Awakening of the Weakest Slayer

The Rank-5 Flesh Reaper was defeated, it didn't take much time in doing that. Sezel was just grateful he'd had Vesta and Shiki by his side. Alone, he couldn't imagine how he would have saved himself, let alone Mari.

Suddenly, Vesta's seemingly unbreakable composure shattered. She fell to her knees, her sword biting into the cracked pavement as she used it to support her weight. Her breathing was heavy, and beads of sweat dripped from her brow onto the dusty road. The use of her powers drained her much faster.

Sezel scrambled forward and reached her. He gave a quick, almost covetous glance at the massive corpse of the Flesh Reaper. Vesta had killed it; the evolution points, the prize, were hers. He wouldn't be the kind of man who would steal another's haul, so he left the corpse alone.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice low as he offered a helping hand.

She looked up, her ruby eyes meeting his for a brief moment. He could see the exhaustion in them. She took his hand, her grip surprisingly firm, and pushed herself upright. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said, her voice a little strained. "Just a little tired."

It was an obvious lie, but Sezel wasn't going to press the issue. His own pain from earlier was slowly fading. He was lucky he hadn't broken a bone. Or perhaps it was more than luck. He could feel it, a subtle but undeniable change in his own body. It was sturdier, more resilient than before.

The impact wasn't weak, he would have certainly broken his spine if it was just a few days ago, but it's like being here had strengthened his build. He pushed the thought aside. He would analyze it later.

Shiki and Mari emerged from behind a nearby tree. Shiki hobbled, his left leg clearly bruised, or worst possible case, even broken. Mari, however, sprinted forward as soon as she caught sight of Sezel and threw her arms around his waist. A low yelp of pain escaped Sezel's lips, but he managed a weak smile and patted her on the head.

Shiki halted beside them, a moment of silence passing between the two men. "Your Fable is strong," he finally said, a note of genuine admiration in his voice.

"Thanks," Sezel replied, his tone carefully casual. "But it's just a Black Fable." He couldn't tell them the truth. He knew exactly what would happen the moment he said it's a Golden Fable—he would collapse, gasping. Just like the last time when he tried to reveal it to Raelion. So he would avoid as much of it as he could.

Shiki, half-convinced by the puppet's underwhelming performance against the Rank-5, didn't press any further. Sezel's attention then shifted to the gruesome tableau of Night Devil corpses littering the road like some graveyard.

He had to absorb them, but it was not safe to do so without looking at how other slayers absorbed the cores. He walked back to where Vesta was standing, carefully observing as she approached the corpse of the Flesh Reaper.

She was about to put her hands on the beast but halted midway. She stood up straight, her head tilted as if listening to something only she could hear. After a moment of intense concentration, she spoke, her voice filled with a new urgency. "Around fourteen beasts or humans are closing in from the east, and about ten from the south."

Sezel hadn't noticed a thing. Impressive, he thought, a Rank-5 Slayer's senses are on another level. But he was also disappointed. He had wanted to witness how she absorbed the core, and the biggest question yet, would the corpse disappear, like it does when Sezel absorbs the core?

"Absorb one beast's core, both of you," Vesta commanded, her voice snapping him back to attention. "Get healed, and then let's get out of here as soon as we can."

Sezel and Shiki followed her order, walking over to the dead Night Devils. Shiki went first, placing his hands on one of the corpses. The process was similar to Sezel's. A faint light, a subtle transfer of energy. But his other fear came true. The corpse didn't dissipate.

Now, Sezel was wary. The question now was how would he hide his ability? There was no way he could risk absorbing a core in front of them. He simply stood by, pretending to inspect the bodies.

After the absorption was complete, Shiki stood up, his usual cheerful smile back on his face, his leg completely healed. "Go on, absorb one," he said, gesturing to another corpse.

Sezel nodded hesitantly. "Yeah, I will," he said, buying time. "I can't sit, my leg is a bit stiff."

As if on cue, Vesta called out to Shiki, asking for his assistance with something. He immediately sprinted off to join her.

Sezel let out a breath of relief he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He instantly crouched down and placed his hands on the nearest Night Devil. The absorption process went smoothly, and the pain in his gut slowly went away. The corpse disappeared into thin air, like it had never been there, only leaving a patch of blood.

Why does the body get dissipated when I absorb it? he wondered. Maybe because he had a Golden Fable, but that didn't justify anything.

By then, Vesta and Shiki had finished whatever they were doing and called for him. He slowly caught up with them. Mari, it seemed, was now comfortable enough with Vesta.

Vesta held a small ball of black mass in her hands, about 8 centimeters in diameter.

"What is this?" Sezel asked, curious as the ball looked awfully familiar.

"It's the core of the Flesh Reaper," Vesta replied. "I'm not injured, so I'll keep it for later use."

Sezel's eyes narrowed. This was new. He hadn't known it was possible to extract a core without absorbing it. It was likely a technique known only to the elite.

Soon, the footsteps around them closed in, the sound louder and audible now. They didn't have much time. Vesta carefully placed the core in her bag, and then, as one, they fled, leaving the corpses behind as a tempting distraction for whatever was coming for them.