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As the battle unfolded, the heavy smoke gradually dissipated, filling the space with the sweet aroma of hot chocolate.

The area that had been in ruins seemed to transform into a mini reaper garden.

The cold stones of the shattered and collapsed floor were now covered in soft, fluffy marshmallows.

Judging by the changes in the surrounding environment, it looked like the Gray Reaper’s world was being completely pushed out by the world created by the Man of the Lamp.

Perhaps because of this, Junior No. 2 inhaled sharply, forgetting that Detective Sunbae was waking up, as she gazed at this unbelievable spectacle.

Her eyes were mixed with surprise and confusion.

“This can’t be….”

A small sigh escaped her lips.

The Gray Reaper, who appeared invincible during the fight with the Man of the Lamp, had vanished without a trace.

The most powerful entity Junior No. 2 knew among objects was being so utterly obliterated?

“Uh… what should I do?”

She murmured as if unable to believe it.

Her voice was filled with bewilderment.

The worst-case scenario she couldn’t even imagine was unfolding before her eyes.

At that moment, a rustling sound followed by someone rising from their seat could be heard.

Startled, Junior No. 2 turned her head to see the Yellow Detective slowly getting to his feet.

“You don’t need to be that shocked….”

The Yellow Detective’s voice was slightly husky but surprisingly calm.

Lost in the tumultuous battle situation, Junior No. 2 finally remembered that Detective Sunbae had indeed woken up.

Coming to her senses, she realized she hadn’t even heard the hungry ghost in her arms squeaking and crying.

Kkyuhing-hing.

The Yellow Detective, with one hand on his forehead, slowly surveyed the surrounding area.

His expression showed a hint of dizziness, but he quickly shook it off and pointed somewhere with his finger.

“The Gray Reaper is still okay.”

At his words, Junior No. 2 immediately turned her gaze.

What caught her eye was the sight of mini reapers clustered together.

The mini reapers stood close together, sharing warmth like penguins battling the cold.

Junior No. 2 felt her racing heart gradually calm down upon seeing that scene.

‘Mom….’

‘The enemy is strong….’

The expressions of the mini reapers were clearly worried, but they were distant from the reactions that would occur during a bigger crisis.

*

As the Gray Reaper disappeared, the heavy smoke began to rise again.

And within that smoke, a distortion of space was felt.

The Man of the Lamp was attempting to leave with the Saintess Doll.

‘Ah!’

‘Harmful object is escaping!’

In that instant, the mini reapers simultaneously lunged forward.

But when the Man of the Lamp cast his gaze, the gas lamp’s smoke swirled violently, sending the mini reapers flying.

‘Ah!’

The colorful mini reapers bounced away helplessly yet gritted their teeth, continuously rushing back in.

However, the mini reapers were powerless against the strangely swirling smoke.

Only the Black Reapers could tear through the vortex, but just them alone wasn’t enough.

[Well, then, come this way.]

As the Man of the Lamp gestured, the Saintess walked slowly with a resigned expression.

The mini reapers could only watch with dazed expressions as the Man of the Lamp and the Saintess crossed to the other side of the space, as if gazing at unreachable candy.

With a flash.

But at that moment, a golden flash descended from the sky, shattering the crack in space.

‘!!!’

When the mini reapers looked back in shock, the aurora was once again rippling.

And beneath that aurora stood a towering pair of horns, a fluttering cloak in the sky, and the Golden Reaper holding a brilliantly shining sword.

‘Hug!’

‘Robber!’

Behind him, the Hug Reaper, sporting a halo upside down on his head, shouted ‘Hug.’

The Hug Reaper’s heart was pierced by a shining golden robber, allowing for a powerful threefold combination of the Golden Reaper.

Seeing this, the Man of the Lamp snapped his fingers with an indifferent expression.

Then the gas lamp’s smoke sharpened and transformed into a giant blade that flew towards them.

It contained the power to slice through space, just like the fatal blow from earlier.

‘Block it!’

‘Shield!’

‘Barrier!’

But the powerful strike was blocked by the wave of Black Reapers led by the Black Hooded Reaper.

The spatial cut, which could even sever physical immunity, cut deep into the strong black reaper’s skin but couldn’t divide the thick mass of black reapers in one go.

Numerous Black Reapers cried out ‘Uang!’ as they collapsed, but there seemed to be an endless supply of them.

And they were still resurrecting.

There were five fiercely rotating black pinwheels in this place.

The Purple Reaper focused its efforts on supplying the mini reapers rather than attacking the Man of the Lamp, who had withstood Mom’s powerful spatial dominance.

The Black Reapers surged forward as a single mass towards the Man of the Lamp, while the Golden Reaper Fusion lurked among the Black Reapers, waiting for an opportunity.

There was one goal.

To capture the Man of the Lamp before Mom arrived!

But when the Man of the Lamp snapped his fingers again, the gas lamp’s smoke hardened, blocking the path of the mini reapers.

