---

Why is it that wherever I go with James, disasters always occur?

The area near Trinity Research Institute, once boasting high property values, transformed into hell the moment I was with James.

People endlessly pouring out from the alleys.

The sight of hundreds, wide-eyed and radiating madness, resembled something out of a nightmare.

Moreover, the horrifying screams of people burning in the flames of the bodyguards clung to my ears, refusing to let go.

Certainly, this will be something I can never forget and will haunt me in nightmares.

Perhaps my prayer for salvation was heard by God, as a strange event occurred.

It was a sudden change, as if reacting to an invisible signal.

The tenacious Gwanak-gu residents suddenly scattered in sheer terror of something.

At that moment, James suddenly stared blankly at the sky.

I followed suit, looking up into the sky, and witnessed a sight that overwhelmed me with an unexplainable fear.

It looked as if a monster’s claw had rent the very fabric of space apart.

Although the mark quickly vanished, something dangerous was undoubtedly here.

“James, let’s escape from Gwanak-gu now. The atmosphere is unsettling.”

Fortunately, James’s bodyguards seemed to share my sentiment.

What could possibly be more foolish than enduring the hell where the residents were affected by the Object?

But James’s thoughts appeared to be different.

“No, let’s go to Trinity Research Institute. We must find out what happened.”

James pulled out a stone hidden in a tightly closed bag and after inspecting it, he uttered something absurd.

The stone in James’s hand pulsed irregularly, brightening and dimming like a heartbeat.

*

In a shadow-filled space, a being descended as if slicing through the darkness.

An alien entity, filled with malice inside a human body, spoke with confidence and ease.

“Oh, the Gray Reaper. So you were here.”

Malice overflowed from his body towards humanity.

So thick was his malice that even the Golden Reapers and Blue Reapers glared at him with expressions of anger.

[Bad human!]
[No good!]

I couldn’t even fathom how many humans must have been sacrificed for him to fill his body with that black liquid.

“I have acquired the concept of ‘cannot be destroyed.'”

He spread his arms wide with a relaxed smile.

“I can no longer be harmed by physical means. Unlike countless Objects that modern technology couldn’t break, I have truly become immortal!”

Ah… really?

I stared at the babbling man with an apathetic expression.

Seeing my face, the man spoke as if looking down on me.

“It seems I was speaking futilely to an Object that cannot comprehend language.”

From the man’s shadow, a huge monster surged forth.

A variant of the Hungry Ghost, bulked up.

A familiar Object emerged from within the shadow.

As I witnessed that sight, I couldn’t help but admire it.

I felt strangely that several Objects were clustered together, and now I understood the cause.

Just how many Objects is that man harboring inside him?

It looks like it’s over a hundred.

“Even if an Object cannot comprehend language, it should be able to feel the power of the bulked-up Hungry Ghost.”

He had just claimed I didn’t understand his words, yet he didn’t seem to stop talking for even a moment.

Thump thump.

The sound of heavy footsteps began to approach as the Hungry Ghost variant neared.

At the same time, the Golden Reapers also started leaping towards it.

The conditions for the destruction of that Hungry Ghost variant were the same.

[Deplete its regenerative abilities.]

Even with physical immunity, it mattered little to the Golden Reapers.

The Hungry Ghost, rushing with threatening speed and power, was met with a headbutt from a Golden Reaper, puncturing holes all over its body.

The Hungry Ghost variant lost as much mass as the Golden Reaper’s size.

As the black liquid flowed out attempting to seal its wounds, the firewood from the Golden Reaper remained embedded in the injury, constantly hindering its regeneration.

With holes puncturing its entire body, the Hungry Ghost screamed in agony and collapsed onto the floor.

“….”

The man wore a confused expression.

“Why? Is there something I don’t understand?”

Muttering to himself, his expression kept changing as if he had lost his mind.

“Something I don’t understand? No, I must surely understand all ‘Magical Books.'”

“Because that was the ‘contract.’ I do not know nothing.”

“Something is wrong.”

“No, nothing is wrong.”

The man, who had been rambling, suddenly clutched his head and screamed.

Along with that, numerous Objects surged from the shadows.

“Yes. I have so many Magical Books.”

The man looked at me with a seemingly carefree expression.

