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As the cute Cloud Fish bared its sharp teeth and lunged at her, the blonde girl spewed flames from her mouth, incinerating the Cloud Fish.

The cloud fish, swept away by the flames that were significantly stronger than when she first became a vampire, could not withstand it for even a moment and turned to dust.

However, things didn’t look too good.

The blonde girl appeared exhausted, and the black agent offered little help in this situation.

They were merely leaning against a sturdy stone wall, holding their ground.

How much time had passed?

Engaged in a frantic battle against the incessantly attacking Cloud Fish, I had completely lost track of time.

One thing was clear—it had not been a short duration.

Above the weary blonde girl and the black agent, a Red Reaper was struggling against the Cloud Fish.

With a cheerful expression, she spun around, arms outstretched, causing flames to swirl and burn the surroundings.

Even as they closed in at high speed, trying to bite with their sharp teeth, the Red Reaper floated about, pushed by the wind generated by the Cloud Fish, unable to land a hit.

It was truly one-sided violence!

“I’m glad there’s a Red Reaper. She trapped me in a dream, but I never expected her to be this helpful,” the black agent commented, observing the blonde girl’s complexion and expressing slight agreement.

Huff. Huff.

The blonde girl, breathing heavily, had a flushed complexion.

The black agent watched her reddened skin with a worried look.

“Miss, are you feeling alright?”

The blonde girl gazed at her almost translucent hand and nodded in response.

“I’m okay. I actually feel lighter.”

Proving her words true, she efficiently burned down the attacking Cloud Fish with renewed vigor.

During the ongoing battle, the blonde girl’s gaze fixed on the entrance of the village as if nailed there.

“Miss?”

“Ahjussi. I feel something strange.”

The blonde girl was making an ambiguous expression that was hard to put into words.

It seemed like happiness, yet also confusion.

As a yellow light flickered in the fog, her feelings became further mixed.

Before long, an object with gray skin broke through the fog and arrived in the open lot.

It appeared harmless in shape but exuded an enormous presence—the Gray Reaper.

Doot bang doot bang.

The Gray Reaper walked out cutely with a confident stride and glanced around with a nonchalant expression, causing the Cloud Fish to shrink back.

The Cloud Fish moved sluggishly, as if gripped by fear.

And although they were fighting, all the Cloud Fish’s attention was diverted towards the Gray Reaper.

“Miss?”

The overwhelming presence pressed down like the weight of the air, but the black agent remained focused, looking at the blonde girl with concern.

However, the sensation the blonde girl felt was slightly different from just presence or pressure.

“Ahjussi, I feel weird.”

Nostalgia.

Familiarity.

These feelings crashed over her.

Why on earth?

And if I had to name that feeling…

“Uh… Mom?”

The unexpected word slipped from the blonde girl’s lips as she stared fixedly at me.

Mom?

Hearing that, I realized the blonde girl had partially transformed into a Mini Reaper.

No, wait, she might be a big Reaper since she was larger than a small girl.

She hadn’t felt this way last time I saw her—what caused such a sudden change?

There were several conceivable reasons.

Maybe it just took time to transform into a semi-Mini Reaper.

Perhaps it was connected to the orange moon.

Or it could be related to me giving her a heart.

Looking up at the sky, I noticed the orange moon was already partly darkened.

The blue moon seemed to have held out for a while, but it appeared feeble.

I extended my hands to summon the Mini Reapers.

“Hey, there’s a new youngest over there. Go help her!”

The Golden Reapers and Black Reapers charged towards the Red Reaper with excited expressions.

The Blue Reapers glancing around dispersed into the corners of the village.

As for the Indigo Reaper… she seemed to be just sleeping.

Not coming out.

Though they were high above in the sky, the Cloud Fish were at the mercy of the black agent, who transformed into a ballista and launched the Golden Reapers, completely helpless.

I left the handling of the Cloud Fish to the Mini Reapers and waddled over to the blonde girl.

Upon approaching, it was evident that the blonde girl was indeed taller than me.

Around 130 cm, maybe?

By the way, it’s fascinating that a human has turned into a Mini Reaper.

The faint connection we shared was growing stronger as we faced each other.

With a confused expression, the blonde girl suddenly dashed towards me and hugged me.

“Miss?”

The black agent’s shocked voice broke through the blonde girl’s sudden embrace.

“Ah, it’s warm.”

As the girl’s small voice echoed, I felt my firewood slowly flow into her being.

Firewood that had previously been scarce in the Mini Reaper’s body began to fill up.

Then she whispered softly, “I don’t know why, but I feel like I should call you ‘Mom.’ And it feels warm and happy.”

