Jack entered his apartment, noticing Val and Jenny were already up and about making themselves breakfast, and getting ready for the day. Fae, as usual was nowhere to be seen and would probably remain that way until she had a reason to return, such as a life-threatening situation or a time when Jack’s guard was down. Jack inhaled, holding it for a moment before releasing the breath along with some of his stress, then closed the door behind him, catching the girl’s attention. Jenny looked up from her seat at the table, eating a multicolored cereal out of a small blue bowl, and the box sitting next to her displaying the brand name in large, colorful letters.

Val had apparently just left the shower, since her silvery hair was still wet, and was now in the kitchen about to prepare herself breakfast. She turned to face him as he entered, her usual unchanging expression visibly unresponsive, and, while seemingly emotionless, somehow gave off a warm feeling.

“Morning, Jack.”

“Hello, Jack.”

The two greeted him simultaneously, and he nodded in acknowledgement, stepping deeper into the room with quick, yet calculated movements. Jack reached into his right pocket, and removed a small communication device about the size of his palm, displaying it as he began his explanation.

“I got a new phone this morning, and it should have my old number set up on it, so we shouldn’t have any more trouble with communication unless something happens to it again.”

Jack had intentionally gotten a phone that would be more protective, but he was now thinking it wouldn’t matter how much tougher it was if it took a direct hit. He figured it would be best to set it in a safe place if possible before he fought from now on, or at least remove it from his pocket, and toss it on the ground. In any case, he continued as the two sat listening attentively, carefully choosing his words.

“There’s a small group of monsters nearby that I need to check out, but it shouldn’t take long, and isn’t likely to be dangerous.”

Jack placed the phone back in his pocket, shifting his weight to a more comfortable position and continuing before the girls had a chance to protest.

“I’d rather do this one alone, but to make up for it I will take you two, or three if Fae shows up, out and do whatever you want to as long as it stays within the budget.”

He didn’t want to tell them they couldn’t come without giving them a reason, but they would likely insist if he told them about the aspiring demon king and their previous meeting. He didn’t want them involved in any way with Charles White, and what Jack was planning on doing would most definitely aggravate the wraith, and likely end in a fight. Keeping Jenny and Val as far away from Mr. White significantly raises their chances of avoiding getting pulled into the fight that Jack was going to provoke. However, there was still a large chance they would be roped in, and Jack knew it, which is one of the reasons he decided to take them out in the first place.

Charles White viewed himself as the good guy, trying to take this chaotic world and organize it for the betterment of all living things. What better way to catch a good guy’s attention is there than introducing a bad guy that hindered him from accomplishing his goals? It was this hero syndrome that Jack would have to play into, becoming the villain in order to hold the wraith’s focus and keep his friends out of harm’s way. Jack considered continuing persuasion earlier, however Ellis informed him that wraiths still retain the obsessive parts of their personality, and are often very stubborn. Persuasion would likely be ineffective, and while it was happening, the wraith’s army would be freely roaming about while executing the first part of Mr. White’s plan.

Thankfully, the girls seemed to take the bait, and became excited about Jack’s offer to take them out. The early morning sun’s rays were dancing through the blinds of his window, creating horizontal lines of golden light and shadows, that seemed to separate the room into many tiny sections as smiles appeared on the girls’ faces.

“Pick your words carefully, Jack.”

Jack turned to see Fae standing off to his right, just outside the kitchen area, with a different kind of smile on her face. Her smile looked slightly forced, but her confidence and bold voice made up for it ten fold as she took a couple of steps forward, closing the distance between them. After she was close enough to feel his breath, she stopped, her amethyst eyes intensely staring at his as her tail flicked and waved behind her, ever so slightly pushing her skirt up as it did.

“Or you might accidentally agree to something you wish you hadn’t.”

She wasn’t being even remotely subtle in her warning, and Jack immediately became uncomfortable, taking a step back to distance himself from the thought. He shook his discomfort off with a quick shrug, and walked forward, stepping to the right as he passed the alien, and entered his room which was directly behind her.

A few moments passed as the girls patiently waited for Jack to emerge from his room, which took a surprisingly short amount of time. His door opened, revealing a tall boy dressed in a solid black hoodie and blue jeans, the brim of a red hat poking out from the top of his head. He wasn’t wearing any shoes or socks on his feet, which kept his steps almost silent as he left the room with long, quick strides that carried him past Fae and straight to his front door. He paused when his hand touched the bronze handle.

