In the Marshmallow Plains, where the Mini Reapers had gathered to play with the new sibling, the Hug Reaper:

I placed the Hug Reaper in the palm of my hand and observed it slowly.

"Is this one like me?"

Well, I could say it was similar, but there were so many differences, from its body shape to its style, that I didn’t feel that way too strongly.

In fact, the Green Reaper had given me a similar feeling.

"It looks stronger than I thought."

The Hug Reaper, with its harmless expression and constant chanting of "Hug!", exuded a strong presence from its core.

I placed the Hug Reaper back on my palm and sent out a thought.

"What can you do?"

The Hug Reaper might not have the strength of a Level 1 Reaper, but it had enough presence that I wondered if it could help with my automatic hunting life.

"Hug!"

However, contrary to my expectations, the Hug Reaper only sent out the will to "Hug!" and nothing more.

"Well… It can give hugs."

Hearing this, I sent the Hug Reaper back to the Free Hug Zone, where it resumed giving hugs to the Mini Reapers.

"I can check the Hug Reaper's abilities later."

Watching the Hug Reaper give out hugs and the Mini Reapers giggling around it, I reflected briefly on my thoughts about the Hug Reaper.

"Hug!"

"Hug!"

I left the "Hug!" sounds behind and walked over to a quiet clearing in the Marshmallow Plains.

I found a spot and took out the Halo I had just acquired.

The golden Halo.

"I wonder what this Halo can do."

Could it be related to the intense psychic contamination I felt earlier?

The spiderweb that covered the entire Pacific Ocean?

The tentacles that felt like there were hundreds of octopuses?

Or the countless eyes that made everything dizzying?

The space distortion that twisted reality?

With these thoughts in mind, I closed my eyes tightly and placed the Halo on my head.

"Huh?"

I waited for the familiar pain that always came when I used a Halo, but it never came.

"Could the color of the Halo matter?"

Hmm, if that’s the case, I should put the painful ones on the Mini Reapers.

Hehe.

As soon as I placed the Halo on my head, I started to understand its abilities.

If I were to name it, I’d call it the "Halo of Fusion."

I decided to experiment, so I grabbed two Golden Reapers who were walking around the Mini Reaper Garden.

"Mom?"

The Golden Reapers tilted their heads as if to ask what was going on.

I used the Halo’s ability on them.

"???"

The Golden Reapers looked shocked and, in an instant, fused into a golden sphere.

"Appear!"

A few seconds later, one of the Golden Reapers popped out of the sphere and shouted out in a burst of will.

I examined the Fusion Golden Reaper, trying to figure out what had changed.

"Hehe, ticklish."

The Fusion Golden Reaper, feeling tickled, flinched and laughed.

First, its height had grown a bit.

Not just doubled in height, but its overall size had doubled.

And the golden light radiating from its body had grown immensely stronger.

This was more than double its original strength.

After examining the Fusion Golden Reaper, I released it into the Mini Reaper Garden.

"Wow! So big!"

The other Golden Reapers gathered around, their eyes shining with wonder at the Fusion Golden Reaper.

It was amusing to see it standing out so much among the other Golden Reapers, who were all similarly sized.

"???"

Suddenly, the Golden Reapers began fighting.

Just like that?

Was it because a new, bigger one appeared?

It seemed a bit rough, but the Golden Reapers’ faces were so bright and happy that I didn’t feel it was anything dangerous.

"Ugh!"

The Fusion Golden Reaper was quite strong.

Its combat power wasn’t just twice as strong—it was far more than that.

The Fusion Golden Reaper could easily defeat several Golden Reapers in battle.

"Hehe!"

The Fusion Golden Reaper stood triumphantly, raising both arms in victory amidst the defeated Golden Reapers.

But its glory didn’t last long.

As the effect of the Fusion Halo wore off, it split back into the original two Golden Reapers.

"No!"

"No!!"

They stood up, facing each other, and hugged tightly, but the fusion was never restored.

"No!!!"

"There are so many people."

