Seoul Object Story - 148 chapter - Burning medicine (7)

James' simple words came to mind.

"Please guide the guest."

At the same time, I was jolted awake by immense pain, and my vision was filled with a thick, creamy haze of smoke.

Lying in the ashes of a once orderly city, my gaze was fixed on the eerie crimson and ashen sky above.

Smoke billowed into the sky like a massive serpent, swallowing it whole, while beneath it, flames raged violently, painting the world with the red hue of destruction.

The dense, dark smoke, darker than the night sky, took on a sinister red tint as it reflected the glow of the ground-devouring fire.

Occasionally, the sky, filled with smoke, echoed with threatening thunder, like a symphony heralding the end of the world.

“Hah… hah…”

Breathing was becoming increasingly difficult.

With every shallow breath, my lungs filled with blood, producing a gurgling sound as if they were boiling.

Cough.

Every time I coughed, blood overflowed from my lungs and spilled out.

The blood I spat out stained the cracked and ruined asphalt, leaving behind the last traces of my existence.

Death was near.

Even without moving, my entire body was screaming in agony.

It was easier to count the places that weren't injured than the ones that were.

I had messed up.

If only I had been more careful, I could have escaped….

Lost in endless self-recrimination, a sudden rustling sound nearby caught my attention, and I struggled to turn my gaze toward it.

“!”

James’ guest was slowly getting up.

Despite the massive impact, she was still able to move.

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, James’ guest, 'Yerin,' stood up.

'Thank goodness.'

A wave of relief spread through my heart.

Although she seemed to have some injuries, they didn’t appear life-threatening.

Still, I wanted to complete the task James had given me, to guide her to safety.

I had to get her to safety, but my body wouldn’t respond.

I tried to gather strength in my fingertips to move, but my body remained motionless.

'Though I couldn’t guide her to the end, I hope this much is enough, James.'

I spoke silently to someone who wasn’t there, words that wouldn’t come out of my mouth.

The regret of failing and the apology for my failure churned within my blood-filled mouth.

My eyes could barely stay open, my lips only managing to move slightly, as I saw a strange figure slowly approaching.

In my blurry vision, I saw gray and flames flickering in yellow before I lost consciousness.

As I looked up at the shadow that loomed over the city, the shape of the giant pig filled the sky, and I was stunned by its overwhelming size.

Though it was the same pig I had seen before, its presence now felt entirely different.

When I had been using that strange, dead body, it had felt like I was looking at a pet mini pig. Now, it was an Object with immense power.

From its gaping mouth, putrid, rotten-smelling molten lava oozed out, and flames that refused to die flickered across the leathery hide covering its skin.

The giant pig slowly lowered its head and looked in my direction.

Its wild eyes, devoid of intelligence, locked onto me with an intense, unwavering stare, like nails being hammered into my very being.

But then its form began to blur, and the pig’s shape faded away.

It seemed to exist somewhere between reality and nonexistence, as if it couldn’t fully manifest itself yet.

To deal with this pig, I would have to head toward that vortex Yerin and I had visited together.

I glanced behind me to see Yerin, who had been gnawing on my antenna absentmindedly, suddenly remember something and limp toward the fallen secretary.

Yerin stopped in front of the blood-soaked secretary’s body, unsure of what to do.

"Reaper, what should we do?"

Yerin looked down at the secretary, panic filling her voice.

The secretary was in such a severe condition that even in a hospital, saving them would be difficult.

As soon as I saw the scene, I summoned the Blue Reaper.

The Blue Reaper appeared on my palm, looking up at me with a worried expression before flying over to the secretary on its broomstick.

Yerin, the Blue Reaper, and even the Golden Reapers clinging to my hair—all of them looked at me with the same worried faces.

Do I really look that bad?

I’ve just turned into a bit of a dry clay doll, that’s all….

<Don’t succumb to your injuries.>

The Blue Reaper tightly closed its eyes as it repeatedly wrote strings of words, casting its healing magic over the critically injured secretary.

Thanks to its efforts, the secretary, who had looked like they were at death's door, started to breathe steadily again.

But proper treatment would still be necessary, as the Blue Reaper’s healing wasn’t enough to fully cure severe injuries.

I attached a few Golden Reapers to the now stable secretary and sent them off toward Sehee Research Center.

With this, the research center should be able to send them to a hospital.

As for Yerin, I didn’t want to send her away.

I needed her to deal with the pig.

Even now, the lack of logs was making me feel hungry and dizzy.

I needed more logs.

Feeling weak, I approached Yerin, who was sitting on the ground, and licked the bloodstain on her cheek with my tongue.

"!"

Yerin jumped in surprise, turning to look at me, but I pretended not to notice and averted my gaze.

Thanks to my little joke, more logs began to flow in from Yerin, who had hugged me from behind.

I then commanded the Mini Reapers:

‘Now, go and help the people.’

But the Golden and Blue Reapers all shook their heads in fierce opposition.

‘I’m fine now.’

I showed them my skin, which had regained some of its sheen, and assured them I was okay. Reluctantly, the Mini Reapers scattered in all directions.

Soon, the city, once filled with despair, began to feel lighter as that despair gradually diminished.

