On the bus running along the outskirts of Songpa District,

Yerin opened her phone to check the surveillance camera footage.

"Tap-tap, how cute!"

She smiled, amused by the Golden Reaper captured on yesterday's footage.

In the camera’s view, a Golden Reaper was tiptoeing up to the front door, glancing around cautiously.

Seeing that no one was around, it giggled, slipping inside through the door as if it were melting into it.

"What on earth are those adorable reapers up to, sneaking around like that?"

"Maybe I should install cameras inside the house too?"

"The number of them has grown again. Yesterday, fifteen Golden Reapers came in. I hope I have enough snacks ready for them today."

Yerin’s smile turned into a look of slight worry as she thought about the snacks she had left on the table for the Golden Reapers.

Despite their stealthy ninja-like movements, the Golden Reapers always managed to find and devour the snacks she left for them on the table without touching any of the other food in the house.

It seemed the reapers had an uncanny ability to distinguish between gifts and regular food.

"Maybe I should pretend to go to work on a holiday and sneak back home to join one of the Mini Reaper parties."

Yerin giggled to herself, happily daydreaming about the idea.

Meanwhile, in a chauffeured car, James was teaching the Golden Reaper a new image to remember.

"This image means ‘Mom looks tired.’"

It was a drawing of the Gray Reaper, in a cute, simplified style, lying down with a weary expression while ignoring the Golden Reaper.

It was a button image for the Golden Reaper communication device.

"But Mom is always like that?"

The Golden Reaper tilted its head in confusion, seemingly unable to understand.

Hmm.

James observed this reaction and jotted down a note in his notebook.

<The Golden Reaper may not grasp the concept of exhaustion or fatigue.>

<Alternatively, the Gray Reaper might be far less attentive to the Mini Reapers than I had anticipated.>

As they arrived at the Sehee Research Institute, James looked out the window, closed his notebook, and straightened his attire before heading toward the building.

"A summons from the Gray Reaper. I hope it's good news."

In the Marshmallow Plains, now somewhat quieter in the Gray Reaper’s absence,

the pink-haired girl sat in confusion, surrounded by a field of soft, squishy reapers who looked remarkably like her little blue friend.

The sweet, warm scent filled the air, and while still a bit bewildered, the soothing atmosphere of the place seemed to calm her.

Seated on the marshmallows, she watched the Mini Reaper Garden, letting her thoughts settle.

"Is this heaven, like Grandpa used to say?"

Grandpa had told her that heaven was a place without evil grimoires, where guardians and people lived happily together.

At the time, she hadn’t understood what "guardians" meant, but now, she had an idea.

The Blue Reaper referred to guardians as "maws," so maybe there was a guardian here too.

When she had first been pulled into this strange place, she hadn’t been able to pay attention to anything around her. Now that she was calmer, she started to look around.

And soon enough, the pink-haired girl’s gaze landed on a white guardian.

"Is… that really a guardian?"

But the white maw she saw was skewered on a sharp iron spit, roasting over a bonfire.

Uh… huh?

Wasn’t heaven supposed to be a place where humans and guardians lived in harmony?

Mew…

But rather than happy, the white maw looked miserable, roasting away under the watchful eyes of the Red Reaper, who seemed to be having a great time.

Poke, poke.

Turning her head, the pink-haired girl found the blue idol reaper gently poking her cheek with a microphone.

[It’s okay.]

[The Mini Reaper Garden is really a safe place!]

The blue idol reaper gave her a reassuring smile.

Then, from somewhere, it produced a bunch of treats she had never seen before and began sharing them with her.

"These taste amazing…."

Compared to the occasional candies she had scrounged in the End Tower, these treats were delicious beyond compare.

"If only Grandpa could be here in heaven too…."

The pink-haired girl murmured absentmindedly, prompting the blue idol reaper to look up at her with a slightly sad expression.

"It’s okay."

She reached out and gently patted the blue idol reaper’s head, smiling.

"This must be the top floor of the tower I climbed, right?"

The girl who had always felt chased by something as she ascended the tower smiled in relief.

Back in the Mini Reaper Garden, still awaiting the return of the Gray Reaper,

a massive structure began sinking into the Sea of Hot Chocolate.

It was the transparent sugar construction that had become a big hit among the Mini Reapers.

It looked remarkably like the End Tower, which had disappeared into the evolutionary fluid.

Beyond that, a giant loaf of bread, soaked in hot chocolate, was being hauled ashore.

"Bad bread!"

"Bread!"

