Awakening of the Weakest Slayer

Mari slowly opened her eyes and then she froze all over again. The scene before her was the least expected thing she could have possibly imagined.

The scythe of the Flesh Reaper, which had been moments away from cleaving her in two, was stopped mid-way, its deadly descent halted by another scythe. The blades clashed against each other. The second scythe was not the pure, obsidian black of the Flesh Reaper's chitin, but a swirling, ethereal mixture of purple and black energy.

Mari's eyes widened with a dawning realization. It was Sezel's puppet. A wave of relief flooded her features has her gaze staggered back to Sezel, but to her surprise, he was still busy with his crude axe, his back to her, his attention completely focused on the glowing purple crystals at his feet.

He had never looked back. Not even after the loud, jarring clash of scythes. Not just him. No one had faltered. The other beasts, and the other humans, were all still lost in their work, their movements the repetitive and mindless as if that was the last thing remaining in the world.

This realization made the scene even more unimaginable. If Sezel hadn't ordered his puppet to act, then… did it act on its own? Did it save her?

The real Flesh Reaper tried to exert more pressure, its monstrous muscles straining as it pushed its scythe forward. But the spectral Flesh Reaper's scythe didn't even bulge. The difference in their strength was clear. The puppet was taller, its form more imposing.

But the mindless beast didn't back off, It raised its scythe again, preparing for another attack. The puppet did the same, and the two scythes clashed again, the sound of chitin on chitin resonating through the vast, empty factory, a sharp, metallic ring that sent a cloud of dust and debris swirling around them.

The puppet perfectly countered this attack as well, its form unmoving. It was obvious that the spectral Flesh Reaper possessed more raw power, but it was at a distinct disadvantage. Sezel's puppet had lost a scythe back when they had first entered the city, and the wound had not yet healed.

The real Flesh Reaper had two big, wicked scythes in its arsenal. One of them was now locked with the puppet's only scythe, leaving the other side of the puppet wide open for an attack.

The creature took the chance and drove its other scythe towards it. But the spectral Flesh Reaper, with a movement that was both impossibly fast and impossibly graceful, slowly guided its own scythe downwards, an almost imperceptible shift that made the two scythes of the real Flesh Reaper collide with each other.

Mari was dazed, her mind struggling to process the fight that was unfolding before her. It didn't seem like Sezel's puppet was mindless at all. Its movements were not the raw, instinctual actions of a predator. It was fighting like a professional, its every move was calculated, deliberate counter to its opponent's frenzied assault.

The real Flesh Reaper was stunned for a few seconds as its own scythes clashed together, the impact sending a jarring shockwave through its body. The puppet took this chance and closed the distance between them.

Before the creature could even look towards the spectral Flesh Reaper, the scythe made up of purple and black pulsing energy descended towards it like an arc of end. The real Flesh Reaper, acting completely on its predatory senses, threw both of its arms up in a desperate attempt to block the attack, to save itself.

SLASH!

One of the creature's scythes, along with a fair length of its arm, fell to the ground with a wet, sickening thud. A stream of fresh, black blood erupted from the severed limb, spattering across the floor.

The monster screeched, a high-pitched, agonizing sound that was filled with both pain and fury, and stumbled back. Its empty, soulless eyes were now locked onto the taller, spectral Flesh Reaper in front of it. With a desperate surge of fury, it lunged forward, its one remaining scythe raised for a final, suicidal attack.

If someone had to gauge their strength, the Flesh Reaper was a Rank-3, and Sezel's puppet was a Rank-4. And though it was just a single rank difference, they were miles apart.

Sezel's puppet, disappeared into thin air just as the Flesh Reaper closed in. It reappeared right behind the creature, its single scythe already in motion. The creature, tried to stop, to turn around. But before it could, a furious, silent slash made a clean, perfect cut through its neck.

The head fell down from its shoulders and rolled a few times before coming to a stop nearby, its empty eyes staring up at the broken, skeletal roof of the factory. The lifeless body slowly, leapt down, its fall cushioned by the thick, tangled wilderness that covered the ground below, and a pool of black ichor began to form under it.

The puppet, who had killed the wild Flesh Reaper ever so easily, jerked its scythe free of the creature's flesh and turned to Mari, who was still frozen on the ground. Its void-like eyes were fixed on the little girl as it slowly, moved towards her.

Mari's gaze was fixed on the corpse of the dead Flesh Reaper, her mind a numb, blank slate. She didn't even notice the puppet come and sit close to her, like a bodyguard.

Sezel was busy harvesting the Spirit Essence with his axe, when suddenly the metallic voice rings out in his head out of nowhere, startling him.

[Congratulations You have Slain a Flesh Reaper]

Sezel's eyes widened, 'What? i have slain a Flesh Reaper? When?' He was confused. He hadn't moved a single step, hadn't even looked up from his work, and the voice had announced such a thing.

Not even once did the thought of his puppet cross his mind. After a while of pondering over the matter, he just left it aside, marking it as a strange, unexplainable mistake.

The spectral Flesh Reaper sat beside Mari. When she finally came out of her trance-like state and looked at the creature, she was afraid. But the fear soon began to subside as she watched the puppet's strange, wild actions.

It slowly, gently, pushed the water bottle that had slipped from her hands towards her. And its face… its smooth, featureless, ethereal face… it was as if it were trying to smile, trying to comfort the small, terrified girl.

How could a mindless creature be able to do such a thing? Just days ago, this same creature had been a terrifying, uncontrollable monster, a being of pure, unthinking aggression that had almost killed her and Sezel.

But now… now it was as if it were a different entity altogether.

Suddenly, Sezel walked up to them, his crimson eyes fixed on the dead Flesh Reaper's body. He squinted, his brow furrowed as he analyzed the scene, a sense of a missing piece, of a forgotten memory, nagging at the back of his mind.

'I am definitely forgetting something' he thought, a strange, unsettling feeling coiling in his gut.

But it is as if the memory is hazy and blurred, lost in the back of my mind.