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I was lying in the Mini Reaper Garden, drowning in despair.

‘Why can’t this work!’

Next to me sat a mountain of White Hungry Ghosts, a testament to the scale of my hopelessness.

“Kyuhinghing.”

From the heap of White Hungry Ghosts came the mournful cries of those whose limbs had been devoured.

And beside that pile of White Hungry Ghosts was a pile of Mecha Tyrannosaurs.

But the Mechas piled there seemed to have a defect here and there.

With my memory and imagination, I could not perfectly conjure up a Mecha Tyranno.

Even if I could summon the souls of the dead Tyrannosaurus as Blue Giants, it would mean nothing if I couldn’t make their bodies perfectly.

Again, I donned a halo on my head and attempted to create a Mecha Tyranno.

I concentrated vigorously, but the result was a rather subpar Mecha Tyranno lacking in detail.

‘This isn’t it!’

The Mecha Tyranno I created resembled a cheap, illegally made knock-off figure.

Should I really have outsourced the Tyranno design to James?

I wanted to create my own Super Mecha Tyranno from scratch…

Hing hing.

As I lay there in sadness, the Mini Reapers cautiously approached.

“Mom, are you okay?”

The children gently patted my cheek as I lay collapsed.

When I still didn’t respond, the Golden Reapers pulled out pieces of star candy they had hidden and started stuffing them into my mouth one by one.

The Black Reapers huddled together, slowly beginning to form a giant shape.

Beeeee!

As the Black Reapers formed a lump, a massive Mecha Tyranno appeared, crying like a sparrow.

Oh.

It looked so exquisitely detailed that I slowly opened my eyes to watch.

Upon seeing me open my eyes, the Blue Reapers gathered in the corner and began whispering before inscribing strings into the air.

[A combined Tyranno shining like a star!]
[Combined Tyranno!]

Then water began to materialize in the air and slowly take the shape of a giant Tyrannosaurus.

Kraaaaang!

A silent Tyranno Golem roared, and waters transformed into armor that flew and enveloped it.

Clang! Clang!

Then the armor fit together like exquisite parts, completing a Mecha Tyranno Golem that radiated light like a glow-in-the-dark dinosaur.

Ooooh!

With the cheers of the Mini Reapers, my spirits lifted, and I stood up.

I embraced the Mini Reapers who had cheered me on and expressed my gratitude.

In response, the Mini Reapers in my embrace smiled broadly.

I hugged those children and, while chuckling, gave them a mission.

The mission was to stick a request for Mecha Tyranno on James’s back every hour using glue.

Hehe.

*

The Golden Reaper was watching Mom with eyes full of curiosity.

Omnomnom.

Mom was held in the embrace of an Attached Human, continuously eating pudding and watching something.

[The Chinese government has designated the area affected by object erosion in the Free City Alliance as a higher risk zone and decided to strengthen existing lockdown measures.]

[Reports indicate that in the Free City Alliance, concrete buildings have transformed into marshmallows and objects have become scattered star candy, causing unpredictable events to unfold.]

[Furthermore, there have been sightings of Golden Reapers strolling through the city.]

[A spokesperson for the Chinese government stated, “We perceive the emergence of ‘Golden Reapers’ as a greater threat than the erosion of reality, and we will maintain stricter lockdowns for the safety of citizens.”]

From the emotionless square box, incomprehensible messages flowed continuously.

But the Golden Reaper’s attention was not on those things but rather on Mom.

‘Mom looks chubby.’

The Golden Reaper was curiously watching as Mom became rounder.

‘Could it be because of her Attached Human?’

As the Golden Reaper sneakily spied, it began to follow Yerin as she exited the Isolation Room.

*

Yerin was slowly walking toward the bus stop, glancing back slightly.

The tiny golden figure startled and scampered into an alley.

Though I couldn’t see it properly due to its agility, a golden antenna was peeking out, gently swaying at the end of the alley.

‘What on earth is going on?’

Yerin thought with a warm smile at the cute situation of the Golden Reaper chasing after her.

Screech.

And before long, she sat on the shuttle bus to Sehee Research Institute and closed her eyes as if falling asleep.

Then the Golden Reaper quietly approached and began to burrow into Yerin’s bag.

To hide itself completely, it zipped up the bag.

Yet, its antenna still protruded and danced above the zipper.

Yerin petted the antenna absentmindedly while gazing at the scenery on her way home.

‘What should I do with the Golden Reaper today? A puzzle?’

Her mind was filled with cheerful thoughts as always.

*

The Free City Alliance, or rather, the place now called ‘Mini Reaper Special City’.

