Whack!

Jade's foot collided with Andrei's solar plexus, causing him to crumple to the ground in agonizing pain.

"I explicitly told you to spill every detail."

Jade hissed, his voice dripping with menace.

Andrei trembled as he gazed into Jade's cold, emotionless eyes.

Crack!

Jade twisted Andrei's already injured legs for the third time, silencing his screams with a firm grip on his mouth.

"I'll tell you everything!" Andrei managed to choke out, unable to bear the excruciating pain any longer.

In a flood of words, Andrei revealed the full extent of their torment inflicted upon Mark, the involvement of his influential grandmother, and the names of his accomplices who aided in Mark's persecution.

"Gerald, Haze, Cress, and Kevin," Jade muttered, his grip tightening on Andrei's legs once more.

Andrei's muffled cries filled the air, drowned out by the deafening silence that enveloped the room.

Back to the present...

"Hey, Andrei! Where are you?"

"What's this news about Mark that made you call us here?"

"This place gives me the creeps, you know?"

"It's midnight, it better be worth it."

Andrei's friends impatiently waited outside the gate, unaware of the impending danger that awaited them.

"Don't tell me you're planning to add more victims," Zed interjected, his eyes narrowing as he noticed the twisted grin on Jade's face.

Andrei trembled uncontrollably, realizing that his friends were now in grave peril because of his actions.

"He must have messaged them after taking my phone," Andrei concluded, his mind racing.

"This is not good. I must find a way to warn them before it's too late."

Zed thought, his determination growing.

Jade, however, was well aware of Officer Zed's intentions.

"Are you sure about this? Are you really willing to protect those despicable individuals? They were the ones responsible for Mark's death, you know."

Jade sneered, his voice filled with disdain.

Upon hearing this revelation, Zed fell into a momentary silence, engaging in an internal debate.

"Is this truly the right path? Am I doing the right thing?"

"While I acknowledge the monstrous nature of those students, how am I any better if I allow them to experience the horrors they inflicted upon others?" Zed questioned himself.

"I will never forgive them for their actions, but as a police officer, it is my duty to protect them from criminals like you."

Zed affirmed, his resolve unwavering.

Jade perceived the unwavering determination in Zed's eyes, recognizing that Zed had chosen to aid the very students he despised.

"Hey! Don't go inside, Ru—" Zed began, but his words were abruptly silenced as Jade swiftly covered his mouth with tape.

"You truly are righteous, aren't you? Based on your actions, I have decided what I will do with you. But for now, I must deal with those kids."

Jade declared in an eerily calm tone.

Zed struggled against the restraints, attempting to shout at the top of his lungs, but the tape rendered him mute, trapped in his own torment.

"Did you hear that?" Gerald asked his friends outside the gate.

"Yeah, let's go find Andrei first," they agreed.

Before they could take another step, the gate swung open with a resounding clank, revealing a tall figure standing before them.

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In an instant, they collapsed to the ground, their unconscious bodies a testament to Jade's lightning-fast strikes.

Jade dragged each of the motionless bodies, placing them in a row between Zed and Andrei.

Zed's heart sank, a profound sense of helplessness washing over him. He screamed with all his might, desperate to awaken the students, but his efforts were in vain. Andrei, on the other hand, trembled uncontrollably, his eyes bloodshot from witnessing the horrifying spectacle before him.

Jade picked up Officer Zed's knife with deliberate intent.

"Watch as your own knife pierces the flesh of these students."

Jade coldly remarked, his gaze locked onto Zed's horrified eyes.

"Remember every detail of what unfolds here." Jade reminded Officer Zed, his words echoing in the silence.

Holding the knife tightly, Jade approached Kevin's body.

Swish!

With lightning speed, Jade slit Kevin's throat, crimson blood spraying across Jade's figure.

Andrei could only tremble and weep, consumed by the traumatizing scene that unfolded before him. One of his friends had perished because of his actions.

Zed trembled uncontrollably, overwhelmed by a sense of hopelessness. This was the first time he had felt so powerless. While he was accustomed to cornering criminals, Jade had rendered him utterly useless.

"Why did it come to this? Is it because I failed to solve Mark's death? Is it because I was deceived by this monster? Or am I simply too weak?" Zed questioned his very existence.

"I've done it, I finally killed someone. What's with this feeling? Why do I feel like shit?"

An image of his mother flashed in his mind.

"Do not become a monster like your father."

Suddenly, a tear fall from Jade's left eye.

