The night wind howled.
The corrugated iron roof of the abandoned factory gleamed coldly under the moonlight.
Standing near the edge, Diluc’s crimson hair whipped in the wind as his fiery eyes coldly tracked the cloaked figures below.
The bizarre creatures stood completely still, the pitch-black void beneath their hoods staring back up at him like an abyss.
Time seemed to freeze.
Suddenly, the cloaked figures spun around in perfect unison, looking exactly as if they were going to leave.
But Diluc’s fingers had already quietly tightened around the hilt of the Blackcliff Slasher.
‘They aren’t leaving.’
Whoosh!
Sure enough, a split second later, a near-silent hiss sliced through the air from the shadows directly behind him!
Diluc spun on his heel.
The Blackcliff Slasher materialized in his grip, and a blazing inferno roared from the blade like an angry dragon!
BOOM!
The fire-wreathed claymore brutally intercepted the dark silhouette lunging from the shadows!
It was a cloaked figure that had been lying in wait.
Its razor-sharp claws had been mere inches from the back of Diluc’s neck, but the heavy strike violently repelled it!
The lethal blade bit deep into its chest, the searing heat instantly vaporizing the blood spraying from the wound.
The sickening stench of charred flesh filled the air.
“Graaagh!”
The creature stumbled backward, clutching its chest and letting out a string of garbled, inhuman screeches.
Its hood slipped back, finally revealing its true face: sickly bluish-gray skin, a completely hairless head, sunken eyes, and… a grotesque, jagged slit running straight down its chin.
Reapers!
“Just as I thought…” Diluc scoffed coldly.
The dark red flames swirling around the Blackcliff Slasher flared even higher.
By now, the group of Reapers that had ‘pretended’ to leave had already whipped around, swarming toward him with terrifying speed!
Swish!
Swish!
Swish!
Moving like ghosts, over a dozen dark blurs crisscrossed under the moonlight, completely sealing off his every route of escape.
But Diluc was every bit as fast as they were!
BOOM!
He vaulted into the air, sweeping the Blackcliff Slasher in a wide arc.
A crescent wave of fire exploded outward, forcing the closest Reapers back.
One of them failed to dodge in time and was instantly swallowed by the flames.
Emitting an ear-piercing shriek, it was reduced to a blackened husk and plummeted off the roof.
Schlick!
Its barbed maw shot out like a striking viper, aiming straight for Diluc’s throat!
Diluc sharply sidestepped.
His left hand shot out, ruthlessly grabbing the disgusting, slimy feeding organ.
Searing flames instantly raced down his arm and incinerated the maw to ash!
The Reaper wailed in agony and stumbled back, but Diluc was already on top of it.
He drove the Blackcliff Slasher clean through its chest, pinning it securely to a corrugated iron wall behind them.
BOOM!
The flames violently detonated.
The Reaper’s body was blown apart by the sheer heat, leaving nothing but a pile of black soot.
The battle grew fiercely intense.
Diluc’s figure wove flawlessly through the swarm of Reapers, every swing of his blade unleashing roaring blasts of fire.
He used the factory rooftop to his full advantage—vaulting over AC units, diving into the shadows, and launching devastating counterattacks.
The Reapers were incredibly fast, but Diluc’s combat experience vastly outclassed theirs.
With every clash, he found a fatal opening.
Schlick!
One Reaper tried to dive-bomb him from above.
Anticipating the strike perfectly, Diluc smoothly reversed his grip and severed both of its legs in a single backhand sweep.
The creature shrieked as it fell, but before it could even hit the roof, a second upward slash cleaved its head clean open.
Seizing the momentary distraction, another Reaper lunged at his back, its claws aimed directly at his heart.
Diluc didn’t even turn his head.
The Blackcliff Slasher spun in his grip like a living thing, carving a flawless, deadly arc through the air.
The Reaper’s arm was severed right at the shoulder!
Before the creature could even process the loss of its limb, Diluc whipped around and delivered a devastating kick, launching it dozens of feet across the roof to crash through a brick chimney.
BOOM!
A massive wave of fire followed closely behind, consuming it completely.
The entire battle lasted less than five minutes.
Of the original dozen Reapers, only two remained.
The surviving duo stood amidst the burning wreckage, their sunken eyes locked onto Diluc.
The grotesque slits on their chins quivered—perhaps out of fear, or perhaps out of sheer rage.
Diluc lazily flicked the ash off the Blackcliff Slasher, the dark red flames still dancing hungrily along its edge.
“Now, it’s your turn.”
The two Reapers exchanged a glance and gave a stiff nod.
“Roar—!”
Suddenly, one of the Reapers bellowed and charged recklessly at Diluc, while the other turned and fled for its life!
The charging Reaper swung its claws like a madman, whipping its barbed maw through the air.
The attack completely lacked technique; it was the desperate, chaotic thrashing of a suicide run.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
“You’re brave, but you’re still going to die,” Diluc murmured.
Every single time his claymore blocked a strike, a brilliant shower of sparks erupted.
Three moves later, Diluc found his opening.
He sliced the creature’s maw clean off, immediately following up with a brutal horizontal slash.
The Reaper’s head flew high into the air, and its headless body stumbled a few steps before crashing heavily to the ground.
But by this time, the final Reaper had already reached the edge of the factory grounds, on the verge of disappearing into the night.
Diluc narrowed his eyes.
The flames on the Blackcliff Slasher suddenly condensed, burning with a blinding intensity.
“Think you can run?”
He hurled the heavy claymore forward.
It streaked through the night sky like a burning meteor—
BOOM!
However, it missed by a fraction of an inch.
The Blackcliff Slasher buried itself deep into the concrete right behind the fleeing Reaper, the resulting explosion of fire launching the creature into the air.
But it quickly scrambled back to its feet.
Completely ignoring the massive, charred burn on its back, it vaulted over the perimeter wall and vanished into the darkness.
Staring out into the sprawling night, Diluc chose not to pursue.
He raised a hand, and the Blackcliff Slasher flew back into his palm.
The flames gradually died down.
As the night wind swept through the abandoned factory, all that remained was a roof scattered with charred, blackened remains.
Meanwhile, the blinding flashes of fire and deafening explosions had jolted the residents living near the derelict industrial zone completely awake.
Pulling back their curtains, people stared in shock as thick plumes of smoke rose over the distant factory, bright orange flames licking at the dark sky.
“Good lord… hasn’t that rundown factory been abandoned for over a decade?
Do you think some leftover chemicals exploded?” a middle-aged man muttered, rubbing his sleep-filled eyes as a terrible possibility dawned on him.
Hearing this, his wife immediately snatched up her phone and frantically dialed 911.
The second it connected, she rushed out, “Hello, NYPD?
There’s been a massive explosion in the old Brooklyn industrial park!
The fire is huge, and there might be a risk of a chemical leak!”
At the exact same time, down on the street, a convenience store owner was yelling urgently into his own phone.
“Yes, the old factory district!
I saw several giant fireballs shoot straight into the air with my own eyes!
That is absolutely not a normal fire!”