A little past noon, at James Tower.

Sunlight poured in through the windows, yet the atmosphere within the "temporary command center" where James sat was entirely different.

A modern air conditioner on the ceiling hummed quietly, producing a steady white noise as it cooled the room, to the point where it almost felt chilly.

The temporary command center was quite spacious.

Large monitors lined the walls in close succession, with several computers placed nearby.

The large screen covering one wall displayed a brightly lit map of the Korean Peninsula, where red dots blinked, marking cities recently devastated by inexplicable disasters.

James sat in a chair, his face worn with fatigue, meticulously reviewing the gathered information.

"Nothing here."

The report in his hand contained all the latest investigation results, but none revealed any suspicious points.

For there to be so few clues—it had to be an object beyond human control.

Looks like I’ll have no choice but to inform the Gray Reaper about that apartment complex.

“Maybe I should arrange a joint field day with Sehee Institute and James Institute?”

“Or should I slip something about the suspicious apartment complex onto TV again?”

Having resolved himself, he was about to summon the agents on-site when the phone in the command center began to ring furiously.

One of the James Institute employees answered and reported loudly.

“There’s been an abnormality detected at the targeted apartment complex!”

On the monitor, photos taken by the field agents began to display.

The images showed an apartment stripped to its skeletal structure, impossible to imagine as newly completed, with a strange black dust swirling in the air.

From that phone call onward, reports began pouring in from all directions.

“Observed a mass migration of Mini Reapers!”

“Residents in the target apartment are transforming into objects, halting all movement and beginning to crumble!”

And finally,

“A massive rift is cutting through the sky! It appears to be from the Gray Reaper’s ability!”

Before hearing that last report, James was already looking up through the wide window of the command center at the sky.

From one end of the horizon to the other.

Five jagged rifts slashed across the sky.

The scale of these cracks was much larger than the previous ones.

Their paths looked oddly angry, rough, and violent.

"Order all field agents to evacuate the site immediately. The Gray Reaper has appeared."

James turned his gaze away from the ravaged sky and issued the command to his staff.

When he turned on the TV, the news had just started broadcasting breaking news as well.

In my hand, there was a small doll handed over by the plaster doll.

Judging by the familiar aura, it was undoubtedly crafted by the Yellow Reaper himself.

But unlike the Yellow Reaper’s previous dolls or outfits, this one was distinctly different.

Strangely enough, it didn’t feel like an object at all.

Even when I examined it closely, there was no sense of it being an object.

And, unlike his previous creations, it didn’t seem to have any special abilities.

Instead, I felt a faint connection from the doll.

The connection was like an invisible thread, allowing the Yellow Reaper to pinpoint the doll’s location from anywhere at any time.

And, fortunately, it worked both ways.

In the current situation where the Yellow Reaper’s whereabouts were unclear, acquiring such a doll was nothing short of a miracle.

“Lucky me.”

Clutching the soft doll tightly, I began to extend my senses in the direction of the Yellow Reaper.

Kidnapped, or did he simply run away?

Either way, through this doll, I’d be able to find out the Yellow Reaper’s location.

If it was a kidnapping, I could rescue him swiftly, which would be ideal.

And if it was just a runaway?

Then I could play a delightful "prank" suited for the occasion—a really, really amusing one.

“Got it.”

Following the link connecting me to the Yellow Reaper, I finally pinpointed his location.

He was in a void-filled gap, a place that the Yellow Reaper could never reach, even in his First Doll outfit. So, it’s definitely a kidnapping.

I began feeding firewood into my right hand.

The grip in my hand grew darker as I stuffed it to its limit.

“How dare they kidnap our kid!”

With that rage, I swung my right hand, stuffed to the brim with fuel.

Rip.

From one end of the horizon to the other.

Five finger-like scars carved across the sky.

Beyond the torn space lay a black void, and the barrier concealing the apartment complex was also torn apart in the massive spatial rupture.

Countless plaster dolls disguised as pedestrians stopped in place and fell over.

Rustle. Rustle.

The sound of crumbling plaster echoed as they hit the ground.

The apartment complex, once pristine and stylish, had completely turned to ruin.

The beautiful pond and fountain were filled with rotten water, and trash had replaced the fragrant flowers.

People witnessing the ghastly transformation began to scream from all directions.

Ignoring these minor details, I extended my hand across the void and picked up the Yellow Reaper.

The Yellow Reaper, eyes closed as if asleep.

