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Seodaemun District, a space of fog and gridded sky.

In such an alien place, the short-haired girl shouted loudly at the man slowly walking down from the sky.

“Grant my wish right now!”

As she shouted, the short-haired girl raised the orb high into the sky.

“You said that collecting ten orbs would grant a wish….”

Strangely, it was only now that she realized this, but the girl was beginning to understand in her head.

“You said I could save my sister….”

She knew that a suspicious object like that would never grant her wish.

“It definitely was said….”

And no matter how desperate she felt, it was clear to her that believing a man like that was strange.

“Please grant it right now. Please.”

But still, she didn’t want to give up.

Her wish to save her sister.

The short-haired girl, who had been shouting with her mouth wide open, tightly closed her lips and lowered her head.

Tears began to drip down from beneath the girl’s lowered face.

Seeing this, the Man with a Halo stopped walking and looked down at the girl with a curious expression.

[Are you doubting it? The slight increase in resistance is interesting.]

The Man with a Halo paused briefly but then began to walk again.

[Did you design it with that function from the start? It’s trivial and useless. How typical of her to repeat meaningless attempts.]

The Man with a Halo was no longer even acknowledging the short-haired girl.

As if her words and actions didn’t matter at all.

The Golden Armored Reaper floating in the sky glanced down at the crying short-haired girl for a moment and wore a sad expression.

Then, slowly grinding its teeth, it looked up at the man with a fierce expression.

[Come forth. The byproduct of meaningless attempts. It’ll do nicely to adorn the end of a great feat.]

In that instant, the Golden Armored Reaper emitted a brilliant light from its entire body and charged toward the Man with a Halo.

A long golden beam stringing across the air.

The Golden Armored Reaper reached the man in an instant, colliding with tremendous speed.

Boom!

With a dazzling flash like a flashbang going off, the man fell from the floating stairs into the maze-filled heart of the city.

At that moment, brilliant light burst forth from the body of the Golden Armored Reaper that had soared high into the sky.

A light so intense it would burn away the fog and erase all shadows.

And transformed by that light, the Golden Armored Reaper came crashing down toward the city where the man had fallen, like a lightning bolt striking from the sky.

Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.

Again and again, repeatedly.

Flashes of light and a wave of shock.

Under the gridded sky, the city that had originally been Seodaemun District was instantly turned into ruins.

Crackle.

Then slowly, as if it could bear it no longer, cracks began to form in the gridded space.

*

At the time when multicolored moons began to rise in the night sky of Seoul, a building in the corner of Seodaemun District radiated a different kind of vitality than usual.

That building was a temporary situation room hastily set up by James, but its interior was surprisingly sophisticatedly decorated.

The latest equipment lined the walls, and a large screen in the center was constantly updating and flashing data.

Amidst that setup, James sat, slowly reading the report that appeared on the monitor.

James’ eyebrows were knitted together, creating deep furrows, and his lips were tightly sealed.

As he read the report, James rubbed his temples as if he had a headache.

The report he was looking at was received from the American Object Association and contained information related to the “mass loss of cognitive ability incident” occurring in Seoul.

Initially, his intention was merely to find similar cases and devise effective responses, but reality was surpassing his expectations by far.

Under the fluorescent lights, James’s face appeared pale.

Every time his eyes followed the sentences in the report, his expression grew darker.

Contrary to expectations, the report was not just a list of similar cases.

It was a record of events that mirrored each other as if looking into a mirror.

“I can’t believe such an object hasn’t been discovered until now.”

James shook his head in disbelief.

According to the report, identical patterns of incidents were occurring around the world.

The number of victims was as high as 11.

There might have been some omitted due to reports or incidents, but it was likely that 11 victims occurred each time.

They all visited specific locations for no apparent reason and completely lost their cognitive abilities within three months thereafter.

Moreover, the report recorded that a similar incident occurred decades ago, just as the object crisis was starting.

An object that has influenced so broadly over such a long period.

An ominous thought crossed James’ mind.

‘If this is truly the work of a single object, it might be at a level similar to the Moon of the Snowfield or Nameless.’

James stood up, placing his hands on the desk, and walked toward the window.

The night view of Seoul outside caught his eye.

“This time the pattern has completely changed.”

James muttered as he rubbed his chin.

In most countries, such phenomena occurred only once and ended there.

If it had been the same in Korea, it surely wouldn’t have received much notice, buried among many strange object phenomena.

Why, now, has the pattern changed?

An object phenomenon that previously occurred only once in a region has now happened three times in Korea.

This suggested two possibilities.

Either Korea is special, or this time period is special.

James let out a deep sigh.

In both cases, it seemed likely to develop into a major issue.

James hesitated for a moment.

Is it too absurd and far-fetched to think of this now?

But soon, he steeled his resolve and called for his secretary.

He ordered to broadcast large-scale news regarding this “loss of cognitive ability incident.”

The secretary looked surprised for a moment but soon nodded and left the room.

James watched the secretary leave and muttered softly.

“Whenever it comes to things related to objects, no matter how absurd they seem, they tend to become reality.”

As he muttered that, he began to slowly scan the report once again.

*

Deep within the Sehee Research Institute, the Gray Reaper Isolation Room was giving off a cozy atmosphere as always.

White wallpaper, soft lighting, and most importantly, a big, fluffy bed!

