In the corner of the battlefield, where a massive jelly pig ran through the sky and the colossal black Reaper and giant blue golem smashed hostile Objects, a small group of purple Reapers huddled around the rusted one.

"Are you okay?"

They gently poked the rusted purple Reaper’s cheek, looking worried. The once-smooth, gleaming purple skin was now marred by a scar, hardened like rust. The others asked if it hurt as they touched the scar.

But the rusted purple Reaper simply smiled and assured them, saying it was fine. It was a badge of honor, a scar earned from protecting its beloved human.

As it spoke, the rusted purple Reaper gazed up at its human with sparkling eyes. The man, noticing the attention, chuckled softly and reached down to pat the Reaper’s head. In response, the rusted purple Reaper giggled happily, rubbing its cheek against his hand.

The sight made the other purple Reapers envious.

"I want a beloved human too," they muttered, clenching their small fists with determination. They had been on a journey to find a beloved human of their own but were called back by their mother. Now, they vowed to return to that journey once this battle was over.

But as they clenched their tiny fists, a dangerous blue light began to creep toward them.

'!'

Startled, the purple Reapers quickly conjured a protective shadow barrier around themselves. Though the light was faint, it was enough to rust their shadows slightly.

The others looked toward the rusted purple Reaper with worry, but surprisingly, it seemed unaffected. Despite its weakened state, it was still a high-ranking mini Reaper and thus more resilient.

However, the light proved fatal for one forced and artificial Object—the glow-in-the-dark dinosaur. It rapidly rusted and crumbled to dust.

"No!! My glow-in-the-dark tyrannosaurus!"

Along with the destruction of the dinosaur, an overwhelming sense of despair spread from their mother’s will.

"Protect everyone!"

As the ominous blue starlight spread, the blue Reaper channeled all its strength to weave protective barriers in the sky. A large, dome-shaped water bubble appeared, shielding the humans from the deadly light that could rust anything it touched into nothingness.

But the barrier was fragile, shaking as though it might shatter at any moment.

"Hang in there!"

The golden Reapers were at a loss, unable to help, and could only fret nervously. But then, like a living entity, shadows spread over the barrier in a grid pattern, reinforcing it.

It was the work of the purple Reapers, their cloaks fluttering as they bolstered the protection.

"Our strong little siblings!"

The golden Reapers cheered as they watched.

Fortunately, the cursed blue light affected both sides—ally and enemy alike. The hostile Objects that had been fighting the mini Reapers also turned to dust, like the glow-in-the-dark dinosaur.

So, with no more enemies to battle, the mini Reapers gathered near their favorite humans, cheering on their mother from afar.

"Go, Mom!"

Transferring my consciousness into the black corpse, a wave of confidence surged within me, as if I could do anything.

The sheer size and power of this body dwarfed the gray Reaper’s form. Though it felt like I might be overwhelmed, I had become accustomed to handling corpses like this, and soon enough, I felt comfortable.

A blue mist surrounded me, almost like the creation of a mini Reaper’s Garden, a space of its own.

In this blue mist, it felt as though the space itself was hindering my movements, as though it was resisting me. Normally, I would have deployed my own Garden to counteract it, but this body didn’t have such a space.

Not that it needed one.

As I slowly advanced toward the blue giant, it began its assault.

Rusted wires appeared from the mist, coiling around my body. But as I continued to move, they snapped and fell away.

The blue giant glared at me, and the space around us began to tear apart. Yet, even as space itself fragmented, it couldn’t affect this body.

The space around me folded, creating an inescapable prison of twisted mirrors. Endless reflections stretched in every direction, the space warped and tangled.

But to this body, there was no difference between this and a regular mirror. I forced my hands into the space and tore it apart, reducing the mirrored world to white flames that vanished into nothing.

A spear that could rust anything it touched pierced through me, but it didn’t matter.

The blue light in the mist grew stronger, reversing cause and effect, separating matter and information. Humans and Objects caught in the light lost their memories, and letters from books streamed away like water.

But none of this had any effect on me.

Thump. Thump.

With each step, the long arms of the corpse slammed into the ground, advancing slowly but surely toward the blue giant.

I moved deliberately, as if to instill fear.

Slowly.

So very slowly.

The blue giant unleashed all its powers in an attempt to stop me, but nothing worked.

None of the giant’s attacks could even scratch the sturdy body of the corpse.

When I got close enough to touch the giant, it tried to flee, transforming its body back into a star to escape.

But it was too late.

