Realm Lord
Chapter 65: The Reaper of the Roses (4)

Chapter 65: The Reaper of the Roses (4)

Arthur hit the ground hard, the impact forcing what little air remained in his lungs out in a pained gasp. Every nerve in his body screamed in protest, his muscles spasming uncontrollably. All his hair stood firm as if pulled by invisible strings, and his skin tingled with residual electricity that danced across his flesh. The world spun around him, thunder still echoing in his ringing ears.

The shock was delayed as he tried to get his bearings, his mind struggling to process what had just happened. His vision swam, darkness threatening to claim him, but he fought against unconsciousness with stubborn determination. Soon enough, he used what little strength he had left to prop himself up on trembling elbows, then push into a sitting position to see what had happened to Aziel.

His jaw hung low, mouth falling open in speechless awe when he saw the aftermath of the lightning strike. The scene before him defied belief, like something torn from ancient legends rather than the grim reality he had known moments before.

There were dead grimhounds scattering the ground in every direction, their corrupted bodies splayed at unnatural angles. And those were just the ones that weren’t immediately turned to ash—many had simply ceased to exist, leaving behind nothing but scorch marks on the sodden earth to prove they had ever been there at all.

At the epicenter of the destruction was a small crater, perfectly circular as if carved by divine hands. The ground was crystallized, dirt transformed to glass by the unimaginable heat of the lightning strike. And at the center of that crater stood a man...

His friend’s blue hair now stood firm, electrified and luminous, a much lighter complexion than before—almost white with power that seemed to pulse. His eyes, once a deep azure, now glowed with electric blue light that cut through the darkness. His entire body was covered in dancing arcs of lightning that crawled across his skin, occasionally leaping outward to strike the ground around him.

The spear in his hand stood tall and menacing. Lightning coiled around the shaft and concentrated at the tip, ready to be unleashed at his command. He gave off a presence that made it hard to breathe, the air around him charged and heavy with ozone. Power radiated from him in palpable waves, each pulse making Arthur’s dark sense tingle with recognition of something primal and untamed.

’What the hell...’ Arthur was in shock, his mind racing to comprehend the transformation before him. ’What just happened? Was it the lightning strike... did it recharge him? Awaken something?’

Arthur slowly brought himself up to his feet, muscles protesting every inch of the way, for a moment oblivious to everything around him besides his transformed friend. Hope kindled in his chest, a dangerous flame that threatened to blind him to the reality of their situation.

But suddenly something else took his attention, dragging him back to the dire circumstances they still faced. All the beasts around them... the ones lying dead on the floor, the grimhounds they had just killed with such effort and sacrifice... began to rise again.

The nightmarish resurrection happened in stages. First, severed limbs twitched and crawled across the muddied ground as if guided by unseen hands. Then bodies rolled over, black ichor seeping back into wounds that began to close before Arthur’s disbelieving eyes. The ones severed in two reconnected their bodies, black tendrils of corruption reaching out to bind the separated parts together once more. The ones with burnt-off limbs regrew what was gone.

They all rose one by one, shaking off death as if it were merely an inconvenience, and soon all the progress they had made had been for naught. The battlefield reset to its original state, except for the transformed Aziel and the increasingly fatigued Arthur.

Arthur scanned the field with a dejected look, his eyes light and distant almost as if he no longer had the strength to feel the anger or despair from only moments ago. The emotional toll of hope raised and dashed repeatedly had left him hollow, operating on nothing but the most basic instinct to survive.

"Well shit..." he muttered, the crude words somehow insufficient to capture the magnitude of their predicament.

But as Arthur was scanning the field, he felt something shift in the atmosphere around them. The air grew even heavier, charged with potential that made his skin prickle and the hair on his arms stand on end. Quickly his attention was placed back on Aziel, who seemed to be protruding so much electricity it looked like he might explode at any moment.

The air was turning thick with his presence, becoming difficult to breathe as if the oxygen itself was being consumed by the power emanating from his friend. Blue-white arcs jumped between raindrops, creating ephemeral patterns of light that vanished as quickly as they appeared.

’How much stronger did that make him?’ Arthur wondered, allowing himself to contemplate the impossible. ’C-can we win?’ The thought formed unbidden, but reality crashed down immediately after. ’No,’ Arthur knew that even with Aziel’s new power-up they could still not beat an abomination.

But even still, the way Aziel stood, with shoulders squared and head held high, the determined expression on his face—it made Arthur feel hope despite his better judgment. It was a dangerous feeling, but one he couldn’t suppress as he watched his friend practically vibrate with newfound power.

Soon Aziel glanced to his right where grimhounds were moving in to attack, their corrupted forms loping across the battlefield with single-minded purpose. Yet Aziel didn’t move... not an inch. He stood perfectly still, as if waiting for something, or perhaps testing the limits of his new abilities.

Arthur was confused, concern creasing his brow as he watched. ’What the hell is he doing?’ The grimhound approached with frightening speed, jaws wide and claws extended, ready to tear Aziel apart. Arthur wanted to shout a warning, but his voice failed him, trapped in his throat as he watched what seemed like certain death approach his friend.

But just as the hound was only centimeters from Aziel’s face, something impossible happened. Aziel vanished in a burst of lighting, leaving behind only the afterimage of his form burned into Arthur’s vision. He reappeared only a couple feet past the grimhound... which shuddered once before exploding into black mist, as if its very molecules had been torn apart from within.

’U-unbelievable,’ Arthur could only watch in awe as Aziel started his onslaught against the reanimated grimhounds. He vanished and reappeared repeatedly, taking with him the life of a grimhound each time. He zipped around the battlefield in bursts of lightning, leaving death and dissolution in his wake. The battlefield became illuminated by his movements, brief flashes of blue-white light marking each kill.

He was unstoppable, a force of nature rather than a man, dealing death faster than Arthur’s eyes could follow.

For a moment, Arthur allowed himself to believe they might survive this after all. But then he felt it immediately—something was wrong. It was a feeling like what he had experienced right before the lightning strike, only this one made him want to puke... to cry. It felt like he was feeling someone else’s bottomless malice, an ancient hatred so profound it threatened to crush his soul under its weight.

With goosebumps erupting across his skin and cold dread pooling in his stomach, Arthur slowly turned his head to the culprit... the Reaper. The hooded figure had stopped its leisurely approach and now stood absolutely still, its scythe being raised high above its head as if preparing for an attack. The blade caught what little light remained in the storm-darkened battlefield, gleaming with malevolent purpose.

’No... he’s making a move.’

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