Cute cloud fish revealed their sharp teeth and lunged, but the blonde girl breathed fire from her mouth, incinerating the cloud fish in an instant.
The cloud fish, engulfed by flames far more powerful than when she first became a vampire, turned to powder without lasting a second.
But the situation didn’t look good.
The blonde girl looked exhausted, and in this predicament, the black agent wasn’t much help.
All they did was lean back-to-back against a sturdy stone wall, the black agent and the blonde girl enduring together.
How much time had passed?
Fighting wave after endless wave of cloud fish left them no sense of how long it had been.
It was definitely not a short amount of time.
Above the weary blonde girl and the black agent, the red reaper fought fiercely against the cloud fish.
With a cheerful grin, arms outstretched, spinning around like a fiery whirlwind, the surrounding area was scorched.
Even as cloud fish darted forward at high speed to bite with their sharp teeth, they were blown away by the wind generated by the red reaper’s spinning motion and couldn’t land a hit.
What sheer one-sided brutality!
“It’s lucky we have the red reaper. In my dreams, you tried to trap me, but I never expected you’d be so helpful.”
The black agent glanced at the blonde girl’s complexion, offering a light nod of agreement.
Haa… haa…
The blonde girl, breathing heavily, had flushed cheeks.
The black agent observed her reddened skin with a worried expression.
“Are you alright, young miss?”
Upon hearing the black agent’s words, the blonde girl looked at her slightly translucent hand and nodded while speaking.
“I’m fine. In fact, I feel lighter.”
As if proving her point, the blonde girl moved even more vigorously, burning the approaching cloud fish with ease.
In the midst of the ongoing battle, the blonde girl’s gaze suddenly fixated on the entrance of the village.
“Young miss?”
“Ahh… Uncle, something feels strange.”
The blonde girl wore an ambiguous expression, difficult to describe.
She seemed both happy yet confused.
When a faint yellow glow appeared through the fog, the feeling overwhelming her grew even more chaotic.
And then, not long after, an object with gray skin emerged from the mist into the open lot.
Though it had an innocuous appearance, it radiated an immense presence—the Gray Reaper.
Tubang-tubang.
With confident strides, the gray reaper scanned the surroundings with an indifferent expression, causing the cloud fish to visibly shrink in fear.
Their movements slowed, paralyzed by terror.
Even while fighting, all their attention was now focused on the gray reaper.
“Young miss?”
Despite the oppressive atmosphere, the black agent maintained his usual demeanor, still watching the blonde girl with concern.
But what the blonde girl felt wasn’t exactly pressure or intimidation—it was something different.
“Uncle, for some reason, I feel… strange.”
Longing.
Familiarity.
These emotions surged within her.
Why?
If she had to name this feeling…
“Uh… Mom?”
An unexpected word slipped out from the blonde girl’s lips.
“Uh… Mom?”
From the wide-eyed gaze of the girl came a phrase akin to what a mini-reaper might say.
Mom?
Upon hearing that, I noticed the blonde girl had partially transformed into something resembling a mini-reaper.
Or rather, though small, she was taller than me—should I call her a big reaper instead?
The last time I saw her, she wasn’t like this. Why the sudden change?
There were a few possible reasons.
Maybe transforming into a semi-mini-reaper just takes time.
Or maybe it has something to do with the orange moon.
Or perhaps it’s related to me giving her my heart.
Looking up at the sky, the orange moon was already half-covered in darkness.
The blue moon held out longer but seems weaker now.
I extended my arms outward, summoning the mini-reapers.
“Alright, there’s a new youngest sibling over there. Go help!”
Golden reapers and black reapers, spotting the red reaper, eagerly charged forward.
Blue reapers looked around before dispersing throughout the village.
The indigo reaper? …Still sleeping, probably.
Not showing up.
High in the sky, the cloud fish stood no chance against the black reaper turning into a ballista and launching golden reapers at them.
Leaving the cloud fish to the mini-reapers, I walked tubang-tubang toward the blonde girl.
Approaching her, I realized she was indeed taller than me.
About 130 cm, maybe?
Strange, a human becoming a mini-reaper.
As we faced each other, the faint connection between us strengthened.
The blonde girl, still looking confused, suddenly ran forward and hugged me.
“Young miss?”
Her abrupt action left the black agent bewildered.
“Ahhh, it’s warm.”
With her tiny voice, I could feel my firewood slowly flowing into her body.
The girl, who previously lacked much firewood as a mini-reaper, began filling up.
In a quiet voice, she said:
“For some reason, I feel like I should call you ‘Mom.’ And it feels warm and happy.”
