"SHIT! HE'S HERE!" Jack heard a man scream down the corridor. After coming to inspect the source of the sound, he had made. Standing behind Jack, Leon calmly walked, using him as cover as Jack ate the bullets that flew in his direction, showing no reaction.
From behind, Leon lifted his hand. Finally controlling his ability, he used his power to turn on the safeties on their guns. The momentary shock of their weapons suddenly not working gave Jack an opening that he didn't need. Picking up his pace, he dragged the axe along the floor, creating an eerie sound as it dug into the floor.
"Fuck!" One of the men shouted, pulling out a knife and dropping his gun. Running forward, he flicked it in his hand and plunged it deep into Jack's chest. His smile suddenly fell as Jack lifted his hand and grabbed his face.
"They were telling the truth!" One of the men in the background said in horror and backed up, seeing Jack happily accept the attack, not showing any fear of his death. Jack looked at those people before looking down at the person he held with his left hand. The man desperately tried to break free, pulling and stabbing him in the chest over and over.
Throwing the man back, he looked down at him, his chicken masks' empty eyes piercing deep into the man's own. With a swift swing, his pludge the axe head into the man's left arm, taking it off. The man's screams engulfed the room, but Jack didn't stop, uncaring for them. Lifting his axe, he made slow work, going limb by limb before plunging it deep into the man's chest, where his heart would be.
Only when his work was done did he carry on, dragging the axe along the floor so the sound would echo. Leon watched and sighed, having seen the sight too many times to even be disgusted with it anymore. It was a ritual in a sense. He would catch one, letting the others escape and regroup, allowing them to hear everything before hunting them down.
Leon wondered what the point was whilst staring at his back. No matter what he did, none of it made Jack happier. All that was left after the job was done was an emptiness that needed to be filled by repeating his actions. It had become a never-ending cycle where he could never stop moving, or else he wouldn't have a purpose.
Stopping before a heavy set of steel doors, Leon moved to use his power to open them. But Jack raised his hand and dropped the axe. Holding it out, he watched Leon rummage in the large duffel bag and pulled out a sledgehammer. Indicating with his hand for Leon to step back and get into cover, he slowly began to slam the door.
Behind it, he heard people moving, reacting to his every hit. Knowing they were behind it, he dragged it out. Slowly, he paced his hits out, letting the fear behind the door grow. He wanted them afraid, wanted them to understand what they cause in others. The door slowly opened. With a single gap made a hail of bullets flew. Jack waited for them to finish, to give that false sense of hope.
The barrage stopped, and after counting for five seconds, he slammed the sledgehammer into the door again. His boomer jacket smoked from the amount of damage it took, and parts of his mask were torn off, showing part of his true face. Having dragged it out enough, he lined up the hammer with the lock, finally seeing it. With a heavy hit, he destroyed it and pushed the door open.
Fire and bullets flew his way as the ground beneath him shot up and cracked, dragging him down into it. Looking at the man who had both palms on the floor, he knew his first target, knowing it would be the most annoying one to deal with. Holding his hand out behind him, a knife flew into his hand, courtesy of Leon. Throwing it up and catching the blade, he gauged the distance and threw it, piercing the man in the head.
With his feet trapped, he pulled them as hard as he could, using his upper body to pull himself out. With his other hand, he covered his face, knowing he couldn't let himself take too much damage to his brain. His left ankle snapped as he pulled it out, quickly twisting back in place. Holding his hand back out, the axe fell back into it. Unlike the left ankle, his right one was firmly trapped, and with no other choice, he swung down on it, cutting his foot off.
The people in the distance froze, seeing the insanity of the choice that had been made, unable to understand what they were fighting. Jack reached into the ground, pulling his severed foot out, and held it underneath his leg, forcefully pushing it back into his leg. The muscles, bones, and tendons slowly reattached themselves, and once they did, he flexed his toes before walking toward them.
Seeing their weapons and abilities had no effect, some of the men ran in fear, but paused, as blood poured from their eyes, nose and ears, collapsing afterwards. Everyone knew what that meant, and the fear they had for Jack was dwarfed by the fear they had for their boss. The fact that he killed those who even thought of running meant he was watching and wanted them to stay, to hold off the force of nature before them, even if it was a pointless endeavour.
Working up the courage, one man who had been watching Jack's actions carefully spoke, "He covered his head. It must be his weak spot." Saying that to give the people and himself some extra courage to fight on. Shots were fired to give a few the chance to close the distance with the knives.
Jack watched and, seeing an attack come for his neck, dodged to the side, letting it make a thin cut. Grabbing the man's hand, he dropped the axe in his other hand and threw a heavy punch to his face. Letting go of his hand for a split second, he caught the blade of the knife and yanked it, disarming the attacker. Flipping it around, he caught the man as he fell, stopping him and plunged the knife deep into the man's stomach, over and over, before letting him fall.
Looking around, he saw another coming from behind and turned his back, focusing on those in front. The knife in the man's hand shook, coming loose. Floating in the air, it flew through his chest into his heart. Leon stood in the distance with a raised hand and carefully controlled it before dropping the duffel bag and pulling out another tool. Taking out the metal baseball bat, he flung it over towards Jack, letting it smoothly fall in his hand as he avoided another attack aimed for his skull.
