In a mystical crystal cave, the black-clad agent lay unconscious on the cold, hard floor.

The soft light emanating from the cave’s walls illuminated the man's contorted expression and his tattered clothing. Standing before him, as if protecting him, was a blonde girl, her face a mixture of determination and anxiety.

“If you make a contract with me, I’ll return you to your original form, to being human again.”

The woman standing before the girl leaned in, whispering her sweet offer.

“What do you say? Are you interested?”

The woman’s eyes gleamed with cunning, and a dangerous smile twisted her lips.

In the fog of his fading consciousness, the black-clad agent overheard the ominous conversation. Making a deal with an Object that could speak like a human was something that should never be done. He knew this all too well.

Suddenly snapping awake, the agent’s eyes flew open, and he struggled to rise as he rasped out a warning.

“Miss, you mustn’t do it!”

Hearing his voice, a flicker of hesitation crossed the girl’s face.

“You know this as well as I do—never make a deal with a talking Object. The price is always terrible, and you’ll never get what you desire.”

The man, still sprawled on the floor, hurriedly spoke to convince the blonde girl.

“Shh.”

The woman, who had been quietly listening, raised a finger to her lips and spoke.

“Don’t interrupt. Go back to sleep for a while.”

Her words took on a tangible form, sending the black-clad agent back into a deep slumber.

“Miss...”

He could only watch as the beautiful woman—who was undoubtedly a terrifying monster in disguise—and the blonde girl faced each other. His vision blurred, and he lost consciousness once more.

The moonlight struggled to pierce through the thick, swirling fog that enveloped Yangcheon-gu Lake, barely reaching the surface of the water.

The lake, shrouded in mist, lay still as if waiting for something. That waiting was abruptly cut short as creatures oozing black slime began charging toward the lake from a truck parked at the shore, like beasts that had lost their minds.

“The earth will devour your feet!”

“Your bones will crumble under their own weight!”

Crooked old women emerged slowly from the mist, their twisted bodies spewing curses as they approached the lake. The creatures dripping with black slime seemed no match for the cursing hags. Each curse caused the creatures to burn, melt, or sink into the ground.

Yet, despite the obvious disadvantage, the slime-covered creatures continued their relentless charge toward the lake, seemingly oblivious to fear.

Watching from a distance, a man smiled with satisfaction.

“At this rate, the heart of the lake will be ours. These researchers are useful after all; they follow orders well.”

“...”

But just as the hags appeared to have the upper hand, something unexpected happened. As the black slime flowed into the lake, dark spots began to appear on the hags’ limbs. The more the spots spread, the more the hags suffered, and the more the slime contaminated the lake.

Seeing this, the man began to walk back to his vehicle.

“It’s over. As expected, everything went smoothly. I’ll leave now. Have the butler retrieve the heart of the lake.”

“Understood, sir.”

After seeing his superior off, the butler stood silently by the lake’s edge, staring out at the mist-covered water.

“...”

However, the atmosphere of victory was short-lived. The first sign was the researchers, who had lost their fear, suddenly halting in their tracks. They tried to move forward, but their bodies twisted in agony as if they could no longer force themselves to take another step.

Researchers who had been fearless were now paralyzed by terror?

Through the mist, a pair of glowing yellow eyes approached, flickering ominously.

Tap, tap.

A child’s light, carefree footsteps echoed as a small figure appeared—a gray-skinned reaper with glowing yellow eyes.

The Gray Reaper smiled as it looked at the terrified Objects.

When it spread its arms wide, tiny, golden reapers tore through the air, appearing from rifts in space and charging at everything in sight with overwhelming violence. Even the researchers, who should have been immune to fear, panicked and began fleeing in all directions.

The hags, too, shrouded themselves in mist and retreated into the depths of the lake. Seeing those glowing yellow eyes, the researchers’ fear was understandable.

That creature.

The Gray Reaper was something no Object could ever defeat.

