Clash With The Hangman Of Mors - PT 2

"Arya, run!" Edward shouted as he struggled to his feet.

He tried to strike Jack with a lunge, but the undertaker managed to block the sword with his free hand, deflecting it against the wall of the carriage. Without effort, he kicked the boy out. Those few seconds of distraction created by Edward were enough for Arya to slip through the curtain and reach the driver's seat.

Noticing the girl's movement, Jack thought to himself, "(So that's it. She may have fooled even Magdalena, but I know necromancers. When faced with death, they reveal their true nature—fleeing like cowards.)"

But as soon as Jack pulled back the curtain, he was met with something that defied his expectations. Arya grabbed onto the top of the carriage, swinging her body to generate momentum in her legs before launching herself at Jack with a flying kick.

Jack was struck head-on, more out of sheer surprise at the necromancer’s boldness. He rolled backward and fell out of the carriage but quickly got up and stepped back as Edward and Peter joined Arya.

The girl retrieved the sword from inside the carriage for Edward. As she handed it to him, he said, "Arya, you were supposed to run. Fighting will only make things worse for you..."

"If things have come this far, what difference does it make if I use my necromancy or not? Edward... Peter... I appreciate your protection, but I can’t just stand by and watch when my life is on the line."

Peter raised a thumbs-up. "You have my support, Arya. Let's take this guy down!"

Arya pulled out her flute, blowing into it a melancholic melody—a song of death. The horses neighed, disturbed by what was to come.

"Cerberus!"

Flames burst from the ground, dancing in the air until they formed the silhouette of Cerberus. As his shape solidified, the beast lunged to bite one of Jack's legs. Jack jumped to a safe distance, landing once more at the top of a tree.

Jack carefully observed the battlefield… Despite Arya’s summoning being dangerous, something else was bothering him. Something was missing from the scene...

(...)

"Are you sure this will work?" Reaper asked.

"Certainty is impossible in situations like this, but if there’s one thing I am sure of, it’s that Jack is nothing more than a hypocritical little dog."

The two walked deeper into the forest, scanning their surroundings, checking the treetops, searching for something—no, searching for someone.

"She can't be too far. He has to keep watch over her."

"Who is she, anyway?"

Magdalena stopped for a moment, her gaze turning cold toward Reaper. "Womanizer! Why are you interested in knowing about another woman besides me?!"

"Not this again… Mag, that’s not it. I just want to know who we’re looking for."

"Ah, I don’t know her name for sure, but Mother told me about her… the necromancer Jack chose to save."

(...)

Jack had come to the conclusion that Magdalena was waiting for a chance to strike from the shadows. Realizing the determination of the three young fighters before him, he began preparing for battle. He reached into his coat, pulling out a second pistol.

A flintlock pistol would normally fire lead bullets, but the weapons Jack wielded functioned a bit differently: they fired magic. A reddish spiritual energy was expelled in small bullets, similar to lead ones, but slower than metal, with little piercing power, and exploding on impact.

A barrage of shots was fired at the young fighters, but Arya commanded Cerberus to act as their shield. The bullets struck Cerberus's tough leather with force, creating small explosions that pushed the beast backward.

Before Cerberus was completely subdued, Arya intensified the power in her melody, strengthening the beast. Flames gathered in Cerberus's main mouth and were then unleashed in a counterattack.

Before the flames could reach him, Jack leaped to another tree, but he was intercepted by Edward, who, with Peter’s help, had been launched into the air to strike the gunslinger while his guard was open. However, to the boys' surprise, Jack was ready to retaliate.

Everything happened in an instant—Jack tossed his pistols into the air and caught Edward’s sword with the palms of his hands. Using his superior position, the undertaker planted his feet on Edward’s chest, using the boy as a platform while simultaneously pushing him back to the ground. Recovering his pistols midair, he aimed downward, unleashing another barrage of bullets as Edward fell onto his back.

In response, Edward reinforced his body with a type of armor made of bones. The armor helped absorb the impact of the fall, and he then extended it forward, forming a shield to avoid being struck directly by the bullets.