Lying on it felt like sinking into water with its soft and comfortable feel.

It was actually somewhat warm and squishy, but the snacks in my hand offset that.

Om nom nom.

I was munching on the milk shaved ice I had brought from the Mini Reaper Garden, comfortably nestled in the fluffy blankets, watching the large TV hanging on the wall.

Yes, this was the paradise I wanted.

However, there was one issue with the paradise I had created in the isolation room.

It was the problem that arose after the Object Association disappeared.

‘There haven’t been any interesting news lately.’

Ordinary news and the dull conversations of the people on screen as usual.

I missed the time when the association stirred up bizarre events every day.

While I was dozing off slightly, enduring the boredom, a faint sound brushed my ears.

Peeking out with the toes barely extended from the side of the bed, I noticed the Mini Reapers cautiously approaching.

Quietly.

The Blue Idol Reaper and Golden Reapers were tiptoeing slowly.

‘Mom is sleeping.’

‘Hehe.’

The Golden Reapers were giggling, seemingly having a lot of fun.

For some reason, the Blue Idol Reaper was following behind the Golden Reapers while still wearing the “Halo of Invocation.”

I got curious about what these kids were up to, so I pretended to be asleep and closed my eyes.

As the Golden Reapers approached me, they cautiously checked my signs and started to crawl over my face, even lifting my eyelids.

‘Mom is really sleeping.’

‘Now’s the time!’

Come to think of it, those Golden Reapers looked familiar; I was struggling to remember where I’d seen them.

The Blue Idol Reaper received a signal from the Golden Reapers and nervously raised the microphone with a very tense expression.

[Da.]

[Da….]

The Blue Idol Reaper’s invocation was still filled with hesitation.

By the way, what sort of invocation starts with “Da”?

While I pondered, the Blue Idol Reaper finally completed the invocation and shot it toward me.

[Become a DAHJJI!]

‘!!!!’

Yikes, that’s a blasphemous invocation.

I was startled and jumped up from the bed, but it was too late to dodge the invocation.

Pachin.

But the Blue Idol Reaper’s invocation shattered upon touching my body, not doing anything.

‘Ah!’

‘Mom is awake!’

As the Golden Reapers tried to flee the moment I rose from my seat, they couldn’t escape my enraged DAHJJI beam.

‘No way!’

‘Ahhh!’

The Blue Idol Reaper seemed so startled by my sudden awakening that it couldn’t run away and trembled in fear.

When the Blue Idol Reaper made eye contact with me, it gave a slightly awkward smile.

Hehe.

I laughed back and immediately shot my DAHJJI beam.

[DAHJJI….]

The Blue Idol Reaper touched its chubby cheeks with a shocked expression, mumbling about magic in despair.

Kyuheehee.

And behind it, the White Hungry Ghost was laughing at the now DAHJJI-fied Mini Reapers.

As I thought about how to torment that annoying White Hungry Ghost, meaningful news started pouring out from the TV.

[According to the announcement from the James Research Institute, the current ‘mass cognitive ability loss incident’ occurring in South Korea is….]

[Therefore, the Object Association has declared Seodaemun District a danger zone….]

[Even the Golden Reaper that seemed to have entered Seodaemun District has disappeared….]

Had it not been for the last line added, I would have thought it was finally interesting news, but it turned into an entirely different story.

‘The Golden Reaper is missing????’

*

The world of the gridded sky began to crumble slowly.

That world, which had appeared as if the sun had descended, began to flicker out.

Then, amidst that light, the Golden Armored Reaper, looking a bit weary, made its presence known.

At that moment, voices began to emerge from the dust cloud created by the collapsing building.

[Incredible. I never thought such a byproduct would come this far.]

Snap.

And with the sound of fingers snapping, the wind whipped around, blowing away the dust cloud.

‘!’

As the unharmed Man with a Halo emerged from the ruins, the Golden Armored Reaper gritted its teeth even harder.

‘Too strong.’

Yet, the Golden Armored Reaper didn’t give up.

If it didn’t work once, then it would try again!

As the Golden Armored Reaper steeled its resolve, the firewood inside it reignited, beginning to emit a brilliant light.

Boom!

Thus, it transformed back into a golden comet once more, but it still didn’t work.

No, it didn’t even connect.

An unpenetrable transparent barrier lay between the man and the Golden Armored Reaper.

‘Why?’

The Golden Armored Reaper couldn’t understand.

How could an attack that could bypass even Mom’s “Kkyuk” be blocked like this?

If it had been the 1st Sword, would it have been able to discern the structure of that defense wall?

Or, if it was another Golden Reaper with sharper senses than itself, would they have noticed?

The least talented Golden Reaper didn’t give up anyway.

Even if it lacked senses like Mom’s level, it wouldn’t give up!

The Golden Armored Reaper transformed again into a golden comet, relentlessly striking down at the Man with a Halo.

If it won’t connect, it will keep striking until it does.

But that effort came to an end just as the Man with a Halo mumbled.

[Huh, is intelligence a bit lacking? You don’t know when to give up.]

In the moment the man muttered with a bored expression, the space segmented into a grid, and the Golden Armored Reaper was instantly torn apart.

The brilliantly shining armor, which had been golden, scattered everywhere, and limbs were cut off, spraying golden firewood.

It looked almost like golden blood.