Chapter 357

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At the end of the corridor where graduates walk…

In the room at the end, a thick smell of sulfur filled the air.

The head that had fallen to the floor floated back up into the air on its own, attaching itself back onto the man’s body, and red flames erupted.

The flames burned away his eyes, leaving only blackened holes in their place.

His skin dried up from the heat, reducing him to a grotesque figure with only red and black leather remaining.

The man had now completely lost his human form, transforming into a twisted corpse-like monster.

With the faint embers of fire still glowing in his eye sockets, the monster slowly looked down at the silver-haired girl.

Though slightly frightened by the horrifying sight she had never seen before, the silver-haired girl was already preparing for battle as she cautiously stepped forward.

Despite her fear, she carefully picked up the sword the man had dropped.

The blade was sharp like a needle, carrying a strong scent of blood.

Gripping the handle tightly, the silver-haired girl pointed the needle-like sword toward the man.

Seeing this, the monster spoke to the silver-haired girl.

“[A servant can never defeat its master.]”

Its voice was rough, distorted, and barely understandable.

As the monster’s hand slashed through the air, red flames left a trail behind it.

An incredibly fast strike.

It was faster and stronger than any attack she had ever faced in ‘the facility.’

No child in ‘the facility’ could have blocked or dodged such an attack.

If the silver-haired girl hadn’t eaten the fruit, there’s no way she could have avoided it.

But the silver-haired girl wasn’t the same as she used to be.

In an extremely accelerated flow of time, she gracefully evaded the attack like the wind.

[How… How is this possible?!]

Surprise laced the monster’s voice.

However, the harsh voice didn’t continue, cutting off abruptly.

Because the silver-haired girl had swiftly closed the distance and plunged the needle-like blade into the monster’s heart.

Stumbling backward, the monster touched its chest.

A sticky, dark-red liquid resembling dried blood continuously oozed out.

As the man looked down at his chest, the wound seemed ready to regenerate but was somehow blocked, preventing healing.

[Wh… Why?]

With those final words, the man collapsed onto the floor, lying still.

On top of the corpse that the silver-haired girl stared at, countless indigo sprouts were budding and wriggling.

***

Mini Reaper Garden, Marshmallow Plains.

In front of me lay the Yellow Reaper sprawled out, along with the Purple Reaper wearing a fake blindfold.

The Yellow Reaper was knocked out face-up, exposing a round belly, while the Purple Reaper leaned against the wall, trying to maintain some dignity.

Even when unconscious, Purple Reapers maintain their composure. Impressive!

Curious about this, I poked the cheek of the Purple Reaper.

After the Purple Reaper and Yellow Reaper passed out, the 1st Sword of the Golden Reaper and the Hungry Ghost Reaper were moving slowly, doing something mysterious together.

They were wielding swords in unison, swinging them carefully, but I couldn’t make sense of what they were doing.

“At least we finally managed to conduct the experiment this time.”

Whenever I tried to perform halo experiments with special children, accidents always happened, but this time everything went smoothly.

I scribbled notes on the marshmallow while organizing the results of the experiment.

[Yellow Reaper – Can use Illusion Halo.]

[Fake Blindfold Purple Reaper – Can use Space Halo.]

[Kids Already Experimented On:]

[Blue Idol Reaper – Command Halo.]

[Orange Crowned Reaper – Perfect Dodge Halo.]

[Kids Not Yet Experimented On – Taboo Black Reaper & Golden Horn Reaper & Cloaked Golden Reaper.]

[Halo Without Owner – Nullification Halo.]

[1st Sword of the Golden Reaper – None.]

[Hungry Ghost Reaper – None.]

[Special Notes – The 1st Sword and Hungry Ghost Reaper can use any halo but not as naturally as the Blue Idol Reaper or Orange Crowned Reaper.]

After writing all these results, I suddenly felt a bit down.

Was it because I remembered the ‘Cute Puppy’ observation reports I used to write every day when I worked at the Seoul Research Institute?

For some reason, I suddenly wanted to tease the ‘Cute Puppy.’

Hehe.

I haven’t seen it since last spotting it at the Jelly Pig Hospital. Where could it be hiding?

Standing up from my seat, I began my quest to find the cute puppy.

***

“Olympics!”

While searching for the cute puppy, I stumbled upon a group of Golden Reapers radiating an unexpected amount of determination—not just one or two, but quite a lot of them sprinting somewhere.

“What on earth is going on?”

Out of curiosity, I started following them slowly.

The procession of Golden Reapers stretched endlessly.

They zipped through winding corridors, even crossing steel walls via ghosting techniques.

“Is there such a passage in Sehee Research Institute? Never seen it before…”

When I reached the end of the passage, I found Sehee playing with a bunch of Golden Reapers in an enormous room.

She’s at it again, making strange things…

Why do I keep encountering weirdos like Sehee and Yerin?

“Reaper! Over here!”

Sehee noticed me, waving happily with a bright smile.

Tub-tub.

As I slowly approached and sat next to Sehee, she quickly scanned the surroundings and clapped her hands twice.

“Olympics!”

“Candy!”

The Golden Reapers, full of anticipation, gazed at Sehee with sparkling eyes.

Sehee smiled at their expressions and shouted loudly.

“Let’s start the First Golden Reaper Olympics!”

