Chapter 439
The vision was obscured by thick smoke.
This had always been the way the Lamp saw the world.
And the past and dreams the Lamp saw were the same.
The Lamp opened its eyes from within the thick smoke.
As soon as the Lamp opened its eyes, it saw a man who looked rather foolish.
A foolish human who had wished to become a great detective and had asked the “Lamp Man” to grant his wish.
“From now on, call me Holmes.”
The man who had obtained the Lamp instructed to be called Holmes.
The Lamp didn’t know what that meant but thought that such a name didn’t suit this man at all.
The man then called the Lamp “Watson.”
That alone made him seem even more foolish.
To give an object a proper noun like that, it wouldn’t have been surprising if “Nameless” appeared and tore him apart right there.
But this foolish man was somehow lucky, or perhaps, as the Lamp Man had said, the end of the world was drawing near?
“Nameless” did not appear, and thus the Lamp’s name became “Watson.”
[….]
However, not long after, the Lamp found the man’s body, sprawled on the ground, dead.
The man who had given the Lamp a name had died quickly.
He failed to become a great detective.
What he had wasn’t deductive reasoning or intelligence, but endless confidence.
And the only thing he had was a cheerful attitude, casually calling the Lamp, “Watson,” even as it led him toward death.
In the end, he was consumed by the Lamp’s trials.
The Lamp didn’t mind the foolish man but accepted that it was part of the “contract.”
Since then, the Lamp had met many “Holmeses.”
There were good people, bad people, smart people, and foolish people.
They all used the Lamp in their own way.
But all of them wanted to be great detectives, and they all met the same fate when they failed to achieve it.
And the Lamp liked all of them.
The most special one was the penultimate Holmes.
He was the first human to reach the Lamp while investigating an unknown missing persons case involving the Lamp.
After only a few uses, he saw through the essence of the Lamp.
He realized that following the Lamp’s guidance always led to the user’s death or massive destruction around them.
Just like the last Holmes, who caused the central research institute’s failure and the collapse of Songpa-gu when escaping.
This previous Holmes discovered the trap hidden by the “Lamp Man.”
As soon as he realized this, he minimized the use of the Lamp and began searching for a successor.
What he wanted in a successor was not intelligence, but immense luck as if the world itself was helping, and animal-like intuition that surpassed his own reasoning.
He believed that intelligence and reasoning alone couldn’t defeat the “Lamp Man.”
As time passed, the trials of the Lamp grew harsher, and the penultimate Holmes was able to find his successor.
The last Holmes.
He looked just as foolish as the first Holmes, but he had an instinct that had transcended humanity, entering the realm of supernatural abilities.
The Lamp realized, the moment it saw him, that this man was the one who would destroy it.
And that premonition was correct.
The time spent with the last Holmes was brief, but strangely, the Lamp was satisfied.
[Goodbye, last Holmes.]
As it became dust and faded away, the Lamp bid its final farewell.
The warm sunlight of midday tickled my face, waking me from my sleep.
As I opened my eyes, I saw the peaceful face of the Yerin doll, sound asleep.
And nestled in my arms was the Goby Grim Reaper.
It had a peaceful expression, as if it were dreaming a happy dream.
The Goby Grim Reaper always smiled when it saw me, but this peaceful look was the first time I had seen it.
‘This expression is new.’
I thought to myself as I gently pinched the soft cheek of the Goby Grim Reaper.
It let out a tiny “Kyu” and shifted its body, but remained deep in sleep.
I slowly stroked its head, and as I looked around, I saw the Mini Grim Reapers gathered around me in a circle, sleeping.
They looked like little chicks huddling around a mother hen.
A smile unconsciously spread across my face as I watched the scene.
I looked up at the sky, and the sun was gradually tilting toward the horizon.
Perhaps because the sunlight was waning, the ruined battlefield where the battle had taken place began to exude a more desolate atmosphere, but the forest beyond still radiated with vibrant green life.
“Ugh…”
As I moved to get up, every part of my body felt stiff.
Perhaps it was because I had slept on the cold floor or the awkward posture, but my whole body ached.
‘If I were in the body of the Gray Grim Reaper, I wouldn’t feel this kind of pain…’
A thought briefly crossed my mind.
