Gray moonlight pierced through the center of the dark alley, surrounded by complex structures.

Standing proudly in the spotlight of the moonlight, like a scene from a theater, was a small yet strangely reassuring golden object.

It exuded the scent of the sun, completely out of place beneath the moonlit night.

With an air of confidence as if blessed by the gray moonlight, it looked up at the student.

This object was familiar to the student.

It was the 'Golden Reaper,' an object that resembled the Gray Reaper from his memories.

The student stared at the Golden Reaper, almost mesmerized by its presence.

And with the Golden Reaper’s arrival, the usual headache that always plagued him vanished as if washed away.

“Ah!”

Come to think of it, hadn’t his heart been pierced?

But now, there was no pain at all—was it just a mistake?

The student reached behind him to check his back, where the wound should have been.

What his fingers found was the torn fabric of his uniform and a ghastly open wound beneath it.

Sticky blood.

When he brought his fingers into view, there was red blood mingled with golden sparks.

The moment the Golden Reaper saw the student touching his wound, it rushed over, startled.

Tap tap.

With a scolding expression, it patted the student’s back, as if to say, “It’s not healed yet.”

The Golden Reaper hesitated for a moment before narrowing its eyes at the air with a serious expression, slowly swinging its sword toward the empty space.

As the sword traced a slow, graceful arc through the air, it made contact with the space, sending ripples through the air like a stone tossed into a lake.

And at the center of the ripples, the space tore open, filling the alley with the sweet scent of chocolate.

Once the sword’s trail came to a stop, a hole as large as the Golden Reaper itself opened in the air.

At the same time, the radiant glow of the lightsaber faded, and the flames that had burned so brightly in the Golden Reaper’s chest dimmed until they were barely visible.

The Golden Reaper, looking exhausted, gave the student a small smile.

'It’s all okay now!'

With an expression that said everything was now resolved, the Golden Reaper looked like it could collapse at any moment. The student hurriedly reached out and hugged the fragile figure.

Holding the Golden Reaper, who seemed on the verge of disappearing, the student wore a worried expression.

“Are you alright?”

The Golden Reaper didn’t respond. Instead, it pulled the student’s fingers toward its head, as if asking to be petted.

Confused but unable to resist, the student gently stroked the Golden Reaper’s head with his fingers.

The Golden Reaper closed its eyes, a satisfied smile spreading across its face.

At the same time, the dimmed flames in its body began to rekindle, regaining their former brilliance.

Once the flames of the Golden Reaper had returned to their full splendor, the little figure stood up from the student’s palm, raising its arms in triumph.

The student couldn’t help but smile softly at the Golden Reaper’s innocent gesture, as if it were proclaiming, 'The Golden Reaper has revived!'

The Golden Reaper then rushed into the tear in space it had created and returned with a small, transparent blue reaper.

The blue reaper, looking confused at first, spotted the student and immediately began weaving strings of text in the air.

<Please heal all the wounds.>

Before the student could comprehend the strange symbols, they dissolved into mist and soaked into his wound.

When he reached back to check the injury, there wasn’t even a trace left.

Healing such a severe wound so easily!

“Amazing!”

Still reeling from the memory of almost dying, the student, full of gratitude, reached out to pet the blue reaper like he had the Golden Reaper.

But before his hand could touch it, the blue reaper bashfully pulled down its hat and disappeared without a trace.

The Golden Reaper, smiling as if to say, 'You’re all better now!' glanced back at the student, then suddenly turned its head to glare at the moon.

The student, noticing the Golden Reaper’s sudden change, also turned to look at the gray moon.

It bathed everything below in its steady, soft light.

Yes, the moon had always looked like this.

So why had he thought the moon was only ever a threatening, yellow full moon just moments ago?

Suddenly, a splitting headache returned, and the yellow full moon began to devour the sky.

The once enormous moon filled his entire vision.

The alley, which had seemed simple, now stretched and twisted, turning into a vast, intricate maze.

Dark shadows filled the alley under the menacing light of the yellow moon.

And at the end of that alley, illuminated by the moonlight, a familiar silhouette emerged.

“No matter how strong you are, you can’t defeat me under the moonlight.”

The female classmate, her lips twisted in a grotesque grin, stared down at the student and the Golden Reaper.

The lightsaber, which seemed in dire need of repairs, was handed over to the Golden Reaper.

As much as I wanted to play with it, I knew it would be a bigger hassle if it broke, so I gave it to the Golden Reaper for safekeeping.

Since I can’t trust myself to resist the temptation, it’s safer to hand it over and let it get repaired quickly.

I hope the repairs don’t take long.

Once it’s fixed, I feel like I could beat the mini reapers in a fight with this lightsaber.

And for good reason—after all, the difference in the size of energy between me and the mini reapers is massive!

From energy absorption to the sheer capacity of the energy itself, the difference is almost embarrassing.

