Chapter 117

The employees of Sehee Research Institute, wearing lab coats, were guiding people.

“Come on, please move this way slowly!”

Sehee Research Institute was bustling with people who had suddenly appeared.

The ones leading those people were The Golden Reapers.

Tubangtubang.

With cute and confident strides, numerous people followed behind the appearance of The Golden Reapers.

People who were rescued after being imprisoned at Trinity Research Institute.

The accounts from the rescued people contained shocking facts.

[Trinity Research Institute forcibly detained people.]

[Researchers turned into monsters.]

[A Blue Reaper saved the people.]

[The Gray Reaper sent us here.]

Upon hearing these words, we realized it was no ordinary event and contacted the Association and the police.

The freed people, upon arriving at the courtyard of Sehee Research Institute, seemed to relax and collapsed onto the ground, bursting into tears.

The Golden Reapers would swiftly rush over to such people, wiping away their tears while patting their cheeks comfortingly.

Of course, that’s the adults’ story.

Children, even upon arriving at the unfamiliar Sehee Research Institute, happily played with Golden Reapers in their hands.

When children lifted their hands high with bright smiles, the Golden Reapers did the same, laughing brightly.

According to the children’s stories, when you grab a Blue Reaper, it hurts and runs away, but the Golden Reaper doesn’t, making them like it even more.

Well, the Golden Reaper is pretty sturdy.

It could probably survive an elephant stepping on it; a child’s grip is nothing.

“Unnie Sehee, the hungry ghost has already broken through the third defensive line.”

Yerin, unusually serious, pointed at the TV.

“Wouldn’t it be better to just clear out its expected path? It seems like something only a Reaper can stop…”

On the TV, emergency breaking news was being broadcast as if a war had erupted.

[The hungry ghost is currently rampaging through the center of Seoul. The third defensive line has also fallen.]

The hungry ghost ignored all human-made obstacles, continuing its rampage without a scratch from explosions and tearing steel barricades like paper.

Especially the barricades provided by Trinity failed completely.

Their “[Hungry Ghost-Grade Physical Barrier Block]” slogan now felt meaningless.

[The fourth defensive line is being set up, but the chances of stopping it are slim.]

[Recently, there have been many studies suggesting lowering the danger level of the hungry ghost, but this runaway performance negates all those results.]

In fact, just minutes before the hungry ghost escaped, there was quite a commotion.

A massive scar that split the sky.

An event of considerable scale, but it got overshadowed by the much more direct and shocking escape of the hungry ghost.

It might get revisited after the hungry ghost situation is resolved.

[The hungry ghost has emerged from the Songpa sinkhole and continues moving westward.]

The news displayed its predicted trajectory like a typhoon forecast, with “Trinity Research Institute” right in the middle of the path.

“Still, isn’t the hungry ghost’s destination ‘Trinity Research Institute’? Maybe it’s running hard for a rematch with the Reaper!”

Yerin, once again advocating the “All-Centric-Reaper Theory,” believed the world revolved around Reapers.

Amidst the chaotic courtyard where we rested, a Sehee Research Institute employee came to report.

“Director of Sehee Research Institute. The Object Association has arrived at the main gate.”

Hearing that report, I moved toward the entrance.

Ugh, dealing with the Association always gives me a headache.

***

A tattoo-covered woman looked up at the sky and saw clouds splitting into five streams.

Even for a woman who had experienced “Magical Books” since ancient times, this was a first.

This world handled Objects differently, so the flow of the world felt slightly different too.

This world is soft in its approach to Objects.

So soft that lately, it feels like this might actually be the right way, at least here where it still feels like a place for living people.

“Sis, what are we doing today?”

“We’ve gathered all the materials, so we need to create a Guardian that will protect us.”

“Guardian?”

Hearing this unfamiliar word, her younger sister tilted her head curiously.

“It’ll be done soon, so just watch.”

The woman chuckled and patted her sister’s head.

She placed a stone of various colors on finely ground soil.

“This stone is the core of the Guardian. With better materials and a skilled Alchemist, the color would be simpler, but this is my limit.”

As she poured several reagents over the soil and stone, the stone began emitting a faint light.

“Wow!”

The sister gasped in amazement.

The stone emitted rainbow-like hues matching its vibrant colors.

And the touched soil clumped together, forming a cute shape.

A mysterious creature with colorful spots.

About the size of a large dog.

Short legs like a frog.

A big mouth.

A glowing lure attached to its head.

