Chapter 55. The Reaper
"L-Lorraine!" Anna gasped. "HELP!"
But of course, Lorraine couldn’t dare do such a thing. Anna’s fingers fumbled for the small dagger at her waist, her only means of defense. It was pitiful compared to the towering beast before her, but it was all she had.
The monster attacked.
Anna barely dodged, rolling to the side as the scythe shattered the stone where she had stood a second ago. The shockwave sent her tumbling. Pain flared through her wrist as she landed hard, her dagger clattering out of reach.
No, no, no!
She stretched for it, but the monster was faster. It grabbed her by the collar and lifted her off the ground effortlessly.
Anna screamed, kicking and clawing at its bony fingers, but its grip was unyielding. The hollow eyes of the beast locked onto hers.
"Please..." she whimpered. "HELP Me!"
Lorraine had already finished chanting her longest and strongest spell, and instead of using it to attack the monster, she blasted a small hole through the stone door. Without hesitation, she sprang through it, sprinting away like a startled deer. The other girls followed, scrambling through the gap.
The monster growled, its attention snapping to the escaping prey, then tossed Anna to the side, crashing her against the walls. And charged with incredible speed toward the girls.
The last girl was still struggling to squeeze through the hole when a sudden numbness overtook her legs.
A heartbeat later—blood splattered everywhere.
The monster’s scythe had sliced through both of her legs.
She screamed, dragging herself through the gap in a futile attempt to run away, but once on the other side, she turned—her eyes widening in horror at the sight of her severed legs. Her cries of agony echoed through the stone corridor.
The monster slashed through the wall, sending debris crashing down on the injured girl, silencing her before sprinting after Lorraine, Cammy, and the other survivor.
Lorraine, gasping for breath, bolted up the stairs.
I just need to find other students. She thought.
If she could reach them, she could use them as distractions—throw them in the monster’s path as she makes her escape. But when she burst onto the main staircase, there was no one in sight.
Her heart pounded as she glanced back. The monster was closing in.
With a sudden, desperate motion, she shoved the other girl toward it and ran.
The girl’s eyes widened in sheer horror. She barely had time to scream before the scythe cleaved her in two. Her body collapsed in separate directions, blood and entrails staining the dungeon floor.
The monster turned to continue its hunt, but Lorraine and Cammy were already gone.
They ran until they finally burst out of the dungeon and into the camp. Without hesitation, they blended into the crowd.
Then the monster arrived.
Students barely had time to react before it flashed its scythe and sliced two of them in half instantly.
Screams erupted as panic spread. Students ran in every direction, some tripping in sheer terror.
Among them was Derick, one of Asher’s friends who struggled to flee, well, because of his weight. fгeewebnovёl.com
The scythe rose, ready to slice him too, but then a scalpel flew through the air, striking the monster’s skull and splitting it in two. But almost instantly, it reformed back to its original shape.
"Damn..." a voice muttered. "I was hoping to take you down in one strike."
Asher stepped forward, opposing the fleeing students, hands in his pockets, smirking.
The commotion jolted Sarah awake. She bolted out of her tent—without putting on her panties—rushing toward the scene.
As an A-rank hunter, she had a unique skill: Acceleration. Once activated, she could move at blinding speeds, earning her the nickname The Flash of Eldoria.
She dashed straight at the monster, aiming a powerful punch at its head—
It simply rose a little, her fist passing through it’s body. She stumbled, barely catching her footing, then yelled at the few startled students around.
"Everyone! Get away from here! This is an S-rank monster!"
The students scattered like frightened birds.
Except for Asher. He remained still, hands in his pockets.
"I said get the hell out of here, Ash—"
Before Sarah could finish, the monster’s scythe came down—aiming to cleave her in two.
CLANG!
A scalpel intercepted the attack.
Sarah’s eyes widened, seeing Asher in front of the monster, defending her.
How the hell did he move so fast?!
Even with her Acceleration skill, she hadn’t seen him move. It was as if he had disappeared and appeared right in front of her.
"Me? Run away, leaving a helpless hot teacher behind? Not a chance." Asher grinned, shoving the monster back.
[Appraisal Activated...]
[Monster Encountered: The Reaper]
[S-Rank Monster - No Physical Form Detected]
[Physical Attacks Ineffective]
[Magic Attacks Ineffective]
Asher chuckled, glancing at the monster.
"Not bad, scary-looking skeleton man. You’re pretty strong." He cracked his knuckles. "But I’ve fought stronger opponents!."
He charged, wielding only two scalpels in both hands. His movements blurred, each attack too fast for the human eye. The reaper’s scythe lashed out relentlessly, it’s attacks missing Asher and slicing through trees, completely destroying the vegetation around them.
But Asher wasn’t just dodging—he was studying it.
The monster’s body was covered in a tattered black cloak, but underneath it, a single glowing crystal floated, shifting positions constantly so he wouldn’t hit it.
That was its core.
With a final backflip, Asher smirked.
Sarah, still stunned on the ground, whispered, "Is this... a battle of gods?" With widened eyes.
"That was a good warm-up, skeleton boy." Asher said, cracking his neck. "But now, you die."
He reached into his pocket dimension, took out all of his scalpels, and suspended them in midair using wind magic.
With a flick of his fingers, the blades shot forward like bullets.
The reaper raised its scythe to block, deflecting them and when it raised its head—
Asher was gone.
He had vanished using his Stealth buff and a fraction of a second later, he reappeared behind it.
Before the reaper could react, Asher plunged his hand into its body, grabbing the shifting crystal—
CRACK!
He crushed it into pieces.
The reaper let out a chilling wail before disintegrating into nothing, leaving only its skeletal face behind.
Asher grabbed the skull and walked over to Sarah who was stunned, not seeing how her dress had risen upto her waist during her encounter with the reaper.
Asher whistled, glancing at her."
"I see.... you’re still not wearing panties?" He smirked.
Sarah’s face blushed as she instantly pulled her skirt down, covering her body.
"You pervet!" She grumbled, clenching her fist.
Asher chuckled.
As the students, who had been watching from a distance, erupted into applause, happy they got saved—
Some began to cry.
Two students lay on the ground, slashed to pieces.
Asher glanced around, his heart pounding—Anna was nowhere in sight. Panic surged through him as he rushed to Lorraine, who was nursing her own injuries.
"Where’s Anna?" he demanded urgently.
Lorraine didn’t even look at him. "No idea. Probably dead in the dungeon."
"Shit!" He cursed, then bolted toward the dungeon at breakneck speed.
TBC