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In the early dawn, after a deep night when everyone was asleep, a change occurred in the courtyard of Sehee Research Institute.

On a bed made of marshmallows lay a blood-soaked Western woman, and several Golden Reapers appeared.

The Golden Reapers looked down at the woman moaning in high fever, then began to disperse in all directions, leaving only one behind to guard the spot.

‘I need to find someone to help with the treatment!’

The Golden Reapers spread out to summon a square-shaped vehicle that appears when someone gets hurt.

And one of the Golden Reapers headed to the sleeping room to fetch the youngest who had called for them.

*

When the Reaper disappeared, I was truly shocked.

After the Reaper shoved me aside, I was engulfed by the black sphere and vanished, leaving my mind blank.

I couldn’t make a sound or move.

I felt like I had been hit hard on the head and frozen in place.

All I had were question marks swirling in my mind.

‘What on earth just happened?’ This was the only thought that filled my head.

At the end of my gaze, where the Reaper had been, there was nothing left.

But on the marshmallow floor, tiny footprints went .

It was only after witnessing this strange phenomenon that my thoughts began to return little by little.

‘Tiny Reaper footprints, so the Reaper was invulnerable after all.’

[Thump thump.]

As those footprints moved forward, the Reaper began to regenerate.

Starting from its small ankle, moving upwards, until finally, even its antennae above its head returned!

The Reaper was back!

I couldn’t contain my excitement and dashed along the marshmallow path to the Reaper.

At the end of the marshmallow pathway, I tightly hugged the soft Reaper.

I had so much to say, but for some reason, the words wouldn’t come out.

Instead, I just felt the returned Reaper in my arms.

The Reaper looked a bit annoyed, but did not reject me.

Perhaps seeing the suddenly appeared Reaper, the Giant Pig, which had been watching the situation, thought it was an opportunity and opened its mouth wide, spewing fire.

A wave of scorching heat rushed at me, as if it would burn up even the air.

Is this how I’m going to die? It was that hot, fierce, and massive stream of fire.

The Reaper, noticing the pig’s attack, looked slightly annoyed and let out a puff, clenching its fist.

Then, a large black sphere emerged and swallowed the flames whole.

And the Reaper grasped my hand tightly, as if to say, “Don’t worry.”

Seeing the calm expression of the Reaper, I felt my wildly racing heart begin to quiet down.

The battle continued longer than I expected.

Whenever the Reaper reached out and clenched its hand in the air, black orbs popped out and mercilessly tore into the giant pig.

I held my breath, fearing I would disturb the Reaper.

Was the Reaper keeping the black orbs for only a short time to prevent the pig from devouring them like last time?

With each appearance and disappearance of the black sphere in the air, an ominous sound echoed as if something was shattering in space.

It was truly the roar of the underworld.

But the giant pig with its monstrous body was dodging the black orbs with surprising agility.

The enormous pig created whirlwinds in the air, teleporting itself to dodge the spheres.

It looked like a dimensional gateway.

Of course, not every black sphere born from a simple head turn and fist clench could be avoided by mere dodging.

It couldn’t avoid all of them, but for a pig with incredible regenerative abilities, that much evasion was quite remarkable.

However, the pig wasn’t just aimlessly fleeing.

It breathed fire or suddenly charged at us.

Every time, the Reaper held my hand tightly as if to calm my startled heart.

The Reaper was so kind.

Overall, the Reaper seemed to have the upper hand.

No, the gap in skill was palpable.

After all, the Reaper fought without moving an inch.

Every attack from the pig was rendered useless with a single gesture from the Reaper.

The sight of the Reaper wielding its powerful force and concentrating was truly impressive.

The Reaper stood calmly by my side, waving its arms.

Meanwhile, the giant pig dashed around, trying to find an opening.

It was clear who held the advantage.

Yet, a hint of anxiety showed on the Reaper’s face.

It was an expression that didn’t match the current situation.

Was the pig dodging too well?

There was no need to be too anxious—but—

*

In the dim early dawn, at the corner of Songpa District, Sehee Research Institute.

As the first light of dawn faintly illuminated the sky, a security room employee began his patrol.

His footsteps echoed in the dark, deserted corridor.

The corridor was shrouded in shadows, with only sporadically placed green emergency lights casting a faint glow on the grim walls.

The darkness of dawn surrounded the research institute like a thick curtain, swallowing light and sound.

Dew clung to the windows, which accepted a faint blue light, and those little droplets reflected the dawn light, blurry in the view of the outside scenery.

The interior of the research institute, void of researchers, was suffused with the chilling atmosphere of creeping cold.

As the security employee passed in front of a certain isolation room with a flashlight, a melancholic piano melody faintly echoed.

The somber tune of a funeral march harmonized with the dark and eerie corridor, ringing beautifully yet gloomily in the heavy air.

