The only city in the middle of the snowfield, Frost, was caught in an unprecedented storm.

The coral-haired girl, who had made the abandoned steam engine room her home, began to feel the cold creeping in.

Wrapped in a thin blanket, the girl held the Red Reaper tightly in her arms.

"I can't hear the sound of raindrops..."

Normally, she would hear the 'thud, thud, thud' of droplets hitting the brass pipes, but tonight, even that sound was drowned in silence.

Perhaps it was frozen by the severe cold.

Instead, the sound of the howling wind outside the door filled her ears.

'…'

The wind sounded like a wild beast growling, or like a sharp blade slicing through the air.

The coral-haired girl hugged the Red Reaper even tighter.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sudden sound of a collision startled the coral-haired girl.

Something was violently hitting the door.

At first, she thought it was a stone blown by the wind, but the sound grew louder.

The old brass door began to tremble uneasily.

The girl held her breath and stared at the door.

Her heart raced.

'What could be on the other side of that door? An object? A person? Or something even more dangerous?'

"Wh... What could it be?"

The coral-haired girl muttered her thoughts absentmindedly, and the Red Reaper, as if to reassure her, let out a small chuckle and patted her cheek.

Then, it slipped out of her arms and began weaving sparks through the air.

The small fireworks filled the engine room.

A burning demon made of fire crossed the fence, and dozens of red Reapers made of fire danced in the sky.

"Wow..."

The coral-haired girl gasped in awe.

The fear she had been feeling vanished, and the sounds of the collision began to subside.

As she dozed off while watching the fireworks, the hundredth burning demon crossed the fence, and the girl fell into a deep sleep.

The Red Reaper, confirming that the girl was asleep, clapped softly, and the many sparks weaving through the air disappeared as if melting into the void.

'Goodnight.'

The Red Reaper smiled with a happy expression as it gazed at the face of the girl who was sound asleep.

In its grip, flames of various shapes appeared and vanished repeatedly.

It was practicing for the next fireworks display for its beloved human.

'…'

The next morning, the coral-haired girl awoke.

The first thing she saw was the Red Reaper, curled up with its eyes closed, sleeping.

The girl smiled faintly and slowly lifted the Red Reaper, gently tucking it into her pocket.

Then, she slowly got up and walked toward the door.

She carefully opened the door, and the world covered in white snow greeted her.

The sky was filled with clouds, making it darker than usual, but the surroundings seemed a little brighter, perhaps because everything was covered in snow.

The city, cleanly covered in snow, was as silent as if it had fallen into a deep sleep.

The noise from the night seemed like a lie.

Sigh.

Exhaling a white breath, the girl made her way down to the square where the adults were, and she saw them talking in quieter voices than usual.

"Good morning."

"Good morning, uncle."

She responded in a small voice to the adults' cheerful greetings.

The surroundings were so quiet that she felt like she had to speak softly.

"It seems like the blizzard isn't as serious as we thought?"

An uncle said, and an elderly man shook his head, replying.

"No, that's not it."

Following the old man's gaze, everyone turned their heads to see the steam tower giving off an unusual atmosphere.

The steam tower was emitting vast amounts of black smoke, and it was glowing red, as if it had been heated to a blazing temperature.

"This isn't good. There's no way it can maintain that state for long."

The old man's mutter echoed ominously in the square.

The Frost Chairroom was enveloped in a heavy silence.

The city chairman, with white hair, was staring intently at the documents on the desk.

His wrinkled fingers slowly ran across the paper, tracing the numbers.

The stock and consumption of blue coal.

The gap between these two numbers would determine the city's fate.

"This is..."

He sighed, and the words he muttered were laced with despair.

No matter how he calculated it, the steam tower could not sustain its overproduction for long.

The consumption of blue coal and fuel like oil was far too severe.

The chairman stood up and began to draw something on the city map.

'There's only one answer. I must minimize the heating zones.'

'The greenhouse, the mines, and part of the residential area must all be closed.'

'The steam tower square must be opened and used instead of the residential area.'

It was a plan to sustain the city with the minimum amount of fuel.

'The councilmen will oppose opening the steam tower square, citing security concerns.'

The chairman, frustrated, lifted his head and gazed out the window.

'I’ll have to persuade them somehow...'

The steam tower, standing tall in the center of the city, was glowing red and constantly emitting smoke.

As he watched it, a strange thought crossed his mind.

'Now that I think about it, the councilmen easily approved the increase in steam tower output.'