The moment my precious tyrannosaurus died, this battle was already over.

"Where do you think you’re going?"

I extended one of the corpse’s long arms and grasped the blue giant with a crushing force.

SCREEEEECH!

The sound of space itself tearing apart echoed as my sharp claws slowly sank into the giant’s torso.

"Wow."

I marveled at the absurdity of it all.

With enough strength, you can tear through even physical immunity.

And so, I began ripping the giant apart, piece by piece.

As the blue giant’s power waned and the rusting light subsided, the mini Reapers gathered like meerkats on the highest spots around, watching me.

The black Reapers were even bouncing around my feet, chanting, "Strong Mom!" and cheering wildly.

The blue giant could still hurt the mini Reapers, so it was dangerous, but they kept drawing closer.

"It’s dangerous! Get back!"

I warned them to keep their distance, but the black Reapers just clung closer, beaming with joy.

"Worried Mom!"
"Kind Mom!"

I sighed, giving up on trying to drive them away, and focused on figuring out how to kill this resilient giant.

"It won’t die, no matter what I do."

Even after tearing off all its limbs.

Even after disintegrating it into dust with beams.

Even after grinding it into tyrannosaurus-shaped nuggets.

The giant simply regenerated, creeping back together piece by piece.

"Ah! Why did I forget that?"

Suddenly, it hit me—something crucial I had forgotten.

"Destruction conditions!"

How could I forget to check the destruction conditions?

Fighting with a corpse like this had made my brain sluggish.

I activated my eyes to read the destruction conditions, and a complex sequence appeared.

<In a completely isolated space where no star from the Outer God reaches, the blue giant must ignite the flames of emotion and wish for destruction.>

Is that even possible?

It sounds absurdly difficult to kill.

I considered maybe weakening it as much as possible and sealing it away in the mini Reaper’s Garden, like some kind of demon king.

Or maybe I’d have to periodically control the corpse and tear it apart over and over again.

As I mulled over these options, a quiet vibration resonated from the logs in my heart.

It thumped like a heartbeat.

And in sync with that pulse, everything froze.

Darkness consumed the world, swallowing all color.

The cheering mini Reapers stopped moving, and even the wind ceased.

The world, now painted black, sank into silence.

As if time itself had stopped, the world stood still. A white flame flickered, cutting through the darkness, pulsating through the blackened space like blood flowing from a heart.

And with each pulse, the destruction conditions of the blue giant changed.

<<Eat it.>>

As soon as I understood the new conditions, my consciousness sank deeper into the corpse.

Slowly, my awareness began to rise from the depths of unconsciousness.

Crunch. Crunch.

A faint sound echoed in my ears, like something being chewed.

It was distant, yet strangely close at the same time.

Crunch. Crunch.

With each crunch, the presence of the blue giant diminished, as if its very essence was being chipped away.

The weakening of the enemy was a good thing.

Crunch. Crunch.

As the sound continued, the presence of the Outer God receded, its influence growing more distant.

The retreat of the Outer God was also a good thing.

Amid the sinking of my consciousness, a small will reached out to me.

"Mom!!"

It was small but unmistakable, a call I couldn’t ignore.

The children were calling me!

At that moment, I rose fully to the surface of my consciousness.

I finally saw the situation around me.

Gripped in my teeth was one of the blue giant’s severed arms.

The battlefield around me was in ruins.

Other than the arm in my mouth, the blue giant was gone, not a trace remaining.

And the black Reapers huddled in a corner, shivering.

The scene was entirely different from what I had expected.

What had happened?

Had the corpse moved on its own?

Or had I lost control of it?

I swallowed the last piece of the blue giant’s arm and sent the black corpse back into the Immutable Sphere.

Then, opening my eyes in Yerin’s embrace, I stared up at the Immutable Sphere with a serious expression.

In the depths of the Garden, the snowfield lay in silent stillness.

The soft light from the Garden’s sky reflected off the white shaved ice, creating a beautiful play of light, but there were no mini Reapers to appreciate it.

Normally, the mini Reapers would line up to get their hands on sugar-coated fruit, but today, no such lines could be found.

There was no sign of the hamsters’ desperate struggles to protect their fruits, nor of the flamingos and golden Reapers who usually tormented them.

The snowfield was quiet.

Amidst this serene backdrop, a new Object began to take shape.

In the sky above the Garden, a perfect sphere appeared.

It resembled the Immutable Sphere but emitted a mysterious blue glow, as if it contained a star.