Inside the fog, which was wriggling like it had a life of its own, I spotted the old woman’s face, its appearance grotesque. Its spine twisted unnaturally, and its eye sockets were just empty pits filled with endless darkness, like deep wells. Its skin was stretched thin over her bones, looking all dry and corpse-like.
On the eerily quiet deck, we just stared at each other for a bit, not saying a word. It was like a creepy staring contest.
[ Why? Why aren’t you asleep? Why? Why? Why? ]
The old woman asked, her voice echoing scratchily, like dry leaves scraping against stones.
I didn’t bother answering and just took a step forward. That, for some reason, made her quite angry. She began raising her voice and throwing threats my way.
[ Child? No, you are an Object. You! You, what is your relationship with them that you dare to provoke me? Hmph, I’m in a good mood today, so I’ll forgive you if you just leave. So, get lost! ]
I couldn’t help but smile. She seemed like a strong Object, but it was funny how she wasn’t scared of me. I took another step closer, grinning like I’d found a fun new toy.
[ What a foolish brat. Your eyes will be burned, your flesh will be fried in boiling oil, and through all that pain, you will neither die nor live. Hahahahahaha! ]
Her curses were nasty, filled with malice, like black smoke pouring out of her mouth. A tangible curse swept over me, the powerful heat trying to burn me up. But nope, it didn’t work. Maybe curses count as physical attacks?
[ Your eyes will be gouged out and you will never see again!! ]
[ Your bones will twist, your flesh will melt, and you will suffer forever! Hahahaha! ]
[ You will become a frog and never find yourself again! Kekekee! ]
[ And! And! All your hair will be pulled out… ]
When I was right in front of her, she forced a smile full of sharp teeth. But it wasn’t a sadistic or cruel smile; it was more… servile.
[ Umm, please forgive me! It seems like I was wrong! ]
She fell flat to the floor, begging and rubbing her hands together like a pitiful little creature.
[ Negotiate! Yes, Let’s negotiate! There’s no need for you to kill me, right? ]
Hmm, what to do? Isn’t the fact that she’s harmful to humans reason enough? I didn’t really need to spare her.
The old woman must have seen my expression because she hurriedly spoke again.
[ Compensation. Yes! I’ll compensate you! So, spare me, okay? If you spare me, I will lend you the power of the blue moon! ]
Eh? Is that so? Sounds interesting. But I wasn’t interested. When I didn’t reply, she turned into fog and tried to escape, looking all exhilarated, and uttered one last curse in a triumphant voice.
[ Hahahaha! You let your guard down! From now on, you and everything you hold dear will forever fear the night and the shadows!! ]
She zipped away like the wind… or tried to.
But no matter how fast she flew, she couldn’t go anywhere, she remained at the same spot. The lakeside filled with gloomy fog was suddenly replaced by colorful cushions and hot chocolate. No matter how fast she ran, she couldn’t escape the space I controlled.
And from between the cushions and hot chocolate, the Golden Reapers poked their heads out with fierce expressions.
Through my **’Eyes’ **I saw the old woman’s killing conditions.
< Buring it to ashes and burying it in the ground >
[ Are those the ‘Eyes’? No… No, It is the ‘Eyes’?!?! N-n…nooo!!! ]
I gave the Golden Reapers permission to attack, and they rushed at her, tearing her to pieces.
[ They will never forgive you! The sisters will never forgive you!! ]
She left behind a bitter curse before meeting her cruel end.
James’ urgent journey, which began with an unexpected visit from the association agents, continued until he found himself aboard a military aircraft.
Man, to think they actually mobilized a military aircraft…
Clearly, the problem was bigger than I initially thought.
The atmosphere among the Object Association agents was downright eerie.
They were tight-lipped, even when I tried to strike up a conversation. They were so tense it felt like talking to a bunch of statues.
This military plane was a far cry from the passenger planes I usually flew on. The hum of the engines, the unadorned metal walls, and the sparse seating—it was all new to me.
The design was far different from my private jets, which focused on luxury and convenience.
As I sat in that hard, uncomfortable seat, I couldn’t help but miss my luxurious private jets with their plush seats, gourmet meals, and plentiful entertainment.
