Chapter 84

Splash.

The Trinity Researcher threw the corpse into the lake.

It was an act of contaminating a water source used for drinking, but the researcher didn’t hesitate and tossed the corpse into the lake.

Since the researcher didn’t plan to stay long in this cave, it was a natural choice.

In fact, they were lost in some rather useless thoughts.

‘If someone comes, I should show them this lake and tell them it’s drinkable. And then how shocked they’ll be when they see the corpse at the bottom!’

‘And when they turn around—POOF! There’ll be me, evolved!’

‘Their faces would be priceless!’

Chuckling inwardly, the researcher meticulously double-checked to make sure no corpses had been missed.

Why such sudden fastidiousness?

Because a corpse they didn’t remember cleaning up had vanished.

The body of the girl on the altar and the man in the black suit were gone.

Where the girl lay, only a pool of blood remained.

At the man’s spot, there were just scattered bits of internal organs—no body in sight.

But they had no memory of cleaning them up!

It was enough to make a ghost weep.

From that moment on, they worked tirelessly, chalking it up to having forgotten after cleaning.

Thanks to the researcher’s efforts, the cave, once filled with dismembered bodies, was now spotless—not a single corpse left.

All that remained were the bloodstains on the floor and walls.

And the pervasive smell of blood throughout the cave.

The smell might fade with time, but the stains could only be left as they were.

“Ah, why won’t this blood smell go away? If it doesn’t, I’m outta here.”

Muttering to themselves, the researcher sat in a corner of the cave, waiting for the mountainous offering to arrive.

***

Looking all around in the sand, there was no sign of human presence.

Finally, the “shark-in-the-sand” operation succeeded in driving away all the loiterers from the area.

Now, all that was left was to check if anyone was inside that cave.

As I approached the red skeleton, the overwhelming stench of blood hit me.

It smelled unmistakably human.

“Ah, why won’t this blood smell go away? If it doesn’t, I’m outta here.”

An irritated voice echoed from within the cave.

Following the sound, the cave interior was awash in blood.

The floor, walls, even the ceiling were painted crimson.

The fresh blood traced grotesque patterns as it trickled down the walls.

Chunks of human flesh were carelessly scattered across the floor.

And amidst this horrifying scene sat a person with a calm expression.

No, it was a monster.

Though it looked human, it wasn’t.

A hideous being—a fusion of human and object.

Its veins pulsed with a virulent hatred for humanity.

Born not as an object but as a human who had something injected into them.

That monstrous entity turned to me with a bright smile after hearing my footsteps.

“Ah, hello! Welc—”

But upon seeing me, it gasped and recoiled.

“Gray Reaper! Why is the Gray Reaper suddenly here?”

The pale-faced man retreated.

He seemed far more terrified than expected.

“B-b-but… you don’t attack humans, right? I’m human! Haha.”

The creature claiming to be human.

Yet through my eyes, it appeared more harmful to humans than any object.

Ignoring its words, I continued advancing step by step.

“Wh-what? Did you figure it out?! They said I wouldn’t be discovered at the lab!”

Cornered against the cave wall, the man looked utterly desperate.

“No! No way! I don’t wanna die! Please, spare me! PLEASE!”

As I drew near, he clutched his head and trembled violently.

Suddenly, his clothes exploded off him, revealing the monster beneath.

The putrid stench emanating from it grew unbearable.

Frowning in disgust, I took a step back.

“Hah! Y-yeah, I’m strong enough. Even the Gray Reaper shouldn’t scare me.”

The monster muttered to itself, seemingly hypnotizing itself.

Perhaps it mistook my retreat for a sign of weakness.

Despite being incomparably weaker than me.

“I can win. I WILL win!”

Swinging its whip-like arms wildly, the monster leaped with enough force to shatter rocks and slammed its grotesque limbs toward me.

Phasing into ghost form, I overlapped with its attack before solidifying again.

“KYYYYAAAAAAHHH!”

The monster, its arm cleanly severed, clutched at the stump and writhed on the ground.

Soon after, its veins began to writhe uncontrollably, as if trying to escape its body.

“NO! The balance! AAAAAHHHH!”

The veins tore through its flesh, behaving like an independent organism wreaking havoc.

Its limbs twisted unnaturally as the monster thrashed about before finally falling silent in death.

With a ‘POOF,’ it exploded, leaving behind only a thick, black, foul-smelling liquid.

Clearly toxic blood created by harmful means.

