As Altius gazed at his opponent, he began to recall some memories. He vividly remembered himself at a young age.

It was a very gloomy memory, with the remnants of a home engulfed in flames. As ashen material rained down, a very bloody and injured Altius was desperately crawling on the singed grass. In front of him were the bloody corpses of a man and a woman.

At a young age, my parents were murdered by blessed criminals. My parents died because those bastards failed miserably at robbing our home. Altius recalled. Even though I survived, I was left with a seed of hatred in me. I lost everything, which meant I had to live at an orphanage, which was pure hell.

As I witnessed the constant abuse we children received from our caretakers and the crap our peers did to each other, the seed of my anger grew. My anger finally reached that boiling point when I received some of that abuse and crap - my blessing had finally awoken. Altius pondered.

Altius recalled beating fellow teens and even the caretakers to bloody pulps. His bloody fists and bloodshot eyes truly instilled fear into their eyes.

My strength was directly proportionate to my anger, and with that blessing, I could not be controlled. I'm sure everyone was happy when I finally left at eighteen...so was I. Altius pondered. I never forgot the seed of my anger. The ones that killed my parents got off scot-free after only five years in prison. So, I took matters into my own hands.

Altius then recalled himself standing over the bloody corpses of three men in an alleyway. They were so bloody and disfigured that it looked like a wild animal attacked them.

Although my actions were justified, I was sentenced to life imprisonment. If the stupid justice system had properly dealt with those bastards, I wouldn't have felt the need to kill them and ruin my life. Altius thought. But, it's thanks to Queen Isabella's understanding and pardoning me, giving me a chance to settle down in a new life.

Jack took his durability negators from his coat and began performing knife tricks.

Teaching these runts at the Enlightenment Program made me understand how shitty we older ones are at our jobs. Sure, it may be wishful thinking for a hero to be around at all times, but if one was nearby when my parents desperately called, a hero probably could have saved them. Altius thought. If we were there, the students wouldn't have to go through all they did. None of these young soldiers would have had to die. Amber wouldn't need to go through all that she did.

Suddenly, purple-colored arteries began pulsating on Altius's face and neck as he had activated his blessing.

It doesn't matter what it takes. I will kill this bastard here. Altius internally declared. So Amber and her friends won't need to go through this!

With an angered expression, Altius charged at Jack. He threw out a straight jab, which roused up great winds.

"Ha! Too slow!" Jack mocked as he easily weaved the blow. Altius didn't give up, of course, as he engaged Jack in close-quarters combat.

While it was evident Altius possessed high striking strength, his speed was far too slow as Jack continued to evade all his attacks.

"Man, do you know how easily I could kill you with these blades!? It's just funny seeing you struggle uselessly, mate!" Jack continued to mock while dodging. "When I get bored of this and kill you, I hope to find the brat next!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Altius yelled at the top of his lungs as he performed a double downward handle. Jack sidestepped this, causing Altius to strike the ground. His strike had enough force to create a mini tremor as the shockwaves traveled through the ground. It also severely damaged the military gates as the shockwaves traveled up to them.

"You're getting stronger?" Jack questioned. "A bit faster, too! Good for you!"

As they fought, Jack felt droplets on himself. As he looked upon the darkened clouds, he noticed rainfall.

"Ah, it's raining now," Jack said with a smile. "What a fitting weather for this day."

Jack instantly rushed close to Altius and drove his dura-neg into his abdomen.

"Sorry, but your strength doesn't matter at all--"

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Interrupting Jack, Altius suddenly grabbed his arm while being stabbed. He showed no signs of pain in himself. As Jack gazed at him, Altius's skin had changed to purple.

"Huh--"

BAM!!!

Altius delivered a successful haymaker punch to Jack's jaw, immediately knocking him away. The punch was so strong that Jack's ragdolling body bounced off multiple buildings around the block before crashing into one.

Altius stared at his work with crazy bloodshot eyes and steam blowing from his nostrils.

Altius had been holding his anger in for years and only unleashed it all in this fight. His 'Berserker State' was the representation of that. In this state, his physical prowess is pushed to the max while letting him ignore pain. Jack had pushed this man's anger to the limits.

Jack had exited the building he had crashed into - his bruised and bloody jaw had already regenerated.

This bugger's strength is pretty insane. Jack thought as he gazed at Altius and smirked. Though not as strong, I'm sure that meathead would love him.

* * *

Meanwhile, Amber continued walking. She still had a lot of thoughts running through her mind about the state of Chief Barry. Those thoughts were quickly halted by the sounds of explosions in the distance, capturing her attention.

