Confusion. That’s how I feel right now. It took a while for my brain to process the rapid-fire words she’d spat out. According to her, the kingdom’s curse, what brought us here, and even the deaths—it was all Rapunzel, herself. Everyone in the kingdom is being controlled, and that golden monster? She created it.
Ariel and Elise are on the run from the townsfolk and that monster. What the hell is going on? My mind is a jumble. A headache burns through my skull like an overheating processor. The her I knew wasn’t like this.
The feelings I got from Rapunzel weren’t those of a villain who casually kills and spreads curses—she felt more like an ordinary girl.
But why? Why do all this? Because she was locked in a tower?
But there’s something else I can’t figure out.
Is she provoking me by telling me to k*ll her?
Rapunzel, completely worked up. As unease crept up my spine, I spoke.
“Rapunzel, hold on, this is…”
“k*ll me! k*ll me, Siyoo!”
Rapunzel screamed, unleashing pent-up emotions from her tower-bound days. Her jewel-like eyes had lost their shine, filled only with deep sorrow and resentment.
“I’m a monster! I’ve killed people and cursed the kingdom! I’ll use this power to destroy the world! No one can defy my hair! So, Siyoo! You’re the Grim Reaper! It’s your duty to end my story! After all, you’re the only one who can cut… my hair!!!”
Whoosh. Golden hair shot out and abruptly covered her mouth. Rapunzel’s widened pupils revealed her shock.
With a sudden yank, Rapunzel disappeared upward, dragged by her hair. I couldn’t react in time.
Before I could process anything further, the ground began to ripple like waves. The elegant tiles of the café floor were glowing gold. Everything was turning into hair—my chair, the table, even the drink cups.
It’s all hair. Beautifully radiant gold but moving grotesquely, sending shivers down my spine.
The hair’s movements are ominous. From the ceiling, the floor, and the sides, they seem poised to pierce me like sharp needles. I pulled out my scythe.
The approaching hair’s threat vanished instantly with a tearing sound. Turning my head, I saw blinding white light instead of gold. Straining against the glare, I tried to make out what was inside.
Ariel and Elise. Still fleeing from the golden monsters and villagers. Outside. This must be an exit.
d*mn, I don’t know what’s happening, but joining Ariel and Elise seems like a good idea. Staying here risks d*ath, so retreating with them to reassess the situation makes sense.
This is my chance. I don’t know why it opened, but I need to get out before it closes…
My feet stopped in front of the door leading outside.
A wave of wrongness swept over me. This doesn’t make sense. First Rapunzel gets kidnapped by her own hair, now an exit appears?
Something’s off. There’s no reason for this. If all this chaos is Rapunzel’s doing and her goal is to destroy the world, there’d be no point confessing or enjoying time with me.
Yet she went on a date with me. She said she liked me. Confessing didn’t break the tower’s seal.
“k*ll me and lift the curse, oh Black Reaper.”
Despite repeatedly saying to k*ll her, this situation clearly intends to send me away.
Sshhh. At that moment, a subtle noise came from the side. Golden beasts. Several of the monsters rampaging outside appeared.
As if warning me to hurry up or be attacked.
If I run now, without doing anything, I have a bad feeling I’ll never see Rapunzel again.
“I… go… la.”
A chilling voice rose, as if from the depths of hell.
“I… go… la. If you… want to live… I… go… la.”
The golden beasts were speaking, enunciating awkwardly, word by word, like non-humans mimicking human speech.
I gripped the handle of my scythe tightly, palms sweating but resolute.
“No. Because I’ve seen it.”
I remembered. Rapunzel’s pleading gaze when she asked me to k*ll her. That expression. The tears streaming from her beautiful eyes.
“Where in the world does a boyfriend run away when his girlfriend cries?”
“E… ri… sel… ta.”
“Hu… ree… will… be.”
To the hair-monsters mimicking human speech, I smirked and said,
“I’ve regretted stepping into this fairy tale land from the start, you damned monsters.”
I can do it. If my memory serves, based on their reactions, I can…!
Slice.
“With this swing!!!”
The golden hair-beast in front of me split in two under my attack. The supposedly indestructible beast that shrugged off Ariel and Elise’s combined efforts fell easily to my scythe.
Recalling my first encounter, the hair-beast did take damage from the scythe.
Whether it’s because I’m the Grim Reaper or due to the scythe Ariel gifted me, what matters now is that I can cut through the magical hair.
The severed hair-beast lost its glow, turning into plain, brittle strands.
“Hahahaha! Looks like you’re the ones who’ll regret this!”
Three left. My arms ache from just one swing, but I can handle it.
“Alright, hand over Rapunzel. I still have much to hear from her.”
“Gi… ve… up.”
Kuuguuuung!!!
“What now!”
An incomparable tremor. The surroundings are reshaping. The ceiling rises, revealing ascending stairs. It’s not changing; it feels like it’s returning to its original form—the true appearance of the tower.
Still bathed in gold, but now there’s a path. As if inviting me to climb. I instinctively knew Rapunzel would be at the top.
“d*e… ra!”
A colossal hair-beast swung its heavy fist. Dodging narrowly, the punch shattered a nearby golden wall. An opening! I aimed for its head, swinging my hefty scythe.
Just before landing the blow, a kick slashed across my nose.
“Yaaaagh!”
Panicked, I retreated, but another hair-beast’s blade-like hand flew toward me. Barely twisting my body, the weight of the scythe slowed me down.
“Huff, huff.”
Close call. If I hadn’t thrown my head back, my skull would’ve cracked open like a pot lid.
Drip. Thinking I’d escaped, my vision turned red. Hastily wiping my eyes with my sleeve, I saw crimson bl**d on my school uniform—bl**d flowing from the wound on my forehead. It hit me hard.
“bl**d… bl**d.”
The scent of impending d*ath.
Suddenly, my chest tightened as if someone squeezed my heart. Heavy. Like a giant rock was placed on my lungs, making breathing difficult. Only now do I realize how grave my current position is. I’ve been complacent, thinking everything was fine with Ariel and Elise around.
This is a cruel world. I forgot the fact that I could d*e at any moment, naively believing everything would be okay.
But not now. I’m alone. No one is here to protect me. This isn’t Peter Pan where tricks work. These are pure killing machines. Now I face life-or-d*ath combat.
Unlike the wolves, where I fought one-on-one and barely managed to cope.
Now, they’re multiple. Each capable of crushing my head with sheer strength.
The dripping bl**d reminds me of a forgotten sensation.
Fear. The strong aroma of fear of d*ath fills my senses.
One of the hair-beasts stepped forward, speaking.
“Afraid… scared?”
Its grotesque mouth splits unnaturally wide, mimicking a human smile.
“Ma… gi… stop… hu… da.”
Swish. A wall beside me opens, revealing an escape route.
“Go… ra.”
I stared blankly at the exit. I could flee. Instead of wielding this oversized scythe and risking my life in fierce battle, I could escape and reunite with Ariel and Elise safely.
No need to gamble my life here.
Yeah, I should leave. Escape, find the black rabbit again. I just want to go home. I don’t want to be a grand hero or a dragon-slaying knight.
I’m just an ordinary teenager.
I took a step.
The hair-beast’s mouth distorted even more bizarrely.
“Yeah, you’re right. I am afraid.”
Slice!
The laughing head fell to the ground. The hair-beast collapsed, its golden magic fading. I stared coldly at the now-lifeless hair and said,
“But I must move forward because I’m Rapunzel’s boyfriend!”
