Jongno District in Chaos

The peaceful afternoon streets of Jongno District quickly descended into chaos.

What was typically a bustling area filled with tourists and office workers had become a scene of panic and fear.

The first sound was an explosion echoing from the direction of Gwanghwamun.

Then, emergency alerts started blaring from cell phones all around.

Beep-beep-beep! Beep-beep-beep!

The unified sound of every phone on the street blaring at once created an eerie atmosphere.

[Safety Alert: Emergency Object Warning]

[Jongno District] Level-1 Object Detected

Evacuation Order Issued. Proceed Immediately to the Nearest Shelter.

Please Follow Instructions from Authorities.

As people read the emergency message and began fleeing, the piercing sound of sirens started blaring from all directions.

With the sirens wailing, people rushed around in panic, and then another explosion echoed through the air.

Boom.

A few fleeing people turned to look.

In the distance, a high-rise building crumbled like paper.

A cloud of dust shot into the sky, and the color drained from the faces of those witnessing the scene.

"Run!"

With someone’s shout, the crowd began moving all at once.

People who normally strolled leisurely now sprinted for their lives.

Women in high heels kicked off their shoes, running barefoot, and men in suits loosened their ties as they panted heavily.

The street was pure pandemonium.

Traffic lights had lost all meaning, and cars were abandoned haphazardly on the roads.

As the sounds of collapsing structures continued, the city plunged deeper into chaos.

But then, a shout rippled through the city, bringing a strange sense of relief.

"It's the Golden Reapers!"

Riding on their elaborately decorated White Maws, the Golden Reaper Knights wielding blue spears charged through the streets.

Defying the panicked flow of the crowd and pushing through the dust, the Golden Reapers finally confronted a massive, translucent butterfly.

The butterfly flapped its wings slowly, but even this gentle motion wreaked havoc across the city.

With each flap, objects nearby crumbled to sand.

With the next flap, they returned to their original form.

The Golden Reapers tried to make sense of the strange phenomenon.

“Doesn’t it seem similar to Sprout’s power?”

“Yeah, similar!”

To the Golden Reapers, the butterfly appeared to have a power that jumbled time itself.

When it moved, parts of the surroundings were eroded into the future, others held in the present, and still others reverted to past forms.

With time fractured in this way, human-built structures couldn’t withstand the effect and crumbled.

As the Blue Reaper, Merlin of the Golden Reapers’ Round Table, had interpreted, this was indeed a formidable “First Blade” level object power.

“Charge!”

The Golden Reapers, cloaked in the fire of White Maw objects, charged toward the butterfly.

The blue spear crafted by the Blue Reaper soared toward the butterfly’s body, but its translucent form merely absorbed the spear’s blade and flames, letting them pass through.

“It didn’t work!”

“It’s strong!”

The butterfly ignored the Golden Reaper Knights, drifting ever closer to the people.

“Oh no…”

“Humans are in danger!”

In panic, the Golden Reapers threw their spears to the ground, attempting to use their cumulative attack, but it was ineffective against the butterfly.

With despondent expressions, the Golden Reapers sank to the ground, preparing to call for their mother.

“Mom, come quickly.”

“Mom, are you nearby?”

At that moment, a massive slash from above came crashing down on the butterfly.

“Mom?”

It was a strike similar in magnitude to the spatial rend their mother used.

But unlike her chaotic slashes, which tore through everything around her, this one sliced only the butterfly with precise finesse.

“The First Blade has arrived!”

“It’s stronger than ever!”

All eyes turned toward the rooftop of a high-rise building.

There stood the Golden Reaper First Blade, ponytail tied back, with an evenly tempered Kindling Blade in hand, staring intently at where the butterfly had been.

As if the butterfly had never died.

“Ah!”

“It’s alive!”

When the Golden Reapers turned, the transparent butterfly, previously sliced in half, had already fully regenerated and was lifting itself once more.

Watching its regeneration, the Golden Reaper First Blade understood the principle behind its survival.

“Just a typical regeneration. In that case…”

The First Blade studied the tangled currents of time and space around the butterfly, then slowly raised the blade to shoulder height.

