---

The hungry ghost opened its gigantic mouth, and a brilliant light poured into its depths.

It was a signal that no external dangers existed anymore, indicating the end of the hungry ghost’s protection.

The golden reapers, who had been playing in the ball pit, were the first to dash outside.

The golden reapers spread their arms wide and beamed with joy.

Bathed in golden sunlight, the reapers seemed to shine even brighter and looked genuinely happy.

As James followed the golden reapers outside, warm sunlight welcomed him.

Bright sunlight poured down, and a cool breeze blew against the open sky.

The dark sky, which had created a strange unease as if sticky mucus might drip heavily down, transformed into a calm blue, revealing a return to normality and peace.

However, as James lowered his gaze, the tragic scene of Gwanak-gu, now in ruins, came into view.

Gwanak-gu, which had become a victim of black mucus, was slowly revealing its form as the mucus level gradually lowered.

The skeletal remains of concrete stood bare, showcasing the traces of the disaster.

It would probably take a long time to restore Gwanak-gu.

But still, since the giant jellyfish appeared to be destroyed, it could be said that the area where humanity could live had somewhat increased.

The sounds of helicopters began to echo through the ruins, replacing the chaos of high rises and the city.

The helicopters lined up and landed heavily in the ruins, spewing out a crowd of soldiers from the association.

And mixed among the soldiers, reporters equipped with protective gear descended upon the ruins.

While the soldiers checked the safety of the ruins, the reporters slowly began to approach James.

As James watched the approaching reporters, he straightened his attire.

Surely, the reporters would have many questions.

And once they learned the full story of this incident, they would understand just how special the gray reaper was.

Kyu.

As James pressed the hungry ghost ball in his hand, its characteristic sound burst forth.

It would serve as evidence of his experiences in Gwanak-gu and remain a fragment of memories.

James walked towards the reporters with the hungry ghost ball in his hand, considering keeping it in his display case.

By the way, where did the gray reaper go?

And the white hungry ghost and golden reapers had vanished too.

*

Had they been waiting outside Gwanak-gu all this time? Countless helicopters approached, ready to tackle the giant jellyfish.

How annoying.

Seeing the reporters coming in droves, he hurriedly slipped into the gaps of the ruins.

Now that the incident was over, it was time to return to Sehee Research Institute.

As he clasped his hands together and stretched, the blue reaper approached him and sent a string of text.

[Mom! Follow me!]

[I've got something to show you!]

The blue reaper seemed flustered and anxious, possibly embarrassed as it spoke those words.

It always was a shy one, but this time it seemed even more so.

Tsuba tsuba.

Walking slowly behind the blue reaper, who glided gracefully through the air on a broomstick, he climbed the skeletal ruins as if climbing a mountain.

The blue reaper ascended higher and higher.

Ah, if only I had the ability to fly, I could travel so comfortably too…

The destination was an elevated area of ruins with an expansive view around.

From this vantage point, the transformed scenery of Gwanak-gu looked pretty decent.

The open view, devoid of the high-rise buildings that had once formed the skyline, felt refreshing.

And the sun beating down on the ruins contrasted starkly with the battered landscape, set against a clear blue sky without a speck of dust.

A cool breeze swept through, adding to the charm of the scenery.

Was this the reason for summoning me here?

Looking around to stroke the blue reaper, he realized it had disappeared somewhere.

Tut tut tut.

A faint sound of small footsteps approached.

Suddenly, golden reapers jumped in joy and pushed him from behind.

Huh?

Startled by the unexpected attack from the golden reapers, I began to plummet down from the ruins.

Looking up, the golden reapers giggled mischievously.

Below was a pool of black liquid, collecting in the crevices of the ruins.

You tricked me!

But before I fell into the black liquid, I shifted my body to the Mini Reaper Garden.

Hehe.

It’s still not enough time to fool me!

Escaping the trap set by the golden and blue reapers, I landed in the Mini Reaper Garden and felt solid ground beneath my feet.

Escape successful!

Just as I wore a triumphant smile for dodging their trap, the ground gave way beneath me.

Splash.

It turned out to be a trap filled with hot chocolate that seemed like the golden reapers’ doing.

As I sank into a depth that came up to my neck, the golden reapers, grinning victoriously, began to whack my head with marshmallow hammers.

