In the ruins of the collapsed buildings and the sunken roads, an intense battle was raging.

It was a fight between tiny, palm-sized mini reapers and gigantic Objects that killed humans.

The mini reapers, resembling the Gray Reaper, were scurrying around the shattered streets, fighting as best they could.

But the Gray Reaper who had led the mini reapers was nowhere to be seen.

Their opponents were terrifying Objects, capable of slicing through not only people but also reinforced concrete like cake.

Who would have thought so many of these monstrous Objects were hidden in our city?

The slogan of a “safe city” with almost no Object incidents seemed hollow now, as these monsters were popping up everywhere.

Yet, the golden mini reapers fearlessly charged at these horrifying Objects without a second thought.

They darted through the rubble, filled with dust and thick, acrid smoke, continuing their battle against the menacing Objects.

The smoke-filled battlefield made it hard to grasp the full situation, but surely the mini reapers were at a disadvantage.

Above, blue reapers flew, tracing irregular flight paths in the sky.

They sprayed fine mists of water to extinguish fires and created protective barriers made of droplets to shield people from danger.

Around us refugees, large marshmallow-like creatures had been stationed.

These fluffy blobs provided soft cushions for the evacuees and blocked incoming debris with their bodies.

Beyond the smoke, the sound of a blade being sharpened on a whetstone kept echoing.

I had seen that blade slice through a bus along with that sound, and the memory sent chills down my spine.

Thud.

With a heavy impact, something golden fell from the sky.

Flap, flap.

A golden reaper, flailing its limbs as it was knocked through the air, suddenly landed in my open hands.

The tiny golden reaper, still flapping its limbs in confusion, met my gaze and then stopped moving. It smiled brightly at me.

Was this little one fighting for us?

Before I realized it, I was gently patting the golden reaper’s head with my fingers.

The reaper, who had been smiling sheepishly, straightened its expression and hurled itself back into the smoke, diving headlong into the chaotic battlefield.

Hang in there, golden reaper!

Beyond the smoke that the people couldn’t see.

In a landscape filled with ash and dust, a golden reaper ran around with a bright, carefree smile.

In stark contrast, the Objects swung their scythes wildly, wreaking havoc.

Yet, it was not the tiny golden reapers being overwhelmed—it was the gigantic Objects fighting them that were under siege.

From the golden reapers’ perspective, it looked more like a playful game than a battle.

But for the Objects, harmful to humans, it was a fight for their lives.

Even when struck by a scythe that could easily slice through reinforced steel, the golden reapers tumbled to the ground, laughing as if they were having fun.

Some of the golden reapers clung to the blades the Objects swung, like cicadas on a tree.

With their hair fluttering in the wind, they grinned, as if they were riding an amusement park ride.

There was just one rule for this playground filled with smoke.

Do not leave the playground and approach the humans.

Any Object that broke this rule would end up riddled with golden reaper-shaped holes, rolling helplessly across the battlefield.

I had been standing on a shattered road in the middle of a ruined city!

But suddenly, the ground around me was submerged in blood, up to my ankles, in some strange, unknown place.

It was as if I had entered another world.

The bright blue sky had been replaced by a heavy, crimson glow.

The thick red liquid on the ground reeked of blood, reminding me that I was now in a grotesque space filled with blood.

The liquid was not hot, but it bubbled like boiling water, evoking a sense of revulsion for no clear reason.

The golden-horned reaper, who had been asleep in my palm, woke up and, looking tense, clung to my horn as it surveyed the surroundings.

From the red, dark sky, droplets of blood fell intermittently, like a gentle drizzle.

Out of the vast expanse of bubbling blood, child-sized lumps of blood began to rise, forming grotesque shapes.

Their limbs and facial features were twisted and smeared together, like the nightmare of a human figure.

At certain angles, the figures seemed to resemble the Gray Reaper, though they were clearly distorted and monstrous.

It was as if they were warped versions of the Gray Reaper!

The twisted lumps of blood whispered in incomprehensible voices.

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

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

Their voices were quiet, yet it felt as though they were speaking directly into my ears.

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

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

It sounded like a language, but I couldn’t understand a single word.

