Chapter 172

[!DOCTYPE html]

A middle-aged man dressed in flashy clothes failed to meet my expectations and collapsed on the floor, turning into a porcupine.

If he had blocked 1,000 needles, it would’ve been truly cool…

Of course, next time 10,000 needles would’ve probably turned him into a porcupine again.

The Blue Reapers were hugging each other, reveling in the joy of victory.

Rarely seen cheerful smiles lit up their faces as they faced one another.

The Blue Reaper who lost its Attached Human slowly approached the unconscious figure, knelt beside its face, and smiled warmly down at it.

It was as if to say, “It’s all over now. Let’s go back together.”

However, the Attached Human had already passed out and couldn’t see that expression.

With a loving look, the Blue Reaper gently patted the Attached Human’s cheek before glancing around quickly to ensure no other Blue Reapers were watching.

After confirming the others were immersed in celebrating victory, the Blue Reaper pulled its cap low over its eyes, hugged the Attached Human’s cheek briefly, then let go.

It then rose with an embarrassed smile.

But upon standing, the Blue Reaper discovered nine other Blue Reapers surrounding it.

<!>

The other Blue Reapers, witnessing the brave act, bombarded the Blue Reaper with admiration: “Amazing!”

Basking in compliments, the Blue Reaper pressed its cap deeper onto its head, blushing modestly yet proudly.

But amidst this joyful chatter among the Mini Reapers, a discordant note emerged.

“Meaningless.”

A voice identical to the deceased middle-aged man echoed as someone with the same appearance emerged slowly from the shadows of the passageway.

Though it was an Object, its presence seemed too faint for resurrection or regeneration—so how did it come back?

Suddenly curious, I checked its destruction condition.

“Cessation of life activity.”

For an Object, this was unusually close to a living being.

Come to think of it, the corpse of the porcupine-man still lay sprawled on the floor.

Not resurrection but a twin?

The man, who had been about to speak with a deep voice, found the Blue Reapers swiftly writing strings of text in mid-air.

“Needles made of water! A thousand of them!”

Regrettably, this time there wasn’t even an attempt to block, and it fell immediately.

“Meaningless.”

“Meaningless.”

But from the far end of the passage, more middle-aged men looking exactly alike began appearing.

The sight of identical figures filling the corridor while repeating the same words was eerie.

The Blue Reaper, slightly flustered, scribbled more text.

“Bed made of water!”

“Protect us!”

Laying the Attached Human on the bed, a large droplet of water enveloped both the Blue Reaper and the Attached Human protectively.

Simultaneously, doppleganger-like men charged toward the Blue Reapers.

As the distance between the Blue Reapers and the men closed, I sensed something strange.

Both the Blue Reapers and these men possessed something eerily similar to firewood.

Very much alike, yet twisted like a distorted reflection in a warped mirror—an ominous version of firewood.

***

Rachel advanced along a desolate mountain path based on clues she gathered.

Ascending steep slopes devoid of human traces, Rachel worriedly moved forward.

“The Association is still searching through the village, so we’ll probably arrive first, right?”

Panting, Rachel started narrating the current situation to the Golden Reaper.

This was her way of hiding her anxiety over her family possibly being in danger.

Though the Object Association was always reliable, Rachel felt uneasy.

After all, the Association’s main goal was to prevent further Object incidents, inevitably causing victims.

However, contrary to expectations, numerous Association vehicles already lined up near the “Eye Cult” base.

Uninterrupted gunfire filled the forest.

The sudden sound of gunfire made Rachel feel incredibly anxious.

It felt as though something terrible had happened to her family.

To assess the situation, Rachel crouched low and slowly moved toward the hillside.

Considering pseudo-religious groups and gunfights, Rachel recalled many dangerous religious organizations known for terrorism.

Could such a dangerous group be engaging in a firefight around the building?

But what she saw upon reaching the top of the hill was far from her expectations.

Gaudily dressed middle-aged men kept rushing out from the building entrances and windows.

This was the “cult leader” introduced in flyers Rachel had seen before.

“What the heck is going on here?”

Clone-like cult leaders continuously charged at Association agents only to die instantly.

No matter how many there were, bullets rendered them powerless.

After some time, the endless stream of cult leaders finally ended.

As the gunfire ceased, silence enveloped the forest.

There were no signs of hostage situations or injured civilians.

“Finally, it’s over.”

Holding the Golden Reaper tightly, Rachel was ready to rush toward the Association.

But the Golden Reaper stopped her movement with a tense expression.

“Reaper? What’s wrong?”

Seeing the usually cheerful Golden Reaper’s face stiffen, Rachel felt uneasy.

***

A man wearing a crude steel helmet without a single hole stood gazing down at a derelict concrete building.

He was Team Leader No. 1 of the Special Task Force under the American Object Association.

Looking at his detector, Team Leader No. 1 muttered in surprise.

“No mental pollution index. That’s unusual for a cult.”

The muffled voice inside the tight helmet sounded slightly peculiar.

Though equipped with gear designed to counter mental pollution, it proved unnecessary.

Perhaps this was just a regular incident unrelated to Objects.

