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The Golden Reapers were joyfully holding their hands up and smiling brightly atop a swiftly racing vehicle on the rails.

Their expressions were as cheerful as those spinning wildly inside a washing machine.

Well, judging by speed and intensity of rotation, they did look somewhat alike.

It must have started as a thrilling racing atmosphere, yet it somehow turned into a theme park vibe.

It felt like a high-speed carousel spinning around in one spot.

Whoever designed these rails must have been a madman.

Riding along the rails without doing anything, the crazy vehicle seemed to take turns on its own.

From rail to rail, it spiraled downwards into the depths, arriving at a very small circular track.

On the donut-shaped rail, I and the Mini Reapers kept spinning round and round endlessly.

It felt like being inside a centrifuge, continually rotating.

After a considerable time spinning, I began to understand the structure of these rails.

This madman’s vehicle was not a gentle cable car, but rather a spectacular mode of transport that jumped from rail to rail.

Looking up at the sky, countless rails were tangled like a spider’s web, and with most of them concludng in rings suspended in mid-air, my guess seemed accurate.

To go where we wanted, we had no choice but to jump and cross over using this vehicle.

Looking around, the Mini Reapers seemed to have entirely forgotten their racing thoughts, delighting in the surroundings.

I steadied myself as I noticed the end of the downward-sloping rail beckoning me to leap.

Perhaps this time I could win?

Taking advantage of the Mini Reapers being distracted, I jumped onto the ascending rail.

On the vehicle shooting upward at high speed, I conveyed my determination to the Mini Reapers.

“I’m going to be first!”

Looking back, I saw the surprised Mini Reapers frantically fiddling with the buttons on their vehicle to catch up to me.

It had taken me quite a while to find the buttons, and starting to look for them now would be too late!

Hehe.

This time, I’m going to win!

I raced up the rail, charging towards the distant destination.

*

The tattooed woman raised a potion bottle high in her hand to illuminate a silhouette that emanated an ominous vibe.

As she did so, her pure white face reflected light, shining brightly in the darkness.

Whatever was illuminated turned its head toward the woman and slowly began to approach.

Thud. Thud.

The sound of heavy footsteps echoed as a long silhouette emerged from the darkness.

Like a gigantic whale surfacing from deep water, the hazy figure grew clearer.

Long fingers clad in black gloves.

Thin arms and legs like chopsticks, accompanied by a torso.

And a giant, perfectly round head of a hungry ghost that seemed disproportionately large compared to the body.

Thin like a chopstick yet dressed in a well-fitted black coat, the ghost’s head resembled a well-mannered butler.

With a slow yet dignified motion, it bowed toward the Alchemist Sisters.

The woman frowned at the sight.

While the butler’s demeanor appeared to be impeccably respectful, it was unsettling considering the teeth she had seen in the darkness.

That was strange.

Yet, the woman had no choice but to set aside her thoughts and suspicions about the butler’s exaggerated actions.

The butler stretched its hand inward with a courteous gesture.

As if inviting them, blue flames began to blaze from all around, dispelling the darkness.

“Wow.”

Her younger sister exclaimed in awe at the sight unveiled before them.

A giant bookshelf was arranged around the sisters, and the books adorned with golden embellishments radiated an air of elegance.

And along the central aisle dividing the bookshelves, numerous butler hungry ghosts bowed in welcome.

They didn’t speak, but the atmosphere conveyed their sentiment perfectly.

As the woman stepped forward, following the slow-moving butler, her sister joyfully followed behind.

The place they arrived at was a dead-end blocked by a giant iron door.

A large hearth and a massive iron door.

The woman instantly understood why these structures were placed there.

“This is quite a well-made alchemist workshop. It’s following proper structure.”

Most likely, there would be a problem presented from the hearth to ignite the green flame and open the door.

Then, the surrounding books would start singing, and the butler guardians would stick to the walls, waiting to solve the problem.

As the sisters reached the giant hearth, the green flames burst into life, coloring their surroundings with its hue.

The undulating green.

Watching that green flame, the woman waited for the problem to appear.

Since she considered herself a decent alchemist, she felt fairly confident.

But no matter how long she waited, the problem did not appear.

The green flame grew larger, almost touching the ceiling, yet there was no other peculiar change.

“Sis, the color of the flame is fascinating. Is it barium since it’s green?”

Her younger sister, excitedly speaking of what she had learned recently, mentioned, yet the woman had no time to respond.

Clatter. Clatter.

And then, the books inside the shelves began shaking and fell one by one to the floor.

Simultaneously, the blue flames illuminating the space began to wane.

The green flames and shaking bookshelves made the space grow darker.

As an ominous atmosphere began to spread, her younger sister anxiously clung to the woman’s arm.

And when all the blue flames extinguished, the only thing remaining was the burning green fire in the hearth.

However, ominously, the green fire, though large and bright, failed to spread far, amplifying the uneasy vibe.

All the butler hungry ghosts disappeared into the shadows.

At that moment.

A white face fell from the sky toward her younger sister.

It was the grotesque face of a butler hungry ghost, exposing an unpleasant human set of teeth.

The woman hurriedly scooped her sister into her arms, rolling on the floor.

Thud. Thud.

The butler hungry ghost, with its face pressed to the ground, raised its head toward the sisters, making clicking sounds from its mouth.

Each time it did so, pieces of stone it had devoured crumbled and spilled out.

It was a bizarre and insane sight.

“Ugh… Sis’s arm!”

In the chaos, the woman’s arm was grievously bitten, severed cleanly at the elbow.

“Be quiet. I’m an ‘Object.’ I won’t die from this.”

Clenching her teeth, the woman grasped the remaining hand around the potion.

‘White flower resembling the sun, red stem soaked in blood, roots descending from the magical book.’

As the woman sprinkled the potion and fervently repeated her wish in her heart.

‘Alchemist’s Shield!’

White flames spread from thin air, surrounding the sisters in a circle.

The butler hungry ghost, charging with its mouth wide open, tried to bite through the shield of white flames but couldn’t penetrate it.

Instead, the fire that began to spread from its mouth started to engulf its entire body, causing it to writhe in agony on the floor.

“Run!”

Running towards the hearth, where the green flame still blazed, the woman scattered the potion in all directions.

Nothing happened with the potion, but seeing the remains of her burned, reduced-to-ash companion, the butler hungry ghosts cautiously approached, avoiding the potion.

Clack. Clack.

The sound of their teeth clashing resembled someone savoring their meal.

“Sis, what should we do?”

Her younger sister, gripping the woman’s bleeding arm tightly with both hands, was at a loss.

Though she was trying to stop the bleeding, a weak girl could hardly apply pressure effectively with her bare hands.

To others, it likely appeared as if she were squeezing out blood instead.

The woman thrust her remaining hand into the green flame and began to chant her wish.

‘Green flame that burns demons, sacrifice of the magical book, whispering leaves. Serpent that opens the dawn!’

From within the green flame, leaves the woman had grasped in one hand and her remaining hand began to turn to light particles and vanish.

Simultaneously, the green flame in the hearth surged upward, beginning to coil like a serpent.

The enormous and overwhelming sight made both the butler hungry ghosts and the younger sister look up towards the ceiling.

It resembled a serpent coiled on the ceiling, peering down, and then it exploded.

The wave of green flames completely incinerated the butler hungry ghosts, leaving no ashes behind.

With a face as pale as one who had lost all their blood, the woman urged her sister.

“Let’s hurry. Since it’s alchemy without the white flower, it’ll regenerate soon.”

As her younger sister glanced back in surprise at those words, grotesque white lumps began to float up.

Like a scene from a horror movie, white dough-like substances squirmed and clumped together in mid-air.

As the butler hungry ghost appeared several times more horrifying than when it charged, her sister helped her hurry towards the iron door.

“Sis, what do we do now?”

Her sister looked up at the seemingly firmly shut iron door.

With her sister half resting against her shoulder, the woman whispered softly.

“Just push. Looking at that butler ghost, I don’t think the door is functioning properly either.”

As soon as her sister slightly pushed the firmly shut iron door, it swung open.

The sisters slowly stepped into the darkness beyond the door.

Even the regenerated butler hungry ghosts were slowly crawling on all fours towards them.

But at that moment, the iron door slammed shut.

Grr. Grrr.

The butler hungry ghosts could only scratch the door with their fingers in frustration.

*

Me and the Mini Reapers made it across in a grand final race.

And I collapsed on the floor with a face full of regret like a hungry ghost.

“Mom is weak!”

“Weak!”

Sob sob.

I thought I had made a brilliant move!

But Mini Reapers’ driving skills were much better than I had predicted.

The difference was as vast as between a novice driver in training and an F1 racer.

While I made error after error and fell into the abyss, the Mini Reapers jumped at exact timings and surged ahead.

“Weak!”

The Black Reaper and the Golden Reaper smiled brightly, stabbing my heart.

Only the Blue Reaper approached my face lying sprawled on the ground and patted my cheek.

As expected, it was only the Blue Reaper!

Then, the Blue Reaper moved a little closer with a shy face, conveying its determination to me.

“Mom is weak…!”

The Blue Reaper, mimicking the expression of the Golden Reaper, teased me with a slightly embarrassed smile before flying off.

Not you too, Blue Reaper!

In my sorrow of betrayal, I heard something approaching.

Thud. Thud.

The heavy footsteps.

Shining through the darkness, the white ghost faces of the hungry objects began to appear.

Dressed up, the skinny-legged ghost face objects greeted us with polite gestures.

The object at the front approached us and bowed its head.

Hmmm.

It’s polite, but somehow I can feel this thing has gruesome teeth.

It even slightly smelled of blood.

I summoned a small white hungry ghost and commanded it.

“Bit!”

The mini hungry ghost that leaped from my arms immediately sank its teeth into the neck of the bowed butler ghost.

Then, the butler ghost writhed in pain and opened its mouth wide.

Hidden within its tightly closed mouth were grotesque teeth.

Ugh, disgusting.

Why on earth does the ghost have teeth?

I reached out towards the struggling butler ghost, amidst being bitten by the mini hungry ghost.

And carefully, I began to pluck out its teeth one by one from the empty air.

“Kiiieeeek!”

In that moment, a dreadful scream resonated from the mouth of the butler ghost, which had previously made no sound.