Seoul Object Story
Chapter 103: The Cruise ship (4)

When I tried to make a mini blue version of myself, All of a sudden I got the feeling that I it seemed like a fun idea…

A Blue Reaper actually appeared!

The Golden Reapers stared at the little creature in my palm, utterly fascinated. They looked at it like it was their brand-new sibling.

Just like the Golden Reaper, the Blue Reaper looked exactly like me. But, compared to the Golden Reaper, this tiny blue version had some quirky differences that stood out.

For one thing, it was wearing a hat. A big magician’s hat made of water!

Its body was even more transparent than the hat, except for a soft the blue tint. It looked like clear water, with a faintly glowing flame inside that pulsed like a heartbeat. The ends of its hair were misty, giving it a dreamy, ethereal look.

The Blue Reaper, blinked sleepily and then opened its eyes wide, taking in everything around it.

Noticing the Golden Reapers looking at it with interest, the Blue Reaper pulled its hat down over its face and squatted down.

Was it shy because they were staring?

Then it started writing something in the air with one hand.

A series of strange characters.

But somehow I(my ‘Eyes’) could still understand what it meant.

Letters made of water appeared out of thin air, turned into light, and rushed towards me.

It looked like some kind of wizard wannabe had shown up!

The Blue Reaper sneakily peeked out from under its hat to check on me.

When it saw that I wasn’t asleep, it panicked and pulled its hat back down.

When I poked it with my finger, it burst into mist with a little ‘pop’.

In the heart of Seoul Forest stood a brick house, its antique appearance at odds with the modern architecture. Despite this, the weathered and moss-covered bricks blended seamlessly with the surrounding environment, as though they had grown there over centuries.

Inside this strangely charming brick house, a different scene awaited.

Tools and furniture straight out of a fantasy novel, a large fireplace radiating warmth and casting shadows on the wall… Shelves that were filled with interesting items and hand-bound leather books with strange symbols glowed in the fireplace’s light…

An unidentified bottle was placed on a sturdy wooden table cluttered with scrolls and parchment. The bottle seemed to contain a softly glowing unidentified liquid, some kind of ethereal unknown energy flowing through it.

Exotic herbs, unique to Seoul Forest, hung from the ceiling, with a mortar stained by herb residue laying underneath.

In this fantasy-esque place that seemed to be straight out of a fairy tale, a girl, rolling around lazily, spoke up.

“Unnie, can’t we go play at Yangcheon-gu Lake?”

“We can’t.”

The ‘Yangcheon-gu Lake’ she saw when she stopped by briefly to stock up on groceries seemed like a wonderful tourist destination, one that would make her heart race just by looking at it.

“Why!?!? It looks like everyone is having fun without any problems.”

“We absolutely can’t. Sigh… I’ll give you a simple explanation. You need to know just how dangerous that place is.”

The tall tattooed woman casually took out a white herb from the cupboard and continued .

“The magic books, or rather the Objects, are basically beyond human comprehension. However, they share a common characteristic.”

She lit the white herb on fire, making milk-colored flames rise up. Before long, the herb burned brightly on the wooden, turning into ash in an instant.

She swept the ashes away with her palm, making sure no trace was left behind.

“Just like this white herb, Objects tend to minimize their impact on their surroundings. However, Yangcheon-gu Lake is a case where Objects maximized that impact.”

She listed numerous of such examples.

A burning Object that would only burn people, leaving the area around it untouched, and many more.

She also added that exceptions existed, so the little girl shouldn’t blindly trust her.

After the tattooed woman was down, she looked down at her sister with a serious expression and said,

“No one is sad when people die there, and no one finds it strange when strange things happen either. And, I won’t be going ‘now’. but, I’m planning to go there soon, so just wait quietly.”

“Really? Will you really go there?”

Looking at her smiling sister, the tattooed woman slightly felt a pang of guilt.

After all, it was clear that the trip would not be what her sister was hoping for.

The cruise ship I returned to after dealing with the old woman was eerily quiet. The employees of the Sehee Research Institute were still fast asleep, unable to wake up from their dreams.

Maybe the Golden Reapers were worried about them, as they clung to every single one of them, looking after them with such gloomy expressions.

The fog had lifted, revealing a clear sky over the beautiful lake, but still, everyone remained asleep. Even after I defeated that old witch, they didn’t wake up.

Hah! She said she would lend me the‘Power of the Blue Moon’.

Hmm… So, do I need to destroy the blue moon to make them wake up?

But when I looked up at the sky, all I saw was a red moon and the regular moon.

