---

The tattooed woman stood on the rooftop of a building overlooking the park entrance, gazing down below.

Armed association personnel were clustered in groups of three, controlling the entire park.

This was a far cry from the usual scenes where one or two staff members were dispatched to carelessly repeat “Please do not enter.”

Moreover, the armament set up to prevent civilians from entering the dangerous object area looked a bit menacing.

I began to wonder just how dangerous that park was to warrant such security.

“Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the association guard like that before.”

My younger sister, watching beside me, looked awe-struck as if she had stumbled upon something extraordinary.

Upon hearing her voice, I frowned a bit and replied, “As I said, it could be really dangerous. How about waiting at home?”

“Absolutely not!”

My sister resolutely refused with a stern expression.

I opened my mouth to counter her, but no words came out, and I closed it again.

There was no helping it.

My encounter with my sister had been special from the start, so it felt odd to push too hard.

She seemed fine, but surely that couldn’t be the case….

“Then you must follow closely behind me. Pay attention to my orders.”

“Okay.”

Looking at my sister’s cheerful smile, I grabbed her hand and we began to walk slowly toward the park.

*

At the temporary camp set up by the Object Association in the park that had once seen terrible terror incidents.

Inside the camp, an association employee, leaning on crutches and limping, was reviewing documents again.

It was a notice from the association ordering all personnel, including those on leave, to head to the park.

Thus, an association researcher, who had been injured during the incident involving the Golden Reaper and was on leave, was also being dragged back into action.

“They’ve poured all available personnel into nearby security. It’s overly excessive considering there were no casualties.”

This association’s response was filled with oddities.

They ignored mental contamination suspicions within the association building, yet they deployed so many people for an incident that didn’t result in any casualties?

Access to the vicinity of the critical object was strictly prohibited.

Only authorized personnel could approach the object, leaving me in the dark about the current investigation status.

Surely, a research team had stormed in a few hours ago, but there hadn’t been a peep since.

The association employee felt frustrated with the situation.

Capable workers either left or were fired, leaving only those who were adequately incompetent.

The diligent workers were stuck in the lower ranks, while the greedy took the higher positions.

I had believed that quietly maintaining my position would lead to the association’s normalization, but that wasn’t the case.

Now I could see.

There were forces deliberately trying to ruin the association.

But I couldn’t discern the reason or objective, making it hard to predict who would engage in such mischief.

[This is team 2 of Block A of the park. We are starting the shift.]

[Confirmed.]

As these thoughts swirled through my mind, a radio cry of changing shifts echoed in my ears.

I recorded the message while pushing aside my thoughts and began focusing on my duties.

*

Stealthily, the tattooed woman and her sister moved quietly, their footsteps muted as they slowly advanced.

The Object Association’s strict security, which was hard for ordinary folks to breach, seemed surprisingly easy for the woman to navigate through.

Playing with their joined hands, her sister whispered curiously, “Sis, why didn’t you tell me about such an amazing thing?”

“Uh?”

“This invisibility powder. How could you keep such a fun thing to yourself?”

The two of them walked along the park’s pathways, their hands tightly clasped, seemingly invisible to the eyes of passersby.

“It’s not very useful powder. It’s only handy when relying solely on visibility for security like now.”

The woman pointed to an object lingering near the memorial, continuing, “Look at that guardian; it’s staring right at us.”

Where she pointed, a muscular white statue stood fixedly gazing ahead.

It seemed completely unaffected by the invisibility.

“Yuck. That’s creepy.”

Her sister complained about the statue’s muscular appearance and the human-like ears sticking out beside its head.

“I think your guardian is cuter.”

Her sister said while gently patting the colorful head of the orb-like creature the woman held.

A cute, ‘thump-thump’ sound echoed from the hard orb’s head.

Watching the laughter of the orb as it flailed its short arms, the girl began to tenderly stroke its surface.

“Your orb is cute, the ones from the Sehee Research Institute look gloomy, and that muscular one looks gross.”

As she murmured this, the sisters stood before a pitch-black hole.

The statues guarding the underground entrance parted as the sisters approached.

However, the statues that stepped aside bowed their heads, their wide eyes staring intensely at the sisters.

The proximity and their bulging eyes made the younger sister feel somewhat intimidated.

She tried to look away and ignore it, but when her gaze accidentally met one of the statues—

Grin.

The statue revealed its densely packed and grotesque teeth and smiled.

Startled, the younger sister covered her mouth with her hand, stifling a scream.

If her sister hadn’t said to never make a loud noise, she might’ve screamed at the top of her lungs.

“Sis, sis, they’re weird.”

Tears filled her eyes from fright as she urgently called for her sister.

Checking if the area beyond the entrance was safe, her sister glanced at the statues, but they simply stood there, gazing at the sisters as if nothing was amiss.

However, the woman didn’t let her sister’s words slide.

“What was so strange?”

“Um… well, those human-like teeth, they’re so grotesquely sticking out, and there are so many of them….”

“!”

Hearing her sister stutter through a panicked description, the woman hugged her sister tightly and jumped straight into the hole.

As the darkness with texture enveloped their bodies, an eerie sound echoed from above.

Thud.

It was the sound of something trying to bite down unsuccessfully, its teeth clashing together loudly.

*

While I cheered towards the sunlight in the sky, the beam ultimately didn’t make it out.

Whine.

No matter how much I asked how it worked, the Golden Reaper merely giggled oddly in response.

‘Tsun!’

‘Mom!’

‘Beam!’

I had no idea.

Just how does one fire a beam?

