Chapter 319

Sehee Research Institute, Yerin Oh’s apartment.

“Alright, I’ll be back later. Keep the place safe!”

“Hehe!”

Yerin waved goodbye to the white hungry ghost sitting on the Knee of the Lead Doll and headed off to the research institute.

Once she left and a bit of time passed, the apartment started buzzing with activity.

Hehe.

Grrr.

White hungry ghosts made of marshmallow squeezed through the cracks in the door one by one and entered.

The Golden Reapers peeked out from the walls of the dark room, giggling mischievously as they looked around.

“Hide and seek!”

Confirming no one was around, they landed lightly on the floor and hid behind table legs, darting around nimbly with a ‘shashak’ sound.

Just like ninjas!

Their destination was the room where the Lead Doll sat.

“Secret play!”

“Secret friend!”

Though unsure why they were hiding from Yerin, the Golden Reapers followed the white hungry ghosts because it seemed fun.

With that, a horde of Golden Reapers and white hungry ghosts gathered neatly in the room where the Lead Doll sat.

They stared up innocently at the Lead Doll like puppies waiting for snacks.

“Yerin’s snack!”

“!”

“!”

When one Golden Reaper pulled out a large cookie it had secretly stashed, the others jumped up and down cheering.

They formed a circle around the cookie and began nibbling on it piece by piece.

Thus began the Round Table Cookie feast!

Nom nom nom…

With tiny hands, they tore off bits and popped them into their mouths while chewing happily.

Like jerboas, they occasionally turned their heads to gaze earnestly at the Lead Doll’s face after taking a bite.

The white hungry ghost basked in the warm sunlight streaming through the window, smiling contentedly.

As morning light filled the room, the white hungry ghost and Golden Reapers suddenly stood up almost simultaneously and lined up.

“!”

“Hehe!”

The Lead Doll slowly opened its eyes, casting a gentle golden glow around the room.

“Mommy!”

“Kind mother!”

Taking turns, the white hungry ghost and Golden Reapers snuggled up in the Lead Doll’s embrace.

“Warm!”

Hehe.

With a kind smile, the Lead Doll gently hugged each of the white hungry ghost and Golden Reapers in turn.

Though initially nearly motionless when the white hungry ghost first noticed the Lead Doll waking up, after the seven-colored moon rose, the Lead Doll had become capable of hugging on its own.

While the Lead Doll responded to the Golden Reapers’ will, its replies remained unclear.

“Does mommy want pudding?”

“Is mommy really mommy?”

“Mommy!”

The Lead Doll simply smiled and hugged tightly.

The Golden Reapers looked forward to the day they could playfully run around with “Mommy mk.2” and hugged the Lead Doll back.

***

Mini Reaper Garden, Marshmallow Plains.

“Angdae!”

When the sword of filial impiety, ‘Disobedience’, was tied to Mini Hama’s ankle, the captured ghost reaper struggled fiercely.

Hehe.

After playing with the captured ghost reaper for a while, boredom set in and it was released.

It disappeared instantly.

Wow, so fast!

The sword forcibly tied to Mini Hama’s ankle had vanished too.

What should we play now?

While pondering this and wandering around Mini Reaper Garden, a Yellow Reaper slowly approached.

“…Completion!”

Turning toward the Yellow Reaper revealed a mountain of Tyrannosaurus doll clothes.

Dinosaur doll clothes in various colors.

All designed for two-fingered T-rex dolls!

“Good job!”

I grabbed the squishy Yellow Reaper and petted its head vigorously.

While fondling the soft Yellow Reaper, curiosity struck.

Poke.

I poked the plump belly of the Yellow Reaper, which flinched as if ticklish.

Hehe.

Finding it amusing, I began tickling the Yellow Reaper wildly.

“I want it too!”

Seeing this, other Mini Reapers stealthily approached the mountain of doll clothes and climbed onto me, demanding the same treatment.

“Hehe.”

“Ticklish!”

Realizing only later, I found myself surrounded by numerous Mini Reapers.

Standing up, I emitted my will.

“Alright, everyone put on doll clothes!”

Suddenly, hundreds of mini T-rexes appeared in Mini Reaper Garden.

“Dinosaur water attack!”

“Ahh, who bit me?”

“Dinosaur headbutt!”

As Mini Reapers donned dinosaur outfits, chaos erupted with biting and headbutting.

Calling forth Mini White Hungry Ghosts via emitted will.

“?!”

“!!”

Arriving upon receiving the emergency signal, the white hungry ghosts looked bewildered but soon realized the situation and began fleeing.

Understanding today’s game essence, the Mini Reapers dashed after the fleeing white hungry ghosts.

Flame-breathing T-rexes, time-accelerating T-rexes, and more.

Various T-rexes began chomping on the white hungry ghosts.

Hihing.

