??? POV:

---

A woman wearing casual clothes that did not match the desert at all was seen.

She was wandering in the desert, holding a child in her arms. 

The face of the child in her arms was flushed red, and from the shallow, weak breathing, it seemed like heat stroke.

In the shadeless desert.

The sudden calamity that struck Gangseo-gu drove many residents into dire circumstances.

She walked on the scorching hot sand without shoes.

Her soles stuck to the hot sand, but for a single shade or cup of water, she kept wandering aimlessly.

Before her eyes, like a mirage, appeared huge tents unfolded. 

The majestic tents with slender pillars and wide canopies created a silhouette in stark contrast to the wavy sand dunes.

Following the soft fluttering of the wind-blown cloth, the shadows of the tents also danced quietly.

And under those tent shadows were arrays of fruits.

Fruits that were all juicy like watermelons, fully brimming with moisture, were displayed abundantly.

The woman in casual clothes hurriedly started running toward the tents.

Praying it wasn't a mirage or a hallucination created by her suffering.

The closer she got to the tents, the more distinct their shapes became, seeming unlike a mirage.

But the closer she got, the more uneasy she felt.

Under the tents, people were sitting on chairs, not moving at all, just sitting still.

When the woman entered the tent, a cool temperature that seemed unimaginable for the same desert cooled her heated skin.

"A guest has arrived."

As she entered the tent, the old man sitting closest spoke to her.

A wrinkled old man sitting on a chair, holding a large cane with both hands.

The old man's attire was excessively decorated with jewels all over, appearing overly gaudy.

"Ah! Excuse me, my child has heat stroke. Can I feed them some of the fruits here?"

"Well, of course I should give them to you. This old man was bored, so if you promise to engage in a simple quiz, I can give you as many fruits as you want."

The old man smiled with a gentle expression, but that expression seemed somewhat strange.

However, the woman was not in a situation leisurely enough to care about such odd points one by one.

"Yes, yes! I promise!"

The woman hurriedly declared her promise and cut open a watermelon to frantically feed her child.

Perhaps due to the cool tent temperature, the child seemed to be in much better condition.

Seeing the child's condition had improved considerably, the woman let out a sigh of relief and took a bite of the watermelon herself.

It was full of juicy sweetness with a lingering, mysterious aftertaste.

As an inexplicably strange flavor unlike any watermelon was felt, the woman regained her senses.

Only then did the highly suspicious old man and tent start to seem odd.

Object!

[Ah, you've already noticed? This world is peculiar. The worms catch on quickly.]

Clack. Clack. Clack~

Looking up at the old man, his wrinkled skin was turning into sand and flowing away.

The old man's voice could no longer be heard, only the tapping sound of the skeleton's teeth clacking as it grinned.

Before she knew it, skeletons holding swords lined up like a folding screen around the old man's skeleton.

[Now then, as promised, I'll give you a quiz.]

Not a voice, but the old skeleton's voice directly entering her mind was ominous and full of malice.

A thick stench of blood wafted from the swords held by the skeletons.

Something appeared, cutting through that ominous atmosphere.

tak takk~

A small, golden...something.

Since she never seen such a creature, it must be an Object.

A small Object glaring at the old skeleton with its hands on its hips.

It looked weak at a glance, but the old skeleton's reaction was a bit strange.

[hughh.]

The old skeleton let out a sigh and slowly retreated backwards.

Then, grabbing the fluttering cloth of the tent roof, a golden face popped out.

From inside the fruits too, popping out.

From under tables, behind pillars, chair backs, small faces sprang out from everywhere.

The cute little faces popping out all over was rather adorable, but the old skeleton's reaction was the opposite.

It even threw away its cane and started fleeing.

And the result was unexpected as well.

The golden Objects popped out and completely smashed the skeletons and the old skeleton into pieces.

The skeletons struck by the golden Objects' attacks turned into sand and scattered away.

And the Object that dealt with the old skeleton came swarming toward me, as if seeking praise.

At the sudden approach of the Objects, I stiffened my whole body.

In a way, they could be considered the benefactors of my life, but I felt an eerie sensation.

The cute-looking Objects were a combination that modern humans would find frightening.

The sullen-faced Objects.

Shimmering brightly in a pretty golden color, and somehow emitting a pleasant scent.

As I looked at them closely, an unfounded feeling that they wouldn't harm me somehow dominated my mind.

Carefully extending my hand, one of the Objects squirmed onto my palm.

Oh, this...

Looking closely, it's shaped exactly like a Gray Reaper!

I flinched in surprise and tossed away the golden Reaper.

The golden Reaper lay scattered on the ground, its expression devoid of life, slumped and powerless.

"Ah... sorry?"

Its expression looked so sad that I ended up apologizing reflexively.

Extending my hand again, the Golden Reaper glanced at me and carefully climbed onto my palm once more.

