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The pillar of light shining down on the burning giant skeleton grows stronger.

And towards that pillar of light, the red moon gradually approaches.

The red moon, becoming more engulfed by the pillar of light, reminded me of a total lunar eclipse.

What will happen when the red moon completely enters the light pillar?

I had no evidence, but for some reason, I felt a strong conviction.

The countless people gathered around the skeleton must be thinking the same as they gaze up at the sky.

The moment the red moon completely vanished behind the thick red beam of light,

A hole pierced the sky.

The dome that split the desert and Seoul shattered into countless fragments.

In the transparent sky that never showed the sun or moon of Earth, the moon we usually saw appeared.

The transparent dome transformed into countless shards and rained down, sparkling in the moonlight, creating a magnificent sight.

A cool breeze fluttered the collar of my clothes.

The cold moonlight.

The hot, dry, and stuffy atmosphere of the desert completely vanished.

The light pillar disappeared, and the burning skeleton turned to powder and scattered.

There was no longer a red moon that emitted sinister light.

It felt as though everything that had transpired in the desert up to now was a dream.

“It’s over!”

“Finally, we’re alive!”

The people who had maintained silence in nervousness began to exhale and enjoy their freedom.

Finally.

Finally, it’s over.

The Golden Reaper, who had been dancing on my palm, hopped over to where the skeleton had been.

Following the Golden Reaper, I arrived at the place, clearing away the dusty dirt.

At the spot where the skeleton had lain, the Golden Reapers were gathered, joyfully dancing among themselves.

And in the center of the Golden Reapers,

The Gray Reaper lay sprawled out.

Though awake, the expression on his face looked several times more exhausted than usual.

“Reaper!”

I dashed in and hugged him from behind.

The Reaper, far from welcoming me, seemed so unwilling to move that he went completely limp.

But looking bothersome is just part of the Reaper’s charm, so it’s fine!

“Now, we can return to the Sehee Research Institute!”

The trip to Gachisan is finally over.

Being my first business trip, it was one that offered significant lessons.

The lessons from this trip are twofold!

1. The Sehee Research Institute is the safest place.

2. Next time, I absolutely must bring the Gray Reaper along.

*

When the Black Agent opened his eyes, he saw a dark night sky and an ordinary moon.

No red moon.

Familiar modern buildings appeared in the distance.

I wondered if I had escaped the red desert, but the heaps of red sand on the ground denied that thought.

“Ahjussi, are you awake?”

A waterlogged blonde girl greeted the Black Agent with a bright smile.

“Miss?”

The Black Agent found it a bit hard to grasp the situation.

“I was definitely dead, so how on earth did this happen?”

He should have been dead from having his stomach pierced!

The girl gazed into the agent’s eyes and said,

“I saved you, ahjussi. I don’t really know how it’s possible. I just suddenly realized I could do it. I have no idea why I’m alive or why I can do this.”

The blonde girl’s irises had turned a deep red.

Just like the red moon.

“Miss, your eyes?”

“Oh, this?”

The blonde girl looked at her reflection in a nearby lake.

“After dying and waking up, my eye color changed? Well, changing eye color is better than actually dying.”

Turning her head back, the girl stared at the agent and said,

“Now, let’s hurry. With the red moon gone, I’ll turn to ashes if I’m exposed to sunlight.”

“Excuse me? What does that even mean?”

“Come on! Get up quickly! Find a safe place before I turn to ashes!”

The blonde girl urged the Black Agent on.

The Black Agent, momentarily flustered by the girl’s urgency, soon began to think seriously about what to do.

“How about heading to the Association President’s house?”

“No way. If Grandpa finds out I’m an ‘Object,’ he’ll put me in isolation at the institute.”

“Though the Association President has a tendency to do that, would he really do that to his granddaughter?”

“No. Definitely. He might even conduct an autopsy on me!”

The girl skipped along the sandy beach, seemingly enjoying herself.

“Well, there’s no helping it. Let’s go to the hideout I prepared. We’ll be safe there for a while.”

The Black Agent concluded and walked ahead determinedly.

The blonde girl followed behind, softly murmuring.

“Ahjussi, we’re together from now on.”

She smiled gently and slowly walked behind the Black Agent.

*

Joyful singing echoed from the isolation room.

Three madmen were shaking me around like a puppet.

