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--donation bonus (day #4, post 3/5)--
‘You do realize that you are the servant in this relationship, right? I don’t have to listen to you. I could put you to sleep and fly to the other side of the planet, if I wanted.’

Hector just glared at him.

‘Ugh. Fine. I won’t wander off, for the time being. But I will need to venture out on my own again sooner or later. You’re going to have to trust that I know what I’m doing, eventually.’

The bus squealed to a stop in front of the school, and Hector exited.

‘Tell me how to kill Geoffrey,’ he said as he walked. ‘You said we weren’t prepared for that fight before. So... prepare me.’

The reaper floated ahead of him. ‘You’re already resolved to kill him?’

‘It’s him or you, isn’t it? That’s not a hard choice. I... I would’ve done it before, if I could’ve...’

‘Him or US, Hector.’

‘R-right...’

‘Well. In order to hurt Geoffrey, you have to be able to break the red shadow that protects him.’

‘Okay...’

‘The reason it seemed like an impervious shield was because your attacks were only physical, whereas the shadow was both physical and mental. That shadow is something real and imaginary at the same time, which is why it seemed to constantly disappear and reappear.’

‘Imaginary? But if it’s imaginary... then...’

‘How can it exist? Because reality is relative. Take me, for instance. I’m imaginary. All reapers are. Relative to our servants, and apparently Geoffrey, we exist. But relative to the rest of the world, we don’t.’

‘But... the powers you grant me are definitely real...’