Going back a bit in the past, over to an unspecified alleyway, Charles was standing in the midst. His fist and knuckles were heavily bloodied, and his clothing had slight splatters of blood on them.

Judging by the lack of injuries on his body and his calm expression, the blood that he got covered in may not be his. Well, it definitely didn't belong to him...judging by the corpses of police officers, soldiers, and even a couple of super soldiers littered around the alley.

"Sigh...I was excited when I found a couple of super soldiers that survived the war..." Charles said. "But to think they'd die so easily...what a letdown..."

DING!

"Huh?" Charles uttered as he heard his pinged. Upon checking, Charles realized it was a message from the developer. Sigh...I hope whatever this message is will be more fun than this waste of a fight...

"Let's meet up!" The message vaguely said.

Huh?

* * *

Charles was not the only one who received that message, as while working in her lab, Olivia's phone pinged. She seemed rather bored in her lab until the phone received the message.

"Sigh...what's this now," Olivia said as she picked up her phone. "I...Is it Jack?"

All hope was shattered as Olivia read the message saying 'Let's meet up!" by the developer.

"...Sigh."

* * *

Returning to the present, everyone gathered together in Nathan's living room. The developer and all the game characters (except Jack...and of course Ada) took their seats.

The blacksmith and Lilith had sat on opposite sides of Nathan, which caused Lilith to become slightly upset due to jealousy. The blacksmith, however, didn't seem to pay attention to her.

"What's wrong?" Nathan asked Lilith.

"N-Nothing..." Lilith responded as she turned away from Nathan with puffy cheeks. In confusion, Nathan scratched his head.

"Hey guys! It's good to see you guys again!" Zack said as he greeted Charles and Olivia.

"Hey, Zack!" Charles returned the greeting. The blood from his massacre in the alleyway was gone.

"It's good to see you too..." Olivia said. Too bad...Jack isn't here too...

Nathan gazed at the developer with disdain-filled eyes, and the developer returned his gaze to Nathan with a smirk.

"I heard that you guys have been training," The developer said to Lilith and Nathan. "Let me give you guys a hint...keep your mind set on your blessing...you'll get stronger that way."

Silence filled the air as none of the gang responded to him, with Nathan still looking in disdain.

"...Are you going to tell us why you wanted to meet?" Nathan questioned. Hearing this, the developer's facial expression became bland.

"Don't try to hide your disdain too much, Nathan," The developer sarcastically remarked. "Can't I just want to see how my characters are doing?"

"So, do you have a mission or not?" Nathan bluntly asked.

"Yeah? I want to fight strong people already!" Charles declared. "You said I'd get to fight tons of strong people, which is why I joined your game...but ever since the war, I've only fought scrubs!"

"Yeah, but--"

"Why can't we just attack Ada and her group!?" Charles inquired.

"No, I already told you that you can't do that...not yet, at least." The developer reminded. "But you don't need to worry. Although it's taking a bit longer than I imagined...I'm sure the world would not allow criminals who turned a country upside-down loose. They're likely planning and will counter-attack soon."

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

I'm kinda surprised that 'they' haven't done anything yet, too. The developer thought.

Suddenly, the developer and the NPC looked to the door, confusing the rest.

"Oh, he's here," The developer remarked.

"Who's here--" Before Nathan could finish, Jack suddenly appeared in front of the doorway.

"Hey, everyone. I'm back." Jack greeted. Upon seeing him covered in blood and his clothing ripped, Nathan and Lilith were surprised.

"Jack!" Olivia called out with a happy expression.

"W...What the hell happened to you?" Nathan asked while Jack and Zack waved to each other.

"You know me, Nathan," Jack said. "I was killing some buggers."

"What!? Didn't you say you were going to England?" Nathan asked. "So you were lying about meeting an old friend...I knew it."

The developer just listened as he rubbed his chin.

"Nah, I was meeting an old friend, but I was also killing buggers."

"Why would you go to a different country to kill people!? Do you want to get killed?"

"There's no one that could kill me now, mate," Jack stated.

"Sigh...did you at least ensure not to leave any tracks behind..." Nathan asked.