Well, that’s probably because most of the firewood that made up my body came from Yerin.

Mini Reapers rushed towards the blonde girl, sporting goofy expressions of joy at having a sister larger than themselves.

Leaving the blonde girl, who had transformed into a Mini Reaper cocoon, I looked up at the orange moon.

[Destroy the pearl underground.]

Hmm?

The conditions were simpler than I expected.

Was it because of the black liquid contamination?

As soon as I thought that I needed to find the location of the pearl, the ground split open, revealing a massive staircase rising right in front of me.

The entrance of the staircase, adorned with orange flames, felt as if the orange moon was guiding me.

*

Located in Gangnam District, Trinity Research Institute No. 1.

In the director’s office there, the director of the 1st Research Institute stared at the monitor with a serious expression.

“I never thought this would happen…”

It was a perfect plan.

A flawless plan to acquire the first substance that would save helpless humanity—Evolution Liquid—in large quantities!

However, looking at the images on the TV, it seemed the critical core of that plan was in jeopardy.

“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, blocking the interference of the ‘Gray Reaper’ was essential.

The production plan of the director of Research Institute No. 3 had failed due to the interference from the Gray Reaper.

Likely because the Gray Reaper, being an object itself, was wary of Evolution Liquid, humanity’s only countermeasure.

Afterwards, the director of Research Institute No. 3 attempted to physically eliminate the Gray Reaper but failed and was killed.

Thus, the director of the 1st Research Institute executed a plan targeting the orange moon, which the Gray Reaper would find challenging to detect, yet the situation was taking a turn for the worse.

The Cloud Fish residing in Odaesan had launched an attack on Sehee Research Institute.

This was a plan that could not afford to fail.

According to the notes from the director of Research Institute No. 3, there were a total of 7 types of colored moons.

Opportunities to mass-produce ‘Evolution Liquid’ were limited.

With a serious expression, the director continued to stare intently at the TV screen and monitor relayed by drones, then breathed a sigh of relief.

“Hah, what a relief.”

It seemed the Gray Reaper had not left for Odaesan despite the attack by the Cloud Whale.

Both the Sehee Research Institute shown on TV and the one recorded by the drone appeared completely calm.

The research institute didn’t look like a place where objects had escaped.

Seeing no sign of the security team searching for the Gray Reaper, the director finally felt at ease.

Only then did he lean comfortably back in his chair.

The TV camera, which had been showing the Sehee Research Institute, turned towards the sky.

[To the east of Sehee Research Institute, a beautiful river of Cloud Fish flows.]

[It’s a sight as beautiful as the Milky Way.]

The announcer’s voice was filled with admiration as he described the river of Cloud Fish sparkling like stars.

It strangely felt like the river of Cloud Fish was a landmark leading to Odaesan, but if the Gray Reaper wasn’t moving, it shouldn’t pose much of a problem.

Feeling lighthearted, the director turned his head and saw the twilight sky through the window.

He stood up and walked over to the window, gazing at the beautiful sky.

The clear sky with the Cloud Fish flying around seemed a bit unsettling.

Although the issue with Sehee Research Institute had been resolved, there was still an odd discomfort in a corner of his heart.

“Am I getting old? I feel strangely uneasy.”

Overcome by an inexplicable sense of anxiety, the director drew the curtains, blocking out the sky.

Yet above the covered director’s office, countless Cloud Fish twirled and kept their watch.

As if marking the presence of the director of the 1st Research Institute.

*

Splash, splash.

The sound of my footsteps echoed on the meticulously crafted stone staircase.

As I slowly descended the exotic-shaped stairs, flames ignited spontaneously from the hearths placed on either side.

With each careful step I took, a flame kindled.

Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, a massive temple emerged.

Even though it was underground, bright light radiated from the ceiling, adorned with a mosaic of illustrations.

It resembled the style of the mosaic from the artifact No. 0 shown by James.

However, the pictures were broken in many places, making it impossible to discern the content.

In the center of the open lot lay the completely shattered statue of a Black Reaper.

It was a peculiar presence without legs and elongated arms.

However, it had not been properly maintained, and its surface was peeling off, with its head and arms broken.

To someone unfamiliar, it would be hard to identify it as a Black Reaper.

While everything else was perfectly maintained, why only the painting and statue appeared this way?

Beyond the statue was a massive hearth that was out, and a sphere resembling a ‘pearl’ lay beside it.

Seeing that sphere, I recalled something that the Black Reaper had said oddly.

[Cut off the human tongue and set your whole body on fire.]