A Reaper's Philosophy-Chapter 24: Anoroc

"Phase 3 begins now," I told them.

"Yes, Master," Azrael replied with a respectful bow. The tailed Lilith simply stared at me with an indifferent gaze.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"Oh, nothing. I just... kind of liked Elaine, is all," she replied nonchalantly.

"She's a means to an end. Put your feelings aside," I said, then teleported away.

Azrael turned to her. "The Master seems troubled by this new phase. Who is this, Elaine?"

"She's his wife," the tailed Lilith answered. "Even I don't know what Phase 3 actually is. I know it has something to do with her, which isn't good."

"Hmm...to gain the master's interest! Does she come from royalty?" Azrael asked excitedly.

"She's no royal—just an ordinary human. But Grayson has taken a liking to her," she responded.

"What does she have to do with his plan? Why does it affect him so much?" Azrael asked, still clueless.

"He's just grown too fond of her. He may not have it in him to go through with it," the tailed Lilith tried to clarify.

 'A weakness...! This isn't ideal for the Master. She must be eliminated. His plans must proceed,' Azrael thought grimly.

Over the next two weeks, I isolated myself on the farm, focusing on recovery and mastering the dark cloud. I crafted more intricate forms and trained for different battle scenarios. Armando wasn't something I could beat with brute force.

Azrael's hand hadn't healed yet. Although he wasn't as strong as I was, his battle power would be needed.

I wondered, 'Could I help him heal like I had?'

After a few experiments, I found out he couldn't absorb shadows to regenerate. But I could share my dark cloud with him directly, which worked. His healing accelerated, but it came at a cost: my own life force. The worse the injury, the more of my life force would be taken. Fortunately, Azrael's injury was no longer that bad and was already slowly healing. Armando's residual power slowed the healing process, but it was much weaker now. The life force that I lost healing him was something I could easily recover with time.

"Master, when will we begin Phase 3?" Azrael asked.

"When I'm fully healed," I said, tweaking the dark cloud's properties between my hands.

"Does this phase involve the woman named Elaine?" he asked.

"And what if it does?" I replied, sensing his concerns.

"I think she is a distraction," he stated flatly.

"Then don't think," I said, putting the dark cloud away.

 'The Master's judgment is clouded. This woman must be eliminated!' Azrael thought decisively.

"Forgive this servant's intrusion. Please excuse me," he said, before turning to leave.

 'I must protect my Master's interests. Elaine must be eliminated!' Azrael thought to himself as he flew through the sky like a speeding bullet.

In mere moments, he arrived outside Elaine's hotel room. Phasing through the door, he entered. A woman was now stepping out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her. Her hair was soaked, yet it only enhanced her beauty. She sat down in front of a mirror, gently drying her hair with another towel. Silently, Azrael crept closer, reaching out to grab her by the neck.

However, Theós' light surrounded her, continuing to shield her from such harm. Elaine remained oblivious, her human eyes incapable of seeing Azrael. Unless Theós willed it, no mortal could perceive the beings of the spiritual realm.

Still, Azrael pressed forward, attempting to pierce the divine barrier. Suddenly, a searing pain shot through Azrael, like a hundred migraines running through his head. His body was locked in place, as if gripped by an invisible force. Nonetheless, he persisted, desperate to close those final few inches. Just before his fingers could reach her—

Snap!

I appeared beside him and crushed his wrist in my grasp. Without a word, I dragged him through a gate and hurled him into the tailed Lilith's room. I then pulled a chair forward and sat down slowly, eyes fixed on him.

"You have five seconds to explain yourself," I said sternly.

Azrael, still clutching his broken wrist, dropped to one knee. "Master... It's that woman. She clouds your judgment. She should be eliminated. As long as she lives, she will always ho—"

I cut him off before he could finish.

"Eliminated?" I said, slowly standing up, and choked Azrael with the dark cloud, lifting him in the air.

"What made you think that it was okay for you to even consider touching my woman?" I said to him, tightening the hold around his neck.

"You do not have the right to question my actions or my timing. Not you or anyone else!" I said to him, releasing him from the cloudy chokehold.

"Know your place!" I commanded, looking down on him. He then immediately excused himself apologetically.

After he had gone, I sat down, contemplating what had just happened.

"My woman? Where did that come from?" I muttered, letting out a long sigh. "Damn it, Azrael may be onto something!"

"You think?" the tailed Lilith said, coming out of the bathroom, fresh from a shower.

"Right, this is your room. Of course you were listening," I said, unsurprised.

"Yeah, get your shit together. I like her too, but she's just one human," the tailed Lilith said indifferently as she slipped into her attire.

I gave her a nod, but my mind was elsewhere. Without another word, I teleported to the top of the Empire State Building, sitting cross-legged on the lush, green roof. The wind whispered through the city below as I tried to untether from the mundane. My focus sharpened as I reached out, feeling the faint traces of the dark cloud within the blood of those who had taken the miracle drug.

A deep breath filled my lungs, heavy with the weight of the choice before me. There was no going back from this. The power I had over the dark cloud was mine to wield, and now, it was time to release it in its truest, most corrupt form. I let go of all the lingering doubts, the emotions that held me back.

"It's about time I began Phase 3," I murmured, my voice barely audible over the howling wind.

Without hesitation, I severed the control I had over the dark cloud inside those who had taken the miracle drug. As a test run, I started with people in Antarctica. The drug, once a healing gift, would now become nothing more than a poison that would spread slowly and insidiously.

