Awakening of the Weakest Slayer

The creatures backed off, screeching because of the flame wall. Vesta didn't waste a second. She turned and sprinted after Sezel and Shiki, her boots pounding on the cracked pavement as they plunged deeper into the skeletal remains of the city. They ran, a desperate, ragged flight through a labyrinth of devastated houses and the looming, shadowed husks of what might have once been grand mansions.

Sezel was silent, fazed by the show of strength by Vesta, curiosity breeding in his mind. The flames were most certainly a manifestation from a powerful Fable. 'What Rank is she? If I were to guess, she is at least Rank 4.'

His gaze flickered to Shiki running in front of him. 'He too must be a Rank 4.' He was in the company of true, high-ranking Slayers.

The silence of the dead city was broken by the beasts that now followed behind them. The flame wall was not so much of an anchor after all. They were not the mindless common beasts. They flowed around it, using the dark, overgrown wilderness on either side of the road to flank them, their agile, dinosaur-like bodies closing the distance with terrifying speed.

Sezel gritted his teeth, boosting his speed. He was faltering, falling behind. One of the beasts, its eyes gleaming with predatory hunger, lunged at his leg. Sezel halted abruptly, his body twisting in a sharp, zig-zag motion, a desperate maneuver, that momentarily threw the creature off balance.

It helped him create some distance, but it was not getting him anywhere. The beasts were relentless.

Suddenly, the head of the closest Night Devil was severed from its body, a clean, silent cut that sent it tumbling to the ground in a spray of black blood. Another followed, then another, and another, and so on it continued—a blur of dark motion, a slight movement in wind, and the beasts' heads were cut clean.

Sezel and the others skidded to a halt, turning to witness the massacre unfolding behind them. Sezel felt a tremor pass through his body. Mari hid her face behind him, her body trembling in fear. He took a few steps back, gulping hard.

He knew instantly that whatever was doing this was infinitely more dangerous than the pack it was exterminating. "We need to run," he whispered, his gaze locked on the unfolding slaughter. Both Vesta and Shiki looked at him, their own faces a mask of shock and awe, and as he turned and started sprinting in the opposite direction, they followed without question.

"Wait—what?" Vesta tried to speak, but decided not to, seeing as how dangerous of a creature it was to kill other enhanced beasts like butter.

The last head fell to the ground behind them, its thud echoing with an unnerving finality through the corpse of the city.

For a moment, everything seemed to stop. Time slowed as a dark figure appeared in front of them out of nowhere, draped in the purple glow of the Spirit essence, its form glowing beneath the moonlight.

Sezel's feet skidded on the cracked pavement, his body barely maintaining its balance. His heart hammered against his ribs so hard he could hear the frantic rhythm in his ears. He knew that shape. He would recognize it even in the eternal dark. The red scythes, the insectile form.

The device in his pocket chimed on cue, as if to make sure he was thinking correctly.

[Enhanced beast - Flesh Reaper detected]

[Rank - 5]

The number was like a practical death sentence. 'Rank 5?' His mind went blank. His body moved on its own, a reflexive, terrified retreat that took him past Vesta and Shiki before he even realized he was moving. They too were frozen, their faces pale with a dawning, crippling horror.

A Rank-4 Flesh Reaper had nearly sent him to the afterlife. The difference between the strength of ranks was vast. Two Rank-4s wouldn't make up for a Rank-5. That was how things were. The speed and strength the beast had just displayed in its effortless massacre was all the proof he needed.

But he had allies now, and not just some nobodies. They were strong and experienced, more than him at least.

Sezel inhaled sharply as he put Mari down, who clung to his leg tightly, not wanting to part for some reason.

Vesta and Shiki had already alerted, their swords drawn, and with a flash of supersonic speed, the beast vanished. "Down," Sezel shouted as his instincts screamed.

Vesta and Shiki's eyes widened. Miraculously, they obeyed. They ducked low in the fraction of a second they had, and a thin, crimson blade passed over their heads in a blur of motion, sending gusts of wind all around.

The beast reappeared behind them, but this time, its void-like eyes were fixed on Sezel. 'Shit, why did I even get back from them?' The beast's eyes fixed on him—or somewhere else, it was hard to tell. Its pristine, black chitin glinted in the moonlight, polished to a mirror-like sheen.

Sezel gripped his katana, his knuckles white. Mari trembled behind him. The beast's stance shifted, coiling for a strike. But before it could move, Vesta and Shiki were upon it, their blades a silver blur as they closed in from either side in a classic pincer attack.

CLANG!

The sound resonated far and wide, a shriek of metal on chitin. Their swords clashed with its scythes, and the monster stood between them, completely unfazed. With an easy and almost effortless outward motion of its scythe, it sent both of them sprawling in the dust.

Sezel's breathing intensified. The beast's head turned toward him again, but Sezel was nowhere to be found. He was gone from its line of sight.

The monster stood there, confused. In that moment of hesitation, Vesta was already back on her feet and upon the monster, her sword gleaming red under the moon's oppressive cold gaze.

The beast sensed the sudden, immense pressure, a power so great that even it deemed it wise to get out of the way.

Sezel moved silently through the shadows, reaching Shiki, who was struggling to stand, his leg bruised and possibly broken. He gently pushed Mari towards him. "Take care of her," he said, his voice a low, urgent command. Mari was too terrified to even speak.

Sezel then turned, his full attention on the brawl between Vesta and the monster. He watched as they exchanged blows, a deadly dance of fire and shadow. Then, he stretched one of his hands out, his palm open. Shiki looked at him with confusion, but then his pupils shrank, his face a mask of disbelief.