As Jack and Amber were having their standoff, Jack began to reminisce about the first time he encountered his opponent. Unlike the determined expression Amber possessed while standing against him currently, the Amber he met the first time was, in his eyes, a weak and scared woman - especially when he murdered her family in front of her eyes.

Although he did not show it, that same Amber facing him annoyed Jack.

"I'm going to enjoy making you suffer before I tie up the loose end of killing you, brat!" Jack declared before charging at Amber. He quickly engaged her in hand-to-hand combat.

Amber seemed to be holding her own somewhat as she avoided several of Jack's strikes and kicks, but this was short-lived as Jack knocked her in the head with one of his dura-neg's handles.

"Ugh!" Amber uttered as she recoiled from the strike, which visibly amused Jack.

Still just a weakling! Jack thought with a smirk. Before he could follow up with another strike, he perceived both Cairo and Shadow rapidly approaching him in the side of his eye.

With a sonic scream and an enhanced claw swipe, the two animals attacked. It proved unsuccessful, however, as Jack easily avoided it. It was not completely useless, though, as Amber used Jack's moment of distraction to rush and deliver a gleam-enhanced punch.

Jack blocked but was knocked several feet backward. There was slight visible bruising on his forearm, which he used to block. Not only did Ariel's pets come up, but so did the rest of Amber's friends.

With an unhinged smile and a visible, pulsating artery on his forehead, Jack watched them with annoyance.

"Guys, I told you to let me do this alone--"

"We can't let you do this alone, Amber!" Ivory retorted. "If it weren't for us, you wouldn't have landed that strike just now."

"She's right! We can only defeat this guy by working together!" Aiden said. "Besides, we are your friends. We wouldn't let you go through something so hard alone."

"Tsk, I just want to kill this stupid bastard, that's all!" Baran stated.

As much as Amber wanted to yell at them to leave this dangerous place, she knew there was no point. Even though she never wanted to lose anyone precious to her again, it's not like she had the freedom to beg them to go when Jack was right there.

"Ha...Haha. You guys are such good friends to her," Jack stated after listening to their conversation. "I HATE IT SO MUCH!!!"

Jack attempted to dash at them, but he strangely found that his feet no longer had traction with the ground. In other words, he slipped and was now falling.

Huh? Jack wondered at this sudden occurrence. The cause of this was the injured Aiden, who had placed his hands on the ground. Amber quickly followed up by dashing at the falling Jack and delivering a powerful straight punch to his jaw.

That produced a bright, blinding light upon impact.

The rest of them charged at Jack to support their friend.

I don't need to rely on my technique to make the bastard slip. Aiden thought as he ran at Jack. We should lay in the pressure!

Tsk, why does this bugger's punches feel so different from other people? Jack thought after sustaining Amber's hit.

Jack was now up against Amber and her whole ally group. Strangely enough, Jack still didn't get serious enough to kill them all with his durability negators at full speed. Despite his annoyance for Amber, he allowed them to launch numerous attacks on him and defend (with Ivory's crystal shields) against any of his attacks (simple punches and kicks. He didn't use his dura-neg blades).

The only one he'd focus on attacking was Amber. He'd ensure to attack her at speeds much faster than she or her allies could defend against. Delivering numerous palm strikes, jabs, and kicks, Amber sustained significant injuries.

"Damn it! Jack's just playing around with us, but he's putting pressure on Amber!" Aiden uttered with frustration. "He's like an animal who has set his sights on prey and nothing else!"

"Despite her increase in power, that criminal still doesn't seem the least bit pressured," Ivory said.

Even Ryzen, who was spectating the fight, was aware of Jack's behavior.

"Hmm, this guy just can't seem to take his eye off Amber," Ryzen commented. "Well, this fight won't last too long anyway."

"Look on ya, love. Battered and bruised when it hasn't been long since our fight started!" Jack said as he observed her injuries. "But don't worry. At least you'll get to see your parents again!"

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Hearing that, Amber became enraged. Her anger was also matched by her friends who heard that.

"Be quiet, demon!" Amber yelled as she blasted a volley of energy balls from the tip of her index finger. As they got close, Jack disappeared and appeared right next to Amber.

"What--"

Before Amber could react, Jack delivered a punch across each side of her face with his right fist, causing copious amounts of blood to spray from her mouth. He then finished the combo with a devious left hook to the right side of her ribs, sending her straight into a building.

"Amber!!!" Her friends called out with visible concern.

"Ha, see. I never needed to use my full arsenal on a weakling like you!" Jack stated with a contented smile. He then turned his gaze to her friends, who had angered expressions.

"What? You guys wanna continue or something?" Jack questioned with a grin.

"Cairo, Shadow!" Ariel called out. Simultaneously, Amber was seen walking out of the building Jack knocked her into. Amber's aura still surged as strong as before despite her injuries, with her yellow glowing eyes fixated on her opponent with rage.