“Woo-hoo!”

At Sehee’s cry, the Golden Reapers joyfully jumped around with delight.

Golden Reapers really know how to set the mood, don’t they?

Then, the sound of machinery operating echoed through the giant room as a competition arena sized for Golden Reapers appeared.

Sehee and I sat in the uppermost seats overlooking the entire arena while munching on snacks.

Omnomnom.

While enjoying delicious snacks and drinks, the first event began.

Instead of a race, it appeared to be a bread-eating contest.

Short-distance sprints to grab and eat the bread—first one to eat wins!

The Golden Reaper who came in first shot forward like a rocket from far away, biting into the bread.

An extraordinary athletic ability, far surpassing the others.

The victorious Golden Reaper grinned happily while holding the bread, laughing “Hehe.”

Many more events followed.

Antenna-based doughnut-grabbing combat.

Pushing opponents into a pool of hot chocolate.

Throwing candies accurately for points.

Competing to lift the heaviest chocolate bar.

It was like the regular Olympics but tailored uniquely for Golden Reapers.

Once the Olympics ended, the scores were announced.

“The winner is… the Golden Reaper eating that doughnut over there!”

As Sehee declared the winner, the victorious Golden Reaper happily hopped around with joy.

“The kid who won the first event ended up taking first place overall.”

“?”

Sehee glanced at me while speaking, but I raised a question mark above my head.

“Can you distinguish between Golden Reapers?”

More people seem to be developing Yerin’s superpower for distinguishing Golden Reapers…

The first-place Golden Reaper cheerfully walked up to collect the prize, while the rest slumped dejectedly onto the floor.

Following Sehee, tub-tub, we arrived at a large door.

“All the snacks inside are for the winner!”

Sehee opened the door after saying this, revealing the interior.

Darkness filled the room due to lack of lighting.

Sweet fragrances wafted out from beyond the door.

Cold air chilled the atmosphere.

The room stretched so long that its end was invisible.

And once the lights turned on, shelves lining both walls revealed countless varieties of snacks.

“Snacks!”

The Golden Reaper grinned happily, rushing straight toward a massive pudding measuring three meters wide and tall.

After nibbling on the pudding, the Golden Reaper tub-tubbed over to Sehee and expressed intent.

“Can I share?”

Sehee initially didn’t understand but eventually got it from the Golden Reaper’s gestures and nodded.

Then the Golden Reaper turned to me with a bright face and expressed intent.

“Mommy, would you like some too?”

Looking at Sehee and the sprawled-out Golden Reapers, the Golden Reaper emitted intent.

“Let’s all eat together!”

This revived the lifeless Golden Reapers, who rushed over enthusiastically.

“Let’s all eat together!”

Thus, the grand finale of the Olympics became an Omnomnom party.

Still, considering the cost of such facilities filled with candy, will this slip past Seoah unnoticed?

***

“Haa… Haa…”

The silver-haired girl panted heavily as she looked down at the monstrous creature sprouting buds.

The fight wasn’t particularly difficult, but the tension made her breathing heavy.

Once her breathing steadied, the silver-haired girl approached the brown-haired girl tied to the bed.

“And the Human Corps was the Object?”

Although still confused, the brown-haired girl quickly composed herself and said to the silver-haired girl.

“Let’s go back and report. This must be an issue caused by the Object’s intrusion.”

The silver-haired girl nearly shouted at the stubborn brown-haired girl but restrained herself, speaking softly instead.

“Let’s move forward a little more. We absolutely cannot go back.”

“But still…”

The silver-haired girl grabbed the brown-haired girl’s face with both hands, locking eyes.

“Even if you’re confused, trust me. Got it?”

Thanks to the silver-haired girl’s shining eyes filled with strong resolve, the brown-haired girl took a calming breath and replied.

“Alright, I will.”

She quietly added, “I trust you.”

The two girls held hands tightly and exited the bedroom.

Beyond lay a shabby, messy corridor that didn’t match the ‘noble’ Human Corps.

Walking all the way to the end, a large door greeted the girls.

The silver-haired girl and the brown-haired girl exchanged nods and slowly pushed the door open.

As they did, the interior of the room was revealed.

Complete darkness without a single ray of light.

The heavy stench of blood pushed out from beyond the door.

Chilling cold air.

The room stretched so long that its end was invisible even in the dim light from the corridor.

When the silver-haired girl found and flipped the switch, a horrifying scene unfolded.

Endless rows of meat lined both walls.

All of it appeared to be human.

It was nothing short of a human slaughterhouse.

The brown-haired girl went pale at the sight, gasping for breath.

“Are all of these… people? It can’t be real…”

For a while, the brown-haired girl breathed heavily, utterly shocked.

Witnessing this shocking sight, the brown-haired girl realized the facility had serious issues.

Once calmed, the brown-haired girl firmly grasped the silver-haired girl’s hand and said,

“This isn’t the work of a single individual’s misconduct.”

“Yeah, the whole facility is messed up.”

At that moment, loud noises began echoing throughout the area.

Red lights began flashing, and an announcement played over the intercom.

“[A traitor to humanity has infiltrated the facility.]”

Footsteps began approaching from all directions.

As if surrounded.

At that moment, the silver-haired girl spotted something small in her vision.

“[Human! Over here!]”

Far away, a blue object waved its hand.

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