The room was filled with the sound of the TV delivering various news reports, and I was wrapped in a soft, cozy blanket.

The quarantine room felt just as warm as always, but today, there was an extra layer of heat, like the warmth from a campfire.

Nom, nom.

I lay comfortably in bed, eating roasted marshmallows.

Next to my bed, on the table, Agwi hung suspended like a captured deer, its limbs tied up, while beneath it, a cheerful Red Reaper was happily blowing flames.

"Mom!"

The Red Reaper, roasting Agwi’s back, smiled widely as it tore off a piece of Agwi’s flesh and handed it to me.

At first, the Red Reaper used to play with the blonde girl a lot, but lately, it’s been staying by my side more and more.

It seemed bored, probably because the blonde girl and the black agent hadn’t been around much. They had built a candy house in the garden and then stayed there as if they were permanent residents of the garden.

Nom, nom.

The Red Reaper seemed to enjoy watching me eat and had been roasting and feeding me pieces of Agwi repeatedly for several minutes now.

The Red Reaper smiled as it watched me eat and then took small bites of its own roasted marshmallow, chewing happily.

Once I finished the marshmallow, the Red Reaper eagerly began roasting another piece of Agwi’s back, which had already regenerated.

As I watched TV while eating roasted marshmallows, a report about a recent event came on.

It was about the global issue of the "Eye Cult," which had suddenly disappeared without a trace.

["The 'Eye Cult' was revealed to be a pseudo-religious group influenced by an Object, yet it had a strange characteristic of having no recorded cases of mental contamination."]

["However, many victims of this cult were subjected to extreme violence, making it nearly impossible for them to lead normal lives."]

I was especially shocked when I saw the face of the cult leader of the Eye Cult on screen.

The giant I had fought so intensely in the U.S. was the leader of the Eye Cult!

And to think that the seemingly unrelated cases of the "Blue Reaper’s Attachment Human Rescue" and the "Injured Golden Reaper Incident in the U.S." were actually part of the same event—it was quite a surprising connection.

["Though many countries around the world have reported numerous victims, in our country, fortunately, the mental impact has been relatively minimal."]

That was likely thanks to the Blue Reaper, who had gone to rescue the victims in Korea.

Blue Reaper’s treatment might be a bit clumsy, but it had some truly remarkable strengths.

First, it was excellent at managing pain.

Since the Blue Reaper was from the Moon of Mental Contamination, with just a single <Don't hurt, please.>, it could completely numb even the burning agony of flames.

Second, it was exceptional at resolving mental issues.

This, too, was probably related to its specialization in mental contamination. It could instantly bring joy to people who were struggling with anxiety, fear, or other mental problems, making them smile brightly like the Golden Reapers.

Blue Reaper’s unique ability to heal made it the perfect treatment for the victims of the Eye Cult, and that’s why the results were so positive.

The news continued discussing the aftermath of the cult incident and how the situation was being handled, but when the program switched to commercials, I picked up the remote and started flipping through the channels.

Click, click.

As I changed the channels, I felt a faint vibration from under the bed.

It was the sound and vibration caused by the construction of the "Water Park" that Sehee had been building.

Thanks to the Object-standard insulation in the quarantine room, the noise and vibration were mostly blocked, so it wasn’t too bothersome.

A theme park for Mini Reapers, huh…?

It would probably make a lot of money if it opened.

If it opened.

After all, my little ones are adorable!

The real question was whether they would be allowed to sell tickets to the public, and the association would probably never grant that kind of permission.

I couldn’t help but picture Sehee’s lab buried under a mountain of debt, and I wondered how angry Seo-Ah would be when the time came.

Sehee would probably disappear for about a month.

The thought made me chuckle.

Hehe.

Bright sunlight streamed into the Object Association building in Gangnam.

The newly constructed building was sleek and clean, and the sunlight pouring in through the windows created a pleasant atmosphere inside.

As someone passed through the halls, there was something off about them.

Murmur, murmur.

A person wearing a large helmet slowly wandered through the Object Association’s building, attracting curious looks from the staff around them.

Written in large letters on the helmet, which was designed to block mental contamination, was the name 'James.'

It was a much more advanced model than the helmets used by the Object Association—several times better in performance.

And, of course, several times more expensive.

"What’s with all the fuss?" one voice muttered, but the researcher wearing the helmet ignored it, heading directly to their office.

"Phew."

Once inside the office, the researcher pulled out a mental contamination detector from their bag and placed it on the desk, switching it on.

Unlike the standard detectors used by the association, this model not only detected contamination but also provided detailed readings.

Beep.

