn''t understand..." Nathan replied.


    Damn it...The consequences of this war are hitting me as hard as that explosion... Nathan pondered. How the hell is Lilith supposed to have a normal life now...? She wanted to be a chef so badly...


    Speaking of Lilith, so she appeared - specifically, the NPC appeared. He suddenly appeared, holding Zack and the C. Specialist by their shirts. On his back also were the doctor, blacksmith, and Lilith. It was as if he was carrying pieces of luggage on his person.


    "Hu-- Lilith!" Nathan exclaimed as his gaze immediately shifted to his long-time friend. Upon seeing him, Lilith immediately jumped off the NPC''s back and ran to him. Simultaneously, the NPC freed Zack and the C. Specialist from his grip.


    "Hurk...couldn''t you...hurk...have removed us from the plane...more gently..." Zack muttered as he made hurling noises as if he was nauseous.


    "Well, I tried to be as gentle as I could when we were over cloud level." The NPC responded. The doctor immediately noticed Charles''s injuries, which mortified her.


    "Jeez, what''s with those injuries!?" The doctor questioned as she quickly approached him. "Why can''t you guys be more careful with yourselves!?" She scolded as she proceeded to heal him.


    "Nathan! I''m so glad you''re okay!" Lilith expressed as she went in for a hug, which Nathan happily reciprocated.


    "Me too...I''m glad you''re okay too..." Nathan responded. Amid their hug, Nathan''s gaze turned to the nauseous Zack, and his expression immediately turned to annoyance.


    "Hey, Zack..." Nathan called out. "Was that your bright idea of saving Olivia from execution?"


    "Uh..."


    "What would you''ve done if you--"


    "Ah...god dammit!" A voice loudly uttered, which gained everyone''s attention.


    "Huh, wait a minute," Nathan said as he let go of Lilith. "Doesn''t that sound like..."


    * * *


    After the airwave finally dispersed, the sedan Ada was in came to rest. Luckily, it was not flipped on its roof, which increased Ada''s chances of survival.


    "Ouch..." Ada groaned as she lifted herself. Before anything, Ada used her phone''s camera to check herself for any visible injuries. Much to her relief, the only thing she noticed was slight bruises on her arms and a very slight cut on her face.


    Dammit...my beautiful face! Ada angrily thought. I''m glad I''m alive but my beautiful face...dammit!


    She then looked at her chauffeur after confirming her injuries. He wasn''t nearly as lucky as his boss, as his heavily bleeding head leaned on the broken steering wheel. Shards of glass from the windshield fell onto his back. He was definitely in no condition to drive anymore.


    Tsk...how useless... Ada thought as she opened the car door and disembarked. Observing the landscape, Ada noticed the property destruction, which she immediately guessed the cause to be the explosion.


    "Tsk! God dammit!" Ada yelled in frustration. "Are you still going to get in my way, developer!?"


    Tsk...I should call Leon and the others to pick me up then...


    Deciding on her choice, she began to dial her comrades.


    "Hey, party mate..." Amid her dialing, she heard Nathan''s sarcastic voice. As she slowly turned to his voice, an onset of panic shrouded over her. She met the cold faces of not only Nathan but also Zack and Lilith, all approaching her. The NPCs surprisingly seemed indifferent.


    W-Why are they here!? Ada thought. Why are they still alive!?


    "What''s wrong? You seem like you''ve seen a ghost." Nathan mockingly asked with a sly smirk. "Are you okay?"


    "...Hey guys, I was just surprised to see you here..." Ada responded as she immediately fixed her facial expression. "I''m glad you''re okay!"


    "Yeah, same here. It would have been unfortunate if you died, Ada."


    "Yeah, well, I have to go now," Ada added as she quickly turned around. "I have somewhere to be..."


    "No, no, no...you''re not going anywhere," Nathan advised. The sound of cocking of a gun was audible, which immediately stopped Ada in her tracks. She slowly turned around to see Nathan holding a pistol and aiming right in her direction. "I''ve got some questions to ask you."


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    N-Nathan just...pulled a gun...on me!?


    "I''ve got three questions. One - How the hell did the military know where our base was? Two - Where were you in the war?"


    "Uhm..."


    "And three - What goal were you looking to accomplish for you to betray Olivia...betray us?"


    "...I don''t know what you''re talking about," Ada responded, feigning ignorance.


    "Oh?"


    Simultaneously, Jack appeared, along with Olivia, who he carried on his back.


    "Hey guys, I''m ba-- Oh my, look who we have here," Jack said as he noticed Ada, held at gunpoint.


    Olivia noticed as well, which caused concern to well up inside her.


    Olivia''s alive!? How the hell--wait...I can use that.


    "Olivia, help me, please! Tell Nathan to put away the gun!" Ada pleaded in a sincere tone. "I''m your friend. Help me!"


    "D-Don''t listen to her, Olivia..." Zack interjected, which slightly annoyed Ada.


    Tsk...I should have killed that idiot back at the mansion...


    All eyes were on Olivia to see what her decision would be. Olivia seemed conflicted due to her previous ''friendship'' with Ada and her current affiliation with everyone else. What cemented her decision, though, was taking one glance at Jack.


    Thus, she simply averted her gaze from Ada, which shocked her.


    What!? Did that bitch grow a spine all of a sudden or something!?


    "Who the hell is this now?" Jack said as he looked at Lilith. Lilith started to panic, not only because Jack the Ripper was here, looking at her, but also because he was drenched with blood. She could tell that he had killed many before this.


    The scent of blood filled Lilith''s nostrils, immediately inducing a nauseous sensation.


    "S-Stay...away..."


    "Huh!?" Jack said as he noticed her shocked expression, which immediately excited him. "Haha! Looks like you found yourself on the wrong side of the street, lady!"


    Before he could do anything, Zack came in between them.


    "S-Stop! She is Lilith, Nathan''s girlfriend!" Zack revealed, which shocked the party members.


    "Girlfriend?" Jack repeated.


    "S-She''s not my...girl...friend..." Nathan stuttered as his face was red with embarrassment. "But...don''t you dare lay a hand on her, Jack..." His expression immediately became cold, and his tone as well.


    She''s his girlfriend, huh... Jack pondered as he completely disregarded what Nathan said. Guess, I won''t be allowed to kill her now...Or it''ll complicate things with me and the developer...


    "Oh, my bad! Nice to meet you, love!" Jack added as his expression immediately changed to that of a friendly one. Lilith didn''t return his greeting, as she still was afraid of him, although she tried to hide it. She looked over at Nathan, who turned his focus back to Ada.


    I wish you didn''t have to kill again...but I know this is too personal to stop you...


    "Alright, that''s enough stalling, Ada...answer my damn questions already..."


    There was silence as Ada thought of what to say.


    "Fine, you want to know? I was away with my gang, attacking the super soldiers from the other side."


    "That still doesn''t explain why you sold our location and Olivia out."


    "I did it because I know you guys would have been strong enough to kill them all..." Ada replied as she lied through her teeth. "If they send their forces to our base, you all would easily take them out! And that would mean fewer super soldiers to worry about!"


    Hearing this, Nathan couldn''t help but facepalm, and Zack couldn''t help but get triggered.


    "Sigh, I hope you realize no one''s buying your bullshit, Ada..." Nathan said. "Just tell the damn truth already..."


    "You son of a..."


    "If we''re going to kill her, can''t we just do it already, mate?" Jack asked. "She won''t tell us anything, so it''s just a waste of time."


    "...Did you at least gain any info while you were away, doing whatever the hell?" Nathan asked.


    "...No."


    "Really, Ada?"


    "Really."


    "When you were voted leader of the group, I knew you weren''t worthy." Nathan expressed. "But I at least thought you''d prove me wrong and be a bit useful."


    "HOW DARE YOU!" Ada snapped as she had enough of Nathan.


    "How dare me? You betrayed us, sold off Olivia, humiliated Zack, and put our lives in danger." Nathan continued. Most importantly, you put Lilith''s life in danger! "But if you had at least gotten info or something, you could have said you''ve done something useful, but you didn''t..."


    "...Please, don''t be mad at me..." Ada replied as she nearly instantly put on a teary-eyed expression. "Aren''t we friends? Friends normally forgive each other, right?"


    Is this woman trying to manipulate me...


    "I promise I''ll help you in return..."


    "Nice promise, but you can keep it, miss useless."


    This piece of shit keeps calling me...a god, useless!!!


    "Haha...you see that, guys?" Nathan said as he looked around at everyone while he still held her at gunpoint. "She''s so useless the only thing she can do is cry..."


    Although tears ran down her eyes, her clenched fists and gritted teeth indicated her visible anger. After taunting her, Nathan returned his gaze to Ada. His cold gaze revealed that he was ready to shoot her, and Ada knew it.


    Wait...stop...


    "This is what you''ve always been...A useless woman..." Nathan coldly stated as he slowly squeezed the trigger. As he was about to fire, Jack suddenly pulled Nathan backward, causing Nathan to lose his aim and miss Ada.


    "Hu--"


    Instantly, a long massive spike passed through at extremely fast speeds. It penetrated multiple buildings, which surprised everyone, especially Ada, who dropped to the ground. If Jack had not acted fast, Nathan would have gotten skewered, which caused him to break out into sweat.


    "Nathan!" Lilith called out in obvious concern. Jack looked in the direction where the spike came from. He noticed it was protruding on the ground from a distance, and a woman stood at that point - that woman was Charlotte.


    "Tsk...missed," Charlotte said. She proceeded to send another fast-moving, protruding spike at the group. This time, Charles acted quickly, though, as he jumped in the way of the spike.


    Adrenaline Doping - Maximum!


    His muscle mass quickly increased, and he performed a double downward handle on the spike, breaking it apart.


    Wow, that''s kinda tough...


    Suddenly, Ada was between two men who appeared - Leon and Nolan. Charlotte and Frank also approached them casually.


    That ground spike was obviously not normal... Jack thought as he watched the new enemies. I guess these guys have blessings as well...how rare in this country...


    "Are you okay, Miss Ada?" Nolan asked as he gently held her hand and pulled her to her feet.


    "H-How did...you guys find me?" Ada asked.


    "We got called here," Charlotte replied, which confused Ada.


    Called here?


    "Ah, just when I thought I wouldn''t get to kill any more people today!" Jack excitedly interjected. "Then you guys show up! Nice!"


    "Haha! You guys seem strong! I hope you''ll bring a good fight!" Charles hoped, matching Jack''s excitement.


    "Do you honestly think we came alone!?" Frank asked, which bewildered them. "Haha! You guys must be fools!"


    As if in formation, a large amount of gang members marched up. Some were also on the ruined buildings. Their sheer numbers were in the hundreds.


    "...So this must be your gang, huh, Ada..." Nathan asked. "At least you were useful somewhere else..."


    That obviously irritated Ada, but her comrades were just as annoyed.


    "What the hell did you just say to our Ada!?" Charlotte snapped.


    "I''ll bust his head open!" Frank added.


    "Looks like the guy I messed up somehow survived," Leon said as he looked at Zack. Zack seemed visibly unnerved upon the sight of Leon. "I''ll kill him this time."


    "Not before I kill all of them first!" Nolan added as he unleashed his red, vibrant, flaming aura. What surprised Nathan and the rest even more was that everyone in the gang was emitting that same aura.


    "Crap..." Nathan uttered as he purposely kept Lilith close to protect her.


    "I can help you..." Lilith suggested.


    "No...this is too dangerous." Nathan declined, much to her displeasure.


    "Ah, looks like you guys got a lot of stuff." Jack complimented. "Too bad that won''t be enough to kill me!"


    And thus, both factions were locked in a standoff.


    "Wait a minute, guys! Calm down!" A voice was audible as it interrupted the standoff. The voice was loud and scratchy and gave off an echo as if the person was speaking through a speaker. The voice was also omnidirectional, causing everyone to look everywhere for its source.


    The NPCs and party members were especially surprised at the voice.


    Wait...that voice sounds familiar... Nathan thought to himself.


    "Phew, that got your attention. Good thing I made those speakers in advance." The voice added. "Look to your right, my party. Oh, for Ada''s group, look to your left."


    Obeying the voice, everyone looked in their respective directions. What they saw was a man in the distance approaching everyone.


    The man was a tall and well-built one donned a black dress suit. Inside his jacket was a white dress shirt and a long black tie. Around his neck was a brown fur scarf that reached down to his waste. He also wore black Chelsea boots. There was not a speck of dirt visible on his clothing.


    Everything about his clothes gave an air of expensiveness, which everyone noticed.


    His facial features were just as clean as his clothing. There were no blemishes whatsoever on his vanilla colored skin. His amethyst-purple-colored eyes complemented greatly with his jet-black hair, which was kept in a slick-back hairstyle. His features were further enhanced by the charismatic smile he offered to the factions.


    "I''m glad. Everyone''s all together now." The man said as his voice still echoed throughout the area. Strangely, a feeling of anger came upon Nathan as the man spoke.


    That voice...there''s no way...


    "As the developer, I feel blessed to see this day..."


    It''s him! The developer!!!

 Ch. 78 - Grievance Settlement

    It''s him! It''s the developer!!! Nathan thought as he watched the developer with visible animosity. The developer''s happy demeanor didn''t help with his anger either.


    "Who are you?" Charlotte questioned, breaking the silence between the two factions.


    "Oh, I suppose you guys wouldn''t know me." The developer responded as he rubbed his chin. "Well, I''m the one that called you guys here."


    This revelation only served as shock value for everyone, especially his party members.


    "What? You called us here?" Charlotte asked.


    "Yup, if I didn''t call you guys, you would have been killed by the explosion." The developer responded. "But I suppose it''s coincidental, but you guys even saved Ada!"


    "...Saved Ada? Why do you care about us saving Ada?" Leon interjected, his brows scrunched with suspicion.


    "Ada is one of my characters. One of the people I chose to fulfill my cause, I suppose." The developer responded. "I wouldn''t want her to die, after all."


    "Characters?" With widened eyes, Leon asked.


    "Your cause?" Nolan interjected as his expression exuded animosity. "So, were you the one that put Ada through the torment of working with those bastards!?"


    "We''re standing right here, bugger," Jack commented.


    "C''mon, I only meant well for her. Besides, if it weren''t for me, she would still be in prison even now."


    "What''s that supposed to mean?" Charlotte asked.


    "I don''t mean to be offensive, but...If you guys were truly loyal to Ada, you''d have used all your resources to break her out."


    "Why you--"


    "Calm down, Charlotte..." Ada interrupted as she raised her hand. Charlotte was still triggered but controlled herself after seeing Ada''s gesture.


    "My developer, why are you here now?" The NPC asked as he approached him. "I never expected you to reveal yourself this soon."


    "Ah, yes, I got a bit sidetracked." The developer responded as he shook his head. "I''m here to congratulate you all!"


    Congratulate us? Nathan internally questioned.


    "You all completed the mission of destroying the nation''s security!" The developer expounded.


    "Wait? We have?" Jack asked. "I thought there would be a lot of non-super soldier buggers squirming around to murder."


    "Normally, there would be, but seeing the disaster level you guys imposed, most of them have retreated, even leaving the country as we speak. They all placed their bets on their super soldier counterparts." The developer explained. "Plus, Zack''s explosion did kill even more of them. Which is why I''m congratulating everyone on their hard work--"


    "Hard work?" Nathan, having enough of the developer''s bullshit, interjected. "I know you''re crazy, but have you completely lost all sense of reasoning you had?"


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    Yeah, I was expecting a tantrum from Nathan. The developer thought as he smirked to himself.


    "I''m not even going to ask why you''d even call Ada''s gang here. Do you not realize that Ada freaking betrayed us!?" Nathan questioned, much to Ada and her gang''s annoyance. "She sold us out and tried to kill us several times! Why the hell are you congratulating that bitch!? They''re the freaking enemy!"


    "You''ve well passed your place, criminal." Charlotte coldly said. "But you''re right, we''re enemies...so enough talking!" She declared as spikes started to protrude from the ground, which caused the party members to become alerted.


    "Charlotte...I said stop." Ada repeated. Ada''s expression seemed rather normal, despite all the insults thrown her way.


    "I''m sorry, but these bastards have run their mouths far too much," Charlotte said. "We have to--"


    "Charlotte, listen to me," Ada said. "Those criminals are strong...it would mean unnecessary losses if we fight them now..."


    "...Okay, I''m sorry..." Charlotte apologized as the protruding spikes returned to their original form in the ground.


    "Ahem, Nathan, Ada''s gang killed quite a lot of super and regular soldiers as well." The developer continued. "They''re an extension of Ada, who''s my character, so of course they get recognition for their good deeds."


    "Whose f*cking side are you on!" Nathan yelled.


    "Listen, Nathan...I''m on the side of my game characters...all of them." The developer replied. Hearing this, visible arteries pulsated on Nathan''s forehead. "Anyways, before we get to the good part...doctor, please heal everyone."


    "Huh?" The doctor uttered.


    "Everyone likely got a dose of radiation poisoning from that explosion." The developer explained. "Heal them."


    He wants me to heal everyone...even the enemies?


    Putting her palms together, the doctor proceeded to create her usual green healing sphere of light. As everyone watched, it began to levitate from her hands. Before their eyes, the sphere immediately expanded into a blanket of light, which covered everyone.


    "It''s done..." The doctor confirmed.


    "Thanks!" The developer expressed. Nathan continued to view the developer with even more animosity than before. Lilith couldn''t help but notice his anger, after all, he was the only one she truly cared for in this area right now.


    Nathan...


    "You didn''t need to heal me," Jack told the doctor.


    "Oh? I was wondering why you were the only one without injuries...seems like it wasn''t a coincidence."


    "Anyways, since you all completed this mission, I''ve decided to give my party members all a reward." The developer revealed.


    "A reward?" Jack asked.


    "Yup, anything you guys want...I''ll give you." The developer specified, which immediately piqued everyone''s interest. "You get one wish, though, so choose wisely."


    Whispering among the crowd of gang members took place as they were bewildered by the developer''s offer.


    "A wish?" Frank questioned. "Who the hell is this guy?"


    "Oh, that''s easy, then," Jack said. "I want--"


    "Wait a minute," Nathan suddenly said, interrupting Jack. He then turned his gaze to Ada. "If you guys are going to leave, then hurry up and do it!"


    "Huh?" Ada uttered with clear annoyance.


    "It''s clear that this bastard developer won''t allow us to kill you, so just go away then. If we''re getting a reward, there''s no way you''ll stay here." Nathan advised. "You won''t get any more information to use against us."


    There was silence as Ada and her gang simply stared at him. Charlotte and the other heads of the gang were filled with anger, as indicated by their clenched fists and gritted teeth.


    "Ha...Haha..." Ada uttered as she strangely began to laugh. "Haha...you''re right, Nathan, you''re so right. We should go. There''s no way I''d tell my wish in front of you insects anyways!"


    The heads were clearly opposed to her decision of leaving, but they kept silent out of respect.


    "But, understand this," Ada continued. "We may be leaving now...but you will come to regret everything you''ve done, every one of you criminals. Especially you, Nathan..." Ada declared as she glanced over to the nervous Lilith. Nathan simply listened to her with a cold and blank expression. "Let''s go, everyone."


    "You heard the boss, let''s go!" Leon instructed the gang members. In tandem, they all departed the area with Ada.


    Tsk...If only I had killed that bitch...


    "I''ll make sure to give you your reward, Ada!" The developer yelled for her to hear before turning back to the rest. It''s good that they''ve settled their grievance, if only temporarily. That makes things much easier... "Well then, what do you guys wish for...?"

 Ch. 79 - Rewards

    "What do you guys wish for now?" The developer asked. "Whatever you guys desire the most, I can fulfill that for you."


    "Well, as I was saying before I got interrupted," Jack responded. "After fighting some of those super soldiers, I''ve realized that my knives are too weak to properly enjoy myself. So I''d like a pair of blades that would cut things like butter."


    "Ah, that''s easy!" The developer responded as he extended his right hand in front of himself. Like the doctor, a sphere of light radiated in the developer''s palm. However, his was amethyst purple.


    "Wow..." Zack uttered in awe, with his party mates widening their eyes in surprise.


    Suddenly, the sphere divided into two before forming in the shape of blades. Finally, the light dispersed, leaving two bladed weapons in the developer''s palm.


    The straight back of the blade and the sheer length of the blades indicate that they may be sashimi knives. The blades were jet black and over two feet in length. The handles, which were ash grey, were less than half the width of the blade.


    With a glance, Jack could tell the blade was beyond any other he''d seen.


    "Wow, it''s always amazing seeing the developer''s tools." The blacksmith remarked.


    "Here you go, Jack." The developer said as he handed the blades to Jack. "The dura-neg blades will adjust to the durability of your targets."


    "Haha! These are some bloody good blades!" Jack happily complemented as he started doing knife tricks with the sashimi knives.


    "Who''s next? Don''t be shy now." The developer continued as he tried encouraging the rest.


    "Well, I don''t want anything," Charles commented, causing the developer''s eyebrows to raise.


    "Huh? Why?" The developer asked. "You guys earned it, so why would you pass up on something like that?"


    "I don''t care about stuff like that, especially after killing the blessed slaughterer," Charles responded. "But if I could get something...I''d want to fight more people...even stronger than that super soldier."


    "Oh, I mean, if that''s your wish, then sure." The developer said. Although, that''s going to happen regardless.


    "And...I want to have another rematch with the NPC!" Charles excitedly stated, shocking everyone.


    "Sure, I can set that up for you." The developer agreed. "But it''ll have to be in the future. As you are now, the NPC would utterly destroy you...it wouldn''t even be a fight."


    "Haha! Fine by me!"


    "Next!"


    "Um...Could you create a laboratory...for me?" Olivia asked. "I''d like...to do...poison research."


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    "No problem, Olivia!" The developer said as he made a thumbs-up gesture and a charismatic smile. "I''ll give you the address after."


    "Thanks..."


    "Can I have an infinite supply of bombs that I can keep on my person?" Zack asked. Keeping his charismatic smile, the developer created another sphere of amethyst-colored light before it formed into a small pouch. As Zack looked inside, he saw countless tiny, orange glowing balls.


    "As long as that pouch isn''t destroyed, you''ll always have a supply of bombs." The developer explained. "And each of those bombs...let''s say they are pretty powerful..."


    "Thanks!" Zack happily expressed his gratitude.


    "How about you, Lilith." The developer asked as he shifted his gaze to her. She was surprised at his sudden question, as she never expected a wish. "What is your wish?"


    "My wish?" Lilith asked. "I''m getting...a wish...too?"


    "Yeah, of course," The developer responded. "You''re also one of my characters. Besides, you''ve helped out in your own way."


    Tsk...I don''t want Lilith taking anything from that bastard...But I doubt I can stop this...


    "Well...If I had to say...I want to become stronger...to protect Nathan..."


    Hearing this, Zack couldn''t help but playfully elbow Nathan. "Oh my, you got a faithful girlfriend, huh?"


    "I''ll hit you..." Nathan responded.


    "Heh, I knew you''d say that." The developer said. "I gave you a part of it, with the katana you received, but now you have the full blessing."


    "A blessing?" Lilith asked with understandable confusion.


    "Yes, you now have a knight blessing. It would suit you well." The developer explained. Lilith''s eyes widened upon hearing this. "You''ll have to put in the effort to strengthen your blessing, however."


    "I...I see." Lilith said. I''m not sure, but I guess ''blessings'' are what Nathan and the rest have...so that means...I can get stronger...


    Nathan noticed Lilith''s slight smile as she felt happy, which made the negative feeling he had towards Lilith receiving anything from the developer disappear.


    Sigh...I don''t want to ruin that smile...


    "And finally...we have Nathan." The developer remarked as he turned to him. "Now, what''s your wish?"


    "Ha...I bet Nathan''s going to wish to protect Lilith as well!" Zack teased.


    "Ahem...I wish for three wishes." Nathan answered. His answer caused mixed reactions, with Lilith''s brows raised with surprise, Zack, Jack, and Charles smirking with impressed expressions and the developer blankly staring at Nathan.


    "Lol, nice wish, mate." Jack commended.


    "Heh, nice try, but I doubt that''ll work." The blacksmith softly uttered as she was smiling.


    "What do you think I am, a genie?" The developer asked. "One wish...you only get one wish."


    "Heh, what a cheapskate..." Zack uttered.


    These guys think it''s all jokes now that the war is over... Nathan thought. They have no idea how much I''m restraining myself from attacking the demon in front of me right now...


    "Fine, one wish," Nathan repeated. "I don''t care about getting anything from you...I know I won''t be able to do it now...the NPC will probably stop me, but..."


    What proceeded from Nathan''s mouth truly shocked everyone, even the NPCs.


    "My only wish is to get strong enough...to kill you, developer!"


    "What!?" The doctor exclaimed with shock written on her face.


    "Oh my..." Jack uttered. The NPCs were left stunned at his desire. Surprisingly, Lilith didn''t seem too shocked at his declaration, however.


    I kinda figured...you''d say something like that. Lilith thought. I know you hate him for the danger he put me in...I understand...I feel the same way about what he put you through...


    Killing him will be the only way Lilith can have the life she always wanted. I''m sorry, but that''s the only thing a man like me who has nothing can think of Lilith... Nathan pondered.


    "You want to get strong enough to kill me, huh...?" The developer asked as he rubbed his chin. Strangely, a grin formed on his face. "Maybe I was right...you really are me..."


    "Huh?"


    "Let''s see if that wish of yours comes true then..." The developer responded. "You''ll have to get a lot stronger, though."


    "It will be..." Nathan declared with a surety on his face. "Even if it''s the last thing I do..."


    "Heh, well...that''s it for the rewards, I suppose."

 Ch. 80 - Aftermath (Part 1)

    Meanwhile, as the scene changes to the super soldier, Rebecca is in an infirmary with the surviving death-bringers. They had tended to their wounds sustained from their previous battles, as bandages were wrapped around their ligaments. The atmosphere felt somber, as everyone kept silent, with depressed expressions. Claw even laid on an infirmary bed.


    "The signal''s starting to come back..." Claw noted as he looked at a smartphone. As he said that, the television suddenly switched to the news channel. Quickly, Shadowgun used the remote to turn the volume up.


    "Okay, we''re back. Sorry about that. Our communications were completely disrupted after that sudden...explosion..." The news reporter Ashley stated. Her expression seemed rather distressed as she held her head and sighed. "Currently, our team has been surveying the area from the air. It''s all a tragedy. Immeasurable property destruction...a massive loss of life...what was supposed to be a search and destroy to eliminate criminals...became an unprecedented disaster."


    The super soldiers simply listened to the television with blank expressions.


    "There has been no sighting of the blessed hunters, nor the S-Class criminals...but there are many soldier casualties as well...it''s theorized that the criminals might have escaped...or at least survived." Ashley continued. She stopped for a moment before loudly sighing. "Even the ones who were supposed to protect us, our country...many of them have given up and retreated as well. Similar to our fearful civilians, many soldiers and officers have fled the country. This...has become the worst period...in the United States....only rivaled by great historical wars..."


    Hearing enough, Shadowgun used the remote and turned off the television. With the press of a button, the room became silent once again. Everyone was too depressed to comment.


    Amid their depression, however, the Queen-Deathbringer suddenly entered, surprising the rest. With her was a severely injured Cryostasis. Most of his body and face were bandaged up, and the Queen-Deathbringer had to help him walk.


    "Huh? Where were you?" Claw suddenly asked as he got up. Keeping her focus on helping Cryostasis, she walked him over to a bed before laying him down.


    "Ugh...thanks..." Cryostasis expressed his gratitude.


    "Where were you?" Claw repeated as his brows scrunched in anger. "Do you know what the hell we''ve been through!? I called you earlier, and you said you were on your way!"


    "...We have to get out of here." She said, completely disregarding his question, which infuriated him.


    "What do you mean!? Where were you when Death-grip got killed by the battle-crazed killer!" Claw exclaimed as he came closer. "The superiors that we were to protect were all killed by Nathan Hayes! Where the hell were you for most of the war!? You''re the leader of the death-bringers, but you did nothing! Yet you''re saying we should get out of here!?"


    "I''m sure you''ve noticed what''s happening out there. The rest of the blessed hunters are likely dead...I''ve heard nothing from them." The Queen-Deathbringer remarked, which caused Claw to become frustrated. "We have vastly underestimated their strength. If we stay here, we won''t be much help, and we''ll end up dying."


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    "What!? So we''re supposed to flee like everyone else?" Claw questioned. "we''re supposed to allow them to wreak havoc in the country!?"


    "Our main duty is to eliminate the blessed criminals." The queen reminded. "So, we must regroup to fulfill our duty--"


    "How can you say that to the people that died!?"


    "The queen is right, Claw," Rebecca suddenly interjected, turning everyone''s heads to her. "Our main duty is to eliminate them...that''s why we received these modifications. All the innocents that have perished...our fallen comrades...their deaths would be in vain if we don''t fulfill that."


    "But--"


    "I think...regrouping would be the best idea now." Rebecca continued. "More people will die, sure. But if we win in the end...we would save many more people...We can''t just rush in now and get killed...our comrade''s deaths would have been for nothing..."


    As Rebecca spoke, she couldn''t help but reminisce about Ethan and Sebastian.


    "Tsk...I guess...that makes sense..." Claw relented. "But...so many lives..."


    "We must go now." The queen suggested. "There''s no time to mourn for our comrades or anything...it''s better to leave now than risk getting caught by the criminals."


    "Yeah, you''re right..." Rebecca said.


    "Also, you asked why I didn''t come when you called me Claw?" She remembered. "It was because I received a call a little earlier than you...a rather shocking one."


    "What was it?" Claw asked.


    "When you said all our superiors were killed by Nathan...that''s not entirely true." She said, which slightly confused everyone. "I won''t beat around the bush...Sergeant John is alive."


    "What!?" Everyone exclaimed. The news was so surprising that Rebecca stood up in shock. "He''s alive!? But how!?"


    "After I was sent by him to investigate the unknown enemies that were killing our comrades and finding no one at the scene, I received a call from him. He told me that he was attacked by Nathan and that he desperately needed assistance. From his voice, I could tell that he was suffering from grievous injuries...although he was also berating me heavily for not being there to protect him..." The Queen-Deathbringer explained.


    "I see...I guess that would have been urgent. You''d be the best, too, since you''re one of the fastest super soldiers." Claw reasoned as his anger subsided. "But you could at least say so...rather than lying about coming soon."


    "Yeah...my apologies."


    "Where is he now?" Rebecca inquired.


    "After treating his injuries somewhat...I think he''s on his way to leave the country." She responded.


    "...Take me to him," Rebecca asked.


    * * *


    Shifting things over to the Whitehouse, specifically to the terrified and frustrated President Garfield. He had been listening to the news but seemed to have enough, thus putting the television on mute.


    "Mr. President! You must leave this country now!" One of his many black-suited suggested as they stood by his desk. "This country has fallen too much into chaos! It''s far too dangerous to keep you here any longer!"


    "There''s no way I''m leaving..." The president muttered. "As the president...I cannot abandon my country..."


    "But Mr. President..."


    Amid their pleas, the doors to the Oval Office suddenly flew open, shocking Garfield and his men. Much to their surprise, Ada casually entered with her heads (Nolan, Charlotte, Frank, and Leon).


    "Hello, Mr. President..." Ada greeted me with a friendly smile and a waving gesture as she took a seat. The guards immediately pulled out their firearms on sight of her.


    "What are you doing!?" A guard said. "Stop where you--"


    Suddenly, their guns vanished from their hands, which didn''t register until after a delay. Upon realizing this, they noticed their guns got snatched by Nolan, who quickly disassembled them and threw them to the ground.


    Completely disregarding them, Ada casually sat in front of the president.


    "Ada...Foster..." President Garfield muttered. "What...do you...want...?"


    "Oh, nothing," Ada responded. "Just a little...talk."

 Ch. 81 - Aftermath (Part 2)

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 Ch. 82 - Epilogue (Part 1)

    Going back to Nathan and his party, they contemplated their next move after receiving the developer''s rewards.


    "So, what now?" Zack asked the developer.


    "Ah, glad you''re so eager to continue playing the murder game, Zack." The developer responded. "But you don''t have to worry, for the game will be on a slight pause."


    "Huh?"


    "Before I explain, I gotta say something to Nathan," The developer said as he approached Nathan.


    "What the hell do you want with me...?" Nathan asked. "What? Are you offended that I declared I was going to kill you?"


    "Nah, not that," The developer replied. "It''s about something else...You spared the super soldier, Rebecca, right?"


    "Spare someone?" Jack interjected. "Why would you do that?"


    "He did it because he knew she would be a good fight in the future!" Charles said. In response, Jack rubbed his chin and raised one eyebrow in confusion.


    "Tch...why the hell are you bringing that up?" Nathan asked.


    Suddenly, the developer''s charismatic smile became slightly twisted.


    "You want to protect your love, but you spared the enemy?" The developer asked. "Plus, you failed to kill Ada. You do realize that''s going to come back to bite you?"


    "Tch! You''re the one that called her stupid group, which stopped me from killing that woman!" Nathan retorted.


    "You have a lot to say about Ada but not much to say about Rebecca, huh?" The developer responded with a smug smirk. This truth significantly frustrated Nathan, as he knew he made a poor decision of sparing the super soldier.


    Suddenly, Lilith came in the way of Nathan and the developer, much to their surprise.


    "I have made a promise to be by Nathan''s side from long ago, to protect him," Lilith interjected as she gripped her sheathed katana. "I was powerless to take away his misery, but it''s different now. I have the strength to help him. No one will come back to bite him...as his...knight will protect him!"


    "So...wholesome..." Zack noted as he fell on his knees, much to Jack''s surprise.


    Hehe...that reminds me of Jack...my knight... Olivia thought as she shyly held her cheek.


    "Sounds like she''s going to get stronger in the future!" Charles added. "That makes me excited!"


    Bloody hell, It''s hard keeping myself intact, especially after hearing that declaration... Jack thought.


    Hearing Lilith''s declaration, Nathan''s cheeks immediately flushed red. He proceeded to shyly cover his face to go unnoticed.


    "Yeah, I knew it!" The developer said. "With that type of mindset, your blessing will become immensely strong! Maybe on the level of enlightenment!"


    "Enlightenment?" Lilith asked.


    "Don''t worry about it. But Nathan, you''ve got the talent and skills to survive my game." The developer said. "But, you gotta make sure to kill all your enemies...and confirm them."


    What a strange way to say that... Nathan thought.


    "Anyways, you asked what''s next, Zack?" The developer asked. "Well, now the ''higher beings'' gotta act."


    "Higher beings?" Zack asked.


    "Yes," The developer replied. "Now that the entire country has been plunged into destruction, there''s no way it''ll go unnoticed by those individuals."


    "What are the ''higher beings?" Jack asked. "Are they gods or something, mate?"


    "Yeah, pretty much," The developer answered. "There''s no way they''ll want their precious humans to be exterminated. They will act, and that''s when the second phase starts."


    What...the hell...? A-Are we messing with gods now!? Nathan internally questioned.


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    "Second phase...?" Charles asked.


    "Yes, the second phase will usher into a new calamity." The developer said with outstretched arms as he looked up to the sky. "The calamity will be retribution...for a sin committed a thousand years ago...So until then, the murder game will be on pause."


    "Oh, I see...well, bye guys, it was fun," Charles said as he walked off. "Guess we''ll meet up sometime later."


    "Oh, I also made a house for you guys," The developer continued, which pleased everyone. "The themes of your houses are all tailored to your tastes. The address got sent to your phones via GPS, so don''t worry."


    "Oh, nice!" Charles happily commented.


    "An actual house!? Let''s go!" Zack exclaimed as he clenched his fist and shook it excitedly.


    As usual...these criminals never seem to care about anything...not even about the fact that we''re waging war on freaking gods!!! Nathan thought. Similar to Nathan, Lilith seemed concerned about that revelation, but they refrained from complaining since it would be futile against the developer.


    "Well, I should be going too," Jack stated, which surprised Zack and Olivia, with the latter also looking distraught.


    "What? Where are you going?" Zack asked. "What about movies?"


    "Oh, don''t worry, mate. I''ll stop by regularly to watch movies," Jack assured. "I just want to...play around a little...maybe visit my home country, England too."


    "...Make sure to...visit your friends...regularly..." Olivia softly spoke, however, just loud enough for Jack to hear. In response, he scratched his head.


    "Uhm, sure, I guess," Jack said. "Well, later." He bid his dues before suddenly disappearing.


    ...Good, that psychopath is gone from here... Nathan said to himself. I don''t need to worry about him trying to harm Lilith...


    "Lilith, do you...want to live...with me...?" Nathan asked, surprising everyone in the process. Lilith was even more surprised as her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment.


    "Wh-- wha...what?" Lilith stuttered.


    "Jeez, that was fast!" Zack uttered, much to Nathan''s annoyance.


    "I...I just meant that with the immense danger...it would be best if we stay together..." Nathan awkwardly explained. Hearing his desperate explanation, Lilith couldn''t help but smile.


    "Haha...that''s the type of expression I like to see from you..." Lilith said.


    "Huh--"


    "Yeah, I''d love it if we could live together..." Lilith accepted.


    "I knew you two would say something like that, so I decorated your house to match your tastes beforehand." The developer admitted.


    Tsk...If only he could use his magic freaking powers and go the hell away... Nathan thought.


    "Also, the NPC will be coming over to help you two get stronger," The developer added. "You two will need it."


    "...That''s good. I was planning on asking to train with the NPC anyways..." Nathan said. Suddenly, he began staggering as if his legs were losing the energy they once had. "Anyways, I''m...tired...I just want to...rest...now..."


    Before he fell, Lilith quickly reached out and grabbed him, causing his head to fall onto her chest.


    "...Ahem," Zack uttered as he pretended to cough.


    "Nathan!" Lilith called out, but he did not respond. The overexerting of his body had caught up, and he fell asleep.


    "Well, that settles it!" The developer said. Meanwhile, Lilith was very much concerned about Nathan''s state. "Good job again, everyone, for completing the first murder game mission!"


    * * *


    The scene shifted back to Ada after she had enforced the suicide of Garfield and solidified her position as the ''next'' President of the United States. She still sat in the office seat, with Nolan and the rest seated in couches and Garfield''s ex-bodyguards cleaning his blood from the mats, when suddenly, the developer entered.


    "Hello again! Miss Ada!" The developer enthusiastically announced his presence, immediately causing Ada''s heads and bodyguards to become alarmed.


    "Calm down," Ada said to her allies. Like loyal dogs, they immediately obeyed her words and relaxed once again. "What do you want?"


    "Congratulations on becoming president!" The developer congratulated her as he clapped. "This will make your reward even better!"


    "My reward...oh yeah," Ada said.


    "So, what do you want?" He asked.


    There was silence in the room as she began to think.


    What would I want? What would the person who became the most powerful in the country could want? What would the person who has control over almost everything want?


    Suddenly, a twisted smile formed on her face.


    "Haha...it''s obvious," Ada said. "I want control over the uncontrollable..."


    "Oh? Now that''s a pretty good wish!"


    * * *


    "--an!"


    "-than!"


    "Nathan!"


    The calls of Lilith roused Nathan out of the state of unconsciousness he was temporarily in. When he awoke, he immediately noticed they were in a car, being chauffeured by the NPC.


    He also noticed his head resting on a soft, plump sensation. He was lying on Lilith''s lap, much to his extreme surprise. He immediately tried to sit up, but Lilith grabbed his head and pushed it back on her lap.


    "No! Don''t move!" Lilith instructed. "You''re tired, aren''t you!? Then, just relax!"


    "Uh...but..."


    "No buts!" Lilith interrupted. "Just listen!"


    There was silence as Nathan relented to Lilith''s orders.


    "Hey, Lilith...I''m sorry," Nathan suddenly said.


    "Sorry? For what?"


    "I forced you...into all this..." Nathan explained. "Because of me...you...killed someone...and nearly died--"


    Before he could finish, Lilith placed her right index finger on his mouth.


    "...No, no. No more of this guilty feeling, Nathan." Lilith said. "I told you already, I''ll be by your side. You may feel guilty for what happened, but I have never regretted my choice... Because...you have always saved me..."


    "..."


    "Let''s just...enjoy the ride to our new home..." Lilith said.


    Yeah...you''re right, enough of feeling guilty. Nathan thought. Feeling guilty won''t change the past...nothing will, so I have to keep moving...keep getting stronger.


    "We''re almost there," The NPC stated. "Be ready for a tough training soon."


    "Yeah!" Lilith responded.


    I''ll keep getting stronger. Not only the developer but anyone that poses even the slightest threat to Lilith, the only one I have...I promise I''ll kill all of them!!!

 Ch. 83 - Epilogue (Part 2)

    The war was now at a close. All except for a few super soldiers survived. Most soldiers, officers, and other officials who should uphold the law have also left the country. There was an influx of aircraft in the air as regular civilians and military infantry had left. There was no longer a possibility of eliminating the S-Class criminals with the current state of the nation''s security.


    Not only did the military know this, but even the bitter John Walker. Although he had treated his severe wounds with medical care and bandages, he was still injured. He was occupied in a hospital-like bedroom, being cared for by medical professionals and officers inside an infirmary.


    "Ugh...when am I going to leave this god-forsaken country?" John asked.


    "We''ll escort you out as soon as all your injuries are patched up enough." An officer responded.


    "NO! I WANT TO GO NOW!" John yelled, surprising the doctors. Like a child throwing a tantrum, he began shaking on the hospital bed. "YOU THINK I WANT TO STAY IN THIS SHITHOLE ANY LONGER!?"


    "Sir, calm down. We understand--"


    "Shut your damn mouth!" John exclaimed, refusing to let the officer speak.


    While he reamed at his men, a multitude of black armored vehicles approached in a straight line to the infirmary. Immediately parking, numerous soldiers disembarked the vehicles, except for the lead vehicle and gathered around the infirmary entrance, attracting John''s officers'' attention.


    The soldiers wore the standard green army combat uniform and green beret hats. Their right sleeves were decorated with a single mini flag of the United Kingdom.


    "What''s going on out there?" An officer asked from the inside.


    After the soldiers gathered the sides of the infirmary doors, an individual disembarked the vehicle in front of the rest. He was a relatively tall man, wearing seemingly a tactical vest over a standard black suit. He entered the infirmary with his soldiers, surprising John, the officers, and the doctors.


    "Greetings, everyone." The man in black courteously said. He was a relatively good build, looking to be in his late thirties, possibly scraping forty. Enhancing the looks of his oval facial structure, were his short black hair and bushy beard, which complemented his blue eyes.


    "Huh...who are you?" John asked.


    "I am Barry Alexander, Chief of Defense of the United Kingdom." He responded as he took out a device that projected a holographic screen showing his identity, surprising everyone in the room.


    "The chief of defense!?" John exclaimed. "Why would someone as important as you come here!?"


    "Well, the situation of your country is big news, so I wanted to see for myself," Admiral Barry said. "To think that the great US has fallen so low."


    "...Tch!"


    "Oh, I didn''t mean to mock you. I genuinely wanted to help you. You were the man I was looking for." Barry continued. "You who created the modified humans, the super soldiers. It would be a waste to let your knowledge die. Besides, the S-Class criminals you failed to eliminate would pose an immense threat to the world...especially Jack."


    "...Fine, I''ll accept it," John said. "Carry me over to England, and I''ll help you--"


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "I think you got things wrong," Barry interjected. "It''s your knowledge that''s useful...not you."


    "Huh!? How will you make your super soldiers, then?"


    "Now that the country is like this, it isn''t difficult to get that info."


    Tsk...then why did this bastard come here!? John thought.


    "But...I''ll be willing to take you with me if you have anything else of value." Said Barry.


    "W-What?"


    "So, do you?"


    Damn it! Do I have to tell this thief about ''that''!? But I''d rather not stay here...shit...


    "There''s something...called Project Zero," John suddenly said.


    "Project Zero? Tell me more." Barry said with an expression indicating that John had piqued his interest.


    "It...has never been done before, but if it would succeed, calling it a superhuman or super soldier would be a gross understatement." John continued. "In theory, the individual''s body on a cellular level would be modified to such an extent..that they would be virtually unstoppable."


    "Hmm! Now that sounds really interesting!" Barry said as he rubbed his chin. "Why hasn''t it been done before?"


    "...Because the chances of success are extremely low, and failure causes the individual''s death," John stated. "So we didn''t get any funding for that research aspect."


    "...I see," Barry said. "Well, to protect everyone from these criminals, we''d have to take risks now. We''ll need nothing short of a miracle to neutralize the threats. So I''ll gladly take you back."


    "...Thank you," John muttered.


    "I wonder who we should use for that experiment, though," Barry asked.


    "I...will do it," Rebecca said as she suddenly appeared at the doorstep. With her were the remaining death-bringers, with Claw carrying the sleeping Cryostasis on his back.


    Barry''s soldiers suddenly turned to them with their firearms ready but didn''t fire after quickly assessing that they were allies.


    "Huh? Super soldiers?" Barry asked. "Oh, my. You guys look so battered...it must have been rough fighting those bastards."


    "Rebecca? What are you doing here?" John asked as he began sweating. Like a film, the memories of Rebecca finding out about his past with Nathan''s parents flooded his mind, making him nervous.


    "...Good, you''re really alive," Rebecca said. "You can''t die yet. Not until you redeem yourself..."


    "What did you just say...?"


    Bloody hell, it seems as though there''s tension between these two. Barry thought.


    "Excuse me, Rebecca was it? Did you say you wanted to participate in the experiment?" Barry asked.


    "Yes, I do."


    "Don''t be foolish. There''s an extremely low chance of surviving Project Zero!" Barry said. "You already have power, so let some random person take that damn risk instead!"


    What a horrible thing to say... Barry thought again.


    "I have power...but I don''t have close to enough." Rebecca replied. "Our goal as super soldiers is to eliminate the blessed criminals. It doesn''t matter what...that is our goal. So, it doesn''t matter if I have a very high chance of dying...if there''s a chance to eliminate them...I will take it!"


    Besides...there''s no point in worrying about death...when there''s no longer anything to live for...


    The death-bringers simply listened to her declaration without trying to argue.


    "...I like your attitude," Barry said with a smile. "I hope...you do not die from it."


    "Sigh, whatever. Just hurry up and get me out of here." John said. Suddenly, Barry shifted his now cold gaze to John.


    "You know, it would be a waste for you to live an easy life while your soldiers have lost and risking their own."


    "Huh?"


    "Which is why I think you should get back on the battlefield as well."


    "What!? I''m fifty-five! There''s no way these old bones can do that!" John exclaimed.


    "Haha...not without modifications, that is," John responded with a big smile, going from cheek to cheek.


    Immediately, John broke out into sweat after realizing his implication.


    "N-No..."


    "Don''t worry. I''m sure your old bones can survive the modification if you have enough willpower, right?" John said.


    A look of pure terror and despair filled John''s face as he knew he could no longer argue. Like putty, in the hands of Admiral Barry.


    M...My hard work...the thing I worked towards for my entire life...will be taken away by this man...and now I''m going to experience that torture...to become my creation...a super soldier. John internally pondered. T...This is all because of Nathan...just like his family...he caused my lifelong work to come crashing down!


    "Anyways, we''ll take all of you back," Barry said as he turned around and returned outside. "We have to begin preparing for our counter-attack...right after finding the location of the criminals."


    Originally...I just wanted to kill you, Nathan...after seeing you suffer a bit. But...that''s not enough! John continued his internal monologue. I will kill you still...but after making you suffer in the worst possible way!!!

 Vol. 1 Thanks and Character Info (Skippable)

    Now that I have reached the end of the first volume of ''murder game,'' I want to extend a big thanks to all my readers and commenters. Seeing people interested in my story keeps me writing, so I appreciate you all!


    I want to also give thanks to:


    AJQuaccs


    Christian Lawrence


    KingofFlounders


    They suggested many edits and highlighted errors in my work, increasing the quality and flow of my novel.


    I also want to thank the people who took the time to leave reviews of my novel. Similar to my readers, this also motivated me to continue.


    As volume 2 will be released, I want to clear up a few things that may be confusing. I want to give you a run-down of my characters'' abilities and personalities that will matter in the next volume.


    Blessings - These are essentially powers that people receive upon birth, for the most part. Not everyone has a blessing, but if they do, they can receive anything from something as simple as fire control to even time control. The blessings humans can receive are infinitely vast, but where they come from is unknown...


    Character Skills and Personalities:


    Murder Game characters:


    Nathan Hayes - The protagonist, the unlucky one.


    Birth date: Oct 13, 1999


    Height: 191 cm


    Blessing(s)


    Inventory: Allows him to store any object he touches in a pocket dimension only he can access. Anything stored stays in suspended animation.


    Personality: Due to his background, he has an extreme mistrust for everyone except Lilith, the only one he cares about.


    Likes: Lilith and video games.


    Hates: The Developer, John Walker and people slandering his parents


    Lilith Ashley - The knight


    Birth date: September 15, 1999


    Height: 176 cm


    Blessing(s)


    Knight: Not much is known about it other than the fact that the developer gave it to her because it would be best suited for someone like her.


    Personality: Due to their long history, she is very caring and protective of Nathan. For Nathan, she is unflappable, especially in dire and trauma-inducing situations. Hates the situation that the developer has put her and Nathan in but doesn''t let it show.


    Likes: Nathan, cooking


    Dislikes: Developer


    Jack Knight, Alias: Jack the Ripper - The most dangerous.


    Birth Date: Nov 17, 1995


    Height: 188 cm


    Blessing(s)


    Speed: As the name suggests, allows Jack to GREATLY increase his movement and attack speed. He also displayed a sleight-of-hand skill, which further enhances his arm dexterity.


    Murder: An ironic thing to be called a blessing. With every murder that Jack commits on a life form, his physical stats slightly increase. This blessing also allows Jack to sense the killing/murderous intent of individuals, among other things.


    Personality: An exceptionally sadistic, sociopathic, and immoral individual. Maybe due to his ''background''...or maybe not? He is sarcastic, condescending, and disrespectful to his enemies/victims.


    Likes: Killing and Violent films


    Dislikes: Nothing


    Charles Warner - The battle-crazed killer.


    Birth Date: May 10, 1989


    Height: 208 cm


    Blessing(s)


    Physical Enhancement: Allows Charles to boost his blood flow throughout his body, greatly enhancing his body''s physique. While using his blessing, he has two enhancement skills: blood doping and adrenaline doping.


    Blood Doping vastly increases Charles'' attack speed, reaction speed, and endurance. While using this, pulsating arteries become visible on his body, with more appearing until he uses maximum.


    Adrenaline Doping exponentially increases Charles'' movement speed, physical strength, and durability. While using this, his muscle mass increases in size, and continues to increase until he uses maximum.


    Stacking is a skill that Charles saved for the blessed slaughterer, which boosts his blood flow well over normal means. While using this, both blood doping and adrenaline doping are activated at their maximum states, as if stacking on each other.


    Personality: Extremely battle-crazed. Charles enjoys fighting more than anything, and will fight with no regard for civilians or anyone, simply to fulfill his battle-lust.


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.Likes: Fighting, action movies.


    Dislikes: Boring fights that don''t push him whatsoever.


    Zack Isaac - The terrorist.


    Birth Date: April 20, 1998


    Height: 186 cm


    Blessing(s)


    Volatile Manipulation: This blessing allows Zack to forcibly detonate any explosive to a greater yield than the explosive should produce. This also allows him to sense explosives in the vicinity. Recently, however, Zack was able to cause a metal pipe (a non-explosive) to explode...strange.


    Personality: Has a strong camaraderie when it comes to the party members, making him rather gullible. He can be extremely violent, just like the rest.


    Likes: The party, movies and explosives.


    Dislikes: His parents and being treated like a puppet.


    Olivia Gray - The Poisoner


    Birth Date: Aug 06, 2001


    Height: 165 cm


    Blessing(s)


    Poison creation: This blessing allows Olivia to create deadly poisons, as the name suggests. The effects seen resulted from extreme torment, and vomiting before inevitably death.


    Personality: Due to her background, Olivia is a very shy and introverted individual, keeping to herself for the most part. Was rather loyal to Ada Foster.


    Likes: Sewing, poison research, keeping to herself.


    Dislikes: Ada


    Ada Foster - The cult Leader (a misconception by the media, due to the immense loyalty her ''followers'' have.)


    Birth Date: October 20, 1995


    Height: 172 cm


    Blessing(s)


    Manipulation: This allows Ada to heavily influence an individual''s mind with her words, regardless of most factors. Her blessing seems to be resisted by blessed humans, even more so by Nathan.


    Personality: Extremely self-absorbed, narcissistic, and apathetic towards the feelings of others. Desires control the most.


    Likes: Control and herself


    Dislikes: Nathan, insults directed at her and not being in control


    The developer - The mastermind


    Birth Date: Unknown


    Height: 191.5 cm


    Blessing(s): Unknown


    Personality: Not much is known about the developer other than he cares deeply about his so-called game and seemingly his game characters (although he constantly puts them in danger).


    Likes: His game


    Dislikes: Nathan''s ''temper tantrums.''


    The NPC - The mystery


    Birth Date: Unknown


    Height: 195 cm


    Blessing(s): Unknown


    Personality: Not much is known, other than he is a loyal worker under the developer. Rather open to the game characters'' challenges and requests for training.


    Likes: Unknown


    Dislikes: Unknown


    The doctor - The healer


    Birth Date: Unknown


    Blessing(s)


    Healing-type: Has a blessing that allows her to heal the wounds of anyone. Her blessing is so good that she can even cleanse people of radiation poisoning.


    Personality: Not much is known other than she is a loyal worker under the developer. She also hates seeing the game characters constantly getting injured.


    Likes: Unknown


    Dislikes: Game characters'' recklessness


    The communications specialist - The emo


    Birth Date: Unknown


    Blessing(s): Unknown


    Personality: Not much is known, other than he is a loyal worker under the developer.


    Likes: Unknown


    Dislikes: Unknown


    The Blacksmith - The Forger


    Birth Date: Unknown


    Blessing(s): An unknown forging blessing.


    Personality: Has a fanatic love for creating tools from resources that she receives/collects. Loves her tools to the point of calling some her ''pets''.


    Likes: Getting materials


    Dislikes: Nathan destroying her tools


    The military:


    Rebecca Lopez- The superhuman


    Birth Date: Mar 10, 1997


    Height: 178 cm


    Blessing(s): N/A


    Personality: Extremely caring of her fellow super soldiers, to the point of wanting to avenge their deaths with all her might. After losing her closest friends and finding out that Nathan was once innocent but persecuted by the man she takes orders from, she becomes rather broken. She has now limited her mind to one thing: removing criminals.


    Likes: Her super soldier friends


    Dislikes: Blessed criminals


    John Walker - The antagonist, the boss.


    Height: 181 cm


    Blessing(s): N/A


    Personality: John is an extremely cold and apathetic person, doing anything to build his reputation, no matter how immoral it is. He takes pride that he created the idea of the super soldiers.


    Likes: His reputation, coffee.


    Hates: Thomas, Anna, and Nathan Hayes.


    Ada''s Gang:


    Charlotte Garcia


    Birth Date: Unknown


    Blessing(s)


    Terrain-type: Not much is known about this, other than the fact that she can manipulate the ground to create protruding spikes, which she can also break apart into countless shards to attack her opponents.


    Personality: She is loyal to Ada due to Charlotte''s background with her. In battle, she seems rather cool-headed, not showing much emotion. Her interactions with Ada contrasts to when she is in battle, as she expresses herself a lot, even hugging Ada when she gets the chance.


    Likes: Ada


    Dislikes: Others disrespecting Ada


    Nolan Woods


    Birth Date: ???


    Blessing(s) - ???


    Personality - Not much is known, other than his immense loyalty to Ada, due to their background.


    Likes: Ada


    Dislikes: Others disrespecting Ada.


    Leon Carter


    Birth Date: ???


    Blessing(s) - ???


    Personality - Like the others, he is extremely loyal to Ada, to the point of brutally assaulting Zack upon her command, without any remorse.


    Likes: Ada


    Dislikes: Others disrespecting Ada


    Frank Garcia


    Birth Date: ???


    Blessing(s)


    Metal-type: This allows Frank to cover himself in metal, greatly increasing his durability and striking strength.


    Personality: Extremely loyal to Ada like the rest, to the point of wanting to kill Olivia on sight due to her being the reason Ada got imprisoned.


    Likes: Ada


    Dislikes: Others disrespecting Ada


    I hope this clears up any confusion you guys may have about any characters! Of course, more information will be revealed in volume 2...and I can tell you, volume will be even better.


    See you all in volume 2! It will commence by the 24th of February!

 Slight Edits and Patreon

    Hey again guys, just want to tell you that I made some slight edits to Volume 1, mainly some slight interactions and character traits. It''s rather minor so no need to worry. However, I decided to put the super soldiers under a group called the Anti-Blessed Malefactor Corps, just to make them stand out a bit.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Also, Jack the Ripper hair: black ---> white (I like it like that lol)


    Thanks again for reading! I appreciate all my readers for taking their time to read my work! Just a reminder, Volume 2 will begin on royal road at Feb. 24th, guys.


    To get access to volume 2 and chapters early, it''s on my patreon. Thanks for the support, monetary or not.

 Ch. 0.1 - Prologue (Part 1)

    With the rampage caused by the developer''s game characters and the subsequent destruction of the Anti-Blessed Malefactor Corps, the current inhabitants of the United States had no choice but to do what they could to survive.


    Current inhabitants meant they no longer had the opportunity to leave - the airport systems were temporarily out of commission due to pilots refusing to return. They were stricken with fear, as they never wanted to become the next victim of the criminals.


    Words of America''s downfall quickly spread like wildfire on a global level. There was not a country unaware of the disaster that occurred that day. Everyone was informed via news, the very quickly trending topic of ''US Down'' on social media or other means.


    The reports even reached the mountains of an unspecified country. At the mountains resided a structure, with the interior and exterior resembling a traditional Asian dojo. The interior had a wooden frame. The dojo was decorated with armor kept on stands and what seemed to be wooden swords fixed to the walls.


    There were also potted cherry blossom trees at each corner of the dojo. Strangely, the leaves of one of the potted plants seemed to be withering, with the branches drooped downwards.


    Inside the dojo, there were two individuals, a male and a female. The man sat in a dark corner, causing him to be silhouetted against the shadow. The only thing that could be noticed about him was that he was reading a book. The woman, however, was diligently sweeping inside the dojo, riding it off any dust or grime.


    Her aesthetic indicated a Japanese outfit. From the non-traditional miko outfit consisting of a white kosode, a pair of black hakama, and grey tabi shoes to her diligent sweeping, she gave a strong and responsible impression.


    Her facial features radiated that same impression. She seemed to be a very young woman, maybe in her early twenties. Her young look was enhanced by her long, raven black hair, reaching down to her upper back. Her hair was tied in a side ponytail by a grey hair tie and kept over her left shoulder.


    Her eyes were of matching color, complementing her hairstyle. Her forearms which were exposed by the small sleeves of her kosode were rather toned, showing that this woman was also diligent in even strengthening her own body.


    While the duo were focused on their activities, the situation in the US was being played on the radio.


    "A miserable outcome to a war in the United States. The Anti-Blessed Malefactor Corps have been destroyed by the S-Class criminals...they''ve proven to be a disaster far worse than anyone could have imagined..." On the radio was the voice of Ashley, reporting the news as she usually did. "This disaster has reshaped every level of the country...even up to the presidency. The cloud of despair now looms over us citizens...as the sparks of hope have been extinguished. The only thing we can do now...is pray for a miracle..."


    Suddenly, the male abruptly closed their book.


    "Well, would you look at that?" The man said. "The great superpower known as the US got screwed over by a couple of criminals. Isn''t that crazy, Sharma?"


    "Why don''t you come out of the dark?" Sharma asked as she went over to the withering plant. "Also, didn''t I tell you to call me by my first name, Ryzen?"


    "I like sitting in the dark. It hides my body." Ryzen answered while completely ignoring her other question. "But forget about that. It looks like things are going to get exciting now..."


    Sharma stood by the cherry blossom tree and placed her right hand in front. Suddenly, the leaves that withered away were replaced by new ones, and the stems stood tall once again. It was back to the beautiful plant it once was, even having a vibrant glow of pink on the cherry blossom leaves.


    "I suppose so. Maybe I''ll get some students to teach." Sharma responded. "I haven''t had any students in many, many years."


    "Yeah, haha." Ryzen chuckled. "That would be good, wouldn''t it?"


    It seems it''s starting now. Ryzen thought as his silhouette was rubbing his chin. Looks like I''ll be acting now...


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    * * *


    London, England - an enormous city sprawling over six hundred square miles. This vibrant city full of streets, shops, and beauty was filled with the deafening noise of civilians as they went about their usual days as opposed to the US currently, although some time has passed.


    The winding streets and Victorian architecture also gave a rather vintage feeling. Simultaneously, the many skyscrapers gave an advanced design. The different designs were perfectly added into a splendid flavor to create the city of London.


    But apart from that, London was also the home to the workplace of its Prime Minister, the Honorable Arthur Henry. At 20 Upping Street, in his workplace, Arthur was met by Barry, the Chief of Defense, who rescued Sergeant John and super soldiers. They sat in a lobby, which looked like a living room, with couches, a wall-mounted television, and decorations.


