As the stone hurtled toward me, close enough that I could almost feel its deadly impact, a flash of golden light suddenly appeared before my eyes.

The Golden Reaper, who had disappeared earlier, reemerged just in time to deflect the stone.

"Reaper!" I shouted in relief, but the Golden Reaper, still tense, continued to survey the devastated hall.

The powerful winds, swirling sand, and flying stones made it difficult to even stand. The bodies of researchers who had been pierced by the stones lay scattered, while others huddled behind whatever cover they could find, trembling with fear.

The smell of scorched sand filled the air, and the heat was almost unbearable.

I had no choice but to crouch low and endure, gritting my teeth as I tried to avoid the flying debris.

Occasionally, a low-flying stone was deflected by the Golden Reaper standing steadfastly in front of me.

I knew the Golden Reaper was strong, but I hadn’t realized just how reliable it could be until now.

The thought of what might have happened if it hadn’t been there was terrifying.

Suddenly, a grinding noise echoed through the air as if glass was being ground to dust.

I didn't know what was happening, but it was clear that it wasn’t anything good.

The Golden Reaper quickly jumped onto my cheek, clinging tightly.

Shatter!

With the sound of something breaking, the space around us tore apart.

Through the rift, a massive red moon loomed overhead, as if watching us.

An enormous wave of sand and scorching wind followed, sweeping me off my feet and sending me tumbling helplessly.

Several minutes passed in this chaotic whirlpool.

"Hah..."

When the storm finally subsided, I poked my head out of the sand and gasped for air.

I was bruised and battered, but still alive.

The Golden Reaper looked at my injuries with a sorrowful expression, unsure of what to do.

"It's okay. This isn’t enough to kill me," I reassured it, gently patting its head.

With the Golden Reaper cradled in my arms, I stood up, only to find that the Kkachisan Research Facility was gone, replaced by an entirely different scene.

A vast desert stretched endlessly in all directions.

The sand, the jagged rocks, and the shifting dunes all glowed with a fiery red hue.

In the dark sky, a red moon, far too bright to be normal, hung ominously overhead.

Though it was as dark as night, the skin exposed to the moonlight burned as if under the midday sun.

The heat in the air clung to my body like a suffocating blanket.

"Man, it’s unbearably hot."

Sweat poured down my face in this sweltering environment.

It was like being in a sauna with the lights off.

Or perhaps it felt more like a giant room with an electric heater instead of a light bulb.

This was an extreme environment, unlike anything on Earth.

The Golden Reaper, standing on my shoulder, fanned me with its tiny hands, but they were too small to make much of a difference.

"Reaper, what should we do now?" I asked, stroking it with a sigh of frustration.

In this situation, clearly caused by an Object, how were we supposed to survive?

"Are you all right, miss?"

Unlike the Black Agent, who was covered in cuts and bruises, the blonde girl was completely unscathed.

"I'm fine."

She casually brushed the sand off her hair and clothes.

Separated from the ten secretaries who were always by her side, she should have been tense, but she seemed unperturbed.

"It looks like you’re the one who's really hurt," she said, glancing at the Black Agent.

"I’m not injured enough to hinder my movements."

After brushing off the sand and checking his gear, the Black Agent began to move.

"We need to assess the situation quickly. It seems safe for now, but speed is crucial in cases like this."

He pointed to the tallest dune and started making his way there, keeping his voice low and his posture crouched.

"Mister, it feels like night, but it’s incredibly hot," the girl said, wiping the sweat from her brow.

Even that brief movement had drenched her in sweat.

"I’m worried about that too. If it's this hot at night, I can’t imagine what it’ll be like during the day. We might need to dig into the ground early and prepare to shelter."

When they reached the top of the dune, the vast desert spread out before them.

In the distance, they could see scattered people.

And Objects chasing them.

The most threatening of these was a cluster of rotating cubes made of red sandstone.

Each cube was the size of a grown man, and a group of ten or so of these cubes moved together, their sheer physical power making them a formidable threat.

Worse yet, the Object was extremely aggressive.

It roamed the desert, hunting people and grinding them up with terrifying speed.

The blonde girl gasped as she witnessed a person being crushed by the cubes.

Normally, the Black Agent would have shielded her eyes, but this was an emergency.

Considering how many horrific events might occur during their escape, he thought it better for her to see and understand the situation now.

After forcing herself to breathe deeply to calm down, the girl spoke with renewed determination.

