Chapter 450
In the eerie midnight, the Golden Grim Reaper was spending the night in tense anticipation, as the sound of teeth gnashing incessantly echoed from the mansion of the violet-haired girl.
Standing before the window, where even the moonlight could not seep through, the Golden Grim Reaper could only peer outside with its small eyes.
Normally, the garden should be filled with beautiful rainbow-colored trees glittering under the moonlight, but the garden was nowhere to be found. Instead, an abyssal darkness filled the space.
It was as if the mansion itself was submerged in an endless chasm.
The Golden Grim Reaper attempted to shine its body brighter in an effort to illuminate the outside, but the golden light from the logs faded away the moment it crossed the window’s frame, swallowed as if by a black swamp.
The outside world was completely shut off, like it was filled with black ink, blocking all light.
And occasionally, a huge unidentified shape would ripple in the dark, which seemed to have a liquid-like quality.
Time passed slowly.
The sound of teeth gnashing did not stop, and it felt as if it was growing sharper.
The Golden Grim Reaper moved away from the window and walked toward the source of the sound, but it could only stand by the door, remembering the violet-haired girl’s warning.
“Never go outside after dark.”
Those words echoed in its ears.
Finally, a faint light began to shine from beyond the window.
Dawn was approaching.
The black, ink-like darkness outside evaporated in an instant and disappeared, and the gnashing of teeth that had persisted through the night gradually faded away.
Only then did the Golden Grim Reaper feel at ease, dropping onto the bed with a sigh.
Its small shoulders relaxed, and the tension that had hardened its face slowly began to ease.
Just as it thought the ominous night had finally ended.
Creeeak.
A sudden loud noise froze the Golden Grim Reaper’s small body.
‘!’
It sounded like sharp claws scraping across a wooden door.
The sound felt as if something on the other side of the door was begging to get inside.
As morning came, the violet-haired girl woke up, and life began to return to the mansion.
Under the soft morning sunlight filtering through the window, colorful Agwis gathered one by one in the violet-haired girl’s room.
They held combs, brushes, and ribbons—tools necessary for her morning grooming.
The violet-haired girl, still drowsy and with a hazy expression, sat calmly as the Agwis worked.
They moved as though they had practiced for a long time, perfectly styling her violet-colored hair.
While yawning in a hushed voice, the girl gave a warm smile to the Golden Grim Reaper, who was perched on her shoulder.
“Good morning.”
At the greeting, the Golden Grim Reaper forgot all the tension it had built up through the night and smiled brightly.
But as the violet-haired girl began to walk toward the door with the Golden Grim Reaper, a renewed tension settled on its small face.
‘!’
However, in stark contrast to its growing unease, the wooden door—the source of the sounds it had heard all night—looked as neat and clean as ever.
Something had definitely scratched at the door…?
The Golden Grim Reaper wore a very confused expression.
And no wonder, because even though it hadn’t received any special powers like a lightsaber, it was confident in its sensory abilities, which made it feel even more bewildered.
The violet-haired girl looked at the Golden Grim Reaper with a concerned gaze as it continued to stare at the door.
“Is something wrong?”
Shake shake.
The Golden Grim Reaper quickly shook its head.
Passing the bedroom door, they made their way toward the dining hall on the first floor.
On the second floor, there were paintings by the violet-haired girl hanging in the hallway, some of which had not made it into the exhibition. As they walked past them, the Golden Grim Reaper noticed something odd.
The paintings on the wall were clearly different from the evening before.
At first glance, they seemed to be the same paintings, but upon closer inspection, they were subtly distorted.
The position of the Agwi lying sideways was a little more twisted than yesterday, and the direction of the foot stretched toward the air was slightly different.
The most noticeable change was the Agwi’s cheek.
It appeared to have been pressed forcefully, distorting it even more.
The violet-haired girl smiled brightly as she watched the Golden Grim Reaper observe the paintings.
“Do you like the paintings? Next time, I’ll let you draw one too!”
The girl gently patted the Golden Grim Reaper’s head.
However, despite the warmth of her touch, the Golden Grim Reaper could not shake the uneasy feeling.
Something in this mansion was slowly becoming twisted.
After the Saintess Doll preparation party, I fell asleep in the soft bed with Yerin.
When I opened my eyes, a familiar scene unfolded before me.
It was the garden from the dream I had burned not long ago.
Except for the enormous tree standing tall in the distance, it was a desolate and lonely landscape stretching endlessly with no one in sight.
‘How many logs did I use to burn this garden? How is it still here?’
I thought as I slowly took a step forward.
It was a barren landscape, but there was a certain charm to it.
The soft, marshmallow-like bed, the sweet hot chocolate.
