Chapter 260

I sat on the chair in the isolation room, which was decorated like a concert hall, enjoying the faintly resonating piano music while deeply pondering something.

The subject of my thoughts? The Hungry Ghost Reaper and the Golden Harmful Object.

To be precise, I was mulling over the question: “Where does Mental Pollution come from?”

It was about the phenomenon of objects gradually transforming into so-called ‘harmful’ ones.

Truthfully, Mini Reapers or firewood were immune to this pollution and didn’t concern me, but the mental pollution affecting objects had a peculiar aspect to it.

First, once an object became ‘harmful’ due to mental pollution, there was no going back.

No matter how far back you rewound time, the mental pollution always remained as if it had already happened.

If you hadn’t carefully memorized what the object looked like before being affected, your perception would warp, making you feel like it had always been that way.

Second, the cause-and-effect relationship was unclear.

Sometimes, despite there being zero probability of it happening, the pollution would occur. Other times, when it seemed 100% certain to happen, it wouldn’t.

The jumbled causality and flow of time reminded me of another phenomenon I knew about.

The reality erosion caused by the Color Universe and the Red Monster from there.

The reality erosion brought by external beings—those god-like Outer Beings—felt exactly like this.

“Hmm.”

While lost in these thoughts, I began closely observing the Blue Lizard wildly jumping around on the piano placed at the center of the isolation room.

An extremely faint sense of ‘harmfulness.’

Even the Golden Reaper treated it as just a harmless object—a small level of pollution could be felt.

Was the lizard resistant because it was too strong to be contaminated?

Factually, the lizard lacked offensive abilities but was an incredibly strong object due to its infinite resurrection and ability to create clones.

Well, technically, it’s quite powerful given its complex destruction conditions.

I lowered my gaze and looked down at the Ghost Cat cradled in my arms.

Without checking the cat’s destruction conditions, it was clear even from a casual observation that the Ghost Cat was a rather weak object.

Maybe if we could break through its ghosting state, it would be as easy to destroy as a kitten?

But surprisingly, the Ghost Cat also showed little sign of contamination, much like the Blue Lizard.

“Why are you still fine?”

Seeming to think I was picking a fight, the cat immediately retaliated with a cheek punch.

As I scrutinized the mental pollution more thoroughly, it increasingly reminded me of the Color Universe.

Could there be a way to revive the Hungry Ghost Reaper’s attachment object within the Color Universe?

No, I had a gut feeling that it definitely could be done.

Just as that thought crossed my mind, a small clue surfaced in my hazy memory.

“Come to think of it, wasn’t there one of the Mini Reapers who observed an aura related to the ‘Color Universe’?”

Closing my eyes, I began thinking hard to recall who that was.

***

A giant Light Giant loomed so vast it seemed to cover the entire sky, gazing down at the buildings below.

The Purple Reaper tried to minimize their presence, curling up as small as possible to avoid detection.

“Huff.”

Covering their eyes with tiny hands and puffing out their cheeks as if holding their breath, they stayed hidden.

There was no doubt in the Purple Reaper’s mind that the blue starlight giant was searching for them.

Since it emitted an aura chasing away all objects not under its dominion, that must be the case.

Though the expulsion aura made the Purple Reaper’s power swell, it also seemed like the giant had sensed their presence because of it.

Mom, should I call you?

With their eyes covered, the Purple Reaper wrestled with three conflicting feelings:

The desire to continue traveling happily alone with the Attached Human.

The worry that the Attached Human might be in danger, prompting the urge to quickly summon Mom.

The growing energy giving them the confidence to perhaps fight the giant.

These emotions clashed, making it hard to decide.

Then, just as dawn broke and the sun rose, the giant vanished.

The giant’s pursuit is getting closer.

What should I do?

Preparing breakfast for the sleeping Attached Human, the Purple Reaper continued to agonize over their decision.

***

The man enjoyed a simple breakfast of bread, ham, and a strong Espresso while decoding the file from the 41st storage location left behind by the old man.

It took some time to decrypt the encrypted USB.

But since it was prepared specifically for him, it wasn’t impossible or excessively time-consuming to decode.

Ping.

A soft sound echoed as the computer finished decryption, and the contents began displaying on the screen.

[If you’ve gotten this file, then I’m probably already dead.]

