With narrowed eyes, maintaining his composure, he reads carefully, looking for any possible traps.
The contract was short, straight to the point. Only two rules. It's ironic, Arthur already had the paper ready. Was everything calculated for him to fall to this point? Jack couldn't help but express his doubt.
Orders are absolute, regardless of your criteria or desires.
Arthur will not touch Jack's family.
By signing, Arthur will have power over the life and death of the contractor.
"If there is a breach of contract," he says with a big, smug smile, "I will kill everyone you love, and... you know very well that I don't fail."
It's obvious. Arthur expects Jack to break the contract. A small smile escapes him. His eyes shine so brightly.
"So make your choice."
That pen was like a double-edged sword.
Without hesitation, Jack picks up the pen. Magically, a pot of ink appears beside him. Gently and calmly, he moves his pen toward the pot, dipping it in. That contract had horns in his eyes and flames around it. Back to reality, Arthur tapped his finger lightly on the signature line. His eyes were filled with confidence of victory. Jack is about to sign his name. In the end, Arthur is the winner.
But why doesn't he sign? Arthur realizes too late. A smile forms on his face, those eyes shine even more intensely.
"You took too long."
Behind him, the walls break like glass. Managing to react, he looks back. Six people—strangers to him—approach him. In front of him, Jack aims a punch at his solar plexus. Those two young men wielding swords, each with a slight difference. Their posture, breathing, and even the way they hold their swords reflect different experiences. The one with black hair and green eyes is more experienced, aiming a blow at his lungs. The others include an old man preparing a spell, a rare sight. A woman with a huge axe aims at his head. And finally, two men in their prime. Perhaps 16 years old? Arthur judges based on appearance and experience. Both use martial arts, channeling and condensing mana into their punches. So they are his disciples.
Jack, and those two use a triangle formation. The woman closes off the escape route from above, and those two are assisting and preventing any form of escape, and finally, that old man is prepared for anything that happens.
"Broken arms and severely injured legs. He has no chance of fighting back."
The snap of fingers created iron beams that struck the woman, throwing her away. A wall made of iron appeared in front of him, slowing Jack's advance. Blocking the old man's view, trapping the men's legs, and finally jumping up and kicking Jack's disciples in the face. Before any further action, the wall broke, revealing Jack, who landed a solid punch. Before he was thrown away, Jack grabbed his face and threw him to the ground, delivering another powerful blow with his left arm. Even with his eyes open, they had no sparkle. But he wasn't dead, just unconscious.
"He analyzed and created gaps and destroyed our formation in an instant. Fucking monster."
"Bastard, why the fuck did you waste all this time if you were going to do everything yourself?" the woman complains.
Jack lets out an apologetic laugh. The man's disciples break the capsule that held the old man.
"I'm sorry, Emilia. But I couldn't leave any gaps, after all, he's dangerous."
Looking at Arthur with concern, he couldn't leave any gaps.
"What about those?"
"What do you think? We've already saved everyone."
He could have saved those children if he hadn't hesitated because of the plan. Taught to kill and ignore feelings, "sacrifices are necessary for the greater good," but why does he feel that something is disturbing him, that bitter taste. Once again, that emptiness is hitting him. Master... do you see? I did it, that bastard won't get up anymore. And... I'm sorry. What a bad feeling, this comforting but uncomfortable feeling swelling in my chest. What's the point? Time doesn't... come back.
"Ah. How long has it been? Since I've been lying on the ground like this? Heh."
He is motionless, his bones broken, his muscles torn. Blood formed a river around him. Approaching with a cold stare. But he doesn't hide his gaze that shoots arrows under his body, a resentment so deep.
"Give up."
A deplorable state, his long black hair covered in thick blood and his crimson eyes that have lost their shine, but even in this condition, his smile doesn't fade.
"Did his subordinates abandon him? They disappeared out of nowhere. We need to get out of here soon... should I take him alive or not? No. It's too dangerous, I can't take the risk."
"You will die a horrible death."
At that moment, Emilia's eyes dilate, her forehead wrinkles. A technique considered forbidden. With one hand, Jack touches Arthur's leg. A wave of mana runs through his skin, slowly exploding each blood vessel, one by one. In a normal person, the pain would be as severe as childbirth, but the mana of the two are not "compatible" because of this, repelling each other and causing a reaction that maximizes the pain felt. But for Arthur, it is nothing more than a nuisance.
"No reaction?"
"Okay, let's go for the left leg."
