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As the teleportation to the Black Planet concluded, I was greeted by a truly desolate landscape with nothingness as far as the eye could see.

‘Here we go again…’

Whenever I moved to a completely different space like the Black Planet, it was common to end up far from the targeted Mini Reaper.

I arrived on a small cliff, and from there, I could see the dying planet laid bare as if the Evolution Liquid had painted its demise.

Below my feet was an endless sea of Evolution Liquid stretching out beneath the cliff.

That sea, undulating like black oil, moved slowly as if it were a living creature.

Perhaps it was because the Evolution Liquid was filled with malice, but its movements made it seem almost willful, which made me that much more uneasy.

Looking up at the sky, there was no sun in sight, not even the sky itself.

A dense cloud, resembling toxic gas, completely shrouded the heavens, and the light seeping through was pale and gloomy.

That light only emphasized the grimness of this dying scenery.

Turning my gaze back, there was barely a patch of land left the size of a small playground.

That too was covered in black, gooey mud tainted by the Evolution Liquid and the slowly melting ruins of buildings.

It looked like a miniature representation of a planet dissolved by Evolution Liquid.

The air was thick with the characteristic stench of the Evolution Liquid.

The malice-laden odor seemed to be sensed regardless of my olfactory system, as I could never seem to get used to it, no matter how much time passed.

In fact, the more I smelled it, the more nauseating it felt.

‘I need to quickly find the children and return to the Sehee Research Institute…’

The stench of the Evolution Liquid was rapidly draining my motivation.

I extended my senses in all directions to locate the children.

While searching for them, I began to feel a bit puzzled.

‘Was it this bad when I came here last time…?’

Despite my poor memory, it seemed the environment of the Black Planet had worsened since my last visit.

The water level of the Evolution Liquid had risen, leaving even less land.

The gloomy clouds that created a somber ambiance completely obscured the sun.

It felt like the Color Universe, which had once seemed close, was now even nearer.

For some reason, this made me feel quite uneasy.

Especially since this Black Planet was gradually approaching Earth.

It felt like a massive burden of homework was looming closer.

To calm my irritation, I started to squish the squishy Super Dilapidated Golden Reaper in my hand like a toy.

Strangely enough, touching the Super Dilapidated Golden Reaper made my heart feel calmer.

The only problem was…

‘Ah, it’s shrinking again.’

It seemed to be deflating like a punctured balloon.

But compared to this squishy texture, having to keep adding firewood was nothing more than a minor drawback.

Hehe.

As I played with the Dilapidated rubber ball, I sensed the presence of the children beyond the distant horizon.

They were closer than I had expected.

I eroded the surface of the Black Planet with Mini Reaper Garden and created a path of white marshmallows over the black sea.

An oddly pristine white marshmallow path sat atop the black sea.

With a wobbly sound.

I used Ghosting and began to walk quickly toward the direction of the children.

*

When I arrived at their location, it looked completely like a battlefield.

Above the endless black sea of Evolution Liquid, a massive red sun blazed.

Like a rose blooming in a nightmarish landscape, the sun’s corona scorched the black sea.

And beside that sun was something I couldn’t have imagined.

A gigantic pirate ship made of red flames was constantly spewing out Red Reapers, who poured in and out like a torrent.

It was like an aircraft carrier unleashing bombers.

That red pirate ship resembled a sci-fi aerial aircraft carrier.

‘What a cool aircraft carrier! I want one too…’

How did they know I liked pirate ships as much as T-Rexes to create something like that?

Thinking I should ask the Red Reapers to make me one after this battle ended made me smile uncontrollably.

Hehe.

At the center of that combat was the Red Sun Reaper sparkling brightly.

And above the head of the Red Sun Reaper, a halo of nullification shimmered white in a completely natural manner.

‘When did I take that?’

It felt a bit bewildering to think when that had happened, but I felt a bit proud that they had independently worn the halo.

As the autonomy of the Mini Reapers increased, my dream of automatic hunting was drawing closer.

The opponent fighting the Red Sun Reaper was a ‘External Being’.

A gigantic shark-shaped object swiftly darting through the Evolution Liquid.

Among the External Beings I had seen, it looked the weakest, yet it was still undoubtedly an External Being.

It was an External Being barely passing the grade.

‘I oddly feel like it’s a Worm External Being.’

