Chapter 264

The sky-piercingly colossal giants vanished, and tranquility was restored to Southern Italy as morning arrived.

And those who had lost their places began to move en masse toward the north.

These refugees became clear evidence, sparking a frenzy of news and newspapers reporting the same story.

[The blessing of the stars has ended!]

Even before this news became public, numerous reporters started crossing the border between the south and north.

The place where supreme objects clashed, producing thunderous sounds and bursts of light.

Though proper observation was impossible due to the wildly distorted space, it could be considered one of the most dangerous sites of the modern era.

But for object-specialized journalists, it was merely a risk they’d accepted since choosing their profession.

What the journalists crossing from the north into the south saw was nothing but rusted ruins.

Like a city destroyed by bombing, all buildings and roads had collapsed.

As if covered in volcanic ash, everything was dusted with a fine layer of rust.

With only passion and a camera, the first reporter to dash into the southern region let out a regretful sigh.

‘If it’s this ruined, is recovery even possible?’

The situation looked several times worse than a bombed city.

Click-click.

The ground was gouged out like ice cream scooped with a giant spoon. Walls were a chaotic mix of red-rusted metal and cement, resembling marbled beef.

Buildings slowly crumbling into powder with every breeze.

Italy’s desperate state was being stacked up shot by shot in the camera.

Is this all there is to see?

Feeling suffocated, the reporter wandered around, but wherever they turned, there were only ruins.

Even atop crumbling buildings ready to crumble further, all that could be seen was ruin.

Just ruins everywhere.

How much time would it take to restore this?

It seemed it would take far longer than the 20 years Italy had been blessed by the stars.

The only fortunate thing was that no objects could be seen across this vast land.

‘!’

Before the eyes of the reporter taking pictures of the ruins, something strange began to move.

Tubang-tubang.

A golden object, cradling a small rusted metal lump, was slowly walking somewhere.

Hypnotized, the reporter raised the camera and captured the golden object within its frame.

Click.

It was the appearance of a golden reaper covered in red dust, carrying debris as large as itself.

The photo of this small object working hard for Italy amidst the ruins became an article and spread across the world.

The title of the photo was [Hope Amidst the Ruins].

***

About 20 years after the Italian division.

20 years have passed since the day the star fell, and now, Southern and Northern Italy have reunited.

Many lands and cities were rusted away as if bombed, but people celebrated and praised the end of the division.

Almost no one died during the battle of the giants, and while people managed to confirm each other’s safety through communication, the joyous reunions of those who hadn’t met for 20 years gave Italy a slightly excited atmosphere.

Of course, some southerners still trembled with fear at the prospect of objects returning.

But when the temporary government of Southern Italy disclosed hidden data, everything changed.

The drastic increase in deaths and missing persons after the “blessing of the stars.”

Price hikes caused by isolation and fewer job opportunities.

Deteriorating security and flourishing crime organizations.

“Selectors,” more lethal to humans than objects.

“The blessing of the stars” began to be called “the curse of the stars.”

And the opinion that “objects are better than selectors” began to dominate.

Part of this favorable perception was thanks to certain beings wandering around Southern Italy, tubang-tubang.

Objects that used massive white hungry ghosts to clean up ruins, approached people kindly, and smiled brightly.

Thanks to the golden reapers.

Perhaps because many Italians loved the golden reapers so much.

In the heart of the ruined south, a gigantic candy windmill rose.

And beneath it, countless mini reapers waited for their own attached humans.

Golden reapers dressed in noir long coats with lollipop sticks in their mouths.

Purple reapers dreaming of fateful encounters, like the rusty purple reaper.

Mini reapers seeking attached humans.

As mini reapers gathered, the area near the giant candy windmill gradually became bustling.

A mini-reaper special district like Mapo District appeared in Italy.

***

Snowfields in the Mini Reaper Garden.

After returning to Italy, I lay down on the snow-covered fields where snowflakes were falling heavily, my mouth wide open.

As the snow melted in my mouth, the taste of sweet milk shaved ice spread throughout.

‘Delicious.’

Next to me, a very angry hungry ghost reaper was biting one of my arms with an ‘ang’ sound.

It seemed to be because I hadn’t kept my promise to resurrect my attachment object.

While physical immunity meant it didn’t hurt, it was somewhat annoying.

‘Strange.’

Clearly, my sharp sixth sense whispered, ‘If you kill the blue giant, you’ll be able to resurrect it.’

But after killing the blue giant, no such ability emerged.

Instead, what appeared in the sky above the snowy field was a glowing blue sphere.

Moreover, there was nothing inside the blue sphere.

I had expected the blue giant to lie dead inside, but it was just a space filled with rippling water.

The peculiar point was just one.

The water inside the blue sphere emitted light like a blue starlight giant.

Looking at the bluish glow reminded me of the Cherenkov radiation effect visible from radioactive materials.

As I continued lying there, other mini reapers began approaching, tilting their heads curiously.

Their expressions read: ‘Why is mom lying here?’

Finding the bites of the hungry ghost reaper amusing, the mini reapers began to bite me with ‘ang’ sounds too.

As more mini reapers passing by joined in, I ended up covered in them like a whale infested with lamprey sharks.

Annoying.

I wanted to shake them off immediately, but it was ‘Kind Mom Week,’ so I had to endure.

Hee-hee.

While being bitten by mini reapers, a thought struck me about the blue sphere.

Could I transfer consciousness into it, even without a corpse?

Since it resembled the unchanging sphere in size and shape, it might work.

As I lightly connected my consciousness to the blue sphere, I finally realized.

The blue sphere contained part of the blue giant’s abilities.

It wasn’t the rust-inducing light or the fog that eroded space, nor the power to manipulate space.

Resurrection ability!

The power to summon the souls of dead objects.

Since I could create a body using halos, calling the soul alone was enough to call it resurrection.

‘Resurrection!’

As I suddenly stood up and radiated determination, the mini reapers, who had looked bewildered, were startled.

***

The mini reapers covering the snowfield were brimming with determination.

‘Resurrection!’

‘Resurrection!’

Maybe because the hungry ghost reaper was so sad, the story of the attached object of the hungry ghost reaper was well-known among the mini reapers.

So the news that mom was going to resurrect the golden hungry ghost reaper quickly spread among the mini reapers.

Thus, the vast snowfield filled with tiny mini reapers eager to witness the resurrection.

Standing beneath the blue sphere, I flashed a confident smile towards the gathered mini reapers.

The hopeful mini reapers.

The anxious yet expectant hungry ghost reaper.

As I took in their expressions, I infused my consciousness into the blue sphere.

‘?!’

Suddenly, a massive body was felt within the blue sphere.

Hardly had I infused too much willpower when another body, resembling a black corpse, opened its eyes inside the blue sphere.

Slowly tearing through the blue sphere, a blue-colored body emerged.

Boom!

And as the blue sphere was completely torn apart, a new body standing beneath it was revealed—a giant as enormous as the black corpse.

‘Huge!’

‘Giant Mom!’

But its appearance was entirely different from the black corpse.

Except for shining blue like a starlit giant, it was identical to ‘my gray body.’

‘Glowing Giant Mom!’

‘Blue Mom!’

Craaaaw!

The super-giant blue-gray reaper silently roared.

***

Simultaneously controlling the massive blue body and the small gray body made me feel incredibly dizzy.

‘Ugh, dizzy.’

It felt like playing two different game screens with both eyes.

The blue body began preparing to summon souls, while the gray body held the labyrinth’s halo, ready to create a body.

As I used the blue body’s ability to summon souls, countless vague shapes of various objects poured in.

The flow was so rapid that my cognitive abilities couldn’t possibly grasp them all.

So I abandoned the idea of searching while looking and began focusing on the wishes for immediate resurrection.

Then, a hazy figure appeared.

Short arms.

Large head.

Sharp teeth.

Long tail with a splendid bipedal gait.

Ah, a tyrannosaur!

Although I knew I should revive the golden hungry ghost reaper, I couldn’t help myself.

As the blurry spirit of the tyrannosaur appeared on the snowfield, a fluorescent dinosaur body began enveloping it.

‘Glow-in-the-dark Tyrannosaurus. Forever together!’

Despite getting scolded by the mini reapers for fooling around, I fondly smiled at the glow-in-the-dark tyrannosaur.

***

The hungry ghost reaper stood in the middle of the snowfield, gazing at the gradually sharpening blurred object.

Small and weak, but resembling a golden reaper-like object.

The master said that since quite some time had passed since death, the form might have become somewhat distorted due to wishes.

Furthermore, since it wished to be resurrected under the jurisdiction of the Mini Reaper Garden like the golden reaper, it might have become even more distorted.

But to the hungry ghost reaper, it didn’t seem like there was much change.

Short limbs.

Small gestures.

Small eyes and round smiles.

Everything was the same.

Though wrapped in pudding like clothing, its essence remained unchanged.

The hungry ghost reaper embraced the golden hungry ghost reaper tightly and sent its will.

‘I really missed you.’

‘I missed you so much.’

The golden hungry ghost reaper also expressed joy by rubbing its face against the hungry ghost reaper’s embrace.

‘I’ll show you everything.’

The endless marshmallow plains.

The sea of hot chocolate with its sweet aroma.

The labyrinth-filled black sugar desert.

Mountain ranges formed by layers of candy in various colors.

And beyond that, the icy fields of shaved ice.

The hungry ghost reaper, tightly hugging the golden hungry ghost reaper, looked genuinely happy.

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