Unlike his usual self, the sleeping Yellow Reaper wore a serene smile.

“With his eyes closed, he almost resembles a Golden Reaper.”

Except for the pudgy belly.

As I checked him for injuries, I poked his soft belly with my fingers.

The squishiness suggested he wasn’t hurt.

I tossed the unharmed Yellow Reaper into the Mini Reaper Garden and immediately teleported to the culprit’s location.

It was a closed space reminiscent of the Mini Reaper Garden.

In that place stood an object with an aura that felt strangely out of place.

The entity bore a strong resemblance to the Green Jade Man.

An ancient human, who had long since become an object.

However, unlike the Jade Man, this one still retained roughly 10% of his humanity.

A halo stained black.

A white robe.

Red flowing beneath the robe.

Blackened skin.

And an ominous, black cascade reminiscent of an “Old God.”

Though he looked nothing like me, there was an unsettling resemblance in his aura, making me feel uneasy.

When the Old One absorbed the white sand beach into himself, the space began to collapse.

The central building, which was part of his body, split in two, revealing the violent trajectory slicing through the sky.

The path bore a resemblance to the traces left by a “god” the Old One had seen long ago.

Blink, blink.

This caused the space to destabilize, and the Old One’s perception began to flicker like a broken fluorescent light.

And in the instant darkness fell and light returned, as the split building came back together—

The “Gray Reaper” appeared in front of him, as though he’d been there all along, like a ghost.

“Is that so? I have failed?”

The man looked at the Gray Reaper, his voice oddly dissonant.

With just one more minute, he could have erased the traces and escaped.

How strange.

According to his calculations, no matter how hard the Gray Reaper tried to find him, it should have taken longer.

But when his gaze landed on the doll in the Gray Reaper’s hand, he understood everything.

“I got carried away. I wasn’t thorough.”

The Gray Reaper’s yellow, blazing eyes were now fixed on him.

Now that those eyes had locked onto him, there was no escaping.

No matter how he tried, it was futile.

So then—

Even if he couldn’t reach godhood and would ultimately fall,

He would test how far he’d come toward the realm of gods,

How much his god-mimicking power had advanced,

And whether he could surpass the “degraded god.”

As the Old One swung his hand, flames—identical to those wielded by an “ancient god”—sprang up in his palms.

The crimson flames, like blood, began to consume the entire space.

And the flames clung to the Gray Reaper’s body, who watched them indifferently.

Rustle.

At that moment, one of the Gray Reaper’s arms withered like dry clay and crumbled to ash.

The Gray Reaper looked at it as if observing an amusing trick, then regenerated his arm in an instant and clapped.

“Revolution!”

With the clap, countless Red Reapers sprang forth from the void, devouring the flames conjured by the Old One.

Seeing this, the Old One extended his hand and clenched it tightly.

Space warped, forming a black dot that absorbed everything.

The Gray Reaper looked at the black dot with a slightly surprised expression and clenched the air in the same way.

Rip.

The space twisted, and a large black sphere appeared, consuming everything around it, including the black dot created by the Old One.

The Old One unleashed all his powers.

Probability manipulation.

Time reversal.

Space slicing.

Space domination.

But none of it reached the Gray Reaper.

The only potential was time reversal, but that was nullified with the appearance of the Sprout Reaper.

“So, I couldn’t reach it. Then…”

The Old One channeled his remaining energy into his incomplete halo.

The broken halo began to glow with a foreboding black light.

As the light grew stronger, the halo gradually took on a complete shape.

When the halo finally formed, a black flash filled the space.

The black flash, resembling the “eyes” of the Gray Reaper, obliterated everything.

As the space filled with the black brilliance, a faint white light flickered amidst the dark tide.

And that white light, like a flame consuming paper, started devouring the black flash, growing in size.

White flames consumed the blackness, scattering like petals.

When the flash disappeared entirely, radiant white flames began to envelop the entire space.

The blinding flames undulated endlessly, illuminating the surroundings like a snowstorm in the vast universe.

Amidst the dazzling whirlpool of white flames, the Gray Reaper stood defiantly, radiating presence.

Blackened skin.

Red, cracked fissures.

A halo shining brightly above his head.

Though he seemed unstable, his appearance closely resembled that of an “ancient god.”

But where the Old One had stood, nothing remained.

“Ah, yes. That power. I desired that godly power.”

Instead, a foreign, slightly envious voice lingered momentarily before fading away.