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.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found 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...