Suddenly, a terrible odor wafted from the lake.

Just like me, the Golden Reapers were also startled. But they did something extra; they began to stare at me.

?

Hmm? Why are they staring at me?

Plop-! Plop-!

Step-! Step-!

The more I moved, the more the Golden Reapers scattered in all directions, running away.

Huh? Are they… avoiding me?

It broke my heart to see them acting like that… But… But… I only made a few mistakes…

Two men could be heard grumbling inside a truck with windows tinted so dark that not even sunlight could properly enter.

“Isn’t this something that should be subcontracted? Why are they suddenly asking us to supervised it ourselves?”

“It’s probably because we failed our mission at James’ factory last time. That ‘perfect’ director must be seething.”

The two men giggled at the thought of the usually composed director losing his temper.

“Honestly, the last incident was quite bizarre. The director knew almost everything about Objects, yet it still failed.”

“I’ve never liked him. No matter what data or experiment results I bring him, he always insists that his way is right.”

“Well, he’s more of a prophet than a director. He’s a bit pushy at first, but eventually he almost always ends up being right, which is annoying as hell. Maybe this time I’ll finally enjoy seeing him being proven wrong

The truck reached the shore of a large lake and stopped. It was a clear, vast lake loacated in Yangcheon-gu.

“Sheesh-! We’re finally here. Let’s get this over with and then head back.”

The men donned work gloves and boots, hauled a large drum from the truck, and began rolling it toward the lake.

The men couldn’t help but frown at the unpleasant smell of petroleum wafting from the drum.

“What on earth is this? Why does it smell so bad?”

“Hmm? Eh, I don’t know either. It seems only senior-level and above researchers know, but I wonder when us at the bottom will be let in on such a secret.”

As they approached the lake, the temperature noticeably dropped, and a thick fog began to creep out from deep within the lake.

The fog started as a thin veil over the water before gradually thickening into an opaque veil. As the fog enveloped them, sounds grew fainter, and the surroundings took on an otherworldly atmosphere.

“Is this okay?”

The man muttered into the silence, feeling as though he were utterly alone. No answer came.

“…”

Then, a faint howl, distant and eerie, reached his ears. It was so quiet he would have missed it if he hadn’t been so tense.

“Are you okay? What happened?”

In fear, he tried to shout, but all he heard was a muffled sound, as if the fog absorbed his voice. Suddenly, footsteps echoed from the fog, where he couldn’t see an inch ahead.

The light sound of feet stepping on pebbles.

Followed the sound, he encountered a skull dripping with fresh blood.

“Aaaahhh!”

The skeleton, still covered in flesh and blood as freshly skinned, was in the clutches of a monster of some kind.

The monster revealed was in a dreadful state. Half of its body was melting into a black slime, with grotesque eyeballs embedded in it and protruding in all directions.

“H… How?”

The director had assured them it would be safe, since any Object in Yangcheon-gu that touched the black liquid would be neutralized!

In an instant, the man’s skin melted like butter. He tried to scream, but no sound came from his melting mouth.

Desperately, he tried to crawl away on the gravel, but his molten hands and feet wouldn’t move.

When the fog finally lifted, only a red lump remained on the shore of the lake. It writhed in endless pain, cursing the warden who had deceived him.

I sat on the railing, feeling all sad. Why were the Golden Reapers running away from me?

Seeing my sad expression, the Golden Reapers began to approach, ever so hesitantly. Eventually, one brave Golden Reaper hopped onto my lap and wiggled, trying to apologize.

Then, a mischievous idea sparked!

I poked the Golden Reaper on my thigh with my finger and watched it with a meaningful smile as it tumbled off, looking utterly shocked.

Hihihi…

Realizing it had been tricked, the Golden Reaper flailed its arms and legs with a sad little expression as it plopped into the water.

Plop-!

Feeling a bit guilty, I summoned the soggy Golden Reaper back into my palm. It lay there limply, wearing a look that said it had lost all trust in the world.

Oops, maybe I went too far?

I patted its head gently, hoping to cheer it up.

Sorry, little one…

I kept at it until the Golden Reaper’s mood brightened again.

While I was pondering how to wake up the people the old woman had put to sleep, a strange sensation washed over me.

Sitting on the railing, I looked down at the lake water. The slightly dark surface reflected the sky, and there, rising in the reflection, was a blue moon.

Only one moon reflected in the water, not two. I had found the blue moon!

I beamed and focused my ‘Eyes’ on the blue moon.

Fortunately, the condition for dealing with the Blue Moon seemed pretty straightforward.

Maybe this time, things will be easier!