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As I slowly followed the direction where I sensed the presence of the Blue Reaper, I felt an urgent signal being sent out by the Blue Reaper.

<A suspicious object has appeared!>

It looked a bit frantic.

The message seemed a little frightened.

As I dashed toward the source of the Blue Reaper’s signal, I discovered the Blue Reaper writhing in pain.

Upon seeing that sight, nothing else mattered.

The giant old woman and mysterious cave were out of my mind.

Having completely forgotten about searching for the ‘Mirror of the Blue Witch,’ I was drawn into the reality of the garden.

Thus came the Blue Reaper into my hands.

It had its eyes tightly shut and was trembling all over.

Words kept appearing and disappearing in the air.

The Blue Reaper repeatedly pleaded in pain, saying, “It hurts.”

As I blew some firewood onto it, the torn arm slowly began to regenerate.

The Blue Reaper seemed quite different from the Golden Reaper.

It had been unique ever since it flew around casting spells.

First of all, its regeneration speed was noticeably slower than that of the Golden Reaper.

Moreover, it wasn’t strong enough to tear apart physical immunities like the old women, yet its injuries suggested it lacked physical immunity as well.

The expressions of the Golden Reapers surrounding it were those of concern, like they were looking after a younger sibling who was fragile and needed careful attention.

Once its arm had completely regenerated, the Blue Reaper lost consciousness and fell asleep.

I gently patted the sleeping Blue Reaper’s head, furrowing its brows as if it were having a nightmare.

I continued until its sleeping expression became serene.

After it finally fell asleep with a peaceful face, I carefully placed the Blue Reaper on top of a marshmallow and returned to the lakeside, reversing the erosion of the garden.

“Rest here; I’ll take care of revenge soon.”

For the sake of the Blue Reaper’s peaceful slumber, I decided that the place for dealing with the old women would be the lake.

Well, there was no need to use spatial manipulation on such objects.

The cocoa, marshmallows, and snacks that once filled the world had disappeared, and the dark night sky and large lake appeared before us again.

One giant old woman and three others similar in size to the one I dealt with last time.

Since they mentioned having a ‘sister,’ they must be that ‘sister.’

The old women, who had been trembling at the sight of me, now relaxed their expressions as we returned to the familiar lakeside.

The giant old woman who made eye contact with me spoke with a tense expression.

[I didn’t know that little one was your kin. Please forgive me….]

Looking around, there was no sign of a mirror to be found anywhere among the old women.

Could those old women not be the Blue Witch?

As I silently stared at them, the giant old woman changed her tone slightly and spoke in an intimidating voice.

[No matter what, you wouldn’t confront the Blue Moon over something like this, would you?]

As the giant old woman spread her arms wide, the blue moon reflected in the surface of the water grew larger and filled the lake.

It appeared as if the lake were overflowing with the blue moon.

A massive blue moon that seemed to pulse with light.

The intensity of the aura emanating from it was extraordinary.

[The Blue Moon is immortal. You can’t possibly be unaware of this power.]

The giant old woman erased her cowardly expression, wearing one of triumph instead.

It seemed she felt there was no choice but to retreat now that she had sensed the power of the Blue Moon.

Is this how proud she gets over such a little bit?

Even if she commands thousands of hungry ghosts, I could never forgive her for harming the delicate younger sibling.

I have nothing to offer you but eternal destruction.

With a nonchalant expression, I summoned the Golden Reapers.

No matter where I turned my gaze, the sight of the Golden Reapers surrounding me caused the old women to panic.

[What foolish ones! Don’t panic!]

The giant old woman shouted at the flustered old women.

With teeth as sharp as shark’s teeth, she growled while baring them.

[So, are you really going to fight? As long as the Blue Moon exists, witches are also immortal. You will surely come to regret this. You and all that you cherish will forever have to fear the night and shadows!]

Even with the giant old woman’s ominous warning, the Golden Reapers began to close the distance step by step.

Seeing the giant old woman trapped in a corner, moved to action.

Clap.

With a signal, the Golden Reapers lunged.

Perhaps because of the Blue Reaper’s revenge, their charge was faster and more intense than usual.

[You won’t be able to wound me!]

[You will scream in agony even from a gentle wind!]

As the Golden Reapers tore into them mercilessly, the old women did not give up and continued to curse.

[Aah!]

[Please, save me!]

But as the frequency of curses began to decrease and the frequency of screams grew, they eventually fell silent.

All that remained was a gruesome pile of flesh.

[You will come to regret this….]

The last curse emerged from that fleshy pile.

But it was useless.

*

The Black Agent gradually regained his senses amidst the profound silence.

