Chapter 121: Trinity Research Institute: 3rd Division (11)

The interpreter scolded his past self for complacently believing that the situation was safe just because it seemed less dangerous than he initially thought.

To think he once imagined he could enjoy the thrill of watching a monster movie unfold before his eyes, all while snacking on treats provided by the Golden Reapers!

He should have been thinking about something crucial for survival, like, How can I escape from this place?

Now, the sky was a mass of black water, writhing and undulating like a restless sea. Below, the vast land was covered in ink-colored slime.

The boundary between heaven and earth had vanished, as if the two had become one.

But the eerie calm of this bizarre world was shattered by an unexpected storm.

The storm, seemingly caused by Giant Jellyfish, upended the laws of nature, turning the world upside down and plunging everything into chaos.

It tore the people from the white earth, hurling them into the sky. The black liquid above and below twisted violently, forming a vortex that defied direction.

Gravity itself reversed, making it nearly impossible to discern up from down.

Amidst this chaos, only two things stood between the interpreter and certain death: the Golden Reaper, clinging to his shoulder with a grim expression, and the water droplet shield surrounding him.

In this terrifying ordeal that tested his very consciousness, the interpreter forced himself to stay calm, scanning all around him for any chance of survival.

He was swept into the sky by the wind, then plummeted down. It was a horrifying experience—gravity had flipped, and he felt as though he was falling endlessly.

It was as if he’d been tossed into a gigantic washing machine, spinning uncontrollably, unable to tell up from a down. But instead of being cleaned, tentacles sprouted from all directions, ready to strike at any moment. Black droplets of water, capable of dissolving human bones and flesh with ease, were everywhere.

Suddenly, a glowing White Hungry Ghost, its short limbs flailing, flew directly toward the interpreter.

It came at him in a straight line, as if it were targeting him specifically.

“D-Don’t come any closer!”

Even though it had no teeth whatsoever, the sheer size of the White Hungry Ghost terrified the interpreter as it hurtled toward him.

He felt certain that if such a massive Object collided with him, he’d be lucky to die instantly, without pain.

If he was unlucky, he’d be left in a vegetative state, every bone in his body shattered into millions of pieces.

As the White Hungry Ghost drew near, it opened its enormous mouth, as if trying to swallow him whole.

“Aaaahhh! No!”

In a panic, the interpreter flailed his arms, but as soon as he was swallowed into the ghost’s gaping maw, he lost consciousness.

*******With the interpreter being the last human swallowed, the Hungry Ghost finally succeeded in putting everyone into its mouth.

Originally, I wanted to spread the Garden of the Mini Reapers and send everyone to the Sehee Research Institute, but that plan didn't work out. Maybe it was because this space was created by the Giant Jellyfish.

Even though it was much easier for me to erode the space now, trying to expand it still needed way too much firewood for my liking.

Plus, since relying on just the Golden Reapers and Blue Reapers for protection didn’t seem like enough, I told the White Hungry Ghost to keep everyone safe by stuffing them all into its mouth.

At first, I thought the White Hungry Ghost would need some convincing, like the Mini Reapers, but nope—it just silently obeyed.

This White Hungry Ghost is so nice! And yummy!

Suddenly, the Giant Jellyfish threw a fit, making a mess of the whole space.

Inside all the chaos, the White Hungry Ghost was still flailing its short limbs as it flew around.

Meanwhile, the Golden Reapers were darting about, laughing happily, like they were playing in an amusement park. Hmm, they always seem so cheerful...

Hehe! Since the Golden Reapers liked really being tossed around, I bet they’d love being put in something like a washing machine. Hihihhii! It sounds so fun!! I’ll have to try it later!!!

Then, a massive storm hit the space, where there was no difference between up and down.

< kill="" the="" talkative="" jellyfish="" that="" cannot="" speak="" and="" crush="" the="" pearl="" of="" night="" in="" the="" eye="" of="" the="" storm="">

I thought, Hmm, maybe this'Storm'showed up after the'Talkative Jellyfish'died.

