We kept running through the heart of hell.

My junior, too, had discarded her beloved hammer somewhere and was now running with just the documents in her hands, panting heavily.

The city streets, where life had been normal until just a short while ago, had turned into the heart of hell, filled with blood and screams.

The pill bug, rolling down the road like a burning bowling ball, sent people flying like bowling pins, while rocks flying through the sky sprayed high-pressure water, slicing people apart.

Even with all the research I had done on Objects, there were so many new ones I had never seen before, wreaking havoc on people.

Every second was a continuous wave of tension.

My monocle quickly displayed the characteristics of these Objects, and I had to immediately decide how to respond.

[Attacks moving objects.]

"Stop!"

The giant, eye-catching tadpole was floating in mid-air, turning its head rapidly to scan the surroundings.

But those who didn’t know what that Object’s ability was were just startled by its terrifying appearance and turned to run.

The fate of those who fled was horrifying.

The tadpole's eyes released a stream of tears, and the fleeing people slowly, but relentlessly, melted away, writhing in agony until they died.

'Damn it, was making that deal a mistake after all?'

Whether it was because we fled diligently before the situation escalated, we had somehow reached the outskirts of Songpa District.

Looking back, I saw my exhausted junior and the road behind us, littered with blood and corpses.

With a single moment’s choice, Songpa District had turned into hell.

As soon as we crossed the boundary, I could see the military arriving, setting up barricades, and starting the blockade.

We survived.

But the blood-soaked road I had seen when I turned around wouldn't leave my mind.

The loud sound of helicopters roared in my ears.

The Songpa District area, where the Central Research Institute was located, was now under lockdown, but that didn’t matter much.

What was more important to 'Daily Object' was the attention and views this footage would generate.

People were screaming and fleeing, and the roads, now destroyed, no longer seemed functional.

And with countless Objects that had been confined in the Central Research Institute now on the loose, the surrounding area had descended into a hell on earth.

But the truly terrifying part was elsewhere. The government had essentially abandoned the residents of Songpa District.

At the perimeter formed around the outskirts of Songpa District, soldiers were barely managing to hold the line with concentrated firepower.

The Objects that had been transferred to the Central Research Institute were mostly those deemed too dangerous to be confined in private labs.

Protecting civilians who had fled to the outskirts? Not possible when a giant mantis, capable of regenerating from even the most devastating bomb attacks, was flying around.

But the cameras of 'Daily Object' weren’t interested in the other Objects.

The fierce battles on the outskirts of Songpa District? That wasn’t their focus either.

The cameras were solely focused on the two Objects fighting fiercely on the grounds of the Central Research Institute.

Agu, the Object that had thrown Korea into shock and terror 30 years ago.

And the Gray Reaper, who had garnered attention again after the Seoul Forest Village incineration incident.

The showdown that had been a constant topic of 'vs' debates online was now happening for real.

On the monitors at the Sehee Research Institute, the live footage of the heart of Seoul being destroyed was shown along with the loud noise of helicopters.

The battle seemed to be going against the Reaper.

Agu was destroying buildings left and right as it attacked the Reaper, swinging its tentacles with such force that the concrete was being pulverized into dust.

The Reaper was darting around with small strides, occasionally showing strange behaviors.

Hanging from traffic lights and pulling on them before running away, or guiding Agu to push cars—most of the Reaper’s actions seemed meaningless.

Occasionally, it would sacrifice one of its arms to attack Agu, but those attacks seemed solely intended to keep Agu’s attention focused on it.

"Isn’t Agu’s skin famous for not getting a single scratch even from billions of missiles? But that! Gray! Reaper! Is smashing it like it’s nothing!"

Every time such a scene played out, the reporter from 'Daily Object' would spit with excitement, emphasizing the fearsome power of the Reaper.

They even provided rough estimates of the financial damage caused by the Reaper and Agu’s fight, noting that the cost of the buildings destroyed alone was enormous.

In a brief clash, a yellow flash erupted as the Reaper’s left arm and one of Agu’s tentacles vanished.

