Chapter 278

The cheerful sound of music and a joyful atmosphere filled the air.

Vivid holograms dazzled the eyes, while joyful laughter and songs filled the ears.

It was truly a festival!

‘!’

But amidst all this joy, an ominous feeling crept in, causing me to tilt my head toward the sky.

Even the golden reapers, who had been dancing happily, seemed to sense something strange and began looking up at the sky with serious faces.

But gazing at the sky revealed nothing but blindingly bright holograms that hurt the eyes.

The sky was completely blocked out.

It was as if the holograms formed a massive ceiling covering the entire city above.

There hadn’t been this many holograms before… or had there?

As I kept staring upward, hologram tyrannosaurs equipped with jetpacks started flying around.

Despite being drawn to their movements and finding them somewhat amusing…

Their attempts to capture my interest only made everything seem more suspicious.

So, I sharply pointed my finger upward at the sky and slashed it through the air.

Zwaak!

The sky and holograms tore apart in the shape of five fingers.

‘!’

And beyond that tear lay a vast, brilliant orange moon.

As the orange moonlight began to shine down upon the city, the festive mood vanished instantly.

People who had been laughing now stood expressionless like mindless puppets.

The lively music stopped, leaving behind an endless silence.

Machines that had been sprinkling marshmallows like rain turned to face me as they halted their actions.

Silence.

The festival grounds were eerily quiet, almost unbelievably so under the oppressive stillness.

But the silence didn’t last long.

Because the people enjoying the festival suddenly bared their teeth and charged toward the mecha tyrannosaurus.

The tyrannosaurus immediately showcased its enhanced combat power.

Fiery breath erupted from its mouth, lasers shot from its eyes.

Tyranno-missiles launched from its back, tearing into surrounding enemies.

But despite the tyrannosaurus’s valiant efforts, the number of foes was overwhelming.

I already knew how this would end.

Unless I intervened, the tyrannosaurus would soon be overwhelmed.

Two golden reapers weren’t enough to protect it.

Eventually, it would break down bit by bit until it was completely destroyed.

“Sorry, Tyrannosaurus.”

Though I wanted to help the tyrannosaurus, the orange reaper was in danger.

For the mini reaper to create such a powerful phenomenon using firewood must have required risking its very existence.

Time was short, and I couldn’t even summon the Mini Reaper Garden before leaving.

But even in the midst of fierce battle, the tyrannosaurus managed to flash me a quick grin with its sharp teeth.

Looking at those magnificent fangs, I leaped through space following the trail of the orange reaper.

***

Top floor of the Central Tower.

The room filled with blood had disappeared, replaced by a serene landscape akin to floating among the clouds.

An endless sea of clouds bathed in warm orange moonlight stretched endlessly.

Though not the sun, this moonlight radiated a comforting warmth.

Cheong screamed atop this cloud-covered sea.

“Please… please…”

Cheong clutched the shrinking orange reaper, tears streaming down her face.

While Cheong didn’t understand what this sudden appearance of the cloud sea meant, she could clearly feel the strain on the orange reaper.

Was it her heartfelt emotions flowing outward?

The orange reaper’s color was deepening.

With Cheong’s strengthening firewood energy, the orange reaper was recovering from its life-threatening condition. But…

The orange reaper closed its eyes and chuckled softly in its mind.

“You’re truly my attached human.”

As Cheong’s strength grew, the orange reaper extended a trembling hand toward Cheong’s face.

The moment Cheong grabbed the hand, the orange reaper deliberately relaxed its body, slumping over lifelessly.

As if dead.

“No!”

Against the backdrop of Cheong’s cries, the giant deity risen from the orange reaper’s spatial domain began to stir.

“Remarkable. So a mere derivative of the gray reaper can create a moon?”

The deity stared at the unstable, wavering orange moon reflected on the surface of water and smiled triumphantly.

“But it’s imperfect. It looks like it could shatter at any moment.”

Clutching its massive fist, the deity slowly approached Cheong, who remained defenseless.

