The blue light of dawn began to seep through Yerin's apartment window.

Early in the morning, she was preparing for work at the Sehee Research Institute, her face blank, lost in thought.

Staring at her reflection in the mirror, Yerin let out a deep sigh.

"Will the Grim Reaper come today?"

Her voice, muttered absentmindedly, carried a touch of longing.

It had already been two months since the Gray Grim Reaper disappeared from the research institute.

There was no trace of the Gray Grim Reaper anywhere.

Normally, even if he disappeared for a few days, he'd be spotted at some chaotic scene, but this time was different.

There hadn't been any major incidents, and the whereabouts of the Gray Grim Reaper were still a mystery.

Yerin opened her closet door and continued her thoughts.

"If it's taking this long, the Grim Reaper is probably handling some huge crisis on Earth."

Still, she felt much better now than a few days ago.

Back then, she had wandered around almost like a zombie.

Even when she passed by the Mini Grim Reapers, they’d come up to her and cry in her place.

Yerin’s condition improved after she noticed that one more light ring had appeared in the sky.

Whenever the Gray Grim Reaper solved something, the moon would increase, or more rings would form.

"Yes, the Grim Reaper will definitely come today."

With a brighter expression, Yerin headed to the kitchen.

While preparing breakfast, she turned on the TV.

The screen was showing news about an incident that occurred a few days ago.

[The aftermath of the giant goat that appeared in the sky near the Sehee Research Institute last week continues.]

Yerin recalled that day.

When the enormous goat pierced the sky, the Sehee Research Institute had been on high alert.

It happened in the absence of the Gray Grim Reaper.

Countless Mini Grim Reapers rushed towards the giant goat, repeatedly vanishing into golden embers from the flames it emitted.

The expressions of the Mini Grim Reapers at that time were so serious and solemn, it felt like a scene from a war movie.

When things seemed hopeless, the Golden-Hooded Grim Reaper appeared, sword raised, cutting through the sky.

But even with that magnificent appearance, it wasn’t enough.

To be precise, the goat was rapidly worn down by the Golden-Hooded Grim Reaper’s strikes, but the rate at which the Golden-Hooded Grim Reaper was exhausting himself seemed to surpass the goat’s injuries.

The Golden-Hooded Grim Reaper, holding his sword, was quickly losing his light, but unfortunately, reinforcements from other powerful Mini Grim Reapers, like the Purple Grim Reaper, were slow to arrive.

At the moment when it seemed like they would have to give up on the Sehee Research Institute, the Golden Horned Grim Reaper appeared, casting a golden aurora over the institute.

Within that golden, radiant wave, like the sun, the blade of the First Sword blazed fiercely, and with a flash, the goat was reduced to ash and vanished.

It was such an impressive scene that Yerin almost clapped without thinking.

As she turned her eyes away from the TV, she opened the lid of the frying pan, only to be startled by an unexpected sight.

Inside the frying pan, the Golden-Hooded Grim Reaper was covering the fried egg like a blanket.

Startled, Yerin hurriedly grabbed the Golden-Hooded Grim Reaper with chopsticks and placed him under running water.

"Are you okay? Isn’t it too hot?"

But the Golden-Hooded Grim Reaper didn’t seem to be hurt. He just laughed.

He seemed to enjoy the running water, tilting his head toward the faucet, playing with the water flow.

Yerin let him cool down completely, then placed him on her palm.

"Little Golden Grim Reaper, when did you come?"

She poked at the baby Golden Grim Reaper’s plump cheek with her finger, muttering.

To think that a baby Golden Grim Reaper was in the frying pan... Even Yerin, who played with the Grim Reapers every day, had rarely seen one.

Yerin calmed her fast-beating heart and returned her gaze to the frying pan.

This time, there were even more baby Golden Grim Reapers covering the fried egg.

"!!!"

Yerin gasped, stepping back in shock.

"Ah!"

At that moment, she felt a soft sensation at her feet.

Turning her head, she saw an enormous number of baby Golden Grim Reapers running around the room.

"What in the world is going on?"

Yerin’s mind was in chaos, but the Golden Grim Reapers simply smiled happily, enjoying themselves.

"Hehe."

The cave was filled with the corpses of Black Grim Reapers.

"No way!"

I removed the last Black Grim Reaper still clinging to my face.

The little Grim Reaper, who had been gripping my cheek with determination as if it would never let go, sagged sadly when I peeled it off.

Seeing that, I let out a sigh without realizing it.

"Ah, this is hard..."

