Seoul Object Story

The tattooed woman was slick with sweat, her mind a frantic scramble.

Could I possibly win?

Was it truly plausible for a human-made ‘guardian’ to ascend to such heights of power?

“It appears victory is unlikely. Prepare to retreat,” she conceded, her voice barely a murmur.

Her younger sister gulped, offering a nervous nod in response.

A pang of regret seized the woman. If only she had her sword, she wouldn’t feel so outmatched.

Her gaze darted around the space, searching for anything that could serve as an advantage. This was an alchemist’s workshop, after all; surely there would be something useful.

Then, her eyes fell upon a display case in the living room.

“Ha.”

A small, almost involuntary chuckle escaped her lips.

Indeed, there were tools she could wield.

The case contained ingredients rarely found on Earth, treasures scarcely seen even in her own world. Among them lay an alchemist’s sword, obviously of superior craftsmanship.

It was as if the collection had been assembled specifically for those who dared to confront the guardian.

As the woman surveyed the room with a renewed intensity, her sister, growing uneasy, whispered, “Unnie? What is it?”

“Nothing’s wrong.”

The woman approached the wall, lifting the sword from its resting place. “There’s no need to run anymore. I will win.”

A confident smile curved her lips as she turned to face her younger sister.

*********I zipped between the giant brazier and the wall-tall bookshelves, chasing the Mini Reapers!

Their tiny faces peeked out from between the books, and when I ran toward them, they scattered every which way with excited little squeals.

Run away! Mommy’s coming!

The Mini Reapers figured out I was just playing, not really trying to catch them, so they were having a blast playing tag with me.

It started as a fierce chase—I was supposed to pull out their teeth, you see—but now it was just a silly game!

Then, poof! One of the Golden Reapers landed right in my hand.

Usually, those Golden Reapers are too speedy for me to catch, but this one got a bit too close, trying to be daring.

It didn’t really expect to get caught, so it tensed up, watching me with wide, worried eyes.

I brought my finger close to its face, and it squeezed its eyes shut, mouth clamped tight.

Hmm, if I really pulled out its teeth now, the fun would be over. But seeing it all scrunched up and trembling gave me a mischievous idea.

They’d grow back anyway, right? So maybe just one or two little teeth?

Tiny golden teeth… I kinda wanted to see them.

Should I? Should I really?

Instead, I just booped its head with my finger. “Okay, you’re ‘it’ now!”

I tapped its head again to make sure it understood, and it slowly opened its eyes, looking all confused, then gave a nervous little laugh.

Whew, I managed to resist the urge to tease and keep the game going!

Now, there were two taggers—me and the Golden Reaper perched on my shoulder!

“Okay, let’s go!”

I told it my plan, and it nodded eagerly, clapping its little hands together.

Then, I saw the other Mini Reapers looking at me with big, envious eyes.

They were practically shouting, “I wanna be on Mommy’s team too!”

The tag game, which had started so oddly, ended super fast with the taggers winning.

At first, the Mini Reapers pretended to run and let us tag them, but then they started just flopping on the floor for no reason.

And as soon as they plopped down, they’d turn their heads and look right at me, like, “Hurry up and tag me! I’m right here!”

It was kinda annoying, so I pretended not to see them, but then they’d wiggle closer and fall down right in front of me with sad little faces.

So, basically, everyone ended up being ‘it’!

With the game over, I was about to head to the other side of the big iron gate.

BANG!

A huge explosion echoed from beyond the gate. It was so strong, the whole floor shook! If this wasn’t a super sturdy cave, it would’ve collapsed for sure.

The Mini Reapers got startled and started staring at the gate like little meerkats.

A powerful, but icky, feeling was coming from the other side.

It wasn’t like an Object at all. It felt more like that creepy ‘Eye’ thing the cult leader used.

Knowing we couldn’t just ignore it, the Mini Reapers and I hurried through the iron gate.

*********In the living room, reduced to a heap of ashes, the tattooed woman stretched her hand into the air, reiterating her desire. With each wish channeled into the ingredients, the myriad components dangling from the shelves dissolved into particles of light, absorbed by the sword.

A sun-like white flower, a mirror reflecting the beyond, a verdant leaf dissolving spellbooks.

