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The loud sound of the TV, bustling with various news, and the fluffy blanket enveloping my body.

It was the usual scenery of the isolation room, filled with warm sensations.

The air in the isolation room was slightly warmer than usual, as if a campfire were burning, adding a gentle heat to it.

Om nom nom.

I was comfortably lying on the bed in the isolation room, munching on roasted marshmallows.

On the table beside the bed hung a hungry ghost, limbs bound like a captured deer, beneath which a cheerful Red Reaper was puffing out flames.

“Mom!”

The Red Reaper, who was roasting the ghost’s back, flashed a grin and offered me a piece of the roasted ghost.

At first, the Red Reaper spent a lot of time playing with the blonde girl, but recently, he had been hanging out with me more.

It seemed that with the blonde girl and Black Agent not around often, he was getting bored.

The blonde girl and Black Agent had made a candy house in the garden and had practically settled themselves there like residents of the garden.

Om nom nom.

The Red Reaper seemed joyfully enchanted by my eating, already cooking another piece of the ghost to feed me with.

With a huge smile, he watched me eat while he nibbled on his own roasted marshmallow.

And as soon as I finished my marshmallow, with a joyful expression, he began cooking the ghost’s back again.

While eating roasted marshmallows and watching TV, a story about a recent incident was streaming.

It was a broadcast about the cult known as “Eye Church,” which had become a global issue and mysteriously disappeared.

[“The ‘Eye Church’ has been revealed to have a fascinating feature of having no mental pollution readings, despite being a cult incident caused by an object.”]

[However, many victims of this cult were often subjected to severe violence, rendering them unable to lead normal lives.]

I was particularly surprised to see the face of the person known as the ‘leader’ of the Eye Church.

The giant, who had been joyfully brawling in the United States, was the leader of the Eye Church?!

And it turned out that the seemingly unrelated events—the ‘Attached Human Rescue of the Blue Reaper’ and the ‘Golden Reaper Incident in the U.S.’—were actually the same event.

What a curious correlation!

[Amidst the many countries around the world suffering from victims, it’s fortunate that in our country, mental issues aren’t relatively prominent.]

Anyway, thanks to the Blue Reaper going to rescue them, Korean victims had no significant mental problems.

It must be because of the treatment given by the Blue Reaper.

Though the Blue Reaper’s treatment is clumsy, there were several genuinely outstanding aspects.

First, it was excellent at relieving pain.

Being from the Blue Moon, where mental pollution is the major, with just one . [Please don't hurt.] one could feel no scorching pains at all.

Secondly, it was remarkable at eliminating mental issues altogether.

Again, this is probably related to mental pollution.

The Blue Reaper could transform someone riddled with anxiety or fear into someone as carefree as the Golden Reaper.

Such necessary treatment for the victims of this cult must have been the specialty of the Blue Reaper, resulting in good outcomes.

As the news segment on the aftermath and handling of the cult concluded and switched to commercials, I started flicking the channels with the remote.

Click click.

While turning the channel, I felt a slight vibration from under the bed.

It was the noise and vibration caused by the construction of the “Water Park” that Sehee was working on.

Thanks to the object-standard isolation room, which effectively blocks sound and vibration, it wasn’t overly bothersome.

By the way, a theme park with Mini Reapers…

If it opens, it’ll probably make quite a bit of money.

If it opens.

After all, my kids are adorable!

The real question is whether selling tickets to the general public will be allowed; the association will surely never give its approval.

Maybe that’s why these days, the figure of Sehee Research Institute, buried in debt, keeps flashing before my eyes.

And then I became curious about how angry Seoah would be when that time comes.

I bet Sehee might just run away for about a month!

It felt like a funny situation was about to unfold, and I couldn’t help but smile.

Hehe.

*

The Object Association building located in Gangnam, basking under the bright sun.

Being a newly built building, the sleek and clean interior was indeed a nice view, with radiant sunlight pouring in.

Through such a corridor, an unusual human was slowly passing by.

Murmur murmur.

A person wearing a giant helmet was strolling calmly inside the Object Association building, causing the surrounding employees to look on with strange expressions as they murmured.

Written in large letters atop the mental pollution-blocking helmet was ‘James.’

It had several times higher performance than the helmets used in the Object Association.

But the price was also several times higher.

“What on earth is this fuss about?”

One voice commented as it probed into the helmet, but the researcher wearing it ignored it and hurried to his office.

“Whew.”

Upon arriving at his office, the researcher took out the mental pollution measurement device from his bag and placed it on his desk, flipping the switch.

Unlike the mental pollution measurement device used by the association, this latest model displayed not only the presence of mental pollution but also its level.

