Tap. Tap.

A colorful creature about the size of a basketball was diligently pulling a large cart, its footsteps echoing with a steady rhythm.

As it approached me slowly, I couldn’t help but notice the clattering, old cart. There was nothing particularly remarkable about it, yet it filled me with a strange sense of unease.

It almost felt like that cart would take me somewhere against my will.

I turned to look beside me and saw a white creature, its expression vacant.

“Qyu!”

Instead, it seemed happy, like it was greeting an old friend who had come to visit after a long time.

Well, with the abilities of the colorful creature or the white one, it would be impossible for them to haul me away and abandon me in Seoul Forest, so it was probably just a silly thought.

Still feeling uneasy, I crouched down and reached out to gently pat the creature’s back.

It’s a nice creature, after all—it wouldn’t load me onto that cart and dump me in the forest, right?

As I petted it with a warm smile, the creature looked tense and glanced at me sideways, seemingly trying to read my intentions.

Its expression almost said, “What kind of crazy thing is this maniac planning to do now?”

Feeling irritated by the unsettling look on its face, I playfully dug my hand into its back and took a bite.

“Kyuhing-hing.”

I was trying to calm the white creature down by petting it, but somehow, I ended up biting it again.

Its expression was always similar, but lately, I’ve become able to read the white creature’s face.

After bothering it so much, I had finally reached the point where I could interpret its expressions!

I still couldn’t tell the Golden Reapers from the Black Reapers, but here I was, recognizing the expressions of the white creature first….

It made me feel like a failure as a mom, but what could I do?

How do you distinguish between twins with slightly different personalities and actions?

Yerin, who could differentiate between millions of twins, was the strange one.

As I kept nibbling on the white creature, the colorful one finally arrived in front of me.

Then, from the cart, the alchemist’s younger sister jumped out with a frantic expression.

“Something’s wrong with my sister! Please help!”

She began to tell me about how her sister had suddenly lost consciousness, pouring out story after story to me—someone she thought couldn’t understand.

Her tale began with her older sister’s strange behavior when they ventured into Seoul Forest.

Once on the brink of death, surrounded by brain-eating zombies, the alchemist and her younger sister were now wandering around again, searching for ingredients for the “suppressant.”

“The Golden Reaper has gone somewhere.”

Unfortunately, they had parted ways with the Golden Reaper who had fought off the zombies.

After emerging from the forest and cutting down all the zombies in an instant, the Golden Reaper had disappeared, chasing the Orange Reaper.

At first, the Golden Reaper had given the Orange Reaper a gentle look when they saw each other.

However, when the Orange Reaper started to slowly sneak away, the Golden Reaper seemed to realize something, and with a furious expression, began pursuing it.

Separated from the Mini Reapers, the sisters were now focused on achieving their goal in Seoul Forest.

“We can’t find any ingredients. This sample is supposed to be fairly common, but we haven’t found any.”

“What kind of herb is it?”

“It’s called the Disconnection Herb. It has a pretty unique appearance.”

When I asked with curiosity, her sister showed me the herb they needed, albeit with a skeptical look.

It had a distinct color and shape, making it seem easy to spot.

And as I slowly looked around, I found an enormous amount of the Disconnection Herb growing all around.

“?”

Could it be that these are plants that just look like the Disconnection Herb?

That must be it, of course.

There were so many of them—no way her sister would have missed them.

To learn the difference between the similar-looking plants and the Disconnection Herb, I picked a few and showed them to her sister.

“Sis! Is this really the Disconnection Herb?”

But her sister’s reaction, as she carefully examined the plants, was unexpected.

“Yes, you’ve found what I missed. Where did you get these?”

“?”

Something felt off.

“Sis, these herbs are everywhere around here. They’re all over.”

It was strange.

There were so many of them—was she just playing a trick on me?

But her sister clamped her mouth shut, looking grave, and started to ponder deeply.

After a long time spent in contemplation, she finally looked up and gave me a small smile.

“I have other things I need to do now, so could you fill this basket with the Disconnection Herb?”

“Sure, got it.”

There was something unsettling about her smile, but I nodded and started gathering the Disconnection Herb that was abundant around us.

Her sister opened a notebook she usually used, but she only opened it without doing anything, mumbling so softly I could barely hear.

“This is serious. The perception distortion is already starting. Is it twisting perception so that the Disconnection Herb isn’t visible anymore? Soon, people won’t even recognize it….”

I couldn’t make out the exact words, but it seemed like a dire situation.

Mental limits, side effects from objectification, suppressant resistance, and suicide.

Even just hearing fragments, the topics sounded incredibly grave.

I quickly began gathering the Disconnection Herb with even more urgency.

