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The space that became a mini Reaper garden due to the aftermath of me becoming an external being.

I was playing with the Ghost Reaper.

Is it because it used to fly around? The Ghost Reaper has completely turned into a balloon.

When I touched it, it felt like a bouncy ball.

“Fly!”

I threw the Ghost Reaper into the sky.

And bounced it back up with my fist as it fell.

“Ugh!”

The pitiful will of the Ghost Reaper echoed.

Since it couldn’t control its body freely as a doppelgänger, it could only bounce on my fist like a volleyball.

It was so cute that I couldn’t help but laugh.

Just as I was having fun with the Ghost Reaper, suddenly, the mutilated corpse of the dead External Being Butterfly and the mini Reaper garden laid on the floor began to transform into golden flames and started to burn.

And it began to flow into my body like massive firewood.

It looked like a phenomenon caused by the death of the External Being Butterfly.

“Firewood?”

I frowned, puzzled.

This kind of thing had never happened from killing an external being; it was truly fascinating.

As I tilted my head slightly, observing the scene, someone poked my ankle repeatedly.

Turning my head, I saw the Black Hooded Reaper.

The Black Hooded Reaper’s eyes were filled with anticipation and excitement.

“Mom!”

It seemed like it was trying to hide it, but the Black Hooded Reaper was bursting with eagerness.

As I looked, the Black Hooded Reaper presented me with an orb that was hanging from its cloak.

I gazed at the orb with curious eyes.

It looked like a glass orb emanating a soft glow, but it was so damaged that it was hard to consider it an orb at all.

Is it a gift?

With that thought in mind, I accepted the orb from the Black Hooded Reaper, who had a racing heart expression.

‘!’

And the moment I took the orb, the will enclosed in it flowed into my body.

Longing, hope, and regret.

From that intense will that couldn’t express itself in language, I discerned the identity of the orb.

It was not just a worn-out orb.

It was a trace of the Mini Reaper that had tried to achieve something by burning its flesh and firewood.

“You worked hard.”

I sent my will toward the orb and began to breathe firewood into it.

Whoosh.

Like a well-burning wood, golden flames lit up on the orb.

The flames began to form the shape of a person and in an instant transformed into the appearance of the Black Reaper.

“Senpai!”

The Black Hooded Reaper overflowed with joyous will.

And it ran toward the newly appeared Black Reaper with an expression of delight.

The Black Reaper, called “Senpai,” was likely stunned by suddenly coming back to life, but it smiled softly and embraced the Black Hooded Reaper.

I stared at the two Black Reapers, holding each other dearly without saying a word, feeling a bit bewildered.

What kind of experience did they have that made them become so close over the short disappearance of just a month?

Just by the atmosphere, it looked as if they had been on the battlefield together for at least several years.

The Ghost Reaper was still hovering around me, going “Ugh!”, but at that moment, it was just background music.

I was thinking along those lines as I watched the reunion of the two Black Reapers.

*

As the moment of reunion came to an end, the senior Black Reaper finally noticed me properly.

The expression on the senior Black Reaper’s face instantly transformed into one of shock.

It looked like a painting, such a surprised expression that it made me chuckle.

In fact, if I thought about it for even a moment, it should have been clear that I alone could resurrect the Black Reaper in that state.

Perhaps it was too distracted by reuniting with the Black Hooded Reaper to think of that.

After a moment of being frozen, the senior Black Reaper finally moved.

With a look that said it really missed me, it dashed toward me and tightly embraced my ankle.

“Mommy!”

“It’s really you, Mommy!”

Usually, if it were another Mini Reaper, it would have immediately shaken off its feet, but this time it was different.

The feeling was so intense that I decided to let it be.

I squatted down and gently patted the head of the Black Reaper clinging to me.

It seemed to realize it more and more, as it smiled and rubbed its face against my ankle.

After a little while, I placed the Black Hooded Reaper and the senior Black Reaper on my shoulders.

“Mom! There are still many sleeping Black Reapers!”

At that moment, the Black Hooded Reaper poked my cheek and told me there were more Black Reapers.

Thump, thump.

