The fairy maid cheers for her deceased master today.

Axe had long suspected Irene's wish.

It's also easy to guess.

Her wish must have been to rescue Catherine... and now it's very clear.

The reason this wasn't discovered during previous probes is probably because Catherine hadn't been kidnapped yet. Since she wasn't kidnapped, this wish hadn't arisen yet.

What happens after the kidnapping occurs?

What exactly happened three years ago?

X guessed that Elena must have followed his route, tracking and solving the puzzles to eventually find the kidnapper's location. That's why he was able to see all the puzzles and the kidnapper in this memory from three years ago.

But the result was clearly wrong.

The outcome was likely disastrous—a result that haunted Elena, even creating a hole in her mind that weakened her resolve, allowing the alien invasion to worsen.

Axe's guess was cruel: Catherine was probably dead in the kidnapping.

Now, fulfilling Irene's wish is simple—just let her escape with Catherine.

X quickly recalled his trump cards: although his abilities were not enough to defeat Jack, with his immortality and Angel's cooperation, he should be able to hold Jack off.

Plans in place, let's get started!

"Elena, get ready!" Ex instructed. "I'll count to one, and we'll charge together!"

"Wait, Sir Ex—" Elena suddenly spoke, her voice tinged with hesitation, "I…"

What do you want to say? Ex instinctively turned to look in Elena's direction.

But in that 0.1-second gap, Jack suddenly broke into a ferocious smile and pounced like a predator locking onto its prey!

This guy's sneak attacks are getting more and more outrageous!

Fortunately, X had been wary of Jack and almost instinctively called out, "Angel!"

[Here I am, Master!]

Angel's thoughts were faster than her response; magic erupted instantly—giant ice flowers rose from the ground, blocking the path between X and Jack!

X instantly realized that Angel's abilities had also improved. Well done!

It can't be just Jack evolving; my maid is growing too!

But this thick ice wall, which had once blocked countless attacks, was as fragile as a thin layer of glass in front of Jack!

Spring-Heeled Jack's movements possess an eerie elegance.

He stopped instantly in front of the ice wall, raised his left hand, his fingertips glowing with a dark purple light, and gently pushed forward—it tilted its head and pushed forward as if playing!

The ice wall shattered with a "crash," and a huge wind pressure rushed in like a tsunami, instantly throwing X and Angel several meters away!

X suddenly felt that he was not facing a different species, but a Super Saiyan from Dragon Ball, or a Marine Admiral from One Piece.

"Holy crap, what is this? Domineering aura? Or... whatever the 'aura,' it's terrifying!"

But now, there's no turning back!

[(Psychology) Position Swap Activation: Ax's Thoughts and Angel's Thoughts]

He wants to share consciousness with Angel!

The next second, Angel understood her master's intention.

So countless ice flowers and ice walls stood up again, dividing the maze-like paths and completely blocking Jack's view!

This is the essence of a gamer!

Even the best skills are useless if they can't hit the target. Simply change the environment and you can turn the battlefield into your own! Increase the enemy's mistakes!

After all, it's enough to hold Jack back—X never intended to kill this ever-evolving monster; all he wanted was for Elena to escape with Catherine!

His ability to switch thoughts allows him to "control two characters at once": Angel will unconditionally execute his commands, while he can act normally without being affected by Angel's thoughts... After all, Angel's thoughts sometimes seem too illogical.

I never thought I'd become a real-time strategy player, able to control two units at the same time. I guess that counts as getting started?

X inwardly mocked himself, but outwardly shouted at Irene:

"Run now! Elena! Take Catherine and run!"

After saying that, he led Angel to the other side of the ice wall. He wanted to draw Jack's hatred firmly onto himself!

"Come on, Jack! Come at me if you dare!"

He also deliberately provoked him, because Jack was a highly intelligent being, and such taunts were most likely to enrage him!

But retribution comes faster than lightning!

A gust of wind pierced through the ice wall and slammed into X! He instinctively dodged, and Angel immediately raised an ice wall to defend herself, but the ice flowers shattered into powder the moment they hit the wind. The ice crystal fragments scratched X's cheeks, leaving streaks of blood.

X was pushed against the wall by the wind pressure and barely managed to steady himself—when he looked up, he saw Jack crawling out of a hole in the ice wall with a cold smile on his lips.

"A trivial skill, foolish humans."

Jack raised his hand to attack, but X shouted, "Wait! I have something to say!"

"Oh? What are you trying to say?"

Jack stopped what he was doing and asked with a sinister grin.

"Did this guy actually stop?" Ax suddenly remembered a scene from "Tom and Jerry." It turned out that it wasn't an animated cartoon, but a documentary.

But now is not the time to be distracted!

"I want to say—watch out, bullets don't have eyes!" X suddenly raised his hand and pulled the trigger, and the silver bullet whistled out!

But Jack reacted faster than expected: he gently raised his hand, and the bullet was deflected with a "clang," hitting the wall and leaving a charred crater!

"Um, can we talk properly?" AX took a deep breath, gave a pleading smile, and tried to stall for time.

Jack sneered, "What do you think?"

The next second, Jack ignored the other ice flowers' attempts to stop him and charged straight at X!

X raised the flashing kerosene lamp to scare it, and Jack instinctively slowed its movements. X seized the opportunity to jump to the side... but it was too late!

His speed is not as good as the mutants. His speed is still within the range of ordinary people.

Crack! That was the crisp sound of bone breaking.

X turned his head and found that his right arm was pinned to the stone wall by the sharp bone spikes on Jack's wing!

Blood flowed down the bone spurs, staining the ground red.

But Ax felt no panic whatsoever: as long as Catherine escaped, he would have achieved his goal.

After that, if either he or Angel is seriously injured, it should trigger the warning magic reserved by Deacon Samuel. He will then find his location as quickly as possible... and then just need to hold out until Samuel's reinforcements arrive...

But X's pupils suddenly contracted!

He suddenly realized that he had overlooked Elena!

Because he saw Elena burst out from behind the ice wall—she hadn't escaped with Catherine, and was standing there alone!

Elena! What are you doing? Run!

He screamed inwardly, but dared not shout it out, for fear that Jack would find out.

But Elena's reaction was even more intense!

When she saw X pinned to the wall, her eyes instantly flashed with dazzling golden light, as if igniting a dormant power!

"You monster—get off Sir Axe!"

She screamed in anguish, and the next moment, an overwhelming vine magic erupted! Thick vines rushed towards Jack like giant pythons, carrying a world-destroying momentum, as if to devour everything!