Picking up on Chief Barry, he was unconscious and lying in a plane area. Ryzen was next to him and sitting on a rock.

"Someone's pretty weak, huh," Ryzen commented as he gazed at the sleeping Barry. "Sleeping like this even though I saved you."

Barry's eyes then slowly opened, which Ryzen noticed. Barry had returned to consciousness as he fully opened his eyes.

"Hey, you're finally awake!" Ryzen commented as he stood over him. With a foggy and exhausted expression, Barry stared at him before sitting up.

"Where...are we? How am...I alive?" Barry questioned. "The last thing I remember was being strapped up in an abandoned building...with explosives."

"Yeah, the place exploded, but I saved your life," Ryzen vaguely explained. "I guess you went unconscious from the shock or something."

"You saved me? But...those criminals placed bombs in my mouth," Barry stated. "How did you...save me then?"

"Don't sweat the small stuff," Ryzen responded. "Just be happy that you're alive."

"...What about Amber and Kreuger?" Barry asked. "They were with you, right?"

"Yeah, don't worry. I teleported them away," Ryzen assured. It's better not to tell Barry about the soldiers that got blown up. Well, that's not my problem since I'm not a babysitter. "They are also perfectly fine!"

"...I see," Barry responded. I hope that Amber doesn't run into that monster.

* * *

Over to Kreuger, he found himself in a completely different part of the country.

"What the...where the hell am I now?" Kreuger questioned as he looked around.

Did that bastard teleport me away from the explosion? I could have just run away, though. Does that mean he gave up on saving Barry and also teleported? Kreuger thought.

"Tch, whatever. Whether Barry lives or dies is of no concern to me," Kreuger stated. "My main concern is killing that bastard Jack. I'll get revenge for all my brethren he murdered, and I'll kill him for Amber too."

"Wow! Did I find a big fish!?" A deep voice filled with excitement was audible, and Kreuger's attention was immediately garnered. The voice was none other than the battle-crazed killer, Charles Warner.

"You look pretty strong!" Charles said as he approached Kreuger. "Let's have a battle, shall we!"

"...How can you tell I'm strong when we've never met, you dumbass?" Kreuger retorted.

"Haha! My senses never lie when I see a strong guy!" Charles said. "I wonder if you'll satisfy me, though!"

Tch, how annoying! I can't waste time with this guy when I have no clue what's going on now! Kreuger thought. Since Charles is here, then it's safe to say the rest of the S-Class criminals are on the loose, which means Jack is also a threat.

"Tch, I'll fight you if you tell me where Jack is, then," Kreuger stated. "I'm going to kill that bastard, after all."

"Ooh! That's easy! Jack said he was going for Amber Hoss at the Enlightenment Program!" Charles casually revealed, much to Kreuger's shock. "Now, I told you...let's fight!"

Shit! Of course, he'd go there! Kreuger thought with a visibly panicked look. Those students won't stand a chance against that guy!

Immediately, Kreuger pulled out both of his bloodbath knives from his coat.

"I'm not going to waste time with this stupid fight," Kreuger declared. "I'll kill you right now!"

"Yeah! That's the spirit!" Charles goaded with an excited grin. The two stood off in preparation to fight.

Damn it, my bloodbaths will easily do heavy damage to him...but this guy is the one that killed the strongest super soldier, or whatever. Kreuger pondered. I can't waste any time, or Jack's going to kill all of Amber's friends...but can I make quick work of this bugger?

"Alright! Let's go--"

BOOM!

Before Charles could finish his sentence, he received a kick to the side of his face. This was done by the Queen Deathbringer, who sent Charles through multiple buildings.

"...Huh?" Kreuger uttered with a raised eyebrow.

"Nice kick, Queen," Claw commended as he and Shadowgun approached her.

"Where did you guys come from?" Kreuger questioned.

"That doesn't matter right now. Let us fight Charles," The Queen Deathbringer requested.

"Huh?"

"We have run into Charles before, and he has killed one of my subordinates," She explained. "Besides, you need to be somewhere, right?"

"...Heh, you came at the right time, I suppose," Kreuger stated.

"Hey, hey! Are those super soldiers I'm seeing!?" Charles, who burst through a building, returned to the main area. "This might be very fun, then!"

"Take your focus off Kreuger," Shadowgun advised. "You'll be fighting us."

"Huh?" Charles uttered in confusion.

"You got my respect, super soldiers," Kreuger said. "Good luck."

"Hey, wait--"

Kreuger immediately ran off, much to Charles's disappointment. He knew he couldn't chase after him, not with the super soldiers in his way.

"Sigh, how unfortunate," Charles muttered. "I was hoping for a fun time..."

