The tower that connected the layers of the disks.
The pink-haired girl and the blue reaper entered the tower and began moving slowly upward.
Step, step.
[Step, step.]
The sound of the girl’s footsteps echoed through the narrow space of the tower.
The interior was so cramped that the Mom Golem couldn’t fit, so the blue reaper settled quietly on the beloved human’s shoulder.
The tower’s interior was a chaotic mesh of metal pipes intertwined in all directions, with no clear path that resembled a proper walkway.
But the pink-haired girl, skilled and confident, maneuvered effortlessly through the labyrinthine pipes, moving steadily upward.
She crossed thin pipes like a tightrope walker.
She swung around metal bars, spinning before leaping to grab onto another bar on the opposite side.
She climbed up slowly, relying on a single pole like one would climb a tree.
<!!!>
Watching the beloved human’s agility, the blue reaper clapped enthusiastically.
Phew.
The pink-haired girl wiped the sweat from her forehead, her face slightly flushed.
"Grandfather once told me something. He said that this tower wasn’t always like this."
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"He said there used to be something called a spiral staircase inside here."
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Hearing this, the blue reaper looked down at the narrow interior of the tower they had climbed so far.
This didn’t look like something meant for humans to climb.
Even with a generous perspective, it seemed like a jungle gym designed only for those brave enough to risk death.
But, despite its daunting structure, the top of the tower was now within sight.
The pink-haired girl, looking a little tired, spotted the white light from the exit and regained her energy, climbing faster.
"Here we are!"
Emerging from the dark interior of the tower into the white light, a new and distinctly different landscape unfolded before them.
The sky curtain, always blocking the tower’s view of the sky, looked looser than in the previous layer.
This allowed them to see a hazy, white sky that resembled a cloudy, misty blanket.
With more light coming through the gaps in the sky curtain, it was surprisingly bright.
"It’s so bright!"
The sudden light made the pink-haired girl squint, shading her eyes with her hand.
The blue reaper, unimpressed by the cloudy, hazy sky, found something else to admire in this new layer.
Clear water rose just past knee-height, gently rippling across the entire layer.
The bright white light from the sky danced on the surface of the water.
White buildings, reflecting the intense brightness of the light, stood among the water, creating a mystical atmosphere.
Clear water reflecting the white sky and pure white buildings!
It was like a salt desert reflecting a bright, clear sky.
<…, there’s so much water here.>
The blue reaper glanced down, smiling slightly at its reflection on the water’s surface.
The pink-haired girl had already tossed aside her clothes and jumped into the water, swimming around.
"Come on, hurry! Let’s play together!"
Watching the beloved human’s playful smile, the blue reaper slowly floated over to join her.
Hovering high above, looking down on the white city, the blue reaper noticed some odd details.
Black patches, like foreign objects in the white city.
?
The black shapes were statues depicting creatures with long legs and elongated arms rooted to the ground.
Black reaper? Strong mom?
Curious, the blue reaper tilted its head, examining the strange statues scattered throughout the city.
Seoul Forest, stretching wide across the northern part of Seoul.
As soon as I teleported there, golden reapers patrolling the area began flocking toward me.
Mom!
Something bad happened!
The number of golden reapers gathering was unusual.
The forest’s density of golden reapers had grown so high that it almost resembled the Mini Reaper Garden.
Not even during the Yellow Reaper’s disappearance had it been this intense….
I arrived near the edge of Seoul Forest, where the blue reaper was last seen, and extended my senses outward.
Through the Mini Reaper Network, I felt the presence of mini reapers scattered around the globe.
But only nine blue reapers remained.
One was missing.
The remaining blue reapers had clustered together, flying in formation around the edges of Seoul Forest.
Since I couldn’t detect the missing blue reaper, it likely got pulled into a separate space, like the Mini Reaper Garden.
The most likely culprit was an object that had severely distorted Seoul Forest’s space.
However, Seoul Forest’s space was already so entangled that locating the origin of the distortion created by an object was challenging.
