Death Cast

00.8 | The Penultimate

Barron is indifferent to the chaos. Even as the events around him unfolded, his exquisite erect posture remained unchanged. The golden-haloed irises surveyed his surroundings casually, wondering the strange scene flashing before his eyes.

There was a dramatic change in the behavior of the black mist that had been drifting over the place. The mist's concentration was nearly solid, yet it wasn't aimed at anyone in particular. He could sense a light touch on it, as if it wanted to do nothing more than cause some minor inconvenience rather than death.

It is strangely inconsistent to how it usually is. In most cases, these death mists cover people, engulfing them and devouring their life essence until fate ensues and kills them.

It was his first time witnessing such a calm disaster. It's as if someone wishes for a gentle death.

When it comes to determining the balance of life and death, even the grim reapers thought Autumn was an anomaly. It shouldn't have existed because it contributes nothing other than to the obliteration of the soul cycle. Even the nastiest bugs and pests have a niche in this world.

"How did it suddenly change like this?" Barron asked himself. "Does the person owning the death mist has no desire to lure people with them?"

In addition to determining the time of death, death mist density also influences the Autumn's desire to release them. Autumns marked by great wrath and revenge are frequently accompanied by wild death mists that absorb life power in a psychotic manner. People like them can't accept death, so they drag others with them.

He thought this one Autumn was also the same. Or, perhaps, he was mistaken all along?

"An Autumn's desire cannot be altered since it is a subconscious reaction," Barron murmured once again. "Is it even possible for someone who could not accept their death to wish to not bring people with them?"

"Each person possesses their own desires. It doesn't mean the general idea answers the entirety of the case."

"That is true. On second thought, not all humans are evil."

Barron turned around when he heard the second person talking. In rather pale-colored clothes —a fitting white henley shirt coupled with dark blue trousers— Silvester entered the scene with a light, scholarly aura. He looked significantly young, estimated to be only seventeen to twenty-three years old.

The golden-rimmed square glasses were pushed up to the bridge of his nose when they had fallen lower. As he gave Barron a slight nod, the noticeable crimson halo around his eyes flashed agitatedly but not fiercely. Barron made a little wave with his hand.

"It's good to see you today, sir," Silvester said politely.

Barron bobbed his head in agreement. Silvester has merely been working in this sector for approximately a century and a half, whereas he is a experienced veteran. Barron's easygoing temperament made him unconcerned with the discipline of seniority. Silvester, however, wasn't and played as a exceptional and strict student.

"Is it your duty today?" Barron shifted his position, so he was standing sideways to the overturned car. Silvester nodded, and followed Barron's gaze and looked at the car.

Silvester retrieved a golden pocket watch from his pants and pressed the button to open it up. The golden chains made jangling noises as it grazed against his clothes. The light reflected off the glass, causing anyone gazing at it from an angle to miss what was on it. Silvester snapped the pocket watch shut once he'd gathered all the information he needed.

"The administration declared a strange emergency. According to reports, an Autumn has gotten away from the operation's hands and is presently on the run."

Barron crossed his arms, a frown appearing on his face. "Strange?"

"Yes, sir, since the escaped Autumn is said to have overpassed the scanners."

"The Autumn is probably here. Since the scanners haven't detected its presence, we won't be able to see it either," Barron concluded.

The scanners were developed from ordinary materials but had been upgraded by the grim reapers. The reason for its ability to detect the discoloration of the Maple Leaf Mark is due to its added supernatural ability.

"That is indeed strange," Barron said, looking at the car and pointing it out. "How's the deal with this one? Is he going to die today?"

In response, Silvester shook his head. He had used his pocket watch to measure the life force of the individual in the car and discovered that he still had decades to live. However, it was only a speculative conclusion due to the fact that the individual had been doused with an Autumn's death mist.

"I will begin working immediately, sir," Silvester politely requested as he busied himself around.

Barron is on a day off, but this place is not part of his jurisdiction. A grim reaper has the option of assisting or allowing others to take care of the responsibilities. As he was not interested in helping, he simply stood on the sidelines and watched Silvester assist the person in the wrecked car.

The free time made his mind wander around.

He's never encountered anything like this before. He should be able to see the autumns, the harbingers of death, but he hasn't been able to find the person since earlier. A second autumn appearing is also possible, although he has no idea where it is located.

Are these the new varieties of Autumns?

Barron did hear some strange cases recently about odd Autumns on the other regions. He did not delve deeper on the topic since all the autumns he had brought were normal. It came to his mind that a new strategy had been devised in response to the occurrence of these unusual autumns.

"Let's think about that later," he told himself.

He fixed his attention on the driver who had been dragged away by Silvester. Deathly pale, but this person is still breathing. The two grim reapers were working around each other silently when they suddenly felt a piercing stab of death slashing through the air.

Barron is the first to notice what's going on. In the distance, he saw a huge truck barreling toward them at high speed. There is a constant stream of honking from the driver, signaling pedestrians to clear the way. Nobody dared block the road as people rushed to the sides to avoid being hit. Except for the two people still resting on the street.

To say they were resting is just a way of expressing that these two people did not seem to have any intention of getting out of the way.

