In a stunning cave filled with various colored jade, something terrible began to rise.

A red form, as if forged from clotted blood.

Emerging from a pit, the crimson humanoid appeared ghastly, as if its body had been ground from corpses.

[Not enough.]

[Nowhere near enough.]

The emaciated limbs of the crimson creature conveyed an essence, like a starving corpse long dead. It spoke directly into the mind, a wave of intention, without a single movement or even a ripple in the air.

Hearing this, the Green Jade Man shouted aloud:

“Bring it!”

At the Green Jade Man’s command, prepared objects began entering the cave one by one.

People with enormous jade stakes driven into their chests started moving the objects fastened in place by large pieces of green jade.

The men with jade stakes were high-ranking officials who had sacrificed their subordinates as offerings to the crimson monster. Not long ago, they were close comrades, but now, crushed like pulp, their faces showed no sign of change.

In fact, their eyes gleamed oddly, filled with greed, looking almost mad.

Having devoured all the objects prepared, the crimson monster began to change.

Glimmering red jade appeared here and there on its grotesque, corpse-like skin, covered in red flesh squirming like blood-filled veins.

[Not enough.]

[Nowhere near enough.]

And with that, the crimson figure reached toward one of the men who had brought the objects and began devouring his brain.

“Aaaaaargh!”

A gut-wrenching scream tore from the man as his brain was devoured alive.

As his scream echoed, the men filling the clearing suddenly seemed to snap out of a trance and began to flee.

“Stop.”

But a single word from the Green Jade Man froze them in their tracks, their bodies refusing to move.

Then, one by one, they were devoured, each having their brains eaten.

“No!”

“Please, spare me!”

Pleading and threats filled the air, but the crimson figure continued until it had consumed the brain of every man.

The cave, once filled with screams and cries for mercy, fell back into silence, only the stench of filth and blood remaining.

[Not enough.]

[Nowhere near enough.]

Despite devouring countless humans and objects, the crimson creature’s chest still felt hollow.

[I need the blood and flesh of a god.]

Hearing these words, the Green Jade Man grinned with satisfaction and shouted:

“Go! Seek out the god on this land! Find the traces of divinity! Seek the descendants, the apostles of god! Bring them here, whatever it takes!”

As the command echoed through the cave, the corpses whose brains had been devoured began to twitch.

They rose as if alive, then dashed toward the outside.

A horde of corpses emerged from the depths of the cave in Seoul Forest, advancing toward the city.

As the light of twilight soaked into the quiet Seoul Forest, the wind played among the leaves, creating a serene symphony, like the forest itself was breathing. Beneath the refreshing scent of leaves and damp earth, something else lingered.

The essence of mystery.

For the woman covered in tattoos, it was the familiar scent of alchemy.

‘It’s taking longer than expected.’

She had been gathering materials in the forest for two days now, yet still hadn’t found everything she needed.

‘It’s risky to go in deeper...’

The alchemist looked at her younger sister trailing behind her, sighing as she considered the dangers. She was confident enough to venture deeper alone, but with her sister, safety was less certain. While they were mostly safe, unforeseen dangers were always a possibility.

She gazed up at a towering tree, exhaling a sigh filled with worry for her sister.

Despite her warnings, her sister insisted on coming along, and given the alchemist’s temporary state, she couldn’t strongly refuse.

‘At least I’ve gathered most of what I need.’

This time, she needed materials for both her suppressant and the Gray Reaper’s beam sword repairs. Most of the sword materials were found, but she hadn’t spotted anything useful for the suppressant.

‘This is bad.’

She took out the remaining suppressant, counting what was left, a troubled look crossing her face.

She didn’t have much suppressant left. Without it, her consciousness and sense of self would gradually warp, and eventually, she would become a threat to humans, despite her intentions.

The alchemist muttered under her breath, clutching her sword tightly, tension thick in her voice.

Then, her sister’s voice broke through the stream of her thoughts.

“Did you find everything you need?”

The alchemist, suddenly alert, noticed the sinister energy filling the forest. She scolded herself for letting her guard down.

“It’s too late to run.”

“Hurry, get behind me! Now!”

Yanking her sister behind her, she drew her sword, scanning the surroundings.

Monsters with giant jade stakes driven into their chests and heads hollowed out where brains should have been began to emerge from the shadows.

“Ugh.”

Horrified, her sister clutched the alchemist’s coat.

“Jade stakes? Isn’t that a technique that vanished ages ago?”

The alchemist whispered, tensing as she readied her blade.

Elsewhere, the Orange Reaper, still sulking after being tricked by the Golden Reaper, was drifting through the sky. He spotted a gathering of cloud meat floating around, ferrying the Golden Reaper and Black Reaper across the world.

Seeing this, he thought of a fun ‘accident.’

What if the Mini Reapers, seeking their beloved human, suddenly fell into the deserted Seoul Forest?

The Orange Reaper grinned wider at the thought, approaching the cloud carrying the Golden Reaper.

‘Drop.’

In an instant, the cloud lost its form and turned vaporous, causing the Golden Reaper to flail wildly, falling.

‘!!!’

The Golden Reaper, always so gentle, betrayed! Seeing his shocked expression as he plummeted into Seoul Forest made the Orange Reaper chuckle.

As he descended, he spotted a scene below—a human surrounded by objects profaning human corpses.

“White flower like the sun, red stem soaked in blood, roots of alchemy. Alchemist’s shield!”

The object, seemingly defending the human, fought back with white flames but was clearly outmatched.

“Sister!”

A desperate voice echoed, spurring the Orange Reaper to twist fate as he rushed to help.

I continued to hold the Halo, running with a gleeful grin when I heard it.

‘Mom!’

The cry for help of a Mini Reaper.

I squeezed the white fur ball, its pitiful scream reaching my ears.

I caught the Orange Reaper, who’d evaded the quicker Golden and Black Reapers.

It was an impulsive decision, but the Orange Reaper’s behavior had been infuriating. Suddenly, everything was slipping, objects clattering as they hit me. Irritated by his antics, I used time acceleration and space control to capture him.

As I brought the Halo closer to the Orange Reaper’s head, he trembled like a cold puppy, eyes tightly shut.

Around us, the other Mini Reapers peeked out, watching with expressions that asked, ‘He wouldn’t actually put it on him, would he?’

The moment I almost placed the Halo on the Orange Reaper’s head, the air thickened and warped, radiating with waves of something malevolent, different from anything I’d encountered.

The others began looking around, and I released the Orange Reaper, surveying the area. An unsettling feeling drew my gaze to the sky, where a massive wall was forming, red as auroras but solid, like it was made of jade.

And then the creatures appeared around the Sehee Research Lab, grotesque beings with jade stakes driven into their hearts, brains hollowed out.

I ignored them, focusing on the ominous red jade wall above.

Dangerous.

It felt like an object, but different, as though something else was targeting me.