The moon hung high in the sky, casting a dim light over the forest.
"Don't come out until we tell you?" Mark warned Daisy and Rowan before came out of the carriage with Jack.
"Come out, we already know you are hiding there?" Jack said seeing the rustling of the bushes.
Soon, Grim emerged with 6 bandits behind him, each armed with a weapon.
"Just hand over the kids, then we don't have to fight," Grim said to Mark and Jack.
"Fuck off!" Mark said as he raised his middle finger towards the bandits.
"Okay, I gave you a chance. Time to earn yer keep, boys" Grim turned towards the bandits and signaled them to fight, "Let's take 'em!"
The bandits charged forward, but Jack stepped up with confidence.
"Mark, take care of the leader. I'll handle these goons."
"Be safe," Mark nodded and looked at Grim.
He activated his E-rank skill, PHASE, which allowed him to momentarily vanish and reappear a short distance away, bypassing obstacles and avoiding threats.
In an instant, he disappeared from where he was standing and reappeared right next to Grim.
Touching Grim's shoulder, they both vanished again, reappearing half a kilometer away.
Grim quickly activated his E - rank skill, HYPER PERCEPTION, which amplified all his senses to extraordinary levels, allowing him to detect even the most minute details and subtle changes in his environment.
"Die!" the six bandits rushed at Jack.
With a roar, Jack activated his E-rank skill, ENDLESS VITALITY, which would heal any damage his body would receive for the next 15 minutes.
One bandit swung an ax at him, but Jack quickly dodged it and landed a powerful punch that sent the bandit sprawling into two others behind him.
Another bandit slashed at him with a sword, but Jack sidestepped and sliced off the bandit's hand with his sword.
"Ahhh!" the bandit screamed in pain.
Jack moved to finish him off but was forced to defend against an attack from behind.
Two bandits with clubs charged him simultaneously.
Jack sheathed his sword, grabbed a club mid-swing, ripped it from the bandit's hands, and used it to knock both out with swift strikes.
The bandits sprawled on the ground, and Jack turned to see a sword already on its way to his heart.
"Fuck!" He grabbed the sword with his hand, allowing it to pierce his palm, and delivered a knockout punch to the bandit.
"Ahh!" He pulled the sword from his palm and tossed it away.
"You guys are dead," he growled, unsheathing his sword and gripping it with hands that had already healed thanks to his skill.
A spear-wielding bandit lunged at Jack, but Jack sidestepped and broke the spear over his knee before flooring the bandit with a powerful kick.
"Just die already, you bastard!" Two more bandits rushed at Jack.
He met them head-on, his stamina showing no signs of waning.
He blocked a sword strike, twisted the bandit's arm to make him drop the weapon, and used it to deflect an axe blow from another bandit.
The bandit with the axe stumbled and fell back.
"Now, die," Jack growled, slashing and cutting off the head of the disarmed bandit.
Blood erupted from the gaping neck like a fountain, painting the ground in dark crimson arcs.
Seeing the fountain of blood, the two bandits who tried to sneak attack Jack froze for a second.
Jack, seeing the opening, didn't let the chance slip. With a quick side slash, he cut off the two bandits' heads in a row as if cutting through butter.
"Ha," he breathed heavily, noticing that his skill would run out in three minutes.
"Let's get this over with," he muttered, pushing forward with his endless vitality to finish off the remaining bandits.
"Are ya done playin', rat?" Grim taunted, dodging Mark's attacks with ease.
"That's not something someone who can't even catch the rat should say, right?" Mark shot back with a snarky comment.
"Haha, I'm just havin' some fun with ya," Grim laughed as he dodged another attack.
"Let's see how long you can laugh," Mark said, vanishing and reappearing right above Grim's head with a downward kick.
Grim, thanks to his skill, sensed the attack and moved to the side, attempting a straight punch at Mark. But his fist met only air as Mark blinked away again.
"Tch," Mark clicked his tongue.
Though he didn't show it, he knew the situation wasn't good for him.
He had five minutes before his Phase skill entered a cooldown.
"I have to do something before that," he thought, glancing at Jack, who was almost finished with his fight.
"Buddy, I need your help," he communicated to Jack via their mind link.
Jack, hearing Mark's voice inside his head, didn't startle. He simply nodded, acknowledging the call for assistance.
"Huu!" Jack exhaled deeply after finishing off the last bandit.
His body started to feel heavy as his skill entered its cooldown period, but he moved forward to help his fellow guard and friend without taking a rest.
Focused on reaching Mark as quickly as possible, he didn't notice the figure emerging from the shadows behind him.
"What—?" His world turned upside down as he saw his body moving forward without its head, blood spilling onto the ground.
Jack's head rolled on the ground and stopped only after crashing into a rock.
In his final moments, he caught a glimpse of the sword that had killed him—the very sword he had thrown away after pulling it from his palm.
Mark, seeing Jack coming towards him with a sword, decided to lock Grim in place so Jack could finish him off.
He blinked and appeared right before Grim with a straight punch, but Grim caught his hand and grinned. "Caught ya."
Mark disappeared and reappeared behind Grim, locking him in place by holding him tightly.
"Now!" Mark shouted.
In an instant, a sword pierced Grim's heart from behind. Grim's eyes widened in surprise and confusion, unable to comprehend how he hadn't sensed the attack.
If his skill had worked, he would've detected and deflected the strike, but he hadn't sensed it at all until it pierced his heart.
"How?" he wondered aloud, blood slipping from his mouth.
But Grim wasn't the only one stunned. Mark looked in surprise at the sword that had pierced through his chest and into Grim's heart with a single strike.
He wondered why Jack had tried to kill him along with Grim.
But the moment he turned back, his mind froze. His friend's body lay headless on the ground, and a 17-year-old boy with crimson eyes stood between them, covered in blood.
"Why?" That was the only word echoing in Mark's mind as he realized the one they had tried so hard to protect was the one who had taken their lives.