The Red Reaper's Requiem: Azrael

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

To live. And die.

To kill. And thrive.

To break. And cry.

“Did it ever truly matter?

The business of living, was it a hoax?

A wild goose chase?

It’s all so grey, devoid of a dash of colour.”

An orphan boy dreamed of the world outside the four walls of his existence, to become a man of his own making, through toil and sweat. But all that changed when a demon invaded his orphanage, throwing his life off course, casting him into an abyss, wrought from steel over flesh.

A coming-of-age tale questioning what it means to uphold lofty ideals in a world fraught with trials and tribulations, bound by betrayal and new shackles.

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2025
Author: ViUl

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.1/ 5.0
Followers: 26
Views: 27,134

Reviews

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Community Reviews(7)

Mikoto-kunRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Volume 1 starts slow, but builds up as the chapters progress. We follow the protagonist Azrael. He goes from being wrung through one calamity after the other, showing how unpredictable and whimsical the world he is thrust into is. It builds up from there, to show how he's got to deal with his life changing, when he becomes an assassin, and his evolution into someone that carves meaning out of the senseless violence and hurdles, he's forced to endure.
Volume 2 shows a matured version of Azrael, interacting with returning characters from volume 1, as well as some new characters. Unlike the 1st volume, this time the story starts out with a bang, showing how Azrael has matured as a character over time.
It is brutally descriptive, consistent with the violence out of a horror series. It has elements of pulling through horrendous survival experiences, but maintaining a sense of resilience, regardless of what happens.
It is a must read for those patient enough to watch a three dimensional character being built from the ground up. From being stripped off everything the character cares about to how he has to gain the right skill set to survive in the demonic world he's thrust into.
HaelionthyneRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
The Red Reaper’s Requiem: Azrael is a story about human perseverance and resilience against all odds with a smattering of not-so-healthy doses of vengeance, making you admire the character’s will to fight and hope he makes it to the end... mostly whole.
The author writes a tale that is both horrifying and intriguing to read. Multiple times, I found myself wanting to look away, but incapable of doing so. The action is fast-paced, but not breakneck or head-spinning. However, there are problems with the setup in some scenes that have jerked me out of my immersion.
The protagonists are likeable and the antagonists equally dislikeable. Then there’s Mol’okh, who has the charm of a psychopath. Their personalities are written well, but I find it hard to grasp character motivations early on. What makes them tick? Why would Azrael choose an action with one group of characters but a different action with another? Why would Briar do what he did?
There were one or two spelling and punctuation errors, and it does have a few grammatical problems with clarity and conciseness.
But overall, The Red Reaper’s Requiem: Azrael is a morbidly enjoyable read with a few issues that can be fixed.
GoburinnRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
When the story begins it's hard to imagine where it's headed; Azrael, the main character of Red Reaper's Requiem, is living a brutal life in a small orphanage where the caretaker's grandchild Briar seems to take some sick pleasure in beating him up and keeping him down in the dirt, literally.
In just a few short chapters Azrael finds his entire world turned upside down after a demon, brought forth by Briar, slaughters its way through the orphanage, killing the kindly old lady who cared for the children. Expecting his own death, Azrael is instead dragged off to a hellscape straight from the twisted mind of Clive Barker where he is systematically broken down and rebuilt, all the while clinging to the trauma and hatred that he's built up for his demon captor.
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Although I'm only 10 chapters into the story, I can safely say that I have no idea where it is going to take me, and that's a good thing. Starting out in a medieval(?) small village and then proceeding into some kind of techno-hell, ViUl does a great job in conveying the maddening sense of hopelessness and mind-numbing despair that permeates the setting. Evil is truly evil in this world, irredeemable, or at least finding great pleasure in torturing the weak and vulnerable.
On that topic, something I would have wanted to see more of would be these motivations; the scenes in the orphanage, setting up the stakes and the losses Azrael will experience, feel too short and brushed over, Briar's unforgivable act of summoning a demon and slaughtering everyone, including his own loving grandmother, feeling like it's coming out of left field. And since Briar is killed almost immediately after, I feel no sense of closure on why he did what he did, nor does Azrael seem to spare him much thought afterwards.
ViUl's strength lies in building up hope, then crushing it again, making you feel pity and empathy for their tortured cast. The introduction of Stella, a strong woman and fellow prisoner of Azrael, lends plenty of emotio
joewriter12Royal Road
★★★★ 4.0
this is a book that has you hoping for a happy ending. with a dark turn around every corner, it embraces the horror genre completely.
the writing style is impeccable and with very, very few grammars errors. the writer leaves you asking mental questions about certain details being described to you only to gut punch you with the answer in the next paragraph.