With each blow of the marshmallow hammer, the feelings of the golden reapers flowed into me.

It was an emotional list of grievances about the pranks I had inflicted on them until now.

Especially, the predominant emotions were ‘the unfairness of being deceived when I said we would catch jellyfish together’ and ‘the unfairness of misleading them when I promised not to do it again.’

As they lamented while hitting me, the golden reapers swung their marshmallow hammers and laughed joyously.

Have I been tormenting them too much lately…?

Just as I thought, ‘At least it’s a relief the blue reaper isn’t here,’ the blue reaper, hidden among the snacks, slowly approached me.

And with its eyes tightly shut, it gave me a gentle smack with a marshmallow hammer.

Ah.

Even you, blue reaper…

*

Tread tread.

The sound of polished shoes echoed in the dark, sticky underground.

The figure was unclear, but a man dressed in a neat suit was slowly descending the stairs.

Clatter clatter.

Though his face was fuzzy and his expression vague, the numerous lamps floating around emitted a strong presence.

No one who had seen this man would likely remember his face, but one thing would stick in their minds.

“The man who carried around a bunch of lamps.”

A former personal office of the director of Trinity Research Institute No. 3 was eroded and crumbled by black mucus, now a complete mess.

The Man of the Lamp entered that dismal room and picked up an ‘extremely old lamp’ that was set in the corner.

Then, as he tapped its surface, the age-worn lamp transformed into a completely brand-new version.

And placing the lamp prominently in the center of the room, the man exited slowly with a meaningful smile.

*

As the moon and stars rose, the golden reapers also fell into a deep slumber.

But Sehee Research Institute was not a place to sleep that night.

On such a night, I was looking up at the sky in the backyard of Sehee Research Institute.

Everything that had unfolded in Gwanak-gu kept the association busy, and Sehee Research Institute seemed to be extraordinarily hectic too, but that had little to do with me.

Not being involved with the mundane world was the perk of living an object life!

Luxuriating in the rights of civilization while dutifully avoiding obligations!

I kept looking up at the sky, anticipating the appearance of a new moon.

In the sky, three moons floated lazily.

A large moon, a blue moon, and a red moon.

However, no matter how long I waited, there was no sign of a fourth moon rising.

I thought the giant jellyfish being the ‘Pearl of Night’ would lead to another moon appearing, but it didn’t?

Well, it was definitely not rainbow-colored.

Still, I didn’t come away empty-handed from this Trinity Research Institute.

Firstly, a huge emergency food hungry ghost.

I also managed to acquire two additional abilities.

Though I felt I had dealt quite a bit of damage to the objects at this Trinity Research Institute, the haul was less than I expected.

Could it be because the objects were contaminated, or was it that Trinity preferred muscular, physical objects?

Among the abilities I acquired, the one that seemed somewhat useful was tentacle summoning.

It was the power to create tentacles from shadows.

Compared to what the jellyfish used to summon, I could only produce one tentacle at a time, and it was rather dainty in size.

Yet, it was sturdy and strong, so it seemed useful.

I summoned a tentacle from the shadows and sat upon it.

Focusing my mind above my head, a soft light began to emanate.

The hair sticking out above my head glowed like a hungry ghost’s lantern.

With a mighty flick.

According to my will, the hair danced.

It was the ability to illuminate certain parts of my hair and make them move.

I thought I had gained tentacle summoning by dealing with the hungry ghost, but why did I develop such an ability?

The origins of the white hungry ghost felt nebulous.

*

In the deep of night, members of the Object Association’s investigation team were still bustling about.

The primary area of investigation was the site where Trinity Research Institute No. 3 had been located.

Though it appeared completely destroyed, the underground facilities remained considerably intact, making it highly likely they could be used as evidence for this incident.

The association agents, relying on powerful headlight beams and protective suits, slowly delved deeper into the underground and came across a peculiar room.

Though it was completely in disarray, a strangely clean and intact gas lamp sat in the middle of the room.

“Here, we have a suspicious object. It’s a gas lamp.”

As the leading soldier signaled, the following researchers carefully packaged the lamp for retrieval.

At that moment, a whisper echoed faintly in the researcher’s mind.

[Let’s make a contract. I’ll give you knowledge of the objects.]

It was a sweet and almost enchanting voice.