"Haha! Now then...let's get to the good part..." Jack stated in a sinister tone.
"P...Please...don't hurt...us," The mother pleaded. "We have done...nothing to you--"
Unsurprisingly, her attempt to convince Jack was futile, as he struck her across the face and knocked her to the ground mid-sentence.
"Enough talking! You're ruining it." Jack bluntly stated. "Just use that energy to scream and cry as I slaughter you!"
"Mom!!!" Amber called out as she was visibly concerned. Jack struck her so hard that she became delirious as if drifting back and forth in her state of consciousness. She also profusely bled from her head.
"Y...ou...demon..." The father strained to say due to the pain he was under from the stab wound. Hearing this, Jack focused his gaze upon him.
"...Yeah, I may be a demon, but you should keep your mouth shut if you want to live," Jack advised. "You're first..."
Without saying anything further, Jack walked over to the dining room before entering the kitchen.
The dreadful cries of her brother and her parents' injured states filled Amber with extreme despair and hopelessness. Although Jack no longer watched them as he went to the kitchen, none of them even attempted to escape. That was how broken down both physically and mentally they were.
In just a short time, Jack returned. In his hand was a bottle with an orange viscous liquid inside. It had a label with the words 'COOKING OIL.' He also had a box of matches on the other hand.
"W...What...?" Amber muttered as she noticed. Jack casually approached the father as he began to open the bottle.
"W...wait...stop...please!" Amber pleaded, but Jack completely ignored her. Before doing what he intended to, Jack violently pulled his blade from the father's arm.
"AAAAHHHH!!!" The dad screamed in obvious pain. After retrieving his weapon, Jack began to pour the flammable liquid onto the dad. He didn't stop until it finished, drenching from the top of the dad's hair to his legs.
"You know, I was just gonna torture you with my knife before killing ya, but I thought about something," Jack said as he pulled a match stick from the box, causing the father and Amber to look in despair. "Wouldn't it be ironic if a religious guy like yourself gets burned to death by flames? It's like you're burning in hell!"
"Please...STOP THIS!!!" Amber pleaded one last time as Jack lit the match aflame. Casually, Jack flicked the match stick in the air, and it descended right on the father's head. Upon making contact, the father became engulfed in flames.
"AAAAAHHHHHH!!!" The father let out an ear-piercing scream as he began to feel the burn. He began to violently and sporadically writhe in pain.
Seeing the state her father was in and the fact that she could do nothing about it, tears ran down Amber's eyes, and like her father, she too released a cry.
"HAHAHA! He's like a worm wiggling with how he's writhing!" Jack taunted as he chuckled. He then looked into Amber's teary eyes, which filled him with immense joy. His grin and expression brightened once again.
"AAAHHH...AAHH...AH--" As the dad continued his screech, his voice gave out. It could be because of the smoke polluting his mouth, throat, and lungs, or it could be his clothing breaking down from the flames and the material entering his respiratory system, but he could no longer scream.
While her vision was blurred due to her delirious consciousness, the mother slightly noticed her husband burning."...H...Hen...ry?" The mother softly uttered.
With his skin darkened like charcoal, the father's struggle became sluggish. The horrid burning smell filled the air as his struggle ceased entirely. His pain was finally over as he passed on.
"Ah...what a nice incense," Jack uttered as he sniffed the air. "That was a nice ki--"
Jack was interrupted by Ben's incessant cries. Although this was how anyone would react in this situation, much less a child, this slightly annoyed Jack.
"...How annoying," Jack stated as he pulled out his dura-negs. "I'm returning to America after this, so let me have some fun..."
In an attempt to shut him up, Jack ruthlessly thrust one of his knives right through Ben's jugular before performing a draw-cut and pulling it out the side of his throat. Ben didn't even get a chance to choke on his blood, as the attack instantly tore apart his throat, including his carotid artery.
"NOOO!!!" In a tear-filled rage, Amber attempted to lunge at Jack, only for him to slap her face, sending her to the ground again.
"Ah!!" Amber uttered in pain.
"Wait your turn, Brat! A weak bugger like you won't achieve anything!" Jack berated as he coldly stared at Amber. He wasn't finished with Ben as he proceeded to slash him countlessly on every inch of his body. As if he went through a meat grinder, Ben's body parts came apart horrifically, with his blood splattering everywhere.
"Ah...nice," Jack stated as he sighed in contentment.
"W...Why...How...could you...do this...?" Amber asked. She had a mentally broken expression with tears streaming down her face, which, of course...amused Jack.
"I saw paintings on the wall, so I assumed that to be your god or whatever," Jack said. "Haha! Looks like your God didn't protect you, love!"
