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The narrow stream flowing along the valley sparkled with a golden hue under the warm sunlight reflecting off the western hills in the late afternoon.

The midday heat had receded, but in the peaceful valley, two men were running wildly with pale faces.

“Insane. Insane. Insane!”

The man was rushing toward the car parked with his junior, panicking from the sudden unforeseen incident.

“I should’ve left the Golden Reaper behind!”

He shouted, half lamenting.

No matter how much people criticize the Korean Object Association for its mess, there was a reason they classified the Golden Reaper as a dangerous special object.

To smile brightly and then suddenly kill someone? Objects truly cannot be trusted.

Why did they ignore the fact that even if it could communicate, it was dangerous, and despite appearing friendly, it was still dangerous?

And then, suddenly bursting forth with a flash and erasing a person?

He had never heard that the Golden Reaper possessed such abilities.

But the greater problem was not the Golden Reaper.

After erasing someone, the Golden Reaper vanished like a ghost from a horror movie.

The real issue was the fact that Elder Snake was missing.

If it became known that Elder Snake disappeared right after they met, the organization wouldn’t let it slide.

Even if Elder Snake had been slightly detached from the organization, nothing would be as ridiculous as an organization that wouldn’t retaliate; they would unquestionably exact revenge.

They needed to flee, whether to China or Japan.

“Is it really the ‘Golden Reaper’ who did this?”

“What?”

The junior running beside him began spouting absurdities.

Such ridiculous nonsense.

What does that have to do with the current situation?

The man thought such things didn’t matter; he urged his junior to focus on escaping and jumped into the vehicle.

But the junior didn’t get in and said with a stern face.

“Hyung, you go ahead. I’ll check on the Golden Reaper and then join you!”

The man wanted to scold him for being foolish, but seeing the madness glinting in his junior’s eyes, he merely said.

“Fine, do as you please.”

In the end, the man abandoned his junior and ran off alone.

*

The courtyard of Sehee Research Institute was adorned with fluffy marshmallows.

Countless Mini Reapers had gathered, lying on fluffy white round cushions.

These small cushions the size of Mini Reapers were actually small, split White Hungry Ghosts.

Normally, the Mini Reapers would have been playing in the Gray Reaper’s isolation room, but they had fled to the courtyard and were relying on each other to chat.

“Mommy’s scary!”

A chilling gaze scanned the Mini Reapers with eyes that guide death!

They had fled to the courtyard of Sehee Research Institute to escape that gaze.

“Mommy’s strange!”

What the Mini Reapers found most bizarre was their mother’s behavior.

She would periodically stare fiercely at her “eyes” as if to pierce through them, which appeared extremely ominous to the Mini Reapers.

To think, if a human did such a thing…

It would be like acting ready to stab their own body with a sharp knife while looking in a mirror.

Or holding a sharp knife in front of a mirror, gazing ominously at the children through the reflection.

Showing such behavior to her children?

There was no choice; the children could only tremble in fear.

Moreover, during a spying venture, the Blue Reaper and Golden Reaper reported that their mother had completely lost her mind, laughing maniacally while tearing flesh.

“Scary!”

Tumbling around.

The Mini Reapers were rolling in the Marshmallow Garden, hugging their round Hungry Ghost cushions.

But as time went on, the fleeing Mini Reapers began wanting to return to the isolation room to play with their mother.

Though she often ignored the Mini Reapers, it was still fun just being beside her!

Having reached a threshold of boredom, the Mini Reapers, clutching their white Hungry Ghost cushions, began to roll around the courtyard at high speed.

They tumbled and bumped into one another, flying away repeatedly.

Among the Mini Reapers, an equally bored Orange Reaper stood up and began to fly somewhere.

Was it heading to confirm the scary mother?

“Brave junior?”

The Golden Reapers that had been rolling around also ceased their movements, gazing expectantly at the Orange Reaper.

But where the Orange Reaper floated off to wasn’t the isolation room but rather to the spot where a large White Hungry Ghost was enjoying a brief respite.

Tap. Tap.

Extending its orange hand from a fluffy mass, it poked the ghost’s side with its finger.

“Pew.”

Then, the tired-looking Hungry Ghost bent slightly to look at the Orange Reaper.

“You go confirm.”

With a smiling face, the Orange Reaper ordered the Hungry Ghost to go to the Gray Reaper’s isolation room.

Pewhew.

Hearing this order, the White Hungry Ghost began to wail sorrowfully.

It was evident it would be bullied in front of the Gray Reaper, but it had no choice but to leave under the Orange Reaper’s orders.

If it refused, the Orange Reaper, who dealt with the Cloud Fish, would chase it down and transport the Red Reaper!

