Seoul Object Story
Chapter 334: Epilogue of the World at the End (3)

On a bus running through the outskirts of Songpa District.

Yerin was checking the security camera footage on her phone.

‘So adorable, waddling like that!’

Yerin was smiling fondly at the Golden Reaper captured on yesterday’s security camera footage.

In the camera view, a Golden Reaper waddled in, placed its hand on the front door, and looked around cautiously.

Then, seeing no one around, it grinned and slipped through the door as if being sucked in.

‘I wonder what these cute little reapers are up to in secret?’

‘Should I install cameras inside the house too?’

‘The numbers have increased? Yesterday, fifteen Golden Reapers went in. I hope the snacks I prepared today will be enough.’

Yerin’s expression turned slightly worried as she thought about the snacks she had left out on the table for the Golden Reapers.

Even though the Golden Reapers moved stealthily like ninjas, they always managed to eat all the snacks on the table.

It seemed the reapers had the ability to distinguish between gifts and regular household items, as they never touched other snacks in the house but always found and ate what was prepared for them.

‘Ah, maybe I should pretend to leave for work on a day off and sneak back in? I’d love to join the Mini Reapers’ party just once.’

Yerin smiled happily, indulging in pleasant fantasies.

James was in a car driven by a chauffeur, teaching a new picture to a Golden Reaper.

“This picture means ‘Mom looks tired.’”

The picture showed a deformed Gray Reaper lying down with an exhausted expression, ignoring the Golden Reaper.

It was a button image for the Golden Reaper communication button.

‘But Mom always looks like this?’

However, the Golden Reaper kept tilting its head, seemingly not understanding.

Hmm.

Seeing this, James opened his notebook and jotted down a few notes.

Then James looked out the window, noticed they had arrived at Sehee Research Institute, and closed his notebook.

‘A summons from the Gray Reaper. I hope it’s good news.’

James straightened his clothes and walked towards the institute.

The Marshmallow Plains, somewhat quieter now that the Gray Reaper had gone somewhere.

The pink girl still wore a bewildered expression.

A soft, fluffy field full of children resembling the Blue Child who had been with her.

A sweet fragrance permeating the entire world.

Though still a bit confused, the sweet and warm atmosphere of this place seemed to be calming her heart somewhat.

The pink girl sat on the marshmallow, observing the Mini Reaper Garden and trying to settle her mind.

Could this be the heaven her grandfather had spoken of?

Grandfather had said heaven was a place with no evil grimoires, where guardians and people lived happily together.

When she first heard those words, the pink girl couldn’t quite understand what a ‘guardian’ was, having never seen one. But now she knew what guardians were.

The Blue Reaper had called guardians ‘Hungry Ghost’, so maybe there were guardians here too.

The pink girl had been too overwhelmed to pay attention to her surroundings when she was suddenly dragged to this strange place, but as her tension eased, she was finally able to look around and take in various details.

As she did so, the pink girl’s eyes quickly spotted a white guardian.

‘Ah, there really is a guardian…?’

But the white Hungry Ghost the pink girl had discovered was being roasted on a bonfire, skewered on a sharp metal rod.

Huh… what?

Wasn’t heaven supposed to be a place where humans and guardians all lived happily together?

Kyuhinghing.

But the white guardian didn’t look happy at all; instead, it wore an extremely aggrieved expression as it was being roasted by a red child.

Well, the ‘Red Reaper’ roasting the white guardian did look quite happy.

Poke poke.

Turning her head, the pink girl found a Blue Idol Reaper gently poking her cheek with its microphone.

[It’s okay.]

[The Mini Reaper Garden is a really safe place!]

The Blue Idol Reaper reassured the pink girl with a gentle smile.

Then it brought out a bunch of snacks the pink girl had never seen before, from who knows where, and started sharing them.

“This is delicious…”

These treats were incomparably better than the occasional candies she had scavenged in the ‘Tower of the End’.

“If only this was heaven and Grandpa was here too…”

Hearing the pink girl’s unconscious murmur, the Blue Idol Reaper looked up at her with a slightly sad expression.

“It’s okay.”

The pink girl smiled as she slowly stroked the Blue Idol Reaper’s head.

‘This must be the ‘top floor of the tower’ I’ve climbed to?’

The girl who had always climbed the tower as if being chased by something smiled like that.

The Mini Reaper Garden, where the Gray Reaper had still not returned.

A massive structure began to fall into the Sea of Hot Chocolate.

It was the transparent sugar structure that had been extremely popular among the Mini Reapers.

Its appearance resembled the ‘Tower of the End’ that had disappeared into the evolution fluid.

And beyond it, a giant loaf of bread, soaked in hot chocolate, was being pulled ashore.

‘Bad bread!’

‘Bread!’

Golden Reapers with very angry expressions clenched their chubby fists and exuded their will towards that bread.