Hearing this, Amber held her head down. She had accepted her fate.
"Either way, I don't care. Your suffering was quite enjoyable...goodbye now!"As Jack was ready to kill her, the mother suddenly ran up and grabbed him.
"Oh my!" Jack uttered as the mom wrapped her arms around him and held him with all her might.
"...Amber...please...you must...run..." The mother advised. Understandably, tears ran down the mother's face. Amber, who heard her plea, held her head up to see her mom's sacrificial attempt.
"...Mom...I can't...leave...you..." Amber responded. "I don't want...to lose you...too!"
"Wow! First your father with his shotgun, now your mother with her bravery...or stupidity... either way, they failed to protect useless children. You'd get me upset if I were your parent, you know--"
"Don't listen to that demon, Amber!" The mother yelled. "Remember...what I told you...these demons will get their punishment for their sins. You don't need to worry yourself. We'll always be with you, and more importantly, God will always be with you."
"Wow...still talking about god stuff even in this situation?" Jack asked. "Oh well,"
"You will...make it out alive, Amber, so...run!" The mother advised again. Maybe the paralyzing fear she experienced in this situation, or that she was concerned for her mother, but Amber failed to move. Instead, she listened to her mother with distraught-filled eyes.
"Aww...how nice," Jack sarcastically remarked as he effortlessly freed himself from her grasp.
"Our God...will save you from this somehow...Amber," The mother assured. "And don't forget...we will always...love y--"
Refusing to let her finish, Jack stabbed her through the side of her neck before pulling it out through the front, nearly decapitating her in the process. Her blood splattered onto Jack's hoodie, causing him to smile.
"Ah...excellent..." Jack uttered. Her mother's lifeless body fell to the ground. She had died from blood loss.
Around Amber were now the corpses of her entire family.
"Ah...Ah...Ah..." Amber stuttered as she could not release her scream due to the devastating trauma she received. Finally, though, it came out.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"
She kneeled on all fours on the ground and went into a crying mess. Her cries were so intense that snot ran down her nostrils as well.
T-This was supposed...to be a regular day. I...I was supposed to head to university and have fun!!! Amber thought amid her crying. Why...why why why...why did something like this happen!!!???
While Amber was crying, Jack calmly picked up the father's shotgun."Ya know, I've never really killed anyone with a gun before," Jack said. "You want to be the first victim, brat?"
"My...sob* family...were the...sob* nicest people..." Amber stuttered to say while she broke down.
She started to recollect memories of her family. Times when she'd watch movies with her family, times when she'd cook with her mother, times when Amber would do arts and crafts with Ben, times when she'd go jogging with Henry (her dad), and even times when the family would go camping.
There was never a dull moment in her memory...and more importantly, everyone had wholesome smiles. Smiles she'd never see again...because of Jack.
"My family...were the best...and you...took them away...from me..." Amber uttered. In response, Jack calmly looked at her with a strangely genuine and wholesome smile.
"Womp, womp!" Jack mockingly responded.
"W-What!?" Amber uttered as she was stunned by his response. Suddenly, rage surfaced in her as she stood back up.
"Oh? You managed to stand?" Jack said. "Good job!"
...No...don't give up yet...my mother said I will...be fine...so God...if you're hearing me....please...I need you... Amber asked. Help me...God!
"Alright, let's finish this--"
Suddenly, Amber's irises emitted a yellow glow before a massive burst of light radiated in the house, with her being the source.
"What the hell!?" Jack uttered in pure shock. The light was so bright that he had to squinch his eyes.
BANG!
Instinctively, Jack fired at the center since that's where Amber would be.
"Ugh!" Amber uttered as she got sent across the room from the blast. As she lay on the ground, Jack walked up to her.
Her gut was profusely bleeding, and her entrails were partially exposed. On top of that, she was unresponsive.
"...The hell was that?" Jack asked as he threw the gun to the ground. "Whatever...I had fun."
Feeling contented, Jack left the home and disappeared. Simultaneously, the flames that engulfed the father started spreading to the carpet.
* * *
A period of time after Jack's attack, muffled noises were audible.
"...happened here...?" As Amber was regaining her consciousness, she heard a voice. Slowly, her eyes opened, and she noticed a man stooping over her. That man was the Chief of Defense in England, Barry Alexander.
The voices were fully audible and no longer muffled due to Amber rousing back to consciousness.
"Oh? You're alive?" Barry asked in surprise before smiling. "Thank goodness."
Around the room, numerous British soldiers were searching, along with firefighters standing around. Some of them were covering the bodies of Amber's family members with sheets. Most of the furniture in the house was burnt, but it seemed as though they had taken care of the fire as it was gone.