Though its expression remained blank, the Reaper’s left arm, which looked like it had been brutally torn apart, appeared to be in a great deal of pain.

"Uh, is the Reaper going to be okay?"

Agu and the Reaper were both getting hurt simultaneously, but it was clear that Agu had the upper hand. Given the size difference, the loss of an equivalent amount of body mass affected the Reaper far more.

"It’ll be fine. The Reaper burns so brightly—it's really something."

Sehee unnie said confidently.

Hearing her words, I started to closely observe the Reaper on the monitor.

"Oh!"

Upon closer inspection, I could see it clearly.

The Reaper’s light was gradually growing brighter.

"Its light is definitely getting stronger."

"I don’t know why, but the Reaper is definitely getting stronger."

I was overflowing with power.

This meant that many humans were dying in agony around me.

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

I focused on absorbing all the power flowing into me, imprinting countless methods of death into my mind.

And like stacking dominos, I began setting up each condition.

The goal was to incapacitate Agu.

I resolved to stack up ‘methods of destruction’ with the determination to collapse everything within my sight.

The ‘methods of destruction’ I could see were vague hints when it came to Objects.

But for everything else, I could discern more concrete ways.

Rather than methods, they were closer to inevitable fates.

Unrelated actions would come together like a butterfly effect, leading to death.

For example, if you placed a stone 3 meters ahead and clapped your hands before spinning around, a rabbit startled by the noise might step on the stone, trip, and die.

As I fought Agu, I was establishing the conditions for numerous collapses, one by one.

Now, it was time to see the result of those dominos.

Agu opened its mouth wide and laughed.

It was certain of its victory.

It was clear that the regeneration of this small being had its limits.

As the small being, which had been continuously absorbing power from its surroundings, lost its source of power as humans disappeared, its strength was rapidly diminishing.

All that was left was to devour this small being.

When the small being stomped its foot, the ground began to collapse chaotically.

The sudden collapse of the ground seemed insignificant to Agu.

A collapsing ground wasn’t much of a threat.

It would soon crawl out of the cliff and devour it.

!

At that moment, as Agu fell towards the ground, it seemed to hear 'the scream of the world.'

A gigantic 'something' was reaching out towards Agu from beyond the world.

The 'something' that had been standing behind the small being vanished quickly, but Agu still felt endless terror.

No, all the Objects that could perceive the presence of 'something' felt it.

Overcome with fear, Agu threw itself into the pit.

A massive collapse occurred.

It was of such magnitude that it should be called a supercollapse.

A sinkhole with a diameter of several kilometers and a depth so great the bottom couldn’t be seen had formed.

Even the reporter from 'Daily Object,' who had been ceaselessly criticizing the Reaper, was speechless, eyes wide open.

The Reaper had suddenly stopped, clapped twice, and then stomped the ground three times with its small feet, causing the ground to collapse.

The entire process was dramatic.

A small vehicle tipped over, and like a pinball, the tumbling cars collided into a cluster of other vehicles, leading to an explosion.

The nearby tanker also exploded.

The vibrations from this spread like dominos, toppling buildings in one direction, rupturing gas pipes, and leading to this disaster.

It was like a scene from a movie.

Agu, caught in the collapse, fell into the abyss of the sinkhole, disappearing from sight.

"Wow… Wow! The Reaper is really something else, isn’t it?"

"Yeah… really."

Everyone watching the broadcast at Sehee Research Institute couldn’t close their mouths, stunned by the incredible event caused by the Reaper.

Three days had passed since the disaster that would come to be known as the Gray Collapse, and the world seemed to be slowly recovering from the shock.

At first, everyone was terrified.

Many suggested abandoning Seoul.

After all, many Objects with flying capabilities had fallen into the sinkhole, and uncontrollable Objects like Agu had been drawn into it.

It was a terrifying place where a monster could emerge at any moment to destroy Seoul!

Many people fled Seoul to other regions.

But as time passed, the Objects didn’t emerge.

Some small fry were observed crawling out, but they were easily dealt with by firepower.

And so, Seoul gradually returned to a state of stability.