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The black reapers, after crying their hearts out, seemingly got all their sobbing out of the way and were now rolling around me with cheerful smiles.

They rolled around, caught sight of my face, and with a burst of determination, shouted, “Mom!” before continuing their rolling adventure.

As they became accustomed to rolling around me, their clinginess intensified.

They tugged at my hair, stuck to my cheeks, and even tried to nibble on my antennae, creating quite the ruckus.

It felt like there were more golden reapers showing up in different colors.

I picked up one of the rolling black reapers and held it in my hand; its mouth opened wide as it smiled at me.

It looked just like a golden reaper, but there were definitely some differences.

These little ones had sharp teeth.

As I poked my finger inside its mouth to take a look, I found a row of small, cute shark teeth sprouting.

The black reaper, accidentally biting my finger, tilted its head in confusion as if to say, “What’s this?” and then licked my finger with its tiny tongue.

Maybe because its tongue was small, it felt just ticklish.

Seeing the black reapers giggle around me, I stood up and communicated my intention.

“Let’s go meet the other mini reapers!”

At once, the black reapers sprang to their feet.

Maybe there were as many of them as the golden reapers, but their movements were hefty and energetic.

With a bounce, we were off!

As I took the lead, they started to follow me, mimicking my walk.

With a jump towards the boundary of the black sphere!

Landing softly on the marshmallow floor, I turned around to see the black reapers cascading down from the black sphere like water flowing out.

They splashed onto the marshmallow floor like droplets, rolling and spreading into the mini reaper garden.

The golden reapers, who had been waiting for me to appear, rushed towards the newly grown ones with bright smiles.

Thus began the lively reaper party.

From all directions, mini reapers bounced around, holding hands and hopping about!

It was double the commotion, as it seemed the golden reapers had doubled too.

In the center of the party, a transparent flamingo I’d never seen before was flame-grilled instead of a campfire, while a marshmallow hungry ghost and jelly pig were being nibbled on in the midst of the reapers.

Lying beside the warm flamingo bonfire, I looked up at the sky while tearing off bits of the hungry ghost.

What on earth did this flamingo do to deserve being turned into a bonfire by the dedicated golden reaper?

Lost in various thoughts, I noticed the black sphere still hovering above us.

While I had successfully brought out all the black reapers from within, there still lay a poorly decomposed corpse sprawled inside.

Would cleaning up the corpse make that sphere disappear?

That thought briefly crossed my mind, but I quickly realized I didn’t really care.

I could just think of it as the ‘Tapioca Pearl Sun’ of the mini reaper garden, which has its own charm.

It was probably getting close to the time when Yerin would wake up, so I should head back and have some pudding.

I waved goodbye to the mini reapers for a brief farewell.

The golden and black reapers joyfully waved back at me.

Indeed, mini reapers seem to prefer smiling over crying.

—

Next to the completely collapsed Songpa District, located the bustling Gangnam District.

Once overshadowed by the sinkhole filled with hungry ghosts and numerous objects, Gangnam had now revealed itself as a vibrant, busy center of Seoul.

On the outskirts of this lively Gangnam stood the ‘Trinity Research Institute No. 1,’ occupying a large research complex all by itself.

With wide roads and ample parking to suit its expansive grounds, the institute gave off an eerily serene and secretive vibe.

Perhaps due to its strict prohibition on outsiders, the lively city and tranquil research facility felt worlds apart.

Tall walls further enhanced the stark contrast between the city and the research grounds.

In that quiet, isolated space deep inside Trinity Research Institute No. 1, secret experiments were underway.

It was an experiment concerning the ‘black liquid’ created by Trinity Research Institute No. 3.

Renowned for destroying Gwanak-gu and turning people into monsters, this forbidden liquid didn’t seem to bother the research institute’s director.

“Fascinating. Truly an impressive substance,” the director said.

On the screen before him, a jewel-like armadillo was screaming in pain while trapped in the black slime.

As it screamed and eventually melted away, much like flesh dissolving in hydrochloric acid, the deputy director frowned and commented.

“But I don’t quite get why this is called ‘Evolution Liquid.'”

Standing alongside the institute director and watching the same screen, the deputy director raised his concerns.

“Shouldn’t this be regarded as poison affecting objects instead?”

The screen displayed yet another experimental scene.

A ‘black jewel armadillo,’ seemingly among the few survivors, was bursting apart, riddled by bullets from a pistol.

