Death Cast

01.41 | Grecia Bella Theatre

It is estimated that Barron has been alive for at least 500 years. He'd met a lot of people throughout that time period. It didn't matter if there were wars and disasters or if he met funny people or had weird neighbors. He had become a person who lived at the same time as the world. He believed that he had witnessed the most unexpected event during his golden years, but it appears that life has more shocks in store for him than he could have anticipated.

Barron had no idea how little he had actually known until he looked at the guy in front of him.

Locks of his long white hair fluttered in the breeze as he moved. His hands were as dark as the night, which had tucked his unkempt hair behind his ear. Although he was up against a formidable opponent, he appeared unfazed by it. His expression is in stark contrast to the individual in front of him, who had been vigilantly watching him. 

"What is your name again?" Barron stroked his temples. "Harry? Harold?"

“Herman.” Someone, who is likewise doing an excellent job of blending into the background, answered. Barron did not look away because he recognized the voice. There were two rectangular frames that glinted in the light instead of the person, who could not be seen at all.

"Herman, you're right. The man who was supposed to die the previous day but was spared by my compassionate client's selfless act,” Baron said, amusingly. 

Silvester raised his glasses higher on his nose. "It's because he knew what he was doing."

"It's true, Jaerim was an extremely intelligent young man, and he was able to figure out everything by merely learning a few basic rules. We should give him something nice."

The two grim reapers conversed casually, as though they were sipping tea. On the other hand, the perpetrator, Herman, regarded them with chilly eyes. In an audacious display, he made it clear that he was not satisfied with the current scenario. He is already on the verge of receiving his thousand years' worth of life, and as a result, he had become overjoyed and had left some tracks. Herman has done such an excellent job of concealing himself that no one has noticed his unusual state.

He had become complacent.

That's fine, though. Although he was taken aback by the sudden confrontation, he wasn't as helpless as he had been in the past. He was in the persona of someone who had just assassinated the grim reaper. As long as he can slaughter one, he can slaughter others. For him, the two grim reapers are just another challenge that every main protagonist must overcome.

Ah, he really thought that he was a protagonist. 

Anyway, he wasn't the kind to wait for his executioner, so Herman pulled out an item that every grim reaper is familiar with. With his grasp on the air beside him, a long scythe, about three meters in length, sprang from his hand. The blade of the scythe is a noticeable reddish-brown color, reminiscent of rusted metal, and this color is prevalent on the handle as well.

It was supposed to be shiny and silvery, like stainless steel that is cleaned and polished often. Sadly, the one on his hand appeared to be rotting from the inside out.

The temperature of the surrounding area decreased dramatically all at once. Barron and Silvester paused in their conversation, their features flushed with a trace of frostiness. All of their attention was on the scythe that Herman had in his hand. It is apparent from the condition of the blade that it has been used to kill people.

A grim reaper’s scythe is not used to kill life.

It is used to protect life.

A soul that has been separated from its body is inherently susceptible to a variety of forces. They resemble newborn infants who have ascended to the afterlife. Following the same concept, new creatures will typically have their senses obstructed by the new place, which will make it hard for them to find their way around. That is why a soul has a greater risk of becoming lost and becoming a ghost.

It was for this reason that the grim reapers existed. They will transport the souls to the reincarnation pool while fending off any danger that may arise on their journey.

No one in the room was in the mood for a good laugh. Barron, who was smiling and endearing when he first appeared, is now scowling and emanating a terrifying presence. Silvester is the same as Barron, although he has a more tranquil demeanor. The longer they stare at Herman, the deeper the lines between their brows become.

"How long did you say it would take for the investigation to come to a close?" Barron inquired, out of the blue.

Silvester is aware of what Barron is referring to. It's that one moment when he has to leave to bring something to the attention of the higher-ups in the company. It's supposed to be Noel attacking Jaerim. They were aware of the motivation behind the action and wanted to alert the grim reaper who had contracted with Noel to keep their hands off of their client.

However, it was changed because Jaerim suddenly asked them about the premise of the contract. After explaining the main concept to him, Jaerim stated, "It forces the players to come up with an idea to survive by helping each other."

“That’s right,” Silvester even agreed. 

“Then, is there a chance that a Death-Cast will receive an antagonist role?”

“Hmmm… that’s impossible…” 

Silvester didn't say a word. Even though it's not possible, it can be done if it's done well. However, because such a scenario is nearly unthinkable, Silvester thought that it would not occur and it was therefore removed from the list of possible scenarios. Barron, on the other hand, is quite cautious. He didn't let his guard down and was paying close attention to everything. All of his efforts did not go unnoticed.

“About a year, sir,” Silvester answered. 

Barron hummed. “Then, would it be much quicker if I handed them someone who could possibly be part of that group?” 

“Affirmatively, sir.”

The white-haired grim reaper smiled profoundly. He descended from the prop and approached Herman. His golden eyes twinkled brightly, as if a brilliant firework blazed beneath the cover of darkness. Barron reached out and grabbed the air in front of him. In the middle of nowhere, a longer and more complex scythe materialized and ended up in his palm.

He looked at Herman and said, "What kind of confidence made you think that you could overcome us? Impressive. I’ve never met someone who is courageous enough to face a grim reaper. Would you like to test it out?”

