The fairy maid cheers for her deceased master today.

"roar--!"

It seemed to confirm what X had said.

As soon as X finished speaking, Spring-Heeled Jack's roar shook the entire basement.

The masked man turned around instantly and saw Jack grinning maliciously as he stood at the top of the stairs.

Jack's hand was dripping with blood.

Outside, everything seemed calm; there was no more gunfire or human voices.

It's reasonable to assume that the outside world... has been completely taken care of by Spring-Heeled Jack.

"You... monster." The masked man's voice was finally no longer calm. Perhaps this was the first time he had realized how troublesome a true alien species could be.

In fact, X was also surprised. He expected Jack to win, but he thought Jack would be badly injured.

But Jack's clothes were still relatively clean. Either Jack was very strong, or he had changed his clothes before coming down.

Of course, the former is more likely.

The masked man's position at this moment is very delicate.

He stood between Jack and X.

X knew that Jack was mainly after him. Unfortunately, the masked man didn't know that.

brush--

Jack shot towards the massive steam engine like a white lightning bolt.

Then the masked man, as expected, assumed that the attack was aimed at him and immediately ordered the steam-powered soldiers to counterattack.

"boom!"

The steam-powered soldiers charged forward, facing off against King Jack.

The metal claws clashed violently with the brass armor, sending up a string of blinding sparks. The steam-powered soldier was knocked back two steps, the boiler on his chest emitting a piercing shriek, and the muzzles of the two machine guns spun wildly, spewing pale blue flames and silver bullets.

"Ha, what a little trick!"

Jack let out a sharp laugh, twisting his body at an incredible angle to easily dodge the barrage of flames and bullets.

It landed, its legs slightly bent, and then it exerted force suddenly—

"Bang!"

The entire basement seemed to tremble. Jack charged at the steam-powered soldier like a cannonball, his metal claws drawing deadly arcs through the air.

"clang!"

This time, the steam-powered soldier blocked the attack with his massive arms. But deep claw marks were still left on his brass armor.

The steam engine soldier swung the hammer down with a backhand.

Jack lightly leaped away, dodging the hammer blow.

"Fire! Open fire! Kill this monster!"

The masked man issued his final command, tinged with shock and anger.

"Da da da—!"

The machine gun roared again, its silver flames licking Jack's body relentlessly. But Jack's white bodysuit seemed to possess some kind of special protective ability.

Silver flames and bullets can only make it sizzle, but cannot cause any more damage.

This made X frown.

Jack's resistance to silver seems to have increased. But it's also possible that the flame isn't pure enough.

"Useless! Useless!" Jack laughed wildly and launched another jump attack.

It resembled a giant white bat, bouncing back and forth between the basement ceiling and walls, each landing with devastating force. Its speed increased rapidly, as if it could appear in several locations in an instant.

Bang!Bang!Bang!

The steam-powered soldiers were forced to retreat step by step, their armor constantly dented and parts flying everywhere.

"Damn it! What on earth is this monster?!"

Seeing that things were not going well, the masked man hiding to the side roared.

X, also hiding at the other end of the corridor, watched the earth-shattering battle. He noticed that whenever Jack launched an attack, the masked man would deliberately circle around to the rear of the steam-powered soldiers to avoid potential harm.

This guy is pretty good at positioning.

Just then, Jack's jump attack sent the steam soldier crashing into the wall on the other side.

opportunity!

The masked man's eyes lit up, and he seized the opportunity to open the hidden door on the side, preparing to escape.

There was a hidden door there!

"We can't let him get away!"

X tried to rush over, but the battle between Jack and the steam-powered soldiers was too intense, and he found it impossible to get around them. Bullets, flames, and metal fragments were flying everywhere, and one wrong move could mean certain death.

"Damn it!"

X cursed under his breath, and could only watch helplessly as the masked man disappeared behind the hidden door.

Well, at least the masked man left behind steam engine soldiers.

If the steamship soldier and Jack both suffer heavy losses, the outcome will be acceptable. They can still leave this place with Catherine.

"roar--!"

After being knocked back by the mech, Jack suddenly let out a deafening roar, and its body began to change.

The muscles beneath the white bodysuit began to swell, making the body grow even taller, and the red light in its eyes intensified. A pair of small, bat-like wings even sprouted from its back.

Wait, how come this time, with the expansion in size, I can also add wings?

Then a word jumped into Ex's mind again.

"evolution?!"

Ex could only watch in shock.

Yes.

From the very first time I met Jack, this guy was evolving at a rapid pace.

It's already considered to be evolving relatively slowly.

Jack's strength had clearly increased once again. He no longer easily dodged the steam-powered soldiers' attacks, but instead faced them head-on.

"clang!"

The steam soldier's fist struck Jack, but Jack only flinched before tearing the steam soldier's chest apart with a claw.

"No—!" A desperate cry rang out from inside the steam engine crew's cockpit.

"Boom!"

The steam engine crew's boiler exploded, sending a huge flame soaring into the sky.

Jack was also thrown back by the shockwave of the explosion and crashed into the wall.

But soon, it emerged from the smoke. Though its body was somewhat disheveled, its eyes were even more ferocious.

"It's over," Jack said in a low voice, which became even hoarser and more terrifying.

It looked around and finally fixed its gaze on X and Angel.

"Now, it's finally your turn." Jack's smile widened.

After being toyed with by X for so long, it can finally take its revenge.

As if teasing its prey, Jack slowly approached them.

Ax gripped the revolver tightly, but his heart felt cold.

It's hard to say whether Jack, after his second evolution, will be able to be suppressed by Flash.

He still picked up the kerosene lamp.

Jack instinctively stopped in his tracks. He stared coldly at X.

"Elena, get ready, take Catherine and escape!" Ex whispered.

Elena let out a soft "Huh?"

"I'll hold Jack off with Angel, and maybe even distract him. You can take the opportunity to get out with Catherine."

"Will this work?"

"I don't know, but we can't just sit here and wait to die." Alex took a deep breath. "When you see the right moment, rush towards the stairwell, and don't look back!"

Jack was getting closer and closer; its red eyes, like two blood-red lanterns, radiated a deathly light in the dim basement.

Then Jack laughed: "A pointless plan. None of you... can escape. Just like the people here."

"...That masked man escaped just now," Ex kindly reminded him.

Jack: "..."

The alien species immediately fell silent.

Getting your boast exposed on the spot is no pleasant experience. Embarrassing, isn't it?

"...Why don't you go after that masked man first?" X laughed.

"Ha... meaningless rhetoric. What I really want is for you to be the ones killed."

really.

X sighed.

He briefly recalled his current hand. Well, not exactly his entire hand, but just what cards he had up his sleeve.

First, Angel's ability to exchange thoughts... isn't very useful. It's easy to fail.

Secondly, there's the silver bullet... but it might not be very effective this time. The silver flame from before was already quite ineffective against Jack.

Finally, there's the flashing kerosene lamp. This is a killer move, and it'll probably still work on Jack. But if Jack can withstand it... he can turn the tables.

Now that Jack has evolved, its health bar should be thicker.

The rest consisted of magic from myself, Elena, and Angel. The effects were only so-so. It didn't seem like anything could directly exert a significant influence.

Could it be... that reckless action is the only option left?