The Ash-colored girl muttered, with a Yellow Reaper sitting on her shoulder.

Before her was a scene filled with a festive atmosphere.

Huge balloons floated in the sky, and a banner reading "Gray Reaper Theme Park Open!" fluttered in the wind below them.

The Ash-colored girl glanced at the wrinkled Yellow Reaper before stepping into the excitement of the festival.

The ticket counter was packed with people from early morning.

No matter where she looked, everyone’s faces, whether adult or child, were filled with excitement and anticipation.

Of course, the Ash-colored girl, sharing a cookie with the Yellow Reaper, wore the same expression of excitement.

"Look over there, that balloon is huge!"

A little child’s voice shouted from the shoulder of an adult man.

Hearing this, the Yellow Reaper looked up at the Ash-colored girl with a worried expression, but the Ash-colored girl just smiled softly, patting the Yellow Reaper's head.

"It’s okay. Mom, Dad, and my brother are all getting better."

Although her family wasn’t on the best terms, they were getting better with time.

Maybe it was because they had survived a huge, life-threatening event.

Or perhaps it was due to the many Golden Reapers hanging around her.

Whatever the reason, things were improving.

Soon, they might even come to this theme park together.

As the line at the ticket counter finally shortened, it was the Ash-colored girl’s turn.

"Welcome to the Gray Reaper Theme Park!"

The ticket counter staff greeted her cheerfully, despite the hot weather.

The Ash-colored girl nodded politely, looking at the staff.

"!"

What caught her attention at the ticket counter was a peculiar sight.

There were so many Golden Reapers that they crowded the transparent windows of the counter, their cheerful faces pressed against the glass.

The Ash-colored girl waved at the Golden Reapers before speaking to the staff.

"I’ll take a free pass for the theme park!"

"Of course, please wait a moment."

The staff quickly worked on the computer, then handed her a guide.

"There are two types of free passes for the Gray Reaper Theme Park. Which one would you prefer?"

The guide described two types of passes.

The first was a belt-like free pass that could be tied to a Reaper.

The second was a free pass that came with a Golden Reaper wearing a belt.

"Oh? What is this?"

The Ash-colored girl tilted her head and asked.

"What if someone doesn’t have a Mini Reaper friend but doesn’t want a Golden Reaper?"

"That doesn’t happen," the staff answered, wide-eyed and smiling, as if it were an absurd question.

"I see…"

The Ash-colored girl muttered softly, receiving the free pass.

She chose the belt-like free pass.

When she tied the pass around the Yellow Reaper’s waist, the Yellow Reaper laughed joyfully, as though it were the happiest thing ever.

Upon entering the theme park, a giant Gray Reaper statue greeted them.

"Mom statue!"

"Mom!"

The Mini Reapers all smiled and mimicked the statue’s pose.

It seemed that the base of the statue had turned into a Mini Reaper photo spot.

Many Mini Reapers lined up to copy the statue’s pose, while their human companions watched with delighted smiles, taking photos.

The Ash-colored girl placed the Yellow Reaper on a pedestal where many Mini Reapers were gathered, and the Yellow Reaper, reluctantly, posed and smiled.

At the Gray Reaper Theme Park’s security room:

It was a facility equipped to monitor everything that happened within the park.

The park was full of facilities utilizing Objects, so the security system was quite advanced.

From the basic cameras monitoring the dining area, to the high-tech sensors that detected objects in the viewing room.

They were all state-of-the-art equipment provided by the James Institute.

Then, something strange appeared on the camera monitoring the Object viewing room.

Inside the viewing room, a 3-meter-tall Object with a transparent jelly-like body was wriggling.

It seemed to be gnawing at the containment walls meant to isolate it.

The dangerous scene appeared from an angle where the guests couldn’t see it. The visitors gathered in front of the Object didn’t seem to notice anything unusual.

Moreover, since the park was filled with Objects, the cameras showed numerous other oddities.

But the atmosphere in the security room remained calm.

Perhaps because the staff here were from the Sehee Institute’s security team.

"Reaper, let’s eat a snack!"