It was said that there was a reason why humans always adapted to the environment and evolved continuously.
It was because they were programmed for the sake of ‘survival.’ It is their natural instinct.
When faced with the unknown, that instinct would awaken.
After all, the unknown, the thing that the brain can never comprehend, is the thing it wants to destroy.
The feelings in Reiner’s mind could be explained in such a manner.
“What is this?”
Feeling the crimson aura oozing from their target, he asked himself.
Astron Natusalune.
The last-ranked student of the academy…..The student with some random rumors floating about him…..
The student was their target for some reason, even though he was such an insect that he didn’t deserve their time.
He thought Astron was someone who offended the wrong people when the order to kill him in the mid-terms came. Even though the operation was risky, they thought they could easily kill him and leave the place.
However, the scene in front of him was something he would never expect.
SWOOSH! With a sudden burst of speed, Astron’s body shot forward monstrously.
He shouldn’t have been able to move, let alone lunge like that. The injuries he sustained and the corrosive attribute of the Ruinscreechers should have been eating him from the inside.
But, as if to prove him wrong, his dual daggers danced in the air, their crimson aura trailing behind them.
SWOOSH! SLASH! Each strike became a deadly flurry as he moved with animalistic grace and precision.
“This is crazy,” Reiner mumbled.
The way the guy was moving was insanely efficient as if he was already experienced in the act of killing.
“No. He was born to kill.”
The crazed smile on his face when he was moving was proof of that. Even though he was a demon contractor, he never once made such a face when killing people.
‘His smile reminds me of him.’
The Ruinscreechers were caught off guard, their enhanced ferocity no match for his newfound speed.
SLASH! SLASH!
Blood sprayed through the air as he carved through them with ruthless efficiency. It was a dance of death in the darkest of moments.
With each strike, the crimson energy entered the monsters’ bodies, and something strange happened.
The crimson energy circulated in the monster’s body and slowly returned to the boy. The Ruinscreechers fell one by one.
But the strange thing was that the monsters’ bodies slowly started losing their color.
“SCREECH!”
The monster’s scream in agony echoed in their heads as if to remind them that they were here for a mission.
‘What am I doing?’
Reiner immediately composed himself.
‘This mana is affecting me.’
And he realized. The crimson aura released by that guy was affecting him, disturbing his thoughts by evoking something primal.
‘I was scared.’
As he realized that fact, anger enveloped him. He didn’t know what this guy’s deal was, but he was angry at the fact that a mere human, a mere student, dared to make him scared.
“That guy is crazy….I want him so bad….I want to kill him; I want to see what expression he is going to make.”
Hearing this annoying girl’s voice made the anger inside him boil more.
“Fucking bastard.” He mumbled, looking at the cockroach before him.
Astron’s injuries were getting healed whilst the color of the monsters’ skin was slowly turning grey.
As if he was sucking their vitality.
“Annie, attack him.”
The immediate reaction came from Reiner as he started manipulating his demonic energy.
“Don’t order me, you fucker.”
SWOOSH!
The girl took a cautious step forward, a menacing scythe clutched in her hand, and suddenly she appeared right before him. With immense precision, she lunged at Astron, her sights set on his throat.
The swiftness of her attack was impressive, but Astron was prepared for their imminent assault, his body enveloped by a swirling, crimson energy that had transformed him into a killing machine.
SWOOSH! Astron’s heightened instincts and agility enabled him to deftly sidestep her deadly strike. Her scythe narrowly missed its intended target as it whistled past his neck.
“Ah….It is so good.” The girl laughed heartily as her scythe continued to attack the boy.
CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!
The scythe met with the crimson-coated blade as sparks flew. The girl’s demonic energy met with the crimson-colored mana, creating a unique spectrum of color.
Meanwhile, Reiner first compressed his demonic energy, activating the skill he got after contracting.
「Demonic Materialization. Blades of Hell. 」 action
The skill unleashed his demonic energy, fashioning shadowy, tentacle-like blades that rapidly propelled toward Astron with murderous intent. Their speed was so fast that it was incomparable to the Ruinscreechers before.
Dash.
SWOOSH! However, Astron was also no longer injured. Since he had already sucked the vitality of the monster and his injuries were healed, the crimson thoughts in his head were also cleared to a certain extent.
