Seoul Object Story

The empty lot was filled with big white teeth, too big to be human but looked just like ‘em! Oh, there were some faint little screams, too.

“Kki… Ekkk…”

Once all of the teeth of the Hungry Ghost butler were pulled out, they went all soft, crumbling away like sand and poof, disappeared! All the teeth that were piled up like a mountain also started to crumble.

Aww, too bad. Out of all the Hungry Ghost butlers that came to see us, only one was left. We pulled out enough teeth to make a whole pile in the empty lot, but it didn’t work. My plan to turn the toothy butlers into cute butlers didn’t work.

‘Cause they could regenerate, see? No matter how many teeth I pulled out, they just grew right back. And then, when it ran out of regeneration magic, poof, it turned to dust.

It was a shame, really.

If they just didn’t have any teeth, they would have been so cute…!!!

Hmm, wait a minute. Pulling out all those teeth was kinda like torture, wasn’t it? Were the Mini Reapers okay?

I thought they’d look at me with big, wide eyes like I was a piece of trash, but the Mini Reapers just stared at me with blank faces. And when I looked at them, they tilted their heads like they were asking, ‘What’s wrong?’

Yup, as expected, they didn’t care about Objects that were bad to humans.

I got a bit curious, so I picked up one of the Golden Reapers who was sitting on the floor and held it up. I put my finger in its mouth to look, and yep, there were tiny little teeth on the tip of my finger.

Since the Mini Reapers are only as big as my palm, their teeth were teeny-tiny, too. Their teeth were cute, so why did the Hungry Ghost’s teeth look so creepy?

It must be the size! The Hungry Ghost teeth were stupidly big.

Even though the Hungry Ghost’s head was huge, the teeth were still way too big for its head, so that’s probably why.

As I fiddled with the Golden Reaper’s tiny teeth and thought about different kinds of stuff, I could feel the Golden Reaper getting all tense.

Thump-! Thump-!

Golden Reapers didn’t have hearts, but it felt like its little heart was beating really fast.

That was weird.

The bad Objects crumbled away into sand, so why was it so tense?

Besides, the Golden Reapers never got tense when they were fighting enemies.

Wait a minute… Don’t tell me?

Tap-! Tap-!

Every time I touched the teeth with my finger, the Golden Reaper’s body got tenser.

Did it think I was gonna pull out its teeth?

I couldn’t believe the Mini Reaper didn’t trust me!

Now I really felt like pulling out a tooth just for fun.

Hehehe…

The Golden Reaper started wiggling in my hand, trying to get away.

I looked down at it, wondering why it was doing that, and I saw my own face reflected in its eyes. I had a huge naughty grin on my face.

I wasn’t gonna hurt it, but it was funny to see it get so worked up.

It’s okay if I pull out just one of your teeth, right? Hmm?

The Golden Reaper started wiggling even more. Heh! But even though I was weak, I was still stronger than the Mini Reapers, so there was no way it could escape from my grip.

Just as I was about to make a scary face and pretend I was gonna pull out a tooth, the Black Reaper zoomed up like a little rocket and head-butted me in the tummy!

The Black Reaper was so strong! The head-butt was so hard, my feet lifted off the ground!

As I lost my grip on the Golden Reaper because of the surprise attack, I saw the Black Reaper grab it and run away! All the Mini Reapers ran away in different directions, covering their mouths with their hands.

Then, they hid behind the bookshelf, occasionally peeking out to keep an eye on me.

It was so funny! So, I stretched out my arms and ran towards them.

Hehehe! If I catch you, I’m gonna pull out all your teeth! Muhahaha!!!

felt so happy watching the little rascals run away in fear and shock!

*********After passing through the iron gate, the tattooed woman, believing they were temporarily safe, sank to the floor.

“It seems the gatekeepers can’t follow us through. That’s… convenient.”

Pale, she shrugged off her blood-soaked coat. The gruesome wound on her forearm, where the Hungry Ghost butler had bitten her, was already gone, replaced by a healthy, fully regenerated hand.

As expected, being a Magic Book did have its advantages.

A body that would heal, relentlessly, until her neck was severed.

The hand she’d sacrificed to summon the green serpent, however, remained missing. Since it was offered as a catalyst, its natural regeneration was unlikely.

The younger sister stared at the vanished hand with a gloomy expression.

“Sister, more dangerous Objects will appear now, won’t they? Do we really have to keep going? Can’t we just go back?”