"W...wha...t...hap...pened?" Amber struggled to speak due to her injuries.
"There were readings of a huge energy concentration at this address...so we came here," Barry explained. "We checked everywhere...but unfortunately...you were the only survivor..."
"O...h...I...I see..." Amber responded as tears ran down her eyes. Feeling empathetic after seeing her tear up, Barry began to frown.
Jack...the Ripper... Amber thought.
* * *
Back at the mountain range, Kreuger was walking. He carried both his Bloodbaths, including the one sliced in two, by Jack.
"I failed...to kill him..." Kreuger remarked.
As he walked, he began to recollect a memory. He recalled a very gory memory.In his memory, the bodies of countless people littered a dark area. They seemed to be dismembered and mangled beyond belief. What made all these deceased individuals similar was that they were wearing black, with most wearing Japanese-type hakama and some wearing other variations.
However, in the center of the bodies, an individual who differed from them all. His albino skin, white hair, and bloodstained white hakama made it seem like he illuminated the area. Judging by the bloodstains and the sadistic smile, this indicated two things: this individual was the perpetrator of this massacre in Kreuger's memory...and that this was a younger Jack Knight.
He put the perfectly functional Bloodbath blade in his cloak before focusing on the damaged one. Suddenly, blood emerged from Kreuger's arm before flowing onto one piece of the dagger. Immediately, the blood connected itself to the second piece before hardening. Just like that, Kreuger fixed his blade.
"I failed this time...I cannot let my fallen brothers and sisters down..."
* * *
"I can tell you have been through...a rough time," Barry said. "You can explain everything when you're healed."
Upon remembering what took place, the tears just kept coming.
My family...is gone...because...of Jack. But, I was...saved. Amber pondered. God... did help me...mom.
* * *
"I lost this time...but Jack made the mistake of not killing me! I will get stronger, everyone," Kreuger said. "I'll avenge you all!"
* * *
"Watch...over me..." Amber softly uttered, much to Barry's confusion. "I'll get...stronger..."
As if Kreuger and Amber were in tune, they declared the same statement:
"I promise...I will kill that demon!"
* * *
Returning to Nathan, he continued to spar with the NPC. Due to taking a break, Lilith stood beside Zack and spectated Nathan on the side.
Nathan wielded a knife and attacked the NPC in close-range combat. As he swung, the NPC easily unsurprisingly weaved them flawlessly. Suddenly amid his knife swings, Nathan materialized a pistol in his other hand and fired to catch him by surprise.
Although that failed, that strategy was rather creative, as even the NPC took note. Deciding to counter-attack, the NPC began to perform a multitude of palm strikes, which Nathan avoided.
"...Good, keep it up." The NPC complimented. Deciding to ramp it up, the developer attempted a quicker palm strike to the face, which Nathan weaved by moving to the left. Although he dodged it, it was obvious Nathan was having trouble, as indicated by his stressed expression.
After Nathan dodged, the NPC swiped to the right as a follow-up. The swipe was audible as his fist cut through the air, creating slight pressure. Barely, Nathan ducked it and decided to counter-attack with another knife swing.
The NPC weaved it by tilting backward, but Nathan was expectant of that. Mid-swing, Nathan dematerialized the knife and materialized a longsword.
Huh? The NPC thought as he noticed. Due to the difference in lengths between the knife and the sword, this would normally mess up how far someone would think they'd need to lean back to avoid the strike...except the NPC. As the sword came a millimeter from making contact, the NPC grabbed it.
"What?" Nathan uttered. As a counter-attack, the NPC struck Nathan in the gut, causing him to stagger back multiple feet. "Ugh...ouch..."
"Good job...you're getting much better, Nathan." The NPC complimented. While rubbing his stomach in pain, Nathan smirked in response.
Heh...I'm getting better at using my...blessing to facilitate combat. Nathan pondered. Training with this monster is also helping my physicals. It's like I'm a whole different person compared to when I fought the super soldiers.
"Let's continue," The NPC suggested before charging at him. Although Nathan was focused, something caught his eye which broke his concentration.The developer suddenly appeared.
"Hey, guys!" The developer greeted them with a wave.
Huh? What is he doing here-- Before Nathan could have finished his thought, he received a straight punch to his face by the NPC. The punch was so strong that he was sent rolling on the ground several times across the yard.
"Yikes!" Both the developer and Zack uttered.
"Gasp! Nathan!" Lilith uttered with raised eyebrows and a widely open mouth.
"Ugh..." Nathan groaned as he lay face-first in the grass.
"Don't lose focus in a fight," The NPC advised.
"...Ugh...my bad..." Nathan responded. But seriously...what the hell is the bastard developer doing here...?