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.
