Look at me!! I'm the reaper now: Reincarnated as the Herald of Death-Chapter 56: Unnamed

Hailee stood between David and the unconscious men, gusts of wind swirling around her body like a protective barrier.

Her trench coat was burned away by Taser’s lightning, her vest was scorched and torn and her silver braids were coming loose, with strands of hair framing her face.

Reece tilted his head slightly and shot her a kind smile.

"Vice-Magister Cross," he said pleasantly. "What brings you to this street? Surrounded by five unconscious men?"

Hailee didn’t lower her guard. "I’ve been down on my luck with love lately. Can’t blame a girl for playing the men’s game."

David made a sound that sounded like a suppressed giggle.

Reece’s smile widened. "A woman of your class and beauty? Those men must have been intimidated."

"Is that what you think?"

"It’s the most logical explanation."

"Or maybe," Hailee said, her eyes glowing green, "they were just boring."

Reece actually laughed. "Still as direct as ever."

"And you’re still as insufferable."

"Insufferable? I’d prefer ’"

"Nobody prefers that. That’s just what you tell yourself."

David looked between them. "Should I... step back?"

"Yes," they both said simultaneously.

The wind around Hailee intensified slightly.

Reece adjusted his fedora with one hand. "How have you been, Hailee? It’s been—what? 4 years since we gradauted Virelia?"

"Six and I’ve been fine."

"Just fine? Your promotion to Vice-Magister was rather impressive. I was going to send a card."

"But you didn’t." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"I got busy."

"Clearly."

They stared at each other.

The tension wasn’t hostile exactly. But it wasn’t entirely friendly either.

It was complicated.

A groan from behind Hailee interrupted the moment.

Montez was waking up.

His eyes fluttered open. His vision swam. Blood still crusted around his nose from Reece’s earlier attack.

He pushed himself up slightly, squinting through the pain.

Saw his younger brother standing in the middle of the street.

Saw Hailee between them.

Saw the way they were looking at each other.

"Maurice," Montez croaked. "What are you doing here?"

The pleasant expression on Reece’s face vanished instantly.

"It’s *Reece,*" he said coldly. "I haven’t gone by Maurice since I was twelve."

"That’s your name—"

"It’s a name I don’t use. Because it was given by a father who expected nothing from me. Unlike you." Reece’s orange eyes focused on his brother. "The firstborn. The heir. The one who was supposed to carry House Oxford’s legacy."

Montez tried to sit up fully but his body wouldn’t cooperate. "Reece, I—"

"We finally meet," Reece continued, walking closer. "After years of avoiding family gatherings. After rejecting the Vice-Magister position I personally reserved for you. After dragging our house name through the dirt by working for *Kaiser* of all organizations."

Each word was surgical. Precise. Designed to cut.

Montez’s hands clenched. "I had my reasons—"

"I’m sure you did. Just like you had reasons for every other failure in your life." Reece stopped a few feet away. "Father spoiled you. Gave you every opportunity. And you squandered all of it."

"That’s not—"

"You made a mockery of House Oxford," Reece said, his voice dropping to something cold and absolute. "And worse, you made a mockery of *me.* Do you know how it feels to be asked ’how’s your brother doing?’ at every formal event? To watch people’s expressions shift when they realize the great Montez Oxford is just a washed-up mercenary?"

Hailee stepped forward. "Reece—"

"Stay out of this, Hailee."

"No." Her eyes blazed brighter. "I have no tolerance for men who disrespect their elders. You always were a brat at Virelia."

Reece’s attention snapped to her. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. You strut around acting like you’re better than everyone because you inherited a powerful Crest. But that doesn’t give you the right to treat your own brother like garbage."

"My brother doesn’t deserve respect."

"Everyone deserves basic respect—"

"Not him." Reece’s voice was ice. "He had every advantage I had. Every resource. Every opportunity. And he chose to waste it. To become *this.*" He gestured at Montez’s bloodied, beaten form. "A criminal running from his own failures."

"I’ll ensure he pays for his crimes today," Reece continued. "For embarrassing our house. For embarrassing our father’s memory." His eyes glowed brighter. "For embarrassing *me.*"

The massive eye opened in the sky above them again.

The pressure was immediate. Crushing. Absolute.

Both Hailee and Montez felt it—like being observed by something beyond human comprehension.

Hailee created a wind barrier around herself reflexively.

It helped. Barely.

Montez had no such protection.

Blood poured from his nose. His ears. His eyes rolled back.

*Not again. Not again. NOT AGAIN.*

Memories flooded his consciousness. Forced to the surface by Absolute Perception’s analysis of every synapse firing in his brain.

*Age six. Reece just born. Father holding the baby. "Another son. Perhaps this one will be worthy."*

*Age twelve. Reece’s Crest manifests. Absolute Perception. A Prime Twelve inheritance. Father’s face lights up with joy Montez has never seen directed at him.*

*Age fifteen. Reece, only nine, already surpassing him in training. Father’s disappointment palpable.*

*Age eighteen. Reece asks why he’s even trying anymore. "Father’s already chosen his heir. It’s not you."*

Montez’s vision faded. His consciousness slipping.

But his hand moved.

Purely on instinct. Muscle memory from years of desperate survival.

His fingers found the remote in his jacket pocket.

The same device that had saved him from Hailee earlier.

He pressed the button.

Reality *screamed*.

A Rift tore open in the sky above them—purple and black energy cascading outward like a wound in the universe.

Reece’s concentration broke. The pressure from Absolute Perception vanished.

Montez gasped, air rushing back into his lungs.

Hailee dropped to one knee, her wind barrier dissipating.

They both looked up at the Rift.

Something massive was coming through.

An arm emerged first. Gray skin covered in scales. Claws the size of cars.

Then a head. Reptilian. Multiple eyes. A mouth full of teeth that could crush buildings.

Then the body.

The Titan was twenty stories tall. Its skin was armored with natural plating. Each breath it took created wind that rattled windows.

It pulled itself through the Rift fully and dropped into the street.

The impact shattered pavement. Car alarms screamed. Windows exploded.

The Titan opened its mouth and *screeched*.