Strangely, this shark External Being felt similar to the Worm External Being I had seen before.

The Worm External Being was a colony type, while this shark External Being was a single entity. I wondered why it felt that way.

Maybe it was because both were entities with physical forms…

Thinking about External Beings reminded me of the time when I had barely touched their grade, making me feel a bit down.

I had become something that didn’t want to play or even eat snacks…

That was nearly as good as being dead.

At that moment, another being caught my eye.

‘Another Mini Reaper…?’

It was an ambiguous golden reaper without a physical form, as if merely a ghost remained, yet it definitely existed.

The moment I spotted that golden reaper, I realized why the Super Dilapidated Reaper in my hand was rapidly wilting.

The spirit of the Super Dilapidated Golden Reaper was struggling to fight while forcibly using a halo despite lacking enough grade.

So a considerable amount of firewood was being consumed.

It was as if two Mini Reapers wearing halos were facing one External Being, but it was still insufficient.

The situation was precarious, as though it could collapse at any moment.

However strangely, I didn’t feel anxious.

Did this mean the Mini Reapers could actually defeat the shark External Being?

Moreover, I felt a bit reluctant to join the battlefield right now.

The grade of the golden reaper, who was straining to use the halo, was rapidly rising.

If I waited just a little longer, it would quickly reach the level of the 1st Sword.

It was like a level-up event happening!

‘If things get dangerous, I can just jump in.’

I thought that and settled down atop a nearby Rocky Mountain.

As I munched on the snacks pulled from the Mini Reaper Garden and watched the battle unfold, the Super Dilapidated Reaper suddenly started to slip out of my hand.

As if a hollow body was about to leave for its true owner.

‘No! My beloved rubber ball!’

I reached out toward the air, but the Super Dilapidated Rubber Ball had already returned to its original owner.

*

The Golden Reaper was gritting its teeth while fighting.

Every time the shark External Being moved, the realm of circulation maintained by the Golden Reaper trembled as if it were on the verge of collapsing.

Furthermore, just continuously using the halo threatened to collapse its entire body, making it feel like it could wake up in the Mini Reaper Valhalla at any moment.

Bam!

The shark External Being’s relentless assault struck the realm of circulation hard.

In that instant, a gap formed in the realm, and a few drops of Evolution Liquid splashed inside.

‘No…!’

The Golden Reaper turned its gaze and looked down at the sleeping Attached Human.

But fortunately, the splashed Evolution Liquid did not touch the Purple Girl.

‘At this rate, the human will die…’

The severely weakened Purple Girl would perish from even just a few drops of the Evolution Liquid.

In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising if she died right away.

‘I need to summon the Blue Younger Brother quickly.’

The Golden Reaper gritted its teeth and took another step forward with its crumbling legs.

‘So I need to kill the shark External Being quickly!’

As the Golden Reaper steeled its resolve, the halo began to shine even brighter.

But the Golden Reaper was unable to draw out all the power held by the halo.

The same went for the strongest Golden Reaper, the 1st Sword.

The Golden Reaper couldn’t handle the halo of command like the Blue Idol Reaper.

The Golden Reaper couldn’t manage the halo of complete evasion like the Orange Crowned Reaper.

The Golden Reaper couldn’t handle the halo of fusion like the Hug Reaper.

But the Golden Reaper needed the power of complete halo to protect the Attached Human.

An ordinary Golden Reaper, just slightly more perceptive, couldn’t protect the Attached Human.

‘Just a little more…’

‘Just a little more!’

It felt like its bones were grinding and its flesh was being torn apart, yet the Golden Reaper didn’t stop.

No matter how much it focused its senses or burned firewood, the power of the halo hardly changed, but it couldn’t stop.

The Golden Reaper had to wake up every morning and comb the hair of the Attached Human.

The Golden Reaper had to cook the meals that the Attached Human loved.

The Golden Reaper…

‘I will live forever with the Attached Human!’

At that moment, it felt like something was blooming inside of it.

But something was different.

It was merely becoming capable of handling the halo better; it was evolution.

The ability to separate its spirit and freely manipulate the halo.

While the path of the ‘purely strong Golden Reaper’ like the 1st Sword was closed, it was sufficient for the Golden Reaper.

In that moment, its physical form flew into the air.

Simultaneously, the Golden Reaper could awaken in a new appearance.