I fiddled with the distinct scar on my neck, looking down at the burning remains of the spear-headed Object.

'It was easier than I thought.'

The spear-headed Object had a challenging destruction condition and an impressive presence as an Object.

Additionally, I couldn’t summon the Mini Reaper Garden or call upon any Mini Reapers, but I managed to take it down without too much trouble.

The spear-headed Object had been more terrified than expected upon meeting my "Eye."

As I touched the scar encircling Otherworldly Yerin's neck, I felt a mix of regret and relief.

It was regrettable that this was just a dream; I couldn’t exact any real revenge on the spear-headed Object for wounding Yerin.

If only it could revive in the Mini Reaper Garden, I’d torment it endlessly….

The relief came from this being a dream.

I was glad Yerin wouldn’t have to bear any scars.

With those thoughts, I squatted down and prodded the remains of the spear-headed Object with a twig.

Beside me, the Blue-Haired Girl and the man who resembled the cult leader were having a serious conversation.

"Purple blade. Definitely the power of the moon. But why is the moon attacking alchemists?"

The man, sifting through the burning debris, muttered under his breath, "The moon and alchemists were supposed to be allies."

"If the purple moon has indeed started attacking humans, it’s a major issue. We need to return to the Alchemist Guild and devise a plan. The purple moon is the strongest; if we leave it unchecked, it’ll be a huge problem."

The man pulled a sample of the purple blade from the debris and seemed eager to leave the city.

The Blue-Haired Girl, shaking her finger at him, wore a mischievous expression as she spoke.

"Heh. Nope, the problem isn’t the moon."

She pulled out a long glass rod and began extracting a viscous black liquid from the Object’s remains.

"Evolution fluid?"

"Yes, that’s the problem. I suspected something odd from the very beginning."

The Blue-Haired Girl struck a dramatic pose, almost as if she were pitching a product on a home shopping network or a cult recruitment show.

"This is no ordinary evolution fluid! If a human drinks it, they evolve, achieving eternal life! Pour it on a magic book, and the book dissolves—truly a miracle fluid! No side effects! No environmental pollution!! It’s an alchemist’s dream come true!"

After her loud proclamation, she cleared her throat and continued,

"Doesn’t it seem odd? A substance that perfect? There’s no way it doesn’t have major drawbacks."

"The current Master of the Alchemist Guild, renowned as the world’s greatest genius, is deceiving people, then."

The man paused, thinking, then added,

"Now that I think about it, there was that black-stained hermit crab too. That might be connected to the purple moon and evolution fluid."

Listening to their conversation, I realized this dream was set in a distant past.

In all the dreams I’d seen before, the Blue-Haired Girl was always fighting against the evolution fluid.

Besides, her abilities in this dream seemed notably weaker compared to others.

At that moment, a purple shell slowly materialized in the air.

It was as if an invisible hand was molding it out of thin air.

The shell glowed faintly, hovering, and from within came a distant voice.

It was a faint whisper, a signpost in the dream guiding me.

With a sense of anticipation, I picked up the shell.

The moment I held it, the sky cracked with a loud noise.

The sky was splitting like broken glass, amidst ominous black clouds.

And from that fissure, a gigantic Object's hand began to descend toward the city.

A sinister shadow loomed over the city of the purple moon.

A massive hand, heavy with an oppressive presence, slowly descended from the clouds.

The citizens, busy dealing with the chaos, looked up at the sky, but the Blue-Haired Girl looked down instead.

She saw the purple light flooding the ground.

Infused with the power of the purple moon, that light etched letters onto the ground, walls, and ceiling.

As soon as she read them, a wave of endless fear surged toward her.

'You mustn’t write this name.'

'You mustn’t see this name.'

'You mustn’t speak this name.'

'You mustn’t remember this name.'

The hand descending from the sky emitted a mental contamination that made people shy away from the inscribed name.

But amid that overwhelming terror, the Blue-Haired Girl recalled some information.

The erased entity she had been pursuing, the erased name mentioned in countless documents, and the powerful magic book trying to erase the name from the skies above the city.

A magic book that killed gods, with no detail left but a single title.

From these seemingly unrelated pieces, the girl arrived at one conclusion.

A name many had tried to record, yet it had been erased.