“No sex.”

Having said that, he pulled the door open and disappeared from Jenny, Val, and Fae’s sights, and into the world outside. The three stood inside the apartment, two faces showing a slight disappointment at Jack’s last words, while the third stood to the side with the same forced smile, and confident attitude.

Jack ran, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, each time propelling himself at an incredible speed towards his destination. A girl that only he could see floated beside him, her body unaffected by the intense speed at which she was traveling.

(Not far now, it seems they are moving underground while winding through several tunnels, so they are probably using the sewer to get around undetected.)

Jack jumped diagonally, crossing over the street before landing on the stretch of rooftops running parallel to him, then continued on before anyone had a chance to see him. He has recently been able to crudely emit and manipulate magic in the air around him, which allowed him to control a lot of the wind and sound that were produced from his quick movements. This allowed him to travel quickly without tearing up the ground and his surroundings, which alerted all the people nearby of his presence. Though he couldn’t hide himself completely, this did almost eliminate the sound, which would make someone second-guess themselves if they just happened to catch a glimpse of him.

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‘Can you tell what they are?’

The air whipped past him, colliding with the magic that he had formed around himself, then losing it’s momentum before becoming nothing more than a gentle breeze. The girl responded with a nod, her golden hair catching the light of the sun while the air passed through harmlessly, giving her a look befitting of a goddess.

(Yes, and they are definitely a part of the wraith’s army. There are about twenty to twenty-five lower class orcs, about fifteen lower- to mid-class ghouls, and one upper-class orc. Make sure you are careful of the upper-class orc, he is most likely the leader and well-trained in the use of both magical and physical combat.)

‘Got it.’

Jack continued in silence for a while, the beautiful morning light painted across the canvas created by the clouds, going from deep red to bright gold as the crisp air filled his lungs, overwhelming his senses with a warm feeling. About three minutes passed before the silence was interrupted, Ellis’s voice pulling him out of his almost dream-like state.

(There’s something wrong.)

‘What is it?’

Jack responded immediately, a very serious tone glazed over his words as he increased his speed, the sense of urgency Ellis gave him sharpening his mind.

(They surfaced, and are moving around... They’re moving a battle formation!)

“Tch.”

Jack clicked his tongue, releasing the restraints he had put in place to avoid being seen, and redirected his magic to his right hand and bare feet. With an explosive noise, Jack propelled himself through the air, blowing away some of the shingles and concrete that he was previously standing on. Moving like a bullet, the wind tore at his clothing which caused it to beat rapidly up against his body, but he didn’t slow down, releasing the magic again from his feet and hand.

‘If anyone dies because I stopped to change...’

Jack shook the thought out of his mind, there was no way to change that now, he had to focus on the task at hand. Keeping his distance from the ground, Jack searched the earth below for the monsters, and quickly spotted them. There was a large commotion, the creatures had surfaced near people, who had taken their phones out to record it rather than get the hell out of there. Now in position, with the orcs organized into rows that were four long, and six wide and the ghouls surrounding from the sides, covering the flanks, the monsters waited. One orc dressed in battle armor stood directly in front of the others, and raised a large ax over it’s head, while the rest leaned forward in anticipation.

“Oh no you don’t.”

That was clearly a signal in preparation of a fight, and Jack had no intention of letting a single person die here because of his own mistake. Releasing the energy again, this time flying straight down at full speed towards the upper-class orc, his determination increasing as he approached. Jack began creating a long rope that extended from his right index finger, drifting as if weightless, unaffected by the wind. His left sleeve caught on fire before immediately tearing away to reveal a brightly glowing hot pink arm, electricity sparking, shooting off uncontrollably in random directions in short, thin streaks.

Hearing the noise, and feeling the magic release, the leader looked up, locking eyes with the aspiring god for a split second before Jack’s left hand was brought down and turned him into a liquid. A loud shock blew many of the observers off their feet as the gore of the orc stained the ground, and it’s armor imploded on itself, both turning inside out. Though Jack didn’t emit magic from his left arm with that strike, the sheer force and heat of it had reduced this great warrior to mud, and attracted the attention of everyone within earshot.

