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In the deep part of the Mini Reaper Garden, Milk Bingsu Snowfield.

I was watching a mass breeding crisis of hamsters there.

‘The one hamster from the snowfield has become an incredible number.’

The one hamster that was trapped in the vending machine was now darting around all over the snowfield.

I wanted to throw them all back into the vending machine, but it felt a bit wrong to catch them just because they’re hamsters.

Then, what caught my eye was an especially gigantic hamster.

So large that it waddled as it walked!

No, at that size, it should be called a nutria instead of a hamster.

Considering the size of the skewer object I had caught, that nutria must have been enormous when it was still a skewer object.

‘It’s too big… a bit gross.’

However, contrary to my impressions, that giant nutria was super popular among the mini reapers.

Thinking about the reason, it was probably because of the gigantic fruit attached to its tail.

The mini reapers were eagerly digging into the insides of that giant fruit, munching away from within.

Then, when they poked their faces through the surface of the fruit, they grinned sheepishly.

‘Looks like mini reapers love anything big…’

Could it be that the mini reapers are feeding high-calorie snacks to Attached Humans to help them grow bigger?

Thinking carefully, it seemed that the Sehee Research Institute employees had generally started to become plump.

Standing on the snowfield, I gazed at the scene of mini reapers happily playing, chasing after the hamsters.

It was still a landscape without the Red Reapers and Golden Reapers.

Well, seeing the numerous hamsters, the runaway Golden and Red Reapers must be doing well.

So, it’s time to think about how to handle the lamps.

Although I was preoccupied with the disappearance of the Red Reapers for a moment, I returned to the original issue.

The main body of the lamp is impossible to track with the ability of the White Hungry Ghost.

Seeing how carefully they hide and distribute the lamps here and there, it seemed they had some goal they wanted to achieve with the lamps.

‘Looks like I need to take care of the lamps that are being found here and there.’

I picked up a grape the size of my head from the giant nutria and took a bite.

With the sound of candy coating crumbling, the sweet juice spread in my mouth.

Slowly savoring the grape, I sent my will to the mini reapers all over the world.

‘Find the lamps!’

*

Thump thump.

I was heading towards the isolation room where the lead doll was secured to test my enhanced control ability until the mini reapers around the world found the lamps.

Walking slowly through the corridor of the Sehee Research Institute, I felt that the atmosphere of the research institute had changed significantly.

Vertical banners depicting all kinds of mini reaper drawings fluttered from the ceiling, and mini reaper exclusive passageways were set up on both sides of the corridor.

In the middle of the corridor, there were vending machines selling mini reaper exclusive snacks.

The scene reminded me of a deer farm selling deer snacks.

It used to look like an actual research institute in appearance, but now it had completely transformed into an amusement park.

It was indeed a landscape that made me feel a sense of great change.

Admiring internally, I finally arrived at my destination.

A isolation room similar in size to the one I resided in appeared in front of me.

But no sign of the lead doll could be seen anywhere.

‘It should definitely be in this isolation room…’

The isolation room was filled with White Hungry Ghosts.

Almost like a jar filled with hungry ghosts!

But unlike the time with the hungry ghost jar, the expressions of the White Hungry Ghosts in the isolation room seemed happy.

Kyuheehee.

Could it be that the Golden Reapers ran away, and the White Hungry Ghosts are monopolizing the lead doll?

I continued to look around the isolation room, focusing on where I could sense the presence of the lead doll.

Then, ‘Fwoosh!’ the face of the lead doll popped up from among the ghosts.

There, countless Happy Hungry Ghosts were clinging around the lead doll.

‘So you were here.’

I carefully laid my main body down in a corner of the isolation room and began to control the lead doll.

This time, instead of remote control, I transferred my consciousness as if controlling the Black Giant.

Then, my main body’s vision dropped into darkness, and I found myself opening my eyes amidst a pile of White Hungry Ghosts.

It was indeed a sea of hungry ghosts!

But I had no time to pay attention to them.

As I shifted my consciousness, I felt a distinctly different sensation.

Grrr.

As I clenched my fist tightly, my fingertips turned pitch black.

