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Surrounded by a crowd of wriggling Black Reapers, the new Black Reaper was led away with a bewildered expression.

The path to the base of the Black Reapers resembled a festival parade.

The will of the Black Reapers scattered in the air.

‘It’s my younger sibling!’
‘The new younger sibling!’

In the outpouring of will, joy, excitement, and the loneliness of long years mixed together.

Just how rare it was for a new Black Reaper to join was evident enough from the enthusiastic reactions alone.

Upon arriving at the base, even more Black Reapers gathered.

They carefully approached the newcomer and gently embraced them with their long arms.

That hug contained emotions that couldn’t be expressed in words.

‘Mom, are you not hurt anymore?’
‘Are you back to your senses?’

While welcoming the newcomer, the Black Reapers kept asking about their mom.

In response, the new Black Reaper smiled brightly and said.

‘Mom is fine! And not hurt!’

With the news that their mom was alright, a wave of relief flowed among the Black Reapers.

After a brief silence, the will of the Black Reapers began to erupt like an explosion.

‘Mom is not hurt anymore!’
‘Not hurt? What does that mean?’
‘Mom, is she coming soon?’
‘Will more siblings come?’
‘When will Mom come?’
‘Mom will definitely come, right?’

The Black Reapers grasped the limbs of the new Black Reaper, spilling their will out.

It was as if they were ready to tear the new sibling apart with curiosity.

So the newcomer had no choice but to quell the curiosity of the gathered Black Reapers.

‘Mom doesn’t eat us anymore!’

That was the beginning of the explanation about their mom.

And just as the new Black Reaper was surprised, the Black Reapers from the dimensional gap were equally astonished.

‘No way!’
‘So there really is a mom like that…’

The stories about their mom continued.

Playing around, stealing snacks, throwing things when annoyed, and sometimes giving snacks; the daily life of the Gray Reaper.

Every time they heard those words, the Black Reapers looked ready to shed tears from the emotion.

‘So gentle.’
‘A mom who won’t eat even if you cling to her…’
‘A mom who doesn’t melt even when hugged…’
‘A mom who isn’t hurt…’

To the Black Reapers, their mom was always someone who was too hurt to move properly, an existence that would devour Black Reapers whenever she had the chance.

Following that, the new Black Reaper shared stories about the Mini Reaper Garden.

‘Mochi Marshmallow Plains, Hungry Ghosts are delicious!’

The soft, chewy Marshmallow Garden, a land of happiness filled with tasty snacks.

And the Sea of Hot Chocolate, Candy Mountain, Milk Bingsu Snowfield, and so on.

All those places were a paradise made up of sweets that the Black Reapers had never tasted.

‘Looks delicious…’
‘A place like that exists?’
‘That’s amazing!’

Finally, they answered the question about whether their mom could come.

This was an unidentified place where calling for mom wasn’t possible.

‘I don’t know.’

The new Black Reaper shook their head in response.

‘But still, mom has always come.’
‘She always came when we needed her!’
‘Mom will appear!’

But right after that, with a bright smile, they shouted with a firm belief.

‘Mom…’
‘I miss Mom.’

Seeing this, the Black Reapers from the dimensional gap could once again hold onto hope.

As the Black Reapers dispersed with that hope, the new Black Reaper was finally able to look around the base.

The guide, a Black Reaper with a deep scar over one eye, took charge.

When the newcomer first saw the Scarred Reaper, they asked, ‘Aren’t you hurt?’ and offered firewood for treatment.

‘This kind of wound can’t be treated with firewood. We need to conserve it.’

The Scarred Reaper thanked the newcomer for their kindness but firmly refused.

‘…’

The new Reaper, with curious eyes, surveyed the surroundings.

The base resembled a giant cave.

The ceiling was so high it couldn’t be seen, and thousands of small lights sparkled on the walls.

They shone like stars, softly illuminating the space.

The starlight of the base was all that remained of the Black Reapers’ traces.

Poor comrades who were too injured to heal themselves with firewood.

Their numbers were as many as the stars in the night sky.

‘I need mom.’

As the new Reaper let out their will while looking at the light illuminating the base, the Scarred Reaper nodded slightly.

‘!’

Upon reaching the center of the base, the new Reaper’s eyes widened in surprise.

There, a gigantic hearth of unimaginable size was positioned.

Its size resembled that of a small mountain.

‘That’s the hearth left by mom.’

The will emanating from the Scarred Reaper was mixed with pride and longing.

In the center of the hearth, a white flame was burning.

The flame was enormous, but compared to the size of the hearth, it seemed utterly insignificant.

