It had been quite some time since the Scarred Reaper disappeared.

The battle had continued relentlessly, and the New Black Reaper had now grown into a skilled warrior, no longer fitting the description of a "newbie."

Could it be the power of the golden firewood?

In this place, where everyone fought fiercely, the New Black Reaper had reached a level above the rest.

"Senpai, please watch over me today as well."

The New Black Reaper, upon waking up, picked up a marble from the room and placed it on his hood.

He then gazed at his reflection in a smooth metallic object that he had moved into the room to use as a mirror, and softly let out a sigh.

"If Mom were to see me now, would she still call me the Black Hood Reaper?"

Within that sigh, there was a small longing to see his mother.

The New Black Reaper, no, the Black Hood Reaper, as usual, stared vacantly at his reflection, the same face as his mother’s, and composed himself, trying to suppress his yearning.

"I’ll definitely see you again."

"Mom always shows up at the most important moments, never late."

When he slowly stepped outside the quarters, the Black Reaper stronghold was enveloped in a creepy silence.

The city of the sleeping Black Reapers was filled with stillness, and above, the light of the Black Reapers, now stars, illuminated the darkness.

The stronghold, which seemed the same as always, had one obvious difference.

The starry light of the Black Reapers, which had always filled the sky, now settled on the ground as well.

The light from the ceiling reflected off the sleek black liquid, making it appear as though another night sky was unfolding across the ground.

The starlight there was several times more beautiful than the sky above.

"Senpai..."

The liquid, having melted from the lack of firewood, filled the interior of the stronghold with the remains of the Black Reapers.

Slosh, slosh.

The Black Hood Reaper slowly crossed the interior of the stronghold, creating ripples across the quiet liquid surface.

As he reached the massive furnace at the center of the stronghold, it was cold, the fire long extinguished.

The firewood had been used up long ago.

Thus, many Black Reapers had turned into black liquid after exhausting all their firewood.

Even the smallest injury or the smallest expenditure of energy would cause them to become like the Scarred Reaper.

"I can’t stop the foreign butterflies anymore."

"Still, I have to do it."

"Until Mom arrives."

It was a grim situation, but the Black Hood Reaper did not give up.

He would not stop waiting for his mother until the last remaining Black Reaper fell.

That was how all Black Reapers were, from the moment they were born.

As he focused his will and stared blankly at the empty furnace, a white flash shot through the sky.

It was not just one, but countless pillars of light filled the sky.

"The butterflies are here."

Normally, only one or two pillars of light would rise, making this an unprecedented event.

It was a large-scale assault aimed at defeating the Black Reapers, who could no longer hold off the butterfly legion.

As he stepped outside the stronghold, a giant foreign butterfly could be seen slowly approaching.

"Even the cowardly butterflies won’t hide today..."

At that moment, the remaining Black Reapers in the stronghold slowly began to crawl outside.

The faint firewood.

The wounds carved into their bodies, left unhealed.

The tattered Black Reapers.

"Little brother."

"It’s the end now."

Had they sensed the final battle?

The Black Reapers wore bitter smiles.

"? "

When the Black Hood Reaper turned around, the Black Reapers had all transformed into Mini Reapers.

They had been senior Black Reapers, who had always kept their old divine forms, saying they were not fit for combat.

Upon meeting the Black Hood Reaper's puzzled gaze, the senior Black Reapers sent their will.

"We’ve come this far."

"We’re sorry we couldn’t fight until the end."

"You’ll be able to make better use of this than we ever could."

Then, all at once, they pulled the firewood from their hearts and left it for the Black Hood Reaper.

The Black Reapers who lost their firewood melted into black liquid.

"..."

The Black Hood Reaper stared silently at the firewood for a long time before picking up a burning piece of firewood and inserting it into his own body.

At that moment, a blinding light erupted from his body.

Now, the only one left, the Black Hood Reaper, advanced alone toward the butterfly army.

The halo faintly shining above his head grew more intense.

"Mom, you can’t be late..."

The Black Hood Reaper’s will reverberated through the Color Universe.

Before him stood countless butterflies, behind him, the legacy of his comrades.

It was the final step toward the end.

Late at night, deep within Seoul Forest.

I was walking through the dense, tree-filled forest, spreading my senses wide.

Moonlight seeped through the leaves, casting shadows as the raucous wills of the Mini Reapers disturbed the eerie atmosphere of the forest.

"Little brother!"

"Where are you?"

"Let’s eat pudding together!"

Because I had released the Mini Reapers into Seoul Forest to find the Black Reapers, the eerie forest had turned into a noisy playground.

But despite their energetic search to avoid being made into a frog, the Mini Reapers could find no trace of the Black Reaper.

Thud, thud.

Walking through the soft earth of the forest clearing, I suddenly saw the head of a Black Reaper pop up from the ground.

"Ah!"

The Black Reaper, locking eyes with me, grinned and then dug back into the earth.

Hmm, I didn’t think the missing Black Reapers would be underground...

I exchanged a glance with the Black Reaper mole and, relying solely on my instincts, continued moving through the forest.

Rustle, rustle.

Then, I heard the sound of something small moving in the trees above.

It was different from the sound of the wind rustling, more like the sound of leaves shifting.

I stopped in my tracks and glanced upward, and something golden fell from high up in the tree.

"Eek!"

The golden Reaper that fell landed with a thud in my palm.

"Mom!"

The golden Reaper stretched out its tiny hand and gave me a big grin.

I looked down at the golden Reaper and softly murmured, "If you don’t do the search work and just mess around, I’ll turn you into a frog!"

"No way!"

At that, the golden Reaper was startled and ran deep into the forest.

Simultaneously, the other golden Reapers, who had been scouting nearby, were also startled and vanished.

"It’s harder to get the golden Reapers to work than I thought."

They were the kindest and most obedient, but I often felt like the communication of orders wasn’t smooth.

With the golden Reapers that had been wandering around disappearing, the forest grew quieter.

I continued expanding my senses, searching for traces of the Black Reaper.

Then, suddenly, I picked up a faint will.

Unlike the noisy wills of the Mini Reapers, this one seemed to come from far away.

I stopped and sharpened my senses.

"Little brother, where are you?"

"Little brother!"

[Please watch over me today as well.]

"Let’s eat pudding together!"

Even amidst the commotion of the Mini Reapers, that faint will continued to echo.

It felt distant and strange, as if coming from another dimension.

"Wait, stop shouting!"

I silently sent an order to all the Mini Reapers.

In that instant, the forest became quiet, and all the Mini Reapers turned to face me.

"..."

The faint sound of wind and the sense of the foreign butterfly.

The Mini Reapers looked at each other, tilting their heads.

"It seems the children can’t sense it."

I followed that faint will slowly, and the Mini Reapers quietly followed behind me.

I ventured deeper into the forest, stepping between increasingly dark and thick trees.

The destination was a desolate clearing where the trees had been severed by a space cut.

There, countless gaps in space appeared and disappeared like bubbles.

[Mom, you can’t be late…]

From one of those space gaps, I could clearly catch the will emanating from it.

"I found it."

Though the space gaps appeared and disappeared in an instant, once I recognized them, it became simple.

I tore through the space and grinned.

"Impressive!"

"Mom, you’re amazing!"

"A strong mom!"

Before my eyes, a huge passageway in space, radiating the presence of the Black Reaper, opened up.

Hehe.

Under the sky of the Color Universe, the Black Hood Reaper was fighting fiercely.

His body was covered in wounds, as though he had been slashed here and there.

At his feet, the corpses of giant butterflies lay piled like a mountain.

All the bodies showed signs of having been torn apart, as if something had devoured them.

From the sharp teeth on his hood, sticky butterfly flesh was still clinging, clearly indicating what had happened.

The butterflies had been 'eaten' by the Black Hood Reaper.

Devouring the enemy, stealing their power, and healing his wounds with their strength—this was the Black Hood Reaper’s ability.

But the Black Hood Reaper was close to his limit.

He had almost used up all his firewood.

The faint golden flame that looked like it would extinguish at any moment.

He clung to that flickering flame with all his might, barely standing.

Had the butterflies sensed that?

The butterfly army slowly retreated, and a foreign butterfly, its enormous body leading the charge, approached.

As if to demonstrate the height difference, the foreign butterfly looked down on the Black Hood Reaper.

"You’ve come. Coward!"

Seeing this, the Black Hood Reaper silently smiled.

Ssshh.

Countless cracks appeared in the Black Hood Reaper’s body, and golden light began to burst out.

It was the technique he had learned last from his senpai.

Like the last act of the Black Reapers who had served as scouts.

A way to turn one’s body into a bomb.

"Mom, I think this is it for me."

The foreign butterfly, using its last remaining leg, tried to quickly widen the gap, but with its massive body, it was impossible.

Just before it would burst, the Black Hood Reaper looked up with a bright smile.

"Mom, I did my best."

In the Black Hood Reaper's line of sight, his mother’s expressionless face appeared.

She looked like she might be slightly angry.

"I wish the last illusion could have been with a smile..."

As he thought this, the Black Hood Reaper closed his eyes.