Of course, most of the firewood making up my body originally came from Yerin.
The mini-reapers, noticing the blonde girl’s dazed expression, swarmed toward her enthusiastically.
They looked delighted to have a bigger sibling.
As the blonde girl, now transformed into a cocoon-like mini-reaper, stepped back, I looked up at the orange moon.
[Destroy the pearl underground.]
Hmm?
The conditions seemed surprisingly simple.
Is it because of contamination by the black liquid?
I immediately thought about locating the pearl when a large staircase erupted from the ground in front of me.
The entrance adorned with orange flames felt like the orange moon was guiding me.
Trinity Research Institute No. 1, located in Gangnam District.
Inside the director’s office, the Director of the 1st Research Institute stared solemnly at the monitor.
“How could this happen…?”
A perfect plan.
To obtain the initial substance capable of saving humanity from Object: Evolution Liquid, in bulk!
However, watching the scenes on TV hinted at potential failure in the crucial part of the plan.
“Why are the cloud fish attacking Sehee Research Institute?”
The core of this plan was simple.
Complete exclusion of the gray reaper.
In other words, prevent “gray reaper” interference.
The mass-production plan of the Director of Research Institute No. 3 failed due to the gray reaper’s intervention.
Perhaps since the gray reaper is also an Object, it resists humanity’s sole countermeasure, “Evolution Liquid.”
Afterward, the Director of Research Institute No. 3 attempted to physically eliminate the gray reaper and failed, leading to his death.
Thus, the Director of the 1st Research Institute executed the plan targeting the orange moon, hoping the gray reaper wouldn’t notice—but things weren’t going as planned.
Cloud fish dwelling in Odaesan unexpectedly attacked Sehee Research Institute.
This plan couldn’t fail.
According to the notes of the Director of Research Institute No. 3, there are seven colored moons.
Opportunities for mass-producing “Evolution Liquid” were limited.
The director let out a sigh of relief after seriously scrutinizing the TV screen and drone footage.
“Hmph, thank goodness.”
It appeared the gray reaper hadn’t left for Odaesan despite the cloud whale attack.
Both the TV coverage and drone surveillance showed Sehee Research Institute remained peaceful.
It didn’t look like an object had escaped from the institute.
Even the security team searching for the gray reaper was nowhere to be seen, allowing the director to fully relax.
Only then did he recline comfortably in his chair inside the director’s office.
The TV camera, which had been focused on Sehee Research Institute moments ago, now showed the sky.
[Beautiful rivers of cloud fish stretch eastward from Sehee Research Institute.]
[It’s a sight as stunning as the Milky Way.]
The announcer’s voice brimmed with admiration as they gazed at the star-like glow emanating from the river of cloud fish.
For some reason, the river of cloud fish seemed like a marker leading to Odaesan, but as long as the gray reaper didn’t move, it wasn’t much of an issue.
With a relaxed mood, the Director of the 1st Research Institute turned his head to see the twilight sky through the window.
He rose from his seat and approached the window to admire the beautiful evening sky.
The clear sky filled with flying cloud fish against the backdrop of the twilight-colored heavens.
Although the problem at Sehee Research Institute was resolved and there was nothing left to worry about, a corner of his heart felt uneasy.
“Am I getting old? For some reason, I feel anxious.”
Unnerved by the baseless anxiety, the director drew the curtains to block out the sky.
However, above the curtained director’s office, countless cloud fish circled, maintaining their position as if marking the location of the 1st Research Institute Director.
*
Chalbak-chalbak.
My footsteps echoed on the smooth stone steps meticulously crafted.
As I slowly descended the exotic staircase, fires spontaneously ignited in the hearths placed on either side.
With every step I took, another flame lit up.
At the bottom of the stairs stood a massive temple.
Despite being underground, bright light streamed down from the ceiling, adorned with mosaic artwork.
The mosaic resembled the one James showed me of Artifact 0, but much of it was broken, obscuring its content.
In the center of the courtyard lay a shattered statue of a black reaper.
A legless figure with elongated arms—an unusual existence.
Due to poor maintenance, the surface was peeling off, and its head and arms were broken.
Someone unfamiliar might struggle to recognize it as a black reaper.
Everything else was perfectly maintained except for the mosaic and the statue—why were they in such disrepair?
Past the statue, I found an extinguished giant hearth and a spherical object resembling a “pearl.”
Seeing this sphere reminded me strangely of the words spoken by the black reaper.
[Sever the human tongue and burn their entire body.]
Near the hearth lay an ancient dagger stained with old blood.