    "Despite it being nearly a month since, I''m glad to see you''re back, Barry," Arthur stated. Arthur was a middle-aged man with regular facial features. He had thick brown eyebrows, with his hair and beard of matching color. His skin was fair, revealing slight wrinkles on his forehead due to old age. His expression had a kind and approachable feel to it. Naturally, he donned a black suit.


    "Yes, it was rather risky going there now, but we did get instructions from the monarchy," Barry responded. "And besides, John Walker and the super soldiers will be useful to eliminate the criminals, especially since their bodies are becoming modified."


    "Hmm...the situation is looking rather bleak," Arthur continued. "Do you think we can eliminate criminals that did that to the States?"


    "...I''m not sure, to be honest," Barry replied as he looked to the floor in a downtrodden expression. "The best we can do is put our ''best soldiers'' in the accelerated courses...and hope that the Project Zero theory will work out. Other than that...we''d need nothing short of a miracle...a divine intervention."


    Silence filled the room as they pondered on the seriousness of the situation. Amid their thoughts, however, a black-suited woman opened the doors and entered.


    "I''m sorry for the sudden entering, Your Excellency." They apologized. "But the United States president would like to speak with you online."


    Hearing this, Arthur and Barry were surprised.


    "...It''s fine, you''re my assistant. Put her on," Arthur stated.


    Hmm...there''s a new president now, right? Barry said. The S-Class criminals murdered Garfield. How unfortunate.


    Arthur''s assistant quickly set up the online meeting for Arthur over the mounted television. When she was finished setting up, Ada could be seen on the TV, sitting in the Oval Office.


    "Ah, perfect! We''ve connected!" Ada stated with excitement.


    "Greetings, Ada Foster," Arthur said. "This is the first time we''re meeting."


    "Yes. Unfortunately, we couldn''t meet in person...considering the circumstances."


    "My condolences on the death of President Garfield," Arthur expressed. "You were rather close to him...although it hasn''t been too long since I heard of that."


    "Well, it''s just as you say. Garfield taught me everything I knew about government affairs...he wanted me to take his place when he retired..." Ada said with a sincere tone and expression. "Although he passed on, I was accepted by every government branch as the new president...and I know Garfield would have accepted that too..."


    "I see," Arthur stated. "So why did you request a meeting?"


    "Ah, yes. I went on a tangent. Well, your Chief of Defense came to my country a few weeks ago, right?"


    As she said that, Barry became rather shocked.


    "Don''t worry! I''m not angry or anything!" Ada explained. "I think that''s even better. You guys were probably concerned about our country or the threat of the criminals, which is why I want to ask for your help!"


    Hearing that, Barry sighed with relief.


    "Well, of course! We''ll help you." Arthur declared with a smile. "But...it''s going to be a tall task to locate and eliminate threats such as those..."


    "Don''t worry about that. I have aaaalllll the information on those criminals." Ada assured. "Right now...the ones we should focus on eliminating first...are Jack Knight and Nathan Hayes."


    "Hmm...I understand Jack considering his sociopathic and murderous nature...he''s the most dangerous, but why do you say Nathan Hayes?"


    "Nathan...is a very intelligent criminal. He''s singlehandedly escaped numerous police chases, destroyed multiple police stations, and killed super soldiers, just with his wit and normal weapons. From his actions, he seems to be the strategic type...he''s the leader of the rest." Ada explained. "He''s just as dangerous as Jack the Ripper."


    "...That is true. Alright, we''ll combine our efforts to eliminate them. But that''s if we can''t kill all the S-Class criminals simultaneously."


    "Thank you very much!" Ada happily expressed her gratitude. "For this, we will have to communicate a lot. Let''s hope for a grand success!"


    "Yes, a grand success," Arthur repeated. With that said Ada waved goodbye before leaving the meeting.


    "She''s rather outgoing, isn''t she?" Arthur asked.


    "Yeah, she is." Barry agreed.


    "I''m sure you know what to do now," Arthur continued. "Gather our best soldiers and put them through the accelerated training."


    "Yes, Your Excellency."


    "And if there''s any new recruits...accept them and put them in the training as well."


    "Recruits? But training them quickly...will be difficult if they aren''t accustomed to their blessings." Barry argued.


    "It''s just as you said. We''d need a miracle," Arthur responded. "It might be wishful thinking, but maybe there will be a miracle among those recruits."


    "...I understand," Barry said. "I will take my leave now to start preparations."


    "No problem."


    Like that, Barry left the lobby room and soon after, the building.


    "Hmpf...all this for five criminals," Arthur said as he leaned back on the couch. "What a hassle..."

 Ch. 0.2 - Prologue (Part 2)

    Some time has passed since the great incident in the United States - two months exactly. The developer had not called the gang to carry out any orders since, which allowed them to enjoy their free time, and they each used it in their own ways.


    Although they knew enemies like Ada were still up and about, this was the first time our characters could take a breather. They could chill out and unwind slightly.


    "Haha! You''re bad at this, aren''t you, Nathan!" Zack taunted. Zack and Nathan seemed to be sitting around a couch playing a soccer video-game on a large flat-screened television.


    The living room that they were in gave off a rich feeling due to its decor and architecture. From the colorful curtains covering the sliding glass doors to the red couches of varying lengths across the living room, it was well-decorated. The coffee table in the center also enhanced the beauty of the room.


    Strangely, the clanging of what sounds like metal was audible outside as they played.


    "Tsk! Shut up...I haven''t gotten to play this in a while," Nathan said with knitted eyebrows, indicating his frustration.


    Nathan seemed to be wearing a black size-fitted tracksuit along with a pair of black dress boots. He also seemed to have put on more muscle over the two months. Zack on the other hand, was wearing a chocolate brown corduroy overshirt with a pale polo shirt on the inside, peanut brown size-fit jeans, and brown dress shoes.


    They both wore different clothing from before. By the time the game match was over, the scores were 7 - 2, with Zack being the winner.


    "Haha! You suck!" Zack taunted again, causing Nathan to become even more annoyed and frustrated.


    "Tsk! Whatever..."


    "Well, even though you suck, at least you took some time off to play some games," Zack added.


    "...Yeah, well, you keep coming over, so I have no choice. But I think I''ve had enough of getting my ass kicked in a game," Nathan responded as he stood up. "I''m going back to training with the NPC."


    "Oh yeah, speaking of that. I''m surprised you let your girlfriend train with the NPC as well." Zack continued.


    How many times do I have to tell this stupidass that she''s not my girlfriend...


    "...Yeah, I realized that I''m not strong enough to protect Lilith...not yet at least. Which is why I allowed her to train, too." Nathan explained as he looked to the ground. "She''s gotten quite strong at such a fast rate. If I''m not enough to protect her from danger...hopefully, she''ll protect herself."


    Although it pains me when she requested more intense training with the NPC...


    "Yeah...danger. There''s a lot of danger out of there..." Zack said as he rubbed his chin. "Especially Ada."


    "Hmpf, she''s the bastard developer''s game character. She''s not a danger or anything." Nathan said sarcastically. "But on a serious note, she''s playing the part of a president rather well...after likely manipulating her way to the top."


    "...Yeah. Surprisingly, Ada hasn''t come after us or anything. I''ve seen her gang ''helping'' with the damages from the super soldier war. It''s strange, considering how she declared that we would all suffer by her hands." Zack said. "It makes you wonder...what the hell she''s cooking up."


    ...The last time she went this silent, we got ambushed by super soldiers, Olivia got sent on death row, and we got thrown into a war. Nathan thought.


    "Damn it...now that we''re talking about this...I''m regretting not killing Ada." Zack said as he laid back on the couch and put his hand over his face. "I had my hands around her neck...I could have just snapped it and killed her, and none of this would have happened..."


    "She''s cooking something, alright." Nathan agreed. "But it doesn''t matter what it is. The next time we meet, we''ll kill Ada. We''ve got monsters like Jack and Charles on our side."


    "...I hope so. Oh yeah! Jack is off to England now." Zack said. "He said the visit won''t take long at all."


    "Why did he go to England anyway?"


    "Apparently, to visit an old friend," Zack replied. "That''s what he said, at least."


    Jack has friends!? Nathan wondered with raised eyebrows. How the hell did that guy make friends...that has to be a lie...


    "Whatever, I''m going to train now," Nathan said as he approached the front door.


    "I''m coming to watch." Zack declared. "Seeing you improve so much makes me wonder what training you''ve been through."


    "It''s just regular hand-to-hand and weapon combat training," Nathan revealed. "But when you''re training as frequently as Lilith and I with a monster like the NPC...you''d have no choice but to chalk up results fast."


    With that said, they both went outside. They were met by Lilith and the NPC sparring. They were doing sword combat as Lilith was clashing her black katana with a longsword that the NPC was using.


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    Lilith was wearing a similar black tracksuit to Nathan.


    Her sword skills seemed somewhat decent as she swung rapidly but not randomly. Her target was always on one thing - the NPC. She was doing a good job, although the NPC was parrying her strikes with minimal effort.


    "Man, you guys have gotten much better, huh?" Zack commended. Nathan simply watched Lilith with a small smile.


    Suddenly, however, the NPC swung his sword and struck hers with high force, causing her arms to recoil backward (she still had her katana in hand). This understandably caused Nathan to become worried.


    The NPC tried following up with a palm strike to her stomach, but Lilith readjusted herself and blocked with the katana in time. Although she blocked, the strike had enough force to send her rolling several times across the yard.


    Lilith!!!


    Lilith stopped herself from rolling any longer and stood up once more. She rubbed her gut for a second before letting go.


    Ugh...strong...


    "Good...your skills are getting better than before, but your reaction speed is that of a human''s peak." The NPC commended. Simultaneously, Nathan ran up to Lilith.


    "Lilith! Are you okay?" Nathan asked with clear concern in his eyes.


    "Yes, I am, Nathan...didn''t I tell you not to worry over me while I''m training?" Lilith asked.


    "Uhm..."


    "It''s funny...I never thought I''d get this strong and athletic..." Lilith said.


    "The developer probably didn''t tell you this, but on average, humans with blessings are stronger and receive better results psychically than regular humans...with the right mindset." The NPC explained. "And you''re motive to get stronger, Lilith...well, that''s the perfect mentality for your blessing in particular."


    "My mentality is perfect?" Lilith asked with visible confusion.


    "It''s fine. You''ll understand in the long run." The NPC said. "Let''s continue."


    "I''m ready to train again," Nathan interjected. "That''s fine, right?"


    "You took a rather short break...you''re pretty determined, huh?"


    "Yes, I promised myself I''ll get strong as soon as possible..." Nathan responded. So I''ll never lose again...


    "Heh, those two are truly made for each other..." Zack said. Hmm...I wonder what Jack''s up to in England now...


    * * *


    In the streets of England, where the sounds of noisy cars in traffic and street folks going about their day, Jack was seen walking down the road. Although he was wearing a white version of the hoodie that Olivia had given him a while ago instead of his usual white overcoat to cover his face, you''d think that someone would notice him...that was wishful thinking.


    Not a single civilian noticed Jack walking about.


    Man... there are so many buggers I could just murder... Jack said to himself. But now''s not the time. If I kill now, I''ll make a scene, and things will get annoying. I''ll just do what I came here for...


    Although no civilians noticed Jack, he was not out of the waters. Someone had spotted Jack the Ripper. Sitting on a bench in the shadows, they watched him walk past everyone.


    "...There''s no way that bastard...is here," The unknown man said in a deep, slightly raspy and menacing voice. "The balls to show your face around here...well, that''s good. I can use this opportunity..."


    Strangely, Jack stopped moving before smirking.


    Feels like a lot of killing intent is being directed towards me...haha.


    Suddenly, he disappeared.


    "Heh...you''re not getting away." The unknown man said before he too disappeared. The civilians were none the wiser.


    Jack quickly arrived at a mountain range, away from civilians.


    "Wow, what a beautiful scene," Jack said as he looked around at the greenery of the mountains.


    RING! RING!


    Ugh...what now...? Jack thought as his phone was ringing. Quickly, he answered the incoming call.


    "Um...hello, Jack." Olivia greeted him on the other side of the call. On Olivia''s side, she was inside what seemed to be a laboratory. The one given to her by the developer. There were many lab equipment around, such as beakers, test tubes, funnels, flasks, bottles, and others. On a desk in front of her was a funnel with purple liquid flowing through long transparent connecting tubes.


    She was experimenting on her poisons. She even had the lab coat to play the part.


    "What''s up, love?" Jack asked with a slightly annoyed look on his face.


    "Um...I was just wondering when you''ll be back?" Olivia asked. "We...can watch movies if you want."


    I literally just left yesterday. Jack said to himself. This is the third time she''s called me...


    "C''mon, I already told you I''d be back when I finish my business, love," Jack assured. "You don''t need to call me so much."


    "But Jack--"


    "Um-- Kssht...sorry...it''s...kssht* breaking up..." Jack said as he made static sounds to get out of the conversation. "Kssht...talk to you...kssht...later." Jack said before hanging up.


    "Wait--sigh..." Olivia said as the call disconnected. Am I being too desperate...?


    Jeez...her knitting and poisoning skills are good and all...but she''s so annoying...I have no freaking idea why she''s clinging onto me so...


    "Whatever, the scenery really is beautiful," Jack said as he once again admired the view. He also removed the hood that was covering his face. Suddenly, a twisted smile came over his face. "It gives the urge to destroy it all...don''t you think so too?"


    A few feet behind Jack, a man stood there.


    "You must be an idiot for coming here, Jack," The man said. From his voice, it was the same individual that noticed Jack.


    The individual''s aesthetic was the exact opposite of Jack''s. While Jack wore white, they were wearing full black. They wore an assassin''s cloak which had no hoodie nor sleeves, but his arms were hidden by the sleeves of the overalls he wore inside. The only thing this man had in common with Jack was that he also had bandages wrapped around his hands. That and he gave a menacing and intimidating impression.


    His physical features were just as menacing. He seemed to be a young man with light brown skin. His black hair was rather thick, straight, and long, nearly reaching his lower back and stomach. There was also a single long band of hair coming from the front of his scalp.


    While his aesthetic, for the most part was that of the night, there was one feature of him that differed - his red eyes. His eyes were so bright red that they emanated a faint glow.


    "Wow, you''ve grown a lot from the last time I''ve seen you!" Jack said with a pleasant surprise written on his face as if mocking him. "You''ve become taller and everything! Good job...Kreuger!"


    "You dare show up here, and now you''re trying to have a friendly ol'' chit chat, mate?" Kreuger, as referred to by Jack, questioned. "In case you haven''t realized...after what you did to our clan...to our brothers and sisters back then...there''s no room for chit-chat!"


    "Aww, you''re hung up on that?" Jack asked. "Even though you''re the reason I came to this country?"


    "...Haha, well, it''s good that you''ve come here," Kreuger said as he began searching in his cloak, causing Jack to smirk. "I''ve been yearning for this day so much...that I think I''ve gone insane!" Suddenly, he pulled out two long daggers with slightly curved blades. Strangely, parts of the blades seemed to be covered with blood, but they were not dripping to the ground. It''s as if the blood hardened on them...or the blades themselves were partially made...with blood?


    Oh my...what strange weapons. Jack thought.


    "With my Bloodbaths...I''ll kill you for the sin of killing our brothers!" Kreuger declared.


    Wow...he pulled his daggers rather quickly, huh? Jack thought as he continued smiling.

 Ch. 1 - A Bloody Battle (Part 1)

    "With my Bloodbaths...I''ll kill you for the sin of killing our brothers!" Kreuger declared.


    Wow...he pulled his daggers rather quickly, huh? Jack thought as he continued smiling.


    "Wow, Bloodbaths...is that the name of those blades?" Jack asked. "Sounds rather menacing."


    "Shut up and draw your weapon," Kreuger demanded.


    "Yeah, yeah. We''ll get to that. But I have a question first," Jack continued. "You seem to have all the time in your hands with how comfortable you were on that bench. There''s no way the clan master would allow you to leave, right?"


    Kreuger''s eyebrows became furrowed, and an annoyed frown was formed on his face.


    "You must have left the Idaten Nightfall Clan. Did you leave because of our master''s torturous training methods?"


    "Shut up!" Kreuger said as he charged up to Jack, clearly having enough of his talk. With one of his bloodbaths, Kreuger tried slashing him. Of course, it was not successful, as Jack simultaneously pulled knives from his hoodied jacket and parried Kreuger''s sudden assault.


    Jack''s block didn''t daunt Kreuger as he swung rapidly. Jack also matched his assaults, parrying each of his attacks. Due to the resisting forces, sparks emitted from their blades with every clash.


    "Haha! Your skills are way better than back then! You''ve been training!" Jack commended in a condescending tone while smiling. "But we both received the same training from Master...and inherited the same blessing!"


    Kreuger didn''t respond, but from his furrowed brows, it was obvious that he was annoyed by Jack''s incessant rambling.


    As they continued parrying each other, Kreuger suddenly attempted a knee strike to Jack''s gut. While Jack was full of smirks, he was focused simultaneously, blocking Kreuger''s knee strike by lifting his knee.


    Almost instantly after his knee strike was blocked, Kreuger turned it into a high kick to the right side of Jack''s face. Jack quickly blocked it with his right arm, which meant one less arm he could use to parry Kreuger''s knives, even if only for a split second.


    Kreuger immediately took advantage by using one of his bloodbaths to disarm Jack by knocking the knife out of his left hand and then thrusting the other bloodbath toward Jack''s face.


    Narrowly, Jack leaned back to avoid it, and before Kreuger could adapt, Jack thrust his free arm, causing a hidden knife to propel from his sleeve toward Kreuger. Of course, it failed to hit as Kreuger tilted his head to the side. However, the knife grazed his cheek, causing Jack to draw first blood.


    "Tch!" Kreuger uttered as Jack simultaneously pulled another knife from his coat in quick motion.


    "Your skills are good, but it seems I can injure you with these knives!" Jack said as he continued slashing. Kreuger matched his speed like before, but this time, Jack was increasing his slashing speed more and more.


    Surprisingly, Kreuger was keeping up, but when it seemed like he had a chance, out of nowhere, another knife flew from Jack''s sleeve. Although Kreuger deflected it, that messed up his flow, allowing to Jack follow up...and follow up he did.


    Jack immediately delivered a powerful kick to his gut while slashing him across his left arm simultaneously, causing blood to flow.


    "Ugh!!!" Kreuger uttered as he was sent numerous meters away while rolling across the ground. Quickly, he stopped himself by planting his blades into the ground.


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    "Wow, I never expected you to keep up with me at this speed," Jack said. "You might be faster than that Lancer super soldier."


    "Damn it...you''re so full of tricks!" Kreuger yelled with visible annoyance. Strangely, the damage he sustained on his left arm that was slashed by Jack no longer bled.


    "Too bad for you that we have the same skills...and I''m a bit better than you than them," Jack said. "You''re gonna lose and die, ya know."


    Silence filled the air as Kreuger didn''t respond. Strangely, however, he began to smile.


    "We have the same skills...?" Kreuger asked. "...Don''t make me laugh."


    Suddenly, Kreuger''s skin started to turn red, much to Jack''s surprise. From the top of his face to the tip of his toes, Kreuger''s skin developed a slight red shade.


    "Crimson Haematic Scales..." Kreuger said. "Enough warming up...this fight''s just getting started.


    What? That''s not the inherited blessing we received. Jack thought. Without wasting a second, Kreuger rushed Jack once again. He engaged Jack in close-quarters combats with his blades again.


    Upon parrying the first slash, Jack noticed something different - his knife sustained cracks. Not only that, but Jack''s arms slightly trembled from the force.


    That striking strength...what the hell? Jack thought, with Kreuger slightly smirking as he also noticed the cracks.


    Instead of parrying the rest, Jack began weaving Kreuger''s knife slashes.


    Sleight of Hand! Jack thought as he delivered an immensely quick stab to Kreuger''s chest. Much to Jack''s surprise, the knife shattered upon impact.


    Did he get tougher? Jack thought. It''s like fighting the super soldiers over again.


    "Haha!" Kreuger laughed.


    Suddenly, Kreuger delivered a strike that Jack couldn''t avoid - he had to block it with his other knife. Like the prior knife, this knife sustained cracks after he parried it.


    Is he faster, too? Was he holding back his speed cause he was trying to test mine?


    At this point, he had Jack on the backpedal. With every attack Kreuger did, Jack would have to avoid them. Due to Kreuger''s increased speed, Jack had to focus on avoiding and didn''t find the chance to take out another knife. When Jack had to block, his knife sustained even more cracks.


    With only three to four parries, Jack''s knife was on the verge of shattering. Both Jack and Kreuger knew the knife could not take another...and so they thought, that''s what happened.


    Upon parrying Kreuger''s strike, Jack''s knife immediately shattered. Kreuger went right through and struck Jack right on his upper arm. Immediately after the blade made contact, Jack jumped back. The damage was sustained, as there was a large gash on Jack''s arm.


    "Bloody hell, you''re strong, but that''s not enough--" Before Jack could finish speaking, the gash wound immediately began swelling up, much to his surprise and Kreuger''s excitement.


    "Huh--"


    Suddenly, the blood that leaked from the gash wound exploded into a large pool of blood. With that, Jack''s hand and parts of his upper arm fell to the ground.


    What...what the hell was that? Jack wondered.


    "Huh...that was...unexpected..." Jack said as he looked at the stump of his arm that remained. The stump still leaked an unusually excessive amount of blood. "I see...that you have another power...but you''re not the only one with two blessings."


    Suddenly, Jack''s arm began to regenerate. From the bones to the muscles to the flesh, Jack''s arm was back to normal...good as new, and it only took a moment to heal. His unblemished hand was completely visible, as his sleeve was torn apart by Kreuger''s attack.


    What? Regeneration? Kreuger thought as he had a shocked expression. Suddenly, he began to chuckle once again.


    "Regeneration...that makes sense now, haha!" Kreuger said as he continued to chuckle. "No wonder you were able to single-handedly murder four thousand of your fellow brethren..."


    "Heh,"


    "Before I kill you...I want to know...why you could do something as unforgivable as that," Kreuger continued. "I knew you were a screwed up bastard, mate...but what you did twelve years ago...was unforgivable..."


    Hearing that, Jack began to rub his chin with his newly reformed hand. After thinking about what to say, Jack simply smiled.


    "Hmm...what do you think, Kreuger? I just love to kill." Jack responded, which caused Kreuger to frown. "But maybe you could ask the master...if you''re so adamant to find out."


    Hearing his response, Kreuger exhaled loudly. Suddenly, from the inside of his cloak, knives came out. It seemed like they were floating in the air, but they weren''t. On the hilt of the knives, thin red rope-like strings were attached to them - the strings were blood.


    The blood strings were also coiled around Kreuger''s fingers and his upper arms.


    "Wow, mate, you said I was the one with tricks, but look at what you''re doing." Jack teased.


    "Shut up...I''ve had enough of your talking," Kreuger curtly retorted. "I''m going to kill you now."


    Heh, I guess you would have tricks, too. Jack thought. After all, that''s some of the things we''ve learned as assassins trained by that bugger.

 Ch. 2 - A Bloody Battle (Part 2)

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 Ch. 3 - The Demon (Part 1)

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 Ch. 4 - The Demon (Part 2)

    "Haha! Now then...let''s get to the good part..." Jack stated in a sinister tone.


    "P...Please...don''t hurt...us," The mother pleaded. "We have done...nothing to you--"


    Unsurprisingly, her attempt to convince Jack was futile, as he struck her across the face and knocked her to the ground mid-sentence.


    "Enough talking! You''re ruining it." Jack bluntly stated. "Just use that energy to scream and cry as I slaughter you!"


    "Mom!!!" Amber called out as she was visibly concerned. Jack struck her so hard that she became delirious as if drifting back and forth in her state of consciousness. She also profusely bled from her head.


    "Y...ou...demon..." The father strained to say due to the pain he was under from the stab wound. Hearing this, Jack focused his gaze upon him.


    "...Yeah, I may be a demon, but you should keep your mouth shut if you want to live," Jack advised. "You''re first..."


    Without saying anything further, Jack walked over to the dining room before entering the kitchen.


    The dreadful cries of her brother and her parents'' injured states filled Amber with extreme despair and hopelessness. Although Jack no longer watched them as he went to the kitchen, none of them even attempted to escape. That was how broken down both physically and mentally they were.


    In just a short time, Jack returned. In his hand was a bottle with an orange viscous liquid inside. It had a label with the words ''COOKING OIL.'' He also had a box of matches on the other hand.


    "W...What...?" Amber muttered as she noticed. Jack casually approached the father as he began to open the bottle.


    "W...wait...stop...please!" Amber pleaded, but Jack completely ignored her. Before doing what he intended to, Jack violently pulled his blade from the father''s arm.


    "AAAAHHHH!!!" The dad screamed in obvious pain. After retrieving his weapon, Jack began to pour the flammable liquid onto the dad. He didn''t stop until it finished, drenching from the top of the dad''s hair to his legs.


    "You know, I was just gonna torture you with my knife before killing ya, but I thought about something," Jack said as he pulled a match stick from the box, causing the father and Amber to look in despair. "Wouldn''t it be ironic if a religious guy like yourself gets burned to death by flames? It''s like you''re burning in hell!"


    "Please...STOP THIS!!!" Amber pleaded one last time as Jack lit the match aflame. Casually, Jack flicked the match stick in the air, and it descended right on the father''s head. Upon making contact, the father became engulfed in flames.


    "AAAAAHHHHHH!!!" The father let out an ear-piercing scream as he began to feel the burn. He began to violently and sporadically writhe in pain.


    Seeing the state her father was in and the fact that she could do nothing about it, tears ran down Amber''s eyes, and like her father, she too released a cry.


    "HAHAHA! He''s like a worm wiggling with how he''s writhing!" Jack taunted as he chuckled. He then looked into Amber''s teary eyes, which filled him with immense joy. His grin and expression brightened once again.


    "AAAHHH...AAHH...AH--" As the dad continued his screech, his voice gave out. It could be because of the smoke polluting his mouth, throat, and lungs, or it could be his clothing breaking down from the flames and the material entering his respiratory system, but he could no longer scream.


    While her vision was blurred due to her delirious consciousness, the mother slightly noticed her husband burning.


    "...H...Hen...ry?" The mother softly uttered.


    With his skin darkened like charcoal, the father''s struggle became sluggish. The horrid burning smell filled the air as his struggle ceased entirely. His pain was finally over as he passed on.


    "Ah...what a nice incense," Jack uttered as he sniffed the air. "That was a nice ki--"


    Jack was interrupted by Ben''s incessant cries. Although this was how anyone would react in this situation, much less a child, this slightly annoyed Jack.


    "...How annoying," Jack stated as he pulled out his dura-negs. "I''m returning to America after this, so let me have some fun..."


    In an attempt to shut him up, Jack ruthlessly thrust one of his knives right through Ben''s jugular before performing a draw-cut and pulling it out the side of his throat. Ben didn''t even get a chance to choke on his blood, as the attack instantly tore apart his throat, including his carotid artery.


    "NOOO!!!" In a tear-filled rage, Amber attempted to lunge at Jack, only for him to slap her face, sending her to the ground again.


    "Ah!!" Amber uttered in pain.


    "Wait your turn, Brat! A weak bugger like you won''t achieve anything!" Jack berated as he coldly stared at Amber. He wasn''t finished with Ben as he proceeded to slash him countlessly on every inch of his body. As if he went through a meat grinder, Ben''s body parts came apart horrifically, with his blood splattering everywhere.


    "Ah...nice," Jack stated as he sighed in contentment.


    "W...Why...How...could you...do this...?" Amber asked. She had a mentally broken expression with tears streaming down her face, which, of course...amused Jack.


    "I saw paintings on the wall, so I assumed that to be your god or whatever," Jack said. "Haha! Looks like your God didn''t protect you, love!"


    Hearing this, Amber held her head down. She had accepted her fate.


    "Either way, I don''t care. Your suffering was quite enjoyable...goodbye now!"


    As Jack was ready to kill her, the mother suddenly ran up and grabbed him.


    "Oh my!" Jack uttered as the mom wrapped her arms around him and held him with all her might.


    "...Amber...please...you must...run..." The mother advised. Understandably, tears ran down the mother''s face. Amber, who heard her plea, held her head up to see her mom''s sacrificial attempt.


    "...Mom...I can''t...leave...you..." Amber responded. "I don''t want...to lose you...too!"


    "Wow! First your father with his shotgun, now your mother with her bravery...or stupidity... either way, they failed to protect useless children. You''d get me upset if I were your parent, you know--"


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    "Don''t listen to that demon, Amber!" The mother yelled. "Remember...what I told you...these demons will get their punishment for their sins. You don''t need to worry yourself. We''ll always be with you, and more importantly, God will always be with you."


    "Wow...still talking about god stuff even in this situation?" Jack asked. "Oh well,"


    "You will...make it out alive, Amber, so...run!" The mother advised again. Maybe the paralyzing fear she experienced in this situation, or that she was concerned for her mother, but Amber failed to move. Instead, she listened to her mother with distraught-filled eyes.


    "Aww...how nice," Jack sarcastically remarked as he effortlessly freed himself from her grasp.


    "Our God...will save you from this somehow...Amber," The mother assured. "And don''t forget...we will always...love y--"


    Refusing to let her finish, Jack stabbed her through the side of her neck before pulling it out through the front, nearly decapitating her in the process. Her blood splattered onto Jack''s hoodie, causing him to smile.


    "Ah...excellent..." Jack uttered. Her mother''s lifeless body fell to the ground. She had died from blood loss.


    Around Amber were now the corpses of her entire family.


    "Ah...Ah...Ah..." Amber stuttered as she could not release her scream due to the devastating trauma she received. Finally, though, it came out.


    "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"


    She kneeled on all fours on the ground and went into a crying mess. Her cries were so intense that snot ran down her nostrils as well.


    T-This was supposed...to be a regular day. I...I was supposed to head to university and have fun!!! Amber thought amid her crying. Why...why why why...why did something like this happen!!!???


    While Amber was crying, Jack calmly picked up the father''s shotgun.


    "Ya know, I''ve never really killed anyone with a gun before," Jack said. "You want to be the first victim, brat?"


    "My...sob* family...were the...sob* nicest people..." Amber stuttered to say while she broke down.


    She started to recollect memories of her family. Times when she''d watch movies with her family, times when she''d cook with her mother, times when Amber would do arts and crafts with Ben, times when she''d go jogging with Henry (her dad), and even times when the family would go camping.


    There was never a dull moment in her memory...and more importantly, everyone had wholesome smiles. Smiles she''d never see again...because of Jack.


    "My family...were the best...and you...took them away...from me..." Amber uttered. In response, Jack calmly looked at her with a strangely genuine and wholesome smile.


    "Womp, womp!" Jack mockingly responded.


    "W-What!?" Amber uttered as she was stunned by his response. Suddenly, rage surfaced in her as she stood back up.


    "Oh? You managed to stand?" Jack said. "Good job!"


    ...No...don''t give up yet...my mother said I will...be fine...so God...if you''re hearing me....please...I need you... Amber asked. Help me...God!


    "Alright, let''s finish this--"


    Suddenly, Amber''s irises emitted a yellow glow before a massive burst of light radiated in the house, with her being the source.


    "What the hell!?" Jack uttered in pure shock. The light was so bright that he had to squinch his eyes.


    BANG!


    Instinctively, Jack fired at the center since that''s where Amber would be.


    "Ugh!" Amber uttered as she got sent across the room from the blast. As she lay on the ground, Jack walked up to her.


    Her gut was profusely bleeding, and her entrails were partially exposed. On top of that, she was unresponsive.


    "...The hell was that?" Jack asked as he threw the gun to the ground. "Whatever...I had fun."


    Feeling contented, Jack left the home and disappeared. Simultaneously, the flames that engulfed the father started spreading to the carpet.


    * * *


    A period of time after Jack''s attack, muffled noises were audible.


    "...happened here...?" As Amber was regaining her consciousness, she heard a voice. Slowly, her eyes opened, and she noticed a man stooping over her. That man was the Chief of Defense in England, Barry Alexander.


    The voices were fully audible and no longer muffled due to Amber rousing back to consciousness.


    "Oh? You''re alive?" Barry asked in surprise before smiling. "Thank goodness."


    Around the room, numerous British soldiers were searching, along with firefighters standing around. Some of them were covering the bodies of Amber''s family members with sheets. Most of the furniture in the house was burnt, but it seemed as though they had taken care of the fire as it was gone.


    "W...wha...t...hap...pened?" Amber struggled to speak due to her injuries.


    "There were readings of a huge energy concentration at this address...so we came here," Barry explained. "We checked everywhere...but unfortunately...you were the only survivor..."


    "O...h...I...I see..." Amber responded as tears ran down her eyes. Feeling empathetic after seeing her tear up, Barry began to frown.


    Jack...the Ripper... Amber thought.


    * * *


    Back at the mountain range, Kreuger was walking. He carried both his Bloodbaths, including the one sliced in two, by Jack.


    "I failed...to kill him..." Kreuger remarked.


    As he walked, he began to recollect a memory. He recalled a very gory memory.


    In his memory, the bodies of countless people littered a dark area. They seemed to be dismembered and mangled beyond belief. What made all these deceased individuals similar was that they were wearing black, with most wearing Japanese-type hakama and some wearing other variations.


    However, in the center of the bodies, an individual who differed from them all. His albino skin, white hair, and bloodstained white hakama made it seem like he illuminated the area. Judging by the bloodstains and the sadistic smile, this indicated two things: this individual was the perpetrator of this massacre in Kreuger''s memory...and that this was a younger Jack Knight.


    He put the perfectly functional Bloodbath blade in his cloak before focusing on the damaged one. Suddenly, blood emerged from Kreuger''s arm before flowing onto one piece of the dagger. Immediately, the blood connected itself to the second piece before hardening. Just like that, Kreuger fixed his blade.


    "I failed this time...I cannot let my fallen brothers and sisters down..."


    * * *


    "I can tell you have been through...a rough time," Barry said. "You can explain everything when you''re healed."


    Upon remembering what took place, the tears just kept coming.


    My family...is gone...because...of Jack. But, I feel...different. Amber pondered. God... did help me...mom.


    * * *


    "I lost this time...but Jack made the mistake of not killing me! I will get stronger, everyone," Kreuger said. "I''ll avenge you all!"


    * * *


    "Watch...over me..." Amber softly uttered, much to Barry''s confusion. "I''ll get...stronger..."


    As if Kreuger and Amber were in tune, they declared the same statement:


    "I promise...I will kill that demon!"


    * * *


    Returning to Nathan, he continued to spar with the NPC. Due to taking a break, Lilith stood beside Zack and spectated Nathan on the side.


    Nathan wielded a knife and attacked the NPC in close-range combat. As he swung, the NPC easily unsurprisingly weaved them flawlessly. Suddenly amid his knife swings, Nathan materialized a pistol in his other hand and fired to catch him by surprise.


    Although that failed, that strategy was rather creative, as even the NPC took note. Deciding to counter-attack, the NPC began to perform a multitude of palm strikes, which Nathan avoided.


    "...Good, keep it up." The NPC complimented. Deciding to ramp it up, the developer attempted a quicker palm strike to the face, which Nathan weaved by moving to the left. Although he dodged it, it was obvious Nathan was having trouble, as indicated by his stressed expression.


    After Nathan dodged, the NPC swiped to the right as a follow-up. The swipe was audible as his fist cut through the air, creating slight pressure. Barely, Nathan ducked it and decided to counter-attack with another knife swing.


    The NPC weaved it by tilting backward, but Nathan was expectant of that. Mid-swing, Nathan dematerialized the knife and materialized a longsword.


    Huh? The NPC thought as he noticed. Due to the difference in lengths between the knife and the sword, this would normally mess up how far someone would think they''d need to lean back to avoid the strike...except the NPC. As the sword came a millimeter from making contact, the NPC grabbed it.


    "What?" Nathan uttered. As a counter-attack, the NPC struck Nathan in the gut, causing him to stagger back multiple feet. "Ugh...ouch..."


    "Good job...you''re getting much better, Nathan." The NPC complimented. While rubbing his stomach in pain, Nathan smirked in response.


    Heh...I''m getting better at using my...blessing to facilitate combat. Nathan pondered. Training with this monster is also helping my physicals. It''s like I''m a whole different person compared to when I fought the super soldiers.


    "Let''s continue," The NPC suggested before charging at him. Although Nathan was focused, something caught his eye which broke his concentration.


    The developer suddenly appeared.


    "Hey, guys!" The developer greeted them with a wave.


    Huh? What is he doing here-- Before Nathan could have finished his thought, he received a straight punch to his face by the NPC. The punch was so strong that he was sent rolling on the ground several times across the yard.


    "Yikes!" Both the developer and Zack uttered.


    "Gasp! Nathan!" Lilith uttered with raised eyebrows and a widely open mouth.


    "Ugh..." Nathan groaned as he lay face-first in the grass.


    "Don''t lose focus in a fight," The NPC advised.


    "...Ugh...my bad..." Nathan responded. But seriously...what the hell is the bastard developer doing here...?

 Ch. 5 - Preparation

    Going back a bit in the past, over to an unspecified alleyway, Charles was standing in the midst. His fist and knuckles were heavily bloodied, and his clothing had slight splatters of blood on them.


    Judging by the lack of injuries on his body and his calm expression, the blood that he got covered in may not be his. Well, it definitely didn''t belong to him...judging by the corpses of police officers, soldiers, and even a couple of super soldiers littered around the alley.


    "Sigh...I was excited when I found a couple of super soldiers that survived the war..." Charles said. "But to think they''d die so easily...what a letdown..."


    DING!


    "Huh?" Charles uttered as he heard his pinged. Upon checking, Charles realized it was a message from the developer. Sigh...I hope whatever this message is will be more fun than this waste of a fight...


    "Let''s meet up!" The message vaguely said.


    Huh?


    * * *


    Charles was not the only one who received that message, as while working in her lab, Olivia''s phone pinged. She seemed rather bored in her lab until the phone received the message.


    "Sigh...what''s this now," Olivia said as she picked up her phone. "I...Is it Jack?"


    All hope was shattered as Olivia read the message saying ''Let''s meet up!" by the developer.


    "...Sigh."


    * * *


    Returning to the present, everyone gathered together in Nathan''s living room. The developer and all the game characters (except Jack...and of course Ada) took their seats.


    The blacksmith and Lilith had sat on opposite sides of Nathan, which caused Lilith to become slightly upset due to jealousy. The blacksmith, however, didn''t seem to pay attention to her.


    "What''s wrong?" Nathan asked Lilith.


    "N-Nothing..." Lilith responded as she turned away from Nathan with puffy cheeks. In confusion, Nathan scratched his head.


    "Hey guys! It''s good to see you guys again!" Zack said as he greeted Charles and Olivia.


    "Hey, Zack!" Charles returned the greeting. The blood from his massacre in the alleyway was gone.


    "It''s good to see you too..." Olivia said. Too bad...Jack isn''t here too...


    Nathan gazed at the developer with disdain-filled eyes, and the developer returned his gaze to Nathan with a smirk.


    "I heard that you guys have been training," The developer said to Lilith and Nathan. "Let me give you guys a hint...keep your mind set on your blessing...you''ll get stronger that way."


    Silence filled the air as none of the gang responded to him, with Nathan still looking in disdain.


    "...Are you going to tell us why you wanted to meet?" Nathan questioned. Hearing this, the developer''s facial expression became bland.


    "Don''t try to hide your disdain too much, Nathan," The developer sarcastically remarked. "Can''t I just want to see how my characters are doing?"


    "So, do you have a mission or not?" Nathan bluntly asked.


    "Yeah? I want to fight strong people already!" Charles declared. "You said I''d get to fight tons of strong people, which is why I joined your game...but ever since the war, I''ve only fought scrubs!"


    "Yeah, but--"


    "Why can''t we just attack Ada and her group!?" Charles inquired.


    "No, I already told you that you can''t do that...not yet, at least." The developer reminded. "But you don''t need to worry. Although it''s taking a bit longer than I imagined...I''m sure the world would not allow criminals who turned a country upside-down loose. They''re likely planning and will counter-attack soon."


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    I''m kinda surprised that ''they'' haven''t done anything yet, too. The developer thought.


    Suddenly, the developer and the NPC looked to the door, confusing the rest.


    "Oh, he''s here," The developer remarked.


    "Who''s here--" Before Nathan could finish, Jack suddenly appeared in front of the doorway.


    "Hey, everyone. I''m back." Jack greeted. Upon seeing him covered in blood and his clothing ripped, Nathan and Lilith were surprised.


    "Jack!" Olivia called out with a happy expression.


    "W...What the hell happened to you?" Nathan asked while Jack and Zack waved to each other.


    "You know me, Nathan," Jack said. "I was killing some buggers."


    "What!? Didn''t you say you were going to England?" Nathan asked. "So you were lying about meeting an old friend...I knew it."


    The developer just listened as he rubbed his chin.


    "Nah, I was meeting an old friend, but I was also killing buggers."


    "Why would you go to a different country to kill people!? Do you want to get killed?"


    "There''s no one that could kill me now, mate," Jack stated.


    "Sigh...did you at least ensure not to leave any tracks behind..." Nathan asked.


    "Of course, mate," Jack responded. "Who do you think I am?"


    * * *


    "...Fingerprints and bloodstains were found in Ms. Amber''s home," Barry said as he was walking in what seemed to be a hospital, judging by the number of medical professionals he passed.


    Walking with him was the Queen-Deathbringer.


    "So? Who do they belong to?" She asked.


    "Tch...they belong to Jack Knight, Queen," Barry answered in a slightly annoyed tone.


    "What? Do you mean Jack the Ripper? But how did he...?"


    "I don''t know either...but the point is he''s here..." Barry replied. "We need to start preparing."


    "...How are you going to deal with him then?"


    "Huh?"


    "Apart from me and the other death-bringers, there are Rebecca and John...who aren''t ready yet." The Queen Deathbringer explained. "Since I''ve come here, I haven''t seen any other super soldiers...how will you hope you stop him?"


    "I suppose you wouldn''t know since you haven''t been here too long, but our country also has a special group of people that can combat superhumans," Barry responded. "Unlike super soldiers, we have ''blessed soldiers.'' As the name suggests, these are essentially people with blessings. We train them up to become proper soldiers."


    "I see."


    "But...if it''s truly Jack...we''d need stronger units...Most of our blessed soldiers won''t be strong enough if we were to compare his performance to the super soldiers in your country," Barry continued. In anger, he clenched his fist. "That S-Class criminal''s presence in this country has made things much more difficult...dammit."


    "Well, Cryostasis has recovered from his injuries, so my group is ready when you''re ready."


    "Sigh, that''s good," Barry said as they approached a door leading to a room. The room was labeled ''Medic Bay.'' "But before that...there was that high energy concentration registered from Amber''s home. As much as I hate to do this after she just lost her family, I have to get to the bottom of this."


    And those injuries she sustained were from shotgun shells...there''s more to her than I thought.


    * * *


    Inside the medic bay, Amber slept on a bed. Her wounds were tended to, as they got wrapped in bandages.


    In her dreams, a graphic display of Jack''s massacre was plaguing her mind. The screams of her family and their graphic deaths shook her very core, even while she slept.


    As if trying to block the screams, Amber covered her ears with tears running down her face while sleeping. Slight moans of discomfort were audible as she tossed and turned on the bed.


    Suddenly, in her subconscious, she began to hear a strange voice. As if clearing her mind of the gruesome sight, a bright yellow light, similar to the one that shone on her, appeared in her subconscious.


    "Hello, Amber." An unknown voice of a female began to speak in her head. The voice seemed different from the ones people usually hear in dreams. It felt as if someone was talking to her in real life.


    In shock, Amber suddenly woke up. Due to her trauma, Amber sprung up from the bed, drenched in sweat and hyperventilating.


    "H-Huh?" Amber asked with terrified eyes.


    "Sorry, did I startle you?" The voice asked. "Don''t worry, I am on your side."


    "What...? A-Am I losing it?" Amber asked as she held her head in frustration. She also looked around to see if anyone was in the room. There wasn''t, which made Amber more concerned about the voice.


    "No, no, I...am the one you called upon for help," The voice explained. "After that demon''s attack..."


    "W-What?" Amber uttered. "Wait...are you...my god?"


    "I suppose so. Although, I have no right to be called that...after not saving your family too..." The voice said in a low tone. "But I couldn''t for reas--"


    "It''s okay..." Amber interjected with a smile as she started to calm down. "Just as my mom said...you saved me. I''d never be angry at my god for that..."


    "...Thank you, Amber...I''m sorry it had to be this way...but I''m glad I chose you..."


    "For what?"


    "I will bless you...with power...to defeat the evil of this world," The voice explained. "You can return this world to peace...and I will help you...always."


    Hearing this, Amber''s brows raised in surprise.


    Defeating evil...does that mean I can kill the demon, Jack, too? Amber wondered. Then...I really can avenge my family...


    Suddenly, the door began to open, garnering Amber''s attention. Entering the medical bay were Barry and the Queen Deathbringer.


    "Oh? You''re up?" Barry said with raised eyebrows and a smile from that pleasant surprise. "I''m glad."


    Upon seeing him, Amber remembered when Barry spoke to her at the scene of Jack''s attack.


    Oh...it''s you.


    "Sorry, I hope you don''t mind...but I have a couple of questions."

 Ch. 6 - Kickstarting the Fire

    "Sorry, I hope you don''t mind...but I have a couple of questions." Barry stated.


    As if knowing what he would ask, Amber gazed at him with a downtrodden expression. She also began to grip onto her blue patient gown.


    "Could you tell me what you saw exactly in that incident...or if you noticed anything important--"


    "No...no, no, no. I...can''t," Amber interjected as she held her head. "I don''t want to...remember that incident again..."


    "...Sigh, you''re right. That was an awful question to ask you." Barry said as he apologized. The Queen Deathbringer simply kept silent with a cold expression. "Well, Jack the Ripper is known for the lack of survivors in his...attacks. The fact that you survived him, I can tell you are special."


    "...It was my god that saved me..." Amber said as she looked out the window beside her bed.


    "God, huh..." Barry muttered. "Oh, yeah. My men found this at your home." He continued as he began to rummage in his pockets, which garnered Amber''s attention. He then took out what seemed to be a golden locket necklace. The locket was heart-shaped.


    "W-What...?" Amber uttered with a surprised look on her face. When he handed it to her, Amber proceeded to open the heart locket. It revealed two small embedded pictures of her family on each heart half.While gazing at her family''s happy smiles in the pictures, she became teary-eyed. Quickly, however, she wiped her eyes when she realized.


    "...Thank you for finding this," Amber said as she expressed gratitude. "I''ll keep this...close to me..."


    "No problem."


    "...Also...I remember you saying you came to my home because of a large energy signal..." Amber continued. "That...was because my god helped me, as I said. She protected me...and gave me power..."The Queen Deathbringer looked at her with slight confusion.


    "Hmm..."


    "I received a blessing from god, I''m sure..." Amber continued, causing Barry''s eyes to widen. "I...can help you defeat...that demon..."


    After hearing her request, silence filled the room as Barry began to think.


    Hmm...that energy recording was the greatest we felt in a while...and the fact that she survived Jack means that it isn''t a fluke... Barry pondered. She doesn''t seem to have prior knowledge of the ability she may have...so it would be reckless to reject giving her proper training...


    "...Alright, fine." Barry agreed, much to the Queen Deathbringer''s surprise.


    "...Are you sure...?" She whispered.


    "Yeah, don''t worry," Barry assured. "It''s best if you join the military so we can gather more information about your power."


    "...Okay,"


    "Also, I usually wouldn''t recommend this, but due to the threat of Jack the Ripper...and possibly other S-Class criminals, you''ll be put through a training course reserved for blessed humans called the ''Enlightenment Program''...as named by our monarch, the Queen."


    The enlightenment program...to think this country has such different things than America... The Queen Deathbringer thought.


    "It''ll be far tougher than normal, but based on previous participants, you''ll have a mastery over your ability much quicker," Barry said. "So, do you still think--"


    "Yes, I''ve already decided," Amber interjected. "I''ll do it."


    Hearing that, Barry smirked.


    "Losing my entire family because of that demon...was the worst tragedy I''ve experienced. But if I let myself wallow in my trauma...I won''t stop that same thing from happening to other families..."


    Heh, I may be right about the divine intervention, Your Excellency. Barry thought. "Alright, I understand," Barry said as he turned around and headed for the door, with the super soldier following. "Rest up. We''ll pick you up later."


    "...Alright,"


    "Take care...I hope your god comes through for you." Barry remarked before leaving. After their departure, Amber returned her gaze to the window.


    "...Of course, she will come through for me..." Amber remarked. At that moment, her eyes began to glow yellow, just as they did against Jack.


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    * * *


    "Are you sure it''s a good idea to recruit her?" The Queen Deathbringer asked. "She was only a university student before this incident...she has no combat experience."


    "We''ve had many successful individuals that had no fighting experience before being recruited...all because they had powers of their own," Barry explained. "Besides, what type of person would I be to not give her a chance...especially after what she went through."


    "Sigh..."


    "Also, I''m thinking of revealing to the public that Jack the Ripper might be in the country still," Barry added, which made the super soldier''s eyebrows raise in bewilderment.


    "What? Why would you do that?" She asked. "You''ll likely receive excessive criticism for being negligent and not stopping Jack from entering the country."


    "I know, but if I don''t make them aware, it''ll only end up like the massive incident in America...it all started with the state hiding the criminal''s escape from their incarceration."


    "...Hmm,"


    "And, of course, intensive surveillance by military personnel will be necessary."


    "...Alright, I''ll follow your lead."


    * * *


    As night drew near, this not only signaled a close to one day but also the peace of the citizens of England, albeit mentally. As the citizens returned to their homes from their daily activities, they received chilling news.


    "Breaking News!" This is what civilians saw on their devices. "It seems that what has plagued the United States is now plaguing the United Kingdom." The news reporter, who was a male, said. "The S-Class criminal and Alcatraz''s death row escapee, Jack Knight, alias Jack the Ripper, has been spotted in the country."


    A citizen who was having a drink immediately spat it out upon hearing that revelation.


    "What!?" The civilian uttered. These were the same reactions that other citizens around the country experienced."According to investigators, Jack Knight was responsible for the murders of the entire Moss family just yesterday." The reporter continued.


    "That son of a...how dare he come to our country and commit something like that!?" A civilian said in his home as he watched the news with other members. "Monsters like that must die as painfully as possible..."


    "...What...don''t you mean how could our security let an atrocity like that happen...?" Another civilian argued. "If they weren''t careless, that murderer wouldn''t even be in our country!"


    "Citizens, you are being urged to stay indoors as much as possible, and take extra precautions if you must go outdoors." The reporter said. "According to our country, this threat will be dealt with."


    Staying true to his word, Barry released the news of Jack''s appearance in the country. The news quickly spread, not only around England but across the world, which, of course, sparked heavy criticism by the media.


    "I''m knackered...I thought it was only America that had dumb leaders...but our country somehow let JACK THE RIPPER here!" A post on social media said which garnered many likes.


    There were many posts of similar nature as this - the response by society was overwhelmingly negative and cynical. To make matters worse, people from other countries globally started to fear for their wellbeing. They didn''t know which country was next.


    * * *


    While everyone was hanging around his home, Nathan viewed the international news on his phone.


    Sigh...why is everyone staying here so long... Nathan thought to himself as he surfed the internet. Don''t they have homes too...ugh.


    While scrolling, a news article caught Nathan''s eye.


    "Huh...''A Plague Spreading to England?''...huh?" Nathan said with his left eyebrow raised in confusion as he read the headlines. Getting her attention, Lilith looked over to Nathan''s phone to see what he was doing.


    As they read the article, a terrified look was visible on Lilith''s face.


    As Zack and Jack (with Olivia sitting very close to him) were watching a violent film, an angered look surfaced over Nathan''s face.


    "...Jack...you...liar...!" Nathan strained as he grabbed everyone''s attention.


    "Huh? What''s wrong, mate?" Jack asked.


    "You said you covered your tracks!" Nathan yelled as he showed Jack the phone display. "Then why is your name all over the news!?"


    In response, everyone gasped.


    "Oh? It is?" Jack inquired. "Oh well." He responded as she shrugged before returning his attention to the movie. That made Nathan even more upset, with veins pulsating on his forehead.


    Although upset, he had no choice but to keep it internalized. After all, what could he do against Jack?


    "Aha! Looks like this may be the start of the next mission!" The developer suddenly said, which made Charles excited.


    "Yes! Finally!!!" Charles uttered.


    In annoyance, Nathan grabbed his head and shook it, much to Lilith''s concern.


    Dammit! I''m going to get forced into another war! Nathan thought. Why the hell did Lilith and I get roped in with these maniacs!!!???


    * * *


    Returning to the dojo in the mountains, Sharma was listening to the news on her radio. While listening, she seemed to be having tea. In the dojo was Ryzen, once again sitting in the dark corner.


    "...take extra precautions if you must go outdoors. According to our country, this threat will be dealt with."


    "...Wow, that played out a lot different than I thought," Ryzen said. "I knew Jack was bloodthirsty, but wow!"


    "So, aren''t you going to help now?" Sharma asked. "It''s the perfect time to make yourself known."


    "Yeah, I''ve grown to my ceiling in this life, most likely," Ryzen responded. Maybe this one will be my last...hopefully. "Alright, I''m going now, Sharma."


    "I told you not to call me...sigh, whatever. Remember, if you find anyone promising, carry them here." Sharma said. "I want students."


    "Ah, so you''re finally ready to take on some students. That''s good...I''ll try to get some for you," Ryzen replied before suddenly disappearing. Sharma merely continued to sip her tea.


    It seems I finally got over my past, huh? Sharma thought. I hope you accomplish your goal, Ryzen...


    * * *


    Inside a bar, Kreuger sat around a table by himself. Most of his injuries were dealt with, as he had bandages wrapped around them. He seemed focused on the wall-mounted television, which was playing the news of Jack.


    Suddenly, many of the civilians who were drinking, playing games, or communicating with each other immediately got up and left. As if hearing Jack, they were set off like fearful dogs and ran to their home.


    Kreuger''s expression contrasted with everyone else''s. While everyone was stricken with fear, a psychotic smile was visible on his face.


    "Haha, you''re still in the country, Jack," Kreuger said. "That''s good!"

 Ch. 7 - New Beginning

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 Ch. 8 - Perseverance (Part 1)

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 Ch. 9 - Perseverance (Part 2)

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 Ch. 10 - Vendetta

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 Ch. 11 - The First Day (Part 1)

    Running through a hallway was Amber. She donned a green military combat uniform, similar to a British soldier. There were several numbered doors throughout the hallway, going from number one and upward as she ran past.


    "Number twenty...number twenty...Where''s room number twenty!?" Amber said as she ran with a frustrated tone and expression. "I don''t wanna be late on the first day!"


    Much to Amber''s distraught, the hallway ended with room fifteen, which meant she had to take the stairs.


    "Just my luck that my class is on the second floor..." Amber muttered as she quickly skipped multiple steps. She wasted no time after reaching the second floor. Amber quickly scanned through the doors before reaching her destination - room twenty.


    Okay...here goes nothing... Amber encouraged herself before pushing the door open. Immediately, all eyes became fixated upon Amber, who opened the door.


    Upon opening the door, Amber immediately recognized the setting as being similar to a standard classroom. Inside, students (all wearing similar military combat uniforms as Amber) sat around desks and chairs, along with an individual standing at the front of the room behind a podium.


    "Ugh, alright, every--" The individual at the front spoke before turning his attention to Amber.


    "Huh? That girl made it past the obstacle course?" A student said with surprise written on his face.


    "S-Sorry for being late...I--"


    "Tsk, just hurry the hell up and take a bloody seat," The man at the podium snapped, immediately stunning Amber.


    In Amber''s eyes, the individual''s features matched his seemingly harsh attitude. Just the orange prison-like jumpsuit he wore surprised Amber greatly. The visible pulsating vein on his forehead and cold blue eyes piercing Amber''s soul didn''t help to portray him in a friendlier light, nor did the black spiked hair kept in a slickback hairstyle.


    "S-Sorry..." Amber apologized, and simultaneously, students in the classroom began to chuckle. The snickers caused Amber''s cheeks to flush red with embarrassment as she quickly took a seat.


    Ugh...talk about a horrible start... Amber thought. If only I didn''t pass out from exhaustion. Also, the teacher is scary...


    "Psst, hey!" To the left of Amber, Ariel suddenly greeted her. Seeing her immediately blew the suffocating embarrassment that Amber had away and turned her expression to glee.


    "H-Hey!" Amber happily returned the greeting.


    "Looks like we''ll be sitting beside each other, huh?" Ariel said. Like a happy child, Amber smiled sincerely.


    "Heh, not sure how she got in, but I''ll give her three days!" A male student at the back of the class said. He was the one who mocked Amber when she failed to get over the wall.


    "Nah, I''d say two," A male who sat beside him said. He was the individual who skated across the obstacle course.


    Of course, Amber was able to hear their gossiping, which was accompanied by chuckling.


    That hurts, but don''t let them get to you... Amber encouraged herself. When you get stronger, they''ll accept you.


    Amber shifted her gaze to the right due to the curiosity of the other individual beside her. It was another female. They were engrossed in what seemed to be a science book, indicated by the atoms and the obvious ''PHYSICS'' word labeled.


    "Um, hello...?" Amber greeted, which garnered her attention. That gave Amber a clear view of her features.


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    The green-haired plush bob cut and vanilla-colored light skin were relatively normal to Amber, but surprising her the most were the woman''s eyes.


    Her left pupil was blue colored and looked like a regular human''s eye, but her left eye had no iris in the pupil and was just a glowing azure blue eye. In the center, where the iris should have been, was strangely the Roman numeral ''V.''


    "Hello," The woman responded. Simultaneously, the V in her eye changed to the Roman numeral ''III.''


    "I''m Amber Hoss, let''s get along," Amber remarked.


    "...Hmm," The woman rubbed her chin, which unnerved Amber. "I''m Sariel Dell," She said before returning to her book.


    Phew...that went better than I thought...


    "Alright, everybody quiet the hell down!" The man standing at the podium ordered, clearly annoyed at everyone''s talking and chuckling. Instantaneously, everyone became silent, like a deer hiding from a predator.


    "You''re lucky you came in when you did," He continued as he stared darts at Amber. "My name is Altius Hunter, your instructor...you''ll call me Mr. Hunter."


    "Y-Yes si--"


    "It''s annoying to repeat what was said in class, so...Aiden Stark, what did we do in this lecture?" Altius suddenly asked, causing eyes to fixate upon the man who skated in the course. In shock, Aiden stood up.


    "Uh, you told us about the objectives of participating in this course," Aiden asked. From the way that Aiden dressed, he emanated an air of delinquency. From the messy collar and the first few of his military combat uniform unbuttoned, and the spiky short hair faded at the side, he gave an unruly vibe.


    "Tch...can''t you buggers go into more detail without being asked...?" Altius grumbled as he facepalmed, much to everyone''s surprise. "Sigh...what were the objectives we discussed, Sariel?"


    Hearing her name called, Sariel stood up, and Aiden sat back down.


    "Our objective is to get to a certain level to be considered valuable assets for the country, aka blessed soldiers," Sariel said. "Also, according to the monarch, Queen Isabella, the creator and sponsor of this program, the main objective of this is to create an individual who surpasses the levels of blessed people - an enlightened human."


    Huh? Enlightened? Amber thought.


    "Yeah, okay...sit the hell down, now." Altius snapped, to which Sariel obeyed.


    "Anyways, that''s the summary," Altius remarked. Throughout the time, he had a cold and unfriendly expression. "No questions?"


    "Uh, I--"


    "Good, no questions," Altius said as he interrupted Amber. "Alright, the lecture is over, so get out and go to the yard for your physical training." He advised before immediately walking out the door and leaving.


    Simultaneously, everyone left their seats and followed suit as the lecturer.


    "Hmm, Mr. Hunter is kinda...harsh, huh?" Amber said to Ariel.


    "Hmm. Oh yeah, I heard Mr. Hunter always had that personality. It probably has to do with his blessing, though," Ariel said. "But he''s a pretty good teacher. Anyways, let''s go before we''re late!"


    Hmm...blessing, huh? Amber thought as they both got up.


    Ariel and Amber made their way to the yard - a large plane area surrounded by a green transparent barrier.


    "Wow!" Amber said as she marveled at the sight. As the duo entered, they were greeted by the other students, along with a woman strangely dressed in a jester suit. Much to their annoyance, the woman squirted water on the students from a flower attached to her clothing.


    "Hello everyone! I''m your teacher, Trixie Leah!" The woman introduced herself. Trixie''s jester suit was red and black, with a pattern of red and black diamond playing card symbols decorating her size-fit pants, trench coat, and jester hat. She also wore red high-heeled boots, matching her clothing color.


    She kept a box of playing cards to the right of her belt. On the left, a mask was attached. The mask had all the decorations of a clown - a smiling red mouth, green, yellow, and white paint, and a big red nose.


    Trixie''s face was covered with white makeup, and her eyes and brows were outlined with black eyeliner. Even her long layered locks matched the color of her clothing, as it had a mixture of red and black strands.


    "Would you quit your damn wate--" Aiden snapped but was cut off by Trixie spraying water directly into his mouth, which immediately caused him to cough excessively.


    "Hahaha! Sorry, I couldn''t hear you!" Trixie said as she laughed excessively.


    This bloody woman! Aiden thought.


    "W-What...who is this...?" Amber asked with pure surprise.


