Look at me!! I'm the reaper now: Reincarnated as the Herald of Death-Chapter 57: Unnamed

The soundwave was physical. Buildings cracked. Glass turned to powder. People a mile away would feel it.

Montez managed a weak laugh. "Should... keep you... busy..."

He rolled off Thadeus’s concrete platform and stumbled into an alley.

On the nearby rooftop, Taser pulled himself up from where he’d crashed.

Saw the Titan.

Saw Reece Oxford standing beneath it.

"Yeah, I’m out," Taser muttered, and fled in the opposite direction.

---

Hailee created wind platforms and launched herself backward, putting distance between her and the Titan.

David’s poison gas swirled around him protectively as he also retreated.

Thadeus was waking up, groaning.

Everyone was moving. Preparing to fight or flee.

Except Reece.

He stood exactly where he’d been. One hand holding his fedora so it wouldn’t blow away in the Titan’s wind.

His face was tilted down.

"Wait," he said calmly.

Hailee stopped. "What?"

"Just... wait."

The Titan took a step forward. Its massive foot came down toward Reece.

The shadow covered him completely.

The foot descended—

Stopped.

Inches from crushing him.

The Titan’s entire body froze mid-motion.

Reece lifted his head.

Opened his eyes.

Orange irises blazing. Compass rose spinning faster than before.

The massive eye in the sky expanded. Grew brighter. Saw *everything*.

And then—

Force.

An invisible wave of pure information erupted from Reece’s Crest.

It struck the Titan.

The creature’s body convulsed. Every cell in its massive form suddenly perceiving itself at a molecular level.

Every atom. Every particle. Every quantum possibility of its existence.

All at once.

Its consciousness tried to process the information.

Failed.

The Titan didn’t roar. Didn’t scream.

It simply *exploded* into particles.

Not blood and gore. Not chunks of flesh.

*Particles.*

Cellular disintegration on a scale that defied physics.

One moment there was a twenty-story monster.

The next there was red mist.

Blood rained down across three city blocks.

Reece stood in the center of it, completely clean. His Crest had created a barrier that the blood simply flowed around.

He adjusted his fedora again and closed his eyes.

The massive eye in the sky faded.

Silence.

Hailee stood on her wind platform, staring. Her mouth actually hung open slightly.

Thadeus, now fully conscious, just gaped.

Even David looked impressed behind his gas mask.

"What..." Hailee started. "What the hell was that?"

David pulled off his mask. "That was Magister Reece Oxford. Ranked ninth among active Topplers in the Empire."

"He didn’t even *touch* it," Thadeus said weakly.

"He didn’t need to." David walked over to where his Magister stood. "Absolute Perception. Inherited from Alexios the Eternal, founder of House Oxford. One of the Prime Twelve."

"But what did he *do?*" Hailee demanded.

"He forced the Titan to perceive its own existence at a molecular level," David explained. "Made it aware of every cell. Every atom. Every particle that comprised its body."

"So?"

"So imagine becoming aware of every cell in your body. Every chemical reaction. Every electrical impulse. Every process happening simultaneously." David looked up at the blood-stained sky. "Now imagine trying to maintain consciousness while processing all of that information at once."

Understanding dawned on Hailee’s face. "Its brain couldn’t handle it."

"Exactly. The overload caused a cascading failure. Every cell in its body ruptured simultaneously."

"That’s..." Thadeus searched for words. "That’s insane."

"That’s Omega-level power," Hailee said quietly. She looked at Reece with something between awe and fear. "I haven’t seen anything like that since my brother Hermon."

She created a wind platform and descended to street level.

"Omega-level Topplers really are on a different level," she murmured.

Reece opened his eyes—normal now, the glow faded—and looked around.

Taser was gone. Fled during the chaos.

Montez was gone. Escaped into the city somewhere.

He clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Slippery bastard."

David approached. "Should I pursue?"

"No. He won’t get far. Absolute Perception already mapped every injury he has. Every place he could hide. Every person he might contact." Reece adjusted his coat. "We’ll find him when we’re ready."

"And the other one? Taser?"

"Let Lionheart handle him. He’s not worth our time."

Hailee walked up to them, her wind platforms dissipating. "You let them escape."

"I eliminated the immediate threat."

"Your *brother* escaped."

"He’s not going anywhere I can’t track him." Reece met her eyes. "Besides, I have something more interesting to discuss with you."

"What?"

"You were chasing Montez with Professor Thadeus of Virelia. Why?"

Hailee hesitated.

Reece smiled slightly. "Don’t bother lying. Absolute Perception already analyzed your microexpressions. You’re investigating something. Something connected to my brother."

"That’s none of your business."

"When it involves House Oxford, it absolutely is my business."

They stared at each other.

The tension from earlier was back. But sharper now. Less playful.

"I need to question him," Hailee said finally. "About St. Helena. About the seventh seal. About things that are bigger than your family drama."

"Then you’ll have to go through me."

"Is that a challenge, Magister Oxford?"

"It’s a statement of fact, Vice-Magister Cross."

Wind began swirling around Hailee’s body again.

David took a step back.

Thadeus, still sitting on his concrete platform, groaned. "Not again..."

Before things could escalate further, Reece’s phone rang.

He pulled it out. Glanced at the screen. His expression shifted slightly.

"We’ll continue this conversation later," he said, answering the call. "Yes? ...Understood. ...We’re on our way."

He hung up.

"Lionheart business?" Hailee asked.

"Always." Reece turned to David. "Let’s go. Hailee, I suggest you take Professor Thadeus and get him medical attention. He’s concussed."

"I’m not—" Thadeus started, then vomited. "Okay, I’m concussed."

Reece walked past Hailee, pausing just beside her.

"For what it’s worth," he said quietly, "it was good to see you again."

"Was it?"

"Despite the circumstances? Yes." He smiled slightly. "You’ve gotten stronger."

"So have you."

"That’s the point, isn’t it? To keep getting stronger." He continued walking. "Until next time, Hailee."

"Next time I won’t hold back."

"Neither will I."

He and David disappeared into the night.

Hailee stood alone in the blood-soaked street, watching them go.

"Your ex?" Thadeus asked weakly.

"Shut up."

"That was definitely ex-boyfriend energy."

"I will leave you here."

"Sorry."