Chapter 246

I absentmindedly traced the prominent scar on my neck while gazing down at the Skewered Head Object burning fiercely.

“Huh, went smoother than expected.”

The Skewered Head Object had been tricky to destroy and radiated an imposing presence as an Object.

Moreover, despite being in a situation where I couldn’t summon the Mini Reaper Garden or call upon the Mini Reapers like usual, I managed to handle it surprisingly smoothly.

It was because the Skewered Head Object, meeting my “eyes,” became far too terrified.

As I touched the scar encircling my neck from another world’s Yerin, I felt a faint sense of regret but also relief.

The only regrettable part was that this was a dream, meaning I couldn’t exact revenge on the skewering Object that injured Yerin.

If only the Mini Reaper Garden could resurrect her; I’d torment it endlessly…

Relief washed over me because it was just a dream.

Thank goodness Yerin didn’t get hurt.

While thinking this, I squatted down and poked the scattered Skewered Head Object with a stick.

Beside me, a girl dressed in blue resembling a cult leader stood talking seriously with a man.

“The Purple Blade. Definitely the moon’s power. But why is the moon attacking alchemists?”

The man rummaged through the Object’s burning remains muttering, “The moon and alchemists were supposed to be allies…” His voice trailed off quietly.

“If the purple moon truly started attacking humans, this is serious trouble. We need to return to the Alchemist Guild immediately and devise a plan. The purple moon is the strongest of its kind—leaving this unchecked will lead to catastrophic consequences.”

Having extracted a sample of the purple blade from the debris, the man seemed ready to leave the city at once.

The blue girl shook her finger left and right, her expression suggesting she wanted to deliver a smack upside the head, and said,

“Tsk. No, the problem isn’t the moon.”

She pulled out a long glass rod and drew out a sticky black liquid from the Object’s remains.

“Evolution Liquid?”

“Yes, it’s the Evolution Liquid causing problems. Honestly, something about it felt off from the start.”

The blue girl dramatically posed like a home shopping host or a cult recruiter and began speaking.

“It’s not your everyday Evolution Liquid! It grants immortality by triggering human evolution when consumed! Sprinkle it on a Magical Book, and poof, it vanishes! Truly a miracle substance with no side effects! No environmental pollution either!! It’s the perfect dream of any alchemist!”

After loudly proclaiming this, she cleared her throat and continued,

“Doesn’t that sound suspicious? A substance so perfectly beneficial and flawless? Clearly, such a scam-like material must have some terrifying side effects.”

“The current Master of the Alchemist Guild, hailed as the world’s greatest genius, has been deceiving people, then.”

The man paused for thought before adding,

“Come to think of it, there was also the Blackened Conch. So, it seems related to the purple moon’s faction and the Evolution Liquid.”

Listening to their conversation, I realized this dream dealt with a considerably past timeline.

In the dreams involving the blue girl I’ve seen until now, she was only responding to the Evolution Liquid.

Furthermore, compared to other dreams, her composure seemed much lower.

At that moment, a violet Hermit Crab Shell gradually appeared mid-air.

It was as if an invisible hand in the air was slowly crafting it.

The shell floated, emitting a faint glow, and a distant voice seeped out.

This faint voice served as the dream’s guiding landmark.

With a touch of anticipation, I picked up the shell.

But the moment I held it, the sky erupted with a loud noise, splitting apart.

Black clouds stained with ominous colors parted like shattered glass.

From the rift, a giant hand emerged and began descending toward the city.

***

A shadow of ill omen fell over the city under the purple moon.

The massive hand descending from the clouds exuded a presence that could crush everything around it.

Citizens dealing with the city’s abnormal occurrences looked up at the sky, but the blue girl did something different.

She lowered her gaze instead.

On the ground spread a purple light.

This light, filled with the power of the purple moon, was inscribing characters on the ground, walls, and ceilings.

And the moment she saw these characters, endless fear surged toward the girl.

“You must not write this name.”

“You must not see this name.”

“You must not speak this name.”

“You must not remember this name.”

The hand piercing through the sky sprinkled mental pollution to discourage anyone from inscribing the erased name.

Yet amidst this endless fear, the blue girl recalled several pieces of information.

The erased existence she had relentlessly pursued.

The erased name documented in countless records.

