The city I lived in, 'RS,' was once a happy place.

As I walked through the streets, I could feel the vibrant and hopeful atmosphere that filled the city.

Everywhere you looked, the energy was palpable. People of all ages and backgrounds moved about, adding life to the already bustling city.

The newly constructed buildings seemed to symbolize the city’s development.

In the well-maintained parks, children played freely, their laughter echoing against the backdrop of lush greenery.

Such vitality and liveliness were scenes unimaginable in places frequently plagued by Object incidents.

In times like these, a city where Object accidents rarely occurred was incredibly special.

However, perhaps as a backlash, the city often saw the emergence of deranged individuals who murdered people and drew red circles, alongside frequent gas explosions and other safety incidents.

Still, it was better than cities like Seoul, where deserts slaughtered people, or lakes kidnapped them.

Unlike Objects, lunatics and safety accidents were threats that could be managed.

The city’s residents formed communities to prevent safety accidents and reported suspicious behavior, all in an effort to make the city safer.

Although the community efforts hadn’t yet shown results, there was hope.

But the city, once filled with hope, suddenly turned into a disaster movie.

The once-sturdy roads crumbled, and a neighbor suddenly transformed into an Object, devouring people.

“Ah, I’m gonna die.”

While fleeing from the Objects attacking people, a building collapsed over my head, and I lost consciousness.

When I came to, I was buried under rubble.

My mouth was dry, and my lower body, trapped beneath the rocks, throbbed with pain.

It was a miracle I had survived.

Surviving being crushed by a building—what luck!

But it didn’t seem like I had a way out.

The city was still filled with chaos and destruction, and the sounds of screams and collapsing concrete echoed constantly.

I would probably die either from dehydration or from a killer Object finding me.

As I stared at the blue sky, waiting for the moment of death, something strange caught my eye.

A small golden Object, resembling a gray reaper, scurried over the rubble, gesturing with its hands.

Then, following the golden reaper’s gestures, an Object resembling a stuffed doll with a sorrowful expression waddled over and began swallowing stones.

Mini golden reapers also hurriedly moved stones with their tiny hands and feet.

Could this be a rescue operation?

An Object trying to save a human? That’s new.

Still, I didn’t think I would survive.

It felt like I had been under the scorching sun for a long time while unconscious, and my body was heating up and drying out.

I was dizzy and incredibly thirsty.

That’s when I noticed something stealthily moving among the shadows of the rubble.

It approached people buried under the rocks, creating water out of thin air and feeding it to them.

It was a blue Object in the form of a girl, her smile as refreshing as the water she shared with the unconscious survivors.

The blue girl who was distributing water noticed me and cautiously approached. When she saw my eyes open, she was startled and hid behind a rock.

Peeking out from between the rocks, she observed me carefully before making a concerned face.

Was my condition that serious?

Then, she rushed over, wearing a hat pulled low enough to cover her eyes, and gently pulled my eyelids shut.

As a refreshing sensation like water enveloped my body, I felt an overwhelming sense of relief.

Sneaking a glance, I saw the blue girl writing incomprehensible characters in the air.

<Heal all the pain.>

<Don’t let the sun beat you.>

After finishing her words, the blue girl smiled at me, but when our eyes met, she vanished like mist, startled.

A fairy-like Object that helped people—it really existed.

For the first time, I truly felt like I would survive.

Thinking about the blue girl’s cute appearance made me smile.

Curiously, just as we began the search, the city completely collapsed.

The people living in this city were helplessly swept away by the sudden disaster.

News of the disaster must have spread, as countless golden and blue reapers sprang from the Mini Reaper Garden, scattering to help the survivors.

Tracking the White Maw through the completely ruined city was no easy task.

It felt as if the world itself was working against us.

The seemingly sturdy roads had turned into a minefield.

The asphalt suddenly cracked and twisted 'accidentally,' raising sharp edges aimed at us.

The ground where the White Maw was about to step 'coincidentally' collapsed beneath its feet.

Squeak.

Each time, the White Maw, with its short limbs, let out a pitiful sound as it fell to the ground.

And there were more sinister forces mixed among the people.

Objects disguised as humans lurked among the crowd, launching attacks.

Whenever that happened, the golden reapers, sensitive to malice directed at humans, would swiftly intervene, eliminating the Objects.

It truly felt like the entire city was working to hinder us.

It reminded me of the feeling I had when I used my 'eye' to induce death.

Was I manipulating fate and twisting probability?

But the squishy and resilient Maw persevered, continuing its relentless pursuit.

That precarious pursuit led us to encircle a man.

