Chapter 27: Jack The Ripper
Arthur looked at the sword in his chest.
Surely his Knights would have protected his back like he had done so many times in the past.
Charlie and Fidelis tried to attack the perpetrator.
But it was a step too late.
Vanishing like an apparition he appeared next to Mary, holding his bloodied sword.
"...Pu… Ha… HA… HAHAHAHAHA!!!"
The silence was quickly overtaken by a maniacal laugh.
"My God! Is this what you wanted!? I'll give it to you, all of it! Take me back, Take ME BACK!!!"
Blood leaked from the sword wound caused by Lancelot.
"Cough…! Lancelot… Why…?"
Lancelot looked away from the golden sky and faced the King of Britain.
"Why…?"
His quiet voice contrasted his previous loud almost uncanny tone from before.
"Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?"
Like a broken machine he kept repeating the word like a hypnotic chant.
"...Why? For my god, of course."
"Are you… even Lancelot?"
Charlie asked with unease in his voice, fear hidden in the depths of his eyes.
The unknown man before them turned his body slightly, facing Charlie and his sword.
"Me? Does it even matter? I serve only one person and that is my God."
Mary's mouth opened, quivering, the first true emotion she had displayed since the entirety of the fight.
"...He's… Jack the Ripper…"
The wind howled, as if displeased with even the mention of the name.
"..."
Silence overtook the surroundings as an unfathomable presence overwhelmed everyone.
"...Now, now Mary… What have I said about spoilers?"
"I-I'm… sorry…"
Mary's eyes watered as the reptilian-like eyes seemed to tear two new holes into her head.
The meek girl before the Knights was nothing like the abnormal sociopath they had faced just a minute prior.
"Cough…"
Arthur covered his mouth, blood covering his hand.
""Sir / King!""
Fidelis and Charlie rushed to Arthur's side.
"Ah, yes. How could I forget our main character for today."
"My grand finale! With you I can contact my God once more…"
Out of nowhere Takahiro emerged in the air.
"[Iai]"
His katana sliced through the air, aimed right at the Cult leader and his follower.
-TING!
Blocked by the long sword, Takahiro backed away towards the Knights of the Round Table.
Takahiro reached into his breast pocket, bringing out a syringe filled with a liquid of a mossy color and tossed it at Fidelis.
"Inject that."
Clenching the glass in his palm he asked.
"Why should we trust you? Not only has our mortal enemy just appeared but you are even more suspicious."
Takahiro brought out his other knife, collapsing his katana back into a knife as well.
"Because right now, we have no choice." His body was as tense as possible.
Jack stood as still as a doll.
His hand reached for Mary's shoulder, who flinched at the sight of movement from the psychopath.
Memories flooded back as to why she wished to die.
"N-No…"
She froze with fear but trembled like an animal about to be eaten.
An eternity flashed before Mary's eyes before the hand landed on her head, slowly swiping left and right petting her.
But there was no warmth in those actions.
They were mere means to keep an animal in check.
"Do I need to 'teach' you more Mary?"
"P-Please…"
Her eyes watered uncontrollably with fear being the only emotion she felt.
'[Two Cross]'
Takahiro used [High-Speed Dash] to close the gap in an instant.
His shoulder blades contracted and his arms whipped down aiming for Jack's head.
-TING!
The first attack was parried away.
'He… isn't as strong as I thought he was…'
Skidding back from the encounter, Takahiro estimated Jack's overall strength.
"Ahh…" Jack sighed with disbelief. "Why did you need to attack? If only you didn't this would have been over soon."
Jack's face creased into an ugly frown.
Takahiro's face was riddled in confusion.
'Technician?'
It was almost creepy how much the man in front of him reminded him of the apathetic scientist.
Takahiro had a stray thought wondering if he had some aura attracting sociopaths and psychos.
But there were always sickos and strange people in his line of work so he shook the thought away, focusing back onto the two people in front of him.
'Where… did this come from?'
Out of nowhere, mist started filling the ground making it icy cold.
The afternoon rays of light did nothing as the green grass froze, withering away from a simple step.
The source of the mist wasn't found but the perpetrator was obvious and smiling at that.
"We need to leave!"
Takahiro yelled.
As if responding to his plan, the mist spread even faster covering the entire school like a curtain.
Shadows shifted and the sun was blocked.
'Where!?'
-Click.
-Click.
The distinct sound of shoes clicking on some type of stone pavement was echoing throughout the mist.
Takahiro swung his sword, trying to force the mist away from him.
But the wind did nothing as the mist filled the spot as fast as it was dispersed.
He even tried using Aiki but the result came up just the same.
The shoe sounds multiplied, distorting all around him were the clicking and clacking of shoes.
