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Trinity Research Institute’s Control Room.

The main monitor in the control room displayed the figure of the Gray Reaper.

As seen on the monitor, the destruction test was a complete failure.

Perhaps because of that, the slightly excited atmosphere following the successful blocking of the Gray Reaper’s ghosting had completely dissipated.

On the screen, numerous alerts flashed, casting a chilling light on the faces of the security guards, their expressions filled with worry.

“It’s ineffective.”

Amidst the rapid clicking of keyboards and intermittent signal sounds, the security chief’s self-deprecating voice could be heard.

The deputy director, who had lost his sanity and become an object, had already melted away without a trace, but the Gray Reaper remained intact.

All the various destructive means prepared by the Trinity Research Institute turned out to be utterly powerless.

High heat that melts hungry ghosts.

Blades that tear apart ghosts.

Shockwaves that crush shadows.

All useless.

Only a few actions, including unbreakable bubbles, continued to function.

[Strike Team, successful in the attack. Will continue to attack from a safe position.]

At that moment, the success report of the strike team that had gone to attack the hostages came through.

The security chief waited for the Gray Reaper’s reaction on the monitor with a meaningful smile.

In that instant, a massive vibration struck.

The control room monitor flickered pathetically while people struggled to maintain their footing, collapsing onto the floor.

And then, a blackout.

All electricity in the control room was cut off, plunging it into darkness.

The solemn atmosphere inside the control room became chaotic, filled with urgent conversations.

Fortunately, a few seconds later, the power to the control room was restored.

As the emergency generator roared to life, the control room regained its usual atmosphere, but not so beyond the monitor.

The Gray Reaper had vanished.

The unbreakable bubbles, which could not be destroyed by ordinary means, were all shattered.

The specially made alloy walls designed to block objects were ripped apart like paper.

And at the end of the cracked wall, something strange was visible.

A small trace, so small that one could easily miss it if not looked at closely.

Void.

A blackness that continually devoured light.

Feeling a sense of unease from that faint trace, the security chief hurriedly exited the control room.

“Ah…”

And looking up at the sky, he witnessed the true essence of the void.

From land’s end to land’s end, the sky was torn apart.

The sun had vanished, casting shadows on the ground, and an endless sense of dread surged from the void.

“Huh, what is this? Could this really be the doing of the Gray Reaper?”

The sky was torn into five streams, like a Milky Way crossing the heavens.

Those marks mirrored on the ground, reflecting five streams as if in a mirror.

The Trinity Research Institute had been torn asunder.

Unbelievable.

There’s no way a human can confront such a thing.

How can a human even deal with that?

The security chief rushed back to the control room.

We have to escape.

That thought consumed the chief’s mind.

“Chief. The annihilation of the strike team has been confirmed.”

As the pale-faced subordinate reported to the security chief, who was hurriedly grabbing the car keys, he glanced at the monitor.

It displayed the shocking scene of the strike team, torn to shreds, captured by CCTV.

Just like that, in an instant, the strike team had been annihilated.

The security chief struggled to suppress the terror in his voice.

“All security personnel, listen up! Scatter throughout the institute. Buy us as much time as you can! From this moment on, we are abandoning containment and elimination of the Gray Reaper.”

The security chief continued as seriously and calmly as possible.

“Release all objects currently being contained. Make the Gray Reaper as uncomfortable as possible and stall for time. If we wait for the director to arrive, we can win. Understood?”

“Yes!”

And with that, the security chief donned his coat with a serious expression and stepped outside the control room.

Looking up at the sky, it seemed to have returned to its original state after being torn.

Thank goodness. If my subordinates saw that terrible mark, they’d surely run away.

My subordinates need to buy time.

Until we can escape safely!

Pretending to walk leisurely, the security chief gradually quickened his pace and soon broke into a run.

He couldn’t tell if the director would be strong enough, or if the Gray Reaper was just too strong.

But one thing was certain: it was obvious he would die before the director showed up.

Arriving at the underground parking lot of the Trinity Research Institute, the security chief opened the car door and slid into the driver’s seat.

“Ha ha, I’m alive!”

His face, once tense, relaxed into a smile.

But that smile vanished in an instant.

A monster with yellow burning eyes stepped in front of the vehicle.

The Gray Reaper, wearing a fierce expression, stretched out its arms wide and began to slowly close the gap.

The space twisted unnaturally.

The security chief slammed his hands against the car door, desperate to open it, but the solidified space refused to budge.

“No! Save me!”

Inside the increasingly narrowing space, the security chief kicked and punched in all directions; it was all in vain.

