Chapter 438
As soon as I burned the contract book, which had become an outer world object, a wave of exhaustion suddenly swept over me.
It felt as if a giant wave had crashed over me, and the Blue Girl’s body quickly succumbed to intense fatigue.
My stomach was desperately empty, my eyelids felt as though they were glued together from sleepiness, and it felt like I could die from the weight of it all.
“Ugh…”
A groan slipped from my lips without my control.
It felt as though I had the worst body aches, spreading through my muscles, making it hard to keep my body upright. The dizziness made it seem as though the world was spinning, and I felt like I might vomit at any moment.
‘I feel like I’m going to throw up…’
I pressed my palm against my mouth and staggered toward the place where the Mini Grim Reapers were.
‘Why is this happening to me?’
Was there something wrong with the Blue Girl’s body?
From what I could tell, there didn’t seem to be anything particularly wrong with her physical form.
When I briefly examined it, I found that, if anything, her body was far sturdier than a normal human’s.
‘…’
I desperately wanted to get out of the painful Blue Girl’s body, but it wasn’t something I could easily cast aside.
Even if I were to shed it, I had to understand the cause.
Just like with the Lamp Man, there might be times when I would need the “Blue Girl,” and moments when alchemy might be required.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t use alchemy in the body of the Gray Grim Reaper.
Since becoming the Gray Grim Reaper, I had started to rely more on my body rather than my head, and alchemy had become too complicated and difficult for me.
On the other hand, using the Blue Girl’s body allowed me to use alchemy.
The faint recollections of the Blue Girl’s memories helped, but the most important factor was the unique nature of her physical form.
After all, the Blue Girl was born as an object created “to save humanity through alchemy.”
So it made sense that, while in the Blue Girl’s form, alchemy felt as natural as breathing.
I began retracing my steps along the path I had taken with the Lamp Man, using trees to steady myself along the way.
I hadn’t noticed it before when following the Lamp Man, but now that I was paying attention, the scenery along the path helped somewhat to ease my dizziness.
The golden sunlight streaming through the sky scattered across the leaves, weaving over the winding forest trail.
The small pieces of light, trembling with the wind on the dark dirt path, created an effect like sunlight streaming through stained glass, giving off a sacred, ethereal feeling.
‘The view isn’t bad.’
Had I become accustomed to the pain?
Or was it because the peaceful view made me feel better?
As I stepped on the rustling leaves, the pain began to lessen, and my mood started to improve bit by bit.
At the same time, I began to roughly understand why I was feeling this way.
It was because the possession ability had grown too much.
The remote control powers I had used before felt like slightly guiding game characters, but the enhanced ability was different.
It was far more integrated with the body, a feeling of becoming one with the physical form.
Additionally, the gap between the “Gray Grim Reaper” and “Blue Girl” body was quite significant.
This body wasn’t one that didn’t know hunger or satiety, nor one that could simply indulge in sweet slumber without suffering from sleep deprivation.
‘It hasn’t even been that long since I became the Gray Grim Reaper, yet… this is how it feels.’
In the short time I had spent as a Gray Grim Reaper, it had become hard to endure even ordinary fatigue and hunger compared to my human days.
‘Maybe it’s better to possess the Blue Girl’s body periodically, to adjust to this fatigue.’
It was a resolution, like the one people make to exercise in the new year, and probably something I would quit soon.
Leaving the forest path behind, I reached an open area filled with the ruins of buildings, where the Mini Grim Reapers were poking their heads out.
‘Mom!’
‘Mom!’
The Mini Grim Reapers, with their bright faces, still looked tired and exhausted.
What on earth had they done while I was in Valhalla for them to look so drained?
‘Let’s go, kids.’
I conveyed my will and walked slowly toward the center of the open space.
‘Ah!’
‘Mom, come with us!’
The Mini Grim Reapers staggered toward me, only to fall or give up walking and start crawling toward me on the ground.
It was as if they thought I would abandon them if I arrived late.
‘The kids all look so tired.’
Perhaps because I was also feeling weak, I, too, wanted to collapse onto the ground like the Mini Grim Reapers and rest.
‘Oh well, I guess I’ll rest too.’
While resting in Sehee Institute would have been preferable, I, too, gave in to the temptation, and I tossed off my uncomfortable shoes.
Then, just like how Yerin would always fall asleep in her doll’s embrace, I naturally settled into the doll’s arms.
