Location: Deadland City, Inside the Massive Destroyed Football Stadium
The sounds of things breaking, bending, collapsing and similar noises echoed around the area. On the football field there were completely shattered metal pieces scattered everywhere, and the soil of the field had been thrown all over the place. This was because Hana's attack had caused arms to emerge from the ground, ripping through the earth and scattering it everywhere.
At the center of the field, Bob was trying to pull back his hammer that had become half-stuck. He was pulling backward with all his strength, but Bob's endurance was not very good not in that sense. He was the type of person who started getting tired only a few seconds after he began running.
Bob sat down on the ground and tried to pull the hammer with one arm, but where exactly was half of the hammer stuck?
It was because of a white barrier covering a diameter of fifteen meters.
And the owner of that barrier was Hana.
In order to guarantee damage to Jack, Hana had used her Super Technique. Inside the barrier there was a horrifying scene. Hana stood in front of Jack, about five meters away from him. But behind her there was a disgusting and terrifying sight.
All the corpses had not rotted or turned into skeletons. They looked as if they had just lost their lives. Moreover, all those bodies were arranged as if forming a sun-shaped pattern. Every single one of them had expressions of fear, sadness, and unbearable pain on their faces.
And finally, instead of tears flowing from their eyes… blood was flowing out.
The inside of the barrier was not only filled with that horrifying sight. The ground itself had become a pool of blood. When you looked closely into that blood, you could even see ghostly figures inside it.
It was that kind of horrifying barrier.
Hana (Thinking): I cornered the Key Carrier… but that hammer managed to get inside at the last moment. If that hammer wasn't there, the Key Carrier would have already taken direct damage to his soul, died, and become my soldier.
Hana's barrier was not currently at its full power, but it could still deal guaranteed damage.
Meanwhile, Jack was desperately trying to come up with a plan.
Jack (Thinking): What can I do to escape this barrier? If I apply force backward to that hammer, could I create an opening? At least let's try… it's all or nothing!
Hana and Jack suddenly stopped staring at each other. Hana instantly rushed toward Jack at full speed. Jack tried to reach the hammer, but if he didn't block Hana's attack he would receive a fatal injury.
So Jack immediately threw a punch.
When he swung his arm it looked as if he had four fists striking at once. Jack had begun a series of rapid attacks.
Hana decided to join the rain of punches. Just like Jack, she also began throwing a barrage of punches. Their fists collided repeatedly at incredible speed.
While exchanging blows, they continued moving one step back, one step forward, one step to the right, one step to the left.
The rapid punches continued without stopping.
Finally Hana threw a punch faster than Jack.
Jack immediately reacted with his reflexes and pushed the punch away with his right hand, forcing Hana's arm to swing backward as far as it could go.
At that exact moment Jack unleashed as many punches as he possibly could. Several of those strikes landed on Hana's face and different parts of her body. Hana was slightly pushed back into the air.
Jack immediately began running toward the hammer.
But suddenly Jack felt something strange.
It felt as if his body had suddenly become lighter.
At that moment the truth became clear.
Both of Jack's arms were lying on the ground.
Whatever Hana had done, Jack's two arms had completely detached from his body.
Hana: If you touch me during my Super Technique, you will fall completely under my control. Since those two arms touched me, they were separated from your body.
Jack screamed in agony. The pain was unbearable.
Meanwhile Hana looked as if she was enjoying it immensely. Her face had turned red but not in the way someone blushes because they like someone.
This was a far more disgusting kind of excitement.
Hana: Please scream more… this is getting me really excited.
While Jack screamed in pain, his body was slowly dragging itself toward the hammer on its own. Jack's mind was consumed entirely by pain, but his body instinctively knew: we have to escape from here.
Hana: That's it! You scream more beautifully than anyone I've ever met!
Even though Hana had such disgusting hobbies, a thought crossed her mind.
Hana (Thinking): Normally this wouldn't excite me this much. When other people suffer, I enjoy it or feel excited… but somehow this brat reminds me so much of that disgusting, brave woman called Sophia.
He doesn't have Sophia's fearless "I'm not scared" look… but he reminds me of the moment when Sophia was truly suffering. And remembering that makes me even more excited.
While Hana was lost in her thoughts, Jack continued crawling toward the hammer in agony. Each time he moved forward, it made a sound as if someone was crawling across water.
But it wasn't water.
It was blood.
Tears flowed from Jack's eyes while he endured the pain. Losing his arms was already painful enough, but on top of that his soul was under attack, which made the suffering even worse.
In front of him the massive hammer continued digging into the ground from side to side. At that moment Bob was still struggling with it.
Just as Jack finally reached the hammer
Hana lifted her foot slightly and stepped on Jack's leg. She was wearing shoes, but something like a blade emerged from underneath and pierced into Jack's leg.
Jack screamed even louder.
Hana enjoyed it even more.
Hana: You scream so beautifully! A little more please!
While Jack screamed in pain, the hammer began moving more violently. Little by little it was starting to break the barrier.
But the situation was bad.
Jack was on the verge of death.
Bob was going to be too late.
Suddenly, above Jack's eyebrows in the center of the upper part of his face a red eye appeared.
The eye shone brightly.
It stared directly at the hammer, and its glow intensified. Black lines began forming around the hammer. These lines were invisible to everyone else.
The hammer started breaking the barrier even faster.
The eye then locked onto Hana.
Powerful waves seemed to spread around it and suddenly Hana's head disappeared completely, as if it had been erased.
The hammer suddenly began spinning in a strange way. The sound of rotation filled the air, and the moment it stopped spinning, it had turned into something like a missile.
It began to shine.
The red eye closed, and in its place a mouth appeared.
- - - : If our lives weren't connected to each other, I would have watched your final moments.
The mysterious deep voice began to fade away as soon as it finished speaking.
Jack's two severed arms suddenly moved and reattached themselves to his body. Smoke began rising from them as they regenerated.
Smoke also rose from the small blade wound on his leg.
Just moments ago Jack had been on the verge of death from the pain, but now his body had almost completely returned to normal.
Hana, even though her head had been erased, was still able to move properly. However, her regeneration would take a little longer.
Jack immediately ran behind the hammer that had transformed into a missile. He began punching the cracked part of the barrier.
The missile started glowing brighter and brighter. It made a sound like a laser heating up, and the moment that sound stopped-
it exploded.
Hana was blown backward.
The place Jack had been punching shattered completely. As soon as he exited the barrier he fell face-first onto the ground.
Bob, meanwhile, shrank the hammer as if nothing had happened. He was still drunk, and the hammer had not been damaged at all it hadn't even been affected by the explosion.
The hammer could change shape and produce the effects of those shapes.
Bob let out a loud burp.
Bob:
Ne kadardır böyle geğirmemiştim?
(When was the last time I burped like that?) Anyway hey kid, did you fight well inside that F#####g broken barrier?
All the pain Jack had just endured disappeared as if it had only lasted for a single moment.
Jack glared angrily at Bob.
Jack: I was literally being tortured! I'm not fine at all!
Bob swayed drunkenly. Suddenly the hammer transformed into a golden grenade launcher.
Bob shouted toward Jack.
Bob: İşkenceni ####yim! Şu anda kafası olmayan şerefsiz evladı var karşınızda!
(I don't give a #### about your torture! Right now there's a headless bastard in front of us!)
Jack instantly ran and jumped with all his strength to reach Bob's side.
In front of them there were curtains of smoke. From within the smoke emerged Hana, without a head.
But then her head began regenerating as if nothing had happened.
First the skeleton formed.
Then the muscles.
Finally the skin and hair.
Hana stared at them angrily.
Hana: So this is how we're going to play, Liberty!
The one who helped Jack earlier had been Liberty. The eye that appeared, and later the mouth that spoke, had been Liberty temporarily manifesting to communicate.
But the real question was:
Where exactly was Arthur, and what was he doing?
Location: The Underground World
The sounds of fire filled the air as if everything around was burning. Numerous lifeless monster bodies were slowly disappearing, while their corpses had piled together like a burning mountain.
Standing there and watching the flames was Arthur.
In the Underground World, the very home of monsters, Arthur was creating chaos with fire.
Behind Arthur stood the figure of a woman, giving the impression that she was accompanying him.
Arthur glanced slightly behind him and smirked.
Arthur: You know that Bob is performing a bunch of useless rituals to bring his old friend back, right? Meanwhile that friend is wandering around the Underground World.
The woman behind Arthur wore clothing that was a mixture of black and red. Numerous chains extended behind her, moving as if they were alive.
At that moment the mysterious woman spoke.
- - - : I came down here to investigate the reasons behind some problems from my past, but I couldn't find a single development.
Arthur began laughing.
Arthur: Hahaha! Didn't Bob tell you? According to what he told me, he said:
Nora oraya inipte ne ### bulacakta yer altına giriyor ki, Nora!
(What the #### is Nora even going to find by going down there?)
The mysterious figure... ı mean Nora she smiled.
Nora: The thing I hate most is when he turns out to be right.
Nora Redgrave possessed a graceful yet athletic appearance. Her long black hair, burgundy eyes, and pale skin gave her a natural charm. She radiated a striking aura, but it wasn't exaggerated; every movement she made carried a calm and confident elegance.
Her outfit consisted of a black leather-like bustier that exposed her midriff, paired with tight pants that matched it. Red stripes decorated the costume, and around her waist was a red belt resembling an ammunition belt.
She wore black leather boots integrated with her pants, with red-striped soles.
Her height was 1.72 meters, and her age was unknown.