Chapter 330

The Tower at the End, Top Floor.

A Giant Spider with Black Carapace was endlessly spewing out pipes.

‘They are building the tower.’

‘Keep going, forever.’

‘Until the tower fulfills its calling.’

The spider, long past its operational lifespan, was falling apart.

Its shattered eyes, broken long ago, no longer reflected reality but showed scenes from a distant past—nostalgic dreams all tied to its Owner.

[Good job. You’ve made so many today.]

[A big problem. We’re out of materials. We need to find more somehow.]

[How’s it going today? Carrying the ‘eye’ must be heavy, but please endure just a little longer. I’ll find a solution soon.]

[I found a way. It’s an ancient alchemist’s record about jade manipulation.]

[Sorry.]

[So sorry.]

But the dreams were fragmented now, impossible to recall clearly.

Keeerrrrrk. Keeeek.

With a sound like grinding metal, the spider that had been endlessly producing pipes suddenly stopped moving.

The halo perched atop the spider’s head flickered like a broken fluorescent light and began to dim, losing its glow.

“Plunderer….”

Like Icarus flying toward the sun, the spider that had ceaselessly built the tower toward the sky turned its gaze downward.

***

An unidentified vacation spot filled with The Black Reapers.

I was holding a Black Reaper in my grip who seemed to have nom-nom’d on a Golden-Mecha-Tyranno Armor, and I was vigorously rubbing their chubby cheeks.

“Uwaang!”

After rubbing for what felt like ages, the Black Reapers’ cheeks started puffing up like balloons.

Even these near-immune-to-physical-harm kids have their limits.

Hehe.

After sufficiently venting my frustration, I released the Black Reapers, only for other Black Reapers to swarm around us.

“Puffy cheeks!”

“Squishy squishy!”

The gathered Black Reapers poked or sneakily bit the ones with swollen cheeks.

Looking down at them, they definitely resemble the Golden Reaper, except maybe a bit more passive and lacking energy.

The Black Reapers played around, rolling and tumbling, then suddenly remembered something and swarmed toward my ankles.

“Mom!”

“We guarded the temple!”

“We cleaned it!”

“We gathered faith!”

“And even when no one was there, we kept waiting!”

They started grabbing my toes.

“Did we do well?”

Clutching my feet, the Black Reapers looked both innocent and slightly anxious.

“Yes, you did well.”

Though I wasn’t sure what their actions meant, I praised each one by hugging them.

In response, the Black Reapers melted into contentment, shedding a tear or two.

“Hehe.”

“Mommy.”

“Such a kind mom.”

Well, they ate the dinosaur armor, but it wasn’t their fault, right?

Rolling around with the Black Reapers gave me a sense of peace.

Why had I been so restless when I could’ve just asked James?

While floating lazily on the water surface, a loud noise suddenly echoed.

Peeeeeee!

A sound like the crying of a Black Reaper amplified 100 times.

At the same moment, a peculiar Hungry Ghost revealed itself.

A leggy, melancholic-looking black Hungry Ghost.

Clearly made up of countless Black Reapers clumped together.

***

The Tower at the End, Ruins of a Collapsed Building.

The Blue Reaper was looking down at the Tooth Hungry Ghost, which was crumbling into powder.

“Haa… Haa…”

Exhausted from using verbal commands, the Blue Reaper’s chest heaved up and down.

“I won!”

Defeating the Tooth Hungry Ghost, an Object as powerful as the White Hungry Ghost!

An incredible feat against an opponent that would normally crush the Blue Reaper.

Hehe.

Overjoyed by this fact, the Blue Reaper smiled faintly.

“And I protected the Attached Human!”

Suddenly, a terrible noise reached the Blue Reaper’s ears.

“!!!”

Keeerrk. Keeerrk.

A sound like a poorly oiled machine forcing movement.

Simultaneously, a massive shadow slowly spread across the ground.

Even though it wasn’t that close, the shadow of the spider loomed so large it nearly blocked out the sky.

“The Sun-Eating Spider!”

A Spider as enormous as the Giant Discs forming the tower layers revealed itself.

An Object far more powerful than the Tooth Hungry Ghost.

And it was staring directly at the Blue Reaper.

“It considers me hostile….”

Tightly gripping the microphone staff, the Blue Reaper looked upward with tension.

The Spider appearing above the disc was clearly damaged.

Parts of its black carapace were torn and dangling.

Through the cracks, its insides glowed like magma.

Unfocused, mineral-like eyes.

