Late at night, Seodaemun-gu lay shrouded in darkness.

The sky above the district, where the missing Golden Reaper had last been seen, was completely covered by clouds.

It was the time when multicolored moons should have been shining like the Mini Reapers, but the clouds blocked them, leaving no moonlight visible.

Strangely, the streets were intensely dark, and even the streetlights cast only a dim glow.

If it weren’t for the light radiating from my eyes, I wouldn’t have been able to see the streets so clearly.

After watching the news, I had abandoned my plan to roast the white maw on a spit and rushed to Seodaemun-gu, but there was no trace of the missing Golden Reaper anywhere.

‘Where could they have gone?’

I could definitely feel that the Golden Reaper had been here.

It was the presence of a Golden Reaper, drenched in kindling, distinct from any other I’d sensed, even back in the Mini Reaper Garden.

‘Were they avoiding me? Or did we miss each other by chance?’

I continued to follow the faint traces of the kindling-infused Golden Reaper, mulling over the possibilities.

Finally, when I reached the place where the Golden Reaper’s presence vanished, only emptiness greeted me.

A single, old park bench.

On it sat a lone paper cup.

The coffee inside was as dark and bitter as the night sky, something the Golden Reaper would never touch.

The faint scent of bitter coffee lingered in the air before dispersing with the night breeze.

Beside the coffee cup on the bench were scattered cookie crumbs.

‘They were definitely here.’

I turned my attention from the coffee and crumbs, looking out over Seodaemun-gu, which looked like an abandoned ruin at rest.

Empty buildings and people hurrying away, even at this late hour, the streets were bustling.

Cars lined up to leave the district, and people rushed about with their belongings.

I even spotted a few vehicles marked with the James Institute logo, suggesting they were helping with the evacuation.

The hum of engines filled the quiet city, an unusual atmosphere compared to before.

In the past, accidents happened every day, but only a few ever evacuated.

Buildings had to be getting destroyed in real time, like during the Maw incident, for people to run.

Now, with the Golden Reaper reducing object-related accidents, people seemed more afraid of them.

If they’d fled in fear every time there was an incident back then, they’d be running 365 days a year.

As a result, hardly any human presence remained around Seodaemun-gu now.

‘They must still be nearby.’

I glanced around again.

My eyes, glowing like flashlights, scanned the darkness.

But no trace of the kindling-infused Golden Reaper was anywhere to be found.

Growing anxious, I clenched my hands and tore open the sky above me.

The space tore through the clouds and sky, leaving ten intersecting scars across the heavens.

‘Hmph.’

Then, colorful moonlight began to pour down from above.

‘Hang on. I’ll rescue you soon.’

I looked up at the moonlight, my resolve solidifying into a promise.

‘It hurts….’

But I won’t give up.

The Golden Armored Reaper, with its severed limbs, slowly crawled along the ground.

‘I can’t see any way to win.’

But I will never give up.

Kindling spilled from its wounds, flowing like blood.

Its beloved human looked at it with a horrified expression, shouting something.

But the Golden Armored Reaper’s damaged ears couldn’t hear.

It wanted to hear their voice again….

Ahead, the man with the halo looked down, saying something, but the Golden Armored Reaper couldn’t hear it.

He was surely mocking it.

Calling it foolish for not knowing when to give up.

But the Golden Armored Reaper could never give up.

‘I’ll never give up.’

The Golden Armored Reaper wasn’t as skilled as the First Sword.

It couldn’t do many things like the Mini Reapers.

Its abilities were clumsy, it wasn’t quick-witted, and its movements weren’t agile or sharp.

So.

I won’t give up.

‘Because it’s the only thing I’m good at.’

As if in response to that determination, the kindling flared up brightly.

Its broken limbs slowly regenerated, allowing it to stand and start running.

Step by step.

Slowly but steadily moving forward.

And at the end, shining like a comet!

The Golden Armored Reaper’s footsteps grew faster as it pushed through the rubble, until it transformed into a radiant comet.

The least talented Golden Reaper.

All it could do was rush forward with all its strength.

A simple, straightforward tackle with all its willpower clenched in its fists.

Boom!

But it didn’t reach him.

Yet it kept trying, over and over.

Each attempt faster, each blow stronger.

Even if its immune body shattered, it continued.

Under the grid-patterned sky, which looked as if it might collapse at any moment.