With a smooth turn, they swung the blade horizontally.

“Void Slash!”

A black line followed the blade’s arc, expanding to engulf the giant butterfly entirely.

Until it had swallowed every trace of the butterfly into the void.

It was similar to their mother’s “Kyuk” black sphere attack.

With the grand dream of automated object hunting, I first called upon the Golden Reaper First Blade.

The same Reaper had come obediently before, so I waited with high expectations, only to receive an unexpected response.

“Busy.”

What?!

No way.

Even the Golden Reaper First Blade was becoming uncooperative.

Feeling a twinge of irritation, I teleported to where the First Blade was.

And there they were, rushing off somewhere, a massive butterfly object protruding over the city.

The butterfly, even at a glance, was clearly a high-level object.

“Ah. So it really was busy…”

Realizing my pettiness, I felt a pang of guilt.

I left a message for the First Blade, saying, “I’ll call next time,” and returned to the Mini Reaper Garden.

Among the Mini Reapers, the most powerful were the Orange Crowned Reaper and the First Blade, so I’d wanted to test with them first, but there was nothing to be done if they were busy.

It didn’t feel like the right day for experiments.

Oh well.

I’d just have to gather everyone for testing another time.

Mini Reaper Garden, Yellow Reaper Theater

I sat in the theater, watching a play based on the recent incident.

The play ended dramatically, with a powerful punch as the grand finale.

The final scene perfectly recreated that thrilling battle.

I clapped my hands, praising the performance, but the Mini Reapers tilted their heads in confusion.

“?”

“Mom’s punch looks different?”

“Is it a fake play?”

Though I’d asked for a few minor changes to the play, the Mini Reapers had quickly picked up on it.

All I’d done was make a tiny adjustment to the punching movement.

The combined length of arm, leg, and waist adjustments was less than a meter!

Despite coercing the Yellow Reaper to record my magnificent mom moments, it seemed my propaganda attempt had failed.

As the Yellow Reaper looked at me for help, overwhelmed by the Mini Reapers’ accusations of “fake play,” I pretended not to notice and slipped away.

Heh-heh.

As I strolled away from the Yellow Reaper Theater and trudged across the Marshmallow Plains, I noticed a crowd of Golden Reapers heading somewhere.

“A new land has appeared!”

“A new adventure!”

“New snacks!”

It was a long line of Golden Reapers heading off to explore fresh ground.

Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t explored the Mini Reaper Garden much lately.

The reason was simple.

The Mini Reaper Garden had grown too vast…

Even without adding new regions, it had gradually expanded to the point where wandering around it was tiring.

“Mom, come with us!”

“Adventure!”

Several Golden Reapers climbed onto me, urging me to join them.

Covered in Golden Reapers, I slowly joined their procession.

Late Afternoon in Sehee Lab’s Backyard

The golden sunlight of late afternoon bathed Sehee Lab’s backyard.

Long shadows stretched across the grass, creating mysterious patterns, and clouds of “Cloud Meat” floated down from the sky.

These Cloud Meats served as transports for Mini Reapers traveling the world.

Amidst the Mini Reapers boarding and disembarking from the Cloud Meat, an unusual Mini Reaper stood out.

It was the Sprout Reaper, with a tiny fruit on its head.

Nestled in the Sprout Reaper’s embrace was an even smaller Mini Sprout Reaper.

“I’m going!”

The Mini Sprout Reaper wriggled, trying to break free from the Sprout Reaper’s hold, as the latter held on tightly.

“Going to find my cherished human!”

The Mini Sprout Reaper, unable to choose a cherished human from Sehee Lab’s occupants, was determined to embark on a journey aboard the Cloud Meat.

After a long struggle, the Sprout Reaper sighed softly, plucking the tiny fruit from its head and feeding it to a passing Cloud Meat.

Seeing this, the Mini Sprout Reaper beamed happily, strutted over to the Cloud Meat, climbed aboard, and declared its intent.

“Depart!”

The Cloud Meat shot up into the sky, swiftly carrying the Mini Sprout Reaper away from Sehee Lab.

Thus began the Mini Sprout Reaper’s grand adventure.