"Charles, do you remember my subordinates?" The Queen Deathbringer coldly questioned. In response, Charles looked at Claw and Shadowgun intently.

"Oh yeah! I remember you two!" Charles uttered with surprise. "You two had given me a good fight. There was another person, though. I can't remember."

"...That man you killed was codenamed Deathgrip. I am their leader, the Queen Deathbringer," She explained. "I wasn't there, which resulted in his death, but for what you've done, we will eliminate you here."

In response, Charles's disappointment morphed into excitement.

"Haha! I like that resolve!" Charles commended. "Maybe that guy with the knives won't need to be here for this to be fun!"

* * *

Amber found herself in the same predicament as Kreuger. She was also teleported to a random part of the country.

"Huh? Did Mr. Ryzen teleport me here?" Amber questioned as she looked around. "W-Wait, what about Kreuger...and Mr. Barry...?"

She recalled seeing the radiance of the explosives coming from Barry's mouth as they were being activated. This immediately caused Amber to break out in sweat and panic.

Did those evildoers put some...in his mouth...? Amber thought. I-If Mr. Ryzen teleported me away...then maybe Kreuger's fine too. But how...how could he save Mr. Ryzen?

The memories of Ryzen finding the grievously injured Amber in her home after Jack's attack and massacre of her family played in Amber's head. This was followed by Ryzen extending an opportunity for her to join the Enlightenment Program after meeting with Amber in the medic bay.

"H-He's the one that saved my sanity..." Amber thought as she covered her face in sorrow. "I haven't even repaid him...by being a useful soldier..."

My daughter, do not let yourself be daunted by any tribulations before you. Amber's goddess advised. It may be hard, but you must focus on your main mission of bringing justice to the evildoers so peace can return.

"...Yes, goddess...you're right. I have to keep going," Amber agreed in an attempt to steel herself. "I just pray...that you're okay, Mr. Barry..."

Although unaware of Barry's current status, Amber began moving. Where she may end up...Amber had no clue.

* * *

Several minutes had passed since Jack fought at the Enlightenment Program. The campus was significantly affected by their battle, as multiple buildings were either destroyed or damaged, with infrastructure falling to the ground.

Jack was also affected, as he currently was bleeding profusely and had numerous cuts, burns, bullet wounds, and bruises on his body. He was still on the ground and could not get up due to Aiden's blessing.

Heh, they've made me regenerate a total of ten times. Jack thought with a smirk. Only tens to maybe hundreds of thousands to go!

Stolen novel; please report.

Like they've been doing the whole time, Sariel and Ariel charged at Jack again. Jack performed a super fast slash in the air with both his dura negs, much to their surprise.

This created an air slash, which hit the duo as they approached him. Blood fell down Sariel's upper arm and Ariel's clavicle as they clenched their wounds. Immediately after performing the slashes, Jack slipped and fell over.

"Guys!" Aiden called out in shock.

"Heh, that's one of my speed techniques, flash cut," Jack said. "I can send air slashes with my blades. Kreuger has the same technique...didn't he show you buggers this?"

"Tsk, that technique wasn't on the information we received," Ivory muttered.

I can perform a quick attack before falling over, huh? Jack pondered. Heh, looks like I found a way, then.

Tsk, he's like that mafia woman. Aiden thought. He's starting to get used to not having friction with the ground.

Jack attempted to send more air slashes, but the duo avoided them. With the support of Baran's air blasts and Ivory's crystals, the duo rushed at him again.

Jack was pied to the face and hit in the gut with a jack in a box, but he completely ignored them. Despite his vision being obscured by the pie bits, Jack quickly swung his hand and accurately hit his targets with air slashes. This was likely due to the killing intent sensing Jack received from his murder blessing, which caused him to throw out a good counter.

This set of slashes was more effective than the first, as Sariel and Ariel received a slash wound on their chest and side, respectively. This caused them to bleed quite a bit, visibly concerning their allies.

With loud breathing, the two clenched their wounds. It seems that some of their determination to murder Jack was diminished by those wounds, judging by their expressions.

"Damn, my attacks weren't strong enough," Jack said. "If I could have planted my feet, I would have killed you two right then and there."

"Damn you, Jack!" Aiden yelled in anger.

"Don't worry...when I kill these two, I'll finish the rest of--"

Jack, as if noticing something, stopped speaking mid-sentence. After a couple of seconds, Jack suddenly vomited a large pool of his blood, much to his bewilderment.

"W-What the...?" Baran stuttered.

W-Why do I feel like shit all of a sudden!? Jack thought as he stared at his pool of blood. Why did I just vomit blood, too!?

"Hehe, it took a while, but the pies are finally taking effect!" Trixie stated.