Jack landed smoothly, but he was immediately greeted by Peter, who struck him with a punch to the face. Jack staggered to the side from the force of the blow but managed to stay on his feet. As he tried to regain his balance, Jack pulled one of his pistols and fired at Peter. The boy dodged the nearly point-blank shot and went in for another punch.

"Blergh!" The punch hit Jack squarely in the stomach, making his diaphragm falter for a few seconds.

Despite his strength and speed, surpassing any normal human, Jack was used to fighting necromancers—he wasn’t prepared for a fierce hand-to-hand combatant like Peter. The boy’s punches weren’t enough to defeat him, but Jack was clearly at a disadvantage.

Jack’s situation was about to get even worse, as Cerberus had finished regenerating from the damage caused by the bullets. The beast charged toward Jack’s back—a bite to the head would be enough for a fatal wound.

"Treachery! Odioso!"

Jack was not alone. Two wolves emerged from the forest, rushing at full speed and slamming their bodies against Cerberus. They weren’t as large, but they were faster and strong enough to hurl Cerberus away.

"What was that?" Arya interrupted her melody, surprised by the interference.

The two wolves had white fur with blue markings across their bodies, their breaths releasing a freezing mist that condensed in the air. These were Treachery and Odioso, also known as Skoll and Hati, and like Cerberus, they were results of necromancy.

Cerberus rose again as Arya resumed her melody. The beast gathered flames in its mouth and hurled a fireball at the wolves, who countered by releasing icy blasts from their jaws. Fire and ice clashed, creating a thermal distortion in the air, while the resulting vapor spread in a soft gust of wind.

The battle between monsters continued—Cerberus spewed flames, but the wolves dodged or repelled them with ice. Moving in for close combat, Treachery and Odioso circled Cerberus, delivering rapid strikes that gradually weakened the three-headed hound.

For Arya, this was her first time in a battle between necromancers, but her opponent was already accustomed to the hunt and was able to surpass Arya through experience. Even so, Arya and Cerberus remained resilient.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Jack distanced himself from Peter while thinking to himself, "(Naoko... You shouldn’t have revealed your position…)" He had finally understood Magdalena’s intentions.

In a desperate move, Jack sprinted toward the forest but was blocked by Edward. "I told you you’d regret this!"

Realizing that continuing the fight was inevitable, Jack prepared his next move. A magic circle appeared beneath him, its lines resembling the face of a clock. Jack snapped his fingers and extended his hand through a magic portal that emanated a red glow, then pulled out a new weapon.

"Limited Edition: Sky Piercer"—a firearm with an extended barrel and a scope mounted on top.

"A precision rifle?!?!" Edward shouted in alarm upon recognizing the weapon’s shape. Knowing how dangerous it would be if Jack had time to fire, Edward lunged at him.

Jack used the rifle’s metal body to block Edward’s sword. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Peter approaching from behind, ready to land another punch. The gravedigger disengaged from Edward and pulled a small metal sphere from his coat, tossing it into the air.

A blinding flash engulfed the forest—the sphere was a kind of flash grenade, leaving Edward and Peter stunned for a few seconds.

"He disappeared?" Peter asked, no longer seeing the undertaker nearby.

"Peter!" Edward threw himself at Peter, tackling him to the ground just in time to save him from being shot.

Unlike his pistols, Jack’s precision rifle had one major advantage—penetrating power. The boys stared in horror at the hole that had been torn into the ground.

"Arya, hide!" Realizing the gravity of the situation, Edward tried to warn Arya before she became the next target. Maybe it was just instinct, but he was right—Jack had already lined up his sights on her.

The shot whizzed through the air toward Arya, but thanks to Edward’s warning, she managed to leap aside, using the carriage for cover.

"Edward, there!" Peter pointed to the tree where Jack had taken up his elevated position. A single exchange of glances between them was enough to understand what needed to be done. While Peter ran out of Jack’s line of sight, Edward drew his attention using his bone whip.

However, things don’t always go as planned…

Bang! … Edward was shot.