A yellow full moon glowed so brightly that it was difficult to look directly at it.

Its eerie yellow light felt like it could drive anyone mad just by staring at it.

In front of that ominous full moon, the image of the female classmate standing there became slightly blurry.

"Why didn’t you go back sooner?" "Why didn’t you go back sooner?"

Her voice overlapped, a mix of the familiar voice of the girl often heard during library duty and the voice of an unknown adult male.

It sounded like a broken speaker, or like the chaotic noise of a black-and-white TV screen, as her voice and appearance became jumbled.

And then, the headache grew so intense, it felt like my head was about to split open.

The ringing in my ears and dizziness grew stronger, making it hard to even stay on my feet.

To the student, it felt as if the girl was sending out waves that triggered the migraine.

"What a lovely night."

With those words softly muttered, the girl disappeared from sight right in front of the student.

"!"

The student was startled for a moment, but strangely, he could still feel where she was, and what she was doing.

The source of the migraine had shifted to his back.

'She's holding a dagger, aiming right for my heart.'

The moment he sensed it, the student threw himself forward and rolled.

Whoosh.

With a sound like the wind being sliced, his uniform was torn vertically.

If he had been just a moment slower, it would've been a deep, bone-exposing wound.

"Impressive. How did you avoid that?"

The voice came again, this time accompanied by a slow clap, the dagger still in her hand.

Or rather, the student could feel her clapping.

His heart pounded like mad, but still, he kicked off the ground, running deeper into the alley, hoping to escape.

Soft lighting that wasn’t harsh on the eyes, the air warm and comforting.

It was as if I had just stepped out of the bath and was now lying in a sauna, when suddenly, a golden reaper appeared and tugged on my pinky finger.

'Mom! Hurry over!'

The golden reaper was beckoning me excitedly, as if it had something to show.

It didn’t look urgent, just incredibly happy.

Did it discover something fun? Golden reapers usually just spar with swords these days, so the odds of them finding something like that were low…

I followed the golden reaper as it walked with its usual lively steps.

We soon arrived at a familiar backyard, where golden reapers always gathered to play.

Normally, they would be running around noisily, but this time, they were all standing still, gathered in a circle.

They were being quiet!

For a golden reaper, which found joy in everything, this was a rare sight.

At the center of the circle stood four golden reapers, each holding a short stick as if it were a sword—though it seemed too short to be a proper blade.

I had barely arrived when the contest for choosing the five golden champions was announced as over, and all the golden reapers clapped in excitement.

So, that was why they’d been playing with swords?

I watched the awards ceremony, only mildly interested. It was surprisingly short but intense.

They raised their short sticks high, and the golden reapers all released their willpower simultaneously.

'Light!'

Just like when they’d drawn beams of light under the sun before, energy flowed into the sticks, and they began to emit a brilliant glow.

'Wow!'

I let out a small gasp.

Lightsabers!

Even though each one was a lightsaber, they created different blades, as if reflecting each reaper's unique personality.

Though the swords were all different, they were all infused with the same emotion.

The joy of the golden reapers and their boundless affection for humanity.

Surely, even if they swung those human-loving swords at a person, no harm would come to them.

I was so envious.

I wanted one too.

I didn’t know the golden reapers were capable of making such things.

I was thinking about what kind of scheme I’d need to pull off to snatch one, when a golden reaper handed me something wrapped in cloth.

It was as if this had been the plan all along, and the other golden reapers watched me with bright, expectant eyes.

'No way?'

I touched the object, feeling the short stick concealed within the cloth.

'No way, no way!'

I unwrapped it to reveal the handle of a lightsaber, much like the ones the golden reapers were holding.

'Wow, is this a gift?'

Overwhelmed with joy at the surprise present, I hugged and petted all the golden reapers gathered in the backyard.

In truth, I felt a bit guilty since I’d been planning to steal one.

Well, I hadn’t actually stolen anything yet, so I guess it’s fine.

Hehe.

As I rolled around with the golden reapers in the backyard, a sudden worry crept in.

'What if I can’t use the sword since I don’t know how to fire beams?'

An ominous feeling struck me, so I stood up and drew the lightsaber.