While gazing at the lightsaber owners among the Golden Reapers, I suddenly became curious and asked:

“So, what rank are you?”

They had all just called themselves 'champions' without ranking themselves, so I got curious about who was ranked where.

“Second!” “Third!” “Fourth!” “Fifth!”

In turn, the Golden Reapers raised their hands and proudly declared their rankings with enthusiasm.

Wait, there’s no first place?

There were five champions chosen, but there was only one big sword and four small ones…

Could that mean I’m first?

But when I asked, “Am I first place?” the Golden Reapers looked at me like I’d just asked the strangest question in the world.

Sigh.

That hurt my feelings.

There was no need to look at me like I’d said something ridiculous.

I was planning to play with them after the lightsaber was repaired, but now I’m not so sure.

Maybe I should go all out and show no mercy.

Silently vowing revenge, I asked another question I’d been wondering about.

“So, who is first place? Where are they?”

The Golden Reapers began bouncing around excitedly, eager to boast about their legendary sibling.

'The Golden Reaper’s First Sword!'

'Master of Spatial Cutting!'

'Unmatched Power!'

Their stories of praise went on and on, almost too extraordinary to believe.

But since Golden Reapers aren’t ones to lie about such things, this first-place Golden Reaper must really be something.

It sounded like meeting them might be interesting someday.

If they were as incredible as the praise suggested, they might even be able to take on the Demonic Reapers in a good fight.

A flash of golden light filled the alley.

“Wow…”

The student could only watch in awe.

Even though the Golden Reaper was small and wielding a tiny sword, its combat prowess was overwhelming.

The Golden Reaper kicked off the walls of the narrow alley, using the air and the walls like solid ground as it fought.

It was true three-dimensional movement!

Even though its sword was short, it wasn’t a disadvantage when the Reaper could propel itself like a bullet.

Every time the killer lunged at them, the Golden Reaper erased it from existence, reducing it to nothing more than dust.

With every flash of light around the student, the moonlit killers vanished one by one.

But despite the Golden Reaper’s overwhelming strength, the situation didn’t look promising.

The killer wouldn’t die.

Even when they were sliced in half or cut into pieces, they would vanish into dust only to reappear fully intact moments later.

And things were only getting worse.

“That’s impressive. Really impressive. But how long can you keep fighting like that?”

The female classmate, who had been relentlessly attacking, now sat atop some rubble, clapping her hands.

And as soon as she finished speaking, more figures started flooding into the alley.

Classmates, the homeroom teacher, even the principal—all the people the student had encountered before, now appeared wearing the faces of the killers.

The alley was soon filled with countless figures, all dashing toward them.

The Golden Reaper bounced around the alley like a pinball, cutting down the hostile objects.

But no matter how many it slashed, no matter how many it killed, the objects kept coming.

They were immune to being killed by the sword.

The Golden Reaper grew frustrated.

Even focusing its energy as its mother had taught it didn’t reveal anything useful.

Even when it tried to call for its mother, something blocked its will from reaching her.

Cutting through space to make a path to the Mini Reaper Garden and summon its mother was an option, but there wasn’t enough time to concentrate like that in the middle of battle.

And there wasn’t much time left to keep fighting like this, either.

The sword that could cut through anything was now flickering like a broken light bulb.

Strange sounds came from within the once-cherished sword.

It was like the sound of its younger sibling biting into a hard snack and shattering it.

'I’m sorry.'

The Golden Reaper turned its head toward the student with a sorrowful expression, sending out a weak pulse of will.

If the sword broke, it wouldn’t be able to protect its beloved human.

These objects had 'physical immunity.'

'I’m sorry.'

The Golden Reaper repeated its apology, then with a resolute face, it swung the sword for one final, full-powered strike.

With a brilliant flash, the sword erased all the enemies, but then, with a cracking sound, it fell silent.

However, the evil objects were already starting to reappear, creeping back endlessly.

Four more—two arms, one leg, and one last life.

At this rate, the student would die.

The Golden Reaper, wiping away tears, glared at the enemies.

Since its mother couldn’t come, it had to do something—anything.

At that desperate moment, the image of the Demonic Reaper’s brilliant flames flashed in the Golden Reaper’s mind.

The swordsmanship that had turned formless flames into something sharp and solid.

The answer came.

'I have to make a sword!'

But could it really do it?

Doubt filled its mind, but the Golden Reaper shook its head fiercely.

It had to be done.

If the beloved human died, there would be no bringing them back.

If the human was going to die, it would rather sacrifice itself in their place!

Even if it meant burning its very soul to ashes!

At that moment, golden flames erupted from every part of the Golden Reaper’s body.

It was the brightest flame it had ever produced.

At the same time, the Golden Reaper’s body began to fade, growing more translucent.

It was using its own life force to create the flame.

In its now empty hands, a beautiful blade extended, scattering starlight with every inch.

Gazing at the sword, the Golden Reaper smiled—a smile of pure happiness.