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."