Awakening of the Weakest Slayer

Sezel's voice echoed in the silent surroundings. He strode forward with a confident, unwavering gait, as if the thought of being hidden, of being unseen, was now beneath him. Vesta and Shiki moved with the same strange certainty, their steps purposeful, their eyes fixed on some unseen goal ahead. It was as if they knew exactly where they were going

Mari simply followed, clutching Sezel's hand tightly, her small fingers digging into his palm. But he seemed not to notice, his attention lost in something more important, something more exhilarating. He walked with a smile on his face.

The Spectral Flesh Reaper, Sezel's puppet also followed behind, a being of no understanding.

They rushed towards the metallic cylinder, its colossal form growing with every hurried step. Suddenly, Mari stopped dead in her tracks, her small body pulling against Sezel's hand. "Stop… Stop, mister," she pleaded, her voice small and broken, trembling with an unseen terror.

Sezel halted for a second and looked back at her, his eyes fixed on the trembling girl, there was a strange, unsettling glint in his crimson gaze, a cold, absolute certainty and the purpose was clearly etched in his mind.

"What happened, Mari?" he asked, his voice flat, devoid of its usual warmth. "Why did you stop?"

The little girl took a few ragged breaths, gathering her courage before speaking, "Don't go in that thing mister."

Sezel's confusion deepened, his eyes squinting. "Why? Our Lord is waiting for us. We must not make him wait any longer." His words were absolute and chilling.

"There… There is a strong black color around it," Mari explained, her voice barely a whisper, stammering between words.

But Sezel's eyes squinted even more, his smile twisting into something unsettling. "What are you saying? It's our Lord. He is very good and forgiving." He pulled Mari towards him, his grip firm, and began walking again. "Let's get you to meet our Lord."

Mari sobbed a few times, a silent, heartbroken sound that was lost to the wind. She was afraid, and she felt isolated, alone in her terror. She didn't understand what had changed so suddenly, why the world had twisted. All she knew was that the metallic cylinder radiated a dangerous energy, and Sezel, the only one she truly trusted, was walking straight into it, for some strange, unfathomable reason.

But she didn't cry. She had never cried. Back when she lived in the room, they had beaten it into her, every day, every time she was about to shed tears. Don't cry

She just followed them, a strange, gut-wrenching feeling in her stomach screaming at her to stop them, to turn them away from the advancing danger. But she couldn't do anything. She was powerless.

The group walked up to the colossal, metallic cylindrical tower. They circled around its base, their footsteps echoing in the vast, empty space, until they finally came to a stop in front of something that looked like a door.

They walked closer to its surface, and suddenly, with a soft hiss, the metallic door slid open upwards, revealing a sleek, dark, empty space within. As if they were all intimately familiar with this place, they stepped inside, their movements fluid and unhesitating.

The door hissed shut behind them, and everything plummeted into darkness. Not a single ray of light penetrated the black. Mari pressed herself against Sezel's leg, her small body trembling, consumed by terror.

Sezel put a hand on her head, his fingers tracing slow, deliberate circles. "Don't be afraid. You are going to meet the Lord soon, and then everything will be alright," he insisted.

But the little girl was literally trembling out of her wits. To her eyes, this entire place was filled with the dark energy she had sensed around the Tower. She gulped hard, her small throat constricting.

Then, without warning, the floor beneath their legs stirred. It shuddered, and suddenly, they began to move downwards, descending for a few breathless seconds through a large, glass tube-like structure.

Suddenly, they were all forced to close their eyes as a blinding streak of light greeted them. They had gone under the large metal tower, descending into a vast, sprawling underground sanctuary. It was as if the entire ground beneath the vast expanse of the walled-off territory had been hollowed out. The lift stopped as it reached the ground, and a door slid open, revealing a new, even more awe-inspiring chamber.

The group walked out of the entrance, the air here suddenly turned dusty and thick with a murky, metallic tang. There was no wind, no breath of the outside world. This was a place completely isolated from everything.

Mari was shocked and terrified beyond words. She could not utter a single sound, her small jaw slack with disbelief. As they moved through the vast, dimly lit space, she was awestruck. There were countless complicated machines, their monstrous forms hissing and steaming, their inner workings beyond comprehension.

On the other hand, Sezel and the others just walked on, their steps unwavering, towards some unknown direction, paying no heed to the mesmerizing, intricate machinery that hummed around them. It was strange, indeed. Sezel, usually so curious, so easily drawn to the strange and the unknown, seemed utterly unaffected by their presence.

They simply moved past them, and soon, a large, elevated stage-like structure came into view, bathed in a pool of artificial light. Sezel's face, and Vesta's, and Shiki's, all lit up after seeing it, their expressions alight with a strange, fervent joy. But for Mari, it was no less than a horror ride.

There were about fifty Flesh Reapers, all tall and black as obsidian, their scythes gleaming ominously in the artificial lights that illuminated the sanctuary. They all prostrated themselves in front of the stage their heads bowed down in silent, absolute reverence.

Sezel, Vesta, and Shiki, all three of them, walked so close to those terrifying beasts, their steps unwavering, and then they, too, prostrated themselves on the ground, their heads bowed down, their bodies mirroring the homage of the Flesh Reapers.

Mari's heart was beating so fast that it felt like it would burst from her chest. She wanted to scream. She wanted to run. But she didn't. She simply followed along with the others, her small, trembling body forced into submission, her mind a whirlwind of fear and incomprehension.