From within the dark isolation room, a blue lizard could be seen playing the piano slowly yet powerfully.

Knowing that the lizard played such tunes every dawn sent shivers down my spine involuntarily.

In the corridor of the dawn research institute, a golden light flickered like a dance before the patrolling employee.

It was the distinct glow of a Golden Reaper.

‘Isn’t it too late for the Golden Reaper to be awake?’

The security employee held this question as he turned his flashlight towards the Golden Reaper’s direction.

The light, moving faster than normal, seemed to notice the flashlight, and with hurried footsteps, it drew closer.

The Golden Reaper approached with unusually fast steps, tugging at the employee’s pant leg.

The Reaper had a frantic expression.

The employee reported the sighting of the agitated Golden Reaper and lifted it onto his shoulder.

Following the gesture of the Reaper, he hurriedly dashed down the corridor.

Upon arriving at the courtyard led by the Golden Reaper, three or four Golden Reapers and the bloodied Western woman lay collapsed.

The woman appeared to be in a stable condition compared to the bloodstains, but she seemed in dire need of medical attention due to her high fever.

The security officer reported the injured woman to the security room and called for an ambulance.

After finishing the call and turning back to the Golden Reaper, he saw the Reaper standing before the woman, gesturing something, but it was hard to understand.

“It seems to be indicating something square… Does it mean to treat this woman?”

As the employee looked down at the Golden Reaper and asked, it cocked its head in confusion.

“I genuinely have no idea. I’ve already called the ambulance, so it should be fine.”

The security employee gave up on conversing with the Golden Reaper and scanned the surroundings for any unusual happenings.

Then, he discovered a sprout Reaper being carried on the back of a Golden Reaper covered in dirt.

Surprised at seeing this, the employee quickly sent a communication stating that the sprout Reaper was being moved outside by a Golden Reaper.

The Golden Reapers were smiling softly like they were looking at a cute younger sibling, gently stroking the sprout Reaper’s head and back.

They brushed its hair and shook off the dirt clinging to its body…

The sprout Reaper was receiving all the attention.

[Currently, in Colorado, reports are coming in that the spirit barrier is ablaze.]

In the courtyard, there was a mini TV set up for the gray Reaper to watch the news.

Breaking news flowed from it.

The spirit barrier was burning, and scenes of fire raining down from the sky in the United States were shown.

As sirens of the ambulance echoed from a distance, the Golden Reapers glanced briefly at the broadcast, then turned back, waving at the employee before disappearing like melting into thin air.

In the courtyard, only the growing sound of the ambulance, the unconscious woman, and the security employee remained.

*

[Crack.]

As I tightly clenched my fist, the space contracted, crushing everything within.

But the giant pig slipped away like an eel from that range, prowling around while aiming for me and Yerin.

The hungry ghost I encountered in Songpa District was an annoying object coming from another direction.

If the hungry ghost’s condition was like a riddle without hints, then this thing was clearly defined but utterly impossible to catch, making it just as annoying.

As the battle dragged on, an uneasy feeling rose in me.

Turning my head sideways, I spotted Yerin, who looked exceptionally tired.

Having been gravely injured and unable to sleep properly, she must be exhausted.

Yerin’s recovery rate was fantastic, so she could last quite a while in battle, but she couldn’t fight forever.

I had to devise a plan.

At the very least, I needed to subdue that pig while Yerin looked like she could keep her wits about her.

Should I toss it into a sinkhole like I did with the hungry ghosts?

But it’s a creature that can rip through space and teleport; there’s no guarantee it will stay still like the hungry ghosts did.

Should I create an enormous black sphere that it couldn’t dodge?

However, it would take a significant amount of burning wood, probably needing to play with Yerin throughout the entire day to produce that size of a black sphere.

As I considered calling a bunch of Golden Reapers to bind its legs and then crush it along with the black sphere as a last resort, Yerin showed me something.

“Reaper, look at this! It’s a mini Reaper I’ve never seen before!”

In Yerin’s palm lay a tiny Reaper, identical in size to the golden Reaper she had.

It was an indigo Reaper with two leaves sprouting from its head, dangling from under her armpit.

“!”

It felt like someone had been thrust in my face as my own child when I had no recollection of having one.

When on earth did this appear?

As I stared, the sprout Reaper rubbed its eyes and opened them.

Its deep indigo eyes blinked sleepily and then smiled brightly at my face.

Receiving the sprout Reaper offered by the Golden Reaper into my palm, it flopped down on my hand, unable to stand upright.

Yawning.

And then it conveyed its will to me.

What it could do.

And what it couldn’t do.

The newly born sprout Reaper seemed quite intelligent.

As I listened to the explanation of the sprout Reaper’s abilities, I was impressed.

Incredible.

It was an ability that made me want to clap.

It appeared to be even better than the indigo moon I had killed.

Surely, with this ability, I could take down that agile pig!