Reaper (MC) POV:

---

Tuk tuk~

When I woke up, I felt like I was being pounded from all sides.

Lots of Golden Reapers had appeared and were hitting me repeatedly.

What's going on?

And were they able to come out even without me summoning them?

The Golden Reapers looked extremely urgent.

The Golden Reapers that noticed I had woken up stopped hitting me and tried to explain something through gestures and movements.

It was difficult to understand the body language performed with the shallow knowledge of the Golden Reapers, but I could sense the urgency of the situation.

It's urgent?

Then there's a way only I can do.

I ghostified and spread my arms wide open.

The Golden Reapers also ghostified and rushed into my embrace.

Holding an armful of Golden Reapers, the ones that couldn't fit in my arms clung to my body.

By making contact in our spectral forms, I could understand what the Golden Reapers wanted to say.

An intense and simple thought.

'Danger!'

'The human we are attached to is in danger!'

Feeling an extremely tense emotion, I immediately used the ability I obtained from the Black Penguin.

The faint, flickering trace of a Golden Reaper was felt from far away.

I used that ability towards that trace.

*

The place I arrived at by using my ability was somewhere that could not be considered Korea at all.

A desert full of red sand and rocks.

There's no way a place like this could exist in Korea, so it must be a phenomenon caused by an Object.

One Golden Reaper ran towards me with a welcoming expression.

When I caught it with my hands, that Golden Reaper was completely tattered. 

Why is it so injured?

I put it in my arms, hugged it tightly, and fed it some flame.

The flame given beyond its limit instantly regenerated its missing arm.

The tattered Golden Reaper immediately regained its vitality and hugged my cheek gratefully.

I wonder who hurt the Golden Reaper.

Judging from its injured arm, it seems to be the aftermath of using Overlap on a Physical Immunity Object. 

Normally it would coolly throw its whole body for an attack, and revive in the Golden Reaper Garden, but that would be the rational choice since it's not painful.

It must have only used one arm to protect Seo-ah, the 'human it's attached to' for a long time.

The Object that seems to have hurt the Golden Reaper is probably the one in front of me.

An Object made of red rocks, and probably one with Physical Immunity.

The destruction condition is <Destruction of the Core>.

I got a little annoyed that it hurt the Golden Reaper.

I sent back the Golden Reaper that had worked hard to Seo-ah.

When I waved my hand in the air with annoyance, numerous Golden Reapers answered my call from the Golden Reaper Garden.

***

3rd person POV:

---

The black agent and the blonde girl were able to find the resting place they wanted.

Or rather, they had no choice but to find it.

In the middle of the vast, sprawling red desert where the burning sand met the horizon, there was a huge boulder that could be easily spotted from afar.

A cave with a huge entrance like a yawning mouth.

With its enormous size and unique presence, it was a lighthouse that anyone passing through the desert could use as a landmark.

The huge shadow cast by the massive cave and the cool atmosphere unique to caves cooled their sweat.

"Wow, we can finally rest a bit."

The blonde girl in a well-groomed dress sat down on a rock that looked suitable, fluttering her sweat-soaked clothes.

The black agent, not easily letting his guard down, was carefully checking deep inside the cave when he found something useful.

There was a huge lake inside the cave.

Probably a lake formed by groundwater rising to the surface.

On the upper side of the lake, there was a hole, through which the night sky was directly visible.

The reflection of the red moon and starlight on the mirror-like transparent surface of the lake created a beautiful scenery.

It even made him think that if this wasn't a situation where they were stranded by an Object, it would be nice.

Unlike the murky oases usually seen in deserts, the lake water was surprisingly clear and transparent, not muddy at all.

The black agent briefly checked, and the water seemed drinkable.

"Miss, there's water here. With this, we'll be able to endure for quite a long time."

The black agent filled the small canteen he was carrying with water from the lake and gave it to the blonde girl.

"Woah, I was really dying of thirst, what a relief."

"Now it's possible to hold out until the rescue comes. Since this incident happened right in the middle of Seoul, it shouldn't take too long for the rescue to arrive, so that's one less worry."

Upon hearing those words, the blonde girl's expression showed that she was considerably less anxious.

In fact, the girl was almost at her limit.

The unusually hot weather and the difficult desert terrain to travel through.

And the environment where Objects that kill people roam around was bound to drain her stamina in an instant.

Given the girl's condition, there were other things the black agent hadn't told her.

The temperature inside the cave was surprisingly suitable for humans, and they were even provided with clean water.

On top of that, it was an easy-to-find location.

In a normal distress situation, it would be considered fortunate, but in a situation involving Objects, it didn't feel so good.

It was almost like a place luring people in.

But if they wandered around this desert, they wouldn't be able to survive even a day.

The black agent's worries only deepened.

***

Sehee POV:

---

At the director's office of the Sehee Research Institute, the TV was broadcasting news about the anomaly that occurred in Gangseo District.

Most of Gangseo District was blocked by a transparent barrier, and beyond that barrier, there was an unidentified desert instead of Gangseo District. 

The status of the people inside was unknown.

The Association, which was always criticized for its sluggish response, unusually took quick action to resolve the incident this time.

There were even some opinions that the Association had finally come to its senses.