Something was definitely wrong.

“I’ve gathered it all.”

“Thank you.”

She didn’t even look at the basket, smiling warmly.

I wanted to ask her what was going on, but her smile looked so strained that I couldn’t bring myself to ask.

Maybe she could sense my worried expression.

“Then, let’s go back now.”

She gave me a small smile and patted my head, but somehow, it didn’t make me feel reassured.

Even after we returned with a basket full of Disconnection Herbs, her strange behavior didn’t stop.

Despite the pile of Disconnection Herb on the table, her sister couldn’t seem to see them anymore.

“They’re right here, piled up, but she….”

“Listen carefully. First, put the Disconnection Herb into the pot…”

It was as if she was too afraid to open her eyes. She tightly shut them as she explained how to make the “suppressant.”

Though she had never let me near alchemy tools for safety reasons, she was now teaching me how to make the medicine and asking me to complete it.

Once I’d made a large amount of the medicine, her sister, looking relieved, said:

“Thank you. After I take this, go to the Gray Reaper—the one who destroys objects hostile to humans.”

Then she swallowed a pile of suppressants, usually taken once a week, all at once, and handed me a book with a drowsy expression.

“Haha. This was supposed to be your birthday gift, but I guess I’m giving it to you early.”

“It’s an alchemy manual for you. It’s not complete yet, but use it to study. I’m sure the time will come when you’ll need it.”

Her expression as she handed over the alchemy book, made for me, carried the air of someone delivering their last words.

Having said all she wanted, her sister collapsed into a deep sleep.

That’s how the younger sister’s story ended.

Upon hearing it, I noticed that the alchemist, who was once a harmless object, had started to emit a faintly harmful aura.

But why was she telling me all this?

Surely my act of pretending not to understand was convincing, yet more and more people seemed convinced that I could comprehend their words.

Did she truly believe I could solve this?

Judging by the alchemist’s words, it seemed she expected me to kill her….

The Gray Reaper, who destroys hostile objects.

The alchemist, now a hostile object.

What happens when the two meet?

A torn-apart alchemist!

Of course, killing her in front of her sister would be too harsh, so I hesitated. Then I realized I had felt this energy somewhere before.

It was the same energy I sensed in the area the Crimson Creature had vanished, the aura of the Color Universe.

Could it be that this energy had caused her to turn into a hostile object?

With that thought in mind, I moved the alchemist and her companions into the inner part of the Mini Reapers’ Garden.

I remembered that the Crimson Creature couldn’t recognize or easily enter the garden, so I figured it might help.

I impulsively placed the alchemist and her companions inside the Mini Reapers’ Garden, but the alchemist still hadn’t regained consciousness.

There was definitely a connection to the Color Universe, yet nothing changed.

The Golden Reapers, who were close to the younger sister, simply ran towards her with bright faces.

She, in turn, rejected the Golden Reapers, saying she didn’t feel like playing.

However, perhaps because of the Golden Reapers’ mental influence or a desire for comfort, she eventually allowed them to cling to her.

The Golden Reapers perched on her shoulders, lightly patting her cheeks, while she tried hard to hold on to hope, albeit with a melancholic expression.

The Golden Reapers, seemingly affected by their recent mummy games, nibbled on her cheeks lightly.

As the Golden Reaper began nibbling, she laughed softly as if it tickled.

When the Golden Reaper bites, it feels oddly ticklish, like something soft has attached itself to you.

Lately, when I ignore the Golden Reaper to watch TV, it clings to me and starts nibbling, so I know well.

It’s ticklish enough that I have to pause the TV and play with it for a while.

As the younger sister continued her playful tussle with the Golden Reapers, they suddenly started staring at me.

It began with the younger sister.

She stared at me with hope, thinking I could somehow fix the alchemist.

Seeing this, the Golden Reapers began looking at me with that same hopeful intent.

“Hang in there, Mom!”

Hmm.

No matter how much they encouraged me, there didn’t seem to be any solution other than killing her and turning her into a cookie human.

Besides, there wasn’t a 100% chance of resurrection in the garden, so there was a real risk she could die for good.

Thud. Thud.

As I pondered, a loud rumbling sound approached.

A giant jelly pig was carrying what looked like a three-story building on its back.

Even I, who often hung out in the Mini Reapers’ Garden, had never seen anything so curious.

The jelly pig knelt in front of us, and a staircase descended from the structure on its back.

From the stairs emerged two neatly dressed butler creatures, carrying a stretcher, clearly meant for transporting a patient.

“?”

Ignoring my confusion, the butler creatures proceeded to lift the unconscious alchemist onto the stretcher.

“???”

What in the world was going on?