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The James Explorer Ship was slowly advancing through the endless blue waves.

I was standing near the deck railing, gazing at the sea sparkling like diamonds under the dazzling sunlight.

The sky was clear without a cloud in sight, and the deep, rich blue stretched all the way to the horizon.

Warm sunlight wrapped around my skin, while the gentle sea breeze tousled my hair.

The sound of gentle waves softly tapping against the ship’s hull was audible.

That rhythmic sound felt like the heartbeat of the ocean.

I wondered if there was an island nearby, as a pair of seagulls gracefully flew in the distance, performing their own dance.

While I continued to watch the sea, I realized I was peeking my head through the railing.

‘The railing is too high…’

Usually, one would rest their hands on the railing while enjoying the view of the sea, but since I was shorter than the railing, there was no choice but to poke my head through.

Looking at the blue sky and sea, a peaceful atmosphere was palpable, but for some strange reason, a small sense of unease seemed to cling to my heart.

‘Hmm. Well, since I’m on the ship, it should be fine somehow.’

Shoving that irrepressible anxiety to a corner of my mind, I headed towards my designated seat on the deck.

And lying down as if to surrender my body into the soft marshmallow beneath me, I pulled out the TV from the Mini Reaper Garden.

As I turned on the TV, familiar broadcasts began to stream.

Thanks to the flow of TV transmission from [Sehee Research Institute] – [Mini Reaper Garden] – [James Explorer Ship].

It was truly a unique little trick I could perform.

Hehe.

Almost immediately after turning on the TV, several Golden Reapers began to crawl towards me.

Then, they stuck themselves to my skin.

No matter how I looked at it, these guys seemed utterly uninterested in watching the TV…

‘Well, does it really matter?’

I ignored the Golden Reapers staring at my face and shifted my gaze back to the TV screen.

The TV was airing a story about the incident I had just resolved.

[Shocking facts revealed about an unknown island discovered in the Pacific.]

[James Research Institute announced that this island is connected to a recent large-scale kidnapping incident in Europe.]

[The scale of the victims surpasses imagination. According to the institute, the number of victims is estimated to exceed at least ten thousand, with only dozens of survivors.]

[Currently, the survivors are being transported to Korea’s James Tower for comprehensive examinations and treatment, and their future will be decided after monitoring their recovery.]

[This incident has also been confirmed to have been resolved by Korea’s special object, “Gray Reaper.”]

Following this, interviews with people suggesting I should be classified as a new object began to play.

“Beneficial object grade” or “Guardian deity of Seoul grade,” etc.

Various grade names were mentioned.

Hehe.

I couldn’t hide my inner smugness.

It felt as if the things I had done were being recognized.

Honestly, I hadn’t cared much about what humans called me, but hearing these praise-filled nicknames made my heart feel warm.

At first, I worried that being called a “good object” might lead to a string of annoying tasks.

But perhaps due to the things I had done earlier, nothing bothersome came up.

Well, even if something did, I could always ignore it, so it wasn’t really a problem.

“Mom, that’s amazing!”

“That’s incredible!”

When my image appeared on the TV, the Golden Reapers started asking a passing Purple Reaper for translations, and upon hearing them, they began to go wild with excitement.

They looked as if they had received the compliments themselves.

“Yeah, yeah. Amazing, amazing. Hehe.”

While I was laughing like that, another story started playing on the TV.

[However, some experts claim that this discussion is premature and that priorities should be re-evaluated.]

[“There are Golden Reapers tirelessly serving humanity all over the world; discussing the utility of the Gray Reaper itself makes no sense.”]

The voice of the interviewing scientist was filled with passion.

[“The intentions and tendencies of the Gray Reapers still feel ambiguous. But how about the Golden Reapers?”]

The scientist pointed to the Golden Reaper sitting on his shoulder.

The camera zoomed in on the Golden Reaper atop his shoulder.

Then, the tiny Golden Reaper, munching on a jelly, looked up and smiled widely.

[“The goodwill of the Golden Reapers is beyond doubt!”]

Hmmm…

As I kept my mouth shut and remained still, the Golden Reapers looked up at me, tilting their heads.

‘?’

The Golden Reapers seemed to be confused about the content from the TV, but somehow it felt like they were teasing me.

I got annoyed for no reason and started putting the nearby Golden Reapers into my mouth.

“Ouch!”

“Mom’s mad!”

“No way!”

Thus, the Golden Reapers faced an undeserved disaster.

*

Once a calm blue light, the air was now dyed a deep red like blood.

The sweet yet bitter scent of burning sugar filled the air.

