Chapter 522
Under a night sky full of starlight instead of moonlight, the Mini Reaper Valhalla’s grassy field quietly unfolded.
Under the beautiful starlight, the grass stirred, creating black waves in the wind, and these waves stretched endlessly, like a deep ocean.
The quiet scenery of Mini Reaper Valhalla was a place meant only for Mini Reapers, but the atmosphere seemed oddly out of place for them.
Without the usual sound of their tiny footsteps or the squeaking cries of the white anglerfish, only the sound of the wind caressing the grass floated through the air.
One by one, the Mini Reapers began to appear on the silent grassy field.
But they weren’t their usual lively selves. Instead, they were limp, with their spirits seemingly lost.
They hung like vegetables that had wilted, without any strength.
Amidst the wilted grass, the administrator of Valhalla, the Lead Doll, was slowly walking.
Thud, thud.
The sound of the Lead Doll’s footsteps broke the stillness of the grassy field and echoed through the air.
Every time the Lead Doll found a fallen Mini Reaper, it would stop and carefully lift the child into its arms.
Its touch was as gentle as a mother comforting a child.
Pat, pat, the small sound of the back being patted echoed through the night air.
It felt as though the sound was saying:
“Wake up quickly, and when you do, come back to your mother.”
The Mini Reapers quickly opened their eyes at the soft touch.
At first, they rubbed their eyes in confusion, but soon realized the situation and their eyes grew wide in surprise.
Then, like children who were late for school after oversleeping, they hurriedly ran out of Valhalla.
Thud, thud, thud.
The sound of small footsteps echoed across the grassy field, growing farther away.
In their hurry, it seemed they had forgotten the Lead Doll that had woken them up.
However, as they reached the boundary of Valhalla, the Mini Reapers all stopped and looked back.
It seemed they finally remembered who had woken them, and with an embarrassed smile, they waved their little hands vigorously.
“Heehee.”
They smiled awkwardly as if they were sorry for forgetting.
The Lead Doll, with a gentle smile, waved back at them.
The way the Lead Doll waved goodbye resembled a parent seeing their child off to school.
After seeing one Mini Reaper off, the Lead Doll resumed its thud, thud steps to find the next Mini Reaper.
The Lead Doll, who wasn’t much of a help in battle, was moving towards the gray Reaper, trying to assist even just a little in the fight against the Black Giant’s corpse.
As the moonless night grew deeper, the Lead Doll’s quiet footsteps continued.
Thud, thud.
The Lead Doll’s face always bore a gentle smile, but its eyes looked somewhat uneasy.
At that moment, Mini Reapers began to appear here and there in the grassy field.
One, two, three…
Like flowers blooming in a spring field, Mini Reapers of various colors began to appear in large numbers.
‘!’
It wasn’t just their number that was strange; something else was off.
The Mini Reapers looked strange.
They were like melted ice cream left under the sun.
Like melted black Reapers.
‘….’
The Lead Doll didn’t hesitate, carefully picking up the nearest Mini Reaper.
It was as gentle as handling a newborn.
The soft patting of the Mini Reaper spread through the quiet night air.
Pat, pat, pat.
But no matter how much it patted, the melted Mini Reapers didn’t wake up.
Instead, more and more Mini Reapers appeared, and the grassy field began to fill with melted Mini Reapers.
The Lead Doll looked up at the night sky with a worried expression.
Even the stars that usually sparkled were faint tonight.
Turning its gaze, the Lead Doll looked in the direction where the gray Reaper was fighting.
‘….’
Until now, the Lead Doll had always listened to the wishes of others.
From the countless desperate human wishes to the small wishes of Mini Reapers asking for a pat.
But now, for the first time, a small wish arose in the Lead Doll’s heart.
‘I hope the gray Reaper… can win.’
‘I hope these children can wake up again…’
That small wish, like a star in the moonless night sky, was faint, but it shone clearly in the Lead Doll’s heart.
The Lead Doll gently cradled the melted Mini Reaper once more.
