Grim Reaper in the Apocalypse: Reaping Immortals

Before they knew it, there were swarms of tiny-mouthed creatures laughing and smiling at the ground and in the air.

Their small but high-pitched screeches created a shockwave that made Atlan and the rest of the team wince in pain. Even if they blocked their ears, they could still hear that incessant laughter echoing in their minds.

There was no way they could escape.

Ninth swung her sword around her, killing thousands upon thousands of pests. Yet it made no difference. As soon as there was space, the swarm would fill it up as if there was an endless supply of them—which wasn't entirely false.

The Sniper kept shooting his gun and multiplying his bullets, yet he wasn't able to keep them from biting his battle suit and turning his skin into a feeding ground.

The Tank was a little bit better as he could protect himself from harm using his shield that repelled anything. But, he was limited only to a specific direction, leaving him vulnerable from behind.

Everyone used their LifeSkills to save themselves, but the swarm was too much. It felt as if they were swimming in a sea of tiny mosquitoes that ruthlessly bit their battle suits and threatened to devour them down to their bones.

The worst part about it was the annoying tiny laughter echoing in their ears.

The pests took away an entire year of SoulTime for every second they spent inside the swarm. For Specialist Saviors like them, losing that little amount of SoulTime was almost negligible. As for Atlan, he was protected by his battle suit, with the chitinous padding being slowly whittled down.

"Should I destroy them?" the Mage asked loudly.

Ninth considered the thought. Even though a large number of enemies like this was perfect for an area of effect mage, Ninth had a feeling that it would only exacerbate the situation. Billions could turn to quadrillions.

"Let's hold on for now," she said. "It's still manageable."

While Atlan fought off the swarm of pests with his slow punches, he couldn't help but wonder about the Canzer.

From what he witnessed earlier, the Canzer couldn't regenerate its injuries fast enough. It was still affected by the Sniper's previous bullets, hindering its ability to dodge attacks.

Therefore, it wasn't a Destruction Canzer. If it did, then it would have been able to shrug off any normal attacks that Ninth and the Sniper inflicted on it. At least, it should have shown some kind of healing ability even if it was slowed down. But it didn't.

Is it an Infection Canzer, Atlan thought. It would explain why it didn't die from being riddled by bullets. And the fact that it was able to show itself in the sky could be another manifestation of its cloning ability.

Even the smiling creatures, the dead trees, the mud golems, and the mouthed pests, were all 'infected' by the Canzer's happiness. They got contaminated with the spirit of the Canzer and were forced to do its bidding.

It made sense.

"Boss! How long are we going to endure this?" asked the Scout. "It's fine if this is our only opponent, but we have several more Canzers to defeat!"

On a normal mission, Ninth and her team didn't have to worry much about their SoulTime. They saved up enough lifespan for them to not worry about a Canzer's attacks like the pests they were experiencing right now.

However, this was not a normal mission. It was already confirmed before they went to the Remedium that there would be at least 3 Specialist Canzers inside!

Even if they had a surplus of SoulTime, they would eventually run out of time if they fought three Canzers all in succession. And there was a possibility to have more hiding further down the Church.

They had to be frugal with their SoulTime.

They would only receive the reward or compensation of SoulTime after they finished the mission. They wouldn't replenish their lifespan until they saved the Church from the hostage situation.

If they lost half of their life in this fight, then they would only doom themselves later on.

"Hold on! We need it to show more. It's hiding something."

Ninth's words surprised Atlan. "This isn't normal?"

"It's not acting in a typical manner," the Tank next to him explained. "It's acting weak. It should be stronger than this."

This is weak? Atlan could barely even keep up with just one of the dead trees, yet the bodyguard was telling him that normal Specialist Canzers were a lot stronger than this. He could hardly believe it.

"Show your ugly face, you bastard!" Ninth screamed as she held her one-handed sword up in the air and finally activated her LifeSkill.

A colossal apparition of a sword-maiden with the same structural face as Ninth and garbed with traditional knight armor appeared behind her. It exuded a sense of sharpness that could cut through anyone who looked up at her giant figure.

Atlan couldn't even look up at the majesty of Ninth's LifeSkill up so close. If he looked at it too hard, he would feel a prickly sensation in his eyes that would force him to avert his gaze.

But even then, she was lenient. If Atlan was an enemy, he wouldn't be able to stand so close to her without bursting into a thousand slices of his body.

The pests that tried to overwhelm the apparition learned that lesson the hard way. No matter how much they tried to overwhelm her, they could not get within two meters of her figure without bursting into mere atoms.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

And that was just the manifestation of her LifeSkill. She hadn't done anything yet…Till now.

She raised her sword in the air, and so did the apparition. Her sword, just by merely raising it in the air, cleaved through the skies and threatened to split the sky as well as the annoying smile on the Canzer's face.

"HYAAA!" Ninth screamed and brought down her sword, creating a huge pressure that divided the whole swarm as if she was parting the sea.