Seriously, what was the point of flying on a military plane? No matter how many times I asked, the agents kept their mouths shut.
They were clearly on edge, and I had a feeling this tense silence would last until we landed in the United States. But to my surprise, it ended much sooner.
The moment the agents confirmed that we had left Korean airspace, the icy atmosphere began to thaw. I seized the opportunity and threw a question at the guy sitting stiffly in front of me.
“I can guess what’s going on, but what exactly happened that the government asked people to escape ASAP?”
“The Object Association believes that Korea has now lost its ability to respond to the threat of Objects.”
_Ah, an anwer at last! _
“But is there a need to rush ? It’s not the first time the Korean government has responded weirdly.”
“We haven’t received detailed information, but there are confirmed cases where an Object killed a person but it was dismissed as an ordinary incident.”
The agent’s explanation gave me goosebumps.
Even when a missing person was filed, if it was related to an Object, it was considered normal and no investigation was conducted. Despite a huge number of people missing from Yangcheon-gu Lake, nobody noticed.
Such ridiculous examples came out of the agent’s mouth.
“Well… now I get why the government was so frantic about getting us out.”
To put it bluntly, to Koreans now, even a teddy smashing their heads in would be normal. Cold sweat trickled down my back as I realized how close I’d come to certain death.
“Is Korea going to actually fall this time?”
My words were swallowed up by the noise of the military aircraft.
The blonde young lady and Agent Black entered a beautiful cave on the shore of Yangcheon-gu Lake.
The girl moved forward, following the guidance of her heart.
She knew what she had to do in order to once again walk freely under the sun, her heart told her—destroy the Object at the end of the path her heart guided her to.
“Young miss, I think it would be better for us to give up.”
“This Object is likely to be the culprit behind the current state of Korea. It must be a very powerful Object. We should consider finding another opportunity.”
The girl ignored Agent Black and walked deeper into the cave. His concerns were valid.
Destroying an Object capable of affecting all of Korea?
That was no small task, especially for a girl who could only slightly breathe fire.
They reached the end of her heart’s guidance—a deep hole filled with water inside the cave. In a place where the moonlight shined through, a group of beautiful women awaited her.
[ I was looking forward to it because they said it would be a desert dweller, but aren’t you just a kid? ]
The woman standing in the center said.
The blonde young lady’s entire body tensed. There was no way she could win—the gap between them was too vast.
The woman looked back and forth between Agent Black and the young lady, before curling her lips into a knowing smirk.
She waved her hand with an expression as if she was playing with toys, and a stream of water surged from the puddle, striking both the young lady and Agent Black.
The force was overwhelming. So strong that Agent Black quickly lost consciousness while the young lady collapsed to the floor.
The young lady clutched her stomach, writhing around in pain.
[ You came here to fight, right? Right~?Then, get up~! Quickly, get up~! ]
The girl gritted her teeth and tried to stand up, but her strength failed her.
[ Hah! You think you can fight like that?! ]
“Yes!! I’m going to fight! I won’t give up!!”
The girl stood up with all her might, but her legs wobbled as if they might give out at any moment.
The beautiful woman approached, whispering in her ear…
[ So, what do you want? Hmm~? The red moon? Or maybe the ability to walk under the sun? ]
The girl looked back at her in surprise. Meanwhile, the woman continued in an amused tone
[ Hmm~? Oh! Are you surprised? Well, there are a lot of children like you. So, It’s just obvious~ ]
Her voice dropped even more, a barely audible whisper.
[ If you make a contract with me, I promise to return you to your original form~ I will turn you into a human being once again~ ]
Her words were sweet, like a devil’s whisper.
[ Are you interested~? ]
On the shore of the Yangcheon-gu Lake, the Golden Reapers were busy digging away, their little bodies working diligently. Meanwhile, I stood there, holding a pudding container, supervising(pretending to supervise) them. Except, there wasn’t any pudding inside.
Instead it held ashes—ashes from the old woman we had just burned to a crisp.
Before long, the Golden Reapers finished their digging, and we carefully buried the ashes in the hole they’d made.
As soon as the last bit of ash was covered by the soil, I felt a strange but exciting sensation—a new abiltiy!
Just as I though so, a tiny blue version of me popped up in my palm.