Although its wounds healed in an instant, it didn’t look as sturdy as before, especially not for something that wouldn’t budge even under heavy caliber fire.

“From what I see, it induces nearly 90% certainty of total destruction of objects, and those that survive seem to degenerate instead,” the deputy director continued.

The institute director nodded at the deputy’s analysis.

“That’s why it’s so intriguing. A liquid capable of killing objects that humanity cannot even touch! This could revolutionize the entire policy surrounding objects by 180 degrees!”

Just then, on the screen, the armadillo lay lifeless.

It could no longer regenerate after being shot by the bullet.

“Moreover, even the surviving entities degenerate physically. The finite regeneration pales in comparison to the resilience required to withstand modern weaponry.”

The director spoke in an animated tone, envisioning a future where killing all objects would be possible.

However, the deputy director wore a slightly worried expression.

“But there’s still so much we don’t know about this ‘Evolution Liquid,’ so a lot more research is needed.”

“Right. Research is necessary; it absolutely is. This liquid will serve as a milestone leading us to immortality.”

“Huh?”

The deputy director was taken aback by the director’s unfamiliar statement.

“Immortality?”

“You’re about to learn something vital. The ‘Evolution Liquid’ has another power that can revive the dead.”

From the director’s ominous expression, the deputy director felt an unsettling sense of foreboding.

—

Warm and plush.

James’ private jet was comfortable and nice, but nothing beats Sehee Research Institute.

Though I returned to Sehee Research Institute a few days ago, it remained that same easy, comforting place.

Lying in my isolation room furnished within Sehee Research Institute, I felt like I had gone to heaven.

Surrounding me were golden and black reapers resting beside me on the bed, mirroring my position.

In fact, this was the first outing for the black reapers outside the garden.

Being homebodies that act similar to golden reapers, they weren’t fond of leaving the gardens, which made dragging them out quite challenging.

On the table, a large container of ‘Gray Reaper Pudding’ sat, where golden and black reapers were gnawing at the pudding like ants.

[There are reports of parts of Siberia being designated as restricted areas by Russia.]

The TV playing in the background was discussing news about Russia.

It detailed how access to certain isolated regions where object management was compromised was now prohibited.

As far as I knew, those troublesome objects were rounded up and shoved into Siberia, so this was likely related to those events.

Lying in this warm bed and watching TV, a booming voice echoed through the room.

“Reaper! Reaper! Reaper! Reaper! I’m back!”

Just as I got off James’ private jet, Yerin, who had headed to the hospital, was finally returning.

It took longer than expected—did she catch some illness?

“Hi, golden reaper!”

Yerin, bursting through the isolation room door, greeted me and the golden reaper with a bright smile.

As feelings of joy and happiness poured in, the golden reapers beamed back at Yerin.

“!”

The moment Yerin spotted the black reapers playing with the golden ones, she was startled but quickly broke into another smile and waved.

“Wow, black reaper! Hello, black reaper!”

But the black reapers didn’t welcome her the way the golden ones did.

Instead, they bared their sharp teeth and began glaring fiercely.

Caught off guard by the silently growling black reapers, Yerin took a step back, unsure of what to do.

The golden reapers showed tremendous surprise at the black reapers’ behavior and chastised them, as if to say it was wrong.

The black reapers, on the verge of pouncing and biting, turned to me with sad, pleading faces after being scolded by the golden reapers.

But clearly, it wouldn’t do to attack Yerin, so I shook my head with a stern expression.

Squeak!

At that, the black reapers made a pitiful sound like a baby bird crying and melted away into gooey slimes.

Ignoring the sorrowful black reapers, I thought that they could make sounds after all; something I couldn’t do…

Yerin, shocked as if threatened by the mini reapers, entered the isolation room cautiously and reached for the melted black reapers, but couldn’t touch them.

It was as if my hands were magnets repelling against each other; the closer Yerin’s hand got, the more the forms shaped away ensuring she couldn’t reach them.

“Aww, reaper. They hate me…”

Yerin’s sad emotions spread throughout the isolation room.

It sounded like the collective sorrow of a hundred families of victims from a bomb terror incident.

How wronged must one feel to be this sorrowful?

Yerin, being an emotionally rich human, should be liked by any mini reaper; so why were they rejecting her?

I lifted one of the black reapers and conveyed my intent.

“Why do you dislike her so much?”

The black reaper tilted its head and transmitted its feelings back.

“Betrayer!”

The response felt ominous, contrasting sharply with its cheerful demeanor.