Now's not the time!
'I forgot!'
Dammit, figures since I haven't dealt with their leader yet...
He escaped earlier during my encounter with that party.
Don't give up yet...!
'Don't think you haven't forgotten about me, Rick?'
Shut up! I don't need you!
'Cmon, just let me drink their blood, and I'll give you more power!'
No, shut up!
'You're stubborn because you know what would happen if you let me up.'
That's exactly the reason, Reaper!
'But don't you want to save this kid's life? Will you waste another life of yours without doing anything?'
That's because you'll go berserk, and I won't control myself!
'Calm down, bitch. In the first place, my power had dwindled quite a lot since your new body is weak.
The scope of my abilities is quite limited compared to when you were Rick.'
'I'm hungry so let me out already!'
I don't have the power to resist Reaper so...
"Eat them already."
'Got it... Kehehehehe!'
The bodies that lay around me began to rise as their blood gets sucked out of their bodies and into mine.
My strength is returning! Kh.....?
"Reaper! You lied to me!"
'Idiot! As if I'd let a chance for me to resurface go to waste!'
I fought back. It was a natural reaction.
'Your willpower is just amazing as ever. But you're already worn down!'
My control...! I'm losing it!
"Raaaargh!"
'Don't act like you're innocent, Rick! You're a monster known as the "Reaper of the Battlefield" because of your crimes!'
"A-and..! Whose! Fault! Do.... You! Think that IS!?"
This is bad; I mustn't let him resurface at any cost.
'What's the point of living an innocent life now, Rick? Admit it, you need me!'
Khhh...!
"D-deal with me!"
'A deal you say? Wait, no! Fine! Fine!'
I was holding a rock and was ready to bash it on my head. What's more is that Reaper detects intent better than me so he knows what I was about to do.
"Kill the Leader for me; in exchange, I'll give up the bodies for you to absorb."
'Kehehehe..! Deal!'
"Then... I... Leave.. the rest to you...,"
I passed out.
Is it really a good idea to trust Reaper?
-
**Reaper's POV**
Tsk. Rick is just as hard-willed as ever.
Reaper reassessed the situation; Rick was unconscious, and his body was battered. No, this wasn't Rick's body but another person's.
It's a woman, and her physical abilities are below average.
'But knowing Rick, he'll build this body up in no time.'
What's more is that this body is highly talented in magic and has a vast amount of mana, but it seems that there is something blocking it.
'There's no mistaking it; this body has the capacity to rule the world...! Kishishishi.'
The reaper took on a stance and unsheathed the sword that Elysia kept on her waist.
'Let's pull out this body's latent potential for a while.'
In a flash, Reaper ran at an astounding speed, leaving a red trail in its wake.
After a while, he saw where the rest of the bandits were and leaped into the trees.
He decided to observe the situation a little more to amuse himself.
"Argh! Bastards! This is all your fault! Who was that person?"
"We don't know, boss!" The bandits were groveling to their boss.
"Tsk! What's taking those C-rank adventurers so long?"
"We also do not know."
"Useless pieces of shits!" A bottle was thrown in their direction.
'Those C-rank adventurers were famous for their teamwork and abilities to the point they can raid B-rank monsters. Yet why are they taking so long for just one person?' The bandit leader thought to himself.
"I'm going to take a pee, so you guys watch the villagers!"
"Yes, boss!"
The bandit leader limp-walked into a nearby tree, but his mind was full of anger despite being drunk.
An unknown requester had sent them a request to kidnap the villagers in the nearby towns on the border of the kingdoms of Edelford and Sodor.
The situation between the two countries was fine from the surface, but the strife was tense between the two.
It seems as if the motive for the kidnapping is to initiate a conflict between the two nations.
'I couldn't care less about that. They already gave us a large amount of money, so it's impossible to back out.'
'Plus...'
A flashback appears in the leader's mind of a hooded robed figure that exuded a gentle yet terrifying aura.
When he finished, it felt oddly quiet for some reason.
'Something is wrong.'
He rushed back to the camp and saw that nobody was there. The campfire was put out.
The only source of light was the torch he was holding.
The bandit leader gulped, as he had never felt anything like this before.
'...!'
He heard a rustle from nearby bushes.
"Who's there! Arghh!"
In a moment of rage, he frantically jumped into the bushes.
But what he saw terrified him even further.
It was one of his two remaining men with his upper body dismembered and a face full of agony.
"Hih...!"
The bandit leader was taken aback from the horrifying scene that unfolded before his eyes.
He fell down and stumbled into the ground.
"...?"
Chills spread throughout his body as he felt as if his hands were touching liquid.
He looked at his hands, and while he didn't see it clearly because the torch fell down when he stumbled, he knew what it was through years of his line of work: blood.
He turned around to where the source of blood came from and saw the last of his men with multiple stab wounds and an expression that looked like he desperately wanted to run away.
The bandit leader lost it.
A presence appeared.
He didn't try to tremble because he had already been struck with fear and without hesitation, he ran as fast as he could.
"No! No! No...!"
The bandit leader knew death was imminent and only a matter of time before the figure caught up to him.
'What's with that monster?!? I never heard anything about this when I accepted the job!'
He wasn't paying attention to his surroundings, so he fell down.
But when he did, he desperately crawled to the floor and tried to get up.
But when the figure appeared before him, he wanted to scream badly, but his voice couldn't come out as he was wrapped in its cold embrace.
He was frozen in fear on the ground as the figure, which he described as "death" itself, consumed him and plunged him into deep chaos.