Upon arriving at the location the rebellious Reaper had called me to, I saw a rather peculiar sight. Standing there, hands raised in greeting, was a small Golden Reaper with two cute little horns sticking out of its head.

How did this happen?

Curious, I picked up the Golden Horn Reaper and started pressing down on the horns.

They were soft and squishy.

It seemed like these horns had developed as a result of the influence of the woman standing nearby—the one who had been called Junior Two by the Yellow Detective.

This was the first time I’d seen a Golden Reaper undergo such a transformation, influenced by a human.

Could this be some kind of Golden Horn synergy? Or maybe the Golden Reapers always had the ability to slowly resemble their attachment figures?

The squishy texture of the Golden Reaper’s horns was irresistibly fun to press.

Whenever I pushed them, they would collapse under the pressure, then spring back up when I released them.

The Golden Reaper squirmed and giggled, apparently ticklish.

As I continued to play with the Reaper, I couldn’t help but smile. But before long, a group of Objects charged at me from the surrounding area.

These must be the ones that had prompted the Reaper to call for help.

They weren’t particularly strong on their own, but they had sharp scythes that could be dangerous to humans.

There were too many of them for the Golden Reaper to protect its human companion and fight off at the same time.

Instead of dealing with them one by one, I decided to compress the space around them and handle it all at once.

I spread my hand and grasped the space the Objects occupied, then clenched my fist.

The Objects and the space they inhabited crumpled into a ball.

With the attic now clear of the creatures, the room felt much more spacious.

“Wow,” Junior Two whispered in awe, clearly impressed by the display.

She seemed fascinated, as if this was her first time seeing a spatial compression in action.

When I looked down at my hand, the Golden Horn Reaper was still there, giggling.

Despite the new horns, its personality hadn’t changed much.

I set the Reaper down in my palm, and it spread its arms wide, eagerly sharing all the fun things it had experienced.

‘It was fun.’

‘Everything was soft and squishy.’

‘I had a great time.’

‘I traveled to so many places.’

The thoughts that Golden Reapers transmitted were always fragmented, focusing more on personal impressions rather than coherent stories. But the bright, joyful emotions came through clearly.

The Golden Horn Reaper jumped around, trying to share its experiences, looking as happy as ever.

Although I didn’t fully understand the situation, the Reaper seemed to imply that its human companion had been in some kind of trouble.

But judging by the Reaper’s innocent, carefree expression, I doubted it was asking for help.

As I listened to the Reaper’s disjointed tale, I noticed the large claw marks gouged into the surrounding walls.

The concrete had been damaged, though not fully broken, and the marks carried an ominous energy that unsettled me.

There was a sinister intent hidden in these traces—one that made me frown.

Oddly, the Golden Horn Reaper seemed completely unfazed.

Was the creature that left these marks on a higher level than the Reaper?

We weren’t in Seoul, but it felt like something that needed to be dealt with.

And to be honest, it seemed like it could be fun.

Seeing the Gray Reaper again after so long, I couldn’t help but feel that it seemed more familiar now.

Maybe spending so much time with my Reaper had made the Gray Reaper appear even cuter and more approachable.

Standing in the Gray Reaper’s palm, my Reaper jumped up and down excitedly, like someone happily reunited with a long-lost family member.

Watching them made me feel a little guilty.

I should’ve brought them to Sehee’s lab sooner so they could meet the other Golden Reapers!

The strange thing was that neither the Gray Reaper nor my Reaper had said a word, but it still felt like they were communicating.

I had heard that the Gray Reaper couldn’t speak, though. Odd.

Still, I figured the elite researchers at Sehee’s lab were probably right. They were more credible than Junior Two’s opinion.

After its joyous reunion, my Reaper leapt from the Gray Reaper’s palm and landed on my chest.

It wriggled its way into my shirt, then looked up at me with a silly grin.

‘It’s warm!’

‘It’s cozy!’

It felt like the Reaper was talking to me, even though I knew it wasn’t.

As I sat there, I picked up the diary that had fallen to the floor.

