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A large hospital in downtown Seoul.

The colossal hospital nestled in the heart of Seoul had now transformed into a temporary shelter for the victims of the collective cognitive impairment incident.

James slowly entered the hospital in response to a cooperation request from the Korean Object Association.

Following behind James were staff equipped with all sorts of high-tech gear.

As he walked down the hospital corridor, he felt the melancholic and sad atmosphere thick in the air.

“Even if this is a victim accommodation hospital, it feels a bit over the top. This definitely seems a bit strange.”

James’s question was resolved the moment he entered the hospital room housing the cognitive impairment victims.

“Oh no…”

“A human is hurt.”

“They can’t be saved.”

The Golden Reapers were crying uncontrollably as they looked down on the victims of the cognitive impairment incident.

Crying as if it were a grave injustice, they crawled up on the beds and soaked the victims’ cheeks with their tears.

“Hmm, I see. That’s why the hospital felt that way.”

Perhaps due to the mental pollution from the Golden Reapers, the sorrowful atmosphere spread throughout the hospital, affecting the nurses and doctors.

“A human is suffering…”

The Golden Reaper, cheerfully smiling above James’s head, also began to shed tears and scurried into the pocket of his shirt.

But there was something that caught James’s eye as peculiar.

The White Hungry Ghosts were busy roaming among the victims, lighting up with white flames.

And those White Hungry Ghosts, while bustling about, returned to the Golden Reapers and shook their heads.

“We can’t find the culprit.”

“What about the human?”

“The human is pitiful.”

Upon hearing this, the Golden Reapers cried even more despairingly and fell onto the beds, weeping tears.

“That’s the tracking ability possessed by the White Guardian.”

Seeing this, James opened his notebook and added a few observations under the information he had gathered about the White Hungry Ghosts from the alchemist.

Afterward, he moved to a different spot and pulled the Golden Reaper that had hidden in his shirt pocket, starting to feed it snacks.

Om nom nom.

The Golden Reaper, still dripping with tears, opened its mouth slightly to munch on the snacks.

*

As the checkered sky shattered, a golden comet landed on the ground.

It was the Golden Armored Reaper, adorned in splendid and beautiful flames like a golden comet.

“Pretty.”

The short-haired girl stared in a daze, even forgetting that she was in mortal peril.

Burp.

At that moment, a round hole pierced the heart of the Green Lizard Monster.

And like a water bomb, blood burst out in all directions.

A metallic scent of blood wafted through the air, and viscera fragments scattered around.

Simultaneously, the smell of burning flesh filled the nostrils, as the golden flames flickered.

The sight of the comet ablaze in golden light was beautiful, yet the vision of the blood-soaked Golden Reaper instilled fear in the girl’s heart.

Even though she knew the Golden Reaper was a beneficial object.

Her body instinctively responded, slowly backing away from the Golden Armored Reaper.

Thud.

As the Green Lizard Monster slowly collapsed to the floor, its corpse began to pulsate.

Thump. Thump.

Then, from the belly of the lizard monster, an orb was extracted and sucked into the orb the short-haired girl held.

“Uh-oh?”

As she pulled out the orb from her pocket, she found that it was filled with a shimmering liquid, about 20% full.

It was a liquid that pulsed with an extraordinary power.

“The guy in the dream said I need to gather the orbs from ten other participants, so is that what this 20% means?”

At that moment, a person popped out from the corpse of the Green Lizard Monster, slowly disappearing into the space like the man in the dress shirt.

Coincidentally, the short-haired girl found herself standing in reality.

There was no fog that devoured sound, nor was there a checkered sky in reality.

Instead, she was welcomed by the sounds of the city, warm sunlight, and a clear sky.

“Are you okay?”

“Please open your eyes.”

“Someone call 119!”

“There’s another person down here!”

As she returned to reality, a commotion erupted nearby where the girl was standing.

At the center of the chaos lay the man in the dress shirt, with people trying to administer first aid.

“Who is that person?”

The man sprawled in the center was someone from the short-haired girl’s memories.

He was the one who emerged after the brutal monster with saws for hands was defeated.

“Uhmm.”

After watching for a few seconds, the man in the dress shirt staggered and stood up.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

Though he seemed a bit dazed and wobbly, he appeared mostly alright.

“Thank goodness. Just like that man said, it’s fine to eat the orb or even die during the festival.”

The short-haired girl felt quite relieved while looking at the man in the dress shirt.

Seeing him prompted her to make a decision.

If I won’t turn into a monster forever after eating it, and dying during the festival isn’t an issue either, I can’t keep avoiding the orb just because it feels ominous.

I’m scared, but for my sister!

So, as the short-haired girl mustered her courage to eat the orb, the Golden Armored Reaper flew in and blocked her from eating it.

And it shook its head decisively.

From the short-haired girl’s perspective, the Golden Armored Reaper didn’t speak, but it seemed to say she shouldn’t eat the orb.

However, the girl had no other choice if she wanted to save her sister.

And just as she was about to put it in her mouth again, the Golden Armored Reaper blocked her and stared intently into her eyes.