Each time an Object emerged from the shadow, the Research Institute fell apart.

The institute was too cramped to accommodate all those Objects.

Too many, way too many.

It seemed like a hassle even for the Golden Reapers to deal with.

There was no helping it.

I clenched the air tightly.

Crack.

Gripping the air firmly, I swung horizontally with all my might.

Screeeeeee!

The space screamed as it tore apart.

As the space ripped, it sliced through all Objects and the man standing before it in half.

*

As the director stood at the brink of death, memories from long ago surfaced.

The past that had been hidden away in his memory.

[Oh dear, unfortunately, you lack the intelligence, dexterity, and talent to become an Alchemist.]

It was the tale of the director, who had no talent as an alchemist, meeting the Contract’s Magical Book.

The Contract’s Magical Book was said to be a man who carried numerous gas lamps.

Yet, I couldn’t recall his face, which gave off a strange impression.

“You make contracts with people and grant their wishes, right? Let’s make a contract. I’m fine with any cost!”

It was a dangerous contract.

In a world where anyone entangled with a Magical Book would annihilate entire villages as naturally as breathing.

[It seems you want to be an Alchemist.]

[Then how about this contract?]

The Contract’s Magical Book presented the contract to him.

[All knowledge related to ‘Magical Books’ that ‘Alchemists of this land’ will discover in the present and future shall be given to you.]

[In exchange, you will find it difficult to obtain new knowledge.]

[It’s an exchange of current knowledge for future knowledge.]

[The termination of the contract is the moment you die.]

[If you accept the contract, please take one of my lamps.]

There was no reason not to take this contract.

Future knowledge for a talentless director held little value to him anyway.

Upon making the contract, the director instantaneously became an Alchemist.

Becoming an Alchemist was far too easy.

No one knew more about ‘Magical Books’ than the director.

Even without evidence, what he knew was the truth.

He was the answer.

This remained true even after setting foot in this unfamiliar land.

This was a land of fools where there were no Alchemists.

And in the final moments, he felt the contract fade away.

“What… what am I?”

Though he was able to wear the mantle of an Alchemist, he was not an Alchemist.

A scholar who couldn’t acquire new knowledge no matter how hard he tried!

He was already privy to everything, and now the acquisition of new knowledge became difficult, resulting in a growing sense of arrogance.

And he forgot why he even wanted to become an Alchemist.

Becoming an Alchemist was surely meant to be a goal, not a means.

‘I didn’t want this kind of ending…’

At the last moment, the famous saying of Alchemists came to mind.

[For the user of a Magical Book, only a terrible end awaits.]

*

As we neared Trinity Research Institute, a disconcerting noise erupted, reminiscent of the structure of reality tearing apart.

It was an unnatural, instinctively alarming sound.

The interpreter became terrified at this noise, speaking with a trembling voice.

“James, how about we turn back? Something feels off.”

But James stated firmly with a resolute look.

“Anything related to Artifact Number 0 is not something I can compromise on. You need to understand.”

Unlike the interpreter’s anxious expression, James seemed unmoved, as if sensing something.

The closer we drew to the institute, the more the gruesome scene began to unfold.

The once neat and sophisticated Trinity Research Institute had become almost unrecognizable.

As we entered through a crack in the crushed building, the strong smell of oil mixed with the shocking scene greeted us.

As soon as I stepped into the Trinity Research Institute building, I was greeted by the sight of a man’s lower half.

His upper body had been torn away, leaving his lower half standing erect.

In front of that horrific sight, a Gray Reaper with an indifferent expression looked down at the man.

The severed upper body lay sprawled on the floor.

The man, with only half his body remaining, gazed weakly but couldn’t focus, as if looking into the distance.

“What… what am I?”

The man’s faint voice dissipated into the air, unable to carry far.

Countless questions flooded James’s mind.

That man should be the director of Trinity Research Institute No. 3, but why had this happened?

What on earth was going on?

But such musings quickly vanished in the wake of a loud bang.

Boom!

A gigantic Object emerged, piercing through the ruins of the Trinity facilities.

A massive body.

Tentacles swirling around, filling the surroundings.

Smooth, slimy, glistening skin.

A gaping maw filled with sharp teeth.

The highest danger level Object, a Hungry Ghost.