As if to avoid falling again, it clung tightly to one of my fingers.

"Sorry. I won't throw you again!"

As the Golden Reaper clung to my cheek, the previously swarming Golden Reapers scattered in all directions.

All that remained with me was one Golden Reaper.

But strangely, I felt a reassuring sensation.

***

??? POV:

---

In a cave with a gloomy atmosphere due to a sudden death incident, researchers from Trinity caught people's attention.

"Everyone! Pay attention please!"

With the expectation of 'Could they have found something?', people began to listen to the voice of the Trinity Research Institute researcher.

There was also an expectation that a member of Korea's top research institute wouldn't say nonsense.

Thinking he had garnered enough attention, the researcher raised his voice and began speaking.

“We've deciphered the structure of this object a little bit, and we're going to move a little bit to explain it.”

The Trinity researchers led the people deeper into the cave.

Beyond a giant lake, at a place with a giant statue and altar, the Trinity researcher began his explanation.

"Here, you can see characters written like this. Thanks to these being characters that Trinity Research Institute has been studying for quite a long time, we were able to interpret them. It's fortunate for us."

The researcher mixed in praise for Trinity Research Institute with his explanation of the interpreted characters.

And the characters interpreted by the researcher contained the exact conclusion that the black agent had predicted.

<If there are over 100 people inside the cave, the statues will kill everyone inside.> 

<If anyone tries to leave the cave, they will be killed.>

Upon hearing this, people nodded, saying it sounded plausible.

After all, it would be stranger if there were no such traps in this oasis.

"So what we must do is one thing. Without leaving the cave, we must drive away any newcomers."

And a question-and-answer session followed with various inquiries.

With researchers who attended the Kkachisan Conference present inside the cave, the questions were diverse.

"Why was this information being concealed by the Trinity Research Institute?"

Starting from such questions to inquiries about the interpretation method, they varied.

"Ah, please understand that as low-level researchers, we cannot speak freely."

Of course, the Trinity researchers rarely gave clear answers.

As people gathered around the wall with the engraved characters and chattered, a blonde girl was eyeing the altar area.

"Uncle, there are lots of bats drawn on the altar! What does it mean?"

"I'm not sure. Perhaps you should ask one of the Trinity researchers?"

But when the blonde girl innocently asked a researcher, the answer she received was, 'I don't know.'

"It can't be helped that the interpretation is not yet perfect."

"Uncle, I'm not disappointed that I couldn't hear the interpretation. But in the researchers' interpretation, there's no mention of the altar, even though the altar seems more important no matter how you look at it, doesn't it?"

Indeed, as the blonde girl said, the altar seemed more important than the statue or the wall with the engraved characters, judging by its size, scale, and splendor.

*

Based on the Trinity researchers' interpretation of the Objects, people began driving away those trying to enter the cave.

"Get out!"

They collected tools that could be used as weapons, gave them to the sentries, and threatened and drove away anyone trying to enter.

However, many people came to the cave, which could be considered a landmark of the desert.

People exhausted from the heat and dying of thirst.

Although they couldn't enter the cave due to being threatened with makeshift weapons, they gradually gathered in the shade near the cave.

The blonde girl asked with a worried expression, "Won't those people suddenly rush in?"

"Perhaps. We need to find some solution. For now, the difference in numbers is preventing them from daring to enter, but that gap will quickly narrow."

The Trinity researchers were eyeing the confrontational people with meaningful gazes.

***

Reaper (MC) POV:

---

Tak tak tak~

Walking through the desert.

<Place the red skull in the center of the desert, set it on fire, and dance on top of it.>

Still an absurd condition.

If one can't see the conditions like me, how are they supposed to figure out how to kill it?

A trudging journey to find the Red Skull.

I decided to have the Golden Reapers spread out across the desert to find its center.

The center of where the Golden Reapers evenly spread out across the desert should be the desert's center.

The Golden Reapers, which rarely moved according to my intentions, were spreading out well across the desert this time as intended.

While wandering around to find the Red Skull, I saw many skulls but not the Red Skull.

Instead of the Red Skull, the flame inside me just kept building up.

Although the Red Skull was nowhere to be seen, I frequently encountered people with a Golden Reaper perched on each shoulder.

"Ah, Gray Reaper!"

Those people would be afraid upon seeing me but eventually approach.

"Golden Reaper. You sent it, didn't you? Thank you."

A mixture of fear and gratitude.

As I stared at them expressionlessly while obtaining the flame, some would sneak up and hug me tightly.

Annoying, but unavoidable for the flame.

At this rate, I have no idea when I'll find the Red Skull.

*

While collecting flame and searching for skulls, I discovered a highly suspicious place in the distance.

A massive cave made of reddish rocks.

From afar, it looks like an open-mouthed skull. Could that be the Red Skull?