The death of Jack the Ripper roused widespread joy as citizens could see the light of hope at the tunnel's end. The main contributors were the ones who disclosed information about the criminals, Ada Foster, the one who murdered Jack Knight, Amber Hoss, and her friends and instructors who contributed, and they received great commendation.

Their achievements reached the attention of the Queen, as they currently met with Isabella. Along with Ada and Amber were Leo, Sariel, Ariel, Ivory, and Trixie.

Buckingham Palace - the residence and headquarters of the Monarch. The sight of the palace displayed an impression of power and wealth. The sheer size of the plot decorated with fountains, statues, and gardens was already grand. The limestone walls and pillars of the great palace itself complemented the impressively decorated land.

The lounge room they occupied also displayed wealth. The furniture, walls, carpets, lounge chairs, chandeliers, etc., was decorated with a Victorian vintage gold design.

"Thank you so much for having me here!" Ada expressed in her usual chirpy expression and tone. It looks like I am receiving the gratitude of the Queen, after all, Charlotte.

"Of course! I would never disregard an act of bravery like this," Queen Isabella responded with a smile. "It's a shame I am not in the condition to help, but I'm glad capable people such as yourselves were here to help."

I can see the stitches on her face. It must have been a horrible incident. Ada pondered. I wonder what happened to her in the past.

I can't believe that I even got a medal of honor. Ivory thought. I felt like I didn't do much though.

"You shouldn't blame yourself, Your Majesty. Our Amber was there to save the day," Sariel responded. "Amber's the one who truly deserves this."

"I don't deserve your praise, Sariel. I didn't defeat him fast enough, and so many people lost their lives. All I can see on social media is the distraught-filled cries from people about their deceased loved ones," Amber stated as she held her head down. "I couldn't even defeat the demon without your guys' help. I failed to retrieve those dangerous durability negator blades he had too. You all deserve this more than me."

"Tch, if you never deserved acknowledgment for your service, I wouldn't have entrusted you to complete my revenge and kill Jack in the first place!" Kreuger retorted. And I wouldn't have let you call me Leo, too.

"S-Sorry, Leo."

It seems they have been scarred by this whole ordeal. Ada thought as she gazed at Amber and her friends. It's not like I care, though. Jack needed to die for my goals, anyway.

"C'mon, guys! Now's not the time to feel this way! This is a happy time now!" Trixie interjected. "Why don't I up the mood with a trick? May I, Your Majesty?"

"Hehe, you always love tricks. I like that about you," Isabella replied. "But sure, let's see what you've got."

Trixie happily obliged and pulled out her card pack. A card emerged, which Trixie grabbed. She held a jester card, which she immediately tossed at the unsuspecting Kreuger.

"Huh!?" Leo uttered as he witnessed the card approaching him. "What the hell are you doing--"

The card exploded into confetti after closing in on Kreuger, causing him to shield his face reflexively.

"What the...what did you--huh?" Leo questioned but realized a strange occurrence - the pitch of his voice was unusually high as if he had inhaled helium. "W-What the!?"

"Pfft, fufu!" Trixie began giggling.

"What the hell did you do!?" Kreuger angrily questioned, contrasting with his child-pitched voice. His voice roused slight laughter in everyone, especially Amber, who covered her mouth despite her audible giggling.

"Y-You all think this is funny!? Fix my voice back!!" Kreuger yelled, which caused everyone to burst out in laughter.

"Hahahaha! Your voice is so funny, Leo!" Amber remarked. Meanwhile, Ariel laughed so hard that she leaned on Sariel, who was also laughing. Even Ada and Isabella were dying from laughter.

Trixie leaned back in her lounge chair and watched everyone laughing with a smug expression. Kreuger turned his gaze to Trixie and became enraged upon seeing her smug expression.

They spent the next five minutes laughing at Leo's high-pitched voice. Kreuger, who gave up talking, gazed at the side of the room with annoyance.

"Haha! That was pretty funny!" Ada remarked as she wiped a tear from her eye. I'd love to have someone like this to entertain me regularly.

"Yes, Trixie is an excellent soldier and an excellent magician!" Isabella commended. "You've outdone yourself!"

"Heh, it all comes with experience," Trixie replied with a self-satisfied expression. "No need to thank me for lightening up the mood."

That's the first time I've laughed so much since everything that happened! Amber thought while slightly giggling still.

"Now that our spirits are high, let's move on to the main discussion. Everyone here deserves medals of honor, which I bestowed. Failure to retrieve something like the criminal's blades does not offset the achievements that were made. Jack the Ripper is more dangerous than a pair of knives, after all," Queen Isabella stated. "You all have shown unwavering bravery against criminals such as those. I did invite Ryzen, but he never showed up. I suppose I should have expected that from someone like him."

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"Do you have experience with Ryzen, your majesty?" Sariel questioned.

"Yes. Ryzen is an interesting fellow, to say the least," Isabella replied. They're still calling me 'Your Majesty.' "More importantly, though. What will our next move be now that Jack the Ripper has been dealt with."

"I just want to bring back everyone's hopes and smiles," Amber stated. "So finding the rest of the S-Class criminals ASAP is mandatory."

"Well, despite the other S-Class criminals still being at large, countries globally have reopened their borders and allowed travel," Isabella remarked. "I suppose the simple fact that Jack is dead rekindled the hopes in everyone, which is thanks to you all."

