Crunch, crunch.

I was nestled inside Yerin's clothes, munching on snacks she handed me one by one.

The only sounds in the car were the hum of the wind and the crunching of the snacks in my mouth.

My hands and feet were tucked inside Yerin's clothes, so I couldn’t move, but I didn’t mind.

Honestly, when I was with Yerin, it was rare that I had to grab the snacks myself anyway.

What’s the temperature outside now? It’s been a long time since I stopped being human, so I couldn’t tell.

Seeing the color return to Yerin’s face suggested the temperature inside the car wasn’t too cold, but who knew what it was like outside?

How cold did it have to be for a reliable vehicle like the car to stop working? I had no clue.

Would the gasoline have to freeze for the car to stop, or does it stop at a higher temperature? I wasn’t sure.

Or maybe it just broke down because Yerin didn’t maintain the car properly.

Outside, the snowstorm was so thick I couldn’t see a thing.

Is this what they call a whiteout?

How long are we going to be stuck here?

It was boring, and with the soft warmth around me, I started feeling sleepy.

The Reaper, snuggled up in my arms, had fallen asleep at some point, bored by our situation stranded in the snow.

About two hours after the Reaper fell asleep, the snowstorm finally stopped.

The scene that emerged was so surreal that I wondered if this was really Seoul.

A world blanketed in snow.

Seeing a landscape buried in snow wasn’t unusual, but what was moving in that landscape was something you wouldn’t normally see in Seoul.

Furry yetis were wandering around.

They were a well-known Object often spotted when observing Dobong-gu with drones.

However, they were classified as dangerous Objects because of their violent nature.

But since they hadn’t been contained or studied by any research institute, not much was known about how dangerous they were or what specific traits they had.

All that was known was that they were aggressive creatures that threw ice or rocks at any moving object or animal they saw.

Not wanting to be spotted by the murderous yetis, I held my breath and huddled down, waiting for them to pass.

What felt like ten agonizing hours but was actually just ten minutes later, the ferocious-looking yetis disappeared.

In their place appeared adorable snowmen, about the size of the Reaper.

Snowmen who blew icy bubbles as they wandered around.

They played beautiful music on xylophones made of ice and blew ice bubbles from ice trumpets.

Their actions were so innocent, like playful children, that my guard naturally lowered.

The sight of these storybook-like creatures wandering across the sparkling white snow created a dreamlike scene.

When encountering an unfamiliar Object whose habits and nature are unknown, fear is a natural reaction, but I didn’t feel scared at all.

The snowmen didn’t seem harmful at all!

The warmth of the Reaper, who was still sleeping in my arms, boosted my courage even more.

Besides, these snowmen moved slowly and peacefully blew bubbles, so they didn’t seem like threatening Objects.

In fact, they looked kind of cute.

As I was thinking that and watching through the car window, I saw a man, heavily bundled up, sneaking past the snowmen.

He was foolish to think he wouldn’t be noticed.

Sure enough, he was spotted instantly, but it didn’t turn into a dangerous situation.

The man, realizing he’d been spotted, frantically ran away, trying to put distance between himself and the snowmen.

The docile-looking snowmen noticed the fleeing man but didn’t chase after or threaten him; they just continued blowing their ice bubbles, watching him pass by.

As I thought, they were harmless.

But this time, instead of cute bubbles, the snowmen blew out sharp needles.

“Gasp!”

I was so shocked I couldn’t help but gasp.

If you saw someone explode right in front of you, you’d do the same.

The needles fired by the snowmen turned into ice bubbles as soon as they pierced the man’s body, but imagine what happens when that transformation occurs inside a person.

They explode.

“Ugh, another murderous monster.”

Once again, I held my breath, huddling down in the car, hiding, and waiting for the snowmen to pass.

The fairytale-like, dreamlike atmosphere had turned into something out of a gruesome fairytale, and the courage the Reaper had given me evaporated like a bubble.

Reaper, wake up soon.

Please.

I was jolted awake by the sound of explosions and gunfire echoing all around.

