Chapter 454
The Golden Grim Reaper, with a worried expression, stared out the window.
Outside, the endless darkness it had seen every night remained unchanged.
But unlike before, no matter how long it waited, morning never arrived.
It was truly an eternal night.
The violet-haired girl had not eaten for several days, but she did not seem to be in poor condition.
However, what was unsettling was that her sleep was gradually getting longer.
If things continued like this, it felt as though the beloved human might fall into an eternal slumber.
Something must be done.
The Golden Grim Reaper made up its mind, gazing down at the slowly awakening violet-haired girl.
The violet-haired girl was already in a dream.
In the dream, the sound of her laughter echoed across the well-manicured blue lawn.
It was a garden that was very familiar to her.
It was the garden where the colorful guardians walked around, tending to everything—her garden, one she had seen every day.
And the dream time passed quickly. Soon, the dream version of the girl was practicing alchemy with a bright smile on her face.
With a thick alchemy book spread out, she carefully burned a mixture, pouring her wishes into it.
Whenever she got tired of alchemy, a huge guardian would appear, carrying her on its back and running joyfully around the garden.
A huge guardian, unlike the ones in the girl’s mansion, who always looked serious.
This one was comically dressed in a long robe, much like an alchemist, which made it even more amusing.
After running a full lap around the garden, the girl would rest on the soft grass.
Then, guardians of every color—red, blue, yellow—would gather around her, spending time together.
They shared delicious sandwiches and refreshing drinks, enjoying what felt like a lovely picnic.
How enviable…
Such friendly, cute guardians… It was a sight that could never be seen in the girl’s mansion.
After all, the guardians in the girl’s mansion were like emotionless machines, silently fulfilling their duties without any warmth.
…
The violet-haired girl gazed wistfully at the dream version of herself, who looked so happy.
Watching her was enough to fill her heart with warmth and satisfaction, but strangely, an unknown emptiness and sadness began to creep in.
Carrying both of these conflicting emotions, the girl slowly began to wake from her dream.
The memories of the dream scattered like grains of sand and sank deep into her heart.
“Mm…”
Rubbing her eyes as she woke up, the girl was overwhelmed by the feeling that she had dreamed something important.
But the reason eluded her, leaving only a vague sense of emptiness.
Human!
Turning her gaze, she saw the small golden friend hopping and looking up at her.
The violet-haired girl, trying to soothe her empty heart, gently lifted the small friend and embraced it closely.
As she did, the scent of the sun warmed her hollow heart.
It was a fragrance that perfectly matched the friend who always smiled brightly like the sun.
The girl looked out the window, where the darkness still filled the sky, and the sun never seemed to rise.
At noon, as warm sunlight bathed the Sehee Research Institute’s courtyard, I sat on the roof, watching the Saintess Doll.
In one corner of the garden, a small picnic was unfolding.
It was a picnic shared by the Saintess Doll, the Naph Doll, and the Mini Grim Reapers.
The Saintess Doll and the Naph Doll sat gracefully on a white mat, surrounded by colorful Mini Grim Reapers.
The Saintess Doll and Naph Doll seem to get along quite well.
Though the Naph Doll was kind to all Mini Grim Reapers and even the Agwis, it appeared especially fond of the Saintess Doll.
The Naph Doll would always try to pat the Saintess Doll whenever it had a chance, but the Saintess Doll would shyly refuse each time.
Every time she turned him down, the Naph Doll’s expression would become slightly dejected, which was amusing.
They had only met recently, yet the Naph Doll was already so attentive…
It was like watching the bond between an attachment human and their beloved Reaper.
Mommaaa!
As I watched the Saintess Doll enjoy the picnic, Golden Grim Reapers suddenly swarmed around me, poking at me.
Mom, it’s serious!
When I turned to face the children, the Golden Grim Reapers were sending me a barrage of urgent thoughts, their expressions filled with shock.
The Golden Grim Reaper is sick!
It might die!
It won’t wake up!
Hmm.
However, I stood up with a somewhat indifferent expression, following the Golden Grim Reapers’ lead.
There were several reasons for my calm reaction.
First, my senses hadn’t alerted me to any danger.
Normally, if one of my children were in danger, I would feel some unease.
Second, the Golden Grim Reapers had come to get me themselves.
If it were truly an emergency, they would have contacted me with a strong mental signal via the network.
This meant that the Golden Grim Reapers thought it wasn’t anything serious.
In other words, they likely thought they would become “Daeji” if they called me just by themselves.
Following the Golden Grim Reapers, I arrived at the center of Seoul Forest.
Under the golden sunlight filtering through the trees, a Golden Grim Reaper lay asleep beneath a tree.
Surrounding it, other Golden Grim Reapers were lined up, taking turns slapping its cheeks relentlessly.
Smack, smack.
It seemed like a scene of collective bullying, but no matter how hard they slapped the Golden Grim Reaper, it remained asleep.
What do we do…
Is it an incurable disease…?
The Golden Grim Reapers, who had stepped forward confidently, grew worried as they slapped it and it still didn’t wake up.
As they turned their concerned faces toward me and shouted “Mom!” they ran over to me.
I gently patted their heads, then placed the sleeping Golden Grim Reaper in the palm of my hand.
It doesn’t seem to be a disease…
I checked and found that the Golden Grim Reaper’s consciousness had drifted elsewhere.
Though I could have forcibly woken it, I had a strange feeling that I shouldn’t.
Screech.
The violet-haired girl slowly opened the door, accompanied by the Golden Grim Reaper.
Suddenly, the sounds of gnashing teeth and scratching at the door, which had been loud moments before, disappeared, replaced by an unsettling silence.
The girl, aware that she was breaking the rules, was tense, but as soon as the door opened, that thought faded completely.
Friend…
The hallway was full of darkness, but in the girl’s eyes, it was different.
She saw a yellow guardian walking, wiggling its backside, hidden in the shadows.
It was a guardian that always loved flowers and tended the garden.
It was a friend…
Forgetting the danger, the girl walked down the hallway, immersed in the forgotten memories.
No, it was the shadows that had settled on the places where memories had been.
The memories the girl had forgotten, the ones she didn’t want to remember.
The guardians that had once been like friends.
But as time passed, those friends had turned into hollow dolls.
Why… did I forget you…?
The girl mumbled as she looked at the hallway filled with memories.
She continued collecting her memories, slowly moving toward the study.
The red guardian who was good at cooking.
The blue guardian who always pretended to be a stone while hiding in the garden during tag.
There were so many precious memories with the guardians.
They were friends so precious that she almost wished she could hold them, even though they were too heavy.
Having passed through the entire hallway, the girl reached the door to the study, where the deepest darkness lay, and slowly opened it.
Screech.
The door, which had not been opened in so long, creaked open smoothly, as if it had never been locked.
As she opened the door, a picture on the desk fluttered and fell.
When the violet-haired girl picked it up and examined it, it was a picture of a large white guardian and various colorful guardians.
!
As the violet-haired girl picked up the picture and examined it, it suddenly vanished without a trace.
!!!
The Golden Grim Reaper, startled, looked around, but the violet-haired girl was nowhere to be seen.
Human… where are you…?
As it searched the study with a sad face, the faint voice of Elmpa reached its ears.
[Just a little closer.]
The Golden Grim Reaper, sensing the cause of the beloved human’s disappearance, slowly began moving toward the voice.
And as it approached the very edge of the darkness, an entity began to reveal itself, buried deep within the study’s shadows.
It was smaller than the white Agwis from the Mini Grim Reaper garden, but it was still quite large.
And there, half-melted into black liquid, was the white Agwis.
