Deep within the Free City Union.

Compared to other cities, the Free City Union was already an unusual place, but even within it, there was an area that gave off a particularly strange vibe.

Buildings stood in ruins, with only skeletal pillars remaining. Shabby, makeshift structures were patched together with scrap materials around them. Drums filled with various corpses and waste burned in the open, and monstrous human-like figures populated the area, distorting any resemblance to humanity.

This was where the Scavengers gathered.

In a place where the smell of blood, burning plastic, and rusted metal mixed heavily in the air, there was one location where the stench of blood was even thicker.

It was a butcher's den, where people hung on hooks, resembling slabs of meat in a slaughterhouse.

Within this bloody scene, a man who had once been a mercenary in the Free City Union was busy cutting off a person’s arm in the Scavenger’s den.

'Damn it, damn it, damn it.'

The man was suppressing the urge to vomit as he slowly sawed through the arm.

‘I have no choice. I had no choice!’

Indeed, he had few options left.

He had succumbed to the madness.

Most mercenaries who crammed their bodies full of objects eventually died from madness, but he had thought he was special. He believed he wasn’t part of the majority.

But sadly, he wasn’t special.

One day, his vision turned red, and a voice from the sky descended upon him.

"Kill humans," it commanded, a senseless order.

It was the hallmark symptom of "Red Eyes" syndrome, the madness brought on by object overuse.

There weren’t many fates awaiting mercenaries afflicted with this madness.

Most either went on a killing spree and were eventually shot down, committed suicide before they completely lost their minds, or turned to cannibalism and descended into the ranks of the Scavengers.

He had chosen survival.

Eating human flesh temporarily pushed away the madness, as if it were enough just to kill and consume.

And so, he joined the Scavengers to stay alive, feeding on human meat.

As he numbly sawed through another arm, his senior yelled at him.

“Hey! Don’t kill him! We need to sell those prosthetics, so don’t let him die!”

When the man looked up, the person on the hook was foaming at the mouth, convulsing like they were moments away from death.

But before he could do anything, the convulsions stopped, and the person’s body twisted grotesquely.

Crack. Crack.

The sound of bones shattering, as the object implanted in the body went berserk.

“Ah, damn it!”

His senior tossed the saw to the ground in frustration.

Thwack!

With the sound of tearing flesh, the man’s object—an artificial arm—broke free of his body and scuttled away, transformed into a grotesque spider-like creature.

“We’re screwed.”

His senior dropped into a chair nearby, lighting a cigarette with a resigned expression.

The man was about to sit beside him when a series of heavy footsteps echoed through the air.

Thud. Thud.

The weight of these steps suggested someone who was hundreds of kilograms heavy.

The figure approaching looked less like a human and more like a robot or a tank.

His alias was fitting: "Tank."

The leader of the Scavenger gang, Tank, shouted loudly for everyone to hear.

“Listen up!”

His next words were simple.

‘The crew sent to kill the mercenaries and seize the cargo was wiped out.’

‘So, if anyone wants revenge, follow me.’

His speech was long, but it could be boiled down to this.

However, it wasn’t a compelling offer—too dangerous, and the potential reward wasn’t enticing.

Seeing the reaction, Tank grinned broadly.

“But I hear there’s a ‘pure human’ among those mercenaries.”

At that moment, the man and every other Scavenger leapt to their feet.

A pure human!

In the Free City Union, pure humans were incredibly rare.

Rumors claimed that consuming their flesh didn’t just suppress madness—it increased one's ability to bond with objects, allowing them to integrate even more.

The atmosphere among the Scavengers turned wild with excitement, rage, and greed.

Weapons were drawn, and the Scavengers moved out in unison, preparing for revenge.

In the depths of the Mini Grim Reaper Garden, at the Golden Reapers' assembly hall.

Perhaps influenced by the "Kind Mother Week" initiated by the Gray Reaper, a meeting was being held with the theme "Mother is Kind."

“Mother gave me pudding!”

“Mother brushed my hair!”

“Mother stroked me for no reason at all!”

It was less of a meeting and more of a place for the Golden Reapers to boast about how their mother had treated them kindly.

Suddenly, the Violet Reaper with the black eyepatch, attending as a special guest, conveyed its will.

“At a critical moment, Mother led everyone in the garden to rescue us!”

“Wow!”

“So loved!”

The Golden Reapers were astonished and began to applaud.

As stories of how their mother had saved them in their times of need continued, the sentiment grew stronger.

“Mother is amazing.”

Though the Gray Reaper often seemed indifferent to the Mini Reapers, always appearing at their most critical moments left a strong impression.

“Mother is kind!”

The vote on "Mother is kind!" began.

Golden Reapers seated in a circle stood up one by one, beaming brightly.

“Kind!”

“Kind!”

“Kind!”

They raised their hands in unison, like children waiting to cross the street, and declared their will.

“Squeeheehee.”

A white Agu, who had been secretly lurking in the assembly hall, tried to protest by standing on two legs and squeaking a contrary will, but was swiftly dragged away by the Golden Reaper guards.

Having not earned a guest's place, the Agu’s participation in the snack debate was, unsurprisingly, grilled by the Red Reaper.

