In the desolate battlefield, now empty of humans, the Golden Reaper stood in the center, radiating light from its entire body, smiling brightly.

It was a smile slightly twisted by pain.

A smile of determination, showing the will to protect humans, and the joy of having done so.

As the giant monster’s fist came hurtling toward the Golden Reaper, its hair fluttered wildly in the wind, glowing like fireflies in the dark forest.

I hope the humans are safe.

I hope they all escaped and are out of danger.

And I hope this punch doesn’t hurt too much.

The thought of pain made the Golden Reaper long for its mother.

"Mom…"

Even though it was too far away for its mother to know, the Golden Reaper wanted to see her.

But the faint pulse of longing was quickly consumed by the white flames.

As its will scattered like white petals in the air, a familiar shadow loomed over the Golden Reaper.

A presence more powerful than any other filled the area.

"Mom!"

Recognizing the familiar presence, the Golden Reaper’s face lit up with a bright smile.

Mom had arrived!

Just before the Blue Reaper and the clone army clashed, fragments of faint emotions began to seep through.

Strangely enough, they came from the direction of the clone army.

The clones were faintly connected to something, and from that connection came emotions.

They were the emotions of a Mini Reaper, suffering in pain somewhere.

Bright as the sun, brave, and on the verge of losing its life.

I was startled and quickly unleashed the power of the Black Penguin in all directions.

Seoul, Korea, and across the ocean to the rest of the world.

Most of the Mini Reapers were happy, but far away, in the United States, the Golden Reaper’s flame was flickering, as if it might go out at any moment.

I used teleportation to rush toward that flickering log.

Covering the great distance in an instant, I felt the logs burning fiercely as I arrived.

And the moment I landed, a giant fist came crashing toward me.

Crack.

A sound I thought I’d never hear again after gaining physical immunity reverberated through my body—something breaking inside me.

Even amidst the excruciating pain, I tried to locate the severely injured Golden Reaper.

Despite looking as shattered as a broken porcelain doll, the Golden Reaper was beaming at me with a bright smile.

Even as I tumbled and rolled across the ground, I held the Golden Reaper close, doing my best to shield it from further harm.

It wasn’t until we had rolled a great distance that I finally stopped.

Worried the Golden Reaper might still be hurt, I quickly checked the little figure in my arms. The Golden Reaper appeared to be fine.

Giggle.

Despite being covered in wounds, the Golden Reaper looked up at me from my arms with a bright, innocent smile.

For some reason, seeing its face made me relax.

And I found myself smiling too.

With a smile on my face, I gently stroked the Golden Reaper’s head and fed it plenty of logs.

In an instant, the Golden Reaper, which had looked like a cracked porcelain figure, returned to its original form, raising its arms triumphantly.

As if shouting, "I’m back!"

Boom!

The Blue Reaper’s shield shook violently, as if it might shatter at any moment.

"Only pain can bring salvation to the flesh."

The clone cult leader army, endlessly muttering to themselves in low voices, exuded an eerie sense of unease.

They looked human, but didn’t feel like humans.

Every time the murmuring clones struck the bubble, it bounced and rolled down the tunnel.

With each impact, the Blue Reapers wore grim expressions as they rapidly wrote more strings in the air.

<Protect us!>
<Keep us safe!>

The Blue Reapers, as if waiting for something, minimized their counterattacks and focused on fortifying their shield.

Bang. Bang.

Who knows how long they had been rolling through the underground tunnel, but eventually, the Blue Reapers found themselves in a wide, open space deep within the tunnel.

A dead end.

And a spacious area where the cult leaders could spread out and surround the bubble.

The cult leaders slowly began to close in, forming a circle around the water bubble.

"The flesh is a prison for the soul, and only through pain can we escape that prison."
"The flesh is a prison for the soul, and only through pain can we escape that prison."
"The flesh is a prison for the soul, and only through pain can we escape that prison."

Their voices echoed through the open space like an ominous chant.

It seemed like an inescapable situation, but the Blue Reaper smiled brightly under its large hat.

The ten Blue Reapers gathered together, weaving a massive string of characters in the air.

<Strongest Mom Golem in the World!>
<Golem!>

A massive gray Reaper appeared, roaring as it filled the large space.

Roar!