A golden comet plunged toward the man.

[Still refusing to give up? That reminds me of her.]

But the golden streak of light failed to breach the barrier surrounding the man, bouncing off.

Simultaneously, the armor encasing the Golden Reaper shattered, scattering into the air.

Yet it clenched its teeth, steadying itself in mid-air.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

As it crashed and rebounded repeatedly, the man spoke.

[This transparent wall is a barrier created by overlapping space infinitely.]

[A barrier made by compressing endless space cannot be broken in such a manner.]

He spoke out of habit, believing that anyone with enough knowledge wouldn’t attempt something so foolish.

He believed that if the gap in understanding was due to recklessness, an explanation would suffice.

But the Golden Armored Reaper gave no response.

It merely kept its mouth shut and flew like a comet once more.

[Knowing it’s not her, I suppose I ended up talking too much.]

The man muttered, recalling the blue-haired girl who tirelessly sought solutions despite the impossibility.

[In that case.]

Snap.

With a snap of his fingers, the space around the Golden Armored Reaper twisted.

The space containing the ruins of Seodaemun-gu rose like a pillar, with a mirror-image ruin appearing in the sky above.

The Golden Armored Reaper was soon encased in a cubic prison, layers of space stacked endlessly around it.

[Stay here and observe the completion of this grand endeavor.]

As he spread his palm toward the sky, the space shattered, revealing another realm.

A world where a colossal halo cast light, a temple rose to the sky in tribute to a new god, and the landscape was designed as an antlion’s trap.

As that world emerged, glistening orbs began to gather toward the man from the heavens.

“Ah!”

The orb the bob-haired girl was holding so dearly was no exception.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

The Golden Armored Reaper continuously struck the prison surrounding it.

But it was in vain.

This prison was impervious to the Golden Armored Reaper’s strength.

‘It won’t break.’

Looking outside, it could see a massive world twisting into a funnel shape.

At the top of the funnel, the wishes pouring from the orbs converged into a huge stream.

That flow of desires funneled into the malevolent object, gradually filling it from within.

‘This is bad.’

Although the Golden Armored Reaper couldn’t fully grasp what was happening, it sensed that letting things continue would lead to disaster.

Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.

Yet, even as it shone brightly like a comet, its fists couldn’t shatter the prison around it.

‘I can break space, but I can’t break this.’

Had it been a normal isolation space, it could have shattered it to save its beloved human.

‘There’s no time.’

The Golden Armored Reaper, striking the prison, looked anxious.

It wasn’t because the kindling inside it was gradually dwindling.

The Golden Armored Reaper cast a worried glance.

There, its beloved human lay unconscious, with wisps of white threads slowly being drained from them.

‘My beloved human will die.’

Suppressing its anxious heart, the Golden Armored Reaper closed its eyes tightly.

‘The only thing I can do is gather all my strength into one punch.’

It began to channel all the remaining kindling within it into its fist.

As it did, its fist began to glow with a brightness akin to the sun.

One by one, the pieces of its armor turned into kindling, merging into its fist.

‘It hurts.’

Containing so much kindling within its small body, it felt as if it would explode at any moment.

‘But it’s okay. Not giving up is my strength.’

With all the kindling gathered into the Golden Armored Reaper’s small fist, the light grew so intense that everything around it vanished.

The Golden Armored Reaper slowly raised that fist toward the sky.

As if it weighed a thousand pounds, it gritted its teeth and lifted it.

All I can do.

Is gather all my strength.

And swing my fist.

With all its might, the Golden Armored Reaper extended its fist toward the sky.

Exhausted, it felt as though it would collapse at any moment.

Just before it fell, it whispered its final resolve.

‘Smash.’

The gathered kindling in its fist shot up into the sky like a flash of lightning.

The sudden burst of light startled the haloed man, though it had little impact on his mind.

The Golden Armored Reaper’s all-out punch had only created a minuscule hole in the space, a hole so small that it immediately began to mend itself.

Yet, as that tiny gap closed, a resounding noise shook the world.

The previously unyielding space trembled, the sky tore open, and colorful moonlight began to pour down.

Through the jagged rift in the sky, the Gray Reaper leaped in.

As it watched the Gray Reaper’s entry, the exhausted Golden Armored Reaper muttered its final thought and closed its eyes.

‘Mom’s ultimate punch.’