Then, the girl felt as if something connected her with the Golden Armored Reaper.

“I’ll fight in your place!”

It felt as if the Golden Armored Reaper was conveying that to the girl.

*

In the Mini Reaper Garden, Marshmallow Plains.

I was sitting there watching a performance by the Yellow Reapers.

When I asked the Yellow Reaper something curious, a play suddenly began, but as I watched, it turned out to be quite an exciting show.

In the center of the stage stood a doll of the Golden Reaper with red eyes, while the Blue Idol Reaper narrated like an announcement of magic.

[There was a Golden Reaper there.]

[In a chaotic tangle, the Mini Reapers were silently biting the ball and limbs of the Golden Reaper!]

Then, with the curtain transition, a high podium rose in the center of the flat stage.

On it were angry-looking Golden Reaper dolls clutching the red-eyed Golden Reaper doll.

[But didn’t they say that eternal glory doesn’t exist?]

[The Golden Reaper began to bite boldly, and eventually.]

[Was captured by the Golden Reapers and brought to the tribunal.]

The red-eyed Golden Reaper doll exaggeratedly coughed up a laugh, “Hehe. Hehe. Hehe,” and emitted its spirit towards the gathered Golden Reaper dolls below the podium.

“Biting is.”

“Super fun!”

The red-eyed Golden Reaper then left that remark and was completely bitten up by the surrounding Golden Reaper dolls.

Nyah nyah.

“Ugh!”

[And this marked the beginning of the Golden Reaper biting game craze.]

With the Blue Reaper’s narration, the curtain fell on the play.

“What is this, not some cartoon or movie prologue…”

As the performance ended, I grumbled while slowly watching the stage crumbling down.

Then, looking down at the Yellow Reaper in my palm, I asked, “So, is this all because of that Golden Reaper?”

As I lifted one arm as if showing it to the Yellow Reaper, the Golden Reapers climbing onto my fleshy arm came up in a rush.

They looked like a bunch of squids caught in a fishing net.

Nod.

The Yellow Reaper nodded up and down affirmatively.

Now that I think about it, some of those biting me had red eyes.

“Is it possible to change eye color without the power of a red external being?”

Curious about that, I poked at them, and discovered that the Golden Reaper’s pupils were covered with rough, cut red glass shards.

‘!’

It was a color contact lens sharp enough to slice if a human wore it, only suitable for a Golden Reaper with physical immunity.

Everyone copied the sneaky biting Golden Reaper.

This is troublesome…

If this game is this popular, it’ll take a long time to die down.

The Mini Reapers that stuck to me would sulk if I just threw them away, but these vampire Golden Reapers kept biting, and it was such a hassle.

“What should I do…”

As I pondered that, I noticed one Golden Reaper bouncing around in front of me and suddenly had a mischievous idea.

“Mom!”

I placed the roaming one on my palm, and the Golden Reaper sat on my palm and chuckled.

“Yeah, yeah.”

I gently patted the head of the one enjoying the attention.

Then, I pulled one of the biting vampire Golden Reapers from my arm and moved it next to the Golden Reaper on my palm.

Then I shoved the head of the biting vampire Golden Reaper towards the gentle Golden Reaper’s cheeks.

Bite.

“Ugh! It bit!”

The vampire Golden Reaper reflexively chomped down on the cheeks of the gentle one like an alligator.

In this way, I can make the biting Golden Reapers bite the cheeks of the gentle Golden Reaper.

Hehe.

Just as I succeeded in sleekly detaching them to have a moment of ease.

Something began biting my hand with soft teeth.

Looking down, I saw two Golden Reapers biting my fingers.

“It’s spreading!”

The biting Golden Reaper sickness was contagious like vampires.

Ugh ugh.

*

Late at night.

The short-haired girl was looking at the shimmering orb with a smile.

“It’s already halfway full. I’ll be able to save my sister soon.”

The short-haired girl spoke while gently stroking the head of the Golden Armored Reaper sitting on her shoulder.

“You really are strong.”

“Thanks for helping!”

The Golden Armored Reaper chuckled softly, enjoying the pat.

*

In a building located in Seodaemun District.

James rented a suitable building in Seodaemun District, using it as a temporary situation room.

He hadn’t found any clues at the hospital, but he managed to trace back to this location by reviewing a report left by a detective.

<The individuals affected by cognitive impairment had fainted in specific places.>

Of course, finding information based on one or two fainting incidents was nearly impossible, but today was different.

There had been as many as five fainting incidents.

And among them, he was able to invite one man in a dress shirt, who had nowhere to go.

‘No problem with language skills, and physical abilities seem intact.’

Using several devices from the James Research Institute, he noticed the man couldn’t recall why he ended up in Seodaemun District and appeared somewhat dazed, but he seemed overall fine.

However, the Golden Reaper perched on James’s head was sobbing uncontrollably as it gazed at the man outside the window.

‘In times like this, the Golden Reaper is more accurate.’

James was convinced that the root of the incident lay within Seodaemun District.

 

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