The Dagger Is Finally Drawn (4)

Meanwhile, across the islands of Totto Land.

"Waaah, Mama, Mama... no! We don't want to die yet!"

"Ah, everyone, run... the Soul Messengers have gone mad!"

"No, give me back my son... please, we just handed over one month of our lifespan!"

Cake Island, Cacao Island, Jam Island, and every other island throughout Totto Land underwent terrifying changes as Mother Carmel set the darkness ablaze... The troop of "Soul Messengers," which normally lived in the Tax House—pitch-black figures carrying black baskets, responsible for collecting the one month of lifespan residents paid every half year—had mobilized without warning.

Wherever they passed, every soul was forcibly collected into their black baskets... Whether it was the flower and grass Homies that greeted people every day, the biscuit soldiers responsible for maintaining public order, or living beings of flesh and blood, none could escape the Soul Messengers' harvesting.

Regardless of race, gender, age, or whether they felt fear, the outcome was the same... There was no such thing as volunteering. Their lifespans were being plundered without restraint.

Totto Land, once filled with laughter and overflowing with happiness and peace, became the harshest of living hells in that instant... As the breath of life was stolen away, the vibrant, colorful islands dimmed, and crying, wailing, and despair spread everywhere.

The flowers and grass that had lost their souls lost their former luster and turned utterly black... At the slightest sea breeze, they scattered through the air as black sand!

The people who had lost their lifespans saw their hair turn gray-white and their skin wither and wrinkle. Though they did not die immediately, they could no longer even straighten their backs or speak properly... All that remained were mosquito-like murmurs of unwillingness, resentment, and sorrow.

The Soul Messengers walking across the islands grew larger and