The previous frontal assault wasn't very difficult for Zach as the trajectory of the bullets was visible to him and swinging the sword in front of him was easier compared to defending an attack from above.
Zach solemnly took a defensive stance and prepared for the bloody rain of death from above. The swinging of the lightsaber was even faster this time but there were still some blood droplets that managed to graze his skin somewhat. Fortunately, there was no injury that was very deep and Zach was perfectly capable of continuing the fight. But this time he wanted to finish it as soon as possible so as to not give Jack a chance to unleash such a destructive spell again.
Zach's front foot retreated slightly in an attempt to propel in the direction of Jack but when the rain of death passed, there was no one in front of him.
Zach looked around apprehensively in order to determine if Jack was hiding somewhere. Unfortunately, Jack grasped the opportunity to escape when Zach was busy protecting himself from the bloody rain.
The hurricane disappeared as if on cue since Jack was no longer in the area to manipulate and power the wind element.
Zach regained his movement but he was in no rush to chase after Jack who had probably gained quite a lot of distance on Zach and Christina.
"I don't think he has gone very far yet. If we rush, we can still catch up to him. Let's hurry."
Christina who had previously been blown away by Jack's hurricane had already arrived beside Zach and was now urging him to chase after the murderous criminal. She held on to Zach's arm as she tried to pull him along with her but Zach held her wrist with his free hand in order to stop her impulsiveness.
"Stop…let him go."
Zach sighed helplessly as he held her back from chasing after Jack.
Christina couldn't believe her ears because she believed that the two of them together were more than enough to take down Jack. Their opponent was already armless and had probably gotten a lot weaker due to all that loss of blood earlier.
It had to be known that the blood mages were capable of manipulating blood around them. More capable ones could even manipulate the blood of their opponents to restrict their actions. But Jack was probably too consumed to do something of that caliber. As such, Christina didn't want to let go of this opportunity to take care of a potential threat.
But Zach on the other hand wasn't very hopeful of being able to corner Jack once more especially when the latter was so desperate to survive. A criminal like Jack, who had been wreaking havoc long before Zach was even born, wasn't someone who could be captured so easily. Murderous demons like Jack were the most ruthless towards themselves instead of others. When cornered, their minds were twisted enough to cause them to launch suicidal attacks towards their enemies.
Zach was afraid that Christina would keep pestering him and would push him to self-detonation which was the last resort of any mage like Jack. Jack was more than capable of such a cruel counterattack. He would rather kill Christina along with him instead of letting her benefit from his death.
Hope was both the best friend and the worst enemy of any human. The hope for food in a drought was fully capable of keeping people from starving to death but at the same time it made their existence and continued life more and more painful and full of a longing that might never be sated in their life time.
Taking away hope of survival from a monster like Jack was to deprive him of the breath in his lungs. As soon as he felt that there was no hope of escape, the monster might as well decide to take Christina down with him in order to make his life more meaningful until the end.
To Zach, Christina' well being was far more important compared to taking down Jack who was on his last leg anyway and probably had a very low chance of making a comeback with his lacking arm. Therefore, he wasn't willing to let Christina chase after him and take the risk of never coming back to him. His relationship with her had only just begun and he was not willing to let her take the risk of getting hurt when it was not necessary.
Moreover, Jack was inconsequential to proving the innocence of the Windsor family leader. He was neither involved in the planning nor was he the direct cause of his suffering. Therefore, he was a witness at most whose testimony might not even be accepted by the court of law due to the criminal charges on him and the fact that he was an escapee from the police dungeon. As such, Zach didn't think he was worth getting his precious woman hurt in the process.
Christina on the other hand didn't seem convinced by Zach. She was confident that she could take down Jack in a few moves had it not been for the powerful hurricane that he had summoned at the end. It wasn't that she wasn't willing to listen to Zach. In fact, she wanted to be of use to him. Her deep feelings towards her husband seemed to have thrown her usual sensibility and cunning out the window.
"Don't go after him. Who knows what kind of trump cards he still has? We don't need to risk so much to capture him when there is no merit to doing so?" Zach tried to convince her apathetically. He had already considered the various options they still had at hand and had come to the conclusion that Jack wasn't necessary to their future plans.
"How are we going to prove the Hunter family's crimes without him? If we could capture him, we might have had proof against the Hunter family. How is that not a merit?" Christina retorted as she stared at Zach suspiciously, trying to figure out what was going on in his mind.
Though she had spent the least amount of time with Zach amongst the other women, she still knew him quite well. In her opinion, he was a meticulous person and there was no way that he had missed out on something that even she had taken into consideration.
"Then who do you think would be more helpful for that purpose…Jack or Nelson?" Zach asked with a smile on his face. He trusted Christina to understand his meaning after he gave her a hint.
As expected, Christina fell into thought for a moment before revealing an understanding look on her face.
"Now you know why I let go of Jack. Rather than wasting time chasing after someone we might or might not be able to capture without suffering a loss, it would be good for us to secure Nelson who is still on the hill. Maybe we can force the Hunter family to confess by threatening the leader with his son as hostage."
Zach revealed his full plan to Christina as he wanted her to be on the same page as him. He didn't want to have to keep on explaining his actions to her at every turn.
"Okay, I will listen to you then." Christina nodded her head obediently this time. She had naturally acknowledged Zach's reasoning. Therefore, she decided to listen to him wholeheartedly and left all the thinking to him.
Zach turned around on his heel with Christina right behind him. She imitated his actions and as he began to run back to the hill that was looming in the distance standing alone underneath the starry sky. Their black robes that were somewhat tattered after the battle billowed behind them like punctured ghostly capes as they rushed back at full speed in order to keep the scion of the Hunter family from escaping their net.
The faster Zach rushed, the more he felt that something was wrong. There was no battle on top of the hill. He had expected Nelson to retaliate in some manner but the silence on the hill indicated that either Clara and Luke had already subdued him or he had exploited some opportunity to escape their grasp.
Zach hoped that it was the former or the plan to take down the Hunter family in a blitz might become impossible for the time being.
When they reached the entrance of the cave that had previously housed the eldest daughter of the Windsor family, they ran into the flustered looking Luke and the gloomy Clara.
For Zach, it was quite a surprise because he had hardly ever seen Clara like that. She was a rather strong woman and was slightly impulsive and lacking in brain power. But one thing she had never been was a sad and helpless woman.
"What happened? Where's Nelson?"
Seeing that both Clara and Luke didn't seem to be on alert, Zach couldn't help but ask curiously.
"…escaped." Clara opened her mouth but her voice never came out. She barely muttered a word with a voice akin to that of a mosquito.
"What did you say?"
At first, Clara thought that Zach was reprimanding her for letting Nelson escape but the expressions on his face didn't match the words. It seemed that Zach had truly not understood her words and was asking with genuine curiosity and a mixed apology.
"H-he escaped when I tried to capture him. He tricked me and crushed a spatial scroll to escape from here." Clara finally managed to tell him meekly.
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