Chapter 340

A large hospital in the heart of Seoul.

The massive hospital, located in the center of Seoul, had transformed into a temporary shelter for victims of mass cognitive ability loss incidents.

James, upon receiving a cooperation request from the Korean Object Association, slowly stepped into the hospital.

Behind James trailed various staff members equipped with all sorts of advanced equipment.

While walking through the hospital corridors, he sensed a depressing and sorrowful atmosphere permeating the air.

“Hmm, even though it’s a victim reception hospital, this feels a bit excessive. Definitely something’s off here.”

James’ doubts were resolved the moment he entered a ward housing victims of cognitive ability loss.

“Angdae…”

“A human is hurt.”

“There’s no healing it.”

The Golden Reapers were crying loudly as they looked down at the victims of the mass cognitive ability loss incidents.

Crying as if deeply wronged, they crawled onto the beds and soaked the victims’ cheeks with their tears.

“Hmph, so that’s why the hospital atmosphere was like that.”

It was due to the mental pollution from the Golden Reaper, which had emotionally affected the hospital nurses and doctors, spreading a sorrowful mood throughout the facility.

“A human is in pain…”

Perched on top of James’ head, the Golden Reaper who had been smiling happily started shedding tears profusely and hid inside James’ shirt pocket.

But something caught James’ attention.

White Hungry Ghosts, carrying lanterns lit with white flames, were busily moving around among the victims.

And those White Hungry Ghosts would return to the Golden Reaper, shaking their heads back and forth.

“Can’t find the culprit.”

“What about the humans?”

“The humans are pitiful.”

At this, the Golden Reapers cried even harder, shedding tears as they collapsed onto the beds.

“That must be the tracking ability possessed by the White Guardians.”

James, upon seeing this, flipped open his notebook and added some observations to the information about White Hungry Ghosts he had heard from an Alchemist.

Then, after moving to another spot, he took out the Golden Reaper hiding in his shirt pocket and started feeding it snacks.

Om…

Even while shedding tears, the Golden Reaper opened its small mouth and began munching on the snacks.

***

The checkered sky shattered as a golden comet descended to the ground.

It was the Golden Armored Reaper, wrapped in beautiful and dazzling golden flames.

“It’s pretty.”

The short-haired girl, forgetting the danger she was in, stared blankly in awe.

Pow!

In that instant, a circular hole appeared in the heart of the green reptilian monster.

Blood erupted in all directions like a water bomb.

The coppery smell of blood spread through the air, and internal organs scattered everywhere.

Simultaneously, the scent of burning meat filled the nostrils from the golden flames.

Though the sight of the comet-like Golden Armored Reaper was beautiful, the image of the blood-soaked armor struck fear into the heart of the girl, despite knowing that the Golden Reaper was a beneficial object.

Her body instinctively reacted, slowly retreating from the Golden Armored Reaper.

Thud.

As the green reptilian monster slowly collapsed onto the floor, pulsations began emanating from the corpse.

Thump. Thump.

Then, a bead emerged from the reptilian monster’s belly and was sucked into the bead the short-haired girl was holding.

“Huh?”

When the girl took out the bead she had been clutching tightly in her pocket, it was now filled with a luminous liquid up to 20%.

It was a liquid radiating immense power.

“Did the man in my dream mean that when the beads reach 100%, the other participants’ beads will merge?”

Just then, a person burst out from the corpse of the green reptilian monster and slowly disappeared into the void like the shirt-wearing man before.

And just like that, the short-haired girl found herself back in reality.

A reality without sound-eating fog or a checkered sky, but instead greeted by the noise of the city, warm sunlight, and a clear blue sky.

“Are you alright?”

“Try opening your eyes.”

“Someone call 119!”

“There’s another person collapsed over here!”

Upon returning to reality, the girl noticed a commotion near where she stood, with people gathering around.

At the center of the commotion, there was a fallen man in a shirt and tie, being tended to by others.

“Who is that person?”

The fallen man at the center was the same one the short-haired girl remembered.

He was the man who had emerged after the monstrous creature with saws on both hands had died.

“Mm…”

After watching for a few seconds, the shirt-and-tie man wobbled and got up.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

Though slightly unsteady and dazed, he seemed otherwise fine.

“Thank goodness. So the man was right—eating the bead or dying during the festival doesn’t seem to have any negative effects.”

Seeing this, the short-haired girl felt significantly relieved.

She immediately made a decision.

If eating the bead won’t turn me into a monster forever, and dying during the festival isn’t fatal either, I can’t keep avoiding it because it feels strange.

It’s scary, but I’ll do it for my older sister!

Just as the girl gathered her courage to eat the bead, the Golden Armored Reaper flew in and stopped her, shaking its head firmly.

To the girl, the Golden Armored Reaper didn’t say a word but seemed to clearly convey that she shouldn’t eat the bead.

But she had no other choice if she wanted to save her sister.

Trying again to put it in her mouth, the Golden Armored Reaper blocked her once more and stared intently into the girl’s eyes.

At that moment, the girl felt a connection with the Golden Armored Reaper.

