Chapter 356

Today, as all the day’s activities came to an end, the brown-haired girl’s graduation ceremony began.

It was hard to believe this was a farewell for someone dedicating themselves to protect humanity—it felt so sloppy and brief.

‘Hmm, something’s off.’

To the girl who started feeling uneasy about “the facility,” it really did seem suspicious.

Graduating without any fixed schedule, picking individuals intermittently, and holding such a minimal ceremony—it all felt questionable.

‘Really, how could I not have noticed this strangeness? And why am I just realizing it now?’

With that thought, the silver-haired girl looked up along with the other trainees’ gazes.

There she saw the brown-haired girl walking across an elevated corridor like a bridge.

Their eyes met, and the brown-haired girl waved at her with a smile.

It was as if she were saying, ‘You can do it,’ and with that glance, the silver-haired girl reaffirmed her resolve.

‘I will definitely save you.’

At that moment, hazy visions began overlapping with reality.

‘What…?’

What is this?

Upon closer inspection, it was a vision from her dreams being replayed before her eyes.

Like the lingering afterimage of a fast-moving object, translucent silhouettes stretched out one second apart.

From ten seconds in the past to ten seconds into the future.

When she shifted her gaze, there was the dream version of herself already ascending the corridor.

Crouching low, avoiding eye contact, tiptoeing quietly.

‘I need to hurry. There’s no time.’

She had to be much faster than this vision to save the brown-haired girl.

The girl wanted to enter the corridor as quickly as possible but couldn’t.

Because she needed to avoid people’s eyes.

The dream version of herself was also chasing as fast as possible, making it impossible to overtake.

‘Faster, even faster!’

But suddenly becoming stronger wasn’t feasible.

At this rate…

The image of the brown-haired girl spilling blood and guts flashed before her eyes.

‘No, this can’t happen.’

‘Please, just a little faster!’

The girl clenched her teeth, but the vision mirrored her actions.

‘No, no, NO!’

Just as frustration filled her chest, a whisper echoed in her ear.

[HUMAN! Eat the fruit!]

Though small, the voice felt oddly familiar and persuasive.

Desperate, the girl swallowed the fruit whole.

In that instant, her head felt like it was on fire, and something began sprouting.

‘Wh-what?!’

Despite the urgency, the silver-haired girl instinctively reached up to touch the throbbing sensation on her head.

As she ran, she confirmed—something wobbly was growing atop her head.

Panicking, she tried to rip it off when the voice called again.

[HUMAN, RUN!]

Realizing the situation, the girl clenched her teeth and bolted forward.

Suddenly, time accelerated tenfold.

‘My powers have increased!’

‘With this speed…!’

The girl instantly overtook the visions and surged ahead.

***

Warm sunlight streamed through large skylights in the Deputy Director’s Office of Sehee Research Institute.

A quick turn revealed a vast window overlooking the courtyard where mini reapers happily played, but Seoah sat frowning slightly while staring at her computer screen.

Seoah was reviewing a report detailing unusual behavior among the mini reapers near the Pacific Ocean in Japan.

The report featured countless photos of various-colored mini reapers gazing silently at the sea.

The golden reaper raising its arms joyfully toward the early morning sun reflecting off the ocean.

The black reaper standing by the shore, mimicking a telescope with its hands.

The purple reaper hiding in the long shadows cast by the low-angle sun, turning its back to the sea.

The red reaper sitting lazily atop a human’s head, watching the sunrise.

So many pictures filled the report.

“There are way too many unnecessary photos.”

Seoah muttered aloud at the sheer number.

This felt more like a mini reaper photo album than a report!

Flipping back to the front page, the expected name appeared.

[Author: Sehee Research Institute Researcher, Yerin Oh]

How did she manage to gather so many photos without even going on a business trip to Japan?

While competent, Yerin always had this meaningless flair.

As Seoah reviewed the report, a headache crept in, prompting her to sigh deeply and look away from the monitor.

That’s when a golden reaper waddled in through the “mini reaper-only door” attached to the deputy director’s office.

Holding a giant loaf of bread, the cheerful golden reaper approached with a happy skip.

Placing the bread with a thud on the guest table, the golden reaper settled down.

Seeing this, the sprout reaper perched on Seoah’s shoulder leapt down to greet the golden reaper.

They hugged tightly, pinched each other’s cheeks, and giggled together.

Was this their version of a greeting?

After finishing their adorable exchange, the golden reaper turned to Seoah and began jumping excitedly in place.

‘Let’s eat bread together!’

Interpreting the eager gestures, Seoah nodded lightly, rose from her chair, and walked over to the table.

“Sigh, let’s take a break.”

Sitting on the sofa, the rich aroma of perfectly baked bread filled the air.

Its appearance was inviting, looking exactly like something from a professional bakery.

‘This looks store-bought, but it definitely isn’t.’

Having tasted similar bread brought by the golden reaper once a month, Seoah knew better.

It was so sweet it might as well have been sugar molded into bread.

Though overly sweet for her taste, she couldn’t refuse.

If she didn’t eat it, the golden reaper would burst into tears, sobbing dramatically.

Oddly enough, this was the only time the golden reaper ever pressured humans, aside from warning them about danger.

What kind of bread was this?

Would refusing to eat it cause some kind of danger?

With light-hearted musings, Seoah nibbled on the bread.

***

In the Mini Reaper Garden, Marshmallow Plains.

Mini reapers began gathering en masse in the marshmallow plains.

At the center stood the 1st Sword of the Golden Reaper and the hungry ghost reaper.

‘Who will win, I wonder?’

I watched the spectacle up close, munching on popcorn.

The surrounding mini reapers seemed a bit perplexed as to why this battle was happening.

‘Why are they fighting?’

‘I don’t know!’

‘Bet pudding?’

This unexpected duel originated from a special mini reaper and halo compatibility test.

Since calling everyone at once might inconvenience busy ones, the plan was to test those available.

‘Time-free kids, come to me.’

Unexpectedly, both the 1st Sword of the Golden Reaper and the hungry ghost reaper arrived simultaneously.

Seeing them together sparked a sudden curiosity.

‘Who would win in a fight?’

Both were formidable swordsmanship experts and stood out among the mini reapers, making predictions difficult.

The powerful entrance of the hungry ghost reaper!

The 1st Sword surpassing even that with new techniques!

Once enough mini reapers gathered, I clapped to signal the start.

Swinging its blade, the hungry ghost reaper unleashed flame-like shapes resembling hungry ghosts swirling in the wind.

‘Wow!’

From the start, a terrifying technique capable of annihilating my physically immune body emerged.

Focusing on the 1st Sword’s response, I realized it lacked area-of-effect skills.

Surely dealing with those flames would require frantic movement.

However, the 1st Sword surprised me.

Lifting the sword horizontally, it whispered with determination.

“Void Slash.”

Swinging the sword created a trajectory of void energy that began sucking in the hungry ghost flames.

Soon, the hungry ghost reaper’s ultimate attack was neutralized.

Acknowledging defeat, the hungry ghost reaper transformed its sword hand back into normal form and emitted a soft sound.

”