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A dazzling streak of light tore through the battlefield — a stream of concentrated energy, bright as a miniature sun, roaring toward the mutated Crow King. The blast hit like thunder, a storm of white-blue radiance slicing through the smoky air.
Jack's body reacted on instinct, his mutated transformation giving him speed beyond human, but not enough to fully escape. He twisted sharply — too late. The energy sphere grazed past his guard and smashed into the Crow King's right wing.
"Gua…!" The creature's shriek sliced through the wasteland, echoing with pain and fury.
Flames erupted from the impact point, crawling hungrily along the Crow King's feathers. Energy pulsed violently through its body, exploding outward. The right wing — massive, armored in obsidian feathers — detonated into chunks of flesh and sinew. Black feathers scattered like burnt snow across the cracked, yellow earth.
The sky above Raccoon City's outskirts turned red and trembling from the shockwave.
"Gua…!" The Crow King screamed again, wings spasming. It plunged downward, slamming into the sand-strewn ruins.
Bang!
The ground convulsed. Dust and sand erupted high into the air, creating a towering storm that swallowed the horizon. When it cleared, a pit stretched several meters deep — a smoking crater where the creature had fallen.
The Crow King twitched weakly, dragging its broken body. Its single remaining wing flapped once, twice — futilely. Thick, tar-black blood poured from its wounds, soaking into the sand. The stench of burnt flesh mixed with ozone filled the air.
Jack approached through the haze, each heavy step crunching on scorched earth. His eyes gleamed with cold triumph. "Accept your death — it was your destiny." His voice rumbled like distant thunder. "To make this great one reveal the Second-Layered Form… your death is not unjust."
The Crow King let out a strangled croak, struggling backward, its talons scraping furrows into the sand.
Jack tilted his head, almost amused. "How can you fear death? To die by this great one's hand is an honor."
He lifted his massive black sword. The blade caught the firelight, its edges glowing faintly red.
From a distance, Jill watched, her expression unreadable. A cold wind swept across the cracked desert plain, carrying the smell of smoke and metal. "It hasn't lost yet," she murmured, eyes narrowing.
"Good," Teri said, excitement flashing in her voice.
"That was too close," said K-Mart, watching the towering figure of Jack through the dust. "Still… I think he's safe. He's too powerful to fall." Her tone carried both awe and hope.
Jill chuckled faintly. "That guy will protect you."
"Why?" K-Mart frowned.
"Because he's a pervert — and you're too damn attractive. No way he'd let you go." Jill smirked, her humor dark and tired.
"Gua…" The Crow King whimpered pitifully, lowering its massive head in front of Jack, its single golden eye dimming, almost pleading.
Jack smiled cruelly. "Begging me to spare you? What a pity. Your face is too ugly — it ruins the image of my wise, supernatural greatness." His grip tightened on the sword hilt, muscles flexing.
He wasn't interested in mercy — the corpse gem inside the monster's body was what he sought.
The Crow King suddenly lunged, a desperate blur of feathers and rage.
Jack didn't flinch. "It seems you've given it your all. Allow this great one to help you end it."
His right arm swung in a perfect arc. The sword flashed — a streak of icy light, almost invisible in its speed.
Cī lā!
A wet, slicing sound filled the air.
"Gua…!" The Crow King let out one final, piercing scream. Its body froze mid-lunge — then slowly split down the middle, collapsing into two halves.
Jack exhaled, lowering his weapon. "Finished."
He stepped forward, the battlefield eerily silent except for the crackle of dying flames. He plunged his sword into the fallen creature's abdomen. The blade struck something solid — a sharp, crystalline sound echoed.
From the wound floated a circular bead, glowing with pale cyan light.
"What is that?" Teri asked, eyes wide.
"A corpse gem," Jill said. "Powerful mutants like that always have one inside."
"Corpse gem?" Claire's voice trembled, unsure.
"How do you know?" Alice asked, turning toward Jill.
"Jack once killed a mutated great white shark — found one just like it." Jill's tone was quiet, almost reverent.
Jack's body pulsed with energy. He let out a guttural roar that rolled through the ruins. His giant form began to disintegrate — layer after layer of metallic fragments peeling away into the air. Transformium particles shimmered like glowing dust, swirling upward in blue currents before vanishing.
In moments, his massive figure condensed — his First-Layered Form took shape, towering ten meters high. The black armor shimmered, turning into flowing red Transformium light that spiraled around him.
Then, with a blinding flash, he reverted to human form.
Seven crimson Transformium particles orbited him briefly, then sank into his body — forehead, arms, chest, back, and legs — merging seamlessly with his flesh.
Jack examined the glowing corpse gem in his right hand. It pulsed gently, larger than the water-type one he had taken from the shark. "Wind-type… a wind corpse gem," he murmured. The air shimmered, and in an instant, he vanished.
Teri shaded her eyes, scanning the horizon. "Jack?" she whispered.
"He didn't run," Claire said sharply, loading her weapon. "I'm going to kill him."
"Why?" K-Mart asked, confused.
"The convoy — most of its destruction was because of him." Claire's voice shook with anger.
A laugh echoed from behind them — deep, mocking. "A big hat buckles on daddy's," Jack's voice drawled, drifting on the wind.
Teri turned, eyes bright. "Jack!" she called, a smile breaking through her exhaustion.
Jill's eyes lit up for a second, but her tone was biting. "I thought you'd finally been killed."
"Jack… Jack…" K-Mart stammered, half in awe, half in disbelief.
Claire didn't hesitate. She raised her spear-gun, aiming straight at him. "I'll butcher you!"
Alice stepped between them slightly, calm but alert. "Looks like a lot of people want to kill you," she said evenly.
Jack smiled, almost amused. "Many have tried to kill me — they all died instead."
"Jack, why did you do this?" Claire demanded. Her voice cracked, the fury barely masking grief.
"Do what?" Jack replied, tone almost innocent.
"The convoy!" Claire shouted, the words tasting like ash.
Jack's eyes softened with mock pity. "You chose to come here. You should've been ready to pay the price. With or without me, your convoy was doomed."
For a long moment, Claire said nothing. The wind howled across the dead landscape, kicking up sand between them.
Finally, she spoke quietly. "You're right. We chose Alaska. I'd have come here for supplies anyway."
Jack nodded slowly. "In this world, the weak can't survive."
Alice lowered her eyes, voice heavy with regret. "Claire… I'm sorry. They set me up. They were after me."
Claire shook her head. "Don't blame yourself. I was too weak… I couldn't protect everyone."
Jack studied her, expression unreadable. "Don't you want revenge?"
Alice met his gaze, her voice low and weary. "How could I? I don't even know who they are. But this… this hatred… someday, it will be answered."
Silence settled again. The wind whistled through broken walls. The faint hum of the corpse gem glowed in Jack's hand — a reminder of power, of loss, of everything this ruined world had become.
Far above them, black feathers drifted slowly through the air — the last remains of the Crow King, scattered like ash in the dying light.
Jack sheathed his blade, his shadow long against the sand. His expression was calm, but behind those eyes, something darker stirred — pride, hunger, and the faint echo of guilt.
And in the distance, the faintest whisper of machinery stirred — the hum of Umbrella's drones circling high above, silent witnesses to yet another death in a world that had forgotten mercy.