As the cute-looking cloud fish bared its sharp teeth and lunged forward, the blonde girl breathed fire from her mouth, incinerating it completely.

The cloud fish, engulfed by the much stronger flames compared to when she first became a vampire, couldn't withstand it for even a moment and turned to dust.

However, the situation didn't look very favorable.

The blonde girl appeared exhausted, and in this kind of situation, the black-clad agent wasn’t much help.

The two of them simply pressed their backs against the sturdy stone wall, trying to hold their ground.

How much time had passed?

Fighting non-stop against the waves of cloud fish made it hard to tell. It definitely wasn't a short amount of time.

Above the exhausted blonde girl and the black-clad agent, the Red Reaper was fiercely battling the cloud fish.

With a cheerful expression, the Red Reaper stretched out both arms and spun in circles, causing flames to swirl around and burn everything nearby.

Even though the cloud fish rushed in with sharp teeth, the gusts of wind they stirred up kept the Red Reaper floating lightly, making it impossible for them to bite.

It was pure, one-sided violence!

"It's a good thing we have the Red Reaper here. In my dream, they trapped me, but who would’ve thought they’d be so helpful now," the blonde girl remarked.

The black-clad agent, observing the blonde girl's pale complexion, nodded slightly in agreement.

"Haa… haa…"

The blonde girl was breathing heavily, her skin flushed.

The black-clad agent glanced at her reddened skin with concern.

"Miss, are you feeling alright?" he asked.

The blonde girl looked at her slightly transparent hand and nodded.

"I'm fine. Actually, I feel lighter than before," she replied.

As if to prove her point, she moved more energetically, burning the cloud fish that came at her with even greater ease.

Amid the ongoing battle, her gaze suddenly locked onto the entrance of the village.

"Miss?" the agent asked.

"Sir, something feels… strange."

The blonde girl had an expression that was hard to describe—both happy and confused at the same time.

As a yellow light flickered within the fog, the feelings she was experiencing grew even more jumbled.

And before long, the fog parted, and a gray-skinned Object appeared in the clearing.

It was a harmless-looking figure, yet it exuded an overwhelming presence—the Gray Reaper had arrived.

Thud. Thud.

With confident steps, the Gray Reaper walked forward, its expression blank as it surveyed the area. The cloud fish visibly shrank back in fear.

Their movements slowed, and though they were still fighting, their focus had shifted entirely to the Gray Reaper.

"Miss?"

Despite the enormous pressure in the air, the black-clad agent maintained his calm demeanor and continued to watch the blonde girl with concern.

But what the blonde girl was feeling wasn’t the sense of overwhelming presence or pressure. It was something different.

"Sir, I feel… strange," she murmured.

Longing. Familiarity.

Those were the kinds of feelings swirling inside her.

But why?

If she had to name the emotion, it would be...

"Mom…?"

An unexpected word escaped from the blonde girl’s lips.

"Mom...?"

The word, so similar to what the Mini Reapers often said, slipped out of the blonde girl's mouth as she stared at me.

Mom?

Now that I look at her, the blonde girl was halfway through transforming into a Mini Reaper.

Well, no—she's still a small girl, but bigger than me, so maybe I should call her a bigger Reaper.

The last time I saw her, she didn't look like this. Why did she suddenly change like that?

There were a few possible reasons.

Maybe it just took a long time for her to partially turn into a Mini Reaper.

Or perhaps it had something to do with the orange moon.

Or maybe it was connected to the fact that I gave her a heart.

Looking up at the sky, I could see that the orange moon was already half-blackened.

The blue moon had held out for quite some time, but it seemed so fragile now.

I stretched out my arms and called for the Mini Reapers.

"Look, there's a new recruit over there. Go help them out!"

The Golden Reapers and Black Reapers, spotting the Red Reaper, ran over with excitement.

The Blue Reapers, meanwhile, spread out through the village, checking every corner.

The Indigo Reaper… seemed to be asleep. It didn’t come.

Even though the cloud fish were high up in the sky, the Black Reaper transformed into a ballista and launched the Golden Reapers at them, rendering them helpless.

I left the task of dealing with the cloud fish to the Mini Reapers and leisurely walked over to the blonde girl.

As I got closer, it was clear she was taller than me.

Maybe about 130 centimeters tall?

It was truly fascinating—this human had turned into a Mini Reaper.

The faint connection I had felt before was growing stronger now that we were face-to-face.

The blonde girl, still wearing a confused expression, looked down at me for a moment, and then suddenly rushed forward, wrapping her arms around me.

"Miss?"

The black-clad agent's startled voice echoed from behind, surprised by her abrupt action.

"It's warm," the girl whispered softly.

I could feel my embers slowly flowing into her body. The girl's body, which had barely held any embers before, was now starting to fill up with them.