The lakeshore, now a chaotic mess covered in black slime, reeked with such an overwhelming stench that it could suffocate someone if they had lungs.

Lucky I don’t have lungs.

The Golden Reapers, having defeated all the harmful enemies, had fled from the horrendous smell.

This slime has been showing up a lot lately. Where on earth is it coming from?

If I find the source, I’ll tear it apart...

The hags’ bodies were nowhere to be found on the lakeshore. I had deliberately let them go, suspecting they were connected to the “Blue Witch.” It felt like they would lead me to her if I let them escape.

The task of tracking them was assigned to our new recruit, the blue reaper, who could fly. With the enemies on the shore defeated, I started making my way toward where the blue reaper had gone.

On the bus heading toward Yangcheon-gu Lake, a woman covered in tattoos sat with a troubled expression.

The bus was filled with lively chatter and laughter from the excited passengers. Despite the late hour, their enthusiasm showed no signs of waning.

“Sis, what should we do first when we get there?”

Her younger sister, her eyes shining with excitement, asked eagerly.

The woman, chewing on a bitter leaf, replied, “We should check out the cave first.”

“Oh, you looked up Yangcheon-gu Lake too! That cave looks amazing.”

The woman glanced at her sister, who was brimming with anticipation, and gave a wry smile. It was likely that her sister’s expectations for a fun sightseeing trip wouldn’t be met.

Holding up the crystal in her hand, the woman thought to herself.

There’s no way that traitor would overlook the lake.

The lake would be tainted black, and the lake’s serpent would fall into the traitor’s hands. A serpent with nine heads could never be defeated without this crystal. Never.

Staring at the swirling white flame inside the crystal, the woman steeled her resolve.

The blue reaper, riding a broom made of water, was chasing after the fleeing hags.

The hags, filled with fear, scurried across the water’s surface, leaving ripples in their wake. Constantly looking over their shoulders as if a monster from the depths was pursuing them, they didn’t speak a word, only fleeing in a blind panic.

The frantic splashing of water and their ragged breathing were the only sounds that broke the silence of the lake.

What seemed like an endless chase finally came to a halt at the entrance of a cave. The hags, relieved to have reached safety, gathered at the entrance and began talking, trying to shake off their fear.

“We barely made it.”

“Why did that monster appear out of nowhere?”

“Could it be that the youngest didn’t return because of that thing?”

As the hags, their skin marred by black spots, chattered outside the cave, a thick fog began to billow out from deep within.

And then, a massive silhouette emerged from the mist.

Thud. Thud.

With heavy footsteps, the figure parted the fog. It was a giant creature, resembling an enlarged version of the hags.

“You’re causing quite a commotion.”

As the creature appeared, the hags stopped talking and bowed their heads.

Watching this immensely powerful Object, the blue reaper sent a signal to the Gray Reaper.

The air was filled with floating letters.

“A suspicious Object has appeared!”

But the hags quickly noticed the blue reaper’s signal. Realizing it had been detected, the blue reaper tried to escape, but the giant hag moved with surprising speed and snatched it up.

“Ouch... Let me go!”

The blue reaper struggled, but it couldn’t break free.

“What an interesting little thing. You’re not one of us, yet you use similar powers.”

Whack, whack.

The blue reaper hit the hag’s hand, trying to free itself, but the hag simply tore off the reaper’s arm.

“!!!!!”

The blue reaper screamed silently, its face contorted in pain.

“Hehehe. How amusing. I never expected to find such a fun little creature. How about a bet, little one? If you win, I’ll let you go.”

The hag grinned wickedly, watching the blue reaper weep in agony, its arm torn off.

Then, suddenly.

The world changed in an instant.

“What? What is this?”

The damp lakeside vanished, as did the tiny creature in her grasp.

In its place...

A sea of chocolate.

Clouds of marshmallows.

And small golden Objects, looking extremely angry.

Lastly, there was the gray monster, glaring at her while holding the blue reaper protectively.