    "She''s our second instructor...apparently," Ariel responded as her expression matched Amber''s.


    "Hmm, don''t you think it''s strange," Sariel suddenly spoke to Trixie.


    "What''s strange?" Trixie asked.


    "For an adult to be acting like a child?"


    Hearing that, Trixie became stunned. The other students began to chuckle in response. Amber gasped in shock, however.


    "W-What? I-I''m only twenty-eight years old!" Trixie stated. "I''m still young!" Trixie said. "Hmpf, let''s just start class today."


    "Wait, you''re...the teacher? I thought you were joking around!" Aiden said as he stopped coughing, much to Trixie''s chagrin.


    "Hey! I''m pretty strong, ya know!" Trixie countered. "I''ve been chosen by the monarch to train you, just like your other instructor!"


    "...I guess all the teachers have strange personalities," Aiden muttered.


    "Anyways! Let''s begin class!" Trixie stated, clearly having enough of the bullying. "We''ll be doing training today, so form yourselves in groups of three!"


    Groups of three? Amber thought. Uh oh.

 Ch. 12 - The First Day (Part 2)

    Groups of three? Amber thought. Uh oh.


    "Amber, wanna group up?" Ariel asked.


    "Of course!" Amber replied with a delighted smile. "But we need another person."


    "Yeah, I wonder who would partner up with us?" Ariel remarked. Like lions surveying for prey, Amber and Ariel searched for suitable participants to fill their group. Much to their disappointment, they failed to find anyone who could join them as the students conversed with each other to form groups.


    "Sigh, I knew this would happen..." Amber muttered as she held her head down dejectedly. "No one would want to group up with the girl that passed out on the first day."


    "Hey, don''t beat yourself up about that!" Ariel said with a serious expression. "Come on, I''m sure there''s someone who''d team up with us...like her!" Ariel said as she pointed at Sariel, who stood by herself.


    Oh yeah! I spoke to her...maybe we can get her to join!


    "Let''s ask her!" Amber suggested before running up to Sariel.


    "Uh, hey! Remember me?" Amber asked.


    "Hmm, it''s you again," Sariel responded.


    "Y-Yes, I noticed you haven''t joined a group yet, so I was wondering if you''d like to join our group!" Amber requested. Ariel was right beside her with a hopeful smile on her face.


    "Hmm..." Sariel thought as she placed her hand on her chin. Amber started to sweat in anxiousness for her response. In Sariel''s unique eye, the Roman numeral ''X'' switched to ''VII.'' "Okay, why not." Sariel agreed.


    "Yes! Perfect!" Amber happily rejoiced.


    "My name is Ariel Raven. What''s yours!" Ariel introduced herself.


    "Sariel Dell,"


    "Great, let''s all get along!"


    In the span of five minutes, everyone had put themselves in groups of three, which meant Ms. Leah could continue with the session.


    "Alright, my budding soldiers. Let''s begin," Trixie stated as she strangely performed a handstand, much to the students'' confusion. "You guys will train in your groups. You''re allowed to use your blessings and any tricks you might have. But don''t try to kill each other...or I''ll play a trick on you!"


    To think this is the instructor we have. Aiden thought. He then shifted his gaze to Amber. I wonder how she''ll do.


    Suddenly, his teammate, who mocked Amber in the obstacle course, put his arm around Aiden''s shoulder.


    "What got your attention, so?" He asked Aiden. "Is it that weak girl?"


    "Shut it, Baran. Let''s just get on with the fight," Aiden said as he shunned Baran''s hand. Beside them was a female, seemingly their third member. "Also, don''t think I''m gonna go easy on you guys...you hear that, Ivory?"


    "Heh, if you do, then you just might get hurt!" Ivory replied. In her hand were a couple of gems. From their color, they were Ruby and Sapphire gems, which she rolled around in her hand.


    Understanding the instructions given by Ms. Leah, everyone prepared to spar with their fellow group members. Each group took different areas of the yard to not cause interruptions between groups.


    "Alright, you guys ready?" Ariel questioned.


    "I''m ready when you are," Sariel responded as she strangely opened the palm of her right hand. Immediately, a minute portion of the holographic energy that made up the barrier began attracting to her palm, much to everyone''s surprise.


    "Wow, how did you do that?" Amber asked.


    "It''s a part of my blessing," Sariel responded as the energy in her palm turned to a blue holographic blade.


    "Oh, my...what a neat trick!" Trixie stated as she looked at the part of the barrier Sariel drew energy from. There was no hole or anything in the barrier - it was perfectly fine, just the way it was.


    That''s a cool skill, but it''s making me anxious. Amber thought. I don''t wanna get slashed.


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    "Oh, Ariel, where are the animals you had in the obstacle course?" Amber asked.


    "I called them...they''ll be here in any minute," Ariel replied.


    Any minute--


    Through the barrier, Ariel''s hawk and dog approached. Like the loyal pets they are, they immediately went by their master''s side.


    "Ah, perfect timing. Let''s begin now."


    Wait, isn''t this kinda bad for me? Amber thought as she realized she was the only one out of the trio without proper control over her blessing.


    The sounds of bangs and blasts were audible as the other students began to spar. Amber and the group, however, were at a standstill as they were preparing their first moves.


    Breaking the standstill, Sariel suddenly rushed at Amber, much to her fright. In response, Ariel''s dog and hawk moved in as well.


    "Wait, wait, wait!" Amber frantically pleaded as Sariel raised her holographic blade in the air. Not listening to her pleas, Sariel slashed her across the back.


    "Ouch!" Amber yelled in pain. Much to her surprise, however, Amber did not sustain much damage from that other than a painful sting.


    Go Cairo! Ariel thought as she looked right at her hawk. Immediately after slashing Amber, Cairo (the hawk) flew up and thrust its talons at Sariel. With quick reflexes, Sariel blocked the sharp talons with her blade, causing sparks to emit in the process.


    "Huh, I''m still alive?" Amber thought as she tried to look at her back.


    "Our suits are made with very strong material," Sariel explained amid her parrying of Cairo''s talons. "You don''t have to worry about dying to things like this."


    "O-Oh, I see--" Amber said but was interrupted by Shadow pushing her to the ground with its paws after getting a fast-running start. She was pushed with enough force for her to roll across the ground. "...Owww..."


    "Sorry, Amber, but we won''t get any stronger if we don''t push ourselves," Ariel explained.


    "Ugh, it''s fine..."


    I know you can get stronger, Amber...because you were just like me. Ariel pondered.


    * * *


    Aiden and his group simultaneously sparred with each other. Their intense battle continued, with Aiden seemingly skating in the yard at high speed towards Baran. As he approached him, Aiden winded up a punch. Before he could land the strike, however, Baran suddenly swiped upwards with his right arm, stopping Aiden in his tracks and even blowing him backward with a large gust of wind. Baran did this with a smile on his face.


    What? Was that air control? Aiden thought. Suddenly, Aiden''s expression morphed into a confident smile.


    "Haha! Even if this is just sparring, you think you can beat me with that generic ass blessing, mate!?" Aiden teased as he regained himself and charged at Baran once again.


    "Oh, yeah? Wanna bet?" Baran inquired as he began to strike the air with his fists, sending a multitude of wind gusts at him. While skating on the ground again, Aiden dodged with his high mobility.


    While Aiden avoided them, sharp ruby-sharded projectiles flew towards Aiden, much to his surprise. Skillfully, Aiden flipped in the air as if performing an ice skating trick and narrowly avoided the projectiles.


    The cause was made known to Aiden as he noticed more ruby and other colored gems floating around Ivory.


    Hmm...a gem or mineral blessing? Aiden thought. Simultaneously, Baran began firing air blasts from his fists toward Ivory, which she defended by mounding the shards together, turning them into a shield.


    Baran decided to close the distance between him and Ivory, but Aiden strangely placed his right hand on the ground.


    "Ha! Got you guys!" Aiden remarked as he garnered their attention. As if losing their foothold, they suddenly slipped and fell.


    "Hu--" Baran uttered as he realized he fell. He didn''t have time to get back on his feet as Aiden immediately rushed him and delivered a powerful roundhouse kick to the side of his face.


    "Ugh!" Baran uttered as he bounced on the ground.


    "Heh," Aiden uttered before noticing shards flying at him again. From his skating on the rough surface, it was obvious that friction was meaningless to this individual. Aiden''s feet slid opposite ways, causing him to avoid the shards by doing a split.


    "What the...did you just do a split!?" Ivory asked with an annoyed and confused expression. "What the hell is your power?"


    "Haha, it''ll be no fun if I tell you so early," Aiden replied. "Let''s continue!"


    * * *


    Returning to Ariel''s group, they continued their sparring with each other. Using the holographic blade, the loyal pets, and occasionally hand-to-hand combat, Ariel and Sariel were keeping up well with each other. They both kept well...except for Amber, whose lack of combat experience and skill was made painfully obvious.


    Amber constantly got slashed with Sariel''s blade, sustained scratches by Cairo''s talons, and pounced on by Shadow. If it was not for the reinforced combat suit she received, Amber would have suffered extensive injuries.


    Sigh, come on, Amber. Ariel thought. Despite Ariel''s pleas, it was clear that Amber was on her last leg. Much to the duo''s surprise, Amber lost the energy in her legs, causing her to fall on all fours. They were so surprised that they paused their fighting.


    "Amber..." Ariel uttered.


    "Hmm, are you finished?" Sariel wondered.


    "Not...yet," Amber uttered. Not...yet...


    God...are you hearing me? Amber asked internally. Please...give me the knowledge to use the blessing you gave me...


    I have given you the knowledge already, my daughter. The voice responded. Just recall the purpose I have given you.


    Purpose? Yes, my purpose...that''s right. Amber thought.


    "It''s a little disappointing, but if you can no longer fight, I''ll continue to spar with Ariel," Sariel stated. Meanwhile, Ariel gazed at Amber with a saddened expression.


    The reason why I decided to join this program...why I''m pushing myself this much... Amber continued as she began to push herself back up, much to the duo''s surprise. To vanquish the demon that killed my parents...and to never let that happen to anyone else!


    Suddenly, Amber''s eyes radiated that glowing yellow energy again. She was now back on her feet. Both Sariel and Ariel were fixated on Amber''s eyes.


    Good, my daughter... The voice commended.


    Ah, so this is how it feels to activate my blessing. Amber thought.


    "I suppose you aren''t finished, then?" Sariel said as she had a very slight smirk.


    With a bright smile, Ariel stated. "Let''s continue to spar then, shall we?"

 Ch. 13 - The First Day (Part 3)

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 Ch. 24 - Surprise (Part 1)

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 Ch. 34 - Tricks (Part 1)

    As the battle between Amber and her instructor versus Theodore and his forces wrapped up, the scene turned to Kreuger. He continued his trek down the underground enemy territory.


    "Tsk, where are the damn enemies!?" Kreuger questioned with an irritated expression. "I''ve been running for a few minutes!"


    Amid his angry rant, Kreuger noticed that he was rapidly approaching a dead end. Going from his high rate of speed to zero in an instant, Kreuger stood there with widened eyes.


    "A dead end!? I shifted my focus to defeat some guys who aren''t Jack... to wind up in a dead end!?" Kreuger questioned with bloodshot eyes. "There''s no way I''m letting this slide!"


    * * *


    Meanwhile, on Trixie''s pathway, they braced themselves for a battle with Harvey and Amelia.


    Harvey looked up and down upon his opponents with a cold expression.


    "Hmpf, to think this is what soldiers have become," Harvey remarked. "We got soldiers wearing jester outfits. What a joke."


    "Hehe, thanks!" Trixie responded as she modestly scratched the back of her head.


    "...It''s not a compliment," Aiden said.


    "You can go ahead if you want, brother," Amelia stated. "I''ll handle these two myself."


    "Are you sure?"


    "C''mon, I am a culinary genius. Just let me cook." Amelia responded with a smug smile. "Plus this encased environment will only restrict your blessing."


    "Well, alright," Harvey said. "I trust you." He said before turning around and casually walking off.


    "Hey! Where do you think you''re going!?" Aiden questioned as he attempted to touch the ground with the palms of his hands.


    "Ha! What do you think you''re doing!?" Amelia questioned as she intercepted Aiden by stretching her hand towards him. Multiple curved transparent airwaves like slashes were emitted from the palm of her hand.


    "Wha--" Aiden uttered but Trixie quickly grabbed him by the collar and pulled him from the slashes.


    The slashes continued to travel before hitting the passage walls, leaving multiple deep cuts.


    That was close! Aiden thought.


    "Tee hee, don''t you worry your little self about stopping Harvey. We''ll handle him after," Trixie stated. "It''s better for my blessing if we do that too!"


    "...Okay,"


    "Now, let''s start the show!" Trixie declared. A single card emerged from her box of cards and flew into Trixie''s hands.


    "Let''s see what tricks I can play on you!" Trixie stated as she read the card''s contents.


    Tricks list:


    Jack in a Box - Funny Surprise (Acquired from numbers 1 - 5)


    Putrid Eggs (Acquired from numbers 6-10)


    "Ooh, only two tricks but these are some of my favorite!" Trixie stated. Meanwhile, Aiden looked at her with a side-eye.


    Is she even taking this seriously!?


    "Hey, Aiden, please give it your all in this fight!" Trixie said. "So my little tricks can land!"


    "...I don''t know what you mean but I wasn''t going to hold back, anyways," Aiden stated.


    "Alright, enough with all this talking!" Amelia interjected before sending more air slashes at them.


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    Aiden avoided it by skating across the ground. Meanwhile, Trixie performed a back cartwheel flip and avoided the slashes.


    "...What a strange way of avoiding," Amelia commented. Simultaneously, Aiden skated towards Amelia to engage her in combat.


    Oh no, you don''t! Amelia thought as she prepared another set of slashes. Four cards emerged from Trixie''s card pack - a one, three, four, and five. Before Amelia could send slashes at Aiden, a blue box appeared floating beside her head. It was decorated with a jester face on each side.


    A jack in the box!? Amelia thought. Her assumption was right as a red boxing glove attached to a spring popped out from the box, attempting to strike Amelia in the jaw. When it popped out, a small sonic boom was generated.


    Amelia narrowly avoided by leaning backward, but couldn''t evade Aiden, who used the opening to strike her in the gut.


    With a visible flinch, it was clear that Amelia felt it, however, she still sent slashes at Aiden.


    Damn it! What the hell was that!? Amelia thought as the jack in the box disappeared in a blue cloud.


    "Ugh!" Aiden uttered as cuts appeared on his face but thankfully, they were superficial. Are they weaker?


    Realizing he didn''t sustain serious damage, Aiden pressured Amelia with punches. She avoided a couple of jabs before catching Aiden''s fist. She immediately placed her free hand on Aiden''s stomach.


    Shit!


    Before she activated her slashes, another jack-in-a-box appeared beside her abdomen.


    "Wha--" Before fully processing the situation, she was struck in the gut by a boxing glove, sending her into the walls. Even Aiden was surprised, as he glimpsed at Trixie, who had another four cards floating in front of her. They immediately returned to their box.


    Seeing him looking at her, Trixie smiled and made a thumbs-up gesture.


    What is going on with that card stack? Aiden thought. The second jack in a box disappeared in that same blue cloud.


    His glance at his instructor backfired as he noticed slashes approaching him in his peripheral vision. He reacted quickly by leaning but that only saved him from being bisected. A slash left a deep wound on his upper arm, causing Aiden to clench it.


    "Ugh!" Aiden uttered. That''s not enough to take me down!


    Tch, I missed my chance to kill him! Amelia thought as Aiden rushed towards her.


    In response, Amelia outstretched her hand for slashes.


    Yet another four cards emerged from Trixie''s card pack - a one, three, seven, and eight. Suddenly, a grey egg with a jester''s face materialized in the air. Without being thrown by anyone, the egg flew towards her.


    It immediately shattered on the ground, releasing a clear, translucent gas. The shell of the egg disappeared in multi-colored confetti.


    Almost immediately, Amelia''s lips curled into a snarling frown. Her nostrils also flared, her cheeks pushed up to her squinting lower eyelids and her brows furrowed.


    What is that smell!? Amelia thought as she sent slashes at Aiden. Just like before, it left superficial cuts on his face and body. He didn''t stop but gazed at her expression with slight confusion.


    Aiden and Amelia continued to fight but the putrid scent entered her nose hampered her ability to concentrate.


    "Keep it up, Aiden!" Trixie cheered. "You''re making my tricks land!"


    I''m not sure what''s going on, but those jack-in-a-box were helping. I''ll continue to do what I''m doing.


    As they continued to fight, sets of four cards kept popping from Trixie''s deck. Depending on the numbers she got, more Jack in a box would appear next to Amelia.


    She tried her best to avoid them, but it proved difficult to deal with random appearing boxes along with Aiden. More horrid scented eggs appeared and shattered on the ground which released more gas, making it worse for Amelia.


    She tried to cut Aiden apart but he would only sustain minor wounds. The only serious laceration he received in this fight was the one on her hand.


    Damn it! I can''t concentrate on cutting this guy up because of the jack-in-a-box and the smell of dead animals...which is becoming worse! Amelia thought as she couldn''t help but cover her mouth and nose with one of her hands.


    This was obviously a bad decision in a fight, as Aiden kicked her in the side and sent her into the wall.


    Tch, this must be that woman''s blessing! Amelia thought.


    Trixie''s blessing, the blessing of tricks, enables her to play powerful tricks on only her target. What trick she receives is based on the chance card she receives at the start of a battle.


    The chance card gives her between two - four tricks and the range of numbers required to play the trick. Through an automatic and limitless shuffling system, Trixie will receive four random cards that trigger tricks and surprises based on many conditions that she learned through experience:


    1. In receiving four different numbered cards, the highest number determines the trick


    2. Receiving two or more of the same numbers gives a bonus to that trick


    3. Receiving three numbers along with a jack, king or queen gives a bigger bonus


    4. Receiving three of the same numbers and an ace equips Trixie with a weaponized trick


    5. Big Rewards for four of a kind (special cards)


    * Jack (Four of a kind) - Jackpot


    * Queen (Four of a kind) - Super Jackpot


    * King (Four of a kind) - Mega Jackpot


    * Jester (Four of a kind) - ???


    6. Receiving an ace doubles the odds of a jackpot and lowers shuffling time.


    "Are you liking my tricks?" Trixie inquired with a confident smile. "I''m working hard so you''ll enjoy them!"


    In response, Amelia gazed at her with annoyance.


    How irritating. At this rate, I''ll have to use ''that.''

 Ch. 35 - Tricks (Part 2)

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 Ch. 42 - Exposition (Part 1)

    Several days have passed since Amber and her friends have had their day off. Their relaxation time ended as the nation''s soldiers put their full focus on their greatest current threat - Jack the Ripper.


    London City Airport is just one of several airports in which travelers move to and from the country via airplanes. The bustling noise of civilians in the port and the humming sounds of planes taking off and landing were simply routine and audible.


    Today was not like any other, as Chief Barry along with other military personnel was seen at the airport. Barry seemed to be expectant of someone, with how he was standing around patiently.


    His patience was rewarded as the person he waited for disembarked an aircraft and approached them. All eyes became fixed on that individual as she walked past them and threw out several waves.


    It was none other than Ada Foster. Barry and his men were immediately greeted by Ada''s beauty. She wore a black double-breasted cardigan trenchcoat with a furred puff around the collar. She didn''t fasten the belt of the coat, which left her coat open for them to see the size-fitted suit Ada wore on the inside, which accentuated her bust and curves.


    Charlotte, Leon, and Nolan were with their dear Ada, all wearing black designer suits.


    She looks even more beautiful in person. Barry thought. Tsk, I don''t normally think that way, especially not after meeting someone for the first time.


    "Good day, Chief Barry!" Ada greeted me with a bright smile.


    "Yes, good day. I''m glad you made it safe," Barry expressed.


    "Is everyone ready for the meeting?" Ada questioned. "I hope I''m not too late, am I?"


    "No, don''t worry, Ms. President. You are right on time," Barry assured. "My concern is that you may be tired from your flight. Are you sure you don''t want the meeting postponed until you''re fully refreshed?"


    "Nonsense! I am perfectly fine!" Ada said. "Besides, the welfare of our people is at risk! The sooner we do this meeting, the faster we can plan!"


    "Yes, you''re right," Barry agreed. She has a positive and energetic personality, especially after what the S-Class criminals did to her and her country. I suppose that''s a requirement to lead your country, especially after the death of its previous president.


    "Let''s head there promptly then," Barry advised, and Ada happily agreed. With that said, they made their way to various military vehicles parked and waiting for them.


    * * *


    Various soldiers and officers gathered in a large conference room of a military base in London. They were all there, from regular soldiers and blessed soldiers to Kreuger, the Queen Deathbringer, Ryzen, and the Enlightenment Program''s instructors and soldiers.


    While waiting for Chief Barry and Ada to join, they conversed amongst themselves.


    "Wow, to think today''s the day we''re commencing the ''Jack elimination'' mission," Aiden remarked. Although Aiden still possessed the burn scars all over the upper half of his body, his arm and eye were no longer bandaged. He had to keep his damaged eye closed, which revealed a nasty scar over his eyelid. "Never thought I''d be a bit nervous for this."


    "Well, it isn''t just Jack. It will be all the S-Class criminals," Sariel corrected. "But I suppose Jack''s the most dangerous, especially since he appeared in our country."


    "I told you guys you were being trained to become suitable assets against that bastard," Kreuger stated as he leaned back in his chair, showing no signs of nervousness. "I doubt you reached that standard, but good job getting stronger, at least."


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    Aiden, Sariel, and Ariel ignored Kreuger and shifted their gaze to Amber. While nervousness and slight anxiety clouded the group, Amber was different, for she had solemnity written on her face.


    This is it. I''ve taken my mind off it and filled my thoughts with the lovely people I''ve met in this program, but I can''t ignore this any longer. Amber pondered. I will now...get to confront this demon!


    "A-Amber? Are you okay?" Ariel questioned with concern. This inquiry snapped Amber out of her thoughts.


    "O-Oh, yes! Don''t worry about me," Amber assured. "I''m just preparing myself for this meeting."


    "Oh, I suppose it would be hard to be in this meeting. Since you''ll have to hear of such a heinous monster," Sariel assumed. "But just remember, we''re always with you."


    "Y-Yeah..." Amber muttered. That''s not exactly why I''m like this, though...


    Meanwhile, Kreuger stared at Amber. He knew exactly the reason for her seriousness, and so did Ryzen, who whispered to him.


    "Psst, isn''t it funny?" Ryzen whispered. "Being the only ones that know Amber''s true suffering--"


    "Shut it, mate," Kreuger quickly interrupted him before the rest heard anything. In response, Ryzen giggled before keeping to himself.


    Just when the conversations began to cool down, the main guests of the meeting arrived - Barry Alexander and Ada Foster.


    All eyes quickly shifted to their presence but mostly fixated on Ada''s beauty. Being the center of attention put a smile on Ada''s face as everyone gazed in varying awe. Everyone except Amber, Kreuger, and Ryzen.


    "Wow, so that''s the US President, Ada Foster!" Baran said. "Heh, Nice."


    "Her style...is impeccable," Ivory added.


    "This may be the first time I felt embarrassment wearing jester makeup in front of someone..." Trixie stated. Altius, who was fully healed now, simply scoffed at her comment.


    "Heh, I would say how would the President have enough time on her hands to come here," Kreuger commented. "But her country is screwed over by criminals. Not much to lead there, after all."


    "Greetings, everyone. I hope you haven''t waited too long," Barry said while everyone shuffled to their seats. "Since Ada has just come from her flight, let''s not make this meeting too lengthy."


    Simultaneously, Charlotte came through the door and handed Ada a book.


    No one paid much attention to Charlotte as they assumed she was simply a bodyguard for her. No one except Amber, gazed at Charlotte with slight suspicion in her eyes.


    Strange...why am I sensing something negative...from that woman? Amber thought. She didn''t pursue that thought further and shunned it away.


    "Well as you are all aware, this meeting will give us insight into one of the S-Class criminals," Barry said as he picked up a remote which turned on a holographic screen in the projector room.


    "Oh my!" Ada uttered.


    The screen displayed the five S-Class criminals: Nathan, Jack, Charles, Olivia, and Zack. It could be for the shock value, but Barry purposely chose pictures of them with unhinged smiles and expressions.


    "These criminals have brought havoc upon the entirety of the United States, killing countless people and destroying countless property. We have partnered with President Ada to eliminate them, and with Jack baring his fangs on our country, this alliance is more necessary than ever."


    Great introduction...could we get on with the important stuff!? Kreuger thought with a semi-annoyed expression. I want to know Jack''s abilities!


    "To make a successful plan, we must know our enemies'' abilities," Barry continued. "And what other way would be better than letting the president who has first-hand experience explain."


    "Thank you very much, Chief Barry!" Ada said. Almost immediately, most of the attendees brightened up after hearing her voice.


    "First off, even though you are having difficulty with Jack too, I just want to thank you all for helping me in this...hard time," Ada expressed. "I will never forget this."


    "No problem!" Barry replied and was supported by everyone''s positive responses. They met Ada a few moments ago, and she garnered a fantastic impression on them....or perhaps they were being manipulated?


    "Thank you. Getting back on track, I am aware that you guys may have experience in fighting Jack," Ada said as she strutted across the room. She then stopped at Kreuger''s chair. "Um, Kreuger? Was it?"


    "Huh, oh yeah?" Kreuger casually answered, much to the annoyance of the meeting participants.


    Ada didn''t seem upset, as she gave him a friendly smile.


    "I heard from Chief Barry that you fought Jack the Ripper before joining the military."


    "Yeah, I did..."


    You did!? Amber thought with a confused expression. Her bewilderment was matched by the expressions of her friends.


    "If you remember anything, could you tell us anything Jack displayed in your fight?" Ada asked.


    "Well, outside his speed blessing, he had some kinda healing factor," Kreuger responded. "I managed to blow his torso and eye apart, but he regenerated them rather quickly..."


    Immediately, whispers among the participants began as they heard new info about their target.


    Regeneration. Of course, this demon has something like that... Amber thought.


    "It was damn annoying. I would have murdered Jack if it wasn''t for that regen, too!" Kreuger added with frustration in his voice.


    While everyone reacted to that piece of information, Ada simply chuckled.


    "Fufufu...thank you, Mr. Kreuger," Ada expressed. "But there''s far more to that than just regeneration..."

 Ch. 43 - Exposition (Part 2)

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 Ch. 45 - The Fated Encounter (Part 1)

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 Ch. 50 - Assessment

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 Ch. 51 - Guilt

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 Ch. 52 - Testing

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 Ch. 53 - Old Friend

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 Ch. 54 - Reasons

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 Ch. 55 - Sparring

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 Ch. 63 - Presents

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 Ch. 64 - Firework

    While Jack prepared to confront the group, Ryzen arrived at Barry''s place of confinement with Amber and Kreuger.


    "So, this is the place, right?" Kreuger wondered. "It''s rather quiet, isn''t it?"


    "Yeah, it is," Ryzen responded. I can sense energy signals inside the building. It must be a trap. Well, I already knew that.


    "Oh, look! Reinforcements are coming!" Amber stated as she pointed down the block. Upon gazing in the direction, Ryzen and Kreuger noticed hoards of military vehicles approaching.


    "Oh, great, a bunch of weaklings are showing up in an area with potential S-Class criminals," Kreuger sarcastically remarked. "How annoying..."


    "Hey! That''s not very nice!" Amber retorted. "They can be helpful in their way!"


    "No, Amber...he''s right," Ryzen said. The energy residues on the inside seem quite deadly to most. I''m not going to babysit these regular soldiers. "Let''s hurry up and enter."


    "Alright," Kreuger and Amber agreed. Without hesitation, the trio entered the abandoned building. Almost immediately, they were greeted by the restrained Barry.


    "W-What!? Mr. Barry!" Amber called out as she stepped inside.


    "Mmpf!!! Mmpf!!" Barry, whose mouth was covered by the duct tape, uttered muffled noises. He also frantically shook his head to the sides.


    Before Amber could get close, Kreuger suddenly grabbed her left arm.


    "W-What?" Amber uttered in surprise.


    "You shouldn''t hastily enter the building, ya moron," Kreuger advised. "Why don''t you take a look around you first."


    Listening to Kreuger, Amber gazed around. Much to her shock, Amber saw the trap Zack had left. The interior of the building was filled with tiny explosives, turning it into a makeshift minefield.


    "W-What...is this!?" Amber uttered.


    So, this is what they did, huh? Ryzen thought. How fun.


    * * *


    A few city blocks away, Nathan and the crew hid. They still occupied the armored vehicle Nathan had materialized to drive away, with Zack strangely looking through a pair of binoculars.


    "Tch, why am I even entertaining this?" Nathan questioned. Of course, Lilith was his passenger princess, sitting in the passenger seat. "Instead of getting as far away as possible, you want to do this for some reason, Zack."


    "Come on, Nathan. It is for the best," Zack responded. "We can''t just waste precious explosives, you know."


    "Tsk, of course, you''re thinking of using them. At least we''re in a military vehicle so we won''t get annoyed by those troops in the distance," Nathan said. "Wait...are you thinking of using the explosives on them?"


    "Wait...I think I see some people far better to use them on!" Zack responded.


    "And who would that be?"


    "Remember that guy who beat you up and stopped Jack from killing that Amber girl?" Zack asked. "Well, he''s entering the house with two other soldiers."


    Nathan''s eyes widened from shock in response.


    "Wait...are you sure it''s that Ryzen guy?" Nathan questioned.


    "He''s the only one in the world with red rings around his pupils and strange glowing red spots on the right side of his face," Zack responded as he described Ryzen''s physical attributes. "It''s him, bro."


    Silence filled the car as Nathan thought of what to do.


    "Um...I-If we''re going to...kill him...we should hurry up...with it," Olivia muttered. "Jack''s...alone and...we need...to help him."


    "I''ll go with whatever you say, Nathan," Lilith assured.


    "T-Thanks, Lilith...I guess," Nathan responded. Do we have to kill the Chief? He didn''t do anything to me in particular. Nathan pondered. But this would be the chance to murder someone as powerful and annoying...as Ryzen. Sigh, if it comes to our survival...I''ll do anything to protect Lilith.


    "Sigh, do what you want," Nathan relented.


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    "Nice," Zack simply said.


    * * *


    "I can''t believe they''d boobie trap the place like this..." Amber remarked. "Even though poor Mr. Barry never done anything..."


    "Hmm, how should we go about freeing him now?" Kreuger questioned. "It''s going to be a pain in the--"


    Amid Kreuger''s statement, the trio noticed the explosives glowing in radiance.


    "W-WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW!?" Amber yelled in extreme panic. "ARE THEY ACTIVATING!?"


    All the explosives in the room began to glow, and so did the ones in Barry''s mouth. They were so bright that the glow was visible through the duct tape on his mouth.


    "Tch! Shit!" Kreuger uttered.


    Well, damn. Ryzen internally stated.


    BOOM!!!


    In an instant, the building exploded. The yield of the explosion not only leveled property, trees, and vehicles but any military troops that were relatively close were destroyed. Of course, this resulted in immediate casualties and even more as the explosion affected multiple city blocks.


    "W-What the hell was that!?" A soldier who witnessed the explosion from far away questioned. "Was that near to where the Chief''s been kidnapped!?"


    * * *


    "Man, that was a beautiful firework..." Zack remarked as he relished in the destruction.


    "Yeah, yeah...we''re leaving now," Nathan stated as he started the vehicle. The spectacle of the explosion turned the heads of any surviving military troops, so Nathan used that opportunity and drove off.


    Jack and Charles, I''ve done my part. You guys better make sure to do yours, too. Nathan thought as he drove. I''m not dragging myself too much into this. This is your fault, Jack.


    * * *


    Jack stood off with the Enlightenment Program''s forces and waited for them to make their move.


    "What? You buggers were talking big about killing me here and creating a grand performance or whatever," Jack commented with a smirk. He then went into his coat and took his durability negators out. Seeing this, everyone became alerted. "I don''t know if you''re getting cold feet, but I ain''t waiting! I''ll go full speed right off the bat and swiftly execute you, buggers!"


    As Jack prepared to charge at them, Aiden instantly stooped and placed his hands on the ground. Jack dashed but almost immediately noticed something weird-he had lost his footing.


    Huh? Did I trip? Jack wondered as he was plummeting to the ground. How the hell did I trip?


    Simultaneously, Ariel charged at him. She had removed a katana that was sheathed behind her back. The broadsword didn''t seem too out of the ordinary other than the blade having visible claw marks and the hilt decorated with what looked to be the fur of her dead partner, Shadow.


    She sliced at him, but Jack parried with one of his dura-negs while falling. A strange occurrence happened after Jack blocked; Ariel''s broadsword flashed blue and released seemingly blue energy in claw strikes.


    Although it was one blade, it was like being swiped by a dog''s claws.


    Much to Jack''s surprise, this left deep cuts in his chest and forearm. Jack couldn''t counter-attack, as he immediately slipped and fell on his face after blocking.


    "My, my! If it isn''t the woman with the mutt I murdered!" Jack taunted as he looked up at Ariel. I got cut even after parrying!? "It looks like you''ve got something new!"


    Ariel did not respond to him but looked down at him with pure hatred in her eyes.


    Sariel took out several metallic Rubik''s cubes from her combat suit and tossed them around the area. As Sariel''s special eye began to cycle through different Roman numerals, the cubes quickly morphed into large turrets.


    Jack, who healed himself from the wounds, tried to push himself back up. That was a futile attempt, however, as his hands he used for leverage, immediately slipped and caused him to fall again.


    Huh, I can''t get up. Jack pondered.


    Although Jack was unaware of the fact, the cause was none other than Aiden, who removed the traction that Jack could form with the ground.


    I never relied on this technique the last time we fought this monster. I was too prideful and never wanted to relegate myself to support. That stupid decision caused unfortunate casualties. Aiden thought. But I will not make that same mistake. I''m glad I have sustained all these serious injuries...because of that, I must be the support. If I have to do this the whole time to keep Jack from moving, then so be it!


    "Well, if anything happens, there is that thing I got from Kreuger..." Aiden muttered to himself as he began to reminisce.


    As Aiden reminisced, he recalled talking to Kreuger on the training grounds.


    "Huh? What is this?" Aiden questioned as he held up a transparent vial with crimson liquid inside. "Why did you give me this?"


    "I heard the instructors might use your technique to support them," Kreuger explained. "So it might be necessary."


    "Huh?"


    "It''s unlikely that you will fight him, but if you do, Jack may want to kill you first," Kreuger continued. "I have created that liquid from my blood blessing. If you sustain lethal injuries, you can drink it, and your blood will quickly clot and stop you from dying of blood loss."


    "Ugh! Gross! Why the hell would I even drink this?" Aiden questioned. "This is pretty much your blood, isn''t it!?"


    "Sigh, quit your damn crying and take it," Kreuger ordered as he rolled his eyes. "Who knows, it may save you from death."


    "...Tch, whatever," Aiden relented.


    * * *


    As much as I felt jealous of Kreuger and Amber getting along, he''s right. Aiden thought. If it''ll help me keep fighting, I''ll take anything to help Amber!


    Sariel conjured another Rubik''s cube, and it morphed into highly cyberpunk-looking boots around her feet. She charged in tandem with Ariel at Jack and delivered a powerful kick to his face as he lay on the ground.


    This lifted Jack into the air and lined him up perfectly for another slash attack by Ariel. Three claw-like slashes appeared on his chest due to the strange attribute of her broadsword.


    "Cough*, Haha," Jack laughed after coughing from the attacks. Not only did Ariel''s sword damage him again, but even Sariel''s kick caused slight bruising on his face.


    Jack had no time to counter-attack again, as he slipped and fell on his ass.


    Hehe, whatever these buggers are doing...it''s pretty freaking annoying. Jack thought.


    "Good, excellent my soldiers! You''ve shown that you can help me with this performance!" Trixie commended. From her pack, a card floated out and went into the hands of Trixie. "For this grand performance...the destruction of the campus might occur. I''ve been dreaming of a performance like this since I was a kid!"


    Hearing this, the soldiers looked at her with frowns and cringing expressions.


    "...Heh, you sound pretty insane, love," Jack commented as he stared at Trixie. A smirk formed on his expression after making that remark. "Not that it''s a bad thing."

 Ch. 65 - Sitting Duck

    "Good, excellent my soldiers! You''ve shown that you can help me with this performance! For this grand performance, the destruction of the campus might occur. I''ve been dreaming of a performance like this since I was a kid!" Trixie excitedly stated.


    Hearing this, the soldiers looked at her with frowns and cringing expressions.


    "...Heh, you sound pretty insane," Jack stated. "Not that it''s a bad thing."


    "Let''s see what tricks I''ve got this time!" Trixie said as she stared at the card she had received.


    Tricks list:


    Jack in a Box - Funny Surprise: (Acquired from numbers 1 - 4)


    Expired Pies - Extra Noxious: (Acquired from numbers 5 - 7)


    Thorned Marbles: (Acquired from numbers 8 - 10)


    "Ooh! Three tricks this time!?" Trixie excitedly questioned. "This is truly setting up to be an S-tier performance!"


    Heh, if I were Jack right now, I''d just kill myself to save time... Aiden thought. Having to deal with her blessing is actual brain rot...


    Ariel and Sariel rushed Jack once again. Sariel brought out yet another Rubik''s cube, which materialized into that electricity-emitting metal katana she used in her first fight against Jack.


    Jack tried to block them by raising his durability negators in the air but slipped again. The slip caused him to wobble about, causing Jack''s arms to flail, losing his ability to block the duo.


    Ariel and Sariel punished his slip-up with multiple slashes from their swords. High voltage from Sariel''s katana ran throughout Jack''s body, and he sustained more claw-strike wounds from Ariel''s broadsword.


    Tsk, so annoying. Jack thought as he fell to the ground again.


    Four cards emerged from Trixie''s card pack - a one, two, three, and four after the duo attacked Jack, and a jack in a box spawned beside Jack''s face.


    Huh? What the hell is that? Jack internally questioned as he noticed it.


    The jack-in-a-box followed up, propelling a boxing glove and striking him on his right cheek. This packed enough force to send Jack rolling several meters across the ground.


    Tsk, a jack in a box? Where the hell did that come from? Jack wondered. It''s slow and didn''t pack a punch, but I couldn''t even avoid it. It doesn''t matter what I do because the slightest of movements makes me slip and fall. I''m a sitting duck, huh?


    The turrets that Sariel materialized were large jet-black ones with barrels mounted on top. Immediately, sparks flew out of the barrel of several turrets as they fired at Jack with high-powered rounds. In his own words, Jack was a sitting duck, so he had no choice but to get hit by the machine gun turrets.


    Ever since I fought you the first time, I''ve been creating more weapons...so I can use them against you. Sariel pondered. It doesn''t matter how long it takes. We will kill you!


    Ivory had materialized and surrounded what seemed to be rubies around both hands, creating ruby claw gloves. She charged at Jack and scratched him several times across his face and body (as he was still getting shot) with her claws.


    Upon finishing her assault, Ivory noticed that Jack sustained superficial cuts from her claws. Much to her annoyance, Jack smirked at her.


    Tch! I know I''m not the strongest here, but why is his body so tough!? Ivory thought.


    The turrets that fired at him finally took a break, likely to prevent themselves from overheating. The turrets were not a complete waste, as injuries were visible on Jack''s body.


    Four more cards emerged from Trixie''s card pack, with the highest being the number six. Almost immediately, a pie materialized next to Jack and struck him in the face.


    Tsk, what the hell? Jack thought. Was that a pie!? Ugh, it tastes gross!


    Jack quickly shook his head like a dog to get the pie bits off his face.


    "Haha! What''s with these stupid ass attacks from you guys!?" Jack questioned as his body quickly regenerated the wounds he sustained from them, which everyone noticed. "Just stop being so annoying, and let me bring your corpses as presents to Amber!"


    Jack then felt an air gust hitting him in the face. The source was none other than the air manipulator, Baran.


    "Damn, you''re so obsessed with killing, huh?" Baran stated as he garnered Jack''s attention. "If you had given even half that effort, you could have gotten a girlfriend or something!"


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    He blasted Jack with another compressed air blast in his chest, sending Jack a few meters away.


    "Heh, I am not attracted to others, mate," Jack responded and smiled after coming to a stop. If that''s the best he can do, then he''s nothing. I don''t need to worry about that bugger.


    "You could have fooled me! With how obsessed you are, it looks like you love Amber," Aiden teased. "You should have just gone ahead and married her!"


    A pulsating artery became visible on the now angry Aiden''s forehead as he heard Baran''s words.


    "Hey, Baran! Shut the hell up and focus on fighting!" Aiden ordered. "Why the hell are you talking with the enemy."


    "Jeez, now''s when you''re angry?" Baran said as he rolled his eyes. "I''m starting to wonder if you like her..."


    "S-Shut up and fight!!!" The flustered Aiden yelled.


    Oh? What a strange reaction. Jack thought with a devious smirk. Also, why''s that bugger just stooping on the ground and not attacking me for...?


    Ariel and Sariel rushed Jack again and delivered their attacks and slashes, which knocked Jack away again. Simultaneously, Trixie received four cards, with the highest being a ten card.


    Immediately, several marble balls materialized on the ground where Jack was about to land from being knocked away from the duo. These weren''t any ordinary marble balls, as they were composed of many spikes on their exterior.


    Upon landing on them, Jack felt an uncomfortable and piercing sensation on his back and arms. It was like being injected with a syringe.


    "Uurrgghh!" Jack groaned as he flinched a lot before sitting up. The marbles sticking his back and arms disappeared, leaving visible bloodstains in his coat.


    Not wasting any time, Ivory and Baran began pelting Jack with crystals and air blasts.


    Don''t they realize their attacks are useless? Jack thought as he tanked the hits. Unless they know something about my blessing.


    Simultaneously, Trixie received four more cards, three numbered and an ace. The highest number was a seven, so Jack received another pie to the face.


    "Aww, yeah! An ace!" Trixie uttered with pure excitement.


    "Ptooey! Yuck!" Jack uttered as some of the pie got in his mouth, which he quickly spat out. "Disgusting--"


    Suddenly, a turret aimed down its rather large barrel at Jack. As he shook the pie bits off his face, the last thing Jack saw in his peripheral vision was a missile emitting holographic-like energy soaring towards him. It was shot from the turret.


    "What the--"


    BOOOM!!!


    The missile expanded into a large explosion after hitting Jack directly. It was so powerful that it damaged a large section of a nearby building on the campus.


    "AAAHHHHHHH!!!" Jack yelled while he was thrown violently across the campus. He bounced on the ground several times when suddenly a jack-in-a-box materialized above his body. It launched out a boxing glove, which sent Jack to the ground and stopped his momentum.


    "Ugh..." Jack groaned. As a testament to his durability, his body was not only intact from being blown up, but Jack only sustained burns and bleeding on his body, which he quickly regenerated.


    Seeing this, Sariel and Ariel rushed at him. They didn''t even give him a second to rest. Ariel had a crystalline glove around her right arm, likely given to her by Ivory. They both slashed and delivered strikes enhanced by their gloves and gauntlets.


    Tsk, what are these guys doing? It seems these two have gotten stronger since they can damage my body with their slashes and blows. Jack analyzed. Interrupting his thoughts, another jack in a box appeared and struck him in the abdomen.


    "Tch, haha, it seems you''re attacking me by myself," Jack said as he gazed at Ariel with a smirk. "Didn''t you have other animals? Why don''t you call them to help you? Or are you afraid that I''ll murder them like that stupid dog!?"


    Enraged by his provocation, Ariel slashed him across the face. Three slashes emerged on Jack''s face, with them slicing his eyes, too.


    "Calm down, Ariel, don''t let him get to you," Sariel advised as they both jumped back to gain distance. "He''s simply a monster."


    "Yeah, I know," Ariel agreed. It''s my fault anyway. I brought you to fight with this monster, and because of me, you died Shadow. Ariel thought with a saddened expression. But you had passed on your power to me in your fur, didn''t you? Thank you for always looking out for me, Shadow.


    Strong enough to damage me and keep me from moving about. I think I know what their plan is. Jack pondered as his face quickly healed the wounds he sustained. I don''t know how, but they may know a little about my blessing. They''re trying to damage me until I use up all my regeneration points and kill me that way, huh?


    More thorned marble balls materialized onto Jack and stuck him. He ignored it, however, and gazed at Aiden.


    That guy must be the one keeping me from moving. Why else would he not be fighting then? Jack thought. How am I supposed to stop him, though?


    "Man, I hate to admit it, but this monster is tough as hell," Baran stated. "Our attacks are barely doing damage to him."


    "Quit whining, we''re making steady progress," Ivory stated.


    Hearing that, Jack let out a laugh, which confused everyone.


    "Haha, you guys don''t have a bad plan, but it won''t work. The developer told me that because of the number of people I slaughtered in my life, my muscles and body are harder and stronger than diamonds!!" Jack loudly bragged.


    "The developer?" Sariel questioned as they were confused by Jack''s comment.


    "Plus, I have an extremely high pain tolerance. I''m going to make sure I only heal when you buggers land attacks that will blow my body apart, and from what I see, that won''t happen!" Jack declared. "This will be a test to see who''ll give out first! You buggers, after launching out numerous big attacks and wearing out your stamina or me, after my seemingly endless regeneration gets exhausted--"


    Interrupting Jack, a pie materialized and struck him in the face. Trixie laughed hysterically as Jack frantically spit out and shook the pie bits off.


    "Hahahaha!!! Sorry, that was so funny!" Trixie said as she was on the ground and rolling in laughter, much to the blessed soldiers'' annoyance. "You were trying to be so intimidating, and boom! A pie to the face! Haha!"


    Jack watched her and smirked.


    "Thanks for that! I love good laughter!" Trixie stated. "I even got another ace with that! I''ll show you a lot more tricks!"


    "Haha, you think you''re funny, huh..." Jack questioned. He shifted his gaze to Aiden once more. If I get to that guy, I''ll take away the main crutch of your tricks. I wonder if that''ll break you.

 Ch. 66 - Hope to Achieve

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 Ch. 67 - You Relate

    As Nathan drove, he noticed the road ahead blocked by military forces. This would have been no issue if there were other routes, but that wasn''t the case. He could only go straight, leading him into the military units.


    "Tch, the road''s blocked off by law enforcement," Nathan stated as he pulled off to the curbside. "We''re not going to get past them."


    "Huh? Can''t we blow them up or something?" Zack questioned.


    "I''m not taking such a violent risk when Lilith is with me," Nathan said. "Next thing we''re being chased by reinforcements."


    "Oh, yeah, my bad," Zack apologized. "You wouldn''t want to put your dear girlfriend in danger. Understandable."


    Of course, this made both Nathan and Lilith flustered as their cheeks flushed red.


    "Tsk, just be quiet," Nathan muttered. "We should probably take refuge in one of these houses in the meantime."


    "...Nathan, I keep telling you not to worry about me," Lilith responded with puffed-up cheeks. "I can also help you, you know!"


    "Yeah, well, let''s just go about this with rationality," Nathan advised. "Instead of just attacking them and potentially putting heat on us."


    "Hmm...Nathan, we''re leaving here," The NPC said which confused the game characters.


    "Huh? Why?"


    "The developer advised me to watch over the other NPCs as they are weaker than me and not to let anyone see our faces," The NPC explained. "I wouldn''t have minded helping you guys, but I can''t go against the developer."


    "Oh, of course..." Nathan said. The developer never ceases to be a pain, huh.?


    "If I knew this was happening, I would have carried my pups with me," The blacksmith said. "But you''re smart, Nathan. I''m sure you''ll be fine, especially since I''ve given you many weapons."


    "Yeah, yeah...thanks," Nathan said.


    In response, Lilith looked at her with furrowed eyebrows as she was visibly jealous of Nathan talking to the blacksmith.


    "Yes, of course, they''ll be fine," The NPC said. "Even without my help, it''ll be alright."


    The NPC proceeded to disembark the car and carried the C. Specialist on his back and the female NPCs like luggage.


    "Good luck, guys!" The doctor said while being carried. "Don''t hurt yourselves too much!"


    "Mhmm," Nathan responded. Before the game characters'' eyes, the NPC disappeared with the others. He had moved too fast for them to register.


    "Damn, that guy is fast, huh," Zack stated. "Even while carrying three people, we had no chance of seeing that guy."


    "Enough of that. We should follow suit and leave," Nathan advised. "Let''s go into that hotel over there."


    "Oh, sure!" Zack agreed. "That''s very nostalgic, huh?"


    Nathan ensured that Lilith was close to him as he disembarked the vehicle with the rest of the game characters. They quickly made their way to a relatively sized, victorian-themed hotel beside them.


    Nathan easily infiltrated the hotel by smashing the window and climbing in before opening the door for Lilith to enter without fear of climbing through the glass shards.


    Blissfully unaware of the situation, the soldiers who blocked the road had noticed Nathan the entire time.


    "So, someone interesting showed up, huh," A random soldier stated as he disembarked his military vehicle. "Well, let''s call ''him'' up, then..."


    The hotel''s interior was dark and sparsely furnished, likely caused by the civilians and workers being evacuated and forced to lock down their businesses temporarily.


    "Alright, this will be a good place to stay in the meantime," Nathan remarked as he went around and switched on the lights. "It''s not like we have to do much this time since Jack and Charles are around."


    "But it''s not like they''re invincible, though," Zack argued. "Shouldn''t we help the rest of our friends?"


    "Firstly, those guys aren''t my friends," Nathan corrected. "And second, who''s realistically going to beat the guys who made quick work of the strongest super soldiers? We have nothing to worry about."


    "I agree with you, Nate!" Lilith supported. This way, Nathan won''t have to put himself in harm''s way.


    Hearing Lilith agree with him placed a happy smile on Nathan''s face. Olivia, who has been unusually quiet, looked slightly annoyed.


    "No...we can''t...stay here," Olivia muttered in her usual introvertedness. "J-Jack...might need...our help..."


    "...Huh?" Nathan uttered as he glared at her. "Why would he need our help?"


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    "We shouldn''t...leave tearing...this country apart...to Jack," Olivia responded. "We have...to help him...with that burden..."


    "...Ever since we screwed America up, you''ve been weirdly clingy to Jack. It''s like you found someone else to cling onto after that snake, Ada," Nathan harshly stated.


    "Hey! Calm down on the harshness!" Zack, who had an idea of Olivia''s feelings, told Nathan.


    "...I just want to know why you''re worrying about that monster so much," Nathan said.


    "He...saved me...from certain death. He showed me...that Ada...was not my life," Olivia explained. Suddenly, a resolved expression filled her face. "I must help him...you should relate to my feelings, Lilith!"


    "Wha--"


    BOOM!


    Before everyone''s eyes, the entrance of the hotel exploded. Dust and debris flew about, causing the group to move away reflexively.


    "Ugh! What the hell!?" Nathan uttered as he shielded his face from the dust.


    Amid the confusion, a single individual casually walked in. By the white military uniform, transparent casing and tubes on his body, and the blue liquid that ran through it, the man who entered was Cryostasis.


    "Wow, how lucky am I? The one who got to encounter you bastards first was me!" Cryostasis exclaimed.


    As he gazed at Cryostasis, Nathan''s expression immediately turned to anger. He had remembered fighting him and his partner, Pyrostasis, but that wasn''t all. The memories of Lilith''s life-threatening burns and injuries flooded his mind.


    He was not the only one who remembered Cryostasis, as Lilith seemed rather nettled. She recalled Nathan having to protect them both against the duo while being tired physically and mentally.


    "What the...I remember you..." Zack muttered. Suddenly, his eyes widened. "Wait, didn''t I blow your friend up? I thought you''d die, too."


    Cryostasis didn''t respond but smirked. He then shifted his gaze towards Nathan.


    "You love driving around in vehicles, Nathan Hayes, so we planned for that. After evacuating everyone, the Chief would have dispatched military forces to block certain routes. Without question, any vehicles that come along would be inspected," Cryostasis monologued. "Super strong guys like me are dispatched nearby to eliminate you if you get caught driving around. You did mess up that plan a bit when you captured the Chief, but we quickly adapted, and you made it easy by suspiciously parking on the curbside."


    "Ha, so much for leaving this up to Jack, Nathan," Zack teased. "Looks like we have our problems to deal with, after all."


    "Tsk, it''s all because you failed to kill this damn bastard that one time, Zack," Nathan retorted. Damn...I''m not going to let Lilith get hurt again!


    "You all remember me...I''m so glad. I was also wondering how Pyrostasis died, but it makes sense now," Cryostasis said. "It''s all because of you, with your volatile manipulation blessing, Zack."


    Hearing that raised the eyebrows of everyone.


    What the...he knows Zack''s blessing? Nathan wondered. How the hell...?


    "I''m going to avenge my partner and kill all of you," Cryostasis said. "And even though you haven''t done anything to me personally, you''re still a threat to this country, Olivia Gray."


    Olivia became somewhat nervous in response to that comment.


    "Now that I think about it, it''s not entirely bad that you survived. I get the chance to make you pay for nearly killing Lilith," Nathan said. "You''re not going to survive this."


    * * *


    Jack and Trixie stood off, waiting for the other to make the first move.


    "You know, fighting you feels far more refreshing than the other buggers," Jack stated. "It''s nice to fight someone who isn''t yapping about justice or calling me a monster, not that I care."


    "Being a protector of the innocent comes with this line of work, but my main goal is to quench my desire for entertainment with a giant spectacle of tricks!" Trixie stated. "I know you can relate to having such selfish goals, Jack the Ripper!"


    "Haha! What a cheeky bugger! You aren''t normal!"


    "Thanks for the compliment!" Trixie stated as she fired more ''confetti'' at Jack. The confetti resulted in an explosion that leveled several buildings around the block, but the main target, Jack, remained unaffected as he moved out of the way.


    Wasting no time, Jack rushed at extreme speeds towards his opponent. Much to his surprise, Trixie not only perceived his movements but also avoided a slash he attempted at her neck.


    Did she react to my speed? Jack thought. Not bad!


    Simultaneously, a jack in a box appeared beside Jack''s face. Normally it would be decorated with a jester''s face, but the face also had a crown, just like Trixie. The jack in a box launched a boxing glove, and confetti strangely flew out, too.


    The confetti released smaller explosions, but due to the murder blessing giving Jack precognition against any intent to harm and kill, he preemptively moved out of the way when the box spawned.


    He instantly moved to Trixie''s blind spot, much to her surprise. Trixie couldn''t turn around in time as Jack proceeded to slice her left arm clean off with his dura-neg. He followed up with a powerful spin kick to Trixie''s side, sending her flying.


    Huh? She feels rather tough. Jack pondered after kicking her.


    Trixie stopped herself from going any further and stood back up. Despite now having a bloody stomp for a hand, Trixie didn''t seem to be in excruciating pain. Her expression was normal.


    "Heh, so much for fighting me solo and making a grand performance," Jack taunted. "You were more fun than the rest, but you''re down an arm. There''s no way you can--"


    Before Jack could finish his sentence, Trixie''s stomp became engulfed in a purple radiance. The light then extended in the shape of her entire hand and arm before dimming. Her arm regenerated, and the sleeve of her jester''s outfit and purple robe also materialized.


    "...Huh? You can also regenerate, love?" Jack questioned.


    "Hehe! This is just one of the attributes of getting four kings in a row!" Trixie stated. "Royal Regeneration!"


    "Well, isn''t that good!" Jack said. "Keep trying, then!"


    Jack dashed at her again and engaged her in close-quarters combat. Trixie had consistently reacted and avoided several of Jack''s slashes and threw out attacks in response.


    Brambled Marbles materialized around Jack, and he instantly moved out of the way. Right after spawning, they sprouted their spikes in a short area, similar to when Jack was restrained by them before.


    Just like the jack in a box, the brambled marbles also received an upgrade. After sprouting their spikes, the brambles exploded into several fireworks. The fireworks packed enough power to damage nearby buildings.


    So, she''s the one with all those weird attacks. It seems they got an upgrade. Jack pondered as he witnessed the fireworks. Still...it''s all pointless if they can''t hit me.


    Much to Trixie''s bewilderment, she received four cards - four jesters.


    What? Did I get four jesters? Trixie thought with increasing excitement. Please be something good.


    Upon getting the jesters, Trixie received yet another card. She had no idea what effects the jesters would give her...not until she read that specific card she got.


    Grand Trick:


    You''re it! (Acquired from Jester - Four of a Kind)


    After reading that card, a large and excited smile appeared on Trixie''s face. Jack noticed her face, which caused him to smile with a raised eyebrow.


    What''s got her so happy all of a sudden?


    "LET''S GOOOOO!!!" Trixie yelled. "Time to bring this performance to its climax!"


    Jack, who watched her, scratched his head with his dura-neg. She''s really passionate about her performance, huh?

 Ch. 68 - Grand Performance

    While Trixie fought Jack, the Enlightenment Program''s students were still at the campus, or what remained of it. They searched for Aiden, who Jack injured grievously.


    "Ugh, where did Aiden go!?" Ivory questioned with a frustrated expression. "I can''t find him anywhere."


    "Neither have we," Sariel responded as she was with Ariel.


    "Damn it! Where the hell are you, Aiden?" Baran questioned. "You better not freaking die!"


    * * *


    Jack and Trixie continued their fight. Trixie moved around and began firing confetti at Jack. The cluster of explosions quickly lay waste to the city blocks they fought around in. With his insanely fast movement and precognition given to him by his murder blessing, Jack evaded the confetti and the explosion radius.


    Trixie''s opponent also dodged every trick spawned by her card combinations.


    Seeing an opening after avoiding a burst of confetti, Jack immediately rushed towards Trixie. He performed several slashes, and although Trixie could react and weave a few, she couldn''t keep up with his combat speed. Not only did she receive multiple slash wounds on her body from not evading fully, but Jack sliced through her shoulder, cutting Trixie''s left arm off completely.


    "Ugh...Owie!" Trixie uttered as she jumped away to regain distance.


    Instead of charging at her while she recovered her arm, Jack ran off, which surprised Trixie. Trixie, who recovered her arm, chased Jack as he ran. She fired more confetti, but they all missed the moving target.


    Where is he going? Trixie wondered. Is he trying to escape my performance?


    Trixie found the answer to her question as she noticed the two rapidly approaching military forces. Due to being regular humans, the soldiers had no idea and could not register the imminent threat approaching them.


    Heh, I knew he''d try something with the soldiers. Trixie thought.


    Jack, with a sadistic grin, sliced through the air multiple times and sent numerous slashes of air at the unsuspecting soldiers.


    "What the hell is going on with all the destruction that''s occurring--"


    Before the soldier could finish his sentence, an air slash flew past his neck and decapitated him in an instant. The rest met that unlucky fate as their comrades; they were hit by air slashes.


    As blood splattered everywhere and dismembered body parts dispersed around, Jack''s maniacal laughter was audible as he witnessed his atrocious deed.


    "Haha! Are you seeing this!? The deaths of so many buggers!?" Jack yelled in his ecstasy. "In no time, all your efforts to exhaust my regeneration have been rendered useless! It''s all futile!"


    Normally, witnessing the deaths of so many of your comrades and hearing the psychological attack Jack would have at least shaken one''s resolve, but Trixie''s expression seemed perfectly fine. She was even smiling more than before.


    "Haha! What''s it going to take to break you!?" Jack questioned as he charged at her. She fired confetti at him, but he moved out of the way again.


    In one quick motion, he plunged one of his dura-neg into Trixie''s stomach and dragged it several inches upwards. Trixie completely ignored this and fired the Confetti Cannonade at Jack, who was at point-blank range.


    Shit--


    BOOM!


    The confetti triggered such a cluster explosion so strong that it leveled the entire city block they were in. Both Jack and Trixie were violently propelled at opposite sides of the blast.


    Jack sustained significant injuries as his right arm, chest, and a large portion of his head were destroyed. He also sustained third-degree burns and was on fire.


    "Urgh..." Jack groaned as he stood up. His body was rapidly regenerating the critical injuries he had. What the hell...? Was her attack even stronger than before?


    Due to losing his right arm, he lost his dura-neg, so Jack picked it up after finding it.


    Trixie, who didn''t sustain damage from her attack, approached Jack. The stab that she received from Jack had fully healed. Her body also radiated pure white energy, which sparked curiosity in Jack.


    She''s glowing now. How much stuff does this jester woman even have? Jack thought. She really is a bag of tricks.


    As she walked, they both gazed at each other with smiles. Without exchanging any words, the two continued fighting.


    My base skill for my blessing of tricks was magical energy, which I used from a young age. With it, I was capable of reinforcing and strengthening my body. I never cared much about my blessing, though, as the main things I enjoyed in life were tricks and games. Trixie pondered as she fought Jack. From board games to magic tricks, I loved and became a pro at them all, but there was nothing more fulfilling than playing pranks on people; seeing others rage or react at how badly they got finessed by my pranks gave me satisfaction like none other.


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    Trixie''s confetti bursts were so powerful that Jack was alarmed by its strength. It was getting to the point where Jack could not fully avoid them and take serious damage. Still, this was not a problem, as Jack could heal all injuries.


    It''s starting to get hard for even me to avoid them. The range of the explosions is rather large. Jack thought. But If I don''t stop moving, then I''ll keep accelerating, then I''ll murder her.