The Mini Reaper Garden filled with the sorrowful cries of white hungry ghosts.

Hehe.

Watching this dinosaur age recreation brought a pleased smile.

But then Black Reapers arrived en masse, emitting willpower wildly.

“Mommy!”

“Huge trouble!”

“Steel Tower!”

Upon hearing this, I teleported with the chaotic Black Reapers to Seoul Forest.

A strange sight greeted us – a black pillar of light splitting the distant sky.

At the end of the light pillar, a foreboding black star.

Something unusual happened at Steel Tower.

***

Late afternoon, Yerin’s apartment.

“I’m back.”

“Kee!”

Returning home and opening the door, Yerin was greeted with a ‘keek’ from a white hungry ghost.

Cradling the white hungry ghost, Yerin began cheerfully recounting the day’s events.

“There was no Reaper this morning.”

“Instead, there were cute mini Reapers in dinosaur costumes running around the courtyard. Where could they have gone?”

Skillfully unpacking her bag and turning on the TV, Yerin gently patted the seated Lead Doll’s head.

“I’m back.”

Yerin gazed fondly at the Lead Doll dressed in a pretty dress.

After finishing her shower and returning to the living room, yesterday’s news follow-up played on the TV.

“Just now, the American Object Association announced about buildings or ruins suddenly appearing.”

“According to the association, this object phenomenon is being observed worldwide and potentially poses great danger.”

“Therefore, the association strongly advises against approaching these phenomena.”

“Especially considering cases where structures like buildings or ruins suddenly appear, this may be a spatial replacement or overlap phenomenon.”

[Currently…]

Drying her hair, Yerin cradled the white hungry ghost.

“Hmm, did the Reaper go to handle that incident?”

While walking toward the sofa, Yerin felt an odd sensation underfoot.

Crunch.

The sound of something breaking.

“Cookie crumbs?”

Checking her foot, Yerin found cookie crumbs though she hadn’t eaten any recently.

“?”

Confused by the inexplicable traces, Yerin glanced at the white hungry ghost, which avoided eye contact like a dog hiding something.

***

Central Seoul Forest, where Steel Tower once stood.

The sun had long set, replaced by multicolored moonlight.

Investigating the collapsed Steel Tower site, night had fallen unnoticed.

Keek.

Upon arriving at Seoul Forest initially, everything was chaos.

Attempting teleportation near Steel Tower resulted in arrival at Seoul Forest outskirts instead.

Where Steel Tower once stood was now a black pillar of light.

A menacing black star hung in the sky.

Moreover, Golden Reapers and Black Reapers ran amok throughout the forest.

“Huge trouble!”

“Mommy!”

Running Golden Reapers would suddenly fall from the sky or rise from the ground.

“?”

Unable to understand their behavior, stepping forward revealed the truth immediately.

Having taken just one step, I emerged somewhere completely different.

This space is all mixed up.

Instant teleportation malfunctioned, and Mini Reaper Garden wouldn’t activate properly in this environment.

Thus, I had to walk around Seoul Forest, though every step led to unpredictable locations, creating a real maze.

Furthermore, the space distorted in real-time, making it a maze with constantly changing paths.

Another mystery was solved.

Though Black Reapers claimed Steel Tower collapsed late at night, they arrived in the morning.

Apparently unable to return to Mini Reaper Garden due to spatial distortion, they spent considerable time navigating this crazy maze.

That means the Black Reapers who informed me about Steel Tower’s anomaly traversed this insane maze.

“Great job. Well done.”

Pii!

I petted the Black Reapers accordingly.

“No matter how I look at it, I can’t figure it out.”

Despite the Black Reapers’ efforts to inform me about Steel Tower’s anomaly, actual investigation yielded little information.

One discovery:

Steel Tower has completely vanished.

Besides the distorted space, Seoul Forest didn’t seem particularly dangerous.

“Hmm, what should I do?”

Holding a Black Reaper and poking it repeatedly, I mulled over options.

***

Late night, near Seoul Forest.

A Blue Reaper circled around Seoul Forest.

Mini Reapers blocked Seoul Forest’s perimeter due to “potential human danger.”

Of course, their “mommy” didn’t give such careful consideration.

She simply said, “Ah, whatever! I’ll think about it tomorrow!” and returned to Sehee Research Institute.

While patrolling the air, the Blue Reaper heard an unusual sound.

Faint human voices too far away to hear clearly.

“Wonder if humans are dangerous?”

Concerned about potential human danger, the Blue Reaper followed the sound into Seoul Forest.

Upon entering, the Blue Reaper found itself somewhere completely different.

An enormous ceiling blocking the sky.

A fake floor without any sense of ground beneath.

A dark space with barely any light.

An unpleasant petroleum smell filling the area.

Massive pillars reaching the heavens.

And a girl with pink hair.

She was the only human detected by the Blue Reaper’s senses.

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