'They treated the stored blue coal like money in their pockets... That's a bit strange.'

After thinking for a moment, Frost shook his head.

'Well, the councilmen are human too. They couldn't just watch the citizens die in droves.'

At that moment, the chairman realized something was wrong.

The surroundings were too quiet.

The usual noises were completely absent.

"?"

A sudden unease overcame him.

He jumped to his feet and looked around.

Not a single propaganda department staff member, who usually did the bidding of the council, could be seen.

'Could it be...?'

With a sense of foreboding, the chairman hurried toward the steam tower square.

This place, a symbol of privilege for the propaganda department, the council, and the chairman, was also the warmest location in the city.

It was usually crowded with people, but now it was empty.

His heart began to race.

The chairman quickened his steps toward the steam tower.

And when he arrived, he realized his worst fear had become a reality.

The steam tower's most important component, the mechanical heart, was missing.

"No!"

With a scream, the chairman collapsed in place.

The blue coal and oil burned fiercely to heat the steam tower, but without the mechanical heart, the city could not be sustained.

"How could the councilmen...?"

The chairman sat dazedly, a blank expression on his face.

Sehee Research Institute, lunchtime.

Researcher Helmet sat in the break room, eating his lunch.

A sandwich, bubble tea, and chocolate cookies for the Golden Reaper.

But the Golden Reaper, with a sullen face, was struggling to drink from the straw of the bubble tea.

'Hmph.'

The Golden Reaper pouted and pulled its face away from the straw, sitting down gloomily.

'The straw must be too big to drink from.'

The Golden Reaper looked enviously at the Black Reaper sitting beside it.

When Helmet followed the Golden Reaper's gaze, he saw the Black Reaper happily drinking the bubble tea.

The Black Reaper pressed its face to the straw, elongating its face and nibbling at the tapioca pearls with its sharp teeth.

Is that really drinking bubble tea?

Helmet, who had an attachment to the Black Reaper, felt a bit sorry for the Golden Reaper, but the sight was rather gross.

Kyuheehee.

Before long, a White Demon appeared, also eating tapioca pearls in a similar fashion to the Black Reaper.

'Hmph.'

The Golden Reaper looked really sad.

Helmet decided to make a bubble tea for the Golden Reaper.

'If I reduce the size of the straw and pearls, it should work, right?'

Sehee Research Institute Courtyard.

I had a quick look at the snowfield beyond the wall, then returned, leaving the Golden Reapers behind.

If something happens, the Golden Reapers will let me know.

I made a bed from a suitably-sized White Demon and lay down on it.

Basking in the warm sunlight, I was lying there when one of the Golden Reapers came running, flustered.

'Mom is amazing!'

The Golden Reaper wasn't near the wall, so how did it see me?

Perhaps because of the shortage of firewood, I got a little lazy, and I made a small bed from twigs and placed it on my stomach.

'No!'

Hearing the Golden Reaper's scream, I closed my eyes and relaxed as other Mini Reapers began to approach.

Lately, I've been hanging out with the Ghost Reaper and the Bleached Reaper.

The Hugging Reaper, looking for other Mini Reapers to hug, wandered around the garden.

The Black Reaper was nibbling at the White Demon’s belly fat.

Perhaps because of the Golden Reaper resting on my stomach, the other Golden Reapers just watched from a distance.

How convenient.

From now on, I should put a twig bed on my stomach whenever I rest on the bed.

On the TV, an advertisement was playing.

It was for the popular bubble tea these days.

Click.

While watching TV, I heard a sound of a photo being taken.

Turning my gaze, Yerin was holding her phone and smiling happily.

This was the everyday life at Sehee Research Institute.

The northern regions, swept by the blizzard.

The sound of heavy footsteps echoed through the frozen pine forest.

Along with the heavy footsteps, an ice throne appeared beyond the pine trees.

Sitting on the colossal ice throne was a frog of unimaginable size.

Above the frog’s head was a crown emitting a chilly aura, and atop it floated a superconductor.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Mechanical giants marched, carrying the giant frog’s throne.

Their metallic bodies were covered in solid ice, and their eyes gleamed with an inorganic light, following commands.

The frog king pointed far into the distance with one of its massive fingers, sending a psychic wave.

[Move forward! The time for vengeance has come.]

The mechanical giants moved in unison.

With each step, the ground trembled, and trees were uprooted.

At the end of the throne's view, a massive wall, stretching across the horizon, was devouring the landscape.