My Soul card is a Reaper

15th of July, Year 2043 of the 11th Epoch;

Thousands of clansmen came from all over the world to gather at Red Pavilion, answering his summons. Many of them are on active duty. But they still returned on his orders.

As every one of those who answered his summons sat in the stands alongside every other villager living in the clan village, including the elders, clan lords, Leiza and Orion, Affea and Izora, etc., Azzy made his entrance alone to the field, floating in the center of the arena. He addressed them. "My clansmen who came from the outside world, some of you might have seen me once years ago, and many of you might have only heard about me. I'll just introduce myself."

Azzy shut his eyes for a moment and mumbled. "Soul skill: Rise of the Undead."

54 undead monsters appeared on the field, side by side, covering almost three-fourths of the land. All of them had a glowing core clearly visible from the outside, between their respective ribcages.

They didn't roar. Didn't move. Just stood in their place, blankly staring at everyone.

However, the spectators felt like their hearts stopped beating for a second. Those who don't have acute senses were awed by their magnificent sizes. But those who were high-ranking were stupefied in their seats.

"Wha… what are those giant undead monsters?"

"Master, are they…" "They… They are above 9-star…" "Eh, that means demigod?"

"I learned about the deal Monarch made with the hidden clans, but didn't see that it is true. The Monarch has demigod beast monsters at his disposal."

"Heavens bless the Death Clan."

"Sigh… you are really unfortunate to be born in this generation, my grandson…"

"How strong is the Monarch?"

"This isn't an illusion, right?"

As the murmurings filled the stands, Azzy spoke aloud. "This undead army is enough for the Death Clan to take over the entire world if we want. And of course, strong enough to protect the clan village even if all the hidden clans, all the forces united against us. The reason I called you all here is to first introduce myself. And second, to directly inform you, how the clan will flourish under my administration. As you all know that 18 years ago, I kicked out the Blood Clan due to my own personal reasons, and that triggered rebellion from two other clans. I expelled them as well; whoever remained has adopted into their new clan. Roughly a month ago, I brought another series of changes into the clan. Everyone accepted it but found it tough to adapt to the changes. I believe you who all adopted the lives of the outside world, also find it hard to adapt to any new changes too. However…"

Taking a brief pause to stare at the citizens, Azzy's gaze turned colder as he declared. "You have to get used to it. Give me your absolute loyalty, and I will give you a life ten times better than what it used to be. During the next 6 months, no new missions will be granted by the Palace, due to the whole reorganization of the clan system. After you were done with missions, you may continue to stay in your posts or return to the village. One of the few revolutionary things that you will all experience in my administration will be the implementation of technology while still staying disconnected from the mainland. Our clan's role is to bring balance, eliminating the evil whenever it rises too much and destroys peace, eliminating the monsters when they get too many in number, so that budding Arcana masters would find it easy to grow up. That doesn't mean we cannot depend on man-made technology. The clan wasn't created by some god. It was created by a mortal human. The weapons we use are created by a mortal human. The houses we built are created by mortal humans. And the rules we follow were created by mortal humans. So, there is no question of rejecting the mortal human's technological creations either."

His voice thundered in their hearts and minds. As if they were impressed by his words, many clansmen got up from their seats and started hailing him for no reason. "All Hail The Monarch" "All Hail the Monarch" "All Hail the Monarch"

These chants filled the stadium for a while, and Azzy patiently waited until it died down on its own to give his finishing speech. "In a few days, there will be another hidden clan meeting, where new things and already discussed but not yet implemented things will be discussed, and you will be informed about it. Until then, you can stay in the village or return to your posts."

Meanwhile, far away from the Death Clan village;

In another mystical dimension in one of the western free islands on the opposite side of the world, a pale-faced man, wearing black robes and hoods, was seen dragging a large carriage, where atleast two dozen people, mostly young adults, both male and female, were in an imprisoned cage. They all carry a seal over their necks, preventing them from running away or even speaking louder than 70 dB, or else, they will feel internal burns.

They dragged it to what seemed like a cave at the bottom of a cliff. The cave has a barrier, and two guards were kept outside.

The man spoke to the guards. "New batch has arrived." He then rolled up his sleeves, revealing a strange tattoo on his arm. It looked like some writings, perhaps from an ancient civilization.

One of the guards counted the people in the cage, and the other took out a pouch before taking out two scarlet pills. "26 subjects. 2 pills."

Looking at two of them, the man complained. "C'mon, Brother. I'm a regular here." Pointing at the cage, he added. "As you can see, the subjects this time were all below 30 years old."

The guard shut his eyes and let out a breath. "Fine. Another one. That's it."

He gave an extra pill to the person. The latter walked away with a goofy smile on his face, thanking them for their generosity. As he was about to leave, he saw one of the slaves, in the cage, a 16-year-old was blankly staring at him. Half of his face seemed burned, a patch on his eye, and a single black glove on his hand.

The man shuddered, and sweat drops instantly appeared on his forehead. He wiped it off and hastened his pace. "Ugh… what's the deal with that boy?"

Soon, the cages were opened, and one after another, they got down, maintaining a line.

One of the guards controlled the line and pushed them forward into the cave, and the other had a notebook in his hand. He was writing their names one after another.

Eventually, this 16-year-old's turn came.

"What's your name and age?" The younger guard asked, with a pen in his hand.

The boy replied blankly. "Azrael, 16 years old."

He was pushed into the cave. He stumbled but walked forward, his gaze remaining blank.

Stepping inside the cave, he muttered under his breath. "You took away everything from me in the name of keeping balance, Death Clan. One day, I will wake up the devil for sure. Until I burn you and your clan to cinders, I won't die. I won't die… I won't die."

Black sparks of lightning momentarily appeared over his glove before they disappeared.