Chapter 181

A tattooed woman stood on the rooftop of a building overlooking the entrance to the park, gazing down below.

Three groups of association troops armed with assault rifles were controlling the entire park.

This was a level of management far beyond the usual, where only one or two employees would be sent out to half-heartedly repeat “Please don’t enter.”

Moreover, their armed presence seemed a bit too intimidating just for preventing civilians from entering a dangerous object site.

It was enough to make one curious about how dangerous this park really was to warrant such security.

“Wow, I’ve never seen the Association guard something so seriously.”

The younger sister standing beside the woman watching the scene together exclaimed in amazement at the sight.

Upon hearing her voice, the woman furrowed her brow slightly and spoke.

“As I said before, it could be extremely dangerous. How about waiting back at home?”

“Absolutely not!”

The younger sister firmly refused with a resolute expression.

The woman opened her mouth as if to argue but couldn’t utter a single word and closed it again.

There’s nothing I can do…

The woman felt awkward pressing the issue since her meeting with the younger sister had been special from the start.

Though the younger sister appeared normal, she was definitely not…

“In that case, you need to follow me closely and listen to my instructions carefully.”

“Okay.”

With a bright smile, the younger sister looked up at the woman, who then grabbed her hand and began walking slowly toward the park.

***

At the temporary camp set up by the Object Association in the park where a terrible terror incident once occurred.

Inside the camp, an injured association employee leaning on crutches was rechecking documents.

It was an official notice stating that all available personnel, including those on leave, should head to the park.

Thus, even a researcher from the Association who had been on leave after being injured during the Golden Reaper incident at the Association building had been dragged into service.

‘They’ve poured all available manpower into external security. This seems excessive when there haven’t been any casualties.’

There were many strange points about the Association’s response this time around.

While they usually ignored suspected cases of mental contamination within the building, they were now deploying so many people for an event without any loss of life?

Approaching the actual important object was strictly prohibited.

Only authorized personnel could approach the object, making it impossible to know the current status of the investigation.

Though an investigation team had entered hours ago, there had been no word from them.

The Association employee found the current situation frustrating.

The competent ones had either left or been fired, leaving only moderately incompetent individuals like himself behind.

Those who actually worked hard were shuffled around lower-level positions while greedy ones occupied higher ranks.

He had believed that quietly holding his post would eventually lead to the Association’s normalization, but he was wrong.

Now he understood – there were forces deliberately sabotaging the Association.

However, it was impossible to figure out their reasons or objectives, making it difficult to guess who was responsible.

[This is Team 2 of Block A in the park. We’re starting shift change.]

[Confirmed.]

During these thoughts, a radio transmission announcing the shift change came through.

The Association employee recorded the transmission, cleared his mind of thoughts, and began his duties.

***

Tip-toeing along, the tattooed woman and her younger sister were moving as quietly as possible.

What seemed like an impenetrable defense line for ordinary people was surprisingly easy for the woman to slip through.

The younger sister fidgeted with their clasped hands and whispered curiously.

“Onee-san, why didn’t you tell me about such an amazing thing?”

“Hm?”

“Invisible powder? You’ve been keeping something this fun all to yourself?”

Walking hand-in-hand along the park path, the two remained invisible to others’ eyes.

“It’s not that useful really. It’s only effective against guards who rely solely on visual surveillance like now.”

The woman pointed to a guardian statue loitering near the memorial stone as she continued speaking.

“Look at that guardian over there – it’s staring right at us.”

Indeed, a white muscular statue was glaring directly at them without being affected by the invisibility at all.

“Eww, creepy.”

The younger sister complained, finding both the statue’s muscles and human ears attached to its head unsettling.

“Onee-san’s guardians are much cuter.”

The younger sister tapped the head of the colorful hungry ghost the woman held in her arms.

A cute sound of “tong tong” echoed from the ghost’s hard head.

Watching the short-limbed ghost smiling and wobbling, the younger sister affectionately stroked its surface.

“Onee-san’s ghosts are cute, Sehee Institute’s look gloomy, and that muscle-bound one looks disgusting.”

Muttering this, the younger sister reached the edge of a pitch-black hole with her older sister.

The statues guarding the hole as if protecting it stepped aside as the sisters approached.

However, the statues that moved aside kept their heads bowed and stared intensely with wide-open eyes, making the younger sister feel uneasy due to their proximity and bulging eyes.

Trying to ignore them, the younger sister accidentally made eye contact with a statue.

Heheh…

The statue grinned widely, revealing a dense and strangely grotesque set of teeth.

Startled, the younger sister covered her mouth and screamed silently inside.

Had Onee-san not forbidden loud noises absolutely, she would have let out a real scream.

“Onee-san, Onee-san! They’re weird.”

Shocked and close to tears, the younger sister urgently called out to her sister.

Checking the entrance’s safety, the woman turned toward the statues upon hearing the urgent voice but saw nothing unusual – the statues were simply standing still, looking at the sisters.

Still, the woman didn’t dismiss her younger sister’s words.

“What’s strange about them?”

“T-They have human-like teeth that stick out creepily, and there are so many…”

“!”

As soon as the flustered younger sister finished describing, the woman immediately hugged her and leaped into the hole.

The tangible darkness enveloped them simultaneously as a chilling sound came from above.

Chak.

It was the sound of teeth clashing forcefully after failing to bite down on something.

***

Even though it celebrated under the sunlight, the golden beam never fully discharged in the end.

Hnnng.

No matter how one asked how it happened, the Golden Reaper just made strange sounds and smiled happily.

‘Sun!’

‘Mom!’

