Chapter 247

A hungry ghost as white and large as a rice cake.

It looked smaller than the hungry ghost I saw in my dream, but its proud expression was several times more impressive.

GURRROOO!

After blowing away countless ‘Nameless’ entities that had split into smaller forms, the otherworldly White Hungry Ghost let out a deep roar.

Its expression didn’t look sorrowful, and neither did its cries sound cute.

Moreover, its body was hard as stone!

Still, my crying hungry ghost with an aggrieved expression is cuter.

The Blue Girl approached that hideous hungry ghost, greeting it very happily and petting it vigorously.

“Amazing! You’ve done well to find me.”

Though it seemed extremely tough and rough, the Blue Girl paid no mind and smiled brightly while petting it.

Then she patted the White Hungry Ghost on the cheeks and shouted,

“Now go destroy all our enemies!”

Upon hearing the Blue Girl’s command, the White Hungry Ghost charged forward confidently.

It must have thought that the ‘Nameless’ entities, which were easily blown away, weren’t much of a threat.

Hmm… But even so, those ‘Nameless’ entities adapt instantly to mass-based attacks, right?

Moving slowly as if creating an atmosphere of dread, the ‘Nameless’ entities would vanish and reappear by teleporting the moment you looked away—clearly objects capable of manipulating space.

Mass-based physical attacks aren’t very effective against objects that can manipulate space.

Sure enough, the arrogant charge of the White Hungry Ghost came to an end the moment it collided with the first ‘Nameless.’

Despite the massive size difference, the hungry ghost couldn’t push back the ‘Nameless’ and ended up getting grabbed instead.

The ‘Nameless’ anchored itself to the space and began embedding sharp claws into the hungry ghost.

And just like that, the White Hungry Ghost was reduced to a rice cake mercilessly torn apart by sharp talons.

“Ack!”

The Blue Girl looked worriedly at the heavily wounded hungry ghost slowly regenerating.

I approached her and extended my hand.

“Hungry Ghost, lend it to me!”

The Blue Girl stared at my face for a moment, then nodded and firmly grasped my hand.

“Alright. I’ll lend it to you.”

With our hands clasped together, the Blue Girl and I began controlling the White Hungry Ghost.

We each held one hand together and used the remaining free hands to grasp the Halo and the core of the White Hungry Ghost.

Eri’s seemingly endless firewood started seeping into the hungry ghost’s core, while the Halo I held in my left hand was placed atop the White Hungry Ghost’s head.

As its body darkened and collapsed endlessly, the White Hungry Ghost turned black.

Is this ugly hungry ghost inferior to my cute one? It crumbled into ashes almost instantly.

But the endless flames from the firewood entering through the core began restoring the now-dusty remains of the White Hungry Ghost.

An unending cycle of breaking and regenerating.

This painful repetition was slowly transforming the White Hungry Ghost into a higher existence.

Each time it shattered, it advanced by just a small step—painfully slow yet steady.

It will take ten thousand breaks to reach the level of a Marshmallow Hungry Ghost—but it’s progressing, albeit painstakingly slow.

From the mouth of the newly elevated White Hungry Ghost, a groan filled with agony escaped.

GEEEEEH!

Simultaneously, the Halo settled atop the hungry ghost’s head and began spreading white flames around.

As the flames of ability nullification touched the fragmented ‘Nameless,’ they vanished like mirages despite having clear substance.

“Done!”

Just as I thought we could hold out for an hour easily, everything began collapsing.

“!”

The sky collapsed, the ground fractured, revealing an endless void beneath.

It felt like a failed loop causing time to rewind, but it was slightly different.

“The dream is collapsing.”

The white flames were destroying the dream itself, created by the object’s abilities.

But we haven’t reached the conclusion yet!

What should we do?

***

Sehee Research Institute Sleeping Room.

Since it’s rumored that sleeping here for an hour feels like sleeping for eight, there are always people snoozing soundly.

In a corner of the sleeping room, under the moonlight, the Small Sprout Reaper swayed gently with its leaves rustling softly as it slept.

At that moment, transparent Small Sprout Reapers began gathering around the pot where the blue-light shimmering Sprout Reaper rested.

These were special Sprout Reapers visible only to humans with attachments, unlike the fruit-eaters.

Except for their size, they looked exactly like the Sprout Reaper planted in the pot, making them seem like younger siblings seeking their older sister.

“Mom is calling us!”

“Mother requests our presence.”

“Sister, wake up!”

The little Sprout Reapers were poking the chubby cheeks of the pot Sprout Reaper with their fingers, trying to wake her up.

“!”

Startled, the little Sprout Reapers grabbed the sprout of the pot Sprout Reaper to prevent her from hiding deeper into the soil.

Then commenced the lynching of the pot Sprout Reaper.

They pulled her completely out of the pot, slapped her cheeks repeatedly, and lifted her eyelids.

But the sister Sprout Reaper merely furrowed her brow and kept rolling over, showing no intention of waking up.

Should we call the Red Reaper to set fire to the sprout?

As this thought spread among them, one of the sibling Sprout Reapers, clearly annoyed, approached the sister Sprout Reaper.

