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I was running through the heart of Hell.

My junior had thrown away the hammer he cherished somewhere and was gasping for breath, clutching only the documents.

Just a while ago, the streets singing of daily life had turned into the very heart of Hell, filled with blood and screams.

The fire-breathing bowling ball raced down the road, sending people flying like bowling pins, while stones soaring through the sky erupted, dismembering humans with high-pressure blasts.

Even with my ample research on objects, there were plenty of new ones popping up, ravaging people.

Every second was a continuous tension.

When the monocle quickly showed characteristics of a moving object, I had to decide on a counteraction accordingly.

[Attacking the moving object.]

“Stop!”

The massive eyeball-tadpole was floating in the air, scanning its surroundings.

But those who didn’t know what powers the object held were terrified by its dreadful appearance and only turned their backs to flee.

According to the fleeing people, it was horrific.

The eyeball-tadpole wept from its eyes, while those running away slowly melted away, writhing in agony until they died.

‘Damn, was it a mistake to make a deal after all?’

Thanks to my diligent escape before the chaos ensued, I had somehow reached the outskirts of Songpa District.

Looking back, I could see the weary junior and the road stained with blood and corpses.

In just a moment, a choice had turned Songpa District into Hell.

As my junior and I broke through the boundary, I saw the army arriving, stacking barricades and beginning the lockdown.

We survived.

But the sight of the blood-soaked road I had turned away from clung to my eyes, refusing to leave.

*

The loud helicopter noise rang harshly in my ears.

Although access to the area around the Central Research Institute had been restricted, that wasn’t especially important.

Rather, the interest and views gained from this video were far more crucial for ‘Daily Object.’

People were screaming and fleeing, and the shattered roads around looked no longer functional.

Moreover, numerous objects that had been quarantined at the Central Research Institute were released, making the vicinity of Songpa District a hellish realm for humanity.

There was an even more dreadful point to note.

The government had effectively abandoned the residents of Songpa District.

Surrounding the outer edge lay the barricades, with soldiers pouring firepower, frantically trying to maintain the front lines.

The objects that had already been transferred to the Central Research Institute were mostly deemed too dangerous to be contained in private research facilities.

Citizen protection for those who managed to escape to the outskirts? With giant mantises that could regenerate instantly, even if turned into ground meat by a bomb, there was no way to be concerned about that.

However, the camera of ‘Daily Object’ showed no interest in other objects.

Was there a fierce battle at the outskirts of Songpa District? That wasn’t the concern either.

The camera merely captured two objects excitedly fighting atop the Central Research Institute grounds.

Thirty years ago, the hungry ghost that plunged Korea into shock and terror.

The Gray Reaper, receiving attention once again due to the incident of the village in Seoul Forest going up in flames.

The match that couldn’t be missed in internet vs play was really taking place.

*

The monitor in Sehee Research Institute was showing the real-time destruction in Seoul’s center, accompanied by the raucous sound of helicopters.

The battle seemed to be going poorly for the Reaper.

The hungry ghost was rampaging, smashing buildings and wildly sweeping its tentacles toward the Reaper; the force was so fierce that concrete was turning to dust.

The Reaper only occasionally hopped around in small strides, displaying odd behaviors now and then.

It either hung from traffic lights, tugging at them mid-flight, or guided the hungry ghost to shove cars aside, all to little meaningful effect.

At times, it sacrificed an arm to attack the hungry ghost, seemingly doing so mainly to redirect its attention.

“The skin of the hungry ghost is famous for being intact even under billions of missiles. But look! The Gray Reaper is breaking it apart easily!”

Whenever such scenes appeared, the reporter from ‘Daily Object’ would spit out words to emphasize the Reaper’s terrifying nature.

Notably, the estimated financial damages caused by the fight between the Reaper and the hungry ghost were staggering, given the sheer number of buildings they had destroyed.

With just a brief clash, yellow flames erupted as the Reaper’s left arm and one of the hungry ghost’s tentacles vanished.

Despite maintaining a blank expression, the left arm that appeared to have been mangled looked extremely painful.

“Ugh, I hope the Reaper is alright?”

