---

Inside the building with a giant statue.

The pink girl read an ominous inscription carved beneath the statue and fiddled with it, her expression serious.

“Doesn’t this look like recent excavation marks?”

Saying this, the pink girl turned to look at the Blue Reaper.

Then she pressed her fingertips together and began to rub them.

“The marks are sharp, and there’s still quite a bit of stone powder left.”

<¿?>

The Blue Reaper gazed up at the excited Attached Human, looking a bit flustered.

“It seems like there were people not too long ago. They probably headed to the upper levels, right?”

The pink girl murmured this and then, with a slightly confused face, whispered, “What should we do?”

“What should we do when we meet people?”

“I’ve never met anyone other than Grandpa, so I don’t really know.”

The Blue Reaper gave a slight smile to the Attached Human, who was feeling both excited and anxious.

[It'll be okay!]

Then, just like the Golden Reaper had, he clenched his fists and sent out a string of energy.

It seemed a bit awkward, causing the pink girl to chuckle softly.

She placed the Blue Reaper on her shoulder and began walking down the vast corridor.

Continuing toward the tower linking the levels.

Clip-clop.

The sound of the pink girl’s footsteps echoed through the empty white corridor.

It was a huge hallway, designed to accommodate a lot of traffic, much like a park on Earth.

Walking side by side in such a wide corridor, the Blue Reaper felt an overwhelming sense of loneliness.

As he looked around, something flickered at the edge of his vision.

Swoosh.

One of the many statues decorating the corridor silently turned its eyes to stare intently.

Startled, the Blue Reaper frantically slapped the pink girl’s cheek and pointed with his finger.

When the pink girl turned her head in response to the Blue Reaper’s call, the statue rolled its eyes and looked at her.

“!!!”

The surprised pink girl hugged the Blue Reaper tightly and began to dash down the corridor.

After passing what felt like an endless series of staircases and corridors, with white walls and black statues, they finally reached the rooftop of the huge building.

By now, the sky was shrouded in darkness, and sprawling waters of the levels below came into view.

The pink girl plopped down on the rooftop, trying to catch her breath.

“What on earth was that? If it didn’t chase us, it must not have been very dangerous.”

Gasping for breath, the pink girl giggled.

She then turned her gaze to admire the view of the levels below.

A star-filled night sky peeked through the curtain of heaven.

Buildings tinted in the colors of night without a single point of light.

And clear waters shimmering gently, weaving through the spaces between the buildings.

“I can see two skies.”

The starry sky reflected perfectly on the water, making it feel as if she was sitting between two starry heavens.

Splash.

At that moment, something made a noise as it dropped onto the water’s surface.

What fell onto the water was an object that felt oddly familiar to the Blue Reaper.

Golden sheen.

Sharp teeth.

A massive jaw.

It appeared to be the head of a Golden-Meka-Tyrannosaurus, which Mom liked.

[Look at that!]

When the Blue Reaper pointed with his finger, he saw black statues squirming and munching on the dino head.

“So those statues were actually moving? I thought it was all in my head….”

As the statues began to move, the sturdy dino head made of metal vanished in an instant.

“Oh, so that’s why there wasn’t any trash.”

The pink girl had a somewhat relieved expression.

In contrast, the Blue Reaper looked extremely worried.

[Mom’s going to be super mad….]

With the Tyrannosaurus toy— which was suspected to be more precious than even the Mini Reapers— destroyed, it felt like the tower could collapse at any moment.

‘Please take your time, Mom!’

‘I hope my journey with the Attached Human lasts a little longer!’

The Blue Reaper wished with all his heart.

*

Late at night, in the heart of Seoul Forest.

I saw a planet that looked oddly familiar.

‘Where have I seen that before?’

I often forget important things if I don’t think of them for three months, so recalling this was incredibly tough.

‘It’s definitely a planet I’ve seen before. Where was it?’

‘TV documentary?’

‘Absolutely not.’

As my thoughts went blank, I caught a wandering Golden Reaper nearby and began to ponder.

I twisted the limbs of the Golden Reaper like it was a toy.

‘Ugh, Mom is bothering me!’

After making the Golden Reaper’s fist clench, I had it punch another Golden Reaper next to it, and I suddenly remembered a very old memory.

‘Yes! I saw it when I went to America with Yerin.’

The black planet rising in the sky was the same one I had seen when I felt omniscient senses through a black corpse for the first time.

After releasing the Golden Reaper I had grabbed, I reached my hand toward the sky.

