Chapter 232

It was like a red monster straight out of a horror movie, its limbs twisting and contorting in bizarre ways as it wandered around.

The red monster aimlessly pacing near where I stood didn’t even seem to notice my presence within the Mini Reaper Garden.

“Whoa, that was a shock!”

This was the first time someone had grabbed me from behind so suddenly, and it scared the living daylights out of me.

Impressive, managing to surprise me when I can see in every direction. You must be something special.

While keeping an eye on the red monster aimlessly wandering outside, I tried to calm myself down.

Once I felt certain the Mini Reaper Garden was safe, I began observing the red monster more closely.

Though it had the silhouette of a human, its movements were anything but human-like.

Its face, devoid of any features, seemed to gaze off into nothingness, as if staring at some distant void.

Its uneven gait suggested limbs moving against their will, yet upon closer inspection, revealed a completely different story.

Rather than walking normally, it appeared to retroactively arrange causes after reaching its destination, causing time to flow backward and space to fold and unfold repeatedly with each step.

Despite its apparent search for something, the red monster seemed unable to perceive anything around it.

As it passed by where a tree once stood, the tree transformed into some unidentifiable “something,” a grotesque lump of red flesh and stone.

Every patch of grass the monster touched in the courtyard before Sehee Research Institute turned into an indescribable “something.”

Frankly, its grotesque appearance wasn’t the real problem.

The real issue lay in the very essence of these “somethings.”

Not just their locations but something deeper about them—perhaps beyond space itself—had fundamentally changed.

Living beings touched by the monster remained here physically, yet their true essence had been relocated to somewhere far beyond, leaving only ghostly projections akin to reflections in a mirror.

For how long had this creature been wandering? Suddenly, the sound of shattering glass filled the air, and the monster’s form began to drastically alter.

The space where its torso had been fractured like broken glass, scattering jagged shards everywhere.

These sharp fragments attempted to reassemble into a humanoid shape, though what emerged could no longer be called human.

A shoulder sprouted new arms, legs, and heads, while tiny faces popped up on palms, and countless limbs erupted from forearms, wriggling like centipede legs across the floor.

No one would call such a monstrosity human.

The scattered body parts teleported erratically, appearing and disappearing in multiple locations.

At times, all that remained were four arms roaming alone; other times, ten heads floated independently.

When they tried to coalesce again, heads grew where arms should be, chests erupted from legs, creating an increasingly grotesque sight.

[■ ■ ■ ■]

[■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■]

The magical energy emanating from the monster became incomprehensible as it deteriorated further.

And the more it disintegrated, the stranger the surrounding environment became.

Mist began filling my vision.

Bizarre chunks of flesh and crimson gemstones burst forth from the ground, writhing as if alive.

The open lot near Sehee Research Institute grew increasingly eerie and dangerous, yet the monster’s presence seemed to fade.

Not so much fading as receding, as if moving farther away.

Is it self-destructing?

Or perhaps it can’t stay on Earth for long?

It seemed likely it would vanish on its own, but the spreading red mist was concerning.

If left unchecked, it might reach where Yerin is.

As worry for Yerin grew, I began to suspect that the weaker the monster became, the easier it would be to discern its destruction conditions.

So, I reviewed the destruction conditions to eliminate it faster.

[Die ■ ■ ■ ■]

A single character appeared!

Bang!

Just as I rejoiced, a massive hand descended through the thickening fog onto the Mini Reaper Garden.

[■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■]

And a head towering over two meters high emerged from the mist, its hollow eye sockets seemingly fixed on me.

***

With sounds reminiscent of busy little animals scurrying about, the Black Reapers bustled around inside the research facility.

They were so busy that their adorable tap-tap footsteps echoed as they dashed around, occasionally bumping into each other and tumbling end over end in chaos.

Tap-tap!

The Black Reapers waddled into the Sehee Research Medical Center, carrying bandages larger than their own bodies above their heads.

“Hmm… Bandages? Is someone hurt?”

