The creature's gaze locked onto her. It didn't growl; it exhaled a distorted, metallic whisper that seemed to vibrate inside Yuna's skull.
"…Empress…"
Yuna's eyes narrowed, her grip tightening on her hilt. "What…?"
It moved. Not a run, not a dash—it simply ceased to be where it was.
Yuna's instincts screamed. She threw herself backward.
**SLASH—!**
The ground where she had stood a millisecond ago split apart. It wasn't a crater; it was a clean, surgical cut deep into the earth. Before Yuna's feet even touched the dirt again, the air behind her neck turned ice-cold.
"Too fast—!"
She twisted mid-air, her blade meeting a black steel scythe.
**CLANG—!**
The impact was violent. The sheer force sent a shockwave through Yuna's marrow, pushing her back until her boots furrowed deep into the dirt. There was no pause. The Slasher vanished again—a blur of grey skin and rusted metal. Left. Right. Gone.
**SLASH—!**
Yuna ducked. An ancient oak tree behind her was sheared in half as if it were a blade of grass. As the timber crashed down, she rolled and came back to her feet, her breathing steady but her mind racing.
*It's not just strong. It's hunting me.*
The Slasher appeared directly in front of her, its flaming eyes burning inches from her own.
**SWING—!**
Yuna blocked, but the weight of the blow cracked the ground beneath her. She slid back, her muscles screaming under the pressure. Then, the demon did something impossible—it adjusted the angle of its scythe mid-swing.
**SLASH—!**
A clean line opened across Yuna's shoulder. Blood spilled, hot and red, against the cool night air. She jumped back, creating distance, her breath hitching.
*It learns. It's reading me.*
The Slasher tilted its skeletal head, watching the blood drip from its blade. Then, with a low growl, it rushed again. Faster.
Yuna's hand moved. Her blade began to glow with a faint, ghostly light, and a thick, freezing mist started to bleed from the steel.
"Cryo…"
She stepped forward, meeting the demon head-on.
**CLASH—!**
Steel met scythe. Ice spread instantly along the demon's weapon, freezing the air between them into a solid block. For a heartbeat, they were locked in a stalemate of raw power.
Then, the Slasher did something terrifying. It grinned. A twisted, unnatural stretch of grey flesh. Its strength surged, and the ice shattered like glass.
**BOOM—!**
Yuna was thrown back, landing hard and rolling until she stopped on one knee.
"…This is bad…"
In the distance, Andrew and his party finally arrived. They stood frozen, the Mage's staff trembling in her hand.
"Don't rush in!" Andrew roared. "You'll just get in her way!"
Yuna stood slowly, blood staining her tunic. The charm at her side was no longer just warm—it was burning. The Slasher stepped forward with the calm, predatory confidence of a creature that had already won.
"YOUR PIECES…" it hissed, its voice tearing through the silence. "WILL BE OFFERED TO THE ALMIGHTY EMPRESS."
Yuna didn't flinch. A small, dangerous smirk touched her lips.
"Why not I send your ugly head back to your Empress instead?"
Her eyes shifted, glowing a brilliant, icy sapphire. The temperature in the clearing plummeted. Frost raced across the grass, turning the battlefield into a graveyard of white.
"Cryo Style… Haze."
She vanished.
**WHOOSH—!**
A burst of freezing wind exploded outward, and a thick, impenetrable white mist swallowed the village square. The Slasher stopped, its red eyes scanning the void.
**CLANG—!**
Yuna struck from the fog—fast, precise. The Slasher blocked, but it was a fraction of a second too late. A shallow cut opened across its side, spilling dark, steaming blood. It staggered.
Yuna was a ghost. She appeared, struck, and vanished before the demon could counter.
**SLASH—!** From the left.
**CLANG—!** From above.
The Slasher swung wildly, cutting through nothing but mist.
"What happened?" Yuna's voice echoed from every direction. "Can't see me anymore?"
The demon's growl turned into a roar. It stopped moving, closing its eyes, listening to the swirl of the haze. Yuna moved for the kill, aiming straight for its neck.
