The world spun around me.

A massive, white-glowing blade sliced me clean in half.

I’ve lost limbs before, but this… being cut in half like this… was a rare experience.

"Mom!"

As my vision spun wildly, I could see my lower half, turning to yellow flames and slowly crumbling away like logs in a fire. I also saw the Mini Reapers, their faces full of shock, running toward me.

The Mini Reapers clung to my upper body, repeatedly asking, “Are you okay?”

The Blue Reapers were on the verge of tears, constantly drawing lines of text into the air.

<Please, don't hurt anymore.>

<Heal every painful place.>

Even though the Mini Reapers knew that something like this wouldn’t kill me, their panic seemed a bit over-the-top.

I tried to regenerate quickly, but the white flames clinging to the wound prevented the healing process.

Seeing the Angler Reaper’s maw-like face and the white flames covering its blade, I realized what was happening.

It was the same “white flames that burn Objects” that the Angler Reaper had used when we fought the jellyfish.

Looking closely, I saw a halo of light around the Angler Reaper's blade, like it was compressing the white flames.

Except, unlike the flames used by the Angler Reaper, this was far denser—more like pure light than actual fire.

It reminded me of those lightsabers from sci-fi movies.

No, more like the sword aura you’d see in martial arts stories, since it’s coating the blade.

The Angler Reaper's flames didn’t have the ability to burn through physical immunity, but the flames from this Reaper easily scorched through it and sliced me apart.

I wonder if the Angler Reaper could learn to use flames that burn through physical immunity if it trained hard enough?

As these thoughts raced through my mind, I continued to shove chunks of the glowing yellow flame into the wound. Finally, the yellow flames devoured the white flames completely.

The moment the white flames vanished, my lower half started regenerating again.

When I stood up, I felt the solid ground beneath my feet.

I looked down at the Mini Reapers, who were cheering as if they’d won a great victory, and I couldn't help but smile.

It was time for Round Two.

My younger sister cried uncontrollably, gazing at the motionless, tattooed woman who lay before her, seemingly dead.

My sister, who always said, “She won’t die unless her head’s cut off,” now saw her older sibling cut clean in half, lying there as if dead.

“Sis. Sis. Sis. Sis.”

“You’re my salvation. Please, wake up.”

“Sis. Sis. Sis. Sis.”

“You’re the only light in this hellish world.”

“You're my soulmate from another world.”

“If I hadn’t insisted on coming along, would this have happened?”

“I knew you couldn’t say no to me, and still, I pushed… and now this.”

Her mind was in chaos.

Tears flowed endlessly, as though her tear ducts had broken.

Amid her blurred vision, she began to sense a familiar, sunny scent.

A scent of happiness.

Even though she felt like she could die at any moment, the fragrance forcefully calmed her heart.

It was, as her sister had said, a terrifyingly strong form of mental pollution.

She reached into her pocket and found a small, carefully wrapped pill.

The pill her sister had given her to protect against mental corruption.

And then, her younger sister dropped the pill to the ground.

“I’m sorry, Sis.”

Without the mental corruption, I don’t think I’d survive this.

Sis is kind, so she’ll forgive me.

The Golden Reapers gathered around her, gently patting her cheeks.

As if to say, “Don’t be sad.”

Then, when they looked at her sister's lifeless body that she was still holding tight, the Golden Reapers tilted their heads in confusion.

After a moment, they smiled brightly and clenched their tiny fists.

They seemed to be saying, “Everything will be fine! Don’t worry!”

It was probably just a delusion brought on by false hope, but oh, how she wished it were true.

Maybe it was the mental corruption talking, but just seeing the bright faces of the Golden Reapers helped calm her heart that felt like it was plummeting into endless darkness.

Her sister grabbed one of the Golden Reapers and gently poked its cheek.

“Everything’s going to be okay, right? It’ll be okay.”

The sister spoke softly, her voice trembling with anxiety, as she looked at the Golden Reaper.

The Reaper nodded vigorously, smiling innocently.

It didn’t know what it was agreeing to, but still, that small reassurance was enough.

Finally, her tear-filled eyes took in the chaotic battlefield around her.

The Gray Reaper grabbed at the air, ripping the very fabric of space itself.

When it clenched its hand, miniature black holes appeared, devouring everything within a certain range.

And when a blade seemed to be closing in, the Gray Reaper would suddenly appear in a different location as if teleporting.

Her sister didn’t fully understand the Gray Reaper or the other Objects.

But even though she didn’t know much, she could tell its abilities were extraordinary. Yet, none of the Gray Reaper’s impressive attacks were landing on the Angler Reaper.

The Gray Reaper was unleashing massive, powerful strikes, but it didn’t look like it was winning.

“Can we really win?”

Her quiet muttering echoed across the intense battlefield.

A giant blade sliced through the air, aimed directly at my neck.

Whoosh.

It made an impossibly sharp sound, considering how massive the blade was.

I dodged the terrifying blade, which could pierce through physical immunity, using teleportation.

I reappeared near a Golden Reaper, clenching my fist and ripping open the space around me.

Screech.

