Mr. Death in the Steam World

"ah--!"

The flower of the other shore let out a mournful scream.

Concentrated holy water corroded its petals, and spiritual liquid gushed out like a spring, forming a thin silver film on the surface of the bud.

The Death Note is still in the air, but Moen doesn't need to wait for it to fly over.

With a forceful tug of his left hand, he tore the entire flower bud off Professor Leonard's chest, then turned and swayed.

The nectar on the flower bud landed right on the flying Death Note.

A black aura suddenly surged from between the pages of the book, entwining the flower bud and greedily sucking up every drop of spiritual nectar.

"No—! No—!!"

The voice of the other shore flower was no longer the arrogant tone it had before, but was instead filled with resentment and despair.

It tried desperately to retract the vines, but the vines withered rapidly as the spiritual liquid drained away, like withered branches in the bleak winter.

The Death Note hovered in mid-air, the sound of the pages turning growing louder and faster until it turned into a piercing shriek.

In an instant, everything fell silent.

The pages stopped turning, and the black aura slowly receded.

The Death Note quietly floated back to Moen, a dark red line now appearing on its cover.

[Target elixir has been absorbed.]

[Target confirmed for harvesting: Spider Lily]

Harvesting Mode: Available

As Moen looked at the line of text, an indescribable feeling welled up inside him.

Although he didn't know what the harvest form was, he didn't hesitate given the circumstances.

"After all, this name—it sounds incredibly powerful!"

The pages of the book suddenly burst open.

A red and black aura surged from between the pages of the book, enveloping Moen entirely.

He felt a power rising from the depths of his body, a feeling he had never experienced before filling every muscle and every bone.

That's the temperature of death itself.

The shockwave slowly dissipated.

Moen looked down and found that his coat had turned into a red and black trench coat, the hem fluttering in the night wind.

His right cheek was covered with a red and black skull mask, like congealed blood or black ice crystals.

In his hands, the Webley revolver had changed its appearance.

The gun barrel was elongated, its lines became sharper, and flowing runes were engraved on it, moving slowly like living things.

The magazine position no longer requires manual loading—the afterimages of six bullets flicker on the gun, each emitting a dark red glow.

At the same time, a feeling of blood connection came from the gun in his hand, and he felt as experienced as a seasoned gunman.

[Crimson Reaper: A new weapon of the Death Agents, possessing astonishing destructive power against all living beings.]

[A 6-round magazine, reloading takes no time and consumes no bullets. You gain weapon specialization, and your bullets have effects such as aimbot, armor penetration, and magic resistance, but it consumes health.]

[Introduction: Times have changed, and the weapons of the Grim Reaper's agents must also keep up with the times, right?]

Moen raised his gun, aimed it at the other shore flower, pressed his face with one hand, and laughed wildly at the sky.

His laughter was arrogant and unrestrained, completely lacking his previous composure.

"Come here and tell me, who is the insect now?"

The other shore flower desperately urged its remaining vines to try to escape, but after losing a large amount of spiritual liquid, the vines were weak and powerless, and would break at the slightest touch.

Without hesitation, Moen pulled the trigger, the bullet leaving a bloody trail in the air.

Despite the Flower of the Other Shore's best efforts to dodge, the bullets seemed to have eyes, precisely targeting her weak points.

The first bullet was fired, and the last petal of the flower of the other shore exploded.

The second time, another hole appeared on the flower bud.

On the third strike, all three of its remaining vines broke.

Three shots, all hitting the target.

The flower of the other shore was riddled with holes, and its spiritual sap had spilled all over the ground.

"Since I'm destined to die, you won't have a good life for the rest of your days either!"

While Moen was laughing wildly, it used its last bit of strength to condense a thin, sharp vine, which it secretly stabbed towards Clara.

But it pierced its own hand.

Professor Leonard's body trembled slightly, and his withered hand slowly rose to block the vine.

"That's enough..."

A slightly hoarse, barely audible voice came from Professor Leonard's mouth.

That wasn't the sound of the flower on the other side of the river, that was—

"Professor Leonard?"

Professor Leonard's eyes were half-open, and a sliver of clarity returned to his cloudy eyes.

When the other shore flower was extremely weak, he finally regained some control of his body.

He looked at Moen, a smile that was more like a grimace tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Young man... well done..."

His voice was broken and intermittent, as if he had used up his last bit of strength.

"Now's the time... to finish off... this damned flower..."

Moen silently stepped forward and pressed the muzzle of the Crimson Reaper's gun against the flower bud that was already mostly withered.

The red spider lily screamed, struggled, twisted, and raged.

He ignored it completely.

"So, Professor."

Moen closed his eyes and spoke in the most serious and respectful voice he could muster.

Happy anniversary of your death.

The trigger was pulled repeatedly, and three bullets pierced through the flower bud.

The shriek of the spider lily abruptly ceased. The bud withered and shriveled at a visible speed, finally turning into a handful of grayish-black powder, which was scattered by the night wind.

Professor Leonard lost his balance and collapsed limply to the ground.

His eyes were closed, his face was serene, and there was even a faint smile on his lips.

As dawn approached, he finally finished his long and terrifying nightmare.

Moen stood there, removed his mask, looked at the professor's body, and bowed.

The red and black trench coat and mask slowly disappeared, and the Crimson Reaper returned to its ordinary Webley Revolver form.

He felt as if all the energy had been drained from his body, his legs went weak, and he almost collapsed to his knees.

Harvesting death brings blessings.

[Target for Harvesting: Spider Lily (Level 4 Containment Item)]

[Achieved Essence Quality: Blue]

[Remaining Time: 168:00:00]

A beam of light appeared before Moen.

This time, it wasn't white, nor green—but a deep blue like the ocean.

【Vibrant Fragrance (Blue)】

As expected of Blue Essence, even its name is so artistic.

He first went to Clara's side to make sure she was only unconscious and breathing steadily before he breathed a sigh of relief.

Then he returned to Professor Leonard's side, took off his coat, and gently covered the professor with it.

After doing all this, he looked at the blue light again.

[Note: Absorbing the blue essence takes time. You can store it in the Death Note for later absorption.]

Moen was taken aback, then reached out and beckoned, and the ball of light flew into the notebook.

It's getting light, and with so many people around, it's best to find a safe place.

He picked up Clara and took one last look at the dock.

Moonlight spilled onto the river, creating shimmering waves. Professor Leonard lay peacefully on the barge.

"Rest in peace, Professor."

Time did not allow him to deal with the professor's body. Moen turned around, picked up Clara, and disappeared into the night.