Chapter 487
The Golden Reaper Director suddenly realized that they had been asleep.
‘!!!’
The Golden Reaper was startled and shook its little head vigorously, trying to shake off the drowsiness.
‘I’m the director! I have to set an example!’
It slapped its chubby cheeks with its palm and snapped back to its senses.
After regaining focus, it looked around, seeing the courtyard of the institute where it served as the director.
The wide courtyard of the research institute and the snack corner set up inside were filled with the sweet aroma of treats.
Hehe.
The Golden Reaper laughed quietly and dashed toward the snack corner.
‘No!’
However, the snack corner was only stocked with hard, stone-like cookies of various kinds.
Just yesterday, it had been full of soft, moist cookies!
No matter how much it looked around, there was no sign of soft, pudding-like snacks.
The Golden Reaper walked out of the courtyard and into the corridor with a gloomy expression.
The sleek corridor was full of people walking around.
‘Human!’
The Golden Reaper rushed toward a passing researcher to alert them about the dire snack situation in the courtyard.
‘It’s a big problem!’
The researcher slowly turned their head toward the Golden Reaper clinging to their shoulder.
‘There are only cookies in the courtyard…’
The Golden Reaper tried to make eye contact with the human and explain the situation, but something felt off, and it couldn’t help but stop its message.
A cold glare was directed at the Golden Reaper.
It was the first time the Golden Reaper had experienced such a look, as if it were something detestable.
The researcher brushed the Golden Reaper off their shoulder as if shaking off dust.
‘!!!’
The Golden Reaper fell from the researcher’s shoulder to the ground, sprawling out helplessly.
With its reflexes, the Golden Reaper could have easily corrected itself in mid-air and landed on its feet…
But perhaps it was too shocked; it remained sprawled on the ground, staring up at the human in a daze.
The Golden Reaper’s suffering didn’t end there.
Just yesterday, humans had been smiling at it, but now they were starting to torment it.
When walking on the ground, it was kicked aside. When trying to hop up to talk to humans, it was ignored.
Humans were weak, so even though the Golden Reaper was struck, it didn’t hurt physically. But oddly, it felt a deep pain in its chest.
‘Human…’
‘Why are they doing this…?’
The Golden Reaper trudged toward its room.
But the small haven labeled as its office was completely empty.
There were no photos taken with the humans.
No fluffy mini bed for the director.
No wallpaper full of drawings made by the researchers.
Everything had been roughly torn away, and the office was now a hollow room with exposed rough concrete walls.
With a sad expression, the Golden Reaper curled up in the corner of its office and closed its eyes tightly.
The cold concrete of the walls and floor seemed to reflect the coldness of human attitudes.
‘It’s okay. We can become friends again.’
As it began to reassure itself in its heart, a gift box fell from the air.
A beautifully wrapped gift box with a glowing orb hanging from it.
<This is a gift for the hardworking Golden Reaper.>
It was a gift filled with a nonchalant emotion, a motherly offering.
‘Mother…’
Because it felt just like a mother, a sense of relief spread through the Golden Reaper’s chest.
Wiping away the tears that had formed, the Golden Reaper smiled brightly.
‘Still, mother was always thinking about us…!’
Thinking this, the Golden Reaper reached out and opened the gift box.
But the box was completely empty.
There were no star candies or other presents that mother used to give.
Just an empty box.
‘Mother… doesn’t need me anymore…’
The Golden Reaper, who had received the gift, lost consciousness immediately.
As the Golden Reaper fainted, the world began to turn a sinister hue.
An ominous red, as if originating from the Color Universe.
At that moment, firewood from the Golden Reaper’s heart began to burn fiercely, pushing away the red hue.
It was as if the firewood was telling the Golden Reaper to wake up.
But the more it tried to push it away, the more the firewood slowly diminished.
As the Golden Reaper used up its firewood, the red hue that had tainted its heart disappeared completely.
And as the red disappeared, the world began to rewind.
Like a videotape.
How many times had this world been repeated?
The firewood in the Golden Reaper’s heart was almost gone.
Deep within Sehee Research Institute, in a comfortable isolation room, I lay on the bed, observing something that resembled a Reaper, tossing it like a volleyball.
After watching it for a while, I reached a simple conclusion.
‘This one is not a Mini Reaper yet.’
Like the purple Immutable Orb, this one was still in an unhatched state, like an egg.
However, perhaps due to the life-threatening danger, it had hurriedly pushed its limbs out of the egg.
Such a feat would be impossible for ordinary creatures, but perhaps it was because of the external force…
Maybe that’s why this purple egg Reaper hadn’t fully manifested its will yet, nor was its physical ability very strong.
It was just a strange creature that was astonishingly good at running away.