Cheong sat at the window of a hideout set up in a corner of the city, looking out onto the street.

The once dirty and gloomy street was now white and fluffy like a canvas.

Instead of a concrete floor, soft marshmallow was laid down.

The flickering neon signs had transformed into delicious-looking lollipops.

Gone were the filthy rats, replaced by Golden Reapers wearing jelly helmets patrolling the corners.

Those who had succumbed to the poison in their food lay sprawled in the streets, no longer visible.

In their place were people, smiling with Golden Reapers perched on their shoulders.

When Cheong opened the window, fresh air rushed inside.

Cheong took a deep breath, expanded her chest, and blew it out again.

“Haah.”

Aside from a hint of sugar smell, it was truly refreshing air.

Who would have thought that the air in the city, which once posed a threat to life, could change like this?

Having lived so long in this city, Cheong never dreamed such a day would come.

‘It’s all thanks to this child.’

Cheong poked the sleeping Orange Reaper in her pocket.

Cheong looked down, smiling as the Orange Reaper remained deep in slumber, and then jumped from the fifth-floor window.

The soft marshmallow bounced like a trampoline, gently catching Cheong.

It felt like a massive amusement ride, and a smile spread across her face.

It was nothing short of magic!

But it was a ride that required careful observation of the surroundings.

If she jumped from a building and got caught by a Golden Reaper, she would be subjected to ticklish torment for an hour.

Cheong enjoyed the marshmallow’s softness, stepping onto the main street.

The main road, which connected the cities like the arteries of the Free City Alliance.

It was now completely transformed.

Ignoring traffic signals, cars raced wildly, honking loudly, and the unbearable smoke was nowhere to be found.

If it weren’t for the fact that cola-flavored jelly now covered the asphalt, one might not even recognize it as the ‘main road’.

On that jelly road, White Hungry Ghosts had taken up the no-longer-seen positions.

They were Hungry Ghosts that had created seats by hollowing themselves out, just the right size for automobiles.

The Hungry Ghosts on the road exhibited a variety of appearances.

They adorned themselves with various accessories while painting themselves in vibrant colors for their own enjoyment.

Instead of honking, there were the cute sounds of ‘kyu’.

Instead of smoke, there was the sweet aroma of marshmallow.

Cheong chuckled softly at the sight and headed toward her meeting place.

The barbecue restaurant she always went to after completing a request.

As she opened the door to that familiar place, a slightly different sight greeted her.

“Ah, you finally made it.”

Sister PIG waved at Cheong, holding a massive rib in her mouth.

In the kitchen, Blue Reapers swarmed together, casting magic on jelly.

[May it taste like barbecue!]
[May it have the texture of meat!]

As they performed magic on jelly shaped like a meat dish, delicious barbecue was being created.

Aside from being slightly translucent like jelly, it was excellent barbecue.

As Cheong slowly walked to the table, her companions welcomed her.

“Come on, Cheong, try it. It’s a new menu item. Like the other menus, it’s free.”

Though they looked no different from usual, there was one noticeable change among her companions.

The material of their object-made body replacements had changed.

To roll cake.

I don’t quite understand why it’s roll cake, but it was roll cake.

Of course, it wasn’t recognizable until cut, and there were no differences in function.

It had been quite some time since it was stabilized, but there had been chaos initially.

After all, if some limb suddenly turned into a roll cake, it would be strange to not cause a ruckus.

And due to the roll cake incident, many people had perished.

Those submerged in the ‘Red Voice’ like scavengers or those who had replaced parts of their brains with objects were all dead.

They weren’t Roll Cake Humans, they had simply turned into roll cakes.

Cheong’s companions were fortunate that they weren’t dependent on objects to that extent.

Well, many people had died.

But still, I thought this city was the closest thing to paradise.

Delicious food, cute Mini Reapers, and people softened by the influence of the Mini Reapers.

As Cheong pondered such things, pleasant droplets rang out from her shoulder.

Ding.

The Orange Reaper that had climbed onto her shoulder was holding a drop the size of its own body.

As Cheong patted that Orange Reaper’s head, a woman who had taken out a candy-flavored lollipop instead of a cigarette spoke.

“Cheong, are you really leaving?”

“Yeah.”

Cheong had achieved her goal.

Having retrieved her parents’ relic, the object drop, all that was left was to depart.

“So, does that mean you’re returning to your hometown?”

“I’ll have to go back someday. But not right now.”

Cheong continued as she looked at the Orange Reaper.

“For now, I plan to travel a bit. Being in the ‘Free City Alliance’ made me feel like I was only looking ahead.”

“Really? Then where will you go?”

Cheong smiled happily as she spoke.

“South Korea.”