The Black Reapers were receiving firewood from that enormous hearth.

Each time a Black Reaper absorbed firewood, the amount slightly decreased.

Very little, but it was certainly lessening.

Even by just looking at the empty hearth and the remaining firewood, one could estimate how long the war of the Black Reapers had continued.

Thinking about the prolonged war made the new Reaper feel a bit sad.

‘So sad.’

The new Reaper whispered with a small will.

They had fought against the external beings for such a long time without meeting mom.

If someone told the new Reaper that they would end up like that, it would be so sad that they would burst into tears right away.

The Scarred Reaper looking at the new Reaper seemed a little sad too.

When the tour of the base ended, the Scarred Reaper turned to the new Reaper and conveyed their will.

That will was full of determination and resolve.

‘Now, we must begin training. Newcomer!’

Thus began the training, with the pitiful will of the new Reaper echoing.

‘Waaah!’
‘Mom, come quick…’

The new Reaper sprawled on the ground, looking for mom.

*

Near Seoul, in the Golden Horn Isolation Zone where Golden Reapers were released.

I was wandering slowly through the isolation zone, ghosting about.

It felt somewhat like checking on the ginseng seeds scattered across the mountain.

‘So many uniquely shaped horns.’

I had learned that Golden Horns came in various forms, but seeing them with my own eyes, I found their shapes to be surprisingly diverse.

As I walked the streets, I observed people with various shapes of Golden Horns.

Some had horns sprouting from their foreheads like detective subordinates, while others proudly displayed horns resembling ogre horns growing from their crowns.

There were those whose horns resembled animal horns like sheep or cattle, and others with complex geometric shapes not found in nature.

Totally forgetting to check for Golden Reapers, I continued my tour of the Golden Horns.

Then I spotted a person with enormous, flashy horns that were so captivating they drew my gaze.

Beautifully symmetrical antlers radiating out like a work of art, glowing in golden hues!

‘With those horns, everyday life must be difficult. They can’t be cut, so that could be quite troublesome.’

From my perspective, where wearing clothes was already uncomfortable, living with such inconvenient horns was almost unimaginable pain.

Maybe that person secretly cursed their horns while going about their life?

Perhaps due to the charm of such huge and beautiful antlers.

A Golden Reaper was clinging to the massive antlers, grinning happily.

‘Human!’

That Golden Reaper had something a bit peculiar about them.

They had small twigs clipped to the sides of their head, almost like a decoration.

As if trying to mimic the appearance of their attached human.

‘Ah…!’

It was only after seeing that sight that I remembered I had come to check on the Golden Reapers, and I began to survey the isolation zone.

Upon checking, I found that a similar scene was unfolding in many places within the isolation zone.

Using the ability to manipulate hair, Golden Reapers were mimicking their attached human horn shapes.

And looking at those Golden Reapers with joyful expressions were the attached humans.

Seeing the successfully settled Golden Reapers filled me with a sense of pride.

‘If time passes like this, soon a swarm of Golden Horn Reapers will pop up, right?’

The true completion of automatic hunting was just around the corner.

The Golden Reapers seemed to really like this isolation zone, perhaps because they favored people who bore a resemblance to themselves.

In fact, it was somewhat unexpected that such a place had become the blind spot for Golden Reapers.

It wasn’t so far that you had to ride cloud fish like in foreign lands, yet it was close enough that the little hands of the Mini Reapers couldn’t reach.

Moreover, although it was near Seoul, this area was slightly distant for a Golden Reaper to walk to.

Thus, this place had become the ‘blind spot for Golden Reapers.’

But now this area was gaining immense popularity among the Golden Reapers.

Dreaming of the future of the Golden Horn Reaper army, I smiled faintly.

Hehe.

*

In a deep corner of the Mini Reaper Garden vacated by the Gray Reaper, Mochi Marshmallow Plains.

Thud thud.

A Golden Reaper was walking briskly alone toward the Bingsu Snowfield, making its way through the Mochi Marshmallow Plains.

Then it happened.

A translucent blade suddenly appeared in mid-air and pierced through the heart area of the Golden Reaper.

‘Ah!’

A startled will flowed from the Golden Reaper.

The Golden Reaper’s eyes widened as they looked down at their chest in disbelief.

The translucent blade seemed to have been lodged in the Golden Reaper’s body as if it had been there from the start.

With a faint rustle, the Golden Reaper’s body fell limp.

In that manner, the Golden Reaper lay alone, lonely and sprawled in the middle of Mochi Marshmallow Plains.

No Mini Reaper was there to witness the incident unfolding in the corner of Mochi Marshmallow Plains.