Chapter 477
The dome’s interior, which replaced the sky with the Color Universe, was like walking through a gigantic kaleidoscope, with stars of various colors gleaming and shifting constantly, drawing strange patterns. The light transformed everything below into jewels. Trees became emeralds, rocks turned into rubies, and even the dust in the air sparkled like diamond powder.
Though the space was as strange as the foreign presence’s realm, the Green Reaper’s domain effectively pushed it back. Even after the foreign presence had fallen from the Color Universe, it felt as though something enormous had fallen, yet nothing remained— as if nothing had ever fallen at all.
The massive tear in the Color Universe seemed to have disappeared, leaving behind a surreal sensation, like a forgotten dream. Furthermore, the erosion effect that should have been enhanced by the foreign presence did not show any significant changes. In fact, everything seemed eerily still. So still that the silence itself provoked a sense of unease. It was a strange situation where what should be present was missing.
The Green Reaper, tensed and on edge, extended his senses in all directions.
“Ming…”
While the foreign presence was not detectable, its overwhelming presence still filled the space. It felt like being trapped inside the body of a colossal living entity. Or perhaps, the entire space had already become part of the foreign presence. Was it not invisible, but simply so immense that it could not be fully grasped?
The Green Reaper, desperately trying to hold onto his fading form, grew tense. He had just realized his power and was trying to save the Attachment Human, only to face an unexpectedly powerful adversary. But he could not retreat. He had made the decision not to run.
Soon, jewels began to rise around the Green Reaper, one by one. They floated gracefully like petals scattered in the spring breeze, appearing even in the realm of life itself, defying all logic. The Green Reaper was tense at first, but soon became entranced by their beauty.
The jewels shimmered with a transparent golden glow. They radiated a warm, brilliant light, like the sun. As he gazed at them, a memory suddenly surfaced. A warm afternoon, sharing a snack with the Attachment Human, the sweetness of the moment. It was not an illusion created by the regenerating jewels, but a memory so simple and real that the Green Reaper almost mistook it for something he had actually lived through.
“Ming…!”
The realization struck like lightning.
The golden jewels were none other than his own memories.
Precious memories had crystallized and were now flowing before him.
‘No!’
But it was already too late. Like water bursting from a broken dam, countless jewels flowed from within the Green Reaper. Happy moments transformed into warm, glowing jewels, while painful memories turned into cold, dark jewels. As the memories faded, the Green Reaper’s very existence began to wither away.
He faded like a photograph losing its color, becoming more and more indistinct. But what was more terrifying was the fact that the memories with the Attachment Human were also vanishing, one by one. Desperately, the Green Reaper gathered the crystallized pieces of his precious memories.
Not a single one could be lost.
With his form barely holding together, he used his faint strength to grab all the jewels and turned his gaze toward the Attachment Human.
‘!!!’
But there, only the empty shell of the Attachment Human lay, devoid of all memory.
‘No!!!’
There was no time to worry about his own memories.
The Green Reaper continued to discard his fading memories and tried to gather the Attachment Human’s memory jewels, but they would not return. No matter how many he collected, the Attachment Human could not regain consciousness.
The Green Reaper buried deeply in his heart the most precious memory of all—’the first time meeting the Attachment Human’—and collected the Attachment Human’s memories. He abandoned all his memories as if they were nothing, obsessively, as if designed for this very purpose.
And finally, when the last memory slipped away, he froze, like a toy whose batteries had run out.
“Ming…”
From his empty eyes, a single tear fell for some inexplicable reason.
A massive crack tore through the Color Universe.
The sky shattered like glass, and through the gap, a formless presence appeared.
I was startled by the palpable force.
This was no mere Mini Reaper—this was the real foreign presence, something no Mini Reaper could handle.
‘Even the First Sword would have trouble with that one…’
Unless the First Sword could somehow summon a ‘Sword Domain,’ this was definitely an opponent I would have to face.
I hurried toward the Mini Reaper, but a strange light flickered at the edge of my vision.
Golden jewels began to float one by one in the air.
Like fireflies, the softly glowing jewels seemed peaceful, but there was an unsettling feeling about them.
Curious, I looked at the jewels, and suddenly, I was mesmerized.
What was flowing out from the jewels were none other than my memories.
The memory of stealing the Golden Reapers’ pudding and leaving White Reaper’s footprints behind to frame him. The vivid images of the Golden Reapers’ panicked faces and their suspicions about White Reaper returned to me.
From another jewel, a memory emerged of cutting off White Reaper’s protruding parts and turning them into a makeshift bowling alley.
The joyous moments of watching White Reaper roll along, squeaking, came flooding back.
‘This…’
These were all memories of my ‘successes,’ memories I had cherished.
‘No!!!’
Instinctively, I spread the Mini Reaper Garden thinly over my skin, wrapping my entire body like a protective shield.
A foreign presence that took away my memories of mischief—what a monstrous being it was, more terrifying than I had imagined.
I quickened my pace.
The moment the jewels began to flow out, a deep sense of unease gripped me. I moved with all my might, using ghostly acceleration, but the anxiety pressing against my chest would not lift.
It was like a terrible event was about to unfold.
‘…’
As I arrived near the Mini Reaper, I was faced with a sight I dreaded to see.
Mingming, having lost both his form and his life, was rapidly dying.
And beside him lay the empty shell of the Attachment Human.
If I had been just a few seconds later…
Mingming would have disappeared forever.
Even if I had saved him, it wouldn’t have been the same Mingming.
‘Ha-ha.’
I opened my mouth as though I could speak, but only a soundless laugh escaped.
‘How dare you.’
As I gritted my teeth, my vision turned red.
Anger surged through my entire body.
It felt as though a heart that didn’t exist was pounding violently in my chest.
And just as that rage exploded, a beam of light shot up from the firewood.
It was the Halo of Death, which I had been unable to unleash before.
As soon as the Halo of Death settled above my head, the world began to change.
The barren land turned into soft, white marshmallow-like ground, and the surrounding jewels transformed into colorful candies that sparkled.
Everything my gaze touched fell under my control.
Everything touched by the Halo of Death was covered by the Mini Reaper Garden.
When the Mini Reaper Garden covered the entire dome, the foreign presence finally revealed itself.
It looked like a god that had lost its divinity and fallen to the earth.
The appearance of the foreign presence was grotesque yet fascinating.
An octopus made of transparent, candy-like glass.
In the center, a hideous human brain floated.
But…
‘I don’t care.’
I enlarged my body, making it as massive as the Black Giant, and lifted my foot.
Without hesitation, I stomped down.
<Destruction of the fallen flesh.>
The foreign presence, which had tormented Mingming, paid the price.
The James Tower, now unrecognizable as Songpa District, stood in the aftermath of the “planet fusion” event. A month had passed, and the world was slowly regenerating.
The influence of the Mini Reapers was immense.
The Mini Reaper in a blue reaper doll outfit created water and electricity.
The Golden Reaper, wearing a tiny police uniform, maintained security.
And the Mini Reapers distributed nutritious candies.
Though their help was great, the world still struggled to fully return to its previous state.
Especially the restoration of communication networks, including the internet, was sluggish.
All wired communications were cut off, and even satellite communications failed to reach far distances.
In this hopeless situation, James found a way to restore the network.
Of course, he couldn’t have done it alone.
It was a creation involving James’s Attachment Reaper, the magic-wielding Blue Idol Reaper, and the alchemist Master Reaper.
A true combination of science, objects, and alchemy.
The principle was simple.
Using the Golden Reapers’ network, which still allowed free communication despite the planet’s disrupted long-range communication, they could send and receive signals.
Though there were many challenges in sending electrical signals through the Golden Reapers’ network, they eventually succeeded.
James gathered the lab staff and used the stored data for virtual connection tests.
“Everything’s good, but there’s an issue.”
James murmured while watching the many Golden Reapers sleeping in their capsules to connect to the network.
This method surprisingly recreated internet access at an incredibly fast speed, but there was a small issue with performance.
“Boss, is it okay if they keep popping out like this? People might feel uncomfortable.”
A researcher asked James with a worried expression as he glanced at his monitor. On the screen, a Golden Reaper’s face suddenly popped up, grinning.