Jack spun, using his momentum to hit the person in the face, knocking them out. Looking back towards the people who shot at him. He had enough of his slow march and ran towards them, ignoring those who engaged in a melee. Jumping forward, he slammed his bat into one's skull, making it bleed before turning towards another and elbowing them in the face. At such a distance, Leon's control wasn't perfect, and the axe could only slide acorss the floor. But it was enough. Hearing it come over, Jack swooped the weapon up and lifted it above his head, delivering a heavy blow to the man's chest, splitting it open.
Turning around and seeing the final two who still stood run towards Leon, his eyes shook. With the axe behind his back, he threw it towards Leon. Leon lifted his hand and caught it with his ability, using it to trip one of them up. The other got close and stabbed at Leon's stomach. Barely dodging it cut across his stomach, making a deep wound.
His scream in pain echoed throughout the hall, and looking at Jack, he saw soemthing snap. Jack charged over, ignoring the person who slowly got up after being tripped. Making his way over to Leon, he grabbed the back of the collar of the attacker who moved to deliver the final blow and threw him backwards. Reaching into the duffel bag, Jack pulled out a cleaver and knelt down over the man, madly swinging without intent.
The final member of the Gentleman Society watched in horror, afraid to even step forward. "Enough. You can leave." A woman's voice coldly said as she tapped the man's shoulder. Walking past, Jack slowly rose, feeling a new threat. Staring at the white-haired woman who had suddenly appeared, his grip on the cleaver tightened.
-------------------
Freya looked at Jack before looking around the room. Bodies lay everywhere in the warehouse. After watching Jack, she could finally understand why Lucas had been adamant about needing help.
'Immortality. No, that's not possible. No human could have that. An ability that allows hyper regeneration, then. But the trade-off for that would be immense.' Freya recalled everything she had seen, ready to teleport the moment Jack got too close. Seeing how he acted, it suddenly clicked, 'He can't feel. Only pain. No, that's not enough. That would be a blessing for such a power.' Her eyes widened in horror as she realised, 'He can't feel anything. Likely even the touch of a person.'
That was the only thing that made sense to her. Not feeling pain was useful for such a power, but if Jack couldn't feel anything, it likely meant his senses didn't work properly. Not even enjoying things like the taste of food or the warmth of another person meant he could never enjoy things a normal human could. Looking at his neck, she realised the second thing. 'He needs soemthing to run it all. Minor damage can be brushed off, but losing his head would put an end to him.'
With that in mind, she waited for Jack to make the first move. Jack moved carefully, slowly creeping forward. 'Lucas said he has a vendetta. A force that has never stopped coming after him after five years. Only rage could cause that. A rage built on soemthing. Likely the loss of a loved one.'
The distance closed, and Jack swung his cleaver. Activating her ring, Freya teleported behind Jack. Reaching out to touch his head. Jack, on instinct, tilted his head away and spun around, aiming the cleaver for Freya's neck. Teleporting again a distance away, she took a sharp breath. 'He's like an animal. What kind of enemy did you create for yourself, Lucas?
The ring on her right index finger glowed, forming into a small sword. Whilst she was wary of Leon and his ability, she didn't fear that he could control any of her rings. Despite their looks, they weren't magnetic. Enough people had the ability for her to take the precautions when Alexander had all the Artefacts made for her.
Although each one took some energy to use, it was negligible, and easily made up by the ring on her left ring finger that slowly sucked in the aura of the world to replenish her own. Teleporting again, she appeared behind Jack and skillfully swung the sword. Jack spun around, on instinct, moving his body to let the sword pierce through his shoulder.
Freya smiled, expecting soemthing like that. She had seen Jack fight from the camera room before stepping in. She knew he paid no heed to his body's safety, using it as the ultimate shield to close the distance, only caring for his head. Letting go with one hand, she reached out and touched Jack's head as he lifted his cleaver up to prepare the final strike.
Her aura flooded his mind, and the two entered where consciousness existed. Behind her was a serene river that calmly flowed, and behind Jack, she saw a sea of blood surrounding a small house. 'He sees nothing but blood.' Looking at Jack, she was assaulted by his emotions. Rage, sadness, longing and a will to kill Lucas that overshadowed everything.
Their battle had become one of wills now, but she knew how to play it. Using her desire to see Alexander's goal, to see what he promised, their two wills clashed as the serene river and sea of blood raged against one another. Freya reached out to the blood as she walked towards Jack.
'My sweet boy.'
'Precious child.'
'Say nothing. Stay hidden.'
'It's okay.'
Listening to what drove Jack, she heard a sweet, loving voice. Pulling her hand out so she wasn't devoured by his thoughts, she arrived before Jack, who stood motionless, letting himself get lost in that woman's voice. His will got stronger with every second he did, and slowly pushed against Freya's own consciousness, but closing the gap and coming before him, she knew it was her win.
Before, when she stunned the Lord Redeemer, she didn't need to do anything to know what he thought. All that existed in his mind was faith, a silent faith that he swore to protect. All she had to do was let him get lost in that to stop him for a few seconds. With Jack, it was simpler.
Standing before Jack, she remembered the phrase that appeared many times and brought him into a loving embrace. She softly spoke. "Let's go home. Little Chicken." With those words, the battles of wills collapsed as the sea of blood calmed down. Jack's mental image of himself twitched, trying to fight it, but wishing to return to how he was before, he eventually stopped fighting and turned around, walking back to the house, the sea of blood retreating with him.
Seeing him step inside, she deactivated her ability and returned to the real world. Through the damage in the mask, she saw his dull eyes looking ahead, as his hand fell to the side.