    It was fun pranking others, but normal pranks got rather boring. I''m so glad I came up with this crazy idea of imbuing these playing cards with my magical energy. Instead of becoming a new tool to prank my family, these cards became an extension of my blessing, and the rest was history. Trixie continued to internally monologue. With these cards, I had infinite possibilities for tricks and pranks, and I ensured to explore its mechanics in detail. Even when I became a blessed soldier and was recommended by Queen Isabella to be an instructor, I still played pranks. That''s always been the source of my enjoyment. But now, I have an opportunity like none other! To make the greatest prank I''ve ever done!


    "I''m so glad I received this blessing," Trixie stated. "And I''m so glad you''re about to see something amazing, Jack!"


    * * *


    Meanwhile, the developer was spectating the fight between Jack and Trixie while sitting on a skyscraper very far away.


    "The person that Jack is fighting has a powerful but complicated blessing," The developer said. "Reinforcing her body with magical energy, creating tricks, and receiving bonus abilities...she may have been blessed by one of the top gods, Hermes, maybe?"


    The developer then placed his hand on his chin.


    "A blessing like that requires quite a lot of luck. It''s an infinitesimally low chance to get a four of a kind, and it should be even lower for her, who has four jesters in her pack instead of the standard two...yet still, she''s gotten it twice," The developer monologued to himself. "She''s not only lucky, but it''s as if her confident mentality also influences her luck."


    You''ve picked the right person to bless, Hermes, but it''s too bad she will not see her true potential. The developer thought. Jack, who is just as perfect, if not more, will end her life.


    * * *


    Jack was constantly zipping around, and streaks became visible around the area. Jack''s body roused up powerful wind pressure as he moved past. His clothing was even catching on fire as he moved.


    Meanwhile, Trixie''s entire being radiated heavily with snow-white energy. The colors of her clothing were being drowned out by the sheer brightness of her radiance. Jack not only noticed that, but he also saw her expression.


    With heavy breathing and visible arteries on her face and neck, it seemed that Trixie was becoming exhausted.


    Is she reaching her limit? Jack wondered.


    Huff, huff, I can''t track his movements anymore, but that doesn''t matter. I''ve charged up enough energy. Trixie thought. But...do I have the ability to get it off?


    If she''s getting tired, then that''s my chance! Jack thought as he charged at her in a super quick streak. She may have regeneration like me, but I wonder if she''ll return from decapitation!


    With her back turned Jack quickly approached Trixie. She had no time to react, and Jack prepared to slash her neck. In a stroke of luck, however, Jack had slipped before reaching her.


    WHAT!? Jack thought with bewilderment as he lost his footing. Jack failed to finish her and instead slid on the ground past her. Due to the speed he went, Jack slid so hard that he left a long trail in the ground.


    How did I slip!? Jack wondered as he was still baffled by the occurrence. He answered his question as he looked up and noticed the injured Aiden nearby.


    While still covered in his blood, visibly weakened from Jack''s attacks and still coughing up blood, Aiden had placed his hand on the ground. Of course, Jack''s surprise was significantly magnified upon seeing him.


    H-He''s alive!? How the hell is that bugger alive!? Jack wondered. I mainly wanted to take him out of the battle. Killing him was secondary, but how could that weakling survive all those attacks I dealt him!?


    "T-That''s pay...back...for saving me..." Aiden weakly said. "Hit...him...hard..."


    As the exhaustion of his injuries finally overcame the adrenaline he had, Aiden fell to the ground unconscious.


    Trixie turned her gaze to where Jack was looking and noticed Aiden. She never let this distract her, though, as she immediately charged at Jack. She mustered her strength and delivered a solid kick to Jack''s side, which sent him very high in the air and created devastating winds.


    She followed up by aiming her Confetti Cannonade at Jack while he spun around. Like shooting a bird in the sky, Trixie got a direct hit on Jack with a confetti burst.


    As he dropped to the floor, Jack''s body was heavily brutalized and burnt, even missing limbs and chunks of his body like before.


    "Urrrgghhh..." Jack groaned as he slowly stood up. Of course, his body was quickly regenerating. Damn it! That goddamned, bloody bugger screwed with me until the very end! He thought with a visibly annoyed expression. But...it should be over now...


    "You''re...finally at...you''re limit, right?" Jack questioned.


    "Hehe, you''re it!" Trixie stated, much to Jack''s confusion. Right after saying this, Trixie''s glow completely dissipated, and she fell to her knees, breathing heavily with a smile.


    "What--" Before Jack could gather his thoughts, his body started to glow. It was the same glow Trixie had a few moments before and was rapidly becoming brighter.


    "What the...why am I glowing--" Jack asked but was cut off by a sudden surge of pain. He immediately clenched his chest with both hands. Ugh! There''s an aching feeling! It''s like I''m being burned from the inside!!!


    "HAHAHA!! I did it! I got a bit of help, but I tagged you!" Trixie said. "All the energy I''ve charged up in my already large magic pool of this form has been transferred to you!"


    Hearing this, Jack''s expression became shocked.


    "Damn it...You got me," Jack responded with slight frustration in his tone. There''s no way out of this. I''m going to die.


    "Yes! That''s what I wanted to see!" Trixie excitedly responded. "I know you''re not as emotional as most people, but I can tell you''re angry from this prank! I pranked Jack the Ripper, of all people...I''m so happy right now!"


    Trixie was so excited that she ignored her exhaustion and began performing a victory dance, much to Jack''s shock.


    Is she really...emoting on me right now? Jack wondered. How unfortunate. I won''t be able to murder that brat at this rate.


    "Oh, yeah! Before I forget!" Trixie said as she pointed toward Aiden''s unconscious body. Suddenly, a white transparent barrier materialized around Aiden.


    She then stared at Jack with a sincere smile.


    "You helped me create this grand performance, Jack," Trixie stated. "Thank you for that."


    Jack stared at her as his radiance expanded and covered the area, and Trixie continued to breakdance. Jack, Trixie, Aiden, and all the destroyed property were covered in the light, which became silhouetted.


    BOOOM!!!


    The light which emanated from Jack''s body expanded into a massive explosion, instantly vaporizing him. Everything was annihilated in the explosion''s path, and Trixie and Aiden were blown away by it. As the city was reduced to nothing, the explosion formed a large mushroom cloud, which emanated fireworks around it.


    The fireworks all resembled the faces of a jester. That was the ultimate work of a trickster like Trixie.

 Ch. 69 - Stasis Revenge (Part 1)

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 Ch. 70 - Stasis Revenge (Part 2)

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 Ch. 71 - Second Wind

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 Ch. 72 - Decay

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 Ch. 73 - Passions

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 Ch. 74 - Webs

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 Ch. 75 - Two Sides (Part 1)

    After killing Cryostasis, Nathan and the gang still found themselves in combat. With bullets flying through the air and destructive explosions ruining the environment, the game characters found themselves amid gunfire against military forces.


    While Zack was driving a military vehicle, Nathan fired at the military cars pursuing them.


    "Damn! They keep on coming!" Nathan stated as he fired. Although Nathan felt no hesitation when it came to shooting them, he ensured to only incapacitate the soldiers and not kill them. He also pelted the wheels of the armored vehicles with super-piercing ammo, which caused the soldiers to lose control of the cars and crash.


    "Tsk, why can''t we just bring the fight to them?" Zack questioned. "We''re stronger than those guys..."


    "We could do that if you want to take stupid risks, Zack," Nathan retorted. "We just got done from fighting a super soldier. It''s not just a few soldiers, and I''m not putting Lilith in danger!"


    "So, what should we do to--"


    BOOM!


    A missile fired from a soldier''s rocket launcher exploded rather close to the game characters'' vehicle and surprised them.


    "Tsk, so persistent!" Nathan remarked. "They''ll keep chipping away at the vehicle''s armor!"


    "W-When can...we go find...Jack?" Olivia questioned.


    "Tch! Again with that-- wait...that may not be a bad idea," Surprising Lilith and Zack, Nathan said.


    "Wait, it is?" Lilith questioned.


    "Well, getting as far away from here as possible would be nice," Nathan responded. "And considering that big ass explosion we saw, Jack and Charles may have already killed off the big threats. It wouldn''t hurt to regroup with them now."


    Olivia''s face brightened in response, and Nathan noticed.


    She sure got weirdly happy all of a sudden. Nathan thought. I''ll never understand these guys.


    "Let''s find someplace to get out so I can take an aircraft from my inventory," Nathan said.


    * * *


    Returning to the main battle of this ''game mission,'' Jack had just told Amber his true motivations for killing, and in her rage, Amber solidified her resolve to end her nemesis. Amber was so angry that it was visible in her expression.


    The rainy weather matched the mood, as the duo were drenched in the rainfall.


    My daughter, remember what I told you. Do not let yourself be controlled by your anger. Amber''s goddess spoke. I understand the terrible trials that you''re going through. I do. But don''t let this evildoer plague your mind.


    Amber''s anger quickly pacified due to her goddess''s help, and her expression relaxed. Jack casually performed knife tricks with his durability negators as they stood off.


    Yeah, you''re right...goddess. I shouldn''t lose myself to anger. I''ll only do worse if I run on rage. Amber pondered. For peace to return...for my family...and Mr. Altius...I will defeat you, demon.


    As Amber regained her focus, she placed herself in a combat stance. Amber leaned forward slightly and kept her feet at shoulder width. Amber''s knees were bent, and she extended her arms outward, with her hands open and ready to grab or block. She had adopted this stance from her master, Meu when doing jujutsu training.


    Seeing this, Jack ceased his knife tricks and kept his arms and body in a stance best suited for quick slashes.


    "I know you still won''t understand why I kill people, but it doesn''t matter," Jack commented. "I never cared about a brat understanding me in the first place!"


    Jack suddenly began by sending several air slashes towards Amber, which she quickly weaved and rushed him. In response, Jack attempted to thrust his blade into Amber''s face.


    In a smooth motion, Amber steered Jack''s blade to the left by moving his arm away, and she attempted a justice-blessing enhanced straight punch to Jack''s gut. Jack reacted quickly, however, and blocked her fist with his second arm. Although he blocked, there was a slight flinching in Jack''s eyes.


    Tch, even though I blocked, this brat''s punches still hurt and burn. Jack pondered. She''s pissing me off.


    Suddenly, wires created from Amber''s radiance wrapped themselves around Jack''s arm, which surprised him. The ropes were connected to Amber as they were coiling around her fingers.


    Huh, these wires are burning my arm, too. Jack thought before smirking. You learned something new to make yourself seem strong, huh!?


    Completely disregarding the wires around his arm, Jack used his other arm to swing his blade at Amber''s head. Much to his surprise, Amber dodged this as she fell to the ground.


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    What the--


    BAM!


    As Amber fell, she successfully executed a devious spinning heel kick to Jack''s chin. Jack, who was visibly disoriented and staggering, coughed up blood. Amber wasn''t finished, however, as she quickly got back to her feet. She followed up by dragging the hand that the radiant wires coiled around backward and pulled Jack into a high kick.


    As Jack got blasted away from the kick, more blood flowed from his mouth. Amber continued the pressure by throwing Jack to the top of a multi-story building using the wires wrapped around his arm and swinging him. Finally, she removed the ropes, and they dissipated.


    My combat knowledge is helping me keep up with this monster. Amber thought. Thank you, Ms. Sharma...and Mr. Altius.


    So, her punches and attacks are taking longer for me to heal. They also damage me even if I block them. Jack pondered as he menacingly looked down at Amber from the multi-story building. But there''s something else...I can''t put my finger on it. It''s like this brat wants me to take her seriously. I even lost all my other knives because of that jester''s explosion, so I can''t use them to trip her up. But no matter!


    Amber attempted to hop up the building, but Jack intercepted her by sending more air slashes at her mid-jump. Due to being mid-air and the sheer speed of the slashes, Amber had no choice but to block.


    Visible cuts appeared on Amber''s arms, and the sleeves of her military combat suit got cut up.


    Ugh, he''s doing those weird slashes again! Amber thought. It doesn''t seem like they ignore durability as opposed to being slashed directly with those knives...but it''s still pretty strong!


    As Amber arrived on the building''s roof, Jack sent more air slashes at her. Amber quickly defended with several radiant wires, but Jack had expected this. While Amber focused on blocking the air slashes with her radiant wires, Jack suddenly rushed behind her.


    It was a feint!? Amber thought with a surprised expression as she frantically turned around. It was too late, as Jack executed an axe kick to the top of Amber''s head. The axe kick sent Amber through roughly twenty building floors before crashing into the ground floor. Amber''s body created a large hole through every floor. Jack was able to look at the ground floor from the roof.


    "Heh! How''s that for--"


    Suddenly, several yellow energy balls quickly traveled up the building floors through the holes, shocking Jack. Jack narrowly avoided them and hopped off the building. The energy balls traveled into the dark skies before disappearing.


    Jack began running athlete style, and Amber, who exited the building, chased him down. As she closed in on him, Amber materialized wires to restrain Jack. It was evident that he wasn''t at full speed, as Jack instantly disappeared before the wires reached him.


    Amber had no time to react as Jack delivered a powerful flying knee to her temple and sent her through multiple buildings.


    "Ugh," Amber groaned as she leaned on a building. Due to being kneed in the temple of her head, Amber was in a delirious state.


    "Sigh, you can''t beat me, ya know," Jack said condescendingly while walking up to her. The developer was wrong about there being anything special about her.


    "After I kill you, I''m going to kill your friends!" Jack declared as he drew near. Upon hearing that, the delirious state Amber was in quickly disappeared as she regained her focus.


    Completely catching Jack off guard, Amber''s body instantly emitted light in a large area.


    This light...Ugh! It burns! It''s far different from the burning sensation I felt from that jester! It''s even more...unpleasant! Jack thought as he was engulfed by the light. How the hell is this brat doing this!?


    After temporarily illuminating the area, Amber''s radiance quickly dimmed and returned to its usual level. Jack, who was stunned by the light, found himself restrained by wires all around his body. Amber was also right in front of him.


    "H-Huh?" Jack uttered.


    "It doesn''t matter...if you think I can''t beat you," Amber remarked as she grabbed his head. "For everything you''ve done...I will kill you!"


    BAM!


    With her yellow aura of her justice-blessing enhancing her body, Amber struck Jack with a strong headbutt.


    "GUH!" Jack uttered as excessive blood flew from his nose. Amber didn''t let up and performed another headbutt. Each headbutt, which sounded like an explosion, emitted bright light. After executing six headbutts, Amber finally stopped.


    The wires dissipated as Jack began to fall over. Not only was his face heavily bruised and his nose broken, his forehead was bleeding excessively.


    Keeping true to her intent of killing him, Amber followed up with multiple high kicks to Jack''s face and chest before he could fall. She had imitated her master, Meu when she executed the multi-kicks on their first sparring session.


    Immediately, Amber''s fist began glowing intensely as she charged energy.


    "Hallowed Crushing--"


    Shluk!


    Before Amber could perform her next blow, Jack came behind her and stabbed her right in the abdomen.


    "Ugh!" Amber uttered.


    "Ah, finally, brat," Jack remarked with a sincere smile despite his bruised and bloodied face. "I can finally kill you."


    Jack swung his other durability negator at Amber''s head but suddenly stopped and redirected the swing to his left side. Kreuger, who arrived just in time, swiped at him with one of his bloodbath daggers, but Jack blocked it with the side of his knife.


    Amber, who saw this, wasted no time. She quickly turned around and delivered a straight punch to Jack''s gut. That slammed Jack right into a nearby building.


    "Urrrggghhhh, haha," Jack groaned as he leaned on the building with one arm.


    "K-Kreuger?" Amber questioned as she gazed at him.


    "...Looks like I made it back in time," Kreuger responded. "Ryzen splitting us up was a pain in the ass. What''s the situation?"


    Amber''s expression became downtrodden in response to his question.


    "Mr. Altius...died. I was too late...to save him," Amber muttered in a low tone.


    "Tsk, I''m talking about your condition," Kreuger replied. "You''re not too knackered, are ya?"


    "No, I can still fight," Amber confirmed.


    Hearing that, Kreuger shifted his gaze to Jack. Seeing the bruises and injuries that Jack sustained made Kreuger widen his eyes.


    What? Kreuger thought. "Amber, how is that bastard bleeding?"


    "Huh? I kinda just punched...and headbutted him," Amber answered with slight confusion on her face.


    "And he hasn''t already healed?"


    "W-What does...that mean?" Amber asked.


    "I-I''m not sure," Kreuger replied. "But if I had to guess...maybe your justice blessing works well on that bugger.


    "Heh, what are you two whispering about?" Jack questioned. "I''m getting annoyed at having my prey saved. You get me, Kreuger?"


    Suddenly, a smirk formed on Kreuger''s face.


    "This is a gamble, but in case your blessing works on him," Kreuger continued while completely ignoring Jack. Kreuger also took out his second bloodbath blade. "We will murder him right here...right now!"


    "Yeah!" Amber agreed.


    While Jack leaned on the building, he stared at the two with a rather unhinged smile.


    Man...I want to kill her.

 Ch. 76 - Two Sides (Part 2)

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 Ch. 78 - Two Sides (Part 4)

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 Ch. 79 - Breakthrough (Part 1)

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 Ch. 80 - Breakthrough (Part 2)

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 Ch. 81 - Failure

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 Ch. 82 - Epilogue (Part 1)

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 Ch. 83 - Epilogue (Part 2)

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 Vol. 2 Thanks and Character Info (Skippable)

    As we''ve come to the end of Volume 2, I want to thank all those who have followed and read my book. I wouldn''t have gotten this far without your support, so I appreciate it as always.


    As we move to volume 3, I want to do a run-down of all the vol.2 characters and the newly shown ''enlightenment.'' Feel free to skip if you so desire. Volume 3 will likely begin September 27th!


    Enlightenment - A state attained when an individual sheds themselves of all mentalities useless to them - ridding themselves of everything and prioritizing grasping the essence of one''s blessing growth. When one achieves enlightenment, it can never be lost.


    Enlightenment Program''s Soldiers:


    Ariel Raven


    Birth Date: January 15, 2001


    Height: 174 cm


    Blessing(s)


    Taming: Allows her to ''domesticate'' any animal, but the difficulty varies with the animal''s strength and instincts. These animals receive powerful abilities akin to the blessing of a human and become more powerful than their species. Ariel has been shown to have tamed a dog and hawk but has tamed other animals.


    Ariel has received the ability of her deceased pet, Shadow, through a portion of its fur. She gained access to the ability when she crafted the fur into a katana, imbuing it with Shadow''s essence. Ariel unlocked a deeper level of her blessing with that. What could this mean in the long run, though?


    Personality: A friendly and caring individual, especially to Amber as she related to Amber the first time Ariel met her. Ariel holds her pets very highly and is distraught upon Shadow''s death.


    Likes: Her pets and friends. She likes going on walks with her pets.


    Dislikes: Jack, unknown areas


    Sariel Dell


    Birth Date: December 10, 2000


    Height: 177 cm


    Blessing(s)


    Technological Manipulation: The base of this blessing allows her to control machines and the energy produced. With her special eye, Sariel can craft special ''Rubik''s cubes,'' which morph into any weapon or machine she desires. These creations are far stronger and tougher than normal. The complexity of the desired creation depends on her knowledge and use of several cubes.


    The list of things Sariel has created thus far:


    Handguns - Fire energy bullets


    Swords - Radiates electricity around the blade, which stuns enemies


    Drones - Allows Sariel to connect her vision to these drones, giving her nigh-omniscience in the drones'' area.


    Turrets - Machinegun or Missile turrets


    Chains - Used to restrain opponents


    Personality: A bit more reserved and rational compared to her friends, but can be emotional when pushed enough


    Likes: Machines, reading, mathematics, technology and her friends


    Dislikes: Jack, not being productive


    Aiden Stark


    Birth Date: October 28, 2000


    Death Date: July 12, 2024


    Height: 181 cm


    Blessing(s)


    Friction Control: Allows Aiden to apply and reduce the forces of friction and air resistance on himself and other people. He can perform actions such as slowing projectiles to a halt by applying air resistance, increasing his movement speed and flexibility after reducing his friction, and making opponents slip and fall by removing the traction between their feet and the ground.


    His ultimate technique allows him to store friction from repeated movements and then use the build-up in his blows. That action causes the air to combust, increasing his striking strength.


    Personality: Aiden was confident in his prowess and blessing due to training for a long time. A man who accepted the error of his ways as shown by his realization of Amber''s strength. He''d risk his life for his friends (especially Amber).


    Likes: Amber, his blessing, ice-skating


    Dislikes: Kreuger, Jack


    Baran Willard


    Birth Date: March 14, 2001


    Height: 179 cm


    Blessing(s)


    Air manipulation: This allows him to mix air into his combat style. Baran can compress air into balls and fire it off in wind gusts. Admittedly, Baran does not have much skill with his blessing.


    Personality: A rude and disrespectful individual. He belittles those he thinks are less than him and refuses to accept them becoming strong. Baran is exceptionally lazy, as he doesn''t train nearly as much as his peers.


    Likes: Relaxing


    Dislikes: Amber


    Ivory Krystal


    Birth Date: April 15, 2000


    Height: 170 cm


    Blessing(s)


    Gem manipulation: Allows her to conjure and control gems such as ruby, Saffire, amythest, etc. She can use them as projectiles and make gem shields.


    Personality: A normal individual, compared to everyone else...


    Likes: Comedy shows, gems


    Dislikes: Jack


    Enlightenment Program''s Officers/Instructors:


    Altius Hunter


    Birth Date: May 13, 1991


    Death Date: July 12, 2024


    Height: 183 cm


    Blessing(s)


    Anger: Altius''s blessing grants him increased physical prowess depending on his ire. Altius''s blessing was naturally strong due to the multi-decade-long rage burdening him.


    Altius acquires a form known as the ''Berserker State'' when his anger reaches its limits. This form greatly enhances his strength and speed and lets him ignore pain.


    Personality: A constantly angry and antisocial individual. Has a disrespectful attitude and manner towards most. Altius is surprisingly empathetic and caring, especially to the younger generation.


    Likes: Peace, The younger generation prospering


    Dislikes: Most things, hedonistic criminals


    Trixie Leah


    Birth Date: April 1, 1996


    Height: 173 cm


    Blessing(s)


    Tricks: The base of this blessing grants Trixie magical energy generation. Trixie uses the magic to reinforce her body''s durability and enhance her physical prowess. That is not the main aspect, however. After imbuing a pack of playing cards over time, it had become tied to her blessing. These magic cards give Trixie the ability to cast tricks. What trick she receives is based on a chance card she receives at the start of a battle.


    Certain card combinations can upgrade and apply bonuses to these tricks and lower shuffling time. The most powerful aspect of Trixie''s blessing is jackpot acquisition. She gains larger quantities of magic energy, the ability to regenerate non-vital wounds, and more techniques.


    Her blessing is largely based on luck, but Trixie is a lucky woman.


    Personality: An extremely creative and expressive individual. Trixie finds infinite ways of annoying or impressing others with pranks and tricks, a testament to her playful personality. Trixie is an extroverted but somewhat immature woman, as she has no problem socializing with others and playing annoying pranks.


    Likes: Pranks, magic tricks, board games, card games - A pro in these categories.


    Dislikes: Anything boring


    Ryzen Cain


    Birth Date: Unknown


    Height: 182 cm


    Blessing(s)


    Spatial Manipulation: Not much is known about this ability, but Ryzen was shown to manipulate distance, trajectory, and damage shifting.


    Personality: Not much is known about this mysterious individual other than his desire to see Amber achieve enlightenment and Nathan''s growth


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.Likes: Humans with potential, the developer


    Dislikes: Prideful Individuals


    Special Weapon(s) - Sturdy Knife: Allows Ryzen to instantly shift any force that touches his knife onto his desired target.


    English Military:


    Barry Alexander


    Birth Date: August 5, 1983


    Height: 177 cm


    Blessing(s): N/A


    Personality: An individual who puts the good of his country first. An empathetic man, especially to Amber.


    Likes: His country, his soldiers, golfing


    Dislikes: The mafia, the ''game'' characters, rampant criminals


    London Mafia:


    Harvey Dexter


    Birth Date: March 3, 1990


    Height: 184 cm


    Blessing(s)


    Weather Manipulation: Allows Harvey to manipulate the weather. Harvey''s most used aspect is the ability to control the wind, which he uses to disrupt and attack his enemies while boosting his prowess. He can also increase and decrease the atmospheric temperature to his liking. Harvey''s deadliest technique, though, is the ability to summon actual lightning, although it takes a toll on his energy and stamina.


    Personality: A rational and calculating man, at least until his family gets harmed. Does everything with an ulterior motive.


    Likes: Spending time with his family, successful plans


    Dislikes: Amber, Kreuger, the military


    Theodore Dexter


    Birth Date: Nov 3, 1992


    Death Date: June 23, 2024


    Height: 195 cm


    Blessing(s)


    Morale: Allows him to boost his physical prowess to well above superhuman levels, depending on his confidence. Morale is a simple but effective blessing for someone like Theodore.


    Personality: A cold, sociopathic individual who takes advantage of less fortunate individuals.


    Likes: His property, his family


    Dislikes: People messing up his property, Amber


    Amelia Dexter


    Birth Date: August 5, 1991


    Height: 180 cm


    Blessing(s)


    Culinary: She wields a culinary blessing that gives her the ability to perform aspects of cooking into deadly attacks and techniques. She can send slashing attacks at targets like a chef cutting ingredients, incinerate targets with flames (cooking), and combine attacks and techniques like a chef throwing different ingredients together.


    Personality: A gourmet who finds pleasure in eating and drinking, especially from expensive restaurants.


    Likes: Cooking, eating, her family


    Dislikes: Isabella, the English military, Amber, Kreuger


    Luna Dexter


    Birth Date: November 7, 1991


    Height: 174 cm


    Blessing(s)


    Exhaustion: Luna can greatly hinder opponents by inducing fatigue and stress. She can even decrease the fatigue levels of her allies, giving them slight boosts to their prowess.


    Personality: A very rational woman, even more than Harvey. She puts her family above all else, however.


    Likes: Her family,


    Dislikes: The military, Amber


    Harold Lucas


    Birth Date: January 15, 1992


    Height: 181 cm


    Blessing(s)


    Surprise Attack: If Harold manages to land a sneak attack or catch his opponents off guard with attacks, he increases his striking strength by ten times. The acquisition of this multiplier is indicated when orange sparks around his arm/leg upon striking his enemy.


    Personality: A sadistic individual who loves rendering strong and confident opponents weak and on their knees. Despite his sadism, he''s loyal to his bosses as he performs any task and risks danger to aid them.


    Likes: His blessing, his bosses, torturing opponents


    Dislikes: The military, fair fights


    Miscellaneous:


    Leo Kreuger


    Birth Date: September 9, 1998


    Height: 197 cm


    Blessing(s)


    Idaten: This allows Leo to enhance his movement and attack speed. He becomes a whole different person in speed when using this blessing. He has several techniques that further enhance his kit:


    Sleight of Hand - This triples his maximum hand dexterity.


    Flash Step - Triples his maximum movement speed.


    Flash Cut - Allows Kreuger to send projectile air slashes with his blades.


    Burst - Quintuples his maximum movement speed. This skill takes a toll on Kreuger''s stamina as he has yet to master it.


    Blood Manipulation: This allows Kreuger to manipulate the blood within his body. Just like his Idaten blessing, he has quite a lot of techniques due to gaining a lot of experience with it:


    Blood Clotting - This allows Kreuger to immediately clot any injuries he sustains, minimizing the potential blood loss.


    Crimson Haematic Scales - By increasing the blood flow within his body, Kreuger can drastically harden his body with this technique. The use is evident by a reddish hue on his skin.


    Blood Wires - This allows Kreuger to project blood from the pores of his body in the form of wires to restrain opponents or attach knives.


    Crimson Buckshot - This skill allows Kreuger to compress blood around his knives (or metal in general), crushing the material into a ball of blood and exploding it onto his opponents. The crushed metal coated in the hardened blood acts as shrapnel as it flies in all directions.


    Special Weapon(s) - Bloodbath Blades: After imbuing a pair of daggers over time, they have acquired an attribute of Kreuger''s blessing. Upon slicing an opponent and inflicting a wound with these daggers, the blood of the bloodbaths seeps into the cut. This creates a negative reaction between Kreuger''s and the opponent''s blood, causing the area to swell, inflammate and explode.


    Leo''s natural movement speed (pre-enlightenment) - Mach 20


    Idaten Blessing Speed Multiplier - x75


    Flash Step Mulitplier x3


    Burst Multiplier - x5


    Leo''s maximum speed (without burst) - Mach 4500


    Leo''s maximum speed (with burst) - Mach 7500


    Personality: An individual so hell-bent on revenge that he could be seen as unfriendly to most. He gets along with those he relates to (mainly Amber).


    Likes: Training, Amber


    Dislikes: Jack, Ryzen''s annoying behavior


    Meu Sharma


    Birth Date: Unknown


    Height: Unknown


    Blessing(s)


    Chi: Not much is known about her blessing, only that she can draw out the ''life force'' of others and make them stronger in the process


    Personality: A kind individual, especially to her students


    Likes: Her students, plants, artifacts


    Dislikes: Ryzen calling her by her last name


    Isabella Scarlet Anastasia Alice


    Birth Date: Unknown


    Height: Unknown


    Blessing(s): Unknown


    Personality: Not much is known about her personality as of yet


    Likes: Unknown


    Dislikes: Unknown


    Confirmed Enlightened:


    Amber Hoss


    Birth Date: June 20, 2000


    Height: 173 cm


    Blessing(s)


    Justice: Allows Amber to reinforce herself or imbue weapons with ''positive energy.'' This energy also grants Amber pseudo-reactive evolution, as she was shown to grow and adapt in battle. Amber had unlocked another aspect of her blessing upon awakening - when coating her body in positive energy, the effectiveness of Amber''s attacks increases depending on her opponent''s immorality. The blessings of her opponents are also reduced with every attack she lands.


    Amber had created several techniques with her blessing:


    Radiant Wires - Allows Amber to manifest her positive energy into wires to restrain opponents.


    Radiant Barrier - Projects Amber''s positive energy into a hardened spherical barrier around her which protects her from attacks.


    Hallowed Crushing Strike - Amber charges positive energy around her fist/leg and strikes her opponent. The charged strike is far more powerful than Amber''s regular hits.


    Enlightenment:


    After attaining enlightenment, Amber''s blessing had gone to much higher levels. The quantity of her positive energy is vastly increased, along with the potency of Amber''s attacks. She had gained numerous additions to her blessing which include:


    Divine Energy - Not much is known about this, but its utilization is granted when one reaches enlightenment.


    Pure Light - Amber''s presence radiates immense light, which burns enemies and reduces the opponent''s blessing performance.


    Purification - Amber''s main aspect of enlightenment. Her positive energy burns and damages all aspects of an individual, including their soul. If an opponent cannot repair their soul they will be permanently damaged by Amber.


    Hallowed Barrier - An upgraded version of Amber''s radiant barrier, but it''s always present and invisible until defending against attacks.


    Flight - The angelic wings Amber receives allows her to fly freely.


    Weapon creation - Amber can wield positive energy in weapons like spears, swords, etc.


    Personality: An exceptionally selfless, empathetic, and caring individual. She fights for others and never for herself. A bit of a religious woman due to how Amber was raised.


    Likes: People, Themis, amusement parks, sunny days


    Dislikes: Jack, people taking advantage of others


    Jack Knight (Refer to Vol. 1 for Info)


    Date of Death: July 12, 2024


    Enlightenment (Unregistered):


    After attaining enlightenment, Jack''s murder blessing drastically upgraded. He had gained a dramatic increase in his physical prowess. The techniques Jack had showcased were:


    Divine Energy - Not much is known about this, but its utilization is granted when one reaches enlightenment.


    Life Bane - An upgraded version of ''Life Feeder.'' Jack heals at a much faster rate and receives the skill to heal his soul. Only in special circumstances can you inflict lethal damage on Jack.


    Miasma - Jack gains the ability to emit miasma, which rapidly decays and murders any living creature without fail. He covered cities with his miasma in his fight against Amber.


    Special Weapon(s) - Durability Negator Blades: A reward from the developer. These blades instantly adjust to the durability of whatever Jack wants to cut, allowing him to slice through anything in the world.


    Jack''s natural movement speed (pre-enlightenment) - Mach 55


    Idaten Blessing Speed Multiplier - x50


    Flash Step Multiplier - x3


    Jack''s maximum speed - Mach 8250

 Ch. 0 - Prologue

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 Ch. 1 - Comfort Zone

    With the Enlightenment Program''s campus...and the entire city in ruins, Amber had no choice but to take refuge in a separate military base. They currently gathered in a lounge on the military grounds.


    Amber''s friends gazed at her in surprise upon noticing an unfamiliar face beside her.


    "Guys, this is my master who gave me training!" Amber remarked. "Her name is Meu Sharma!"


    "It''s a pleasure to meet my student''s friends," Meu stated. "I heard so many good things about you all from Amber."


    I like what she''s wearing. Sariel thought. She''s Japanese, so it makes sense, but it''s nice to see a different style, I suppose.


    "Thank you for helping our friend," Ariel said. "She went through so much, so I''m glad someone was there to help her overcome her limits."


    "Nah, she was a good student," Meu countered. "She put in the work to become strong."


    I can tell with a glance that she has become enlightened. Her physical body has become much stronger, and she''s radiating divine energy. Meu pondered as she gazed at Amber. I can teach her more stuff. She might be my best pupil.


    "Is this everyone?" Ryzen, who suddenly appeared, questioned. "Where is the other one...was his name Baran?"


    The soldiers'' expressions became saddened in response to Ryzen''s question.


    "Well, Baran has...requested a discharge from the Enlightenment Program," Amber responded. "The pain of the loss of Aiden...was just too much for poor Baran."


    I''m glad that guy is gone. Sariel thought. He wasn''t cut out to be a soldier, and he treated Amber so horribly. I hated him.


    "I see, how unfortunate," Ryzen replied. Well, I''m not surprised. He and Aiden were painfully ordinary individuals. They weren''t needed in the long run.


    "You don''t have to feel bad, Amber," Ivory stated as she placed her arm on Amber''s shoulder. "Never forget that nothing is your fault."


    "Yeah..."


    "Anyways, I didn''t expect to see you here, Sharma," Ryzen commented, which immediately caused Meu''s eyebrows to furrow with annoyance.


    "Sigh, how long will you call me by my last name..." Meu questioned. "I told you to call me Meu."


    Oh, my. Ms. Meu wants Sergeant Ryzen to call her by her first name. Sariel thought. I heard that Japanese people only let people close and call them by their first name. That''s interesting.


    "Yeah, yeah. I''m sure you came here because of Amber," Ryzen continued. "You wouldn''t have left the mountains otherwise."


    "Yes...it took quite a bit of persuasion," Amber stated. "I guess my master is a bit more reserved than I thought."


    "Hey, are you making fun of your master!?" Meu questioned with puffed cheeks.


    "N-No, sorry!"


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    "Why don''t you train Amber''s friends while you''re at it?" Ryzen suggested. "I''m sure they''ll benefit immensely."


    "W-What?" Ariel, Sariel, and Ivory uttered in tandem.


    "N-No, we can''t do that," Ariel responded. "I mean, we already have Sergeant Trixie as our instructor. I doubt Amber''s master would want us to have another trainer."


    "Nonsense, I am not a prideful person!" The visibly excited Meu stated. "I don''t mind you having another person training you. Besides, I can teach you many things your instructor can''t."


    "Yeah, you should take her word for it," Ryzen stated. "Sharma''s one of the strongest people I''ve ever known."


    "Aww, you didn''t call me by my first name, but gee, thanks!" Meu replied.


    "B-But..."


    "Guys, I never wanted you to put yourselves in danger because of me, but I realized that''s impossible to hope for," Amber expressed. "There are times when I''m not there to help you, and you all have protected me from death many times. So, I want you guys to fight with me...and I want you all to get stronger!"


    "...Yeah, you''re right," Sariel agreed as she gazed at Ariel and Ivory. We did agree that a day where we had to bury so many of our comrades would never happen again.


    "Please teach us, master!" Ariel requested as she bowed her head in front of Meu. Sariel and Ivory awkwardly followed suit after seeing their friend bowing their head, which surprised Meu.


    "H-Hey, just because I''m from Japan doesn''t mean you have to bow your head, you know!" Meu said. "But I''ll gladly accept you as my student!"


    "Look on you, you''re such a happy camper huh, Meu," Ryzen teased. "You''ve gotten even more students."


    Hehe, of course, I''m happy. The modern era might be the best! Meu thought with a delighted smile.


    *


    The blessed soldiers weren''t the only ones who felt hope after the death of Jack. Nathan and Lilith were lounging on a couch and happily watching a movie. The darkened living room and the audible crunching of eaten chips displayed how relaxed the duo were.


    They were close in proximity despite the couch''s size.


    "Ah, I''m glad we get to experience the little things like this," Lilith stated. "Spending time together and watching a movie. It''s been a while since we experienced this."


    "Yeah, and I get to enjoy your cooking again," Nathan responded.


    "Fufu...but it''s unfortunate that I had to quit my job," Lilith remarked as she looked slightly down, which Nathan caught. "But I don''t regret being by your side."


    "...You told me your dream is to build your gourmet restaurant," Nathan stated. "Don''t worry, I will make your dream come true. No matter what it takes."


    Lilith gazed at Nathan with surprise, but her expression quickly shifted to a bright smile.


    "You always know how to make me feel better, huh?" Lilith replied. "But let''s go back to the movie! We''re missing so much!"


    Nathan shifted his gaze to Lilith, who was engrossed in the movie, and attempted to put his arm around her shoulder. He seemed pretty nervous as his hand reached closer.


    "Sigh, you guys just love each others'' company, huh," The developer, who suddenly barged inside, stated. His sudden presence shook Nathan, who quickly retracted his arm. The light, which rushed in from the door, brightened the darkened room the duo occupied.


    "Tsk, why the hell did you show up!?" Nathan yelled. "You just ruined everything."


    "Oh? What exactly did I ruin, Nathan?"


    "Uh, tch..."


    "Well, I don''t care about your flirting. I''m surprised that you are looking at something normal like starting a gourmet business," The developer continued. "When you should be focused on your purpose as game characters."


    "Y-You eavesdropped on us?" Lilith questioned with surprise and embarrassment.


    "Sigh, your fellow players, Zack and Olivia, still haven''t gotten over their friend''s death," The developer said as he facepalmed and shook his head. "But you two are here all normal."


    It''s so gross to see them acting this way. The developer thought. Especially Nathan.


    "How many times do we have to say we don''t care about Jack," Nathan retorted. "You''re interrupting our movie with this stupid lecturing. Just leave!"


    "Sigh, I''ll leave you as you wish," The developer stated as he walked through the entrance. "But know this. I''m disappointed in how ''normal'' you two are. You both got pampered too much."


    "Huh?"


    "Bye-bye. You two will receive a new mission sooner or later," The developer stated as he shut the door behind him.


    "Sigh, that guy always ruins the mood, huh?" Nathan said.


    "Yeah, I don''t like him, to be honest," Lilith agreed.


    "Right?"


    I know you''re up to something, Ada. I''ve been watching you. The developer pondered as he walked. I hope it''s enough to get these characters out of their comfort zone.

 Ch. 2 - A Happy Time

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 Ch. 3 - Return

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 Ch. 4 - New Person

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 Ch. 5 - Formulating a Perfect Plan

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 Ch. 6 - Deception

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 Ch. 7 - Incompetence

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    Zack and Octavius had kept sparring throughout the day, and only until the sun approached the horizon, dying the atmosphere reddish-violet did they finally cease. The sluggish and exhausted Zack was seen strolling the complex with his friend.


    "Ugh, I''m so damn tired...I''ve never trained this much in a single day ever," Zack uttered. I''ve been sparring with Octavius for several hours...I can''t believe Nathan and Lilith do this every day.


    "Heh, you''re too lazy, bro," Octavius teased. "Well, you''ll get used to it. Whether you like it or not."


    Zack''s expression soured to a frown in response to Octavius''s words. Zack was snapped out of his exhausted and soured look as something caught his eye while they walked. He noticed several men in the same blue overalls as himself, but they had abnormal features.


    He observed an individual rolling his right sleeve to reveal a mechanical arm. The other men were just as peculiar, as Zack noticed the right side of another''s face was replaced by metal, even having a visible glow where his right eye should be. These cybernetic attachments were common among the men, as different parts of their bodies were replaced by something mechanical.


    "What the? What the hell is going on with those guys?" Zack questioned, which garnered Octavius''s attention. "Are those super soldiers or something?"


    "That''s not a bad guess, Zack. A lot has changed since you left, and the director has gotten even more power since there aren''t many super soldiers in the way now," Octavius explained. "Our organization, the Blueblood Corps, has amassed great funds, and the director used a portion to research cybernetic alterations on regular human workers. He said it''ll be good for our organization''s defense."


    "Blueblood Corps? Did the director give this organization a name while I left?"


    "Yeah, since our business was expanding, he wanted to make it more official with a name," Octavius responded.


    "I see. I''m guessing the funds come from arms trafficking and providing private services to smaller organizations, right?" Zack assumed. "At least, that''s how the boss made money when I was there. He''d send me to blow stuff up for other smaller organizations to make allies."


    "Well, we still do that, but we''ve dabbled into something else," Octavius replied. "You remember those pills I gave you? Well, where do you think we got them?"


    "Wait...don''t tell me," Zack muttered with narrowed eyes. "The director went into drug dealing, too?"


    "Yeah, drugs sell for a lot...especially the harder and purer ones," Octavius confirmed.


    Well, that does make sense. Zack thought. This organization is like a better version of a mafia organization, huh? I''m surprised the director talked people into making them cyborgs, though.


    "There''s supposed to be a deal going on about now," Octavius remarked. "The Silverdust Brothers are talking with the director now."


    "Who?"


    "The bosses of smaller company than ours and are long-time allies. They''ve been manufacturing some of our drug supplies," Octavius stated. "Come on, follow me."


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    "W-Wait, we''re meeting them?" Zack muttered as Octavius moved quickly. Are we even allowed to barge into their meeting!? "Alright, I guess..."


    *


    The director''s home was full of activity as he was met by two individuals in his living room. His isolation was interrupted as he accommodated two other men in his home. There wasn''t much to these men, other than them donning a polished grey suit as if made from silver. They also wore several silver rings on their ring, middle, and index fingers.


    "This month''s drug supplies have been delivered," One of the men stated. "Now, about our payment..."


    "Uh huh, my men have confirmed that they received the goods, William," The director stated as he smoked a cigar. "You brothers haven''t failed to deliver the goods, so I wasn''t surprised."


    William, as referred to by the director, seemed to be a rather serious man, judging by his cold and stern expression. He was a fairly tall man who looked to be in his early thirties, with mid-length black hair kept in a classic brushed-back hairstyle and matching color eyes.


    William stood beside the second individual, likely his brother. The brother seemed around the same age and had very similar features to William; it was as if they were twins. The only difference was that the brother had a different hairstyle; he grew out his hair and kept it in layers. He also had a fairly friendly smile on his face, unlike William.


    "So, you can give us the payment in cash--"


    "But, my men have also informed me that some of the drug supplies we ordered are missing," The director continued. "You''ve delivered the goods, but not all of it. Isn''t this the second time this has happened recently?"


    "...Some of the packages were damaged and caused some drugs to spill, hence why you''re missing a few," William admitted. "But that was a mistake."


    "You think losing my valuable cocaine is just a mistake? I gave you a pass the last time, but you let this happen again," The director retorted. "You''re not going to get the full payment. Consider me letting you off easily since you''re one of my long-time manufacturers."


    "WHAT! You''re not paying us what we agreed on because of that!?" The other brother exclaimed as his friendly smile was quickly washed away. "You should be happy we''re even manufacturing the drugs for you!"


    "You dare shout at me, young man?" The director retorted as he gazed at him with narrowed eyes.


    "HUH--"


    "...Calm down, Noah," William suggested. "It''s fine. We''ll take the reduced payment."


    "You will, this screw-up is your fault, anyways," The director mocked. "Now, our business here is done. You may leave."


    "Tch, okay," William muttered. Noah seemed visibly upset at the director''s words, though. "Let''s go, brother."


    "...Okay." Noah agreed as they approached the door. The director didn''t bother to watch as they left in their anger.


    "This will become a strain on our future relationship," William uttered as he opened the door.


    "It will if you make a mistake like this again," The director remarked. The two brothers walked through the door, leaving both sides with a bad taste in their mouths.


    The brother''s gaze immediately shifted to observe Zack and Octavius. They were standing near the director''s home, which made the duo the brothers saw first.


    "Uh, hello," Zack awkwardly greeted.


    "Tch," William uttered before the brothers briskly walked past them.


    "I guess the deal didn''t end well," Octavius muttered as he watched the Silverdust brothers walk off.


    "Yeah...I''m glad we never barged into their meeting..." Zack stated with a sigh of relief.


    Octavius immediately entered the director''s home with Zack following.


    "Oh, Octavius and Zack. What can I do for you?" The director questioned as he leaned back on his couch, even putting up one of his legs on a coffee table. "Have you gotten accustomed to the complex, Zack?"


    "Ah, yeah. Octavius has shown me around," Zack answered. It''s weird hearing the director wondering about me. "We got some sparring in, too."


    "That''s good. I want you to get even stronger."


    "What was that about, boss?" Octavius questioned. "The Silverdust brothers left the house rather upset."


    "Oh, I told them they won''t receive the full payment for carelessly damaging my products," The director answered. "It''s their damned fault."


    The clueless Zack stood there and listened with uninterest.


    "They damaged some of the packages again?" Octavius questioned with raised eyebrows. "What the hell is wrong with them?"


    "Good question, I can tell you what''s wrong," The director remarked. "Whether on purpose or not, they''re becoming incompetent. It seems they want me to absorb their organization forcefully to fix this incompetence."

 Ch. 8 - Deja Vu

    The streets of England were still utterly ravaged several days after Jack''s rampage, but signs of rebuilding were visible in the continent. Although first responders did their best to aid affected civilians on the day of the massacre, most were still ordinary humans with ordinary stamina. They couldn''t keep their excursions to help people all over England, as it was too exhausting.


    Thankfully, they had soldiers of the Enlightenment Program to aid them. That was not the limit to how favorable their circumstances could get, as the country possessed an exceptionally selfless soldier who achieved enlightenment - Amber Hoss.


    In what could only be seen by regular humans as a detailed structure of golden light encompassing cities, Amber was rescuing unfortunate civilians trapped under the rubbles of ruined buildings and briskly instantly bringing them to treatment.


    Amber brought these injured civilians to the hospitals, and the medical professionals saw them appearing on gurneys and a bright flash of golden light. They were aware of Amber''s deeds, as they quickly and with alacrity, brought them to the emergency room.


    The civilians Amber brought in varied with the extent of their injuries. Simply bleeding and unconscious was preferable, as others suffered extensive wounds, missing limbs, and disfigured or mangled body parts. The doctors knew more casualties would accumulate and so did Amber, but that didn''t stop them from at least attempting to save someone who was currently living.


    "Jeez, this is all terrible. How are we supposed to save some of these people?" A nurse questioned. Tired from the work they went through for days on end, visible bags were seen under her eyes. "Everyone here has been working to the bone, we''re all tired. That and the compounding factor of some of the civilians'' extensive injuries means that many more will unfortunately die."


    "C''mon, let''s not think like that. We gotta keep drinking coffee and energy drinks, I suppose," A doctor, who also had visible baggy eyes, stated. "That woman, Amber Hoss, worked hard to defeat Jack the Ripper and is still working hard. I''ve heard how selfless she is. We have to try our best as well."


    Amber seemed to have rescued everyone in the city she ran around. She had taken a break and rested for a bit.


    "I''ve rescued all survivors in those four cities," Amber stated. She currently utilized the enlightened form she achieved against Jack, judging by the golden halo above her head, white linen robes, angelic wings, white eye bandages, and golden strapped sandals. "The light I radiate no longer reveals any civilians."


    "Hey, Amber!" Ariel''s voice was audible as she approached her friend along with Amber''s master, Meu.


    "Oh, hello, Ariel! Master!" Amber greeted. Although her eyes were covered, Amber''s delighted smile made it obvious that she was happy to see them.


    "Wow, you look so different, I could hardly recognize you!" Ariel remarked. "Is this your so-called ''enlightenment?'' You look awesome!"


    "Yeah, after getting this power, I thought I''d have to learn how to re-use it," Amber responded. "But it''s like I instinctively know how to tap into it."


    "Yes, your form looks amazing," Meu complimented. "I''m glad I decided to follow my student, Ariel, so I can see what you''ve achieved with my eyes."


    "Thank you!"


    "So, how has the rescuing been going for you, Amber?" Ariel questioned. "I already know you''ve been working hard."


    Amber held her head down, sparking surprise in Meu and Ariel. The features of her enlightenment disappeared like light flowing off Amber''s body as she returned to her original state.


    "Yeah, I have been working hard but I keep getting reminded of my failures..." Amber stated. "With every unfortunate, deceased person that I come across while I''m trying to rescue, I keep remembering my weakness."


    "Amber..."


    "Aiden, Mr. Altius...the people I let die all rush through my memories," Amber continued. "To make matters worse, the poor civilians with life-threatening or altering injuries are not few. It''s all...my fault."


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    Amber''s negative speech placed frowns on her friend''s and master''s faces, but Meu strangely nudged Ariel with her elbow.


    "S-Should I do it, master?" Ariel whispered.


    "Yup!" Meu responded as she performed the thumbs-up gesture. Confused by their plans, Amber gazed at the two with raised eyebrows.


    "Huh--"


    SLURP!


    Amber felt a warm and slimy sensation on her hand which caused her to flinch.


    "Huh!?" Amber exclaimed as she looked to the source of that sensation and saw none other than a sheep standing beside her. It was not a regular sheep, as its cloud-like wool was completely pink. "A sheep!?"


    The sheep was not the only animal that appeared. Cairo the hawk flew in and landed right on Ariel''s shoulder. Cairo was accompanied by the hops of a bunny and the chirping sounds of a rocky-skinned gecko were audible as they approached Ariel.


    The soft fur of the rabbit was like that of snow, and the gecko was as large as a standard sedan.


    "W-Wow! Where did these come from!?" Amber questioned as she gazed at the animals.


    "Remember when I told you I have more animals tamed, and that I''d show you them? I''m sure you remember Cairo, but these are the rest!" Ariel responded. "Now''s the perfect time to show you! The sight of my cute friends is cheering you up, right?"


    "Y-Yes! They are so cute!" Amber responded while covering her mouth out of reflex. Understandably, one would find a white-furred rabbit and a pink wool sheep appealing or pretty, but not many would say the same for a large rocky-skinned gecko.


    "You can thank Master Meu for this!" Ariel remarked. "She was the one who came up with this idea!"


    "R-Really, master!"


    "Yes! I gave you, my students, the task of rescuing these poor civilians around the world which would push your limits and endurance and draw out more life energy. I have ensured that I knew the personalities of my students, though," Meu explained. "You wouldn''t need to be asked to help, even if you''ve already attained enlightenment and past the point of drawing out life energy, Amber. I knew you''d be affected by the destruction, though, so I did this."


    "I-I see."


    "To be honest, I didn''t want to release my animals into the public. I don''t want... any more of my friends...to die," Ariel muttered as she recalled the deceased Shadow. "But...I can''t stay wallowing in my sorrow and grief, right?"


    "N-No, your grief is understandable!"


    "Fufu, don''t worry, Amber. Sariel, Ivory, Kreuger...everyone''s working hard to rebuild this country, and I''ll do the same!" Ariel stated as she expressed a chirpy demeanor. "We''ll become as strong as you, so we can always help you. Besides, you''ll help me and my animal friends when we''re having a hard time, right?"


    A bright and delighted smile was expressed on Amber''s face in response to Ariel''s declaration.


    "Yeah!"


    "I''m so glad my students are getting along so well with each other!" Meu stated. "If only Ryzen were here to see this!"


    "Speaking of him, where is Ryzen anyway?" Amber questioned.


    *


    The developer had departed from the director''s home. There was no sense of urgency in his reason for leaving, as the developer was taking the night sky from a cliff''s edge.


    "Ahh, the view is so nice, no matter how long I''ve been on this planet," The developer remarked as he stretched his hand out to feel the sensation of the ambient wind. "But, something strange has been happening. I''ve been met by people out of the blue while I''m admiring the scenery. First Themis, now this. Pretty sure that''s deja vu, isn''t that right, Ryzen?"


    He had not randomly uttered Ryzen''s name, as he happily gazed at the developer as he stood behind him.


    "Hey, what''s up," Ryzen casually greeted.


    "If it isn''t the man who helped Amber Hoss, Themis''s avatar, grow and attain enlightenment, causing Jack, my game character, to be killed," The developer sarcastically greeted. "What''s up?"


    "Aw, come on. We both know Jack would be too annoying to control in the long run. That and the mere fact he''s not the ''vessel,'' means he''s a liability in the end," Ryzen responded. "Plus, Amber Hoss won''t last long with the selfless mentality she has."


    "Heh, you have some nerve calling my game character a liability," The developer retorted. "Aren''t you just my game moderator? I don''t remember game moderators being allowed to smack talk the developer''s games."


    "Heh, I''ve known you for a thousand years. I don''t think I''m just a game moderator," Ryzen argued. "A friend can only joke about your game characters."


    "...Maybe so. I suppose you have some plan with Amber, so I''ll let it slide. I know that you, of all people, would never side with a blessed woman like her," The developer coldly stated. "Whatever you''re planning better involves some good character development for my game characters."


    "Speaking of game characters, how is Nathan Hayes doing?"


    "...He has been taking things well. It''s like he was overjoyed with Jack''s death," The developer explained. "When Lilith''s not involved in anything, Nathan''s motivation flies out the window."


    "Hmm, that''s not good. I have high hopes for him, too," Ryzen stated as he rubbed his chin. "If Lilith is his motivation, you should just use that to your fullest."


    "Yeah, I have some ideas, but my main idea depends on Ada Foster," The developer agreed. "She knows a lot about Nathan and his weaknesses, after all."


    "Oh, if her actions would help with his growth, I could help her slightly, but that''s if Nathan manages to grow and not die," Ryzen stated. "If he does die though, you have Lilith Ashley, I suppose."


    "Uh-huh."

 Ch. 9 - Worth

    The sun''s rising on the horizon signaled a new day, and Zack woke up to heavy conflict in the Bluebood Corps. Zack, who slept peacefully in a modestly-sized bedroom, was interrupted by the banging noises on his door.


    "H-Huh?" Zack uttered as he was roused to consciousness. He didn''t seem completely awake as he didn''t register the noise. After a simple eye rub, Zack finally reacted to the noise.


    "What the hell? What''s all that noise!?"


    "ZACK! OPEN THE DOOR!" the feminine voice of an obviously furious individual yelled from the other side of the door. Zack''s confusion quickly turned to fright as he flinched in response.


    "W-Who is it!?" Zack questioned with an audible stutter in his voice.


    "HOW DARE YOU COME BACK AFTER RUNNING AWAY!" The voice yelled. "I''LL KILL YOU!"


    Who the hell is this person!? Zack thought as he broke out into a sweat. What did I even do!?


    CRACK!


    The repeated banging of this ire-fueled woman caused the hinges and door lock to crack, before completely breaking, shocking Zack. Fearing for his life, Zack frantically picked up a metallic rod near his bedside.


    The door was blasted from its hinges, revealing the enraged woman. Zack had no time to verbally defend himself, as this unfamiliar person charged at him.


    The woman brought back her fist in preparation for striking Zack. This visible retraction gave Zack ample time to react, and he did so by weaving her strike. Before he could hope to counterattack by attacking his opponent with the rod, Zack found his movements stalled.


    The ground and walls of Zack''s room exploded as what seemed to be several large plant roots burst through and wrapped themselves around Zack''s limbs.


    "WHAT THE HELL!?" Zack exclaimed as he was forced to the ground by the roots. The woman ruthlessly took advantage of his restrained state and jumped onto Zack''s chest with a flying knee. "AH!!"


    "How dare you come back, Zack!" The woman yelled after putting her face close to his. "Are you insane!?"


    "W-Who even...are you!?" Zack asked while having an expression indicating visible pain. "The director...already forgave me! Let...me go!"


    POW!


    Zack''s words provoked her ire to a greater extent, and she executed a powerful right hook to his face, which left a visible bruise on his face.


    "Ugh..."


    "I don''t know why the director would forgive you, but I don''t care!" The woman retorted. "You left us just like that! How can I forgive that!?"


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    "...If you were in my shoes, you''d have understood why I never wanted to return," Zack muttered. "If you were treated like an expendable soldier, you''d understand..."


    "...I knew it. You don''t remember who I am, huh?" The woman remarked.


    "...What?"


    "Yeah, I''m going to kill you, after all," The woman remarked as plant roots wrapped themselves around Zack''s neck. Zack''s expression strained as the roots began applying pressure around his neck and squeezing.


    Damn it, why did I even come here... Zack pondered as he was silently gasping for air while choking. I knew this was a bad idea, developer...But, I just wanted to get stronger, so I could be helpful for once.


    The woman gazed at Zack with a weird look of sorrow as he choked. As his air fuel gradually decreased, Zack''s eyes rolled upwards and his pupils moved to the back of his head.


    Zack''s immediate desire for air was finally quenched as he experienced a stroke of good luck. The roots surrounding his throat were strangely sliced apart, much to the woman''s surprise.


    "Hey, what are you doing to Zack, Rose!?" Octavius, who grabbed Rose and pulled her off Zack, questioned with shock. "Are you trying to kill him!?"


    Finally becoming free of the roots, Zack excessively coughed and gasped for the air he was deprived of. Octavius freed his friends of the remaining roots that restrained his limbs by secreting a slimy liquid capable of cutting through them.


    "Hey! Don''t stop me, Octavius!" Rose, as referred to by Octavius, retorted. Octavius had released Rose and stood in her way to protect his friend. "He''s a traitor, and he has no use to us! He can''t even use his blessing that well!"


    Rose was a young woman in her mid-twenties and fairly tall for her gender. Her light chocolate-colored skin complemented her almond-brown hair in a half-bun style. Her bun was kept together by a red rose hairpin in her hair. Like Octavius and Zack, Rose wore tight-fitted blue overalls which accentuated her curves.


    "What the hell do you think the director will do if he hears you''re trying to kill a fellow member!?" Octavius questioned. "There''s a strict rule about killing your mates, did you forget!?"


    "I should be asking how you convinced the director to accept Zack because he was extremely mad when he escaped," Rose argued. "You don''t need to help him just because you were good friends! Once a traitor, always a traitor! He''ll just run away again!"


    "That''s not--"


    "Cough, cough...I''m sorry, I don''t remember who you are...but it seems like you know me...judging by how you''re talking," Zack remarked. "But, is there anything I can do...to prove my worth? To get...on your good side?"


    Rose gazed at Zack with rage, gritting her teeth and clenching her fist.


    "C''mon, just give him a chance, Rose," Octavius pleaded. I don''t understand why she''s so angry towards Zack. She''s usually level-headed.


    A portion of the roof fell as the two waited for Rose''s response. The plant roots which burst through caused extensive structural damage.


    With a loud sigh, Rose''s expression relaxed.


    "You dare ask for a way to get on my good side, after admitting you forgot who I was," Rose remarked which confused Zack. "But fine, I''ll give you a chance to show me how useful you are."


    "R-Really!? I''ll do anything!" Zack happily stated. "What is it?"


    "I was planning on sending others, but you can work," Rose stated. "Sources have told us that the president is looking to jumpstart the Anti-Blessed Malefactor Corps, aka, the super soldiers. There will be a freight train carrying some modification serums later this week. I want you to steal it."


    "W-What?"


    "I''ll give you the details later," Rose stated. "If you fail or refuse to do it, I''ll deem you worthless...and you know what will happen in that case."


    Without entertaining any questions Zack may have, Rose departed his room.


    "Damn it, who even is she to boss me around, anyways?" The frustrated Zack questioned.


    "Well, she''s kind of a big shot," Octavius stated.


    "Huh?"


    "There are two underbosses in this organization hand-picked by the director. The underbosses are ranked right under the director, and lead all the regular members," Octavius explained. "I am an underboss, and Rose Thatcher is the other."


    "O-Oh..." Zack uttered.

 Ch. 10 - Hard Work

    The Enlightenment Program soldiers continued rescuing wounded civilians across the country. Their continuous use of their blessings showed cracks in their performance as exhaustion encroached on them.


    Rotary wing drones hovered around a destroyed city in England as first responders moved around. They were aiding grossly wounded civilians on-site and hastily carrying them into ambulances and medical vehicles, hopefully bringing them to hospitals for proper treatment.


    They were efficient with locating and treating these people, and the woman responsible for this efficiency was none other than Sariel Dell. She stood at the edge of a damaged building and observed the first responders tending to the civilians.


    Sariel''s exhaustion was apparent as she sweat profusely and breathed rapidly. As she watched the medical professionals, firefighters, and law enforcement carry out their work, Sariel''s eyes quickly shifted to the side.


    "There are more civilians here!" Sariel exclaimed as she darted to the rubbles of what once was a building. "They are trapped under the debris!"


    She garnered the attention of numerous first responders, who quickly marched up with first aid kits. Sariel wasted no time and threw off much of the debris in hopes of freeing the civilians. Despite Sariel''s visible exhaustion, she still had enough vitality to move the debris.


    The first responders and Sariel quickly removed the heavy debris and sharp objects, which revealed several wounded individuals. Not only were they unconscious from their injuries, but they were missing limbs and bleeding profusely. The gurgling blood in their mouths alerted everyone they were alive and breathing, albeit barely.


    "Jeez! How could these guys survive being buried under debris with injuries like this for so long...?" A firefighter muttered. The first responders ensured to stop the bleeding of these poor individuals, with the use of a tourniquet. They tied a cloth-like material around the stomps of their missing limbs to cease the external blood loss.


    Good. I got to save some more people, hopefully. It''s hard staying awake since I''ve been doing this for several hours...but I can''t stop. The exhausted Sariel pondered as she staggered off to let the first responders do their work. I have a shared vision with these infrared drones I created, so it''ll be easier to locate more civilians, but I''m not used to the shared vision, so it''s exhausting after a while. Plus, I''ve been running around and lifting heavy stuff this whole time. Man, I''m so tired.


    A concerned soldier and doctor observed Sariel''s fatigue as she walked off to locate more.


    "Sigh, as much as her help is valuable, I can''t help but feel sorry for her," The soldier stated. "She''s been working so hard for so long."


    "Yeah. I''ve never heard of a catastrophe in England like the Jack the Ripper incident," The doctor agreed. "Because of him, there are so many casualties. Anyone would be tired from this--"


    Staggering from her exhaustion, Sariel lost balance and began to fall, which shocked the first responders.


    Sigh, I am tired. I even lost my footing. Sariel thought as she fell. If only I can get a few minutes of rest--


    Sariel''s expectation of falling on the hard, rocky surface was denied as she felt a soft and squishy sensation. She had fallen right into the chest of her friend, Amber Hoss.


    "Oh, my! I came at the right time!" Amber exclaimed as she held Sariel from falling. "You nearly fell, sleepyhead!"


    "Amber...?"


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    Amber didn''t come alone. Her friends Ariel, Ivory, and Leo, along with her master, Meu Sharma, approached Sariel too.


    "I can''t believe you pushed yourself this far, Sariel!" Ariel exclaimed as her animal friends were searching the area, likely for wounded civilians. "You should have called us!"


    "C''mon, no need to lecture Sariel," Amber retorted. "She was focused on saving as much as she can! She did nothing wrong!"


    "...Yeah, I know. I''m sorry..." Ariel apologized.


    With Amber holding her, Sariel recovered herself from falling by pulling herself upright.


    "This is necessary, Ariel. I get to fulfill my duty as a soldier while pushing myself to the brink," Sariel stated as her special eye switched Roman numerals. "I want to achieve strength like Amber, so I must push myself."


    Mmph...Ariel said the same thing about pushing herself and becoming strong. I''m sure the scars the demon left on them are deep. Amber pondered. If only I didn''t take so long to defeat him...then none of this would have happened.


    "Still, it wouldn''t hurt to have friends by your side to help," Amber stated. "You can rest for a bit while we help! Right, Leo?"


    "Tsk, sure," Leo muttered with furrowed eyes. Damn, I can''t believe I went from spending my life to get revenge on Jack to something as menial as this. How boring and meaningless has my life become...?


    "Sigh, fine. I''ll take a slight break," Sariel relented as she staggered to a military vehicle before sitting in it. "But I''ll return in a few minutes."


    "Rest up well!" Amber happily advised.


    "I am so impressed with you all! Sariel, Ariel, and Ivory, your physical bodies have gotten stronger because you''re pushing yourself!" Meu exclaimed. "I''ll be able to unlock more of your life energy in no time! I''m so proud of my students!"


    Oh yeah, that woman is Amber''s ''master'' or whatever. Kreuger pondered as he looked at Meu with a side-eye. She''s far kinder than Master Idaten but just as mysterious. What the hell is her deal?


    "Master, I''ve been meaning to ask, and I''m sorry if this may be personal," Amber remarked. "But you love taking on students. Is there any reason for this?"


    With a sincere smile, Meu shifted her gaze to the sky, which confused Amber.


    "Fufu, that''s a good question, Amber," Meu responded. "I suppose it''s to make up for past mistakes."


    "Mistakes? What do you--"


    "C''mon, that''s a story for another time!" Meu interrupted. "There are still many people who need saving!"


    "...Right," Amber muttered. Hmm...


    *


    After being assaulted out of the blue by Rose, Zack was called to meet the director. The nerve-wracking thought of meeting the director was already bad enough for Zack, but his fear intensified with the sight of Rose in the director''s living room.


    "U-Uhm, I''m here, director," Zack stated as he nervously looked to the walls, deliberately avoiding the duo''s gazes. "What did you need me for?"


    The sight of Zack provoked Rose''s ire as her eyebrows furrowed with anger.


    "I heard you have met Rose Thatcher, albeit in a...unique encounter," The director responded.


    "Yeah..."


    "So, I''m sure you heard her displeasure with your presence," The director continued. "I can''t blame her since you did run off and abandoned us. We''d normally kill members who try such a thing."


    "Yes, exactly. Zack doesn''t deserve to be here." Rose coldly stated.


    Tsk, I don''t understand why she hates me so much. Zack thought. I want to prove my worth to get on good terms with Ms. Rose."


    "...Tch," Rose clicked her tongue as her expression slightly lightened up in response to Zack''s hopes.


    "That''s a good answer. Rose has reported to me that she has delegated a task other workers would have originally undertaken to you," The director responded. "I''m sure you''ve heard of it, right?"


    "...Yes, it''s stealing some super soldier serums in a freight train or something, right?"


    "Exactly."


    "But isn''t that an advanced task for someone like me who''s just returned here?" Zack argued. "And besides, you''d normally send me to assassinate people or destroy stuff with explosions. Retrieving something like super soldier serum isn''t my forte."


    "Tch, if you have a problem with the mission, you can just leave!" Rose angrily retorted.


    A look of frustration filled his face in response to Rose''s words. Of course, Zack wouldn''t mind leaving, but the sole reason for coming here played in the back of Zack''s mind; become stronger to avenge his deceased friend and to be of use to the living ones.


    "Zack, I''m sure Octavius has shown you my ''cyborgs.'' To equip my soldiers with cybernetic enhancements, their bodies must be strong enough to handle and use them, hence why such a thing as the super soldier serums are necessary," The director explained. "Of course, that would be of value to me, but it''s not like we don''t have access to serums already. Rose is an underboss, which means she''s your superior technically. If she gives you a task, you must fulfill it, and I want to see how useful you are."


    "...Sigh, alright," Zack stated. "I''ll do it."

 Ch. 11 - Hunger

    Nathan and Lilith temporarily halted their training with the NPC. Their dirtied clothing contrasted with the NPC''s pristine combat suit as they fought with all their might while the NPC casually battled the duo while sparring. In taking their break, Nathan and Lilith rested on outdoor chairs on their home''s front patio with the NPC, doctor, and blacksmith.


    "Wow, that training was pretty intense!" Lilith remarked. "It feels like we''ve gotten more in sync, right, Nathan?"


    "Hehe, you''re saying that because you want to fight with me in battles," Deducing her implications, Nathan responded.


    "Fufu, you got me."


    "Yes, you two have gotten more in sync. If only your other party mates would train with you," The NPC remarked. "Whatever, just ensure that you learn how to utilize your blessing techniques, Lilith."


    "Yup!"


    "Speaking of game characters, I already imagine Olivia''s still depressed, but what the hell happened to Charles?" Nathan questioned. "I haven''t heard from him since Jack''s death. Usually, he''d be looking for strong opponents to fight."


    "The developer has told me he''s relaxing in the home he was given. There hasn''t been anyone to entertain him since the death of the blessed slaughterer," The NPC explained. "So he''s waiting for the developer''s next mission to find entertainment.


    "I see," Nathan responded. I suppose that makes sense. Charles loves searching for strong guys to fight, and there isn''t anyone in this country to challenge him. Nathan pondered. Well, whenever the bastard developer gives us the next mission, I''ll leave the hard stuff to Charles.


    "So, what do you think the next mission will be?" The blacksmith chimed in with a question. "I hope it''ll involve lots of resources!"


    "Hmpf, you must have forgotten how sadistic the developer is. The next mission will be just like the last two because it''ll involve many people dying," Nathan retorted. "Well, I suppose the next mission may not involve as many deaths since Jack''s dead."


    "Huh, if the next major mission''s like the last two then you''ll have to take down a nation, which will involve countless deaths," The NPC remarked. "Why do you say it may not involve as much?"


    "Hey, I''m not saying that there won''t be many casualties, just not as much as if Jack was alive. Charles only likes fighting and killing strong opponents and not random civilians," Nathan explained. "With the help of Zack and Olivia, I''d be performing minor support roles, and I''d ensure to do everything to keep Lilith and I out of harm''s way."


    And I must ensure that Lilith won''t have to take any more lives than the one she did because of my weakness... Nathan pondered.


    "Sigh, that''s the mentality I noticed about you two when we resumed training," The NPC responded. "You''re relying on other people for your successes."


    "Hey! Nathan''s just trying to look out for us! There is nothing wrong with that!" Lilith defended. "Although I wish for him to rely on me more, I think his reasoning is perfect!"


    "Hmpf, why do you two think the developer bestowed these missions on you?" The NPC questioned. "Why did he create this entire game?"


    "I''ve been trying to find another reason other than it being for the bastard developer''s sick and twisted desires," Nathan sarcastically remarked. "But I remember him saying the chaos resulting from this game is retribution against gods for a sin committed a thousand years ago or whatever."


    "I remember that too, but can we be sure that''s even true?" Lilith asked. "It sounds like it''s just the developer''s delusions."


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    Nathan couldn''t help it as he blurted out a laughter in response to Lilith''s words.


    "Delusions or not, if you want to battle someone as mighty as gods, you would need immense...no, unprecedented strength. The gruesome missions and painful situations you''ve experienced have pushed your bodies to become stronger and sharpen your mentality," The NPC explained. "You will encounter more difficult situations and much stronger enemies, and it will be impossible to overcome them if you don''t possess a hunger to put yourself in risky situations to break through your limits."


    "...You''re saying this like we even want to fight goddamned gods," Nathan said. "I like you guys as NPCs, unlike the bastard developer, but I''ll never find the ''hunger'' to complete the developer''s missions."


    "Sigh, I''ve known the developer for a very long time, far longer than anyone, so you wouldn''t know," The NPC strangely said. "But I''m telling you two this for your own good."


    "H-Huh?"


    "I am unsure of the developer''s true motives, but I don''t think he''s the type to sit idly by if his plans aren''t moving along," The NPC continued. "He never was, so if he realizes that you two aren''t meeting his quota, I fear for what he''d do to fix that."


    The air was filled with solemnity and tension because of the NPC''s ominous words.


    "...You know the developer for a long time, but you''ve never taken of your mask," Nathan joked to lighten up the mood. "I''ve never seen how you look. Does that bastard never let you take it off?"


    "Uhm..."


    "That''s true, I''ve never seen your face before--"


    "The reason why the NPC keeps his mask on is a...long story," Before the blacksmith could finish her sentence, the doctor interrupted. "It''s pretty personal, maybe the developer will share it eventually."


    "...I see," Nathan stated. What the hell could have happened for him to wear a mask every day?


    "I see you guys have been having a wonderful conversation," The developer, who suddenly approached the group, stated.


    His presence garnered the attention of everyone and almost immediately, Nathan''s eyes furrowed with annoyance and he clicked his tongue which Lilith noticed.


    "Developer, why have you--"


    "You seemed to be talking a lot about me, NPC. If it weren''t for the doctor, it sounds like you''d have said something unnecessary," The developer stated.


    "No, I wouldn''t have said anything," The NPC assured. "You have my word, developer."


    "Heh, I''m glad to hear that. Mere NPCs aren''t allowed to give characters unneeded information, so keep your mouth shut," The developer coldly stated. The blacksmith and doctor had a slight negative reaction to that.


    Oh, so it''s not just us, huh? Nathan thought. Haha, the developer''s a bastard to everyone.


    *


    Skipping to other sources of Nathan''s hatred, Ada conversed with John Walker in a White House room. John watched as Ada relaxed in the bed and fixed her gaze on the wall-mounted television.


    Ada was watching a fashion-related channel, as several models briskly stride down a runway on the television. The flashes of light and cheers of the audience were intense as these beautiful models walked in luxurious clothing.


    "Pfft, look at these models," Ada teased. "They think they''re pretty. Haha, how cute!"


    "...You shouldn''t watch useless channels like those. They''re far inferior to you, obviously," John stated. "More importantly, how is Serena Collins doing?"


    "Heh, that pawn''s already wrapped around my fingers," Ada assured. "She''s receiving training from Charlotte now."


    "What kind of training would a regular human like Serena get to make her useful?"


    "Obviously Charlotte is ensuring that her acting game is up to par," Ada responded. "That''s all she''s good for, anyway."


    "Tch, I''m starting to get impatient," John stated. "I keep having nightmares of the Hayes family when I go to sleep."


    Sigh, why are you even telling me this? Ada thought. Do you really think I give a damn?


    "My life has become hell because of Nathan!" John angrily exclaimed. "I can''t go back to normal until I murder him, and I want to do it quickly!"


    "Tch, so loud."


    "Huh--"


    "Look, since I became president, I''ve been injecting funds into our research to produce super soldiers again. Jack and Charles have massacred them, so we need to create more so we can rebuild this country," Ada explained. "I told you already that I''ll make you Chief of Defense, so you''ll lead them all. If you''re going to be damn annoying and not wait, though, I''ll retract that promise."


    "Tch."


    "Right now, you''re nothing more than a mentally unstable super soldier. You have absolutely nothing," Ada berated. "If you want the reputation you once had and love, shut your mouth and let me do my stuff."


    "...Okay."


    "Good. Oh yeah, I heard that a new stock of super soldier serum is supposed to be shipped by freight train this week," Ada remembered. "I wonder which lucky participants we''ll use it on this time."


    Everyone had their own motivations to work towards, and so the days went by as they continued preparing. Before he realized it, the day of fulfilling his mission came for Zack Isaac.

 Ch. 12 - Train Heist (Part 1)

    The sun cast a rosy tinge over the morning sky as another day had dawned. The choir of birdsongs complemented the flurry of early-morning civilian activity. This activity extended to an unspecified railway yard in America, where several locomotives and rail vehicles were kept parallel to each other and parked on railway tracks.


    Several soldiers donning military combat uniforms were loading the wagons of a specific train with metallic crates.


    "That''s the last of the crates," A soldier stated as he stacked several crates in the train''s wagon.


    "Sigh, I can''t believe we got called out so early to load a bunch of damned crates," Another soldier spoke. "Let''s just hurry up and get back now."


    "Uh, how can you guys be so easy-going about all this? We''re responsible for securing something as valuable as these serums," A third, more nervous female soldier retorted. "What if we get attacked?"


    "Get attacked? What kind of stupid question is that?" The soldier questioned before pointing several wagons down the train''s interior. "Don''t you see who we got protecting us?"


    The female soldier shifted her gaze to where the soldier pointed and noticed two individuals casually lounging around. Their pearl white military combat uniforms made it clear that this duo was in another league compared to the soldiers who assisted in loading the crates. These men were both super soldiers.


    "The president has recently resumed the production of super soldiers, and those two are some successful experiments," The soldier explained to his female partner. "Of course, we''d receive adequate security while transporting serums."


    Sigh, but can we rely on super soldiers? The female soldier pondered. Weren''t they massacred by two S-Class criminals? Are they as good as we think?


    "Jack the Ripper is dead and the status of the battle-crazed killer isn''t even known. No one knows if he''s even alive," The soldier continued. "Who else in their right mind would attack us? Let''s get on with this and go."


    "Sigh, okay."


    *


    The soldier couldn''t be more confident but wrong, as Zack waited patiently for this day. The train tracks extended to a vast, dry, barren land where Zack stood idly by. With sweat streaming down his forehead, Zack utilized a shovel to dig a hole in the land beside the train tracks. He also had a jet-black backpack on his back.


    RING, RING!


    The buzzing of his phone interrupted Zack''s digging and he quickly jumped to answer it.


    "Hello?" Zack said.


    "Yo, Zack. Is everything going well over there?" On the other side of the phone, Octavius questioned. "The train will arrive in less than half an hour, bro."


    "Yeah, I''m pretty much done," Zack responded as he removed the backpack from his back. After opening the carry-on, Zack held it over the hole he created in the land. Turning it upside down, several dynamites, grenades, and other explosives fell from the backpack and into the hole. "I''ve made all the preparations, anyway. I just gotta refill the hole."


    "It''s a shame I''m not allowed to help you," Octavius stated. "Rose has it out for you, huh."


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    "It seems like she knows me from somewhere," Zack remarked as he started to fill the explosive-filled hole with the shovel and the dirt. "Unfortunately, I don''t remember her, though."


    "Oh? So that''s why she''s on your ass all of a sudden," Octavius said.


    "Maybe I wronged her somehow," Zack responded. "She might be all bitchy towards me, but she doesn''t seem to want me dead. Who knows, maybe I could become friends with her."


    "Sigh, you''ve always been like this," Octavius said. "I remember you whining about wanting to make friends--"


    "Alright! You don''t need to bring up unnecessary stuff," The flustered Zack exclaimed. "Let me focus on this stupid mission."


    "Haha, make sure you don''t destroy all the serums with the explosives," Octavius advised. "If you want to leave a good impression on Rose."


    "Uh huh, I''m hanging up now, later," Zack remarked. Keeping true to his words, Zack disconnected the call after giving his agreement. Although the land seemed tampered with upon close inspection, Zack ensured the explosives were covered. Octavius said I should try to salvage some of the serums. That''s good, it would have been much harder to save them all with my blessing. Zack pondered. Now it''s time to wait, I suppose.


    *


    Nearly thirty minutes had passed, and Octavius was correct about when the train would pass. The train thundered down the tracks at subsonic speeds, unaware of what Zack had in store for it.


    Zack, who waited at a cliff''s edge, noticed the oncoming locomotive.


    Here we go. Zack thought as he began rummaging in his backpack.


    While the locomotive driver piloted the train, he strangely noticed a bright and gleaming glow far ahead.


    "Huh? What''s that?" The driver muttered. "Is that the sun glare or something--"


    BOOOM!!!


    The sparkle he noticed instantly erupted into a gigantic explosion from the ground as if it were a massive trench explosion. The roaring noise of the blast surprised not only the driver but also the soldiers and even the super soldier duo occupying the train.


    The explosion violently released a burst of air which slammed into the speeding locomotive.


    "WHAT THE!?" One of the super soldiers exclaimed in shock as they stood up. No sooner had they stood up in shock than they lost the balance in their legs. The regular military personnel had no time to react, as everyone felt the train turning onto its side.


    "AAAHHHHHH!!!!" The screams of the soldiers and driver were audible as the train fell right on its side. Not only was the concussive force of the explosion enough to disturb the train''s balance, but it also completely obliterated a large portion of the land...and the train tracks.


    Sparks emitted from the train wheels as the train still moved at a high rate of speed while turning over. Banging sounds were audible as the train wagons crashed into the ground before the entire locomotive ended up in the resulting crater.


    The one responsible for this ''firework,'' as he''d call it, was casually strolling up. Zack seemed to have taken out after rummaging throughout his backpack a balaclava ski mask, as his face was completely covered and leaving his eyes visible.


    Yikes, the crash was pretty freaking terrible. Zack thought. There''s no way anyone would come out unscathed from that. I might not need to use any more explosives to defend myself.


    Unsurprisingly, the super soldiers were fine from the train crash other than some bruises. The train''s interior was a mess, as shards of broken glass from the windows and destroyed objects lay around.


    As they got up, they heard the pain-filled groans of their comrades. Profusely bleeding, fractured limbs, and unresponsive soldiers, this disastrous sight visibly frustrated the super soldiers.


    "What the hell?" One of the super soldiers exclaimed with furrowed eyebrows. "How the hell did this even happen--"


    They shifted their gaze to the outside and noticed Zack approaching the damaged locomotive. Their acute hearing had picked up Zack''s footsteps. Their frustration immediately morphed into anger and rage as they quickly rushed outside.


    "What!?" Zack uttered in surprise after being confronted by these two. Those uniforms...


    "Tsk, are you the bastard that did this!?" One of the super soldiers angrily questioned.


    "Uhh..."


    "Don''t bother interrogating him, Jacob. Interrogation isn''t our area of expertise," The other super soldier stated. "There''s no way someone wearing a balaclava mask and casually walking up to this wreckage is innocent."


    "You''re right, Luke," Jacob agreed. "I''m not sure what you hoped to achieve by doing this...maybe it was for the serums. Either way, we''re going to kill you."


    Damn it! Why didn''t I assume that super soldiers wouldn''t have been on that train!? The visibly frustrated Zack pondered. And it''s two of them! Rose probably knew that something like this would have happened! This has become a lot harder!

 Ch. 13 - Train Heist (Part 2)

    Amid the disastrous train wreckage, Zack had stood off against the super soldier duo who confronted him. The only indication of his nervousness was Zack''s furrowed eyebrows. His jet-black mask had obscured the remainder of his face.


    "Before I kill you, I''m going to rip that damn mask off your face!" Jacob exclaimed. "I want to know who dare attack us!"


    The modified soldiers spared no extra second conversing as they darted at their enemy. Zack had anticipated this, however, as he immediately tossed his backpack towards them.


    "Huh--"


    BOOM!


    The bag gleamed with a tangerine orange glow as it soared to the soldiers before exploding in their faces. The blast''s yield knocked the soldiers several meters away, and Zack immediately started running.


    It''s a good thing I didn''t use all the explosives in the backpack to take down the train. Zack thought. But super soldiers won''t go down that easily.


    "Ha! What the hell!? You kept some explosives in your bag!?" With an excited grin, Luke commented. "Nice reaction, but that won''t kill us--"


    Zack paid no heed to his comment as he hopped on top of one of the wagons of the crashed train.


    "Ha! Did you get cold feet now!?" Luke mocked as he dashed towards the train. "Don''t try to run now!"


    Luke couldn''t be more wrong about his assumption of Zack attempting to escape, as he was greeted by several explosives on the wagon. Knowing he would be pursued on the train, Zack had placed several explosives as traps.


    The super soldier had no time to react as Zack forcibly detonated the explosives which flung Luke many meters in the area.


    "Tsk, what are you doing, Luke!?" Jacob, who witnessed his partner getting blown up, questioned in annoyance. "Stop screwing around!"


    Without grace, Luke landed on the ground after bouncing several times. He sustained burns and bruises on his body from the explosion.


    "Tsk, this bastard likes bombs a lot!" Luke exclaimed as he stood up. Jacob, who witnessed Zack entering a train wagon, quickly chased him. He emitted a deafening shockwave behind him as Luke moved at supersonic speeds.


    Keeping some explosives on my person was a good idea, too. Zack thought as he ran past injured and dead soldiers through multiple wagons. I heard from Nathan, Charles, and Jack that super soldiers have a harder time fighting with regular humans nearby as they don''t want to harm them. Fighting the super soldiers in an enclosed area with a lot of their comrades in the crossfire would be beneficial for me. I have to find the wagon with the serums so I don''t accidentally destroy them all--


    Zack was alerted by the sounds of footsteps behind him. The intensity and loudness of the footsteps increased as Jacob approached Zack. Zack quickly turned around and was greeted by Jacob''s fist inches away from his face.


    With impressive reaction speed, Zack lifted his arms to block Jacob''s right hook. The two engaged each other in a short round of close combat. Jacob threw a flurry of punches which Zack narrowly weaved and blocked. The audible grunts made it clear that Zack had difficulty parrying the super soldier''s powerful strikes.


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    Shit! Of course, he''s strong. Zack thought. I''m at a big disadvantage in close combat!


    While Zack was focused on weaving Jacob''s punches, he received a powerful kick to the side of his right leg which caused Zack to stagger.


    "Ugh!"


    Jacob took advantage of Zack''s loss of balance and delivered a powerful straight punch to Zack''s chest. This blasted Zack right through the wagon and into another.


    Urgh...dammit.


    Jacob didn''t give him any resting time as he darted at Zack, but he suddenly noticed a grenade soaring toward him. Zack had defended himself by taking a frag grenade from a pocket on his overalls and tossed it at the enemy.


    BOOM!


    Jacob had protected his face with his arm from the blast, and his body recoiled a few meters. Zack regained his composure and suddenly grabbed a soldier on the ground who was visibly bleeding profusely from the crash.


    "I''ll murder this bastard if you keep attacking me!" Zack exclaimed as he clenched the soldier''s neck. "If you don''t want him to die, take the other super soldier and leave!"


    "L-Let...me go!" Due to his injuries, the soldier weakly questioned.


    The pin on the grenade he threw was still on, and the explosion was far stronger than expected. Jacob pondered as he sustained burns and bruising. There''s no way it could be that guy, right?


    "Hey!? Did you hear what I just said!?" Zack yelled. "Do you want him to die--"


    "HA! DO YOU THINK I CARE ABOUT THAT GUY!?" Jacob loudly questioned as he darted at Zack with no hesitation. Zack''s intimidating expression he had while holding the soldier hostage quickly morphed into shock as he watched Jacob charging at him.


    Jacob remorselessly delivered a straight punch so powerful that his fist went through the soldier''s chest and struck Zack.


    "UGH!" Zack uttered as he was knocked away from the force. He attacked me!? Even though I held his comrade hostage!?


    "It may have been frustrating that you caused such a disaster, but I couldn''t care less about these weaker soldiers," Jacob coldly stated. "A true super soldier does not need such emotions in battle."


    *


    Jacob immediately recollected a memory. His memory had set in the grounds of a military base, with himself standing with Luke in a squad of super soldiers. The super soldiers'' gazes were fixated on the person before them - President Ada Foster.


    "Greetings, my new super soldiers. I am so glad I got the chance to meet you all. Thank you for all the service you have done for this country before becoming super soldiers!" Ada thanked. "You all have been recognized for your accomplishments as soldiers, and so you have been chosen as some of the first super soldiers since the massacre of the previous generation."


    To think I got the chance to meet the president in the flesh. Jacob thought. She''s as pretty as everyone says...


    "I know you all will perform better than the previous super soldiers of the Anti-Blessed Malefactor Corps because I have a tip for you. The main reason for their downfall was not that their strength was lacking, they were just fearful of collateral damage or civilian casualties while combatting with a blessed criminal, so they''ll fail to give it their all in those situations," Ada explained. "I''d love nothing more than to preserve everyone''s well-being, but sometimes that''s not the case. Regular humans are too weak to survive and be protected. As super soldiers, your task is to eliminate blessed criminals, even if many sacrifices are to be made."


    *


    "Heh, thanks for the free hit though!" Jacob mocked. After landing on his feet, Zack rubbed the part of his chest that Jacob punched.


    "Tsk, it seems like you aren''t like most super soldiers," Zack stated. I didn''t think they were going to leave when I took that soldier hostage, but I at least thought I could get some free hits on them...Wait, where''s the other super soldier--


    Zack''s question was non-verbally answered, as Luke rushed through an entrance of the wagon at Zack''s blindspot. Zack heard his footsteps but didn''t have the speed to react in time. Zack received a powerful hook to his face, which violently blasted him through metallic walls of the train wagon. He violently bounced across the ground before stopping himself by planting his hands on the ground.


    "That''s for setting those traps on me!" Luke exclaimed.


    Zack frantically slipped his mask up to reveal his mouth, so that he could spit out heavy amounts of blood.


    Ouch...shit.


    "You''re not like most humans, either!" Jacob responded as he and Luke walked the train and confronted Zack. "That''s the fourth punch you''ve taken and you''re still alive and kicking!"


    Dammit...I''m in the open space now. This is what I wanted to happen the least. Zack thought. I can win this, but I''m going to get the shit beaten out of me...

 Ch. 14 - Train Heist (Part 3)

    Continuing with the train heist, Zack found himself in an unfavorable situation. Not only was he outnumbered, but Zack was forced to relinquish his only advantage of fighting them inside the train where his explosives had a higher propensity of affecting the super soldiers.


    "I guess you two don''t screw with your allies," Zack commented. "Since you just straight-up punch through one of them."


    "Heh, like I said, I couldn''t care less about them. They are pretty much hindrances," Jacob responded. "You were trying to use that soldier to your advantage anyway, so I made the right move."


    Tch, they got a lot of burns and bruises on their bodies from the previous explosives, but it doesn''t seem like they''re going to go down anytime soon. Zack pondered as he slowly reached into his pocket. I should just--


    "That''s enough talking!" Luke exclaimed as he rushed at Zack. "Time to die, bastard!"


    Luke engaged Zack in close-quarters combat and threw out a combination of right and left hooks. His fists roused up air gusts as Zack narrowly avoided a few. His evasion was short-lived, however, as Luke''s right hook connected square in the left side of his face.


    "UGH!" Zack grunted as he staggered. His grunt excited Luke as he followed up by kneeing Zack in the gut, causing him to cough excessively.


    "Ha! Is that all you got!?" Luke mocked as Zack fell to his knees and continued coughing. "I thought you were a bit strong--"


    BANG!


    Zack''s coughing and apparent pain were simply a ploy to get his opponent to lower his guard, which was successful. Zack suddenly pulled out an orange miniature handgun and immediately aimed it at Luke''s head.


    A loud bang was audible as Zack fired, and Luke''s cranium was engulfed in a rather large explosion.


    "URGH!! DAMMIT!!" Luke yelled as he squirmed around and grabbed his head. Zack had no time to follow up with another attack, as Jacob blitzed him and delivered a spinning heel kick to his head. The strike caused Zack to relinquish his grasp on his handgun. These super soldiers truly had a strong penchant for headshots.


    "AAHHHHH!!!" With a pain-filled scream, Zack yelled as he violently rolled across the barren land for tens of meters.


    BAM!


    Zack had no resting time, as Jacob rushed him and punted him into the air with a high kick. The sound of their blows was akin to loud gunshots. Zack''s ski mask had a slight red shade at the mouth area due to him coughing up blood.


    "Explosive ammunition!? You''re one sneaky damn bastard, huh!?" Jacob angrily questioned as he grabbed Zack''s collar in mid-air. "What other tricks do you have up your sleeve!?"


    Jacob remorselessly and repeatedly struck Zack in the nose, with each creating loud bangs. Satisfied with the beating he delivered, Jacob released his grasp on Zack''s collar and dropped him.


    "DAMMIT! THAT BASTARD MESSED MY FACE UP!" The explosion''s smoke, which engrossed his head, dispersed as Luke exclaimed. A large portion of his head sustained extensive burns, and he clenched his right eye, which was likely significantly damaged. "I''m going to kill him!"


    Hehe, it seems that...the explosive bullet had a good effect on him. I''m glad that Octavius gave it to me. Zack thought as he slowly pulled himself off the ground. But...shit. I''m starting to reach the limits of how much beating I can take, and I lost my damn gun--


    Much to Zack''s bewilderment, he witnessed the enraged Luke grab his handgun from the ground.


    "I don''t even care what you look like anymore! I''m going to burn you with your ammo!" Luke declared as he aimed at Zack.


    Ha! You picked up my explosive weapon, huh? Zack thought. Thanks for making it easy!


    Much to his surprise, Luke witnessed the handgun gleam with an orange light. As the light intensified, so did the super soldiers'' shocked expressions, which morphed into fright.


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    BOOOM!!!


    The handgun erupted into a large explosion spanning tens of meters of land. The blast packed enough power to ragdoll Zack and Luke several meters away and even moved the massive locomotive.


    "Freaking hell..." Jacob muttered as he slowly stood up after his ragdolling body came to rest. His sluggish movements contrasted with Zack as he sprung into action and darted toward the train.


    My body is much more resistant to explosive effects, so I''m quicker to recover! Zack thought as he ran. There were around fifteen explosive bullets in that handgun. There''s no way that super soldier is surviving that. Now I have to deal with the other...


    Jacob witnessed Zack running toward the train, but his gaze shifted to observe his partner''s condition. His expression quickly morphed into anger as he saw the body of Luke face-first on the ground. Luke''s body was extensively burnt, his super soldier uniform was in tatters, and he was without his arms.


    Jacob''s ire quickly amplified as he gritted his teeth and clenched his fist.


    That handgun randomly exploded! My assumptions were right, then! Jacob thought. "I''M GOING TO SLAUGHTER YOU, ZACK ISAAC!"


    His declaration was so loud that Zack could hear him from the train''s interior.


    He found out my identity? I suppose he put two and two together after witnessing all those explosions. Ada is far too influential... Zack reasoned. It looks like he cares about his super soldier partner, unlike the regular guys.


    Strangely, Zack ceased his movements and stooped to the level of a soldier who was killed in the train crash.


    "ZAAACCCKKK!!!" The rage-filled Jacob called out as he charged at Zack. "DIE--"


    BOOM!


    Zack had snatched grenades from the soldier''s person and tossed one at his raging opponent. This inflicted more burns and left shrapnel in the super soldier''s body and caused him to recoil backward.


    "You''re too angry--"


    Jacob completely disregarded the damage he received and charged at full speed to kill Zack. He delivered a full-power haymaker which Zack narrowly blocked with his forearm.


    "Urgh!" Zack grunted as the force behind the strike, coupled with his already battered state, caused him to visibly flinch. Jacob didn''t care though as he punched Zack square in the nasal area and followed up by grabbing his head and slamming it into the train wall.


    Zack''s head slamming into the train caused a bang that reverberated throughout the entire locomotive.


    "AAAHHHHHHH!!!!" Zack yelled in pain. His widened eyes were the only indicator of the pain-filled expression on his face.


    "Your damn mask won''t save you! I already know who you are, Zack!" Jacob yelled as he delivered a flurry of blows, which Zack had no choice but to block with his forearms. "You S-Class criminals are so damn shitty--"


    BOOM!


    Jacob, who was blinded by his rage, failed to notice the second grenade Zack held in his hand. Zack released his grip, and the grenade gleamed mid-air. Due to its proximity when exploding, both Zack and Jacob were launched in opposite directions into separate wagons.


    The two men found it difficult to stand up; it was evident that they were on their last legs, and this fight was about to end.


    Zack removed the ski mask from his face as its usefulness was outlived. Immediately after, he violently coughed up more blood. The extensive bruises and bleeding were now visible on his face after removing his mask.


    Dammit...I activated the grenade too close to me. The shrapnel affected me as well. Zack pondered as he observed his own body, which sharp, tiny shards were visibly sticking from. To think I''m having this much trouble with two super soldiers...how the hell do I expect to avenge Jack''s killer?


    "Ugh...you damn...bastard..." Jacob muttered as he staggered toward Zack. Simultaneously, Zack mustered the remainder of his strength and reached under a train seat. "JUST DIE ALREADY!"


    Jacob, too mustered his strength as he lunged toward Zack and began to choke him out. Jacob''s thumbs pressed deeply into his Adam''s apple, causing great discomfort to Zack.


    Zack was never the one to just keel over and accept death, as he shoved what seemed to be a crowbar into Luke''s mouth; that was what Zack had reached for under the train''s seat.


    Tsk! What the hell do you expect to do with that!? Choke me with it!? Jacob internally questioned. It''s not an explosive, so you have no chance! You''re going to be strangled to death!


    Zack''s eyes began rolling upwards as his airway became compressed due to the manual strangulation. The bloodshot eyes and gritted teeth intensified Zack''s discomfort.


    DAMMIT! EXPLODE! Zack internally demanded. You''re not a crowbar. You''re now an explosive, so act like one and save me!


    Jacob''s fingers pressed so deep into Zack''s throat that his thumbs began to pierce his flesh. Zack was deprived of so much air that his vision began to blur; he was drifting in and out of consciousness. This sight coupled with Zack''s clear agony from being choked, filled Jacob with delight.


    EXPLODE! NOW!


    BOOM!


    As if saved by the bell, the crowbar released a powerful explosion into Jacob''s mouth. The blast was potent enough to rip through his jaw and immediately roasted the cranium of Zack''s opponent. With the fall of Jacob''s lifeless body to the ground, Zack had claimed the long-awaited victory.


    Well, would it be a victory with the state Zack is in? As the adrenaline dissipated from his body, all energy left his arm as Zack dropped the smoking crowbar.


    Ah...I did it. I think...I''m getting the hang of making those stuff...explode. Zack thought as the blur of his vision intensified. I can''t...move, though. Maybe I''ll...take a rest...for a bit.


    After ending up victorious against the super soldier duo, Zack Isaac lost consciousness.

 Ch. 15 - Acceptance

    Leaving the disastrous locomotive crash site, the environment''s setting changed. Flames erupted violently and raged throughout, and with no end of ruined infrastructure and property in sight, this territory became a war-torn one.


    A younger Zack strolled across the land, passing numerous corpses. His blue overalls were stained with dirt and mud, indicating he didn''t arrive only when everything was annihilated.


    "Dammit...did we have to decimate this district just to take out some rival organization...?" Zack questioned in a low tone. He held his head down as he strolled, and his cold demeanor and bags under his eyes were rather telling of his current mental state. "It''s not like I have a choice anyway. I''m just a damn dog to the director. This still beats the life I had with my parents, though..."


    "Cough, cough...ugh,"


    The faint coughing immediately grasped Zack''s attention as he shifted his gaze. He observed a bloody, tattered, and dirtied clothing woman feebly crawling toward his direction.


    "P...Please...help," The woman muttered, causing Zack''s expression to brighten with bewilderment.


    What!? There''s a survivor!? Zack thought. She''s near all the wreckage, too! She must have been near when the ''war'' unfolded! How the hell?


    "H-Help...me...I''m begging...you," The woman weakly pleaded. Her desperate pleas for him to liberate this poor woman from her near-death state sparked something in this younger Zack. His expression quickly morphed from shock to resolve.


    "...I will."


    *


    After blacking out, Zack finally roused to consciousness. He found himself lying in a bed in a medical-like room.


    "...Where the hell am I?" Zack muttered as he stared blankly at the ceiling. "What the hell was I even dreaming about?"


    As he sat upright, Zack immediately noticed his current state. He wasn''t donning his overalls and only a pair of blue patient trousers. From the sides of his face to his upper body, Zack was wrapped in bandages.


    "Urgh...ouch!" Zack grunted as he clenched the back of his head and chest. The pummeling he received from the super soldiers left apparent aches on Zack''s body. Damn...I feel like shit right now, but where even am I? Did I fail the mission? I have so many questions...


    "Tch, those super soldiers... hit hard," Zack muttered as he clenched his body. "I could use some--"


    "Painkillers?"


    Octavius entered the room and finished his sentence, garnering the injured Zack''s attention. He had entered with a glass of water and a transparent bottle of pills in hand.


    "Octavius? What the hell happened?" Zack frantically questioned. "How did I--ugh!"


    "Calm down, you''re just agitating your wounds, bro," Octavius stated. "Just take some of these first. I got some cataflam pills."


    "...Alright," Zack relented. I shouldn''t be taking all these drugs, but I don''t have the doctor NPC right now. I have no choice.


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    Like a thirsty horse witnessing a lake, Zack grabbed a large handful of pills to subside his pain''s intensity. He of course used the water to ingest the painkillers easier, and his friend stood there and observed.


    Damn, he''s taking a lot, huh? Octavius pondered. If he were a regular human, he''d have overdosed with that amount.


    "Ugh, I think it''s working already. Maybe it''s because I took a lot," Zack stated. "My pain feels like it''s going away a bit."


    "That''s good."


    "So, you going to tell me what happened now?" Zack questioned.


    Damn, why are you rushing me? Octavius internally questioned. Can''t you at least let the painkillers settle?


    "Well, you were found unconscious at the train wreck. You''re lucky I persuaded the boss to check on you, and you didn''t get found by the military or something," Octavius explained. "But damn, you caused a freaking disaster. Destroyed a train, and you killed many military troops, including super soldiers...nice!"


    "Tsk, those super soldiers were a pain in the ass!" Zack retorted. "But what about the serums? Did you recover them?"


    "Well, about that--"


    "Yeah, we recovered them! The whole forty percent that remained intact from the destruction you caused!" Rose, who marched inside, sarcastically exclaimed. Her presence immediately instilled shock and fear in Zack. "Well done on failing to do it properly!"


    "Wait! I''m sorry! Please don''t hurt me!" Zack pleaded as he reflexively put his arms in front of his face and turned his gaze from her in fear. "I already got my ass beat from the super soldiers! Just give me a break!"


    "...What the hell are you talking about?" Rose questioned with a raised eyebrow. Octavius covered his mouth to hide his clear laughter. "I''m not going to attack you..."


    "Huh? You''re not?"


    "...Just be quiet. Even though most of them were destroyed, you still managed to retrieve some," Rose said. "I suppose you''ve got some use."


    "R-Really!? Y-You think I''m useful?" Zack questioned with sincere eyes, surprising Rose. A-Am I useful?


    "W-What''s with that face?" Rose stuttered as she turned her gaze from Zack. "Don''t look at me like that..."


    "Huh?" Octavius uttered.


    "Ah, so I see you finally woke up, Zack," The director said as he walked in. All heads turned in his direction as the director''s presence garnered their attention. "How are you feeling?"


    "Oh, director. I''m feeling better after getting some painkillers," Zack responded. I''m the center of attention all of a sudden. Everyone''s just coming to see me...


    "Great. Although you weren''t perfect, you still accomplished the mission. You even got rid of two pesky super soldiers, too!" The director commended. "You did a great job, Zack."


    "...Thank you, boss," Zack responded. I''m getting commended even by the director. I must be getting better. Zack thought. But it feels weird hearing the man who treated me like a soldier...a dog previously, commending me. I hate it.


    "As you can see, Rose, Zack has proved himself deserving of being a member of the Blueblood Corps," The director stated. "I hope you''ll treat him like one from now on."


    "...I understand."


    Sigh, I barely did it, but I managed to get accepted now. The developer would probably like this since he pursued me into returning to this hellhole. Zack pondered. But I wonder how Ada feels about this incident...considering she''s the president.


    *


    Speaking of Ada, she occupied her usual presidential office in the White House. Contrasting with the significant responsibilities accompanying the president''s role, Ada lounged around in her office-like chair with her legs on her desk and watched her wall-mounted television.


    There were no limits to Ada''s manipulative and narcissistic nature, as other black-suited agents were doing paperwork; they were doing her work for her.


    KNOCK, KNOCK!


    "Come in!" Ada stated brightly after hearing the audible knocking on her doors. Receiving permission, John Walker suddenly marched into the room.


    "What''s up, John! What do you need?" Ada greeted, although she kept her gaze on the television.


    "You remember the stock of super soldier serum that was supposed to be shipped to us via a freight train?" John suddenly asked.


    "Yeah? Why?" Ada responded. "Has it arrived?"


    "No...quite the opposite. The train met with a horrific accident, and the serums were destroyed! Some even got stolen!" John exclaimed in anger, shocking the agents in the room. "Some bastard must have attacked the train! The serum that I invented got snatched, and the useless super soldiers who were supposed to guard them got themselves killed!"


    "...Huh?"

 Ch. 16 - Stupid Incident

    After receiving the troubling report of the train robbery, Ada took it upon herself to venture to the crash site. Of course, Ada was not alone, as she was with John Walker. First responders also worked in the area, as firefighters extinguished any accumulated flames throughout the locomotive, and law enforcement and doctors aided in retrieving the fallen soldiers.


    They had hoped to locate survivors, but their efforts were futile; everyone had succumbed to their injuries in this disaster.


    Ada and John observed coldly as first responders put soldiers and the burnt and dismembered bodies of the deceased super soldier duo in body bags.


    "Tsk, what the hell happened here!? Did a goddamn missile struck the area!?" John exclaimed. "How could something like this even happen!?"


    "You''re not wrong about the missile assumption. It seems multiple bombs and explosions were the cause of this destruction," An investigating officer explained. "The potency of these explosions was likely immense if they were able to destroy the freight train, but even destroy the bodies and kill two super soldiers."


    "Tsk, how pathetic. What the hell has the super soldiers become recently!" John exclaimed. "Nothing has been going my way...for god''s sake!"


    "...I''ll be returning now," Ada stated as she turned around and began to walk away. "I''ll leave the first responders to do their work."


    "Huh? What the hell? Aren''t you angry?" John questioned as he followed Ada. "Some bastards screwed with our goods!"


    "What did you say? ''Some bastards?'' Why are you acting like it''s not obvious who it is?" Ada questioned as she continued walking. "You''d need at least missiles to damage super soldiers on the caliber of the two who died. But if it were missile or bomb strikes, the train would have been wrecked, so that''s not the case. The other option is them being attacked by an enemy carrying powerful explosives."


    "But there''s no way super soldiers would let themselves get hit by someone throwing bombs," John remarked.


    "Yes, so there are only two possible options. First, the enemy is a blessed user with powers that can aid them in hitting the super soldiers with the bombs," Ada assumed. "Or second, the enemy is a blessed user with an explosion-type blessing."


    "Tch, the only two people I can think of who fit those criteria are Zack and that bastard Nathan."


    "Yeah, it''s a good chance it''s Zack though. I would have assumed it was Nathan if there were spent ammunition...and other random objects he has stored in his inventory blessing laying around the crash site," Ada stated. "It''s Zack. Hehe, to think that insect would dare try to go against me after I graciously gave his useless self a second chance at life. But it''s fine still."


    "Is it?"


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    "I''m not interested in focusing my efforts on that insect, and I''m sure you feel the same way," Ada stated. "I couldn''t care less about the people who died. Nathan''s suffering is my biggest priority."


    "Oh, good. I was worried I''d have to wait longer because of this stupid incident."


    "Zack is friends with Nathan so if we''re lucky, we can get rid of him, too," Ada stated. "But he''s not a priority as I said. We can leave it up to the super soldier undergoing the Project Zero experiment...Rebecca, was it?"


    "Yes, that woman will be my greatest product yet," John said. "There will be no one who could stop her when she''s fully realized."


    "We just need to retrieve her from England when she''s done with her modifications," Ada remarked. "They can''t keep my rightful property, after all."


    *


    While Rebecca was on their minds, she continued her biological modification in the United Kingdom. The setting moved to a laboratory in England. Individuals donning lengthy white coats occupied this futuristic-themed lab, indicating that they were scientists.


    These scientists were experimenting and recording data on holographic screens; this lab was truly well-advanced. As proof of its technological advancement, a catatonic Rebecca was stored in a transparent vat, with blue liquid occupying the space and keeping her body in suspension.


    Various tubes were attached directly to Rebecca''s skin through the vat, allowing access to crimson red liquid to transfer into her body.


    "Ah, it''s coming along nicely. She passed the initial phase, which means her body has been stabilized," A scientist who observed Rebecca remarked. "She''s not close to finishing, but her body has exceeded the capabilities of even the blessed slaughterer."


    The chances of her getting past the first phase of absorbing the intense drugs were only five percent. The scientist pondered with a smirk. It seems she was born for this role!


    "The codename ''blessed slaughterer,'' was given to him, not because he was the first super soldier, but because he was the strongest and the biggest threat to blessed criminals," The scientist continued monologuing. "You will take the name for your own, Rebecca! You will return this country to the glory it once had!"


    *


    Nathan and Lilith relaxed together in the living room as the day closed. Like the rational individual he always was, Nathan ensured he watched the news for any updates.


    "Good evening, my name is Ashley, bringing you the 7 pm news. Although the darkest time of Jack the Ripper is behind us, an unexpected tragedy occurred earlier today," Ashley, the reporter, stated. "A freight train carrying numerous canisters of super soldier drug serums has met in an unexpected crash. This had led to the deaths of all passengers in the locomotive, including the pilot, thirty soldiers, and even two super soldiers."


    "What the hell? Super soldier serum?" Nathan questioned.


    "Investigators have said the incident has resulted from the train tracks being obliterated by bombs, causing the locomotive''s derailment. The super soldiers who attempted to defend themselves were too killed by explosions with powerful yields," Ashley continued. "Not only were the serums rendered unsalvageable, but some were stolen."


    "Super soldier serums? Is Ada...trying to revive the super soldier army that was massacred?" Lilith wondered. "If that''s the case...this may become bad in the long run."


    "Yeah, but why do I have a bad feeling that Zack''s the root of this incident after hearing explosions...?" Nathan questioned.


    "Y-You think Zack''s behind this?" Lilith questioned. "W-Well, the last time we saw him, he was pretty angry about Ada being part of the reason for Jack''s death...but I don''t think he''d be crazy enough to do that."


    "...Other than us, the bastard developer''s game characters are all crazy," Nathan remarked. "But I wouldn''t worry if I were you. I could take out super soldiers myself at this point."


    "Heh, me too actually!"


    "Pfft, as if I''d let you fight!" Nathan teased.


    "Aww."

 Ch. 17 - Vague Answers

    While the ghostly moon ran across the horizon, Zack spent the night in the hospital. With the aid of the painkillers, Zack was able to sleep soundly on the hospital bed.


    RING, RING!


    Along with the sun''s rays, which shone through the transparent windows and right on his face, Zack was awoken by the audible ringing of his phone.


    "Urgh, who is it?" As he sluggishly rubbed his eyes, Zack answered his phone.


    "Hey, Zack. It''s the developer," The developer responded on the other side of the phone. "Come on outside. I''ve got something for you."


    "Huh?"


    *


    As he ventured outside, Zack noticed the developer standing around the complex''s grounds. He witnessed the developer conversing with his friends Octavius and Rose. Judging by her furrowed eyebrows and negative demeanor, it was clear Rose wasn''t pleased with the developer''s presence.


    "Hey, developer. What did you--"


    "So you''re the one who stole Zack from us, huh!?" Rose angrily remarked. "How dare you show your face here again, developer!?"


    "Uh, I don''t think you should talk to the director''s partner like--"


    "Shut up, Octavius! I won''t give him any slack just because he''s the boss''s partner!" Rose exclaimed. "Who gives you the right to take Zack from us!?"


    "Hehe, I understand your anger, but we already worked things over with the director," the developer, who kept a friendly smile, explained. Plus, Zack has gotten stronger after working for me. You guys should be happy to get a more capable worker!"


    "You bastard! You think everything is fine and dandy!?"


    "Guys! What''s going on!?" Zack exclaimed, garnering the trio''s attention.


    "Oh, Zack! There you are! I heard that you''ve gotten better control of your ability! I also heard about the successful chaos you caused yesterday, so I want to reward you!" The developer stated.


    "Reward?" Zack questioned. "You''re rewarding me for something like this?"


    "What do you mean?"


    "Well, you normally give out rewards after destroying...I don''t know, countries!?" Zack said.


    "Ha! This isn''t a big reward, though," The developer responded. "This will be helpful for you, too."


    With open palms, an amethyst-purple aura manifested in the developer''s hands. The light morphed into the shape of gloves before dissipating its radiance. The developer had created a pair of black gloves.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    "Wow, what''s that?" Zack questioned in awe.


    "Just gloves made from a very tough and resistant material. It''s temperature resistant and hard to be destroyed," The developer stated. "I''ll leave you to figure out how to use it efficiently."


    "Huh, how did you even make that?" Octavius questioned. "Is that your blessing or something?"


    "...Yeah, it''s my blessing," The developer responded.


    "Tch, how dare you ignore me!" Rose exclaimed. "Zack is not your subordinate! He''s mine, so stop rewarding him like he is!"


    Zack''s eyes widened with shock in response to her statement. The developer, who noticed this, smirked in response.


    "Wait, aren''t you being too contradictory? First, you acted like you hated my guts, but now you''re berating the developer for ''stealing and rewarding me'' as if I belong to you," Zack said. "I''m getting mixed signals, you know. I don''t hate it though. I want to be friends with you after all."


    "Damn, you could have hesitated with that, bro..." Octavius muttered.


    Being called out by Zack sparked a flustered and annoyed expression in Rose.


    "Tsk, y-you think I care! I couldn''t give a damn about you!" The flustered Rose defensively exclaimed. "A dog should simply stay with his original owner is all! You know what, I''m leaving!"


    Having enough of them, Rose stormed off.


    "Uh, damn. I never expected this," Octavius remarked. "I''ve never seen Rose Thatcher this flustered ever."


    "As expected from my game character. No one can act normally when around them," The developer weirdly bragged.


    "...Uh huh. I just remembered I have something to do," Weirded out by the developer, Octavius said. "See you later, Zack. If you''re feeling better, let''s train some more when...the developer is gone."


    "Sure."


    Without wasting any time, Octavius followed Rose and left.


    "I see you''ve made some pretty good friends," The developer said. "They seem a bit normal...compared to the game characters."


    "Yeah, we''re friends, but our relationship probably became strained since I left. Rose seemed like she remembered me too, but I unfortunately can''t remember her," Zack explained. "But I still haven''t forgotten why I even came here in the first place. To avenge Jack and get stronger, of course."


    "Ah, that makes me glad. You are still devoted to the game and your fellow party members," The developer responded. "But it wouldn''t hurt to get those two closer on your side, especially Rose."


    "Rose? Why her?"


    "You might not know, but she sees you in a better light than she lets on. I can see it on the microexpressions that Rose shows on her face," The developer replied. "It''ll be easy to get her on your side, and you''ll have a very strong ally. Her blessing seems to be...what''s the word...unique?"


    "Well, I''d love to be friends with her," Zack agreed. "Not because she''s strong, though."


    "Heh, sure, sure," The developer replied before turning around. "Well, I''d hate to interrupt your training so I''ll be taking my leave--"


    "Wait, I have something I want to ask!"


    "Huh? Oh sure, ask ahead."


    "...So, what''s Ada up to these days?" Zack suddenly questioned. "Even though that woman is still considered as your game character...I haven''t heard anything from her."


    "Wow, I never expected that question! I felt tingles in my skin after hearing that question!" The developer jokingly admitted. "I can''t tell you exactly what she''s doing, but I will say this; Ada''s planning something that''ll be great for your guys'' character development!"


    "H-Huh? Can''t you talk less nerdy language and use actual English!?" Zack retorted.


    "You guys are lacking some development, so Ada''s being a kind character to her fellow party members to rectify that!" The developer continued. "I''m sure you guys will become motivated after! Trust me, I know all about her plans!"


    "Tsk, that didn''t answer--"


    "Sorry, but I can''t stay any longer!" The developer interjected. "I gotta go! Bye!"


    "Wait--"


    The developer suddenly disappeared before Zack''s eyes.


    "Damn it! I shouldn''t have asked about Ada! Now I''m feeling extremely nervous!" Zack exclaimed as he clenched the gloves the developer gifted him. "Sigh, there''s nothing I can do, I guess. Might as well find Octavius to train..."

 Ch. 18 - New Game Character

    After cutting his meeting with Zack short, the developer ventured to another location¡ªthe White House. He arrived to talk with the president of the United States and his game character, Ada Foster.


    What stood in his way though, was a security guard standing by the entrance.


    "Hello, I''m the developer, and I''m here to meet President Ada. She''s been expecting me," The developer explained to the guard. "So I''d appreciate it if you--"


    "The developer? You expect me to know who you are?" The guard interrupted. "You think I''ll let you in the White House if you refuse to tell me your name?"


    "Uh, didn''t the President tell you about me?" The developer questioned. "I''m not some kind of criminal, you know."


    "I''ve never seen you around anywhere. I can''t just let anyone enter," The guard interrupted. "I''ll verify your identity with the president before."


    "...Okay, I''ll wait, I guess," The developer replied. I thought I wouldn''t need to wait for whatever juicy information Ada has in store. Sigh.


    *


    While the developer was waiting for clearance to enter the White House, Ada was expectantly waiting. Sitting on a couch with legs folded, Ada occupied a lobby room with Serena Collins standing by her side. They donned black suits, but Ada''s jet-black fur coat gave hers a more luxurious impression than Serena''s.


    "Um, Ms. Ada?" Serena uttered. "Who are we meeting today?"


    "He calls himself the developer. I have no idea what his real name is, so I have no choice but to refer to him by his moniker," Ada explained. "I haven''t told you much about the ''murder game,'' but the developer is pretty much the overseer."


    "M-Murder Game?"


    "Hmm, it''ll be complicated to explain everything, so I''ll just say this. The developer and Nathan...plus the other S-Class criminals have partnered up to create that game, and as the name suggests, they commit various atrocities including murder," Ada lied. "The developer is the mastermind, but Nathan and his buddies are the ones to do all the dirty work with joy. They''re the ''game character,'' per say."


    "...Pardon my asking, but why are we meeting with the developer then?" Serena questioned. "Wouldn''t he be our enemy if he''s working with Nathan?"


    "Yeah, but I got in contact and convinced him to hear me out," Ada explained. "That''s where you will come in, dear."


    "R-Really?"


    "You will understand when he comes," Ada assured. "Remember, this is all to get revenge on Nathan."


    "...Yeah."


    RING, RING!


    Ada''s conversation was disturbed by the audible ringing of a telephone on the center table.


    "Oh, that may be him!" Ada excitedly exclaimed as she answered. "Hello?"


    "Good day, Ms. President. Sorry for bothering you, but there is someone outside claiming that you are expecting him," The security guard, who confronted the developer explained. "He''s calling himself ''the developer,'' and refusing to give me his true name."


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    "Don''t worry, just let him through," Ada assured.


    "A-Are you sure?" The guard asked. "I don''t think it''s a good idea to let in someone who won''t reveal their real--"


    "Are you saying that I''m stupid?" Ada questioned.


    "N-No! Not at all!" The guard responded. "Sorry, I''ll carry him to you now!"


    After clearing up the misunderstanding, Ada hung up the telephone.


    "Hmpf, the nerve of lowly security guards. Your only use is to guard the entrance...nothing more," Ada muttered with slight annoyance. "You have no right to question the sovereign one''s words. I should fire him, but I''ll deal with that later."


    Ada and Serena patiently waited until the developer was brought to the lobby. The guard took roughly five minutes to escort the developer to his destination.


    "Hello, my game character! I hope you''re doing well!" The developer loudly exclaimed, creating a flashy entrance. "It''s been a while since we''ve conversed, hasn''t it?"


    "W-Wait, game character?" Serena muttered with confusion. "But I thought--"


    "Tsk, this bastard has a weird tendency of calling people he likes ''game characters.'' It''s just the developer''s nasty narcissism, causing him to degrade everyone as mere characters in his world," Ada explained. "But I keep telling you that the only game characters you got are Nathan, Zack, and Olivia. Don''t you dare lump us in your sick delusions."


    "O-Oh, I see!" Serena responded as she was fooled by Ada. The developer gazed at the two women before smirking.


    Ada knew we would be meeting, but she kept this woman here. The developer pondered. And Ada felt the need to use her blessing on her. This woman must be important, huh?


    "Well, sure! You''re not wrong about that! I am pretty self-centered," The developer responded as he sat on a couch. "But anyway, I see a new face beside you. Am I to guess that''s what this meeting will be about?"


    "Yes! Her name is Serena Collins," Ada introduced. Serena gazed at Ada, clueless as to what she should say. "She was good friends with Nathan and Lilith until they coldly abandoned her, before becoming criminals."


    "...Interesting."


    "I graciously helped Serena to overcome the long-term sorrow those two caused her, and she''s now with me," Ada continued. "Now, I want Serena to become your game character."


    "Huh?" Both Serena and the developer uttered with raised eyebrows.


    "She has what it takes to be a great character!" Ada stated. "Considering the need for revenge would drive her."


    "Sure, but that''s not a good enough reason for me to accept her," The developer stated. "What''s in it for me?"


    "Heh, let''s be honest, then. I want Nathan to suffer for all he has done to me, and so does Serena," Ada admitted. "It was difficult to create a perfect plan, but Serena has made things easier. Her previous friendship with Nathan is a valuable asset."


    Isn''t the developer friends with Nathan? Serena internally questioned with a nervous expression. Should you be admitting this to him?


    "Lemme guess, Nathan and the others aren''t doing much since Jack''s death," Ada assumed. Well, other than that insect Zack. "They aren''t actively spreading chaos, right?"


    "Maybe."


    "It''s because they''ve been relying on Jack up until now. You want your game to be completed, but that won''t happen if the game characters fail to grow. For them to develop, they must experience hardships," Ada continued. "I don''t know what your end goal is, but I''m sure chaos is the path to that goal. Think of me attacking them as a wake-up call for the game characters."


    Ada''s ''rationalization'' placed a smile on the developer''s face, which intensified as he listened.


    "And if they die...well, they weren''t useful game characters, then," Ada coldly stated.


    "Heh, as expected of you, Ada. You are the most intelligent of my game characters. I knew you were creating such a grand mission," The developer commended. "I''ll accept Serena as my new game character. I''m happy to have you on the squad!"


    "O-Oh, thank you!" Serena replied.


    "Before you do it, I want you to save introducing Serena to the other characters," Ada requested. "Their reunion must come at the perfect time."


    "No problem," The developer replied. "I see you have no blessings, Serena. Is that fine?"


    "Yes, it''s fine. She doesn''t need a blessing," Ada responded. "She only needs to be by my side. Right, Serena."


    "Yes!"


    "Lol, alright."


    Great. Everything''s coming together. All that''s left is to make Serena a better actor than she already is. Ada pondered with a smile on her face. The developer likely thinks I''m doing this for his game, but I couldn''t care less. I will cause Nathan suffering like no other, before slaughtering him like the dog he is.

 Ch. 19 - Good Job

    After his encounter with the developer, Zack continued with his day. He decided to spar with Octavius, not before tending to his hygiene and changing into his standard blue overalls.


