A dark night where not even the moonlight shone.

The faint white glow of the Black Maw and the gaze of the Blue Reaper met.

He should have immediately looked away and hidden beneath the window, but the Blue Reaper couldn’t tear his gaze away.

It doesn’t look particularly dangerous. Maybe it’s because this Maw doesn’t have teeth, like the White Maw?

As the Blue Reaper pondered this, he simply continued to stare into the Black Maw's glowing white eyes.

Then, the rounded form of the Black Maw wavered slightly and twisted a bit.

After wriggling like that, the Black Maw turned its head weakly and began to walk away slowly.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

“We’re saved!”

Seeing the Black Maw’s retreat, the pink-haired girl collapsed in place as though the tension had finally left her.

But the Blue Reaper continued to watch the massive Black Maw as it grew more distant.

?

A series of question marks filled the Blue Reaper’s mind.

Why was it wandering around so exhausted?

To the Blue Reaper, the final look the Black Maw gave him seemed utterly worn out.

As if it could collapse at any moment, as if it was on the verge of falling apart.

And why did it keep staring at me?

The Black Maw had held its gaze on the Blue Reaper right until the moment it turned away.

Just as the Blue Reaper had stared back.

Did the Black Maw also feel something when it looked at me?

Lost in thought, the Blue Reaper continued to gaze in the direction where the Black Maw had disappeared.

“Alright, time to sleep!”

The pink-haired girl, looking relieved and back to her usual self, clung to the Blue Reaper.

Seeing her affectionate smile, the Blue Reaper gave a small nod.

Then, he nestled close to her cheek, lying down as if exhausted himself.

May tomorrow morning be just as joyful as today was.

The Blue Reaper rubbed his cheek against hers and closed his eyes.

On the outskirts of Songpa District, at James Tower.

I was lying, exhausted, in the center of the vast warehouse in James Tower.

No…

This can’t be happening.

At the edge of my vision lay the Golden-Mecha-Tyranno Armor, with its head brutally severed.

No matter how hard I closed my eyes, covered them, or turned away, I couldn’t drive the shattered image of the Golden-Mecha-Tyranno Armor from my sight.

Seeing it with my own eyes made it all the more heartbreaking!

Upon closer inspection of the armor, I noticed sharp cut marks as if it had been sliced by spatial severance.

It was another case of the recent space-loss phenomenon that’s been occurring frequently.

No matter how hard we searched, there was no object causing it; it was simply a disaster that seemed like a “natural phenomenon.”

Looks like there’s no way to avenge this…

Seeking revenge against a natural phenomenon would be absurd.

Are you okay, Mom?

At that moment, one of the Black Reapers who had followed me to James Tower expressed his concern, sending comforting energy my way.

Stay strong, Mom!

The Golden Reapers and other Mini Reapers soon flocked to me, trying to console me.

But no amount of comforting could fill the endless sadness within me.

Even as the Mini Reapers kept trying to soothe and pat me, my mood didn’t improve, which prompted one Golden Reaper to stomp over.

Reaching right up to my nose, the Golden Reaper shut its eyes tightly, hesitating greatly before puffing out its belly.

What was it doing?

You… You can use us as substitutes!

This startled the other Golden Reapers so much that they all turned to look at him.

!!!

!!!!

And then, one by one, the other Golden Reapers, though hesitant, started pushing out their bellies as well.

It’s… it’s okay if we’re substitutes!

The Golden Reapers looked as if they were about to cry.

Did they hate the idea of becoming substitutes that much?

Seeing this, I couldn’t help but smile a little.

Then, I grabbed the Golden Reapers who offered themselves and turned them all into substitutes.

Waaah!

Noooo!

The brave Golden Reapers who stepped up were transformed into substitutes, sprawled out on the ground.

Seeing this, the remaining Golden Reapers who had been approaching cautiously began to panic and run away.

Mom’s back to her usual self!

Run for it!

Run away!

With the surviving Golden Reapers sacrificed, I chased after the others.

Hehe.

The Academy model city in the Tower of Ends.

The pink-haired girl had climbed to a high hill overlooking the city.

Even seeing it again, it was a vibrant and dynamic model city.

“No matter how I look at it, it seems like they copied a real city to make this.”

“If I keep climbing the tower, I’ll probably see the real Academy someday, right?”

The pink-haired girl giggled as she looked at the metal piece clutched in her hand.

It was a small badge, intricately engraved, made by carving a pipe.

This badge was identical to those worn by the pipe statues of Academy students.

“I want to see the original badge in person someday.”

<I’m sure you will!>

Fueled with motivation by the Academy model city, the pink-haired girl turned her gaze toward the direction of the layered tower with a determined look.

“I wonder who made this model city?”

“Why did they make it?”

“It’s like the city sits in a hollow basin. I bet it was carved out of the disks that form the layers.”

Chatting idly with the Blue Reaper, the pink-haired girl climbed the stairs leading toward the layered tower.

After passing through the increasingly crude structure of the layered tower, the pink-haired girl stepped onto a new level.

“Here we are!”

Even for the girl who had grown adept at climbing pipes, the shabby tower proved a bit challenging, and she looked quite pleased with herself.

<May fatigue disappear!>

The Blue Reaper held a towel made of water, wiping the girl’s sweat and using magic to relieve her fatigue.

The new level they had reached had a different atmosphere.

A white cylindrical building could be seen in the distance.

A grandly decorated road led straight to that building.

Catching her breath, the pink-haired girl walked slowly along the straight road leading to the building.

On either side of the road were colorful, rounded objects piled up, creating a unique ambiance.

From red to purple, it was a kaleidoscope of colors like a flower field.

“What could these be?”

Curious, the pink-haired girl picked up one of the objects piled along the road to inspect it.

A round body.

Short limbs and tail.

Unimpressive eyes.

And a mouth packed with rows of human-like white teeth.

The things piled along the road were the corpses of Tooth Maws.

“!!!!”

<Tooth Maws!>

Startled by the unsettling sight of the teeth, the pink-haired girl threw the Maw she was holding.

“Ah, that surprised me. But don’t these things kind of look like that tall black one?”

The Blue Reaper nodded in agreement, his head bobbing vigorously.

The decorations lining the road were actually corpses of grimoires.

Feeling a sense of eeriness, the pink-haired girl quickened her pace toward the building.

The massive entrance was gaping open with no door, and where the building’s name should have been, only scratch marks from sharp claws remained.

The pink-haired girl looked up at the marks before stepping slowly inside.

“Huh?”

Upon entering, the pink-haired girl felt a sense of déjà vu.

An endless stretch of white walls lined with frames.

It reminded her so much of the exhibition hall at the Academy that it felt like she had been here before.

Though there were no chairs like in the exhibition hall, this place was unmistakably a display room.

But instead of mirrors like in the Academy’s display hall, this one contained framed journals.

<First attempt failed. Cause unknown.> <Second attempt failed. Insufficient output.>

<...>

<One hundred and twenty-fifth attempt failed. I’m tired of counting.>

<On the five hundred and thirty-first attempt, there was a slight improvement. Moments without sunlight were most effective.>

The walls were covered with similar, incomprehensible entries.

After reading through a few entries, the pink-haired girl tilted her head.

“Are these alchemy experiments? I don’t understand.”

Disregarding the cryptic journals, the pink-haired girl continued to walk forward.

“!”

As she walked further, she encountered a strange room.

The layout itself was simple.

A large, sunken, circular room with steps leading down.

White walls designed to display exhibits.

Pillars to prevent people from reaching the walls.

On the opposite side of the room was an identical set of stairs and a door.

But the floor was filled with rippling black liquid, and the walls were devoid of any displays.

Instead of frames, the walls were covered with frenzied claw marks.

<Where are you?>

<It’s cold.> <I’m hungry.>

<Lonely.> <Why only us?>

<When will you come?> <When are you coming?>

<I miss you.>

The walls were filled with desperate messages yearning for someone.

The phrase “I miss you” was scrawled even up to the ceiling.

“What on earth is this place?”

<….>

The Blue Reaper tilted his head, unsure of what to make of it either.

Sensing it would be dangerous to step on the black liquid, the pink-haired girl began carefully crossing the room by stepping on small protruding pillars.

Following the path of round pillars along the wall, she finally reached the door at the end and stepped through.

Across the doorway, she saw someone standing.

A clean uniform resembling the Alchemist Academy attire.

A sharp sword at the waist.

A large, angular hat.

And in hand, a round orb emitting a white glow.

[Ah, we have a visitor.]

The figure turned, communicating directly into her mind like a grimoire.

As it turned, its face began to emerge.

Small, unimpressive eyes and a huge mouth.

As it turned, the face was identical to the “Maws” that lay dead outside the building.