An old man walked slowly down the hallway of the lab, making rhythmic tapping sounds with his cane.

Behind him was a line of men, dressed in suits and wearing badges from the Object Association.

Chairman Oh Moo-ryong of the Object Association had suddenly appeared at Sehee’s lab.

Ye-rin, watching the chairman approach with a crowd of people, leaned close to Sehee and whispered softly.

“Sehee, what do you think is going on?”

“I’m not sure. But it’s probably related to the appearance of all those Golden Reapers in Mapo.”

Even Sehee, who was usually optimistic, looked a bit worried today.

From the massive candy pinwheels in Mapo to the Golden Reapers spreading mental contamination, there was certainly cause for concern.

The entire lab, including Sehee, greeted Oh Moo-ryong as he reached them, but he ignored their gestures and walked past without even a glance.

Sehee was caught off guard by this display of indifference when one of the chairman's assistants approached her.

“Hello, Director Lee Sehee.”

The man handed Sehee his business card with a polite greeting and immediately began talking once she took it.

The topics were predictable, involving the situation in Mapo and the Golden Reapers.

Normally, a notice would be sent requiring an appearance before the Association to explain such issues.

If the matter were serious enough, they could even initiate a search and seizure.

But instead of assigning blame, this assistant was offering compliments.

It seemed as though he was merely filling time with meaningless words, for reasons unknown.

Meanwhile, Chairman Oh stood a little distance away, disinterestedly observing the courtyard, as if such administrative matters were beneath him.

Why bother coming in person if that’s the case?

If he’d come to admire the cute Mini Reapers, that might make sense.

Yet, given the Mini Reapers’ unusually aggressive reactions, it didn’t seem he was here just to watch them.

A chairman who showed up without reason and an assistant stalling with empty conversation…

It felt as though they had another motive.

After some time gazing at the courtyard, Oh Moo-ryong struck his cane against the marble floor with a loud crack and slowly began to turn away.

“Director Lee Sehee, thank you for your cooperation despite our sudden visit.”

The assistant, who had been rambling about taxes and Association funding, hastily wrapped up his spiel and followed Oh Moo-ryong as he left.

What on earth was that all about?

Curious, Sehee glanced towards the courtyard, but it was just filled with Mini Reapers tap-tapping around.

In the car on the way back from Sehee’s lab.

Oh Moo-ryong sat in his seat, resting on his cane with his eyes closed.

“Hmm…”

He murmured softly.

Noticing this, the assistant asked carefully.

“Did you find what you were looking for?”

Oh Moo-ryong slowly opened his eyes, pulling out a locket pendant from his pocket.

“I’m not sure. But make sure we’re prepared.”

“Yes, understood.”

The assistant bowed deeply in response to Oh Moo-ryong’s instructions.

Inside the pendant was a picture of a blonde girl, smiling brightly.

Tap, tap.

I wandered around the Mini Reaper Garden, looking for something as I plotted a prank.

My target was the Yellow Reaper.

But it was proving harder to find than I’d anticipated.

I should have caught it immediately when I first noticed it watching the play rather than getting lost in the moment.

Now, with so many Mini Reapers in doll outfits roaming around, finding it was challenging.

I couldn’t just grab each one and start peeling them off either.

As I wandered around without any real method, I stumbled upon an interesting group of Golden Reapers.

There was a mix of button-eyed Golden Reapers and genuine Golden Reapers playing together.

Tap, tap.

The button-eyed Golden Reapers and their counterparts slowly strolled across the marshmallow ground.

They held hands and grinned as they walked, seemingly content just to be together.

Then, gradually, their pace quickened until they were running at a considerable speed.

The button-eyed Golden Reapers and Golden Reapers raised their arms in glee as they dashed along, showing pure excitement.

With the button-eyed Golden Reapers mimicking the real ones so accurately, they blended seamlessly.

Golden Reapers wouldn’t wear Golden Reaper doll clothes, so it seemed odd, but now I was sure.

“That button-eyed Golden Reaper putting on such an act must have the Yellow Reaper inside!”

As I approached and grabbed the button-eyed Golden Reaper, it lifted its hands and welcomed me with an “Oh, it’s Mom!” vibe.

It was acting just like a real Golden Reaper.

Smiling meaningfully, I unzipped the back of the doll outfit.

I had devised this prank because it refused to reveal its true form.

Its mimicry ability might require several rounds of unmasking, but it wasn’t unlimited.