The powerful Magical Book appearing in the city’s airspace to erase the revealed name.

The book known only by its alias: The Book That Killed God.

Among seemingly unrelated pieces of information, the girl derived one conclusion.

The name many tried to record.

Yet erased.

Perhaps the forgotten deity from ancient times?

Could the erased existence be the name of a faith that perished long ago?

Realizing this, the blue girl finally looked up at the sky and shouted,

“The Book That Killed God!”

Right now, this was the moment the truth was revealed to the blue girl who had persistently chased after the ‘erased existence.’

“So, what I sought all along was the ‘name of a god.'”

But could she survive the realization having confronted the Book That Killed God?

Just as this thought crossed her mind, a Girl in Black and White Clothes approached with awkward strides.

Holding a fading purple conch in her hand, she declared,

“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”

Her pronunciation was strange, but it was a profoundly reassuring statement.

***

The colossal hand swiped across the city.

Sturdy buildings collapsed helplessly, sweeping away countless people.

But that wasn’t the biggest issue.

The greater problem was the unidentified something killing people within the city.

Even streets untouched by the massive hand were littered with corpses.

These bodies were shredded by something sharp.

In a dark alley, an alchemist frantically scratched his forearm.

“Disappear! Disappear, I said!”

No matter how deeply he gouged, blood streaming from exposed veins, the cursed name carved into his arm wouldn’t vanish.

For some reason, it was an extremely ominous name.

Gegak.

Then, the sound of stone walls being mercilessly torn resounded.

The man gasped and turned his head, but nothing was there.

The stone wall, marked with the ominous name, had collapsed as if slashed by sharp claws.

“Aaaaaah!”

Terrified, the man screamed and fled.

Pale from excessive blood loss, he hid beneath an old building, panting heavily.

Though dusty and cramped, the enclosed space provided him slight comfort.

That’s when something wet brushed against his fingertips.

“Huh?”

Turning his head, he found numerous mutilated corpses crammed deep beneath the building.

“Gasp… Gasp…”

Trying to suppress his scream, the man slowly attempted to escape from beneath the building, but grotesque hands shot out from the pile of corpses and firmly grabbed him.

“No!”

He was dragged in and shredded like the others.

***

The moment I saw the ominous hand emerging from the sky, I remembered an old memory.

‘Nameless.’

A name I was definitely taught during Object Association training but somehow forgot.

The atmosphere surrounding the ominous hand reminded me of the malevolence I felt at the ‘Jeyangsan Temporary Camp.’

The Nameless object hovering above the city was none other than the entity itself.

Breaking through the clouds, the Nameless continuously clawed at the city.

Every swipe of its nails demolished buildings and devoured countless logs.

What appeared before the blue girl and me was a small group of Nameless entities.

Distorted heads, torsos, and legs.

Objects equipped with arms identical to the hand floating in the sky.

These small Nameless entities slowly approached, tearing people apart with their sharp claws.

Sometimes they would suddenly appear right in front of you, and other times they’d burst forth from confined spaces.

‘This should be easy compared to its world-class status and the level of dignity it commands!’

I once thought.

At first, they were easily cut apart by spatial cuts and disintegrated with a mere squeeze.

But as time passed, they grew harder to deal with.

As if adapting to my abilities.

Spatial cuts failed to sever them cleanly anymore, and when I squeezed space, they pierced through with a deafening sound.

To make matters worse, their destruction condition was perplexing.

[Complete death of a god.]

What even is a god?

I should’ve guessed this was trouble when it was labeled a global-scale special-grade object!

At this rate, completing the mission given by the purple conch—a proper ending to this dream—seemed unlikely.

The hint from the purple conch was simple.

[Protect the blue girl and endure for one hour in this city.]

Initially, it seemed fairly manageable, but…

The white flames used by the blue girl and her master were quite powerful, but the Nameless quickly developed immunity, rendering them ineffective.

‘This is bad. At this rate, I won’t last an hour.’

Just as I considered summoning a halo despite the risk of this world’s Yerin getting shredded—

A pristine white something burst through the wall, scattering the smaller Nameless entities in all directions.

“Ahgui!”

The blue girl greeted the white rock happily with a bright smile.

‘Ahgui!’

Seeing Ahgui, a brilliant idea struck me.

Would an Ahgui of that size be able to use a halo?