Chapter 1: The Beginning

The flames roared, their heat intense. 

Before me, a building burned. Inside and out, it was a scene of utter chaos.

"Aaagh!"

"Help us!"

People writhed in agony as the fire consumed them. In my hand was a sickle, wet with something other than the herbs it was meant to cut. The sight of it dripping with blood was chilling.

"Aaaaah!"

"Please, someone help!"

Those who managed to escape the burning building rolled on the ground, desperately trying to extinguish the flames that engulfed them. But the fire that covered their bodies was not so easily quenched. They died in excruciating pain as their flesh burned away.

Despite the horrific scene before me, I felt no guilt. In fact, I'm not even sure I know what guilt is.

I recalled my grandfather's last words:

"Promise me... Never reveal... your true nature..."

"Grandfather..."

"Is this how I raised you?!"

"...I understand."

The promise I made to my grandfather before he passed away echoed in my mind. But that promise had not been kept. Or rather, it was a promise that could not be kept.

'I'm sorry, Grandfather.'

I cannot stop until I find "him" - the one who so terribly affected my grandfather. Even if the end result is the reality my grandfather feared.

The more blood I see, the harder it becomes to control myself. What expression am I wearing now? Even in the face of this horrific scene of burning flesh and spilled blood, I could feel the corners of my mouth twitching. This was clearly an emotion of pleasure.

'My true nature...'

Is evil truly my essence? At the very least, I feel more liberated than the person my grandfather tried to shape me into. It's as if I've been freed from shackles.

"Hah."

It matters not. Thanks to the scent of blood, I'm getting closer to clues about "him" with a refreshed spirit. Now I just need to deal with the survivors.

I began walking towards the few remaining people, sickle in hand. With each step, I saw the fear growing in their eyes. Their terror didn't bother me. If anything, it tickled my bloodlust.

As I took another step, one of the terrified survivors cried out:

"It's the Grim Reaper!"

The Grim Reaper... It's a nickname I've gained while tracking "him." I killed anyone who seemed even remotely connected, and before long, people started calling me the Grim Reaper. Apparently, it's because of the sickle marks left on the corpses. It seems I've gained quite a reputation in just a month.

I suppose that's what happens when you target larger villages instead of just small mountain hamlets. I've learned a valuable lesson from this:

'I'll have to burn everything.'

To avoid leaving unnecessary traces on the bodies. Or perhaps I should stop using the sickle altogether? Ah, never mind. I'll worry about that later. For now, I'll just kill them all.

I raised my sickle towards a survivor crawling on the ground.

"Eek!"

The survivor's face turned pale as they cowered.

Ignoring his reaction, I swung the sickle down-

Thwack!

"Ugh!"

Something struck my abdomen with tremendous force, sending me flying backwards. I tumbled across the ground several times before finally coming to a stop, but the impact still resonated through my body. After rolling for what felt like an eternity, I finally halted, only to be overcome by a wave of nausea that made me retch violently.

"Gah!"

As I was vomiting, I heard cheers erupting around me. It seemed to be coming from the survivors who had been terrified just moments ago. Though my body still felt weak and nauseous, I managed to lift my head with great effort.

'What on earth...?'

As I looked up in confusion, I saw someone raising their hand. This person was basking in the cheers of the crowd as if they were some kind of hero. Then, with a boastful voice, he shouted:

"So this is the infamous Grim Reaper! I'm impressed you withstood my Three Stars technique!"

'Three Stars technique?'

What nonsense is he spouting? The only thing I understood from his words was the nickname "Grim Reaper."

"Cough... cough..."

I forcefully suppressed the urge to vomit again. I didn't know who this person was, but one thing was clear - he was dangerous. As I tried to force my body to stand, I realized my legs wouldn't respond.

"This is the end of your evil deeds, Grim Reaper!" the man declared as he slowly walked towards me.

'This is bad.'

I gritted my teeth. If I couldn't move my body, my life could be in danger...

Whoosh!

What?!

He had seemed to be approaching slowly, but suddenly the man was standing right in front of me.

'He's fast.'

How could a person move so quickly? It was almost unbelievable.

"Hmm," the middle-aged man grunted.

Now that he was close, I could see a long scar above his left eyebrow. In his right hand, he held a sword as black as if it had been burned, its sharpness unmistakable.

'I need to escape.'

Every instinct I had was screaming warnings at me. No matter how much I struggled, I wouldn't be able to do anything against this man.

Then, with a face that had suddenly turned cold and unlike his previous demeanor, the man spoke in a low voice:

"I wondered who was snooping around, but it turns out to be a teenage brat who hasn't even come of age."

He seemed like a completely different person now. But more importantly, something else caught my attention.

'Snooping around?'

Could this man be...

Grab!

"Gak!"

Before I could finish my thought, the man seized my throat. Even though I'm seventeen, my height is comparable to that of an average adult male. Yet he lifted me as if I weighed nothing.

I looked at his hand and arm, but there was no visible change in his muscles. How could he lift me so easily, as if I were a feather?

As I pondered this, the man frowned.

"You... you haven't learned martial arts, have you?"

"Martial... arts?"

"You don't even know what martial arts are? Ha!"

The man seemed surprised. What exactly were these martial arts that elicited such a reaction?

"Interesting. Someone who hasn't even learned martial arts survived my strike..."

"Gak... what are you talking about..."

Stab!

"Urgh!"

A burning sensation spread through my abdomen. The man's black blade had pierced my stomach before I even realized it.

The man smiled coldly and spoke with a voice filled with killing intent:

"It would be best to kill you now to avoid future troubles."

Squelch! Stab!

"Guh!"

As soon as he pulled the sword from my stomach, he thrust it into the left side of my chest. As the blade pierced my chest, an immense pain shot through me, and blood gushed from my throat.

"You should have lived quietly. Why did you have to meddle and hasten your own death?"

"Ha... ha..."

As I gasped for air, the man tossed me to the ground. Then he turned around, raised his black sword, and shouted:

"The evil deeds of the Grim Reaper end here! You can all rest easy now!"

Once again, he was acting like a heroic figure. The survivors, unaware of his true nature, cheered with joy.

Although the pain from my chest wound was excruciating, I felt a surge of anger at his hypocritical behavior. I had finally found someone who might be connected to my enemy, only to be defeated so easily. From the start, I was no match for him.

'Grandfather...'

My vision began to blur. Was I going to join my grandfather without even achieving my revenge? He would surely scold me for breaking our promise...