Chapter 27: Jester Turns to Ash
Alcides acted as if he had heard something hilarious, clutching his forehead and laughing softly.
The laughter grew louder and more uncontrolled, turning into a nearly frenzied roar.
"Haha... Hahahaha! Ah hahahahaha—!"
"Is that so? Is that so?!"
Alcides straightened up, his voice from beneath the pelt distorted and warped. "Are those your last words, weakling?!"
He abruptly cut off his laughter.
"Fine then."
Alcides slowly raised his hand, fingers splayed and aimed at Jack. "You can try, if you think you're capable of it!"
The moment the last word fell, he had already vanished from the spot.
Dark red magical energy exploded like smoke, obscuring vision.
When the smoke cleared, Alcides had already appeared in front of Jack.
So fast!
Jack's crimson pupils constricted sharply. The single wing on his back flapped violently as his body retreated rapidly.
But Alcides was faster.
"Bang!"
A plain, unadorned punch devoid of technique smashed solidly toward Jack's chest, only to be parried by his cane.
"Oh?" Alcides tilted his head. "It didn't break. It seems you're a bit sturdier than I thought."
"But only a bit."
Jack brushed the dust off his suit, his crimson eyes staring fixedly at Alcides.
"Interesting."
Jack took a stance. "It seems I'll have to be a bit more serious."
"Snap."
The sound was very soft.
But with that sound as a signal, the atmosphere of the entire street changed.
Thick, inseparable grey-white mist poured out from every corner, spreading and expanding as if it were alive.
The ground was covered by a lava-like substance.
Rustling sounds came from within the mist, sounding like countless tiny things crawling, or perhaps like suppressed, intermittent sobbing.
Noble Phantasm expansion—From Hell.
"Oh?" Alcides stopped in his tracks and looked around. "A domain-type Noble Phantasm?"
He raised his hand, his fingertips tracing through the mist. The mist wrapped around his fingers as if it had substance, bringing a cold touch.
The moment it touched his skin, a faint, nearly inaudible scream rang out.
"A manifestation of fear..." Alcides said in a low voice. "Constructing a battlefield by utilizing the fear in people's hearts. A decent ability."
He lowered his hand and looked deep into the mist.
"But haven't you misunderstood one thing?"
Alcides's voice echoed through the mist.
"I—"
Dark red magical energy erupted from inside his body. The mist wrapping around him evaporated the instant it touched the magical energy, making a sizzling sound.
"—ceased to have anything to fear long ago!"
Alcides's figure flickered like a bolt of dark red lightning, appearing in a different position with every flash. He was searching—searching for the core of this domain, searching for Jack's true body.
"Found you."
Alcides stopped suddenly and looked diagonally upward.
There, in the deepest part, a blurry silhouette was faintly visible.
He drew his bow.
Dark red magical energy converged frantically on the bowstring, condensing into an arrow composed purely of hatred and killing intent.
"Shoom—!"
The arrow left the string and vanished into the thick fog.
The mist in that area was instantly cleared in a massive swath, as if wiped away. It revealed Jack hovering in mid-air.
By now, Jack the Ripper had transformed into a giant humanoid demon.
Standing over five meters tall, his entire body was covered in a pitch-black exoskeleton, with barbs growing at the joints.
Three pairs of distorted wings, resembling a mix of insect and bat, unfurled from his back. His head had no facial features save for a massive, tooth-filled maw that occupied half his face.
Around him hovered dozens of equally distorted demons.
"Finally stopped hiding?" Alcides looked up at the monster, his tone carrying a hint of admiration. "That's how it should be. If we're going to slaughter each other, you should show your true face."
Jack the Ripper lowered his head, and that massive maw slowly split open.
"You're right."
The voice was no longer the previous low male voice, but a mixture of countless voices. Men, women, the elderly, children... all the voices overlapped to form a bizarre multi-layered harmony.
"Therefore—let the hunt begin!!!"
All the demons moved simultaneously.
At the same time.
Three blocks away from the battlefield, on the top floor of an abandoned office building.
Jester Karture leaned against a rusted railing. His face was covered in an abnormal flush, his breathing was rapid, his pupils were dilated, and the corners of his mouth curled upward uncontrollably into a nearly maniacal grin.
"Ah... ahh... it's coming... she's coming..."
He muttered to himself, his body trembling slightly with excitement.
Through the contract link between Master and Servant, he could clearly feel that beautiful assassin approaching.
That beautiful, distorted, fascinating Servant was nearing him! Returning to his side once again.
And as the Master, the owner, Jester could taste that deliciousness.
"Wonderful... simply marvelous..." He let go with one hand to cover his face, letting out a suppressed, trembling groan from between his fingers. "This is it... this is the feeling... ahh, all of it, all of it..."
He tilted his head back, opened his mouth to gasp for air, and rolled his eyes back until only the whites were visible, making a "harr... harr..." scratching sound in his throat.
If a third person had been present, they would surely have been terrified by this scene.
This was a state that could no longer be described as mere excitement.
It was more like some kind of pathological, uncontrolled 'climax' reaching its critical point.
Jester reached out a trembling hand and clawed at his own neck.
His nails dug deep into the skin, leaving bloody gashes, but he felt no pain—only an even more intense pleasure that nearly made him faint.
Suddenly, he froze.
All sound, all movement, all thought—everything stopped.
It was as if someone had pressed the pause button.
Jester knelt on the spot, motionless. The flush on his face rapidly faded. His eyes went wide, his pupils shrinking to the size of pinpricks as he stared fixedly into the void ahead.
"Pop."
A very soft sound.
Like a balloon being pricked.
Jester's body began to swell.
A localized, deformed bulging. A tumor swelled on his left shoulder, a lump rose on his right abdomen, and something seemed to be about to burst through his body at the position of his spine.
"Ugh... ah... when did..."
He opened his mouth, trying to say something, but only spat out a mouthful of black blood mixed with fragments of internal organs.
"Bang."
Jester's body exploded like a skin bag filled to bursting with gas.
Flesh, bone, organs, and clothing—all exploded into a fine bloody mist, which was then drawn by some invisible force to turn into a handful of ash that fluttered down.
As the wind blew, nothing was left.