Makes sense, right? But where’s the‘Eye of the Storm’?

Since the Giant Jellyfish caused all this, maybe it’s the‘Eye of the Storm’?

The Giant Jellyfish floated there so calmly, keeping its position even as gravity flipped and turned everything upside down.

Wouldn’t it be nice to break the‘Pearl of Night’by just ripping that jellyfish apart...?

Well, since that thought crossed my mind, I figured, why not give it a try?

Still, even though it felt pretty safe inside, there was no way to tell what was going on outside.

Eh, whatever. Shrugging, James decided to make himself comfortable, lying back in the ball pit. Why stress when you can relax, right?

He turned on the recording function on his smartwatch and started organizing his thoughts by recording all the things that happened that day.

“The Gray Reaper absorbed Relic No. 0.”

“The Gray Reaper destroyed the Hungry Ghost and brought it back as a White Hungry Ghost.”

“And the ‘Jellyfish Torture’ the Gray Reaper carried out seemed to be intentional. It was too bothered by its actions to say it did it just for fun.”

More events floated through his mind—like the Gray Reaper’s random dance performance and those odd red and blue that had suddenly risen in the sky.

Then, with a lazy grin, James made a little hypothesis.

“The Gray Reaper can destroy Objects and turn them into his own.”

“The Gray Reaper knows how to destroy Objects.”

“We should probably figure out how to prove that hypothesis.”

Hmm, Is this all I can come up with right now?

Once he finished recording, James let his serious expression drop. He picked up one of the Golden Reapers that had been staring at him and started playing with it.

*******Woong-!

As I swam through the quiet space, I couldn’t resist tapping on one of the mirrors. The moment I did, all the mirrors started spinning around, changing their positions.

But it wasn’t just the mirror I touched—three more decided to join in and move along with it.

The mirrors seemed to be bound by some kind of rule. It was like they were playing a game with me, when I poked one, a few others would shuffle around too.

Yep, it's definitely a puzzle.

It looked like I’d need to move these mirrors just right to get rid of the two moons floating on the water...

Ugh, puzzles like this always made my head hurt. I usually just messed with them until they solved themselves somehow. But this one? It wasn’t budging no matter how much I tried.

Hmph, so annoying!

Would it really be so bad if I just, you know, got rid of the moon’s reflection on the surface?

Sigh... I decided to go for it, even if it meant pushing myself a little. Who needs to think too hard anyway? That was boring.

Lying in the air, I spread my hands out and opened my palms wide.

Then, with a little effort, I clenched the vast space of the black sea, both above and below.

It was like squishing a giant marshmallow, only more... watery.

And just like that, I erased the sea with a flick of my hands. Poof!

The waterspout that had been blocking everything like a big, annoying wall disappeared like it was never even there.

As the barrier disappeared, gravity decided to make its grand comeback, tugging me downwards.

Whee! The breeze tickled my face as I fell, and oh, what’s this? A familiar figure was waiting for me below.

The Giant Jellyfish! The Object that once dominated the skies of China as well as Gwanak-gu was finally coming to the end of its very dramatic life.

It slowly disintegrated, its once grand and noble self now just a wriggling, pitiful mess. It thrashed around, screaming in pain.

Kieeeeek-!

The scream was pitiful, it was as if the Jellyfish was pouring out all its sadness, all its incomprehensible feeling into that one final death throe.

The sound echoed through the air, leaving an indelible mark on the space as if it were carrying the very presence of the Giant Jellyfish.

But the screams got weaker and weaker, and the moment they disappeared completely, something wonderful happened. The blue sky! It began peeking through the darkness, bright and bail.

See? As expected! The option that didn’t make my brain hurt was totally the right one. Hihihi!

And then I noticed them—lots of media helicopters in the distance, all busy filming me as I gracefully fell.

As I looked at the helicopters, a little spark of excitement buzzed through me. Yep, this whole thing was wrapping up nicely.