"It's been a while since I have left the USA, so I'll have to return now. It's also likely that the criminals have retreated to my country, so I'll need to plan for that," Ada remarked. "I can't leave my people alone for much longer, especially with the presence of the remaining criminals being unknown."

"No problem, I understand. You have done more than enough," The Queen stated. "Thank you again."

"I-If you need my help, I can come with you, Ms. President!" Amber took the initiative and suggested.

"Don't worry, it's fine, Amber. You are the hero of your country, after all," Ada stated. "You belong here."

"I suppose you're right..." Amber replied.

"I heard from the Chief of Defense that John Walker has completed becoming a super soldier," Isabella remarked. "Have you been told?"

"Yes, he has told me yesterday, actually," Ada responded. "After deliberating with Barry Alexander, we have decided that John and the remaining super soldiers will return with me to the United States."

"No problem, it would be wrong to reject a favor like that," Isabella stated. "Especially all the help you've given to us."

It wasn't that hard to manipulate Barry to give him to me since he was wrapped around my fingers the very moment I stepped foot in this country. Ada pondered with a smirk.

"Let's not forget Amber, who has also achieved what I wanted a soldier from the Enlightenment Program to achieve," Isabella continued. "That makes you the third living person to achieve enlightenment!"

"Who are the other two?" Ariel questioned.

"I'm so sorry, but the others have requested to keep their identity a secret," Isabella replied. "And it's been such a long time since I've heard from them that I am skeptical whether they are alive. I was thinking of removing their names from the registry if we don't hear from them soon."

"Oh, I see."

I wonder what's so important about those two that we can't know their identity. Sariel thought.

"But I'm sure you wouldn't mind your friends knowing what you've accomplished, Amber," Isabella added.

"Yes! I wouldn't have achieved what I did if it weren't for them!" Amber said with a delighted expression. Nor would I achieved this if I didn't have Lady Themis watching over me.

"There's so many things you don't know about your new self, Amber," Isabella said. "But in time, you'll learn so much about enlightenment. I will be there to help you."

Another master!? Amber thought with an excited smile.

Ariel and Sariel seemed slightly saddened in response to the Queen's words.

* * *

After spending time conversing, their meeting came to a close. For Ada, the end of the meeting marked the end of her time in England, as she was seen in an airport with Charlotte, Nolan, and Leon. The air was filled with peace as not many civilians occupied the airport.

Ada was met by Chief Barry as they stood by an aircraft.

"So, it's time for us to part ways, huh, Ms. President," Barry remarked.

"It seems so, but you know what they say," Ada responded. "Don't be sad that it's over, be happy that it happened."

"Heh, that is true," Barry said. "It was good that you came here."

"You're acting like this is the last time we're going to see each other anyways," Ada stated as she approached the aircraft's entrance with her 'bodyguards.' "After what we went through, we've bonded, haven't we?"

"Heh, yeah, I suppose so. I wish you the best of luck," Barry said as he waved at them. "I hope you and your country reclaim the peace and strength it had."

Ada stopped at the plane's entrance and turned to Barry with a smile in response to his statement.

"It will. The criminals have lost their crutch," Ada stated. "The era of darkness is now behind us."

Barry returned her smile with one of his own, and with that, they parted ways.

The aircraft's interior was nearly devoid of people, as it was likely a privately-owned aircraft, fitting for the president of the United States. After treading the plane, Ada finally sat in a seat.

She was particular with her chosen seat as she sat beside another person. It was none other than John Walker.

"...I heard the experiment to modify you into a super soldier was successful, but your life span was lowered due to the strain you went through in your old age," Ada remarked as Charlotte, Nolan, and Leon sat in seats close to her. "Your physical strength is near to that of a blessed soldier, but that is an unfortunate side effect."

It was evident the modification was stressful on his body, as numerous and extensive scars were visible on John.

"You...have no idea how much pain I went through. Going through something like that was pure hell," John muttered as he kept his head down. His widened eyes, furrowed eyebrows, and gritted teeth gave an expression of a man who went through trauma. "The pain and torture of taking all those modification and booster drugs in my body was horrific."

"Hmpf, you should be lucky that Ms. Ada managed to get you back," Nolan stated. "You likely would have been used as an expendable soldier in their country."

"Yeah, and if your mental state gets better, I could make you army Chief in the US," Ada added. "The Queen Deathbringer and her subordinate, Claw, have already left the country, so you'll have a couple of strong men to lead. Sounds nice, right?"

"...Nathan Hayes is still alive, right?"

Ada immediately smirked in response to his question. "Yes, the only one who died was Jack."

"That's good. Charles won't be enough for that bastard to hide behind," John stated. "Nathan, no, the Hayes family has taken everything from me. The reputation that I built up over the decades has been stripped from me, and the super soldiers I built were massacred. I was even turned into the thing I created. All because of them."

Ada stared at him with a smile and listened to his monologue.

"I have suffered too much because of Nathan," John continued. "I have to make him suffer until his last breath before I kill him. I can't return to my normal life until I do."

"Fufu, Jack truly was the biggest wall to overcome, but Nathan no longer has that criminal to save him," Ada responded. "Nathan himself is full of weaknesses, whether it may be his lower strength, his past experiences, or the one he cares about."

"...Lilith."

"Exactly, but there are other things I can think of to ensure Nathan's suffering. I have looked thoroughly into his past," Ada stated. "You are valuable for this, John. You want to make Nathan suffer before you kill him, and I sanction you fully."