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Free City Alliance, Lawless Zone.

Even with the cold rain falling, the heat of melted concrete felt scorching against the skin revealed through Cheong’s thick mask.

The man leading a pack of scavengers didn’t look human, no matter how you squinted.

With all those body modification objects attached, he must be human, but he looked more like a robot with hardly any human skin or even artificial skin.

Thick armor that looked fit for a tank.

A heavyweight weapon that seemed far too large for a human to carry.

A laser cannon capable of melting concrete.

He was truly a monster whose entire body had been modified into a weapon.

Yet from his artificial eyes, a faint red light seeped out.

An ominous shade of red.

Evidence of mania.

This man clearly showcased the fate of a mercenary who had overused objects.

The monstrous man spoke to Cheong’s group.

“I only want two things.”

The scavenger leader, ‘Tank’, had an attitude as if the victory was already in his pocket.

Considering the numbers and the level of equipment, it indeed looked like Cheong’s group had no chance.

But Cheong’s group still held onto hope, pretending to listen to the scavenger while searching for an escape route.

Cheong was hiding behind the man, scanning the monster’s object data with a small terminal.

(Do you think there’s a weak spot worth aiming for?)

The pure human ‘Cheong’ heard the monster’s demand for the cargo they were transporting, while the woman holding the sniper rifle quietly asked him.

(There’s just one spot worth targeting.)

Cheong pointed at ‘Tank’s’ heart.

Thud. Thud.

A heavy vibration shook the ground.

In the center of ‘Tank’s’ chest, instead of a heart, a machine pulsating with a red light like a furnace shone brightly.

(That machine was made from the object ‘Fire-Breathing Snake’ that appeared two years ago, and it’s supposed to be very unstable.)

Cheong whispered softly.

(But since it survived for two years, we should assume it was stabilized by some means. The best course is to trigger that device to explode.)

However, the device attached to his heart was protected by extremely thick armor, making it no easy task.

It seemed impossible even with the man’s shotgun or machine gun, let alone the woman’s sniper rifle.

“Now, make your choice!”

‘Tank’ shouted, raising the barrel of his hefty laser cannon.

It was truly a moment of decision.

Cheong’s group exchanged glances one last time.

They were highly likely to die, but they vowed to make one last stand as they locked eyes.

However, their resolve quickly faded as the situation began to change drastically.

The device attached to the monster’s heart began to emit an increasingly intense red light, soon bursting forth in streams of high-temperature flames.

Just like the laser cannon melted concrete, the flames originating from the heart started to incinerate ‘Tank’s’ body.

Neither the complex armor made from objects nor the heat exchangers were of any use.

“W-why!”

Even while its entire body was melting in agony, the monster struggled desperately to survive.

Using its massive mechanical hand, it tried to tear off the device attached to its heart, but it kept slipping away, making it impossible to remove.

Moreover, as if the fire had a life of its own, it was uncomfortably roasting ‘Tank’s’ hands and face first.

“No…no!”

In those moments of writhing in pain, the monster dissolved into nothing but shimmering molten metal.

Again?

Cheong recalled a similar scene from the previous occasion.

The bizarre and mystical sight of shotguns dancing in the sky.

But this time, experiencing it for the second time helped Cheong quickly regain his senses.

The girl swiftly grabbed the hands of her companions and shouted.

“Let’s get out of here!”

Now was the chance, as the scavengers remained utterly bewildered by this strange situation.

Cheong began to lead his very flustered group, quickly fleeing the scene.

Survival was of utmost importance, so they no longer hesitated and ran straight ahead.

*

Deep in the Mini Reaper Garden, Snowfield.

I was still working on restoring the Ice Palace there.

Sometimes munching on pudding, rolling around, and occasionally making the palace— it was a leisurely endeavor.

At first, I surely had been quite diligent, but these days, I seemed to have settled into a slow pace.

Suddenly, a group of Golden Reapers approached, radiating their intentions.

“Help my little brother!”

“I need help!”

“My weak brother!”

Then the Golden Reapers stopped their work and began rushing toward somewhere in a swarm.

Of course, I, the poor soul in forced labor, had no choice but to follow along.

Upon arriving at Marshmallow Plains, I found many Blue Reapers gathered together.

From just a rough estimate, there were at least 1,000 of them.

I remembered that there were only ten Blue Reapers, so at least 990 of them must be doll outfits.

In fact, I didn’t even need to count. It was easy to distinguish the fake Blue Reapers.

The counterfeit Blue Reapers looked just like Golden Reapers at first glance.

The fake Blue Reapers were throwing hats like boomerangs or engaging in wild windmill-like motions while they played.

Moreover, some Golden Reapers, uncomfortable in their water-made dresses, were stripping them off.

Each time, the genuinely angry real Blue Reaper would show up and whack the Golden Reapers on the head with their staff.

Watching the Golden Reapers sulking and sheepishly putting their clothes back on was rather amusing.