"I see, it's because of you. I thought I had complete control with my feelings but I guess there's a little hesitation with me because of you. I'm sorry mother, I need to become a monster if I am going to fight one."

Jade innerly said while looking above.

"This is actually my first time killing someone." Jade blurted out while looking at Officer Zed.

Zed just screamed repeatedly but couldn't produce any loud noise because of the tape. However, Jade knew what Zed was saying, "Stop lying to me, you monster!".

Jade's grin widened as he witnessed the officer's desperation.

Splash!

Another swift motion, and the life drained from Cress as Jade severed his throat, staining the surroundings with more blood.

The same gruesome fate awaited Gerald and Haze as their throats were brutally slashed, their bodies left lifeless.

Zed's spirit shattered, his energy depleted. Four students lay dead before him, and he berated himself mercilessly, believing he had failed them all.

"How pathetic! I am worthless!" Zed's self-condemnation echoed through his mind.

Andrei's tears continued to flow, his once vibrant eyes now consumed by the haunting scene. The shock proved too much, and his consciousness wavered, slipping into the clutches of death.

"Now is not the time for despair. Focus on what is to come." Jade stated, his chilling tone cutting through the silence.

With deliberate intent, Jade tore the clothes off the students' lifeless bodies, preparing for the next horrific act.

Splash!

Blood cascaded in an endless torrent, saturating the surroundings. Officer Zed and Andrei screamed internally, their voices silenced by their restraints. They bore witness to an unspeakable atrocity, the epitome of terror.

Using Zed's knife as his macabre instrument, Jade carved letters onto the students' mutilated bodies.

"I" on the left shoulder,

"AM" on the right shoulder,

and "BULLY" on the chest.

Each letter etched into the flesh with meticulous precision.

Zed's eyes held a vacant stare, never before having witnessed such carnage. The words "I have failed" reverberated through his mind with each passing moment.

Andrei remained silent, his mind numb, unable to process the horrors he had just witnessed. Overwhelmed by shock, his body succumbed to the relentless loss of blood, slipping into the embrace of death.

Jade slowly rose to his feet, his body drenched in the blood of his victims. The room was consumed by an eerie silence, broken only by the sound of Zed and Andrei's labored breaths. Their minds reeled from the nightmarish tableau that had unfolded before them.

After a few seconds, Andrei goes into cardiac arrest, resulting his death. His body finally gave up.

"Looks like the main culprit is dead as well."

Jade murmured, his voice laced with an unsettling calmness.

"We're the only ones left here, Officer. Now, what do you think I should do with you?"

Zed's eyes burned with a fiery determination as he glared at Jade.

"I will kill you!" his eyes screamed, brimming with anger and vengeance.

Jade's lips curled into a sinister smile, relishing in the raw emotion emanating from Zed.

"Your resolve is to handle injustice through the law, isn't it? We share the same goal, but our methods diverge. If the law truly held great power, this city wouldn't be known as Crime City."

"I will spare you." Jade suddenly said.

"What is he saying? Sparing a witness of his heinous crime? Is he out of his mind?" Zed innerly asked himself.

"I want you to prove to me that your ideology is better than mine," Jade continued, his smile unyielding.

"From the moment I witnessed your unwavering resolve, I already had a plan in mind for you. Become strong, transform your helplessness into strength, and ensure that such tragedies never occur again."

Jade's words hung in the air, casting a chilling atmosphere over the room. He turned to leave, his footsteps echoing with purpose. Before exiting the factory, he glanced back at Zed, his gaze filled with an unsettling mix of expectation and menace.

"I want you to be present at the final stage of my path. Change yourself so that you can pursue me. Witness what I have planned. If, in my final moments, you are absent, it will signify your failure to meet my expectations. However, I have a feeling that you will endure until the end," Jade's thoughts resonated, his eyes lingering on Zed's figure one last time before disappearing into the night.

...

"Jade, what are you doing now? I wonder if you have already spilled enough blood."

Ray contemplated, his mind filled with curiosity and concern.

"Your resolve extends beyond your father's death or mere retribution. Surely, you won't embrace cruelty for such reasons."

Ray acknowledged that there were aspects of Jade's past that remained undisclosed, details he had only gleaned through their training sessions. Yet, he recognized that Jade harbored a grand vision, a vision that had the potential to shake society to its core.

"Whatever your ultimate plan may be, I hope your resolve will ignite a revolution, a transformation that will shape the very foundations of our world," Ray murmured to himself, his gaze fixed upon the luminous full moon.