    "I figured you''d want to train, but I didn''t expect you to do it so soon," Octavius remarked. "You haven''t even removed your bandages. Don''t you still feel the effects of yesterday''s mission?"


    "You''re forgetting how tough a blessed human can be, and I consider myself pretty tough," Zack responded. "Besides, I''ve taken some more painkillers plus Prozac pills."


    "Heh, you''ve taken a ridiculous amount, ya know," Octavius teased as he rolled up the sleeves of his overalls. "If you''re not careful, you may become addicted."


    "Nah, I''m not that careless. The drugs are pretty helpful for my mental and physical state, but I''m a responsible young adult!" Zack responded as he took up a metallic rod. "Anyways, let''s get to fighting!"


    "Heh, no problem!" Octavius agreed as a chartreuse green viscous liquid began secreting from the pores of his right arm and hand; he had activated his slime blessing.


    "Alright! Let''s go!" Zack exclaimed as he darted at his friend. Without any hesitation, Zack began swinging the rod at Octavius.


    Weird squishing noises were audible as Octavius blocked the rod swings with his sludgy forearms. The slime that covered his arms reduced the impact of Zack''s swings, making parrying metal with his bare arms easier.


    "Ha! It won''t be so easy to hurt me!" Octavius yelled as slime whips elongated from the viscous liquid on his arms and attempted to wrap themselves around Zack. Zack tried to move away, but this was futile as his arms were ensnared by the slimy tendrils.


    "Heh, like I said before, it seems my blessing is better, bro," Octavius bragged as he clenched his fist in preparation to punch Zack. As Octavius rewound his fist, Zack was synchronously pulled towards him due to the slime tendrils wrapped around his arms. "Looks like I get the first hit today--"


    BOOM!


    Zack smirked in response to Octavius''s brag, and his metallic rod released a powerful explosion. The blast packed enough power to destroy the slime whips, which restrained Zack and blew Octavius away, slamming him into the walls.


    "Urgh...that was...unexpected," Octavius muttered as he quickly pulled himself to his feet.


    "Heh, what did you say about your blessing being better than mine, bro?" Zack mocked.


    "So you got better with making non-explosives explode, huh?"


    "Yeah, it seems all I need to do is visualize this rod as an explosive, and it''ll work," Zack responded. "It doesn''t always work, but I''ve gotten the best results like this. I feel like I''m close to mastering it."


    "That''s neat, but I don''t think you should get so happy that you landed a hit. I haven''t shown what my ability can do," Octavius remarked. "C''mon, let''s continue."


    Resuming their spar, Zack rushed at Octavius. His stride was cut short as Octavius fired a slimy ball projectile. With quick reactions, Zack attempted to bat it away with the rod. This was a poor decision, as the projectile splashed all over upon impact with Zack''s melee weapon and obscured his vision.


    "Ugh!" Zack grunted. Octavius wasted no time as multiple slime whips elongated from his left arm and smacked Zack in his side. The slime whips slapped Zack into the wall at incredible speeds, nearly surpassing the sound barrier.


    "Ouch, tch!" The annoyed Zack groaned before quickly pulling himself from the wall and darting at Octavius. He responded by shooting several slime mounds at Zack, but he managed to weave them all.


    Witnessing his projectiles being avoided, Octavius manifested more slime whips. Octavius had created six whips on each arm, which all rushed to ensnare Zack. Unfortunately for Octavius, Zack had anticipated this.


    As if he was a frog, Zack hopped right over the whips and into the air. Octavius''s expression morphed into surprise as he witnessed Zack soar in the air and land behind him. The slime whips quickly retracted into Octavius''s arms.


    BOOM!


    Zack swung the weapon, which released an explosion, and Octavius spun around in tandem. The blast blew Octavius away, but Zack found himself being yanked in his friend''s direction.


    What!? Zack thought as he realized what occurred. Thinking and reacting quickly, Octavius wrapped his arm with slime whips while Zack swung the metallic rod.


    Octavius, who kept on his feet although being knocked away by the explosion and almost losing his balance, quickly recovered himself and delivered a devious straight punch to Zack as he was flung towards Octavius against his will.


    "Ugh!" Zack groaned. The force of Octavius''s punch while being yanked towards him packed a punch. He was knocked away but was immediately forced back to Octavius again. Octavius had retracted the arm that secreted the slime whips that ensnared Zack, causing Zack to be yanked again.


    BANG!


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    Octavius executed a powerful hook to the side of Zack''s face, sending him into the wall. Satisfied with the attacks delivered, Octavius released the whips on Zack''s arm.


    "Urgh...you don''t hold back, huh?" Zack muttered. He observed the rod he held, which became rather burnt and blackened from the explosions. "Not even on a guy who just got back from fighting super soldiers."


    "Hey, you were the one who wanted to fight me. I''m not the one to blame, bro," Octavius responded. "Besides, I gotta show you my blessing is better. Mine is far more versatile than yours."


    "Oh, yeah? I guess your blessing is more versatile than mine," Zack agreed as he began rummaging in his pockets. "But I''ve got an idea how to close the gap now."


    Zack took out the pair of gloves he received from the developer. Octavius''s eyes widened, and he raised his brow in curiosity.


    "Huh? Aren''t those the gloves you got from that guy?" Octavius questioned. "What''re you gonna do with that?"


    Heh, I think I know why the developer gave me these. If it works like I think, I can be an even greater threat in combat. Zack thought as he slid the gloves on his hands. Using tools to perform effectively in fights...So this is how Jack and Nathan normally do it.


    "The training must be super good, huh?" Rose, who observed the duo by the warehouse''s doors, remarked which garnered their attention. "You two are making a loud ruckus here!"


    "Rose? Why are you even here?" Octavius questioned.


    "Well, the explosions were pretty loud and annoying," Rose responded. "As an underboss in this damn organization, don''t you think I''d want to check it out?"


    "S-Sorry," Zack apologized.


    "...Tsk, I wouldn''t have come here and be all naggy if it weren''t for what''s happening today," Rose said.


    "What''s happening today?" Zack questioned.


    "Oh yeah, the Silverdust gang is shipping some drugs today, huh?" Octavius stated as he rubbed his chin. "I forgot about them."


    "Silverdust...is that the one who damaged some of the director''s drugs the last time?" Zack asked.


    "Yeah, that''s them," Octavius responded. "I hope they don''t mess up this time. If they know what''s good for them, that is."


    "The Silverdust brothers aren''t here. They sent a member to deliver the goods," Rose stated. "You guys can continue with your damn noisy training after. I''m going to make sure the goods are accounted for."


    "I gotta come since I''m an underboss, too," Octavius replied. "You wanna come, Zack?"


    "Uh, guess I will then," Zack responded as he removed the gloves from his hands. "Since I have nothing better to do."


    *


    Shifting to a different side of the complex, the bustling noises of fellow blue-overalled workers were audible near a warehouse. Coming in twos, these men carried large containers from a stationary truck into the warehouse.


    Observing them was an individual donning silver-colored overalls. He was the Silverdust gang member Rose said would deliver the ''goods.''


    This man was not by himself, as the director, who observed his men carrying the drugs to be stored in the warehouse, stood beside him.


    "Ah, it seems all the drugs are accounted for this time," The director stated. "You can tell your bosses to keep up the work. This is the performance I want to see from them."


    "Not a problem, director," The Silverdust member responded. "Not the least bit a problem..."


    "The payment will be settled normally," The director responded. "If there''s nothing more, I''ll return to my home. My underbosses should be here any minute."


    "Yeah, I know."


    Just as he spoke, the two witnessed Rose, Octavius, and Zack approaching.


    "Ah, there they are," The director said with a delighted smile. It seems they brought Zack, too, huh?


    As Zack strolled, he observed his fellow workers carrying the large containers. He noticed the drug containers were without lids, revealing transparent packs of snow-white powder.


    "Damn, that''s a lot of drugs," Zack uttered. "What drugs are they supposed to be?"


    "Cocaine," Rose bluntly stated.


    "O-Oh," Zack stuttered. I''m staying far away from that, then...


    As he continued to observe, Zack''s expression morphed into pure bewilderment. He was so strangely surprised that he stopped in his tracks.


    "Huh? What the hell did you stop for?" Rose questioned.


    "Is there something wrong, Zack?" Octavius asked.


    "...Yeah, there is something wrong!" Zack responded before darting into the warehouse, shocking everyone who witnessed him.


    "What!?" The director uttered in confusion.


    "Get outta the way!" Zack yelled as he pushed a worker from a drug-filled container.


    "Tsk, what the hell is your problem!?" The worker angrily questioned as Zack began rummaging in the container. "Do you want to die!?"


    The worker''s threats didn''t daunt Zack as he continued searching, even throwing out several of the cocaine packages onto the ground. This enraged not only the workers but even Rose. Octavius, too, was rather shocked by Zack''s strange behavior.


    What the hell has gotten into that kid!? The director thought. He was so surprised by Zack that he was speechless.


    "W-What is he doing?" The Silverdust member questioned as he seemed strangely unnerved. "Isn''t anyone going to stop him?"


    "HEY! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?" Rose shouted as she rushed towards Zack. "WHO GAVE YOU THE RIGHT TO TOUCH THOSE DRUGS, HUH!?"


    "Wait!" Zack yelled as he held a cocaine package in the air. "I found it!"


    "What the hell did you find!?" Rose questioned. Her angered expression morphed into pure shock as Zack tore open the package. The snow-white rain of the wasted powder falling to the ground didn''t surprise Rose. What surprised her was the numerous tiny orbs falling along with the cocaine.


    "W-What?" Rose uttered with confusion. Her bafflement was matched by the widened eyes and confused expressions of the workers, Octavius, and the director. The Silverdust member who witnessed this immediately broke out into sweat.


    "I knew I sensed some when we walked up!" Zack remarked. "These are bombs! Pretty powerful ones, too!"


    "Dammit! Who the hell are you!?" The Silverdust gang member yelled as he frantically pulled a remote from his coat. This remote was likely the detonator. "How could you know that!"


    "Wait!" Octavius yelled, but it was futile. The Silverdust member had already pressed the button to detonate the bombs.


    Rose, Octavius, and many of the workers reflexively put their arms over their faces to brace for the explosion, but to their confusion, nothing happened.


    "Huh?" The Silverdust member uttered with confusion.


    "I''ve got a volatile manipulation blessing, which allows me to manipulate explosions," Zack stated. "Most never think of it, but I can also stop things from exploding. The bombs are already deactivated."


    "Wha--"


    A combination of plant roots that emerged from the ground, coupled with slime tendrils, which manifested from the slime secretion on Octavius''s body, ensnared the Silverdust member.


    "AAAHHHHHHHH!!!!" The member yelled in agony as the tendrils and plant roots had a very tight grip on his body.


    "Heh, good job, bro," Octavius commended.


    "...Yes, you did a good job," Rose agreed. "You saved us."


    Hearing not only Octavius''s commendation but especially Rose''s, Zack smiled delightedly.


    "Hmpf, good grief. Just when I thought you guys would have gotten your act together, you planned to assassinate me and my valuable men with explosives," The director stated as he coldly stared at the screaming Silverdust member. "This will not go unpunished. Silverdust gang."

 Ch. 20 - Going to War

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    The Silverdust Brothers, the bosses of the Silverdust gang and the masterminds behind the attempted assassination, were relaxing in their headquarters.


    Unlike BlueBlood Corp''s massive complex, the Silverdust gang was less developed. It had fewer warehouses, vehicles, and land. It was clear they were lacking compared to the director''s organization.


    Nestled in the center of a woodland, their living quarters contrasted the rest of their base, as it was a luxurious mansion. The infrastructure was made of concrete and embraced by the surrounding nature. They had strategically kept their headquarters hidden in the forest and invested heavily in the mansion. Who wouldn''t want a luxurious home, after all?


    "Tsk, Steve should have called us by now," Noah remarked. The two Silverdust brothers relaxed in the living room of their mansion. "What the hell is taking him so damn long?"


    "...It''s a delicate matter, so I''m sure he''s taking his time," William responded as he smoked a cigar. "You can''t rush something like this."


    "Tsk, I guess. Steve better accomplish this perfectly. Those bastards can''t get away with deducting our pay last time because of a stupid mistake!" Noah said. "They all should go to hell!"


    "I agree. I never liked them anyway. Forcing us to become their manufacturers just because they had more power was never an enjoyable experience," William expressed. "Either way, when Steve kills the director and underboss, we can absorb the rest of the workers there. There will be no one to stop us."


    *


    The Silverdust brothers were unaware, but Steve had failed the assassination. He failed so badly that he was brought into a dimly lit room for ''questioning.'' By questioning, the poor fool was being tortured by the director and his underbosses.


    "AAAHHHHH!!! ST...OP!!!" Steve yelled in pure agony. His scream was akin to a dying bird.


    He was without the shirt of his overalls, and nasty bruises were visible on his face and his upper body. Strapped to a chair, Steve was deprived of any chance to escape. The walls and floors of the room were stained with blood.


    "Shut your damn mouth, bastard!" Octavius yelled as he smacked Steve across the face with a hammer. He struck him with enough force that blood and several teeth violently escaped Steve''s mouth.


    With blood flowing from his mouth and a blurry vision, Steve drooped over as if he were drifting from consciousness.


    "Hey, don''t you dare go to sleep now!" Rose yelled as she held Steve up by the hair. She suddenly injected a syringe containing a transparent liquid into the side of his neck.


    "...Cough, cough!" Steve coughed up blood as he sat up once more.


    "Heh, the adrenaline is pretty effective, huh? It''ll keep you conscious!" Rose remarked. "But that''s the second dose you''ve gotten of this heavy stuff. If you keep getting any more, your heart will explode. So tell us why the Silverdust gang tried killing us!"


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    "I ain''t...telling you...shit." The brutalized Steve struggled to mutter, sparking the ire in Octavius and Rose.


    "Tsk, fine then!" Rose yelled as she picked up a bloodstained knife from a desk tray and remorselessly plunged it into Steve''s hand.


    "AAAHHHHHH!!!!" Steve screamed.


    While they tortured him, Zack and the director observed coldly.


    This is a pretty gruesome sight. Zack thought. Well, Jack did worse, though. Oh yeah...Jack.


    Upon remembering his deceased ''friend,'' Zack''s demeanor became negative. He frantically took out several pills from his pocket and quickly swallowed them to subside the sudden onset of sadness.


    "Steve, why are you so adamant in keeping your mouth shut? You are just putting yourself through more suffering," The director remarked. "You won''t be protecting the Silverdust gang by keeping quiet, so just tell us. It will end better for you if you do."


    Steve kept silent as he processed what to say. His audible breathing made it clear that he was trying to muster the strength to speak.


    "...Are you...going to...let me...live?"


    "That depends on if you tell me," The director responded.


    "Heh...he...like hell...you''re going to...let me live, but I...don''t care," Steve muttered. "You deserve...to die."


    "Did they order you to bomb me just because I deducted their payment last time?" The director questioned. "Because I don''t remember doing anything else to wrong them--"


    "Don''t make...me laugh. We tried...to become successful...drug dealers...but you and...your power-hungry self...forced us...to do your bidding," Steve weakly retorted. "Because of your hold...on us...we couldn''t...grow. We always...wanted to get revenge...some way...but deducting our payment...because of a simple...accident...was the catalyst..."


    Huh...that''s kind of like me. Zack thought. I was also forced to work for this guy...let''s not think about that.


    "I see. How unfortunate," The director remarked as he turned around. "I''ve heard enough. You guys can put him out of his misery."


    In response to his words, Rose and Octavius focused their cold gazes on the badly injured Steve.


    "I hope...you die a sad death..." Steve weakly said as Rose put a handgun to his forehead. "Where you witness...your organization...fall to...the ground."


    "What are you going to do after this, boss?" Zack questioned.


    "We have to begin preparation, Zack," The director responded as he walked through the door.


    BANG!


    "We''re going to go to war."


    *


    The Silverdust Brothers awaited the news about the assassination, but their patience started to waver as several hours passed.


    "Dammit! What the hell is Steve doing!?" Noah exclaimed with anger. "It''s been seven hours! How has he not reported to us yet!?"


    "I don''t know...there must have been a hiccup or something," William responded. "But what could it be...?"


    "You don''t think he got caught? Right?" Noah wondered. "If that''s the case, wouldn''t things end badly for us?"


    "Nonsense, there''s no way he''d be caught. We packed bombs with enough power to blow away entire blocks in a single cocaine pack, which was placed at the bottom of one of the containers," William responded. "It''s unlikely that they''d open and search them all before accepting it from Steve. Even if they found out, Steve would have blown himself up with all of them anyway."


    "You''re right...maybe I''m just being too anxious--"


    DING, DONG!


    The sound of their doorbell was audible, which garnered the brothers'' attention. Upon opening the door, they observed a large open box at their doorway, raising confusion among the men. Their confusion quickly morphed into pure fright as they witnessed what was inside the box.


    It was none other than the corpse of their subordinate, Steve.


    "...Ah, shit," William muttered. "This won''t be good."

 Ch. 21 - Revenge

    Shifting to John Walker, he had left the side of Ada to pursue a task of his own. For the first time since undergoing his body modification, John had reunited with one of his super soldiers. It was none other than the Deathbringer, Claw.


    Well,  well, well. It''s been a while, huh, Claw?" John remarked as he met Claw in an emergency room. Claw seemed to be in optimal health, however, as the reason they met in the hospital was because of his boss, the Queen Deathbringer.


    Lying unconscious in the hospital bed, she remained in the emergency room as a patient. Most of her face and her body were wrapped with bandages, suggesting that the Queen Deathbringer found herself in a terrible incident. Claw sat on a chair, close by his boss.


    He too donned bandages from his fight against the battle-crazed killer.


    "Oh, so you finally finished your modifications, huh?" Claw stated as he shifted his gaze to John. "You survived it despite your age..."


    "Hatred is what kept me going," John replied. "Hatred for the damn Hayes family."


    "...Why did you come here for?"


    "Well, I did want your help, but the sight of you and the Queen Deathbringer disgusts me," John remarked. "It made me remember how far the super soldiers have fallen."


    "What? Aren''t you a super soldier now!? Those scars on your face are proof of that! You''re no longer in any position to belittle me! You''re one of us now!" Claw retorted. "After hearing what you did to the S-Class criminal Nathan Hayes and his parents, I''ve already lost respect for you. You''re making it even worse now!"


    "Tsk, don''t forget I was the one who created you! I did!" John angrily retorted. "I created the Anti-Blessed Malefactor Corps to be an unstoppable power, and yet you were massacred by a few criminals. Who would have imagined I''d be meeting two blessed hunters in a damn infirmary now!?"


    "Tsk, don''t speak ill about my boss. She lost two of her subordinates to the battle-crazed killer and has been on the edge ever since," Claw said. "...She wouldn''t even be here now if she didn''t go find Charles on her own accord..."


    *


    Rewinding to an unspecified point in the past, where Charles was alone in a forest. He used the trees as punching bags as he repeatedly struck them, destroying the branches.


    The frantic chirping of birds was audible as they quickly fled the forest trees upon hearing the ruckus Charles had created.


    "Sigh, I can''t believe I''m back to punching trees to pass the time. The last time I did this was when I trained to face the blessed slaughterer, but now there''s no reason for me to continue training," The depressed Charles remarked as he looked at the destroyed trees littered about the ground. Charles''s fists steamed from the force and speed he struck the trees. "It''s not like I can get stronger like this now. The only potential fun fight would be the Amber woman who killed Jack, but I have no idea when I''d get to fight her..."


    "...Charles Warner."


    "Huh?" Charles uttered with a raised eyebrow before shifting his gaze to the direction of the voice. His confusion intensified as he witnessed the source of the voice approaching him. It was none other than the Queen Deathbringer, and she seemed rather angry.


    "I finally...found you. I''m sure you remember me, right?" The Queen Deathbringer questioned. "You murdered two of my close subordinates and comrades. I will murder you for it!"


    "...I remember you. We fought back in the United Kingdom," Charles responded. "I gave you a chance to live because I think you''d be a better fight if you get stronger or try something different, but it seems like you''re doing something dumb right now!"


    "Tsk, your battle-crazed personality is purely sickening, and will be your downfall!" The Queen Deathbringer retorted. "I will kill you right here!"


    BANG!


    Their fight encompassed the massive forest they occupied, which was pulverized. While an intense battle was enjoyed, the victor was quite obvious.


    "See, I knew you were doing something rather stupid!" Charles berated as he held the Queen Deathbringer by the head and pushed her up into a tree. "You relied too much on those razor-sharp threads, but I already got used to those since the last time we fought!"


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    They both had suffered extensive injuries. Charles had deep lacerations and bruises all over his body, but he had a smile on his face which contrasted with his condition. His muscle mass was much greater, and pulsating arteries on his body were rather pronounced. He was utilizing his physical enhancement - stacking currently.


    The Queen Deathbringer was far more bruised, though. She sustained black eyes, discolored bruises on her face and profusely bleeding. The super soldier also suffered extensive broken bones from this fight.


    "You can''t kill me, but I''ll give you one final chance since you didn''t do so bad although you were alone!" Charles continued. "I''ll let you live this time, so don''t you dare come again and challenge me until you can truly entertain me!"


    The Queen Deathbringer had no choice but to listen to his words and gaze at Charles with a murderous glare as her face was gripped.


    *


    "...After that, she managed to return to base before passing out," Claw stated as he gazed at the sleeping Queen Deathbringer. "Sigh, I understand she wanted to protect me, but couldn''t she have relied on me, too?"


    "Why do you think she didn''t tell you? The last time she had you and Shadowgun on her side when fighting Charles, right?" John questioned. "You two just couldn''t keep up with the Queen Deathbringer who couldn''t keep up with Charles. You useless dogs truly have fallen too far."


    "Would you be quiet--"


    "Don''t you want to prove your worth?" John asked. "Or will you keep failing at what you were created to do?"


    "What the hell are you talking about?"


    "The president wants to finally clean up this damn country, which means eliminating the rest of the S-Class criminals," John remarked. "But we have to defeat the brains, Nathan Hayes."


    "Tsk, you''re saying this because you just hate Nathan," Claw replied as his eyes narrowed with suspicion.


    "Just face it, Nathan is a criminal now. My grudge is meaningless in this situation," John replied. "In any case, President Ada requires your help. Are you willing to finally fulfill your role of eliminating blessed criminals?"


    Hearing that, Claw took a glimpse of his sleeping boss.


    "Sigh, okay," Claw agreed. "What do you need?"


    *


    With the attempted assassination and the torture and killing of a Silverdust member, any semblance of camaraderie the two illegal organizations possessed was now destroyed.


    After receiving their man as a ''package,'' the two Silverdust brothers began deliberating on what they should do.


    "Damn it! How the hell did Steve get caught!" The panicked Noah yelled. "We''re screwed!"


    "...Tsk, it''s all my fault. I was the one who came up with the risky idea of trying to bomb them," William responded. "I''m sorry, brother."


    "There''s no time to worry about that," Noah yelled. "We should move countries while we can!"


    "Hmm, that''s true. We have the time to pack our stuff and leave," William said. "They likely won''t want revenge today, but will attempt something very soon. We should get out of here while we can."


    "...Sigh, I wish we didn''t have to leave this mansion," Noah said. "Bringing women and hosting parties...I loved this home."


    "Yeah, but we''ll quickly get our bearings in another country. All we have to do is lay low for a while," William responded. "It won''t be hard for us to set up business elsewhere."


    Although they decided to leave rather quickly, it was still too late. The director had already made his move.


    The Silverdust headquarters lay amid the forests, and vrooming sounds were audible as a sedan approached the outskirts.


    "Huh, whose car is that? I don''t remember anyone owning a red sedan," A man donning silver overalls uttered as he witnessed the sedan approaching. "What''s going on?"


    Other silver overall-wearing members minded their own business as they moved about the headquarters. No one had any clue what would happen in the coming moments.


    The man who witnessed the car approaching observed it parking at the gates of the headquarters.


    "Tsk, who the hell are you?" The man questioned as he approached the car. "You cannot park here--"


    The gang member''s expression morphed into surprise as he witnessed the entire vehicle starting to gleam.


    "Wha--"


    BOOOOOOM!!!!


    The car expanded into a devasting explosion, which decimated the gates, and surrounding forest trees were destroyed or blown away. Several of the warehouses and other infrastructures were reduced to the ground by the blast''s yield.


    "What the hell was that!?" Noah loudly questioned. His bewilderment was matched by his brother as they looked out their window. They quickly gathered what occurred, as they witnessed many of their land and property destroyed and up in flames.


    "W-What!?" William stuttered with fright. Noah was too speechless to respond.


    The cause of the explosion was none other than the wielder of the volatile manipulation blessing, Zack Isaac. With Rose and Octavius, Zack approached the severely ruined Silverdust gang.


    "Damn! That was a pretty powerful explosion!" Octavius remarked with a bright smile on his face. He also covered his ears, likely to shield his external organs from the loud blast.


    "It looks like they really wanted to kill us, huh," Rose added. "To think their bombs were actually this strong."


    "Well, Zack''s blessing does give explosions a bit of a boost!" Octavius replied. "But they''re still strong either way."


    "Sigh, I can''t believe I got roped up into this," The visibly annoyed Zack remarked. "This ain''t even my battle..."


    "What the hell are you talking about? You''re a Blueblood gang member, and one of the only powerful blessed users, so, of course, this is your battle," Rose responded. "And besides, the director knows you''re good for missions like this. Even more so now that you can control your blessing a bit better."


    "Yeah..."


    "Remember, we don''t have to kill everyone. If there''s any we can recruit in our gang, we should allow them," Octavius stated. "But the Silverdust brothers will die today."


    "Of course, they will," Rose responded.


    "...Sigh, let''s get this over with, I guess," Zack responded as he slipped his hands into the gloves the developer handed him. This will be a good test of how strong I am right now.


    Like a pack of wolves hunting prey, the trio hastily marched into the Silverdust gang.

 Ch. 22 - Zacks Growth? (Part 1)

    Before their sudden, ostentatious, and violent assault on the Silverdust Gang, the trio had strategized their attack.


    "Wait? You want my help to attack the gang?" Zack questioned. Zack, Rose, and Octavius met with the director in the comfort of his own to strategize. "Uh, I don''t know if it''s a good idea to rely on me."


    "Tsk, what''s with that low self-esteem?" Rose questioned with annoyance.


    "W-Well, I''m just learning how to use my blessing effectively, so I may not be pretty reliable," Zack explained. "If I don''t have access to a bunch of explosives, I guess I''m pretty useless, haha..."


    Rose''s expression instantaneously morphed into anger as her eyebrows furrowed and she gritted her teeth.


    "Would you stop with that damn pity talk!" Rose snapped, surprising Zack. "Who the hell said you were useless, huh?"


    The three men gazed at Rose with surprise, sparking confusion in her as she returned their gazes.


    "...What?"


    "Zack''s right. You do give off mixed feelings," Octavius teased. "Do you hate him or not?"


    "Shut your damn mouth, Octavius!" Rose retorted. "We have no time for this!"


    The director smoked a cigar as the two bickered.


    "Heh, but Rose is right, though. Don''t think so low of yourself, Zack," Octavius responded. "Besides, I thought you wanted to prove your blessing is better than mine."


    Sigh, if only they knew how my life played out. Zack pondered. They''d probably realize how useless I am.


    "...Alright, I''ll stop with the pity party," Zack relented. "I''ll help you with the gang war."


    "Heh, that didn''t take too long. I knew you''d come around Zack since you were always useful for destructive missions like this," The director explained. "I don''t know where this sudden low self-esteem came from, but it''s nonsensical. When used correctly, your blessing is one of the strongest things in my arsenal."


    "Uh-huh..." Zack uttered. There the director goes. He''s treating me like a weapon in his arsenal. Zack pondered. It was far worse before I left and met the developer, but he''s still the same. His compliments of calling me useful mean nothing...The trauma he left on me will always remain.


    Zack''s expression slightly soured, which didn''t go unnoticed by Rose.


    "The Silverdust Brothers dared to take our lives. We cannot let something like that slide," The director remarked. "We already know where their base lies, so we will not give them time to prepare. You three will annihilate and absorb anyone that surrendered."


    "Oh yeah, do you still have the Silverdust gang explosives you deactivated, bro?" Octavius questioned. "Although we don''t need to use the main part of your blessing specifically, it still can make for a flashy and effective plan."


    "Yeah, I do."


    "Good, we can use their bombs against them," Octavius remarked with a devious smirk. "They''ll spend money to create bombs that''ll cause their demise."


    *


    As the trio marched into enemy territory, they observed the burning corpses of many unfortunate gang members caught in the car bomb explosion. The environment was also filled with the grim, ear-piercing screams of gravely injured individuals, desperately crawling their way from the smoke and fire.


    Not everyone was affected, and not every infrastructure was reduced to ruin by the scars of the blast, as silver overalls donning individuals came rushing out of damaged buildings. They were armed with military-grade firearms and donning armored vests.


    "Wow, they didn''t waste any time, huh?" Octavius stated. "They''re already armored out."


    The enemies wasted no time and began firing powerful rounds of ammunition at the trio. They anticipated this as Rose called for roots from beneath the ground. These roots elongated and manifested into a plant barrier around herself and her allies. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    These roots were tough enough that the bullets could not pierce its exterior.


    "Heh, why do normies always think regular weapons would work on blessed humans?" Rose mocked. "Especially if said blessed humans are trained."


    They didn''t cease their futile firing until the Silverdust brothers exited the mansion. The duo looked around and observed the destruction and casualties that emerged from Zack''s explosion.


    "How dare you Blueblood bastards come into our property and destroy our things!?" Noah yelled with rage. "I''ll rip your heads off and ship it to your director! Let him know that we welcome this war!"


    "Ah, the bosses are here now," Octavius said.


    "You guys shouldn''t use those puny weapons on them. It''s not working," William remarked as he outstretched his hand. Suddenly, William manifested a massive volume of soft, grey-white shining powdered shavings. These shavings suddenly rushed in all directions, to the armor and firearms of the Silverdust Brothers'' men.


    It was as if their armor and firearms absorbed these shavings, as their color morphed to silver.


    "Try again now," William advised. With delighted expressions, the men aimed with their upgraded weapons at the plant barrier. The effect of their bullets greatly contrasted their previous efforts, as their bullets pierced right through the plant mound when they fired, shocking the trio.


    "Tsk! Go, go, go!" Octavius yelled as the trio immediately darted to the side.


    "What the!? What happened to your plants!?" Zack questioned. "They got pierced through like it''s nothing!"


    "Tsk, it''s the damn Silverdust Brothers'' blessing! Their guns and armor look different. They''re grey and shining. The brothers must have upgraded them with silver," Rose speculated.


    "No wonder why it penetrated that easily. The brothers'' silver is stronger than normal metal, after all," Octavius said.


    The trio moved at a pace, allowing them to outpace the gunfire, annoying the men. They didn''t stop until they hid in the trees of the forest.


    "Damn, did they get away!?" A Silverdust gang member questioned.


    "No. We won''t let them get away, not after what they did to our property and allies," William remarked. "From the direction they took, I doubt they ran away either. Just keep on guard."


    William''s deduction was accurate, as the trio never left. They simply began planning their next move.


    "Those silver bullets would be effective against us..." Zack muttered. "There seems to be around forty of them, so the brothers have the numbers advantage."


    "Yeah, you''re right about those two facts, but those are all they have against us," Octavius remarked.


    "Huh?"


    "Why do you think the Silverdust brothers are relying on their men to help them? They are weak, Zack," Rose responded. "At most, those two are as strong as low to mid-tier super soldiers."


    "Isn''t that still pretty strong, though?"


    "Tsk, just shut up. The normies would be annoying, sure, but I can handle them all by myself without much effort," Rose continued. "Meanwhile, you two can take down the brothers."


    "W-What!? I gotta take down the main threats!?"


    "...I''m giving you a chance, Zack. Prove to the director that you''re more than just a weapon," Rose replied. "As much as it''s annoying, I''ve given up on thinking you''d remember me. I want you to be seen as capable humans like us by the director."


    "...You''re making me sad that I can''t remember you..." Zack muttered.


    "Come on! Let''s go now!" Rose remarked as she rushed to return to the fight. "You two flank them!"


    "..Alright, let''s go, Octavius!" With renewed determination, Zack replied.


    "Yeah."


    *


    Rose had returned to the battlefield, surprising the enemies.


    "Oh, you''re back?" William questioned as he observed Rose returning through the forest trees. "Kill her."


    Obeying their leader, the men lifted their firearms to point at her. Rose gave them no time to aim as she rushed towards a gang member at blinding speeds.


    BAM!


    This gang member met an unfortunate fate without even perceiving it, as his head was separated from his body. His head, which soared through the air, seemed disfigured, as the skin of the left side of his face was ripped apart and exposing his teeth. His left eye was also missing from his head.


    Rose was the cause of this as she carried a large wooden club with lime green spikes at the side. She had created this from the branches of a tree in the forest and utilized its leaves to create the spikes.


    This visibly surprised the Silverdust brothers, as they could perceive Rose''s movements.


    Rose gave none of them any time to process this as she quickly grabbed the frontmost member and put the weapon at their throat.


    "Listen up, fellas. My name is Rose Thatcher from the Blueblood Corps," Rose introduced herself while the men aimed at her. They knew they couldn''t shoot or risk hitting their ally, which Rose took advantage of. "I do not want to kill you all, as you aren''t the main perpetrators, so I''ll give you a chance. Surrender and become a Blueblood Corps member."


    The Silverdust brothers listened with bewilderment but was quickly morphed into anger as Rose explained her intent.


    "Tsk! How dare you, bitch!?" Noah yelled as he manifested silver dust in the palms of his hands. "Who the hell do you think you are--"


    BAM!


    The Silverdust brothers were unaware they were flanked until it was too late. Octavius and Zack rushed them from behind the mansion and executed powerful strikes on William and Noah''s backs, respectively.


    They knocked them across the land, where they rolled several times before slamming into property damaged by the car bomb explosion.


    "I will let you know now. Your bosses won''t live to see another day," Rose declared. "So, as gang members, you all should make the right choice. Well, I''m sure at least some of you will after witnessing your boss'' deaths."


    "Tsk...damn bitch," Noah muttered as he and his brother stood up. They shifted their gaze to the duo who hit them.


    "Did you forget about us?" Zack questioned. "I know she''s pretty, but you shouldn''t focus on women right now."


    H-Huh? Rose internally thought with visible surprise. What the hell is he saying?

 Ch. 23 - Zacks Growth? (Part 2)

    After being snuck, the Silverdust brothers and their men stood at a standstill with the Blueblood Corps trio. The armor-wearing and firearm-brandishing gang members were unsure whether to continue firing at Rose or aid their bosses in getting back at Zack and Octavius for suddenly kicking them.


    Rose, visibly flustered and distracted by Zack''s sudden and unintentional compliment, quickly re-composed herself and returned her gaze to the gang members.


    "...Like I said, you guys will change your opinions after my friends kill your boss," Rose repeated. "But attacking me now won''t be effective--"


    "Damn it! What the hell are you bastards doing!?" Interrupting Rose''s monologue, Noah yelled. He garnered the attention of everyone in the vicinity. "Stop standing there and attack her--"


    Like a predator realizing its prey, Octavius took advantage of Noah''s rage-filled rant and darted at him. Octavius secreted viscous slime around his arms as he ran. Noah and his brother realized this too late, as Octavius executed a right hook to Noah''s jaw and knocked him away.


    "Ugh!" Noah grunted as Octavius chased him down.


    "Bastard..." William muttered as he outstretched his right hand, attempting to intercept Octavius by manifesting silver dust.


    Keeping true to his desire for usefulness, Zack interrupted William by tossing a glass mug at his face. Witnessing the projectile in his peripheral vision, William canceled his intent to attack Octavius and reflexively lifted his hands to his face.


    Of course, the mug shattered into glass shards and quickly dispersed everywhere.


    Tsk isn''t that my glass mug!? William thought. He must have stolen it from my mansion when they flanked us. Going into someone''s home...their disrespect knows no bounds.


    Zack used the glass projectile as an opportunity to close the distance as he rushed at William. He immediately produced a sonic boom as he charged at his opponent.


    William wasn''t daunted as he responded by manifesting a mound of dust, taking the shape of a silver knife. He swung the bladed instrument, but Zack anticipated this and hopped over William.


    "Huh?" William uttered as he shifted his gaze upwards. Zack simultaneously took what seemed to be a frag grenade from the pockets of his overalls and tossed it at William. His eyes widened with bewilderment as the grenade gleamed with an orange light. William quickly reacted by covering the grenade with silver dust, but it failed to prevent what was inevitable.


    BOOM!


    The grenade expanded into an explosion, destroying the dust that William covered it with and knocking him into a forest tree.


    "Tch...I''m pretty sure the pin was still on that grenade," William muttered. "Your face is familiar too. You''re the S-Class criminal, Zack Isaac, huh?"


    "Damn, am I that famous...?" Zack responded. Damn it, the grenade didn''t do as much damage as I thought, and now he realized my identity. "I-I guess I am that guy."


    "You''re probably the one who caused that car bomb explosion, with your blessing," William deduced as he manifested silver dust in the palm of his hand. It quickly morphed into a long-barreled handgun. "I''ll kill you first."Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    BANG!


    Ceasing the conversation, William suddenly fired at Zack. The bullet''s trajectory was aimed at Zack''s face and would have hit if Zack never tilted his head at the last second. Although he prevented a direct hit, the bullet grazed the left side of Zack''s face and caused it to bleed.


    "Ugh!" Zack grunted. William never let up and continued firing at Zack, who defended himself by quickly hopping around. Each time he fired the silver gun, Damn it! Why are they so fast!?


    "You must be stupid if you thought it would be a piece of cake for you to avoid them," William mocked. "The silver bullets are faster, stronger, and have far stronger piercing than firearms! You''re not the only one with a blessing!"


    *


    Meanwhile, Octavius engaged in battle with the second brother, Noah Silverdust. Their battle contrasted Zack and William''s, as they were fighting at quite a rapid pace.


    Providing quick mobility, Noah surfed on pure silver dust underneath his feet as he charged at his opponent. Octavius didn''t back down and also moved toward Noah. Using a small portion of the dust he was surfing on, Noah crafted it into a shining silver sword.


    Squishy sounds were audible as Noah swung the sword and Octavius blocked it with his slime-covered arms.


    Huh? That was a weird response. It''s like glue or something. Noah thought. My sword didn''t cut through... The soft, squishy sensation of the slime would deceive any attacker like it did against Noah.


    "You guys have no other blessed humans on your side," Octavius remarked as he continued to defend against Octavius''s slashes. He continued surfing around Octavius and threw out more sword slashes. "Your gang is pretty weak. You two should die so your members get absorbed into ours."


    "Shut up! Whose fault is it that we have no blessed humans in our gang!? If you''d open your eyes, you''d realize your damn boss took any opportunity of us acquiring strong allies when he forced us to work under him!" Noah retorted as he increased the intensity of his sword swings on Octavius, even causing him to stagger slightly. "Why take your talents to a lesser organization!?"


    Ugh, these silver weapons are a pain in the ass. Octavius pondered as Noah''s slashes began cutting through his slime-coated body. Not only is the sword quite sharp, but he''s putting a lot of force behind those swings...It''s a bad match-up for my slime--


    "You don''t have to worry, though! When we murder you bastards, the hierarchy will be shifted!" Noah yelled as the blade of his sword suddenly returned to its dust form and scattered in all directions.


    "Urgh!" Octavius grunted as the dust rushed onto his body, delivering visible cuts as they sliced through the slime coating. As if going through a cactus field, Octavius revealed the cuts on his body to everyone as he escaped the dust by hopping out.


    "Die!" Noah yelled as he swung at Octavius''s throat. His finishing attempt failed, as Octavius suddenly fired slime at the hand holding the sword. As if it were the webs of a spider, the slime Octavius fired had enough force to push Noah''s hand onto his face. This resulted in the slime covering Noah''s hand and mouth and sticking like an adhesive substance.


    Noah''s eyes widened with shock upon realizing this occurrence. Despite his struggling, he couldn''t remove his hand which was stuck in an awkward position.


    Seeing that his opponent was disarmed of their weapon, Octavius immediately executed several punches on his body.


    "RRAAAHHH!!!" Noah yelled as a burst of sliver dust came from his mouth and through the slime covering it, visibly shocking Octavius. Acting quickly, Octavius quickly hopped away to avoid any more lacerations.


    "Tsk, you''re a bit better than I thought," Octavius remarked. "You''re quite adept with your blessing."


    The silver dust Noah breathed out had caused most of the slime on his mouth to be destroyed, thus allowing him to move his arm again. He also angrily removed the remaining bits of slime on his face.


    Strangely, Octavius began strolling towards several burning warehouses caused by the car bomb. Noah observed with slight confusion as he stopped by the burning building.


    "Although I think I could beat you with my regular slime, I''ll admit it''ll be a tedious task, due to the nature of your blessing," Octavius admitted. "So I''ll just get serious!"


    Without hesitation, Octavius stuck his slime-coated hand into the flaring flames. Before Noah''s bewildered eyes, the slime covering Octavius''s body rapidly changed from a chartreuse green to a crimson red. It was as if the slime confused the raging flames and morphed into lava around his body.


    "Now, this won''t take long," Octavius remarked. "You''re going to die."

 Ch. 24 - Zacks Growth? (Part 3)

    "This won''t take long now. You''re going to die."


    Noah was left dumbfounded at the sudden shift in color of Octavius''s slime. His surprise was matched by Zack and Rose, who glanced over to him.


    "Sigh, he''s finally getting serious now," Rose muttered. "I guess it''s time to wrap things up now."


    The Silverdust brothers'' gang members had not opened fire on Rose since she murdered one of their allies, as they felt they were incapable of harming someone like her. Who would keep their determination after witnessing someone move faster than bullets effortlessly? Not to mention, she still held one of their comrades hostage.


    "What the hell are we doing just standing here and watching!?" A silver dust member suddenly uttered, garnering the attention of his allies and Rose. "Are we going to do nothing to the ones who murdered our comrades!?"


    His attempt to rouse determination was successful, as his comrades'' expressions became pensive. Rose observed as they pointed their firearms at her, causing her to become amused.


    "W-Wait!" The gang member Rose held hostage muttered as he broke out into a sweat.


    "Alright, you guys can try your best!" Rose remarked as she darted off, avoiding their silver dust-powered gunshots. She coldly left her hostage, who was filled with holes.


    Unsurprisingly, they still failed to tag Rose with their gunfire. "If I kill you, there''d be no one to recruit. I''ll do this then!"


    Using the spiked wooden club, Rose darted up and smacked the firearms out of their arms.


    "What--Ugh!" A gang member uttered with shock upon realizing he was disarmed before being knocked in the head by Rose with the blunt side of her club.


    She seemed random with who she knocked unconscious, as Rose disarmed a few without bashing them in the head.


    "And this is why you guys shouldn''t try to fight impossible enemies," Rose stated. "Don''t worry. The director may make you strong if you join us."


    *


    Zack observed Octavius''s sudden transformation and was rather surprised by this.


    Huh? I don''t know what Octavius just did, but it seems like he''s stopped holding back. Zack pondered. No wonder he''s always yapping about having a better blessing than mine. He had a few tricks up his sleeve--


    BANG!


    William took advantage of Zack''s distraction and grazed his right side with a bullet from his silver gun.


    "Shouldn''t you be focused on the fight before you?" William questioned as he continued firing. The surprised Zack quickly ran to avoid the oncoming fire. Dust was roused from the ground as the bullets missed their target and struck the ground instead.


    Luckily, Zack took cover in the forest trees, causing William to cease firing.


    "Hmm, these bullets travel at Mach five, and he''s still avoiding them," William muttered as he rubbed his back. "Tsk, it still hurts..."


    Zack slumped behind a large oak tree to take the heat off himself. Parts of his overalls were stained with blood as Zack sustained grazing from Octavius''s gunshots.


    "Tsk, I can''t keep dodging that bastard. I gotta try something else," Zack muttered to himself. "I''ll eventually mess up and die if I don''t..."


    Octavius and Rose aren''t struggling as much as me, but I think I can turn things around for myself. Zack pondered. I took a bunch of pills before this, and I can feel it taking effect now. All these physical injuries and my feelings of uselessness...it''s all becoming numbed.


    A small smirk formed on Zack''s face as he pondered. While he waited, William never lowered his firearm.


    I feel as though I can take on anyone now.


    Zack took a combat knife and a frag grenade from his overalls in preparation to fight William.


    "I know being violently flung into that tree by my grenade is hurting him. That''s why he''s not engaging me at close range and abusing that damn gun," Zack deduced. "I gotta fight the way my game character friends normally fight. I won''t be useless anymore."


    While William kept on guard, he noticed a frag grenade soaring from the forest. His expression morphed to surprise as the grenade bounced on the ground and approached his left side. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    It was fairly easy for William to dodge something he saw approaching him as he quickly hopped to the right, away from the range of the explosion. Unfortunately for William, that was what Zack was aiming for, as he suddenly rushed right where William hopped to.


    Be sneaky like Olivia would...


    A knife? William thought as he witnessed the bladed weapon Zack carried. Do you believe a puny blade like that would work?


    William manifested silver dust and tossed it toward Zack in response to his sudden charge.


    "Ugh!" Zack grunted as he sustained many deep and visible cuts as if running through a shredder. Displaying a feat of endurance, Zack didn''t keel over from the silver dust shredding his skin but instead ran through and slashed at William with his knife.


    Tsk, he''s a bit more tough than I thought. William muttered as he weaved the knife swing. Zack never let up and repeatedly slashed, quickly provoking the ire in William as he avoided them.


    "Tsk, can''t you see that won''t work!?" William angrily questioned as he materialized silver dust. It began to converge into the form of a sword. His furrowed eyebrows of annoyance quickly morphed into shock as he noticed the blade of Zack''s knife starting to shimmer with an orange glow as he slashed.


    Use these tools like Jack and Nathan would...


    What--


    BOOM!


    The knife instantly exploded, knocking William many feet away. Zack gave no resting time as he immediately pulled out a frag grenade and tossed it at William.


    "Shit" William yelled before being blown up by the explosive. He was tossed like a ragdoll as he bounced several times across the ground before slamming into a building.


    Dammit...what the hell...did that bastard do? William thought as he slowly mustered the strength to stand up. He sustained visible burns and bleeding on his body. Observing William''s stunned state, Zack ran at him, athlete style.


    Now''s my chance! I can''t let this go by! Zack thought as he delivered a powerful right and left hook on William''s jaw, causing blood to spew from his mouth. I got the opening to lay on some damage! Hit him hard like Charles would!


    Zack delivered a third hook, powerful enough to cause William to stagger several feet backward - This sufficiently angered William, who recovered from the explosions stunning his senses. Zack charged at him but was suddenly struck in the face with the barrel of William''s handgun.


    "Would you just die already!" William yelled as he created silver dust, which morphed into three large protruding spikes from his hand.


    "Ugh!" Zack flinched as the spikes impaled his side. Acting quickly, he used William as a platform and kicked off his arm, forcing Zack off the spikes. William''s eyes bulged as he witnessed Zack tossing several grenades toward him as he freed himself from the spikes.


    BOOM!!!


    The frag grenades resulted in a devastating explosion, which eclipsed the warehouses in size. As if amid a deadly hurricane or tornado, the blast produced powerful wind gusts that affected everyone on the battlefield.


    "Wow, Zack''s giving it his all," Rose remarked. "I knew he had it in him. If only that bastard never forgot me..."


    The blast''s sheer concussive force violently tossed both opponents in opposite directions. The pungent smell of smoke and the crackling sounds of flames filled the air as Zack mustered the strength to stand up.


    Not only was his skin sliced up by the silver dust, but he sustained holes in his side due to impalement, which Zack currently clenched.


    "Cough, cough...did I get him?" Zack wondered. Unfortunately, he didn''t get the answer he was looking for. When the dust settled, William was revealed to have survived the explosion. He didn''t come out unscathed though as William suffered immense burns and was bleeding excessively.


    Silver was seen falling to the ground and shattering before the injured William.


    Damn it! He''s still alive!? The frustrated Zack thought.


    William could barely stand as he used a silver rod to keep himself from falling.


    "I knew...you''d do something like that...If I didn''t protect...myself with silver...I would...have died," William muttered.


    "...With those injuries...can you even...keep fighting?" Zack questioned.


    "I could say...the same thing to you!" William retorted as he pointed his silver gun at Zack. "I can''t...waste time...on you. I need to help...my brother kill that other bastard. There''s still...one more enemy...remaining...after all."


    "AAAHHHHHHH!!!!"


    As if being saved by the bell, the ear-piercing screams of William''s brother, Noah Silverdust, interrupted and garnered everyone''s attention. William shifted his gaze and his eyes were immediately greeted by the sight of his brother engulfed in crimson, raging flames.


    The source of this was Octavius, who had tossed his lava-like slime onto Noah''s body. This slime immediately burst into flames upon impact, causing Noah to writhe in agony.


    "BROTHER!" William yelled at the top of his lungs.


    Octavius wasn''t finished with his act of killing Noah, who suddenly clasped his hands together before separating them, revealing a lava-like goo that drooped to the ground. William watched in despair as Octavius leaped over his brother, wrapping the lava slimes around his neck like ropes.


    "S...Stop..." The grossly injured William muttered as he slowly walked toward Octavius.


    Noah''s ear-piercing scream was cut short as the oxygen was cut from his windpipe. Despite his struggles, Noah couldn''t free himself from incineration and strangulation. His writhing decreased in intensity as he took his final breaths until his movements were no more.


    Realizing his opponent succumbed to the critical injuries, Octavius released the slime ropes around Noah''s throat, causing his corpse to fall. All the injured William could do was watch in pure despair as he witnessed the corpse of his brother burning on the ground.


    "Well, that''s one of two," Rose remarked as she observed Octavius''s battle.


    "B...Brother...Please...no," Tears ran down William''s bloody and burnt face as he staggered towards his brother. "P...Please...don''t be dead--"


    William received no time to grieve his brother''s death, or he was stupid enough to let his emotions get the best of him in a death battle, as Zack instantly rushed the poor fool. His loud and rapid footsteps alerted William as he shifted his gaze, but it was too late for him to do anything. Zack was already right in his face.


    Before William''s eyes, Zack clenched his fist, and the glove he received from the developer suddenly gleamed with an orange radiance.


    BOOM!

 Ch. 25 - Remembrance

    BOOM!


    Zack''s sneaky strike produced a large explosion from his gloves, and the roar of the blast garnered the attention of his two allies. William''s despair-filled look slowly morphed to fright as he was tossed by the cannon he was struck by.


    The crushing sounds of wood and concrete were audible as William rag-dolled through the walls of his own mansion, through the bark of a tree, and finally into another.


    This was the blow needed to put down the already critically injured William, as he leaned on the tree with contorted limbs, tattered garments, and a deep visible discoloration in his stomach from Zack''s blow.


    With his arm steaming from the heat of the explosion, Zack staggered towards William.


    Heh, I actually did it. Zack pondered as he walked. And the gloves are perfectly fine. It''s not burned in the slightest. This is why the developer gave these to me.


    Ah...shit. I can''t feel anything. William thought as he reflexively coughed up blood, staining his already-tattered suit. He didn''t even have the strength to keep his head up. Is this why...that bastard is S-Class?


    Zack approached and stood before him, and William still kept his gaze to the ground.


    "Ugh, sorry about sneaking you while you witnessed your brother...you know," Zack muttered. "But I wasn''t going to lose. I''ll do anything for my friends--"


    "Shut...up," William muttered as he slowly closed his eyes.


    "...To be honest, I kinda understand why you hate the boss," Zack continued. "Because of some unfortunate events while I was in school, I got forced to work under the director. I suffered quite a bit too--"


    "Uh, Zack. He''s already dead," Rose while approaching him, remarked, snapping Zack out of his monologue.


    William''s ever-so-still body told Zack he had passed on from his injuries.


    "...Oh," Zack replied before shoulder shrugging. "Well, the poor guy gets to see his bro again."


    "Pfft, those two will be burning in hell. I doubt they will have time to enjoy their reunion," Rose responded as Octavius approached them.


    "Lol, that''s pretty mean," Zack responded. "How did I do, though? I was pretty useful, right--"


    As he spoke, Zack witnessed a Silverdust gang member picking up the handgun of the deceased Noah before aiming at Rose''s back.


    "You bastards...ruined everything..." The gang member muttered, causing Zack''s eyes to widen as he observed his actions.


    "...Yeah, yeah. You did good," Rose responded after rolling her eyes. "It would have been even better if you didn''t get yourself so damn injured through--"


    "Get down!" Zack uttered as he leaped towards Rose. Her expression morphed to shock as Zack pushed her to the ground. The gang member was simultaneously fired.


    The power and recoil of this enhanced handgun were far greater than the gang member expected. Torn tissue, shattered bones, and excessive blood were visible as the hand that the gang member used to fire the handgun was torn off his person due to the recoil.


    At the very least, he did find a target as the silver bullet tore through Zack''s shoulder.


    "AAAHHHHHHH!!!" The gang member uttered as the intense pain of his destroyed hand coursed through his body.


    "You bastard!" Octavius angrily exclaimed as he immediately tossed crimson slime onto the perpetrator''s body. His screams became far louder and more intense, and he began writhing around in agony as the slime released raging flames all over the covered portions of his body.


    "Are you guys okay!?" The concerned Octavius questioned as he ignored the burning enemy.


    "Urgh...that bastard got my shoulder," Zack muttered as he clenched his bleeding clavicle. He was on top of Rose, who seemed flustered by their proximity. Good thing I took those painkillers...


    "Tsk, we need to get you some treatment quickly," Octavius remarked as Zack removed himself from Rose and stood up. "Those injuries are pretty nasty."


    "It''s fine...this means nothing," Zack stated. "I''m just glad that I can help out this much."


    "...Tsk, that was pretty idiotic. You''re lucky it was just your shoulder," Rose said to mask her flustered demeanor. "You don''t need to push yourself to be helpful, you''ve already done enough. I''m not the director, after all."


    Zack''s expression immediately became dumbfounded after hearing her words. It was as though something clicked inside him. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    "Jeez, you could have at least told him thank you," Octavius said with narrowed eyes. "He saved you, you know? Or do you hate him that much?"


    "Sigh, thanks I guess," Rose relented as she turned her head away while thanking Zack. His lack of response surprised the two, however. "Huh? Zack?"


    The two stared with raised eyebrows as Zack gazed blankly at Rose. Strangely enough, the memory of a younger Zack encountering a weak and injured woman pleading for assistance in the ruined district surfaced in the current Zack''s mind.


    Wait...where did I hear those words from Rose before... Zack thought. I...I think it''s coming back to me.


    *


    Zack''s thoughts wandered to a certain point in the past, to a younger version of himself. This Zack was similar to the man who rescued that weak woman and contrasted with the current Zack; his expression was devoid of joy as if he was a broken man.


    The setting he currently resided in made no effort to help Zack''s mental state, as he was locked inside a small prison-cell-like room.


    "Damn it...when will I be treated like a member here. Why am I...treated differently from everyone else...?" Zack muttered to himself. "I thought things...would have turned around...when my stupid blessing...awoke in me. I just want...to feel needed...for once..."


    KNOCK, KNOCK!


    Tapping sounds were audible on the other side of the cell''s metal door, snapping Zack out of his self-pity.


    "Zack, can you hear me?" On the other side of the door, a slightly younger Rose Thatcher questioned.


    "R-Rose?" Zack replied with surprise. "W-What are you doing here?"


    "Don''t we normally talk to each other around these times?" Rose questioned. "We don''t get much time to talk in the day, since we''re busy with work-related stuff."


    "...H-How much of what I said did you hear?"


    "All of it," Rose bluntly responded, causing Zack to become embarrassed.


    "How embarrassing...I didn''t want you to hear that," Zack said. "I couldn''t even keep my mouth shut..."


    "You''re pissing me off. You think I''d ever laugh at you for feeling that way?" Rose angrily questioned. "You''re the one who saved my life back then...and you''re the only one in this world I can trust and rely on."


    "...I don''t know what you mean by the last part, but I''m the one who nearly got you killed in the first place," Zack questioned. "Because you were caught in the collateral..."


    "I don''t care about that. It''s the director to be blamed for using you like a slave to eliminate his rivals," Rose retorted. "But you won''t understand how terrible my life was before meeting you."


    "...You shouldn''t talk like that about the director," Zack muttered. "Someone might hear you."


    "Truth be told, I''m only on your side. I hate how you''re treated...which is why I''ll change it," Rose declared.


    "Huh?"


    "Don''t worry, Zack. If the director doesn''t want to acknowledge you, I''ll force him to," Rose explained. "I''ll work hard and become an underboss, where I can negotiate for your better treatment."


    "Y-You don''t...have to do that," Zack said. "It won''t even work. I''ll just be regarded as a useless tool anyways...that''s how I''ve been seen my whole life."


    "Quit talking like that. You saved me from death. You''re the most valuable person in my eyes. You don''t need to push yourself to be helpful, you''ve already done enough. I''m not the director, after all," Rose expressed with a slight blushing on her face. "As long as you stay by my side, I promise everyone will realize that you are an amazing person, Zack."


    The depressed Zack''s cheeks flushed red as he listened to Rose''s declaration. That was the first time he truly felt like someone cared for him.


    *


    "Uh, earth to Zack?" Octavius remarked as he waved his hand in front of Zack''s face.


    "I...I remember now," Zack suddenly responded.


    "Remember what?" Rose questioned. Before Octavius and Rose, Zack suddenly bent his body forward into a bow.


    "I am so sorry Rose...I can''t believe I forgot who you were," Zack suddenly stated, shocking Rose. "It''s only recently that I found myself remembering my past. I must have repressed my memories unintentionally..."


    "W-What?" Rose uttered in pure bewilderment. "Y-You remember me?"


    "You''ve always been there for me. Helping me when I''m at my lowest in that dark cell room," Zack responded. "You even became an underboss like you said you did. I''m so glad I saved you back then."


    "S...So you do remember. Do you know how angry and betrayed I felt when you left?" Rose remarked. Octavius spectated with a raised eyebrow while the two conversed.


    "Yeah, I can only imagine. I''m sorry...for leaving without telling you anything," Zack apologized. "Well, I doubt the developer would allow me to say anything anyway..."


    "...Fufu, it''s fine, you damn bastard," Rose stated before turning around and walking. She had a smirk and a slight blush became visible on her face. "I never expected this, but I feel much better now that you remember."


    "Where are you going?" Zack questioned.


    "I gotta make sure these Silverdust members won''t try anything like that again," Rose replied. "I must confirm which of them truly wants to live and join our organization, or die here."


    "Hmpf, so you guys knew each other," Octavius said. "I feel annoyed when you said she was there for you when I was your first friend in this damn organization."


    "Lol, we used to talk whenever I''d get time to leave my damn prison cell of a home," Zack said. "You and Rose are both my great friends, haha!"


    "Tsk, so...do you like her or something?" Octavius questioned.


    "H-Huh?"


    "You heard me. You sounded a bit too sorry for forgetting her," Octavius said. "So? Do you like her?"


    "...I don''t know," Zack responded.


    "What?"


    "Come on, let''s go see if Rose needs any help!" Zack responded before quickly running off, despite his injuries.


    "Tch...you can try keeping it to yourself," Octavius muttered before following.


    I do like her to be honest. She''s the first person who treated me like a human...and the only one who cared for me so. But I can''t tell her that, I don''t deserve to. Zack pondered as he approached Rose. Not after how useless I was as a game character...and everything I''ve done...with Ada.


    Rose stood before the remaining Silverdust members. Judging by the number of deceased men, the Silverdust gang members were cut in half.


    "Well, these are the remaining ones who pledged their loyalty to us," Rose stated. "The director will be glad he''ll get more members."


    "For cybernetic enhancements..." Octavius muttered under his breath.


    Ah...this mission was a success, and I recovered my repressed memories of Rose. I''ve become a slightly bit more helpful. Zack thought. I''m one step closer to being able to fight with and protect Nathan and the rest of my friends...and avenge Jack. I can''t wait for whatever next task the developer has in store for us!


    Zack truly played a crucial part in the toppling of the small Silverdust criminal organization. He deserved the time to celebrate, but it was only a short time. Little did Zack know, the developer''s ''next mission'' would not be so rewarding for him.

 Ch. 26 - New Mission

    After their victorious and overwhelming performance in eliminating the Silverdust gang, the trio returned to their organization. In only one day, Zack again found himself in the infirmary for treatment.


    He received the company of his two allies and only friends in the Blueblood Corps, Octavius, and Rose, while he occupied the infirmary room.


    "The director seemed pretty happy that we destroyed them and recruited all those members," Octavius stated. While never in need of treatment as much as Zack, Octavius had visible bandages around his arms to treat the blade cuts inflicted by now-deceased Noah. "He even sounded impressed by your performance."


    "Yeah, whatever. I suppose it''s good that the man who made me realize my blessing is happy, I guess," Zack responded as he lay in the patient''s bed. "But I''m just glad I''ve gotten stronger. I never thought a blessing like this could be useful in close combat."


    "Yeah, your blessing is almost as good as mine, bro," Octavius said as he handed Zack a bottle of pills. "Keep this if you need it. Take as much as you need."


    "Thanks."


    "Hey, what the hell are you doing?" Rose questioned. "What do you mean ''take as much as you need?'' What if he gets hooked on that shit?"