The Yerin doll opened its eyes wide, startled by my sudden movement, and froze.
It seemed like it instinctively sensed that I was a powerful object.
[!!!]
Though the reaction was slightly different from Yerin’s, the warmth was remarkably similar.
It felt like the warm glow of a Golden Grim Reaper, emanating from the firewood.
I sank into the warmth and slowly closed my eyes.
In that warmth, reminiscent of Yerin’s embrace, I gradually slipped into a deep sleep.
As the tension eased, the fatigue rushed in, and soon I was deep in slumber.
As the Gray Grim Reaper, now in the Blue Girl’s body, fell asleep, the Mini Grim Reapers quietly gathered around her, huddling close.
As the Mini Grim Reapers gathered around their “mom,” even the Saint Doll, who had been tense, slowly relaxed and began to gently stroke the Blue Girl’s head.
It was a face I’d never seen before, yet there was an inexplicable sense of familiarity about it.
The Saint Doll, wiping away her earlier confusion, smiled softly as she looked down at the Blue Girl.
Then, at last, the Goby Grim Reaper, as if claiming its place, curled up into the Blue Girl’s arms.
There was a sense of relief and happiness.
The atmosphere around them felt peaceful, as if they had finally come home after a long journey.
A cool breeze from the forest, warm sunlight, and the soft beep of the Black Grim Reapers.
All these elements blended together like a lullaby, surrounding the Blue Girl as she slept.
James Tower stood tall on the outskirts of Songpa-gu.
In the topmost floor of the tower, James’s office seemed unusually dark despite it being midday.
In stark contrast to the vast view of Seoul and the warm sunlight pouring in through the large windows, the office had a damp, heavy atmosphere.
This was all due to the absence of the Golden Grim Reapers.
James sat in the strangely dim office, looking at the monitor.
The screen displayed reports from James Institute, scattered all over the world.
On the corner of the office, a small TV was quietly playing the news.
[Unusual events continue to unfold on the Black Planet.]
[The Red Ring has expanded to a visible size, and experts are speculating about this phenomenon….]
James half ignored the TV’s sound and read through the reports on the monitor one by one.
< The correlation between the disappearance of the Red Grim Reaper and the emergence of the Red Ring. >
< The expected size of the Red Ring based on the projected size of the Black Planet. >
< The possibility that the Red Ring is an optical phenomenon caused by energy discharge. >
< Photographs of the Red Ring taken by various countries. >
As James read through the endless reports, he sighed briefly and picked up his hot chocolate mug.
Kyu!
With a small sound, the golden White Goby on the plate let out a tiny cry.
James smiled and gently patted the Goby’s head.
“…”
James had always patted the White Goby every time he saw it.
Although the disappearance of the Golden Grim Reapers was unfortunate, he knew it wasn’t the White Goby’s fault.
Of course, there had been plenty of slander on social media, claiming that the White Goby had eaten the Golden Grim Reapers, but James knew that wasn’t possible.
After drinking his hot chocolate, James looked out the window.
A single white cloud floating in the clear sky obscured the sun, casting a shadow over his office.
For a moment, the room darkened.
In that shadowed office, James turned his gaze back to the monitor.
But then, something changed.
The darkness that had covered the office lifted in an instant, and warm light filled the room.
The cloud’s shadow vanished, and the subtle fragrance of the sun filled the office.
‘Human!’
When James turned his head, the Golden Grim Reaper, whom he had longed for, was hanging from the edge of the desk, grinning.
‘You’re back!’
James widened his eyes in disbelief, but soon, a smile spread across his face.
It wasn’t just happening in James’s office.
It was an event that occurred simultaneously throughout James Tower, or rather, everywhere the Golden Grim Reapers had been.
Perhaps because of this, he felt like he could hear faint cheers coming from outside the window.
The Golden Grim Reaper smiled brightly, enjoying James’s touch.
It seemed that just as much as James had missed the Golden Grim Reaper, the Golden Grim Reaper had missed him, as it climbed onto James’s hand and rubbed its face against it.
Hehe.
James felt like the office had become significantly brighter.
Deep within the Mini Grim Reaper garden.
Most of the Mini Grim Reapers were wandering outside the garden, and the White Gobies had disappeared somewhere, leaving behind a hollow marshmallow field.
Suddenly, a grand lamp rose up in the middle of the empty field.
From the lamp, a playful laughter seemed to echo.
Hehe.