The moonlight shining down from the ceiling that had been blasted open, and softly glowing crystals.

Though this was indeed the cave where the Black Agent had lost consciousness, the atmosphere had changed completely.

The blue woman that had exuded such an immense presence was nowhere to be seen.

Where’s the young lady?

The Black Agent spotted the blonde girl lying quietly under the moonlight.

The image of the girl reflected in the blue moonlight appeared exceedingly tranquil.

She exuded an atmosphere as calm as if asleep.

With a face mingled with hope and fear, the Black Agent rushed to the girl’s side.

He knelt beside her and lifted her in his arms.

Outwardly, the girl seemed fine.

There were no wounds, and she was breathing peacefully.

“Young lady! Are you alright?”

The male voice softly echoed in the cave, breaking the heavy silence that had engulfed it.

“Ah, oh, sir. You’ve come.”

The girl smiled weakly, opening her eyes.

Her blue eyes, glowing softly, captured the figure of the Black Agent entirely.

Sensing something from the girl’s expression, the Black Agent tried to say something, but her faint voice began to fill the space instead.

“I should have listened to you, sir. I failed.”

As the girl began to speak, something began to change within her body.

Blood started to surge from her heart, which had previously shown no signs of injury.

“The objects that grant wishes will grant wishes, but they come with plenty of conditions… I thought it would be okay… but….”

A sharp wound appeared on the girl’s chest as if stabbed by a knife, and blood poured forth from the spot.

Even as the Black Agent tried to stop it, the wound was too deep.

“Regardless of family, grandfather, or the object. I just wanted to go out and play….”

The blonde girl, with unfocused blue eyes, gazed somewhere as her breath halted.

As the Black Agent closed her eyes for her, he stood up, holding her in his arms.

There must be a way.

Even if it means wishing to that woman once more.

*

Near Yangcheon-gu cave, by the lakeside.

I was collecting the remains of the old women and cleaning up after them.

The Blue Reaper, having regained her senses, was helping to deal with the old women as well.

<Please burn completely to ash!>

<Please all burn to ash!>

<Make sure to burn completely to ash!>

The strings of the Blue Reaper darkened the corpses of the old women, while the Golden Reapers worked diligently to dig the Earth.

It was an unavoidable task to fulfill the destruction conditions of the old women.

The conditions for the destruction of the old women were all the same: <turn into ash and bury them in the ground.>

Isn’t there something strange?

From within the giant old woman’s corpse, I discovered a peculiar object that would not turn to ash.

A red heart that constantly spewed flames.

It seemed to be a rather high-tier object, as the destruction condition was unusual as well.

<Make the heart stop beating and submerge it in water.>

As I watched the little heart thumping, the Golden Reapers soon finished dealing with the old women.

Just as they covered it with earth to ensure the ashes were buried, I felt a surge of power changing.

The Blue Reaper multiplied.

Ten of them.

A rapid increase in numbers.

But how many more old women would I need to catch to match the Golden Reapers’ numbers?

I didn’t think there were more old women in this lake…

The Golden Reapers seemed to be enjoying the increase in the Blue Reapers, and they smiled broadly as they surrounded and embraced them, causing a ruckus.

The scene was almost overwhelming enough to crush the Blue Reapers.

Perhaps feeling overwhelmed by the boundless kindness emanating from the energetic Golden Reapers, the Blue Reapers didn’t know how to react.

Eventually unable to endure, the Blue Reapers pulled their hats down low and fled to the sky.

While I was admiring the adorable Mini Reapers, something bizarre began to happen in the lake.

As I sensed the presence of an object, the tranquil surface of the lake began to swirl like a whirlpool.

Is the Blue Witch finally making her appearance now?

*

Arriving at the lake in Yangcheon-gu, I found a place to rest and was feeling the tremor of the ground.

The ground was quaking.

It wasn’t a huge tremor, but it was definitely noticeable.

A woman covered in tattoos jumped in surprise and rushed out of her lodging.

Could it be that the lake’s monster has appeared already?

From the lake’s surface arose a gigantic, truly immense monster.

The guardian of the lake, known as the serpent of the lake.

Surely they’d name it something from a famous legend on Earth.

Hydra.

The monstrous serpent that had emerged from a lake as vast as Yangcheon-gu seemed to tower higher than any building.

It was a colossal beast made of water that looked as though it could pierce the sky.

“Haha, why has the serpent of the lake appeared so soon….”

The woman murmured to herself, filled with exasperation.

The crystal needed to stop that serpent was not yet complete.

The time required was roughly a day.

A single day would be enough for the cursed Hydra to turn the entirety of Seoul into a wasteland.