Himo's gaze fidgeted between the scythe on the ground, the banalis before him, and the others who stared at him in bewilderment.

How awkward.

He had not expected that spinning the scythe would be that hard. Not only was the exertion put on his fingers massive, but it also affected his whole body. To not talk about the required coordination of each finger, where a single mishap would mess up everything.

He wondered how to dispel the awkward mood. And to his fortune, someone came to his rescue.

The banalis.

It charged toward him, uncaring about the awkward mood—all it cared about was that its opponent was unarmed. And that it had a precious chance.

Lacking a weapon, Himo could only frown while dashing backward with a stacked [Hopper_x2]. As usual, he felt the air beating to his back due to the movement—and then crashed onto something. Onto someone.

“Eh?!” He turned backward, looking speechless as he stared at a rank three banalis crashing on the wall. It seemed unharmed, albeit the way it held its sword made Himo think that it was quite annoyed. But the child didn’t care. Hearing a startled “Thank you” from behind—from the siblings—he dashed toward the scythe still stuck on the floor. 

The rank four banalis stopped him. It stood between the child and the scythe, showing that it actually had a little of intellect.

Himo frowned. Even if he were to attempt at circumventing the banalis, the latter could simply reposition itself. At the same time, he couldn’t fight against it without the scythe—the difference in strength was too apparent.

He stared at the banalis. It stared him back.

Silence stood between the two for a few seconds. Eventually, a light flashed into Himo’s eyes. “I see now…” Said those words, he dashed straight to the banalis. He clenched his fist, aiming directly at the opponent.

The banalis reacted quickly. It slashed toward Himo with all its strength.

Despite the swift approach of the sword, the child didn’t seem moved. Two invisible platforms appeared under his feet and he dashed to the right. His dash had made an exact ninety-degree turn to the right—just another sprint and he would be able to grab the scythe, as the banalis wasn’t blocking his path anymore.

Or that was what the banalis thought. It dashed quickly in-between Himo and the scythe, only to find a punch heading straight for its face.

“This is the first fight you ever fought, isn’t it?” Laughing, Himo punched the banalis, who failed to put any defense against the sudden attack.

With a fist containing a strength comparable to fifty-six people plus the aid of the momentum gained from a stacked [Hopper_x2], the punch was strong enough to crush the head of a bull. But when it struck the monster’s cheek, nothing happened. The monster didn’t take a single step backward. It seemed slightly dazed, but unharmed.

At the same time, the blow bruised Himo's knuckles. The banalis was resistant against standard physical attacks—he needed the scythe, a cursed weapon, to damage it. After all, he knew no magic spell. But he still smiled. He had achieved his aim.

An opening toward the scythe had been created.

He avoided the monster’s slash and darted toward the weapon, successfully grabbing it. Posing it on his shoulder, he glanced at the banalis and grinned.

The banalis shrieked, its scream resounding throughout the hall. It sounded angry. Infuriated, even. Himo felt goosebumps running down his arms, his eardrums nearly bleeding. Even so, he didn’t release the grip on the scythe.

A white sword appeared in his view, advancing straight to him. And got blocked by the scythe’s blade.

Himo backed away, not breaking eye contact at any moment. If the banalis were to vanish from his sight, he would die. He believed so. Thus, he dared not underestimate it and took his stance, the scythe’s blade pointing to the right of the banalis once again.

This time, he would not fail. He couldn’t allow himself to fail.

Like the previous time, the banalis charged at him. Its sword slashed down from above, slicing the air in its path.

But unlike the previous time, he felt a ‘click’ resound in his mind. As if something which made no sense before became clear all of a sudden. He took a step forward as he moved the scythe to the right. This time, the sword didn’t get deviated to the floor, but to the side, hitting empty air. 

The shockwave from the blow resounded in the whole hall. Seji, Shela, Reiji, and Serdis turned their eyes towards him. The two ranks three banalis laid on the ground, trying to resist, yet unable to move—they were getting sealed gradually, ingested by the artifacts of the trio.

Seji opened his mouth slightly and took a step towards Himo. He didn't even realize he had done so. He just stared at him, not saying a word. He remembered clearly how the child had fought against the bandit leader. He had just swung the scythe around with no real technique behind it, relying purely on the strength of the weapon itself.

And yet... the child before him now seemed a completely different person. Spinning the scythe as his fingers blurred even to Seji's eyes, the child stepped toward the monster. The monster attempted to block, but its sword ended up knocked back along with its arm.

When the monster slashed, the scythe parried. When the monster backed away, the child stepped forward. When the monster shrieked, the child ignored it.

The scythe and the child moved as if dancing, responding to the monster's every move.

Seji felt like watching a dance. But not a normal dance—it seemed like listening to a requiem. A requiem to repose the dead, or, in this case, to deliver death itself.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa~" 

Before he knew it, the two ranks three banalis began to sing a lament. They said but one note; their tone high-pitched, yet tranquil.

Startled, he turned to look at them, yet the monsters stood still without moving. They didn't defend themselves, simply singing while watching the child's dance.

Even the rank four monster that the child was fighting began to sing. Unlike the other two, it kept fighting, however. As if it didn't want the dance to stop. Hands, arms, legs... bit by bit, the banalis lost pieces to the scythe, and yet, it kept singing.

Himo understood. Or at least he thought he did. The discussion he had with the system about the scythe resurfaced in his mind—about how his soul would be trapped had he failed to take control of it.

These monsters… they are just souls trapped by the cursed weapon, aren't they? Souls forced to defend it, bound forever to its will...

A shiver went down his back. That could've been his destiny had he failed to control the scythe. But he shook the thought from his mind. 

The fight went on for only thirty further seconds. At last, the banalis lost. Beheaded by the scythe, its head dropped on the floor, soon followed by its body.

As if its life force had been exhausted, it began to dissolve gradually like particles of powder fading into the air. Himo stared at it in silence. When suddenly, he widened his eyes.

The banalis was smiling.