Chapter 60: We Meet Again

"How deep did they walk into the city?" Elias mumbled as he walked along the crumbled city wall, carefully stepping over broken stones while vines and other vegetation spilled from the cracks.

"I just hope that all of them are still alive," he muttered, his expression becoming slightly grim. "I do not want any trouble from Berlic after this."

He continued along the wall, occasionally glancing toward the streets below as he searched for any sign of the other rangers.

That silence was beginning to bother him.

He stopped beside a broken section of the wall and looked toward the distant streets.

’Where did they go?’

Then, far away, something crashed.

BOOM!

Elias’s eyes immediately narrowed.

A second sound followed.

CLANG!

His expression changed.

"That sounded like weapons."

"There."

He immediately moved.

---

Smith and Jessie ran through the ruined streets with dark expressions, their breaths coming out in ragged bursts as they pushed their exhausted bodies forward.

Neither of them spoke.

There was nothing left to say.

Charles was dead because of them.

Their hearts were heavy with guilt, but what else could they have done? Turning back would have meant dying beside him, and although that thought made Jessie feel like a coward, some part of him still clung desperately to the instinct to survive.

Then the metallic clicking returned.

Jessie’s face stiffened, and he looked over his shoulder.

The Rusted Reaper was still following them, and then he saw the blood.

Dark red blood coated one of the creature’s scythe-like hands.

Jessie’s face became pale.

He instantly understood what had happened to Charles.

"Charles..." he whispered.

Smith’s jaw tightened as he continued running.

"We cannot stop," he said grimly.

Jessie swallowed hard.

"I know."

They pushed forward, then a group of figures appeared at the end of the street.

Smith’s eyes widened.

"Dane!"

Jessie immediately raised his voice.

"Dane!"

Dane, Ravy, and Lorey turned toward them.

For a moment, relief appeared on their faces. Then their eyes moved past Smith and Jessie.

The Rusted Reaper stepped into view.

Its pale body emerged from between two ruined buildings, and the ancient armor covering its torso reflected the faint gray light filtering through the clouds. Its hunched back remained unnaturally bent, while its enormous curved blades hung beside its body.

The three men froze.

Lorey’s face drained of color.

"What the fuck is that thing?" he muttered.

Dane’s expression became horrified, but he quickly forced himself to raise his sword.

"Get ready!" he shouted.

Ravy and Lorey immediately drew their weapons.

Smith and Jessie reached them a moment later and turned around, raising their swords toward the approaching creature.

Dane glanced toward Smith.

"Where is Charles?" he asked.

Smith remained silent.

His gaze slowly lowered toward the ground.

Dane stared at him for several seconds before his expression hardened.

"I see..." he said quietly.

The Rusted Reaper suddenly accelerated, and its body blurred forward.

Dane’s eyes widened.

"Block!"

The creature reached them and swung both scythe-like hands.

CLANG!

Dane raised his sword and blocked one blade while Smith intercepted the other.

The impact forced both men backward.

The stone beneath their boots cracked.

"Attack!" Dane barked.

Ravy immediately stepped forward and thrust his sword toward the monster’s chest.

Lorey followed with a horizontal slash, while Jessie attacked from the opposite side.

CLANG!

CLANG!

CLANG!

Their swords struck the rusted armor, but the ancient plates absorbed the impacts with harsh metallic screeches.

The three men felt their arms vibrate from the force of every strike.

"Its armor is too sturdy!" Lorey shouted.

The Rusted Reaper twisted its torso.

One scythe swept toward Ravy.

Ravy barely raised his sword in time.

CLANG!

The impact sent his weapon flying from his hands.

"My sword!"

The Rusted Reaper immediately raised its other arm.

Dane slammed his shoulder into the monster’s side.

"Pick it up!"

The impact disrupted the creature’s balance, giving Ravy enough time to scramble toward his sword.

He grabbed it and immediately rolled away as the scythe struck the ground where he had been standing.

BOOM!

Stone fragments exploded into the air.

Ravy scrambled back to his feet.

"Thank you!"

"Do not thank me!" Dane shouted. "Fight!"

The monster turned toward him.

Dane’s pupils contracted.

The Rusted Reaper swung.

He raised his sword.

CLANG!

The impact nearly tore the weapon from his hands.

Smith rushed forward and struck the monster’s side with his shoulder.

"Move!"

Dane stumbled away while Smith continued pushing against the creature.

Jessie charged, and his sword struck the monster’s abdomen.

CLANG!

The blade bounced away.

Jessie’s hands went numb.

"What is this armor made of?!"

The Rusted Reaper suddenly twisted and struck him with its elbow.

BOOM!

Jessie’s body slammed against a broken wall.

"Ugh!"

Lorey rushed toward him.

"Jessie!"

The Rusted Reaper turned toward Lorey.

Its scythe rose.

Lorey’s face went pale.

"Shit!"

Dane immediately stepped between them and blocked the strike.

CLANG!

His knees buckled.

"Attack it!" he shouted through clenched teeth.

Ravy and Smith attacked together.

Their swords repeatedly struck the monster’s armor, but every impact only produced another metallic screech.

The Rusted Reaper didn’t bleed; it didn’t stagger; it simply continued advancing like a dutiful knight protecting its city from raiders.

Its movements were slow compared to Dark Thorn, yet every strike carried enough force to crush bones.

Ravy’s sword slipped from his hands again.

"No!"

He reached for it, but the Rusted Reaper swung toward him.

Smith intercepted the attack.

CLANG!

His arms shook violently.

"Get your sword!"

Ravy grabbed it again.

The five men continued fighting, but their formation was gradually collapsing.

Every time one of them lost his weapon, Dane or Smith had to physically slam into the creature to prevent it from killing them, giving the others just enough time to recover.

Yet the monster never seemed to tire.

Its pale eyes remained empty, its rusted armor unbroken, and its scythe-like hands continued moving.

Jessie looked at the creature and felt his heart sink.

’We are going to die.’

The thought settled inside his mind with terrifying certainty.

He glanced toward Dane.

The supposed captain was breathing heavily.

Smith’s face was covered in sweat.

Ravy and Lorey were trembling.

None of them had the strength to keep this up.

The next moment, a distant impact echoed through the ruined city.

BOOM!

The five rangers instinctively glanced toward the source.

Another crash followed.

BOOM!

Dane’s expression changed.

"What was that?"

The sound was getting closer.

Above them, several broken stones suddenly fell from the top of a ruined building.

Elias landed on the roof.

He immediately looked down.

His crimson hair shifted in the wind as his eyes swept across the street below.

"We meet again," Elias mumbled before his expression became cold.

"So this is what you found."

The Rusted Reaper suddenly raised its head.

Its lifeless eyes shifted upward.

For the first time since Elias had arrived, the monster stopped attacking the rangers.

It stared directly at him.

Elias narrowed his eyes.

The creature’s scythe-like hands slowly rose.

He tightened his grip around Lastbane.

Then, without hesitation, Elias jumped from the ruined building.

His body crossed the gap between the structures as he landed on another crumbling rooftop, and from there he leaped again, moving closer toward the ground.

The five rangers watched him with a single thought in their mind.

’What the hell is going on?’

Elias’s eyes remained fixed on Rusted Reaper, and Lastbane whistled through the air as he shot toward the monster.

"Die!"