Savemesavemesaveme.

My head is a mess.

I can't think straight.

The director of the Research Institute should always analyze the situation calmly, but I have to analyze it!

I'm scared! I'm scared! I'm scared!

The old man took away a kidnapped person from the butcher's shop, just like how one would choose meat.

It was a woman who played the violin.

She was the most terrified of all the abductees.

I force a smile and think.

The old man forcibly put the woman on the steel pig statue.

From the pig statue, a pile of charred bones was scattered on the floor with a thud.

The identity of the mysterious pile of bones on the floor was revealed.

Flames suddenly erupted from the pig statue, and the muffled screams started again.

It was that woman's voice.

The cause of the screams that filled the basement was also revealed.

I move my creaking, uncooperative hand to take notes.

I write down information about the Object.

I don't know what expression I'm making.

Was I wearing the confident smile befitting the director of the Research Institute? I'm not sure.

***

"Hey, install cameras on this side too. Be careful not to cross the boundary of Seoul Forest! If you cross it, it'll be smashed to pieces, so be careful!"

The people installing the cameras were carefully setting them up.

It's understandable, since any electronic device that crosses the boundary of Seoul Forest gets smashed like it was hit with a hammer.

The once-deserted entrance to Seoul Forest was now crowded with people.

They were setting up camps to support the team going in for internal investigation, and installing numerous cameras to observe any Objects that might come out of the forest.

The mass death incident in Seoul Forest, and the traces of the 'Gray Reaper' found at the entrance of Seoul Forest - the synergy of these two events has drawn a lot of people.

Especially considering the human tendency to be obsessed with being number one, the 'escape of the most dangerous Object managed by Korea' would certainly cause a commotion.

From my perspective, I haven't really harmed anyone, but I've already been ranked as the most dangerous Object. It's a rather nice title to have, so I'm grateful to accept it.

In fact, isn't it a really cool title? The Gray Reaper, the most dangerous Object in Korea!

In fact, if I become more famous, a folklore like 'The Gray Reaper takes away crying children!' might even emerge. Hehe.

This kind of reputation is very useful when I want to attract people.

There was also a camp set up by the Sehee Research Institute, and reporters were swarming there, bombarding them with questions.

"It has been revealed that the Gray Reaper escaped from the Research Institute. What are your thoughts on this situation?"

"You have put the citizens in danger due to negligence in management. What compensation plan are you preparing?"

"It seems the mass death incident was also caused by the Gray Reaper. Is this the first time the Gray Reaper has escaped?"

Kim Jungroo, who was dealing with the reporters, seemed to be responding with a pale face.

Oh-Yerin, who should have been helping him, was nowhere to be seen. I wonder if she went out on a field trip, knowing this incident was going to happen.

The procession heading towards the interior of Seoul Forest was uninterrupted. With this large-scale search, I think Lee Sehee will be easily found.

Well, if bringing in a lot of people can increase the chances of finding Sehee, that would be helpful.

I discreetly the procession heading into the forest. I wonder how much the Seoul Forest has changed in the past year.

***

The scenery of the Seoul Forest village still looked the same even after a year. Wooden buildings, gravel roads, and streets without power lines. It was like a scene from the Middle Ages.

The Seoul Forest village is known to be the only residential area within Seoul Forest.

Due to the ban on the use of electronic devices and internal combustion engines, the people here live like in the Middle Ages. Perhaps because of this inconvenience, there is a reputation that half of the residents are criminals.

As a result, the area is quite unsafe, making it hard to believe it's near Seoul.

Using electronic devices within the Seoul Forest area? They just get smashed to pieces. Without any reason. Even the high-rise buildings and roads that used to exist there have all disappeared that way.

Personally, the Seoul Forest village felt like an excellent folk village with a strong sense of living.

The absence of rubber, plastic, and asphalt made it feel even more so.

Even after a year, that feeling hasn't changed.

What felt the most fascinating was the commercial district, where they used gold and silver coins for transactions instead of banknotes that would disintegrate.

You could experience the medieval- trading full of weighing the coins, buying and selling goods, and haggling and scams.