If I kept at it, it would eventually show its true form.

Hehe.

But as I laughed and reached into the doll outfit, things took an unexpected turn.

I had expected the Yellow Reaper to resist, not wanting to come out of the doll outfit.

I had expected it to cling to the outfit, no matter how many times I peeled it off.

I had anticipated it acting as if I’d snatched the Blue Reaper’s hat!

However, the Yellow Reaper offered no resistance, simply emerging from the outfit with an awkward smile.

It looked at me, exuding goodwill, but the smile seemed unfamiliar, as if it wasn’t used to it.

“Mom…!”

Unlike other Mini Reapers, it had deep dark circles and a hunched posture.

Its eyes, void of any light, felt shadowy and ominous.

Despite having firewood, its eyes didn’t emit any light, and its gaze clung to my face.

Hiding my failed prank attempt, I sent a reassuring thought to the Yellow Reaper.

“I just wanted to see your face. You can put on the doll outfit again.”

The Yellow Reaper then clasped its hands over its mouth and chuckled softly, before instantly reappearing in a doll outfit with a “poof.”

Yellow button eyes.

Gray fabric skin.

An expression that seemed a bit mischievous.

This time, the Yellow Reaper wore a Gray Reaper doll outfit.

It then created a handful of tiny Mini Reaper doll clothes and began to walk away with a waddle, resembling a mother duck leading a brood.

It felt like it was imitating me, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

But I wasn’t done just yet; I had more pranks to pull.

I watched the retreating Yellow Reaper with a meaningful gaze.

Looking for more prank ideas, I stepped out into the courtyard, where I found the Black and Golden Reapers gazing up at the sky.

“What are you all doing?”

When I asked the Mini Reapers, they continued staring upwards as they replied.

“Waiting!”

“Cloud meat!”

“A new adventure!”

From the sense of anticipation and their words, it seemed they were waiting for cloud meat to begin a new adventure.

Perhaps the First Sword’s play had influenced them?

It looked like the Mini Reapers without “bonded humans” were preparing for a journey, hoping to encounter something akin to the connection in the First Sword’s tale.

Watching the Mini Reapers prepare to scatter nationwide, it felt like a whisper from a past life working at the lab.

“Is this really okay?”

Though it felt a bit odd to allow the Objects to scatter, I didn’t see much harm.

Like the First Sword, they’d help people.

I should probably view it as guardian angels spreading across the country.

The Mini Reapers climbed aboard the cloud meat, waving energetically as they spread out in all directions.

“Mom!”

As the kids looked back at me with bright smiles, I gave them a small wave in return.

A Black Reaper aboard the cloud meat gazed down from the sky, bathed in the radiant sunlight.

The other Mini Reapers had scattered in every direction, soon disappearing from view.

This Black Reaper kept urging the cloud meat onward.

“Further!”

Urging it on and on, the Black Reaper eventually crossed a sea that shimmered like hot chocolate, arriving near a completely different land.

An isolated piece of land floating in the middle of the shimmering sea, as if lonely.

It was exactly the place the Black Reaper had longed for.

A powerful presence of bad objects was palpable even from the sky.

And within that land, there were countless human emotions wandering around.

It truly looked like a land of adventure.

As the Black Reaper, eager for a new adventure, advanced toward the land, a red flash erupted.

It was a red lightning bolt that turned everything it touched into dust before it could reach the land.

The cloud meat disintegrated upon contact with the red lightning, but unlike the cloud meat, the sturdy Black Reaper remained intact.

Beep—

The Black Reaper, wingless and startled, let out a beep as it fell from the sky.

Crash!

With a loud impact, the Black Reaper shattered something as it landed in a flowerpot.

Half-buried in the soil, it was immediately overcome with worry.

“Will the humans hate me?”

It was sure humans would be displeased if something they made got damaged.

And indeed, a human’s scream soon followed.

“No way!”

The Black Reaper couldn’t understand the words but felt the emotions acutely.

The despair of a human who had lost something precious.

As the approaching human pulled it out of the soil, the Black Reaper smiled, hoping for forgiveness.

“What… What is this?”

Locking eyes with the confused woman, the Black Reaper instantly knew.

“This is my ‘bonded human’!”

However, the human’s reaction was a bit different.

“Ah! It’s an Object!”

She threw the Black Reaper away, startled.

Beep—

The Black Reaper let out a sorrowful sound as it flew through the air, wearing a sad expression.