Still, duty was duty, and external considerations could wait until after completing the mission.

[Team Leader, extraction operation complete.]

Suddenly, a different voice came through inside the steel helmet.

[Alright, let’s begin suppression operations. Prepare for combat.]

With the success of the transparent Object-equipped extraction team, Team Leader No. 1 initiated full-scale suppression.

Following Team Leader No. 1’s signal, the suppression team slowly approached the concrete building.

As the hidden suppression team revealed itself, the entrance of the concrete building opened, and a flamboyantly dressed cult leader appeared.

“Suffering is…”

The dramatic gesture was cut short by a gunshot—“Tududung”—and the cult leader dropped dead.

But that was only the beginning.

Infinite clones of the cult leader poured out from the building’s entrance and windows.

A bizarre phenomenon beyond comprehension.

An event initially thought unrelated to Objects clearly became one now.

Like moths drawn to flames, the cult leaders kept charging relentlessly.

And then, finally, the procession halted.

As gunfire ceased, an unsettling silence wrapped the dense forest.

Within this chilling quiet, Team Leader No. 1 sensed that things weren’t over yet.

His instincts, honed through countless Object battles, warned him.

He signaled the suppression team to remain alert.

At the moment when the team aimed their guns at the silent building entrance, the unexpected happened.

The concrete building’s entrance shattered, revealing a colossal cult leader towering at five meters.

Surrounded by white flames, the massive figure loomed over the suppression team with deep sorrow reflected in its eyes, brimming with madness.

“Ah, wretched beings trapped in the illusion of flesh.”

The mournful voice resonated like thunder shaking the ground beneath.

A violent tone that gripped the hearts of those who heard it.

Upon hearing this, Team Leader No. 1 immediately ordered renewed firing.

The tranquil forest vanished amid echoing gunshots once more.

But the results took an unbelievable turn.

The anti-Object rounds, which excelled against Objects, had lost their effectiveness.

Even the special ammunition, their strongest weapon, failed?

This indicated the newly arrived cult leader was beyond the capabilities of current equipment.

Realizing this, Team Leader No. 1’s urgent voice spread across the battlefield.

[Retreat immediately, everyone!]

But as Team Leader No. 1 commanded retreat and attempted to flee, his legs wouldn’t move.

The exoskeleton meant to enhance various devices refused to function.

“The body is merely a prison for the soul.”

The giant cult leader slowly approached the immobilized suppression team.

Checking the core component of the exoskeleton—the Object battery—it was burning in white flames.

“Anti-Object exoskeletons have ceased operation. Discard your equipment and evacuate quickly!”

Shouting, Team Leader No. 1 threw off his helmet.

Bang. Bang.

He drew his pistol and fired at the approaching cult leader.

Without the exoskeleton functioning, significant casualties within the Special Task Force were inevitable; thus, every second counted.

Thud. Thud.

The slow footsteps of the approaching giant.

Even the rifles failed to ignite the Object-consuming flames.

‘Is this the end?’

Duly prepared to fight Objects till death, this was a fitting finale.

Already, the Special Task Force had discarded their exoskeletons and scattered.

While many would perish or get injured if chased by a 5-meter monster, losses were minimized.

Team Leader No. 1 continued shooting at the approaching colossus without ceasing.

***

The Golden Reaper started sprinting wildly down the mountain trail.

A monstrous fake human.

A harmful human cloaked in pain and despair.

Humans were dangerous.

While ghosting midway, ghosting suddenly canceled, causing tumbles on the ground.

The Golden Reaper looked perplexedly at its own body.

White flames clung to it.

Attempting to brush them off with its palm, the flames wouldn’t budge.

Unable to ghost despite needing to, panic set in.

Thud. Thud.

But hearing loud footsteps, the Golden Reaper stopped panicking and rushed toward the human instead.

Humans were in danger.

Even without ghosting, help must come first.

A human might die any second.

‘I’m here!’

While running downhill, the Golden Reaper fiercely burned its firewood, emitting sunlight-like brilliance in all directions.

‘Look at me, not the human!’

Though unable to ghost, accelerate time, or use other abilities, it could still burn firewood.

Enough brilliance lit up the forest to make it seem like the sun had fallen.

Apparently swayed, the giant monster turned toward the Golden Reaper.

Perhaps sensing greater threat from the Golden Reaper.

‘Run quickly!’

The Golden Reaper watched the fleeing human and smiled broadly.

Then simultaneously, the giant monster’s fist slammed into the Golden Reaper.

Crunch.

A sound of something breaking came from the indestructible body of the Golden Reaper.

Ah, because of the white flames.

Underneath the withdrawn fist, the Golden Reaper clenched its teeth and stood back up.

Torn and cracked like broken pottery, the Golden Reaper fragmented and broke apart everywhere.

One leg was missing, and firewood seeped out from cracks like blood.

‘Hurts.’

Yet the Golden Reaper emitted even brighter light.

Despite losing ghosting, time acceleration, and other powers…

It could still burn firewood.

Enough time needed to be bought for the human to escape!

The Golden Reaper smiled brightly as the fist approached again.