Chapter 23: Reaper has Risen

What is a beast?

What is an animal?

What is a monster?

That was pure, uncontrollable evil, but it raises a difficult question; what makes one 'evil'?

Is it still evil if a serial killer kills a rapist before he or she rapes a female? An action that is virtuous can eliminate a reprehensible action, right? Alternatively, if an action is within the law, is it morally wrong? Is it not evil for a man to torture an innocent animal during legal hunting seasons if he unleashes his murderous impulses on it?

In that scenario no humans have been harmed, yet an innocent life is subjected to pain because they were captured by a beast. It was logical to conclude that there was no such thing as evil or virtue when faced with such a conundrum. There are only choices, choices that affect the entire world without us knowing it.

It was because of Micha's own choices that he found himself in this situation.

Under normal circumstances, misdirection would be the strategy, taking out the opponent in a swift manner. If that fails, then the battle would be fought with the intention of information gathering above all else while setting up an escape. Cowardice was nothing in the face of survival.

This time, Micha gave into his emotions. Using 'the music box' blessing, the source of the demonic strums, he made a menacing entrance, giving away his location in the process. He aimed to discover the swordsman's weaknesses rather than kill him with strong power in the second mistake. However, those were merely excuses for someone caught in an uncomfortable situation.

Right now, in order to see another day, he had to focus, to keep calm, he had to find a power to use. "Focus, 1,3,5,7,9." The vigilante thought, pushing through the pain to gain a simple power. "Flashbang."

There was blinding light flooding the area, giving him one chance to escape. Blood was used as a covering for a red diamond that was quietly transported away. Ronald witnessed something horrible as the light faded. After he had gutted and shredded the body, it began to malform. The regeneration spiraled out of control without its core, filling with tumors engulfing the dance partner whose sword prevented separation.

The power of Micha wasn't as straightforward as it appeared. In order to acquire his vast power, he had to evolve into a mutant. An organism that resembles both a zombie and a predatory slime, created by years of trial and error and research. This blessing was known as 'Undeath'. In essence, his body now consisted of undead stem cells that could mimic any living or dead substance.

As a consequence of his 'Degrade' ability, his body required that the genetic code of his cells be altered in order to function safely. Even though he had attained a godly form through shedding his own blessing barriers, he still had a number of difficulties. The main one of note here being his weakness to extreme temperatures which had only grown due to him being a zombie-slime. With his near-cancerous regeneration augmented by consuming enough human meat to sustain it normally for a month, simple white hot knives were almost able to kill him.

Thankfully he sent his core away. The being known as 'Micha Esperonica' would not survive if it were damaged in any manner.

The escape of Micha was not an easy one. His third mistake was leaving his body so quickly, not bothering to check behind him if his opponent had been killed or not. A new threat was now hot on his back.

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Isabelle strolled peacefully through the rundown streets of the slum, far from the hustle and bustle of LR city's busy streets. At her back, Zavan and Ogasa subtly gazed about the area, vigilantly identifying various shady people. They carefully weaved through the crowds gathering outside of stripclubs and bars that lined the streets like books in a library.

The air was acrid with alcohol and urine. Drunk people stumbled out of the establishment only to be assaulted by monsters hidden in the shadows around every corner. In order to avoid such threats, they simply wore all green sword emblems, a sign that they belonged to the Toxo gang, the dominant gang in their area.

"Disgusting." She muttered while taking a quick rest on a nearby bench. A lamp post over the area provided good lighting, making the outside world appear completely black. "Why are some places so rancid?"

"Try growing up here or something uglier." Zavan reflects, feeling a sense of familiarity with the dark scenery "Not all of us are raised in an influential household."

"Yeah but I guess seeing this place in the flesh will never get old." Ogasa added having been to scenes like this so many times before and it still looked fresh as a fresh toy. "I know It won't be for me."

"I prefer this to the lab and holding cell," the cyborg replied. In silence, the trio sat for several minutes before the cyborg stood up, asking "why are we even here?"

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"Tea leaves said there would be a poltergeist here." Ogasa sighed as he filed his nails. Trying to distract himself from the monsters hiding in the shadows that only he could see. Looking at the other man, who was still looking at him with confusion, "what?"

"OK, mystical bullshit." Zavan sighed, deeply annoyed at the situation and how his teammates believed it so readily. "You know that spirit stuff isn't real."

"You're one of those metal men." The exorcist attacked feeling insulted by those words. "You are literally just an advanced machine with human skin."

"Both of you, shut it." Isabelle abruptly ordered as she began to use various powers based on sound and hearing to investigate. Slowly over several minutes she weeded out the unneeded sounds and vibrations, focusing on one specific sound.

The sound of a swinging instrument. About two miles away, one made of metal is in use. There was the sound of something hitting metal-no, a platform. -Echoing loudly. -Screams of glorious agony as more metal unsheeted and boiled as the blade sliced through unforgiving flesh. A sickening splash was heard, likely from a large amount of blood.

"Two miles from here." Isabelle howled standing up, the impact of her feet shattering the ground beneath her. The mantra, the mantra that Ronald spoke, one that was passed down through his family, was recognized by Isabelle, prompting what can only be described as abject terror. Her voice quivered as ghastly green flames filled her mind causing her voice to quiver as sweat fell from her face. "A member of the Meaohi family? C'mon we have to-"

At that moment a large breeze washed over the area. Ogasa's rainbow eyes widened, as a revolting presence revealed itself to his 'third eye'. The presence was dense and smelled of rotting flesh. He could hear the screams of tortured souls. It was positively disgusting, a miasma of pure evil.

"We have to stop it," the pink-haired man muttered, sending out thin streaks of rainbow energy similar to Micha's earlier. He felt his mind begin to panic. That rotten presence became denser and more vile, bringing only terror and despair to him. "If we don't it might be another Risnell."

"huh?" Zavan screamed as black...liquid? Tendrils? It only needs to touch people to burn into black flames...

Watching the land burn in horror, the group could only watch in horror. Cloaked creatures thrived on the screams of their victims as a result. There were some who fought, others who fled, and a few who tried to rescue. All of them were savagely devoured by the reaper. A gurgling laugh could be heard as the sky and ground gradually turned a bright red hue, matching the figure's eyes.

A monster had once again appeared and it was hungry for more death....

...more souls…

XXXXX

“Well this is definitely not as planned.” A man laughed from the top of a building. His keen animalistic eyes carefully scanned the blazing destruction caused by Ronalds blessing. Stretching his arms and back,he sighed “Welp time to go reaper hunting.”

“No.” his companion said, causing the man to visibly tense “not yet. let the Hound and her boys fight it for a little bit.”

“But it's at its strongest now!” The man argued pushing past the fear induced by his companions Blessing “And we need Mannequin to be at their strongest!”

“Without a doubt.” the companion nodded, adjusting their gas mask. “But the master wants to know how strong his child is. He is in desperate need of a compatible vessel.”

“I know.” The man sighed,knowing that the resurrection was at hand,All had to be carried out perfectly. However there were a few things they were overlooking. “What about Mihael,you did say he is a major threat like the Esperonica family head! She won't stay still if her child is taken away.”

“Well Mihael is a threat without a doubt but I think our master will take care of him soon.” the companion shrugged, “the family head is another story but I think Kiga is enough of a deterrent.”

“I hope so.” the man muttered,looking at the raging battle.

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