Grim Reaper in the Apocalypse: Reaping Immortals

"Be careful. We are still in the sphere of influence of these Canzers. There could still be some monsters who spawn because of their powers."

Atlan had to brave the Remedium with nothing but the words of Carmine guiding his steps. He couldn't see anything past the fog of the dark forest

His pace was measured.

With each shadow that crossed his eyes, he had to prepare himself for a speedy reaction that his life entirely depended on. Every time he came across a tree or a log in the way, he would first see a dark silhouette looming just in front of him.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

If it was a real monster like those animated dead trees or those mud golems, then it would have already been too late. They would have attacked him long before he could even see a glimpse of their shadow. So, he was extra careful with his steps. His Angel Wings were always at the ready. With just one thought, he could summon them and give him a tremendous boost in speed and reaction time.

"What are we supposed to find?" he whispered.

"First, you must stray away from the cobblestone road and start walking off the beaten path. This path will lead you nowhere and will only trap you inside without a way to get out."

Atlan was a bit hesitant with Carmine's suggestion because the cobblestone road was what connected him to Ninth and the rest of the team. It gave him comfort that he could simply follow the path and come back to them at any time.

By going off the path, he could lose all sense of direction and find no way to go back to the team.

No, I must find the White Chitin and finish it off for good, Atlan resolved.

Finally, he stepped foot off the cobblestone road and found himself walking on soft, muddy ground. He looked down and saw the soil slowly rising to his feet and engulfing his entire leg.

"You must walk fast or else the Remedium will swallow you whole."

Atlan strained his body and almost turned his walk into a jog.

"But not too fast. The disturbance you cause can attract some unwanted attention."

He found a middle ground and was able to tread through the muddy ground with a pace fast enough to escape the soil, but not fast enough to echo his footsteps to the entire Remedium.

Just then, Atlan heard something whizzing in the distance.

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'Arrows fly true…'

Atlan heard the sound of a Canzer speaking in hushed tones. It was subtle, but in the deafening silence of the fog, it was more akin to a shout than a whisper.

"I thought you told me there's no more Canzers here!"

"There's not! What are you talking about? I can't see anything."

Atlan closed his eyes and focused on the sound of the voice. It came from behind him and headed straight in between his shoulder blades. Atlan was sure that if it penetrated through his chitinous battle suit armor, it would pierce through his chest.

He quickly turned his body to the side to try and dodge the arrow.

But the arrow moved so fast that the arrow grazed past his armor and scratched the chitin protecting his sides.

"What the hell?! An arrow just flew past you!…wait…no…that can't be! The huntsman is here! You are so unbelievably unlucky, Star Porter.

Wait a minute. How did you dodge that?!"

Even with the advantage of hearing the arrow being notched in the bow, and knowing where the huntsman was targeting him, the best Atlan could do was let it hit his sides which fortunately bounced it off. He was far too slow, and the arrow was far too fast. He was at a disadvantage in every way possible.

'The human dodged my arrow?….'

Atlan kept his ears open for another arrow, but he knew that the 'huntsman' or whoever it was, wouldn't be underestimating him now that he was able to dodge its arrows.

"Who's the huntsman?"

"Well, truth be told, Canzers are a lot more complex than what they teach low-level Saviors and normal people. It is not all black and white. It's not humans versus the Canzers. Sometimes, just like humans, there will be Canzers who fight other Canzers."

"That's possible?"

"It's a lot more common than you think. These Sapient Canzers who are intelligent enough to build their own society, will have their own desires and wants. Sometimes, those clash with what other Canzers want. And what do you think will happen to solve that conflict? Are they going to make peace? No.

They're as vicious as us humans.

This huntsman is a predator of the White Chitin, but so far, it hasn't succeeded yet. It will never succeed. So, it spends the rest of its days wandering the dark forests in search of the White Canzer."

The complex relationships of Canzers surprised Atlan. They loved, they hated, they cherished, and they sought revenge. It was as if the only difference between Canzers and humans was their exterior appearance. Aside from that, they were basically just a foreign race of humans with different skin.

"So it's a different Canzer than the White Canzer and the Seven damned Puppets?"

"Seven deadly puppets. And yes. It's a totally different Canzer."

Atlan took a deep breath. "So that means I need an entirely different operator construct to kill it?"

"…yes. That's why I said you were unlucky. You don't have the protection of your teammates. You'll have to rely on your wit and skill to escape this Canzer."

"Is it stronger than the White Canzer?" he asked, but before he heard another answer, another arrow whizzed through the fog and aimed right for his head.

This time, the target was a lot smaller and Atlan's head wasn't burdened by the immense weight of the battle suit, so he could quickly bend his head sideways to dodge the attack.

Atlan watched as it barely scraped past his cheek, taking 10 months off his SoulTime. But due to his long lifespan, the wound closed up in just a second.

"Good dodging! How in the hell are you doing that?!"