The Blue Reaper must be on that planet.

I just had this feeling.

If that’s the case, I might be able to reach it even without direct contact.

I know what that place is like, and the Mini Reaper is there.

So I extended my senses endlessly forward, and faintly, the Blue Reaper began to be felt.

‘I found you!’

Though the connection was extremely weak, a connection was a connection.

The Blue Reaper’s warmth was burning healthily, and there were no signs of anxiety.

‘Thank goodness.’

The moment I thought this, a desperate will began to be transmitted from the Blue Reaper.

[Please take your time, Mom!]
[I hope my journey with the Attached Human lasts a little longer!]

‘….’

While the Golden Reapers were in a panic, the missing Blue Reaper seemed happy….

Well, as long as they’re happy, that’s good.

I gathered the Mini Reapers and began to project my will.

‘I found the Blue Reaper. They seem okay.’

The moment I said this, the Golden Reapers began to jump around in excitement.

‘Hooray!’
‘Thank goodness!’

And a few Golden Reapers, gazing dumbfoundedly at the sky, spread the news to the Mini Reaper Network.

Just as I was about to think about what to do with the runaway Blue Reaper, evolution liquid started pouring down from the sky.

Raining down through me like a column of light.

I recoiled from the foul stench of the evolution liquid and projected my will.

‘Ugh. What is happening all of a sudden?’

The Mini Reapers sensed the suspicious smell early on and kept their distance.

‘Ah!’
‘It smells like Mom!’

As I heard this will, I scattered the evolution liquid everywhere.

‘Gah!’
‘Mom’s gone crazy!’

And as I chased after the Mini Reapers, covered in evolution liquid, they all fled in a panic.

The game of tag of death had begun.

*

In the final world, upper levels of the tower.

As the Blue Reaper and pink girl ascended, passing through beautifully peculiar levels resembling a resort, they reached a level that exuded a rather strange atmosphere.

A metal house.

A road with exposed pipes.

It had a significantly different vibe compared to the previous levels.

“The house shape is weird.”

The buildings made from twisted pipes seemed to be somewhat broken.

With no entrance.

Or ceilings that were too low.

Walls that were warped.

Or maybe even no interior space at all.

Furthermore, there were no usable facilities in sight.

The girl, who had high hopes of meeting humans, wore a slightly disappointed expression.

[The next level should be a proper place!]

But contrary to the Blue Reaper’s encouragement, the next level and the one after that were completely in shambles.

In fact, the level after that had no traces of buildings or roads left, just a wide disc.

“….”

Thus, the pink girl and Blue Reaper passed through the empty floor toward a new staircase.

“Hah.”

Inside the tower’s upper floors.

In an oddly chilly atmosphere, the pink girl exhaled a cloud of breath.

[Please warm everyone up!]

When the Blue Reaper wrote a string of energy at the sight, a warm sensation settled around the pink girl.

“Thank you.”

The pink girl expressed her gratitude as she walked toward the tower’s exit.

She secretly thought that there would probably be nothing there again, but what she saw through the bright light was a sight slightly different from what she expected.

Strangely, the height of the disc was significantly lower than that of the tower’s entrance.

And beneath that, a massive city filled with signs of human presence was visible.

Though everything was made of pipes and metal, the shapes of buildings were clearly distinct.

“Wow.”

The pink girl opened her mouth wide at the grand view of the city beneath.

Twisted pipes that resembled trees.

A neatly aligned central street made of pipes.

Horses and carts crafted from pipes.

It was a city made entirely of pipes.

And within that city, there were plenty of statues resembling pedestrians made from pipes.

Pedestrian-shaped pipes walking down the street.

Women-shaped pipes wearing umbrellas and fancy dresses.

Children-shaped pipes running through the streets.

Thump, thump, thump.

Descending the grand staircase leading from the tower, they walked down the broad avenue.

“It’s like they’re alive.”

The pink girl muttered while stroking the neck of a pipe horse crafted from pipes.

The buildings lining the pipe avenue were intricately decorated even inside.

Everything was made from pipes, but…

“I’ve never seen so many people before.”

The pink girl said as she looked at the people who appeared like they had turned into statues while alive.

“I had no idea there could be this many people.”

After continuing to walk, they arrived at a huge door leading to an avenue.

[Royal Alchemist Academy.]

The pink girl looked up at the writing on the door, tilting her head.

“Alchemist Academy? What could that be?”

<….>

The Blue Reaper oddly felt that the letters bore a large sadness.