Chapter 259

I emerged from Yerin’s embrace and came face-to-face with the Hungry Ghost Reaper, who was staring at me with an urgent look.

Cradling the Harmful Object in its arms, the Hungry Ghost Reaper pleaded with a desperate gaze for it to be healed.

And there, nestled in its arms, was the small yet dangerous Harmful Object.

I carefully inspected the Harmful Object that the Hungry Ghost Reaper held.

The Golden Object was in such a state of corruption that it wouldn’t have been out of place if I tore it apart right then and there.

There was one peculiar detail though.

Despite appearing capable of indiscriminately attacking nearby humans without raising eyebrows, it simply lay still in the Hungry Ghost Reaper’s embrace. This was slightly odd.

But the fact that it sought healing from me was a bit strange.

Did it want me to treat it by adding firewood?

My firewood could benefit my followers or humans, but for other objects, it would be extremely harmful…

Surely, it didn’t mean to ask me to painfully burn it to death with such a desperate expression?

Ah!

Though it was a tricky riddle, my brilliant mind quickly deduced the Hungry Ghost Reaper’s intent.

This object is broken, so it must mean they want me to create a new one!

With a confident smile, I picked up the Halo of the Labyrinth with one hand.

It was a special service on my part.

Using the Halo was incredibly painful, but creating an “Object” with the Halo of the Labyrinth required an enormous amount of firewood—so it wasn’t something I did lightly.

I only used it for matters as important as creating a ‘Luminous Tyrannosaurus.’

“This one is beyond saving, so I’ll make you a new one!”

Announcing that I’d even use the Halo generously, I expected them to be moved.

But the expression on the Hungry Ghost Reaper’s face was far from what I had anticipated.

Hng.

***

In the back alley turned into complete chaos by a wrecking ball, a man stood over the fallen ‘Wrecking Ball,’ smoking a cigarette.

After briefly smoking, the man crushed the cigarette underfoot and turned toward the shop behind him.

‘…’

He gave a brief moment of respect to the old man who had helped him before hastily leaving the alley.

His destination was a safe house he’d personally prepared in case of emergencies.

The organization-provided safe house was no longer usable.

With the sudden death of the old man and the attack by the ‘Wrecking Ball,’ it was only natural that the ‘Organization’ had started targeting him.

Staying too long in one place was out of the question.

There were surely trackers among the ‘Selectors’ of the organization.

Though he had prepared enough money for situations like this, a harsh life awaited him as he searched for why the organization was after him and why his younger sister had died.

‘…’

Contrary to his expectations of not eating or sleeping properly, the man was living comfortably.

When he woke up early in the morning, a delicious smell was already spreading through the safe house.

Turning his head toward the kitchen, he saw the Purple Object looking at him while smiling innocently.

The Purple Object, which had begun following him at some point, was using shadows like its own limbs to toast bread.

A video of the cooking process played beside it.

This little thing handled perimeter security and meal preparation, among other necessary tasks.

Thanks to it, despite being on the run, his condition was much better than when he was working as a fixer.

Though it was barely the size of a palm, it seemed stronger than most ‘Selectors’ and was friendly to humans.

Could it be that such objects wandered outside the land blessed by the stars these days?

Curious about its identity, he began investigating and easily uncovered its origins.

It was a well-known object from a place called ‘Korea.’

A derivative object of the ‘Gray Reaper,’ classified as a top-tier object: the Purple Reaper.

This Purple Object was terrifying enough to be categorized as ‘special grade.’

Yet, from the man’s perspective, every time he glanced at it, all he saw was a cute little thing grinning widely.

***

Late afternoon after lunchtime.

The clear weather from earlier had faded, replaced by dark clouds covering the sky, with a drizzle falling over Sehee Research Institute.

The Hungry Ghost Reaper was running through the rain.

Just running for the sake of the small object trembling painfully in its arms.

The Gray Reaper couldn’t fulfill the Hungry Ghost Reaper’s request.

Even with the material-creating power of the Halo, treating mental pollution was impossible.

All it could do was create a new object.

Moreover, because this small object had such a weak presence, the Gray Reaper warned that reviving it in the Mini Reaper Garden would be highly unlikely even if destroyed directly.

“It’s okay. There’s still a way.”

The Hungry Ghost Reaper muttered words of determination as if speaking to itself, glancing down at the object in its arms.

Above its head rested the Nullification Halo borrowed from the Gray Reaper.

Because the Golden Object’s mental pollution had become too severe, maintaining sanity was becoming difficult.

Thankfully, the Nullification Halo, which blocked all abilities not originating from the Gray Reaper, significantly slowed the progression of the mental pollution.

“It’s okay. It’s okay.”

The Hungry Ghost Reaper gently stroked the object in its arms while continuously reassuring it.

“There will be a way.”

But the last hope the Hungry Ghost Reaper clung to also crumbled.