Once again, he repeated himself, but now in a more aggressive manner. Again, there was no reaction, and his smile did not disappear.
"Wow, my leg is just water! Actually, it would be blood."
Jack's forehead was wrinkling, his fist clenched so tightly that it almost pierced his skin. His gaze was dark and lifeless. It's all going to end, Jack's hands now aimed at his head.
"Burn in hell."
"Hell, huh. Reminds me of someone. I miss you."
"You're talented."
I remember when I was a kid, I killed all the mercenaries, that was the first time she praised me. I thought I had buried those memories deep in my mind, but in the end, they are still here.
Something happened. The atmosphere around him changed. His face was so cold and expressionless. He remembered what he had promised himself. How could he forget? With a quick movement, he grabs Jack's wrist.
"Until I can fulfill that... I can't fall."
Without hesitation, everyone advances with the intention of killing him. Jack spins around, trying to land a blow with his elbow, but he's gone. When he looks down, he has transformed into a child, and then transforms again, landing a hook on his chin and throwing him upward. The woman throws her axe, but in a snap of her fingers, the axe hits a rock and gets stuck. But she appears in front of him, using the axe as a distraction, and then she starts a hand-to-hand fight. Chin, solar plexus, heart, liver, aiming at vital points. It's hard to predict, but Arthur breaks her stance and then lands a punch on her face.
"Jack! Didn't you say you broke most of his bones?!"
But she falls silent. Her eyes widen, the man's arm twisted, inverted, he is fighting even with his whole body broken, it's the most incredible thing, he is standing. Jack regains his composure, trying to kick him in the head, the woman who has already recovered her axe aiming at his neck. Once again, time is slow in Arthur's eyes.
"Is that how he did it?"
At that moment, Arthur's fists glowed, mana began to surround his hands, Jack's eyes became unstable, he began to laugh.
"Son of a bitch."
Arthur grabs the axe, pulling Emilia close, grabbing Jack's leg and throwing him away, redirecting the axe to his side, then condensing the mana and trying to land a punch on her face, she is unguarded. Dropping his axe and trying to close his guard, Arthur lands a well-placed punch. But in front of him, one of Jack's disciples begins to create a clash of forces between his fists. The fight is one-sided. Arthur's arm begins to deform; it was already broken. The sharp parts of his bone begin to pierce his skin, tearing it.
Arthur retreats, seeing his broken arms. With his mana, he restores his arms, putting them back in place.
"That's better."
A huge fireball almost hits him, but he protects himself with a wall. The wall breaks, revealing Jack, who once again charges forward like a bull.
"That only works with 'him.'"
Arthur dodges using his body's elasticity, and then wraps himself around Jack's arm.
"Is that how you did it?"
By replicating his technique, he tries to destroy his arm from the inside, but Jack stops him by throwing him to the ground. He escapes by a hair's breadth. The young man appears, trying to sink his sword into Arthur's skull, but he dodges his head and then moves, tripping and knocking the young man down.
"Get away!"
Jack and the young man retreat in an instant, and the old man throws a fireball at him. He tries to escape, but the woman appears and holds Arthur, and they are hit squarely.
On the ground, the woman is in a horrible state, her face disfigured. Arthur touches her face. She is not dead. Both swordsmen, Lin and Jon, advance, aiming at Arthur's neck, both in opposite directions. Arthur bites Lin's sword and then lands a condensed kick to Jon's face. In a spin, he wraps himself around Lin's arm and then advances, trying to touch his face.
"Don't let him touch you, Lin!"
Lin, with his quick reaction, manages to dodge, but it was a feint; he had already anticipated it.
"Don't take it personally."
Using his brutal style, he creates a spiral of mana, twisting and breaking Lin's neck. In a state of rage, Jon advances with his eyes bulging in deep anguish, his veins becoming so apparent. Those lips bleed as he bites them so hard. Arthur takes advantage of his state by showing something new. In his hand, he condenses mana, but it's different from before. He combined it with his style, but now he has improved it.
Hitting his stomach, his face lost its color in an instant. Blood spurted from his mouth like a fountain. He fell lifeless to the floor with his head tilted to the side, staring at Jack. That attack wasn't just destructive, it was explosive. Using his spiral technique that compresses the organs and veins inside Jon's body, he then uses the mana condensation technique followed by decompression, abruptly exploding everything inside the body. A brutal technique, but the rebound is too. His right arm was blown up, and the mana was also gone like water. But his smile was full of mockery.
"Alright. Who's next?"
End of chapter