Grim Reaper in the Apocalypse: Reaping Immortals

Chapter 120: Horrifying face

With each second he struggled to decide which one to win the battle, their war raged on with much more intensity and carnage. He was horrified to see his SoulTime losing one day for each second it kept going.

He had to choose.

He closed off his brain and emptied his mind. He finally intervened and let one of the two energies win and permeate through his veins. The other one receded back to his Soul System and stayed dormant knowing that it lost this battle.

As the one energy monopolized his body, his very DNA began to change, down to the very molecule.

Even though his bloodline was that of an 'Angelic Reaper of Souls', his appearance remained that of a human. However, this LifeSkill allowed him to unlock that secret power that was hidden within him.

Slowly, his skin turned darker and darker as if it was rotting. Atlan felt no pain from this, only comfort. The energy that circulated throughout his body no longer acted like a wild bull. It became an obedient horse that guided his transformation into something beyond a human.

His rotting skin seemed to have thinned as his bones became more visible from under it. But that wasn't accurate. It was more like his bones grew until it seemed as if his flesh disappeared.

Even though his muscles receded under his bones, it seemed as if Atlan was filled with more power than he ever thought possible. He felt like he could lift a mountain! His physical strength exceeds that of his Physique LifeSkill by at least five times!

His skin continued to rot and decay, spreading from his toes and up towards his torso. His stomach emptied as if he was emaciated and hadn't eaten in an entire year. His rib cage became even more prominent in his chest.

The decay spread even to his battle suit, treating it as if it were part of Atlan's body itself.

It wasn't long until the decay spread up to his head. He couldn't see himself, but it was easy to imagine what would happen to his face.

The temperature in the room plummeted. His whole body was emitting a cold that could freeze water with just a touch. Smoke came out of his rotten skin as the room-temperature air hit his icy cold skin.

CRACK

Ice spread from his feet down to the tiles under him. It couldn't handle the pressure and cracked.

After the rot spread to every inch of his body, Atlan felt a sense of completion. He knew his transformation was finished. His entire mass radiated with cold, dark power.

Is this the power of a Pre-Intern?

Atlan felt as if he was filled with boundless energy. He was so full of it that he was almost bursting at the seams, manifesting as cold and frost outside his decaying body.

But even though he had a boundless energy source coming from his Soul System itself, Atlan had no way of converting that to useful power. He felt like he could create flaming dragons out of his hands or create tornadoes the size of a building, but Atlan had no idea how to.

The only way he could use this energy was to reinforce his body and increase his physical strength. It was crude and basic, but it was the only way he could harness this energy.

What do I look like?

Atlan slowly made his way towards the bathroom where he could see himself in the large mirror. He kept his steps delicate and soundless.

Once he was inside, he closed his eyes and readied himself to see his bloodline transformation.

3…2…1…

A skull with empty eye sockets stared back at him as soon as he opened his eyes. There were bits and pieces of rotting skin still stuck onto his bones, making the image that much more macabre.

"Argh!"

He stumbled back. He wasn't ready to see such a horrible image of himself staring right back at him. It was as if he was looking at his own decaying corpse. It made him remember the memories down in the Unclaimed Lands.

Back in his homeland, all he ever did was dig through an endless tunnel of gray, hot sand underground. And there were times when he would unearth a corpse that died from starvation or dehydration. They looked exactly like he did right now.

With his new life, he thought he wouldn't end up like that anymore.

Horrifying…

Atlan was so spooked that he subconsciously commanded the Stealth Tunic to create a black robe that covered his entire body. That wasn't enough to hide his frightening face. He created a hood that covered half his head.

He took a deep breath and looked at the mirror again. This time, he saw a mysterious figure of a man wearing a black robe with his face obscured by the darkness under his hood.

"That's better…"

He didn't think he'd appreciate the Stealth Tunic as much as he did right now. This black robe made him seem like a normal man who was simply enshrouded in mystery. He wasn't a rotting corpse anymore.

Atlan took a couple of deep breaths and centered himself.

Once he looked past his horrifying appearance, this LifeSkill was even better than he thought. Not only did he gain tremendous power that would rival those in the Pre-Intern realm, but he also transformed into something completely different from who he was.

If he didn't even recognize himself, then nobody would. If he wanted to keep his identity a secret, this would be a useful trump card to have in his arsenal of LifeSkills.

If more anomalies happened during his missions in the Remedium, a power equivalent to the Pre-Intern realm would save his life in case of emergencies. And with this transformation, he wouldn't have to worry about others finding out about his secrets.

The only problem with this was that he couldn't use his other LifeSkills at the same time as he was maintaining the transformation. He could only create one giant hand to grasp one LifeSkill planet.

If he could somehow create another giant hand, then he could use his other LifeSkills in tandem with his transformation. Unfortunately, it seemed his willpower wasn't the only criterion to create a giant hand.