Jackson returned to the street and began walking like normal as if nothing had ever happened.
His hands were in his pockets and he had a neutral face with no visible expressions. However, people started to glance at him with worried expressions as Jackson's clothes were partially covered with blood but nobody said anything or reported it since they thought he was a butcher or maybe it was fake blood.
It wasn't clear why Jackson was acting normal in the first place if he didn't bother to clean his shirt but it would soon be his worst decision as a member had spotted him walking.
The member's name was Alvin and he had taken a small moment to get a coffee for himself when his friends had mysterious disappeared, which was unusual for them. The massive amount of blood on his shirt made him even more suspicious.
"What is a butcher doing here?" Alvin wondered, leaning against the wall and taking out a book from his backpack. He then quickly flipped the pages until he saw a person that looked exactly the same as Jackson.
He started to read it. "Jackson Kalen, age 24 and a dangerous criminal associated with the red cross organization."
Alvin then closed the book and put it back in his backpack. His face remained neutral for a second and then turned into a slight smile. "If I kill him, I'll get a lot of money and I'll build myself a reputation. It seems that he isn't that strong according to the book so I think I'll be able to manage him by myself." Alvin thought, walking up to Jackson.
Alvin then stood right in front of him. "Hey criminal, surrender yourself before I make sure you never walk again."
Jackson simply looked at him and smirked. "Ah, it seems that someone knows me but I'll give you a warning, I have gotten stronger than before so It will be better if you leave me alone, I am quite busy you see" Jackson said with a evil grin.
"Let's see about that!" Alvin yelled, jumping into the air.
"Hah, he's slow, I can easily block him" Jackson thought, cracking his neck peacefully.
However, just as Jackson was about to block his punch, he realized that he could no longer move. "Huh...? What's this? I can't move!" Jackson thought, doing anything he could in a panic but nothing worked.
Alvin managed to hit him right in the face, launching him into a shop, breaking the window.
The shopkeeper was an old man, who started to scream at them. "What the hell did you do?! My shop's window is completely shattered?! Who's gonna pay for it, huh?!"
Alvin looked at the shopkeeper with a pleading face and said in a low voice, "Please old man, I'll pay you later, just let me deal with him."
The shopkeeper was hesitating but knew he was fighting against a criminal since Alvin was quite popular around here, known as the "hero" of the city.
Jackson got up and found himself in a shop, Alvin right in front of him. Jackson immediately grabbed a glass cup that was on a shelf and threw it at him, luckily, Alvin managed to dodge but in the very next moment, Jackson switched with the glass cup, the axe already in his hand.
The attack was too fast for Alvin to dodge since a slash appeared on his body before he could even realize it. "Huh..? How did he...? Does he have a powerful ability like me?" Alvin thought.
The slash was so deep and powerful that Alvin fell on his knees right after getting slashed. However, Jackson wasn't going to stop there as he lifted his arm that was holding the axe and attacked Alvin once again.
Alvin was in a state of shock, so much so that he wasn't able to move. He couldn't think anymore. His face was pale and his eyes were wide and in despair. "Is this...how I die? A random criminal just randomly killing me? I thought...I would...become the strongest but I guess this is the end...I just hope my sister goes to school" Alvin thought with a smile, his life flashing right in front of his eyes.
However, before Jackson's attack could land, he suddenly got launched into one of the shop's walls at an extreme speed. He instantly looked to see who it was that had suddenly attacked him and saw a man with blue eyes and black hair wearing a puffer jacket. The man's name was Devenier Luford. (pronounced De-ve-near). However, he was also known as the "grim reaper".
"And here I was wondering why there was so much noise" Devenier said. "I never expected a criminal."
The man then looked at Jackson. "Ah, I think I know your name. Jackson, is it? I heard you were defeated in a mission but it seems that you are perfectly fine. Oh well, I guess I'll eliminate you myself."
Alvin who was on his knees saw the man and suddenly, his body language changed completely. It was almost as if he gained energy after seeing him. Despite being heavily injured, he still tried to stand up to pay respect. "Sir, I am sorry for being so useless!"
Devenier stopped him from standing up by putting his hand on his shoulder. "You mustn't stand up."
Devenier then started to walk towards Jackson. "Alvin Record was it? Listen, it doesn't matter if you are useless or weak because as long as I am here, no one has to become strong since I will be the one to protect them."
Alvin widened his eyes and started to clap extremely fast and aggressively. "You are right sir! Thank you for protecting me like always!"
"Now, I will show you why I am known as the strongest of the undead crow." Devenier said, slowly walking towards Jackson. "I will show you why I am known as the grim reaper."