Sehee, Yerin, and the newly added madwoman, Seoah.

The three dancers seemed to be having such a good time that the Golden Reapers joined in and danced with them.

On the TV, my dancing figure was being repeated endlessly.

No.

Why?

Why was that recorded?

I thought the dome created by the red moon would block the view of the desert center!

Red moon! Are you slacking on the job?

With my awkwardly flailing limbs reflected in the video, the absurdity of the situation was surreal.

It was a video of me badly dancing, yet it became something so amusing that it kept being aired in the news.

Every time I saw that video, I felt a cringe coming on, which is why I hadn’t been watching the news lately.

They said it was a viral sensation, and now the Sehee Research Institute has even begun selling merchandise related to it.

Normally, the association would block sales of Gray Reaper merchandise, but this time, the popularity was too much to ignore.

I thought things would cool off in a few days, but attention and interest showed no signs of waning.

People were manipulating my limbs and moving them like a puppet in sync with my dancing on the screen, and they were the ‘Director,’ ‘Deputy Director,’ and ‘Researchers’ of the institute.

The future of the institute doesn’t look very bright.

While the firewood was being amassed at a terrifying rate, I didn’t want to gather firewood this way.

In what felt like an endless dance time, I decided I needed to escape to the Golden Reaper garden!

*

The sweet and cozy atmosphere of the Golden Reaper garden.

Returning to the Golden Reaper garden after a long time, I noticed it had changed quite a bit.

The most noticeable feature was the red skull-shaped cushions scattered throughout the garden.

They were large cushions shaped like the skulls from the red desert battles.

On those big cushions, the Golden Reapers danced merrily.

It appeared the Golden Reaper had cleared out the red skulls to add those structures, which didn’t seem particularly practical, but as long as the Golden Reapers liked it, that was what mattered.

Apart from that, the scale of the garden had significantly expanded.

It seemed the garden filled with more abundance based on the number of ‘Objects’ the Golden Reaper had dealt with.

The variety of snacks increased, and the space expanded, providing many resting spots.

The grassy fields became so vast that it was hard to see the end, and the flow of the cocoa river that traversed through it had also increased.

Floating on the river were the snacks that both the Golden Reaper and I loved.

Pudding, marshmallows, and pastries!

And plenty of mysterious structures had emerged.

Much like the large skull cushion I mentioned earlier, these structures derived from the eliminated objects.

The rotating cube object made of red rock had its material transformed from stone to marshmallow, providing joy to the Golden Reapers.

There also appeared chocolate soldiers being devoured by the Golden Reapers, indicating that I had dealt with quite a few objects I hadn’t even seen before.

I lay on a bed, munching on crispy pastries while watching the dancing Golden Reapers.

Perhaps they had been dancing too long, but now their moves were surprisingly impressive.

I, the original, couldn’t even dance, yet copies of me danced better; isn’t that a bit strange?

*

Surrounded by high walls, a modern fortress guarded by numerous bodyguards.

The mansion of Association President Oh Muryong.

Currently, that mansion was shrouded in deep sorrow and silence.

“I’m sorry, elder. We couldn’t find her.”

“….”

Oh Muryong gazed into the pond without saying a word.

“When considering the destruction of the substitute doll provided by the Chinese side and the discovery of blood, it seems the lady’s survival is in doubt…”

As Oh Muryong silently turned, the man continued his explanation.

“It has been confirmed that the remnants left at the red desert altar are the lady’s blood. Based on the quantity and dispersion of the blood, it appears she was pierced through the heart while alive.”

“Then.”

Oh Muryong spoke in a hoarse voice.

“Then you’re saying we couldn’t even find a corpse?”

The middle-aged man reporting was flat on the floor, stating,

“Yes, that’s correct. We searched thoroughly throughout the desert but found nothing.”

“Hmm. Is that so? Then there’s nothing that can be done. You may leave.”

His reaction was rather dry, different from how he usually cherished his granddaughter.

But the man didn’t seem to find anything strange about that. He respectfully replied, “Yes,” and stepped back out.

Once those who had come to report had disappeared, the garden fell silent.

For a long while, Oh Muryong stared at the pond and muttered in a small voice.

“It lasted long, didn’t it? Things break when they get old.”

With those words, Oh Muryong slowly walked back into the mansion.