Test it out by killing another grim reaper?

In a flash, Barron suddenly appeared a step away from Herman. His hair lightly swayed while his eyes left an afterimage of a burning ember. It surprised Herman, who immediately activated a skill that would forcibly push him away from any object. He avoided the scythe attacking him by just a few inches, grazing his clothes. He landed on the ground quite heavily, which left marks on the ground. 

Barron stood in his position enigmatically. He wielded his scythe and made a slashing gesture that was facing Herman’s direction. Herman hurriedly made two consecutive side steps to avoid the slashing force. 

“Are you surprised?” Barron asked. “Did you not expect to face someone as formidable as me?”

His words were quite narcissistic, but it is still true. Herman did not expect Barron to be this strong. He had only known the grim reaper, who made a contract with him and thought that they were already strong. Although he could parade a title for killing a grim reaper, it wasn’t done easily. It took him a great deal of sacrifice just to scratch his grim reaper. In addition, it should be noted that Herman’s grim reaper is one of the older ones, if not the oldest, who has quite a lot of power in the upper echelon.

Barron, who is in more ways on the lower spectrum, should not be stronger. 

So why? What is happening here?

He has so many questions, but there is no time to ponder them. Barron made his move once again, which seemed to be much quicker and stronger than before. All Herman could do was to use lots of his skills while blocking the incoming scythe off with his. 

Silvester watched the two beings that were clearly on different pages. Herman is strong and has some good potential for fighting, but he is only stronger than a normal human being. He could not defeat, nor touch, someone who had undergone many tribulations. Barron is just that strong. Silvester is not even confident he could land a scratch on Barron. 

“It has been concluded,” he said, pushing his glasses up. “You will not win this round.”

The sounds of metal clashing can be heard loudly. Although it could be said that there are two people fighting, only one of them is giving blows while the other can only be pushed back. This is the scenario Jaerim saw when he made his way backstage. He had known about Herman through observation and had never trusted him from the start. 

He had never actually trusted anyone else other than himself. 

The one who hid the fireworks was Jaerim. Ever since learning about the great fire that will happen in the future, Jaerim has been secretly taking out any excess material that could cause a fire or explosion. He is not the type that likes accidents to happen, so he often does things to make life easier. Since he knows that a great fire will happen, why not remove all the flammable materials from the building?

That’s why, all this time, the only thing that has been burning is the curtain on the stage. If people had looked closely, they would have noticed that the fire had remained in one position and that the surrounding area did not sustain any damage. The controlled fire remained stationary and slowly consumed the thick curtain. 

Silvester turned around and found Jearim and Noel walking side by side. He pushed the rim of his glasses up to hide the expression in his eyes. He looked at Jaerim for a second, then shifted his attention to Noel. The person mentioned could feel the hostility coming from the scholarly grim reaper and subconsciously slowed his pace by a step. Jaerim didn't notice the oppressive atmosphere, since his eyes had only been looking at the two people fighting. 

“You caught him,” Jaerim said. 

Silvester nodded his head, “He had committed a crime.”

“A crime?” Jaerim looked up at Silvester. “What did he do?”

“He killed a grim reaper.”

Noel and Jaerim gasped. They give Silvester a strange look. 

“Is it possible?” Noel muttered under his breath. 

“Why not?” Silvester shrugged his shoulders. “The grim reapers might not have any life force like you humans have, but we still have an existence. Like an idea that could incorporate an image, we are also susceptible to getting killed.”

It’s just that they were not easy to kill at all. 

The two Death Casts decided to watch for a while before going to get their stuff. Jaerim knows that the keys were from Herman, so they are here to retrieve them. Barron had already noticed Jaerim coming and did nothing. However, it made Herman turn his head away. His eyes moved on and he immediately saw the weakest person around him. 

He found a chance!

Herman had been defending all this time, so his sudden attack made Barron think twice before moving. This little pause gave Herman enough chance to use a skill that would make him move fast and head towards Silvester. The bespectacled man raised his guard up as he pulled a scythe from nowhere and used it to block Herman. 

Clash. Clang. The impact created a sound akin to metal screeching. 

Barron immediately followed Herman when, suddenly, white smoke appeared from Herman’s hand. He had thrown out a black tear gas that immediately engulfed the place. Barron frowned at the guerilla tactic as he used his scythe to create a makeshift fan to erase the smoke from the air. Just in time, he found Noel kneeling on the ground with one of his knees bleeding. 

Barron’s golden pupils constricted as he quickly blew the smoke away. Silvester coughed from the smoke since he was the one who was close to the explosion and it had affected him quite strongly. He tried opening his tear-filled eyes and found Noel on the ground. He blinked his eyes to erase the spicy feeling that made him tear up and search for someone. 

Where is Jaerim?

“Move or I will kill him.”

The sound of the voice is from the middle of the smoke. The moment it subsided, they found Herman holding Jaerim with the tip of the scythe pointed at Jaerim’s neck. Actually, a portion of Jaerim’s neck is already bleeding from getting grazed by the blade. Herman did not care about the small injury and looked at the people before him. 

“Do anything or I will kill him.”