As soon as I released my grip, I felt the shift. The world below me was on the precipice of disaster. There was no more holding back. The miracle drug that had once healed became the vessel of destruction. It was no longer a cure, but a slow-burning poison, coursing through the bodies of almost every person who had taken it. The first place to fall was Antarctica. Then, South America. But it would not stop there. The world soon followed.

Within weeks, the first signs appeared. News reports emerged of a mysterious illness, a deadly autoimmune disease that spread like wildfire. In just two months, it had consumed the world, claiming millions of lives in its wake. It was dubbed Anoroc — a disease with no cure.

The disease that attacked the very core of the human body, persuading the immune system to betray itself, to turn its defenses against the host. Antibodies became the enemy, white blood cells went dormant, and the death toll rose steadily.

All the while, they blamed Elaine for it. Eventually, people were able to put two and two together. The world now held Elaine responsible for this disaster. The miracle drug she had created, the one she had believed would save lives, had become the catalyst for this catastrophe. They believed they were right to blame her, but what they didn't realize was that all those deaths, every single one of them, were my doing.

I had saved her from death once. It was her time to die, but I stopped her from ending her life. Because of this, those who had taken the drug that she created were all dying before their intended time. Their souls were strengthening me with every passing second.

With a single thought, anyone who had taken the drug became a target. No one was safe. No one was spared. Men, women, and children alike. As the world crumbled beneath the weight of my actions, I watched from the shadows, savoring the chaos.

Throughout these events, Ace had been protecting Elaine in a hidden safe house, all while I had been absent. Despite the mounting chaos, Elaine insisted on turning herself in, but Ace, always the pragmatic one, refused to let her. The world wasn't searching for justice anymore, not in a time like this. They were thirsty for blood.

"How could this happen? I'm not a killer. I didn't mean for any of this... The drug was tested! Anoroc... it shouldn't have been possible..." Elaine mumbled to herself, tears streaming down her face as she frantically paced around her lab, trying to find a cure that felt more and more elusive with each passing minute.

I walked in, trying to hide the unease building inside me.

"How is she?" I asked, as though I hadn't been gone for months, my voice carrying an edge of concern I hadn't allowed myself to acknowledge.

"She won't stop," Ace said, his voice laced with frustration. "She's been up for two days now, barely eating. Only stops to drink water, then dives right back into her work."

I gave Ace a brief nod before stepping into the lab. My eyes fell on Elaine—her face pale, a thin sheen of sweat clinging to her skin, but she was relentless in her pursuit for a solution.

"You'll kill yourself if you don't rest," I said softly, my gaze shifting to the multiple monitors around her. All kinds of research filled the screens. She looked exhausted as she typed away. Her body was slowly but surely deteriorating.

Elaine's hands shook as she wiped away her tears, pushing through the exhaustion that was visibly pulling her under. She looked up at me, her voice barely a whisper, "I have to fix it. I have to make it right."

I leaned against the doorframe, my heart weighed down by the burden of her words. But I knew the truth—no matter how hard she tried, there was no undoing the chaos that had already been set in motion.

"Wait! Where have you been?" she said, finally realizing who I was.

"Busy, dealing with this whole situation," I replied, my voice flat.

"Why didn't you tell me? You could have called, texted... anything. I needed you here. You once said you needed me. Has that changed? Is that why you left me without any explanation? Do you think I'm a murderer, too?" Elaine's voice cracked with emotion, her tears flowing freely as she spoke.

"You want to die, don't you?" I asked, my tone empty, not bothering to turn around. "I won't stop you this time."

Elaine's face twisted in anguish, her eyes pleading for something I could no longer give.

"I'll take it that you no longer need me, then?" she whispered, her voice trembling but laced with a coldness I wasn't ready to confront.

"No," I spat, my words cutting through the space between us like a blade, "I do not."

I turned and walked out of the lab, my heart unnaturally numb to the raw pain I'd just inflicted. She stood there, frozen for a moment, feeling the weight of my words crush her chest.

Her breath caught as if the world had stopped spinning. But it didn't, and she fought the rising sensation of choking. She didn't know what to do with herself. She was married to this man, but he didn't seem to care whether she lived or died.

(Sigh)

She released a long, heavy sigh, surrendering to the cold reality. But the tears... they wouldn't stop. They streaked down her face as she turned back to her work, her exhaustion and despair gnawing at her resolve. After what she believed she had done, she refused to just die and leave the world the way it was.

Outside the safehouse, I found Azrael on one knee, just beyond the entrance.

"Master, forgive me for ever doubting you. Please, take my life if it will add to your power," Azrael's voice trembled, but his words were full of sincerity.

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I paused, taking in his plea, and sighed.

"Raise your head, Azrael," I said, my voice softer. "It's not that deep. To some extent, you were right. I was hesitating, but you made me realize where my focus should lie. Now my strength has increased, and my mind is clear. I won't give you a reason to doubt me again."

I turned away from him, walking further into the cold night. My thoughts were elsewhere, steeled for the next steps. I activated the dark cloud within every human who had taken the miracle drug. My power surged as I felt their lives slip from their bodies.

'Nearly half of humanity will be wiped out by this. Hopefully, it will be enough,' I thought.

I looked back at Azrael. "Gather your shadows. We leave Earth in one week."

"Yes, master," Azrael replied, his voice tinged with reverence as he flew off to prepare.

"Tailed Lilith," I muttered, knowing she would hear.

She appeared before me in almost an instant, stepping out from a gate with a casual grace.

"You called?" she asked, her voice as indifferent as ever.

"We leave Earth in a week," I said, meeting her eyes. "I need you to make some arrangements."