"Of course, mate," Jack responded. "Who do you think I am?"

* * *

"...Fingerprints and bloodstains were found in Ms. Amber's home," Barry said as he was walking in what seemed to be a hospital, judging by the number of medical professionals he passed.

Walking with him was the Queen-Deathbringer.

"So? Who do they belong to?" She asked.

"Tch...they belong to Jack Knight, Queen," Barry answered in a slightly annoyed tone.

"What? Do you mean Jack the Ripper? But how did he...?"

"I don't know either...but the point is he's here..." Barry replied. "We need to start preparing."

"...How are you going to deal with him then?"

"Huh?"

"Apart from me and the other death-bringers, there are Rebecca and John...who aren't ready yet." The Queen Deathbringer explained. "Since I've come here, I haven't seen any other super soldiers...how will you hope you stop him?"

"I suppose you wouldn't know since you haven't been here too long, but our country also has a special group of people that can combat superhumans," Barry responded. "Unlike super soldiers, we have 'blessed soldiers.' As the name suggests, these are essentially people with blessings. We train them up to become proper soldiers."

"I see."

"But...if it's truly Jack...we'd need stronger units...Most of our blessed soldiers won't be strong enough if we were to compare his performance to the super soldiers in your country," Barry continued. In anger, he clenched his fist. "That S-Class criminal's presence in this country has made things much more difficult...dammit."

"Well, Cryostasis has recovered from his injuries, so my group is ready when you're ready."

"Sigh, that's good," Barry said as they approached a door leading to a room. The room was labeled 'Medic Bay.' "But before that...there was that high energy concentration registered from Amber's home. As much as I hate to do this after she just lost her family, I have to get to the bottom of this."

And those injuries she sustained were from shotgun shells...there's more to her than I thought.

* * *

Inside the medic bay, Amber slept on a bed. Her wounds were tended to, as they got wrapped in bandages.

In her dreams, a graphic display of Jack's massacre was plaguing her mind. The screams of her family and their graphic deaths shook her very core, even while she slept.

As if trying to block the screams, Amber covered her ears with tears running down her face while sleeping. Slight moans of discomfort were audible as she tossed and turned on the bed.

Suddenly, in her subconscious, she began to hear a strange voice. As if clearing her mind of the gruesome sight, a bright yellow light, similar to the one that shone on her, appeared in her subconscious.

"Hello, Amber." An unknown voice of a female began to speak in her head. The voice seemed different from the ones people usually hear in dreams. It felt as if someone was talking to her in real life.

In shock, Amber suddenly woke up. Due to her trauma, Amber sprung up from the bed, drenched in sweat and hyperventilating.

"H-Huh?" Amber asked with terrified eyes.

"Sorry, did I startle you?" The voice asked. "Don't worry, I am on your side."

"What...? A-Am I losing it?" Amber asked as she held her head in frustration. She also looked around to see if anyone was in the room. There wasn't, which made Amber more concerned about the voice.

"No, no, I...am the one you called upon for help," The voice explained. "After that demon's attack..."

"W-What?" Amber uttered. "Wait...are you...my god?"

"I suppose so. Although, I have no right to be called that...after not saving your family too..." The voice said in a low tone. "But I couldn't for reas--"

"It's okay..." Amber interjected with a smile as she started to calm down. "Just as my mom said...you saved me. I'd never be angry at my god for that..."

"...Thank you, Amber...I'm sorry it had to be this way...but I'm glad I chose you..."

"For what?"

"I will bless you...with power...to defeat the evil of this world," The voice explained. "You can return this world to peace...and I will help you...always."

Hearing this, Amber's brows raised in surprise.

Defeating evil...does that mean I can kill the demon, Jack, too? Amber wondered. Then...I really can avenge my family...

Suddenly, the door began to open, garnering Amber's attention. Entering the medical bay were Barry and the Queen Deathbringer.

"Oh? You're up?" Barry said with raised eyebrows and a smile from that pleasant surprise. "I'm glad."

Upon seeing him, Amber remembered when Barry spoke to her at the scene of Jack's attack.

Oh...it's you.

"Sorry, I hope you don't mind...but I have a couple of questions."