Chapter 15: - Grim Reaper
A day ago...
Deep within the repository of the Kingdom of Grimley, a keeper was inspecting the phylacteries that were filed on numerous shelves. At the deepest area, there were sixteen phylacteries arranged in a circle surrounding four which are arranged in a square, these four surround three arranged in a triangle which surrounds one more phylactery at the center.
The sixteen represented the heroes of the kingdom; The four represented the four heads of the vineyard families; The three represented the heads of the Red Rose Family, the Black Sword Family, and the White Spear Family; and finally, the phylactery at the center represented the King of Grimley.
These phylacteries contain a very small portion of the lifeblood of the personages, to monitor their conditions in real-time. The keeper in charge was tasked to monitor the war situation and report the conditions of the heroes to the higher-ups.
Suddenly, a phylactery started to crack, and the lifeblood inside evaporated which surprised the Keeper. This meant that the owner of the lifeblood had died. However, the keeper knew that the army was not supposed to arrive at the target location yet.
He quickly reported this to his head who in turn reported it to the king.
Within the throne room, not counting the 2 guards at each of the entrances, there were 6 people in total. Aside from the head of the repository, there was the king and 4 heroes guarding him called the kingsguard.
"Edge? How unfortunate." The king said coldly.
The head keeper of the repository was still kneeling a distance away from the throne but he could feel a chill in the atmosphere that seemingly struck his core.
He could not breathe.
At this moment, a brawny man standing at the left of the King motioned to speak: "Perhaps we should send back-up, my liege."
The king closed his eyes and nodded, restraining the pressure he exuded.
With the chilling atmosphere lifted, the head keeper of the repository took heavy breaths and coughed a few times, frightened at the thought that he could have died if not for the hero.
Seeing the man steadying his breath, the brawny man gave an order: "Contact Hevan and Caylin. They are to reinforce the advanced army and tell them to make haste."
"Yes, your excellency." The head keeper said as he hurriedly left the room.
"Will they be enough?" Another one of the 4 heroes asked.
The brawny man nodded solemnly. "They are the nearest. The others won't be able to reach the battlefield in time."
…
On a road a distance away from Castle Nalva, a fourth of Grimley's army was marching towards it while the rest stayed a distance away.
These soldiers were not there to battle the Demon Lord. They were there to lay siege to the castle and rescue survivors before retaking it. However, the detachment specialized in fighting against demons must defeat their target first.
Finally reaching a distance from the Castle Gate, Drago signaled the detachment to stop.
Drago moved forward alone and took a deep breath. "VILE DEMON! COME OUT AND FACE ME!"
…
Deep within the castle, Alzeius woke up from his slumber annoyed.
"Noisy…" Alzeius complained as he was rubbing his eyes and yawning.
He was about to adhere to the request when he noticed something as he expanded his senses.
"I see you are prepared." He muttered under his breath and smiled.
…
Outside the castle, Drago was patiently waiting for a response. He wanted to try minimizing the damage to the castle so that the restoration process would be easier. However, if the Demon Lord refused to meet him outside, he would not hesitate to launch a siege.
The whole time, the Archmage Arissef had his senses expanded, allowing him to observe all fluctuations of mana in the surroundings. For a while now, he has already locked on a massive clump of mana within the castle's throne room but to his dismay, it did not seem to have any intention to move.
He was about to report his findings to Drago when suddenly, multiple signals of mana fluctuations erupted simultaneously, surrounding the army.
"WE ARE SURROUNDED!" Arissef lost his calm at his discovery. The fluctuations were visible to him but when he looked around, there wasn't anything visible, which confused him greatly.
"TURTLE UP!" Drago ordered the detachment to assume a defensive position that protected it from ambushes. Shield Bearers were at the front most encirclement of the army, providing a defense line from all directions.
The four heroes were alert but could not help breaking out in cold sweat. Arissef's warning sounded dire and was very rare for him to react in such a way. They could only imagine what he must have sensed to which only a few who were blessed with magic could see. Although Drago could now spot anomalous mana in the area, he was not on the level of Edge or Arissef. The only reason why he sensed Zex's [Evil Eye] back then was because of his sensing skill which only activates when a skill or an intent is targeted towards him.
Everyone in the army was tensed up, awaiting the first clash. Every second that passed, the pressure was building up, and some were even having the urge to ask if it was a false alarm. Even Arissef was doubting his judgment after what seemed to be a significant amount of time passing without any movement. However, the mana fluctuations he was sensing were not weak and his senses were screaming danger. After all, the lives of these soldiers were not worth risking. Each of these soldiers has families to go home to. He could not bear the guilt of them losing their lives just because of his complacency.
Brius already prepared his cannon and was ready for anyone bold enough to show themselves first. His eyes were moving all around, expanding his alertness to detect any movement. However, at the corner of his eye, he saw one of his elites who was surrounding him, moving out of position. He was about to reprimand this idiot when a certain chill wrapped around him.
"BRIUS!!!" Arissef was the first to notice it. But his senses were distracted by a series of sudden changes to the mana fluctuations surrounding them. A spell was being cast, and another… while an assassination was being performed.
Thud…
"One down." Zex, who was wearing a cloak hiding his face, proclaimed as Brius' head which still had an angry look on its face plopped down to the ground beside him. With the kill, [Reaping Strike]'s cooldown reset.
The whole army was still turning their heads towards the scene when Drago and Falna were already at Zex's throat.
However, to the duo's surprise, they could not even move an inch further. Only Arissef could see the ghastly hands wrapped around their bodies. Not only the two but also Arissef and all of the 5,000 soldiers who advanced with them could not move as well.
Panic, surprise, fear, rage… a heavy mix of emotions filled the soldiers at that moment. But nothing could prepare them for what came next.
"MOVE!!!!" Arissef shouted as he cast protection spells one after the other, sweat running down his forehead at the sight he was seeing.
Not even a second after Drago and Falna arrived next to Zex, a dark, gigantic, and ghastly silhouette holding a large scythe manifested itself above the army.
The next two seconds were swift for the common soldiers while the elites who had more heightened senses and higher reaction speeds expressed extreme unwillingness at their approaching demise.
Meanwhile, Zex was not careless to believe that this spell would kill the heroes in front of him. He activated [6 Feet Under] dealing the 1st burn effect then used [Reaping Strike] with his sword which heavily wounded Falna while throwing a light kick at Drago after using [Unholy offering] to transfer the damage instance to Falna.
Just before the damage of [Reaper's Descent] took effect, Arissef was able to provide layers of protection to Falna, Drago, and himself.
However, the damage proved to be overwhelming as before the effect finished, the barriers that encompassed the three shattered completely and dealt heavy damage to them. Falna had it worse as he additionally suffered from the damage that Drago should have received.
What happened next, stunned the trio further as they saw the silhouette staring at Falna.
[The Underworld Beckons] reduced the defenses and resistances of those caught by 44% as Zex's [Reaping strike] hit one of Falna's vitals and scored 44% more damage right after the first damage tick from [6 feet under] resolved. Then due to [Unholy Offering], another damage instance was stacked on Falna from Zex's kick to Drago.
Then finally, the damage of [Reaper's Descent] activated the [Death Sentence] passive effect guaranteeing a critical hit while increasing its critical damage by 444% adding the damage that Drago should be receiving from the same spell.
These consecutive blows brought Falna's HP below 4% despite the multiple barriers imbued by holy magic that Arissef painstakingly put in place and the life-saving skills and items Falna used. The silhouette reached out his hand and touched Falna's forehead with its finger, draining his soul away as the second effect of [Reaper's Descent] resolved.
Together with the 5,000 fallen soldiers who were caught in the area of effects of both [The Underworld Beckons] and [Reaper's Descent], Falna was the 3rd to fall among the heroes.
Silence… Utter silence covered the entire battlefield.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Zexekiel
Zexekiel I really wish I can do something similar to this in a game in the future. What inspired me the most into creating this scene was the Assassin's Creed Brotherhood trailer and the Black Clover scene where Asta, Magna, and Luck suddenly arrived to save Finral. They are wonderful clips even on their own. Check them out!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone