A clearing filled with enormous teeth, too large to be human but shaped exactly like human teeth.

A faint scream echoed through the air, like someone’s last breath escaping.

“Kii… eek…”

The butler anglerfish, with all its teeth pulled out and its body dry like crumbling sand, disintegrated into dust.

At the same time, the mountain of teeth it had left behind also began to crumble.

Sadly, it was the last remaining butler anglerfish.

I had pulled out enough teeth to fill the entire clearing, but it was a failure.

The plan to turn the Tooth Angler into a cute little anglerfish failed.

Thanks to their regeneration ability, no matter how many teeth I pulled, they just kept growing back.

And once their regenerative power was exhausted, the butler anglerfish turned to dust.

What a shame.

Without those teeth, they could’ve looked kind of cute...

Come to think of it, I had just done something that resembled torture, but would the Mini Reapers be okay with that?

I worried that they might start looking at me like garbage, but when I turned to them, they were staring at me with completely blank expressions.

In fact, when I made eye contact, they tilted their heads as if asking, "What’s the matter?"

Just as expected from kids who have no mercy for harmful Objects.

Suddenly curious, I grabbed one of the golden Mini Reapers who was crouching on the ground and lifted it up in my hand.

I stuck my finger inside the golden Mini Reaper’s mouth and felt tiny little teeth.

Because the Mini Reaper was only about the size of my palm, its teeth were tiny too.

The Mini Reaper’s teeth were actually kind of cute, but why did they look so gross when attached to the anglerfish?

Maybe it was a matter of size—after all, the anglerfish’s teeth were enormous.

Not only were they huge, but even compared to the size of the anglerfish’s head, they were unnaturally large.

As I continued to toy with the tiny teeth of the golden Mini Reaper, I could feel its body tensing up in my hand.

Thump, thump.

Even though the Mini Reaper had no heart, it felt like a tiny heart was nervously pounding inside its body.

That’s strange.

There’s nothing around here to be nervous about; all the bad Objects have already turned to dust.

Besides, the golden Mini Reaper didn’t usually get nervous, even when fighting enemies.

Could it be...?

Each time I tapped the teeth with my fingers, I could feel the Mini Reaper's body tense even more.

Could it be that it's nervous because it thinks I’m going to pull out its teeth?

Does the Mini Reaper have that little trust in me?

I started to feel like I might accidentally pull one of its teeth out.

Hehe.

Suddenly, the golden Mini Reaper began squirming in my hand.

When I looked down at it, I saw my own reflection in its eyes, with a mischievous grin plastered on my face.

I wasn’t really planning to go that far, but seeing it react so dramatically made it kind of fun.

‘Maybe I’ll pull out just one tooth?’

I playfully sent the thought.

The golden Mini Reaper struggled even harder in my grip.

But even though I wasn’t that strong, I was still stronger than the Mini Reaper, so it had no chance of escaping my grasp.

I leaned in closer, creating a tense, spooky atmosphere when—

The black Mini Reaper jumped like a rocket and headbutted me right in the stomach.

The impact from the headbutt, delivered by the powerful black Mini Reaper, was enough to lift me off the ground.

Caught off guard, I let go of the golden Mini Reaper, and the black Mini Reaper rescued it and dashed away.

They all scattered in different directions, covering their mouths with their hands as they fled.

From behind the bookshelves, the Mini Reapers peeked out, spying on me.

I found their behavior amusing, so I stretched out my hands and charged at them.

“If I catch you, I’ll pull out all your teeth!”

Watching the Mini Reapers panic and flee made me feel a little better.

After passing through the iron door and walking for a while, the tattooed woman finally deemed it safe and collapsed onto the ground.

“It seems like the gatekeepers can’t pass through the iron door. What a relief.”

With her face pale, she slumped down, taking off her blood-soaked coat.

Once she removed the coat, her severed arm, which the butler anglerfish had bitten off, had already healed, and a new hand had grown in its place.

Being a Grimoire was convenient in situations like this.

As long as her head wasn’t cut off, her body would keep regenerating.

However, the hand she had sacrificed to summon the green serpent was still missing.

Since it was offered as a sacrifice, it wouldn’t regenerate naturally.

Her sister looked sadly at the hand that had vanished like vapor and spoke in a gloomy tone.

“Sis, there are going to be even more dangerous Objects up ahead, right? Do we really have to keep going? Can’t we just turn back?”

