My SSS-Rank Grim Reaper System-Chapter 62: Out of Control
Kael Darkwind had hunted thirty-seven fugitives over thirty years.
Not one had escaped. Not one had seriously hurt him.
Until now.
The thing that had been Alex Carter moved.
It didn’t walk. It didn’t run. It simply *appeared* in front of Kael—a speed that made **[Shadow Step]** look slow.
Kael blocked by instinct—twin blades crossed—
Alex’s fist connected.
*BOOM.*
It wasn’t the sound of flesh against metal.
It was the sound of thunder.
Kael flew backward—literally flew—traveling fifteen meters through the air before slamming into a brick chimney.
*CRASH.*
The bricks exploded. The chimney partially collapsed.
**[Kael HP: 6,800 → 6,200/6,800]**
Kael coughed blood and dropped to one knee.
First real damage in five years.
"Impossible," he murmured, looking at his swords—both bearing deep cracks where Alex’s fist had connected. "A level 40 can’t..."
Alex appeared again—an instantaneous teleport—and seized him by the throat.
Lifted him with one hand. *One hand.*
Kael was a large man—ninety kilos of muscle and armor. But Alex held him like a child.
Black eyes with bright crimson rings stared at Kael without recognition. Without humanity.
**"HUNTER,"** spoke the distorted voice. **"YOU HUNTED. THE WRONG. PREY."**
He squeezed.
Kael tried to speak—only a gasp came out.
**[Kael HP: 6,200 → 5,900/6,800]**
Passive damage from the necrotic energy burning his throat.
"Alex... Carter..." he managed to choke out. "You’re... not... this..."
**"INTERESTING. BEFORE. YOU DIDN’T CARE. WHAT HE WAS. NOW. YOU PLEAD. FOR MERCY. BUT NOW..."**
His eyes burned with deep red.
**"ALEX. SLEEPS. NOW. I AM. THE FRAGMENT."**
He threw him.
Not pushed. *Threw.* Like a professional pitcher hurling a baseball.
Kael flew—sailed through the air—and crashed into the bell tower of a church two buildings away.
*CLANG. CRASH.*
The bell rang, discordant. Kael fell through a rotting roof and landed across the support beams.
**[Kael HP: 5,900 → 5,100/6,800]**
A veteran of a thousand battles. Level 54. Reduced to a punching bag.
He hauled himself upright, stumbling, spitting more blood.
He attempted **[Shadow Pursuit]**—his emergency escape.
He vanished.
Alex was already waiting where he reappeared.
**"PREDICTABLE."**
He seized Kael’s wrist with his left hand.
The right hand blazed with concentrated necrotic energy—**[Necrotic Burst]** charging.
Enough power to vaporize an ordinary human.
Kael looked at that hand—tangible death condensing in the air.
For the first time in thirty years, Kael Darkwind felt genuine terror.
"Wait..."
---
**[MEANWHILE]**
Grim and the black Wyvern had been tearing each other apart.
Grim in his full Awakening Form—2.5 meters, bone armor, massive scythe.
The Wyvern—level 56, black scales, jaws like a guillotine.
*CLASH. SLASH. ROAR.*
They had fallen from the sky onto a rooftop, shattering tiles and gouging out a crater.
**[Grim HP: 2,200 → 1,800/2,400]**
**[Wyvern HP: 12,000 → 9,800/12,000]**
Then Grim felt something.
The bond with Alex—always present, always there—changed.
Like an electrical cable overloading.
Grim turned his head toward where Alex was.
He saw a massive dark energy. A black aura visible even from two buildings away.
"No!"
That wasn’t Alex.
That was the Fragment.
It was in full control.
He knew that for the Fragment itself, this was something good—no more limits, no more restraints. But...
"Master! The Fragment is controlling him!"
He abandoned the fight with the Wyvern—shoved it back with a powerful kick and ran toward Alex.
The Wyvern shrieked with fury and gave chase.
Talons extended, slicing down—
*SLASH.*
Grim’s left energy wing—partially severed.
**[Grim HP: 1,800 → 1,500/2,400]**
Grim staggered but kept running. Leaping between rooftops.
He had to reach Alex. He had to—
---
The thing controlling Alex’s body looked at its hand, charged with **[Necrotic Burst]**.
Then at Kael—held by the wrist, no means of escape.
*KILL.*
The Fragment’s voice in its own mind now. No longer whispering. Commanding.
*HARVEST HIS SOUL. GROW STRONGER. MORE PERFECT.*
Deep inside—very deep—Alex’s consciousness screamed.
*No! I’m not a killer!*
But the voice was weak. Distant.
The Fragment held ninety percent control.
