Fate tends to be rather strange. Not too long ago, I came into this world because of my... actions and met Vincent Chester. An ex-villain from my story who tried to kill me as soon as he had at least a little bit of my trust. I don't know how I managed to get so lucky, but I survived my encounter with him by using his allergies as a weakness. If only it was THAT easy for everyone. The reason I won was that he refused to accept the shards of Divine Creativity that split away from me. His powers, while strong, remained mostly the same as they were described in my books. That's why I knew what to expect. But even when I finally managed to get the upper hand and his life was in my hands, I couldn't bring myself to kill him. And so I healed him with the blood of a creature of Darkness. It was a risky move, but it worked. He was alive and well. I wonder what changed. Why couldn't I bring myself to spare the Gunslinger? Why was it so easy to pull the trigger? The answer is still unknown to this day, but I have overcome my regret for what I did very quickly. He killed everyone in the saloon and hotel - two of the most crowded buildings in the whole of Sunwalley. As I walked towards the hills, I counted the bodies. Twenty-one. All of them innocent. They didn't want to take part in this conflict, yet it was their blood in the sand. My anger grew more and more. I wasn't done yet. My thirst for revenge would not be quenched until I got the other one as well. Not until I killed Jack.

"You truly are an unpredictable wildcard, Mr. Chester." Jack's voice wasn't showing any signs of previously present aggression.

"Heh, I'll take that as a compliment. Surprising someone like you, who can literally influence variables and sway the scales of luck is quite an achievement. Will I get a medal at least?" Chester picked up a pebble lying on the ground and let it run across his fingers a few times. Even though it slipped out of his grasp more than once, it never hit the ground, instead levitating suspended in the air, waiting to be picked up and played with once again.

"Oh? It seems you know about my abilities as well. That is... disturbing. You clearly are an obstacle I will have to remove. Fortunately, it will not be difficult." Jack's arrogance and ego were seeping through his polite and noble facade as his smile grew wider

"Really? And what makes you think that?"

"Oh, but that is very simple, Mr. Chester. Just as you know about my powers, I know about yours. You can make plants grow and manipulate them as you wish. It is certainly a dangerous and powerful ability, but have you looked around?" Jack gestured across the whole area with both of his hands. "The soil here is dry and dead. You will not be able to use your magic to your fullest potential. Hoping that you would defeat me with petty tricks from the wizarding academy of Nordan is... well, foolish, to say the least."

Chester looked to the ground and finally threw away the pebble, which stopped only a few centimeters behind him. For a moment, the man looked at Jack's face, before bursting out in laughter.

"Is there something funny, Mr. Chester? Or are you simply unable to understand the gravity of the situation?"

"Yeah, you! You are funny. You always act like this wise dude who knows everything and who can predict the future, but in reality, you don't know anything. So, let me ask you a question:" Chester raised his right hand. Its palm was now facing his opponent. "Do you really think I'd come here if I was THAT weak?" Jack's eyes widened. Several vines flew out of the sleeve of Vincent's tunic. However, they were different than those he used back then, during our little quarrel. These ones were black as the night itself.

Jack stumbled backward as he saw such dark magic approaching him at a terrifying speed. Instinctively, he raised his right foot to the level of his other knee and then slammed it back down. A gigantic, perfectly rectangular rock, rose up from the ground and blocked Vincent's attack. The vines jabbed themselves into the stone, and even though they did create a few dents, their power was nowhere near enough to go through such an obstacle. Jack saw this as an opportunity. He slightly bent his knees, as if he was about to show off some martial arts forms, and then punched the giant rock. His fist created a tiny crater on its surface and a boulder, larger than an average human head, went flying out of the other side, right towards Chester. But the plant mage didn't seem very concerned about his current situation. He just stood there, his eyes stabbing through the projectile that was approaching him.

"Okay, that's enough playtime!" He waved his hand. The black vines erupted out of it once more, except this time, they were bigger and there were considerably more of them. Like many dark whips, they slashed the summoned boulder into chunks. Jack's jaw flew open. It was quite a while since he'd been so surprised by somebody's magical power. But this wasn't the end. Another bunch of black tendrils rose up from the ground. They grabbed the crushed pieces of the rock and piled them up together. After a few seconds, there now was a giant pedestal of vines, holding up a massive boulder they pieced together from the rubble. Jack took a step back. It was clear that the power Chester possessed now was far greater than he had originally anticipated. The vines twitched and bent, hurtling the stone toward their enemy. It was like a massive hammer made of earth and plants. But that alone was not enough to stop Jack. After all, he was one of Ifrit's most powerful subordinates. There was no way such simple magic could end him. As he was about to get hit, he punched the rock into pieces, shattering it once again, along with the vines that carried it.

