In the heart of the snowfield, the city of Frost stood.

The shelter inside had quietly fallen into silence.

The chairman pushed open the heavy iron door of the shelter and stepped outside, but the other adults were frozen in fear, unable to move.

However, the coral-haired girl felt an odd intuition and followed behind, stepping out of the shelter's exit.

….

As the brilliant light pierced her eyes, she momentarily closed them and then slowly opened them again.

In that moment, she was breathless at the scene before her.

"Wow…"

Frost, which had always been beneath thick clouds and dark smoke, was now peacefully spread out beneath the blue sky.

This was the first time the girl had ever seen the blue sky.

Giant mechanical giants casting enormous shadows.

The terrifying sounds echoing as the city collapsed.

The horrific chill that came after the blizzard.

Now, all of that had disappeared without a trace, leaving only an eerie stillness, as though the world had stopped.

The coral-haired girl carefully took a step, and the sound of crunching snow echoed beneath her feet.

She inhaled deeply, and the cold, pure air filled her lungs.

Haa…

Then, she slowly exhaled the breath from deep within.

White mist rose from her mouth.

It was still cold, but strangely, it felt completely different from before.

The endless chill that had engulfed the city after the blizzard, and the cold she had always felt in the city, were different now.

It was a bit less cold, a bit fresher.

She slowly walked around, looking at her surroundings.

Many of the city's structures were destroyed, and the streets were filled with debris.

But for some reason, with the blue sky above, it didn't seem so hopeless.

It felt like the beginning of something new.

"!"

Hearing murmurs from behind, the girl turned around.

There were voices filled with amazement, surprise, and awe.

One by one, the adults were emerging from the shelter.

Their expressions were filled with astonishment and wonder.

Just like the girl, the adults were looking up at the sky.

As they gazed at the clear sky they hadn’t seen in so long, wrinkles formed at the corners of their eyes.

"Really... it's been so long."

One by one, the adults began to come out and look around.

A mix of emotions crossed their faces—relief, fear, and hope.

While walking around, the coral-haired girl encountered a familiar but slightly changed friend.

The Red Sun Reaper, with a somewhat shy expression, slowly flew over and landed on the girl’s palm.

Phew.

The coral-haired girl couldn’t help but smile.

"Why? What happened to you?"

It was no wonder, as the Red Sun Reaper had become plumper.

The girl laughed, and the Red Sun Reaper seemed a little sulky, but the coral-haired girl couldn’t stop herself from giggling.

The Red Sun Reaper’s plump belly had a certain charm that seemed to attract and captivate people, and before she knew it, the girl was poking at its belly.

At that moment, the windmill, which had replaced the location where the steam tower used to stand, began to spin rapidly.

The girl and the citizens, perhaps due to the events that had just unfolded, looked up at the windmill with slightly fearful expressions.

But the beings that emerged from the windmill were the Mini Reapers, all smiling brightly.

Human!

So many humans!

Isn't it cold?

Riding tiny jelly pigs, the Mini Reapers smiled warmly as they greeted the humans.

There was something about them that felt like the scent of warm sunlight.

"It's warm..."

The gentle warmth emanating from the jelly pigs surrounded the entire city.

The jelly pigs walked among the people, emitting a soft heat.

The Mini Reapers sat atop them, nibbling on the jelly pigs and inviting the humans to join them.

Perhaps it was because of the adorable appearance of the Mini Reapers or the sun-like fragrance they emitted.

No one refused the Mini Reapers' offer.

Warmth and delicious jelly.

Feeling warmth and satisfaction, which was so rare in Frost, laughter spread among the people.

In the midst of it, the Mini Reapers laughed along with the humans.

The sky over Frost was still blue, and the cold wind seemed to carry a new hope.

The coral-haired girl smiled as she watched the scene.

The long winter had passed, and at last, the spring of Frost had arrived.

Sehee Institute Courtyard.

It’s warm…

I was sitting on the white maw chair with Yerin, basking in the sunlight.

Having fought in the cold, the warm sunlight felt twice as good.

"The maw is so soft and cushiony, it’s nice."

Yerin, sitting on the white maw for the first time, was full of admiration as she sat there.

The cushion-sized white maw was soft and comfortable, but the chair-sized white maw was truly the best.

It was just a bit harder to capture them since their numbers were low, but lately, it had become easier to obtain them, and I had been using them as chairs.

Obtain? Simply gather the cushion maws and fuse them using the Halo of Fusion, and it's done!

Hehe.

"By the way, I think the Reapers are getting fatter. What if they get more cushiony than the white maw?"

Yerin, resting her chin on my head, was squeezing my arm while talking.

Hehe, Mom’s getting fat.

Hehe.

The Golden Reapers, using my belly like a trampoline, heard Yerin's will and started giggling.

As soon as I heard their giggling, I flexed my stomach, sending the Golden Reapers flying off my belly.