It was the woman he had seen earlier. Her eyes were welling up with tears as she remained rooted to the spot. Her daughter is cradled in her arms, giving her a series of weird expressions.

"Mom! A truck is coming!" The child shrieked, clearly horrified. She was tugging at her mom's clothes. "MOM! MOM!"

"It's okay," the mother cried. "Mom won't leave you alone."

A perplexed look spread across Barron's face. He noticed a dark mist hovering above the child's head. It wasn't small, but it was hazy. The color was pretty much completely obscured by the encircling dark mist, which is why he couldn't detect it before.

That is owned by an Autumn.

The child was unable to discern what her mother was trying to say. She noticed an orange tint on the back of her hand as she was pointing at the fast-moving truck. She squinted her eyes at it.

"Mom, what is this?" She asked. She touched the beautiful mark and showed it to her mother. "Something appeared in my hand!"

Her mother cradled her in her arms and stroked her back as she lowered her. Even though she could hear the yells and the truck's horn, she didn't move. She will not let go of her daughter, no matter what. She is the only one she has left.

She'd considered suicide numerous times. But she still has her daughter, the one who was very sensible and kind. She couldn't just leave her alone. If she dies today, she will accompany her. Like how her daughter never left her, she will not abandon her.

"It's okay, sweetie," she said. "Forgive mom for not giving you a wonderful life."

"Mom? What are you saying?" The girl could not hear anything. The truck is almost close.

The woman noticed someone approaching just then. She has the impression that time is moving at a glacial pace. She raised her eyes to the person she recognized as the one assisting the driver who had been involved in the accident. Moreover, she recalled being told by her daughter that he had a spark in his eye.

Indeed, there were stars in his eyes.

Barron stood and watched as the truck plowed into the two people. The two people are practically flung into the air by the force of the impact. The extreme friction caused blood and limbs to separate, as well as brains and heads to open.

The moment only took five seconds, enough to steal the person's life.

The truck skidded over to the corner after crashing into the two. It then went over to the overturned car and pushed it away, hitting more obstacles. The friction created a spark that immediately ignited the leaking gas. It resulted in a large explosion that made the ground shake from it.

The two grim reapers simply stood there and watched the event unfold in front of them. They were powerless to stop it since they lacked the ability. Once fate began to play, all they could do was stand on the sidelines and wait for the credits to roll.

"What a mess," Silvester commented, with a sigh.

He had just secured the guy he had taken out of the car when another task presented itself. He retrieved a smart phone from his pockets and contacted his colleagues. As he stood there watching the street fill with death mists, he explained the scenario to the person on the other line.

Everything in the immediate vicinity of the vehicle has been pushed by the force. Some others were hurt by the debris that was hurled into the air. Baron was just casually assessing the damage when he felt a weird aura. There seemed to be an individual who appeared to be standing in the midst of all of the pandemonium.

His calmness is strange.

The other party turned around after hearing the explosion. The eyes of two individuals were locked. The expression on the other person's face made Barron feel uneasy. He was then struck by something.

He was baffled as to why this person seemed so out of place. All of them are filled with the emotion of being terrified of death. This guy, on the other hand, appears to lack it.

"Yes, sir... I will clear it immediately..." Silvester spoke audibly from the side. After respectfully ending the phone call, he found Barron staring ahead. He followed the senior's gaze and recognized a familiar face.

"That..." Slightly bewildered, he gestured toward the person. "Isn't he the wanted person?"

"Wanted person?" A few moments passed before Barron realized what the junior meant. "You mean he's the one that got away from the scanners?".

Silvester nodded. He took out a tablet from his bag and showed Barron the wanted flyer that the Autumn Dispatch Department had published. The UI scrolled to show the escaped Autumn's picture from various angles, allowing viewers to recognize the person even from behind.

Except for a confident smile, this person's face resembled that of the kid in front of him, but for one minor difference: in stark contrast to the pallor he was displaying at the moment.

"How did he get away from us?" Despite the arrival of the escaping Autumn, Barron appeared unfazed and even took a moment to casually swirl the scythe around his fingers.

"The person is said to have escaped the authorities when they were cleaning up another autumn nearby," Silvester said, treading an invisible line with his own left cheek. "The said autumn scraped the mark out of his face using a razor. The scanner failed to detect it since the entire skin was peeled out."

Barron is amused by the situation. It's not that no one has done something similar before; it's just only a handful of them had the courage to do so. Can you imagine how painful it would be to scrape the mark off with a razor?

It was clear they were desperate to stay alive. Perhaps that explains his inability to perceive the terror of dying. There is no desire to die at all.

"This human is interesting. I want to see what is his inside his head."

"Sir?" Silvester's curiosity was aroused as he surveyed him.

"I remembered, there is a special program set up for strange Autumns, right?"

Silvester pushed his eyeglasses up and answered. "Yes, sir. It was established to understand the Autumns more. Would you like to suggest this Autumn for the program?"

Yes, Barron agreed. The other individual appears to have understood that Barron is coming to grab him, so it fled. Only a chuckle escaped the grim reaper's lips as he resumed striding forward. It's time to push forward and apprehend the person who has managed to avoid death.