“ANG!”

She opened her mouth wide and bit down hard on the plump cheek of the sister Sprout Reaper.

“!!!!”

Startled, the sister Sprout Reaper woke up immediately.

The bite mark remained clearly imprinted on her cheek.

“?”

Confused, the sister Sprout Reaper stared as the sibling Sprout Reapers began enthusiastically projecting their intentions toward her.

“Mom is calling us!”

“Mom needs us!”

Upon receiving these intentions, the sister Sprout Reaper slightly nodded, then walked out under the moonlight with a serious expression.

TIP-TAP, TIP-TAP.

Behind her, the slightly smaller sibling Sprout Reapers followed closely.

“Tree!”

As the sister Sprout Reaper raised both hands and projected her intention,

“TREE!!!”

The sibling Sprout Reapers also raised their hands, mimicking the shape of a tree.

The sprouts of the Sprout Reapers blinked blue light and shot beams toward the sky.

Their direction pointed toward Russia.

Toward the location of the Gray Reaper.

And one Golden Reaper passing by the sleeping room noticed this scene.

“Mom?”

It was one of the Golden Reapers who had been diligently searching for their mom after playing pranks with candy.

***

The White Hungry Ghost, whose body was charred black, screamed in a cute voice.

GEEEEH!

The White Hungry Ghost has become cuter!

The Blue Girl smiled as she watched the White Hungry Ghost emit a voice far cuter than before.

However, when she tried to share her joy with the girl holding her hand, the Black-and-White Clothed Girl slumped over, as if losing consciousness.

“Huh?”

Although she still firmly held my hand, it didn’t seem like she had completely passed out. Something felt off.

Despite clearly existing with substance, the Black-and-White Clothed Girl started feeling increasingly blurry, like a distorted TV screen with static noise.

The Blue Girl gently laid the slumped-over girl down on the floor while still holding her hand.

“Are you alright?”

The Blue Girl asked with concern, but received no response.

That strange phenomenon soon spread to the White Hungry Ghost.

The halo above its head wobbled anxiously, and the flames regenerating its body began diminishing.

“What should I do? Should I release my hand and sever the connection?”

As the golden flames dwindled, the cracks on the White Hungry Ghost worsened.

Moreover, the girl holding my hand seemed about to disappear any moment.

BOOM!

Suddenly, massive trees erupted around the city, producing a thunderous roar.

The enormous trees formed a protective wall around the city, resembling ancient fortresses.

These trees, glowing with a mysterious mix of gold and blue, were tangible despite their ethereal appearance.

Around the Black-and-White Clothed Girl, magical books identical to the Blue Girl herself began appearing.

Completely blue in color, palm-sized, with sprouts growing from their heads, looking young with chubby cheeks, they were otherwise identical to the Blue Girl.

The sprout magical books surrounded the Black-and-White Clothed Girl, wearing worried expressions. The leader among them had a distinct bite mark on her cheek, prompting a slight chuckle.

Most confident-looking yet bearing a bite mark—how ironic.

“Hmm.”

Did the Blue Girl’s soft laughter catch the attention of the sprout magical books?

They turned their heads toward the source of the laughter and wore expressions of great confusion.

The sprout magical books alternated their gaze between the Blue Girl and the Black-and-White Clothed Girl, tilting their heads.

“Two moms?”

***

As my vision blurred and the fantasy city merged with Siberia in reality,

giant trees emerged, stabilizing the dream world.

Through the power of the sprout reapers, the nearly severed connection reinforced by the halo was restored.

My blurred vision returned to normal, and I regained consciousness.

“Mom!”

The moment I opened my eyes, the sprout reapers rushed to embrace me.

There are more!

There was definitely only one sprout reaper before!

How does this responsibility without pleasure keep multiplying?

The sprout reapers proudly declared they had come to save their mom.

Taking the Blue Girl’s hand and standing up, the previously crumbling White Hungry Ghost became whole again.

GRRR!

The White Hungry Ghost let out a victorious roar.

A vast amount of white flames spread in all directions, falling like snow across the entire city.

These flames were ability-nullifying snowflakes that erased the ‘Nameless’ fragments.

“We won!”

I grinned confidently and gave the Blue Girl a mischievous smile.

But the ‘Nameless’ didn’t seem willing to end things here.

A colossal whirlwind suddenly blew from deep within ominous clouds.

Amidst the roaring thunder, the clouds tore apart, revealing grotesque arms.

These arms clutched the massive crack splitting the sky and began tearing it open slowly.

Between the cracks, a far larger and more terrifying form than I anticipated began to emerge.

It truly felt like the embodiment of all human malice.

Its twisted body clawed its way forward like crawling on one arm, scratching the city.

Each time the city bore new scars, more horrifying parts of the ‘Nameless’ true form revealed itself.

The presence radiating from the ‘Nameless’ true form was so powerful that even those unrelated to the objects could feel it.

I felt a slight tremor through the hand clasped with the Blue Girl.

“Book that Killed God.”

The Blue Girl murmured quietly as she gazed upward at the sky.