Chapter 516
The moment the swordswoman passed through the main entrance of the Sehee Research Institute, the scene in front of her completely overturned her expectations.
It was far too out of place to be a research institute—rather, it resembled a small amusement park more than anything.
In front of her was a massive guide map, decorated with brilliant colors, and on either side stood employees wearing Mini Reaper costumes, greeting visitors.
Their ridiculous appearances made it even harder to believe this place was a research institute.
In front of the guide map, visitors’ actions were split into two groups.
Those who had likely visited many times before walked in with familiar steps, without even glancing at the map.
And those, like the swordswoman, visiting for the first time, stopped in front of the guide map and studied it intently.
“Hmm, so…?”
The swordswoman murmured as she looked up at the map.
“To get to the Mini Reaper Garden… I guess I need to head to the courtyard first.”
The structure of Sehee Research Institute displayed on the map was more complicated than expected.
Multiple paths crisscrossed like a spider’s web, each zone given a unique name.
It seemed as if the layout was designed to deliberately extend the visitors’ paths.
But since it’s supposed to be a research facility, it couldn’t have been intentional.
The swordswoman nodded slowly, committing the path to the Mini Reaper Garden to memory.
Oddly enough, there was none of the tension or solemnity typically felt in a research institute.
Instead, there was an atmosphere of excitement, like a festival.
The faces of the visitors were filled with anticipation, and laughter could be heard from all around.
The swordswoman looked at the black Reaper wrapped around her wrist.
Normally calm, the black Reaper seemed to be affected by the atmosphere here, looking more lively than usual.
Beep-
The small sound the black Reaper made caused the swordswoman to smile.
As she decided which direction to take and turned her head, a pair of sisters caught her attention.
A short-haired girl with a golden Reaper, fluttering a golden cloak, and her older sister, who appeared to be the one in charge.
Without even realizing it, the swordswoman watched them closely.
Though her Korean was not perfect, she could clearly sense the bond between the sisters.
The older sister was constantly trying to tease, and the younger sister scolded her, but couldn’t hide her smile.
They seemed to have such a good relationship that the swordswoman couldn’t help but smile, but suddenly, the older sister began to act strangely.
“Durahan!”
With a sudden shout, the older sister grabbed her own head with both hands.
And the next moment, an unbelievable scene unfolded.
With a “thud!” sound, her head detached from her body.
‘!!!’
The swordswoman instinctively reached for her wrist, preparing to draw her sword, a habit formed from her time in the maze and dome.
“Sorry!”
The short-haired girl quickly apologized to the startled bystanders, bowing deeply.
Then she immediately began to smack her sister’s back with her palm.
“Sis!! I told you not to do that!”
“Okay, okay.”
The older sister laughed, trying to suppress her giggles, but her face showed that she was already planning her next prank.
As the swordswoman passed by the bickering sisters, she slowly walked toward the courtyard.
Aside from those two, there were many peculiar visitors at Sehee Research Institute.
A Western man surrounded by black Reapers stood out.
The black Reapers circling around him strangely looked like shadows emerging from his skin.
And there was also an unusually eye-catching normal high school student.
This student seemed unremarkable at first, but the golden Reaper sitting on his shoulder, with its ponytail, drew attention.
Though he didn’t carry a flaming golden sword like the Gray Reapers, he definitely seemed like one of the most famous Reapers.
In fact, what caught the swordswoman’s attention the most wasn’t the visitors, but the institute itself.
She had visited many research institutes for dome-related work, but this was the first of its kind.
The interior, decorated like an amusement park.
The number of Mini Reapers seemed to outnumber humans.
The research staff mixed in naturally with the visitors, playing along.
“Is this really a research institute…?”
The swordswoman muttered softly.
Furthermore, the CCTV cameras were all turned off and hanging limply, and the management of the isolation rooms appeared surprisingly sloppy.
Some of the isolation room doors were even wide open.