Yerin, intrigued by this sight, quietly slipped out of the shelter and began following the hurriedly scampering Black Reaper.

Though 80% curiosity about the Black Reaper, she also felt a strange sense that the Gray Reaper needed her.

Following familiar paths led her to the courtyard of Sehee Research Institute.

Where Mini Reapers used to play and employees gathered, now stood empty.

Discarded paper cups lay toppled over, documents scattered and fluttered in the wind.

The atmosphere of the courtyard, with papers flying and Mini Reapers absent, felt eerily somber.

Yerin, feeling a sudden chill, rubbed her arms as she entered the entrance to the Mini Reaper Garden.

Instead of the somber air, a sweet fragrance and warm light greeted her, making her heart feel instantly cozy.

Inside the garden, mysterious bandage spheres sat atop marshmallows.

Each sphere was wrapped so meticulously that they rolled perfectly, feeling surprisingly heavy when Yerin picked one up.

“Something’s inside?”

As she started unwrapping it, a nearby Black Reaper shook its head firmly.

Uncharacteristically stern, Yerin gently petted the Black Reaper perched on her palm and placed the bandage sphere back down.

Confused, Yerin wandered the garden until she glimpsed the Mini Reapers’ original forms—Mini Reapers turned gray like the Gray Reaper.

Unlike the soft Gray Reaper, these looked rigid, cracked, and fragile.

The Black Reapers worriedly cut bandages into smaller pieces around the hardened Mini Reapers.

“Did something happen to the Mini Reapers? Are they wrapping them to prevent them from breaking?”

This seemed like a reasonable precaution.

“But where’s the Reaper?”

Though usually mischievous, stealing pudding, tricking, tripping, and throwing Mini Reapers around, the Gray Reaper always cared for them first during emergencies.

Could the Gray Reaper have turned the Mini Reapers to stone?

If it caused this mischief, it might avoid helping the injured Mini Reapers.

But given the Black Reapers’ calm bandage-making, it seemed unlikely.

If it were the Gray Reaper’s prank, the Black Reapers would’ve been beating it up by now.

With these thoughts, Yerin eventually found the Gray Reaper.

It fought fiercely, a glowing ring of light hovering above its head, its skin entirely charred black.

“Reaper!”

Hearing Yerin’s worried shout, the Gray Reaper’s antennae shot straight up toward the sky.

***

I messed up.

Huge mistake.

The moment I checked the destruction condition, the monster clearly recognized my presence.

No longer targeting just humans, the red monster grew giant within the red mist.

Recognizing me, it pushed its hollow eyesockets into the garden, large enough for a person to fit inside, filled with impenetrable darkness.

“Ugh.”

From those eye sockets sprouted countless hands.

Their appearance was nightmare-inducing.

Thump-thump-thump.

These countless hands began pounding on the boundaries of the Mini Reaper Garden.

Though seemingly light taps, each strike made the boundary between the red mist and the garden blur.

[■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■]

If I let this continue, the boundary would break in an instant, so I reinforced it using my Halo.

The Labyrinth Halo.

I overlaid my strongest mental image of a sturdy boundary onto the Mini Reaper Garden.

And with that, my stockpile of firewood began rapidly depleting.

Even if infinite firewood existed, I couldn’t keep this up forever.

The Labyrinth Halo could warp reality, but its foundation was fake illusion.

Though the red monster itself seemed time-limited, crumbling apart, the garden’s boundary would fall first.

To repel this monster, I’d need immense power.

Even using all three Halos wouldn’t suffice.

At that moment, Yerin’s voice reached me.

“Reaper!”

Hearing her voice, a solution to this predicament came to mind.

I discarded my Halo and rushed toward Yerin.

Diving into her soft embrace, the nearly depleted firewood surged back instantly.

Hehe.

Feeling the firewood blaze intensely within my heart, I closed my eyes tightly.

Above my head, a black sphere levitated.

[The Unchanging Black Sphere]

The highest-ranked item I possessed.

[!– Slider main container –]