As the voting concluded with unanimous approval from the Golden Reapers and the special guest, the Violet Reaper, only the pitiful whimpering of the Agu remained in the now-quiet assembly hall.

'!'

Just as the meeting ended, the Orange Reapers flew in, carrying a large Agu, and delivered news shocking enough to make the Golden Reapers freeze.

Mother was attacking the Ice Palace!

The alarmed Golden Reapers, guided by the Orange Reapers, quickly rushed into the belly of the white Agu.

“Squeeheehee.”

The overstuffed Agu let out a joyful, silly laugh as its belly bulged, ready for action.

Mini Grim Reaper Garden, the vast snowy plains.

I was still held captive by the Golden Reapers, unable to return to the isolation room.

Sigh.

I was being punished, forced to help the Golden Reapers rebuild their Ice Palace.

"Mother!"

Whenever a Golden Reaper called out for me, I had to waddle over, carrying an ice block for them.

After receiving the block, the Golden Reaper would beam brightly and say, “Thanks, Mother!”

Even though we were rebuilding the palace from scratch, the Golden Reapers seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely.

In fact, they appeared to be having more fun than they had when they built it the first time.

Normally, people get frustrated or bored when they're asked to redo something, don't they?

I guess I’ll never fully understand the Golden Reapers.

“Mother!”

“Mother!”

“Mother!”

Golden Reapers were calling for me from all directions. They wanted me to hand them ice blocks, carve decorations, mold snowballs.

Even though they were far more skilled with their hands than I was, they still insisted on using mine.

Did they just enjoy bothering me?

"One at a time, I'll get to you all."

As I carved a pillar with one of the Golden Reapers, it grinned happily at me, beaming like it had just been praised.

As I half-heartedly patted the grinning Golden Reaper’s head, I couldn’t help but plot my revenge.

The day the Ice Palace reconstruction was complete, I’d round up all the Orange Reapers, tie them up, and use them for fireworks.

As for the Agu, I’d skewer it and turn it into an eternal torch to sell.

Grinning with satisfaction at my wicked plan, I showed my teeth in a malicious smile.

A small, enclosed concrete room.

"Ah!"

Cheong woke up with a start, frantically feeling her face as she sat up.

A calm voice from a man nearby greeted her.

“You’re awake. Thanks for using that 'Dice' injector on me. You saved my life.”

Relieved to see the man alive, Cheong managed a faint smile.

“But what's that fuzzy thing? I didn’t touch it because it seemed harmless, but do you know what it is?”

The man pointed at something on Cheong's stomach.

Fuzzy thing?

Curious, Cheong looked down and saw a fluffy orange face staring back at her.

The moment her eyes met with the fuzzy creature’s, Cheong felt a jolt run through her mind, like a lightning strike.

Without even knowing why, she slowly lifted the fluffy creature into her arms.

There was something inexplicably familiar about the object, as if they were fated to never part.

It was warm, soft, and incredibly comforting to hold.

Without saying a word, Cheong hugged the Orange Reaper tightly, as if it were her own beloved toy.

Standing by the window, gazing outside, the woman in their group spoke in a low voice.

“We need to move soon. There are a ton of Scavengers crawling around nearby. I don’t think we have any choice but to make a break for the security wall.”

She added, “Seriously, what’s in this cargo that has all these Scavengers on our tail?”

"Yeah, let's get going. The longer we wait, the harder it’ll be," Cheong replied, getting up.

But just as she stood, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed through the room.

Thud. Thud.

At that moment, a swarm of cloud-like creatures flew in through the cracked window, filling the room.

'What?'

It was rare to see cloud creatures in the Free City Union, making their appearance all the more puzzling.

The heavy footsteps, combined with the sudden appearance of the cloud creatures, put everyone on edge.

The man gripped his shield tightly, scanning the surroundings with a tense expression.

“Something’s not right.”

Suddenly, the cloud creatures surged toward Cheong and her companions.

"!"

The man raised his shield to block them, but the impact sent everyone tumbling to the floor.

It was hard to believe such a soft, cloud-like creature could hit with such force.

As the man struggled to his feet, ready to retaliate with his shotgun, a crimson beam obliterated the spot where they had just been standing.

The flash of light was blinding.

Moments later, a scorching wave of heat washed over them, as if their skin were burning.

The concrete pillars melted like lava, leaving gaping holes where the beam had struck.

'!!!'

If the cloud creatures hadn’t shoved them out of the way, they would have been disintegrated by now, just like the concrete.

Even the man’s shield, tough enough to withstand sniper fire, wouldn’t have lasted a second against that beam.

Panting heavily, Cheong glanced in the direction the beam had come from.

Through the hole in the wall, a terrifying figure gazed down at them—one of the Scavengers.

“Oh, there you are. Almost incinerated you before I got the chance to taste you.”

What stood before them barely resembled a human anymore. A grotesque mixture of twisted metal and implanted objects had taken its place.

Seeing the monstrous figure, the man murmured in despair.

“So that’s the infamous ‘Tank,’ come to greet us personally.”

Faced with an overwhelming sense of doom, Cheong clutched the fluffy Orange Reaper tightly in her arms.