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Through the moving fog that seemed alive, I faced the old woman’s face.

A grotesque figure with a spine unnaturally twisted.

Her eyes were hollow, like deep wells filled with endless darkness, and her skin was thin and tightly stretched over her skeleton, resembling an old corpse.

The deck was eerily quiet, and the old woman and I stood still, staring at each other.

[Why aren’t you sleeping?]

The old woman’s voice whispered harshly, like dry leaves scraping against stone.

I didn’t answer her and took a step forward.

At that, the old woman’s voice rose in anger, starting to threaten me.

[Child, looking like an object. What do they have to do with you that you provoke me? Since I’m in a good mood today, I’ll forgive you if you just step back. Get lost!]

She looked like a fairly strong object, yet it’s amazing that she wasn’t afraid of me.

I approached a step closer with a smile, as if I found an interesting toy.

At the same moment, the old woman began to chant curses.

[You foolish child. Your two eyes will be burnt out, and your flesh will be fried in boiling oil. And in all that pain, you shall neither live nor die.]

The words flowing from the monster’s mouth were filled with malice, and because of that malice, the words poured out like a tangible substance, like black smoke.

The tangible curse swept over my body.

The powerful heat tried to burn my entire being, but it had little effect.

Does a curse hit like a physical attack?

I took another step forward.

[Your eyes will be plucked out, and you shall never see again!]

One step.

[Your bones will twist, and your flesh will melt away, causing you to suffer forever!]

[You will become a frog and never find your way back!]

[All your hair will be pulled out… ]

As I reached right in front of the old woman, she forced a smile, her mouth filled with sharp teeth twisted grotesquely.

It was a cowardly grin.

[Please forgive me! It was all my fault!]

Then she flopped down on the floor.

Rubbing her hands, which looked like vicious weapons, she continued speaking.

[Let’s negotiate. You don’t have to kill me, do you?]

Just looking harmful to humans is enough reason to die, isn’t it?

There’s no need to spare her life.

Did she read my mood? The old woman hurriedly continued.

[I will give you a reward. If you spare me, I will lend you the power of the blue moon!]

But I had no intention of letting the old woman go at all.

When I didn’t answer, the old woman suddenly began to disperse into the air like fog, fleeing.

Her expression as she transformed into fog looked triumphant.

With a triumphant voice, she spat out her final curse.

[You’ve let your guard down! From now on, you and everything you cherish will forever fear the night and shadows!]

And the fog moved at a speed like the wind.

But she couldn’t fly away.

No matter how far she ran, her position remained the same.

The lakeside, filled with ominous fog, had suddenly transformed, now appearing with colorful cushions and hot chocolate.

No matter how fast she fled, she could not escape from the space I dominated.

And between the hot chocolate and cushions, the fierce-looking Golden Reapers stuck out their heads.

The destruction condition observed with my ‘eyes’ for the old woman was

[‘Eyes’? ‘Eyes’? Oh… No!]

When I gave the attack permission, the endlessly cruel Golden Reapers charged at the harmful object and tore her apart.

[Your sisters will never forgive you!]

The old woman, faced with death, left behind a curse filled with malice and was torn asunder.

*

James’s urgent journey, which began with an unexpected visit from the association agent, continued until he entered the military aircraft.

They even mobilized a military plane.

It seemed a much bigger problem than James had thought had arisen.

The atmosphere of the Object Association agents was also unusual.

Even when spoken to, they remained silent.

For reasons unknown, the agents, visibly tense, were solely focused on escorting James without uttering a word.

The military aircraft James boarded was markedly different from the commercial flights he usually took.

The humming sound of the military aircraft’s engines, plain metal walls without decoration, and sparsely placed seats.

The purpose of its design was completely different from the luxurious and convenient private jet James was accustomed to.

As he sat on the hard, uncomfortable seat, he missed the comfortable seating, in-flight meals, and abundant entertainment of his private jet.

Was there really a need to take a military plane?

No matter how much he asked, the escorting agents didn’t open their mouths.

Without speaking, tense agents.