'Oh no, what about Seo-ah! I should have stopped her from going!'

As soon as she heard the news, she got up from her seat and started running somewhere.

Her destination was the deepest part of the Sehee Research Institute, the isolation room of the Gray Reaper.

The baseless thought occurred to her that if it was a Reaper, it could somehow deal with the barrier blocking Gangseo District.

Somehow, it felt like the kind of thought Yerin usually had, but now the only thing she could believe in was the Reaper!

The Association would probably not be able to easily break through the barrier, and even if they did, they would either have to get help from other countries or enter at a late stage.

But what if the Reaper just clapped its hands and kicked a few times, wouldn't the barrier break?

If only the barrier was gone, the Association's large-scale rescue team could enter, and the chances of a successful rescue would increase.

However, when she opened the door and entered the isolation room, the Gray Reaper was nowhere to be seen.

There were only a pile of Golden Reapers and Yerin playing with those Golden Reapers.

"Unnie, what's going on?"

"Where's the Gray Reaper?"

"I'm not sure either. Judging by the fact that it left so many Golden Reapers behind, it must have gone quite far away."

Indeed, the isolation room was filled with Golden Reapers.

"Did something happen?"

Yerin asked me what was going on, looking at my expression.

Instead of answering, I turned on the TV inside the isolation room and played the news.

[The interior of Gangseo District is currently an unidentified desert area, and the situation inside remains completely unknown.]

Coincidentally, the news showed a scene where a helicopter was filming the barrier in Gangseo District.

"Oh! Isn't that where Sister Seo-ah went on a business trip?"

"Yes. That's why I was trying to call the Gray Reaper, but it's not here."

Yerin stared at the TV, not knowing what to do.

"What should we do?"

"Isn't there any way?"

"...Ah! So that's why?"

Yerin seemed to understand something on her own after mumbling, so I asked her, and she told me a rather interesting story.

"Actually, it's the Gray Reaper's nap time right now. But since the Reaper wasn't here, I wondered what was going on. Then I thought that if there was an incident, like this, it could be the reason."

"You mean the Gray Reaper sensed Seo-ah's crisis and has already left for Gangseo District?"

"It's just my guess. It could have just gone out on a whim, so it's not certain."

Bang. Bang.

Yerin vacated her seat next to her and tapped loudly to draw attention.

"Then, Sister, you should wait here with me."

"What?"

I was about to slowly return to the director's office and find out how the Association's rescue operation was progressing, but Yerin started saying strange things.

"We should wait for Gray Reaper to come back! If Reaper didn't go to rescue but went somewhere for leisure, wouldn't it be best to meet as soon as possible and depart for Gangseo District?"

It was clearly nonsense, but for some reason, it was a quite compelling theory.

"After all, the only thing we can do is ask the Association how the rescue operation is going. We should at least do this!"

Was it because of the magic of the warm isolation room and the fluffy bed?

Or was it because of the soft and warm Golden Reapers?

"I can't help it. But I should at least take minimum measures."

I sent a mass notification to Sehee Research Institute using my phone.

<Security team will carry pudding while searching for Gray Reaper>

<Researchers should keep a pudding nearby while performing their duties>

<If Gray Reaper is found, contact the director immediately>

"With this much, I've taken all the measures I can. Now all that's left is to wait here for the Gray Reaper."

I really had no choice but to sit next to Yerin and start playing with the cute Golden Reapers.

I made up my mind to wait in the Reaper's isolation room, because if the Reaper that went out to play returns, we need to quickly depart for Gangseo District.

Seo-ah should be fine.

From the Research Institute's standpoint, the reality that we couldn't do anything to rescue our researcher was a bit uncomfortable.

***

Seo-ah POV:

---

In the desert where red dust was swirling, huge cubic rocks were rolling powerlessly on the ground, having lost their strength.

There were as many as 15 shattered red spheres scattered on the ground in pieces.

As soon as the Gray Reaper appeared, the situation was resolved instantly.

The Golden Reapers, behaving completely differently from when alone, recklessly charged ahead and smashed the enemy.

It swiftly and concisely resolved the situation.

The 15 Golden Reapers that seemed to have destroyed the Objects by striking their weaknesses were clinging to the Gray Reaper with happy expressions.

The remaining Golden Reapers were just gathered at the Gray Reaper's feet, looking at it with envious expressions.

The expressionless Gray Reaper was looking around its surroundings.

"Wow!"

I clapped towards the Gray Reaper, who looked relaxed.

When I clapped, the Golden Reapers also blankly watched my actions and then followed suit, clapping.

"Reaper, I'm glad to see you! Thank you! Welcome back!"

With an overwhelmed heart, I ran over and hugged the Gray Reaper.

The unidentified Object, the highest risk Object, the Object with incomprehensible behavior.

I remembered the countless reasons I had been wary of the Gray Reaper, but with my current feelings, I didn't care about any of that anymore.

I hugged it tightly, putting all my gladness, relief, and gratitude into the embrace.

Then the Golden Reapers also swarmed over and clung to the Gray Reaper and me.

The Gray Reaper seemed uncomfortable with this situation and had an oddly blank expression, so I poked its cheeks.

The blank-faced Gray Reaper is so cute!