Seoul Object Story - 331 chapter - The End of the World (12)

The Blue Reaper, confronting the massive, sun-devouring spider atop the End Tower, was instantly pulled into a deep, endless darkness.

It felt as if everything around had vanished.

Sight, hearing, and touch were all numbed; only the sharp pain felt in both eyes seemed to affirm the Blue Reaper’s existence.

"I'm sorry… truly sorry…"

A voice of regret and self-reproach echoed within the Blue Reaper's mind.

"If I die like this, my precious human will die too…."

The realization of being unable to protect the human he cherished weighed heavily on his heart.

He felt the warmth of the firewood burning deep within his chest gradually weakening.

"At the very least… if it ends like this, maybe I’ll end up in the same place as my precious human."

As the warmth imbued with positive emotions faded, the Blue Reaper instinctively sought faint comfort.

In this far-off, otherworldly realm, there was no "Mom" to keep the Blue Reaper from dying.

If he died here, he wouldn't even make it to the "Mini Reaper Valhalla."

"It's… cold…."

With the warmth of the firewood fading, and the cold seeping into his entire body, the Blue Reaper instinctively curled up.

Then, something unexpected happened.

The cold darkness that had surrounded him withdrew, and a warmth that seemed to envelop the whole world began to wrap around the Blue Reaper.

Someone was softly embracing him, sharing their warmth.

"Mom…?"

In utter disbelief, the Blue Reaper was taken aback, allowing his faint consciousness to flow.

And as that warmth touched his eyes, the pain he had felt moments before vanished as if by magic.

Opening his eyes cautiously, he saw Mom standing there, her expression fierce, just like when Tyranno had been destroyed.

"Mom, you're so strong."

Mom’s presence seemed to dominate this space.

With every movement of her hand, the reality around them twisted and reformed.

When she clenched her fist, the space warped, and when she swung her hand, the ground cracked open.

It was pure, overwhelming firewood power, without any elaborate technique.

"It's really Mom. Mom has come."

Feeling relief, joy, and an indescribable sense of security, the Blue Reaper burrowed even deeper into her embrace.

With all fear and anxiety gone, the Blue Reaper slowly drifted into a deep sleep.

A small yet clear smile formed on the face of the sleeping Blue Reaper.

It was a peaceful smile, as if all worries had faded away.

The End Tower, now a complete ruin.

There lay the fallen Blue Reaper with a pink-haired human girl and the spider adorned with a halo.

Is that the Blue Reaper's precious human?

I placed the pink-haired girl inside the maw of the Black Maw for safekeeping and held the injured Blue Reaper in my arms.

"That must hurt a lot…."

In the Blue Reaper's eyes, fissures ran through them as if space itself had been cut.

Seeing that injury made me strangely angry.

I knew that feeding him firewood would heal him completely, yet I still felt this way.

[It’s Mom….]

With his wound healed, the Blue Reaper looked up at me sleepily, grinned, then burrowed back into my arms and fell asleep once again.

After gently tapping the head of the sleeping Blue Reaper, I turned my gaze toward the spider, still intact within the fractured space.

The halo-clad spider remained motionless, staring straight at me.

Was it observing me?

Or was it biding its time, sensing my strength?

Either way, it didn’t matter.

Examining the Halo Spider closely, I saw it was in a state that could crumble at any moment.

Through my "eyes," that’s how it appeared.

At any moment, its entire body could shatter and die without warning.

"It still looks pretty strong, though."

If only its body were intact, it might have been as strong as the Maw Reaper.

As I continued feeding firewood to the Blue Reaper, I extended my hand toward the spider.

Then I clenched my fist.

Swish.

The space folded inward, creating a black sphere that began to consume everything around it.

A measure effective against most enemies, the sphere contained an endless void within.

However, as the halo above the spider’s head began to scatter light, the situation changed.

The Halo Spider uttered an incantation similar to the Blue Reaper’s magic.

The space reverted to its original state, and the black sphere vanished in an instant.

Could it be a halo that grants wishes through language, like the Blue Reaper's?

Annoying.

I swung my hand wildly, slicing through the space recklessly.

Slash.

Wherever my fingers flowed, the sound of tearing space echoed.

The trails left by my five fingers seemed as if they would tear through the sky and consume even the sturdiest of structures.

However, as the space-cutting began to materialize, it reverted into golden firewood and scattered in all directions.

In the ruins that seemed ready to collapse at any moment, the golden petals scattered as if fluttering in the breeze.

‘!’

If that’s the case.

I stomped my feet twice, summoning the Mini Reaper Garden.

The entrance to the Mini Reaper Garden opened, but none of the Mini Reapers emerged.

"Mom is calling!"

Beyond the Mini Reaper Garden, golden reapers charged forward, repeatedly crashing and tumbling against an invisible barrier.

Space-cutting is ineffective.

Even the Mini Reaper Garden can’t be summoned.

So, would calling upon the Halo or the Immutable Sphere work?

As I continued pondering, the spider finally began to move.

Creak… Creak…

The spider emitted a sound like an old machine, looked up at the sky, and began chanting an incantation.

An incantation directed precisely at me.

The space all around was sharply sliced.

Yet, with each word the spider uttered, its body was crumbling bit by bit.

Its burnt-black shell was falling off, shaking the ground with each impact.

Meanwhile, the space-cutting was continuously slicing me apart as well.

Whoosh!

My right hand was slowly severed by a blade of space, spinning through the air before turning into golden flames and dispersing.

The spider and I were both fiercely hurling space-cutting attacks at each other.

However, all my attacks dissipated, while only the spider’s attacks cut my body to pieces.

Moreover, the cunning spider had imbued its space-cutting with an unavoidable trait.

Thankfully, thanks to Yerin's ‘Mark’ on me, I had ample firewood, so regeneration wasn’t burdensome.

And with every incantation the spider chanted to attack me, it crumbled further, shrinking bit by bit.

The problem was that the spider was so large, it would likely take years to wear it down completely.

So, I was caught in a cycle of sorrowful thoughts while regenerating.

"Tyranno is dead."

"The Golden-Mecha-Tyranno Armor is broken."

"All the Tyrannos have begun to grow feathers."

I repeated these thoughts over and over.

The goal was singular.

To summon the "Halo of Death" hidden within my heart.

Space-cutting.

Mini Reaper Garden.

Halo Summon.

Immutable Sphere Summon.

The only remaining option was the halo in my heart.

Feel sorrow.

I am sorrowful.

I am angry.

But no matter how vividly I envisioned my anger, the halo showed no signs of appearing.

As time passed meaninglessly, something unexpected happened.

The ground shook as if struck by an earthquake.

Boom!

Then the floor burst open, and a black torrent engulfed the entire layer.

"Mom is here!"

"It’s really Mom!"

It was a surge of fluid Black Reapers.

Eyes of the Black Reapers studded the torrent like stars in the night sky.

The torrent began pouring down toward me.

"Mom’s become smaller."

"Is Mom still hurt?"

"Why is Mom so small?"

"We have to help Mom!"

The Black Reapers then enveloped me in a strange doll outfit.

Uncomfortable.

With the Black Reapers covering my body, it felt as if 99% of my vision was obstructed.

It was like wearing glasses with a single pinhole.

When I tried to teleport out from within the Black Reapers, I sensed a strange circulation.

It felt as if I had merged with the Black Reapers.

Through the network of connected Black Reapers, firewood slowly began to circulate.

It felt like donning the body of a giant black entity.

"Is this why the Black Giant devoured the Black Reapers?"

In this state, I felt I could grant my small wish.

The spider continued its incantations to exclude the invader.

Then, out of nowhere, fragments of a deity emerged from below, coalescing into a massive shape.

A godly figure.

With the presence of something like a god.

No, it couldn’t be a god.

The god had already died.

But the darkly clustered figure continued to grow, reaching nearly the same size as the spider.

And the fragments that hadn’t yet fused lay in a black spread across the ground.

The spider, despite seeing this form, continued to move.

Creak… Creak…

Looking to the sky, it chanted another incantation.

The immense space-cutting was capable of slicing the entire layer in two.

Yet, as soon as the space-cutting touched the entity, it dispersed powerlessly.

The sight was god-like.

And the massive godly figure turned its gaze toward the spider.

The "Gray Face" embedded within the form was now a small dot on the face, yet it wore a bright smile.

It opened its mouth, releasing a powerful beam of delight.

[Gray Reaper Beam!!!]

In that instant, countless eyes embedded within the figure blinked open simultaneously.

Golden rays burst forth from each eye, and the light danced in the air as though alive.

The beams merged, forming a massive wave of light that surged toward the spider.

The scattered fragments on the ground were no exception.

From each small piece, a golden halo of light bloomed, and the light surged toward the spider like a spring erupting from below.

The torrent of light cascading down from above met the fountain of light rising from below, creating a whirlpool.

The surroundings were filled with light, leaving no place to escape.

The spider, with its creaking body, mustered its strength for one last incantation.

An incantation to erase and block the light.

But the brilliant radiance disregarded the incantation and pierced the spider mercilessly.

"Ah…."

The spider, struck by the radiant glow, finally understood.

The power of death.

The proof of a god.

The divine power embedded in the radiance.

As its body began to crumble, the halo that had once gnawed at the spider’s existence but now barely held it together was being stripped away.

The halo that had once mercilessly devoured the spider was now peeling away.

"The god has returned."

"Master, this tower must have fulfilled its purpose."

With a fading memory of its master’s face, the spider slowly closed its eyes.