After confirming that the blonde girl was asleep, Agent ck stepped out of the building to conduct a perimeter check.


    The vige they’d arrived at appeared peaceful, shrouded in a thick fog. However, there was something off about it in his eyes.


    His instincts were soon proven correct when a cloud fish swam by, its tail swayingzily. Without much reaction, Agent ck opened his notebook and jotted down a few observations.


    < the="" vige="" seems="" to="" have="" little="" contact="" with="" the="" outside="" world.="">


    < the="" people="" didn’t="" exhibit="" the="" usual="" behavior="" of="" isted=""munities.="">


    < the="" people="" didn’t="" shy="" away="" from="" outsiders,="" show="" curiosity,="" or="" extend="" any="" wee.="">


    Overall, the cloud fish vige had an unnaturally calm and subdued atmosphere.


    <em>Could it be mind corruption?</em>


    Agent ck nced up at the orange moon, suspecting it might be exerting some kind of influence. It was a reasonable hypothesis, given the thick fog that resembled an Object’s aura. But there was no hard evidence to support this idea yet.


    <em>p-!</em>Just as he was about to seek out the vigers for more information, he heard a sharp sound. Instantly alert, Agent ck hurried back inside, his first thought being that something had happened to the young miss. But what greeted him wasn’t what he expected.


    Near the window, bathed in the soft orange light, the blonde girl was holding a Red Reaper in her palm.


    Judging by its appearance, size, and demeanor, it seemed to be a mini reaper, simr to the ‘Golden Reaper,’ a known subordinate(?) of the Gray Reaper.


    “A-ahjussi! Look at this!”


    With a beaming smile, the girl pointed at the tiny Red Reaper, who was busily licking a piece of candy, cradled in her palm.


    “It looks like one of the Gray Reaper’s henchmen. Where did you find it, Young Miss?”


    The Red Reaper,pletely uninterested in their conversation, made a sad face as its tongue got stuck to the candy.


    The blonde girl giggled at the sight and gently pried its tongue off the candy.


    “I don’t know either. I had a dream about a bunch of colorful mini reapers. Maybe that’s why?”


    Agent ck stopped analyzing after hearing that. There wasn’t enough information on the Gray Reaper or the mini reapers to draw any conclusions especially since it had been some time since the Sehee Research Institute had sent a proper report to the association. ??


    Things had deteriorated after the Seoul Forest Vige fire incident. Most likely, the institute’s change in leadership following the director’s kidnapping was to me.


    The Red Reaper quickly devoured the candy, then settled on the girl’s shoulder, its cold gaze fixed on her profile.


    <em>Fortunately,</em> at least it seems friendly to the Young Miss.


    Agent ck let out a quiet breath of relief. Given the power of the Golden Reaper, the most well-known of the mini reapers, it was only natural to be concerned.


    Though not fully understood, experts spected that the ‘Golden Reaper’ was a ‘Special Object.’ Some even theorized that if it ever turned hostile, Korea could faceplete destruction.


    While the blonde girl and the Red Reaper yed, a soft breeze rustled through the air, further emphasizing the vige’s eerie calm. It was difficult to believe such a peaceful moment could exist in a ce surrounded by Objects.


    The girl continued to converse with the Red Reaper as though they couldmunicate. Though Agent ck knew that Objects couldn’t talk, she seemed content,ughing softly as she spoke.


    Watching her, he noticed how her once-gloomy demeanor had brightened.


    But the peaceful atmosphere didn’tst.


    The fog outside the window began to darken. Momentster, thunder cracked through the sky, shattering the vige’s tranquility.


    <em>Rumble-!</em>


    Sensing danger, Agent ck immediately shielded the girl behind the wall before assessing the situation.


    The orange moon, once casting a gentle glow, now flickered like a failing fluorescent bulb. The fog had turned ck and swirled violently, with asional shes of lightning cutting through it. The ominous atmosphere was undeniable.


    <em>Something’s happening.</em>


    He looked up at the orange moon, which now seemed to be weeping. ck liquid dripped from its surface like thick, oily tears.


    Ssh-!


    The viscous ck substance hit the ground, filling the air with the pungent smell of petroleum.


    The cloud fish, oncezily drifting through the sky, scattered in panic. A few darted toward the window, forcing Agent ck to close it quickly. Grabbing the girl’s hand, he opened the door.


    “Ah… Ahjussi.”


    But outside, they were met with an unsettling sight. The hallway was packed with cloud fish, their eyes glowing orange as they stared down the pair. Some were asrge as an adult’s forearm, their sheer number and the eerie glow from their eyes making the scene downright unsettling.


    *********The tattooed woman and her younger sister arrived at the Sehee Research Institute without much fanfare.


    “Sis, there are so many cloud fish here.”


    Her younger sister held one of the cloud fish in her hand, petting it absentmindedly as if it were a household pet.


    The woman nced at her, a faint smile touching her lips, before her eyes swept over the surroundings.


    <em>This ce is far toox.</em>


    Even after such a major incident, all she could see were reporters and gawking bystanders. A few police officers milled about, but there was no sign of anyone from the association.


    It all felt like some bizarre enactment of a government n to “befriend” the Objects.


    Given the superiormunication, transportation, and infrastructure systemspared to where the woman used to live, this kind of negligence was difficult to justify. Unless, of course, it was all part of some carefully crafted national agenda.


    A means ofmunication that can report incidents in less than a minute from anywhere.


    A transportation system that ensures immediate response, no matter the distance.


    In her eyes, these technologies were nothing short of miraculous.


    At that moment, a Cloud Whale that had been driftingzily in the sky abruptly descended, then shot back up just as suddenly. Its disappearance left behind a sky embroidered with a river of cloud fish.


