Chapter 243

Isolation Room—Yerin was lounging around with the Golden Reaper when suddenly, upon hearing that the Gray Reaper had appeared, she cranked up the TV volume to max just as—

Deputy Director Seoah was also watching the same news attentively from her office.

[According to information shared by Russia, a certain district in Siberia has become impossible to properly observe.]

The TV was giving a detailed explanation of the mysterious Object incident currently unfolding.

[Not only humans but drones disappear the moment they cross the snowy boundary.]

[It’s not just losing control; even satellites tracking them lose sight the instant they cross over.]

Just hearing it made the situation seem utterly hopeless.

But then, the high-definition long-range photo capturing the Gray Reaper revealed an unexpected outcome.

Thud-thud-thud.

The Gray Reaper, with its signature thud-thud-thud gait, crossed the Object’s boundary without vanishing and continued walking across the snowfield.

The camera kept filming as the Gray Reaper eventually came to a halt, simply staring blankly at the sky with golden eyes, unmoving.

It gave off an impression as if it were lost in a dream, gazing at the floating moon above.

“What do you think?”

Seoah turned her gaze away from the TV and asked for the Sprout Reaper’s opinion, who usually lazed around on the monitor.

But the ever-present figure of the Sprout Reaper was nowhere to be seen.

Thinking ‘Could it be…,’ she turned her head to find the Sprout Reaper sneaking its head into her carefully prepared bento box.

‘There it goes again…’

Was it because she played with the Sprout Reaper often—or rather, communicated deeply with it?

Or maybe due to their growing mental bond or pollution, the Sprout Reaper, once merely a hallucination visible only to Seoah, started affecting reality.

Its advantage? It was pretty clever and would help with simple tasks when asked.

The downside? It kept sneaking food out of her bento.

Unlike other Mini Reapers, it didn’t go for snacks or pudding, suggesting it enjoyed surprising Seoah.

Sigh.

As Seoah sighed and pulled on the Sprout Reaper’s tiny foot, out popped the little figure with a large sausage in its mouth.

Hehe-hehe.

With an adorable grin like ‘Oops! Caught me!’ the Sprout Reaper made Seoah forget her scolding and smile involuntarily.

***

I saw the reflection of a man resembling the young Eye Cult Leader alongside a Blue Girl.

The moment I saw them, I extended my hand forward, ready to tear through space.

My target was the Blue Girl.

Even after scrutinizing her closely, there was no doubt—it was indeed the Blue Girl, yet hesitation wasn’t an option.

If this were the real Blue Girl of this timeline, she’d be fleeing from ninjas right now.

My instincts whispered that this Blue Girl was likely a fake, transformed from a blackened hermit crab contaminated by evolution liquid.

Even if I were wrong, it’d just mean another reset—a risky but necessary gamble.

As I firmly gripped the fabric of space, I could feel the firewood in my heart slowly depleting.

Though less efficient than using a Gray Reaper’s body, it wasn’t a major issue since Yerin’s supply of firewood was oceanic.

It was merely like switching from a teaspoon to a tablespoon.

As I tightened my grip, space began to twist and distort.

An immense force surged toward the Blue Girl, as if an invisible hand were crushing the very fabric of space itself.

The fake Blue Girl struggled futilely against this overwhelming power.

She was compressed and warped as though caught in a giant hand.

Simultaneously, my own hand began to warp.

If I had the Gray Reaper’s body, my hand might’ve just turned slightly black—but for a human form, it was excruciating.

Still, enduring the tearing pain, I clenched space harder.

Five streaks of scars carved themselves into the earth, sky, and space around the Blue Girl, ripping it apart.

Through the rift, a pitch-black void swirled ominously.

Unable to withstand the extreme pressure, the counterfeit Blue Girl shattered beyond recognition.

“No!!!”

Amidst scattered fragments, the man resembling the Cult Leader let out a desperate cry.

Confusion clouded his face as he reached out toward the blood-like remnants, only for his expression to shift in bewilderment.

The heavy scent of blood in the air turned into petroleum, and the scattered debris transformed into broken conch shells.

“Evolution liquid? And a blackened hermit crab….”

The man’s hands, which moments ago seemed poised to clutch the air, fell limp.

He stared blankly around him.

“Was it a decoy? But hermit crabs belong to the Purple Moon’s domain—why such deception?”

Appearing greatly disturbed, he muttered softly, then quickly composed himself.

“If so, that child must be in danger.”

Realizing the real Blue Girl was likely being chased by ninjas, he hastily began sketching something massive on the ground.

***

No sooner had the intricate pattern been drawn than the Blue Girl suddenly emerged mid-air.

“Whew, that was close!”

The Blue Girl, who had just escaped a ninja chase, collapsed onto the ground in relief.

“Teacher, why so late? Was there some kind of problem?”

How rare for her meticulous teacher to be tardy?

The Blue Girl asked with a puzzled look.

The man, however, remained silent, pointing instead to the scattered black conch shell fragments on the floor.

But as the Blue Girl turned her head, she noticed someone else.

A girl dressed in elegant black-and-white attire.

Though suspicious-looking, it wasn’t particularly important to the Blue Girl.

The Black-and-White Girl retreated slowly with an annoyed expression, but the Blue Girl dashed forward, hugging the girl and turning to her teacher.

“Teacher, who is this? A new disciple?”

The gleam in the Blue Girl’s eyes was almost overwhelming.

***

Of course, the moment the Blue Girl found me, she began hugging and squeezing me.

Every episode, she clings, so I’ve just given up and let her cuddle.

Well, Mini Yerin is undeniably cute, so what can you do?

If an object that makes people younger were discovered, even the real Yerin might want to turn into Mini Yerin.

Hehe.

While hugging me, the Blue Girl engaged in serious conversation.

Of course, the presumed Cult Leader had opposed my presence in this discussion.

However, thanks to the Blue Girl’s strong assertion—”This child is definitely on our side!”—I stayed.

With a solemn face, the Blue Girl declared:

“We’ve failed again.”

She lifted a hefty green jade tablet.

An artifact from the ancient alchemist era, supposedly indestructible by any alchemy or magical book, and a relic of the Cult.

On it were fourteen inscriptions, each scratched as if by sharp claws.

Strangely, for something supposedly unbreakable, the scratches looked unnatural.

Pointing to one inscription, it read:

[I, with the true power of the External Being, bestow wisdom to defeat ■ ■ ■ .]

But what it could defeat was erased.

“Hmm, as expected, the Cult’s relic refers to the erased existence.”

Sighing heavily, the Blue Girl continued:

“But even the phrases on this supposedly indestructible jade tablet are damaged.”

Clutching her head, she murmured, “Where should I look for more data now?”

Then, she began pulling out ancient documents from her bag—object-made parchments and time-worn papers alike, all bearing claw-marked erasures.

And strangely, as I gazed at these documents, a faint tickling sensation stirred within my chest.

***

When the usual reset time passed without the Blue Girl dying, strange phenomena began occurring in the city under the Purple Moon.

Mysterious symbols and patterns appeared in the night sky, growing increasingly complex, hinting at ominous prophecies.

Objects bathed in moonlight floated randomly, defying gravity.

Reflections in mirrors and glass windows distorted grotesquely.

Midnight flowers bloomed and oozed crimson blood while emitting red light.

Shadows, drenched in moonlight, came alive, moving independently of their owners.

These warping shadows seemed like gateways to another world.

The city was filled with terror and chaos, yet neither the Blue Girl nor the Gray Reaper noticed.