In the heart of Mapo District, bathed in ominous moonlight, stood a small, cozy one-room apartment.

Though the apartment was modest in size, the soft, glowing lights and the quaint furniture created a warm and inviting atmosphere, standing in stark contrast to the eerie streets outside.

The lights gently illuminated the room, their glow reflected off the soft-colored wallpaper. Despite the warmth in the room, a woman sat on a plush sofa, wrapped in layers of blankets.

She had built a fortress out of the blankets and was nestled comfortably inside, sipping on a warm drink as the TV blared noisily in the background. Yet, she paid no attention to the TV, focusing instead on the snacks and the little golden object sitting on the table in front of her.

“Isn’t it warm?” she said with a smile, gently placing a small knit sweater on the Golden Reaper.

The Golden Reaper, seeing the woman’s cheerful expression, smiled back, its face lighting up with happiness.

Meanwhile, the TV broadcast warnings about the increasingly strange behavior of the Golden Reapers, urging viewers to be cautious.

“Reports of dangerous behavior from the Golden Reapers continue to increase.”

“There have been numerous instances of them melting in disturbing ways or glaring at people with malevolent intent.”

“A friendly object behaving in such a way could be a very dangerous sign. Please exercise extreme caution.”

As usual, the broadcast stoked fear, warning that the Golden Reapers might be dangerous.

Even though the woman believed her Golden Reaper was harmless, just hearing such news made her heart race and filled her with unease.

Sensing her anxiety, the Golden Reaper gently grasped her finger, looking up at her with a concerned expression.

Feeling the tension ease from her body, the woman slowly stroked the Golden Reaper’s head as it gazed at her with worry.

“They’re so cute… Why is everyone so eager to vilify them?”

The woman placed the Golden Reaper in her palm and began feeding it some snacks, one by one.

The sight of the tiny Golden Reaper eagerly munching away at the snacks with its small body amused her, and she continued feeding it without pause. Suddenly, she heard the sound of something stepping onto the table.

Thump. Thump.

Another Golden Reaper, identical to the one wearing the knit sweater, walked slowly across the table, its expression blank.

The knit-wearing Golden Reaper jumped in surprise when it noticed the newcomer, leaping down onto the table to face it directly.

Who’s that?

With a curious tilt of its head, the knit-wearing Reaper seemed utterly puzzled, as if a question mark hovered over its head.

I’ve never seen them before, not even in the Mini Reaper Garden.

Every time the knit-wearing Golden Reaper moved out of curiosity, the new Golden Reaper mirrored its movements exactly, as if it were a reflection.

“Wow, they look exactly the same,” the woman said in awe as she watched the two identical Golden Reapers mimic each other’s movements.

The knit-wearing Reaper kept sending out feelings of Who are you? over and over, but the new Reaper didn’t respond. Instead, it simply continued to imitate the knit-wearing Reaper’s actions.

Then, without warning, the new Golden Reaper began walking slowly toward the woman.

The knit-wearing Reaper quickly blocked its path, shaking its head furiously as if to say, You can’t go there!

Watching this, the woman thought that the knit-wearing Reaper seemed to have a strong sense of possessiveness.

“You two should get along!” she said, picking up the knit-wearing Reaper and scolding it lightly.

Though it couldn’t understand her words, the knit-wearing Reaper seemed to sense her disappointment and hung its head in sadness.

“Come on, come here!” The woman clapped her hands and spread her arms wide, beckoning the new Golden Reaper to come over.

The new Reaper looked up at her and smiled, but something was wrong. Its grin stretched unnaturally wide, splitting its face in a grotesque, ear-to-ear smile.

Before she could even process the unsettling sight, the new Golden Reaper suddenly sprinted toward her, its hands gripping a glowing lightsaber that radiated a sinister yellow light.

“!”

But in that instant, the knit-wearing Golden Reaper leapt into the air and threw itself in front of the lightsaber, taking the hit instead.

Whoosh.

The intense heat from the blade immediately set the knit sweater ablaze, and the Golden Reaper that had taken the strike looked at the woman with a desperate expression, as if to say Run!

Bright light began pouring out from its body, an overwhelming, radiant glow that could be seen from anywhere in Mapo District. It was filled with warmth, a shining expression of its desire to protect the woman.

With a final burst of light, the knit-wearing Golden Reaper collapsed onto the floor, its body going limp like a lifeless doll.

The fake Golden Reaper, its ambush thwarted, contorted its face in rage, scowling like a crushed walnut.

“No… No! My Reaper!” the woman cried out, scooping up the limp Golden Reaper with a devastated expression, but it lay still in her hands, its eyes shut tight, completely motionless.

Is this a rebellion of the Golden Reapers?

To figure out what exactly was going on, I kept my eyes tightly shut, pretending to be dead. The Blue Reaper, now even more panicked, began sending a string of messages.

<Please heal the wound.> <Protect us.>

As the messages disappeared, a healing mist settled over my body, and the water droplets began pushing the fake Golden Reaper away from me.

Success means revolution!

The Red Reaper, mimicking the words I whispered to it every day, radiated a proud aura while boldly sending out its red energy. Of course, its expression was so innocent that it didn’t really seem to understand what it was saying.

Still, it instinctively knew that I wouldn’t die so easily, and with that confidence, it readied itself, wielding a red hammer and scythe, prepared to face off against the fake Golden Reaper.

Taking advantage of the moment, I carefully examined the fake Reaper, noticing several odd details.

Its heart flame, although resembling real flames, felt hollow, devoid of any emotion. And there was no sense of connection between it and me, something that should have been present in a real Golden Reaper.

It was a fake.

But it was so intricately designed that the real Golden Reapers might easily be deceived.

Since it was a fake, there was nothing holding me back. I quickly healed the wound that had pierced me and opened my eyes, slowly rising to my feet.

As I stood up, the Mini Reapers clung to my face with expressions of pure joy. The fake Golden Reaper looked startled at first but swiftly erased its confusion, raising its lightsaber with a confident grin, as if asserting that it was stronger than me.

Is it trying to copy how I used to spar with the Golden Reapers?

Fighting, sword duels, running, hide-and-seek. During my time in Mapo, I’d played countless games with the Reapers, but I could count on one hand the number of times I’d actually won.

Did it mistake me for being weak?

I guess it’s time to show it.

I’d only been going easy on the Reapers!

With both hands turning black, I reached out, summoning a massive black orb fueled by the flames of burnt wood. The dark sphere appeared in the air, swallowing everything in its path.

The fake Golden Reaper displayed flawless swordsmanship, replicating the techniques of the First Blade, slashing at the black orb to stop it, but it was futile.

No matter how perfect the swordsmanship, it wasn’t enough to overcome the burning power of the black orb.

No matter how hard an ant trains in boxing, it can’t win against an elephant!

With a confident smirk, I ripped the fake Golden Reaper to shreds.

<Wow! Mom’s strong!>

The Red Reaper bounced up and down in place, overjoyed, while the Blue Reaper quietly clapped its fingers together in applause.

That was easy.

But what about the other Golden Reapers?

The fake Reaper was so meticulously crafted that I worried whether the other Golden Reapers might have been fooled by similar copies.

As soon as that thought crossed my mind, golden light began to burst forth from all over Mapo District, shooting toward the sky like beams of sunlight.

The Golden Reapers were sending out distress signals, calling for help, "Humans are in danger!"

Amidst the light spreading across the district, a massive silhouette began to rise from the shadows, as if it had weight and substance.

Unlike the warm glow of the Golden Reapers, this shadow exuded a dark and ominous presence.

The massive shadow, which bore a striking resemblance to the fake Golden Reaper I had just defeated, emerged as if to block my path and prevent me from aiding the others.

The shadow loomed so large that it seemed to emerge from the buildings themselves. Its body was enormous, towering like a building, and its form was covered in a sinister black color.

Two golden lights gleamed from what appeared to be its face—a pair of golden eyes that shone with the same hue as the Golden Reapers but radiated a foreboding, malevolent energy.

The only part of it that resembled the real Reapers were those golden eyes. Slowly, the giant fake Reaper began to gaze down at me.

Thunk.

As I clenched my blackened fist toward the massive fake Reaper, the black orb reappeared, devouring its upper body without leaving a trace.

The fake Reaper had attempted to swing its massive fists toward the surrounding buildings, but its efforts were in vain.

Too dangerous.

If the giant Reaper had succeeded in swinging its fist at the buildings, countless people would have died. That would have been a disaster.

If even one person died, the 7-day cycle would reset.

And if I failed now, the next 7 days would be even more difficult.

If these horrifying fake Reapers appeared from day one next time, I wasn’t sure I’d survive the entire week.

Screeeeech!

The fake Reaper regenerated its upper body in an instant and let out a terrible screech, like nails on a chalkboard.

The sound was unbearable, raising everyone’s nerves, and it was laced with mental contamination that made people anxious.

It was an incredibly effective form of mental contamination.

With each screech, more fear and despair poured into me from the people of Mapo. And the more terrified they became, the more monstrous the fake Reapers grew.

The once perfect replicas of the Golden Reapers were now grotesque, barely resembling their original forms.

Their mouths were stretched unnaturally wide.

Jagged teeth jutted out at odd angles.

Their decaying flesh exposed their ribs.

And the more horrific they became, the faster, stronger, and tougher they grew.

It became clear to me.

The yellow moon’s ability was to feed on people’s fear and manifest it into these monstrous objects.

What should I do?

Should I evacuate everyone to the Mini Reaper Garden?

But my gut told me that wasn’t the right choice. If there were no victims to feed on, the yellow moon would simply move its position, like the "Moon of the Frozen Plains."

I’d used ’Quirk’ far too much, consuming an enormous amount of energy.

And the Golden Reapers were nearing their limit. While they were valiantly erasing the fake Reapers one after another, Mapo was too vast for them to protect everyone instantly.

The brave Golden Reapers, led by the First Blade, were filling the gaps, but their lightsabers flickered, worn out from overuse, and there was only one First Blade Reaper.

Honestly, it was a miracle that no humans in Mapo had died yet.

Should I give up?

Just as that thought crossed my mind, I felt a familiar voice and presence.

"Reaper, hang in there!"

A familiar silhouette in a lab coat appeared, sneaking into the sealed-off Mapo District.

It was Ye-rin.

You’re here, my battery!

I smiled brightly at the sight of Ye-rin.