"I’m so tired…"

As I looked up at the sky with tired eyes, having used up too much fuel, I saw the darkness slowly retreating from the horizon where the sky and the sea met.

It wasn’t quite dawn yet, but the night’s curtain was slowly lifting, and the moment between night and dawn was approaching.

The sea was calm.

It was as if the battle with the foreign entity in the deep sea had been a dream; it was peaceful and quiet.

However, the evidence of the battle with the foreign entity had risen to the surface of the sea.

Large and small circular candies covered the sea, resembling a huge mosaic.

Red, yellow, blue, green, and other colored star candies reflected a soft light and danced upon the waves.

Heh.

The sight was so unique that I couldn’t help but smile at it.

Looking up at the sky, the stars were still in place.

But their light was slowly fading.

The brilliant stars that once adorned the night sky were now flickering, as if saying their final goodbye.

In their place, a faint blue light began to spread across the eastern sky.

I lay on a giant rainbow-colored star candy, watching this mysterious scene.

The star candy gently swayed, supporting me like a rocking chair.

The salty scent of the sea mixed with the sweet fragrance of candy, tickling my nose.

"Today was pretty tough…"

I idly thought to myself, feeling the Halo on my head automatically return to my heart.

Then I slowly lifted my right wrist, which I had left alone, wondering if regenerating it would invalidate the destruction condition.

!

But there was no severed wrist.

Instead, a regenerated wrist and an unfamiliar Halo, golden in color, replaced its place.

???

This golden Halo didn’t match any of the ones I had.

The golden Halo I had was the "Halo of Seeing Death" hidden inside my heart, but this Halo seemed clearly different.

...

I was curious about the sudden appearance and several other things, but considering my exhaustion from fuel depletion, I didn’t mind much.

"Well, it’s probably a Halo that came from capturing the foreign entity!"

I quickly dismissed my questions and threw the Halo into the sky.

As it did, a golden ring stood out among the loops in the sky, shining brightly.

Now, the horizon where the sky met the sea began to be tinted with a faint orange.

And beyond that orange light, a massive ship appeared to be approaching.

It was probably an exploration vessel coming to investigate the Pacific incident…

I slowly closed my eyes, watching the tall mast of the exploration ship slowly draw near.

The sweet scent of the Hot Chocolate Sea filled the air, and the Mini Reaper Garden, with its soft marshmallow fields, was bustling.

Amidst the garden full of treats, the Mini Reapers were moving busily.

On the Hot Chocolate Sea, beyond the Marshmallow Plains, a large ship was silently floating.

On the opposite side, countless people were lying as if they had fallen into an eternal sleep, scattered across the endless Marshmallow Plains.

The Mini Reapers moved between the humans with worried expressions.

They carefully patted the humans with their tiny hands, trying to nurse and heal them, but the humans showed no signs of waking.

As time passed, the worry on the Mini Reapers' faces deepened.

“Humans…”
“Please wake up…”

The humans lying on the Marshmallow Plains didn’t seem to be in any pain and looked as if they were simply asleep, but the Mini Reapers were deeply anxious and worried.

They felt that this phenomenon was caused by an "object."

At that moment, the fingertips of one of the humans twitched.

Like ice melting in the spring, the humans began to wake up one by one.

“Ah! The human is awake!”
“Human!”

The Mini Reapers ran toward the humans with bright smiles.

The expressions on their faces were full of joy, even though the humans weren’t their "cherished" ones.

The humans who had just opened their eyes looked around, their faces filled with confusion.

"What on earth happened?"
"Is this... the Mini Reaper Garden?"
"It seems the Gray Reaper evacuated us."

As the humans woke up and the atmosphere grew chaotic, a loud noise suddenly rang out from the ship that was docked near the Marshmallow Plains.

The emergency bell that should have sounded when the exploration vessel was covered by the blue mist and the crew evacuated was now finally ringing, after the object had done something.

Because it was a warning sound, it was so loud that it could be heard even across the Marshmallow Plains.

“It’s so noisy…”

Some Mini Reapers, sensitive to the sound, covered their tiny ears, and even the humans who were still confused frowned slightly at the noise.

But some of the humans, startled by the sound, rushed to the ship.