The injuries sustained were, admittedly, more extensive than anticipated. Not life-threatening, though. The woman had endured similar trauma even as a human. Now, with her self-regenerating body, such wounds were mere superficial inconveniences.

“It’s fine.”

The woman soothed her sister with gentle pats until she calmed down.

“I’m an Object. I won’t die that easily.”

Besides, there was something she needed here.

The Alchemist Sword

A blade forged to annihilate anything connected to a Magic Book, tempered with potent reagents.

An essential tool for any alchemist, akin to butchers tasked with slaughtering magicians enthralled by Magic Books. As Objects continued to infest Earth, the sword would become increasingly necessary.

Had the alchemists still lived, she would have attempted a trade. But now that she was almost certain of their demise, she planned to simply take it from their workshop.

After all, there was nothing such as an alchemist without a sword.

Once her sister seemed calmer, she wrung out her blood-soaked coat, donned it once more, and stood.

“We are almost there. Let’s go.”

Speaking calmly, she took her sister’s hand and continued deeper into the darkness.

*********The white, Reaper-like Object descended the stairs, its steps slow and measured. It moved through the private chamber and into the long-abandoned workshop.

Thick dust coated every surface, shrouding the room in a dim, oppressive gloom. The air hung heavy with the pungent scent of lead.

Turning towards the source of the metallic odor, it saw them – dolls, perfect replicas of the Gray Reaper, lining the walls.

Dolls made of lead.

Dolls crafted in the image of their deceased master.

Empty vessels, alchemically created, devoid of soul or will.

Yet, their master had cherished these hollow figures until her dying breath, clinging to their useless forms for comfort in her final moments.

Passing the silent dolls, it came to a large mirror.

A mirror that seemed almost… alive, capturing and preserving a moment in time with unsettling clarity.

Within the mirror’s depths, a girl with vibrant blue hair and a mischievous smile gazed back.

It was the master, as she was in life.

[ Come on, stand here properly! ]

She chided, adjusting the posture of an expressionless lead doll.

The lead doll in the reflection, though gray, lacked the characteristic metallic sheen of the others. Alchemy had transformed it, granting it the semblance of human skin.

The master, fussing over the doll, radiated exhilarating joy.

[ Now, hold this! ]

She placed a small, white guardian in the doll’s arms.

It was an ordinary guardian, save for its rounded form, stubby limbs, and lightweight construction—designed so the lead doll could hold it without difficulty.

The white guardian, its expression faintly disgruntled, stared at its reflection in the mirror held by the lead doll.

[ Now, look at the mirror properly! ]

The master laughed, uttering a nonsensical word— “Kimchi!”—before the image in the mirror rippled and vanished, leaving only the present reflected in its glassy surface.

The mirror held a memory of simpler times, a time of genuine, if fleeting, happiness, even for a mere guardian.

Now, the mirror reflected only its solitary form, weeping in the dusty, silent workshop.

Weeping for a time that would never return.

Master…

The guardian tore its gaze from the image of its eternally sleeping master and looked ahead.

The white, Reaper-like guardian turned from the mirror and began to walk outside with heavy steps.

It was a heavy gait, each movement a reluctant acceptance of an unavoidable fate.

Just as the master had foretold, the ‘Lead Doll’ had returned.

Preparations must be made. Preparations to welcome it.

The scenario the master created will be completed with ‘my death’.

*********As the tattooed woman and her younger sister traversed the long, dark hallway, a subtle shift occurred in their surroundings.

The rough, cavernous passage transformed into a smoothly finished wooden corridor. Though coated in a thick layer of dust, the elegant wave patterns carved into the wood remained visible, as did the ornate, albeit extinguished, lamps.

The architecture was reminiscent of the hallways of a grand mansion.

The tattooed woman felt a pang of familiarity, a strange sense of homecoming. The style of the hallway and its decorations resonated with something deep within her memory.

At the corridor’s end, a spacious room awaited—a living room, furnished with an elaborately carved table and chairs. But there was no time to admire the décor. The presence of a powerful Object emanated from the room, radiating an almost palpable energy.

It was enough to make even the woman, a seasoned alchemist who had dealt with countless Magic Books, tense.

“White Reaper?”

The younger sister whispered, turning towards the source of the energy.

As if summoned by her voice, the entity turned, its gaze settling on the younger sister.

“Kyu…”

It was an Object, its face etched with an unsettling melancholy.