Amidst a labyrinth of complex structures, the gray moonlight pierced through the heart of a dark alley.
As if spotlighting a theatrical stage, the moonlight illuminated a stage where stood a golden object—small yet oddly reassuring in its presence.
Its air carried the scent of the sun, quite out of place under the moonlit night.
With an appearance seemingly blessed by the gray moonlight, it gazed upward at the student with pride.
This object was familiar to the student’s memory.
It resembled the Gray Reaper so much that it could only be one thing: the “Golden Reaper,” an object.
The student stared at the Golden Reaper as if entranced.
And strangely, the persistent headache that always throbbed had vanished like magic with the Golden Reaper’s arrival.
“Ah!”
Now that they thought about it, hadn’t their heart been pierced just moments ago?
But now there was no pain at all. Had it been an illusion?
Reaching behind them, the student checked for any wounds—but all they felt was a torn school uniform and a grotesque tear beneath it.
Sticky blood.
When they looked at their fingertips, red blood mixed with golden flames clung to their skin.
Seeing this, the Golden Reaper gasped and rushed over.
“Tch-tch.”
Shaking their head disapprovingly, the Golden Reaper patted the student’s hand gently.
After pondering for a moment, the Golden Reaper glared into the void and slowly swung their sword toward the empty air.
Slow but graceful, the blade traced an elegant arc before colliding with space itself.
Ding.
Ripples spread across the fabric of space like ripples on a tranquil lake.
A sweet chocolate aroma filled the alley around the rip in space.
When the sword’s arc stopped, a hole the size of the Golden Reaper opened up in the air.
In exchange, the radiant glow of the lightsaber faded away.
Even the golden flames emanating from the Golden Reaper’s core dimmed significantly.
Exhausted, the Golden Reaper managed a small smile while looking at the student.
‘You’re safe now!’
Relieved, the student quickly reached out and embraced the fragile-looking Golden Reaper before it collapsed.
Worried, the student cradled the nearly vanishing figure in their hands.
“Are you okay?”
Without responding, the Golden Reaper simply guided the student’s fingers to rest atop their head.
Confused but obliging, the student began to gently pat the Golden Reaper’s head.
Closing its eyes, the Golden Reaper smiled contentedly.
Simultaneously, the fading golden flames began to regain their brilliance.
When the flames fully returned, the Golden Reaper leapt up from the student’s palm and cheered triumphantly.
The student couldn’t help but smile at the childlike gesture, which seemed to shout “Golden Reaper Resurrection!”
Through the rift in space, the Golden Reaper darted back and emerged with a transparent blue Mini Reaper resembling liquid sapphire.
Startled, the Blue Reaper immediately began weaving strings of text into the air upon seeing the student.
<All painful spots, please heal.>
Before the student could process the strange language, the string dissolved into mist, seeping into their wound.
Probing the area again, the student found the injury had vanished without a trace.
Healing fatal wounds in a single go!
“Amazing!”
Remembering how close they’d come to death, the student marveled and reached out to pet the Blue Reaper just like the Golden Reaper.
But just before contact, the Blue Reaper shyly pulled down its cap and disappeared without a trace.
Smiling as if saying “You’re healed now!” the Golden Reaper turned its gaze skyward toward the gray moon.
Sensing something amiss, the student followed suit and looked up at the ever-present gray moonlight.
Of course, the moon had always been gray, hadn’t it?
Why had they mistaken the full yellow moon casting an ominous glow over the world as the only moon mere moments ago?
Suddenly, a throbbing headache returned as the yellow full moon consumed the sky.
An enormous full moon dominated their vision.
The simple alley stretched impossibly wide, transforming into a maze with no end in sight.
Under the sinister moonlight of the dark alley, a familiar silhouette appeared at its end.
“No matter how strong you are, you can’t defeat me under the moonlight.”
Standing above them, a female student smirked down at the student and the Golden Reaper.
Handing over the clearly damaged lightsaber to the Golden Reaper seemed prudent.
Though tempted to play with it immediately, breaking it further would cause more headaches, so it was safer to pass it along.
My self-control isn’t something I even trust myself with, so better to let it get fixed sooner rather than later.
Once repaired, maybe I can use it to fight off Mini Reapers!
After all, there’s such a massive gap between the scale of firewood we both handle—it feels almost unfair to compare.
From emotional absorption capacity to sheer firewood volume, the differences were staggering.
Looking around at other wielders of the Golden Reaper’s lightsaber, curiosity struck.
‘What rank are you?’
Since everyone only shouted ‘Warrior!’ without specifying ranks, curiosity got the better of me.
