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Near the Sehee Research Institute, Yerin’s apartment, relocated since the Association Doll incident.

In the dimly lit, empty room of Yerin, a presence was felt.

While Yerin had gone to work at the Sehee Research Institute, numerous Mini Hungry Ghosts gathered in her vacant home.

These poor ghosts had bodies scorched and blackened in places.

The Mini Hungry Ghosts who gathered started heading toward the room where the Lead Doll was sitting.

Upon arriving, the Mini Hungry Ghosts sat on the floor in a fan shape, looking at the chair where the Lead Doll rested.

After waiting for a few minutes, the Lead Doll slowly began to open its eyes.

As if its eyelids were immensely heavy.

Then the Lead Doll noticed the many eager Hungry Ghosts in front of it and smiled gently.

Kkyu!

Seeing that smile, the Mini Hungry Ghosts leapt onto the Lead Doll’s lap.

One by one, in an orderly fashion.

As each ghost rushed at them in turn, the Lead Doll embraced them softly.

Kkyuhihi.

The Mini Hungry Ghosts, seated on the Lead Doll’s lap, soaked in the gentle strokes of its hand and laughed contentedly.

A brief peace granted to the Mini Hungry Ghosts who were ridden by the Red Reapers and devoured by the Golden Reapers.

It was a moment far too warm for the Mini Hungry Ghosts.

A happy respite that continued until the Lead Doll fell asleep again.

While the Mini Hungry Ghosts enjoyed their little moment of happiness, a tiny golden head peeked through the firmly closed front door.

It was a Golden Reaper chasing after the ‘Kkyuhihi’ laughs of the Hungry Ghosts as they headed somewhere.

‘!!!’

The Golden Reaper, witnessing the joyful moment of the ghosts, froze in shock as if it had seen something that should not exist.

A kind mother.

A mother dressed up.

A mother who smiles and hugs.

A mother who does not torment the Hungry Ghosts.

All of it was a fantastical mother that could not possibly exist.

*

In the center of Seoul Forest, the Steel Tower.

I lay in front of the Steel Tower, waiting for it to completely collapse.

Although the sound of something breaking was persistent, no matter how long I waited, the Steel Tower did not fall.

‘The sounds of breaking keep coming, but nothing changes no matter how long I wait.’

Is the Steel Tower too big to break down quickly?

‘I don’t know.’

Even considering that the Steel Tower is an object, it was still exceedingly large.

It was massive like a large building, yet felt entirely different from one.

A building with glass windows and various structures like entrances.

A Steel Tower made of smooth, solid metal with no structures at all.

You wouldn’t often think, ‘How many people would it take to wrap around that building?’

But when it comes to a giant tree, many people would probably ponder the same with the Steel Tower.

Perhaps due to the absence of any structure, its size felt incredibly real.

I waddled over, stretching my arms as wide as I could, and clung to the Steel Tower.

‘Maybe about 100 Gray Reapers would finally have a chance to measure its circumference.’

As I lay back after measuring the Steel Tower’s circumference, I collapsed onto the ground.

While I rested in that position, the Golden Reapers tidying up Seoul Forest began to approach me, giggling.

Those children crawled up my body, gathering on my belly.

‘Mom’s belly fat!’

‘It’s so squishy!’

Bouncing around.

They started treating my squishy belly like a trampoline.

It didn’t feel like it was always this way, but nowadays, every time I laid down, all the nearby Golden Reapers raced over as if a can’t-miss amusement ride had emerged!

Could it be that squishy?

I gently pinched and poked my belly fat.

As I watched the bouncing children, I sensed a new ability blooming within me.

It must have been the ability of the Green Moon.

An ability that once overgrown plants, yet seemed subtly different.

Watching the Golden Reaper bounce on my belly, a fun prank utilizing the Green Moon’s ability suddenly came to mind.

Hehe.

I snatched one of the Golden Reapers who was having fun playing.

‘?’

With a puzzled expression, the Golden Reaper tilted its head as I blew some firewood into it.

‘From now on, you’re a chubby Golden Reaper!’

However, the Golden Reaper already knew that my firewood wouldn’t cause it to gain weight and just grinned.

Maybe thinking, ‘Mom is doing something strange again?’

I began to blend some of the Green Moon’s abilities into the firewood, trickling it into the Golden Reaper.

The so-called overgrowth ability of the Green Moon!

‘!!!’

The first to notice a change were the Golden Reapers who were watching from my belly.

‘It’s getting bigger!’

Thanks to the ability that enlarges the size of the Mini Reapers, the once tiny Golden Reaper started to grow bit by bit.

