"Here we are. The Dark Nation of Shroud." Jack said as they departed. "Gotta say, thought this place would be more...populated." he said before looking to the pedestal to find it bare. "Huh."

"Sup." a voice called out as Ira stood up from behind the pedestal, his back facing the Thieves.

"Hey, I know that voice!" Skull said. "Mark Anarchy? What do you think you're doing here?"

"You're not exactly right…" he said as he lowered his hood and turned around to face the thieves, revealing his red eyes to them. "Name's Ira. I'm the Vice Angel of Wrath."

"I see...so that's it. You're just some guy borrowing Anarchy's body." Jack said. "But what business do you have with me?"

"Well, I heard that you took down Beezlebub." Ira said, walking around the pedestal and taking off his gloves. "Not bad, I gotta say. Ever since he lost his balancing act, he got a lot more powerful."

"Balancing act?" Panther asked.

"Oh, you didn't know?" Ira said. "Demon Lords get more powerful the more they indulge in their sin. They also lose more and more control over themselves. I'm willing to bet that the Beezlebub of 100 years ago wouldn't have approved of what his current self did. It's a dangerous tightrope us wielders of vice walk, trying to find the balance between power and control. It's one I lost a long time ago."

"So, what does this have to do with me?" Jack said. "Cause I was the one who killed a guy who was raising human children in his territory just to be cattle?"

"...Well, yeah." Ira said, the gloves in his hands starting to glow. "Don't get the wrong idea, I wasn't close to the guy or anything, he deserved what he got. It's just that I don't have a long time until I pass on so… I want to have some excitement before then. And you, my friend, are the first person on my list of people to fight."

The light in Ira's hands faded,revealing his two sets of brass knuckles as he slammed his fists together. "If you win, you get both of the stones. If I win… well, I'll leave that as a surprise. Deal?"

"Fine...guess that'll work." Jack said. "All of you, I want you to stay out of this."

"Are you insane? This guy is gonna kill you." Skull said.

"It'll be fine. Just be prepared to run if things go south." Jack said as he pulled out a knife. "So...shall we get on with it?"

"Sure thing." Ira grinned as he suddenly vanished and reappeared in front of Jack, slamming his head against the thief's.

(Cue: MAD WORLD: Madworld)

"(Damn, this guy is quick.)" he thought. "(Okay...so I know his name, but I got no idea what his ability is so my Law won't work until I figure it out. So...I'll just have to wing it by borrowing from those that trust me so well.)" he thought. "Here we go!" Jack said firing lightning at Ira as Ira dodged it.

"Ooh, missed by a hair there." Ira said before he rammed a fist into Jack's stomach, causing the thief to cough up blood. "You got guts, I'll give you that. But there's a big difference between Demon Lords and Vice Angels." he said as he kicked Jack away. "We're tougher, for one thing!"

"Yeah...I could feel that." Jack said touching the ground as ice started to cover it as Ira simply jumped.

"Oh, trying to freeze me in place. Smart move, kid. Too bad it ain't worth shit." Ira said as he attempted to leg drop Jack, who jumped to the side to avoid the attack.

"Yeah...guess you are more skilled at this." Jack said, pulling out a gun to fire only for Ira to dodge and land a punch against Jack's face, sending him into a wall.

"Man, is this all you got?" Ira asked as Jack shakliy got up. "Either you're having an off day or Beezlebub got a lot weaker since I died. Come on, show me the good stuff already!"

"Heh...yeah...the good stuff…" Jack said. "(Shame the one with the good stuff is having second thoughts about being my friend.)" he thought as he went on firing combos of lightning and ice at Ira, neither having effect.

"Is this really all you have?" Ira said as he walked through the attacks as if they were nothing. "Man, some thief you are, punk. Oh, you stole from a bunch of rich assholes, whoop de effin do!" he said. "Come on now! It's no wonder you couldn't stop Norman from becoming a murdering, demon-hating bastard."

"...What." Jack said, his expression darkening.

"Yeah, you heard me." Ira said. "Norman shot a guy right in the heart and watched him bleed out. He's planning to kill every demon he can get his pale little hands on. And since he's ASG's head of Weapons Development… he's got the means to do it. And, y'know what the best part is? It's all because you couldn't get him out of the farm before it was too late."

"Yeah...you're probably right about that." Jack said. "But...thanks to you...I know what he's planning now. So...go burn in fire!" he said, launching a fireball at Ira before Ira punched it away, grabbed him by the head, and smashed him into the ground, knocking him out.

"Rage doesn't mean a thing if you can't back it up." Ira stated.

(End song)

The Phantom Thieves were in shock.

"Jack!" Skull said.

"Oh, cool your ass, I didn't come here to kill anyone." Ira said. "Now, about what I would do if I won…"

Ira then fished out the Sun and Moon Stones, setting them on Jack's back.

"I'm giving these to you." Ira said. "You didn't steal them, you didn't earn them… now, they can never be stolen by you. You'll never be a true master thief… unless, of course, you beat me. If you want to try your luck… you'll know where to find me."

Ira then got up and flew away, leaving the thieves alone.

"Heh...he really is an idiot." Jack smirked.

"Jack?" Queen said as Jack got up. "You're...okay?"

"Yeah. I knew I had no chance of winning against him...so I let him kick my ass." Jack said.

"So it was all just a ploy to get the stones from him." Fox said.

"There are many ways to steal. Kill and steal, snatching it without their knowledge, or even going as far as fixing a fight to give him a false sense of victory." Jack said.

"And thanks to him… we now have more information on Norman." Emma said.

"Yeah." Jack said. "Norman...I failed to get you out before...I won't fail now." he said to himself. "Norman...you, Emma, Ray...you three will be together before we know it."

Up in the sky, Ira was flying before he smirked.

"Heh. Of course I knew the guy was throwing the fight. The cheeky bastard…" Ira chuckled. "Well, I enjoyed myself, even if I didn't get a rise out of him. Now then, let's see…" he said, pulling out a tablet and opening up a document:

People to Fight:

Jack, Phantom Thieves leader (Leave other thieves untouched)

Rain Bow, the Father (Flirt with Illuma if there's a chance, she'll hate that)

Richard Liu, the Tourist (Also talk about issues?)

Jexi the Hunter (IMPORTANT! MUST INVITE OTHERS!)

Superbia, the Prideful (Put him down, stop Crusade)

"Heheheh…" Ira chuckled as he pocketed the list. "Yessir, this is gonna be one hell of a splurge…" he then looked up at the sky, frowning. "...that is, if Superbia doesn't go over the edge."

Ira then looked to his list, seeing Rain Bow was next up. "Well, guess it's time to pay the Color FIghting Temple a visit. Maybe I should bring a gift basket, maybe buy take-out for the High Masters… yeah, and maybe I'll be elected president of the Multiverse." he chuckled as he flew off to his next challenge.

To be continued...