**SLASH—!**
The Slasher turned at the final moment. Sparks flew as ice cracked against steel. Their faces were inches apart again—freezing blue against burning red.
"YOU…" the demon growled. "YOU CARRY HER MARK."
The charm at Yuna's side burned white-hot.
"What?"
**BOOM—!**
The demon's strength exploded, blasting the mist away instantly. Yuna was thrown back, sliding across the ground as the advantage of the haze evaporated. The Slasher stood tall, wounded but wearing a twisted, knowing smile.
Flames erupted along its scythe—not orange, but a deep, blood-red. It vanished.
**WHOOSH—!**
It was on her in an instant. Yuna's eyes widened, but before the blade could connect—
**CLANG—!**
Shield Guy stepped in, his massive shield taking the full, bone-shattering force. "NGH—! It's heavy!"
**SLASH—!**
Andrew dashed in from the flank, his sword redirecting the scythe's arc. "Don't let it focus on one target!"
The Mage raised her staff. "Move!"
**ZAP—!**
A bolt of lightning struck the Slasher, staggering it just enough for Shield Guy to shove it back. In the rear, the Healer knelt by Yuna, her hands glowing with warm, restorative light.
"Stay still!"
Yuna watched them. *They jumped in.*
The Slasher stood again, unfazed. Its eyes scanned the group. "MORE… OFFERINGS."
It rushed the Mage. **CLANG!** Shield Guy intercepted. Andrew struck from behind, but the Slasher twisted mid-motion, blocking with the hilt of its scythe.
Yuna stood up, the healing light fading. Her grip on her katana was iron. "No," she breathed. "This isn't your fight. It came for me."
The Slasher's gaze snapped back to her. The team regrouped, forming a line.
"It might have come for you," Andrew said, his voice steady. "But right now—we are a team."
The Slasher laughed. A low, distorted sound. "EXACTLY! THE MOMENT YOU INTERFERED—YOU SEALED YOUR FATE WITH HER!"
It slammed its scythe into the ground.
**BOOM—!**
Dark red energy spread like burning blood through the cracks in the earth. The Slasher's body began to pulse and expand. It grew larger, more monstrous.
"MOVE—!" Andrew screamed.
A red arc of energy tore through the air, splitting the trees behind them and igniting the forest into a wall of flame. The safe space was gone. The heat was suffocating.
The team attacked together. Relentless. But the Slasher was adapting. It moved like a blur, deflecting Andrew and catching Yuna's blade mid-swing.
**CLANG—!**
The force exploded. Andrew was thrown back; Yuna staggered, her footing lost. The Slasher stepped in for the kill.
**SLASH—!**
Yuna twisted away, but the impact sent her spinning to the ground. Her grip loosened for a fraction of a second.
The red charm slipped free. It spun slowly through the air.
**Tap.**
It hit the ground. Silence fell over the burning forest. The Slasher froze. Its burning eyes shifted, locking onto the charm with a terrifying, reverent hunger.
"…THE MARK…" it whispered.
It stepped toward the charm, slow and deliberate. It bent down and picked it up, pressing the red surface against its forehead.
**BOOM—!**
A violent surge of dark energy exploded, forcing everyone back. The Slasher's body began to stretch and tear. Its grey flesh collapsed until nothing remained but a complete, bleached skull burning with internal fire.
A tattered, dark cloak formed from the shadows. Its frame towered over them, a monstrous skeletal figure. From the flames in its hands, a second scythe manifested. Two blades. Both burning red. Both alive.
Mage Girl stepped back, her hands shaking. "Oh… Lord…"
Andrew's voice dropped, heavy with dread. "Not just A Rank. This is… S+."
The creature lifted its head, the air trembling under its presence. This wasn't a hunter anymore.
"That's not a Slasher," Andrew whispered. "That's… **The Executioner.**"
The creature stepped forward, its scythes dragging burning trails through the dirt.
"THE EMPRESS… WILL BE PLEASED."
Yuna stared, the realization chilling her blood. *This is because of the charm.*
The mission was over. The execution had begun.