While observing the struggling children in discomfort, a trial struck me too.

A gigantic Blue Reaper doll outfit appeared right in front of me, large enough for me to wear.

“Ugh.”

The Blue Reapers looked at me with wide, sparkling eyes, pleading for me to wear it.

Caught in the situation where the Golden Reapers were breaking the Ice Palace.

“This time only.”

With the combination of those two factors, I reluctantly put on the Blue Reaper doll outfit while grumbling.

Once I donned the doll outfit, a thousand Blue Reapers began to form a circle around me.

Then, one Blue Reaper started stitching a massive string in the sky.

[The Largest Mother Golem in the World!]

[Golem!]

Before I knew it, a gigantic water golem, towering at around 3 meters, materialized in the center of the Blue Reapers.

Following it, countless strings from the Blue Reapers continued.

[Great Mother!]

[Really Great Mother!]

[Big!]

Each string contained a wish for the water golem to grow larger.

“Oh, no way?”

Upon acquiring the Blue Giant, it seemed the Blue Reapers tried gathering to create a massive golem every time.

It appeared they were trying to utilize the Golden Reapers’ power to make a golem as big as the Blue Giant.

Well then, I couldn’t just stand by.

I piled up firewood and stitched a string of my own.

[Grow!]

As soon as my string burst forth, the water golem immediately transformed to match the size of the Blue Giant.

“Wow!”

“Mom is strong!”

Then, a sea of applause erupted as numerous Blue Reapers dashed toward me.

Seeing the Blue Reapers, who usually kept their distance, swarm around me was a unique feeling.

And among the Blue Reapers clinging to me, some real Blue Reapers were slyly hugging me.

With their incredibly shy expressions, they clung to me as if pretending to be fake Blue Reapers, which was quite adorable.

*

Mini Reaper Garden, Marshmallow Plains.

The most important object in Marshmallow Plains was probably the White Hungry Ghost.

The White Hungry Ghosts always looked like they were lying back in a comfortable state, but they actually had more roles than you’d think.

They served as snacks for the hungry Mini Reapers.

They were also the beds for Mini Reapers, worn out from playing.

Furthermore, they contributed to lowering the aggressiveness of the fierce Gray Reapers.

Without the White Hungry Ghosts, the Mini Reapers would have faced a lot more trouble.

And now, another role was being added.

As the Orange Reapers became increasingly ferocious, it was to lower their aggressiveness, now matched with that of Gray Reapers.

Just then, an Orange Reaper floated around the Mini Reaper Garden, seemingly looking for something to mess with, and spotted a White Hungry Ghost.

Bathing in the soft glow of the warm Marshmallow Plains, the White Hungry Ghost wore a blissful smile.

Like mother, like daughter, perhaps?

Seeing the smiling face of the White Hungry Ghost, the Orange Reaper was afflicted with the disease of wanting to torment.

With a giggle, the Orange Reaper dove bombed down.

Like a hawk swooping from the sky, it aimed straight for the White Hungry Ghost’s belly.

“Kyuhihih!”

Accompanying the sound of a plaintive wail.

The Orange Reaper began to gnaw hungrily at the plump belly of the White Hungry Ghost as if it intended to devour it whole.

And when the Orange Reaper finally left, only a pitiful White Hungry Ghost with half of its belly gnawed away lay sprawled on the ground, wearing an expression of injustice.

*

Free City Alliance, Alleyway.

Cheong was sprinting through the alley, which seemed about to crumble.

He wanted nothing more than to throw off the mask that was making it hard to breathe, but he had to endure.

The pure human Cheong knew that if he ran without a mask, he would likely damage not just his prayers but his lungs too.

Additionally, the fact that getting caught by scavengers meant being eaten alive kept him running.

“Cheong! Wait a moment!”

Just then, a woman, who was keeping pace while blocking the scavenger’s line of fire, caught Cheong’s shoulder and continued speaking.

“Something’s off.”

Seeing the woman touch her lips and glance around, Cheong began to survey the area as subtly as possible.

Due to the sudden stillness caused by the halted rain, his breaths echoed loudly in the alley.

“It’s too quiet.”

It was definitely strange.

Even if the leader had died suddenly, it was far too odd for the scavengers not to show any action.

Cheong swallowed slowly, lowering his posture.

Then, his group turned their backs to each other, scanning the surroundings cautiously.

At that moment, as if something had been hit, a scavenger flew out of the very alley they had passed.

The man, drenched in blood and sprawled on the ground, saw them and stretched his hand toward them with a desperate expression.

“P-please…save me…”

But before the group could react, a steel beam fell from a nearby building and pierced through the man’s heart.

BANG!

Blood sprayed forth from the heart.

Along with a crashing sound, the scavenger was torn to shreds.

“What the…What’s happening?”

Before the frozen group could process the situation, something began to drift into view.

‘!’

It was a ominous fur ball splattered with blood in various places.