It squeezed, getting smaller and smaller, until it disappeared entirely.

And in that spot remained only a faint scent of chocolate lingering in the air.

*

Ah, mistake.

The youngest has no physical immunity and is weak, while Trinity has been so incompetent that I had let my guard down.

A sense of will felt while playing in the Trinity’s special sauna ball pit.

A slightly sad and painful last gasp.

Hearing the Blue Reaper’s [Mama...] sent my mind into a daze.

Maybe that’s why I used a bit too much firewood when tearing apart the partition.

By the way, ‘Mama’?

I thought I’d just be treated like an ‘Older Sister’ or ‘Friend,’ but that’s unexpected.

To eliminate the danger elements, I tracked down and killed those who shot at the youngest.

Returning to the place where the Blue Reapers were via black penguin teleportation, I summoned the Blue Reaper that had been unsummoned back onto my palm.

The Blue Reaper lay limp, as if dead, without an ounce of strength.

It’s okay. It’s alright.

I stroked the head of the Blue Reaper, sending encouraging thoughts from my heart.

[Mama, you’re kind.]

The Blue Reaper awoke with a big grin, looking delighted.

[Mama, you’re kind now! Amazing!]
[Mama, you’re kind!]

The remaining Blue Reapers rushed into my arms.

I’m always kind, but they’re insinuating I’m their mother.

I just ignore them when I’m eating snacks, feeling bothered, or watching TV.

I petted the adorable Blue Reapers that clung to me mercilessly.

*

The White Flame spread in all directions, burning the Gwanak-gu residents.

No, it burned what used to be the Gwanak-gu residents.

“James! You said it would be fine?”

The interpreter spoke, panting from tension.

“Ha ha, didn’t you know? Who would’ve thought that Gwanak-gu would become such a city of the dead?”

“I knew this would happen!”

The interpreter’s screams echoed through the streets of Gwanak-gu.

James and his party took refuge inside a building, evading the incessantly approaching figures.

Even while burning and burning, they could only blockade the narrow entrance due to the endless flow of people.

The weapons brought by James’s bodyguards seemed incredibly curious to the interpreter.

At first glance, they appeared to be merely antique torches made of metal, but upon manipulation, they transformed into flamethrowers spewing intense white flames.

Is this American technology?! While examining the borrowed torch for self-defense, he noticed a frog.

There lay a pitiful frog, bound and helpless, tied to the torch’s igniter.

“STOP!”

While staring at the very unfortunate frog, one of the bodyguards shouted, snatching up the torch.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I should have explained beforehand.”

At that moment, James apologized.

“Never look at the frog tied to the torch.”

“It just looked like a pitiful frog. Is there a problem?”

Hmm, James pondered before continuing his explanation.

“Didn’t you feel incredibly sorry for that frog?”

“Yes, of course. It’s tied up and even has its eyes and mouth sewn shut.”

“And you wanted to free it.”

“Yes, I was just going to free it and listen to its story.”

Clapping his hands, James said, “Exactly. So why do you think that frog would be able to talk?”

“Huh?”

The interpreter looked bewildered.

Why did he even think it could talk?

“That frog is an evil frog that bewilders people with its gaze and words. Of course, merely its existence holds the power to beguile people.”

“That’s too dangerous!”

The interpreter recoiled in fright, distancing himself from the torch.

“James!”

At that moment, a bodyguard blocking the entrance shouted.

When James went to check, the Gwanak-gu residents who had been relentlessly pursuing them began to scatter.

“What on earth is happening?”

Looking up at the sky, horrifying marks were spreading across it.

Handprints that had torn the sky and space.

James and his party couldn’t help but stare blankly at the overwhelming sight above.

And deep within the briefcase James was clutching, the Artifact Number 0 was hidden.

The ‘White Stone.’

That white stone began to emit light in a rhythmic pulse, akin to a heartbeat.

*

A deep sinkhole where sunlight could not dare to intrude.

In that shadowy realm lay deep silence and darkness.

The air here felt as if time had come to a halt.

It was a place filled with damp, stagnant air and motionless objects like they were dead.

In the midst of this dominance of darkness, the Hungry Ghost began to stir.

Its long-dormant eyes pierced through the darkness like gleaming orbs.

Though reason had scattered, leaving only instinct, the Hungry Ghost felt a familiar sensation and woke up.

Nostalgia.

The Creator.

A white and warm light.

It seemed the long-forgotten voice whispered softly in the Hungry Ghost’s mind.

“■■ eat ■■. And when ■■ sets, ■■■■ devour all ■■.”

The Hungry Ghost stood up and began to run.

Towards the familiar warmth.