After a moment, the device emitted a small warning tone.

The analog needle attached to the device stretched into the red zone.

'Mental contamination levels: dangerous. Still manageable.'

The researcher’s helmet was designed to withstand contamination levels up to the red zone.

They jotted down the reading in their <Office Mental Contamination Record Book>, which they had started keeping recently, and began preparing for their work.

As the researcher settled in at their desk, something suddenly poked out from behind them.

A golden antenna waved gently from atop a shelf filled with books.

It was a Golden Reaper.

The Golden Reaper tilted its head, curiously watching the researcher’s desk full of strange tools.

Sneak, sneak.

Like a game of hide and seek, the Golden Reaper slowly crept toward the desk.

At the same time, the needle on the detector slowly began to rise.

Past the red zone, inching closer to the black zone.

Past the danger zone, into the extremely dangerous zone.

Sensing something strange, the researcher turned around, but the Golden Reaper quickly darted back into the shelf, hiding.

Hehe.

The Golden Reaper giggled playfully, and as the researcher turned back to their desk, the little Reaper resumed its slow, sneaky approach.

By the time the Golden Reaper climbed onto the desk, the needle on the detector had reached 'extremely dangerous.'

At that moment, the visor of the researcher’s helmet began to turn red.

The helmet had reached its limit—it was a signal to get out of there fast.

"!"

Panicking, the researcher jumped up from their chair and checked the detector.

The needle had reached the farthest point on the scale, deep into the black zone.

And there, perched on the device, was the Golden Reaper, fiddling with it as if it were a fascinating new toy.

When the researcher stood up, the Golden Reaper looked up with an innocent smile and extended its hands.

Its goofy grin and outstretched hands made it look like it wanted a hug.

The researcher’s field of vision was quickly filling with red as the needle hovered in the 'extremely dangerous' zone, and their mind was racing in confusion.

Isn’t this the Golden Reaper from Sehee’s lab?

Why is it here all of a sudden?

I don’t remember seeing a report about the Golden Reaper causing mental contamination…

Still, it’s cute. Just like the auditor’s report described. It was strange when the 'Gray Reaper' inspection report suddenly mentioned the Golden Reaper, but… it really is cute enough to be worth…

NO!

This is mental contamination!

As a splitting headache overtook the researcher, they panicked and jumped out the window, making a run for it.

The Golden Reaper, startled by the human’s drastic action, rushed to the window, peeking out in concern.

Through the Reaper’s eyes, the researcher could be seen limping away after jumping from the third floor.

Human, you look hurt.

The Golden Reaper gazed down at the fleeing researcher with a gloomy expression, its mood souring as it watched the human go to such dangerous lengths to avoid it.

An endless silence.

It was as if I had stepped into an anechoic chamber, where all sound was muffled.

The eerie quiet was unsettling, so much so that it made me open my eyes.

When I looked around, I realized I was in an entirely unfamiliar place.

Something dark had enveloped the world, and it was a realm composed of gray and circles of light.

The sky stretched endlessly, covered in a gray hue.

There wasn’t a single cloud, nor was the sky blue or black—it was just… gray.

And across that gray sky, countless rings of light were drawn.

The ground was also dyed an endless shade of gray, making it impossible to distinguish between the horizon and the sky.

Even my own body, painted in the same gray, blended seamlessly with the earth.

On that gray land, a massive black figure stood still.

Its hollow eyes contained a single dark ring—a black pupil.

"…."

But like the corpses I had seen inside the black sphere, it was already dead.

As I stared at the black figure, tilting my head to examine it more closely, I felt a strange sensation.

It was as though I was being pulled into it.

Just as I was about to examine that bizarre feeling more closely, I felt someone poking my cheek.

"Reaper, wake up!"

Yerin’s voice called out, and I woke from my slumber.

When I opened my eyes, I was nestled in Yerin’s arms.

That’s right, I had fallen asleep while watching TV in her embrace, and then, at some point, she started massaging me, which sent me right to sleep.

There’s something about having my limbs pressed that makes me feel so good and sleepy.

"There’s someone who really wants to see you. It’s that death row inmate who came to the lab recently!"

Following Yerin’s pointing finger, I turned my gaze and saw a familiar Object.

And peeking out from behind it was a girl.

An Object and a human—a curious combination.

It was the round-headed doll with stitched eyes, one I’d often seen at the theme park.

It must have been left over from the park, still lingering here.

When our eyes met, the doll-headed figure began to speak strange words.

[Are you an alchemist?]

Though the language wasn’t Korean—or any known language on Earth—I somehow understood it perfectly.