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Thud thud.

I wandered around the inside of the research institute, bored.

I was hoping there might be a new object that arrived, but unfortunately, there were none at all.

Could it be that figure of me sold so well that they’ve completely abandoned new research activities?

At that moment, I spotted the familiar golden doghouse.

A larger and more extravagant golden mass than before.

In that doghouse, a ‘Cute Puppy’ was carefree, causing havoc.

And around it, the researchers from the Sehee Research Institute were flustered and managing it.

It had been a while since I last visited, and the cute puppy looked happy.

With a confident expression, it trampled over the researchers with an air of dignity.

That guy seems to have changed in personality somehow…

Instead of being a beloved puppy, it had transformed into a dominating puppy.

When I ghosted into the isolation room, the puppy I hadn’t seen in a while had grown tremendously in size.

And with that size boost, it barked loudly upon seeing me.

‘How dare you! Enter my isolation room recklessly!’

It was a howl that gave off that kind of feeling.

Fortunately, not forgetting entirely, it checked my face and gradually shrank, ending up as small as the palm of my hand.

Then, it laid down on the floor and cooed, looking up at me with sparkling eyes.

No pretending to be cute allowed.

You are bipedal.

*

Knock. Knock. Knock.

To the sound of droplets falling, the boy opened his eyes again.

What met the boy’s gaze was a horrifying reality.

He desperately wanted to believe it was a dream, but it was indeed reality.

“Huh, sob.”

The boy slowly lowered the corpse hanging from the ceiling onto the bed.

Then, he carefully wrapped the body in the thin cloth covering the bed.

“Sis….”

Despite the sad situation, the boy tried to understand things as best as he could.

He remembered parting ways with Detective Noona and returning home.

After that…

He couldn’t remember.

The memories following that were hazy.

‘Who on earth could have done this?’

‘Why did they leave me alive?’

‘What if the criminal returns?’

‘Am I going to die too?’

‘Sis, mom, and dad are all gone now.’

A boy trapped in a dark, silent cage, filled with fear.

Thoughts of despair stemming from his terror lingered in his mind, but he gritted his teeth and rose from his spot.

Although he was caged, this moment without anyone resembling the criminal was an opportunity to escape.

The boy slowly approached the cage and pushed the closed door with his hand.

Creeeak.

The cage, which seemed completely cut off from the outside, was not locked.

Why isn’t the door locked?

Nervously swallowing, he slowly stepped beyond the bars.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

In the empty underground corridor, only the sounds of the boy’s sneakers echoed dryly.

Inside the cages lining both sides were corpses hanging from the ceiling.

They were all people the boy recognized.

It was as if only people he knew had been placed there.

‘Who on earth could have done this?’

The boy, pale, barely managed to move forward.

Slowly towards the end of the corridor.

He continued through the horrifying corridor.

And what he found at the end was a tightly shut iron door.

Standing in front of the iron door, unable to see beyond, he swallowed and pushed the door.

This time, the iron door opened easily, without any resistance.

The space beyond the door emanated a strange atmosphere.

What immediately caught his eye was a staircase bathed in bright light.

Beyond the wide clearing meticulously painted with ominous red paint was a staircase that looked like an exit.

And in the center of the neatly organized room sat a chunk of concrete, oddly placed.

It looked like an exhibit or a piece of art in a museum.

The arranged concrete structure was old, decayed, its skeleton fully exposed as a bare concrete mass.

It looked like waste taken from ancient ruins.

And in the center of that concrete was a red circle.

A round circle drawn with blood that was still wet, exuding a thick scent of iron.

Though the circle was roughly drawn, it oddly made one feel as if they might be sucked in.

The boy stared intently at the circle, but then suddenly felt scared, turning his gaze and walking towards the stairs.

Hoping it would be an exit, he moved forward slowly.

*

I had been loitering around the boy’s house since morning, but while I was on the phone, it had somehow become lunchtime.

I spotted what seemed to be a scene entangled in a huge incident at a glance, and immediately contacted the police.

But the response I got was absurdly, “This isn’t our jurisdiction.”

Upon further investigation, I found that there were no police in this city.

Instead, there was a self-defense force-like organization that had been delegated authority from the police.

They called themselves the ‘RS Autonomous Committee.’

So, I got the contact for that self-defense force and reached out again, but they never showed up.

I had heard rumors online that they ignored the ‘Black Rust’ residential area, but I can’t believe those rumors are true.

“Does this even make sense?”

I grumbled as I pulled out the ‘Gray Reaper Pudding’ I had saved.

It was a treat that the Reaper particularly liked, especially since they generally enjoyed sweet foods.

Other than being a bit pricey, its taste was good enough that I ended up eating it like a staple while sharing with the Reaper.

There was talk of this pudding being a dangerous object, but I hadn’t seen any news about issues arising from it, so it should be okay, right?

Om nom nom.

I scooped some pudding with a spoon, and when I brought it to the Reaper, it gobbled it up with its small mouth.

Then, what was left was for me to munch on too.

One bite for the Reaper, and then one for me.

Before I knew it, I’d devoured the pudding I had brought for lunch.

I gave a gentle tap on the adorable Reaper’s head with my finger and stood up.

With no police and the self-defense force not showing up, I had no choice but to solve this myself.

I cautiously stepped into the boy’s house.

Upon entering and taking a look around, it was an incredibly large house for a small boy to live alone in.

