It didn’t take long until the reaper’s burnt looking fingers crumbled and peeled like ashes from its skin to slowly reveal its bones. The sight was blood-cuddling for humans but not to Ian and Maroon who seemed to be used with such a sight. Bellow the reaper’s green eyes their skin had turned scaly for the half of his entire face geared the same texture. When he tried to use pull his scythe his eyes widened only to slowly realize he can’t use his death scythe! His face morphed in horror with his state in peril. The night had turned cold to the reaper on Ian’s clutch.

“Don’t tell me you used black magic to move your soul to a different body?!” The reaper tried to find solution now on how he should escape from the unknown creature while making conversation to buy himself some times but Ian wasn’t going to entertain his answer.

“Maybe?” he chuckled, “Reaper, what do you know about ghosts?” Ian asked with a kind yet eerie smile twisting his lips.

The reaper looked at his eyes back in puzzle. Was the dead being here to ask about ghost? Although to humans ghost seemed unreal and unbelievable, the fact that the man in front of him had been calling him grim reaper mean he knows more about the realm of the dead. “Why do you ask me this? You could have find an exorcist and ask them rather than me.” And perhaps he would have avoided misfortune of being hit by this unknown creature who had no smell at all.

The thought of asking the few exorcist staying in the Church did pass by Ian’s mind but knowing how Church was filled with more unnecessary sneaky snakes, he can’t put his trust on gaining knowledge for his little puppy. His puppy was weak and fragile that she could break with a light squeeze and he didn’t want it to happen. He knew there are many who couldn’t wait to lay their hands on his puppy’s power and if there are someone who knows his puppy was a sweet child, let walking in the house, she can’t even live properly without being chased for her life. Not that she had to worry if it did happen as she had him, but now it’s the time for his puppy to bloom and he can’t have anyone disturbing her.

The grim reapers, however they were different. A little liars and cunning but they achieve nothing by working with others and the fact that the are not interested in the sweet child make them the best choice to him.

“Because they are very tiring to work together with.” He didn’t give a lie but not entirely the truth. “Also little reaper, haven’t I told you not to ask me questions? You are here to answer not ask. Continue and speak.” He demanded as the grip held on the reaper’s neck tightened.

The reaper choked, taking breaths he hardly get, he yelled. “Do you think I will tell you?! Even if I know I wouldn’t!” Ian sighed and tightened the grip of his hand. The reaper struggled again only to soon realize how he was no match for the man. “Do all reapers are this weak? To be caught with only a light strangle I’m afraid that if I held anymore power now I will wring your neck.” he said with apathetic concern.

“** you! I’m not weak!” The reaper cursed. How can he be weak when he was the head of reapers?! “Just so you know in the land of the reaper I’m the eleventh strongest reaper!” His words fell dull to Ian’s ears as the man had tightened his grip again.

“Is that so? I don’t really care, now let’s continue on our matter, shouldn’t we? Answer all my question and each time you don’t, you could say goodbyes to your little finger bones.”

“I-“

“One.” Ian lazily noted. “Could ghost be corrupted and change to a monster?” He saw how the face of the reaper changed into shock and took his silence as a affirmation to move to his next question. “Second, what is corruption?”

The reaper’s adam apple bobbed when he gulped to stubbornly scream, “I don’t know!” Then Ian broke his finger and threw away the boney finger to the ground. The burnt upper part of his finger had started to peel off to change bones. The reaper’s whole arm had turned pitch black like a burned corpse from the constant shock he received from Ian and Maroon the butler.

“Third, are there any differences between ghosts?” The reaper stayed quite with a stubborn gaze of keeping his mouth shut. It seem more than Ian thought, the reaper he caught know more things of ghosts and the realm of dead. The reaper was useful only to fail die to his unbending stubbornness.

“Maroon bring me a rope. A day or two under the sun should teach you how to talk again.” Ian spoke his first word as an order and the second one to the reaper. Following the order he gave, the butler went like shadows only to come back with a rope.

Walking closer to the reaper who look at the butler with rope in a questioning gaze, he screamed. “What are you going to do to me?!”

“Tie you,” The butler gave an unresponsive return.

The reaper look at the butler in colors of surprise. Never in his entire time watching humans or mythical beings to have such a stone looking face. Each time the butler spoke, he pulled his lips only a little with his dull eyes showing no emotion like a speaking corpse even though he was supposed to be the reaper here.

“Tie me?! Where?!” To his answer before he knew, the butler had tied him securely on his waist that his ribs could fell the burning feeling of the rope and he threw the rope into a loop to create a long lasting tie which wouldn’t be able to be untied unless someone would use a scissor. “Wait! No stop it! Hey!” Then he saw the red eyed man walking backward languidly while dusting his hands off.

Now that the butler was finished with his chore of tying the reaper on a tree, he went and turned his back to the reaper who fell surprised. Looking down he saw the ground three feet away from his face and when he glanced up, he saw how the rope was tied to the tree, and yelled again to the butler. “Don’t leave me here! Let me go!”

But the butler had ignored his words and left the place to bury the rest of the bodies to cover it with the dirt and gave a few pats with his shovel to level the piled dirt. When he was done, he moved to see the flowers and gone back inside the mansion, forgetting the existence of the reaper who was screaming on top of his lungs.