Chapter 59: Rusted Reaper

Smith, Charles, and Jessie ran through the ruined streets as the horrible metallic clicking of the Rusted Reaper echoed behind them.

Their boots struck the broken stone pavement in frantic rhythm, sending loose pebbles skittering across the ground as they pushed themselves forward. The three had abandoned any attempt at maintaining formation, and instead each man simply ran as fast as his legs could carry him.

Charles and Jessie were slightly faster than Smith because their slimmer bodies allowed them to move more easily through the narrow streets and scattered debris. Smith, however, refused to fall too far behind, even though every breath burned inside his chest.

"Keep moving!" Smith shouted between ragged breaths. "Do not stop!"

Behind them came another terrible sound.

Click!

The Rusted Reaper stepped through the remains of an abandoned building, its enormous scythe-like claws scraping against the stone as it followed their trail.

The steady clicking of its movements was enough to make the three men feel as though death itself was walking behind them.

Jessie glanced over his shoulder and immediately wished he hadn’t.

The creature’s hunched body moved with an unnatural rhythm, its pale limbs stretching beneath the rusted armor fused to its flesh. Its head remained lowered, while the lifeless eyes beneath its corroded plates stayed fixed upon them.

Jessie’s face became pale.

"Faster!" he screamed.

They were already running as hard as they could.

Their destination was the center of the ruined city, where Dane, Ravy, and Lorey had gone. If they could reach the others, there would at least be more people capable of fighting the monster.

That was the only thought keeping them moving.

’Just a little farther.’

Charles gritted his teeth as he pushed himself forward.

’If we reach Dane, we will be safe.’

He didn’t know whether that was true.

He simply needed to believe it.

The ruined buildings blurred around him as he passed between them, and then his right foot suddenly caught on something beneath the overgrown vegetation.

"What—?"

Charles stumbled.

A thick vein-like root had wrapped around his ankle.

He tried to pull himself free, but the sudden loss of balance sent him crashing onto the stone pavement.

THUD!

His sword slipped from his hand and clattered several meters away.

"Charles!" Jessie shouted.

Smith and Jessie both stopped.

For one brief moment, they looked back.

Charles lay sprawled across the ground, desperately trying to free his leg from the thick vein.

"Help me!" he pleaded.

Smith’s expression twisted.

The sound of the Rusted Reaper’s footsteps grew louder.

Click!

Click!

Click!

Smith looked toward the street behind them and saw the creature approaching.

Then he looked back at Charles.

His face hardened.

"Move!" Smith shouted. "There is nothing we can do!"

Charles’s eyes widened.

"What?"

Smith clenched his jaw.

"If we stop, all three of us die!"

"Smith!" Charles screamed.

But Smith had already turned around.

He grabbed Jessie’s arm and pulled him forward.

Jessie resisted for a moment.

"Wait!"

Smith didn’t stop.

"Run!"

Jessie looked back again.

Charles stared directly at him.

There was terror in his eyes, but beneath that terror was something worse.

Hope.

"Jessie..." Charles whispered.

Jessie’s lips trembled.

Charles stretched one hand toward him.

"Please."

Jessie froze.

His entire body shook as he stared at the man he had been walking beside only moments earlier.

He wanted to help, to turn around. But then another metallic click echoed through the ruined street.

Jessie’s face crumpled.

"I’m sorry!" he yelled.

He turned around and ran after Smith.

Charles watched them disappear between the ruined buildings.

For several seconds, he remained completely still.

Then his eyes slowly lowered.

A strange emptiness settled inside his chest as he stopped struggling against the vein.

"Figures..." he mumbled bitterly.

His fingers curled against the cold stone.

"I should have known."

The Rusted Reaper had disappeared from his sight.

Charles’s body went rigid.

The sound had come from behind him.

He slowly turned his head.

The Rusted Reaper stepped out from the entrance of a ruined building.

It had apparently blasted through the structure’s wall while chasing them, and now it emerged into the street with its long arms hanging beside its body.

Its head slowly turned.

Its lifeless eyes settled upon Charles.

Charles’s breath caught in his throat.

’No...’

The Rusted Reaper took one step forward.

Click!

Charles’s hand searched desperately for his sword.

His fingers touched nothing.

The weapon was too far away.

He tried pulling his leg free again, but the thick vein tightened around his ankle.

’No, no, no...’

His breathing became frantic.

The creature continued approaching.

Click!

Click!

Click!

Charles stared at it with wide eyes as its scythe-like claws slowly rose.

---

Several streets away, Dane, Ravy, and Lorey remained beside the skeleton they had discovered.

None of them had the guts to even touch the remains.

They were far too disturbed by what they were seeing.

Dane crouched beside the corpse and carefully examined the rusted armor fused around the bones.

"This was not a normal monster," he muttered.

Ravy swallowed.

"Then what kind of damned thing killed it?"

Dane didn’t know.

The skeleton itself looked as though it had been left there for decades, perhaps even centuries, yet the armor still seemed strangely intact.

Lorey stepped backward.

"I do not like this."

Dane glanced toward him.

"What?"

Before Lorey could respond, a distant crash echoed through the ruins.

BOOM!

The three men immediately turned their heads toward the right.

Ravy’s face became pale.

"Jessie and the others are in that direction," he mumbled.

Dane’s expression darkened.

For a moment, he remained silent. Then he stood.

"Let’s go," he said.

Ravy and Lorey swallowed and followed behind him.

Dane began running toward the distant sounds, and the other two quickly kept pace beside him.

They weren’t going because they suddenly cared about Smith, Charles, or Jessie.

They were going because staying separated was becoming increasingly dangerous.

Whatever had attacked the others could still be somewhere nearby, and if they encountered it alone, none of them would have enough strength to survive.

"Stay together," Dane ordered as they ran.

Ravy nodded.

"Understood."

Lorey didn’t respond.

His eyes remained fixed on the ruined streets ahead.

The three disappeared between the broken buildings as the distant metallic clicking continued to echo through the city.

---

Meanwhile, Elias stood atop the ruined city wall.

From his elevated position, he could see much farther than he could from the streets below.

His eyes narrowed as he scanned the endless maze of broken buildings and overgrown streets.

’Dane and the others should be somewhere around here.’

He searched for them but found nothing.

Elias turned his head slightly and looked toward another section of the city. Still, nothing.

His expression gradually became serious.

"Where are they?" he mumbled.