There were numerous claw marks on the walls and furniture.

What on earth could have made such marks?

When I analyzed the scratches on the wall, they were claw marks from a massive monster at least 2 meters tall at the shoulder.

Wow, that’s gigantic.

If we’re talking about wolf sizes, a height of 2 meters at the shoulder would likely equate to a body length of about 4 meters.

I opened my notebook and organized the information I had gathered.

Someone must have seen a monster that size.

While wandering through the mess that was the house, I occasionally checked on the Reaper resting on my palm, but there was no special reaction.

The wicked object usually found things pretty well, yet it showed no particular reaction this time.

What should I do if the client has already gone missing before resolving the case?

Detective Sunbae seems to be solving things effortlessly while not thinking of anything at all.

I can picture Detective Sunbae inputting a new case and saying something like this if they saw the scene, right?

“I don’t quite know, but the culprit is to the north! Let’s just walk for now!”

I really can’t figure out what kind of deduction goes into that.

Is it a secret because it’s part of their know-how?

I searched the house meticulously, but in the end, I didn’t discover anything.

Slap, slap.

During this, the Reaper started to hit my palm.

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

Looking down at the Reaper on my palm, it stretched out its finger and pointed at the ceiling.

Looking up, I saw a square mark on the ceiling.

Standing on a chair and pressing down on the ceiling, a ladder clattered down.

Climbing up the ladder revealed an unusual attic.

It was the attic with the most claw marks in the entire house.

Unlike other places that felt devoid of life, this room had signs of someone living there.

What a complete mess.

The only thing intact was an old desk.

On the neatly arranged desk was a notebook.

When I opened the notebook, it contained a diary written in a chaotic hand.

A diary filled with curses aimed at others.

Sentences declaring intentions to kill someone.

Curses against family members tormenting the writer.

Curses directed at the owner of this city who turns a blind eye to discrimination against the ‘Black Rust.’

Especially, there were extensive curses against a man referred to as ‘RS,’ who founded this city.

While I was slowly reading the diary, a sharp sound rang out.

Swoosh.

With a soft sound, something cut through the concrete wall.

It was a strike aimed at my neck, swift beyond the realm of reaction.

Boom.

The long, scythe-like blade was intercepted by the Reaper who had jumped up from my palm into the air.

“!”

I fell to the ground, startled, while the Reaper glared at the desk in the attic with a fierce expression.

Clank!

The sharp scythe blade that was chopped off the Reaper fell to the ground, producing a chilling sound.

From beneath that desk, a grotesque object of a dark color continued to emerge.

*

Beautiful piano sounds echoed in the isolation room.

The performer was a blue lizard.

To the sound of the piano, an object was dancing with all its might.

The dancer was a cute puppy standing on two legs.

After hours of dancing, the puppy looked tired.

Its legs trembled, and its expression softened.

Just as it seemed to be getting a bit boring, a good idea struck me.

I summoned a golden Reaper with both hands and conveyed my desire to have it take care of the ‘Cute Puppy.’

The amount it would receive was one Reaper pudding per day.

The task was to ensure the puppy didn’t torment humans.

Initially, the golden Reapers, who had never been fond of puppies that oppressed humans, happily agreed.

After giving the golden Reaper its task, I suddenly felt a desperate resolve and was shocked.

The golden Reaper seemed surprised too, widening its eyes and looking around.

It possessed a transmission power that couldn’t even be compared to the golden Reaper.

As I searched through the intentions, it seemed to be the voice of a rogue golden Reaper asking for help.

Quite urgent indeed, I should head over first.

Leaving the puppy with the golden Reaper, I flew away using my black penguin abilities.

*

Panting, I looked around in all directions.

All about were four-legged spider objects, each holding sharp scythes.

My whole body hurt from the wounds inflicted.

The Reaper was strong, but there were simply too many enemies.

If the Reaper charged in, it could take them all out in an instant, but every time, those objects would target me.

That meant the Reaper had to protect me, restricting its ability to fight effectively.

I’m sorry, Reaper.

You can’t fight properly because of me…

At that moment, suddenly, the Reaper opened its mouth as if shouting.

And the golden horns glowed brightly, vibrating the surrounding space.

At that moment, I felt some mystical power.

Then, like the fabric of space eroding, a gray tint slithered into my vision.

It felt as if reality was being rewritten once again, and at the center of this surreal change stood the Gray Reaper.

With the arrival of the Gray Reaper, the objects that had been moving actively fell into silence, and the air became dense as if the whole world was holding its breath.

In the attic where time seemed to have stopped, the Gray Reaper surveyed its surroundings with an indifferent expression before lifting up the Reaper as if to inspect something curious.

Squeeze. Squeeze.

With curiosity filling its expression, the Gray Reaper pressed the horns.

Each time, the Reaper’s soft horns would squish and then spring back.

A slight smile appeared on the mouth of the playful Gray Reaper, and simultaneously, the suffocating atmosphere dissipated.

In that moment, the objects lunged at the Gray Reaper, launching a frenzied attack.

Seeing this, the Gray Reaper gracefully raised its hand with an annoyed expression and clenched its fist.

Kachunk.

Without any pomp, with just a simple gesture, the attic space crumpled, and the objects were squished together into a black mass.

The outcome was so anticlimactic it felt unfair after all that trouble dodging those scythes.