Chapter 119: Trinity Research Institute: 3rd Division (9)

After leading the kidnapped victims from the 3rd Division of the Trinity Research Institute to the Object Association, our Sehee Research Institute finally got some peace. Finally!

“Haaaaa... I can finally get some rest now.”

Sehee unnie, who’d just come back from a long, exhausting battle with that stubborn Object Association employee, plopped down across from me and sprawled out like a starfish on the table.

Then, the cutest thing happened. The Golden Reaper rushed over to Sehee unnie’s cheek, where she’s placed her head, and started patting it, like it was trying to comfort her. Awwww!

And, just like magic, Sehee unnie perked right up! She scooped up the little Golden Reaper that was clinging to her cheek, placed it in her palm, and started stroking it lovingly.

Seeing such a sweet scene, the Golden Reaper curled up in my palm, looked up at me with those big, expectant eyes, as if it was jealous of the other little reaper. How could I resist? I gave it a gentle stroke with my finger.

Ahh, pure bliss.

Sitting under one of those fancy parasols in the warm, sunny courtyard, sipping on a drink, and playing with the Golden Reapers—It would be heaven on Earth.

Each Golden Reaper had its own little quirk. The one in front of me loved being petted on the top of its head. Meanwhile, the one who was lying lazily in the sun? It was a big fan of belly rubs.

I stretched out my hand and tickled its little tummy, and it let out the cutest little laugh.

Seriously, can anything be more adorable?

Back in the day, telling one Golden Reaper from another was like trying to spot the difference between identical twins. But now? I’m basically a Golden Reaper expert. (Well, I get them wrong a lot too, but I’m still learning!)

Every time I correctly differentiated a Reaper, I felt like I became even more of a Reaper Expert. Hahahahahaha!!

And, let’s be real—playing with the Reapers is the most important job at Sehee Research Institute! Of course, Kim Jungrwi sunbae and Seoah Unnie would totally disagree, but who cares?!

Right in front of my phone, which was resting on the table, a Golden Reaper was crouching, staring at the screen like it was the most fascinating thing in the world. So focused that when I moved my phone, its little head followed right along with the screen.

This was a real shocker because, like, most of the Golden Reapers couldn’t care less about screens.

Also, what was it so interested in? Eh? A news video showing the escaped Hungry Ghost?

The footage seemed to have been taken from a helicopter, courtesy of a broadcasting company that specialized in Objects. They were doggedly tailing the Hungry Ghost like it was an idol that got caught dating.

"Huh?”

Then, something super weird popped up on the screen.

It was the Trinity Research Institute—or what was left of it. The place was completely trashed, and the nearby city too, was utterly quiet and deserted. Not a soul in sight.

Oh, and did I mention the charred corpses scattered along the road? Yeah, not exactly a pretty picture.

“Sehee unnie! Look! The Trinity Research Institute. It looks way worse than I thought.”

“Yeah... It’s way more serious than what the escapees described.”

It seemed like something major had gone down at Trinity, but neither Sehee unnie nor I were too worried about the Reaper.

After all, the Reaper was invincible, right?

The announcer, who had been all flustered over the mess in Gwanak-gu, suddenly calmed down and started reporting with a calm expression.

[ New information has just arrived. ]

The report detailed the whole kidnapping and confinement situation at the Trinity Research Institute, almost like they’d gotten the scoop directly from the Object Association.

Sudden kidnappings. Researchers turning into Objects. The whole thing was shady. The broadcast was practically screaming, “The Trinity Research Institute is up to no good.”

The Hungry Ghost, still charging forward in a straight line, suddenly leaped into the ruined building of the Trinity Research Institute,

And just then, the Golden Reapers who were watching the video with me jumped up, waving their little hands at me. Then...

Wha?

They disappeared, melting away like they were never there.

*******Handling the man who was just dripping with unfounded confidence was way easier than I thought it would be. Like, seriously, I expected more of a challenge!

Since his presence was barely above that of a ghost, I figured there’d be some ridiculous condition for taking him down. But nope! His condition was surprisingly simple.

< destroy="" its="" human="" form="">

That was it. Such a silly little condition for a creature at the level of the Hungry Ghost! But then again, the guy was stuffed with so many useless things, it was like his balance was all messed up. Poor thing.

The moment I sliced him in half, a bunch of Objects that had been lurking in his shadows just melted into this gross black slime.

Step-!

As soon as his severed upper body hit the floor, I heard footsteps. Uh-oh. Someone was coming into the Institute.