Even with the “Locate Main Body” ability I acquired from capturing the white maw, I couldn’t pinpoint the object causing the spatial disturbance in Seoul Forest.
It was as if this spatial mess wasn’t due to an object phenomenon but rather a natural occurrence.
As I patrolled around the outskirts of Seoul Forest, I noticed an orange-crowned reaper moving about with a golden reaper.
It made sense—the disappearance of the blue reaper was severe enough to bring back the reapers who had bonded with the beloved human.
At that moment, I saw the orange-crowned reaper show the golden reaper something it had found.
What is it?
We found the blue reaper’s severed head!
Nooooo!
When I approached to take a closer look, it was a carefully crafted piece of water, shaped to resemble the blue reaper’s head.
It seemed to be held together by "Probability Control," preventing it from dispersing.
Ah!
The orange reaper, meeting my gaze, immediately tried to flee.
Instead of helping with the blue reaper search, the orange-crowned reaper was actively causing trouble, so I grabbed it tightly and gave it a light flick.
As I unraveled the Probability Control on the water fragment, the blue reaper’s head reverted to ordinary water in the golden reaper’s hands.
Realizing it had been tricked, the golden reaper glared furiously and bit the orange-crowned reaper’s plump cheek.
Waaah!
The orange reaper whimpered, clearly in pain.
With the orange-crowned reaper in my grip, I continued searching the area where the blue reaper had disappeared.
By the time we finished circling the area, the orange reaper’s cheek bore several bite marks.
It hurts….
How many fake blue reaper heads did the golden reaper distribute?
It looked like a fun prank to try, but maybe not while the blue reaper was missing….
Perhaps I’ll try it when the beloved human goes missing next time.
Hehe.
A layer of clear water and a white sky.
In this tranquil layer, the sound of the pink-haired girl walking on water echoed.
Splash, splash.
The girl’s face held a faint smile as if she was enjoying the feel of the water beneath her feet.
As she hummed a tune, walking with a splash splash, the blue reaper turned her hum into water notes, sending them skyward.
Together, they walked across the water, eventually reaching a large building, their destination.
It was a massive structure surrounding the tower that connected to the next layer.
The girl sat down on the dry floor inside the building, drying her feet and putting her shoes back on.
"This layer is so clean and bright. It’s a shame we have to leave soon."
A slight look of regret crossed her face.
But they had to move on.
There was no food in this layer.
Unlike the previous layer, there were no items lying around from other worlds.
Instead, the entire layer was spotless, not a single piece of trash in sight.
"This place is huge."
The building they entered was vast, with no pillars, made entirely of smooth white stone.
As they continued, a mosaic covering the entire ceiling came into view.
"Wow."
The pink-haired girl marveled as she looked up at the ceiling, seeing such a sight for the first time.
The mosaic formed a massive image.
A world filled with black liquid.
A sky with seven-colored moons, and a gigantic spider endlessly climbing toward the sky.
At the far end of the building, there stood a black statue.
Strong mom….
The blue reaper gazed at the statue, forming letters of curiosity.
Just then, the pink-haired girl called out to the blue reaper.
"There’s writing here!"
Under the dark statue, absorbing all light, was a small inscription.
Only now can I finally create a god's statue.
But this is a godless world.
Creating the statue has no meaning anymore.
In the center of Seoul Forest, where the Steel Tower once stood.
At the spot where the Steel Tower had been, now occupied by a black pillar of light, I looked up at the dark night sky from within the pillar.
Surrounded by the black light, looking up at the sky felt as if I were trapped within the pillar.
All around the base of the light pillar were fragments of unfamiliar buildings.
These remnants were soaked in the stench of evolutionary fluid.
Harmful objects!
Golden reapers busily roamed through the debris, smashing any remnants that emitted the scent of harmful objects.
Turning my gaze upward, I noticed a foreboding black star directly above.
That black star must be the source of the trouble….
Reaching out toward the black star, I pulled at the space surrounding it.
At that moment, a massive sphere, reminiscent of Earth, became faintly visible in the sky.
But instead of blue oceans, this dark planet was filled with surging black seas.