"" Isn't this fun? ""
The voice rang all around him like he was in an amplified room.
'Hallucinogenic gas? No… it's something more than that…'
The mist was almost mystique as if it were pure magic.
He turned left then right.
Gripping his knives in anticipation of Jack he warily stood his stance.
Instinctively, Takahiro blocked to his right.
-TING!
His knife clashed with a sword.
Jack and Takahiro stood in a standstill as their weapons grinded and sparks flew into the air.
"My~ You have quite the perception."
Jack stepped back, his figure melting and disappearing into the mist.
*
*
*
Mary lured the three knights away from Jack and Takahiro.
"Are you sure sir?"
Charlie asked Arthur, who nodded in response.
His pale face reached for the syringe and injected the liquid into his arm.
Arthur felt immediate relief, the blood didn't stop flowing but he could feel his body repairing on its own.
Fidelis fought Mary who was getting overwhelmed from her sheer power.
The mist had turned their surroundings into night. A cold one at that.
Arthur was of no use for now but Charlie couldn't leave his leader alone in fear of an ambush.
He was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
'What do I do?'
Charlie held his sword so tight he felt it would break under his strength.
"Go."
Arthur leaned his body onto the school's broken wall.
"S-Sir?"
Charlie looked up and into the ocean blue eyes of Arthur, his eyes unwavering.
"It's better if you go and fight alongside Fidelis, there is nothing I can do right at this moment."
"But!" Charlie tried to protest.
"Go."
Arthur repeated, more sternly this time.
Charlie got up and ran over to Fidelis, taking one last look into Arthur's eyes.
…
It took some time before Charlie found the battle scene.
The mist was messing with his senses but his instinct allowed him to navigate until he saw a battered down Fidelis and a monstrous Mary about to end his life.
The fist rose in almost a slow manner in his eyes about to pierce Fidelis' chest.
Charlie's sword rose into a stance.
"[Tragic End]"
The sword felt almost unbearably heavy like there was an imaginary weight added upon the sword.
The ground cracked as the cold wind brushed across Charlie's face.
His sword aimed at the arm about to end Fidelis' life.
His arms had veins protruding outward and the pain was almost death worthy but the result was worth it.
As the sword went down, Mary's eyes widened as the sword cut through her arm like nothing.
How long had it been since she had last felt this kind of pain?
Sweat glittered on her forehead, she jumped back holding her cut off arm in her only hand.
"Fidelis are you alright?"
He looked at his savior, blood leaking slightly from the numerous wounds on his body.
"I am fine."
He responded curtly.
"Are you ready?"
Charlie asked, Fidelis put more strength into his grip.
"Yes."
Mary stopped her bleeding by forcing her muscles to squeeze her wound.
She started the fight by throwing her arm at Charlie, the most dangerous one.
The arm flew across the rubble but he swatted it to the side.
Right behind the projectile was Mary, about to punch Charlie.
Fidelis came and swung his sword down.
-BANG!
Dust flew into the air, making the already dark surroundings even harder to be seen through.
Mary came out from the dust, her fist meeting Fidelis' chest.
"Cough!"
Fidelis flew into the air.
Charlie swung his sword.
"[Lover's End]"
His blade was swift, aiming for each of Mary's vital organs but she sidestepped and dodged each of his swings.
-BANG!
-TING!
A straight punch, hook, block…
Absorbed in the fight, Mary found herself battling against her two opponents at an even pace.
*
*
*
The frigid air kept me from relaxing.
'Where?'
I could only anticipate where Jack would come from. Would it be from the left, right or even above?
I could hear his giggles like he was a small child.
-TING!
I blocked his sword once again.
"You should give up."
Provocative statements came from all around me.
-Crunch.
I stepped back, looking all around me to see if he was near me.
My arms were numb and cold, something that reminded me of my time inside my mind.
How long was it since this fight started?
Going into [Flow] messed with my perception of time, one of very few downsides of this ability.
-TING!
As soon as I saw Jack going back into the mist I tried chasing after him.
"" That won't work~ ""
His voice rang all around me.
I blocked then blocked then blocked…
'This won't do…'
I was in a loop of blocking and getting injured.
Just like a puppet, I was getting dragged around Jack's momentum.
A solution came to mind.
Jack soon came back with another ambush.
-TING!
'[Two Cross]'
I strained my body right after blocking to perform [Two Cross].
My knives swiped down, hitting Jack.
Two large gashes were on Jack's chest but he didn't react in the slightest, only looked at the wounds and laughed.
"You are interesting, I almost feel compelled to not kill you."
The bloodlust coming out of his body made me wonder just how many people he had killed.
A wicked grin adorned his face.
Then our fight started once again.
~~~~
This came out way too late.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone