NOVEL NEXT Still Reaper POV:
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From within the living, moving fog, I was able to face the old woman's visage.
A grotesque form with her spine unnaturally twisted.
Her eyes were hollow, an endless darkness residing like a deep well, and her skin was tightly dried up like an ancient corpse, thinly draped over her skeletal frame.
The deck was eerily quiet, and the old woman and I silently gazed at each other, locking eyes.
[Why aren't you asleep?]
The old woman's voice rasped like dry leaves scratching against a rock.
Without answering her words, I took a step forward.
Then the old woman raised her voice angrily and began threatening me.
[Ah, you seem to be an Object. Why are you provoking me on their behalf? I'm in a good mood today, so I'll forgive you if you back off now. Get lost!]
Quite a powerful Object it seems, yet not afraid of me, how interesting.
With an expression like I'd found an amusing toy, I smiled faintly and took another step closer.
Simultaneously, the old woman began chanting a curse from her mouth.
[You fool. Your two eyes will be burned by fire, your flesh will be deep-fried in boiling oil. And amidst all that suffering, you will neither live nor die.]
The words pouring from the monster's mouth were filled with malice, and due to that malice, the words took on a physical form, spilling out like black smoke.
The corporeal curse swept over my body once.
Intense heat tried to burn my entire being, but it was no use.
Do curses count as physical attacks too?
I took another step forward.
[Your two eyes will be gouged out and you'll never see ahead again!]
One step.
[Your bones will twist and your flesh will melt away, leaving you in eternal torment!]
[You'll turn into a frog and never regain your true form!]
[All your hair will be plucked out...]
When I arrived right in front of the old woman's nose, she forcibly contorted her mouth full of sharp protruding teeth into what looked like a smile.
It was a wretched smile.
[Forgive me! I was completely wrong!]
And she flopped down prostrate on the floor.
Wringing her hands that looked like weapons, she continued speaking in a mismatched manner.
[Let's negotiate. Negotiate. You don't really need to kill me, do you?]
Just appearing harmful to humans is enough reason to kill, though.
There's no need to spare her life.
As if reading my intentions, the old woman hurriedly continued.
[Compensation. I'll give you compensation. If you spare me, I'll lend you the power of the blue moon!]
But I had no intention of letting the old woman go.
Seeing that I gave no response, the old woman suddenly began dispersing like mist, trying to escape.
The old woman's expression as she turned into mist looked relieved.
The old woman spat out one final curse in a triumphant voice.
[You let your guard down! From now on, you and everything you hold dear will forever fear the night and shadows!]
And the mist tried to fly away swiftly like the wind.
But it couldn't fly away.
No matter how fast it tried to flee, the old woman's position remained in that same spot.
The gloomy, fog-filled lakeside had somehow transformed into a colorful array of cushions and hot chocolates.
No matter how quickly she tried to escape, within the space I ruled, she couldn't flee even a single step.
And amidst the hot chocolates and cushions, fierce-looking Golden Reapers poked their heads out.
I confirmed with my own eyes that the condition for destroying the old woman was to <Burn to ashes and bury in the ground>
['Eye'? The 'Eye'...?, Ah....No!]
As I gave the attack order, the endlessly cruel Golden Reapers charged at the harmful Object and tore her to shreds.
[My sisters will never forgive this!]
Facing her death, the old woman left a venomous parting curse before being torn apart.
***
3rd Person POV:
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The urgent journey that began with the unexpected visit of an Association agent continued for James until he boarded a military aircraft.
They even mobilized a military plane.
It seemed a much bigger problem had occurred than James initially thought.
The tense atmosphere of the Object Association agents was also unsettling.
They remained tight-lipped no matter what he asked.
For reasons unknown, the highly strung Association agents simply escorted James in silence, focused solely on that task.
The military aircraft James boarded was starkly different from the passenger planes he usually took.
The whirring sound of the military aircraft's engines, the undecorated metal walls, the sparsely placed seats.
It was starkly different from James' private jet focused solely on luxury and convenience, with its very design purpose being different.
Sitting on the hard and uncomfortable seats, he missed his private jet with its plush seating, in-flight meals, and abundant entertainment options.
Did he really need to take a military aircraft?
No matter how much he asked, the escorting agents remained tight-lipped.
Remaining silent and highly tense, the agents seemed rigid and controlled.
This tense atmosphere seemed like it would only dissipate upon arrival in the United States, but it unexpectedly eased up quickly.
The moment the agents confirmed they had left Korean airspace, the frozen atmosphere began to thaw.
James caught this change in atmosphere and threw a question at the man sitting rigidly in the front seat.
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"I can roughly guess what's going on, but what happened that made you evacuate people so urgently?"
"The Object Association currently views Korea as having lost its ability to respond to Objects."
Finally, an answer!
"But did you really need to move so urgently? It's not the first time the Korean government has responded strangely."
"I haven't been briefed on the details, but among the confirmed cases, there were instances where Objects killed people and it was treated as a normal occurrence."
And the agent's following explanation sounded truly dangerous.
Things like missing person reports related to Objects being disregarded as normal occurrences and not investigated.
Or that there were already an enormous number of missing persons around Yangcheon District's lake, but no one seemed to notice.
These kinds of unbelievable cases kept pouring out of the agent's mouth.
"I...I see, with that level, I can understand why you urged such an urgent evacuation."
Essentially, it's like if a teddy bear went around bashing people's heads in, it would be seen as a normal everyday occurrence?
A chill ran down James' back, feeling like he had narrowly escaped the threshold of death.
"Is this finally the time when Korea falls apart?"
James' dejected muttering quietly seeped into the noisy sounds of the military.
***
3rd Person POV:
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At the foot of the lake in Yangcheon District, A blonde girl and a black agent entered a beautiful cave on the shores of a lake.
"It's this way. Uncle."
The girl kept advancing, following her heart's guidance.
To walk freely under the sun.
Her heart's guidance presented only one objective.
Destroy the Object at the end of the path.
"Miss, it might be better to give up," said the agent.
"No."
"There's a high chance it's the root cause of the current situation in Korea. It's likely an extremely powerful Object, so it would be better to give up and look for the next opportunity."
"..."
Ignoring the black agent's words, the girl strode deeper into the cave.
The agent's concerns were valid.
Destroy an Object affecting all of Korea?
There was no way a girl who could merely breathe fire could handle such an adversary.
Finally, the blonde girl reached the end of her heart's guidance.
A deep pool inside the cavern.
Where the moon could be seen overhead, beautiful women awaited the blonde girl.
[I was expecting a desert dweller, but it's just a brat?]
Said the woman standing at the center of the others.
The blonde girl stiffened her entire body with tension.
She could never win.
She felt an absolute gap between the woman and herself.
[Hmm.]
The woman, who had been glancing back and forth between the black agent and the blonde girl, slightly raised the corners of her mouth with an expression as if she had realized something.
Looking at the girl and the man with an expression like looking at toys, the woman casually waved her hand.
A jet of water gushing from the pool powerfully struck the girl and the man.
The black agent immediately lost consciousness, and it was such a powerful force that even the girl was knocked down to the floor.
"Ugh."
Feeling immense pain from her stomach, the blonde girl gasped and clutched her belly.
[You came to fight, didn't you? Get up quickly!]
The girl gritted her teeth and tried to get up from where she was, but her strength left her and she collapsed to the floor.
[So you can't even fight?]
"I'll fight!"
The girl stood up with all her might, but her legs trembled as if she would collapse at any moment.
The beautiful woman had already approached right next to the girl's ear and whispered.
[Is what you want the red moon? Or to walk under the sun?]
"!"
The girl turned in surprise to look at the woman, who continued speaking with an expression of seeing something amusing.
[Surprised? There have been kids like you from time to time. It's obvious.]
The woman spoke in a small voice, as if whispering.
[If you make a contract with me, I'll turn you back to your original self, a human.]
It was a sweet story, like the whisper of a devil.
[How about it? Interested?]
***
Reaper (MC) POV:
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At the foot of the lake in Yangcheon District.
The Golden Reapers were diligently digging into the ground.
And in my supervising hand was a pudding container.
Inside was not pudding, but ashes.
The ashes remaining from burning the corpse of the old woman who had suddenly appeared.
I carefully buried the ashes in the hole that had formed.
The moment the ashes were completely buried in the ground, I could feel a new ability arise.
With a poof, a blue Reaper emerged from my palm.