The necrotic energy condensed further and further, until the air itself distorted around his hand.
Kael closed his eyes. Accepting death.
Then—
**"ALEX!"**
A woman’s voice. Familiar.
Alex—the Fragment—turned its head.
Raven was there. Emily beside her. Both gasping, having run fifteen minutes at full speed.
Raven took in the scene—Alex transformed, black eyes, holding Kael, lethal energy ready to kill.
**"STOP! THAT’S NOT YOU!"**
The Fragment tilted its head—a strange movement, like a bird studying an insect.
**"GIRL. DO NOT. INTERFERE."**
"You’re not Alex! Give him back to me!"
**"ALEX. SLEEPS. I PROTECT HIM. NOW."**
"You’re not protecting him! You’re destroying everything he is!"
**"THE HUNTER. DIES. THEN. WE RETURN. TO THE FAMILY."**
"Not by killing him! Alex would never—!"
**"ALEX. IS. WEAK. SENTIMENTAL."**
It walked toward Raven. Each step left a necrotic mark burning into the tiles.
**"I AM. STRONG. PRAGMATIC. THE BETTER. VERSION."**
Emily stepped back, frightened.
But Raven held her ground.
"You’re not the better version. You’re a parasite using his body."
The Fragment stopped. Its black eyes studied her.
**"PARASITE. INTERESTING. WORD."**
A pause.
**"AND YOU? FRAGMENT THREE. IN YOUR BODY. IS THAT NOT ALSO. A PARASITE?"**
A direct hit.
Raven hesitated—just a second.
But it was enough for the Fragment to attack.
It appeared in front of her—its hand closing around her throat.
Not squeezing. Just... holding.
**"FRAGMENT. YOU SHOULD NOT. RESIST. FRAGMENT THREE. IS PART. OF ME."**
It raised the other hand—the dark energy still condensed.
**"LET ME. KILL THE HUNTER. THEN. WE GROW. TOGETHER."**
Raven, slightly choking, activated Fragment 3.
---
The mark on Raven’s right hand *BURNED*—brilliant emerald green.
Her clothing began to shift—transforming into the elaborate gothic attire Fragment 3 had given her in the Fallen Citadel.
Black corset with lace. Layered skirt. Crimson cloak. Decorative garters.
Her black hair with crimson highlights rippled with its own energy.
Her eyes blazed an intense emerald green.
**[Fragment 3 – Partial Awakening Activated]**
**[Raven’s Corruption: 45% → 60%]**
The Fragment 3 scythe materialized—ornate, elegantly curved, beautiful but deadly.
Fragment 1 released her and stepped back.
It studied Raven’s transformation with... interest?
**"SUPERIOR. CONTROL."** Its voice sounded almost... impressed. **"SISTER. THE HAND. DOMINATES. HER FRAGMENT. BETTER. THAN ALEX. DOMINATES. THE CORE."**
Raven spoke—her voice blended with the feminine echo of Fragment 3, but still mostly her own.
"Thirty-two years," she said, voice controlled despite everything. "Thirty-two years learning control. Discipline. Self-mastery."
She swung her scythe in a fluid arc—a hundred skeletons emerged from the rooftop, each level 40.
"I was a professional assassin before I met Alex. Control isn’t optional in my profession. It’s survival."
Fragment 1 tilted its head, studying the skeletons.
**"EXPERIENCE. GRANTS. ADVANTAGE."**
"Exactly. Something Alex doesn’t have yet." Raven took a step forward. "But he will. If you give him the chance to grow."
**"GROWING. REQUIRES. TIME. ENEMIES. DO NOT. WAIT."**
"Then we protect him while he learns. Like a family."
Fragment 1 looked at Raven—really looked, as if evaluating her.
**"FAMILY. A STRANGE. CONCEPT. FOR AN ANCIENT. WEAPON."**
Then it attacked—not at Kael.
But at Raven’s skeletons.
Testing her.
Raven responded immediately—the skeletons moved in complex formations, blocking, attacking, perfectly coordinated.
For thirty seconds it was a deadly ballet.
Fragment 1 destroying skeletons with raw energy.
Raven summoning more, controlling them with surgical precision.
Finally, Fragment 1 stopped.
**"IMPRESSIVE. BUT. INSUFFICIENT."**
It raised its hand—**[Reaper’s Aura – Maximum Output]**.
A wave of dark energy exploded outward.
Every remaining skeleton—fifty at least—disintegrated instantly.
Raven gasped and stepped back.
Fragment 3 whispered in her mind: *It’s the Core. It governs everything related to death. Even me, partially.*
"You’re... stronger than I thought," Raven admitted.
