Mini Reaper Garden, Marshmallow Plains.
On the marshmallow plains, where the sweet scent of hot chocolate wafted on the breeze, quadrupedal Golden Reapers ran around excitedly.
Some huddled together, basking in the light, while others dashed about as if playing tag.
A few were nibbling at the soft marshmallow ground, like sheep grazing on grass.
And other quadrupedal Golden Reapers, seeing this, giggled and followed suit.
But the more I observed, the stronger the suspicious feeling grew.
First, the number of white Hungry Ghosts had decreased too much.
Moreover, among the quadrupedal Golden Reapers, there were too many who were unusually docile for Golden Reapers.
As I narrowed my eyes slightly and began to observe the quadrupedal Golden Reapers, about 70% of them started to subtly distance themselves while pretending not to.
Conversely, some hopped towards me.
Just like last time, I caught a quadrupedal Golden Reaper hopping nearby to check, and sure enough, a Golden Reaper popped out from inside the doll outfit.
When I opened the zipper of the doll outfit, the Golden Reaper poked its face out through the open hole and smiled brightly.
Though I confirmed a Golden Reaper inside the doll outfit, the demon of doubt still hadn’t vanished from my mind.
Docile quadrupedal Golden Reapers and lively quadrupedal Golden Reapers.
Fleeing quadrupedal Golden Reapers and approaching quadrupedal Golden Reapers.
I put the caught Golden Reaper back into the doll outfit, placed it on the ground, and pretended to watch the white Hungry Ghosts chuckling Kyuhihi at the burning worm inflatable tube man.
Then, the quadrupedal Golden Reapers stopped fleeing and stealthily began to settle down and rest again.
No, the cunning white Hungry Ghosts.
The moment the white Hungry Ghost let its guard down, I teleported instantly to a white Hungry Ghost in a loaf position.
Undressing the quadrupedal Golden Reaper doll outfit that was struggling after being caught, inside was indeed fluffy white flesh.
I pulled the trembling white Hungry Ghost out from the doll outfit and savagely bit its side.
As the aggrieved white Hungry Ghost’s cry echoed, the cunning white Hungry Ghosts wearing doll outfits began to flee frantically.
And the Golden Reapers also started shedding their doll outfits and running away.
The Golden Reapers giggled and started running away as if a hidden camera prank had been discovered.
Though the Golden Reapers were in a very playful mood, the white Hungry Ghosts scattered in all directions, desperately trying to escape.
But it was impossible for the white Hungry Ghosts, lacking both time acceleration and ghost form, to escape from me.
For the cunning white Hungry Ghosts who dared to deceive me, only a gruesome future remained.
A large cruise ship glided across the emerald sea. On it, Qing and the siblings from Italy stood side by side.
The sun shone warmly, and a refreshing breeze rustled their hair.
It was the kind of weather that naturally enriched the heart.
“It’s really nice here. With this kind of view, I can understand why the ticket price is expensive.”
Qing, observing dolphins through binoculars with the Orange Reaper perched on her head, said.
On Qing’s head stood the Orange Reaper, wearing tiny binoculars made by the Purple Reaper.
That Orange Reaper mimicked Qing observing the sea, striking a similar pose.
Seeing that cute sight, the woman let out a slight laugh.
“Still, a significant portion of the ticket price must be for avoiding or dealing with Object attacks.”
As the man, holding a cigarette, made an unwelcome realistic comment, the woman jabbed him with her elbow.
“Ah, the facilities inside here are quite good. Want to look around together later?”
Qing nodded at the woman’s words and smiled.
Just a short while ago, when they boarded, Qing and the siblings were strangers.
But after their mini Reapers accidentally made eye contact, they quickly became friends.
Even though they conversed in unfamiliar English.
Though mini Reapers were said to have spread all over the world, they were rarely seen except in specific regions, so it wasn’t strange to feel a sense of familiarity.
It could truly be called the magic of mini Reapers connecting people.
The woman, poking the annoyed Purple Reaper with her finger, looked up at the sky and said.
“It seems about time. How about we go for lunch?”
Qing took her eyes off the binoculars, nodded, and agreed.
They headed inside the cruise ship.
Soon they arrived at a lavishly decorated restaurant, where soft music and the sound of a TV flowed.
[The Korean Object Association announced plans to soon release newly developed household dolls to the market.]