‘Beam!’

I don’t get it.

How exactly does one fire a beam?

While pondering this amidst the baffling hints from the Golden Reaper, which were harder than the conditions to destroy a ghost, the Cloud Whale had already arrived at its destination.

Clearly sensing the object’s presence nearby.

Looking down from the Cloud Whale, an endless dark entrance facing the sky stretched out below.

I dove into the abyssal entrance with the Mini Reapers.

The Golden Reapers seemed to enjoy slicing through the clouds as they fell, swinging their limbs around like swimming.

Thanks to our high-speed descent from the sky, we entered the opening at an incredible speed.

As we passed through the darkness and landed on solid ground, a completely lightless dark cave greeted us.

Since my eyes emitted light, it wasn’t particularly uncomfortable, but the Blue Reaper conjured strings of text in mid-air.

[Please repel the darkness with starlight.]

As the water-made string broke apart, fine mist resembling nebulae in space began emitting soft light while clinging to our bodies.

The delicate particles of water glowing like stars started illuminating our surroundings.

Guided by the starlight, we began walking through the cave.

Tubang tubang.

As I walked ahead, the Mini Reapers followed enthusiastically, swinging their limbs in the same pose.

Their actions reminded me somewhat of baby ducks, which was quite amusing.

When we reached the end of the cave, a peculiar city welcomed us.

The city, shrouded in darkness, was a chaotic mix of familiar and unfamiliar sights.

The landscape of Yongsan-gu etched in my memory.

And the unfamiliar cityscape made entirely of white marble.

Leading the Mini Reapers, I wandered through the city.

From snack shops I used to buy food from as a child to various buildings.

All structures were remnants preserved in my memories.

It was a scene as if someone had perfectly recreated my recollections.

This was a view I wouldn’t see even if I visited Yongsan-gu now.

“Is Mom okay?”

The Golden Reaper perched on my shoulder worriedly patted my cheek.

“I’m fine.”

Expressing my determination thus, I slowly strolled through the streets, admiring the scenery.

Tubang tubang.

While leisurely wandering through my memories, I spotted a pale something far away watching us.

It was a bizarre-looking statue resembling a ghost.

The statue chased us while maintaining a certain distance, glaring at us with a disagreeable expression.

Though it looked similar to a ghost at first glance, I wanted to take a closer look.

As I approached slowly to observe, the statue retreated, trying to keep its distance.

Does it want to maintain a certain distance?

Using ghosting and time acceleration, I instantly caught up and easily got a close look.

Upon closer inspection, it was truly a grotesquely designed statue.

Ghost-like white skin.

Realistic yet revolting muscles.

A trivial ghost-like head.

And the finishing touch – human ears attached to it.

Strangely, when I summoned a ghost to compare directly, it didn’t seem very similar.

For some reason, this statue smells of blood despite having no bloodstains.

It smelled as if it had just disassembled a human, radiating a strong scent of blood.

“Bad Object!”

The Mini Reapers surrounded it fiercely, glaring with hostile expressions.

Bad objects must be destroyed, right?

Deciding to resolve a sudden curiosity that arose, I made up my mind.

Can a marshmallow ghost defeat a rock-hard statue?

Summoning a large white ghost, I ordered it to attack the statue.

The white ghost slowly approached the statue with its characteristic aggrieved expression.

The Mini Reapers cheered with clapping, forming a makeshift Colosseum around them.

Unlike the peaceful-looking ghost, the statue’s face was twisted in anger, deeply creased with wrinkles.

The statue jumped forward, kicking off the ground.

Thung. Thung. Thung.

Every punch landing on the ghost produced a heavy thudding sound echoing through the air.

However, the statue’s fists merely vibrated the ghost’s chubby jaw.

The ghost’s marshmallow effectively absorbed the impact with unexpected elasticity.

Without further ado, the ghost leapt up and rammed straight into the statue.

The ghost’s powerful charge sending the statue flying was quite dramatic.

“Akuchi-ki!”

The Golden Reapers especially loved it, throwing confetti into the air.

Then the white ghost opened its mouth wide and began spewing mini ghosts.

The mini ghosts tumbled out of the ghost’s mouth and rushed toward the fallen statue, their tiny limbs flailing.

The relentless mini ghosts stuck to the statue even as they were thrown off repeatedly, beginning to gnaw on its hard skin.

The statue’s stone-like skin stretched and compressed like human skin under the mini ghosts’ attacks.

The fight ended more anticlimactically than expected.

Keeek.

The statue, bitten by the toothless ghost, writhed in pain with a ghastly expression.

It was astonishing that the marshmallow could chew through the stone, but what was even more shocking was the statue’s appearance.

I was startled once when its neck stretched suddenly.

And when rows of human teeth were revealed inside its mouth, I was genuinely shocked.

That’s not a ghost!

It was such a horrifying sight that I almost screamed.

Calmly calming myself down, I turned to check if the Mini Reapers were surprised but saw no particular reaction.

“Ghost is strong!”

The Mini Reapers, seemingly unaffected by appearance, were simply cheering for the ghost.

***

In a room where faint light descended from the ceiling stood a large bed.

On the small table next to the large bed lay numerous small round white orbs.

These small orbs had adorable limbs, short tails, and antennae protruding from them.

They resembled white ghost crafts.

One of them developed cracks gradually before breaking apart.

Despite having prepared soft cushions for each craft as if treasuring them, the girl lying on the bed didn’t move at all.

Covered by a blanket as if someone had tucked her in, the girl with blue hair lay peacefully, untouched by breath, as if dead, with dust settling on her body.