“So, this is the Alchemist’s eternal companion, the Guardian. Though compared to monochrome or white Guardians, this one is rather embarrassing.”

“Sis, this looks familiar… What was it?”

The sister muttered incomprehensibly.

After pondering deeply, she concluded with “I don’t know!” and relaxed her serious expression.

“The Guardian will protect us as long as this stone isn’t destroyed.”

The Guardian initially wobbled around but quickly adapted, joyfully running around Seoul Forest.

The woman crouched down and gently stroked the Guardian’s head.

“Hungry Ghost!”

The sister suddenly shouted loudly.

“No, it’s a bit different. A tentacle-less Mini Hungry Ghost?”

The woman couldn’t understand her sister’s words and wore a puzzled expression.

***

Heavy.

Not physically heavy, but it feels heavy.

Right now, my body is covered with both Blue and Golden Reapers.

From atop my head, shoulders, even inside my hair, they’re everywhere.

The Golden Reapers laughingly cling to me saying [Mom, it’s warm!].

While the Blue Reapers, shouting similar phrases, try to hide but end up smiling when they see me.

Since protecting the Blue Reaper was dangerous, I summoned Golden Reapers as bodyguards, causing this chaos.

Anyway, anyone who looked dangerous was sent to Sehee Research Institute, so a little roughhousing shouldn’t be a problem.

I can see Golden Reapers gathering around and tightly hugging the injured Blue Reaper.

The Blue Reaper wants to run away, hiding its cap, but stays because of the cheerful Golden Reaper expressions.

These guys seem less compatible than expected.

I grabbed a giggling Golden Reaper clinging to the Blue Reaper.

The Blue Reaper, trying to escape, notices me and starts smiling foolishly.

Because they like it so much, I feel like playing around.

Unfortunately, there’s no black liquid nearby to mess with.

Regrettably, throwing Golden Reapers doesn’t bother them, so I just put it back on my shoulder.

Lying down to rest and looking up at the sky, I notice clouds torn into five streams.

Clouds I tore apart.

I didn’t know I could do something on that scale, but apparently anger triggered it.

Now that I know how, I can do it anytime, though it consumes too much firewood, making it not very practical.

During my brief rest, the Golden Reapers started reacting like meerkats.

Golden Reapers staring intently at the research facility.

Is something there?

Since their senses are far superior to mine, there must be something.

I stood up and headed toward the research institute.

***

Deep within Trinity Research Institute.

The Director of Research Institute No. 3 woke up to the sound of violently ringing alarms.

Seeing only darkness and red lights upon waking, the emergency lights were spinning ominously in red.

“Currently, all object release procedures are underway.”

“Please evacuate immediately if you remain inside the institute.”

A mechanical voice announced the initiation of object release procedures.

“Releasing objects? I didn’t approve anything like that…”

Rising from the bed, the director checked his body and smiled.

Perfect.

The absorption was complete.

The infinite power boiling inside him.

And the confidence that no one could harm him physically.

“So, physical immunity, huh? Such powers existed.”

Whispering filled his mind brimming with omnipotence.

At this level, even the Gray Reaper or the hungry ghost could easily be torn apart.

Smiling with anticipation, the director put on his lab coat and stepped out of the recovery room.

Creepily, shadows lingered wherever he passed.

Shadows that consumed light, never fading.

And within those shadows writhed grotesque tentacles.

***

Continuing toward where the Golden Reapers were looking, I arrived at the interior of Trinity Research Institute, which was in disarray.

Ruins, chaos, and shadows.

Though it seemed fine from the outside, the interior was heavily damaged, with once pristine walls and floors shattered, indicating something significant happened.

The floor absorbed light like a black hole, dark and dense.

Despite light falling on it, unnatural shadows persisted, growing darker as they consumed the light.

From this ominous pool of darkness sprouted bizarre tentacles.

The tentacles wriggled with malicious intent, grabbing objects released from containment cells.

They dragged captured prey into the shadowy abyss, swallowing them whole.

The sounds of bones and flesh being crushed.

More terrifying than the horrifying scene was the stench.

From the shadows emanated an intense hatred towards humanity, unseen until now.

The presence of the tentacles filled the space inside the institute, distorting reality as if struggling to contain something that shouldn’t exist in this world.

A Hungry Ghost-level Object!

Did Trinity Research Institute secretly keep a Hungry Ghost-level Object?

Encountering a strong opponent after so long, I faintly smiled.