NoveLight ™
Ttubang ttubang.
I slowly walked, wrapping my arms around a large cardboard box.
With every step I took, the soft marshmallows of the Mini Reaper Garden gently pushed against the soles of my feet.
My destination was the place where the "War Festival" had been held.
While walking towards the festival site, a sudden thought crossed my mind about the worm-type foreign object.
“No matter how long I wait, no new Mini Reapers have appeared.”
I had hoped for a new Mini Reaper to pop up like the Hug Reaper...
Well, there are plenty of foreign objects, so eventually, a Mini Reaper would probably appear.
I stopped for a moment and lifted my head to look at the distant horizon.
There, the Immutable Spheres, always unchanged, could be seen floating as usual.
“And for some reason, I don’t think a new Immutable Sphere will appear either.”
I wondered if it was because the worm-type foreign object was a bit unusual.
Unlike the other foreign objects, it was unusually proactive and aggressive.
And unlike other regular foreign objects, the worm foreign object was different.
It wasn’t a single entity but a collection of countless worm objects.
Together, they barely reached the level of a foreign object, but each one was at the level of a regular object.
The strong worms were at the level of a special-class object, while the weaker ones were below the level of a regular object.
“Well, anyway, I don’t need to worry about the worms anymore.”
Since most of the worm corpses had been left behind and the passage had been cut off, the remaining fragments of the worm-type foreign object in the Color Universe had probably lost their status as a foreign object.
The thought of not needing to see those disgusting worms again lightened my heart.
As I walked absently, I had unknowingly arrived at the "Festival Site."
Sleeping golden reapers filled the marshmallow plains.
They had pulled each other close while falling asleep, forming a large golden reaper cocoon.
A golden reaper lying down with a big smile, limbs being chewed by other golden reapers.
One that had probably fallen asleep while running, its head buried on the ground, a golden reaper.
The scene was where the golden reapers had enjoyed the festival and then fell asleep as the time to sleep passed.
As their curled bodies lay there, a subtle golden glow emanated from them, creating a scene that looked like stars scattered across the sky.
I started picking up the golden reapers one by one.
Warm.
The body of the sleeping golden reaper was filled with a pleasant warmth.
When I held it in my hands, it squirmed and hugged my hand tightly.
"Here, you're sleeping here."
I whispered gently and placed the golden reapers into the cardboard box.
Carefully.
Until the box was full.
"Mom..."
"Mom?"
"I'm sleepy..."
Some of the golden reapers woke up when they felt my touch.
With drowsy, dazed expressions.
Sleepy golden reapers would immediately fall back asleep if I gently covered their eyes with my fingers, so I had no problem placing them into the box.
The cardboard box was soon filled, soft and squishy.
"Done!"
I let out a satisfied sigh.
This was how the so-called "Golden Reaper Chick Box" was completed.
When I lifted the box, I could hear the little bodies shifting inside.
"Let's go."
I firmly held the box and began to search for the presence of the golden reaper I had previously positioned at the target location.
As I felt the presence of the sleeping golden reaper, I instantly teleported to it.
The scenery changed in an instant.
The soft, white marshmallow plains quickly turned into a hard dirt floor.
Before me, a golden reaper was buried in the ground, with only its head visible as it slept.
When I focused on my sight, I saw what looked like high concrete walls, resembling the gates of a castle.
"Arrived!"
Above the entrance, a sign read, Golden Horn Rest Area.
Thus, I had arrived at the place known as the Golden Horn Isolation Zone.
“Ugh!”
The golden reaper was flying.
No, it was thrown.
Rolling.
When the golden reaper, who had fallen from the sky, opened its eyes, it found itself surrounded by dark alleys and high walls.
"Mom was here..."
It was still half-asleep, but it could hear the will of its mother.
What had mom said?
That's right, she told me to make a cherished human here.
"Automatic? Hunting? I think she said it was needed!"
The golden reaper, straining its soft head, managed to remember the instructions from its mother.
Just as it got up to carry out the order, another golden reaper fell.
"Ugh!"
Unlike the one that woke up halfway, this golden reaper had slammed its head against the ground.
The golden reaper shook its head as if dizzy.
"Let's hurry!"
I extended my hand to the still dizzy golden reaper, grasping its hand and began to run together to carry out the mother’s instructions.
"Mom said there would be a cherished human here!"
The golden reaper, forgetting that it had been thrown, excitedly ran into the dark alley with a bright smile.
On the top floor of James Tower, standing tall on the outskirts of Songpa-gu.
Through the window, the night view of Seoul spread out, and James was deep in thought.
He had suspended his object investigation in the Arctic and returned urgently.
After receiving a shocking report about the Alexander Group, his heart was like a stormy sea, tossing and turning.
"I didn’t expect this..."
James sighed as he murmured.
"No matter how important the Gray Reaper is, I should have checked this earlier."
On his desk, numerous documents containing the secrets of the Alexander Group were scattered messily.
The dark truth hidden behind the facade of a “good company.”
Horrifying human experiments on innocent people.
A conspiracy to neutralize humanity’s object defense system...
All of it was now revealed to the world.
When it seemed that the investigation of the Alexander Group was coming to a close, James gently lifted the golden reaper that had been sleeping next to his keyboard.
He slowly stood up and moved toward the window.
"Human...?"
The golden reaper wriggled on his palm like a little puppy, then slowly opened its eyes.
"Human!"
When it made eye contact with James, it jumped onto his shirt.
The golden reaper grabbed James' shirt and began to climb it with a bright expression.
James, smiling, removed the golden reaper, giving it a small cookie.
As the lights of Seoul twinkled outside the window, James took a sip of hot chocolate and began checking the new information that had been uploaded to the Association’s database on his phone.
Crunch, crunch.
The sound of the golden reaper chewing the cookie echoed softly in the quiet office.
Then, James’ attention was caught by a report organizing a regional newspaper article.
“Italian environmental activist found dead.”
The headline caught his attention.
“The body appeared to have been blown apart, as if a bomb had exploded inside. Authorities suspect the involvement of an object and have passed the case to the Object Association.”
James furrowed his brows.
"The death method is similar to those in the upper echelons of the Alexander Group."
He returned to his seat and immediately began searching for similar cases in the Object Association’s database.
His hunch was correct.
Similar deaths were being reported around the world.
Local dignitaries, politicians, businesspeople, heads of volunteer organizations, and others.
People who had exploded to their deaths were found all over the world.
There were even cases where entire cities were incapacitated by such incidents.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
James slowly tapped the desk with his pen.
His mind was already filled with numerous hypotheses.
James issued urgent instructions to his staff through the James Institute internal network.
“Urgent investigation order for suspicious death cases”
After issuing the instructions, James began sifting through new reports from the Association.
At that moment, his attention was drawn to a report from a San Francisco daily newspaper.
“New Hero, Black Reaper!”
Along with the article was a photo of a giant black reaper, the size of a human, moving through the city.
Late at night, in the Seoul Forest, where mini reapers roamed.
The Black Reaper walked towards the faint echo of will in the darkness, its footsteps heavy.
The ominous energy of the dark forest surrounded it, but the Black Reaper continued forward without hesitation.
"Mom..."
Still distant and faint, the whisper echoed in the Black Reaper's ears.
Guided by that will, the Black Reaper stepped deeper into the forest.
How long had it been?
At some point, the Black Reaper realized it had arrived at a strange, unfamiliar place.
When it looked up at the sky, what filled its view was not the familiar night sky.
Instead of various colored moonlight, the sky was filled with a cosmic universe of vibrant colors.
Red, blue, yellow, and purple intertwined in a spectacle that seemed to move like living beings.
Underneath this ominous sky, translucent giant butterflies gracefully flew.
A powerful object the Black Reaper could not defeat alone.
These butterflies were the only familiar thing in this unfamiliar land.
"Where is this?"
The Black Reaper looked around in confusion.
Its antennae formed a giant question mark above its head.
At that moment, something began to approach from the edge of its sight.
A massive, relentless black wave, seemingly ready to sweep everything away.
A wave of countless black reapers, resembling ancient gods.
And within that black wave, the cries of will could be heard.
"For Mom!"
"Mommaaa!"
"Enemy of humanity!"
The cry of will merged into a massive phenomenon, twisting the surrounding environment.
The wave of black reapers surged forward, clashing with the giant butterflies flying in the sky.
"It’s dangerous."
The Black Reaper tried to move, preparing to help its comrades.
The giant butterflies were far too powerful for the Black Reaper to face alone.
"!"
But the result of the collision was the exact opposite.
Screeeech!
With a noise as if something were being twisted, the claws of the black reapers tore through the semi-transparent butterflies.
The time distortion created by the butterflies had no effect on the Black Reaper.
It seemed as though all the butterflies were being swept away.
But then, a change occurred.
A giant, truly enormous butterfly appeared.
Its wings were torn apart, its body full of holes, and it bled profusely.
But atop its head, there was a glowing halo.
"Mom’s halo!"