Chapter 474
The sudden change that swept in was unexpected by anyone.
Beyond the glass ceiling of the luxurious shopping mall, the sky was no longer blue.
Instead, a strange, colorful universe filled with stars took its place.
And in an instant, the area around the shopping mall was overtaken by a dense jungle.
“Look over there… those trees…”
“Are they objects?”
The trembling voices of people echoed.
What could be seen through the shopping mall’s glass windows were giant trees.
The bustling streets of Seoul, which had been visible just moments ago, were nowhere to be seen.
People, who had been shopping, were now surrounded by the jungle, utterly flustered.
The atmosphere outside the shopping mall felt even more unsettling.
The light pouring from the multicolored sky grew increasingly brighter, becoming more intense than the midday sun, but strangely, the forest grew darker and darker.
It was as if the darkness of the deep sea was creeping into every corner of the forest.
In the midst of this strange sight, the only comfort was the Golden Reapers.
The small, childlike figures of the objects, always smiling brightly, were walking around inside the shopping mall, comforting the people.
“It’s okay!”
“Mom will come!”
The warm will of the Golden Reapers reached the hearts of the people.
Those who were frightened instinctively gathered around the Golden Reapers.
Even those who usually disliked the Mini Reapers now approached them, seeing them as the only hope.
“Hehe.”
Perhaps enjoying this, the Golden Reapers smiled even more brightly.
“Is this really okay?”
A middle-aged woman looked at the Golden Reapers with a worried expression.
To her, it seemed as though the Golden Reapers were overdoing it.
The Golden Reapers were strangely shining with a powerful light, not their usual soft glow, as if trying to dispel the darkness in the shopping mall.
It was clearly related to the darkness outside.
She cautiously reached out to gently pat the little head of a Golden Reaper.
At that moment, the Golden Reaper, walking briskly, looked up at her.
A deep sadness reflected in its tiny eyes.
“Human, I’m sorry…”
The Golden Reaper, with its last will, smiled faintly.
Then, with a small “thud,” it collapsed to the floor.
Its body, which had been glowing with golden light, now emitted no light at all.
The Golden Reaper was now limp, like a wilted vegetable, without its usual warm energy.
As one Golden Reaper collapsed, the light of the remaining Golden Reapers became even more intense.
As if the golden light had to reach every corner of the shopping mall.
Looking around, the Golden Reapers seemed to be circling the humans, as though trying to protect them.
“Could it be that the Golden Reapers are protecting us?”
A man said in a voice filled with realization.
His words echoed through the now-silent shopping mall, following the collapse of the Golden Reaper.
People looked at the Golden Reapers, then turned their gaze to the outside.
Outside the shopping mall, the darkness seemed so thick that one could hardly see anything.
But strangely, the shadows were clearly defined, as if everything had turned into shapes in a black-and-white movie.
“I’m sorry.”
“Mom, come quickly…”
The Golden Reapers began to fall, one by one, with expressions filled with regret.
Like dominos, the Golden Reapers collapsed in sequence, and the air inside the shopping mall grew heavier.
Finally, only one Golden Reaper remained.
That last Golden Reaper stopped its constant walking and took its place in the center of the shopping mall.
“Before the foreign beings arrive, I hope mom comes…”
The last Golden Reaper, with its hands clasped together in prayer, closed its eyes.
And an even brighter light began to emanate from it.
The light was so bright, it was hard to believe it was coming from the Golden Reaper.
It was as if a small sun had risen inside the shopping mall.
However, even that brilliant light was insufficient to fully dispel the increasingly intense darkness.
The darkness that slowly crept in from the shopping mall’s windows was spreading like black ink, gradually but surely narrowing the area of light.
Had the light weakened?
From the shadowed forest outside the shopping mall, a figure emerged.
It didn’t walk, but it approached. It didn’t move, but it drew closer.
Like a ghost, the figure came closer with each glance turned away.
“What… what is that?”
A trembling voice, filled with fear, echoed.
It was too alien to be human, yet too substantial to be a ghost.
People instinctively took steps back, but no one could turn away their gaze.
It was as though the moment they looked away, they would lose their life—a terrifying, endless fear that froze everyone in place.
