As I looked up closely, I noticed that there was indeed a pudding floating above our heads, lazily drifting through the air.

"A flying pudding?"

It was a stark contrast to the grim atmosphere of the factory.

Scattered around were sorrowful Golden Reapers.

Shattered corpses lay strewn across the cold concrete floor.

Pools of blood, darkened and coagulated, clung to the ground, glistening ominously.

Gruesome decorations made from human flesh and flesh puddings, a display of nothing but bad taste.

And above this eerie scene, a pudding was floating serenely.

It shimmered with a creamy custard-like texture under the dim factory lights.

A strange sense of whimsical cheer amid the gloom?

The absurdity of it brought a strange smile to my face.

The bubbles surrounding the dessert reflected light, creating a rainbow of colors as they bobbed around.

Yet, these bubbles occasionally twisted and distorted the horrific sights inside the factory, reflecting them back in a warped manner.

As the Gray Reaper and I continued to gaze upward, James followed our gaze and looked up at the sky.

"A pudding we didn’t manage to retrieve."

James spoke with a calm expression, as if seeing something familiar.

That’s all the reaction he has after seeing something this bizarre?

I looked at him, trying to convey my thoughts, and he responded.

"Oh, this must be the first time you’ve seen it. All the puddings produced in this factory come out wrapped in bubbles like that."

"Why on earth would you do something like that?"

Is there really any need to produce pudding in such a peculiar way?

No matter how I think about it, there’s no reason why pudding should be made like that.

"Oh! It’s not like we intend for the pudding to come out that way. The Object that makes the pudding just does it on its own. You know, the charm of Objects is that they can't be designed as you please."

If it’s the Object’s doing, then there’s nothing we can do about it.

It was impressive enough that they could even design machines with an Object’s intention.

Considering that Korea was preoccupied with isolating or eliminating Objects, it seemed there was quite a gap.

“Well, because the puddings come out wrapped in bubbles like that, quite a few factory workers had to spend their time catching them with nets in mid-air.”

It was a strange factory, with pudding made by an Object and all.

The Gray Reaper was still staring at the pudding, lost in thought.

Did he want to eat it that badly?

The Gray Reaper was now holding a Golden Reaper in his hand, and the way he was gripping it looked a bit unsettling.

The Golden Reaper, however, seemed overjoyed to be in the Gray Reaper’s hands, beaming up at him with a wide smile.

Why did it look like he was about to throw it at the pudding?

No way, that can’t be it.

A ninja pudding was floating in the air.

It was too high up to be within reach.

Maybe if I climbed the wall in ghost form and hung from the ceiling, I could reach it…

But that seemed like too much trouble.

Would throwing a Golden Reaper at it work?

Unfortunately, I didn’t have the strength to pull it off.

I placed the Golden Reaper, who was smiling brightly at me from within my grasp, onto my shoulder.

The number of remaining rabbit Objects was lower than I expected.

There should have been at least ten times more than the first rabbit doll I killed, yet their numbers were similar.

The plan to mass-produce Golden Reaper Pudding had failed.

Now, our only hope was the machine that supposedly produced pudding in bubbles.

Giving up on the floating pudding, I turned and headed toward the location of the pudding-producing machine.

I continued walking down the dark, blood-scented corridor.

Thud, thud.

After walking a bit, I saw the exit of the dimly lit building.

Beyond it was the clearing where "Agwi" was located.

However, the increasingly strong stench was making me feel uneasy.

The closer we got to the center of the pudding factory, the stronger the stench became, worse than the monster I encountered in the desert last time.

The Golden Reapers, who had been hopping along behind me, had all fled to the Golden Reaper Garden.

In the clearing at the building’s exit, there was an expensive-looking sports car parked.

It seemed strangely out of place in a clearing covered with the bite marks of Agwi.

James marveled at the sight, and the timid man was elated.

"It’s in better shape than I expected. I was sure Agwi would have wrecked it."

"Oh! Thank God, thank you!"

The timid man, moved to tears, was offering thanks to the heavens upon seeing the intact sports car.

"It’s good that the sports car you invested your entire advance salary into is still intact."

James congratulated him, patting the man on the shoulder as he prayed to the sky.

"You spent your entire salary on a sports car? And an advance salary at that?"

Yerin had a look of disbelief on her face.

