Chapter 127: Black Rust (4)

When I got to the spot where that delinquent Reaper called me from, I saw this super unusual-looking guy waving at me all excited.

It was a Golden Reaper with two tiny horns poking up from its head.

How come he has those?

I was so curious that I just had to pick up the Golden Horned Reaper and give those horns a little squeeze.

Oh~ They’re so squishy!

It seemed like those horns had something to do with that woman over there.

She was the one that Yellow Detective called Junior No. 2.

This was my first time seeing a Golden Reaper change because of someone else’s influence.

Was this some kind of Golden Horn synergy?

Or maybe Golden Reapers could always change a bit to look like the humans they were attached to?

Either way, the Golden Reaper's horns had such a fun texture—I couldn’t stop pressing them!

They’d squish down when I squeezed them and pop right back up when I let go.

Probably because it felt ticklish, the Golden Reaper wiggled around and giggled.

I was having so much fun, grinning to myself, when suddenly, a bunch of Objects came rushing toward me from all over the place.

Maybe these guys were the reason why the Golden Reaper called me?

Even though they were pretty weak, each one still had a scythe sharp enough to be dangerous to humans.

And there were way too many Objects for the Golden Reaper to handle while trying to protect the woman on its own.

Ugh, it’d be such a hassle to take them out one by one by overlapping my body with them, so I decided to control the space and deal with them all at once.

I spread out one hand, grabbed the space where the Objects were, and squeezed.

Then, poof! All the Objects were rolled into a ball, space and all.

With the Objects gone, the narrow attic finally felt roomier.

“Woah.”

Junior Number 2 let out a little gasp of admiration.

She must’ve been surprised since it was probably her first time seeing space compression in action.

When I looked down at my other hand, I saw the Golden Horned Reaper beaming up at me.

Even though it had those cute little horns now, its personality hadn’t changed a bit.

I spread my palms and gently placed one on top of the Golden Reaper’s head. It spread its arms wide and started sharing all the fun things it had experienced so far.

I was happy!! And the place was so soft and fluffy!! A-and it was so fun!!! Oh! I also went to lots of places! And had so much fun!!!

The Golden Reaper’s stories were always so hard to follow—just little bits and pieces focused on the feelings it got from the experiences.

But hey, the story was full of bright and happy feelings, so that’s what mattered, right?

The Golden Horned Reaper was bouncing up and down, grinning ear to ear as it shared its adventures.

Even though it didn’t really get why, it still mentioned that the human it was attached to seemed troubled.

Was it asking for help?

Looking at its bright, innocent smile, I didn’t think that was its intention.

After hearing the Golden Horned Reaper’s story, I glanced around and noticed these huge claw marks all over the attic.

Even though the concrete wasn’t shattered, you could still feel the presence of something really powerful in those marks.

There were hidden evil intentions in those traces that made me frown.

The weird thing was, that I seemed to be the only one who noticed; the Golden Reaper didn’t react at all.

Is it because the being who left those marks is stronger than the Golden Reaper?

Even though this wasn’t Seoul, it seemed like I should take care of it.

And, for some reason, I had a feeling there’d be tons of fun waiting for me.

No matter how messed up my mind might be, there are still some lines humans shouldn’t cross.

Om nom nom-!

The Gray Reaper pulled out a cookie from somewhere and took a small bite. The Golden Reaper got a cookie too, but before eating it, it broke the cookie in half and handed me a piece.

Nyam nyam-!

It was a bit too sweet, but still pretty tasty.

So there I was, munching on cookies provided by a Reaper and basking in the warmth of the Gray Reaper, which felt as cozy as a stove. I was more comfortable than I ever felt at home.

But then the Gray Reaper’s eyes shifted to the end of the alley.

A faint silhouette was walking among the shadows.

Even though it was broad daylight, a boy was slowly approaching us from the darkest part of the alley where the sun couldn’t reach, surrounded by eerie, flickering shadows.

He looked tired, but as I watched him walk, a sense of dread crept over me.

That damn diary was definitely messing with my head.

The boy's face looked a bit worn out, but he had this happy expression.

"!"

The moment the light cut through the darkness and hit the boy’s hand, I couldn’t help but hold my breath.

His hand was covered in blood that hadn’t dried yet.

The faint smell of blood seemed to fill the alley as soon as I saw it.

“Detective sister. My Noona is....”

When I saw the boy coming closer, his face twisted with sadness, an instinctive wave of rejection washed over me, and I took a step back.

The boy froze in place, his expression hardening.

“Detective sister?”

He looked shocked.

Plop-! Plop-!

Just then, the Gray Reaper, with its burning yellow eyes, started to move toward the boy.

*******A boy emerged, his body smeared with blood.

When Junior Number 2 recoiled from him, it shattered what little was left of his heart.

He might have looked okay on the outside, but anyone who really saw him would know—he was already dead inside.

Not a walking corpse, no, but a boy who had crossed the point of no return.

His Killing Condition was fulfilled, as clear as day through my ‘Eyes’.

He was already on that unstoppable track to death.

And then, something broke in him. His mind splintered, giving way to madness.

It was the same kind of confirmation of death I’d seen countless times, like when I’d peered into an Object’s Killing Condition before snuffing it out myself.

This boy had seconds left.

He caught sight of me and took a step back, fear flashing in his eyes. Then, as if something inside him short-circuited, he stopped.

Just... stopped.

It wasn’t natural, like a machine that suddenly powered down.

And then he collapsed, like a marionette whose strings had been severed.

With his death, a brilliant light began to flood the alley.

It was pouring out from my antennae, bright and overwhelming.

What... What is this?

This... This is terrifying...