Even snack-like foods were packaged in glass or metal cans, or leather-like materials.

Just going to the market was full of fascinating things, making you feel like you've come to a tourist site of a different cultural realm.

Of course, that's from an Object's perspective.

Uncomfortable beds, poor facilities, unsatisfactory food, unstable security, an environment without electronics. For humans who have to eat and sleep there, it would be an inconvenient place to visit as a tourist.

Even in a place like this, there is a reason why society functions. And that is the existence of a ruler who manages this place.

The person who cultivated this place, which was once treated as abandoned land due to the inability to use modern amenities, and made a society function in its own way.

Han Gang-cheol, the King of Seoul Forest.

While he is called the King of Seoul Forest, he is actually the boss of a gang that rules this place. In this lawless land without firearms or electronics, he is a fitting ruler.

If something happens, it would be to visit Han Gang-cheol at least once. If it's not a one-time incident, Han Gang-cheol's organization would certainly have some information.

Han Gang-cheol's location? It would be the largest and best building in this village.

The residence I visited, which was Han Gang-cheol's abode, was an excellent building that evoked the image of a medieval manor.

Upon entering the manor, it was clear that something was amiss.

There were too many injured people inside the manor, and an ominous atmosphere permeated the place. But it was unclear whether it was related to Sehee's disappearance.

I couldn't easily ask someone what happened, as the mute concept of the 'Gray Reaper' prevented me from communicating verbally.

T/N: I thought she couldn't talk, so she just doesn't want to?

Writing would be possible, but the concept of the 'Gray Reaper' is that it doesn't understand human speech, that was also not an option.

Why such a concept? It was created for the sake of a happy Object life. If I could converse, I might end up negotiating with humans, which is something I don't particularly want to do.

As I floated through the walls and ceilings of the manor like a ghost, observing every room, I overheard a meaningful conversation in one of the corners.

"Shouldn't we seek help from the outside for this?"

"Ask for help for this kind of thing?"

In a room in the corner of the manor, Han Gang-cheol and a few others were engaged in a conversation, with several photos scattered on the table.

"There are already more than 10 people with their limbs torn off. The number of missing persons has also exceeded 30. Even when they move in groups of 5, they can't catch it. I don't think we can handle this."

"What difference would it make to ask for outside help? Without even being able to use guns, adding more people from the outside would be meaningless. The government will probably just choose to evacuate Seoul Forest. Then our business will have to shut down."

The missing persons incident! It seemed highly likely that Sehee could have been caught up in this.

"With so many outsiders coming in, that thing will also have a hard time moving around unnoticed. Let's try one last time tonight. Anyway, with all the outsiders, we can't control the information anymore."

***

Night in Seoul Forest was unusually dark. The darkness of a city without electricity. Sounds that broke through that darkness reverberated throughout the village.

"Catch it!"

"Drive it in!"

The gangsters, each wielding a blade, were running in all directions, chasing after a certain entity.

A monstrous being that seemed to be 3 meters tall.

He was a human who was extremely thin and had limbs that were disturbingly long. Just by looking at him, he seemed more like a praying mantis or daddy longlegs than a human.

His physical abilities were not inferior to his bizarre appearance. He was so fast in the darkness that he could barely be seen properly, and the people who got hit by the monster had their bones snapping off.

To think they're trying to deal with such a monster internally without revealing it to the outside, are they in their right mind?

Certainly, if the outsiders witness this monster roaming around, they won't be able to keep it hidden anymore.

In fact, it's more surprising that they've managed to keep it hidden so far.

This shows the extent of Gang-cheol's control over the Seoul Forest, and his self-proclaimed title of 'King' is justified by such a formidable power.

While the gangsters were frantically trying to catch the monster, I decided to search the house from which the monster had emerged.

Humans with poor night vision and limited peripheral vision might not have seen it, but this monster had sprung out from a small house built on the edge of the village.

From an ordinary, unremarkable residential building that was common in the village.

'Hmm.'

And as soon as I quietly entered that house, the first thing that greeted me was the monsters lying scattered on the floor.