Looking around, I saw Yerin crouched down, shivering.

Large blinking eyes were peering at us through the car window.

They were the eyes of a giant pigeon.

The pigeon, startled when it met my gaze, flapped its wings and flew away.

I pressed on Yerin’s cheek to let her know that the situation was under control.

“Oh, Reaper, you’re finally awake! I was so scared.”

Still trembling, Yerin hugged me tightly, whimpering.

I patted Yerin’s shoulder lightly and took stock of the situation.

The gunfire I heard seemed to indicate that a large-scale military rescue operation was underway.

It wouldn’t be long before soldiers reached our location.

The pigeon that had just fled was hit by a bomb mid-flight, spilling its guts as it died.

As time passed, I saw tanks and armored vehicles rolling past, one after another.

Following them were convoy trucks, and one of the trucks stopped. Kim Jung-roe climbed out and ran toward our car.

Already a large man, Kim Jung-roe looked even bigger bundled up in fur, resembling a giant bear.

“Senior!”

Without saying a word, Kim Jung-roe handed Yerin something to wrap herself in and guided us to the convoy truck.

Inside the truck, there were soldiers armed to the teeth.

It made sense; after all, it was the first time in 10 years that a war had broken out with the Ice Throne in Dobong-gu.

Seeing this, I figured Yerin would be safe now.

So, I decided it was time to go deal with the Ice Throne that had scared Yerin.

In front of the walls of Dobong-gu, countless golems, or perhaps robots in ice armor, were methodically demolishing buildings.

Like farmers planting rice in a paddy field.

The ice soldiers were destroying buildings and packing down the debris to create a massive path.

They were clearing a way for something enormous to pass through, but what that was, I couldn’t tell.

The soldiers constructing the path were nearly 20 meters tall, but one thing puzzled me.

These soldiers of such unreal size weren’t Objects.

Their armor was made of ordinary ice, and the machinery pulsing within the ice was made of regular metal.

With my limited knowledge, I wasn’t sure if it was possible for something of that size to be so sturdy and move without some kind of Object-powered mechanism.

If it were impossible, then perhaps some Object was aiding them in some way.

As I reached the front of the Dobong-gu wall, I saw human-made missiles streaking beautifully across the sky.

It seemed the evacuation of civilians had been completed, and a full-scale aerial bombardment had begun.

Missile after missile followed, in a continuous barrage.

The ice soldiers were helpless against the missile strikes, being blown apart.

Just like in the footage from the Dobong-gu recapture operation 10 years ago.

The intense heat from the explosions quickly melted the ice armor encasing the soldiers, and the metal frames within were crushed and shattered, turning into scrap.

The ice soldiers were being destroyed with ease, and it seemed like a victory for modern technology was within reach.

But what happened next was a repeat of what happened 10 years ago.

The soldiers began to regenerate rapidly.

The steel skeletons of the soldiers reassembled as if time were rewinding, and the ice armor froze back over them at a rapid pace.

Of course, humans aren’t stupid.

They wouldn’t repeat an ineffective strategy from 10 years ago.

The purpose of the missiles and bombs was clear: to disrupt whatever the soldiers of the Ice Throne were trying to build.

The sudden advance of the Ice Throne soldiers in Dobong-gu and the construction work they were doing seemed too connected to be a coincidence.

They were pouring in artillery to stop their progress.

But the number of shells was limited, and the soldiers' regeneration was endless, so it was merely a delaying tactic.

Sooner or later, we’d be helplessly defeated, just like when we lost Dobong-gu before.

We’d lose more ground, and humanity would have even less space to live.

Before that happened, I decided I would destroy the Ice Throne and help reclaim Dobong-gu.

For a small reason—revenge for Yerin.

And for a big reason—I still needed humanity.

Even if I didn’t have the logs burning in my heart, I needed humanity.

The snacks I eat. The TV I watch.

And all the other enjoyable things I need.

For those reasons, I walked through the battlefield, where bombs were falling, heading toward the Ice Throne.