Compared to the ability that made plants across the Earth flourish, it was a rather meager ability.

It was a power to temporarily enlarge Mini Reapers and make them slightly chubby.

Moreover, the size increase topped out at about twice their original size, yet that alone was enough to scare the Golden Reapers.

‘!!!’

As the Golden Reaper caught in my grip looked down at its palm, it startled, and its antennae perked up.

And noticing that its palm was slowly growing larger, it began to struggle and try to escape my grasp.

‘No way!’

‘Now you’re a chubby Golden Reaper too!’

Hehe.

As I said that with a smile, the other Golden Reapers began to back away from me with frightened expressions.

‘You turned into a chubby little brother!’

The Golden Reaper who escaped my grasp flopped onto the ground, staring at its slightly chubby belly.

‘….’

After a little while, the open lot in front of the Steel Tower was littered with twice the size Golden Reapers.

‘No way…’

All of them were captured by me, what could be called ‘Daeji’ Golden Reapers.

Fortunately, the Green Moon’s ability could be activated remotely, allowing me to successfully make many Golden Reapers chubby.

The Don quixote Golden Reapers lay there gloomily until the effect wore off and they returned to their original forms.

Hehe.

It’s been a while since I’ve succeeded in a prank.

*

On the outskirts of Songpa District, Sehee Research Institute.

A woman with a green Reaper perched on her head visited the Sehee Research Institute.

Recently discharged from the hospital, the woman was quite thrilled.

Finally at the Sehee Research Institute, where she had longed to be!

With a slight smile, the woman spoke to the green Reaper on her head.

“Aren’t you excited?”

“Bing!”

As the green Reaper and the woman arrived at the courtyard of the Sehee Research Institute, numerous Mini Reapers began to rush toward them.

‘It’s my little brother!’

‘A new younger sibling!’

Watching that scene, the woman fidgeted with her camera, glancing around the courtyard.

No Gray Reapers around, huh…

According to the James Research Institute report, Gray Reapers often leave their places.

So I thought it was highly likely not to see one, yet it felt a little gloomy that there really weren’t any.

“Bing!!!”

The green Reaper, munching away on pudding with the Mini Reapers, suddenly flew up into the sky, letting out a loud ‘Bing!’

‘?’

Confused Mini Reapers and the humans in the courtyard.

But as a little time passed, grass began to sprout exuberantly in the courtyard of the Sehee Research Institute.

And from that grass, tiny miniature animals began to emerge.

‘!!!’

Starting with mini rabbits the size of Mini Reapers’ heads, and cute creatures resembling tiny possums.

These were the animals that had melted into dark green slime due to the rampage of the Green Moon.

When it came to burning away the slime of those creatures, even the bright red Reapers displayed a slightly melancholic expression at their popularity.

‘Little baby bird!’

‘Little rabbit!’

The Mini Reapers laughed joyfully as they reunited with the mini animals.

Waddling.

They started running around with mini possums on their heads and feeding jelly that looked like seeds to mini hamsters, adding noise to the courtyard of the Sehee Research Institute.

‘My brother is amazing!’

‘So impressive!’

The green Reaper blended in with the Mini Reapers like a pro.

*

Near the Sehee Research Institute, in a densely overgrown area.

The restoration of Songpa District had progressed significantly, yet many places remained lonely and vacant.

In one of those scarcely populated spots, a Yellow Reaper set up camp in a place obscured by bushes, invisible from the outside.

It was a small hideout created by the Yellow Reaper, away from the always-bustling Mini Reaper garden.

This hideout was a fairly large cave made by manipulating the Black Reaper Doll Outfits, inside which a variety of dolls were piled high.

From simple teddy bears to various human-shaped dolls and even object dolls like the White Hungry Ghost Doll.

All kinds of dolls were there.

A small patter of footsteps began to echo in the Yellow Reaper’s hideout.

Shuffle, shuffle, the sounds of feet dragging through the dirt.

Hearing that sound, the Yellow Reaper stopped crafting doll outfits and sported a slightly crumpled smile.

The owner of those footsteps entered the cave with familiar movements and greeted the Yellow Reaper.

“Hi! I’m here!”

Seeing the ash-gray girl with a bright smile, the Yellow Reaper expressed its joy as well.

It laughed as if saying ‘Fuhihi.’

“Oh! You laughed weirdly again!”

The worn-out girl in tattered clothes pouted her cheeks at the sight of that smile.

Then, she pinched the Yellow Reaper’s cheeks, raising the corners of its mouth properly.

“You need to smile like this.”

Hehe.

The ash-gray girl beamed brightly at the properly smiling Yellow Reaper.

 

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