I could have slept on the hard floor or even on a thorny bed of sharp blades, and still been fine.
The human body was incredibly difficult to get used to.
I lifted my head, and it hurt as though my cheek had been pressed against something.
When I touched my cheek, I found an imprint from the pattern on the Yerin doll’s clothes.
When I was the Gray Grim Reaper, even if I had an imprint like that, it never hurt, but…
“Ah, this really hurts…”
I rubbed my cheek as I slowly stood up.
The Mini Grim Reapers began to stir one by one with my small movements.
‘Mom?’
‘Mom, you’re awake?’
With their hair in disarray, the Mini Grim Reapers, still half asleep, met my gaze and grinned.
Still in a sleepy daze, I patted each Mini Grim Reaper, one by one, before trying to stand up. But something was holding me back.
It was the Goby Grim Reaper, who had clung to my torso and wouldn’t let go.
I poked the Goby Grim Reaper’s cheek to wake it up and conveyed my will to the children.
‘Alright, let’s head back, kids.’
At my words, the Mini Grim Reapers started getting up and preparing to leave.
Then, Yerin’s doll, who had been dozing off with her head down, opened her eyes.
When she saw us preparing to leave, she smiled with a lonely expression and slowly waved her hand.
It seemed like she was saying goodbye, and her eyes were filled with the sorrow of parting as she slowly waved.
Was she planning on staying here in the ruins?
But I had no intention of leaving Yerin’s doll behind in these ruins.
How dare anyone run away in Yerin’s form?
I grabbed Yerin’s doll’s hand and pulled her along.
Her eyes widened in surprise.
Anything resembling Yerin was mine.
Hehe.
As the sun gradually dipped beyond the horizon, the shadows stretched long and merged into one.
And as I used my teleportation ability, the shadows on the barren ground vanished.
The Marshmallow Plains began to regain its familiar vitality.
The Mini Grim Reapers returned one by one, and the garden began to bustle with activity.
The Mini Grim Reapers, walking with their plump steps, looked like children returning from a picnic.
‘Hehe.’
The laughter filled with the Mini Grim Reapers’ will echoed throughout the garden.
Though the Red Grim Reapers and the White Goby were hardly seen, the Marshmallow Garden had started to grow lively again.
In a corner of that Marshmallow Plains, the will of the Mini Grim Reapers echoed.
‘New sibling!’
‘Sibling!’
‘A strange sibling!’
‘It has a shell!’
With voices full of curiosity, the Mini Grim Reapers gathered around.
In the center of them was a peculiar, antique lamp.
This lamp wasn’t just a decoration in the garden, but the new sibling, the Lamp Grim Reaper.
The Lamp Grim Reaper’s appearance was quite different from the other Mini Grim Reapers.
Like a hermit crab carrying its shell, the Lamp Grim Reaper made the antique lamp its home and shell.
If one looked closely inside the lamp, they would see a world unfold within it.
Inside the antique lamp’s shell, there was a vast sky.
It was the endless blue sky that the Lamp, bound by contract from birth and unable to be free, had always dreamed of.
And in the middle of that vast sky, a small golden flame burned faintly.
It was the true form of the Lamp Grim Reaper, giving off light instead of fire.
The Mini Grim Reapers hesitated at the strange sight.
But the Golden Grim Reapers, who always led the way in welcoming new siblings, were the first to step forward.
‘Sibling!’
Shouting with their will, the Golden Grim Reapers jumped into the lamp without hesitation.
The first thing they stepped on when they entered the lamp was soft clouds.
‘Wide!’
‘So wide.’
The Golden Grim Reapers looked around in wonder and emitted their will.
Then they quickly spotted the Lamp Grim Reaper and rushed toward it.
‘Sibling!’
‘Lamp sibling!’
‘New sibling!’
They hugged the Lamp Grim Reaper tightly and pressed their soft cheeks against each other.
It was the common greeting in the Mini Grim Reaper Garden to press their soft cheeks together.
Hehe.
The Golden Grim Reaper smiled brightly, and soon the other Mini Grim Reapers gathered the courage to enter the lamp as well.
In a corner of the Marshmallow Plains, inside the antique lamp, a small celebration was taking place to welcome the new family.
The “mom” would continue playing with the lamp until the fireflies lit up.
