Unlike the office, which was filled with scary senior Kim Jung-roe and a mountain of work, the quarantine room was full of cute Reapers and plenty of fun things to do.

But even as I was squishing the soft, warm belly of my Reaper like usual, something about its mood felt off, and I couldn’t enjoy it as much as I normally would.

Was something worrying it?

Even its favorite pudding wasn’t being savored— it was just shoveling it into its mouth mechanically. Massaging its squishy limbs didn’t get much of a response either.

Usually, just a bit of massaging would make it melt and fall asleep in no time!

Even its little antennae, which normally swayed from side to side, drooped like a wilted orchid.

The Black Reaper seemed to notice too, and with a worried expression, it kidnapped a white anglerfish.

Kyuu-hing-hing.

The cute whimper of the white anglerfish echoed as it realized its fate.

The Reaper regained its energy after munching on the anglerfish’s limbs.

Like its refreshed antennae, it stood up, and in the blink of an eye, it disappeared.

The Reaper’s gone.

Now I was the one feeling down.

I wanted to keep playing with it…

I hugged the limbless, cute anglerfish and collapsed onto the bed.

Sigh. I don’t want to work.

Staring at the ceiling, I lost all motivation. The Black Reaper approached me with a worried expression and gently patted my cheek.

It looked at me like I was some terminally ill patient.

The Reapers were so adorable whenever I was just a little bit moody; they always made such a big fuss.

They didn’t seem to react this way to anyone else. They must like me, right?

I quickly grabbed the concerned Black Reaper and pulled it into a tight hug.

Despite its mischievous shark-like teeth, its personality was more like the cheerful Golden Reaper.

That contrast made it even cuter.

As if it could hear my thoughts, the Black Reaper’s limbs turned to mush, clinging to my hands like soft gloves while it smiled brightly.

A warm, squishy Black Reaper glove.

With one hand, I enjoyed the soft texture of the Reaper, and with the other, I took a bite of the white anglerfish the Reaper had left behind.

Reaper, I hope you come back soon.

As I teleported, my vision cleared, and the vast sky opened up before me.

Below, a sea of clouds stretched out, and above, the sun burned intensely.

Ah, the sky.

I had teleported to the Orange Reaper’s location, and now I was free-falling through the open air.

The Orange Reaper, startled by my sudden appearance, quickly grabbed my hand, but it wasn’t strong enough to pull me up.

Are we going to crash into the ground together?

Just as that thought crossed my mind, something soft caught me, lifting me gently into the air.

It was a cloud whale made of cotton candy.

The Orange Reaper, looking like it had aged ten years, took a moment to calm its nerves.

"Yeah, yeah. It’s okay."

I picked up the fluffy ball of fur that was the Orange Reaper and petted it slowly.

The Mini Reapers, except for the Black Reaper, weren’t very strong. Is it because I’m too weak?

The Black Reaper could transform into a massive, assembly-kit giant, so it could probably lift me easily.

The cloud whale gently lowered me and the Orange Reaper near the ground before soaring back into the sky.

Must be nice, flying like that.

I’d love to try flying as a winged angel Reaper, but no matter how many bird-type Objects I kill, I’ll probably never grow wings.

Thud, thud.

With random thoughts running through my head, I slowly walked toward where I could sense the Blue Reaper’s presence.

The Orange Reaper followed me, flying curiously close behind.

Come to think of it, I haven’t spent much time wandering around with the new kids.

The Orange Reaper seemed to be enjoying itself as it flew around with me, so I picked it up and placed it on my head.

The Orange Reaper, clearly fond of my antennae, quickly tucked itself into its own fluff, hugging me tightly.

As we got closer, a building oozing with terrible emotions came into view.

Are they torturing people inside that building under the guise of a cult?

Climbing up one of the nearby buildings, I could see the Blue Reapers huddled together on the rooftop, unsure of what to do as pain and despair poured out of the building.

"Humans are suffering!"
"What should we do?"

That seemed to be the general mood.

Then, with a resolute expression, they started descending into the building.

It was the beginning of their adventure to save the Attachment Human and the suffering people.

I gave them a head start before stealthily following the Blue Reaper in my ghostly form.

While the Golden Reaper distracted the Association staff wandering the village, Rachel managed to sneak into her parents’ house.

A dark, empty home.

It felt like her father could rise from the rocking chair in the yard at any moment to welcome her, and her mother might open the front door to greet her.

Her brother, in his wheelchair, would surely greet her with a bright smile from inside.

But the house she stepped into was desolate and cold.

"There has to be a clue somewhere."

Rachel whispered to herself as she began slowly searching the quiet house.

Leaving it all to the Association might have been the right choice.

But Rachel didn’t want to sit around waiting.

She was anxious.

The Association was good, but not flawless. It wasn’t like they could guarantee there wouldn’t be any casualties.

If there was even the slightest chance of saving her family, she didn’t want to give up.

After several minutes of wandering through the house with the faint light of the Golden Reaper’s glow, Rachel found a letter sent by the cult known as the "Eye Cult."