"Let’s move quickly. We can’t end up like that."

Her words were strong, but her face remained pale, showing signs of strain.

"We should find shelter first. We can’t stay out in this heat for long. Waiting for rescue is the smart thing to do."

With caution, the Black Agent and the blonde girl began their search for a safe place to hide.

Had it been a mistake to move around so recklessly?

I was being chased by soldiers made of red sand.

If it weren’t for the Golden Reaper, I would’ve been dead long ago.

The Reaper charged at the sand soldier that had closed in on me from behind, and with a thud, the soldier’s head disintegrated back into ordinary red sand.

But beyond the scattered sand, another soldier emerged.

No matter how many I defeated, the sand soldiers kept coming, over and over.

"Huff, huff."

I tried to ignore the grit in my mouth as I gasped for breath.

In this heat, which was already sapping my strength, the exertion of running was making me dizzy.

This was bad.

I felt like I was about to lose consciousness.

The Golden Reaper had climbed back onto my shoulder, still looking relatively unscathed.

Just as I thought I’d reached my limit, the relentless chase suddenly ended.

"What?"

Panting, I turned around to see that the sand soldiers who had been pursuing me had stopped and were retreating.

"We’re safe! Right, Reaper?"

I slumped to the ground, stroking the Reaper as I looked back.

But the Golden Reaper was still on high alert.

A low, vibrating hum filled the air.

As soon as that sound reached us, the Golden Reaper leaped forward, and the sand exploded around us.

I was thrown helplessly into the air by the blast, tumbling over and over until I came to a stop.

When I lifted my head to see what had caused the explosion, I saw something floating in the air.

It was a cluster of red stone cubes, merging and separating in a chaotic flow.

At the center of the Object was a large red glass orb that anyone could tell was important.

The Golden Reaper charged at the orb, but even in that brief moment, the surrounding red stone cubes closed in on me, tightening their grip.

Slowly, but with terrifying speed from my perspective.

These stones were too large for the Golden Reaper to fend off.

I truly thought this was the end.

But just then, the sound of shattering glass rang out, and the red stones halted and began to fall.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The red stone cubes crashed to the ground, one after another.

As the dust settled, I saw a red orb, split in half.

So, that was its weak point.

And there, lying next to the shattered orb, was the Golden Reaper.

"Reaper!"

Panicking, I rushed over to the Golden Reaper.

It lay there with its eyes closed, one arm missing.

Why... Why is this happening?

Golden flames, like blood, dripped from its torn shoulder.

"What do I do? What do I do?"

I tried desperately to stop the bleeding with my hands, but the flames passed through my fingers as if they weren’t even material, flowing into the ground below.

When the Golden Reaper regained consciousness, the first thing it saw was Seo-Ah Park’s tearful face.

It wanted to wipe away her tears, but it no longer had the hand to do so.

Its remaining hand was busy holding back the flames that threatened to consume it.

The Reaper’s energy was so low that it had to stop the flames from escaping its wound to avoid disappearing entirely.

"Reaper, are you okay?"

The Golden Reaper couldn’t understand her words, but it could sense the concern in her voice.

And the gentle hand that stroked it with such care.

Despite the pain, the Golden Reaper forced a smile for its beloved human.

But seeing the forced smile only made Seo-Ah’s expression even sadder.

Thud.

With a heavy sound, another Object made of red stone appeared.

Seo-Ah’s worried expression deepened.

The Golden Reaper met her concerned gaze and smiled brightly.

Then it turned and charged at the Object.

Don’t worry!

I still have one arm left!

It was a hopeless situation.

The Golden Reaper charged forward with a cheerful smile, but there were too many enemies.

And the Reaper, weakened by the loss of its arm, was clearly in poor shape.

It looked like it could vanish with the slightest gust of wind, like a candle flame about to be snuffed out.

At the moment when it felt like my knees might give out and the sand might swallow us whole, a silhouette suddenly emerged from the dust.

A figure barely a meter tall.

Long hair flowing.

Just by appearing, it felt like the air around us changed.

Hope, mixed with relief—how else could I describe this feeling?

The Golden Reaper, which had been charging forward, suddenly returned to my arms.

Its missing arm was somehow restored, and it seemed full of life again.

At the small figure’s feet, more Golden Reapers began to appear, pop, pop, from the ground.

The tense expression on the Golden Reaper’s face softened.

Our research lab’s highest-risk Object.

The Gray Reaper had arrived.