"Huh--" Before Jack could question, more thorned marbles materialized and fell onto his body, piercing his skin.

"I'm sure you're wondering why those pies tasted disgusting. Well, they are expired pies with a poisonous surprise, hehe!" Trixie explained. "It's traveled in your bloodstream by now, so you can't get rid of that trick as easily. Oh, and also..."

In Trixie's hand, she received a weapon as it emerged from a blast of confetti. It was none other than the KO Cannonade. The same one she used in her fight against Amelia.

"Oh! It's that weapon!" Aiden said as he recalled it in the mafia subjugation mission.

"C'mon, my partners! Don't stop!" Trixie encouraged as she charged at Jack. "He's weakened! You don't have to worry about him slashing you!"

With renewed determination, Sariel and Ariel rushed him once more. Although Jack was visibly sick from the poison, with blood still coming out of his mouth, he still sent more air slashes at them.

Much to his surprise, however, the duo hopped over the attack. Due to falling over after slashing, Jack was vulnerable to their attacks. They of course took advantage of it and slashed him several times on his body.

Trixie, who closed in, made effective use of her KO Cannonade. Jack found himself repeatedly struck with the boxing glove of the KO Cannonade in rapid succession. The machine gun turrets, which rested from a previous burst, also fired at Jack again.

Tch! Damn it...they're ganging up on me! Jack thought. It would have been alright if I wasn't poisoned. It won't take long to neutralize it, though.

Jack mustered the strength to slash again, but the trio immediately hopped around him and avoided them.

Tsk, the poison is pretty much gone now, but I can't even use my full speed because I keep slipping! Jack thought. He gazed at Aiden momentarily. I need to get rid of that bastard. I gotta find an opening.

The trio continued their relentless assault on Jack. While he was a sitting duck, Jack received plenty of attacks from them and was supported by Baran and Ivory. While they attacked him, many jacks in a box and thorned marbles spawned to further damage Jack.

Not to mention, Jack received pies to the face, which returned the poison in his body, much to his annoyance. The trio displayed excellent agility as they constantly hopped around and attacked Jack so he couldn't catch them with his blades.

"Haha! You annoying buggers are hopping around like damn rabbits!" Jack said with a smile to mask his obvious annoyance. "Stop jumping all over the damn place!"

"Shut up!" Sariel yelled as she conjured yet another Rubik's cube and tossed aside her sword. It materialized into a highly techno-themed rocket launcher enshrouded with holographic-like energy.

Without hesitation, she fired a missile which blew Jack up.

"AAAHHHHH!!!" Jack screamed as he was thrown across the campus from the force. At this point, his clothing was torn and in tatters. Simultaneously, Trixie received four cards - three tens and an ace.

"Aww, yeah! Another weaponized trick!" Trixie excitedly stated. "I'm so lucky today!"

After getting blown up by Sariel's rocket launcher, Jack healed his wounds and slowly sat up. Much to his annoyance, more thorned marble balls appeared around him.

These were different from the previous marble balls, as they were much bigger and comparable to a tennis ball. This was not the only contrast, as instead of simply sticking themselves into him, the thorns on the tennis-sized marble balls suddenly elongated and impaled Jack after a couple of seconds of floating.

Through his chest, torso, arms, legs, and even his head, Jack was impaled on almost every part of his body by the spikes. Jack was stabbed so deep by the spikes that they all exited through the other side of the entry point.

What? I'm being restrained!? Jack thought. What the hell is that woman's blessing!?

"Come on! Don't let up, partners!" Trixie advised as they rushed him. "This is my Brambled Marbles! He won't be able to move at all!"

The three of them unleashed a combination of attacks and didn't even need to hop around to avoid getting hit. Jack was immobilized by the spikes that ran throughout his body.

I'm sure this monster thinks we want him to exhaust all his 'lives,' but that's not my goal. That's far too inefficient. Sariel thought as she gazed at the side. Beside her machine gun turrets were several cubes morphing together in what seemed to be metallic chains. Ever since I learned of your blessing from President Ada, I began thinking of what would be the best idea to kill someone like you.

As they attacked him, the thorns piercing Jack's body began to disappear. It was obvious that they could only restrain him temporarily.

It took a while, but my special reinforced chains are nearly formed. Jack will not be able to break out of it with his strength. Sariel internally monologued. So once we keep him restrained, we can put him in a vacuum or at the bottom of the sea. That would have gone against human ethics, but this man is not a human. He's a monster.

The brambled marbles disappeared, which revealed numerous holes in Jack's body. He was bleeding profusely but quickly regenerated.

Damn it, this is so annoying. If I can kill that guy, I can kill all of them! Jack thought. I've only got one chance at this, so I must time this properly!