The accent and pronunciation were completely unfamiliar.

But the Gray Reaper seemed annoyed, as if it understood what they were saying but found it too bothersome to care.

The reaper, visibly irritated, spread its arms and clenched its small fists.

With a motion that seemed to compress the space around it, the Gray Reaper swung its arms.

In an instant, the red sky split open, and the blue sky began to fill the gap.

The blood rising from the ground was torn apart and sucked into the air.

But the space, once torn, quickly filled with ominous red again, and more twisted lumps of blood rose from the boiling liquid.

The deformed masses of blood continued to repeat the same words.

Were they repeating that phrase because they had something they desperately wanted to say?

How annoying.

Hearing the same incomprehensible nonsense over and over was just irritating.

Sick of hearing it, I grabbed hold of the space and tore it apart.

The red sky shattered, and the strange babbling masses of blood were ripped to pieces.

But the sky quickly turned red again, and the babbling masses of blood rose once more.

As I thought, Objects with complex destruction conditions were pointless to attack unless those conditions were met, even if I could tear the space apart.

I surveyed my surroundings with my 'eye.'

The destruction conditions for this space were <Energy depletion or destruction of the core.>

A dual condition, huh?

Thankfully, both were methods I could attempt.

Rather than wasting massive amounts of energy, I should prioritize finding the core.

Hopefully, the core is nearby…

As I used my abilities to locate the core, the feelers atop my head fluttered softly, glowing gently, and pointing toward the north.

At the same time, I sensed someone watching me.

As he looked at me, I was able to look at him.

In one corner of my vision, I saw a dark forest.

A man stood solemnly against the backdrop of a towering iron tower in the forest.

His face was indistinct, impossible to make out, and he led a procession of old-fashioned lamps.

The flickering flames from the countless swaying lamps caused the man’s shadow to dance.

Though his face was unclear, his gaze was fixed on me, sharp and intense, as if piercing through me.

When our eyes met, I felt a strange sense of kinship.

The man, who had been silently exchanging gazes, slowly parted his lips, and an unfamiliar language spilled out.

I couldn’t understand the words, but there was one phrase I recognized.

[You’re still the same.]

As soon as the man said those words and closed his mouth, the world began to crumble.

The blood-filled sky and the strange muttering lumps of flesh disintegrated into dust.

Along with them, the gas lamps shattered.

The gas lamps, as if cut off from their power source, crumbled into gray ash and scattered.

At the same time, the feelers pointing north wavered aimlessly, unable to find their path.

Though the feelers had been pointing toward the iron tower, they had lost their way.

The man felt vaguely familiar, and I had heard what seemed to be meaningful words, but my only thought was this:

What a nuisance.

It seemed that man was the one who had created Watson, so next time I met Watson, I’d have to ask him to summon the man.

As the blood-filled space crumbled, the desolate ruins of the city reappeared before us.

Finally, the root of this incident had been dealt with.

The man with the lamp?

I’ll think about meeting him later.

Even though the Objects had appeared and the city had collapsed, time marched on.

As the chilly night air settled in, the hearts of the city’s residents, who had lost their homes, grew cold as well.

“Haa, what are we supposed to do now?”

The sighs and murmurs from one person voiced the sentiments of everyone there.

Perhaps because this city had been granted autonomy by the government, or maybe just due to a lack of resources, no support had come.

Hugging a dusty cloth for warmth, I lay down, but the night air remained cold.

That’s when a large fire suddenly blazed in the middle of the ruins.

Like a massive campfire, the flames warmed the surrounding air.

What in the world?

Curiosity piqued, I followed the flames to their source, only to find a giant marshmallow.

Squeak…

The Gray Reaper had placed the massive marshmallow Object atop some wood and lit it on fire.

Fairy-like blue reapers fluttered about, sprinkling their glowing dust, and little by little, our anxious hearts began to feel at ease.

<Don’t worry too much!>

<Good things are bound to happen soon!>

For a moment, people gathered around the campfire, forgetting their suffering.

Sipping warm hot chocolate, they basked in the warmth of the golden reapers and the campfire.

For a while, they were able to forget their worries and fend off the cold.