As thoughts turned to questioning the difficult conditions required for the orb’s destruction, the Cloud Whale soon reached its destination.

The presence of an object was palpable.

From the Cloud Whale, looking below, I could see an entrance engulfed in endless darkness, gaping to the sky.

I leaped down toward the abyss alongside the Mini Reapers.

The Golden Reapers appeared to enjoy gliding through the clouds, flailing their limbs like they were swimming.

Falling from that great height, we dove swiftly into the entrance.

As we passed through the darkness and landed on solid ground, a lightless dark cave awaited us.

Though the lack of light was inconvenient, I let out a glow from my eyes while the Blue Reaper extended a string in the air.

[Please drive away the darkness with starlight.]

As the water-made string shattered, soft mist began to cling to our bodies like the faint lights of nebulas scattered throughout the universe.

The water particles shimmering like starlight began to illuminate the surroundings.

Together with the starlight, we started to walk through the cave.

Thud thud.

As I led the way, the Mini Reapers followed behind me, flailing their limbs in the same pose with delight.

Their behavior resembled that of little ducklings, which made it a bit amusing.

When we reached the end of the cave, a strangely shaped city welcomed us.

The city, cloaked in darkness, was a chaotic mixture of familiar and unfamiliar sights.

The scene of Yongsan District remained entrenched in my memory.

And the unfamiliar city made from white marble.

I strolled through the city, leading the Mini Reapers.

From the snack shops I used to visit during childhood, to various buildings around, it was all just remnants lingering in my memories.

It felt as if someone had replicated my memories exactly.

It was a sight that could no longer be found even if I visited Yongsan District now.

‘Mom, are you okay?’

The Golden Reaper seated on my shoulder patted my cheek with concern.

‘I’m fine.’

Conveying that reassurance, I began to slowly roam the streets.

Thud thud.

As I ambled through memories, something white caught my eye from a distance, watching us.

It was a grotesque statue that closely resembled an orb.

The statue followed us at a respectful distance, glaring at us with an unsettling expression.

At first glance, it seemed quite similar to an orb, but I wanted to take a closer look.

Attempting to get a better view, I approached slowly, but the statue distanced itself and ran away.

Was it trying to maintain a certain distance?

Using ghosting and time acceleration, I swiftly caught up and observed it just inches from my face.

Upon closer inspection, the statue was indeed grotesquely designed.

White skin like an orb.

Realistic yet disturbing muscles.

A head that resembled an orb’s but appeared almost paltry.

And the human ear attached was the cherry on top of the bizarre cake.

Strangely, comparing it to an orb I summoned didn’t give me the feeling that they resembled each other much at all.

By the way, that statue smelled like blood.

Though there were no bloodstains, it emitted a strong scent as if it had just disassembled a human.

‘Bad object!’

The Mini Reapers glared at it with fierce expressions, surrounding it.

A bad object must be exterminated.

Since I was at it, I decided to satisfy a curiosity that suddenly popped into my mind.

Could a marshmallow orb defeat that statue that looked as hard as stone?

I summoned a large white hungry ghost and commanded it to attack the statue.

Then, the white hungry ghost began to advance slowly towards the statue, wearing its usual aggrieved expression.

The Mini Reapers clapped excitedly, forming a circle around it, creating an impromptu colosseum.

Unlike the calm orb, the statue’s face twisted in anger, deep frown lines carving into its features.

Then the statue kicked the ground and leaped.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

With each powerful punch from the statue landing on the hungry ghost, a heavy sound echoed through the air.

Yet the statue’s fist only vibrated against the plump orb’s jaw.

The orb’s marshmallowy body absorbed the incoming blows with unexpected elasticity.

Looking at the attacking statue, the orb then leaped, as if deciding it didn’t even need to see anymore, and crashed into the statue.

The mighty orb launching the statue was a sight to behold.

‘Orb headbutt!’

The Golden Reapers were particularly excited, flapping their arms in the air.

And as the white hungry ghost opened its mouth wide, it began to spew out Mini Reapers from within.

The Mini Reapers that rolled out of its maw, eager and wiggly, rushed towards the fallen statue with fervor.

Even though they were flung off repeatedly, relentless Mini Reapers clung persistently, gnawing furiously at the statue’s surface.

The statue’s skin, originally resembling stone, began to stretch and yield under the incessant attack, much like human skin.

The battle ended rather anticlimactically.

Wheeze.

The statue, caught in the grip of the hungry ghost with no teeth, flailed in agony.

That a marshmallow could even bite into the statue was astonishing, but what surprised me more was the statue’s appearance.

When its neck suddenly elongated, it was eerie enough to make me gasp.

And when it exposed jagged human teeth from within, I was genuinely startled.

That was no orb!

It was a repulsive visual that almost made me accidentally yelp.

Calming myself from the shock, I glanced back at the Mini Reapers to see if they were startled, but they had no notable reactions.

‘Orb is tough!’

It seemed the Mini Reapers had no problem with appearances; they were simply cheering for the orb.

*

In a room where a faint light streamed down from the ceiling, a large bed lay.

On a small table beside the bed, many small, round objects resembling white orbs were piled up.

These little orbs had tiny legs sprouting from them, with short tails and antennae protruding out.

It was a trinket made to resemble a white orb.

One of them gradually cracked and then shattered.

Surely, they must have been cherished items, provided with soft cushions, but the girl lying on the bed lay completely still.

Covered by a blanket like someone had tucked her in, the girl with blue hair was completely dust-covered.

She lay there peacefully, not breathing, as if she were dead.