It was truly an object-like phenomenon.
“Enemy of humanity!”
At that moment, the Golden Reaper, who had been with its eyes closed, opened its eyes, and radiant golden light erupted from its hand.
One of the Golden Reaper warriors.
Golden Reaper Second Sword, with a determined expression, drew its lightsaber and approached the foreign being.
In an instant, the blade cut through the air, and golden sword energy, as if forged from the sun, swept in all directions.
But it was useless.
The sword energy cleaved the body of the shadow-like being, but it quickly rejoined, as though the blade had cut through a real shadow.
No matter how powerful the blow, the opponent remained unaffected, drawing nearer.
“No…”
With endless slashes, the Second Sword’s firewood began to dwindle.
The lightsaber in its hand flickered like a candle in the wind.
Unlike the First Sword, which had confidence in its supply of firewood, now it had reached its limit.
Crisp.
Finally, the light of the lightsaber went out.
The brilliant light emanating from the Second Sword’s body also grew dimmer.
“Mom, come quickly…”
The last desperate wish of the Second Sword echoed.
“!!!”
People suddenly began to collapse as though fainting.
And then, they felt the presence of another foreign being.
Soon, the shopping mall was filled with a blue mist.
“No!”
The expression of the Second Sword grew more despairing.
Not only was a foreign being difficult to handle, but now even a foreign-class object had appeared…
The small shoulders of the Second Sword slumped heavily.
In that moment of despair, having used up all its firewood and with its consciousness fading, a strange incantation seemed to whisper in its ears.
[Hug!]
To search for the undetectable domes, I released the Golden Reapers into the jungle.
The so-called Golden Reaper Search Squad!
A team formed by pairing the White Reaper with the Golden Reapers, just like a Golden Reaper knight squad.
The goal was to locate the dome using the White Reaper’s ability!
The Golden Reapers, now part of the search squad, seemed delighted by their new task. They carefully adorned the White Reaper and scattered in all directions to begin their mission.
“At least we can search automatically, even if we can’t hunt automatically…”
I lay down on a soft grassy field, waiting for the Golden Reapers to find the domes.
Kyu-hing-hing.
As I waited, repeatedly biting into the White Reaper and releasing it, the will of the Golden Reapers eventually reached me.
“Mom, we found it!”
Upon hearing the message, I got up and saw about 100 White Reapers with their backs eaten, chirping, “Kyu-hing-hing.”
100 Kyu-hing-hings…
“Thank goodness. That took longer than I expected.”
I was truly relieved.
If it hadn’t taken long to find the domes, it would mean they were densely packed… and that would mean there were many foreign beings.
The First Sword had warned me about the many domes, but now I felt slightly reassured.
With a small sense of relief, I teleported to the Golden Reapers.
“?”
When I arrived, there was no dome, and instead, a Golden Reaper stood with its hands on its head, looking as if something terrible had happened.
“No!”
I looked down at the Golden Reaper and sent my will.
“The dome?”
“It was there, but it disappeared!”
I nodded in understanding and turned the Golden Reaper into a Detchi.
“No!”
Of course, I knew the Golden Reaper wasn’t lying.
But I just wanted to tease it, so I turned it into a Detchi.
Hehe.
Leaving the Detchi Golden Reaper behind, I headed towards where the dome had disappeared.
The leaves were clearly green, but strangely, they looked gray, as if their color had been drained.
“Seems like something was there after all.”
At the end of the grayish forest stood a large shopping mall.
Entering that shopping mall, an unexpected situation unfolded.
People were lying as if they were asleep.
Golden Reapers were sprawled out as well.
And Hug Reapers were embracing those Golden Reapers…
“Hug!”
“Hug!”
The Hug Reapers, with happy expressions, were hugging the Golden Reapers one by one and sharing firewood.
“What’s going on? Why are there more of them?”
Just as I sent out a small will…
“Hug!”
The Hug Reapers started hopping towards me, surrounding me and hugging me tightly.
And with that signal, more Hug Reapers popped out from all corners of the shopping mall and rushed toward me.
“???”
I could only raise a question mark in response to this bizarre, object-like phenomenon.
