Chapter 322

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The Blue Reaper rather liked the world they had suddenly been dragged into.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

A world so quiet that the heavy footsteps of the Mom Golem echoed loudly.

With no one else around, it felt like just the two of them in this vast structure—a cozy world for just the duo.

A world where the Attached Human could cuddle up close and lean against them without anyone watching.

A world where, with just a little courage, it was perfect to stay close to the Attached Human!

The Attached Human was secretly stacking snowballs on their own hat.

“Hehehe.”

Believing they hadn’t been noticed, the Attached Human let out a small, suspicious laugh.

Pretending not to notice, the Blue Reaper tilted their head upward—and the snowballs tumbled off the hat.

At the sight, the Attached Human let out a shriek.

“No way…! My white tower!”

Looking up, a vast curtain filled the sky.

And through the tattered gaps in that curtain, an ambiguous light neither night nor day shone above.

That faint glow was this world’s “day.”

How curious.

There were many other curious things about this world for the Blue Reaper.

‘Who could have built this tower?’

The tower they were climbing alongside the Attached Human was a massive structure unlike anything seen even in the world of “Mom.”

It stretched impossibly high toward the heavens and was wide enough to fit an entire city.

What was most fascinating was the tower’s design itself.

It looked as if spiral staircases had been haphazardly stuck together.

Moreover, each floor was designed to allow direct views of the sky.

‘Why would they build it like this? When you look up anyway, all you see is the black curtain and the thin slivers of sky beyond…’

How much time had passed?

The Attached Human, growing bored with everything covered in white, complained.

“This is so boring. The scenery’s all white—it’s tedious…”

As the Attached Human started playing dollhouse games by holding the Blue Reaper’s tiny hand, the edge of the snowy plain began to come into view.

Suddenly, a dried-up field appeared ahead, jarringly contrasting with the snow-covered expanse.

It looked like the boundary where winter met summer.

“It’s a field!”

The Pink Girl sat up straight and looked around before whispering to the Blue Reaper in a secretive tone.

“Grandfather told me that when the sun existed, food used to grow here in abundance. Isn’t that amazing?”

“What kind of food grew here? Cans? Snacks? Candy?”

Imagining delicious foods, the Pink Girl giggled with delight.

“That’s why I really want to reach the top of this tower.”

“?”

Confused about what snacks had to do with the tower’s peak, the Blue Reaper raised a question mark into the air.

“Grandfather said the very top floor of this tower extends beyond the sky curtain. And above that curtain, there’s the sun.”

“One day, we’ll see the sun again. And there will be fields where candy grows in abundance.”

The Pink Girl laughed dreamily, like someone sharing their deepest hopes.

***

James Tower in Outskirts of Songpa District.

The Situation Room had long since dropped its “temporary” label due to frequent incidents.

James sat in that Situation Room, watching live drone footage.

This video was from the drones sent immediately after discovering the disappearance of Seoul Forest’s “civilization destruction.”

The footage was chaotic—flipping back and forth every second due to severe spatial distortions.

“Hm.”

Though the video made him feel nauseous and indicated serious space warping, James’ expression remained surprisingly calm.

‘Even with all this erratic movement through Seoul Forest, the drone remains intact.’

Given how violently the space was being twisted, the drone should have been torn apart mid-flight.

This level of stable distortion meant humans entering wouldn’t risk having their limbs ripped off.

Still, while immediate death might not be guaranteed, banning entry seemed essential.

Humans venturing inside would likely get lost forever in a maze-like labyrinth where heaven and earth couldn’t be distinguished.

‘And there are so many Golden Reapers!’

Golden Reapers perched like crows on trees.

Golden Reapers marched in single-file lines across fallen leaves.

Golden Reapers rained down like showers amid spatial distortions.

Golden Reapers burrowed into the ground like moles.

The drone footage showed so many Golden Reapers that Seoul Forest almost looked like the “Forest of Golden Reapers.”

Strangely, each Golden Reaper held in their grasp a shard that shimmered with a transparent, cool blue light.

‘What on earth are those shards?’

But the drone camera wasn’t detailed enough to make proper judgments.

To clear his tired mind, James picked up his coffee cup from the desk.

