Chapter 468

Mini Reaper Garden, Marshmallow Plains

Near the restricted area, the Immutable Zone, I came face to face with a transformed lead doll.

Its blue glow was a fresh change from before.

I gazed at the lead doll with curious eyes.

‘Its body’s turned blue.’

Had it eaten some of the blue Immutable Zone?

Unable to resist, I approached and poked the lead doll’s cheek.

A soft, squishy texture passed through my fingertips.

Then, suddenly, a sense of déjà vu washed over me when I looked at the lead doll.

It felt as if I had seen it in a long-forgotten dream.

A pitch-black, blood-red image flashed by.

Could it be that the figure in that dream was the lead doll? Or maybe it was me, having devoured the black Immutable Zone?

‘I don’t know.’

But I quickly shoved those thoughts deep into my mind.

It was a matter that had nothing to do with the present me.

What mattered now was that the disappearance of one Immutable Zone lightened my mood.

With the ominous aura that had once radiated from the Immutable Zone now gone, it felt as though I had taken off a thick mask, making it easier to breathe.

Of course, I couldn’t breathe, but that’s how it felt.

I turned to the lead doll, its cheeks all squished, staring at me with a blank expression, and asked,

‘What can you do now?’

In response, a brilliant blue light surged from the lead doll’s body.

Numerous soul shapes appeared in the air.

They were the forms of weak objects, ones I didn’t even remember.

They were probably the souls of objects that the Mini Reapers had been slaying around here.

This resembled the power I could wield as the Blue Giant.

I watched, a satisfied smile spreading across my face, nodding my head.

It was a good thing the lead doll could now use the power of the Blue Giant.

Especially in situations like now, where I was highly reluctant to wear the giant’s form due to the unexplainable ominousness in the air.

‘Besides, if the kids ever request the resurrection of an object, I won’t need to step in myself. It’ll be automatic.’

In other words…

Automatic Object Resurrection Hunting complete!

Hehe.

I started playfully squeezing the lead doll’s cheeks, feeling a natural connection as I realized our heights were the same.

It was soft.

I could now understand why Yerim kept fondling my cheeks.

‘Mom!’

‘Mom!’

At that moment, the Golden Reapers slowly peered out from their hiding spots.

Though we were near the Immutable Zone, which was off-limits to Mini Reapers, they seemed to sense my presence and began gathering.

How on earth did they notice?

It felt like they had placed a tracking device on me.

Noticing my annoyance, the lead doll tilted its head and did something unexpected.

[Here.]

It opened a door leading to Valhalla.

!!!

I was startled.

Opening a door to Valhalla was something even I couldn’t do.

Could this be another power of the Blue Giant, one that I didn’t know about?

Following my curiosity, I entered Valhalla with the lead doll.

A vast field of grass stretched out beneath a starry night sky.

The sound of grass swaying gently in the breeze tickled my ears.

It was always a peaceful place, quiet no matter when I visited.

Looking back, I saw the Golden Reapers hanging around the entrance to the Valhalla Gate.

‘Mom’s gone!’

‘Mom!’

The best part about this tranquil Valhalla was that Mini Reapers couldn’t enter.

Hehe.

I lay down on the grassy field, listening to the soft wind, and relished in the peaceful rest, with the sound of rustling grass as my background music.

Though I was lying on the quiet Valhalla grass, I soon grew bored, perhaps because there was nothing to do.

The lead doll, sitting beside me, didn’t seem bored at all, gently stroking the White Reaper.

Kyu-hing-hing.

Unable to bear the boredom, I got up from my spot, roughly bit down on the White Reaper’s back, and faced outside of Valhalla.

To shake off the boredom, I arrived at the Sehee Research Institute, which had completely transformed into another world.

It looked even more fantastical than the Black Planet, which was the real “other world”!

The first thing I saw were flying fish-shaped breads soaring in the sky.

At Sehee Research Institute, there were plenty of cookies and pastry-shaped decorations to match the flying fish-shaped bread’s theme.

Pudding-shaped chairs.

