The five heroes moved instantly.
Without warning, they attacked all at once from different directions, trying to take down the White Reaper in a single combined strike.
But...
"He... vanished!?"
In the blink of an eye, the White Reaper's figure disappeared from sight.
Like a shadow melting into the night, his body vanished without a sound.
They froze for a moment. And in that moment...
THUD!!
Other shadows emerged from the darkness.
The members of Nocturne Eclipse attacked simultaneously, swift, coordinated, and deadly. Anyone could see: this wasn't ordinary power. This was magic moving like the will of the night.
"DAMN IT!!"
One of the heroes blocked an attack, his breath ragged.
"THEY'RE SO STRONG!!"
Blood splattered. Screams echoed.
The calm night air turned into a killing field in mere seconds.
The heroes began to falter, unprepared to face enemies moving like thick fog... untouchable, unstoppable.
And amidst those shadows...
The White Reaper watched it all.
Calm.
Still.
With a faint smile at the corner of his lips.
As if… this was only the beginning of the real performance.
Fenya leapt into the battlefield, her claws slashing through the night air.
Her movements were fast, feral... like a predator's shadow that light could never catch.
The five heroes reacted quickly. They jumped back and raised their weapons.
One of them spat on the ground and shouted loudly:
"FILTHY MONSTER!! YOU'D BE BETTER OFF AS OUR SLAVE!!"
Those words sliced through the air like a dagger piercing the chest.
Fenya froze.
The eyes that had once shone with fire dimmed… hollow… as if the light inside her had been forcefully extinguished.
"...Monster?" she whispered softly.
The air instantly grew tense.
An invisible aura began to rise from Fenya's body, wrapping her in unbearable fury.
She wasn't just a subordinate of the White Reaper.
She was rage born from betrayal and the wounds of the past.
Fenya's past...
Back then... I only wanted to live like any other human.
But the truth was... I was a half-beast.
"FILTHY MONSTER!!"
"HIS FATHER WAS A KILLER!! SO HE PROBABLY IS TOO!!"
Their voices… the villagers.
They hated me even before I could speak.
But… I never wanted to be like my father.
All I ever wished for... was a peaceful life.
But that hope... was destroyed.
My village was attacked by humans.
All I could do was run, my tiny body trembling, my breath ragged.
"RUN, FENYA!! I'LL HOLD THEM OFF!!"
My father shouted, standing between us and the hunters.
I wanted to stay. But I was forced to live.
I saw it, my father being stabbed from every direction. His body collapsed.
"FATHER!!"
I screamed as loud as I could. But no one cared.
After that, I was captured.
Made a slave.
By humans… by those who called themselves "heroes."
Sold. Beaten.
Treated like filthy trash that could be discarded anytime.
Day after day... all I wished for was death.
But then that night came.
I saw him.
Someone stood atop the hero's fortress.
His black cloak fluttered in the night wind. His gaze… calm, yet piercing.
Not a hero. Not a demon.
He was… a shadow.
White Reaper.
I… couldn't take my eyes off him.
He crushed those arrogant heroes without mercy.
And when the body of my "master" fell lifeless...
He turned his eyes toward me.
I blacked out that night.
But... for the first time in my life...
Someone saw me.
Not as a monster. But as a being worthy of life.
From that night on...
I wanted to follow him.
I wanted to fight against this rotten world… together with the White Reaper.
Back to the present.
"I'LL SHOW YOU MY TRUE POWER!!"
Fenya shouted boldly.
Without hesitation, she charged at the heroes.
"STUPID MONSTER!! YOU THINK YOU CAN DEFEAT US!?" one of them shouted mockingly.
But their bodies were scratched.
Blood dripped. Light, but real.
Fenya's attacks couldn't be underestimated.
She leapt back, her breathing steady.
She knew… this wasn't the time to end it.
And from within the shadows...
He appeared.
A man in a black suit, a purple-tinted sword in hand.
White Reaper.
"Nice performance, Fenya," he said calmly.
Fenya turned quickly, her eyes sparkling.
"Thank you, Boss!!" she replied with a pure smile, like a child just praised.
White Reaper raised his sword.
"But… for this act, I'll be the one to close the curtain."
Without needing a command, all members of Nocturne Eclipse retreated.
They knew… the main stage belonged to the Reaper.
White Reaper stepped forward.
"Now then..."
his cold voice echoed calmly.
"Face me. All of you… at once."
"Heh… you think we're that weak?"
One of the heroes hissed, full of rage.
"YOU'LL REGRET THIS, WHITE REAPER!!"
They all lunged together.
White Reaper merely smiled faintly.
"Heh..."
His low voice was like a promise of slaughter.
In an instant, White Reaper dashed forward.
The White Blade gleamed under the moonlight. With a single lightning-fast swing...
BOOM!!
Two heroes fell instantly.
Blood flowed, their lives fading in silence.
Only two remained.
With effortless movement, White Reaper raised his sword high.
A white-purple aura enveloped the blade.
"DEATH BLOOM."
The skill erupted like a bloom of death under a somber light.
One hero couldn't dodge. His body exploded, vanishing in mere seconds.
One left...
The final hero, trembling yet burning with hatred, jumped to attack.
"DAMN YOU!!!"
White Reaper lightly leapt, spinning behind him.
Then, a fierce kick slammed into the hero's stomach.
THUD!!
The body was sent flying, crashing into ruins.
He wasn't dead... but he wouldn't rise again.
White Reaper turned around.
Standing tall in the darkness, surrounded by his soldiers.
His gaze was sharp.
That faint smile still lingered on his lips.
"Tell the whole world..."
he said slowly.
"That the White Reaper… will be a threat to you all."
And in the blink of an eye...
They vanished into the shadows of the night.
End of chapter.