Still, the objects inside didn’t seem to have any intention of leaving.
In fact, a few objects did peek their heads out from the doors, but…
The moment they did, they saw dozens of Mini Reapers’ eyes turn hostile and retreated back into the rooms, shrinking back.
“This is really an object powerhouse…”
The swordswoman was deeply shocked by the unusual management of the institute in Korea.
‘…’
As she took detailed notes on Korea’s advanced research institute system, she walked toward her destination.
And as she passed through the courtyard and entered the Mini Reaper Garden, something unexpected happened.
A woman approached her side, as naturally as if they were old friends meeting again.
“What are you here for?”
The woman, speaking slightly awkwardly in Korean, had a strange sense of distance.
Her accent sounded foreign, much like the swordswoman’s.
There was something beyond mere curiosity in her gaze.
The atmosphere made it seem like she wouldn’t leave until she got an answer, so the swordswoman, cautiously, replied in her own halting Korean.
“Just… because I wanted to come.”
Upon hearing this, the woman’s face broke into a bright smile.
“Right? We felt the same way.”
The woman seemed delighted, as if she had discovered something important, and suddenly looked around.
Then, upon spotting a silver-haired girl with a Mini Reaper wearing a crown on her head, she dashed toward her.
“Up until now, everyone here has come for no reason other than wanting to come!”
The woman’s voice was filled with excitement.
“Maybe it’s fate after all!”
The swordswoman, watching this, felt a strange emotion wash over her.
At first, she thought she had encountered an odd person, but now, she was starting to understand her words a little better.
She too had been drawn here, guided by a feeling that she needed to be here, for no particular reason.
“Fate…”
She muttered softly.
As those words left her mouth, it felt as if the part of her connected to the black Reaper grew warmer.
As they arrived at the Mini Reaper Garden, a massive golden light filled her vision.
With a mighty roar, the Golden Tyranno stood, shaking the earth.
Finally!
Looking up at it, a smile unconsciously appeared on her face.
Smiling happily, she gently patted the head of the Golden Reaper beside her.
This little one was the true hero who had completed the most important mission.
<When James creates the Tyranno, call it immediately.>
This was, in the swordswoman’s opinion, the most important mission in the Mini Reaper Garden.
Because of this, the Golden Reaper who had taken on this task had been given special status.
Unlike the other Golden Reapers, this one had the right to call her at any time, and even had immunity while carrying out its mission.
Next to the Golden Tyranno, James stood with his Attachment Golden Reaper.
And beside him, the silver-haired girl who looked familiar stood.
The swordswoman met James’ eyes and silently sent her admiration.
Without hesitation, she mounted the Tyranno’s back.
Kraaaang!
At that moment, the Tyranno let out a more powerful roar.
At the sound, the white Reapers scattered in all directions.
Though the Golden Tyranno lacked the ability to torment the white Reapers, they instinctively felt threatened by her presence.
As she chased the white Reapers while riding the Tyranno, a strange sight caught her eye.
It was the Golden Reapers, laughing brightly while holding the limbs of the white Reapers, who were grinning with mischievous expressions, and the always-discontent-looking Purple Unchanging Reaper.
‘?’
What was going on?
The man in the lamp, now awake, slowly muttered.
“The contract with the seven alchemists, the sect leader, and myself has been fulfilled.”
His voice sounded unchanged, but the malice that had once been felt within it had vanished.
Perhaps it was because the Red Foreign Entity had disappeared, or perhaps because the man in the lamp wasn’t the true one, but just a remnant left by the contract.
But that didn’t matter to the man in the lamp at the moment.
The awakening of the remnant due to the contract, and the memories and thoughts of the other party that were felt through the contract, were far more shocking than expected.
“You never intended to use this remnant preservation contract as insurance in case of failure from the beginning.”
“Right, I didn’t. I had no reason to fail.”
The blue girl smiled brightly as she looked at the confused man in the lamp.