In a quiet voice, the girl spoke again.

"I don’t know why, but I feel like I should call you 'Mom.' And it feels so warm, and so happy."

Well, it made sense. After all, most of the embers making up my body came from Yerin.

With a dazed expression, the blonde girl stepped back from me, and the Mini Reapers came rushing toward her, overjoyed.

They were thrilled to have a new, larger sibling—one bigger than themselves.

Leaving the girl, who had now turned halfway into a Mini Reaper, I looked up at the orange moon.

"Destroy the Pearl of the Underworld."

Huh?

The condition was simpler than I expected.

Was it because it had been corrupted by the black goo?

Just as the thought crossed my mind that I should locate the pearl, the ground split open, and a massive staircase rose before me.

The entrance, adorned with orange flames, seemed to be guiding me, as if the orange moon itself was leading the way.

At Trinity's First Research Lab, located in Gangnam District, the head researcher sat in his office, staring intently at a monitor with a serious expression.

“I can’t believe this is happening…”

The plan had been flawless.

It was the perfect strategy to secure a large quantity of Evolution Fluid—the first substance that could protect humanity from the Objects.

But judging by what was now being broadcast on TV, there was a chance the core element of the plan could fail.

“Why did the cloud fish attack Sehee Lab?”

The crux of the plan was simple.

They had to completely eliminate the Gray Reaper’s involvement.

In the past, the Third Research Lab’s mass-production project had been foiled by the Gray Reaper.

Perhaps the Gray Reaper, being an Object, was repelled by humanity’s only hope, the Evolution Fluid.

After that, the head of the Third Lab had tried to physically eliminate the Gray Reaper but had failed and died.

So, the head of the First Lab had executed his plan, targeting the orange moon, something the Gray Reaper would find difficult to detect. However, the situation was quickly spiraling out of control.

The cloud fish from Mount Odae had attacked Sehee Lab.

This plan couldn’t afford to fail.

According to the notes from the Third Research Lab, there were seven colored moons in total.

There wouldn’t be many more chances to produce the Evolution Fluid.

After staring intently at the monitor showing footage from drones circling the lab, the head researcher sighed in relief.

"Phew, that’s a relief."

Despite the cloud whale’s attack, it appeared the Gray Reaper had not left for Mount Odae.

Both the footage on the TV and the drone feed from Sehee Lab showed that everything there was perfectly calm.

The lab didn’t seem like one where an Object had escaped.

Without any signs of the security team searching for the Gray Reaper, the head researcher felt he could finally relax.

He leaned back comfortably in his chair for the first time in a while.

The TV cameras, which had been focused on Sehee Lab, panned up to the sky.

["To the east of Sehee Lab, a stunning river of cloud fish can be seen."]

["It’s a beautiful sight, almost like a celestial river," the announcer’s voice chimed in, full of admiration.]

The glittering cloud fish river almost looked like a guiding path toward Mount Odae, but as long as the Gray Reaper wasn’t moving, it didn’t seem to be a problem.

Feeling a sense of relief, the head researcher turned his gaze toward the window, where the twilight sky was beginning to settle in.

The sky was a beautiful orange hue, with cloud fish floating lazily through it.

Yet, despite everything being resolved at Sehee Lab, the head researcher couldn’t shake a vague sense of unease.

"Am I just getting old? Why am I so nervous for no reason?"

Disturbed by the inexplicable feeling, he closed the curtains, blocking out the view.

But just above the lab, hidden from view, countless cloud fish were circling, almost as if they were marking the head researcher’s location.

Splash. Splash.

The sound of my footsteps echoed as I descended the smooth stone staircase.

With each step I took down the exotic-looking stairs, the braziers on either side ignited on their own, one after another.

At the bottom of the stairs was a massive temple.

Despite being underground, it was brightly illuminated by light pouring in from the ceiling, where a mosaic adorned the roof.

The mosaic had the same atmosphere as the image James had shown me of the Relic Zero.

However, the image was so damaged, with many pieces missing, that I couldn’t make out what it depicted.

At the center of the clearing stood a statue of a completely destroyed Black Reaper.

It was a bizarre figure—its legs were missing, and it had long, slender arms.

But the statue had been so poorly maintained that the surface was worn away, and the head and arms were broken off.

Someone unfamiliar with it would have trouble recognizing it as a statue of the Black Reaper.

The rest of the temple was perfectly maintained, so why were the mosaic and the statue in such poor condition?

Beyond the statue was a massive brazier, its fire long extinguished, and in front of it was a sphere that looked like a pearl.

Seeing that sphere made the words of the Black Reaper echo in my mind once again.

"Cut out the human’s tongue and burn their body completely."

Near the brazier, there lay an old dagger, stained with dried blood.