Without any lyrics, the Sprout Reaper hummed a melody, and Seoa, who was utterly exhausted, quickly fell asleep to the tune.

"Goodnight."

Then, instead of its usual mischievous smile, the Sprout Reaper wore a serene, almost blissful expression.

Hoping for its cherished human to sleep soundly, the Sprout Reaper clung to Seoa’s cheek and closed its eyes.

"No… don’t…."

Perhaps the stress from work at the lab had been too much.

Seoa’s brow furrowed, her face contorting as if in a nightmare, and she let out a pained moan in her sleep.

'!'

Seeing this, the Sprout Reaper straightened its little sprout on top of its head, looking worried.

To help its beloved human sleep peacefully, the Sprout Reaper decided to enter Seoa's dream.

Seoa was dreaming of a nightmare involving Sehee Lab.

"No! No!"

Missed reports.

A fire breaking out in the facility.

Funds embezzled.

Objects escaping.

Lost CCTV footage.

Sudden orders from the Association for Object relocation, and so on.

No matter how hard she worked, the problems kept piling up in this horrific dream.

Every employee who came to report was Oh Yerin.

In fact, all the staff members in the lab were Oh Yerin.

And the people Seoa had to report to were all transformed into Director Lee Sehee.

Whenever she checked the Gray Reaper’s isolation room, dozens of Yerins lay there, eating snacks and stealing their salaries. Whenever she went to the Director’s office, it was always empty.

As Seoa gloomily pored over her report in the chaotic lab, a tremendous vibration shook the room, and a huge tree sprouted outside the window.

A massive tree, mingled with golden and dark blue hues.

And as soon as that tree rose, the lab began to function correctly again.

In her dream, everyone she encountered turned into the Sprout Reaper.

These Sprout Reapers were so competent that she barely had to lift a finger.

Finally, Seoa could take a vacation, if only in her dream.

In the morning, she’d wake and walk on the clouds with the Sprout Reaper perched on her shoulder, contentedly holding onto her hair.

In the afternoon, they’d go to the beach and build sandcastles, with the Sprout Reaper collecting seashells to decorate the castle.

At lunchtime, they’d enjoy a picnic in the forest, and the Sprout Reaper would eagerly munch on sandwiches.

At dusk, Seoa and the Sprout Reaper would lie in a field and watch the sunset, with Seoa hugging the little creature tightly and smiling happily.

At night, under the starlight, the Sprout Reaper would sing a lullaby for her, almost as if hinting that their time together was ending.

"Ah, I’m so happy."

Surrounded by countless Sprout Reapers in the dream world where no one could disturb them, Seoa beamed with a peaceful smile.

As Seoa fell asleep in her dream, the Sprout Reaper turned its gaze towards the void.

There, it saw the enormous tree flashing gold and dark blue.

'Mother is calling.'

In that instant, the Sprout Reapers disappeared from Seoa’s dream and began to depart somewhere.

The severed head was easily reattached using logs.

"Mm."

But as I rubbed my neck, I sighed regretfully.

A scar had formed.

The logs that healed burns without a trace had left a scar, perhaps because this was a wound inflicted by a high-level Object.

It was disappointing to see such a large scar on the neck of the cute Otherworldly Yerin.

Well, it was just a dream representing the past, so it wasn’t really a big deal.

I stopped rubbing my neck and scrutinized the Object standing before me.

It was quite different from the horrifying face reflected in the mirror.

The creature held a massive scythe, its entire body shrouded in a cloak, with a long, spear-like head instead of a normal one.

On this spear was the grotesque head I had seen in the mirror, crudely assembled from human body parts.

Was this Object reflecting that terrifying head into the mirror?

Despite seeing me reattach my severed head, the creature appeared quite confident.

I supposed it had every reason to be.

Its offensive power was formidable, and my "Eye" ability, even through Yerin’s body, couldn’t properly see or sense it.

It seemed to blend into the air and ambush anyone distracted by the mirrors—a sound strategy.

"Are… are you okay?"

The Blue-Haired Girl ran over, holding her flaming white sword, and worriedly touched my neck.

She was beside herself as if her own neck had been cut, and seeing my scar only deepened her distress.

Her Master stood behind her, fists ablaze with white flames, ready to protect her.

"I’m fine."

I replied softly, stepping forward.

I gathered a bunch of logs, but my attempt to summon the Mini Reaper Garden was unsuccessful.