The stench was nauseating.

I summoned the Golden Reaper from the black blood in jest.

With a flashy pose, the Golden Reaper appeared but quickly panicked upon realizing the mess covering their body. Collapsing onto the ground, they looked utterly defeated.

While repeatedly phasing in and out of ghost form for fun, the Golden Reaper noticed and used ghost form to clean off the blood before resurrecting.

Oh, quicker to catch on than expected.

They stormed over and started pounding on me.

Thud-thud.

This time, they seemed truly angry, showing no signs of stopping their assault.

Leaving the relentless Golden Reaper pelting my head, I explored deeper into the cave.

Though the cave was soaked in blood, there were no bodies—an oddity whose cause I soon uncovered.

The cave’s lake was brimming with corpses.

Ugh, definitely not drinking that water.

***

Perched atop the red skull, I gazed upward at the crimson moon for what felt like hours.

Despite the passage of time, night showed no sign of ending, the red moon still high in the sky.

Glancing downward revealed nothing but endless horizon in every direction.

Even seated atop the towering skull, the desert stretched infinitely.

When attempting to leave the cave, someone tried to drop-kick me, so I smashed the statue into pieces.

Above my head, one Golden Reaper snoozed peacefully.

Occasionally striking my head while asleep—how mad must they be?

The reason for staring at the red moon was the “center of the desert.”

The Golden Reapers were already spread evenly across the entire desert.

But the center of the desert remained elusive.

A pristine dome shape.

However, my position within it kept shifting.

At first, I thought the desert flowed like a river, but it was the dome moving all along.

It seemed the moving moon below was the desert’s center.

The Golden Reapers are now with all humans.

Humans are safe now.

There’s no one around.

Time to wake the red skull.

I hopped off the red skull and summoned the Golden Reapers.

***

Standing on a sandy hill where the colossal red skull was clearly visible, I stared at it.

Behind me stood a line of unemployed reapers unable to secure their 1:1 Reaper jobs.

Using ‘Eyes’ to confirm the destruction condition.

[Destroy the heart.]

No sooner had I confirmed the condition than the desert began to pulse.

Rumble.

Columns of fire erupted from beneath the sand.

These flames cascaded like waterfalls onto the red skull.

The stone fragments attached to the skull melted away, erasing the cave-like appearance.

What remained was an ancient red skull radiating immense power.

Its fiery eyes glowing, the massive skeleton rose.

Where the skull had lain, a spring-fed lake now stood quietly.

Though only its upper half emerged from the sand, it towered over buildings.

Inside its ribcage burned a flaming heart adhered to the bone.

That must be its weak point.

Boom.

Boom. Boom.

Heavy footfalls resonated.

The partially emerged skeleton cleaved through the sand like parting waters, advancing toward us.

With blazing crimson eyes, the skull glared fiercely at me.

Opening its vast, toothless mouth, it unleashed a torrent of flames.

Intimidating enough in size alone, the heat was potent enough to melt sand into glass.

To an ordinary person, its visage must have been quite terrifying.

But to me, it seemed like a considerate skull providing its own flames.

Thank you, Skull!

Amidst the inferno turning surrounding sand into glass, I and the Golden Reapers remained unscathed.

Smiling confidently, I gestured toward the skull.

This skull is harmful!

Extremely harmful to humans!

Behind me, the Golden Reapers charged forward like termites devouring wood, swarming over the red skull.

The protective flames proved futile.

No matter how hard it tried to shake them off by smashing its giant hands, more Golden Reapers clung on.

Finally, one Golden Reaper pierced through to the heart.

The heart began spewing flames like a punctured balloon.

ROOOAAAARRRRRR!

A strange resonance emanated from the skull, reverberating across the entire desert.

Propping its collapsing torso with both arms, the red skull ceased all movement.

The Golden Reapers paused, looking up at the skull.

The flickering flames in the eye sockets gave the impression of silently staring at me.

Unlike before, it now exuded a strangely calm and emotional gaze.

As the damaged heart spat out its final flames and stopped completely, the red skull began crumbling into dust.

***

With a tremendous cloud of dust, the red skull collapsed.

Given its size, it took considerable time for the dust to settle.

The heart and all remaining bones turned to powder and dispersed.

All that was left was the still-burning skull head.

So now, do I just dance up there?

Thinking the Golden Reaper might take over the dancing, I turned back to find them smiling obliviously without a care in the world.

Ugh, annoying.