The flyer, full of clichéd promises like immortality and eternal life, claimed that the blind would see, and the lame would walk again. On the back was a map and location.

"Found it."

Excited by the clue, Rachel whispered with joy.

The Golden Reaper hopped around happily with her.

Rachel tucked the glowing Reaper into her arms to avoid any light leaking out and quietly made her way out of the village.

Thanks to the chaos caused by the newly arrived staff, she was able to slip away through the nearby forest unnoticed.

"We have to hurry. My family could be in danger."

The swift reaction of the Association made it clear that this cult was not to be taken lightly.

Swallowing her fear, Rachel got into her car and headed toward the location marked on the map.

The Blue Reapers slowly made their way through the empty building, heading toward the hidden underground tunnel.

Though the entrance to the tunnel was well concealed, the intense emotions radiating from within allowed the Blue Reaper to easily locate it.

The deeper they went, the stronger the emotions became.

And the Blue Reapers grew increasingly sad.

"Why are they tormenting humans?"
"I hate this."

As the Blue Reaper floated forward on its broom, it suddenly jolted in shock and tumbled to the ground.

It glanced around, startled.

The walls on either side of the tunnel were lined with hastily constructed cells.

Inside, people with broken bones lay scattered, groaning in pain.

<Please, don’t be in pain.>
<Let all your pain heal.>

The Blue Reaper began to weep uncontrollably, shedding tears as if it would drain every drop of liquid from its body, all while attempting to heal the suffering people.

One Blue Reaper, who had lost its Attachment Human, staggered deeper into the tunnel, its face even more pale than usual.

As the strings of characters shattered and a refreshing fragrance spread through the musty tunnel, one of the security officers, who had fainted, slowly opened his eyes.

"The Blue Reaper is here."

Clenching his teeth, the officer began crawling toward the refreshing presence of the Blue Reaper.

The cells weren’t locked.

Whoever had imprisoned them likely believed that escape was impossible with all their bones shattered.

The officer could have simply laid there and waited, but instead, he gritted his teeth and dragged himself forward.

All so the Blue Reaper could find him sooner.

Just as the officer had hoped, after sweating profusely and crawling painfully, he finally reached the Blue Reaper.

The Blue Reaper, seeing the face of its Attachment Human, was shocked. It latched onto the officer’s head and burst into tears.

<Please, don’t be in pain.>
<Please, don’t ever let this happen again.>

"It’s alright. Just a bit of rest and I’ll be fine. Don’t cry."

The officer, his voice hoarse from all the screaming, tried to comfort the Blue Reaper.

He wanted to pet it, but his hands wouldn’t move properly.

The Blue Reaper, still sobbing, lightly tapped his forehead with its tiny fists.

It wanted to hit him hard, to tell him not to do such reckless things again, but it was afraid of hurting him, so it tapped him as gently as it could.

Thanks to the Blue Reaper’s magic, the officer’s hands finally began to move. Slowly, he reached out and patted the Blue Reaper on the head.

The Blue Reaper cried even harder, as if something inside it had broken free.

I watched the sobbing Blue Reaper from inside the wall, using my ghostly form to hide in the earthen barrier.

The Orange Reaper, having smeared dirt all over itself, was clinging to the ceiling, pretending to be part of the mud.

So far, it seemed like nothing too dangerous had happened.

Just as I was about to think, "Maybe it’s time to head back," a sinister figure appeared.

It looked human, but it wasn’t.

It seemed like an Object, but something about it was different.

A middle-aged man dressed in an extravagant outfit, with a sorrowful expression, dramatically spread his arms.

"Suffering is a blessing, the path to eternal life."

At the sound of the man’s voice, the Blue Reaper stood protectively in front of the security officer, staring at the intruder with a tense expression.

The Blue Reaper immediately sensed that this man was not human and that he was the one tormenting its Attachment Human.

A creature that wasn’t human, yet harmed humans?

This was exactly the kind of enemy that the Mini Reapers despised the most.

<Ten Water Needles!>

The Blue Reaper conjured ten water needles, which shot toward the middle-aged man at high speed.

"Hup!"

But with a sharp exhale, the man waved his hand, deflecting all of the needles.

It looked like some kind of martial arts performance, and I mentally applauded.

Those water needles probably had the power of arrows, yet he blocked them with his bare hands.

But as the man stood there, smug after deflecting the needles, he found himself facing ten Blue Reapers and a thousand more water needles.

<One thousand Water Needles!>

The Blue Reapers twirled their brooms, sending the barrage of needles flying.

"Hup!"

Facing the relentless storm of needles, the man let out another sharp breath and began moving his arms in smooth, graceful motions.

His fists loosened as though he were conserving energy, his movements fluid like water.

Is he really going to block all of those too?

I watched with a mix of worry and curiosity, eager to see the outcome.

But the man ended up skewered like a porcupine, his body pierced by countless water needles, transforming into nothing more than a lifeless corpse.