I managed to pry off all the Black Grim Reapers and began following the Black-Hooded Grim Reaper deeper into the cave.

Behind me, many Black Grim Reapers were following like ducklings.

"Look, there’s something huge and interesting!"

Following the Black-Hooded Grim Reaper’s finger, I saw a massive furnace sitting there.

Though it had cooled down now, there were clear traces of heat in the air, evidence that it had burned wood for a long time.

Looking at it, something felt familiar.

Although the size was drastically different, I had seen a similar furnace before.

It was probably the place where the orange moon had been.

There had been no Black Grim Reapers there, but I was sure the furnace had been there.

The walls surrounding the furnace were covered in intricate carvings.

The sculptures carved into the walls seemed to perfectly depict the form of a Black Giant.

"Well done..."

I couldn’t help but admire the craftsmanship, which was on par with the Golden Grim Reaper’s precision and grandeur.

"Ah!"

"Mom is watching!"

As I admired the sculptures, the Black Grim Reapers, who had been following me, rushed forward and began changing the carvings.

Apparently, because of their strength, they could recreate the carvings in an instant.

This time, all the sculptures were of me.

I couldn’t help but laugh a little. It seemed like they did it to avoid my anger.

After exploring the cave, I finally reached the end, where a massive dimensional passage was open.

A passage leading to the color universe.

The space felt as if it had been created specifically to form this passage, exuding a massive presence.

"I can’t just leave this dangerous passage open..."

I donned the halo of the space and closed the gap to the color universe with a sharp motion.

Then, I turned to look at the Mini Grim Reapers, who had been following me like meerkats, and conveyed my will.

"Let’s go home."

The Mini Grim Reapers began heading toward the passage one by one.

"Home?"

Confusion appeared on the faces of the Black Grim Reapers.

But the Mini Grim Reapers quickly started moving toward the passage.

After a while, the once-bustling cave became empty.

I took a last look around to check if any Mini Grim Reapers had been left behind, then slowly made my way toward the passage.

"...."

I turned back one last time, gazing at the space filled with the traces of the Black Grim Reapers’ lives.

A space full of sadness, hope, and will.

"You did well until the end."

I left those words, unsure of who they were for, and headed back to the Mini Grim Reaper garden.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

When Junior No. 2 tapped the cane three times, the surrounding scenery shifted, revealing the sleek appearance of the research institute.

The transparent object isolation room.

Advanced measuring tools made by James.

Research staff walking down the hall with tired expressions.

It was a scene from an entirely ordinary research institute, unlike the Sehee Research Institute.

If only there hadn’t been the distortion of space instead of a ceiling.

Junior No. 2 walked down the long hall and stopped in front of the detective's office.

Opening the door, Junior No. 2 spoke in a tired voice.

"Senpai, I’m here."

Lately, Junior No. 2 had been complaining of fatigue from frequent trips between Earth and the Rift Research Institute, something akin to jet lag.

If I had to name it, it wasn’t jet lag—it was dimensional adjustment fatigue.

"Oh, you’re here?"

The detective looked up and met their gaze.

With a gesture asking them to wait, he turned back to his desk, focused on something he was writing.

The yellow detective’s busy appearance seemed as frantic as when he was planning his escape from the central research institute.

Junior No. 2 leaned against a plush sofa at the side of the office.

Om-nom-nom.

At that moment, the Golden-Horned Grim Reaper quickly jumped onto the table and started nibbling on snacks.

The corkboard in the corner of the office caught Junior No. 2's attention.

There were various pictures pinned to the board, and some were marked with red Xs.

As Junior No. 2 stared at the board, the detective stood up and approached the board.

Swish, swish.

The detective marked an additional X on the picture of a blue-furred goat.

The pictures on the corkboard were records of the objects that Junior No. 2 and the Golden-Horned Grim Reaper had dealt with, helping the Mini Grim Reapers along the way.

Recently, as the number of dispatches increased, the pictures on the board had grown considerably.

As a result, Junior No. 2 hadn’t had time to rest properly, constantly traveling between Earth and the institute.

Having finished marking, the detective returned to his seat with a cup of coffee, sitting down with a serious expression.

Junior No. 2 asked in a slightly tired voice.

"Do you have more tasks for me?"

"Hmm."

The detective took a sip of coffee and pulled out an envelope, handing it over.

"This one will take a while. We’re going after a really, really big catch."

With those words, the detective stared blankly at the steel lamp with the light turned off.

His face appeared tired, but unlike before, there was a glimmer of hope in his eyes.