These were the people responsible for communication or those in charge.

"How much time has passed?"
"How's the regular communication?"
"What about the GPS signal? Do they know our situation at the headquarters?"
"Can we lower the emergency ladder remotely?"

The hurried voices of the people climbing the ship were drowned out by the emergency bell sound.

Under the orders of the responsible personnel, other humans also hurriedly became busy, but the Mini Reapers just giggled and watched the scene.

“Finally, the humans are awake!”

Whether the humans were busy or not, the little faces of the Mini Reapers were filled with satisfaction.

At the far end of the Marshmallow Plains, far from where the James Explorer crew had arrived, there was another group.

This place had not yet drawn the attention of the Mini Reapers, and the humans who had been moved from the Pacific were quietly lying there.

Just like the humans aboard the James Explorer ship had woken up, the people who had been moved by the Gray Reaper began to regain consciousness.

Their eyelids trembled as they lay on the soft, cloud-like marshmallow, slowly opening.

It was as though they had been asleep for a long time, and now they were waking up, looking around in confusion.

"Hmm…"

Among them, the man who had fought desperately until the end struggled to open his eyes.

As soon as he opened his eyes, his sister and the Purple Reaper rushed to him with bright smiles.

"Big brother!"

His sister cried out, her voice choked with emotion.

“Human!”

The Purple Reaper also smiled brightly and attached itself to the man’s cheek.

In this commotion, Cheong also woke up from his endless dream.

Cheong seemed to have had a terrible nightmare, but the details were quickly fading from his memory.

The only thing left was the blurry image of a man, bleeding, moving him to safety.

Cheong slowly sat up and looked around.

For a moment, Cheong’s gaze lingered on the reunion between the siblings, before shifting elsewhere.

Now, there were more people with Mini Reapers, and many similar scenes unfolded around them.

"Is our Reaper hurt?"
“Human!”

The Mini Reapers and their cherished humans checked each other and sighed with relief.

Cheong looked at the scene and felt a slight sense of envy.

...

Cheong sighed slightly and lowered his gaze to his own Mini Reaper, the Orange Crown Reaper.

The Orange Crown Reaper was asleep, mumbling and drooling, as if having some dream.

“I wish my Orange would greet me like that…”

Cheong thought, and with a little frustration, poked the Orange Crown Reaper’s cheek.

But when the Orange Crown Reaper felt the poking, its face twisted in annoyance, and it eventually bit Cheong’s finger.

"Ah!"

Cheong didn’t feel much pain, but internally let out a sigh of frustration.

Cheong’s face darkened slightly.

But at that moment, the Orange Crown Reaper rubbed its eyes and slowly woke up.

With an expression still dreamy, it looked around, and its gaze met Cheong’s.

"Human?"

Then the Orange Crown Reaper let go of the bite, looked at Cheong with an apologetic expression, and gently patted his finger.

A smile spread across Cheong’s face.

Though less expressive than other Mini Reapers, it was probably a form of affection.

Cheong lifted the Orange Crown Reaper and rubbed it against his cheek.

The Orange Crown Reaper frowned and pushed away as if saying not to, but Cheong simply smiled and continued.

In the depths of the Mini Reaper Garden, in the Unchanging Sphere Forbidden Zone,

The Mini Reapers had caused quite a stir with all the humans they had brought in, but this area still exuded a calm atmosphere.

A high fence prevented the Mini Reapers from approaching.

Above it, large spheres hovered majestically.

Perhaps because of this, the Mini Reapers never came near, and the place was always quiet.

Tap tap.

At that moment, a Golden Reaper walked slowly near the silent fence.

Perhaps out of curiosity about the fence and the Unchanging Sphere, the Golden Reaper wandered around the area, its eyes sparkling as it giggled.

But then, something unexpected happened.

From beyond the Forbidden Zone, a figure suddenly emerged, charging toward the Golden Reaper.

In the blink of an eye, the Golden Reaper was startled, and its will flared out.

"No!"

As the Golden Reaper floundered, the assailant’s arms wrapped around it.

It wasn’t an aggressive action but rather a loving embrace.

"Hug!"
"Ugh!"

A strange object with a silhouette similar to a human and the same size as the Golden Reaper appeared.