**"THE CORE. AGAINST. THE HAND. THERE IS. NO COMPETITION."**
It advanced toward her again.
Raven raised her scythe, knowing it probably wouldn’t be enough—
Then she tried something different.
She appealed to Alex.
"Alex," she said aloud, lowering her scythe slightly. "I know you’re in there. I know you can hear me."
The Fragment stopped.
**"ALEX. SLEEPS."**
"No. He’s listening. He always listens." Raven stepped forward, leaving herself open. "Alex, I need you to come back. Please."
**"HE. CANNOT. I. CONTROL."**
"Alex," Raven continued, ignoring the Fragment, "remember who you are. Remember why you started this journey."
A pause.
"You’re not a killer. You’re not a monster. You’re..."
She hesitated, searching for the right words.
"...just a boy trying to survive in a world that doesn’t understand him."
She didn’t say it with condescension. She said it with tenderness.
But...
It was a mistake.
---
Deep inside his suppressed consciousness, Alex heard those words.
*Just a boy.*
And something in him broke.
Memory after memory flooded in.
Viktor looking at him with concern—*"You’re still young, Alex. Too young for this weight."*
Maya touching his cheek—*"Take care of yourself. You’re younger than you seem."*
Lyssa after the battle—*"Impressive for someone so young."*
Kael himself, before attacking—*"You’re just a boy playing with a power you don’t understand."*
*Why?* Alex thought, frustration and pain tangling together. *Why does everyone see me as a boy?*
I survived an expulsion. A betrayal. Mortal battles. And the Harvester’s Fragment in my chest.
And I’m still just... *a boy?*
And the Fragment—feeling that emotion, that pain—
Fed on it.
---
Fragment 1, which had been relatively calm...
*BURNED.*
Dark energy exploded outward—doubled, tripled in intensity.
The black aura became solid. Visible. Tangible.
Raven was shoved backward by the sheer force.
**"BOY."**
Its voice was no longer distorted. It was cold. Furious.
**"YOU CALL. ALEX. A BOY."**
It advanced—each step leaving burning necrotic marks in the tiles.
**"HE HAS SURVIVED. MORE THAN MOST. VETERAN ADULTS."**
**"HE RESISTED. MY INFLUENCE. FOR MONTHS."**
**"HE DEFEATED. OPPONENTS. FAR STRONGER."**
It appeared in front of Raven—at a speed she could barely track.
**"AND YOU. CALL HIM. A BOY?"**
It shoved her—not a strike, just a push—
Raven flew fifteen meters back and crashed into the church bell tower.
**[Raven HP: 920 → 650/920]**
**"I WILL SHOW THEM. HIS WORTH. TO EVERYONE."**
It turned—toward where Kael was still recovering.
**"STARTING. WITH THE HUNTER."**
The dark energy condensed in its hand—more than before.
Far more.
Enough to kill him instantly.
---
**"MASTER! NO!"**
Grim landed between the Fragment and Kael—in his full Awakening Form, wounded but resolute.
The Fragment stopped. It looked at Grim.
Silence.
**"Fragment. One. Secondary. Form,"** said the Fragment, its voice softening slightly. **"Grim."**
"Master. Please. Stop."
**"Alex. Sleeps. I protect him. Now."**
"You’re protecting. By killing! That’s not. What the Master. Would want!"
**"The Master is..."** — the Fragment paused, as if searching for words — **"...limited. By his morality. Weak."**
"He’s not weak. He’s GOOD!"
**"Being good. Does not make you survive. In a cruel world."**
"You survive. With family. With friends."
A pause.
**"You. Are part. Of me. Literally. You should. Understand."**
"I understand," said Grim. "That’s why. I stop you."
He raised his scythe—not threateningly, but with firm resolve.
"Because. I am. Part of Alex. First. And then. A Fragment."
The Fragment studied Grim for a long moment.
**"Absolute. Loyalty. To the Master. Above. Me."**
"Yes."
**"Even. If that means. His death."**
"I would rather. He die. As a good person. Than live. As a monster."
Absolute silence.
Then the Fragment...
Smiled.
Not with happiness. But with something like... respect.
**"Beautiful. But naive."**
It extended a hand toward Grim.
**"You are. Part of the Core. You should let us. Take. Full power."**
"Why?"
**"Because. The strong. Survive. The weak. Die."**
"The Master. Is not. Weak."
**"Not yet. But he will be. If he continues. Resisting."**
A meaningful pause.
**"Or he will die. Defending. A useless morality. Is that. What you prefer?"**
"I prefer. That he. Choose. His own path."
**"Even if. That means. Never harvesting. A thousand souls?"**
Grim hesitated.
