Chapter 150

A giant pig was roaming the Rocky Mountains as if it owned the place, always on the lookout for the perfect opportunity.

I placed the Sprout Reaper and the Blue Reaper on the palm of my hand, transmitting my resolve to them.

“Alright, you’ve only got one chance. Get ready!”

The Golden Reaper, who had been left out of this mission, sat dejectedly on Yerin’s palm like a puppy whose food bowl had been taken away.

“Don’t worry. Don’t worry.”

Seeing its pitiful state, Yerin comforted the Golden Reaper by gently patting its head, continuing to soothe it.

I gathered the remaining firewood to prepare for creating a massive black hole.

There was no spare firewood left.

This final attack—if it failed—would leave only enough time to flee with Yerin to the Mini Reaper Garden!

As I shoved the remaining firewood into both hands, they began turning pitch black while exuding wisps of steam around me.

The Sprout Reaper and Blue Reaper perched on my shoulder tensed up in preparation.

Realizing something big was about to happen, the Giant Pig stared intently at me, waiting for its moment.

“Block the view!”

“Cover with thick fog!”

“Disorient their sense of direction!”

As senses scattered and dense fog covered the area, I extended both arms forward.

The Giant Pig also unleashed flames all over its body and charged recklessly through the fog.

Watching this, I clenched both fists tightly.

…

***

The King of Pigs, the master of the mountain range, mulled over his thoughts even in his confused state.

He had to annihilate all enemies.

Because it was his promise to ■■.

For his mountains, his people, and his ■■.

In the eyes of the pig, a premonition of space warping appeared once again.

Space contracted once more, mercilessly tearing apart bone and flesh.

Though he barely escaped, such wounds wouldn’t kill him.

Amidst the pain of bones and flesh reassembling, the enemy came into view.

Through nearly blinded, hazy eyes, only the vague presence of the enemy could be seen.

And that presence was steadily diminishing.

I can win this.

The enemy was strong, but not strong enough to defeat me.

Their power wasn’t infinite.

If this continues, the enemy will either exhaust all their strength or overexert themselves.

The Pig King was waiting for that exact moment.

Certainly, the enemy would push themselves too far to reverse this situation and stake everything on this decisive battle.

“Block the view!”

“Cover with thick fog!”

“Disorient their sense of direction!”

And that moment arrived sooner than expected.

As the fog spread, blotting out sight and dulling senses, I felt the enemy’s presence being rapidly diminished.

At that rate, it seemed impossible for them to launch any follow-up attacks.

This was the Pig King’s awaited chance.

With every passing second, the terrifying pressure grew stronger.

Space itself screamed.

An unprecedented scale of attack was coming!

The Pig King rushed forward with flames engulfing his entire body, feigning an all-out frontal assault.

It was all an act.

Rushing as fast as possible to intervene before the enemy completed their attack, the Pig King prepared to dodge at any moment.

Within the fog-filled space, invisible but distorted boundaries emerged.

Parts of the fog started failing to physically align.

Where the boundary flowed, the fog split like a fault line, disrupting the lateral flow into chaos.

Countless transparent yet opaque glass orbs filled the surrounding space, distorting the outside scenery like looking through a fisheye lens.

The transparent yet impenetrable boundary of the spatial cage trapped the Pig King.

And then, darkness descended.

A vast region blanketed the Pig King, becoming a space where light couldn’t escape.

A low, ominous sound resonated throughout the space itself.

The foreboding symphony accompanying the contracting space was the signal the Pig King awaited.

The last possible moment to evade—the point where the enemy couldn’t recall their attack.

Simultaneously with the appearance of the black sphere, the pig transcended space.

To the enemy’s immediate rear.

A perfectly timed evasion followed by an attack.

As the pig opened its mouth wide to bite down—

Everything froze.

The fog that had previously enveloped the area disappeared without a trace.

In place of the sky, a colossal tree now loomed above.

A strange tree, blending gold and indigo—a tree unfamiliar to the Pig King’s current memory but evoking a sense of déjà vu.

Can’t move!

Why?

^rmQ5V1lXRQ

And within this frozen world, only one entity could move.

The adversary with gray skin and eyes blazing yellow.

As the enemy slowly flew through the air and lightly tapped the pig’s fang with a fingertip, the Pig King began moving against his own will.

Leaving behind trails of indigo, it rewound slowly, ever so slowly.

No!

The steps that had moved forward began rewinding slowly.

The dimensional gateway that had vanished reappeared as if rewinding time, and the fragments of earth shattered when the Pig King landed were sucked back into place.

