The sun was nowhere to be seen as the masked figure stood opposite Zachary, stamp at the ready.

The large cobblestone courtyard was devoid of any people aside from the two combatants.

Zack secretly hoped no L.F.T.O people would make it in time to get involved in the fight.

“JASPER!” Zack called out.

“I AM SICK AND TIRED OF YOU KICKING MY HEART IN THE DICK!” he announced, his voice was carried across the silent city.

The masked man jumped down from one of the rooftops, upon hitting the ground, a stamp with a foot covered in feathers dispersed into glowing particles.

Slowly, Jasper removed his mask revealing his crazed expression, massive bags under his eyes, countless stamps and tattoos covered his grinning, unwashed face.

Zachary couldn’t help but grimace at the sight of the disgraceful state of his past so-called ally.

“I knew hanging around the L.F.T.O guys was a risk…” he sighed.

“I tried to steer them away from Jasper, hoping he’d be too much of a coward to attack them unless they got too close…”

He thought back to how he slipped the file concerning their past guild away during the previous search.

Zachary cracked a smile as he reached into his pocket and retrieved a handful of throwing needles, his actual class, his secondary class was an enchanter.

“If you’ve come to beg for mercy then you can forget it! You still haven’t learned your place…” Jasper taunted, his voice sounded ecstatic.

Several times in recent weeks, Zack attempted to reason with Jasper to no avail.

He offered money, apologies and even his own life, but that wasn’t what Jasper wanted.

What Jasper wanted was to confirm his own, personal truth, that Zack was the antagonist, the antagonist that took everything away from him, the protagonist of this Jasper-centric isekai adventure.

Not having received a reply aside from a glare, the irate Jasper clicked his tongue.

“Are you finally gathering the courage to face reality?” he asked, sending a mocking smile Zack’s way.

The comment came at Zack like a perfectly aimed dagger, wasn’t that what he was doing?

“I’m the hero, you’re the villain, I finally understood that back in the inn!” Jasper began making his way towards Zachary.

“Like how spiderman’s uncle always has to die, my party… they were corrupted by you, demon!” he exclaimed.

“They were the tragic backstory to my character!”

“And now, like any good hero, I will torment you, demon!”

Zachary knew he couldn’t run away from the fight again, Jasper would most likely continue to kill the people around him, not to mention the L.F.T.O guys, who would most likely pursue Zack and be put in danger again.

Knowing Bonifacius, explaining the situation would result in further involvement on their part.

He knew this, but could he bring himself to kill, no, perma-kill Jasper?

Zack wasn’t so dense so as not to see Jasper’s actions were megalomaniacal and evil, but that wasn’t what was held in question here.

“Would killing Jasper still be murder?”

“Obviously.”

“Killing is bad, right?”

“But Jasper is killing people too.”

“And his kills are unjustified.”

“But isn’t that just an excuse on my part?”

“Why do I look for an excuse? If he’s evil then I shouldn’t need one, right?”

Zack never noticed the time between Jasper standing meters away from him and now, looming above him like a towering presence.

Zack looked up as Jasper’s face slowly, quietly loomed in towards him.

“You have to pay for your sins, demon,” he said with a dead-serious look.

Seconds later, Zack could feel it, a stamp became pressed to his gut, it wasn’t the perma-death kind.

Instead, the human became filled with agonizing pain as he stammered down to the ground.

Even with the intense, burning feeling akin to a dozen blazing-hot rods jammed in your torso, Jasper was within arm’s reach, Zack could stab him.

He could go for the heart or throat.

He could immobilize him with an enchanted needle.

Zack’s vision went red as the poison continued to ravage his insides.

With his shaky hand, he brought his needles closer and closer to Jasper.

The cloaked man looked at Zack with a feeling of potent disgust as Zachary clutched his shirt with one hand and hovered his needles in front of Jasper’s gut with the other.

“Well, are you going to do it?” Jasper asked calmly, seeing Zack damaging his newly-purchased shirt.

His voice didn’t sound insincere or mocking, in fact, it carried some warmth with it.

Several seconds passed, Jasper patiently awaited Zack’s verdict.

The clang of needles hitting the ground rang out as Zack let go of his weapons.

“Thought so…” Jasper sighed before pulling his foot back and with the use of a green stamp he performed a kick with twisted Zack’s neck several times over, killing him non-permanently.

An impish grin spread across Jasper’s face as he fully removed his mask and instead put it on Zachary’s face placing his cloak over him as if he was wrapping a Christmas present for whoever discovers the body.

With that, Jasper used his invisibility stamp and used it to escape the scene.

His grin never wavered as he imagined the countless conclusions the L.F.T.O could come to in regards to Zack, dead with the mask.

When Zack felt his consciousness reappear, he was met with the same voice as always, the cold, uncaring voice of the one he came to refer to as Mr Death.

Once again, Zack, like any other dead player was just a ball of thought in an endless, dark abyss.

“Guess what?” asked the voice.

“...I died…” Zack replied.

“That’s right.” the disappointed voice remarked.

“You know what your three options are, town, respawn at your body or perma-die.” the voice offered.

If he had a mouth or lungs, Zack might have breathed a sigh as he considered his choices.

“Can’t I respawn at some other town?” he asked, already knowing the answer he received so many times before.

“No can do, I have a strict code of conduct.”

Zack breathed a sigh.

“I figured…”

The crunching of something was heard in the darkness.

“What… is that?” Zack asked curiously.

“Nothing! Just make your choice already!” the voice commanded.

A few seconds, the rustling of a bag was heard, followed by crunching.

“ARE YOU EATING AT A TIME LIKE THIS?!” Zack demanded.

“I’M ON BREAK!” the voice replied.

Zack felt a smack to… somewhere, it was as if his soul was lightly hit all over.

“WHY WOULD YOU GO AND DIE IN THE MIDDLE OF MY BREAK!?”

Zack felt his soul being grabbed by the collar.

“YOU PEOPLE HAVE NO APPRECIATION FOR US WORKING BEHIND THE SCENE!”

“TWENTY-FOUR SEVEN, EVERY SINGLE DAY, A TRUCK-LOAD OF YOU LEMMINGS JUMP, ROLL, LEAP AND LUNGE TO YOUR FUCKING DEATHS!”

“...”

“...”

“Yo!” the voice of Kevin could be heard from some distance away.

“I TOLD YOU TO WAIT IN THE QUEUE!”

“I was bored…” Kevin whined.

Zack could feel the thud from what he had no idea was Mr Death smashing their head into the table.

“Well, what happened this time…?” they asked.

“Sigh…” Kevin said, unable to truly sigh.

“Now, it’s not working.” he finally said.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT’S NOT WORKING?!” demanded Mr Death.

“The respawn, I’m not respawned…” he explained.

Another thud.

“Ugh… I’ll have to get Lorb in here to fix this…”

Low on time, Zack spoke up in hopes of gaining Mr Death’s attention.

“Hello?”

“Hey!” Kevin yelled back.

“STOP! YOU TWO AREN’T ALLOWED TO TALK!” cried Death.

“Tch, come on, it’s your fault we’re not respawned yet, right other-voice…?” he asked.

Uncertainly, Zack agreed.

“I… I guess…?”

“Whatever…” Mr Death sighed.

“Hurry up and make your decision…” they instructed, the sound of a rustling bag of crisps could be heard.

“Fine… respawn me… at the nearest city…” he decided, hoping to get a chance to flee the scene of the crime before the L.F.T.O found him.

“Finally…” the voice remarked before respawning Zachary in the centre of Glummington.