    Her younger sister, who had looked deted when the whale left, now stared wide-eyed at the Milky Way of cloud fish that illuminated the sky.


    The tattooed woman continued on, her steps deliberate, heading toward the Sehee Research Institute. Her goal: the alchemist of Sehee and the infamous ‘Gray Reaper.’


    “How in the….”


    When she inquired about the Gray Reaper’s whereabouts, the staff’s response was simple, yet iprehensible.


    The Gray Reaper had vanished.


    <em>Is it okay for an Object that was being contained to disappear somewhere like that?</em>


    Strange.


    *********The after-party for the Colosseum event with Reaper was finally over.


    I really, really wanted to hug Reaper and feed it tons of pudding, but then—bam—this whole ident happened!


    And after that Cloud Whale attack? Ugh, Reaper just vanished, poof, like smoke.


    “Reaper, let’s eat pudding together!” I called out, trying to lure it in with pudding as bait.


    But no luck. Reaper didn’t show up.


    Instead, a bunch of mini Reapers started gathering around me, all with these adorable faces.


    <em>Sigh… Where did Reaper go?</em>


    I mean, we’d just survived all that craziness in the U.S., and I thought maybe—just maybe—we could finally rx. But nope. Off Reaper goes again!


    I plopped down on the ground, feeling defeated, and opened up a pudding cup. Right away, the Golden Reapers and ck Reapers swarmed me, their mouths wide open like little baby birds.


    “Okay, okay! I get it!” Iughed and snapped a picture of their cute, begging faces before giving each of them a spoonful of pudding.


    Once they had their fill and closed their mouths, looking all satisfied and happy, I noticed it was already getting dark.


    The sky was all dim and the only thing lighting up the courtyard was this strange bonfire the mini Reapers had brought along.


    But, wait a second… Why did it smell so sweet? Like, way too sweet. Curiosity got the best of me, so I shuffled over to check it out.


    “!”


    Inside the fire, something transparent was slowly melting. It took me a second, but then I realized—it was a mingo! A ss mingo, all clear and shiny, melting right there in the mes.


    Could it be that’s the same ss mingo that the Golden Reaper had smashed to bits?


    I thought it was totally gone, but nope—here it was, looking all sad and melty. Its head drooped, and these sugar-like tears were dripping down its face. Oh, poor thing.


    Its eyes kinda seemed to say, <em>“Please, send me back to the containment room…”</em>


    And, yeah, I did feel a little bad for it. But then I remembered the headache that would follow if an Object that was supposed to be destroyed turned out to still be alive.


    <em>Umm, no thanks.</em> I turned my head, deciding to ignore it.


    <em>Sorry, mingo.</em>


    Think of it as payback for attacking our staff and the Blue Reaper.


    *********Looking up, I saw a river of cloud fish dancing gracefully across the sky—soooo pretty! It stretched on and on, like it would never end, all the way to some far-off mountain outside of Seoul.


    Oh! But even though I was far from Seoul, there was a helpful signpost on the ground that told me where I was.


    < map="" of="" mt="" odae="" national="" park.="">


    The trail up the mountain looked all old and broken down, like nobody had cared for it in ages. But that just made it even prettier, in a wild, overgrown kind of way. The road might’ve been in ruins, but the bushes had taken over, all lush and green. It was like nature was showing off or something!


    As I started climbing the mountain, the river of clouds above didn’t seem so important anymore. Nope. Because up ahead, there was a huuuuge dome of fog, like a giant barrier, just waiting for me!


    When I got closer, I felt it. That weird, tingly, ominous feeling. Even though it was just fog, there were shes of lightning inside it, like it was angry or something. And, oh, that smell… Ew, petroleum again? Yuck.


    Oh no, not the ck mucus stuff again!


    Once I take care of this mess, I’m definitely cleaning up all the ck goo in Gwanak-gu. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll catch whoever’s behind this disaster! Hmph. To think those humans who messed up Gwanak-gu with the ck liquid were back at it again!


    Once I take care of this mess, I’m definitely cleaning up all the ck goo in Gwanak-gu. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll catch whoever’s behind this disaster! Hmph. To think those humans who messed up Gwanak-gu with the ck liquid were back at it again!


    But then, as I kept going, the fog suddenly changed. It stopped being white and turned pitch ck! The only light left was from the shes of lightning that streaked through the fog, like some storm cloud had fallen to the ground.


    I pushed through that stormy fog and finally came out on the other side. And there it was—a vige, with cloud fish everywhere, going wild! They were usually so gentle, but now? They were fighting, teeth bared, chomping at each other like they’d gone crazy!


    The white cloud fish were battling the ones stained with ck goo. It looked like a giant, angry sea, waves of fish crashing into each other, trying to bite and w their way to victory.


    At first, it seemed like a close fight, but the white cloud fish were losing. If they got bitten by the spotted, gooey ones, they’d get infected and turn into monsters. Yikes!


    But then, there it was—a red spark, bncing out the battle! It was a Red Reaper!


    The little Red Reaper was all fiery, burning its body up like a cute little me tornado, shooting fire everywhere. It zipped through the air, fanning its mes until they grew into this huge, crazy wildfire! The ck-stained cloud fish didn’t stand a chance—they got roasted into dust by the mes.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Even though my connection to it wasn’t that strong, I knew for sure—it was a mini reaper.


    A new baby reaper!


    But wait… Something felt off. I could only see one mini reaper, but… I felt two. Where was the other one?


    I started moving toward where the Red Reaper was fighting when, suddenly, I felt someone watching me. Like, really, intensely watching me. I turned my head to find out who it was, and there she was—a blonde girl, the one I’d seen a few times before.


    She was just… staring at me, frozen in ce, like she couldn’t take her eyes off of me.