The Deaths, if nothing, were very creative with their powers. Not to mention that the fact that they knew each other for quite a while now allowed them to quickly cooperate in sync. As the chunks of stone were falling down around Jack. Garry's portals of light opened on their surface. Out of each one of them jumped the dark flames of Beast. There were at least six of them, and they were all heading right toward their adversary. One wouldn't have to think twice to realize that a hit from such an attack would be fatal. Jack didn't let this catch him off guard, even though he was surprised by such a frontal assault. He opened his pocket watch once again. The time around him stopped and the Deaths froze in place.

"Troublesome. I cannot seem to focus on both styles of fighting at once. Oh well, I suppose time magic is not as useful as one would hope." He swung his arm to the side, almost as if he was trying to wipe all the flames of Beast away. A shockwave soon followed the movement of his hand. It was as if the pressure created by his attack turned into the sharpest blade. Within a moment, everything around him, living or not, was cut into pieces. Well... almost everything. Thanks to his heightened reflexes, Chester managed to use the dark vines to grab Beast and quickly pull him away from the attack. He was the only one who could move even when everything else was stopped. The beasts of Darkness could never be contained by any sort of magic, even if it controlled time itself. And since he now had the blood of such a monster coursing through his veins, he had inherited this immunity.

But Jack expected something like this to happen. The Deaths would always try to save each other, and this man wasn't any different. That's why Jack knew he had to keep attacking if he really wanted to kill them.

Once again, he sent his fist flying forward. The air around him shook and a projectile carrying immense force flew out toward the plant mage. He could see it approaching. The power that the strike carried was bending the light around it. Looking at it was like staring into a malleable ball of glass. Everything on the other side of it seemed distorted. There was no time to dodge the attack. Chester was so focused on saving Beast that he completely let his guard down. Fortunately, he was the only one. A bright yellow portal opened in front of Vincent, and Jack's projectile flew right in.

"Thanks," the wizard said to Garry, who was standing nearby.

"Don't mention it. Now, let's add a bit of light into the mix!"

Another gate opened behind Jack and his own attack came flying right out of it. The man couldn't help but smile. It was so predictable. He raised his arm, palm facing the projectile, and activated his ability. As the pressure bullet hit him, a loud bang echoed throughout the hills, but the attack disappeared without causing any damage. Jack knew exactly how much force he'd have to produce to cancel out his previous spell. Using his own magic against him would be a waste of time. What he didn't predict, however, was that Garry knew such a thing far too well. Using fire against a flame elemental would never work either. And so he didn't use the projectile to hit Jack. The reason he fired it back was that it could carry his own magic within.

As soon as the attack got canceled out, six shining light bullets flew out. They traveled some distance away before curving their trajectory and turning around, heading right toward their target from all directions. Through some careful observation, Garry knew exactly how to counter that strange pressure magic Jack seemed to be so well-versed in. It was capable of releasing shockwaves and even making the ground rise up, but would it be able to counter an attack from several sources? There was only one way to find out. Each of the bullets was approaching Jack from a different angle. His expression clearly showed that he wasn't expecting an attack such as this one. If nothing, he had to admit that the Deaths were very resourceful. But even that wouldn't be enough to kill him.

He crouched a bit to lower the center of his weight and brace himself. Then, he spread his arms as far away as he could and released another shockwave. This time, it had the shape of a sphere and flew out only a short distance, but was strong enough to block all the incoming light bullets. Jack stood there, visibly happy. He thought he just managed to outsmart the Deaths yet again.

"Now, White!" Garry shouted.

Another portal opened up right behind Jack. It all happened so fast after the previous spell, he was incapable of reacting in time. Blocking the last attack drained a lot of his stamina, so the only thing he forced his body to do was to move out of the way.

"I've got you!!!" White's voice carried a noticeable echo with it. She jumped out of the portal and immediately grabbed Jack by his arm. Her grasp was weak, so he quickly managed to jump away and put some distance between them, but her magic was never about physical strength anyway. All she needed was one touch. Jack's hand started rotting away. Skin turned to dust, the flesh was melting, and bones were out in the open, waiting to disappear as well. He had to summon all his strength not to scream. His face curled into a shape that almost made him unrecognizable from who he was before. But it was too early to give up. There was no way he'd accept defeat by just a simple touch. He slapped his left shoulder with the other hand and summoned his magic. The force and pressure formed a sharp blade that severed the cursed hand from his body. Now he was screaming. Blood splashed all over the ground and tainted his noble clothes, which were mostly clean up until now. All the Deaths and Chester stood there, stunned by the man's bravery and determination. He was so fearless it scared them.

Eventually, Jack's screams stopped and the blood dripping from the wound got sealed away by a small, wobbly, glass-like barrier. He looked up at his enemies. His voice changed. It now carried a terrifyingly sharp and deep tone that one would expect from someone who's been smoking his entire life.

"Okay... Now I'm actually pissed!"