*

After all the Mini Reapers had fled, the atmosphere in the isolation room, where even the Golden Reaper’s Pudding Factory had stopped, became eerily quiet.

I stood in front of a mirror in that isolation room, examining the halo discovered within myself.

First, like I had done in the maze’s illusion, I tried to reach inside my body, attempting to grasp the halo within.

But no matter how hard I tried, the halo inside my body eluded my fingers like a mirage.

“Sigh.”

I pulled my hand back and looked into the mirror again, where a light ring spun around the firewood.

Calmly moving in a consistent speed, it spun as if to mock me, saying I couldn’t catch it.

Suddenly irritated, I tore at the fabric of space.

Ripping apart my chest wholly, it hurt.

It hurt so much that the thought of doing it was creeping back into my mind.

From the wound inflicted in my rage, the firewood dripped down like blood.

Moreover, despite enduring this pain to inflict a wound, I still couldn’t touch the halo.

Haha.

It hurt too much, and with no effect, I let out a hollow laugh.

At that moment, the Blue Reaper, who had been stealthily observing the room, opened its eyes wide in shock and fainted.

Following closely behind, the Golden Reaper covered the Blue Reaper’s eyes and quietly slipped out of the isolation room with it.

Somehow, I felt that a strange rumor would spread among the Mini Reapers, but they would forget it quickly after a few days of play, so it wasn’t much of a problem.

“Giving up!”

I gave up on retrieving the halo from inside my chest.

And upon deep reflection, I thought that not taking it out might even be advantageous.

If the ability was to see the conditions for destruction, now seemed like a better time to use it without hurting myself!

Considering the halo’s power, it truly was quite a thing.

Thus, I began my second experiment.

Inserting another halo into my belly!

If I could insert other halos into my body, then like the ‘eye that sees the conditions for destruction,’ I could freely use the ability without pain!

I attempted all sorts of silly attempts, like summoning a halo to eat it with my mouth.

Or trying to push the halo into my chest.

Or wearing the halo around my neck like a necklace.

But I failed to swallow the halo after all kinds of foolish efforts.

Sigh.

No matter what I did, the halo seemed disinterested in entering my body, so I slumped down on the floor, feeling glum, when I heard a strange sound.

“Pew pew… Pew!”

A White Hungry Ghost that had been hiding under the blanket and spying on me chuckled at my strange antics.

With a face that seemed to ask, ‘Why are you doing such a silly thing?’, the hungry ghost laughed softly, but upon realizing I was watching, it quickly covered its mouth with “Pew!” But it was already too late.

Hehe, too late!

Thud thud.

Fueled by the anger of having failed all my halo-related experiments, I slowly began to approach the White Hungry Ghost.

“Now this is an experiment too. Can the White Hungry Ghost use the halo?”

And grinning, I placed the halo atop the ghost’s head.

“!!!!!”

The mischievous ghost couldn’t even make a “Pew” sound and turned to ash with a pained expression.

Unfortunately, another experiment had failed.

As I reveled in the ghost’s demise, Mini Reapers peeking out from their hiding spots were watching me.

When I turned my head, the Mini Reapers jumped in surprise and began to scatter and flee in all directions.

‘!’

I hadn’t done anything, yet they were running away?

Thanks to that, a mischievous impulse surged within me.

So, clutching the halo in my hand, I began to chase after the Mini Reapers wildly.

“Run away!”

Feeling the Mini Reapers’ urgent desire to escape, I couldn’t help but smile inwardly.

*

Deep within the earth, a truly massive cave existed.

It was hard to imagine it was naturally formed; the walls, floor, and ceiling looked like a masterpiece painted by an artist.

A fantastic space was created by the burning red jade and the swirling green jade that seemed to contain a turbulent sea.

Yet, such beautiful space was now sullied by a thick scent of blood.

In the mystical cave entirely made of jade, there was a hollow that looked like a bowl made by nature, filled with countless corpses scattered everywhere.

Among them was a man who had tried to flee abroad.

It was the man who had gone to meet Elder Snake.

The corpses were gushing blood unnaturally, as if being compressed.

As the pooling blood began to rise, it started flowing through the winding gaps in the floor.

Once the blood pooled had filled all the cracks in the floor, it created a very ominous pattern woven with green jade.

“Finally, finally!”

At that moment, a man hidden in the darkness of the cave corner began to slowly walk out.

“Ending the detestable era of the gods, the endless era of ‘chaos’ shall come!”

As the man of green jade shouted loudly, red light began to emerge from the pool of blood.

“Now arise.”

As the man of green jade shouted loudly and prostrated on the ground, a red figure began to crawl out of the blood pool.

Its appearance was very grotesque and alien, but the man of green jade merely watched it with a face full of delight.