'No garden summoning, but spatial cutting is still available.'

It would have been immensely convenient to call forth the Golden Reapers, but I could manage without them.

As I stepped forward, the creature with the spear-head chuckled.

It was a chilling, ghastly sound, as if countless ghosts were laughing.

The laughter came from the multitude of heads hidden beneath the cloak.

The sound mocked me, as if saying, "You’ll become one of us."

The creature extended its long, blackened fingers, pointing at my head.

Its intent was clear—to mount my head grotesquely on that spear.

Using the body of Otherworldly Yerin had its drawbacks.

Even powerful Objects didn’t fear me.

But that would change once I showed my strength.

I wondered how long it would keep that confidence.

I activated the "Eye" to gaze at the creature that had so brazenly revealed itself.

<Destroy by finding the true head.>

The destruction condition appeared before my eyes, blazing gold.

'This is serious.'

The Blue-Haired Girl’s Master clenched his fists tightly, his thoughts racing.

'That magic book is beyond human reach.'

The spear-headed creature looked at ease, as if it had already won, as if it had already captured them.

And it had every reason to feel that way.

After all, it had effortlessly pierced through his apprentice’s alchemy.

His apprentice, born to wield perfect alchemy, struggled to match this creature—ordinary humans stood no chance.

Sssshhh.

The creature began to scrape its blood-stained scythe across the ground, approaching slowly, like a reaper delivering despair.

At that moment, the black-and-white-clad girl started striding forward with a confident gait.

She was a mysterious girl.

No, an unsettling one.

If not for his apprentice’s foresight, he wouldn’t have wanted to stay near her at all.

He had barely noticed her presence initially.

Even after realizing she was there, it became clear that she only appeared when she interacted with others; otherwise, she seemed to disappear from his awareness altogether.

It was as if the fact of her existence had to be erased from memory and perception.

And given how she could reattach her head instantly, she was certainly no ordinary human.

Just then, his thoughts were shattered as the girl’s eyes suddenly blazed with golden flames.

"!"

A presence akin to a colossal being descending upon the land radiated outwards.

"Eeeeek!"

The spear-headed creature shrieked and began to flee.

It hurled the heads it had collected under its cloak, as if it had seen something truly terrifying.

Yet, the creature couldn’t escape far and was quickly engulfed in the golden flames.

The golden flames from the black-and-white-clad girl consumed the twisted heads, incinerating them.

What could the creature have seen to terrify it so much?

Looking over, he saw that even his apprentice’s face had gone pale.

In a temple deep within the city under the purple moon.

The thick smell of oil filled the air ominously.

Once called the purple jewel, a vast pool of obsidian-like purple had blackened and rotted.

The purple hermit crabs that lived within were decaying, dying in blackened rot.

"Ha-ha, just as the Master said."

"Even the moon is affected!"

"I guess the moon is just another magic book after all."

Nearby, alchemists in elaborate robes exclaimed in awe as they looked down at the rotting pool.

Boom.

The purple crystal hovering in the underground temple cracked and began to shatter, as if the purple moon itself were screaming.

To the alchemists, this sound was the sweet death cry of a magic book.

Then a telepathic wave echoed.

[Why have you done this?]

Once, the purple moon’s telepathic message would have been a display of keen intelligence, but now it was fragmented, barely intelligible.

Drenched in madness, the alchemists raised their heads and shouted,

"We will stand alone! You’re no god, just a magic book!"

"We don’t need gods!"

[…]

A moment of silence passed, and then a telepathic message, as if pitying them, followed.

[Foolish, small, weak humans. You always make the same mistakes.]

The telepathic message was exceptionally clear, as if burning with its last life, and the purple crystal’s light dimmed.

[I will reveal to you the name of the forgotten god you have forsaken.]

[Humans must now bear the consequences of their own mistakes.]

At that moment, a bizarre purple light began to envelop the entire city.

It was an unsettling light that no wall or ceiling could block.

And on every human’s body that touched the light, an indelible scar appeared.

It was the name of the god forgotten by all.

As the purple light washed over the city.

As the erased god’s name emerged.

Dark clouds began to gather in the sky.

They were ominously dark clouds, almost swallowing the purple moon.

Thunder and lightning shook the earth, and fierce winds howled between the buildings.

From within that darkness, a massive silhouette emerged.

A colossal, truly monstrous hand descended toward the heart of the city.

A magic book that killed gods.

The appearance of an Object, known as "Nameless."