‘I can use my strength fully even in another body…’

It felt as though the lead doll’s body had become my own body.

The ability to use my power properly in another body was truly amazing.

If I had such an ability back then… maybe Yerin’s neck wouldn’t have gotten that scar?

As memories of the past flashed through my mind, complex emotions flickered.

While I was lost in thought like this, a strange will spread from within my body.

[Hello.]

A voice devoid of emotion, almost mechanical.

‘!!!’

I was startled by the unexpected voice and opened my eyes wide.

*

After the encounter with the Saintess, Junior No. 2 was staring vacantly at the sky, lost in thought.

Before long, the sun had set, and the night in the mountains was shrouded in darkness.

A cold wind brushed through the leaves, producing an eerie sound.

That wind brushed past her cheek as it passed between the leaves.

Junior No. 2 wrapped her arms around herself and huddled down.

Perhaps because she was in the mountains, the drop in temperature made the chill feel even sharper against her skin.

‘What should I do?’

Her mind was filled with complicated thoughts.

The second wish proposed by the Saintess left her feeling perplexed.

[The second wish is for all the sect members who were with me to have a joyous time and be satisfied.]

The Saintess’s voice was soft, but the sadness contained within was undeniable.

[As if it were the time of the prophecy spoken among the sect. Though they suffered endlessly and kept moving forward, I hope those who died in vain at the end can all smile happily, like the promised paradise of the afterlife in the sect…]

The Saintess smiled as if gazing far off into the distance.

It looked like she truly wanted to return to that time, but on the contrary, it also seemed she wished for it not to come back.

Junior No. 2 then realized.

The reason the Saintess had shown no interest in the jade plate.

While she had her doubts from the beginning, hearing the last wish turned her suspicions into certainty.

‘The Saintess doesn’t want me to grant the wish.’

As one could tell from looking at this ruined sect, the sect members were no longer of this world.

Perhaps the sect members were the ones roaming around in the illusion where the Saintess resided.

Beings void of will, repeating certain moments meaninglessly.

The Saintess was reminiscing about the past, eternally trapping the souls of the deceased sect members within the space she had created.

‘….’

To fulfill the Saintess’s wish, she had to revive all the dead and offer them a satisfying time.

‘Reviving the dead is difficult enough, but to satisfy everyone including the Saintess… this is an impossible mission.’

With a sigh, she looked up at the sky.

The dark sky, dim even with starlight, felt as suffocating as her heart.

‘It feels like I’ve been lamenting like this constantly these days…’

But this time, she truly saw no answer.

A miracle was needed.

Could the so-called “Gray Reaper,” the ultimate object, bring forth such an impossible miracle?

Well, I can’t rely on the Gray Reaper’s help anyway because of the contract, so it couldn’t be helped…

Colorful moonlight filtering through the leaves faintly illuminated her face.

Junior No. 2 was lost in contemplation, pondering whether there was any way to grant this wish.

As she sank into thought, a dense smoke began to rise around her.

The cold wind swirled the smoke, wrapping around her.

“Could it be…?”

She looked around in shock.

From somewhere, the sound of metal clanging together echoed.

That sound grew closer, causing her heart to race.

From beyond the smoke, a faint light began to emerge.

And in that light, the silhouette of a man appeared.

He held an antique gas lamp, its flickering flame casting mysterious shadows.

Behind him were rows of gas lamps coming into view.

As the smoke slowly dispersed, the silhouette of a man was revealed.

Though I couldn’t recognize his face shrouded in smoke, I could definitely feel the Lamp Man smiling at her.

[You seem deep in thought.]

The Lamp Man spoke in a soft voice.

In his gaze, there was a sharpness as if he could pierce through to something.

Junior No. 2 swallowed hard.

Surprised by his sudden appearance, amazement and caution flooded in simultaneously.

‘According to the contract, the Lamp Man shouldn’t be able to help with wish fulfillment…?’

Yet paradoxically, his appearance ignited a small hope within her.

An object so powerful it couldn’t even be compared to a human, was the “Lamp Man.”

[According to the contract, I can help.]

[But there will be a price to pay.]