"Aah!"

Watching the Golden Reapers fly out of the chair like golden popcorn, I chuckled softly.

Goohh!

Then, a very intense wind sound began to come from the TV.

Turning my gaze to the TV, I saw the giant Red Sun Reaper shouting "Revolution!" while emitting pressure.

Since the will wasn’t audible, only the ominous wind sound could be heard.

So, the cute scene looked just like the giant’s ominous roar scene.

Yerin, seeing the TV screen, raised both of my hands like the Red Sun Reaper on TV and started playing around.

The Golden Reapers, watching the TV, were emitting envious will.

I’m jealous.

Giant sibling!

I want to be a giant Golden Reaper…

Their will was full of envy.

It was rare for the Golden Reapers to emit such will, so perhaps the Halo of Fusion contained something like a drug?

Thinking about it, it seemed less about the Halo of Fusion and more about the size issue.

Golden Reapers, or rather, Mini Reapers, liked big things.

From the quiet Blue Reapers to the lively Golden Reapers—everyone!

Even statues like big ones, and Mom Golem always tried to make things bigger, and the Black Reapers also fused into bigger forms. They all loved growing larger.

Why are they so obsessed with becoming bigger…?

Was it some kind of latent impulse within the Mini Reapers?

Before I knew it, the Golden Reapers that had been bounced off the chair crawled back onto my belly and began staring at me intently.

They didn’t emit any will, but their expressions seemed to say, "Mom! Halo of Fusion!"

I flicked my belly, sending the Golden Reapers flying again.

"Aah!"

Sehee Institute Breakroom.

The bubble tea vending machine, once a huge hit among the Mini Reapers, had seen its popularity dwindle significantly.

The Mini Reapers still grabbed one drink each when they visited the breakroom, but it was no longer a line-out-the-door kind of deal.

Thud thud.

Another Golden Reaper entered the breakroom, pressing the vending machine button with its tiny hand.

Clunk.

When the bubble tea capsule popped out, the Golden Reaper smiled happily and hugged the capsule, beginning to suck on it.

Next to the vending machine, a helmeted researcher sat with a worried expression.

"You’ve had too much…"

In front of the researcher was a Golden Reaper lying with a bloated belly.

The helmeted researcher, unable to get up properly, gently poked the Golden Reaper’s bloated belly while muttering.

"None of the other Mini Reapers are like this; doesn’t it love bubble tea too much?"

The reason the Golden Reaper liked bubble tea so much was probably because this vending machine was a collaboration between the Sehee Institute head and the helmeted researcher.

The helmeted researcher looked down at the Golden Reaper with a concerned expression before getting up and heading to the snack corner.

Returning with an ice cream from the freezer, the helmeted researcher picked it up and peeled away its outer layer.

"???"

The helmeted researcher tilted their head with a puzzled expression.

One side of the ice cream, which should have had two, was empty, and the remaining one had turned black.

It was too uniform a black to be mold or decay.

With slightly furrowed brows, the helmeted researcher poked the black rice cake with the included fork.

"Hehe, that tickles."

The moment the fork poked, golden eyes and a mouth appeared on the ice cream.

"What, it's the Black Reaper."

The helmeted researcher flinched in surprise but quickly relaxed.

How did it get inside the ice cream container?

There didn’t seem to be any gaps or openings…

The helmeted researcher began pondering this new mystery as they gently kneaded the Black Reaper inside the ice cream, trying to figure out how it got there.

James Tower on the outskirts of Songpa.

James was in the operations room, reviewing videos of the current crisis.

Giant mechanical giants spotted around the world.

The Emperor Frog sitting on its Ice Throne.

The unusually large Red Sun Reaper.

Although all communications equipment had been disabled during the Emperor Frog crisis, the footage was successfully captured since the drones weren’t destroyed like the steel tower.

"At 9 PM, Siberian Federal District…"

As James compiled data from the research team, a red dot appeared on the world map on the central monitor.

James was marking the locations and times of the mechanical giants' appearances on the world map.

By using the appearance locations, times, and marching speeds, they were trying to track the origin.

Since satellite imagery was impossible due to thick clouds, it was the only option.

"Proposals from Frost and the Korean Peninsula appeared unusually early."

After removing two outliers, James marked the most likely origin location.

It was near the Arctic Circle, out at sea.

A few days later...

James, after pinpointing the origin, gathered the research team and traveled to the expected origin.

The place was full of ice and cold.

Once what was a sea full of ice and cold, the land had recently formed as James' team had broken through the ice to confirm it.

James stood on the land that had turned from sea to land, observing the mysterious ruins along with a Golden Reaper.

Research team members moved around, taking pictures and collecting data.

Like James, each researcher had a Mini Reaper perched on their shoulder.

"I thought it was related to the No. 0 relics, but it's completely different."

James looked up at the ominous temple made of giant jade.