The canopy, which created a cozy atmosphere, as if I had just entered the bed.
And the air, which gave a warm feeling like the blankets in an isolation room.
Since it had been created in my dream, it was truly a garden that reflected my tastes perfectly.
Just then, as I walked slowly, something suddenly fell in front of me.
“Mom, you’re so kind… Hehe.”
It was the Golden Grim Reaper, fast asleep.
Had the Golden Grim Reaper been swept into the dream while it was sleeping, it had fallen from the sky and remained soundly asleep without breaking.
‘So this space is open, and that’s why the Golden Grim Reapers are swept in…’
I thought, as I grabbed the Golden Grim Reaper, who was sprawled out on the bed.
Its golden light flickered, expanding and shrinking as if it was breathing slowly.
As I was inspecting the little one, I noticed something strange.
‘It doesn’t smell much.’
Normally, even being near it would give off the intense scent of the sun that causes mental contamination, but here, in the dream, it barely gave off any scent, even when placed in the palm of my hand.
It seemed that the strengthening of the Golden Grim Reaper’s scent was achieved through its physical form, so in the dream, it remained as it originally was.
As I continued to observe the Golden Grim Reaper, something began to fall from the sky—more Golden Grim Reapers, like rain.
Perhaps because they all fell asleep at the same time, they all started falling into the dream garden as if it were arranged.
‘It’s over now. Pudding Dragon!’
‘Mom, it’s warm.’
‘Human, stay with me forever!’
The Golden Grim Reapers didn’t make any sound, but they muttered in their sleep, their wills mixed with murmurs.
‘Mom, you’re so kind. Hehe.’
‘Kind.’
As I watched the Golden Grim Reapers pile up like snow, a sudden thought crossed my mind.
Of course, it wasn’t because the Golden Grim Reaper called me “kind” that the thought occurred.
‘Since it’s a dream garden…’
I decided to use my ability to manipulate dreams along with the Halo of the Labyrinth to give the Golden Grim Reapers a nightmare.
‘No!’
‘The Pudding Dragon is too strong!’
‘Where’s the star candy?’
‘Mom… No…’
The Golden Grim Reapers, who had been having happy dreams, quickly fell into nightmares, flailing their arms and shouting “No!”
As I watched them struggle in their sleep, something very sharp suddenly poked at my ankle.
Was one of them waking up from the nightmare I created using the Halo?
I turned my gaze, and there, with an extremely fierce expression, was a Golden Grim Reaper.
It had made its horns hard with logs and was mercilessly poking at my ankle with a look that seemed to say “Stop bothering me.”
‘!’
I instinctively tried to give the little Golden Grim Reaper a nightmare again, but when I grabbed it, I was so surprised that my eyes widened.
‘Golden Horn!’
I forgot that I was even planning to throw it into a nightmare and instead lifted the new Golden Horn Grim Reaper high into the sky.
‘Automatic hunting!’
I had forgotten, but I had succeeded in creating the dish I wanted.
The key to the automatic hunting system I had been longing for!
As I moved down the hallway, I saw another motionless Agwi.
It was as if it had suddenly stopped while walking, standing stiffly with its lively walking pose.
Normally, I would have ignored it like the violet-haired girl had said, but today, for the Golden Grim Reaper, it was hard to ignore.
The Golden Grim Reaper jumped off the girl’s shoulder and closely inspected the frozen Agwi.
‘It might have teeth…’
Although the Golden Grim Reaper didn’t think the frozen Agwi had teeth, it had been betrayed by its senses before, so it couldn’t help but check.
Moreover, the Golden Grim Reaper always found the Agwis in this mansion to be strange.
Compared to other Agwis, they seemed like dolls, almost as if they were objects made by the mother in a fantasy, with their presence fading.
They had less presence than even the brightly colored Agwi, who came to the research facility occasionally, at a tenth of their presence.
When it approached and carefully examined the Agwi’s mouth, it found that there were no teeth inside—nothing at all.
‘!’
The Agwi was hollow like an empty can.
The Golden Grim Reaper was so shocked that it turned to call the girl.
“What’s wrong?”
The violet-haired girl smiled and asked the Golden Grim Reaper, but it could only stare wide-eyed in disbelief.
‘Human…!’
In the mirror behind the violet-haired girl, the girl’s image appeared strangely distorted.
Her hair was dry, and she was so thin, with a skeleton-like appearance.
It looked like a corpse.
The Golden Grim Reaper rubbed its eyes in disbelief.
When it opened its eyes again, the strange reflection in the mirror had disappeared.
Though the Golden Grim Reaper felt some relief, a faint unease remained in its heart.
‘Something is wrong.’