Being led by Shadow and Cairo, Amber's friends rushed at Jack. In one quick motion, however, Jack plunged his dura-negs into Shadow (who lunged at Jack in an attempt to swipe him with his claws), impaling him right through with them both.

That action nearly instantly turned everyone's expressions from determination and hatred to shock and despair. None was in more despair than Ariel, however. Her despair intensified as Jack pulled his knives out, which forced a pain-filled whine from the poor dog. He did that all while staring at Ariel with a smirk as if taunting her.

"N-No," Amber muttered. "Not...again!"

"S-SHADOW!!!" Ariel yelled. Immediately after, Jack rushed past everyone else and went straight at Amber.

"Haha! Did you see that, brat!?" Jack questioned as he appeared in front of the stunned Amber. "Even if it's a stupid dog, something precious to your friend died! And it's your fault!"

"W...What?"

"Pfft! Too stunned to speak!? How do you think your friend is feeling then!?" Jack continued. Simultaneously, the tear-filled Ariel rushed up to the heavily bleeding Shadow.

"No, please! Shadow!!!" Ariel pleaded as she held Shadow. "Stay with me!"

In response, Shadow weakly licked its master's hand, which only made Ariel tear up more. All the anger left Amber and was replaced by guilt as she witnessed this.

I-It was m-me? Amber thought.

Remember! Don't listen to the demon! Amber's goddess telepathically communicated in her mind. He's the one committing these sins! Keep a level head and accomplish your duty of bringing this evildoer to justice.

After listening to her god, Amber clenched her fist with slightly renewed determination. She did not recover her determination completely due to the events that unfolded. But her newly acquired determination didn't matter, for it was too late.

"Don't worry, though! I'll kill you right here!" Jack said as he raised a dura-neg in the air. Before he could finish his enemy off, Amber suddenly vanished before his eyes.

"H-Huh!?" Jack uttered with visible confusion. It wasn't just Amber that disappeared but Amber's friends were also gone.

"What the...WHERE DID SHE GO NOW!!!???" Jack angrily questioned.

"Sorry, but that was me again," Ryzen answered. "I can't have you killing her now. She hasn't done what I wanted to see yet."

"Where did you...bring them?" Jack questioned with a cold expression.

"Well, quite far from here. You won't be seeing them again today," Ryzen said. "Why don't we continue this another time."

"You mean to tell me...this woman will survive against me...again!?" Jack wondered. "That's unacceptable!"

"C'mon, it's not the end of the world. You'll get to settle this some other time or whatever."

"If you don't bring her here, I'll go on a massive freaking rampage," Jack declared. "I'll slaughter so many people in this entire continent that it'll make what happened in the US look like child's play!"

"Sigh, you really can't stand the fact that she's alive, huh--"

"JACK!" Amber's loud voice was audible as she came rushing into the scene again. The sight of her presence surprised Jack and Ryzen.

Tsk, she rushed back here this fast...? Ryzen thought. She has this extreme urge to fulfill her goal, just like this guy here.

"HAHA! YES, YOU'RE BACK, YOU BRAT!" Jack happily stated with an unhinged expression. "I'll finish this no--"

"Yeah, this fight will be paused after all," Ryzen said.

"Hu--"

Jack suddenly found his arms to be grabbed. The one grabbing it from behind was none other than Charles.

"Huh?" Amber uttered as she noticed Charles.

"Heh, you wanted all this fun for yourself, huh, Jack?" Charles uttered.

"Tsk, let me go! I gotta kill that bitch!"

"I will kill you! Especially for what you just did to my friend!!!" Amber declared.

"Is that so, love? If I can't kill you here, this will be worse for you!" Jack said as he continued to struggle out of Charles's grasp. "As long as we both are alive in this world, I will make sure to bring suffering onto you and your loved ones! I'LL MAKE YOU WISH THAT YOU DIED WITH YOUR PARENTS BACK IN THAT DAMNED HOUSE!!!"

In response, Amber stared at him with hatred and fear.

"All the destruction and death. All the suffering you will all experience. IT WILL BE YOUR FAULT, AMBER!!!"

"SHUT UP YOU MUR--" Before Amber could finish her sentence, Ryzen suddenly appeared before her and placed his index and middle finger on her forehead. Suddenly, the gleaming aura that encompassed her body quickly dissipated, and all the energy left her. She quickly lost consciousness, but Ryzen caught her before she could fall to the ground.

"Well, see ya later, guys!" Ryzen stated. Without waiting for Jack to respond, Ryzen suddenly disappeared with Amber. Even though they had left, Jack still attempted to shake from Charles's grasp to chase them down, despite not knowing where they went.

Damn, this guy is stronger than I thought. Charles thought as veins covered his body. Still, he can't overpower my physical strength.

"I PROMISE THAT I WILL MAKE YOU SUFFER, AMBER--" Before Jack could finish, Charles tossed him aside, causing Jack to roll across the ground and end up in a scorpion-like position.

"Looks like you found some strong guys, Jack!"