Following the Black Hooded Reaper’s guidance, I walked across the desolate land.

Before long, a gigantic cave came into view.

The size was so immense that it looked like a Black Giant could fit inside.

As I stepped into the dim cave, an astonishing spectacle unfolded.

Stars sparkled like a night sky on the ceiling, and below lay a silent lake with no light reflecting the starlight.

“Oh.”

I couldn’t help but gasp.

But soon, I realized the truth behind this beautiful scene.

The stars on the ceiling and the dark lake were all Black Reapers.

Wow, there are so many.

At this rate, the Golden Reaper Conference could transform into a Black Reaper Conference.

While I was entertaining such silly thoughts, I spread the firewood throughout the cave.

In an instant, the dark cave began to shine with golden light.

The change began with the black liquid melting away.

As the golden flames of firewood spread across the surface, heads began to pop up from the black liquid.

“Mom?”

“Mommy has finally come!”

“Mommy!”

“Mommy, I missed you.”

And then, the Black Reapers who discovered me began to surge like a tidal wave.

The flames that spread to the ceiling burned it, turning the night sky into day.

The twinkling stars morphed into Black Reapers, bursting forth and showering down like rain of golden flames on the land.

Yikes.

I was swept away in that wave of Black Reapers and instantly became a Black Reaper cocoon.

And the joy, longing, and relief radiating from the Black Reapers washed over me like waves.

*

Deeper within the Mini Reaper Garden.

At the edge of the Jelly Jungle, where the endless Sea of Hot Chocolate begins.

There stood an Explorer Golden Reaper, positioned at the boundary where these two worlds meet.

Among the Golden Reapers, this one particularly loved exploration, still searching for new lands.

As usual, the Golden Reaper sat leaning against a jelly tree, enjoying the shade today as well.

Its golden eyes constantly scanned the horizon, filled with anticipation for the new land that would someday appear.

The scent of jelly fruits and the sweet aroma from the Sea of Hot Chocolate enveloped the Golden Reaper.

The continuous waiting might have been dull, but the Golden Reaper seemed to find even waiting fun, shaking its head slowly while exuding cheerful will.

The humming born from that will sounded like a song expressing a wish for Mom to create new land soon.

At that moment, before the Golden Reaper’s song could finish, an unbelievable spectacle began to unfold before its eyes.

‘!’

The Golden Reaper’s eyes widened in astonishment.

The surface of the Sea of Hot Chocolate began to churn, slowly rising as if a giant monster was awakening.

Amidst the cascading waves of hot chocolate, the tawny earth revealed itself.

“Is… is that really a new land?”

The Golden Reaper rubbed its eyes, not believing what it saw.

It wasn’t an illusion.

A new land was being born right in front of the Golden Reaper.

The Explorer Golden Reaper was in the Caramel Grand Canyon, a dimension resembling the one where the External Being Butterfly existed.

With its glistening tawny surface and numerous transparent lifeforms flying above.

“A new land!”

The Golden Reaper’s eyes sparkled.

Unable to contain its excitement, the Golden Reaper looked up at the sky.

Its face was filled with a happy smile.

Transparent, mysterious snack butterflies adorned the sky.

The light reflected from their wings made the entire canyon glitter.

The Golden Reaper announced the emergence of the new land it had seen through the Mini Reaper Network.

“A new land has appeared!”

“Flying snacks!”

“They’re shaped like butterflies!”

“Tawny colored!”

“So cool!”

The enthusiastic reactions of the Golden Reapers residing in the Mini Reaper Network flooded in.

“Exploration!”

“Snacks Mom doesn’t know about!”

“There might be legendary snacks!”

But the Explorer Golden Reaper no longer replied in the network.

Its heart was already filled with a desire to explore this new world.

With a giggle, the Golden Reaper took its first step into the Caramel Grand Canyon.

A tiny footprint was pressed into the tawny caramel.

It was a small footprint, but it was also the first footprint in the Caramel Canyon.

If the Golden Reaper had a history book, it would surely be a monumental achievement worth recording.

“Let’s go!”

The Golden Reaper walked forward, eager for the new adventure that awaited in the flying snacks and the great canyon.

 

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