[However, various research institutes, including the US Object Association, are expressing concerns about this decision. They point out that rashly releasing dolls without sufficient safety verification could be dangerous.]
[A Korean Object Association official stated, “We will release the product in strict compliance with all procedures,” and “The safety of our citizens is our top priority.”]
Perhaps because their next destination was Korea, the TV was broadcasting news related to Korea.
Watching the TV, Qing felt a little worried.
‘It looks quite dangerous. Will it be okay?’
But the Italian siblings and the mini Reapers seemed to have no worries at all.
“Come on, you can win! Purple Reaper!”
Instead, they were playing a strange game with the pre-meal bread.
The Orange Reaper and Purple Reaper were already competitively tearing at the pre-meal bread placed between them.
As if competing to see who could eat more.
In the short time she had been watching TV, they had fed them so much pre-meal bread that the Orange Reaper’s belly was protruding like a tadpole’s.
But unfortunately, the winner of the bread-eating contest was the Purple Reaper.
The Orange Reaper was disqualified.
It was caught by the Purple Reaper hiding bread in its fluffy hair.
Consoling the Orange Reaper, which was sprawled on the floor with a sad expression, Qing’s worries about Korea also disappeared.
‘Well, one Orange Reaper defeated the ‘Colossus’, so Korea, teeming with mini Reapers, will surely be fine.’
All the white Hungry Ghosts in the mini Reaper garden have disappeared!
‘Mother ate them all!’
Amidst such ominous rumors circulating among the Golden Reapers, a group of brave Golden Reapers was tracking the whereabouts of the white Hungry Ghosts.
Deep in the Marshmallow Plains.
Golden Reapers wearing explorer hats were slowly approaching a large, suddenly appeared pit.
Carefully descending into the pit, a giant cave entrance gaped open before the Golden Reapers.
Threatening skewers were erected all around the cave entrance, and numerous white Hungry Ghosts were impaled on those skewers like chicken kebabs.
The white Hungry Ghosts, impaled on skewers and burning all over, writhed, constantly waving their tiny feet.
As the ‘Kyuhinghing’ sounds of those white Hungry Ghosts echoed through the cave, it sounded like wails rising from hell.
And above those white Hungry Ghosts floated crystal orbs containing text that even Golden Reapers could understand.
As the Golden Reapers passed through and went deeper into the cave, another hell awaited them.
It was a hell labeled .
It was a hell so horrifying that even the Golden Reapers were shocked and covered their eyes.
That hell was so terrible that many explorer Golden Reapers gave up on relaying their records.
Seoul, Gangnam-gu, Object Association building.
Sehee had been summoned by the Object Association and was waiting for her turn.
Looking around, representatives from various research institutes in Seoul were seated.
They were all pitiful researchers with tired expressions.
Sehee poked the plump cheek of the Golden Reaper on her palm and turned her gaze out the window.
A clear sky and moderate sunlight, enough to make her want to lie down in the Sehee Research Institute courtyard immediately.
And the happy laughter of children playing in that sunlight.
Numerous people walking the streets in pairs.
Seoul’s atmosphere had certainly changed a lot.
Six months since the dolls, dubbed ‘Association Dolls’, were pre-released only in Seoul.
The streets of Seoul began to be filled with Association Dolls.
When the dolls first appeared, people were suspicious, but over time, their amazing abilities impressed everyone.
Nanny dolls holding the hands of children leaving home early in the morning and heading to daycare, construction worker dolls, teacher dolls passionately teaching in front of blackboards.
The dolls had become a part of daily life.
The dolls even earned money on behalf of their owners.
People gradually came to rely on the dolls due to their human-like appearance, and at some point, it became difficult to imagine Seoul without Association Dolls.
There were truly no places without dolls; one could count on one hand the places in Seoul without Association Dolls.
Mapo-gu, James Tower, and Sehee Research Institute.
Probably only these three places in Seoul.
If the mini Reapers hadn’t disliked the Association Dolls, Mapo-gu and Sehee Research Institute would surely be full of dolls too.
They disliked them so much that when Sehee tried to go out, Golden Reaper bodyguards wearing water-made spears and helmets would follow her.
The US Object Association, including James, maintained the view that ‘autonomously moving Objects are dangerous’.
Though the people seemed to be enjoying the truly sunny weather, to Sehee, it somehow felt like the calm before a storm.