The contents were just as disturbing the second time I read them.

It became clear that the author of the diary was likely the boy who had been our client.

If the boy really had written this, then why?

If he were the culprit, as the diary suggested, why would he even hire a detective?

I didn’t know.

My thoughts were a jumbled mess.

Should I continue with this case? Should I give up? Or had I missed something important?

Needing a break to clear my head, I stepped out of the attic and into the street outside the boy’s house.

As I followed Junior Two, who seemed lost in thought, a sudden realization struck me.

If the rebellious Golden Reaper had met Junior Two and left the Mini Reaper Garden a long time ago, it probably hadn’t encountered the black slime.

Hehe.

What kind of prank—no, what kind of lesson should I teach this troublemaker?

It would probably be quite shocked at first.

Since it hadn’t received any information from the other Golden Reapers, it would likely have a fresh reaction to seeing the black slime for the first time.

Watching the Reaper snuggle happily into Junior Two’s chest, I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself at the fun idea I’d just come up with.

Leaving the boy’s house behind, I walked through the dark alleyways.

Even though the sunlight barely reached these streets, the open air made me feel a little better.

Turning around, I noticed the Gray Reaper following me with a neutral expression.

Unlike my Reaper, who was always smiling, the Gray Reaper’s tightly shut lips made its cheeks puff out a bit.

Poke, poke.

Before I realized it, I was hugging the Gray Reaper, poking its cheeks.

W-wait! I must really be losing it!

I quickly checked the Gray Reaper’s face for any sign of anger.

Surely it wouldn’t turn me into a ball of compressed space for this, right?

Thankfully, despite its blank expression, the way its hair gently swayed suggested it wasn’t too upset.

Phew, close one.

As the tension eased, I fought the sudden urge to bite the swaying hair in front of me. Even if I was mentally compromised, I had to draw the line somewhere.

Nom nom.

The Gray Reaper pulled out a cookie from somewhere, took a small bite, and started chewing.

My Reaper, seeing this, received a cookie from the Gray Reaper and broke off a piece to feed me.

Nom nom.

The cookie was a little too sweet, but still delicious.

Sitting there, sharing cookies and feeling the warmth from the Gray Reaper, I felt more at peace than I had in a long time.

Suddenly, the Gray Reaper’s gaze shifted to the far end of the alley.

There, in the dim light, a figure slowly approached.

Despite it being the middle of the day, the alley was dark, casting a shadow over the figure’s movements.

As the boy came closer, I felt a growing sense of unease.

It must’ve been because I had read that dreadful diary.

The boy’s face looked tired, but he was smiling, as if happy to see me.

“!”

The moment the faint light of the alley hit the boy’s hands, my breath caught in my throat.

His hands were still covered in blood, not yet dried.

The faint scent of blood that had lingered before now filled the alley entirely.

“Detective… sister…”

The boy’s face twisted in what looked like sorrow as he slowly approached.

Something deep within me recoiled, and I instinctively took a step back.

Seeing my reaction, the boy’s expression hardened, and he stopped in his tracks as if frozen.

“Detective… sister?”

He looked shocked.

Thud, thud.

At that moment, the Gray Reaper, its yellow eyes glowing, stepped forward, approaching the boy.

The boy, covered in blood from head to toe.

Junior Two, whose expression of rejection seemed to wound the boy deeply.

On the surface, the boy seemed fine.

But in my eyes, he was already dead.

He wasn’t a corpse walking, but he was already fated to die.

It was as if my eyes had determined the conditions of his death.

This boy was beyond saving, already on the tracks to an inevitable death.

His mind had been shattered, and madness had filled the void.

It was so certain that it felt like I had caused his death just by looking at him.

He wouldn’t last another ten seconds.

The boy, clearly terrified, took a few steps back, then stopped abruptly.

Like a machine that had suddenly lost power, he froze in place and collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

As the boy’s life slipped away, a brilliant light began to flood the alley.

It came from my antennae, which had begun to emit an intense, radiant glow.

What is this? This is terrifying!