Baguette-shaped pillars.

Cotton candy-shaped lanterns.

And, scattered among the decorations, the Mini Reapers had slyly added real pastry structures.

It was truly a witch’s candy house!

It seemed as though Sehee Research Institute had long since given up on even pretending to be a research institute.

Its atmosphere had become so unique that reporters sometimes came by to do interviews.

Sehee Research Institute always looked so fun…

As I wandered around the amusement-park-like Sehee Research Institute, I spotted a suspicious warning posted near the entrance.

Warning! The taste of the fish-shaped bread given by Mini Reapers may differ from its texture.

Example: The chewy part may be red bean paste, but the taste may be black pudding.

Underneath that printed message was a handwritten note in pen.

Warning: There are many fish-shaped breads with mint chocolate flavor.

Never eat the fish-shaped bread given by the Orange Crown Reaper.

Only eat the fish-shaped bread handed directly by the Mini Reapers.

Most of the ones in cute gift boxes were made by the Orange Reaper.

It felt like something straight out of an urban legend.

I looked at the warning and couldn’t help but reflect.

I had known that I could alter the taste of fish-shaped bread all along, but… I hadn’t been quick to think of pranks like the Orange Crown Reaper!

‘I’m failing as a mom…’

To become a qualified mom, I decided to start brainstorming new pranks involving fish-shaped bread.

‘First, the flavor… I’ll go with espresso, something the Golden Reapers dislike.’

Hehe.

The rumor of an endless supply of fish-shaped bread filled with firewood, hidden somewhere in the Marshmallow Plains, started circulating in the Golden Reaper network.

Though such rumors were often false, one adventurer Golden Reaper searched every corner of the Marshmallow Plains to find the legendary fish-shaped bread.

After much searching, the adventurer discovered a maze that smelled strongly of fish-shaped bread.

The maze was filled with traps and dead ends, but the adventurer Golden Reaper used the smell of the bread as a guide and pressed on.

At the end of the maze, unlike the elaborate traps, the adventurer reached a surprisingly simple clearing.

It was a large white area made entirely of marshmallows, but the adventurer Golden Reaper didn’t notice anything except the magnificent golden fish-shaped bread in the center.

‘The legendary fish-shaped bread!’

Just as the rumors had said, the bread was infused with firewood.

Thud, thud.

The adventurer Golden Reaper eagerly posted about his discovery of the legendary fish-shaped bread to the network, and with an excited expression, he approached the bread slowly.

‘It looks delicious!’

In front of the fish-shaped bread, there was a message orb with an enticing note written on it.

“So delicious that you’ll faint the moment you take a bite.”

It seemed like something written by mom, but the adventurer Golden Reaper, too excited by his great discovery, didn’t notice.

Chomp.

As he took a bite, the overwhelming bitterness spread across his mouth, a taste like coffee concentrated ten thousand times.

‘Mom…!’

As the adventurer Golden Reaper fainted from the unbearable bitterness, the other Golden Reapers, having heard the news, appeared hazily in his line of sight.

A long line had formed.

‘No!’

The adventurer Golden Reaper tried to leave a small warning as he collapsed, but the others, filled with anticipation for the legendary fish-shaped bread, couldn’t hear his final warning.

And in the corner of the clearing, a White Reaper was quietly watching the Golden Reapers’ procession, chuckling mischievously.

In the now desolate backyard of Sehee Research Institute, with most of the researchers absorbed in the fish-shaped bread, Seora and the Saint Doll were facing each other.

“Your actions, work style, and even the reactions of the Mini Reapers all seem to scream that you’re researcher Yerim.”

“But something’s different. Who exactly are you?”

The Saint Doll, usually smiling like Yerim, looked slightly surprised before adopting a warmer, more gentle expression.

[“How did you notice?”]

“!!!”

The Saint Doll lifted its blindfold, showing a broken part, and spoke.

Meanwhile, by their side, Seora’s Attachment Reaper, the Golden Reaper, and the Sprout Reaper were munching on large popcorns, their expressions filled with intrigue.