This document, starting with such a sentence, contained a brief story.

The old man had been part of ‘the Organization’ and had been responsible for his younger sister, just as he had been for the man now.

What the younger sister had been investigating.

Along with a map, the last place she went to was marked.

[Sorry again.]

[I should have told you sooner, but I couldn’t.]

At the end of the text was an apology for not wanting the young man’s life to end meaninglessly, along with a warning about the location.

“Finally…!”

Tapping excitedly on the map, the man cheered internally upon discovering his younger sister’s final destination.

However, too focused on the map, he failed to notice the horrified expression of the Purple Reaper perched on his shoulder, also examining the map.

“A place where the blue starlight giant appears!”

The marked location pointed to an ominous place where the blue starlight giant emerged every night.

***

Lunchtime at Sehee Research Institute.

A researcher wandered around holding a small picture, asking people if they’d seen the object in it.

“Have you seen this object?”

The photo depicted a Golden Hungry Ghost Reaper lying asleep on a small cushion.

The researcher moved around like someone looking for a lost puppy, questioning everyone they encountered.

Worrying about an object?

It seemed completely unnecessary, yet the researcher couldn’t shake off a growing unease.

The reason was simple.

Despite only a day having passed, their memories were becoming fuzzy.

They hadn’t forgotten its existence, but the cute and kind image was fading.

How adorable it had been.

How joyful.

How many more things they wanted to do together.

‘This isn’t natural.’

Eventually, the researcher started asking even the Mini Reapers lounging in the courtyard.

Doodle-doo.

Neither the Black Reapers nor the Golden Reapers present showed any recognition, shaking their heads dismissively.

“Have you seen this kid?”

In response, a Black Reaper shook their head sadly while watching the researcher move toward another Mini Reaper with a slightly sorrowful look.

***

Deep inside the Mini Reaper Garden, at the Marshmallow Hut.

The Hungry Ghost Reaper, wearing a somber expression, stood before the hut where the Blue Girl lay asleep, staring down at her.

Knock-knock.

Grieving over the death of the Golden Hungry Ghost Reaper, the Hungry Ghost Reaper poked the Blue Girl’s cheek, reminiscing about old memories.

About a boy, evolution liquid, and a dog that died after touching it.

Back then, the owner turned the corpse into a guardian.

To stop the boy from grieving, a grotesque guardian with the decaying face of a dog instead of a hungry ghost’s.

Looking at this, it was certain the figure trapped in the lead doll was indeed the old owner.

I’ve thought this for a while—if only they’d admit what they can’t do.

While reminiscing beside the Blue Girl, the door suddenly burst open.

“There you are!”

Hehe, it was the owner, laughing.

“I found a solution, so let’s go quickly!”

Seeing the Gray Reaper enthusiastically grab the Hungry Ghost Reaper’s hand with an excited expression, the latter followed hesitantly, filled with both great anxiety and a small flicker of hope.

***

Following the marked location on the map, the man was greeted by an impossibly thick blue mist.

Passing between buildings, the mist appeared suddenly, reducing visibility to barely seeing his own feet.

It was a sight unimaginable in the middle of a city.

Due to the fog, the Purple Reaper looked unusually tense, scanning all directions anxiously.

Carefully stepping further into the fog, the man recalled his sister’s note.

[‘The place where the star fell.’] A simple note.

Of course, upon reading it, the man had gone straight to the well-known park square said to be the place where the star fell, initiating the blessings of stars.

But there, he found no trace of his sister.

‘Surely. This must be the real place where the star fell.’

The deeper he ventured into the dense fog, the stronger the intuition grew that this was the true ‘place where the star fell.’

The star that expelled objects from this land and created beings akin to selectors.

Such a star couldn’t have fallen in an ordinary park.

The deeper into the glowing blue mist he ventured, the stranger the phenomena became.

Blue butterflies suddenly appearing, returning to their dried-out cocoons, then dying.

The footprints the man left behind disappeared while new ones formed ahead.

‘…’

Enough unsettling events occurred to make him want to turn back immediately.

Slowing his pace, the man stopped and turned around.

“Big Brother.”

A vivid voice, as if whispering directly into his ear, called out.

Through the deep blue mist, a vague silhouette resembling his younger sister appeared.