Jack, who had landed after the attack, pulled his hood up, covering the sides of his face from the humans’ view as he turned to face the monsters. The orcs stopped completely, unsure of what to do without their commander, but the ghouls who were natural loners moved without hesitation, closing in from every direction. They moved with considerable speed, forcing Jack to take this fight seriously as the first one approached from his left, and Jack moved back defensively. These monsters were much smarter and more organized than the ones Jack had previously fought, and Jack almost didn’t notice the one that came at him from behind in a surprise attack.

Jack twisted around, reaching out with his left hand, and caught the monster by it’s face, squeezing hard as it’s skull cracked, then imploded, covering him in it’s blood and brains. Using his momentum, Jack spun around, now facing the largest portion of the ghouls as he whipped his right arm horizontally across his body, followed by the whip made of a dark pink magic. The ghouls moved instinctively, but most of them were caught, losing limbs, heads, and some even getting their torsos halved by the rope, which cut through them as easily as it did the air.

Now collecting themselves as they lost more than half of their deadliest fighting force, the orcs in the front three rows charged in an attempt to overwhelm Jack with sheer numbers while the back stayed behind, summoning magic of their own. The remaining seven ghouls had regrouped, and were charging at the boy in the hood from the opposite direction, forcing him to choose between the quick, and the powerful. Seeing this Jack redirected his magic, removing it completely from his right hand, and focusing it all in his left, causing it to become brighter, and the sparks to occur more often. The two waves approached from either side, threatening to swallow him whole as he leapt upward, moving up dozens of feet with pure physical ability, then lowered his hand, letting his now open palm face downward at the monsters.

Magic was released, flying out of his palm, forming a bolt of pink lightning about a foot in diameter that split apart into scores of sparks, that coated the ground in the bright light. Flowing over the ground in an organized, yet chaotic way, the electricity enveloped them, burning dozens of holes into each of them as horrific screeches filled the air. The humans were long gone, running away in fear about the time Jack had shown up, but not before getting a few videos and pictures, which would likely be all over the media in a few moments.

By the time Jack landed, the screeching had stopped, and the last monster had been reduced to a smoldering corpse. The stench hit Jack, the smell of burning flesh and more than a few showers’ worth of blood and gore now infested his body and made him nauseous.

‘Now for step two.’

Jack ditched the hoodie, throwing it on the ground next to him, then unbuttoned his pants before removing them, and revealing a second pair of jogging pants underneath. Now that monsters were now known to the public, there would most certainly be many people out looking closely for any phenomenon, so using supernatural speed to get around was impractical. He didn’t want to be followed home, or at least leave anyone that follows him with doubt and no evidence so he can at least have a few more days of relative peace without any news reporters beating down his door.

The attention of the people would most likely be focused on studying the monsters’ anatomy, though they would have to rely on the videos and pictures that were taken, since monsters disappear after they die. Jack looked around, the corpses already dissolving into ash, and crumbling down into the cracks created during the fight. Now in a new set of clothing, he began walking away from the scene, and noticed his surroundings for the first time. The monsters had emerged directly next to an old military that had been emptied for some reason, and was now just a fenced-in plot of land.

(Mr. White is most likely trying to take down your country’s military force.)

Jack continued walking, wondering why such a clever wraith’s first target would be so small, and just cause the rest of the world to brace for such attacks. Thinking on this, Jack began his walk home to prepare for his day out with Jenny, Val, Ellis, and Fae.

A figure Jack had failed to notice watched from the shadows, unknowingly disguised by a higher existence as he watched the boy walk away from the scene.

‘So much power... how can one person do so much damage?’

Slipping out of the shadows, the figure began following Jack, keeping his distance to remain undetected while ducking behind different objects at any chance he got.

‘It’s... unnatural.’

From somewhere far away from this world, a large man stood, black robes lined with a golden yellow pattern tumbled down his lean physique, giving him an intimidating presence. His face was clean-shaven, and his eyes were an odd yellow color, which seemed to flicker and wave as if on fire.

“I found you.”

A smile split his face, which seemed young, but was creased and weary with experiences that could only be gained through many lifetimes.

“Now... Let’s have a little fun.”