With fierce expressions, the Golden Reapers clenched their little fists and radiated their thoughts angrily.

The Black Reapers turned into thick ropes to bind the bread-spider, and together, the Golden and Black Reapers pulled it along.

Thud.

With a heavy sound, the bread-spider was laid down on the Marshmallow Plains.

The cause of all this was a puppet show by the Yellow Reaper.

The Yellow Reaper occasionally performed puppet shows for the Mini Reapers, and this time, after hearing the story from the blue idol reaper, it had started a show.

But the story included a tale of a giant spider that used incantations, exposing the bread-spider’s past misdeeds.

The incident of the blue reaper’s eyes being injured had saddened many Golden Reapers, and the matter was eventually brought to the Golden Reaper Assembly.

Once the bread-spider was settled on the Marshmallow Plains, the Orange Reaper floated above it, eyes closed in concentration, and emitted a very pleased thought.

"The Golden Reaper Assembly rules as follows."

"Through thorough investigation, the Assembly has confirmed that the bread-spider did indeed bully our blue sibling."

"The severity of its actions is deemed exceptionally serious, comparable to the notorious Sugar Flamingo Incident."

"Moreover, the bread-spider hid this fact and offered no apology."

"Hence, the Golden Reaper Assembly sentences the bread-spider who bullied our blue sibling to… ‘Snack Penalty!’"

While the assembly’s official ruling was simply "Snack!" the Orange Reaper had crafted its own elaborate judgment from the information it had gathered.

With a mischievous grin, the Orange Reaper announced the verdict.

As soon as the judgment was given, the Mini Reapers began radiating their thoughts with enthusiasm.

"Snack!"

"Bad snack!"

With fierce expressions, the Mini Reapers swarmed over the bread-spider, chomping on it like a swarm of termites.

Finding it quite delicious after all, they widened their eyes in surprise and ate even faster.

Some Mini Reapers tore off pieces of the bread and dipped them into the Sea of Hot Chocolate before eating.

Closing its eyes in resignation, the bread-spider accepted its fate.

The White Maws looked on from a sunny spot, smiling as they watched the scene, their laughter filling the air.

Mewhihi.

The courtyard of the Sehee Research Institute was growing noisier as people gathered.

"Wow, my doll is moving!"

Most of the commotion was caused by Yerin’s excited shouting.

"Am I dreaming?"

She even pinched her cheek, grinning from ear to ear.

And for some reason, the more excited Yerin got, the worse my mood grew.

Turning my gaze, I saw James observing the lead doll with a serious expression.

I stepped onto a platform made of gathered Black Reapers and peered at his notebook, which was filled with indecipherable English cursive.

Then James glanced my way and began jotting down notes in elegant Korean script.

<Appearance identical to Gray Reaper.>

<What is its connection to the blue-haired girl in Artifact No. 0?>

<It does not seem to be the same object as the Gray Reaper.>

<Lacks the distinctive pressure associated with a high-level object. However, further verification is needed.>

After jotting this down, James extended a hand and pressed down on the lead doll’s arm, adding more notes to his book.

<Similar in texture and softness.>

When I looked away from James’s notebook, I saw Yerin being scolded by Seo-ah.

"Researcher Oh Yerin! Did you keep a dangerous object at home without notifying anyone?"

"But… things given by reapers can’t be dangerous…."

Yerin wilted under Seo-ah's sharp words.

"If it’s related to the Gray Reaper, you should have reported it even more."

"Everyone takes Mini Reapers home, don’t they? Mini Reapers are also connected to the Gray Reaper…."

"Ugh."

"And lately, people have been taking Maws with them everywhere…."

When Yerin touched on the most pressing issue within the Sehee Research Institute, Seo-ah’s expression turned awkward.

Then, Kim Joong-rye spoke to Yerin in a deep voice.

"Regardless, unauthorized removal is unauthorized removal. Let’s go to the office and start the incident report."

As Joong-rye took Yerin by the arm and led her away, she glanced back at me and muttered,

"No… I don’t want to work."

I intended to ignore her, maintaining my “I don’t understand” act, but just then, a golden glow began to emanate from the lead doll beside me.

"!!!"

Then the lead doll, with its blank expression, opened its mouth.

[That wish has been granted.]

The words were an unintelligible murmur, yet they undeniably felt like language.

"!!!"

Everyone was startled by the lead doll’s speech, but I was shocked for a different reason.

I could understand what the lead doll said.

It was similar to the muttering of the underlings of the Lamp: “The god was cruel.”

What on earth is that lead doll?