But even then, something was fundamentally different. The beastly instinct was still there, harboring inside him.
The desire to kill and spill the blood was still there, but right now, he was able to keep more of his sanity.
He instinctively leaped backward.
Astron’s enhanced agility allowed him to evade the first wave of Reiner’s demonic onslaught, narrowly dodging the lethal blades that sought to end him.
‘I am getting out of mana.’
He thought, but the girl didn’t give him the time.
“Come here, play with me more.”
SWOOSH! 「Seal of Death」
She immediately appeared right before his face, her scythe charged by the demonic energy.
CLANK!
He deflected the scythe with his dual daggers. However, things were never meant to end here. The demonic energy spread through the environment.
“Kurghk!”
And following that, an eye appeared right behind him, and blood started spilling from his inside.
“How is it, do you like my gift? ~Slurp” With a cruel and sinister grin, the girl reveled in his pain, even licking his blood from her fingers. “Ah….You taste good.” The sadistic pleasure she derived from his suffering was evident in her malevolent expression.
However, because he was injured once again, the crimson mana around him got stronger.
‘I need to replenish my mana back.’
He knew he had to replenish his energy. With the way things were going, he wouldn’t be able to continue using his mana anymore.
Mana coursed through his veins as he attempted to use the last reserves of his crimson mana to push the girl back.
「Common Dagger Arts. Final Technique. Serpent’s Dance」
SWOOSH! He bolted towards the girl, his daggers moving rapidly like a serpent.
CLANK! CLANK!
His dual daggers clashed forcefully with her menacing scythe. It seemed, for a brief moment, that he might succeed in creating some breathing room.
“Ah…So good….” SHATTER!
But just as victory appeared within his grasp, suddenly, something unexpected happened. The blade he was holding in his hands to clash with the girl shattered, unable to overcome the battle.
“Huh?”
Something wasn’t right about the dagger. It was something that was provided by the academy; it wasn’t a weapon that would easily break under such a force.
Therefore, he didn’t consider the possibility of the weapon breaking; he never did, and the shock of his dagger’s abrupt destruction left him momentarily frozen, his crimson aura momentarily wavering as his instinctive reaction was delayed.
“Ah….I love it, I love this expression so much…..”
In that crucial moment of hesitation, the girl seized the advantage.
STAB! Her scythe, radiating with sinister energy, pierced forward and found its mark. It drove through Astron’s chest with a gruesome, penetrating force.
“Argh!”
Astron’s cry of agony echoed through the chamber as the ghastly scythe pierced his body.
Even though his mental strength was high, something about this girl made it different.
His vision blurred, and a searing pain consumed him as he felt the cold, malevolent metal tear through flesh and bone.
“Do you like it? My attribute, corrosion….”
The girl’s malevolent smile remained as she pressed forward, savoring the sensation of Astron’s lifeblood splattering onto her as her scythe remained embedded in his chest.
“Burghk!”
Blood spilled to the ground from his mouth once again, but this time, there was no crimson mana to support him. He had used his last resources in the fight, and now his mana reserves were depleted.
‘I need to grab the potion.’
Even though his consciousness was about to slip away, he didn’t give up.
SWOOSH! However, both the girl, Annie, and Reiner knew what he was thinking.
SLASH!
The black blades traveled in a second and immediately slashed his right arm, containing the bracelet given by the academy.
“Arghk!”
SPURT! THUD!
With a groan, his arm severed as blood started spilling to the ground.
His consciousness was slipping away as the darkness threatened to claim him.
“Let’s fini-”
Just as Reiner was about to confirm that Astron was dead, suddenly, a voice came from his earbuds, startling him.
[Reiner, Annie! Someone is coming to our location. We need to get out of there, now!]
The moment he heard it, he immediately tensed up. While trying to kill him, they spent so much time, and now their identity was at risk.
“We are leaving. He is dead anyway. And, boy, Lady Miller sends her regards.”
Without spending any more seconds in the place, both Annie and Reiner immediately left the place, leaving the boy lying on the ground with a pool of blood formed underneath him.
CRUNCH!
Though, neither did they hear the crunching sound, nor could they see the small green-coated needle on the girl’s clothes….