The attacks of the mini reapers that touched the barrier scattered like a mirage.

The water-made needles.

Probability domination trying to create a chance for a gap in the barrier.

Time reversal attempting to rewind to a time before the barrier was formed.

All of it.

The only effective force was the attack of the Black Reapers.

However, the ordinary Black Reapers’ attacks were too weak to break the smoky barrier.

The attacks of the veteran Black Reapers, including the Black Hooded Reaper who tears space apart, were slowly dismantling the smoky barrier, but it was still insufficient.

The Golden Reaper Fusion’s sword strikes swept violently over the smoky barrier, but not a single scratch appeared on the barrier.

‘Can’t do it….’

‘Mom, come quickly….’

As it appeared there seemed to be no way, gloomy emotions spread among the mini reapers.

A bright light pierced the sky.

A massive golden light like the sun rising.

And a face filled with the will to never give up.

It was the Golden Reaper Fusion holding the ‘Knife’ created by the Ghost Reaper.

The blade reaching towards the enemy was absorbing firewood.

As if to suck in all the aurora made of firewood.

Seeing this, the mini reapers clasped their tiny hands together as if in prayer, sending their wishes to the firewood above.

Then the golden aurora shimmered brighter and flickered.

‘Maah….’

It was the wish of all the vibrant mini reapers, including the Discolored Reaper, who could do nothing but cheer as the Man of the Lamp remained out of reach.

And the moment all the aurora was held in the hand of the 1st Sword.

The golden fatal strike descended upon the smoky barrier.

*

I lay in the grassy field of Mini Reaper Valhalla, contemplating the suddenly resurfaced dream.

It seemed rather important, but somehow it had been pushed to the back of my memory.

Well, that serious tale wasn’t worth even a bowl of pudding to me.

‘The blue girl in the dream was making a contract.’

It was probably the contract named <'Contract of the Magical Book' and 'The Last Alchemist's Contract'>.

[After the contract is established, the being born from the 'Last Alchemist' and its abilities cannot harm the 'Contract of the Magical Book.']

After collapsing following the battle with the Man of the Lamp, what suddenly came to mind was that clause: ‘cannot harm.’

It truly looked like the current situation, where I couldn’t even touch a hair of the Man of the Lamp no matter how hard I tried.

‘No way….’

I wasn’t a fool, I had already sensed that there was some connection between me and the blue girl.

And the conclusion drawn from the current situation was simple.

I was either an object created by the ‘blue girl’ or.

I might be the ‘blue girl’ herself.

There were certainly some strange points, but this hypothesis explained the situation best.

And looking at the lead dolls found in the blue girl’s workshop, at least the body of the ‘Gray Reaper’ seemed to be created by the blue girl.

Inductively, that seemed to be true.

Once I began to think that this situation was due to a contract, a report I saw while breaking the lamp sprang to mind.

<'The Man of the Lamp is a being bound by contract.'>

Now that I think of it, why doesn’t the Man of the Lamp attack much?

The counterattacks seemed almost similar to the attacks I made.

It was as if he could only counterattack as much as I attacked.

Factually, it was odd.

He was strong enough to be close to an external being, and yet possessed many powerful subordinates in lamps.

Killing humans with such a cumbersome method as a contract seemed absurd.

It would be much more threatening if the lamps just attacked people with kitchen knives.

If so many lamps surged forth to assault humans, the Golden Reaper’s eyes would turn red, and he would inflict similar damage to the humans.

‘A being bound by contract….’

If a being of the caliber of the Man of the Lamp had such severe constraints.

It made me think that it might not be possible to kill him through ordinary means.

‘Then….’

I recalled a clause from the contract I saw in the dream.

[After the contract is executed, if the 'Contract of the Magical Book' appears before the 'Last Alchemist,' the 'Contract of the Magical Book' will be erased immediately and permanently as a serious violation of the contract.]

If I have the soul of the ‘blue girl.’

If I move the body of the blue girl and meet the Man of the Lamp.

The Man of the Lamp would surely be destroyed.

Of course, there was no tangible evidence that I was the blue girl.

However, emotionally, the thought that perhaps I might be the blue girl kept nagging at me.

I had ample suspicion.

The attitude the Man of the Lamp showed me.

The dreams seen from the perspective of the blue girl.

The behavior of the white hungry ghosts and hungry ghost reapers.

And the objects that seemed to know me.

It seemed worth trying.

I moved my consciousness into the corpse of the blue girl and stood up.

As I did, the white hungry ghosts that had been gathered around the blue girl’s body scattered and fled in all directions.

So, wearing the physical form of the blue girl, I spoke softly.

“Ah, ah.”

It wasn’t my original voice, but perhaps because it was the first time I’ve spoken in a while, I felt a little joyful.

Hehe.

And I, rising from the soft bed where the blue girl spent her last moments, teleported towards the battlefield where the Golden Horn Reaper was.

At that moment of teleportation, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.

What if the destruction condition for the Man of the Lamp was written as ?