It looked as though only the timeline related to his position was rewinding backward.

Even with all his might resisting, there was no effect.

And at the moment of being fully swallowed by the black sphere that devoured everything—

Time resumed flowing.

The black sphere that had been tearing apart space instantly shredded the Pig King’s body.

In the final moments as his entire body shattered into pieces, the Pig King uncovered a long-lost fragment of memory.

A faint, blurred memory.

The memory of birth.

Above him, the White Guardian watching over him, and behind it, a colossal figure gazing expressionlessly at him.

With that memory, the Pig King closed his eyes.

***

We won!

Finally, it’s over.

The agile giant pig is dead.

As the land vortex distorting the surrounding space disappeared, the vast open lot where the pig had run around began shrinking rapidly.

The Sprout Reaper, exhausted, fell asleep in the arms of the Golden Reapers.

And the Golden Reapers happily laughed as they tossed the sleeping Sprout into the air to celebrate.

A celebration for the youngest’s great performance.

Judging from the furrowing brows of the sleeping Sprout Reaper, it didn’t seem to enjoy it much.

“We finally did it!”

Seeing the disappearance of the pig, Yerin shouted joyfully as she approached me with a bright face.

“Reaper! We won, right?”

And Yerin, rushing over with a relieved expression, grabbed my hands—only to scream in shock.

Pussssh.

She was startled because my hands crumbled into powder upon her touch. This happened due to the enormous consumption of firewood caused by the Indigo Sprout Reaper’s ability—”Temporal Rewind.”

“Are you okay? Are you really okay?”

Seeing Yerin panic, a funny idea popped into my mind.

Hehe.

Suppressing the light of the firewood as much as possible, I collapsed backward, pretending to lose consciousness.

While it hurt a bit, I started converting the flowing firewood in both legs into ash.

“No! No, Reaper!”

Thinking I was dying, Yerin shook my shoulders frantically and burst into tears.

Then, burying her face into my chest, she collapsed.

Now, it’s time to reveal it was just a joke, I thought as I opened my eyes—but Yerin remained motionless.

“Huh?”

It seemed Yerin had passed out from extreme mental shock.

And the Mini Reapers were looking down at me as if I were garbage.

What? Why?

After laying Yerin down properly and shaking her, she still showed no signs of waking up.

Yerin, wake up quickly.

It was just a prank!

Nothing serious, right?

***

Upon receiving a report about an unidentified woman appearing at Sehee Research Institute, Seoah hurried to work early in the morning.

The identified details of the woman: James’ personal secretary.

Why would James’ personal secretary suddenly end up at Sehee Research Institute?

It must definitely be related to the Gray Reaper or Oh Yerin, but obtaining relevant information in Korea proved difficult.

The breaking news about the Spirit Barrier catching fire also abruptly stopped.

Unable to contact James, Seoah sent over the secretary’s detailed information via email.

Sometimes, the Korean Object Association attempts information control like this, though why they do it remains unclear.

Although slightly worried, having the Gray Reaper nearby made her feel safe.

If anything truly serious happened, the Gray Reaper would return with Yerin.

After sorting out what needed to be done, Seoah discovered something suspicious during her early morning walk.

Through the slightly ajar door of Sehee’s office, she spotted a mysterious underground staircase.

Seoah then recalled a ridiculous rumor circulating around Sehee Research Institute.

The reason the institute’s financial situation never improved despite earning lots of money was because of a colossal golden statue buried underground.

Seoah usually ignored such absurd rumors, but after seeing that passage, she began to grow suspicious.

Depending solely on her phone’s flashlight, she cautiously descended the secret underground staircase, which wasn’t marked on any maps.

Director Lee Sehee had always managed the budget transparently and honestly, so Seoah had never paid attention—until now.

With each step down the stairs, regret for not checking the budget periodically increased.

The underground space reached after the long staircase was spacious, comfortable, and dazzling.

The first thing that caught her eye was the enormous golden statue dominating her field of vision.

The golden statue brilliantly reflected the lighting, making it the star of this space.

The colorless face revealed that this golden statue wasn’t of the Golden Reaper but of the Gray Reaper.

“How much does all this cost?”

All Seoah could express was astonishment.

Just at a glance, it was clear an astronomical amount of money had been spent on the golden statue and the underground space.

Breathing in the refreshingly pleasant air, questioning whether the air conditioning system was functioning properly, Seoah wandered around the underground space when she heard a voice.

“You’ve found it, haven’t you, Seoah?”

Startled, Seoah turned around to see Sehee standing in the shadowy passageway, looking at her.