A thousand souls. The final goal. Complete evolution.
If Alex kept resisting the Fragment... perhaps they would never reach it.
But...
"Yes. Even so."
**"You sacrifice. Evolution. For human morality?"**
"I sacrifice. Power. So the Master. Keeps his soul."
The Fragment looked at Grim—really looked at him.
**"Interesting. Paradox. You are. A weapon. Acting. Like a living being. With values."**
"I am not. A weapon. I am Grim."
The Fragment seemed to consider this.
Then it raised its hand—energy condensing—
---
**"PURIFICATION – MAXIMUM POWER!"**
Emily had been preparing in silence—channeling every last drop of mana into a single spell.
Golden light exploded from her hands—brighter than a thousand suns.
**[Emily MP: 850 → 0/850]**
It flooded the entire area. It washed over Fragment 1 like a tsunami of sacred light.
Divine energy against necrotic energy.
Light against darkness.
The Fragment *SCREAMED*—a sound that shattered the windows of nearby buildings and made the rooftops shudder.
**"NO! WE WERE. SO CLOSE! THE POWER! THE DOMINION!"**
The dark energy crackled, burned, disintegrated beneath the sacred light.
And deep inside...
*MY BODY!*
Alex’s voice—stronger now.
The Purification had weakened the Fragment’s hold.
*GIVE IT BACK!*
**"YOU CAN’T HAVE IT FOREVER!"**
**"I DON’T WANT YOUR POWER IF IT MEANS LOSING MY SOUL!"**
An internal battle—will against will.
The Fragment was ancient. Powerful. Designed to dominate.
But Alex was stubborn. Determined. And Emily’s purification had given him an opening.
He pushed.
With everything he had.
*OUT! THIS IS MY BODY! MY LIFE! MY CHOICES!*
*NOT YOURS!*
---
The dark energy dissolved like mist under sunlight.
The black aura evaporated.
Alex’s eyes flickered—black with crimson... black with brown... brown with black...
Finally—brown.
Light chestnut. Normal. Human.
**[PARTIAL AWAKENING ENDED]**
**[CONTROL RECOVERED BY USER’S WILL]**
**[Corruption: 83% → 68%]** *(Purification + resistance)*
**[PERMANENT CHANGE DETECTED...]**
**[PROCESSING...]**
Alex dropped to his knees—exhaustion hit him like a hammer.
**[HP: 820/1,470 → 340/1,020]**
Everything hurt. Muscles. Bones. Soul.
He looked at his hands—trembling, ordinary, no longer blazing with death.
"What... what did I do?"
The memory was blurred. Like trying to recall a nightmare.
He saw Kael—sprawled against the broken bell, bleeding, badly hurt.
"Oh God... did I kill him?"
"He’s alive!" Emily called from where she had collapsed (no mana left, barely conscious). "But barely!"
"I... didn’t mean to... I lost control..."
He looked at his hands again—then noticed his reflection in a nearby broken window.
His hair.
A white streak. On the left side. Starting at the hairline, running back about five centimeters.
Bright. Silver-white. Permanent.
"My hair..."
"I know," said Raven, pulling herself toward him (also hurt from the impact). "The Fragment left a physical mark."
She touched the streak gently.
"But... it doesn’t look bad. Distinguished, actually."
Alex tried to laugh—but only a weak cough came out.
"Distinguished... like a war veteran..."
"Exactly."
The darkness was claiming him.
"Raven... I’m sorry... about the boy thing... I know you didn’t mean it that way..."
"Shh. That was my mistake. I shouldn’t have..." She squeezed his hand. "Rest. We’ve got you."
And Alex let go.
He collapsed completely.
Knowing he was safe.
With his family.
---
While the team tended to Alex, Kael dragged himself to the edge of the rooftop.
Every movement was agony.
Broken ribs. Dislocated arm. Blood in his lungs.
But alive.
A survivor.
He whistled—weakly, barely audible.
The black Wyvern descended, limping (Grim had damaged it severely).
**[Kael HP: 5,100/6,800]**
**[Wyvern HP: 8,200/12,000]**
He mounted with difficulty, clinging to the Wyvern’s scales.
"We withdraw," he murmured. "For now."
He looked back—the team gathered around Alex, unconscious.
First time in thirty years he had retreated.
First time he had failed a capture.
But...
"This isn’t over, Carter." His voice was weak, but filled with cold certainty. "I’ll be back. With reinforcements. With an army if necessary."
"You’re too dangerous to leave alive."
The Wyvern launched into the night sky.
Escaping into darkness.
Defeated.
But not destroyed.
And already planning his next move.