    "Uh, don''t worry," Zack assured. "I''m a responsible adult. I''ll only take in moderation."


    "...You better," Rose said. "We''re supposed to be selling these drugs, not taking them."


    "Yeah, yeah--"


    DING!


    Interrupting Rose''s lecture, Zack''s phone suddenly pinged audibly. Thankful for the sudden disturbance, Zack sighed with relief. His gesture didn''t slip past Rose''s gaze, as she rolled her eyes in response.


    Ah phew, perfect timing. Zack thought as he reached for his smartphone situated on a coffee table at his bedside. "Who could it be all of a sudden?"


    As he curiously browsed his phone, Zack found the cause of the unexpected ping. The developer had communicated a message with his game character.


    "Hey, Zack! I got a new mission!" The developer''s message outlined. "It''s for you, Nathan, and Lilith specifically!"


    "Huh?"


    "What''s wrong?" Octavius questioned. "What did you see on your phone?"


    "Uh, you remember the developer? The guy who gave me those gloves?" Zack questioned. "Well, he has a mission for me."


    "Tsk, are you still keeping contact with that bastard!? And you''re contemplating returning to him even after finally remembering me!?" Rose angrily questioned. "So you''re just going to leave again, huh!?"


    "N-No, I''ll return as soon as I''m done with whatever mission he has," Zack assured. "I''d never leave my friends willingly. Just trust me."


    "... Either way, you''ll have to convince the director to let you go," Rose said. "And aren''t you still too injured anyways?"


    "Well, I''m sure it''ll be fine..." Zack replied. I can ask the doctor to heal me right up. I wonder what this mission will be. I feel excited to show Nathan how much I''ve grown!


    *


    Nathan''s current life was far less hectic than his fellow game character, as he enjoyed the comfort of his home. He spent his time like he always had - with Lilith.


    The energetic duo stood in their living room. Judging by the animated tennis setting on their television and the fact they were holding remotes and waving them around like rackets, they seemed to be playing a tennis video game.


    The two were engrossed in the game as they constantly swung their ''rackets,'' and even moved around each other. Their competitive spirits were truly shining when playing against each other.


    The outcome of the match was confirmed, as the tennis ball soared past the racket of the female video game athlete. The duo''s facial expressions immediately contrasted as a smirk surfaced on Nathan''s face, while Lilith''s eyebrows furrowed and she frowned. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    "Heh, and that''s game," Nathan remarked victoriously. "That was close though! Better luck next time!"


    "Sigh, let''s try again!" Lilith begged. "I''ll beat you next time!"


    "Heh, sure. Let''s get something to eat, though--"


    BAM!


    "Hello, my game characters!!!" Surprising Nathan and Lilith, the developer suddenly flung open the door and exclaimed. The developer had a talent for ruining Nathan''s mood, as his expression almost instantly soured upon seeing him.


    "Ah, for goodness sake..." Nathan muttered. His sudden shift in mood caused Lilith to slightly chuckle. "What the hell do you want now?"


    "I''ve got great news for you guys!" The developer loudly stated. "A new mission has presented itself!"


    This was the last thing the two wanted to hear, as their expression immediately morphed into fright. They were so affected by the developer''s revelation that they broke out into sweat. Who could blame them after all? If this new mission were anything like their prior missions, they would be forced to cease their peaceful time together to suffer most likely.


    "Come on guys, this mission won''t be bad!" The developer, realizing their change in expressions, assured. "This one''s quite simple! Like a side mission!"


    "...What is this mission about?" Lilith asked.


    "I''m glad you''re giving it a chance, Lilith. I recruited a new game character!" The developer revealed. "I want you guys to meet them. They may even have a special surprise for you!"


    "...A new game character?" With narrowed eyes, Nathan muttered. "I don''t want to associate myself with any more crazy bastards..."


    "Trust me, this person is far more normal than the rest of your party members!" The developer once again assured.


    "...I guess if it''s just that, then we can get this over with," Nathan said. "I still don''t trust this, though. I want to know what the ''special surprise'' is, but you won''t tell us, right?"


    "Don''t worry! You guys will find it beneficial for your future," The developer vaguely stated. "I sent their location to you guys!"


    "...Okay," Nathan responded. "Let''s go, Lilith."


    "Alright, Nate."


    Alright, this is it. The developer pondered. I can''t wait to see how things will turn out.


    Although the two had their doubts about the smoothness of this ''mission,'' they proceeded anyway, via a materialized armored sedan from Nathan''s inventory.


    *


    The atmosphere in the car was a friendly and accommodating one, as Nathan and Lilith found themselves having conversations with each other.


    "Sigh, I wonder how long we''ll keep doing the developer''s bidding," Lilith wondered as she looked out the car window. "I feel like our lives are slowly returning to normal...no, it''s gotten better than before we acquired these blessings. Our only obstacle is just the developer."


    "Him and Ada, I suppose. But yeah, I hate the developer for everything he''s put us through. I''ll kill him when I get the chance," Nathan responded. "But at the same time, the bastard saved me from being executed wrongfully. I even got to kill that utter asshole, John Walker."


    "...As much as I don''t want you to get blood on your hands, I''m glad you got to put that devil in the ground," Lilith stated. "He''s put you through so much suffering...It makes me angry just thinking about it."


    "...Well, that trash has already been taken care of. He''s in the past now," Nathan coldly said. "Let''s just focus on what''s in the present, now."


    "Yeah, you''re right. I wonder who the new person will be?"


    "No idea, but I know one thing for certain," Nathan said. "They probably have some screws loose if the developer took them in. Just stay close to me when we meet them, Lilith."


    "O-Oh okay," Lilith said as her face flushed red. "N-No problem."


    The remainder of the drive kept similar energy, as the two went on to converse about more trivial topics such as movies to watch.


    *


    The duo had arrived at their destination after a drive lasting over an hour. The location point sparked confusion in the two as they found themselves in a residential area.


    "Huh? The person should be around here somewhere," Nathan, who parked his car on the side of the curb and disembarked his car with Lilith, remarked as he looked around. "So, where the hell are they?"


    "Don''t worry, they will be here any minute," The developer, who suddenly appeared, assured. This sparked surprise in the two, as they never expected the developer to randomly pop up.


    "...Tch, they better hurry up," Nathan impatiently said. "I want to go home and eat with Lilith soon."


    "Oh, there they are!" The developer said as he pointed in the direction behind Lilith and Nathan. "I''ll be nearby!"


    "Huh--"


    Before Nathan could say anything, the developer suddenly disappeared. He simply left a gentle breeze, suggesting that the developer darted away at immense speeds. "Sigh, whatever."


    "U-Uhm, hello," An unfamiliar voice was audible behind the backs of Nathan and Lilith. Or, judging by their sudden widened eyes, the voice was a bit familiar? "Thanks for coming here...guys."


    "H-Huh!?" Nathan and Lilith uttered synchronously as they frantically turned around.


    "Hehe, I''m the new game character guys..." The voice belonged to Serena Collins, who spoke with slight sorrow on her face. "D-Do you remember me?"


    She never needed to ask this question, as they could never forget her. The duo''s minds and faces raced with emotions as they recalled their experiences and relationship with Serena at university.


    The classes they took together, how good they got along with her, and how she fell in love with Nathan, the two remembered it all. Of course, they could never forget the greatest thing - how two-faced she was when framing Nathan for rape and ruining his life.


    Their faces quickly morphed to anger upon sight of Serena, but Lilith''s rage was far more apparent on her face.


    "I-I see...you two remember me," Serena muttered as she witnessed their expressions. Lilith simply gazed at her with ever-increasing rage.


    Y-You bitch! Lilith thought. Why the hell are you here, snake!?

 Ch. 27 - Turning the Other Cheek

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    While the two witnessed the person they''d least expected to see again in their lives, the developer casually spectated nearby. He enjoyed a bird'' s-eye view of the scene as the developer sat on top of a hotel.


    The developer suddenly found himself in a relatable situation with his two-game characters when a sudden occurrence happened¡ªa yellow radiance manifested itself beside him. The developer''s demeanor slightly soured as the light morphed into a humanoid, revealing itself as Themis''s projection.


    "Disgraced god, what schemes are you planning this time?" Themis questioned.


    "Tch, why are you here again? Haven''t we talked to each other more than necessary recently?" The developer retorted. "Your very existence already annoyed me, but the recent events of your daughter taking out my game character intensified my annoyance, Themis."


    "The feeling of hatred is mutual," Themis replied. "You''ve committed many atrocities, especially against my daughter--"


    "Yeah, yeah. Get out of my sight now," The developer interjected. "I have to watch how this plays out."


    "...Whatever you''re planning, it won''t come to pass," Themis stated as the light of her projection began to wane. "Your destructive exploits will only bring you greater suffering than what you''ve experienced since your disgraceful fall--"


    "Just shut it and go already."


    Just as quick as she came, her projection dissipated.


    "What an annoying woman," The developer muttered before focusing on Nathan. "Now back to the main show."


    Neither Nathan nor Lilith could believe their eyes that Serena would dare show herself in front of them again, and they gazed at her with ire.


    "S-So, I''m the new game character guys," Serena stated as she nervously gazed at her feet. "I''m glad to see you guys again--"


    "Is...Is this a freaking joke? I knew the developer is a goddamned sadistic piece of shit, but this is a new low," The triggered Nathan interjected. "Why...are you here...Serena Collins?"


    "I...I wanted to rekindle the friendship that we three had..." Serena muttered in a low tone.


    "Rekindle the friendship? Are you completely insane?" Nathan questioned. "Did you think I forgot what you did to me? I''m very close to snapping on you...you know."


    "I-I understand your anger, Nathan," Serena responded. "I...I just want to explain everything--"


    "There''s nothing for you to explain, you two-faced bitch!" Lilith suddenly snapped, surprising both Nathan and Serena in the process. "How dare you have the audacity to show your face after ruining Nathan''s life!?"


    "L-Lilith?" The surprised Nathan uttered. Did she just say bitch?


    "You have no idea how much I despised you! With that kind and outgoing mask you put on, you befriended us. You must have had the idea to accuse Nathan of assaulting you the whole time, that''s why you got close to him, right?" Lilith interrogated. "Nathan already had a hard life, but you only added salt to the wound! And now you''re returning as if you did nothing wrong!?"


    Nathan simply listened with a rather solemn expression as Lilith argued on his behalf. Strangely, his anger quickly subsided and morphed into contentment as he listened. It''s as though the feeling of the person he feels affection for defending him had put Nathan at ease.


    "I don''t care if you''re chosen by the developer! If you don''t get out of my sight, I will kill--"


    Sob...Sob...


    Synchronously, Nathan''s contentment and Lilith''s ire were immediately quelled and changed into bewilderment. Their source of shock was attributed to Serena, who began to break down and tear up.


    "Sob...sob...I-I never wanted...to do that...to you, Nathan..." As tears streamed down her face, Serena remarked. "I-I''m...so sorry...I really...want to...explain..."The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    "Tch, you''re a damn adult now. Crying isn''t going to change anything, it just makes you look more pathetic," Lilith coldly retorted. "There''s no explanation you can say that will change anything--"


    "Wait, I think...we''re being a bit too harsh on her," Nathan interjected.


    "B-But Nathan!"


    "I just think we should at least hear out whatever crazy explanation she has. I always wanted to know why the hell would she accuse me of rape out of nowhere," Nathan explained before shifting his gaze to the sobbing Serena. "So, what''s the explanation?"


    "I-I really did appreciate...our friendship...and I really did have feelings for you," Serena admitted, which caused Lilith to become more annoyed and agitated. "But...I had no choice...I just wanted to save my...mother from death."


    "Save your mother from death?" Nathan questioned with a raised eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"


    "...Do you know...who John Walker is?" Serena questioned as she began wiping the tears from her eyes. This question sparked massive shock in the duo, which Serena noticed. "I take it...you do. I don''t know...how he found me...but he was the cause of this."


    Hearing this, Nathan began scratching his chin as if deep in thought.


    "He...he threatened to kill...my mother...if I didn''t accuse you of raping me. I had no say...in any of his demands. All he told me...was that...he wanted to bring you...suffering, Nathan," Serena explained. "I''m truly...sorry. I just wanted to...protect my mother..."


    "...Now that I think about it...the story adds up," Nathan responded, surprising Lilith.


    "W-What do you mean, Nathan?"


    "When I encountered John, I told you that the bastard blabbed everything he did to me and my parents, right?" Nathan explained. "Well, he did tell me he was the one who framed me for all those crimes, including the rape accusation. I guess I forgot about that because I wanted to murder him badly at the time."


    "I-I see..." Lilith muttered. "So she''s telling...the truth. But still..."


    "As much as it still pisses me off, your explanation makes a lot of sense," Nathan remarked. "But how did you get yourself roped into the developer''s schemes?"


    "W-Well...even though I said...I wanted to protect my mother...the guilt of what I did to you...gnawed at me...for years," Serena explained. "But a couple of days ago...I randomly received a text message...from the developer. I was skeptical at first...but he lured me in when he asked if I wanted to make things right...with you guys."


    Nathan glanced dangerously at the developer in response to Serena''s explanation before sighing in annoyance. He matched Nathan''s gaze with a smile and a wave.


    "Sigh, I understand. I can see you''re remorseful," Nathan stated, which caused Lilith to frown. "But I think you''ve gotten yourself in far worse shit by accepting the developer''s offer."


    "I have an idea...what the developer does, but...I don''t mind," Serena stated. "I just want...to become close with you two...again."


    "...Listen, although I understand your reasons, we can''t return to that sunshine and rainbow type friendship, and as I said before, I can''t return your feelings...if you still have any," Nathan responded, which caused Lilith''s expression to brighten. "But I guess...we can start over as fellow game characters...or whatever cringy shit the developer calls us."


    "...Yeah, you''re...right," Serena said before tears suddenly streamed down her face again. "I''m so glad...I finally got that off my chest. Thank you...guys."


    "...The developer said you had a special surprise. I suppose this explanation was the surprise?" Nathan questioned.


    "O-Oh...I have something else that the developer told me to give you," Serena replied as she quickly wiped her face before turning around. "It''s in my home. Follow me."


    "Okay," Nathan agreed before he and Lilith walked behind Serena, who led them.


    "...D-Do you truly forgive her, Nathan?" Lilith whispered. "I know she''s been coerced by John, but I still find her actions...terrible."


    "Yeah, I honestly feel the same way, but seeing you so adamantly arguing for me lessened my anger. It made me remember how you''re always on my side, which made me more happy than angry," Nathan explained. "So it was easier to hear her out because of you."


    "Sigh...I''m always on your side, Nathan," Lilith declared. "And I''ll never stop."


    "Yeah," Nathan uttered. This may be where my life turns around. Most of my main enemies are dead, I get to spend most of my time with Lilith, and I think I can finally call myself strong enough to protect her. Nathan pondered as he strolled when a smirk suddenly formed on his face. He truly felt the sensation of hope after such a long period of suffering. I never thought this would happen, but I''m even forgiving someone for doing great wrong to me. This is what you two always preached about. Right, mom, dad?


    "Thank you so much, guys...for giving me this chance," Serena expressed as they arrived at the end of the road.


    "Y-Yeah, you already said thanks," Lilith retorted before rolling her eyes. "You don''t need to repeat yourself."


    "No, really...you don''t understand," Serena said. "I have to thank you."


    "Uh, now it''s getting weird," Nathan said. "Why do you keep saying that--"


    The cause for Serena''s peculiar thanking would be quickly revealed, as the trio encountered the unexpected after approaching alleyway; what seemed to be a platoon of highly geared soldiers brandishing military-grade firearms were noticed by Nathan and Lilith in the dimly lit passage.


    Nathan and Lilith gazed blankly at the soldiers as they never expected them. Serena had placed herself in safety as she already passed the alleyway.


    "Thanks for being such a gullible fool!" Serena loudly exclaimed out of nowhere as her expression changed to a menacing smile. "Go to hell for abandoning me! You and your Lilith!"

 Ch. 28 - Long-Awaited Revenge

    "Go to hell for abandoning me! You and your Lilith!" Serena declared as she posed with her arms out.


    "Huh--"


    BANG!


    Nathan had no time to voice his confusion as the squad of soldiers unleashed an onslaught of bullets in their direction. The blank look on their faces changed as their eyebrows quickly furrowed with shock as the bullets soared toward their heads.


    With quick reactions and reflexes, Nathan and Lilith bent their bodies and avoided the bullets at the last second before immediately darting off. Serena, who didn''t immediately perceive their movements, watched them run with shock. They were already a far distance away.


    "W-What? They''re still alive?" Serena questioned. "I wanted to take them out for Ms. Ada, though..."


    *


    Although Serena succeeded in luring the duo to a specific alleyway, she was by no means the mastermind behind this. The true orchestrator was watching from a television in the comfort of a house several blocks away.


    The television display synchronized with Serena''s eye view, suggesting that Serena may have a hidden camera on her person.


    "Tsk, of course, she failed at killing him," John remarked as he and Ada observed the television. "At least she put up a good act, I guess..."


    "Heh, I knew she wasn''t going to kill them. That wasn''t the mission I had for her anyways," Ada replied as she munched on a bowl of grapes. "She just needed to lure them to this place, and she did it successfully."


    "Yeah, that''s true. I wouldn''t allow a nobody like Serena Collins to kill them, too," John stated. "But she did make it easy to bring them here."


    "Exactly. Nathan wouldn''t have let his guard down and approach an area he doesn''t know," Ada said. "For the minimal role Serena had, she played it well."


    "Well, everything''s set up, so I suppose it''s my turn now," John remarked. "It''s time for my long-awaited revenge."


    "Yeah, make sure you bring Claw," Ada reminded. And so it begins. Ada pondered. Thanks, developer, for being such a team player, fufu.


    *


    Like deers narrowly escaping from a predator, the two ran at supersonic speeds without ceasing. This was the second time they''d been betrayed by Serena, and for seemingly no reason.


    "W-What...what the hell...is going on," Nathan questioned as they ran. "D-Did Serena...plan this!?"


    "Damn it! She is a snake! She couldn''t settle for ruining your life, but now she wants to end it!" Lilith angrily remarked. "I can''t believe she put up such an act just to do this again!"


    "B...But why did she double-cross us this time?" Nathan wondered. "And did the goddamned developer know about this?"


    "...We should have known the developer wouldn''t have given us some normal mission, but it doesn''t matter," Lilith replied. "If I see that bitch again, I''m going to kill--"


    Although Nathan shared the same anger Lilith currently had, he had no time to listen. What caught the peripheral vision of Nathan''s eye was a missile speeding through the air towards them. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "Watch out!" Nathan yelled as he quickly grabbed Lilith and hopped onto a building.


    BOOM!


    The rocket missed its desired target, but that never stopped it from causing destructive damage to civilian property after exploding. The cause was clear to the duo as they witnessed more military forces and armored vehicles closing in on them.


    "Tsk, there''s even more of them," Nathan remarked as they crouched over the building to observe the soldiers'' movements. "How did she do all this...no...it doesn''t matter. We gotta get outta here."


    Nathan suddenly materialized Lilith''s jet-black katana that was sheathed and handed it to her. This action visibly surprised Lilith.


    "What? You''re giving me this?" Lilith questioned. "So you''re okay with me fighting?"


    "Don''t get me wrong. I''m not going to let you kill anyone. I won''t let you get any more blood on your hands," Nathan declared. "But as you said, we can protect each other. So I will let you fight."


    "Fufu, thank you," Lilith replied as she took her weapon.


    "Alright, those soldiers are in the way...and they''re trying to kill us," Nathan replied as he manifested two gas masks and handed one to Lilith. "Here, put this on."


    The soldiers waited patiently, pointing their firearms at the top of the building. They desired for the duo to peek their heads out so they could squeeze the trigger of their artillery.


    Their patience was rewarded as something did pop out from the top of the buildings, but it wasn''t quite what they wanted. Instead of Nathan and Lilith, many gas canisters popped out of the building''s roof.


    These canisters soared toward the military forces with high velocity and carried a large cloud of smoke onto them.


    "What!?" A soldier yelled as they watched the cloud descend onto them with shock. They attempted to run and drive their vehicles out of the large plume of smoke, but they had no chance.


    Nathan followed up by jumping down with Lilith, manifesting a flamethrower from his spatial inventory and shooting a stream of flames into the smoky area.


    "AAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!" The ear-splitting shrieks of the soldiers were audible as the flames ate up the apparently flammable smoke, frying them in the process. Neither Nathan nor Lilith bothered to check on the status of those men as they immediately darted past the raging fire.


    Well, they never needed to check, as roaring explosions were audible as the military vehicles caught in the flames were destroyed. Behind Nathan and Lilith were the carbonized corpses of soldiers scattered across the area by the destroyed vehicles'' blasts.


    "...Sigh, I didn''t want us to stay in this area where we''re being pursued by Serena, so I thought the best way was to kill them," Nathan remarked in a low tone. "Sorry...if it rubs you the wrong way."


    "Come on, I''ve seen you kill plenty of soldiers. Why would I be angry now?" Lilith questioned. "I''ve made the stupid mistake of leaving you once...I''m not going to do that again. Plus, you''re doing it to protect us."


    "...The bastard developer hasn''t said anything since he tricked us," Despite his face flushed with red, Nathan attempted to change the conversation. "I can''t wait to see what he''ll say about this...I swear I''m going to murder him!"


    "To be honest, nothing he does surprises me anymore," Lilith replied. "I''m more angry at that woman for--"


    BOOM!


    It was as though they were magnets for rockets as one soared through the air and struck the ground they ran on. The duo reflexively shielded their faces, expecting an explosion, but were instead enshrouded by a massive plume of smoke.


    "Ugh...smoke!?" Lilith uttered in shock.


    "Tch, cough...what the hell!?" Nathan uttered as he narrowed his eyes due to the heavy smoke. "Quickly! Get out of--"


    BAM!


    Nathan felt a sharp pain at the side of his face before he was suddenly launched many meters away.


    "Ugh!" Nathan grunted as he crashed into a convenience store a good distance away from his partner. He slowly pulled himself from the destroyed food isles he crashed into and began observing his surroundings.


    A searing pain coursed through the side of his face as Nathan clenched it. The right side of his face had visible bruising.


    "Ouch...what the hell. No, forget that," Nathan thought as he quickly darted through the shattered glass of the convenience store''s entrance. "Where''s Lilith--"


    "Oi, you shouldn''t let yourself get distracted," The voice of a familiar individual spoke, stopping Nathan in his tracks. Familiar was an understatement, as Nathan immediately recoiled upon witnessing their presence. His jaw dropped, and his eyes widened with bewilderment.


    The man he thought he had already taken care of was in front of him and casually spoke to him. It was none other than John Walker.


    "Hello, Nathan," John greeted. "You remember me?"


    Nathan did nothing but gaze at this man with utter dumbfoundedness. I suppose he has something in common with Jack as they share the same shock after witnessing someone who they thought to have killed confronting them.


    "W-What...h--how are you...alive?" The stunned Nathan questioned with an audible stutter. "And why...are you wearing...the super soldier...uniform?"

 Ch. 29 - What He Cherishes

    "W-What...h--how are you...alive?" The stunned Nathan questioned with an audible stutter. "And why...are you wearing...the super soldier...uniform?"


    "What''s with that dazed look, Nathan?" John sarcastically questioned. "I guess you remember me by that expression, heh."


    Is that John Walker? But how? How the hell is that bastard alive? Nathan attempted to process this mind-numbing reality that was suddenly presented to him.


    "I-I watched your truck tumble down that cliff," Nathan remarked. "How could an old bastard like you survive that!?"


    "Ah, you''re stuttering less now. I suppose you''re starting to accept it. You''re right, though. I am a man in my sixties...I shouldn''t have survived an accident like that," John agreed. "If it weren''t for my burning hatred for you and your family, I''d have died. This hatred is the only thing guiding me."


    A few moments of silence passed as Nathan gazed with furrowed eyes before suddenly scoffing.


    "...Heh, your hatred is the only thing guiding you, huh? With all those nasty scars on your face, I guess it guided you to a pretty dark place!" Nathan mocked as he finally accepted John''s survival. "Let me guess, did you become a super soldier to get revenge?"


    "... You''re fast on the uptake," John replied. "I did become--"


    BANG!


    Giving no room to hear his explanation, Nathan suddenly materialized a revolver and shot his nemesis in the face.


    "Ugh!" John grunted as his head recoiled backward from the bullet. If he was the super soldier he said he was, Nathan likely had utilized super piercing ammunition he received from the blacksmith long ago.


    "I don''t give a damn about a freaking old fart like you! Nor do I care about what you did to yourself!" Nathan yelled. "You did something with that smoke field, didn''t you? Where the hell is Lilith!?"


    "...You dare shoot me?" Ignoring Nathan''s question, John muttered as he wiped his apparent bleeding face. "You goddamned bastard..."


    In a quick burst of movement, John suddenly appeared at Nathan''s side. John was unaware, but Nathan''s eyes had perceived and tracked his movements.


    Knowing John was sufficiently angered and ready to attack, Nathan preemptively manifested the force gloves, made by the blacksmith, around his arms and put up his guard.


    "I''ll murder you!" John declared as he attempted a straight punch to Nathan''s face but he blocked in time. This generated powerful wind pressure in the environment. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    "Urgh!" Nathan grunted. John gave him no time to breathe from the first attack as he repeatedly delivered more punches.


    He attempted punches around Nathan''s body, whether face or body shots, but Nathan expertly blocked them all. These strikes did prove some level of difficulty with blocking, as Nathan slightly staggered with each blow.


    Urgh...this bastard''s punches are strong as hell. He really did become a super soldier despite being so damn old... Nathan pondered as he stayed on the defensive side of the hand-to-hand exchange. I guess his hatred pushed him to survive the modifications...but neither the intensity of his hatred nor his reasons for hating me come even close to my hate.


    "You can fight better than I thought, bastard!" John remarked. "This will make the end more rewarding!"


    Tch, just listening to this bastard is pissing me off...but I can''t take my mind off of it. Nathan pondered. Dammit...I need to find Lilith--


    Carelessly preoccupied with his thoughts and not the battle, Nathan was punished with a devious roundhouse kick to his side. Repeated crashing was audible as Nathan was sent through a building before crashing into another, severely damaging the infrastructure.


    "Ugh..." Nathan uttered as he was bleeding.


    "Haha! Is something on your mind, Hayes!?" John yelled as he darted towards Nathan. He ran through the damaged buildings and grabbed a large chunk of the destroyed wall.


    John leaped towards his opponent with the large chunk in hand, but Nathan perceived his actions the entire time. John attempted to slam the chunk on his head, but Nathan countered by placing his hand upwards.


    Like a magician, Nathan made the large object disappear. He had instantly placed it in his inventory.


    "That damn bless--"


    Nathan immediately followed up by manifesting several cluster grenades, along with his blessed shield for protection.


    BOOM!


    John had no room to move, only to express an onset of surprise as the grenades spat out countless tiny balls before releasing a cluster of explosions. The blast launched John through buildings as well.


    "Such an...annoying blessing..." John stated as he pulled himself out of the building rubble. "Everything about you...pisses me off, Hayes."


    John had suffered burns and bruises and was bleeding from the concussive force of the cluster grenades. Nathan, who was slightly injured, got up and approached John.


    "You were asking about your dear Lilith a few moments ago, right? Well, I don''t know where she is, to be honest!" John remarked. "Heh, she probably ran off and left you to die! I suggest you stop being so preoccupied with her!"


    "...I know you''re trying to shake me, but that won''t work," Nathan replied.


    H-He''s being honest...right? Lilith is fine and running away, right? Nathan internally told himself. Y-Yeah, she''s fine...the developer may be a damn sadist, but he wouldn''t want his game characters to die. He''d have said something to me on the phone if she was in danger. Let''s just...focus on killing this bastard.


    "As long as Lilith isn''t in danger, I''m fine with her running off," Nathan stated. "So, it''s just me and you then."


    In response, John oddly smirked.


    His striking strength is a problem. It''s like getting struck by Ryzen. But he''s still old as hell, so his durability and stamina can only be modified to a certain extent. Nathan analyzed. All I need to do is not let him get close...then I''ll ensure he dies by decapitating him.


    Hehe...he. You cherish your little girlfriend, huh, Nathan? John pondered. Ah, that makes me so glad...

 Ch. 30 - Advantage

    As both opponents stood off against each other, Nathan''s eyes suddenly wandered to the side. He had noticed the developer, who casually sat on a building and spectated them.


    ...That bastard has been sitting and watching this entire time. I guess Lilith is all right then, as I suspected. Nathan pondered before quickly returning his gaze to John. I don''t have time to waste...let''s focus on this right now.


    "What are you standing around for!?" John yelled as he darted toward Nathan. He resumed the fight with a powerful jab, but Nathan seamlessly weaved the attack. He engaged Nathan in hand-to-hand combat, throwing out several jabs and punches that produced strong winds, but Nathan continued weaving and bobbing around them.


    To keep up with the pace of dodging John''s rush of blows, Nathan repeatedly stepped backward. John tried everything he could, even attempting a sneaky kick to Nathan''s thigh while he threw out the jabs synchronously, but not even that was enough as Nathan lifted his leg to block the punt with his foot.


    Nathan wasn''t simply engrossed in his battle but occasionally glimpsed at his surroundings. His careful attention revealed to Nathan that he was backpedaling into a building. Realizing this fact, Nathan suddenly placed his palm on John''s chest after weaving another blow.


    BOOM!


    From his metallic glove, a powerful burst of air pressure was released and launched the surprised John several meters away.


    Ugh...what? John uttered. What did he even materialize at that time--


    Nathan followed up by hopping onto the roof of the building he was about to bump into and quickly materialized an assault rifle. John''s expression changed to shock, and so he quickly moved to avoid the oncoming gunfire.


    A trace of bullets was left in the ground as Nathan attempted to track John''s hypersonic movements but to no avail. They were currently at a stalemate as Nathan couldn''t hit the moving target, and John had to focus on dodging.


    The stalemate was quickly shattered as John took the risk of hopping onto the building Nathan stood on. His straight vertical jump significantly lowered the difficulty of hitting him, as Nathan remorselessly landed numerous super-piercing ammo on John''s body. Still, John did succeed in landing on the roof.


    John, angered by the bullet wounds he sustained, immediately rushed Nathan for close combat. Nathan responded in kind as he met him halfway, not before re-storing his assault rifle.


    "What the hell is wrong with you and that cowardly way of fighting!? Stop running around and attacking!" John yelled as he intensely threw out punches. "Come at me without your damn weapons! Fight like a man!"


    "Heh, are you angry because you''re losing? How many decades have an old bastard like you fought!? You''re not bad, but your moves are predictable!" Nathan mocked as he continued avoiding. "I guess you never needed to fight due to having a high ranking in the military! And I''m sure you being so old is decreasing your effectiveness as a super soldier!"


    "Shut up!" John yelled as he threw out another powerful punch. At least, that''s what Nathan thought as he attempted to weave, but John suddenly diverted the direction of his strike. John had aimed for the roof, which immediately broke apart upon impact.Stolen story; please report.


    "What--" Nathan uttered as he suddenly lost his footing due to the damaged roof. John gave him no time to recover as he followed up with a devious right hook to the staggering Nathan''s face. His strike had enough power to force blood from Nathan''s mouth.


    John didn''t end it there, as he violently grabbed the back of Nathan''s head and pulled him into a knee strike. The force of the blow blasted Nathan through a large building, causing it to implode in the process.


    Tsk, that insect was just a regular human months ago...how the hell did he get so powerful? John wondered as he hopped off the building. No...that doesn''t matter. His life is already in my hands!


    He immediately pursued Nathan but was surprised because Nathan was already up on his feet and prepared to fight again. Although he had bruises and a bloody nose, Nathan''s physical condition was very positive currently.


    With the unpredictability of Nathan''s blessing, John didn''t know what to expect. His confusion was suddenly magnified as Nathan instantly materialized a pair of sunglasses and headphones.


    "Huh--"


    BANG!


    It was too late for John to process or move away, as the area around him was filled with a blinding light. Nathan had materialized several flashbangs in advance.


    "Urgh!" John grunted as he clenched his eye sockets in extreme discomfort. The flashbangs were effective as they stunned Nathan''s enemy.


    Nathan wasted more time as he utilized his inventory again and threw several cluster grenades he summoned on the stunned John. A cluster of powerful blasts engulfed the ''super soldier'' as the mini bombs ejected from the grenade exploded. Nathan had shown great acrobacy as he flipped away a far distance to avoid the blasts.


    "Urgh..." The visibly injured John grunted as he leaned on a nearby ruined infrastructure for support. He sustained extensive burns, and his white super soldier uniform was burnt and tattered.


    "...You know, I''m glad you survived that car accident back then. It left a poor taste in my mouth that you died such an easy death," Nathan remarked. "But since you survived, I can truly kill you with my own hands, John Walker. I''ll ensure to take that damn head of yours off your body."


    "...What a terrible thing to say, Nathan. You''re sounding just like your criminal friends," John mocked as he recovered his bearings. "Not only were you the man responsible for taking everything away from me, but you''ve become stronger than your previous insect self, I''ll admit In all my life, you and your parents were the only thorn in my side."


    "Tsk just shut the hell up with your damn rambling!" Nathan yelled. "Let''s just hurry up and finish this--"


    "CLAW! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WAITING SO LONG FOR!" Much to Nathan''s surprise, John suddenly yelled at the top of his lungs. "COME ON OUT WITH HER!"


    "Huh--"


    "Ugh...I said let me go!" Frustrated cries suddenly resonated in the area. This yelling was familiar as Nathan instantly shifted his gaze to the direction.


    "Sigh...don''t blame me for taking so long," As Nathan observed, the reason for the yelling became clear to him. The super soldier, Claw, had approached the duo, holding the struggling Lilith hostage. "She was...stronger than I expected."


    Although Lilith was currently restrained, she evidently gave the enemy a warm time. She had inflicted several deep, visibly bleeding sword slashes on Claw''s body and face.


    "W-What?" Nathan uttered with bewilderment. Seeing his expression, John couldn''t hide his sudden grin.


    "N-Nathan?" Lilith uttered as she observed the scene. "W-Wait...is that...John Walker!?"


    "H-Hey...l-let her go," All confidence left Nathan''s face and tone as he softly pleaded.


    "Ha! What happened to your confidence, Nathan!? I bet you never expected this!" John exclaimed in a victorious tone. "As I said, you were the thorn that took everything away from me, so I couldn''t sleep peacefully unless I returned that suffering. Which is why I''ll take advantage of your biggest weaknesses!"


    "...Y-You damn...bastard..."


    The developer, who observed the scene, gazed with a rather disappointed look.


    "Sigh, you truly weren''t developed enough. This would have never happened if you had rejected Serena''s apology and simply killed her," The developer stated. "Whatever, there''s nothing I can do now...but watch."

 Ch. 31 - Suffering (Part 1)

    Nathan currently found himself in a dire situation, as his dear Lilith was held hostage and he had no potential to save her.


    "Y-You said...you didn''t know...where Lilith was..." Nathan muttered as his breathing rate increased. "Y-You lied..."


    "Haha! Look how pathetic you sound right now!" John loudly mocked with excitement. "You believed the words of your enemy!?"


    The desperate Nathan glanced at Lilith to observe her status.


    "D-Don''t worry about me, Nathan!" Lilith assured. "Just focus on--ugh!"


    The annoyed Claw had disrupted Lilith''s statement as the claws he received upon his super soldier modifications elongated from his fingertips and drew blood around her neck. He had wrapped his fingers around her neck but only applied pressure to draw blood slightly.


    "Enough talking," Claw coldly remarked.


    "Get your hands off of her!!!" Provoking his ire, Nathan exclaimed.


    "Man, I''ve waited for this day from the very moment you and your group massacred my super soldiers!" John stated. "Make sure you don''t let her go, Claw!"


    "Yeah."


    "J-Just let her go--"


    "If you don''t want your girlfriend to die, then stay still, Nathan!" John advised as he darted towards his opponent, surprising Nathan. "She''ll die if you dare block!"


    S-Shit!


    BAM!


    With an ecstatic look, John rushed up and delivered a brutal right hook to Nathan''s jaw. Fearing for the life of Lilith, Nathan had no choice but to stand there and eat that blow.


    "AAHHHH!!!" Nathan yelled as he was rag-dolled through multiple large buildings, causing immense property damage with his body as the projectile.


    "NATHAN!" The panicked Lilith called out at the top of her lungs. The excited John wasted no time and quickly hounded down on Nathan, who crashed into a building.


    Damn...it-- Coughing up blood, Nathan internally quarreled.


    "You and your damn parents, my Nathan!" John uttered as he rushed up and immediately grabbed Nathan''s head. "You three stripped everything from me!"


    Nathan didn''t try to defend himself, as John violently slammed his head into the building walls. A loud bang was audible as the impact destroyed the infrastructure. The dust that was roused dirtied Nathan''s clothing.


    "I worked so hard to reach where I was, even with your parents slowing my progress!" John remarked as he followed up with a strike to his gut, blasting Nathan into a school bus parked on the road curb. Nathan''s body provided enough force to topple over and land upside down.


    "After dealing with the stain of the blessed criminals plaguing this country, my reputation had never been higher!" John stated as he casually approached Nathan, who was mustering the strength to stand. Nathan was bleeding quite a lot and was rather bruised. "But you came along and just had to finish your parents'' work. Your presence brought about my downfall!"


    John approached and ruthlessly struck Nathan in the chest, sending him through the metal body of the school bus. John''s punch returned Nathan to Lilith and Claw, as he laid before them in pain.


    "N-Nathan..." Lilith muttered as she observed his injured body. "Let me go, dammit!"This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    "I won''t. I don''t know much about you, but I would have felt bad if you two were still innocent, but you''ve committed many crimes now," Claw stated. "Although John has done a lot of messed up stuff, you two are criminals deserving of death...especially for what your group did to my comrades."


    Freaking hell...what do I do? Nathan pondered as he lay on the ground and stared at the sky. I-I need to at least...ensure Lilith''s safety.


    "I prepared all this for you, Nathan...I even found Serena Collins! I bet you never thought that Serena may have her circumstances for accusing you of rape, but you never tried to look for her!" John explained as he approached him, much to Lilith''s worry. "From your failure of killing me back then, to stupidly abandoning Serena...all your past regrets and mistakes are returning to bite you!"


    S-So he''s saying...I''m in the wrong? Who would want to talk to someone who ruined...your life? Nathan internally questioned. H-How should I have known...she was threatened...?


    "...Go...die," Nathan uttered. This provoked great ire in John, as his eyebrows furrowed and he gritted his teeth. Like a predator that knows he has its prey, John responded by stooping over Nathan''s chest.


    "G-Get off of him!" Lilith yelled as she continued to struggle. She swung her sword wildly but didn''t have the leverage to hit Claw due to his position behind her.


    "Tch, stop swinging that thing..." Claw muttered as he watched the katana''s trajectory.


    "Can''t you see that your existence is hated by everyone? You''re an S-Class criminal who keeps away civilians from enjoying their lives!" John berated Nathan as he ruthlessly and repeatedly struck Nathan in the face. "You never had anything good in this world, and you never will because of all your crimes! You''re the one who should go die!"


    As Nathan''s face turned left and right with every punch, blood spewed from his mouth and stained the concrete.


    "The suffering, both physical and my reputation, I went through is because of you! You made me experience the excruciating pain to become a super soldier!!!" John yelled as he migrated his strikes to Nathan''s chest, delivering a flurry of brutal hits. "Unlike you, I have a future in society to look forward to, but I can''t go back to normal until I make you suffer until your last breath!"


    Nathan''s discomfort only proved to intensify, as the sound of ribs breaking was loud and audible...and John never stopped striking as his fist sunk in Nathan''s chest. Lilith witnessed as copious amounts of blood were roused from Nathan''s mouth, increasing her despair.


    The swollen, black eye, discolored bruising, broken bones and excessively bleeding Nathan sustained never made it any better.


    "I SAID STOP, PLEASE!" Lilith yelled as tears started pooling from her eyes. She struggled with enough intensity that Lilith freed herself from Claw''s grasp, albeit receiving scratches on her neck.


    Despite being barely conscious and still being beaten to a pulp, Nathan witnessed this action from Lilith.


    "Damn it! I''ll kill you!" The surprised Claw uttered as he quickly grabbed Lilith''s arm.


    "Get out of my way!" Lilith yelled as she swung her katana at Claw''s head. He observed it and was about to lift his free hand to block.


    Get...your hands...off of Lilith... The barely conscious Nathan internally spoke as he opened his right hand out and stretched it in Claw''s direction. In an unprecedented moment, a blue sedan suddenly appeared on top of Claw, before landing on his head.


    This was the first time Nathan had materialized something from a distance and not from his hands. His blessing had suddenly upgraded, and it was all to protect Lilith.


    "Ugh...what--" Claw grunted as the car''s weight disrupted his balance and attempted to block, before dropping to the ground. The super soldier had no time to recover, as the katana passed flesh, bone, and flesh again. He was instantly decapitated by Lilith.


    This may have been a good outcome as she escaped the clutches of the super soldier, but seeing her take another life caused Nathan''s heart to sink. Once again, he failed to stop Lilith from being forced to take a life.


    Lilith''s escape was short lived though, as John had observed her actions from his peripheral vision. He wasted no time and suddenly appeared in front of Lilith.


    BAM!


    She had no time to react, as John struck her in the temple of her head which knocked her to the ground. Her katana fell out of her hand and John quickly kicked it away, effectively disarming her.


    "Ugh...Li...lith!" Nathan weakly muttered upon observing this.


    "Get out...of my...way..." Lilith muttered as she slowly stood up. Her face was bruised from the strike. She seemed rather delirious which was understandable, as she was just hit in the soft spot of a human''s head.


    What a useless bastard. John pondered as he coldly gazed at Claw''s corpse.


    "...Heh, how could I disregard your source of happiness, Nathan? Simply beating you to death would not be enough to pay you back the suffering you caused me," John stated. "...I''ve got the one person who has the potential to break you to pieces!"


    "D...don''t..."


    You''ve taken everything from me...brought immense suffering to my life! So watch as I do the same to you! John pondered with a sadistic grin. I''ll make you suffer just like the day you witnessed your parents being executed!

 Ch. 32 - Suffering (Part 2)

    Although Lilith and Nathan were being plagued by John, the developer felt no urgency to do anything. He continued to spectate their battle from the building roof he sat on.


    "How sad, Nathan. It''s plain as day you were protected by Jack and I. You thought everything would have been alright because you received help before," The developer remarked. "Even though you want to get stronger to protect yourself and Lilith, you didn''t do anything it took to grasp that reality."


    Sigh, I spent such a long time preparing, but it seems Ada will force me to wait a little longer. The developer pondered. As much as I don''t want these two, Nathan especially, to die, I can''t use them if they cannot reach the finish line. Will I have to wait some more to get new game characters...?


    Seeing the two at his mercy, John felt a great sense of superiority. He couldn''t help but remember the day when he put Nathan''s parents to hang and the delight he felt at their misery.


    "Watch closely, Nathan!" John exclaimed as he delivered an uppercut to Lilith''s gut, causing her to cough excessively. "Watch as I beat your girlfriend to death!"


    Nathan''s delirious sensation and difficulty staying awake due to his extensive injuries were quickly dispelled as he observed Lilith getting attacked.


    "Ugh!" Lilith yelled as she coughed up saliva.


    "LET HER GO...BASTARD!" As pulsating veins manifested on his forehead, Nathan mustered his strength and yelled angrily.


    "Haha! Stop me then!" John mocked as he struck Lilith repeatedly in the temple of her head. "Oh wait, you''re too injured to!"


    Although Lilith was quite delirious, she attempted to defend herself by striking John. This effort was futile as her punch was too sluggish and slow and was effortlessly avoided. John gave her no chance to follow up as he backhanded her into the ground.


    Nathan watched as Lilith coughed up blood after taking a hard hit to the ground, which intensified the rage he felt.


    "DAMMIT!" Nathan yelled as he slowly mustered the strength to stand. "I SAID STOP--Cough, cough..."


    Nathan''s determination and ire were interrupted as he suddenly vomited a large amount of blood from his body. He could only get on his knees before falling back to the ground. He did sustain a greater beating than Lilith was going through...or at least currently.


    The sight of Nathan trying all his might to intervene, only to falter, amused John greatly.


    "Aww, is that all your love amounts to? You can''t fight through the injuries?" John mocked.


    W-Why...why, why, why...why is this all happening to us!? W-We were happily spending time just an hour ago, so why! Nathan internally questioned as he coughed up more blood. Being forced to helplessly spectate the person he loved being tortured and not having the ability to help, Nathan couldn''t help but glimpse at the developer.


    From the building he sat on, the developer coldly matched Nathan''s gaze. Nathan never thought he''d be even more enraged than he was until he received a mocking smirk from the developer. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    What...the fuck...are you smiling about!? Did you plan this because we weren''t crazy enough for your liking, as the NPC warned us!? Nathan pondered with visible rage and more pulsating arteries on his forehead. If so, why did you bring us into this hell!? If you wanted psychos, you should just use Jack...you damn bastard!!!


    "Pfft, don''t look so angry, Nathan," John remarked as he pulled a combat knife from a holster on his belt. "You should save some of that rage for this part!"


    "W-What--"


    Shluk!


    "AAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!" Lilith released an ear-piercing scream as John tossed her before stabbing her in the elbow with the knife and pinning it into a building wall. Lilith''s pain-filled cries were Nathan''s breaking point as tears began streaming down his eyes.


    While the injured Lilith was hanging by her bleeding elbow, John ruthlessly delivered a flurry of punches and kicks to her stomach, chest, and face. In front of Nathan''s eyes, Lilith was being used as a punching bag.


    Each time he struck, Lilith''s body bounced on the building, which cracked it. This caused great stress on her elbow as the constant shaking enabled the knife to drive through her bone and flesh gradually.


    The area was being painted with Lilith''s blood.


    Phew...all this torture is getting me a bit tired. John pondered as he wiped off sweat. Due to his bloody knuckles, he instead wiped the mixed blood of Nathan and Lilith onto his forehead. It looks like I am getting old, ha.


    "Your parents said true peace can only be attained by treating everyone as equals, but they couldn''t be more wrong! They never understood that, so they foolishly ruined my plans!" John exclaimed as he continued pummeling Lilith. "But my philosophy has been proven since they died and is being proven now! This mess happened because you chose to run the opposite direction after being lured to those soldiers by Serena!? It''s obvious you have the strength to kill them all, but you chose the less violent route! Your foolish decision caused you to run right into me, so you''ll lose the last person in this world you care about, and I''ll finally have peace!"


    The last sentence John uttered truly struck Nathan''s core, as his tears greatly intensified. Nathan could never perceive a life without Lilith, much less caused by his mistakes.


    "Please...stop...I-I beg...you..." The defeated Nathan softly pleaded. "At least...spare...her..."


    "Haha! That''s what I wanted to see from you! Your will has finally been broken!" John exclaimed with pure delight. "Don''t worry! I''ll send you along with Lilith to the afterlife! You can see your parents and be a happy family, Nathan!"


    "STOP! I--"


    BOOM!


    Like the faithful friend he is, Zack appeared out of nowhere and delivered a hook to John''s side. He donned the gloves he received from the developer, which suddenly gleamed with light and released an explosion upon impact.


    "Ugh!" John grunted as he was blasted into a building. Zack spectated the conditions of his friends and was immediately stricken with immense anger.


    "WHAT THE HELL...IS GOING ON HERE!?" Zack angrily questioned. Tch...I didn''t want to hurt Lilith, so I didn''t use my full strength...What the hell happened!?


    "Z-Zack...?" The distraught Nathan uttered in surprise. His surprise was matched by the developer, who observed him with widened eyes.


    "Oh? I did tell Zack about the mission later than Nathan and Lilith on purpose," The developer stated. "Looks like he came just in time."


    As Zack pondered, he didn''t utilize his full explosive power so he couldn''t maximize the damage. John, who was enraged from the attack, walked out of the building with a visibly burnt side and tattered clothing.


    "DAMMIT! HOW DARE YOU ATTACK ME, BASTARD!?" John yelled. "YOU RUINED MY MOMENT!"


    "You were the ones who did this to my friends, right?" Zack questioned as he coldly stared at John. "I''ll kill you."


    Although the excessively bruised and beaten Lilith had been freed from the beating, her elbow had suffered immense damage. The bone was driven through, and the ligaments had been torn, which meant her forearm was being held by a thread.


    It was being held by a thread, at least, as Lilith''s weight and the wedged knife forced her forearm to completely tear off, causing the unconscious Lilith to fall to the ground.


    Z-Zack...you...you saved us...yet again... Nathan pondered. You always...come...to save us...

 Ch. 33 - Suffering (Part 3)

    After being pulled down from the high acquired by torturing Nathan and Lilith and being confronted by Zack, a sensation of anger was roused from John.


    "Who the hell do you think you are?" John angrily questioned as he stood off against the equally enraged Zack. "I was having such a good time here!"


    "You think...this is a good time?" Zack questioned as he clenched his fist in anger.


    Although the delirious and grievously injured Nathan observed Zack, he didn''t keep his gaze fixed for too long. His biggest priority, Lilith, was currently unconscious and bleeding on the ground.


    The sight of her with such extensive wounds filled Nathan with a sense of urgency and despair. Despite his injuries, Nathan mustered his strength and darted towards Lilith''s aid.


    "L-Lilith...p...please don''t...die," Nathan muttered as he held her unconscious body in his arms and rested his back on a building wall. As he observed her severed right arm, and the torn exposed tissues, this forced Nathan to break down as more tears streamed down his eyes.


    Although visibly affected by this sight, Nathan understood the urgency of Lilith''s profusely bleeding injuries, as he quickly materialized bandages to nurse her severed forearm.


    As he tied the bandages around her arm, thoughts suddenly flushed through Nathan''s mind. These thoughts couldn''t be more perfect to make Nathan feel worse about his situation.


    Lilith had always been there for him, from his terrible experiences at school to the heinous accusations Nathan received in life. When he was at his worst at the time of his parents'' execution, Lilith was his source of comfort.


    Lilith was the only one in the world who cared for Nathan, even going as far as to bloody her hands for his sake. Like her blessing, Lilith was truly his knight, and Nathan recalled all those times. She put Nathan above her safety so that this situation couldn''t be more devastating for the young man.


    From the warnings of the NPC to become more hungry for strength to John''s berating that his decisions caused this mess, more memories played through Nathan''s mind.


    Y...You have always...been by my side...as you''ve told me...but...I couldn''t even protect...you...! As Nathan gazed at the unresponsive Lilith and pondered, the tears intensified, even from his swollen black eye. I-If I had chosen...to kill...those soldiers...none of this would happen. No...if you had never...known me...you''d be...enjoying...life. Instead of...becoming partners...with a cursed criminal...like me...you could have been...a renowned...chef. You''d have all that you want...but I did this...to you!


    In his immense despair, Nathan brought Lilith''s body close and hugged her.


    "I...I''m so...sorry..." Nathan muttered. "I''m...sorry...I was...born."


    Both men could hear Nathan''s pitiful words and this washed away John''s anger, returning the high and ecstasy he received.


    "Ha! Seeing Nathan in that condition truly puts a smile on my face!" John remarked. "I get to see the broken faces of parents and their children!"


    The sight of his friends in their vulnerable states, and the joy John felt for being the perpetrator provoked Zack''s ire, as he clenched his fists to the point of shaking.


    "Yeah...I don''t know why you did this to them...you could even be in the right for all I care," The angered Zack coldly responded. "You did this...to my friends. I''m going to slaughter you!"


    "...Heh, don''t think I don''t know who you are...S-Class criminal, Zack Isaac. I''ve done quite a bit of research on you," John said. "It must be terrible growing up with abusive parents who control your life heavily."


    "...Huh?"


    "You weren''t allowed to even go outside for too long, let alone have friends because of your parents, so I guess that''s why you became a psychotic pyromaniac," John remarked. "Your life is just as pathetic as Nathan''s, haha."


    "...Stop bad-mouthing him."


    "It''s natural that I''d want to research you S-Class criminals since you also ruined everything I had. After I killed Nathan, I was going to pursue you, Olivia Gray, and Charles Warner," John said. "It looks like you made it easier by coming here, and it doesn''t seem like you are in the best shape to do anything!"This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    John was correct about his assumption, as the bandages Zack wore, even underneath his overalls, indicated injuries he was nursing.


    "Seriously, you talk too damn much!" Zack yelled as he darted toward his opponent. "Just shut the hell up and die, old man!"


    Zack engaged John in close-quarters combat and began with a rage-filled haymaker. Zack failed to realize how obvious charging up and throwing a punch would be, but he was punished by John who weaved the haymaker and delivered a jab to Zack''s jaw.


    Although Zack staggered a bit, he quickly recovered and continued fighting. As they threw jabs and kicked each other, one stark difference was made clear between the two men - their skill. While the two avoided some of the other''s onslaught, John was far more efficient as he blocked and countered more of Zack''s attacks.


    Zack quickly found himself on the defensive and received several strikes to the jaw by John before being knocked to the ground by a punt to his shin.


    "Ugh..." Zack grunted.


    "Huff...You called me an old man, but I am still a military personnel!" John mocked as he was strangely catching his breath. He''s not a terrible fighter, but he''s lacking experience. Ah, it feels so good flexing my superiority in this battle! "Huff...I''ve received more combat training than a worthless criminal like you--"


    While Zack was on all fours, his right glove began to gleam an orange radiance which surprised John.


    BOOM!


    Although Zack suddenly lunged to strike him in the face, John reacted quickly and shifted his body to the left. It didn''t matter though, as he was still in the range of the explosion the glove discharged.


    "AAHHHH!!!" John yelled as he was rag-dolled through an already ruined building, further destroying the walls of the infrastructure.


    Ah...shit. I just got done fighting those Silverdust brothers, so the injuries are fresh as hell. Zack pondered as he clenched his side. I can''t push myself or I may reopen the stitched wounds I received from those spike stab wounds. Not to mention all the cuts and bruises I got...


    Remembering his friends, Zack glanced at the despair-filled Nathan. While he held Lilith in his arms and tears streamed down his face, Nathan gazed at the developer who still sat on the roof of a nearby building. He could only gaze at the developer with hatred and murderous intent.


    No...you can''t let these injuries be a damn excuse...You left your friends for a bit and this happened. It''s all your fault, Zack. Zack told himself as he expressed sorrow and held his head down. Right when I thought I could protect my friends because I got stronger, this happened...I don''t have the right to complain about my injuries!


    "Damn you! What the hell was that!?" John, who rushed out of the building. Despite not receiving a direct hit from the explosion, John''s face became even more burnt and bloody than it already was against his fight with Nathan. "Were you hiding a grenade in your hand, bastard!?"


    He''s pretty injured already too. Nathan must have done a number on him! Zack analyzed as he ran towards John. If I land a good hit, I could take him down!


    Despite his determination, Zack could not improve his combat prowess, especially with his extensive injuries. The perks of becoming a super soldier granted John high pain tolerance which meant he could keep fighting Zack at high efficiency.


    That is what he did as John landed a combo of jabs, hooks, and punches to Zack''s face and chest before finishing with a headbutt to his forehead which sent Zack to the ground.


    "All a pathetic bastard like you has is the ability to activate explosives! As long as I don''t let you use any bombs, you have nothing!" John berated as he violently kicked Zack while he was on the ground. This caused Zack to cough up blood. "You can''t fight me with those sloppy movements! I''ll kill you then finish up Nathan--"


    BOOM!


    Zack''s gloves discharged yet another explosion while he lay on the ground, creating a large blanket of smoke everywhere.


    "Tsk! Dammit!" John yelled as he recoiled a few meters from the blast. His vision was obscured by the smoke.


    BOOM!


    Zack was scheming though, as he took advantage of the smoke field and landed a straight punch to John''s chest. He landed a direct explosion-enhanced strike on John.


    "Gak! Uuurrggghhh..." John grunted as he coughed up blood and was launched several meters away.


    His body is sturdy--


    Despite taking a direct blow, John quickly recovered. He rushed up and grabbed Zack, before tossing him into the walls of a building. In the same breath, John caught up to him and delivered a devastating straight punch to Zack''s stomach, which created enough force to leave cracks in the building.


    "AAAHHHHHH!!" Zack screamed as he coughed up blood. John had hit him in the weak spot, right where he was impaled by William''s silver spikes.


    "Stay the hell down--" John couldn''t finish his demand, as Zack immediately grabbed his arm and exploded it with his gloves.


    "AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!" John yelled as the arm he punched Zack with became severely burnt. This provoked extreme ire as John struck Zack repeatedly in the face with his other arm like a mad dog in a frenzy.


    "YOU S-CLASS CRIMINALS KEEP GETTING IN MY WAY!" John yelled in anger as he kept striking Zack. While his face was being brutalized, Zack kept his grasp on John''s arm. "I''LL SEND ALL OF YOU TO HELL TODAY--"


    Much to his confusion, John observed a smirk from the pummeled Zack. His condition contrasted with the smirk as blood ran from Zack''s eyes, nose, and mouth. John never understood the reason for Zack''s smirk until it was too late.


    BAM!


    While Zack held his arm, John suddenly received a devious hook to his jaw. This rag-dolled him many meters away and through a building.


    The perpetrator of this sneak attack was none other than the blood-lusted Nathan. The barely conscious Zack witnessed Nathan''s murderous gaze towards John, and a slight frown formed on his face.


    Sorry...for not...being useful. Zack pondered as he shut his eyes and slinked to the ground. I''m sorry...


    "Damn...it...that hurt..." John muttered as he pulled himself out of the rubble. Surprise filled his face as he matched Nathan''s gaze. Nathan stood there and gazed with a cold, murderous stare. "W-What...you''re...still up...? You still...have the will to fight?"

 Ch. 34 - Epiphany

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 Ch. 35 - Breaking Point

    "Heh, look on you. Drenched in the blood like the psycho criminals you despised! How delightful!" Ada mocked.


    "Move before I kill you!" Nathan wasn''t in the best mood to entertain Ada, given the current circumstances. In his ire, he strolled towards her with his bloody axe.


    "Before I move, I want to show you something," Ada said as she tilted her sunglasses downward to reveal her eyes. "Look into my eyes, Nathan."


    "Huh--"


    Nathan had no time to process Ada''s request. After a single glance at her eyes, he perceived a sudden morphing in his surroundings.


    "W-What?" The confused Nathan questioned as he looked around. Nathan''s confusion quickly changed to one of panic as he realized how familiar the new setting of the environment was.


    From the rowdy noise of civilians to the large gallows they congregated around, Nathan remembered this event all too well. His panic intensified to horror as he witnessed the unlucky souls waiting to be hanged at the gallows - his parents.


    As if re-enacting the past event, Nathan was given a clear view as he stood at the front of the congregation.


    W-What...is this? Nathan questioned as he gazed upon his parents. The hooded executioner was currently placing the ropes over their necks. W-Why am I...remembering this!?


    "HURRY UP AND KILL THEM!" This was but one of the harsh chants the civilians hurled towards his parents. It seems as though the yelling was barely understandable as civilians expressed their urges for his parents to die.


    This doesn''t seem...like a memory! Nathan thought as he broke out in a sweat. E-Everything looks...and feels...so real!


    "M-Mom! Dad!" Hoping to receive a response, Nathan desperately called out. His hopes were quickly shattered as his parents didn''t even move their heads despite Nathan being so physically close to them. It''s as though they never registered his presence.


    The executioner approached the lever to open the floors beneath their feet, greatly increasing the intensity of Nathan''s panic.


    "S-Stop!" Nathan yelled as he materialized a handgun and attempted to shoot the executioner. This proved futile as the bullets acted as though they phased through him and had no effect on the headsman.


    "W-What?" Nathan uttered with confusion. His confusion was quickly replaced by despair as he witnessed the executioner pull the lever, causing his parents to descend through the floor and be hanged.


    "No...no, no, no, no, no!!! STOP!!!" Nathan yelled as he witnessed their hanging. "I don''t want to see this again!!!"


    The sounds of them choking, the involuntary twitching of their bodies as they were deprived of air, and the joyous chants of the crowd as the life left the duo, the sounds and sight were all authentic. It was as though he was experiencing it again.


    After the ''party'' was finally over, the crowd quickly dispersed, leaving the broken Nathan on all fours in front of the gallows.


    "W-Why...is this..."


    Unfortunately for him, the psychological torture was not over, as the setting suddenly morphed into the living room of his home.


    "H-Huh?" The broken Nathan questioned as he lifted his head. Sitting on the couch and watching a movie was Lilith, who Nathan observed. L-Lilith!? Y-You''re alive?


    "Lilith! W-What happened!?" Nathan questioned. "H-How did...we get home!?"


    The television''s audio was the only thing that spoke, as Lilith failed to register his presence. She kept her focus on the television.


    Can she not hear me? What is going on!?


    BANG!


    Nathan and Lilith were startled as the door suddenly burst off its hinges. The cause was who Nathan least expected - Jack Knight.


    "Hello, love," Jack greeted as he entered the house casually. Both Lilith and Nathan were frightened upon witnessing him. Her fear was so intense that Lilith hopped out of her couch in fear.


    How the hell? Nathan uttered. D- Didn''t he die? H..How is he...why is he here!?


    "J-Jack! What do you want?" Lilith questioned as she broke out in a sweat.


    "Life has been pretty boring since I murdered those super soldiers, ya know," Jack responded as he suddenly took one of his durability negators from his coat. "I thought of a way to spice things up."