Shattered mirrors, white flowers, and green leaves coalesced, and the sword erupted in azure flames. With a swing, the flames surged outward, detonating in a powerful blast.

A relentless inferno, a fire that refused to yield. Had the adversary been the Butler Hungry Ghost, this would have been a torturous assault, burning it to cinders until its regenerative powers were exhausted.

Yet, the flames that seemed capable of incinerating the Hungry Ghost Reaper simply swirled and missed.

Again, it failed to connect.

No matter the attack, it simply couldn’t reach the Hungry Ghost Reaper.

This was an anomaly even the tattooed woman, seasoned in the ways of Magic Books, had never encountered.

Alchemy honed over centuries to vanquish Magic Books proved utterly ineffective. Was this Object truly of the ‘Moon’ level?

“Haa. Haa.”

As she gasped for breath, the Hungry Ghost Reaper coiled its body.

“!”

Then, it sprang forward with astonishing speed.

It was as if it used its own form as a spring, launching itself with incredible velocity.

The tattooed woman dodged hastily, but the assault was too swift to evade completely.

The Hungry Ghost Reaper’s arm, transformed into a razor-sharp blade, severed one of the woman’s arms and slashed across her torso.

Trickle—! Trickle—!

Blood seeped from her mouth with each cough.

The wounds mended rapidly, but her situation remained dire, escape seemingly impossible. Even fleeing would be futile against the swift Hungry Ghost Reaper.

A trick was necessary, a desperate gamble.

Ample ingredients remained, yet none of the alchemy she employed yielded results. The white flame designed to thwart regeneration, the eternal blue flames, the explosive red blaze—all were useless.

If this continued, she would not survive.

At the very least, her younger sister had to escape.

Only one option remained.

She would have to distract the Hungry Ghost Reaper with a singular, all-encompassing strike, utilizing every remaining sample.

Steel of the Blue Mountains, a transparent flower containing time…

As she made her wish, the samples vanished one by one.

Unlike her previous attempts, which used only two or three ingredients, she now infused the sword with more than ten. The alchemist’s blade vibrated as if on the verge of shattering.

And the blade, filled with ingredients, began to blacken.

The world’s most extravagant and spectacular alchemy was being forged.

The woman gritted her teeth, raising the sword high.

Then, she brought it down with all her might.

Simultaneously, kaleidoscopic flames exploded in all directions, engulfing the surroundings.

A fantastical field of flowers bloomed on the ground, a blue sky replacing the ceiling above.

A resounding boom, like a magnificent fireworks display, accompanied a brilliant flash that blinded her.

“Run!”

The woman seized her sister’s hand and bolted, teeth clenched.

The fireworks were concocted from ingredients worth several castles; they should buy her at least a few precious seconds.

Whoosh—!

But a strange sound made her turn, and she saw the Hungry Ghost Reaper, both hands now transformed into colossal swords, swinging downward.

The woman used every ounce of her strength to shove her sister out of the blade’s path.

Bang—!

With a tearing sound, the woman’s body was cleaved in two.

“Unnie!!!!!”

Her sister’s voice pierced the haze clouding her mind.

“Run away.”

Through blurry vision, she tried to speak, to urge her sister to flee, but her words were mangled, scattered.

*********Zooming over to where the big explosion went BOOM! using Time Acceleration and Phantom Form, I saw that the doll-headed lady’s sister was in deep trouble!

An Object was creeping closer, holding a giant sword all drippy with blood, but the sister was just hugging the broken doll-headed body like a lost puppy, sobbing her heart out.

The Object with those big ol’ swords for arms looked super yucky.

It kinda looked like me, but with a Hungry Ghost face, which was NOT cool.

Did that thing have a mouth full of gross teeth even though it was shut?

If it did, I was gonna pull every single one out!

Then, me and the Hungry Ghost Reaper locked eyes.

The moment we did, its dumb face scrunched up like a wrinkly walnut, and it opened its mouth super wide and screamed.

“Kieeekk!”

The Hungry Ghost Reaper, looking really, really mad, charged straight at me!

I looked at the silly Hungry Ghost Reaper, ready to rumble, and grabbed at the air.

Huh? Wait, what’s going on?

The black sphere thingy I can usually make whenever I want popped up in totally the wrong place and missed!

At the same time, SWOOSH! A giant slash sliced right across my tummy!