“Now I shall absorb your essence and become the perfect object.”

And with that, the deity swung its enormous fist down toward the weeping Cheong.

Koong!

But the blow was blocked by countless cloud fish swarming in from all sides.

Like a school of sardines forming the shape of a giant fish, they coalesced into the massive form of the orange reaper.

“Perfect? A perfect object?”

The newly-formed colossal orange reaper emitted a mocking will toward the deity.

At that moment, one of the deity’s legs began disassembling like a toy, piece by piece.

“What… why?”

Using “probability control,” the deity tried to stabilize its collapsing leg but failed miserably.

Ki-gi-gek. Ki-gi-gek.

A terrifying sound accompanied the clash of abilities, and the deity’s “probability control” dissipated like a mirage.

The confused deity watched as the colossal cloud orange reaper floated closer.

“Compared to Mom’s powers, yours are pitifully weak…”

As the orange reaper’s low will resonated, the remaining leg collapsed.

“How dare you manipulate probability so ineffectively!”

With a gentle nudge to the deity’s shoulder, a massive arm fell off like a building demolition hammer.

“Not even capable of supporting your own body properly!”

Another nudge, and the other arm crumbled away.

With both arms and legs gone, the torso swayed precariously, ready to collapse.

The metal casing protecting the deity’s core shattered, revealing the fragile parts inside.

The partially gold-horned heart used for manipulating human wishes.

And the brain riddled with holes from the finger object.

These delicate components couldn’t withstand the pressure as the deity’s mechanical body collapsed.

Crushed like an orange inside a machine, the deity’s brain and heart turned into juice.

***

I hurriedly leaped through space to save the orange reaper.

But when I arrived, everything was already over.

The pile of harmful objects, once metallic, now lay lifeless, oozing brain fluid and blood.

In the corner sat the orange reaper and its attached human.

The girl, drenched in tears, continued crying uncontrollably.

And in her arms lay the orange reaper, eyes closed as if dead.

Even someone as smart as the orange reaper had a special attached human.

Not quite on Yerin’s level, but this girl radiated immense emotion.

Thanks to her, the orange reaper’s skin glowed with firewood energy, and its face appeared slightly fuller.

Aside from the slight reduction in size due to creating the moon, there were no issues.

“Hmph, I thought the mini reaper was going to die.”

Relieved that things turned out well, my thoughts drifted to the mecha tyrannosaurus.

Breaking through the wall to look outside, the city had descended into chaos.

People with partially object-replaced brains turned zombie-like, attacking anyone nearby indiscriminately.

Their numbers were far greater than expected, turning the city into utter pandemonium.

“Where is it?”

The presence of the mecha tyrannosaurus had vanished.

But I refused to give up hope.

It must still be alive.

It was fighting so well after all.

It has to be alive.

But the mecha tyrannosaurus I found was already torn to shreds.

“No!!”

Anger at the tyrannosaurus’ death consumed me.

But the anger had nowhere to go.

Kraaang!

Like the tyrannosaurus, I let out a mental roar and surrendered to the rage rising from the firewood.

***

Deep underground in the Free City Alliance.

Three massive finger worms, usually immobile, now stirred.

These worms symbolized three families and practically governed and regulated the city.

On their monitors, the city situation played out.

The screens showed a water giant towering near the Central Tower, spinning windmills.

And an equally massive black reaper wielding a greatsword, leading the city to its end.

[Evacuate! Evacuate! Evacuate!]

[We must escape before the gray reaper discovers us.]

[Adjust the gray reaper variable upward. We cannot afford another failure like this.]

The grotesque worms, covered in wires, emerged from their tanks and began burrowing into the floor with their heavy bodies.

Flash.

At that moment, a red lightning bolt struck the tank filled with blood-red liquid, descending from the surface to the underground.

[Found you.]

A monstrous creature shaking the atmosphere with sheer will alone.

The gray reaper.

Carrying golden ‘eyes,’ it burned with silent fury.