She had certainly gotten more hurt than expected.

Still, it wasn’t anything too dangerous.

Even when she was human, the woman had suffered injuries like this before, and now that she had a body that could regenerate, wounds like these were nothing more than scratches.

“I’ll be fine.”

The woman gently patted her sister to calm her down.

“I’m an Object, remember? I won’t die that easily.”

There was something the woman absolutely had to retrieve from here.

The ‘Alchemist’s Blade.’

A blade soaked in reagents, made for the sole purpose of killing anything connected to the Grimoires.

The blade was a vital tool for the alchemist, who was more of a butcher than a human when it came to slaughtering those obsessed with Grimoires.

As the spread of Objects worsened on Earth, the time would come when such a weapon would be needed.

If the alchemist were still alive, she would’ve made a deal to obtain it.

But now that the alchemist was almost certainly dead, she intended to retrieve it from the workshop.

There was no way an alchemist’s workshop wouldn’t have a blade.

Once her sister seemed a little more at ease, the woman wrung out her blood-soaked coat and put it back on before continuing forward.

“We’re almost there. Let’s go.”

With a calm tone, she took her sister’s hand, and together they moved forward.

The white Object, resembling a reaper, slowly descended the stairs.

Past the private quarters, and into the dark workshop.

The workshop, unused for a long time, was blanketed in thick dust and engulfed in oppressive darkness.

The smell of lead filled the air.

Following the scent, the reaper-like Object turned its head to see rows of dolls, identical to the gray reaper, lining the walls.

Lead dolls.

Dolls made in the image of their deceased owner.

Soulless and mindless, they were nothing more than hollow vessels created through alchemy.

The owner had cherished those empty dolls until their dying breath.

Even in their final moments, the owner had relied on those useless dolls.

As the reaper passed the dolls, a large mirror came into view.

It was as if time had been frozen in the mirror, preserving that moment with perfect clarity.

On the other side of the mirror was a girl with blue hair, smiling mischievously.

It was the owner, back when she was alive.

[Alright, stand right here!]

She was fussing with the expressionless lead doll, adjusting its posture.

The doll reflected in the mirror was still gray, but unlike the ones left in the workshop, it had shed all traces of metal.

Reborn through alchemy, it now had skin that resembled that of a human.

The owner, looking genuinely happy, continued giving instructions to the doll.

[Here, hold this for me.]

The owner handed the doll a small white guardian, no larger than a child’s toy.

It had a round body and short limbs, and though light enough for the doll to hold, it looked like an ordinary guardian.

The white guardian, with a slightly dissatisfied expression, sat in the doll’s arms, staring at its reflection in the mirror.

[Alright then, just keep looking at the mirror, okay?]

The owner giggled mischievously and said something incomprehensible—‘cheese!’—and with that, the scene in the mirror faded, returning to its normal reflection.

Though the mirror now showed only a regular guardian, it had once held the image of a happier time.

But now, in the reflection, there was only the guardian, weeping alone in the dusty workshop.

It wept, staring at a time that would never come again.

‘Master.’

The white guardian, still gazing in the direction where its deceased master lay in eternal sleep, slowly turned its gaze forward again.

The reaper-like guardian moved away from the mirror and began walking out, its steps heavy, as if each one was difficult to take.

Just as its master had said, the ‘lead doll’ had returned.

It had to be ready to welcome it.

‘The scenario my master created will only be complete with my death.’

As the tattooed woman and her sister walked down the long, dark corridor, the surroundings gradually began to change.

The rough, cave-like passageway transformed into a well-finished wooden hallway.

Though covered in dust, the wooden walls were elegantly carved with wave patterns.

The antique lamps, long since extinguished, added a touch of old-fashioned charm.

It felt like they were walking through the hallway of an old mansion.

For the tattooed woman, it felt strangely familiar, like she had returned to her homeland.

The corridor and its decor reminded her of places she had once known.

At the end of the hallway was a large room.

It was a sitting room, furnished with elaborate tables and chairs.

But there was no time to admire the decor.

There was an Object inside, exuding an overwhelming presence.

Even as a seasoned alchemist who had dealt with countless Grimoires, the woman couldn’t help but feel tense.

“A white reaper?”

Her sister, staring at the Object that had its back turned to them, asked.

As if reacting to her words, the Object slowly turned to face the sisters.

“Kyu.”

It was a sorrowful-looking Object.