A man in a crimson suit, holding a lamp that bore an eerie resemblance to Watson’s.

The man in the red suit confidently stepped out of a vehicle, raising the lamp high.

As the light from the lamp burst forth, madness spread in all directions.

It had no effect on me or the mini reapers.

But suddenly, Junior 2 pulled out a knife and began stabbing his own stomach.

A golden-horned reaper clung desperately to the knife, preventing it from stabbing any deeper.

With no sign of Junior 2 snapping out of it, I considered breaking all his limbs to stop him, but at that moment, the golden-horned reaper’s horn began to glow with a radiant light.

What on earth was it doing? The reaper’s body was rapidly being worn down.

Thanks to the golden-horned reaper’s sacrifice, Junior 2 regained his senses.

However, the reaper, utterly exhausted, fell limp, unable to move.

“Reaper? Are you okay?”

Junior 2, holding the limp golden-horned reaper, was at a loss.

Just like I had been before dying, the reaper’s body had dried up and lost its color.

I approached Junior 2 and placed my hand on the reaper’s body, replenishing its energy.

I had never seen a golden reaper suffer like this before.

Even when its limbs had been torn off, the golden reaper endured, but now I could feel the pain it was in.

After feeding it plenty of energy, the golden-horned reaper fell asleep with a peaceful expression.

I turned toward the man with the lamp and approached slowly.

I walked forward, stomping with small but firm steps.

Because he had hurt the golden reaper.

I wouldn’t let him die easily.

I would kill him slowly and painfully.

The gray reaper approached slowly.

Though it was expressionless, I could sense it was angry.

But even so, I wasn’t afraid.

“I am invincible in this city!”

As he raised the lamp high, a parked car beside him burst into flames.

It was the same explosion that had killed many of my rivals.

It seemed the car was protecting him, but could it shield him from the blast?

Clap.

At that moment, the gray reaper clapped its hands.

Simultaneously, the car exploded, but the flames shot out in an entirely different direction.

Only the poor white marshmallow-like Objects, who had been caught in the blast, were charred black, puffing out smoke with pitiful expressions.

This makes no sense.

I am the god of this city!

Suddenly, the ground trembled as an earthquake began to shake the streets.

Clap.

With the gray reaper’s next clap, the ground caved in.

The ground, which should have targeted only the enemy, trapped both me and the gray reaper.

The lamp blazed with a fierce red flame, unleashing all sorts of phenomena, but none of it stopped the gray reaper’s steady advance.

Clap.

The gray reaper approached, each clap echoing louder and louder.

Clap.

With each indifferent clap, the gray reaper drew closer.

And at some point, the flame in the lamp vanished with a soft “whoosh,” like a candle snuffed out by a gust of wind.

“What… what is this?!”

The lamp was broken?

At the same time, a familiar and friendly madness greeted me.

My vision was slowly turning red.

All because I hadn’t drawn the red circle.

No! Why hadn’t I drawn it?

No!!

The paint is in my belly.

No!!!

The power of the lamp wielded by that man resembled mine in some way.

Both induced death and destruction, distorting their directions.

That’s why it was so easy for me to interfere.

A single clap was enough to twist its course.

As I interfered with the lamp’s power and slowly approached, the flame flickered out.

And once the lamp lost its power, the man began to behave strangely.

Just like Junior 2, he started tearing at his own innards, smearing them across the ground to draw a red circle.

But what struck me as odd wasn’t his behavior.

The more he drew with his intestines, the more he turned into an Object.

Blood endlessly poured from the hole in his stomach, and the circle inscribed on the ground absorbed the blood without end.

The once-clear sky turned blood-red, and blood rained down from above.

The man, having drained all the blood from his body, staggered to his feet, now shriveled like a mummy.

The  man, now dried up like a mummy, stared straight at me.

In the hollow sockets of his eyes, I thought I could see the flames of the lamp flickering.

Then, from the red circle on the ground, blood surged upward, filling the entire world.

Everything was submerged in blood.

The blood bubbled as if boiling, and from within it, Objects that resembled me started to emerge.

They were grotesquely distorted, like poorly made dolls, which filled me with disgust.

The mouths of these twisted reapers opened, and an unsettling voice, like metal scraping, echoed through the air.

[Humans killed the gods. And then they needed them again.]

[The gods were cruel, but they protected humanity.]

Even though it was a language I had never heard before, the words somehow felt familiar.

It was a story I’d never heard, yet it seemed oddly recognizable.

[Humans killed the gods. And then they needed them again.]

[The gods were cruel, but they protected humanity.]

The distorted reapers, like broken radios, kept repeating the same words over and over.