Beep.

How long did he wait? The device emitted a small warning sound.

On checking, the analog needle attached to the device had stretched into the red zone.

‘Mental Pollution Index, Danger. It’s still okay.’

The helmet the researcher was wearing was designed to withstand up to the red zone of the meter.

After noting today’s pollution level in the [Office Mental Pollution Level Records] he had started recording a little while ago, he began preparing for work.

Suddenly, something popped out behind the seated researcher.

Above the bookshelf stuffed with numerous books, golden antennae wiggled gently.

It was the Golden Reaper.

The Golden Reaper, tilting its head, was gazing curiously at the fascinating tools on the researcher’s desk.

Stealthily.

Like playing hide-and-seek, the Golden Reaper slowly began approaching the researcher’s desk.

At the same time, the measurement device’s reading began to rise slowly.

Crossing into the red zone, it slowly approached the black zone.

Surpassing the danger zone and moving to the very dangerous zone.

Did it sense something odd?

The researcher felt a gaze and turned around, but the Golden Reaper had quickly hidden itself back in the bookshelf.

Hehe.

The jovial-looking Golden Reaper began to slyly walk towards the researcher’s desk again as the researcher turned back.

As the Golden Reaper climbed onto the desk, the measurement device’s reading began to indicate ‘Very Dangerous.’

Simultaneously, the glass in front of the helmet began to turn red.

Having exceeded the helmet’s protection limit, it indicated a signal to flee quickly.

“!”

The researcher jumped up from his chair in shock, checking the detector.

The needle had reached the black zone as if to pierce through the detector.

And there was the Golden Reaper fiddling with the detector, seemingly intrigued by something.

The researcher, rising from his seat and staring at himself, saw the Golden Reaper smiling brightly, extending both hands toward him.

The smiling face and pose of the Golden Reaper seemed to say, “Hug me!”

Given the sudden red-tinted view and the detector needle showing ‘Very Dangerous,’ the researcher’s mind was in utter chaos.

Isn’t the Golden Reaper isolated in Sehee Research Institute?

Why is it suddenly appearing here?

I don’t think there were any reports about the Golden Reaper’s mental pollution, were there?

‘Still, it’s adorable, like the inspector said. I found it odd that the Grey Reaper’s inspection report suddenly mentioned the ‘Golden Reaper,’ but if it’s this cute, it’s usable…’

Not usable!

It’s mental pollution!

As a splitting headache rushed over him, the researcher broke the window and fled outside.

Startled by the human’s dangerous sudden action, the Golden Reaper dashed to the window, looking worriedly down outside.

In the eyes of the Golden Reaper, the researcher who jumped from the third floor was seen limping away.

The human looked hurt.

The Golden Reaper gazed down, glumly frowning at the human who had done something so risky it could have been deadly.

*

Endless silence.

The sound felt muted as if I had stepped into a soundproof room.

The utter lack of sound around created an unpleasant sensation, causing me to involuntarily open my eyes.

Upon opening my eyes, I found myself in a completely unfamiliar place.

Something blackened.

And a world made of gray and light rings.

A world with an endless gray sky.

There wasn’t a single cloud, yet the sky was neither blue nor black.

Instead, numerous light rings were drawn across the gray sky.

The ground was also dyed in an endless gray, blurring the borders between horizon and sky.

And there were no distinctions between my gray body and the ground.

A massive black entity stood still on that gray earth.

Within those empty eye sockets, there was a single eye made of black rings.

“…”

Yet, it was already dead, like a corpse seen from inside the black sphere.

As I continued to stare at the black entity, an odd feeling began to creep in.

It was as if I might be pulled in.

As I attempted to discern this strange sensation, I felt someone pinching my cheek.

“Reaper. Wake up quickly!”

As Yerin’s voice echoed, I woke up from my slumber.

*

On opening my eyes, I found myself nestled in Yerin’s embrace.

Yes, I had definitely fallen asleep while watching TV cradled in Yerin’s arms because she had started giving me a massage.

When she pressed down on my limbs, it strangely felt good, causing sleepiness to wash over me.

“There’s someone who insists they must see the Reaper. It’s a death row inmate from the research institute who came recently!”

Following Yerin’s pointing finger, I turned my gaze to see a familiar object.

And behind that object, a girl peered out timidly.

An object and a human—a curious combination.

The round, stitched-together doll head I had often seen in the theme park.

It seemed that there was still one remaining from the theme park’s accessories.

As soon as our eyes met, the doll head began to speak strange words.

[Are you an alchemist?]

Though it was neither Korean nor any language from Earth, it was uttering words I could strangely comprehend.