Black Reapers had transformed into giant ropes to bind the Bread Spider, and both Golden and Black Reapers were pulling on those ropes to drag the Bread Spider.

Thud.

With a heavy sound, the Bread Spider was placed on the Marshmallow Plains.

The start of all this was the Yellow Reaper’s puppet show.

The Yellow Reaper occasionally put on puppet shows for the Mini Reapers, and this time it had started a show after hearing a story from the Blue Idol Reaper.

However, the story included an account of a giant spider using Word Spirits, which exposed the Bread Spider’s misdeeds.

The incident of mutilating the Blue Reaper’s eyes saddened many Golden Reapers and even became an agenda item for the Golden Reaper Grand Conference.

As the Bread Spider was secured on the Marshmallow Plains, an Orange Reaper floated up above the soaked Bread Spider.

Squinting slightly, it exuded its will with a truly delighted expression.

‘The Golden Reaper Grand Conference rules as follows:’

‘This conference has confirmed through thorough investigation that the Bread Spider did indeed torment our Blue sibling.’

‘The severity of this act is judged to be far worse compared to past similar incidents, such as the case of the Sugar Flamingo.’

‘Moreover, the Bread Spider concealed these facts and did not even apologize.’

‘Therefore, this Golden Reaper Grand Conference sentences the Bread Spider, who tormented our Blue sibling, to ‘Snack Punishment’.’

Of course, the actual verdict from the Golden Reaper Grand Conference was simply ‘Snack!’, but the Orange Reaper had composed its own version of a ruling based on the information it had seen and heard.

The Orange Reaper grinned wickedly as it passed judgment.

As the sentence was handed down, the Mini Reapers began to exude their will furiously.

‘Snack!’

‘Bad snack!’

Mini Reapers with fierce expressions swarmed like termites towards the Bread Spider, which was as large as the White Hungry Ghost’s main body, and began biting into it mercilessly.

Finding the bread soaked in hot chocolate quite delicious, they started tearing into it even faster, their eyes wide open.

Some Mini Reapers tore off small pieces of the Bread Spider and dipped them in the Sea of Hot Chocolate before eating.

The Bread Spider closed its eyes with an expression that seemed to say, ‘This was inevitable.’

And the White Hungry Ghosts watched this scene with delighted expressions.

The laughter of the White Hungry Ghosts sitting in sunny spots and watching the spectacle provided a background soundtrack.

Kyuhihi.

The courtyard of Sehee Research Institute was becoming increasingly noisy as more people gathered.

“Wow, my doll is moving!!!”

Most of the commotion was caused by Yerin, who was making a fuss.

“Am I dreaming right now?”

Yerin was so excited she was even pinching her own cheeks.

For some reason, the more Yerin made a fuss, the more annoyed I felt.

Turning my gaze, I saw James observing the Lead Doll with a serious expression.

After creating a footstool by clumping together nearby Black Reapers, I sneaked a peek at his notebook, which was filled with illegible English cursive.

James glanced at me briefly before starting to write in fluent Korean handwriting.

<What kind of relationship does it have with the blue-haired girl from Relic No. 0?>

<But it doesn’t seem to be the same Object as the Gray Reaper.>

Then James reached out and firmly pressed the Lead Doll’s arm, adding to his notes.

As I looked away from James’s notebook, I saw Yerin being berated by Seo-ah.

“Researcher Oh Yerin! You kept such a dangerous Object at home without saying anything?”

“There’s no way something Reaper gave me could be dangerous…”

Yerin was wilting under Seo-ah’s attack.

“If it’s related to the Gray Reaper, you should have reported it even more urgently.”

“Everyone takes Mini Reapers out. Mini Reapers are also related to the Gray Reaper…”

“Ugh.”

“These days, people are even taking lots of Hungry Ghosts around…”

When Yerin pointed out the most serious current problem at Sehee Research Institute, Seo-ah’s expression turned awkward.

At that moment, Kim Jung-roe spoke to Oh Yerin in a heavy voice.

“Unauthorized removal is still unauthorized removal. Go to the office and start by writing an incident report.”

As Yerin was grabbed by Kim Jung-roe’s hand and started being dragged to the office, she looked in my direction and muttered.

“No… I don’t want to work.”

I was trying to ignore her, maintaining my act of not understanding speech, but at that moment, a golden light burst forth from the Lead Doll’s body next to me.

‘!!!’

And the Lead Doll opened its mouth with an expressionless face.

[That wish has been granted.]

An incomprehensible murmur.

But words that clearly felt like language.

‘!!!’

Everyone was very surprised that the Lead Doll had spoken, but I was shocked for a different reason.

I could understand what the Lead Doll had said.

Just like the murmurs of the Lamp’s Minions saying, ‘God was cruel.’

What on earth is this Lead Doll?