the story itself is intriguing and requires you to be able to stomach certain gruesome descriptions as well as other dark themes. i, personally, am not too fond of horror books but this one has my attention as it makes you hope that the character will eventually get a happy ending. chapter ten itself ends on a cliffhanger that causes you to wonder what will happen next and im looking forward to finding out the answer.
the writer tends to overuse certain descriptions and words but still manages to paint a picture in what the writer wishes you to see. the characters are interesting and have great personality from the protagonist to the secondary characters to the antagonist himself. there could be more when the writer talks about setting but overall, i believe this book could be for you if you're a fan of books that are gruesome, suspenseful, and make you wonder if this will be a happy ending or if there will be more tears than smiles at than end of this story.
RohlfingRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
The horror of helplessness—that is the emotion this story brings. If you’ve ever wanted to experience the horror of being a helpless ragdoll of a person who is constantly being knocked out and beaten down by everything from toddlers a quarter your age to demons, this is the book for you.
I try not to be too judgemental since horror is not the genre I go for.
The writing is mostly pretty good, except in places where it seemed that the author wanted to consult a thesaurus and then use the word without really understanding it. The most glaring of these is his constant use of the word palpebrae for eyelid. To each his own, I guess.
The descriptions can be quite gruesome, so if that’s what you want, then great!
Setting detail is quite sparse, such that I can’t get quite a handle on the time period. For instance, the only medicine seems to be herbal, but there is a ready supply of plastic bags in the underworld? The descriptions are also rather oblique, as if you’re not quite getting direct information, but have to figure it out. I would prefer a bit more exposition, to make sense of the whole thing, personally.
There is something good here, if that’s what you’re wanting. And if it is, look no further. There is a hint that the character starts to grow stronger after chapter 5, and that is encouraging for me. But as for this review, that is up to you to find out.
If horror is your thing, I suggest you give this a try.
StabbybabyRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
Overall: Good. The author cares about what they are writing, which is a story about overcoming or at least surviving a catastrophic series of personal tortures and tragedies. Noticeable improvement as the writer progresses the story encourages me to recommend at least a follow to see where they take the story. Delivers on the premise of their blurb. Consistent and frequent content releases.
Style: The author does an excellent job of including sensory descriptions to aid in immersing the reader in what the MC is feeling and experiencing. The first ten chapters are focused on despair, violence, denial of salvation, and abandonment. It is heavy with these themes. Some British English spellings of words may momentarily confuse the reader, along with a couple of vocabulary words not commonly used. All is lost moments are frequent and descriptive.
Story: The name of the story for the first ten chapters is despair, violence, and gore. What takes away from its impact are infrequent but noticeable action sequences that need improvement to eliminate confusion about where certain characters are, along with what actions they are taking, and who is speaking or thinking.
Grammar: A few punctuation mistakes. Spelling is a non-issue, but readers are reminded that British English spelling is used (grey vs gray, colour vs color, etc). Flashbacks or vision sequences need more focused lead-in to avoid confusion in their transition.
Character: It is still early in the story, and only the MC(Azrael) has been explored in any depth so far. The Demon antagonist (Mol'okh) is evil because evil until his actual goal is achieved. The focus is on what the MC experiences, not how they react to it or what plans they make.
Sw0rdmasterRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
Red Reaper’s Requiem: Azrael is a hauntingly powerful exploration of grief, trauma, and resilience. Its narrative plunges readers into a brutal and unforgiving world where suffering is not merely incidental but foundational. The story's heart lies in its characters, particularly the broken yet determined Azrael and the tragically warm Stella, whose journeys invite readers to confront the darkest corners of the human experience.
At its core, Red Reaper’s Requiem: Azrael thrives on emotional complexity. The novel refuses to rely on shock value alone, instead using violence and horror as tools to amplify its deeply human themes. While the world Azrael inhabits is grim and unrelenting, his journey is one of profound introspection and growth. His defining trait is not his physical strength but his ability to maintain hope in a world designed to crush it. This emphasis on inner strength adds richness to his arc, elevating him beyond the archetypal 'tragic hero' and instead positioning him as a symbol of stubborn defiance against despair.
Azrael’s life is shaped by loss. From the bullying he endures at Briar’s hands to the gut-wrenching massacre at his orphanage, he is consistently thrust into situations that demand survival at the cost of his humanity. However, rather than surrendering to bitterness or nihilism, Azrael’s journey is defined by moments of compassion, learning, and reflection. His bond with Stella represents one of the novel's most powerful emotional anchors, a beacon of warmth in an otherwise bleak world. Stella's strength is not merely physical; her resilient spirit and unwavering belief in finding purpose stand in sharp contrast to the prisoners who have succumbed to hopelessness. Tragically, it is her death that becomes the catalyst for Azrael’s greatest test, a soul-crushing moment that transforms his pain into a powerful drive for resilience and self-discovery.
Mol’okh, the monstrous demon who manipulates Azrael’s trauma, stands as one of the novel’s m