Perhaps it was the name of an ancient god, long forgotten.

The Blue-Haired Girl raised her head and shouted at the sky.

"A magic book that kills gods!"

This moment provided the Blue-Haired Girl, who had been chasing the "erased entity," with an answer.

'Yes, what I was searching for was the name of a god.'

But with this realization, could she survive against the magic book that killed gods?

As that question crossed her mind, the black-and-white-clad girl approached with her steady steps.

She was holding a faintly fading purple shell and spoke.

"Don’t worry. I’ll protect you."

Her pronunciation was slightly off, but her words brought immense comfort.

The massive hand clawed at the city.

Strong buildings crumbled helplessly, and many people were swept away.

But that wasn’t the worst of it.

The greater issue was the unknown presence that was slaughtering people within the city.

Even in areas untouched by the colossal hand, bodies lay strewn about.

These bodies had been slashed by something sharp.

In a secluded alley, an alchemist was frantically scratching at his forearm.

"Erase it. I said, erase!"

No matter how deep he scratched, drawing blood as veins burst, the mark wouldn’t disappear.

The ominous name carved into his arm.

He didn’t know why, but it filled him with dread.

Scrape, scrape.

Suddenly, he heard a grating sound as something clawed at a stone wall.

He gasped, spinning around, but saw nothing.

Only the stone wall, marked by a name, looked like it had been torn apart by sharp claws.

"Aaaah!"

Terrified, the man screamed and fled.

He stumbled into an old building, taking refuge under it, even though it was cramped and filled with dust.

The confined space gave him a slight sense of security.

Then, his fingers brushed against something wet.

"Huh?"

Turning, he found a pile of mutilated corpses deep under the building.

"Ugh. Ugh."

He tried to suppress his scream, attempting to crawl back out, but a monstrous hand reached out from the corpse pile, seizing him tightly.

"No!"

He was dragged back in, torn to pieces like the others.

Seeing the ominous hand descend from the sky, a long-buried memory resurfaced in my mind.

"Nameless."

Though I’d learned about it at the Object Association, I had somehow forgotten the name.

The malicious presence emanating from the hand reminded me of the evil I’d sensed at the temporary camp at Mt. Gyeyang.

The Object hovering above the city was undoubtedly "Nameless."

Breaking through the clouds, "Nameless" continued to rake its claws over the city.

Each swipe demolished buildings and extinguished countless logs.

And then, before the Blue-Haired Girl and me, a horde of smaller "Nameless" creatures appeared.

They had grotesquely twisted heads, bodies, and limbs, with arms resembling those of the massive hand in the sky.

These smaller "Nameless" approached slowly, ripping people apart with their razor-sharp claws.

They would suddenly appear in front of us or spring out from enclosed spaces.

'They’re supposed to be world-class Objects, but fighting them feels easier than expected!'

That had been my initial thought.

At first, they’d easily fall to spatial cutting, shattering when I clenched my grip.

But over time, it got harder.

It was as if they were adapting to my abilities.

Spatial cuts no longer severed them instantly, and even when I squeezed the space, they broke through with a grinding noise.

Their destruction condition was daunting.

<The complete death of a god.>

What god?

I should have realized the danger when I heard they were world-class Objects!

At this rate, it seemed impossible to fulfill the purple shell’s mission to reach the dream’s proper end.

The shell’s hint was straightforward:

[Protect the Blue-Haired Girl and survive an hour in this city.]

At first, it seemed easy, but now…

Even the powerful white flames wielded by the Blue-Haired Girl and her Master quickly became ineffective as "Nameless" developed an immunity.

'This is bad. At this rate, I won’t last an hour.'

As I contemplated whether to risk shredding Otherworldly Yerin’s body and summon the Halo, a white blur burst through the wall, scattering the smaller "Nameless" creatures everywhere.

"Jaw!"

The Blue-Haired Girl’s face lit up as she greeted the massive white creature with a radiant smile.

'Jaw!'

The sight of Jaw gave me an idea.

With Jaw that size, perhaps I could call upon the Halo.

______________________________________________

TL notes:

Thank you for reading! If you’d like to see more chapters and support my translations, you can contribute at ❤️ ko-fi.com/satabog ❤️. Every little bit helps, and I truly appreciate your support!