Joints making terrifying noises with every movement.

It resembled Mom experiencing side effects from the halo.

Keeerrk. Keeerrk.

It breaks further with every move.

With every slow step toward the Blue Reaper, fragments crumbled off.

Thud. Thud.

Those fragments landed heavily on the disc with a resounding thud.

Standing near the Attached Human, the Blue Reaper prepared a verbal command while looking up at the Spider.

“So strong… And looks dangerous.”

Without warning, the Spider suddenly slammed its massive leg down toward the Blue Reaper.

“!”

[Please protect us all!]

[An unbreakable Water Droplet Shield!]

Chanting into the microphone like a song, the Blue Reaper summoned a verbal command.

Boom.

The water droplet easily blocked the massive attack from the Spider.

“I’ve gotten stronger.”

“Maybe I can win with this.”

I can protect the Attached Human!

Just as the Blue Reaper wore a confident expression, the halo on the Spider’s head began emitting a brilliant white light.

[The plunderer will be torn apart by this power.]

[Like the sun, it sinks into darkness.]

[A silent blade pierces the enemy.]

Ziiiiip.

At that moment, a tearing sound rang out.

“Uh?!”

Simultaneously, the Blue Reaper’s eyes lost their light, and all sound disappeared from the world.

“It’s dark. Can’t see. Can’t hear.”

And a moment later, excruciating pain arrived.

The agony of having eyes ripped apart.

[It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts.]

The Blue Reaper collapsed, clutching both eyes.

[Mom… It hurts too much…]

In the pitch-black void where nothing could be seen or felt, the Blue Reaper searched for Mom with a small shred of will.

***

A truly massive steel pipe tower.

Or should this even be called a tower?

A giant staircase made for giants? A structure?

Anyway, I was riding on the back of a Black Hungry Ghost, ascending quickly through this massive structure.

The Black Hungry Ghost, made of ‘Black Reapers,’ wriggled like an octopus but was incredibly fast and strong.

One step of the Black Hungry Ghost might equal an entire day of walking for me.

“The Blue Child is in danger.”

The Black Hungry Ghost didn’t even think about eating firewood, just rushing to carry me urgently.

Probably meaning the Blue Reaper is in danger.

But despite extending my senses in all directions, I couldn’t feel the Blue Reaper’s location.

I definitely sensed it earlier… When did it disappear?

Feeling a slight twinge of anxiety, I stood atop the crown of the Black Hungry Ghost.

Looking down from atop the Hungry Ghost’s head, the tower appeared to spiral endlessly toward the sky like a staircase.

“The firewood is warm.”

“Eat it quickly.”

The Black Reapers riding the Black Hungry Ghost were offering firewood to the Black Reapers composing the Hungry Ghost.

After leaping over how many levels on the Black Hungry Ghost, a massive Spider came into view.

On a completely ruined level, a haloladen Giant Spider Object and the Blue Reaper, clutching their eyes and collapsed, came into sight.

“!”

Using “eyes,” I observed the scene and clenched a fierce smile.

In my vision, the Spider’s destruction condition, [Separate the Halo], flashed.

Same destruction condition as the Hungry Ghost Reaper.

***

The Tower at the End, a ruined level.

This level contained an underground space submerged in endless darkness without a single light.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Amidst the deep slumber of this dark underground space, loud vibrations began echoing repeatedly.

But even such violent shockwaves couldn’t break the silence.

At that moment, a single fragment of golden light fell like a drop into the sea of darkness.

A fragment of the firewood emitted by the Gray Reaper.

“Warm.”

But that one light, that one warmth, shattered the eternal silence.

“Mom has come!”

A tiny fragment of will.

The moment that fragment of will spread, hundreds, thousands of golden eyes simultaneously opened in the dark underground space.

“Mom!”

From the depths of the underground space, a jet of black current surged upward.

It was the torrent of Black Reapers buried like oil beneath the level.

“Mom is here!”

“Really Mom!”

Awakened from a long sleep, the Black Reapers ignored the Spider, the Halo, humans, and everything else around them.

All they saw was one thing.

Mom!

The Black Reapers surrounded the Gray Reaper, recognizing her as Mom, in a familiar formation.

“Shrunken Mom.”

“Is Mom still in pain?”

“Why so small?”

“We need to help Mom!”

Thus, the Gray Reaper ended up wearing the Black Giant Doll Outfit.

It looked like she was wearing a night sky full of stars.

[!– Slider main container –]