I Die to Rise: Resurrection System-Chapter 65: Research Rush!

Emma rubbed the bridge of her nose, her jaw clenched tightly. "You’ve gotta be shitting me."

Kurt immediately raised both hands in a defensive gesture. "Look, she’s not just called Sam, alright? I’ve got no bloody idea what being a ’Crowley’ means, but, remember... she saved all of them." He gestured toward the scattered guild members.

Paul backed him up from across the room. "She really did!"

"Thank you Paul," Kurt continued, pacing slightly. "Madam Imelda called her a Crowley. I figured she was some aristocrat who ran from home and ended up at the Foxhole. But I’m guessing that’s not the case?"

Rook’s expression darkened, and he dragged a hand down his face. "Crowley? That’s a name I never expected to hear." He looked at Kurt with something between frustration and resignation. "Goddammit, Kurt."

Kurt blinked. "It can’t be that bad, can it?"

Emma pulled out one of her handguns, checking the chamber slowly. "You know, in less than two days, you could be the Reaper’s problem and not ours anymore."

Kurt grinned despite the very real threat. "Come on. You know you love me."

Emma clicked her tongue, holstered the weapon, and settled back into her seat with a scowl.

Before anyone could continue, Lizzie emerged from the hallway, pulling off her face mask and stuffing it back into her pocket. "She’s alright, but still unconscious. Whatever she did must’ve taken her own body by surprise. I used Stabilization to keep her vitals steady and give her body time to recover without strain. She’ll be able to rest for a few hours without any issues now."

Rook nodded. "Thank you, Lizzie." He straightened, addressing the room. "Like I said earlier, for now we research. Reapers, sigils, banishment rituals... anything that might give us an edge. We’ve got less than forty-eight hours. Let’s make them count."

Zaza, who’d been standing silently in the corner, suddenly sank into her shadow. The darkness rippled like water, and she vanished entirely.

A few minutes later, she reappeared beside the massive bookshelf, holding an armful of thick, dusty tomes from her study collection. "Books, anyone?"

Cassandra also gestured toward the library alcove without looking up. "Help yourselves. But damage a single spine, and I’ll damage yours."

They spread out across the apartment, each person grabbing books and settling into various spots as the countdown in Kurt’s vision continued its relentless march.

[REAPER BANISHMENT DURATION REMAINING: 44:23:15]

***

Hours passed and Kurt sat cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by open books, flipping through pages with increasing frustration.

Across from him, Emma lounged on a couch, her boots propped up on the coffee table as she scanned a leather-bound journal.

Cassandra suddenly appeared from nowhere, her blade half-drawn. "Feet. Off. Now."

Emma glanced at her, then, with slow deliberation, removed her boots from the table. "You’re fun at parties, aren’t you?" she remarked, a hint of dry amusement in her voice.

Without a word, Cassandra sheathed her blade and returned to her reading, her silence speaking volumes.

Meanwhile, Lizzie sat upside-down on an armchair, legs dangling over the back, her book held above her face. She hummed tunelessly, occasionally flipping pages with exaggerated enthusiasm.

Near the window, Rook stood thoughtfully, one hand gripping a book while the other rubbed his jaw in contemplation.

Not far off, Zaza was nestled cross-legged in the corner, surrounded by no fewer than seven open books, each demanding her attention simultaneously.

All the while, the countdown ticked lower, its relentless progression weaving an undercurrent of urgency through the quiet room.

[42:10:33]

Emma broke the silence, her voice cutting through the quiet rustling of pages. "Most of these ingredients are insane. Dragon tears? The fuck are we gonna get dragon tears? Anyone know of dragons that cry?"

Lizzie’s upside-down face lit up. "You think that’s crazy? I’ve got dark matter here. DARK MATTER. Like, how do you even find that? Do you just... go to space and scoop it up?"

Kurt didn’t look up from his book. "The ingredients don’t matter. My blood can serve as a substitute. I just need to confirm your findings match the images in my noggin." He tapped his temple for emphasis.

Rook set his book down and walked over to where several sheets of parchment had been laid out on the dining table. Various diagrams, sigils, and symbols had been sketched out based on what they’d found. "Nothing here on killing a Reaper. But there are a few on imprisonment." He gestured for Kurt to come over. "Which one of these looks familiar?"

Kurt stood, his knees cracking from sitting too long, and crossed the room. He leaned over the table, studying each diagram carefully. Minutes passed, and the countdown ticked lower.

[40:47:12]

Then Kurt’s eyes locked onto one of the sketches. His heart rate picked up, and he jabbed his finger at the parchment. "This! This one right here!" He grabbed the paper, holding it up to the light. "I’m betting we can imprison a Reaper with this sigil."

Zaza appeared beside him, adjusting her glasses as she studied the diagram. "If we can imprison one, we can stall the Reapers indefinitely."

She pointed to a passage in one of her books. "According to this, Reapers can only be sent one at a time to claim a person’s soul. So if a Reaper gets trapped here, we won’t have to worry about another being sent."

Emma’s voice carried sharply from across the room. "There’s no ’we.’ Sam still has to vote before this becomes official. Until then, you’re just convenient assistance."

Zaza opened her mouth as if to respond, but then closed it again. Her expression flickered briefly to something almost like hurt, before settling back into its usual blankness. "I... I understand," she murmured quietly.

At that moment, Kurt stepped between them, his tone firm yet not unkind. "You know, I’m the one who got killed, but even I can give her a chance. What’s your excuse?"

Emma stood abruptly, her grey eyes flashing with intensity. "Really? How am I the bad guy here?"

"Enough!" Rook’s voice cut through the rising tension, and the room went silent.

He looked at each of them in turn. "We don’t have time for this. We’ve got a plan. We’ve got a sigil. We’ve got our substitute ingredient." He gestured to Kurt. "Now we need to find where we’re luring that son of a bitch and pray to whatever gods are listening that this works."

Cassandra crossed her arms, her tone flat. "We’re definitely not luring any Reapers here."

Rook nodded. "I’ve got a place in mind. It’s an abandoned barn three cities away on the outskirts of the D-rank district, far enough from populated areas that collateral damage wouldn’t be an issue."

Kurt pulled out a cigarette from a pack and lit it before taking a drag. "I love it when a plan comes together ."

[39:15:42]