Jack was continuously attacked by everyone and poisoned by pies, but he never attempted any attacks on them. As they were unaware, Jack was waiting for the right time.

You guys were pretty annoying, but everything you're doing...

Sariel's chains were ready and she immediately went and picked it up. This is it! We'll win with this! Sariel thought.

All you hope to achieve...

In tandem, the trio charged at Jack, with Sariel preparing to restrain him with the chains.

"Is all for nothing!" Jack suddenly yelled. In one sudden motion, he tossed one of his dura-negs. The trio had hopped around as they thought Jack was aiming for them, but they couldn't be more wrong. The durability negator was soaring through the air at hypersonic speeds toward none other than Aiden. Of course, Jack slipped after doing that.

Unfortunately for the soldiers, Jack's aim was on the mark as the blade of the dura-neg went right into Aiden's chest. This caused him to flinch and take his hands off the ground.

"Wha--"

Neither Aiden nor anyone had time to react, as Jack instantly sprung up and dashed at him. With a remorseless and sick grin, Jack violently pulled the dura-neg from Aiden's chest. He was not done, as Jack plunged his second durability negator into Aiden's neck and dragged it out the side, completely tearing that portion of his neck out.

Jack then finished his assault by delivering a powerful haymaker to Aiden's jaw, violently sending him into the walls of the program's gates. Upon registering this, a look of pure distraught covered the students' faces.

"AIDEN!" Baran called out in pure desperation.

"NO!" Ariel yelled.

"Ah...HAHA! I got rid of the main thing that was keeping you buggers alive!" Jack taunted as he slowly turned to the rest of the group and stood menacingly. His rather large muscular and chiseled frame was visible through the tears of his clothing, and they were completely unblemished as Jack had fully regenerated. With an ecstatic smile, he declared, "Now, I'll annihilate all of you!"

Meanwhile, Aiden was coughing on his blood. Recalling what was given to him by Kreuger, he frantically struggled and took a vial out of his pocket.

M-My vision's...going blurry. Aiden thought as he was covered in a dangerous amount of his blood. I...need to...hurry up!

Mustering his strength, Aiden poured the liquid into the vial in his mouth and drank it. Saving himself from death, the wounds Aiden sustained clotted very quickly.

"All that's waiting for you buggers is ruin!" Jack stated. The students' determination quickly diminished as they could see Jack fully mobile and extremely bloodlust. All lost their will to fight...except for Trixie Leah.

In an immense stroke of luck, Trixie received four cards - four king cards. Near instantly, Trixie became engulfed in a purple light with sparkles around her, much to everyone's surprise.

"Oh my, what could this be now?" Jack questioned as he watched.

As the light and sparkles dissipated, Trixie's physical features drastically changed. She received that same purple, sparkling robe and golden stars for pupils she had when she fought Amelia. Not only that, she also received a yellow crown on her head, which was decorated with jester faces.

The KO Cannonade she had also seemed different. The barrel was slightly larger and shaped like a cone. The barrel was also multicolored as if it was decorated with confetti. The stock and area with the trigger were enshrouded in a purple glow.

"Don't worry, guys! I'll handle this myself!" Trixie stated with a confident smile. It looks like my KO Cannonade upgraded to the Confetti Cannonade...nice!

"W-What?" Ariel asked.

"Remember, the plan was that you'd all support me on the condition that Aiden kept Jack from moving. Now that Aiden is out of commission, it's too dangerous for you all," Trixie explained. "I'll take Jack away to do my performance solo."

"Ha! Take me away!?" Jack mocked. "Let's see if you can!"

He dashed at Trixie, but she suddenly fired her cannon. Like a regular confetti gun firing a large amount of confetti, Trixie's Confetti Cannonade fired a ridiculous amount, except that her 'confetti' was tons of tiny energy balls.

Jack preemptively moved out of the way to avoid this.

BOOOM!!!

All of Trixie's 'confetti' activated, causing a cluster of explosions in the Enlightenment Program's campus. The students reflexively shielded themselves from sheer power. Powerful it was, as the cluster explosion destroyed a large portion of the campus.

Upon seeing this, the students were left in awe of her power.

"Aiden may not be dead, but he desperately needs treatment," Trixie whispered to them. "Take him quickly and get outta here!"

With that said, Trixie quickly approached Jack.

"Now, the performance will be between me and you!" Trixie stated with a smirk.

"Heh, you are insane, love," Jack replied with a smirk. "You're far different from the rest of these buggers."

In their peripheral vision, Jack and Trixie noticed military units and news helicopters approaching. This garnered contrasting reactions between the duo, as Jack was grinning and Trixie frowned.

Well, I've been wanting some food. Jack thought. Perfect timing.