Chapter 32

The kingdom found itself in a dire situation.

An anomaly starting from the north had hastened the impending invasion.

Because a phenomenon turning the kingdom to ash was now sweeping down from the north.

The premature assault faltered, yet the pulsation from the north delivered a fatal blow to the kingdom.

The kingdom turned to ashes.

A realm built by gathering countless resources was collapsing.

Precious soldiers amassed over ten years were reduced to ash in an instant.

Ten years of patience vanished in the blink of an eye.

The foundation meant to dominate the world crumbled like that.

The area consuming the kingdom was expanding, making it urgent to begin the southern advance.

But the ground troops couldn’t advance, and due to the pulsation, the kingdom’s facade peeled away, revealing its entrance.

It had come to this — the royal castle must be abandoned, and they must hastily head south.

‘!’

While moving the soldiers to prepare for evacuation, an unfamiliar presence was felt entering the kingdom.

An intruder.

How soon after being exposed did the intruders already arrive?

This intruder was entirely gray and was leisurely walking into the kingdom’s interior without much caution.

Though unfortunate for the intruder, the kingdom had no time to spare.

Soldiers of the kingdom who had no room for mercy began moving swiftly to eliminate the intruder.

***

A gaping hole leading underground.

A cave where ice and metal intertwined, exuding a bizarre atmosphere.

Metal powder clung to the floor and walls in patterns, suggesting the walls acted as powerful magnets.

Occasional flashes indicated high-voltage currents also flowed within.

The height was about 1.2 meters—just enough to walk through comfortably.

With high-voltage currents flowing and the height barely at 1.2 meters, how are humans supposed to explore this place?

Not my problem though.

Venturing deep underground revealed a massive cavern filled with intersecting tunnels.

And there, a large number of ice spiders awaited.

They clung to every surface—walls and ceilings alike—actively utilizing the magnetic properties of the cave walls.

Unlike the towering humanoid soldiers outside, these were small ones, only about 1 meter tall.

Probably an adaptation to the low-ceilinged tunnels.

Despite their numbers, these ice spiders weren’t much of a threat since they weren’t Objects.

I read the destruction conditions for them all at once with my eyes.

If they weren’t Objects, destroying them would be easy.

***

The gray intruder picked up a piece of ice from the ground.

“Is this fool planning something with just a piece of ice?”

The intruder clenched their fist tightly, then struck the wall three times.

Then they tossed the ice shard lightly into the air.

Flipping upside down before the ice fell, the intruder kicked it with their legs.

The ice shard drifted lazily across the open lot.

It gently nudged a metallic lump sitting in the middle of the lot, which seemed to be the remains of a soldier affected by the northern pulsation.

One of the ice spiders moved to stop the metal chunk rolling from the impact.

“Just this?”

This seemed too trivial to warrant attention. But then, a powerful discharge erupted in the lot, changing everything.

The metal mass exploded like a grenade, sending spider fragments flying and embedding shrapnel everywhere—including where the intruder had struck earlier.

From that point, a massive crack spread across the lot, triggering another explosion.

The high-voltage current running through the tunnels was the issue.

Under normal circumstances, the tunnels wouldn’t collapse from such impacts.

The immense stress accumulated during the northern pulsation, combined with metal dust and debris, interacted perfectly with the intruder’s seemingly meaningless actions.

This chain reaction obliterated all the kingdom’s soldiers gathered in the lot.

The sound of the tunnel collapsing echoed underground.

The intruder possessed extraordinary abilities.

What is this? The power to manipulate probability?

Whatever their strength, it was clear they were a powerful adversary.

The current forces of the kingdom couldn’t possibly handle them.

But even strong foes have ways to deal with them.

Offer a fake victory.

Make them believe they’ve triumphed while hiding the true self.

The heart of the kingdom began preparations to welcome this powerful foe.

***

Using just one piece of ice, I wiped out the enemies, brushing off the dusty hands as I surveyed the collapsed lot.

The few surviving spiders scuttled off in all directions.

When similar spider-like creatures appeared, it became clear:

“There’s an Object here in this cave that created ‘Dobong-gu’s Ice Throne.'”

Clap, clap.

Following the retreating soldiers led me to a vast open space.

Ice soldiers stood in neat rows like loyal retainers, and artificial light illuminated the ceiling.

The carvings on the pillars and walls exuded a sense of reverence akin to a temple.

It was so impressive it warranted a “Wow!”

At the end of this grand hall stood a massive ice throne, upon which sat a figure clad entirely in black steel armor.

Certainly radiating an aura of royalty.

The room was adorned with floating pieces of iron, enhancing the mysterious ambiance.

As the armored figure rose from the throne, wielding a colossal mace and approaching with heavy footsteps, it was undeniably dramatic—but I wasn’t interested.

I kept searching for what I needed, ignoring the armored nuisance.

After all, it wasn’t an Object—just a larger, fancier version of the ice soldiers.

I shattered its mace with layered ghosting and focused on finding the Object.

It was discovered in an unexpected place: atop a table next to the throne.

Among the many floating metals was the Object.

Disc-shaped metallic objects levitating like superconductors caught my eye.

Hidden among these decorative items was the Object.

The Superconductive Frog.

Rigid and motionless, it floated eerily.

“Why? Why a frog?”

The Object that destroyed Dobong-gu and terrorized Korea was merely this?

Its destruction condition was simple:

[If any part of its body breaks, it dies.]

Expecting something stronger, I felt somewhat deflated.

Realizing I’d figured out its identity, it began attacking with cold and electricity.

But physical attacks couldn’t harm me.

As I contemplated what to do with this strange lifeform, I picked it up with one hand.

Yet the metallic frog crumbled instantly.

Appearing as steel but weaker than wet tissue paper.

***

A monster.

Even the bait soldiers couldn’t restrain it.

Perfect stealth was effortlessly penetrated.

The monstrous fiend held my true form in one hand, grinning playfully.

I didn’t give up until the very last moment, but the pressure in its grip grew stronger.

“Is this…the end?”

My eternal kingdom ends here.

With a crunch, something broke, and my consciousness faded into endless darkness.

“Before me…nothing but darkness…”

***

When the frog shattered, all soldiers gathered in the square collapsed like marionettes whose strings were cut.

The invader of Dobong-gu was finally defeated.

Had there been lungs, it would’ve been a moment for a deep breath and relief.

So relieved, my body floated effortlessly.

“????”

By killing the Superconductive Frog, I became the Superconductive Reaper.

In this magnet-filled cave, I could drift around like floating in space—a rather fun ability.

Thankfully, unlike the scent of pig, it wasn’t an uncontrollable on/off type.

Drifting around the cave, a thought occurred.

Should I ask Sehee Research Institute to make one for me?

My enjoyable space drifting ended abruptly with an earthquake.

The Steel Tower’s pulsation had begun again.

With the frog gone, the ant-hill-like tunnels couldn’t withstand the Steel Tower’s pulsations and started collapsing.

Escaping the collapse, I ascended to stand atop the melting Ice Throne.

Viewing Seoul from about 20 meters above, it looked chaotic.

A tsunami-like threat loomed over the land.

Civilization was breaking apart.

Facing a threat far greater than Dobong-gu’s Ice Throne—the Steel Tower.