The rigid and controlled atmosphere seemed like it would only be released after they arrived in America, but unexpectedly, it eased quickly.

The moment the agents confirmed they had left South Korean airspace, the icy atmosphere began to thaw.

James noticed this change in atmosphere and posed a question to the rigid man sitting in front of him.

“I have a rough idea of what’s going on, but what on earth happened that you’re so urgently evacuating people?”

“The Object Association reports that Korea has lost its ability to respond to objects.”

Finally, a response!

“Is it really necessary to move so urgently because of that? This isn’t the first time the Korean government has responded strangely.”

“I haven’t received detailed information, but among the confirmed cases, there have been instances where objects killing people were treated as normal.”

And the agent’s explanation that followed sounded genuinely dangerous.

Even if a missing person’s report was filed, if it was related to an object, it was treated as a matter of course and wasn’t investigated.

There were already an astonishing number of missing persons at the Yangcheon District Lake, and yet no one seemed to notice.

Such nonsensical cases flowed out of the agent’s mouth.

“Well, that explains why they urged an urgent evacuation like this.”

In blunt terms, isn’t it possible for a teddy bear to smash heads and still feel like an ordinary day?

A cold sweat trickled down James’s back as he felt like he had narrowly escaped the brink of death.

“Is this the time when Korea is really doomed?”

James’s desolate mutter quietly penetrated the noisy sounds of the military aircraft.

*

At the beautiful cave by the Yangcheon District Lake, a blonde girl and a black agent were entering.

“This way, sir.”

The girl was following her heart’s guidance.

To walk freely under the sun.

The heart’s guidance presented one goal.

Destroy the object at the end of the path.

“Miss, I think it’d be better to give up.”

“I don’t want to.”

“It’s highly likely to be the cause of the ongoing crisis in Korea. It must be a very powerful object; it would be better to give up and wait for another opportunity.”

“….”

Ignoring the black agent’s words, the girl strode deeper into the cave.

The black agent’s concerns were valid.

To destroy an object that affected all of Korea?

There was no way a girl who could only spit fire could handle such an enemy.

Finally, the blonde girl reached the end of her heart’s guidance.

A deep puddle within the cave.

In a place where the moon could be seen overhead, beautiful women awaited the blonde girl.

[I heard someone from the desert would be coming, but you’re just a little kid?]

The woman standing in the very center of the group spoke.

The blonde girl stiffened in nervousness.

There was no way she could win.

An absolute gap between the woman and herself was palpable.

[Hmm.]

The woman, who was alternately glancing at the black agent and the blonde girl, raised the corner of her mouth slightly, as if she understood something.

As if looking at a toy, she turned her gaze back to the girl and the man, lightly waving her hand.

A jet of water surged from the puddle, striking the girl and the man strongly.

The black agent lost consciousness immediately, and the girl was powerful enough to be thrown to the ground.

“Ugh.”

The immense pain felt in her abdomen made the blonde girl clutch her stomach and gasp for breath.

[You came to fight, didn’t you? Get up!]

The girl bit her teeth and tried to stand but collapsed to the ground as her strength gave out.

[How can you expect to fight like that?]

“I’m going to fight!”

Using all her might, the girl stood up, but her legs trembled as if they would collapse at any moment.

The beautiful woman approached the girl’s ear and whispered.

[What you desire, is it the red moon? Or is it to walk under the sun?]

“!”

Surprised, the girl turned to the woman, who continued to speak with a look of amusement.

[Are you surprised? I’ve often seen kids like you. It’s so obvious.]

The woman spoke with a small voice, almost like a whisper.

[If you contract with me, I will return you to how you were, back to being human.]

It was a sweet story, like a devil’s whisper.

[What do you say? Are you interested?]

*

At the lakeside of Yangcheon District.

The Golden Reapers were diligently digging into the ground.

And in my hand, supervising that task, was a container for pudding.

Inside was not pudding but ashes.

It was the ash left after collecting and burning the body of the suddenly appeared old woman.

Carefully burying the ash into the formed pit.

The moment the ash was completely buried in the ground, I felt a new ability arise.

A blue reaper popped out from my palm.