That smell was no ordinary scent.

It was a signal announcing the fall of the White Hungry Ghost Paradise.

Curled up in the underground chamber, the Jelly Earthworms looked up.

Their once safe haven had now transformed into a red hell.

The Jelly Earthworms’ bodies were slowly melting away.

Flames licked at the Jelly bodies of the earthworms, and they shuddered at the unpleasant sensation.

To think that endeavors for a better life would summon something worse…

The Jelly Earthworms were quietly melting away in the corner of the underground chamber.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The heavy footsteps of a golem, burning the underground chamber, echoed through the ground.

The golem that once only burned the White Hungry Ghosts was now harvesting indiscriminately, whether it be Jelly Earthworms or White Hungry Ghosts.

Kyuuhing.

From a short distance away, the pitiful cries of the White Hungry Ghosts could be heard.

Where the cries were coming from, transparent jars of sugar were lined up.

And inside them were White Hungry Ghosts with a wronged expression!

Ironically, this was the very place where the earthworms had once been trapped.

Should we call it poetic justice?

The fate of the earthworms that had devoured countless humans.

And the Hungry Ghosts… just suffering because they were White Hungry Ghosts.

The wheel of fate was turning ruthlessly.

Above, the Red Reapers flew around shouting “Revolution!” with a blonde girl at the center.

The blonde girl had a Golden Reaper on her shoulder and was listening with a little notebook open.

“So, those earthworms killed a lot of humans, right?”

The Golden Reaper nodded sadly, as if just recalling it made him gloomy.

After gathering various data, the blonde girl delivered the sentence to the Red Reaper.

‘Jelly Earthworm, incineration in the furnace!’

*

In the depths of the Sehee Research Institute on the outskirts of Songpa District.

The Gray Reaper Isolation Room, nestled in a corner of the research institute, always radiated a warm and cozy atmosphere.

Piles of snacks stacked like mountains.

Soft lighting.

Beds made specially for the Gray Reapers.

But the main character of this space, the Gray Reaper, was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, as if to fill the empty spot of the mom, Mini Reapers crowded the fluffy bed.

Bouncing around busily as usual, they all looked a little gloomy.

On the soft, cloud-like bed lay Yerin dressed in pastel-toned pajamas.

With a sullen expression, Yerin muttered in a voice mixed with sighs.

“The Reaper… is late….”

At that, the nearby Mini Reapers started to echo Yerin’s gloom, their expressions darkening even more.

A few approached with very sad faces, patting Yerin’s shoulder.

Yerin held a colorful flyer in her hand.

Upon closer inspection, the phrase ‘[Gray Reaper Theme Park, opening soon!]‘ caught the eye.

Yerin gazed at the flyer, pouting her lips slightly.

“The Gray Reaper Theme Park is getting completed….”

Her voice was full of regret.

But soon, with a hopeful glimmer in her eyes, she whispered down at the Mini Reapers.

“Surely they’ll return before that, right?”

The Mini Reapers filled the room all nodded in unison as if responding to her words.

At their response, a faint smile spread across Yerin’s face.

‘It’ll be fun to go to the theme park with the Reaper!’

Yerin hugged the flyer to her chest and closed her eyes, imagining being at the theme park with the Gray Reaper, smiling.

“Alright, let’s eat some snacks now!”

Yerin said and laid out the prepared snacks.

The Mini Reapers cheered with excitement over the snacks they had never seen before, rushing to Yerin and laughing happily.

*

The James Explorer Ship sailing through the Pacific.

I felt a strange sense of unease and walked to the edge of the ship to gaze beyond the horizon.

The wind and waves had calmed, and the sun was inexplicably losing its brightness.

The Golden Reapers looked up at the sky with anxious expressions, and employees from the James Research Institute were bustling around due to the mysterious phenomena.

At that moment, a massive blue wall began to reveal itself where the sky met the sea.

It was a thick fog that looked nearly like a wall.

A dense and ominous aura emanating from the blue mist rolled towards the ship at a frightening speed.

Simultaneously, darkness shrouded the sky.

The sun had vanished without a trace, and everything around began to be engulfed in a strange blue light.

The sea no longer appeared blue.

The ocean was turning into a color like black ink, swirling with foreboding energy.

The blue mist was undulating as if it might soon rise over the deck.

As the advancing mist wrapped around my ankles like waves, a cold, damp sensation coursed through me.

‘So it has finally come.’

With the identity of the persistent unease becoming clear, I felt somewhat relieved.

The powerful presence of the external being was spreading throughout the entire ocean.