“I’ll fight in your place!”

It felt as if the Golden Armored Reaper was saying exactly that to her.

But she had no other options if she wanted to save her sister.

Attempting once more to place it in her mouth, the Golden Armored Reaper stopped her again, staring directly into the girl’s eyes.

Then the girl felt as if the Golden Armored Reaper was telling her:

“I’ll fight in your place!”

Despite the fear, the feeling persisted that the Golden Armored Reaper would help.

***

Mini Reaper Garden, Marshmallow Plains.

I was sitting there watching a performance by the Yellow Reaper.

Although it started unexpectedly when I asked the Yellow Reaper a question, the play turned out to be quite thrilling.

There was a golden reaper puppet with red eyes at the center of the stage, while the Blue Idol Reaper provided narration by emitting magical energy.

[There once was a golden reaper.]

[A mischievous golden reaper secretly nibbling on the balls and limbs of mini reapers tangled together.]

Then, with the curtain change, a tall platform appeared in the middle of the flat stage.

On it, angry-looking golden reaper puppets had captured the red-eyed golden reaper puppet.

[But eternal glory does not last forever.]

[As the golden reaper grew bolder in its nibbling, it was eventually.]

[Captured by the golden reapers and brought to the court.]

The red-eyed golden reaper puppet laughed exaggeratedly—”Kkuk. Kkuk. Kkuk.”—and spewed defiance toward the gathered golden reaper puppets below.

“Nibbling…”

“Is super fun!”

Leaving behind those words, the red-eyed golden reaper was bitten all over by the surrounding golden reapers.

Annyangnyang.

“Yoo-aang!”

[And thus began the great craze of the golden reaper nibbling game.]

With that narration from the Blue Reaper, the play came to an end.

“Not like it’s the beginning of a manga or movie…”

I grumbled while watching the performance venue slowly dissolve after it ended.

Looking down at the Yellow Reaper perched on my palm, I asked,

“So, this situation is all because of that golden reaper?”

Lifting one arm to show the Yellow Reaper, golden reapers clinging to the squishy parts of my arm followed along like squid caught on a fishing line.

Nod.

The Yellow Reaper nodded up and down to confirm.

Upon closer inspection, some of the ones biting me had red eyes.

“Without any influence from external beings, can their eye color really change?”

Out of curiosity, I poked it, only to find the golden reaper’s eyeballs covered with roughly carved red glass pieces.

“!”

Sharp enough to slice through anything a human touched, these were contact lenses only immune-to-physical-damage golden reapers could wear.

They were all imitating the sneaky nibbling golden reaper.

Troublesome…

If this fad is this popular, it’ll take quite a while to fade away.

The attached mini reapers look disappointed when thrown off, but these vampire-like golden reapers kept nibbling, becoming increasingly annoying.

“What should I do…?”

Tubangtubang.

Seeing a golden reaper tubangtubang-ing around in front of me, an impromptu prank idea popped into my head.

“Mommy!”

Lifting the wandering one onto my palm, the golden reaper sat there and giggled “hehe.”

“Yeahyeah.”

I smiled gently and tapped the happy little guy’s head.

Then I carefully removed one of the vampire golden reapers clinging to my arm and placed it next to the cheerful golden reaper on my palm.

I moved the vampire golden reaper’s head toward the cheek of the cheerful golden reaper.

Nibble.

“Yoo-aang! It bit!”

Reacting reflexively like an alligator, the vampire golden reaper snapped at the cheek of the cheerful one.

This way, giving the nibbling ones the golden reaper’s cheek to bite will work.

Hehe.

Just as I thought I’d peeled them all off and could rest peacefully,

Something began nibbling on my hand with soft teeth.

Looking down, two golden reapers were gnawing on my fingers.

“They’ve multiplied!”

The disease of nibbling golden reapers spreads like vampires through biting.

Hyinghying.

***

Late night.

The short-haired girl was smiling as she gazed at the shimmering bead.

“Already half full. I’ll soon be able to save my sister.”

The short-haired girl stroked the head of the Golden Armored Reaper perched on her shoulder as she spoke.

“You’re truly strong.”

“Thank you for helping me!”

The Golden Armored Reaper basked in the petting, letting out a small laugh.

***

A building in Seodaemun District.

James was using a rented building in Seodaemun District as a Temporary Situation Room.

Although he found no clues at the hospital, a report left by a detective allowed him to trace things back here.

[People suffering cognitive loss often lost consciousness in specific locations.]

Of course, finding anything based on one or two cases would have been nearly impossible, but today was different.

A total of five people had lost consciousness.

And among them, he managed to invite one man wearing a shirt and tie with nowhere else to go.

“Language skills intact, physical abilities normal.”

Using various devices from the James Research Institute, aside from not remembering why he came to Seodaemun District and looking slightly dazed, the man seemed perfectly fine.

However, the Golden Reaper sitting atop James’ head was weeping profusely while looking at the man beyond the window.

“In situations like this, the Golden Reaper is more accurate.”

James was certain that the mastermind behind the incident was somewhere in Seodaemun District.

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