The room was stepped in tension, thick enough to choke on. But James was feeling something a little different.

He got the distinct feeling that the Hungry Ghost had its eyes on him.

Don’t tell me?

James slowly lifted the briefcase containing Relic Number 0, his mind already spinning with possibilities. As he moved, so did the Hungry Ghost’s eyes, tracking his every motion.

It was completely out of his expectation.

How should I interpret this? Isn’t the relic number 0 connected to the Gray Reaper? Should I take it out and see what happens?

Just as he was mulling over that oh-so-brilliant idea, the situation took a sharp turn. Shadows and tentacles erupted from the body of the director of Trinity's Third Research Institute, exploding outwards in a violent wave.

The tentacles shot into the sky, ripping the roof off the research Institute like it was made of paper and revealing a sky that, well, didn’t exactly inspire confidence. Ominous light? Check.

“The colour of the sky is...” James trailed off, left speechless as he stared up at it.

The sky wasn’t just darkening—it was turning black, melting like someone had spilled ink across the heavens. And the shadows were spread out from the director’s body, flooding the ground with a black, slimy liquid that devoured everything it touched, pulling them down into the shadows.

But, lucky for James and company, the ground under their feet was suddenly replaced with something much softer. Marshmallows. Squishy, sweet, and totally out of place in the middle of this chaotic scene.

A weird, cross-section of this marshmallow world spread out around the Gray Reaper, and get this—the black slime didn’t dare invade it. It just slithered around the edges, while the shadow continued to swallow up the rest of the surrounding buildings, one by one.

The streets were turning into a nightmarish black field, tentacles twisting and writhing as they filled the empty spaces between the collapsing structures.

And the sky wasn’t just black—it looked like an upside-down sea of tar, thick and sticky as if waiting to drown the world.

Then, something huge broke through the surface of that inky sea, revealing itself bit by bit. Even through the darkness, there was no mistaking what it was. A monstrous jellyfish, all black and twisted, the same one that had destroyed a city in China.

The Giant Jellyfish.

Its massive crown flared out like some kind of freakish canopy, raining down black slime. Oh, great. More slime. Just what the day needed.

The tentacles beneath it weren’t just flailing around anymore—they sharpened into blades, slicing through the air, heading straight for James and his group.

< protect="" the="" humans!="" please!="">

< Guard the people! Please! >

< Make sure the humans don’t get hurt! Please! >

The Blue Reapers, panicking at the sight of the oncoming attack, hastily carved strange, incomprehensible symbols into the air.

The Golden Reapers, not to be outdone, launched themselves into the sky, their tiny faces set in fierce determination as they prepared to clash with the tentacles.

But, just before the inevitable collision, something massive emerged from the black slime, cutting between the tentacles and James’ group.

The Hungry Ghost, now slowly rotting in the black water, had thrown itself into the fray.

*******The Hungry Ghost let out a hear-wrenching scream, its entire body impaled by those creepy black tentacles from that awful jellyfish.

Wait, what?! The Hungry Ghost was actually protecting the humans? I couldn’t believe it!

My heart skipped a beat, and I quickly expanded the garden, making sure it didn’t fall into that black water.

The Hungry Ghost looked like it had been through a nightmare.

One of its eyes was all rotten, and its body—ugh, the black slime was eating away at it, ruining its ability to heal. But even though it looked so bad, I had this feeling it wasn’t going to die.

Although its regeneration rate has slowed that much, I was still sure it wouldn’t die.

< stone="" created="" by="" the="" object="" of="" beginning.="">

After all, the killing condition was still the same as before.

Even with its limbs all twisted up, the Hungry Ghost kept staring in James’ direction, like it had unfinished business or something.

And then, out of nowhere, white flames shot out from the briefcase James was holding!

He got so freaked out that he dropped the bag, and it went up in flames, turning into ashes.

But guess what? There was this round stone left behind, shining like the sun.

The stone floated up, right over my head, and suddenly, my whole body was lit up with a familiar white fire. It wasn’t painful at all—in fact, it felt really good. Like, how do I describe it? Maybe like trust and friendship all rolled into one?

The white fire filled my heart up faster than anything, and right then, the Hungry Ghost shifted its gaze from James to me. Its eyes—they were full of melancholy and reminiscence. It was as if it was looking back on something from a long time ago.

Even though it was staring at me, there was this deep, sorrowful look in its eyes, as if it remembered me from before.