"H-Huh? W-What's going on," Amber wondered with a concerned expression. "No, there's no time to wonder. It must be a fight...I have to check!"

Without hesitation, Amber picked up her pace. Unbeknownst to her, Amber was approaching the fight between Jack and Altius.

* * *

Jack and Altius continued their destructive battle, with Jack zooming around and being chased by Altius. Altius threw out several attacks when he closed in, severely damaging the infrastructure and land. Unlike his first attack after unleashing his Berserker State, he failed to land any on his target as Jack was too fast to be hit.

It seems his inability to hit Jack infuriated Altius even further, judging by his expression. Meanwhile, Jack had his usual condescending and annoying smile.

"You know, you may be strong," Jack said as Altius rushed in for a straight punch. "But you're not fast enough, mate."

Jack weaved the strike and countered by stabbing his stomach with his dura-neg. He instantly followed up by pulling the knife through his side, tearing Altius's stomach out and causing his intestines to spill out. Jack wasn't finished as he sliced off Altius's right leg, causing him to lose balance. The blood from Altius's stomach wound sprayed everywhere, even on Jack's face.

"Tch! RRRAAAAHHHHH!!!" Altius yelled as he attempted to strike Jack again. Jack, however, grabbed Altius's intestines and hopped onto his back, avoiding his strike. Due to his missing leg, Altius lost his balance and fell on his face.

"I have an idea!" Jack uttered as Altius struggled to push Jack off his back, to no avail. Jack had an excited smile on his face. "Since you're that brat's instructor, let's make you a nice present for her!"

He wrapped Altius's entrails around his neck and began choking him with it.

"And besides...I'm also pretty physically strong," Jack said. The jester was a harder fight than you. It would make sense for the crazier one to be stronger...she's really like me.

While choking him out, Altius's skin quickly returned to its normal color as it lost its purple. Simultaneously, Amber was rapidly approaching while frantically breathing.

Damn it, is this all I could amount to. A 'present' for Amber to see... Altius thought as he was struggling less and less. Sigh...at least I won't have to live with this constant anger anymore. I'm truly sorry I couldn't help you. I'm proud of you, Amber. I hope...you find peace when this is over.

Amber had arrived just in time to see her instructor take his last breath. Jack shifted his gaze to Amber, and with an audible huff, he let go of Altius's innards.

Amber had no words for the sight she witnessed - all she could do was stare at her instructor's horrific state with a dropped jaw after registering it.

"W-Wha...t," Amber uttered.

"Welcome, brat. Thank you so much for coming," Jack greeted with a smile. He disrespectfully kicked Altius's corpse right to Amber's feet. "I prepared a present for you. I hope you like it."

As Amber slowly tilted her head down, tears pooled in her eyes. Meanwhile, Jack approached his dura-negs to pick them up.

"You say you want to kill me, but look how late you showed up," Jack mocked as he picked up his bladed weapons. "What a useless brat--"

BAM!!!

Amber rushed Jack and delivered a powerful haymaker to Jack's jaw while he wasn't paying attention. Upon making contact, Amber's fist radiated an intense yellow light, far greater than Amber's usual brightness level.

Amber's strike blasted Jack tens of meters away, and several buildings were destroyed as Jack blasted through them.

"WHAT ARE YOU LIKE THIS!? JAAACKK!!!" With tears flowing down her face, Amber yelled with pure rage. Her yellow radiant aura was intensely surging as well.

Heh, that was a weird punch. Jack thought as he pulled himself out of the rubble. His jaw was severely busted and bleeding.

"That was a good punch, but that won't matter," Jack said. "It's completely meaningless, as I'll keep regenerating--"

Wait, why is it taking longer than usual for me to heal? Jack thought as his bruised jaw was healing slower than the norm. It feels like my jaw is burning...

"WHY DO YOU KEEP PLAYING WITH HUMAN LIVES!?" Amber angrily questioned. As he gazed at her, Jack frowned upon seeing her expression.

Hmm, she's still not broken, even after seeing me murder her instructor. How annoying, but I'm sure her mental state has gone through some decay. Jack thought. It also seems these brat's punches affect me differently from everyone else.

"Just when I found out I'm unkillable, one punch from a brat like you caused me to feel like shit," Jack responded as he ignored her question. Amber gazed at him with rage-filled eyes. "But, it's good that you're here now. I've been waiting so long. I can finally take your damn life."