"It’s not just any salary. If you compare it to his previous wages, it’s probably worth ten years’ salary."

"?"

Yerin’s expression turned even more confused.

The slightly relaxed and chaotic atmosphere was quickly tightened by the heavy sound of footsteps.

Thud. Thud.

Loud and heavy footsteps echoed with a menacing tone.

Agwi’s footsteps.

As the unmistakable sound of the monster’s footsteps filled the air, everyone fell silent and stared toward the clearing.

But the sound seemed too heavy to belong to Agwi.

It was distinctly different from the footsteps of the Agwi I had fought before.

Even though the Object, a subspecies of Agwi, was behind a steel door, its weight and power were palpable, piercing through the door.

The thick steel door felt like a translucent glass door in the face of the creature’s mass and strength.

Boom!

With an enormous sound, the steel door burst apart, and a gigantic monster revealed itself.

Its eyes glowed red and gleamed menacingly.

Its body was pumped up with muscles, as if Agwi had been on steroids.

It was easily twice the size of the Agwi from the central research lab.

Its skin was covered in black ooze.

Can this even be called Agwi?

Thud. Thud.

With each step the Agwi subspecies took, its muscles rippled, splattering black slime everywhere.

It screeched with a sound like metal being scraped, displaying its strength.

Its target was a nearby vehicle.

"No!!!!!"

The sports car in front of us was torn to shreds.

The Agwi subspecies ripped the car apart, smashing it into pieces as if to show off its power.

"No, no! My year! My dream car!"

The man, who had been exuding intense emotions as if he had just witnessed his parents being torn apart by Agwi, collapsed on the spot.

He fell, tears streaming down his face, his hand reaching out in front of him.

He had fainted from the extreme emotional shock.

Thud, thud.

I walked into the center of the clearing, standing face-to-face with the Agwi subspecies.

It’s definitely big.

I already hated Agwi for being so disgusting, but this one was even worse with that terrible stench. It was doubly unpleasant.

The Agwi subspecies’ eyes showed disdain.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen an Object that looked down on me so blatantly at first glance.

Because of its size, power, and the sheer intimidation of its pumped-up body, everyone seemed more afraid of it than they were of Agwi.

But to me, it seemed weaker.

It was strong, but nowhere near the level of the Iron Tower or Agwi.

When the presence is lacking, the destruction conditions tend to be simpler.

Agwi’s destruction condition was "A stone made by the Object of the Beginning."

That was it. What could this one’s condition be?

"Deplete its regeneration ability."

Hmm, simple enough.

With a slight smile, I charged at the Agwi subspecies.

Agwi was chasing, and the Gray Reaper was fleeing.

It was a replay of the fight between the Gray Reaper and Agwi that I had seen on TV.

The first time I saw it, it was a shocking sight.

It looked as if the Object was trying to protect humans.

The general belief was that Objects, even when they seemed to help humans, didn’t actually do so.

The Korean media downplayed it as a territorial dispute between high-level Objects, which was utterly ridiculous.

The Gray Reaper had clearly lured Agwi away from the people.

Just like in that broadcasted fight, the Gray Reaper skillfully led Agwi, fighting all the while.

But I was worried if the Gray Reaper could actually win against the Agwi subspecies, which was much stronger than Agwi.

In the footage from Songpa-gu, the Gray Reaper’s superior regeneration and agility stood out.

Agwi’s strength lay in its massive size and power.

"This is bad. It’s going to be even harder to win than I thought."

However, the Agwi subspecies possessed a regeneration ability far beyond that of Agwi.

In fact, it was several times faster than the Gray Reaper’s regeneration.

But Yerin, the researcher watching the battle with excitement beside me, didn’t seem worried at all.

Why not?

And I didn’t understand the Gray Reaper’s actions either.

"Why isn’t he summoning the Golden Reapers? Could it be that they’re useless against such a strong opponent like Agwi?"

Yerin, her eyes sparkling as she watched the fight, replied.

"No. It’s probably just on a whim. Judging by the expression, it looks like the Reaper is just playing around."

Playing around?

To me, it looked like his usual blank expression…

The Gray Reaper, who had been darting around, suddenly stopped in place, and golden flames began to flare up from his entire body.

Could it be? A sinkhole?

The brightly burning Gray Reaper clapped his hands twice and then stomped three times with his small feet.