"My purpose for coming to this place is to train and tame the Yin Beast. All I want is the beast and some space to meditate, everything else is yours."

She had a serious expression as she stated her goal and looked at them to try and read their expression. Unfortunately, both Arthur and Lucy usually had deadpan faces so there wasn't much to see or read from such an expressionless couple.

"Mhmm I was planning on taming the beast too but if that's what you want then I don't mind giving it up for the rest of the stuff in there."

Arthur shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. While it is true that he planned to subdue the Yin Beast, it isn't his main goal for coming here. The Book of Life had been acquired and all that remained is the second piece, the sweetest piece, or so he thought. The power-up granted by the Book wasn't significant, in fact, it seemed the effect of [Angel of Death] was worse than [Ethereal State] but the Undead buff was what made him delighted.

[Light Operation] could be extremely useful in certain situations. With it and the potion, he didn't fear any kind of injury. As long as or Lucy don't die on the spot, with his skills and their Vitality Stat, they could recover in a very short time, contrary to other people, who may even take a year or six months to heal a curse or a severe blow. That is if they do not make use of some kind of miraculous medicine.

Hearing his answer, Shu Ru let out a sigh of relief. She concluded that the purpose of this strange couple wasn't the beast, which made things easier for both of them. Though the Book of Eternity was enticing, she had no need for it and didn't mind letting them have it, though it's not like she had a choice. After all, she didn't help in getting rid of the monster from earlier and it's not like she could've been useful since she's weak compared to them.

Very soon, the trio jumped into the bottomless hole and were quickly surrounded by darkness. For Shu Ru, her vision was limited but neither Lucy nor Arthur had difficulties seeing their surroundings. In fact, Arthur's prowess is increased in such an environment.

The bottom of the hole was soon reached, the place they were at was a wide cave that stretched for five or six hundred meters. The cave was limited due to the surface, the wide white stairs and the palace, they were some kind of seal that imprisoned everything within the cave, even the abundant Yin Energy, which was so dense that a portion of it leaked to the outside.

As Arthur was inspecting his map to locate the Yin Beast, another series of notification popped in front of him, startling him momentarily.

*You obtained a new title : [One Stalked by the Reaper]*

*Your location is known by the Grim Reaper.

WARNING : Death is coming to reap, it is advised to flee.*

As he read the following words, Arthur unconsciously cursed

"Damnit, he's coming again!"

Shu Ru misunderstood him and thought he was talking about the Yin Beast. However, Lucy, who was able to see his notifications thanks to the title [Unseen Bond], knew that he was talking about the Reaper.

The Yin Beast, who was silently watching them from a distance, suddenly sensed something and swiftly retreated to the end of the cave. Even Shu Ru, who was cautiously looking around suddenly felt a chill that almost made her fell on her knees.

This inexplicable feeling is Death, anyone weak-willed will fall unconscious. Lucy's gaze sharpened as she immediately retrieved Lonely Moon and loaded it with a 4th Grade Bullet, one of her strongest.

Arthur also readied himself as [Angel of Death] was activated thus materializing a pair of wings. The left side had a wing similar to a bat while the right one was a feathery white wing that was identical to an angel. In addition to this skill, he also activated [Eternium] resulting in another pair of wings to appear, they were jet black and enveloped by dark flames.

Soon, Arthur turned into a figure with two pair of wings as black flames covered him and protected him from harm.

He glanced at Shu Ru and said

"This is going to get really dangerous."

This was a sign for her to retreat but she just looked at him with awe-filled eyes. His sudden transformation and boost in aura and prowess left her totally gobble-smacked.

....

A few kilometers away from the palace, where Arthur and co were, there was a disturbance in space as a crack abruptly appeared. This crack remained for merely a few seconds before disappearing. It only served one purpose and it's to allow something to enter this world, in a way, it was a gate that separated the Realm of the living from the Realm of the dead.

A dark silhouette floated in the air, with a worn-out black robe, a body made only of skeletons and a terrifying long scythe.

The Grim Reaper looked around a few times before focusing its gaze at one specific direction.

Its speed seemed to be slower than a turtle yet it with the half step it took, it reached the area above the palace.

"Finally, we meet again, Arthur Bilgart."

As it was about to head toward Arthur, a figure appeared in its way, blocking it from advancing any further. Though the reaper was shocked by the sudden appearance of this person, it paid him no heed and attempted to bypass him.

Unfortunately, by the next second, it found itself flying in the air as this person was grabbing its forehead and lengthening the distance between them and Arthur's group.

Despite its immunity to physical attacks, it was easily dragged this far from its target. Confused and angry about the interference of this person, it said

"Mortal, are you sure you want to interfere with Death's matters?"

At the end of its words, its tone totally changed as it noticed something strange with this individual. The reaper was pushed a few meters away and as it glared at him, he chuckled and removed his hood whilst saying

"I heard that Grim Reapers, just like Death, can't die. I wonder if it's true?"

......

A few minutes passed since the warning but no reaper has come to attack him. At first, he thought that the arrival of the reaper won't be immediate but rejected such an idea. If it were so then the system wouldn't have warned him like that.

Around seven minutes later, Arthur was greeted with another notification

*The Grim Reaper has been successfully resisted.*

This made Arthur furrow his brows as confusion overwhelmed him. He didn't comprehend what just happened.

'Who resisted the Reaper? Why? Where and When?'

"It seems there's someone secretly protecting you."

Claud spoke to Arthur, the Prophecy Holder didn't seem anxious even when the reaper was coming.

"Do you think I could've defeated it?"

Claud took a few moments before giving his reply

"Defeating the reaper? I don't think that's possible but resisting it is totally possible. You only have to fight it until it is forced to leave, after all, it can only stay in the Realm of living for a limited amount of time."

Arthur let out a sigh of relief and deactivated his skills. It would be a lie to say he wasn't feeling nervous. A reaper isn't something that can be easily defeated. It is a follower of Death and it's immune to all physical attacks. He was able to survive last time only thanks to the help of the World Tree.

After making sure the threat had disappeared, Arthur glanced at Shu Ru only to find her slightly shaking. Her face was pale and she genuinely seemed to be scared. Though she was one of the top talents of the Green-Leaf world, his transformation still affected her.

He was so focused on the reaper that he forgot about her. Dark Magic is something affects the will of people and weakens them both physically and mentally. Although it wasn't directed at her, the area of effect of [Eternium] still caused her to feel fearful.

She was pampered since she was young and to be overwhelmed by a large amount of Dark Magic did traumatize her body, which began shaking on its own.

Arthur knew that trying to ease her up wouldn't end up good since she's still scared so he let Lucy do the job. Unlike the other female, Lucy was totally used to Dark Magic and thanks to their bond, it didn't negatively affect her.

She walked up to the frail girl and shook her body, wanting Shu Ru to straighten her thoughts and get rid of this fear.

Lucy didn't use all of her strength but the amount used caused Shu Ru to become dizzy. Only after some time did Lucy stop, leaving the poor Shu Ru standing with the support of a nearby wall.

The girl actually vomited from both the fear and dizziness but at least that made her mind calm and her thoughts clear. As she turned her head and saw the couple looking at her, she felt so embarrassed that her face turned red. She wished she would find a hole to crawl into from the shame of being seen vomiting, moreover, from fear.