Atop the large Jelly Pig hospital, the Black Reaper shook its head solemnly.

The Black Reaper said that the Golden Hungry Ghost Reaper was too weak to perform a resurrection ritual at the hospital.

Even a much stronger blonde girl was in a precarious state, making the Golden Hungry Ghost Reaper’s revival absolutely impossible.

Furthermore, due to the severity of the contamination, attempting the ritual would result in immediate death.

Thus, all means pursued by the Hungry Ghost Reaper failed.

‘…’

With the object cradled in its arms, the Hungry Ghost Reaper sat in the courtyard of Sehee Research Institute.

Fine raindrops drifted in the wind, softly falling in the tranquil courtyard.

Empty and desolate, devoid of people, even the sound of rain was barely audible.

Perhaps due to the rain, all the Sun-loving Golden Reapers had disappeared somewhere.

Only the Rain-loving Blue Reapers gathered in a corner of the garden, watching the Hungry Ghost Reaper with worried expressions.

‘Thank you.’

A faint intention seeped into the Hungry Ghost Reaper’s heart.

The Golden Object, enveloped in the white flames of the Halo, looked up at the Hungry Ghost Reaper with glowing red eyes.

And with a dreamlike expression, it closed its eyes.

‘I wish I could’ve made more memories with humans…’

The Golden Hungry Ghost Reaper smiled wistfully.

“It’s okay. There’s still time. Let’s take the Attached Human to the Mini Reaper Garden for a visit.”

“You haven’t seen many things yet. The Mini Reaper Garden is full of wonderful scenery.”

While looking down at its arms, the Hungry Ghost Reaper vividly described the unseen landscapes of the Mini Reaper Garden.

The endless Marshmallow Plains.

The sea of Hot Chocolate emitting sweet fragrances.

The labyrinth-filled Black Sugar Desert.

The colorful candy-layered mountains.

And beyond that, the icy Snowfield of Bingsu.

The Hungry Ghost Reaper painted a lively picture of the Mini Reaper Garden for the Golden Hungry Ghost Reaper.

A flicker of light passed through the Golden Hungry Ghost Reaper’s eyes.

“I’d like to see the Snowfield of Bingsu.”

The Golden Hungry Ghost Reaper added with a small laugh, mentioning how the human seemed to love ice cream.

Then, taking a shallow breath, it stopped moving altogether.

Like a doll whose batteries had run out, it froze with a smile.

The white flames constantly burning away the Golden Hungry Ghost Reaper’s mental pollution also dimmed.

As if the flame of life had extinguished.

Under the pouring rain in the courtyard, the Hungry Ghost Reaper emitted no further intentions.

It merely held the now-cold body of the Golden Hungry Ghost Reaper tightly, remaining still.

Raindrops streamed down the Hungry Ghost Reaper’s cheeks.

After a long while, the Hungry Ghost Reaper rose and slowly began walking toward the Snowfield of Bingsu.

In the rainy courtyard, only the lonely footprints of the Hungry Ghost Reaper remained.

***

In a secluded corner of the snowfield located in the Mini Reaper Garden, a small new grave appeared.

A tomb without a corpse for some object.

The grave of a small, weak object that had decomposed upon meeting its destruction conditions.

Though the snowfield was always bathed in bright light, it seemed as if shadows lingered near this tomb.

And in front of the tomb knelt the melancholic Hungry Ghost Reaper, burying its head between its knees.

‘It was a mistake to let you go outside the garden.’

‘I’m sorry.’

Around the Hungry Ghost Reaper, Golden Reapers left Sugar Coated Fruits to cheer it up, but the Hungry Ghost Reaper ate none of them.

***

Darkness descended upon a small room located in Southern Italy.

In that darkness, the Purple Reaper shone its eyes while looking down at the man who slept lightly.

Hehe.

The Purple Reaper covered its mouth and giggled happily.

Recent events had delighted the Purple Reaper immensely.

The battle against the ‘Wrecking Ball’ was splendid, but the process of buying bullets was equally thrilling.

Sitting on a park bench with an old newspaper spread out, a suspicious figure would suddenly appear on the opposite bench.

The man would mutter a password-like phrase in a low voice, and the suspicious person would leave the newspaper roll on the bench and depart.

Inside the rolled-up newspaper were bullets.

‘Awesome!’

A slight worry now clouded the previously joyful face of the Purple Reaper as it looked out the window.

There, a giant blue-glowing giant was moving.

An immense entity invisible to both humans and ordinary objects.

The ever-growing blue-glowing giant appeared nightly as if searching for something.

The Purple Reaper stared at its tiny fist with a concerned expression.

‘Can I defeat that monster?’

At that moment, the giant’s face began descending toward where the Purple Reaper was.

‘!’

Spreading ominous blue light everywhere, it seemed to be searching for something as it gazed down at the ground.