‘2nd Rank!’ ‘3rd Rank!’ ‘4th Rank!’ ‘5th Rank!’
Each Golden Reaper proudly raised their hand in turn, declaring their rank with vigor.
Huh, no 1st Rank?
Considering five warriors were chosen with only one large sword and four smaller ones…
Could I be the 1st Rank?
But when I asked, ‘Could I possibly be 1st Rank?’, the Golden Reapers gave me looks like I’d said something ridiculous.
Hmph.
That hurt.
There was no need to look at me like I’d asked something absurd…
Though I wanted to play around once the lightsaber was fixed, it seems unlikely now.
Guess I’ll have to unleash max power instead.
While plotting noble revenge in my mind, I pressed forward with another question.
‘Who’s the 1st Rank then? Where are they?’
At this, the Golden Reapers bounced excitedly, sharing bits and pieces of tales about their legendary sibling.
‘Golden Reaper, First Sword!’
‘Spatial Cut!’
‘Overwhelming Strength!’
Their boasts went on endlessly.
It was hard not to wonder if some exaggeration or boasting wasn’t involved here.
Still, the Golden Reaper wouldn’t lie to me about something like this, so the 1st Rank must truly be incredible.
Meeting them someday would surely be interesting.
If praised this highly, perhaps they could hold their own against the Hungry Ghost Reaper?
A golden flash erupted.
“Wow…”
The student couldn’t help but marvel at the sight.
Despite wielding a small blade and being so tiny, the Golden Reaper’s combat prowess was unmatched.
Using the narrow alley walls as launchpads, they fought mid-air as if it were solid ground.
Truly, three-dimensional movement!
The short blade proved no disadvantage when used to propel the body forward like a bullet.
Murderers who blindly charged never even managed to clash swords before turning to dust and vanishing.
Every time the light flared around the student, one yellow moon Murderer disappeared.
Yet despite the Golden Reaper’s consistent dominance, the situation didn’t seem hopeful.
The murderers wouldn’t die.
Not even when sliced in half or diced into pieces—they’d reappear unscathed after turning to dust.
Things took a turn for the worse.
“How impressive. Truly impressive. But how long can you keep this up?”
Seated atop debris overlooking the alley, the female student applauded.
And as her words ended, countless figures stormed into the alley.
Classmates, homeroom teachers, even the principal—all faces encountered somewhere along the way—now cloaked in the guise of murderers.
Too many to count, these murderers filled the alley and surged forward.
*
The Golden Reaper darted around the alley like a pinball, slicing through the bad objects.
But no matter how many they cut down, the objects never ended.
These objects were immune to the blade.
This frustrated the Golden Reaper immensely.
Trying to focus energy into firewood like Mom did yielded nothing.
Calling out to Mom felt blocked, as if their will couldn’t extend beyond some barrier.
Creating a spatial cut like before to open a path to the Mini Reaper Garden might allow calling Mom, but there was no moment to concentrate.
Time to fight was running out.
The lightsaber, once capable of cutting through everything, flickered like a broken fluorescent lamp.
Inside, an odd sound echoed—a noise akin to Black Younger Brother crunching hard snacks.
“Sorry.”
With a sorrowful expression, the Golden Reaper turned toward the attached human, emitting a faint pulse of intent.
If the lightsaber broke, protecting the attached human would be impossible.
These bad objects had physical immunity after all.
“Sorry.”
Apologizing again, the Golden Reaper steeled themselves for one final, maximum-output strike.
A brilliant flash accompanied the elimination of all enemies as the lightsaber emitted a shattering sound and fell silent.
But the bad objects kept creeping back endlessly.
Two arms, one leg, and one last life remained.
At most, four bad objects eliminated.
Then the attached human dies.
Wiping away streaming tears, the Golden Reaper glared at the foes.
Mom won’t come, so I have to do something.
In that desperate moment, the image of the Hungry Ghost Reaper’s magnificent flames flashed in the Golden Reaper’s mind.
The art of shaping formless flames into sharp, tangible weapons.
An idea sparked.
“Make a sword!”
Yet doubt crept in—could it really be done?
The Golden Reaper shook their head fiercely.
It has to be done.
If the attached human dies, they won’t return.
Rather than letting that happen, I’d rather die in their place!
Even if it means burning my soul to ashes!
At that instant, golden flames erupted from the Golden Reaper’s entire body.
The brightest flames they’d ever produced.
Simultaneously, their form began to fade.
This was a flame born from consuming their very existence.
And within their empty palm, a radiant blade emerged, scattering starlight.
Gazing at the blade, the Golden Reaper smiled happily.