    "You damned bastard!" Nathan angrily yelled before tossing cluster grenades at Jack. Like everyone else in this strange occurrence, Jack disregarded Nathan and his attacks, and the cluster grenades disappeared instead of exploding. "W-What!?"


    "D-Don''t do this! Neither Nathan...nor the developer...will like this..." Lilith muttered in fear, to which Jack smirked in response. Utilizing his extreme speed, Jack immediately appeared in front of Lilith''s face.


    "I know. I want to see the look on their faces when they find out what I did to you!" Jack coldly responded. "I want to see how much Nathan would blame himself for leaving you alone!"


    "Wai--" Lilith was unable to get any pleading in as Jack drove the knife into her gut. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    "STOP IT BASTARD!!!" Nathan angrily yelled as he immediately grabbed Jack''s arm. To his surprise, Nathan was able to feel the sensation of Jack''s body but was still disregarded by him. "GET AWAY FROM HER, DAMMIT!!!"


    Red liquid poured from Lilith''s mouth as internal bleeding quickly took place. Like the sadistic monster he is, this sparked an excited grin on Jack''s face.


    "Yes! Let me see more!" Jack yelled as he violently began slashing Lilith. Nathan didn''t release his grasp but was tossed around like a ragdoll as Jack rapidly moved his arm.


    "AAAHHHHHHH!!!" Lilith released a gut-wrenching scream.


    Blood spewing painted the walls as Lilith was getting dismembered. Jack''s rapid hand swings finally proved too much for Nathan, as his grip slipped and he was tossed into the wall.


    "Urgh...n-no...p...please..." Nathan desperately muttered as he was forced to spectate Lilith''s murder. Jack treated her body like a pumpkin on Halloween as he brutally carved into it and dismembered her limbs.


    The ear-piercing screams that Nathan was forced to listen to, along with the sight of the stabbing and dismembering were finally put to a stop, as Jack instantly beheaded her. Being proud of his work, Jack delightedly observed her bloody corpse, which was stained everywhere.


    "Heh, I hope Nathan enjoys the little present," Jack stated before casually leaving. Nathan had no words as he stared at Lilith''s body in despair.


    This isn''t...real...there''s no way they''d ignore me...if it was real. Nathan thought as he let out an inaudible sobbing. B-But w...why...why did I...need to see...my Lilith...in this...way? I...I can''t...take this...anymore.


    Good on Nathan for realizing this wasn''t real, but everything he saw and all the sensations he felt was very authentic for him. It was akin to a mixture of horrible memories and memories that never existed.


    There was more to come for Nathan as the setting immediately morphed into an outdoor picnic. With him were Lilith, his mom, and his dad.


    "H-Huh?" The teary-eyed and broken Nathan uttered as he looked around again at his new surroundings. "W-Where...am I...now?"


    "It seems that Nathan''s running late," Tomas stated. "Today was supposed to be the family gathering too..."


    "Fufu, Nathan''s a busy man, you know," Lilith responded. "He does his best to take care of me!"


    "I''m glad he''s a good husband to you," Anna, Nathan''s mother, responded with a smile. "But he should get good at coming on time."


    Both Tomas and Lilith chuckled in response.


    What is this now? M-My parents...and Lilith together? Nathan internally questioned as he listened to them converse. They''re waiting for me...at a picnic?


    "So, how''s everything going at the restaurant?" Anna questioned. "I know you''ve just opened it, but I''m interested!"


    "Well, it isn''t going too badly! I''m getting a good bit of customers," Lilith responded. "I guess the food is pretty good, hehe!"


    "I''m sure it is! Nathan''s always talking about your food! He says things like, ''It''s the best thing I''ve ever tasted!''" Tomas remarked. "I wonder when we''re going to get a try of your meals, hmm?"


    "Hehe, don''t worry! It''s a good thing I packed some food I prepared for the picnic," Lilith responded as she shyly scratched her head. "I''ll make a lot more for you guys. I am a part of the family, after all."


    "Yes, you are, dear," Anna responded. "I''m glad you are, my daughter."


    As Nathan watched, more tears streamed down his face.


    W-What...is this...mockery...? Nathan pondered as he covered his crying face. I just...wanted...my family...to welcome Lilith, and we could all...smile together. But none...of that...came true.


    Amid his breakdown, Nathan suddenly materialized a combat knife.


    "H-Huh?" Nathan uttered as he gazed at the knife with confusion. "Why did I take this out--"


    "Nathan? Is that you?" Nathan''s presence was finally registered as the trio gazed at him, and Lilith asked. "When did you get here...and why do you have a knife?"


    "You guys can see--" Nathan didn''t finish his sentence as he lunged at his father. "What!?"


    "What are you doing, Nathan!?" Anna questioned as they were startled by Nathan''s action.


    "I-I don''t know!" Nathan responded. W-What''s going on with my body--


    "AAAHHHHHHHH!!!" The screams of his bewildered father resonated within the area as Nathan drove the knife into his chest. Everyone, including Nathan, observed a look of panic in response to this.


    SHIT! WHEN DID I DO THIS!? Nathan internally questioned as he began to panic. MY BODY...IS NOT LISTENING!


    Nathan''s body truly never listened as he repeatedly stabbed his father in a frenzy.


    "STOP IT, NATHAN!" Lilith pleaded as she and Anna desperately tried to pull Nathan off his profusely bleeding father. Their efforts were futile due to the massive strength gap between them as normal humans and Nathan as a blessed human.


    He never stopped stabbing his father until the life left his eyes.


    "T-Tomas? O-Oh god...please, no!" Anna muttered in despair as she witnessed the bloody mess that once was her husband. Like a fountain, tears immediately rushed down her eyes as she rushed to his body. "TOMAS, NOOO!!!"


    Nathan gazed at what he had done with pure shock.


    I-I just...killed my own...father...and I couldn''t...have done anything about it. With trauma-filled eyes, Nathan pondered. I-I can''t...I can''t take anymore...


    "W-Why...why did you do this...Nathan!?" Lilith questioned with fear as she grabbed the balling Anna and backed away.


    "...me."


    "W-What?" Lilith questioned.


    "P...Please...kill me--"


    Nathan instantly appeared behind his crying mother and stabbed her through the throat.


    NO! NO, NO, NO!!! Nathan internally pleaded as he tore out the side of her neck with the knife, ceasing both Anna''s crying and her living.


    "AAAHHHHHH!!!!" Fearing for her life, Lilith screamed at the top of her lungs.


    "P-Please...run away...from me!" Nathan begged as he uncontrollably strolled towards Lilith. "Please...I don''t want...to...hurt you!"


    "Get away from me!" Lilith demanded as she desperately ran away. Although that was what Nathan hoped for, Lilith''s harsh demand slightly hurt him. He''d never want Lilith to tell him to stay away from her.


    Well, her attempted escape was futile as Nathan immediately caught up, grabbed her by the hair, and dragged her to the ground. Like an executioner, Nathan slowly brought the bloody knife to Lilith''s neck as he held her hair.


    "W-Why...are you doing this...Nathan?" Lilith muttered as tears came down her eyes. "I...I loved you...we all did!"


    P-Please! Stop! Nathan begged as the knife drew blood from her throat. His arm trembled immensely as Nathan tried his best to regain control of his body. Just let this hell end, please!!!


    "STTTOOOOPPP!!!!"


    *


    Meanwhile, the perpetrator of Nathan''s continued suffering found immense joy at the effects. Ada watched with delight as Nathan gazed into the sky with a broken expression. With tears streaming down Nathan''s face, he was also softly sobbing.


    "Aww, poor Nathan. I wonder how many horrific deaths of your dear parents and Lilith did you have to witness tens of thousands of times?" Ada questioned. "And all in a minute, real-time. With all that you''ve experienced thus far, I''m sure your brain is mush right now."


    Like a mother to her child, Ada pulled Nathan''s head close to her bosom in response to his visible pain. Surprisingly unbothered by this, Nathan''s tears had dampened Ada''s designer suit.


    "Dear, dear...It''ll all be okay, Nathan. Although you brought this on yourself for insulting and disrespecting someone as great as I, it pains me to see a fellow game character in this state," Ada remarked as she pulled a handgun from under her furred coat. Nathan, currently in something akin to a vegetable state, did nothing in response. "I will end the intense suffering you''ve gone through today."


    Intending to cement her plan for revenge, Ada calmly placed the barrel of the gun in Nathan''s right ear.


    "From the bottom of my heart, I''m glad you have experienced unimaginable suffering," Ada said with a genuine smile. "And I''m glad those will be your last thoughts, Nathan."


    BANG!

 Ch. 36 - Benevolent Woman

    BANG!


    All it took was one trigger pull, and Ada had completed her revenge goal. Those are the words I''d have said if Zack hadn''t been such an altruistic friend.


    Disregarding his safety and injuries, Zack darted up and pushed Nathan away from Ada. Missing its intended target, the bullet soared and lodged into a nearby infrastructure.


    "Oh, my?" Ada uttered as her gaze shifted to Zack. "Ever the faithful dog to his friends, I see."


    "Get...away," Despite the brutal beating he received from the now deceased John, the profusely bleeding Zack muttered as he held the catatonic Nathan.


    "Tch, it''s you again! How dare you interrupt Ada!?" Leon yelled as Ada''s allies quickly appeared by her side. "I knew I should have murdered you from back then!"


    "Ugh...shut...up," Zack muttered. Showing his intent to protect his friend, Zack''s gloves began gleaming with an orange light and emitting sparks. "I''ll...kill you...all."


    "...Just say the word, Ms. Ada," Charlotte remarked as spikes began growing from the ground. "We''ll murder this insect so you can finish your revenge."


    "Revenge...? So you...were the one...who planned...this," Zack muttered as he expressed sudden despair. "N-No...way."


    As she observed the pathetic, broken, and beaten states of the two men, Ada couldn''t help but giggle a little.


    "Fufu, I thought I told you not to show your face in front of me, Zack," Ada remarked. "But it''s fine. I''ll end things here."


    Ada''s words sparked confusion among everyone in response. Those were not something Ada''s men would think they''d hear, especially after how badly they cornered their enemies.


    "W-What? But you have Nathan Hayes right where you want him. He''s been broken down on every level, both his physicality to his mental state," Nolan remarked. "He''s a shadow of his former self. You have him where you want him, so why let him live, Ms. Ada?"


    "Fufu, I was planning on personally killing him, but looking at their pathetic states, something came to mind," Ada responded. "Nathan''s sanity has been utterly destroyed. Wouldn''t it be fun to let him live as a vegetable?"


    "I love how brilliant you are, miss!" The impressed Frank remarked. "Killing that asshole would have been too nice for him."


    "Hmpf, of course. Miss Ada''s intellect vastly eclipses everyone," Charlotte. "You''re just pointing out the obvious, brother."


    "Fufu, now...be a good boy, and get out of my sight, Zack," Ada demanded with a smile.


    Zack had nothing he could say or do in response, but accept this act of mercy from his enemies with frustration and despair.


    I...I really couldn''t...do anything...


    "Hey! Hurry up and go away!" Leon yelled, frightening Zack. With a defeated expression, Zack quickly moved away with Nathan. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    "Fufu, I am a benevolent person, huh," Ada said. "Especially to that Zack."


    "U-Uhm, is it alright to come out now?" Serena''s voice was audible as she peeked out behind a ruined infrastructure wall. All heads were turned as she garnered their attention.


    "Ah, Serena! Perfect timing!" Ada responded with a delighted expression. "Of course, you can come, dear."


    Serena happily skipped up to Ada after receiving her permission.


    "S-So, how did it go, miss?" Serena questioned. "It sounded like everything went well."


    "Of course it did. Karma struck Nathan today for all the cruelty he dealt us in the past," Ada replied. "Not to mention, the S-Class criminals will be permanently crippled after this. And it''s thanks to you for luring them, my dear!"


    "Tsk, she doesn''t need to attribute this to a nobody like her--" Frank muttered under his breath but received an elbow from Charlotte.


    "...As much as I liked Nathan, I''m glad my life played out the way it did. I became lucky enough to meet you, Ms. Ada," Serena expressed. "Although I might not have much strength or riches, I''m glad you chose me. I look forward to serving you!"


    "But hasn''t your service expired though?" Ada tilted her head and questioned. "You''ve outlived your use."


    "Huh?"


    "I only needed you to make Nathan slip up. Now that that''s out of the way, you''re no longer useful," Ada explained. "Your personality and interactions with Nathan were quite amusing though."


    "W-What? Y-You''re throwing...me away?" Serena questioned as her eyes widened and her jaw dropped with shock. "B-But how...how could you?"


    "Huh?"


    "I-I gave up everything...to follow you. Y-You are...my god that I chose to put my gaze on...instead of feeling guilty...for Nathan," Serena explained. "I want to give my all to you, so please! Please don''t abandon me!"


    "But you were the reason Nathan dared disrespect me, right? He became wary of friendly and beautiful women like me because you betrayed him those years ago," Ada retorted. "If you weren''t born, Nathan would have been an amazing dog for me. Now that I think about it, I''d also have gotten Lilith and Zack. A truly worthless woman."


    Ada''s words were akin to being cut by a knife, as tears immediately ran down Serena''s face.


    "I''ve already planned everything, including your punishment," Ada said as she turned around. "Leon, you can go ahead."


    "Yes, ma''am," Leon responded as he reached into his jacket. Serena''s expression morphed into panic as she witnessed him revealing a handgun.


    "If it makes you feel any better, John Walker is dead," Ada said as she began to walk off. "The man who ruined everything and threatened your mother is now gone. You''re welcome, my dear."


    "Wait! I can be useful, I promise! You can turn me into a super soldier, or use my body to your pleasure! Just don''t throw me away!" Serena desperately pleaded as the tears intensified. "I don''t want to be abandoned again!"


    "Those are tempting offers, but I already made up my mind," Ada said. "Just shut up and be happy you were useful to me."


    "N-No...NO, PLEASE--"


    BANG, BANG, BANG!


    Leon gave her no additional time to voice her pleas, as he placed three bullets into Serena''s body; two in her chest and one in her head specifically. Blood quickly pooled on the ground underneath Serena''s corpse after falling.


    "Good, that nuisance finally got shut up," Ada coldly remarked. "We''ll need some cleaners for John and Serena."


    As she spoke, the developer suddenly appeared before the group.


    "Huh? What is this bastard doing here!?" Frank uttered. His surprised tone matched the bewildered faces of his allies.


    "Oh! I was wondering when you''d show up!" Ada remarked as she expressed a victorious smile. "Did you like the ''character development'' I gave them? It was pretty fun, right?"


    The developer didn''t respond immediately but gazed at Ada with a smirk.


    "What? Are you angry or something?" Ada questioned. "Do you want to kill your game character or something now?"


    "Tch, you aren''t killing anyone, bastard," Nolan declared as his body manifested a red, vibrant, fire-like aura around himself and his allies.


    "And you shouldn''t reduce yourself to a ''game character'' of this dickhead," Charlotte added. "You are far greater than him, Ms. Ada!"


    "Heh, nah, I''m not feeling murderous or anything. I just thought you''d want to meet me to rub your victory in my face," The developer replied. "I''m sure you were thinking about that."


    "Fufu, you know me so well. This is what you get for trying to use me though," Ada said. "But Nathan did receive the brunt of it, huh."


    "Meh, we''ll see what happens I suppose," The developer replied. "I hope...they take this as a learning process."


    "If they ever recover from this day, hehe."

 Ch. 37 - Learning Experience

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 Ch. 38 - Celebration and Comfort

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    </ul>


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

 Ch. 39 - Clinging

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

 Ch. 40 - Joy and Growth

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

 Ch. 41 - Epilogue (Part 1)

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

 Ch. 42 - Epilogue (Part 2)

    While the depressed and burdened Zack returned to the director¡¯s clutches, the developer¡¯s NPCs did their own things.


    In the confines of her smithing room, the blacksmith worked under the blazing fire to forge metallic weapons. She had an audience, as the other NPCs observed the metalcraft.


    Contrasting her usual excitement and vigor in her smithing, the blacksmith seemed rather disenchanted while working.


    ¡°...Sigh, it hasn¡¯t been that long, but it¡¯s already feeling different! My partner, Nathan, isn¡¯t here to try these out,¡± The blacksmith uttered. ¡°What¡¯s the point of making this stuff but there¡¯s no one to use it!?¡±


    ¡°...Can¡¯t you just make them then he¡¯ll use them after recovering?¡± The C. Specialist nonchalantly questioned while surfing on his smartphone.


    ¡°So, I should put them down and risk my precious creations building rust? Plus, how do we know Nathan¡¯s ever gonna wake up?¡± The blacksmith retorted. ¡°Sigh, Nathan was the perfect guy for my creations¡­I wish the developer didn¡¯t do any of this, but who am I to judge.¡±


    ¡°...I feel the same way. The level of injuries they sustained was too much,¡± The doctor remarked. ¡°And seeing Lilith¡¯s desperate begging for me to heal Nathan¡¯s mind¡­this is far more than they need to go through¡­¡±


    ¡°...I agree with you guys, but we can¡¯t feel sorry now. The developer picked us up from rock bottom, so we have to help him to the best of our abilities,¡± The C. Specialist stated. ¡°We¡¯re just his NPCs, questioning his word¡­isn¡¯t allowed.¡±


    ¡°...I know,¡± The doctor muttered. With the heightened tension caused by the depressing topic, silence filled the air.


    ¡°The seeds have already been sown. It¡¯s already growing, there¡¯s no time to be planting new seeds,¡± Breaking the silence, the NPC strangely remarked. ¡°Although we have no clue what exactly he needs them for, the developer has chosen those characters and requires them to grow quickly. Although his methods may be seen as cruel, it may be necessary.¡±


    ¡°...Sigh, I know,¡± The doctor repeated.


    ¡°But¡­don¡¯t get me wrong. I agree with the C. Specialist, but I also understand you guys,¡± The NPC continued. ¡°Seeing Lilith depressed over her beloved Nathan¡­is rather unappealing.¡±


    * * *


    After receiving permission to train with his friend, Zack, and Octavius commenced a spar in a confined training grounds owned by the Blueblood Corps. Although he was eager to improve, considering his current circumstances, his performance against Octavius could be put into question.


    With his bare fists, Zack charged at his opponent. From the sleeves of his arms to the soles of his shoes, Octavius was drenched in emerald green slime and prepared to retaliate against his opponent.


    Zack attempted a quick two-piece consisting of a left then right hook, but it was easily evaded by Octavius. Like a dog seeing an appetizing meal left unsupervised, Octavius took advantage of the opening Zack unintentionally created by his missed strikes without hesitation.


    Octavius expertly restrained Zack¡¯s arms with slime ropes and followed up with a powerful right hook to his jaw.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± Zack grunted as he staggered. Octavius struck him again in the jaw before ending with a straight punch to Zack¡¯s gut.


    The blow to his digestive organ roused up excessive coughing in Zack as he fell to his knees. Octavius did not continue assaulting Zack but instead gazed at him with a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°Hmm¡­you¡¯re making some mistakes you never normally do. You¡¯re leaving yourself open to so many counterattacks, it¡¯s too easy,¡± Octavius remarked. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you all of a sudden?¡±


    ¡°I¡­I can¡¯t focus properly. I¡­I keep remembering¡­shit, I don¡¯t want to!¡± Zack responded. ¡°I¡­I can¡¯t¡­I can¡¯t take it anymore!¡±The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Hmm, you did seem off when you returned, so I gave you some drugs to feel better,¡± Octavius replied. ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯ve kicked in now. Are the antidepressants not enough? Do you need more?¡±


    ¡°N-No¡­those Prozac pills aren¡¯t enough. I-I need¡­something harder than that,¡± Zack responded as he rubbed his face out of agony. ¡°I just want¡­to escape this terrible feeling.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, harder drugs, huh?¡±


    * * *


    The developer had traded the scenic view at the cliffside for a stroll in the grasslands as he continued to converse with Ryzen. As he treaded through the grassy terrain, the developer took in the fresh air.


    ¡°Ah, the gentle breeze feels so good on my skin and through my hair,¡± The developer said as he rubbed his hand through his hair which flowed through the wind. ¡°There¡¯s nothing better to do in this world than to take strolls and admire the scenery, especially when you¡¯ve lived here for so long. Don¡¯t you agree, Ryzen?¡±


    ¡°You like spending time sightseeing, huh? Ryzen questioned. ¡°I should have known you¡¯d have roped me into this.¡±


    ¡°C¡¯mon, you should admire the beauty of this world, as it won¡¯t be here for too long,¡± The developer remarked. ¡°My game characters may be struggling now, but for our sake, they¡¯ll come through in the end.¡±


    ¡°Kind of a stretch to say ¡®our sake,¡¯ don¡¯t you think?¡± Ryzen retorted.


    ¡°...They have their weaknesses, but we both saw potential in them,¡± The developer continued. ¡°I¡¯m not wrong in who I chose¡­I hope.¡±


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    After hearing his friend¡¯s desperate pleas to erase the pain that gnawed at his mind, Octavius granted Zack substances more powerful than the pills. What occupied his cupped hands was a handful of snow-white powder.


    ¡°Since you¡¯re blessed, I gave you a lot more than I¡¯d give a normie,¡± Octavius, who stood beside him, remarked. ¡°I¡¯m sure whatever you¡¯re going through will be gone in a flash after taking that.¡±


    Zack did not respond to Octavius, but instead fixed his gaze on the colorless powder in his hands.


    Sigh, I can¡¯t believe¡­I¡¯m taking something like this¡­ Zack pondered. He had not made up his mind despite all things considered¡­not until he recalled the painful expressions of Nathan, Lilith, and Olivia. I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m taking this¡­but I want this pain¡­to go away.


    Finally resolving himself, Zack placed his entire face into the powder mounded in his hands. Sniffing was audible as Zack took a long whiff. This was not without issues, as the powder traveled up and irritated his nostrils. The itchy and unpleasant sensation in Zack''s nostrils roused up spontaneous coughing.


    ¡°It should kick in pretty quickly, and you¡¯ll feel great. We can continue with training if you want, bro,¡± Octavius suggested. ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about wanting more in the future. As long as you¡¯re here, you¡¯ll always feel amazing.¡±


    Zack lifted his face to reveal the powder that dirtied him. Zack¡¯s narrowly opened eyes, his delirious expression, and sudden rocking justified Octavius¡¯s claim that it would kick in.


    Zack was high. How unfortunate that the overbearing burden he felt forced Zack into something as destructive as this.


    * * *


    Zack was not the only one being crushed by an overbearing sadness though, as Lilith helplessly sat at the bedside of the catatonic Nathan. All she could do was stare at Nathan with a despair-filled gaze.


    The callous words of the developer explaining that he forced this on them for their ¡®development,¡¯ along with the NPC¡¯s warning for them to fix their complacent nature or risk the developer taking drastic actions replayed in Lilith¡¯s mind.


    This was not all she recalled while gazing at Nathan, as the grievous experiences they had while carrying out the developer¡¯s missions resurfaced in Lilith¡¯s mind.


    The broken bones, ripped muscles, and profuse bleeding Nathan suffered just to protect his dear Lilith. The crimes he¡¯d committed and the lives Nathan was forced to take, solidified him as a criminal irredeemable by the world. When they thought they could finally acquire a good life¡­the developer treated Nathan so disgracefully.


    These depressing thoughts only served to deepen Lilith¡¯s despair. With her head held down, she sat there in silence. It was as though something came to her, as she muttered a laugh.


    ¡°...Fufu, I remember¡­you protected me¡­from those brats when we¡­were kids. Despite everything¡­you¡¯ve protected me all this time¡­that¡¯s why you¡¯re in this state,¡± Lilith muttered as tears surfaced. ¡°I was just¡­a weakness for you¡­I was too weak¡­to help you. I¡¯m sorry¡­you have to always¡­go through this.¡±


    * * *


    ¡°It¡¯s good to go out and enjoy the beautiful earth¡­seeing the environment change after the passing eras is interesting,¡± The developer said. ¡°But if I¡¯m being honest, I can¡¯t even call this a hobby. It gets boring after a while, you know?¡±


    ¡°I know you only do this to pass the time. Moirai told me all about your true ¡®passion,¡¯ Ryzen replied. ¡°I¡¯m sure being restricted must be hard for you.¡±


    ¡°Ah, of course, she told you that. Let¡¯s not act like it¡¯s not hard for you, Mr. cursed child,¡± The developer teased, causing Ryzen to roll his eyes. ¡°We both got it rough¡­and all we can do now is admire the scenery.¡±


    ¡°Okay, enough yapping.¡±


    ¡°Heh, hearing Moirai¡¯s name only makes me more eager for the future. A world where the gods who wronged us, who got in our way, will be dealt retribution,¡± The developer remarked. ¡°I¡¯m sure the looks on their faces will be better than any scenery this world can offer.¡±


    ¡°Heh, that I can agree to.¡±

 Vol. 3 Thanks and Character Info (Skippable)

    Height: 180 cm


    Likes: Zack,


    Height: 187 cm


    Likes: Hanging out with Zack, his blessing, drugs


    Dislikes: Problems in the organizationThis tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    Birth Date: Unknown


    Height: 179 cm


    Dislikes: His subordinates going off on their own


    Height: 171 cm


    Although the person she loved changed over the years, there is one thing Serena never wanted - to be alone and abandoned.


    Likes: Ada, Nathan (previously), her mother (previously)


    Dislikes: Nathan, Lilith, being abandoned


    New Information:


    Height: 172 cm

 Ch. 1 - Right Decision

    While society as a whole gradually reclaimed the light of hope with every successful attack on the infamous S-Class criminals, the atmosphere was becoming more gloomy for the developer¡¯s characters.


    The world wasn''t privy to this information, but the extreme suffering and loss Ada vindictively delivered to them had more than taken its toll on the criminals for the most part. The US president¡¯s persecution had degraded them to the point of losing their ability to function as they did. They were reaching their breaking point.


    The ones most affected by Ada¡¯s ambitions could only wish to drown their suffering through external means¡­self-destroying means.


    The catatonic and broken Nathan who helplessly slept had only one person who supported and cared for him in his time of vulnerability. You guessed it, as that person was none other than Lilith Ashley, who sat by his bedside.


    Unable to sustain himself, Nathan had no choice but to be strapped to an intravenous drip via clear, transparent tubes. That was his only choice of receiving nutrients and fluids in his vegetative state.


    The gleaming rays of the early morning sun pierced through the bedroom windows and illuminated it, making it easier to see Lilith¡¯s groggy, depressed, baggy eyed expression. She clearly hasn''t gotten enough sleep, and likely has balled her eyes out several times due to Nathan¡¯s condition.


    ¡°Sigh¡­it¡¯s morning¡­now,¡± Lilith muttered as she slowly tilted her gaze to the sunlight, squinting her eyes in the process. ¡°I only took¡­short naps¡­through the night.¡±


    Lilith returned her gaze to Nathan, and the luminance enabled her to see his rather peaceful, sleeping face.


    ¡°...It¡¯s nearly been¡­a week¡­since you ended up¡­like this. I forgot¡­how to enjoy myself¡­in this house,¡± Lilith continued. ¡°We used to¡­do everything¡­together. We¡¯d happily wake up¡­to make some breakfast¡­and start the day. But nothing¡¯s¡­the same now.¡±


    While reminiscing on things which once were, Lilith only succeeded in starting her day off more depressed with gritted teeth and visible tears.


    I-It¡¯s difficult¡­being alone again. Lilith pondered as tears slowly streamed down her face. When will¡­you wake up, Nathan?


    KNOCK, KNOCK!


    The sudden knocking on the door of their home garnered Lilith¡¯s attention to the apparent guest she had at her doorstep. Her first thought was towards keeping up appearances as Lilith quickly wiped away her tears.


    H-He must be here now¡­A bit earlier¡­but that may be good. Lilith pondered as she headed towards the door with alacrity. I can at least take my mind off things for a while¡­


    ¡°Hello, NPC¨Coh¡­it¡¯s you,¡± As audible creaking accommodated the opening door, Lilith had expressed greetings under the assumption it was the NPC on the other side. Her expectation was shattered as confusion clouded her demeanor upon witnessing the developer. ¡°W-What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°Good morning, Lilith! I see you¡¯ve just woken up, considering your bed hair!¡± The developer greeted. ¡°You weren¡¯t expecting to see me, right?¡±


    ¡°...Why are you here?¡± Lilith questioned as her expression hardened into a cold demeanor.


    ¡°Heh, I know you thought it was the NPC. You¡¯ve spent most of your days training with him since Nathan fell into his mental breakdown induced coma,¡± The developer remarked. ¡°Those baggy eyes makes it quite obvious you haven¡¯t gotten the required amount of sleep for a human, and it¡¯s not the first time I¡¯ve noticed them. I¡¯m wondering if my game character is pushing herself a bit much¡­and may need a break.¡±


    The developer¡¯s ¡®concern¡¯ was simply met with a few seconds of Lilith coldly staring at him, before breaking the silence with a sigh.


    ¡°...Please, I don¡¯t need your pointless and artificial care. The trauma¡­and the suffering you made us endure¡­was to instill in us the desire to get stronger. You drilled that both verbally and through painful experiences,¡± Lilith bluntly remarked. ¡°You don¡¯t care about our wellbeing¡­it¡¯s all a game to you, but I more than understand now. I don¡¯t need sleep. I want to push myself to the limits to become stronger¡­and I want to make the ones who threatened our peace¡­pay dearly.¡±


    As Lilith expressed her shift in mentality, her words brought a delighted smirk on the face of the mastermind.


    ¡°Heh¡­hehe, you finally get it, Lilith. Becoming the strongest is what¡¯ll get you solace in the end,¡± The developer responded with a stupid grin on his face. ¡°The NPC will be here in a few, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°...If you¡¯re done talking, I¡¯m going to get ready, then,¡± Lilith stated as she strolled towards another room. ¡°And I¡¯d appreciate it if you come here less¡­I don¡¯t find pleasure in seeing you.¡±


    ¡°Aww, so mean! You¡¯re starting to sound like Nathan¡­you¡¯re so hostile towards lil¡¯ old me!¡± The developer sarcastically remarked in a rather childish tone. ¡°Sigh¡­you¡¯ve clearly changed for the better, but training alone won¡¯t be enough¡­you¡¯ll need¨C¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what missions you may have to ¡®test¡¯ me¡­I¡¯ll be ready,¡± Lilith interjected. Her resolute answer only proved to brighten the grin the developer already had. Just wait for me, Nathan¡­I¡¯ll get stronger for the both of us. So please¡­focus on returning to me.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    See, Ryzen¡­I knew I¡¯d be right. The developer pondered. Working with Ada may have been the right decision.


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    The Bluebloods was the largest active criminal organization in America. Taking advantage of the gruesome massacre of the pesky super soldiers, the organization grew in resources and power. It was now home to rather formidable criminals¡­but its only flaw was the mental state of certain capable men.


    The bustling sounds of rumbling trucks and vehicles traversing, along with the blue overall wearing soldiers becoming active, resonated within the complex. Amid the operations, Blueblood Chief Rose Thatcher was preoccupied with an endeavor of her own ¨C visiting Zack Isaac.


    BAM, BAM!


    The impatient, gritted teeth Rose pounded away at the door of Zack¡¯s room. Her demanding behavior wasn¡¯t removed from reason, given what Rose observed these past few days.


    ¡°Hey, Zack! Are you blacked out again!?¡± Rose yelled as she continued to bang on the door. ¡°Open the damn door!¡±


    ¡°AHH!!! I¡¯m up, damn!¡± Rose¡¯s repeated banging was quickly rewarded with the loud and startled response of Zack, his tone rousing confusion from her.


    Tch, what the hell was that? Was the banging that loud?


    Zack never failed to stretch Rose¡¯s patience thin as she waited with the occasional foot tapping. Finally, Zack revealed himself, but not before several grunts and mumbling.


    ¡°Hehe, good morning, Rose!¡± With an anxious smile and profuse sweating oddly dripping down his face, Zack greeted.


    The annoyed Rose didn¡¯t respond, but instead stood before him with folded arms.


    ¡°...You bastard. You¡¯re acting like you¡¯re hiding something,¡± Rose remarked. ¡°You¡¯ve been doing drugs overnight again, haven¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Ha-Hahaha! It¡¯s all good Rose! It¡¯s been a great way for me to stay uptight and energetic, and not bring down the mood with my old depressed self!¡± Zack responded with an unusually high rate of speed in his speech. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you like it when I¡¯m not so pitiable?¡±


    ¡°...You¡¯re so oddly energetic,¡± Rose remarked. ¡°You haven¡¯t been taking anything other than those pills, right?¡±


    ¡°O-Of course not! The Prozac pills more than helped, why would I need anything stronger and potentially more dangerous? I¡¯m a responsible adult after all!¡± Zack responded as he continued to sweat. ¡°We sell drugs, not take them as you say!¡±


    Zack¡¯s mannerisms and anxiety raised an eyebrow from Rose as she once again stared at him.


    ¡°...Sigh, come on. You normally start the day by training with Octavius, right?¡± Rose questioned as she grabbed Zack¡¯s arm. ¡°I¡¯m going to spar with you guys too. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°O-Oh, alright!¡± Zack replied. It¡¯s a good thing I took the time to hide the rest of the cocaine¡­it would have been a hassle if she found out. I can¡¯t afford to lose it now.


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    Lilith¡¯s requested brawl with the NPC played out the exact way on the occasions both her and Nathan sparred ¨C Utilizing all she knew in the art of sword play, Lilith gave it her all to strike her opponent. Her actions were futile as despite the NPC¡¯s relaxed posture, he possessed an immaculate combat skill and an unbreakable defense against Lilith.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been pushing yourself like never before, Lilith,¡± As his opponent performed a combination of sword slashes, the NPC remarked as he guarded them with a wooden sword. ¡°You¡¯ve barely had time for yourself with how much sparring you''re requesting.¡±


    ¡°...I need to strengthen myself while polishing my skill,¡± Lilith responded. ¡°I¡¯ve learned the hard way that there is no resting as the developer¡¯s character. Besides, if I stay in the house¡­with Nathan¡¯s helpless state¡­and my own memories¡­I won¡¯t be able to bear it.¡±


    ¡°...I truly feel conflicted about your sudden shift in mentality.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pleased you¡¯re taking your own growth so earnestly¡­but you suffering this much is far removed from what I wanted,¡± The NPC expressed, rousing surprise on Lilith¡¯s face. ¡°I wasn¡¯t originally like this, as the developer¡¯s orders were only my concern¡­but I suppose all the spars have made me understand and grown fond of you two.¡±


    ¡°...I thought you NPCs may have been the same, but there¡¯s humanity in you all,¡± Lilith replied as she ceased her relentless attacks. ¡°You specifically have offered your help to train us¡­and even warned us about our complacency. I¡¯m thankful for everything¡­but it¡¯s not enough.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°I made many mistakes¡­and because I was too weak, Nathan can¡¯t even function without being strapped to an I.V. drip,¡± Lilith muttered. ¡°As much as I¡¯m thankful for your warning and concern, it¡¯s no longer helpful¡­because I failed to listen. I was engrossed in spending a peaceful life with Nathan¡­and now that peace is gone since I wasn¡¯t able to protect him. All I can do now is get stronger to ensure that peace remains permanently.¡±


    ¡°...Sigh, you¡¯ve been sparring for a while,¡± The NPC remarked as he suddenly started walking away, raising an eyebrow from Lilith. ¡°Even a bit of resting is a necessary activity to become stronger.¡±


    ¡°W-What? Why all of a sudden?¡±


    ¡°Just accept the break, Lilith,¡± The NPC advised. ¡°I¡¯ll return later.¡±


    Despite the visible frustration Lilith possessed, she had no choice but to watch as the NPC departed and disappeared like the wind. Stricken with resignation, Lilith trudged back into her home, before sluggishly throwing herself on the living room couch.


    ¡°Urgh¡­I never wanted to relax, but the exhaustion hit me the moment I flung myself on the couch,¡± Lilith muttered as she reached for the television remote on the coffee table situated in front of her. ¡°Maybe¡­a little rest¡­won¡¯t hurt. The developer¡­won¡¯t kill me¡­for that, right?¡±


    With the press of a button, the previous silence that perpetuated in the home was washed away by the bustling noise of the television.


    ¡°Good morning, I am Ashley, bringing you the 11 am news. Though the world can finally move on from the rampaging chaos the S-Class criminals left in their wake, their destruction still left a heavy mark in the world,¡± Ashley remarked. ¡°Numerous cities and countless families without water, electricity or homes¡­and the trauma us Americans went through is nothing less than lifelong.¡±


    She¡¯s speaking about us¡­utterly vilifying all of us too. Lilith pondered as she listened. And acting as though we haven¡¯t suffered just as much, Nathan.


    ¡°Although it¡¯s impossible to return what was lost, especially the many loved ones that were lost, our president aims to bring about a bright future,¡± Ashley continued. ¡°To fully rebuild that which was destroyed and bring comfort to everyone. More information from President Ada Foster herself via a news conference.¡±


    Ada is saying something in the media? I don¡¯t want to listen any further then¡­ Lilith thought. I don¡¯t want to even hear her damn voice¡­

 Ch. 1 - Right Decision

    While society as a whole gradually reclaimed the light of hope with every successful attack on the infamous S-Class criminals, the atmosphere was becoming more gloomy for the developer¡¯s characters.


    The world wasn''t privy to this information, but the extreme suffering and loss Ada vindictively delivered to them had more than taken its toll on the criminals for the most part. The US president¡¯s persecution had degraded them to the point of losing their ability to function as they did. They were reaching their breaking point.


    The ones most affected by Ada¡¯s ambitions could only wish to drown their suffering through external means¡­self-destroying means.


    The catatonic and broken Nathan who helplessly slept had only one person who supported and cared for him in his time of vulnerability. You guessed it, as that person was none other than Lilith Ashley, who sat by his bedside.


    Unable to sustain himself, Nathan had no choice but to be strapped to an intravenous drip via clear, transparent tubes. That was his only choice of receiving nutrients and fluids in his vegetative state.


    The gleaming rays of the early morning sun pierced through the bedroom windows and illuminated it, making it easier to see Lilith¡¯s groggy, depressed, baggy eyed expression. She clearly hasn''t gotten enough sleep, and likely has balled her eyes out several times due to Nathan¡¯s condition.


    ¡°Sigh¡­it¡¯s morning¡­now,¡± Lilith muttered as she slowly tilted her gaze to the sunlight, squinting her eyes in the process. ¡°I only took¡­short naps¡­through the night.¡±


    Lilith returned her gaze to Nathan, and the luminance enabled her to see his rather peaceful, sleeping face.


    ¡°...It¡¯s nearly been¡­a week¡­since you ended up¡­like this. I forgot¡­how to enjoy myself¡­in this house,¡± Lilith continued. ¡°We used to¡­do everything¡­together. We¡¯d happily wake up¡­to make some breakfast¡­and start the day. But nothing¡¯s¡­the same now.¡±


    While reminiscing on things which once were, Lilith only succeeded in starting her day off more depressed with gritted teeth and visible tears.


    I-It¡¯s difficult¡­being alone again. Lilith pondered as tears slowly streamed down her face. When will¡­you wake up, Nathan?


    KNOCK, KNOCK!


    The sudden knocking on the door of their home garnered Lilith¡¯s attention to the apparent guest she had at her doorstep. Her first thought was towards keeping up appearances as Lilith quickly wiped away her tears.


    H-He must be here now¡­A bit earlier¡­but that may be good. Lilith pondered as she headed towards the door with alacrity. I can at least take my mind off things for a while¡­


    ¡°Hello, NPC¨Coh¡­it¡¯s you,¡± As audible creaking accommodated the opening door, Lilith had expressed greetings under the assumption it was the NPC on the other side. Her expectation was shattered as confusion clouded her demeanor upon witnessing the developer. ¡°W-What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°Good morning, Lilith! I see you¡¯ve just woken up, considering your bed hair!¡± The developer greeted. ¡°You weren¡¯t expecting to see me, right?¡±


    ¡°...Why are you here?¡± Lilith questioned as her expression hardened into a cold demeanor.


    ¡°Heh, I know you thought it was the NPC. You¡¯ve spent most of your days training with him since Nathan fell into his mental breakdown induced coma,¡± The developer remarked. ¡°Those baggy eyes makes it quite obvious you haven¡¯t gotten the required amount of sleep for a human, and it¡¯s not the first time I¡¯ve noticed them. I¡¯m wondering if my game character is pushing herself a bit much¡­and may need a break.¡±


    The developer¡¯s ¡®concern¡¯ was simply met with a few seconds of Lilith coldly staring at him, before breaking the silence with a sigh.


    ¡°...Please, I don¡¯t need your pointless and artificial care. The trauma¡­and the suffering you made us endure¡­was to instill in us the desire to get stronger. You drilled that both verbally and through painful experiences,¡± Lilith bluntly remarked. ¡°You don¡¯t care about our wellbeing¡­it¡¯s all a game to you, but I more than understand now. I don¡¯t need sleep. I want to push myself to the limits to become stronger¡­and I want to make the ones who threatened our peace¡­pay dearly.¡±


    As Lilith expressed her shift in mentality, her words brought a delighted smirk on the face of the mastermind.


    ¡°Heh¡­hehe, you finally get it, Lilith. Becoming the strongest is what¡¯ll get you solace in the end,¡± The developer responded with a stupid grin on his face. ¡°The NPC will be here in a few, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°...If you¡¯re done talking, I¡¯m going to get ready, then,¡± Lilith stated as she strolled towards another room. ¡°And I¡¯d appreciate it if you come here less¡­I don¡¯t find pleasure in seeing you.¡±


    ¡°Aww, so mean! You¡¯re starting to sound like Nathan¡­you¡¯re so hostile towards lil¡¯ old me!¡± The developer sarcastically remarked in a rather childish tone. ¡°Sigh¡­you¡¯ve clearly changed for the better, but training alone won¡¯t be enough¡­you¡¯ll need¨C¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what missions you may have to ¡®test¡¯ me¡­I¡¯ll be ready,¡± Lilith interjected. Her resolute answer only proved to brighten the grin the developer already had. Just wait for me, Nathan¡­I¡¯ll get stronger for the both of us. So please¡­focus on returning to me.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    See, Ryzen¡­I knew I¡¯d be right. The developer pondered. Working with Ada may have been the right decision.


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    The Bluebloods was the largest active criminal organization in America. Taking advantage of the gruesome massacre of the pesky super soldiers, the organization grew in resources and power. It was now home to rather formidable criminals¡­but its only flaw was the mental state of certain capable men.


    The bustling sounds of rumbling trucks and vehicles traversing, along with the blue overall wearing soldiers becoming active, resonated within the complex. Amid the operations, Blueblood Chief Rose Thatcher was preoccupied with an endeavor of her own ¨C visiting Zack Isaac.


    BAM, BAM!


    The impatient, gritted teeth Rose pounded away at the door of Zack¡¯s room. Her demanding behavior wasn¡¯t removed from reason, given what Rose observed these past few days.


    ¡°Hey, Zack! Are you blacked out again!?¡± Rose yelled as she continued to bang on the door. ¡°Open the damn door!¡±


    ¡°AHH!!! I¡¯m up, damn!¡± Rose¡¯s repeated banging was quickly rewarded with the loud and startled response of Zack, his tone rousing confusion from her.


    Tch, what the hell was that? Was the banging that loud?


    Zack never failed to stretch Rose¡¯s patience thin as she waited with the occasional foot tapping. Finally, Zack revealed himself, but not before several grunts and mumbling.


    ¡°Hehe, good morning, Rose!¡± With an anxious smile and profuse sweating oddly dripping down his face, Zack greeted.


    The annoyed Rose didn¡¯t respond, but instead stood before him with folded arms.


    ¡°...You bastard. You¡¯re acting like you¡¯re hiding something,¡± Rose remarked. ¡°You¡¯ve been doing drugs overnight again, haven¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Ha-Hahaha! It¡¯s all good Rose! It¡¯s been a great way for me to stay uptight and energetic, and not bring down the mood with my old depressed self!¡± Zack responded with an unusually high rate of speed in his speech. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you like it when I¡¯m not so pitiable?¡±


    ¡°...You¡¯re so oddly energetic,¡± Rose remarked. ¡°You haven¡¯t been taking anything other than those pills, right?¡±


    ¡°O-Of course not! The Prozac pills more than helped, why would I need anything stronger and potentially more dangerous? I¡¯m a responsible adult after all!¡± Zack responded as he continued to sweat. ¡°We sell drugs, not take them as you say!¡±


    Zack¡¯s mannerisms and anxiety raised an eyebrow from Rose as she once again stared at him.


    ¡°...Sigh, come on. You normally start the day by training with Octavius, right?¡± Rose questioned as she grabbed Zack¡¯s arm. ¡°I¡¯m going to spar with you guys too. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°O-Oh, alright!¡± Zack replied. It¡¯s a good thing I took the time to hide the rest of the cocaine¡­it would have been a hassle if she found out. I can¡¯t afford to lose it now.


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    Lilith¡¯s requested brawl with the NPC played out the exact way on the occasions both her and Nathan sparred ¨C Utilizing all she knew in the art of sword play, Lilith gave it her all to strike her opponent. Her actions were futile as despite the NPC¡¯s relaxed posture, he possessed an immaculate combat skill and an unbreakable defense against Lilith.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been pushing yourself like never before, Lilith,¡± As his opponent performed a combination of sword slashes, the NPC remarked as he guarded them with a wooden sword. ¡°You¡¯ve barely had time for yourself with how much sparring you''re requesting.¡±


    ¡°...I need to strengthen myself while polishing my skill,¡± Lilith responded. ¡°I¡¯ve learned the hard way that there is no resting as the developer¡¯s character. Besides, if I stay in the house¡­with Nathan¡¯s helpless state¡­and my own memories¡­I won¡¯t be able to bear it.¡±


    ¡°...I truly feel conflicted about your sudden shift in mentality.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pleased you¡¯re taking your own growth so earnestly¡­but you suffering this much is far removed from what I wanted,¡± The NPC expressed, rousing surprise on Lilith¡¯s face. ¡°I wasn¡¯t originally like this, as the developer¡¯s orders were only my concern¡­but I suppose all the spars have made me understand and grown fond of you two.¡±


    ¡°...I thought you NPCs may have been the same, but there¡¯s humanity in you all,¡± Lilith replied as she ceased her relentless attacks. ¡°You specifically have offered your help to train us¡­and even warned us about our complacency. I¡¯m thankful for everything¡­but it¡¯s not enough.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°I made many mistakes¡­and because I was too weak, Nathan can¡¯t even function without being strapped to an I.V. drip,¡± Lilith muttered. ¡°As much as I¡¯m thankful for your warning and concern, it¡¯s no longer helpful¡­because I failed to listen. I was engrossed in spending a peaceful life with Nathan¡­and now that peace is gone since I wasn¡¯t able to protect him. All I can do now is get stronger to ensure that peace remains permanently.¡±


    ¡°...Sigh, you¡¯ve been sparring for a while,¡± The NPC remarked as he suddenly started walking away, raising an eyebrow from Lilith. ¡°Even a bit of resting is a necessary activity to become stronger.¡±


    ¡°W-What? Why all of a sudden?¡±


    ¡°Just accept the break, Lilith,¡± The NPC advised. ¡°I¡¯ll return later.¡±


    Despite the visible frustration Lilith possessed, she had no choice but to watch as the NPC departed and disappeared like the wind. Stricken with resignation, Lilith trudged back into her home, before sluggishly throwing herself on the living room couch.


    ¡°Urgh¡­I never wanted to relax, but the exhaustion hit me the moment I flung myself on the couch,¡± Lilith muttered as she reached for the television remote on the coffee table situated in front of her. ¡°Maybe¡­a little rest¡­won¡¯t hurt. The developer¡­won¡¯t kill me¡­for that, right?¡±


    With the press of a button, the previous silence that perpetuated in the home was washed away by the bustling noise of the television.


    ¡°Good morning, I am Ashley, bringing you the 11 am news. Though the world can finally move on from the rampaging chaos the S-Class criminals left in their wake, their destruction still left a heavy mark in the world,¡± Ashley remarked. ¡°Numerous cities and countless families without water, electricity or homes¡­and the trauma us Americans went through is nothing less than lifelong.¡±


    She¡¯s speaking about us¡­utterly vilifying all of us too. Lilith pondered as she listened. And acting as though we haven¡¯t suffered just as much, Nathan.


    ¡°Although it¡¯s impossible to return what was lost, especially the many loved ones that were lost, our president aims to bring about a bright future,¡± Ashley continued. ¡°To fully rebuild that which was destroyed and bring comfort to everyone. More information from President Ada Foster herself via a news conference.¡±


    Ada is saying something in the media? I don¡¯t want to listen any further then¡­ Lilith thought. I don¡¯t want to even hear her damn voice¡­

 Ch. 2 - The Conference

    Regarding Ada¡¯s conference, it is necessary to turn the clock a bit, half an hour even, in order for us to be informed on the necessity of the event. Such a short leeway before the conference¡¯s procession meant that Ada prepared herself.


    Her act of preparation entailed sitting amid a lounge room and surrounding herself with several female hair and makeup stylists, each responsible for Ada¡¯s beautification.


    Of course the stylists who crowded her were not Ada¡¯s only company, as her loyal subordinates took residence in the lounge room as well.


    ¡°You never needed the stylists, miss,¡± Leon, who observed Ada, remarked. ¡°Your natural beauty is far more than a gift to the eyes.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Leon, but I¡¯m not exactly doing it for others. I take pride in how I look, you know,¡± Keeping her body perfectly still for the diligent stylists, Ada responded. ¡°I can¡¯t start the day without doing this. Today¡¯s events just align with my usual activities.¡±


    ¡°Everyone¡¯s in love with ya. Look how many people are tuning in for the scheduled conference!¡± Frank remarked as he surfed throughout the internet on his phone. ¡°There are also posts speculating on what ideas the ¡®best president¡¯ could have for the country¡¯s future.¡±


    ¡°Everyone adoring Ms.Ada is obvious, brother. Considering what she¡¯s done and the plans she devised to bring the pitiful civilians of both England and the States out of their own plagues, they should be grateful,¡± Charlotte stated. ¡°Ms. Ada did what the previous president, John Walker and his super soldiers couldn¡¯t accomplish.¡±


    Fufu, it never gets old hearing the daily praises they give me. Ada pondered as a small smirk appeared on her face.


    ¡°The thing is, people realize they can put all their trust in me to help them regain comfort in their lives. I¡¯m the god that delivered them from sickos like Jack, and I¡¯m also the god that will create a better and more comfortable future than what they had before,¡± Ada explained. ¡°There are many people without homes and other necessities. As long as they depend on their god¡­I will always stretch my hand out to them!¡±


    ¡°Alright, we should let Ms.Ada focus on getting ready,¡± Nolan stated. ¡°The journalists and reporters are gonna pester her with questions, after all.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right,¡± Charlotte agreed. ¡°We¡¯ll have plenty of time to talk with her later.¡±


    ¡°Fufu, it¡¯s not like I¡¯ll get overwhelmed by any questions, but thanks for the consideration.¡±


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    While Ada¡¯s conference drew close, Zack sparred with his fellow colleagues on Blueblood land. The roaring, cacophonous series of noises had garnered the attention of many Blueblood associates. They stood in witness to Zack, Octavius and Rose in a free for all.


    The rapid growth of previously miniscule roots into large blades of grass, the splashes of chartreuse green slimy projectiles littering the area and the flickering lights of explosions provided a shocking spectacle for the audience.


    They could not perceive beyond the flashiness, but the trio weren¡¯t simply throwing out attacks indiscriminately.


    As Zack witnessed lengthy spiked stems elongating from the ground and carrying themselves towards him, he reacted quickly by generating a powerful explosion with the swipe of his hand. Of course, Zack never created this out of nowhere, but manifested the blast from the gloves the developer gifted him.


    The spiky stems were reduced to ash from the explosion, but Rose came rushing through the cloud of smoke generated, shocking Zack.


    ¡°Huh¨C¡±


    BAM!


    Holding an oversized club of wood, Rose whacked Zack and blasted him across the training grounds. The roaring yell of the impact was comparable to the noise of a gunshot, or a sonic boom.


    ¡°Urgh, owww¡­¡± Zack groaned as he slowly stood back up. Rose had turned her attention to Octavius with the intention of attacking him.


    ¡°Damn, did you have to hit Zack so hard?¡± Octavius questioned as he launched several mounds of slime at Rose. ¡°This is just a spar, after all.¡±


    ¡°Shut it! You got Zack addicted to those damn pills, didn¡¯t you!?¡± Rose retorted as she weaved the slime attacks while closing the distance on Octavius. ¡°We aren¡¯t going to finish sparring until I give you a good whack too!¡±


    ¡°...How scary.¡±


    SQUISH!


    Rose didn¡¯t just spout empty words, in fact she immediately showed her integrity in her threats with the swing of her oversized club. Octavius never resolved himself as a sitting duck for Rose, as he defended with a large and sudden secretion of slime, producing a squishy sound.


    ¡°You¡¯re not taking me down that easily!¡± Hastily charging towards his opponents, Zack yelled. ¡°I ain¡¯t stopping anytime soon!¡±


    Zack was filled with determination and vigor, right up until a certain individual caught his attention. Like a rain on his parade, or a disruption in his flow, Zack witnessed the director himself approaching the battlegrounds in his peripheral vision.


    ¡°Huh? What is he doing here¨C¡± Zack questioned. Zack¡¯s shift in attention proved to be a seriously poor judgment, as the director was not what greeted his eyes, but a slime projectile which splashed all over his face.


    ¡°Gah!¡± In a muffled moan, Zack yelled as he desperately scratched at his face.


    ¡°Seems you three are really going at it in the morning!¡± Standing by the trio''s training grounds, the director remarked.


    ¡°Huh? Why are you here, director?¡± Rose questioned.


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Well, I woke up to some rather interesting news,¡± The director responded. ¡°Apparently our president is about to be in a conference soon¡­about the future of the country.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, she¡¯s been quiet ,¡± Octavius stated. ¡°I wonder what she¡¯s going to say.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re curious, because I want you two to hear this as my chiefs,¡± The director replied before shifting his gaze to Zack. ¡°Oh, I suppose Zack can also come.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


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    The commencement of Ada¡¯s oh so awaited conference had arrived, and it rapidly climbed the virtual charts to become one of the most viral pieces of media currently. In fact, even the director himself along with his chiefs¡­and Zack had taken the time to watch the conference.


    ¡°Hey, Zack. You heard of the reports stating Ada previously was forced into colluding with you and the S-Class criminals, right?¡± The director questioned, raising nervousness from Zack. ¡°It¡¯s clear the experience left a deep scar in her, since she¡¯s been persecuting you guys, starting with Jack the Ripper. What do you think she¡¯s going to do next?¡±


    ¡°I¡­am not sure,¡± Zack muttered as he shifted his gaze to the side.


    ¡°Tch, she says she was forced, but she¡¯s done some bad shit with the group. She¡¯s got no right to screw with Zack,¡± Rose remarked. ¡°I wanna see what that bitch says, actually!¡±


    They rekindled their focus, just in time for the woman of the hour to be shown on screen.


    ¡°Good morning, my wonderful citizens of America! I hope the brilliant sun and the beautiful chirping birds will bring forth a wonderful day for you all,¡± Standing behind a podium that was designed with the colors of the nation, Ada happily greeted. ¡°Though, I can understand the difficulty of experiencing a positive day, especially for those who lost their livelihood in the destruction we experienced, so I at least hope my presence will bring some level of happiness to you.¡±


    ¡°As always, the president never fails to keep up appearances, even in a formal setting,¡± The director remarked.


    ¡°You say her experience with the S-Class criminals left a scar on her, but I never get that feeling when watching her put on a show on TV,¡± Rose said. ¡°The mindless sheep loves her though¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, mindless¡­sheep,¡± Zack muttered.


    ¡°Just like many of you, I witnessed firsthand the era of darkness these savage criminals brought. The fear and trauma¡­was debilitating, but I refuse to stand by and watch our country turn to ruin. The US motto is ¡®In God we trust,¡¯ which means you need not be fearful but place your faith in the one delivering you,¡± Ada continued. The intermittent, flashing lights brightened the conference room like a disco. The ones responsible for this light were none other than press reporters and journalists, as they stood by like an audience. ¡°The criminals are nearly done for now, and once you continue looking to God, a bright future will arrive. That is why I am here¡­to bring that bright future to you all.¡±


    ¡°She does have a way with words though,¡± Octavius said.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t it sound like she¡¯s got hidden meanings behind her words though?¡± The director questioned. ¡°Hmph, she truly is a woman that puts herself in high standards.¡±


    ¡°


    ¡°Good afternoon, miss president. With regard to your proposal of creating a bright future, I believe that is difficult,¡± A news reporter remarked. ¡°Although it has been several months since then, the destruction brought by the S-Class criminals, especially Jack Knight, Charles Warner and Zack Isaac, left countless long term damages to the country both infrastructure and economic wise. How will you return the nation to its former glory, let alone make it better?¡±


    ¡°Great  question! On my roster are several individuals possessing blessings that could aid in terrain replenishment and infrastructure reinforcement. Their blessings would drastically shorten the time needed for reconstruction, and would give civilians increased safety due to the stronger material,¡± Ada explained. ¡°Not to mention, our recent collaboration with England established very close ties with them. Our relationship with them will certainly benefit our economy.¡±


    Her response unsurprisingly garnered favorable expressions from the press as they whispered among each other. What else would one expect after listening to a woman like Ada.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got a question, Miss President,¡± A female reporter said.


    ¡°Great, let¡¯s hear it!¡±


    ¡°Ever since the rise of the S-Class criminals took place, crime rates have drastically increased. Criminals followed suit and caused more of a nuisance in the country,¡± The reporter explained. ¡°Since you¡¯ve stepped into the president¡¯s role, crime rates have been controlled but still a problem. What will you do to ensure another threat like Jack and his group won¡¯t rise up?¡±


    ¡°Fufu, you sound pretty fearful. I thought I said you should have faith in the one delivering you. From numerous powerful blessed humans and the anti-blessed malefactor corps being revived to powerful blessed soldiers in England and even the enlightened woman, Amber Hoss, there¡¯s no need to worry about any future threats¡­you have my word,¡± Ada replied. ¡°If you still have doubts, the super soldier Rebecca White, has almost finished the brutal Project Zero experiment. She¡¯ll become a formidable soldier on the level of Amber.¡±


    ¡°Regarding the current issue of crimes, you stated the S-Class criminals were ¡®nearly done for¡¯ earlier,¡± A journalist remarked. ¡°We¡¯ve witnessed the work you¡¯ve done to return peace to the land, but do you have an idea who and what still poses a threat in this country?¡±


    ¡°Another great question! The S-Class criminals¡¯ recent attack likely rendered Nathan Hayes disabled due to the attacks he sustained at the hands of super soldiers. Charles Warner too received injuries, but he¡¯s projected to still be a problem in the future,¡± Ada explained. ¡°The definite threats are the bomb terrorist, Zack Isaac, the poisoner, Olivia Gray¡­and a woman who¡¯s been helping Nathan, Lilith Ashley. There¡¯s also certain pesky crime organizations, but I¡¯m planning on dealing with them as soon as possible¡­all the threats.¡±


    The Blueblood compatriots had seldom given any reactions to Ada¡¯s responses, however like a light bulb being switched on, they became rather expressive as Ada spoke about the current criminal threats.


    ¡°Pesky crime organizations¡­I don¡¯t suppose she¡¯s referring to the Bluebloods?¡± The director wondered with a raised eyebrow. ¡°How the hell¡­?¡±


    ¡°Tsk, this¡¯ll be bad if she knows we exist,¡± Octavius replied. ¡°It¡¯ll be annoying if we have to go up against Ada Foster and her forces. Damn, if only Jack never died and kept everyone¡¯s attention on him.¡±


    ¡°Eitherway, it doesn¡¯t matter. Not only does she likely have her eyes on us, Ada still plans on persecuting Zack,¡± Rose said. ¡°He¡¯s a valued member of this organization¡­we gotta act accordingly.¡±


    While they conversed, Zack had internally seethed with his anger.


    No¡­not again. Ada¡­she¡¯s trying to take more from me! Zack pondered. I couldn¡¯t do anything to prevent Jack¡¯s death¡­or Nathan and Lilith¡¯s suffering¡­but there¡¯s no goddamned way I¡¯m letting her win again!


    Zack was not the only game character who paid heed to the presidential conference, and neither was he the most affected by it.


    Also watching the live broadcast was Olivia Gray, in the comfort of her own home. From empty, narcissistic words masked behind encouraging and compassionate words to the ambitious goals of the country¡¯s future and the promise of fully eliminating criminal activity, including herself, Olivia watched with sorrow from her couch.


    ¡°She¡¯s always getting what¡­she wants¡­never experiencing any¡­consequences¡­¡± Olivia muttered to herself as she listened. ¡°She worked with us and killed numerous people¡­then betrayed us after ruining my life and tossing me aside. Now everyone adores and accepts her as president.¡±


    Life¡­never seems fair. I¡¯ve lost any meaning¡­in my life¡­because of her. But the others forgave me¡­even after I helped Ada. They¡¯re suffering cause¡­of me. Olivia pondered. Especially Lilith. I understand what it''s like to feel pain¡­after seeing the person you love in such a state. I want to help¡­but all I have are my poisons.