But the tear in space dissolved before it could even reach the Angler Reaper.

Another attack, wasted.

At first, I thought the biggest problem was the blade that cut through physical immunity. But no, the real issue was something else entirely.

It was the ability that made all attacks miss their mark.

Countless Golden Reapers rushed in from every direction, trying to use their phasing ability to overlap with the Angler Reaper, but none of them could get close.

Even though they were running straight toward it, their paths would somehow veer off, causing them to miss.

It looked like space was being distorted, but I didn’t think that was it. This phenomenon wasn’t related to space.

It was more like a mystery—a paranormal, inexplicable event caused by some unidentified Object.

The perceptive Golden Reaper tilted its head, as if it, too, couldn’t understand the reason.

Blue Reapers' water needles and the giant Black Reaper’s punches also missed their target.

Thankfully, I knew what was causing this strange ability.

Floating above the Angler Reaper’s head was a halo.

That halo was the source of its power.

It looked simple—just a ring of light, similar to the 'Eye' the Cult Leader used.

Not only did it look the same, but it gave off the same eerie aura as the Cult Leader’s Eye.

As expected, dealing with this ability was just as annoying as the Cult Leader’s.

If only the solution to defeating it were as simple. Unfortunately, the Angler Reaper’s destruction condition was much more straightforward and direct.

If it were something like “Receive a standing ovation from ten thousand people at the same time,” like the Blue Lizard’s condition, it would’ve been doable.

Or even if it was something as tricky as the Cult Leader’s condition, “Retrieve the Eye within the Eye,” that would’ve been manageable too…

But the Angler Reaper’s destruction condition was simple: “Separate the Halo.”

If it were any other Object, this would be a clear and easy condition, but since I couldn’t even get close to the Angler Reaper, it became an incredibly difficult task.

At that moment, the Angler Reaper, which had been relentlessly attacking with its blade, suddenly stopped and opened its mouth.

“Kew.”

It let out a cute cry, much like a baby anglerfish, but I couldn’t understand the strange language of the Angler Reaper.

Then, with an ominous air, the Angler Reaper extended its blade and charged at me, swinging it in a beautiful arc.

The blade traced an eerie, unnatural path toward me, moving with impossible precision.

But I teleported away again, evading its bizarre swordsmanship.

No matter how incredible its martial skills were, they were no match for my supernatural abilities.

But then, something strange began to scatter from the Angler Reaper's blade.

Tiny, anglerfish-shaped flames, glowing white like flower petals, fluttered outward, filling the area around us.

The Angler Reaper poised itself, ready to strike, surrounded by its small, flaming creatures.

“Kew.”

In that moment, the Angler Reaper softly let out another cry and brought its blade down.

Instantly, the anglerfish-shaped flames exploded, shredding everything around them.

They looked small and weak, but their destructive power was beyond imagination.

It was far more powerful than being struck by the blade itself.

My limbs had already burned away, leaving nothing behind.

My entire body felt like it was on fire with unbearable pain.

In the midst of the explosion, I could feel the overwhelming, painful will of the Mini Reapers.

“Mom…”

It was the Mini Reapers' last thought as they were consumed by the blast.

Through my fading vision, I saw the remnants of the water golem that had been protecting the Blue Reapers.

Most of the water golem had evaporated, and a massive hole had been torn through one of the Blue Reapers, who now stared at me with a calm, pained expression.

As if to say, “It hurts, but it's okay.”

And with that final look, the last piece of my body burned away, and my vision faded to black.

White flames erupted everywhere like flash grenades.

Even the Golden Reapers burned away into nothingness.

My sister clenched her eyes shut, fully expecting to die in the blast.

But when she felt herself still alive, she slowly opened her eyes and saw only endless darkness.

Floating alone in that dark void was the halo above the Angler Reaper’s head, glowing faintly.

As her vision adjusted to the darkness, the ruined reception hall began to come into focus.

Everything around her had been utterly destroyed, yet she alone remained untouched by the explosion.

Only she and her sister, still held tightly in her arms, were spared.

The attack had targeted the Reapers alone.

The Angler Reaper looked exhausted.

Then, in one corner of the darkness, a small flame began to burn in midair.

The red flame grew larger and larger, and an ominous energy filled the area, turning the wreckage into something even more sinister.

Suddenly, a black figure emerged from the flames, covering it entirely.

It looked just like the Gray Reaper but with jet-black skin and a red glow—a new Object.

Its black form and the red light from within mixed, creating a malevolent, lava-like effect.

A halo of pure white light began to appear above the head of this black-and-red Reaper, contrasting sharply with its dark body.

Boom.

As the halo started to glow, a cracking sound echoed, and numerous fissures appeared on the black-and-red Reaper’s body.

At the same time, the Reaper's face twisted in rage, and it thrust its hand forward.

It was a motion similar to how the Gray Reaper would grab at space.

Crack.

With that motion, the Angler Reaper’s arm was ripped off.

Had the Angler Reaper not dodged at the last moment, its head would have been torn off instead.

The black-and-red Reaper, leaking red flames from its cracks, charged toward the Angler Reaper.