The small amounts of logs the Mini Reapers brought back, combined with the large amount Yerin was giving me, were enough to prepare me for battle before the pig fully manifested.

Step by step.

Holding the Reaper’s hand, I walked through the curtain of fire.

One Golden Reaper and one Blue Reaper perched on my shoulders, perhaps to protect me.

Thankfully, the Blue Reaper’s healing had taken away my pain, allowing me to continue the journey with the Reaper.

There was still some discomfort in my side, but as long as it didn’t hurt, I didn’t mind!

As we passed beyond the flaming ethereal barrier, the ruins of the long-abandoned city welcomed us.

It was a city that had been stolen by ethereal Objects.

Although the city was shrouded in darkness, with no electricity to light it up, the still-burning wall of fire and the blood-red sky provided enough light to reveal the ruins.

Weeds grew thickly through the cracks in the broken roads, and the traces of civilization had crumbled away.

The freshly made footprints of pigs were everywhere.

We followed the flow of those pigs as we continued to climb higher.

Looking up at the ominous sky, I suddenly felt scared and squeezed the Reaper’s hand tightly.

“Reaper, look at the sky over there.”

Above us, the black smoke was coiling into a single spot, twisting like a serpent.

It was as if a vortex had formed in the sky—a bad omen.

But the Reaper is invincible, so it’ll be fine, right?

The closer we got to the pit, the more distorted the space became, making it feel like we were walking through the warped lens of a fisheye camera.

I kept spreading the Mini Reaper Garden around us to shield us from the spatial distortions, and before I knew it, we had reached our destination sooner than expected.

Through the dark forest, we arrived at an open cliff, at the base of which lay a massive pit waiting for us.

The pit was closer to the barrier than I had expected, but the real issue wasn’t the distance—it was the spatial distortion.

The enormous vortex of land, which had looked entirely different from the helicopter, now loomed before us.

The black, twisted earth swirled like a living, dark entity, and at its center was a gaping hole that seemed to swallow everything.

From within the shadows, the giant pig began to emerge.

It took slow, earth-shaking steps, exuding an even more overwhelming presence than when I had glimpsed it through the smoke.

Each step distorted the space around it.

Every time its hooves hit the ground, the earth twisted into a vortex beneath them.

Feeling tense in the face of such overwhelming power, I checked the destruction condition.

The condition was surprisingly simple for such an overwhelming entity.

With a presence that could twist space and flames that could burn the black ooze, this pig’s destruction condition seemed far too easy.

Curious, I examined the pig more closely and realized why.

The faint stench of decay.

The black molten lava dripping from its mouth.

Even though it had flames that burned the black ooze, they seemed to be struggling.

This pig was already tainted by the black substance.

I had thought it was just some foul-smelling liquid, but it was more dangerous than I’d realized.

In that case, this might be simpler than expected.

I decided to use the new technique I had gained while dealing with that dead body.

I stretched out my right hand, and the skin of my hand turned black.

Squeeze.

As I clenched my fist, the space around us warped, and a black sphere formed.

The black sphere, capable of devouring everything in its path, just like the dead body had used, appeared before me once again.

Fueled by Yerin’s affection and kindness toward me, the sphere seemed powerful enough to crush the entire body of the pig.

As the Reaper’s right hand turned black, the air distorted, creating a black sphere.

It looked like a black hole, capable of swallowing all light and matter.

‘Wow, the Reaper is amazing as always.’

I mentally applauded the Reaper’s new ability.

But things quickly took a different turn.

The giant pig began to bite into the black sphere, along with the surrounding space.

Though it was difficult for the pig, and more than half of its body was shredded away in the process, it succeeded in tearing the space apart and isolating it.

The twisted space, mangled between the pig’s massive teeth, spiraled and shot toward us like a bullet.

The black sphere, distorted and twisted, hurtled toward us, tearing through the air as it flew.

Seeing this, the Reaper urgently let go of my hand and kicked me away with both feet, pushing me out of harm’s way.

The black sphere left a long scar on the ground as it swept across the spot where the Reaper had been standing.

“Reaper!”

Could it be that the Reaper had died?

The Reaper had vanished without a trace.

Yerin stood in a daze on the marshmallow-like ground where the gray Reaper had disappeared.

The pig king, having lost most of its body, slowly turned its head toward Yerin and began to approach.

Starting with its blackened bones, decayed blood vessels began to weave together, and muscles and skin gradually wrapped around them.

The Golden and Blue Reapers stepped forward, their expressions tense, as the pig drew closer, ready to charge and sweep everything away.

But just as it seemed the pig was about to rush forward, it suddenly stopped.

An out-of-place sound echoed in the air, a sound that didn’t belong in this dire situation.

Step. Step.

The sound of small footsteps.

With that sound, the marshmallow-like ground stretched toward the pig.

A small, gray Reaper was walking alone across the soft ground.

Starting from its small ankles, the soft gray Reaper was slowly, slowly being reformed.

Fully restored, down to its antennae, the Reaper glared at the pig with a fierce expression.

Here’s the translation for the next passage, keeping closely to the original text while ensuring the translation remains uncensored and true to the tone: