The moment the dust settled, the red-haired individual finally stopped pretending.
His entire demeanor shifted gone was the trembling, beaten, unconscious kid from earlier. His posture straightened, his eyes sharpened, and that twisted smile carved itself onto his face like it had always belonged there.
He spoke in a calm, almost elegant tone, nothing like the act he played before.
"So many surprises," he said as he looked down at them from the broken roof. "I never expected I'd witness what I saw today. One surprise after another." His grin widened as his gaze settled directly on Harian. "Tell me, boy… how did you know?"
Harian simply smirked."You had bad acting."
The red-haired man blinked, then burst into a wild laugh sharp, ringing, mocking.
"Bad acting? You didn't actually expect me to believe that, did you?" he said between chuckles. "Even that man-..." he pointed at Leon Lighthart without a shred of fear "..did not know. So how could you?"
Harian shrugged casually."It was obvious from the start. Your essence was unmistakable. I never expected I'd share a cell with the Reaper."
It was a clean excuse. Smooth. Believable.
And a complete lie.
Because Harian knew exactly who the kid was the moment he opened his eyes in this life.In his previous life, this same red-haired kid dropped the act the second the guards were distracted. He slaughtered the entire row of cells guards, prisoners, even the innocent ones. Harian barely escaped the massacre with George.
Years later long before he rose to become Hanzo the Nightmare King Harian faced this same individual again. They fought. It was brutal. It was life-threatening. And Still Harian killed him.
That memory alone was enough to make him wary…but not afraid, not even now. Because he knew something the others didn't. He could beat him. Leon's voice broke the silence. His tone was sharp, deliberate, and filled with recognition.
"The Reaper," Leon said. "Edward Rean."
Edward clicked his tongue."Oh, I must say… I absolutely despise it when people I've never met use my name." His smile twisted darker."If you want to get acquainted with me, at least make an appointment."
Leon didn't flinch. "I have no reason to be acquainted with a serial murderer."
Edward's grin twitched wider amused, offended, entertained all at once.
"A murderer, hm? You have got the nerve calling me that." His eyes glimmered with malice as he stared straight into Leon's. "The Monster of Maken should know better than to call others what he is himself."
"You're telling me I was dragging the Reaper this whole time…?" the old man whispered. His legs shook. Sweat rolled down the side of his temple.He stared at Edward Rean the red-haired monster now perched casually on the broken rooftop. As the old man stumbled back, Edward turned his head toward him, grinning.
"Oh, thank you," he said pleasantly. "You dragged me around even when it meant you might die."
The old man froze. Edward tapped his chin thoughtfully. "You're making me wonder if I should kill you or not…" Everyone stiffened. Then Edward's smile widened into something feral."Well… just kidding. I'd kill you either way." A chill ran through the entire prison block.
Leon stepped forward, sword in hand, eyes sharp."You were planning to kill everyone here too?" he asked, voice steady but laced with warning.
"I was planning more than that," Edward replied. He looked down toward Harian, his expression tightening."But it seems someone got ahead of me."
His eyes narrowed.
"He's still a kid… but he already knows too much. Looks like letting him live would be terrible for his health." Harian's grin tightened but he didn't answer. Edward tilted his head. "Any last words, kid?"
Harian spoke calmly."If you want to let me live, you better do it quick. Because if you don't-..." His eyes sharpened. "-..I'm heading to Black Mountain." That name hit Edward like a blade to the throat.
In an instant, he vanished. Everyone's eyes widened.
He reappeared right in front of Harian, claws sharpened into razors, already slicing toward Harian's neck too fast, too sudden, too lethal. It should have been over. But....CLANG!
A piercing ring of metal exploded through the cell block. Leon had moved.
Arondight was raised, intercepting Edward's claws mid-strike. The impact sent a shockwave that cracked the floor beneath them. Leon stood between Harian and death, eyes locked on the Reaper.
"I cannot let you do whatever you wish," Leon said coldly."Especially to this boy."
Edward hissed, eyes glowing. "You're interfering too much, knight." Behind Leon, Harian stood frozen for a heartbeat then swallowed hard. Inside his mind, Vex screamed:
[VITAL WARNING! THAT WAS TOO CLOSE! TOO CLOSE!]
Harian's pulse hammered in his chest. Yeah. No kidding. He'd gambled everything on Leon reacting exactly the way he did when he mentioned the Lady of Light .And it worked. Barely.
But as he stood there, keeping his expression cold and confident, his back soaked with nervous sweat, he realized the truth.....Right now, he couldn't even perceive their full movements. He was too weak. Leon and Edward were both monsters. And he hated it.
Harian clenched his jaw slightly. It's alright he'd done the best he could…and he'd nearly died anyway.
Leon twisted his wrist and shoved the Reaper away with a burst of strength. Edward slid back across the broken stone, clicked his tongue twice, and lifted a brow at Leon. "Using a legendary weapon is kind of unfair, don't you think?" he said mockingly.
"You can't say that when you possess Moon Essence… and a legendary artifact yourself."
That froze the Reaper for a moment but only so he could grin wider.
"So you figured it out."He pointed at Leon, clicking his tongue again."Well, I never tried to hide it anyway. But still impressive."
He lowered his hand.
And immediately Harian felt it. A presence he remembered far too well. Then...Rattle… rattle… rattle…Chains echoed through the cracked floor.
A moment later, a pair of small scythe-like blades shot upward, linked together by a thin, glimmering chain that pulsed like it was alive. Both Leon and Harian reacted at the same time:
"Cronux."
Their voices overlapped perfectly. The Reaper's eyes narrowed. Leon's too. Both turned toward Harian slowly, each raising an eyebrow. Harian coughed lightly.
"Of course....who doesn't know what weapon the Reaper uses?"
Behind him, Muliad muttered, "I… don't."
"Me neither," the old man added.
"No clue," George said.
[YOUR BULLSHITTING POWERS EXCEEDED ONCE AGAIN]
Harian ignored all four. Edward spun Cronux around his fingers, letting the chain curl and uncurl like a snake stretching after waking. Then his voice dropped to something cold.
"Leon Lighthart. I'll warn you one more time."He pointed a bladed tip toward Harian."Let me kill the kid… or I'll kill you too."
Leon stepped forward, Arondight glowing faintly with inner light.
"I understand your interest, and like you, I have many questions for this boy."He tightened his grip on the sword. "But I cannot under any circumstances allow one of the most dangerous men on the continent to do as he pleases. I am captain of the Royal Guard. My duty is here."
Edward smiled, all teeth and mania. "A fight, then. Good. I was getting bored." His essence flared violently cold, ominous, sharp like moonlit blades. Leon's essence surged in answer brilliant, blinding, humming with power.
The ground shook while the walls cracked and the air distorted. Harian backed away as a bitter thought slid through his head. Two monsters were about to tear the prison apart.
Again.
So instead Harian did what he could do at the moment asking vex to show him his status, a soft chime rang in the back of his skull.
[STATUS WINDOW DISPLAYING.]
NAME: Harian Liche
ALIAS: Hanzo of the Everfall
LEVEL : Intermediate
ESSENCE TYPE: Void (Devolved)
SOUL STATUS: Incomplete (87.9%)
SECONDARY ESSENCE: Eternal Essence [Dormant]
LIFESPAN REMAINING: [DATA UNSTABLE]
CURRENT ESSENCE AUTHORITY: 2.3% increased to 3.5%
ESSENCE EVOLUTION PATH:
Void→ [???] → Nightmare → [???]
The faint translucent panel appeared before his eyes only he could see it. As his gaze slid down the list of numbers and passive abilities, something made him stop. Then he smiled.
It wasn't a big smile just a tiny, sharp curl of his lips. But it was enough to make the prisoners watching him shiver. There it was. Something that he had been quietly, desperately building up the entire time while pretending to be confident.
ESSENCE AUTHORITY: 3.5%
Almost enough. Harian exhaled slowly. His bones still ached, his muscles trembled, and his body screamed that he had already pushed it far beyond its limits. But this?
This was enough to move. "Good," he whispered under his breath.
[THAT'S NOT "GOOD,"] Vex snapped in his mind. [BUT IT WILL BE ENOUGH… FOR ONE MOVE.]
Harian grinned wider. "That's all I need." Using his authority he gathered the necessary essence to execute his plan.