Though both the Reaper and the hungry ghost were injured simultaneously, it was true that the ghost seemed far more advantageous, considering the significant difference in body size.

“It’ll be fine. That blazing Reaper is truly amazing.”

Unnie Sehee said confidently.

Hearing her words, I began to closely observe the Gray Reaper displayed on the monitor.

“Ah!”

Upon closer inspection, I could indeed see it.

It was just too small compared to the hungry ghost that it was hard to notice before.

“The light emitted by the Reaper seems to be getting brighter?”

“I don’t know why, but the Reaper is getting stronger.”

*

I was overflowing with power.

That meant there were many humans around me dying in pain.

As my strength grew, I could see death spreading farther and wider.

I felt as if I was throwing up the ceaseless power surging in, imprinting countless methods of death into my mind.

And I began to stack those conditions like dominoes for the purpose of incapacitating the hungry ghost.

Determined to collapse every visible object, I accumulated ‘methods of destruction.’

The ‘ways to destroy’ visible to me were only vague hints concerning the objects.

However, I was able to discern more concrete methods regarding everything else apart from the objects.

Not so much methods, but rather something closer to fate unfolded before my eyes.

Actions that seemed entirely unrelated lead to death like a butterfly effect.

For instance, if I placed a stone three meters ahead and clapped while spinning around, a startled rabbit might trip over the stone and die.

While fighting the hungry ghost, I was establishing numerous conditions for collapse one by one.

Now it was time to see the results of that domino effect.

*

The hungry ghost grinned widely.

It was assured of its victorious outcome.

Its regeneration seemed obvious, especially towards that tiny thing.

Absorbing endless power from the surroundings, that tiny creature’s power diminished rapidly as humans disappeared.

Now, it was just a matter of devouring that tiny creature.

As it stomped its feet, the ground began to collapse chaotically.

The sudden collapse of the ground seemed ludicrous to the hungry ghost.

The degree of land collapsing posed no real threat to it.

It would quickly scurry up the cliff and surely consume the target.

!

At that moment, the hungry ghost heard what seemed to be the ‘scream of the world’ in its ears as it descended.

A gigantic ‘something’ stretched its hand toward the hungry ghost from across the world.

The ‘something’ standing behind the tiny creature vanished quickly, but the hungry ghost still felt an endless fear.

No, all objects that could sense the grandeur of that ‘something’ were similarly afflicted.

In a panic, the hungry ghost threw itself into a pit.

*

A colossal collapse occurred.

A gigantic collapse worthy of the term super-mega.

A sinkhole with a diameter spanning several kilometers and an unfathomable depth had formed.

Even the reporter from Daily Object who had been munching away at the Reaper was struck speechless, eyes wide.

The Reaper had suddenly stopped, clapped twice, and then tapped the ground three times with its tiny feet, causing the floor to give way.

The process itself was dramatic.

A small vehicle toppled, and the fallen cars slammed into a cluster, exploding.

The tanker truck present also blew up.

The tremors from that explosion toppled the surrounding buildings like dominoes, and gas lines exploded simultaneously, igniting chaos.

It felt like a scene from a movie.

The hungry ghost was swept into the collapse and fell into an abyss-like sinkhole, losing sight of its position.

“Wow… wow? The Reaper is really amazing, isn’t it?”

“Y-yeah?”

Everyone in Sehee Research Institute watching the broadcast on TV couldn’t help but be awed by the incredible incident caused by the Reaper.

*

Three days after the disaster, now known as the Gray Collapse Incident, the world seemed to be gradually recovering from shock.

Initially, everyone was trembling in fear.

Many voiced the opinion of leaving Seoul behind.

Many of the objects that fell into the sinkhole possessed flight abilities, and uncontrollable beasts like the hungry ghost had also been sucked in, which fueled the fear.

It was a terrifying place where one could never know when a monster might emerge to bring ruin to Seoul!

Names of those wanting to leave Seoul for other regions began to rise.

However, no matter how much time passed, the objects were not emerging.

A few low-tier creatures were observed climbing out, but they could be dealt with using firearms.

Thus, Seoul was slowly finding stability.