‘Hmm…’
As I slid the purple egg Reaper to the right, the lead-colored doll Reaper’s gaze followed it to the right.
Similarly, when I moved it to the left, the lead-colored doll’s head tilted in that direction.
That one still wanted to eat the purple external force.
‘It’s halfway a Reaper now, so it shouldn’t eat it.’
When I gave the firm order not to eat it, the lead-colored doll Reaper stiffened its antennae, looking up at me with a sad expression.
‘Don’t be sad…’
‘Don’t be sad…’
Then, the Mini Reapers, caught up in the lead-colored doll’s emotions, gathered around it to comfort it.
‘It’s okay if you eat my arm…’
Several Golden Reapers even extended their arms toward the lead-colored doll.
The lead-colored doll hesitated for a moment, then locked eyes with me and shook its head.
When it refused, I felt a bit disappointed.
I was planning to sneak in and take a bite once it started eating…
Hehe.
As I pondered with the lead-colored doll, suddenly, a loud scream echoed from the TV.
[■■■■■—!]
The moment I heard it, I tossed the purple egg Reaper to the lead-colored doll and jumped off the bed.
The purple egg Reaper gave me a betrayed look, but I had no time to pay attention to it.
The news was broadcasting something that caught my full attention.
The news was about the creation of a massive golden Tyranno robot at James Research Institute in the United States.
Although it was a bit strange that such a robot was being made at the busy James Research Institute, given the restoration of communication networks, what mattered wasn’t the completion of the Tyranno robot.
The suspicious research institute, devoid of any signs of life.
The Bleached Reaper had dozed off but quickly snapped back to consciousness.
The mental contamination spreading through the institute was nothing compared to the ‘desire’ that had overwhelmed the Bleached Reaper.
Although the Bleached Reaper didn’t remember being overwhelmed by desire, it was confused by the situation.
When it opened its eyes, what lay before it wasn’t the group it had arrived with from Japan, but a strange space.
A bizarre space filled with red mist, where the landscape changed dramatically with every step.
‘Maah—’
The Bleached Reaper walked through the institute, filled with red mist, searching for its lost companions.
After walking for a while, it finally spotted the Golden Reaper, looking sad.
The Golden Reaper, still wearing its white coat, lay asleep with a melancholic expression.
‘Maah—!’
No matter how much the Bleached Reaper tried to shake it, the Golden Reaper didn’t wake up.
The Bleached Reaper’s expression became anxious.
It seemed like the Golden Reaper’s firewood was slowly seeping away, possibly trying to fight off the mental contamination.
‘Maah!!’
And no matter how much it called out for its mother, there was no answer.
It was truly a hopeless situation.
At that moment, a wave of desire reached the Bleached Reaper.
[Closer… just a little closer.]
It felt like a monster’s voice, rough and melted, but somehow familiar.
Carefully following the wave, the Bleached Reaper found the one it had been desperately searching for.
There, sitting in front of it, was the Master Reaper, holding a small piece of firewood in its palm, sitting cross-legged.
‘Maah!’
There was still a companion not consumed by mental contamination!
The Bleached Reaper approached with a happy face, but the Master Reaper was in no condition to be called normal.
The smooth, white surface of the Master Reaper’s body was now red and swollen, as if it had melted and solidified repeatedly.
“Kkyu, kkyu.”
[Did you follow me…?]
The Master Reaper, noticing the Bleached Reaper, sent out a wave of surprise as it continued to send out waves of desire.
[!]
“Kkyu… kkyu!”
[You have… the desire within you. Then there is a way.]
And with a voice that sounded rushed, it began transmitting its waves.
“Kkyu.”
[I will teach you an alchemy technique. Follow my movements and shout with your desire. There is only one chance.]
With that, the Master Reaper extinguished the flames of firewood protecting it.
At that moment, the Master Reaper’s body began to rapidly disintegrate.
‘Maah!’
“Kkyu.”
[There is only one chance.]
The Bleached Reaper, shocked, tried to send a will, but the Master Reaper, spreading its arms wide, continued to send its waves.
“Kkyu. Kkyu. Kkyu.”
[Golden flames filled with hope. The essence that binds the gods. The pure white protector of humans.]
Firewood blazed from one of the Master Reaper’s hands, and on the other side, nothing emerged.
At the same time, one side of the Master Reaper’s face turned red and was torn away.
‘Maah!’
‘Golden flames filled with hope. The essence that binds the gods. The pure white protector of humans.’
The Bleached Reaper wanted to shout for it to stop, but instead, it held back and repeated the movements.
With one hand, the firewood above its head transferred to the other hand, where a white, sticky desire began to flow out.
Then, the Bleached Reaper and the Master Reaper stretched both hands forward, releasing their desire.
“Kkyu!!!!”
‘Maah—!’
[Alchemy’s brilliance!]