Just like the golden reapers had, I focused my willpower.

'Light!'

Nothing happened.

But something felt off.

What did 'light' have to do with moving the energy in the stick?

Maybe that 'light' chant was just a golden reaper thing?

I tried pushing the energy into the handle, like I would when healing a mini reaper.

'Ooh!'

A yellow blade shot into the sky, reaching high into the heavens.

'Wow, Mom’s amazing!'

'Mom’s so strong!'

The golden reapers were wide-eyed, repeatedly shouting 'amazing!' at the sight.

Hehe, I got my own lightsaber.

It wasn’t anything special compared to something like spatial slicing, but the fact that it was a lightsaber gave it immense value.

So cool!

But just as I was getting excited about wielding my new sword, an unsettling sound came from the handle.

Creak.

It was the sound of wood twisting under pressure.

Startled, I retracted the blade.

Upon inspection, the once-smooth handle was now riddled with small cracks.

It could still be used if I was careful, but it definitely needed repairs.

'Can this be fixed?'

When I asked the golden reapers, they all tilted their heads and said, 'Dunno! You’ll have to ask.'

So, they weren’t the ones who made this sword?

I kept running. And running. Never stopping.

Whoosh.

The student rolled on the ground, narrowly avoiding another downward slash of the dagger.

The blade let out a horrible scraping sound as it dug deep into the concrete.

It was far more force than any human could produce.

Even as the student ran, his thoughts were racing.

What was going on? Was the girl who helped him in the library a serial killer all along?

But he didn’t think it was that simple.

It had to be connected to the objects.

Perhaps the headaches that had been helping him dodge the attacks were part of this too.

Huff, huff.

His breath was ragged, his lungs burning from running, but the killer chasing him was still breathing evenly.

A sharp dagger flew toward him once more, and the student swung a nearby trash can to block it.

Clang!

The thin metal crumpled as the blade pierced right through, leaving a gaping hole in the trash can.

The killer seemed genuinely surprised.

"You blocked it again? How are you doing this?"

It was true—the speed and power of the attacks were beyond anything a human could perceive, let alone block.

If it weren’t for the migraines guiding him, he wouldn’t have stood a chance.

"But you can’t keep running forever."

The student sprinted through the winding alleys, desperate to stay alive.

The killer was unnaturally fast in a straight line, so he had to keep taking the most complicated paths possible.

And then there was that golden presence he had sensed earlier, both in the morning and evening.

He didn’t know why, but it felt like his only hope.

Even if it was another dangerous object trying to lure him in, he had no choice but to rely on it now.

"Are you seriously looking for the Golden Reaper?"

The killer laughed, a mocking sound that suddenly turned into a deep growl.

"It doesn’t matter how strong it is, no one can escape under the moon of madness!"

The killer stroked the moonlight as if it were a tangible thing, a blissful expression on her face.

Huff, huff.

The student’s lungs felt like they were on fire.

He had run for so long that his legs finally gave out, collapsing under him.

His muscles had no strength left.

He tried to push forward, but his legs failed him, and he fell onto the trash and bottles scattered in the alley, causing a noisy clatter.

'I need to get up, now.'

At that moment, a low voice whispered in his ear.

"It’s time to die."

Thud.

A cold, yet burning blade slid into his back.

Hot liquid poured from the wound, soaking him.

The killer flipped him over, raising the dagger to finish him by slitting his throat.

Despite the amount of blood spilled, there wasn’t a drop on her.

His blurred vision could only make out the dagger's path.

And then, as if layered over the dagger’s trajectory, a golden light pierced the sky.

A brilliant golden arc filled his vision.

The blinding light flashed for a moment, and then disappeared.

The once maze-like alley had shrunk, now barely 30 meters long.

The ominous yellow moon had vanished, replaced by a soft gray light that bathed the alley in a calming glow.

There was a warm, comforting scent, like sunlight on a summer day.

As he sat up, still dazed, he saw it.

Standing over him was a golden object, holding a radiant golden sword.

The golden figure glanced around with a dissatisfied expression, but when it met his eyes, it smiled warmly, as if to reassure him that everything was fine.