Chapter 55.2

Salamander was about to take a step forward when he froze, unable to move a muscle. All around him, ghastly ghosts formed of baleful shadows wrapped themselves around him, pulling and dragging him down with their weight. They opened their mouths to wail and scream silently before biting into him, relishing as they devoured chunks of his flesh.

"W-what is this?!" Salamander panicked and screamed as he felt his flesh being torn asunder by the phantasm. He noticed his life force draining while the ghosts' transparent bodies slowly solidified as they gained more subsistence.

Michelle, who had reached her gun, spun around, intent on firing but froze as she watched the frightening scene in front of her. The gun slowly dropped from her hands as a gaunt figure, cloaked in shadows and a black hood, appeared in front of Salamander.

"Descendant of Monsters," the figure rasped. The cold, grinding voice sounded like it was merely a breathe's moment away from death and it sent chills down everyone's back. "Your time has come."

The figure stretched out an arm, and a dense Aura of Death condensed and formed into a scythe.

"No, no!"

Salamander screamed in horror as he realized that he couldn't escape. The very laws of the universe were sealing him in place as the scythe came down on him, slicing him in half. With a wave of his hand, a small core erupted from Salamander's chest and flew into the figure's hand.

Mon Dieu! Michelle thought as she shook uncontrollably. C'est vrai. Le Reaper est réel!

The Reaper slowly turned to Markus, ignoring Michelle who was still on the ground.

"Child," it rasped. "It is your time as well."

Michelle's eyes widened as she realized what it intended to do.

"Markus, fuyez!" Michelle screamed as she got up.

Markus's body shuddered and life returned to his eyes. He glanced at the Reaper once and turned to flee, but - with a wave of it's arm - the Reaper called the baleful ghosts, people it had previously reaped, to prevent him from running. From among the ghosts, the phantasm of a soulless Salamander appeared and clung into Markus. Without devouring him, as they had done with Salamander, the soulless phantasm simply dragged him downwards, preventing him from flooring while grieving soundlessly. Just as before, the Reaper summoned a scythe and prepared to cut Markus down.

"Non!" Michelle screamed as she dashed forward and placed herself in front of Markus; if the Reaper were to swing his scythe, he'd kill her as well. 

Michelle closed her eyes and raised her mechanical arm in front of her. Her heart thumped repeatedly in her throat, but the killing stroke failed to arrive, leaving her confused yet frightened. Opening her eyes, she saw the Reaper staring intently at her as it lowered the scythe. The Reaper vanished from her sight as she blinked, before suddenly appearing right in front of her, a breath away from her face. The empty, faceless darkness beneath the hood peered into her eyes as it slowly became bigger and bigger with her delusion, until she could see nothing other than the darkness. Fear gripped Michelle as she realized that she couldn't see a face under the hood; it was as though there was nothing underneath, nothing but a dark abyss that seemed to swallow all light.

"Child," the Reaper whispered hoarsely. It stretched out a thin hand that seemed more ethereal than solid and stroked her cheek, as though it wanted to confirm that she was real. "It is not your time, yet. Why?"

Why interfere?

Michelle gritted her teeth and used all her might and willpower to open her mouth.

"He - he's innocent!" Michelle finally answered in one breath, her shaky voice trembling as much as her legs.

The Reaper said nothing. It remained silent staring at Michelle without moving a muscle for a while. What seemed like minutes stretched into hours before it pulled back, the scythe it formed dissolving into black mist while the ghosts wrapped around Markus crawled into nothingness.

"You are connected to him," the Reaper finally rasped. "Send my message to the Wolf. The eve is approaching. Soon, I will reap his life. Soon."

The last words echoed around Michelle as the Reaper slowly merged with the surrounding darkness. The baleful atmosphere that weighed upon her was lifted, and Michelle breathed out a sigh of relief as her legs gave away and she collapsed on her butt. Looking behind her, she saw that Markus was unconscious, though she couldn't tell when he fainted.

"Le Loup?" Michelle muttered to herself, unsure of whom the Reaper was referring to as she felt her vision swimming. The tension and fright encasing her lightened and she felt dizzy and almost fainted as she pushed her shaking legs to stand up once more, even as multiple sirens of AEM vehicles approached her location.