Again, it patted gently.
Even though it wasn’t waking up now, the Lead Doll believed it would wake up someday.
Just a moment ago, it had been a party with humans…
The giant golden Reaper, with a feeling of regret, faced the giant enemy.
A monster that seemed similar to its mother but was completely different.
A foe that smelled harmful yet resembled its dark sibling.
‘It hurts…’
The wound on one arm caused its arm to disappear, and the pain felt like burning.
It was a pain it hadn’t known when it was one with its mother.
When they fused, the pain was entirely borne by the mother.
Even though it was the eldest among the Mini Reapers, it had always been like this.
It was painful, but it was okay.
As long as it could still move, it could help mother.
The golden Reaper clenched its remaining fist tightly and charged at the monster alongside its mother.
How long had they fought?
After what seemed like endless time, counted by ten fingers, the mother’s punch pierced the monster’s chest.
‘Mother, you’re amazing!’
The golden Reaper smiled brightly as it saw the punch that pierced the monster’s body, one it couldn’t even scratch.
Now, they could party with the humans!
Though it was still a dangerous situation, the golden Reaper felt joy rising in its heart.
‘….’
But, with an unrecognizable, willful cry, the monster changed.
[■ ■ ■ ■]
Dozens of disgusting legs.
A faint halo.
A clearer hatred than before.
And everything that touched the Black Giant began to melt and turn black.
The phenomenon oddly resembled the ‘Halo of Death’ that the mother had.
It seemed to even affect the space itself, as a black liquid flowed constantly from the monster’s skin, dissolving the space.
And the next moment,
The black monster changed itself into ‘space,’ melting away and disappearing, only to emerge suddenly behind the mother.
‘!!!’
The mother, who had noticed this in an instant, was too slow to avoid the monster’s attack with her reaction speed.
An attack resembling the ‘Halo of Death.’
It would surely be fatal for her as well.
Although the mother was invincible, it felt like it would be.
‘No!!!’
At that moment, the golden Reaper, like the mother, crossed the space and blocked the mother’s path.
And it felt the monster’s cold claws pierce through the golden Reaper’s wood.
An endless spread of coldness.
‘!!!’
The mother’s surprised face appeared in view.
Heehee…
Mother, now that we can teleport too…
You won’t be able to play with us as freely anymore.
‘….’
The vision began to darken.
It wasn’t the usual darkness, but an incredibly cold, endless darkness.
Had they received divine punishment because they were filled with joy even though it wasn’t over yet?
It must have been that way.
The golden Reaper’s image, talking with the mother in the forest path, flashed in its memory.
‘Mother, do you remember?’
‘You were the one who first ran away from us.’
It was the last farewell the golden Reaper left for the mother.
Still, it was good.
At least they played together at the end.
Though it wanted to smile at the mother, the golden Reaper couldn’t because it felt a deep sadness.
The massive body of the giant golden Reaper blocking my path slowly began to fall, as if time itself had stopped.
At that moment, everything seemed frozen.
Even the dust in the air seemed to stand still.
‘Why… do this?’
The fatal blow, like my ‘Halo of Death,’ that pierced the Black Giant’s rank, was still vivid in my mind.
If it were me,
If the rank were enough, I could have endured at least one blow.
Even the stupid golden Reaper should have realized that it would be fatal if you forced that tiny rank onto something so much stronger…
As the golden Reaper faded into dust in my arms, it forced a strained smile at me.
The smile was hardly a smile, since it was twisted in pain…
But as the golden Reaper disappeared, I felt something snap inside me.
Like an old dam breaking, emotions I had kept inside burst out all at once.
Those emotions began to color the air around me as though they had substance.
The world was slowly turning red.
At first, it was a faint red light, but it quickly turned into a deep crimson.
It felt like the entire world was being stained with blood.
I felt a familiar sensation above my head.
The ‘Halo of Death’ was already hovering above me.
It was shining more brightly than usual, as if it resonated with my anger.