It was a five-meter-tall colossus of water, letting out a fearsome howl.

The cult leader, rejecting pain and consumed by the flesh, had stepped forward to save the people.

After discovering the existence of the divine, he had always remained within the Eye of the Divine, so this was an extraordinary event.

He could see the wishes of countless people, all of them terrified of pain.

"Ah, poor souls, lost in the illusions of the flesh."

With disorganized wishes like these, no one could reach the divine.

Pain.

Only the desire to escape that pain could lead to the divine.

As the cult leader prepared to bestow the blessing of pain upon the people, he noticed an unpleasant presence.

Something similar to the divine flame, but twisted and distorted.

Because it resembled the divine, it felt even more repulsive.

Looking down at the golden and gray-skinned Object, the cult leader sighed.

"Ah, dear God."

The ground beneath the cult leader’s feet spread out into a massive eye.

Though the Golden Reaper had been restored, the situation was far from resolved.

The giant monster still raged as if determined to kill me and the Golden Reaper, and I had no way to stop it.

Boom!

The ground exploded like a bomb had gone off, scattering debris everywhere as the giant’s fist struck.

"Ah, dear God. Show us the righteous path," the giant rumbled, his voice echoing like thunder.

I was running in all directions with the Golden Reaper perched on my head.

Squawk!

I reached out to grasp the space around me, but nothing happened.

Instead of grabbing hold of the air, my hand was filled with swirling white flames, scattering like cherry blossoms.

Just as the physical-immune Golden Reaper had been hurt, my powers weren’t working properly either.

There existed an Object that could block abilities.

The likely culprit was the white flames clinging to me, refusing to come off.

These flames were making it impossible for me to use my abilities, putting me in an incredibly difficult situation.

Instinctively, I felt like I knew how to use my abilities.

I had a strange certainty.

"If I swallow these flames and use them as fuel, everything will be resolved."

That was the certainty I felt.

But the moment I swallowed those flames, I was sure something terrible would happen.

Like putting cooking oil into a car instead of gasoline.

Hop, hop.

I kept running in all directions, but dodging all of the giant’s punches was impossible.

My best option was simply to avoid getting pinned to the ground and rendered immobile by the blows.

Eventually, I came to a conclusion.

"In this state, where I can’t use my abilities properly, I can’t try anything else."

As I continued to dart around, I realized something.

The further I moved away, the less the white flames clung to me.

I needed to get as far away from the giant as possible.

I told the Golden Reaper, "Hold on tight."

The Golden Reaper, hearing my words, clung to my antennae with its arms and legs and then bit down with its mouth.

Once the Golden Reaper was securely holding on, I charged straight toward the giant.

As if it had been waiting, the giant swung its enormous fist.

I dodged the blow with minimal effort and pressed forward.

My arm, grazed by the fist, tore apart and scattered into the air.

There was no way for the descending fist to stop me.

I darted around the giant’s legs, weaving back and forth.

I could deal with losing my limbs since they’d regenerate quickly.

All I had to do was avoid getting pinned to the ground!

Boom. Boom.

The giant stomped its foot in frustration.

"Ah, how pitiful. Pain is the staircase to the divine."

The giant, dressed in ornate clothing, continued to mutter strange words to itself.

I dodged the stomping foot and began running away from the giant, as if fleeing.

And the giant, out of habit, swung its leg toward me like it was kicking a soccer ball.

Whoosh.

A fierce wind blew, strong enough to uproot nearby trees.

If that foot hit me, I’d be shattered into pieces.

But instead, I leaped toward the giant’s foot.

Crack.

A horrid pain shot through me as my leg shattered.

At the same time, I was launched into the air like a bullet.

As I flew through the forest, a wide grin spread across my face.

I had been kicked like a soccer ball, my body shattered, but I was soaring through the sky!

"This is my escape route!"

The further I flew, the more the white flames began to fall away.

Finally, as the last of the flames vanished from my body, I extended my hands toward the giant.

Both hands, now darkened and black.

"I’ve won."

Squawk.

I gripped the air and tore the giant apart.

But something ominous began to happen where the giant had fallen.

The ground beneath the giant revealed a massive, eye-shaped magic circle.

Like a window to another world, the eye glowed with a sinister light, staring directly at me.