‘?’

Feeling the cup slightly heavier than usual, he turned his head—and saw a bashful Golden Reaper clinging to it.

‘Oh no! Caught red-handed!’

The Golden Reaper sheepishly smiled while pushing a sugar cube into the coffee.

‘So that’s why my coffee tasted sweeter with every sip…’

Seeing James didn’t seem angry, the Golden Reaper slipped another sugar cube in and then stuck out their tongue to lick the coffee.

‘Ugh! Still bitter…’

Frowning deeply, the Golden Reaper stuck out their tongue.

Watching this, James gently lifted the Golden Reaper, petted it, and offered a piece of jelly.

MUNCH.

The Golden Reaper happily nibbled on the jelly in James’ palm, smiling contentedly.

***

Deep Inside Sehee Research Institute, Comfortable Isolation Room.

I was nestled in Yerin’s arms, playing with the Ghost Reaper.

‘Stab!’

‘Waaaah!’

The Golden Reaper giggled mischievously after being poked by the Ghost Reaper.

My current game involved letting the Ghost Reaper stab various targets.

The knife changed appearance depending on who or what it stabbed, along with the intent shouted.

‘Filial duty!’ when targeting me.

‘Affection!’ when targeting Mini Reapers.

‘Medicine!’ when targeting damaged Objects.

Once, when it stabbed the White Hungry Ghost simmering in Red Reaper’s soup, it shouted ‘Coal mine!’ though I still don’t know what that means.

So now I was testing it on different Objects and items.

At that moment, Yerin, munching on my antennae, muttered to herself while looking at the TV screen.

“Wow, there are so many Golden Reapers.”

Turning my head at her words, the TV showed Golden Reapers swarming the Seoul Forest checkpoint.

They were packed so tightly there was no room to step.

Then the screen switched, and a news anchor’s voice came through.

[The Object Association has issued an urgent statement prohibiting entry into Seoul Forest.]

[According to the latest announcement from James Research Institute, a “spatial loss phenomenon” is occurring centered around Seoul Forest, warranting caution.]

From the footage near Seoul Forest, it looked like far too many Golden Reapers had been dispatched to simply protect humans.

‘That’s strange.’

Maybe they just find wandering through spatial distortions fun?

Satisfied with that thought, I turned away from the TV.

Then I grabbed a fist-sized Mini White Hungry Ghost and shoved it toward the Ghost Reaper.

What kind of intent would it shout this time?

Just as I was eagerly watching, the Ghost Reaper raised its knife high and struck.

‘KNIFE!!!’

HICCUP.

As the knife plunged into the plump back of the White Hungry Ghost, it let out a pitiful cry.

Well, knives just suit the White Hungry Ghost, don’t they?

Hehe.

***

CRUNCH. CRUNCH.

Walking across the completely dried-out field, the sound of crumbling sand filled the air.

Against this backdrop of sand crunching, the Attached Human kept chatting nonstop.

“Grandfather once…”

“There’s something called pudding…”

Half of it was boasting about Grandfather, the other half drooling over tasty foods.

Listening to the Attached Human’s chatter, time passed until the faint light filtering through the curtain above gradually dimmed.

“Let’s stop for a moment.”

At those words, the Blue Reaper halted the Mom Golem, and grotesque monsters began emerging from the surrounding shadows.

‘Object!’

Harmful Objects reeking of evolution liquid.

“It’s a shadow-eating Magical Book.”

The Pink Girl looked extremely tense.

[Ten needles made of water!]

The Blue Reaper shot water needles based on the Attached Human’s expression—but they had no effect.

Like punching shadows with fists.

“Grandfather said these Magical Books can’t be killed.”

“But as long as we don’t enter the same shadow, we’re safe.”

The Pink Girl anxiously scanned her surroundings.

“If caught by the shadow-eating Magical Book, part of your shadow gets eaten, and you lose an entire set of memories.”

“But my only memories are of Grandfather. I absolutely cannot lose them.”

The Blue Reaper glanced down at the Attached Human’s shadow upon hearing this.

‘!!!’

The Blue Reaper was truly shocked to see the Attached Human’s shadow.

For it resembled something that had been gnawed on by mice—almost entirely gone.