In the cavern with the artificial starlight filling the ceiling, a sound of tearing flesh echoed from a corner of a grand, antique mansion.

In the dim light spilling through the window, the shadow of a man moved ominously.

As one entered the room, the suffocating stench of raw meat and blood made it hard to breathe.

A mountain of raw meat piled on the table dripped red fluid, creating a grotesque sight.

The man sitting before it devoured the meat like a ravenous beast.

Hunched over, head nearly buried in the table, he ate without pause.

His fingers trembled, but his movements were rough and fast.

“So… hungry… so hungry….”

Even with his mouth full of meat, he continued to mutter these words.

His voice sounded hollow, like it came from the depths of a cellar.

Then, a tilted candle cast light on his appearance, and it was horrifying.

His body was reduced to nothing but bones.

His skin was pale and shrunken.

His eyes were sunken deep into his skull.

He looked like a walking corpse.

Gurgle.

Something moved beneath the man’s skin, writhing as if avoiding the light.

It was as though another lifeform was hiding inside him, twisting his skin into bizarre shapes.

The man continued to gulp down the meat.

As his jaw moved, whatever was beneath his skin moved with it.

Every time a chunk of meat slid down his throat, something under his stomach seemed to writhe with joy.

The smell of blood grew stronger in the room, and in the stillness, only the sound of his chewing and muttering filled the air.

The grotesque feast, which seemed it would last forever, suddenly came to a halt.

The man’s hand froze.

A piece of meat, just about to enter his mouth, hung in midair.

A moment of hesitation flashed across his face.

Slowly, as if laying down a heavy burden, he set the meat back on the table.

“It’s time… to gather the flock.”

His voice was still hollow, but it held a distinct difference from before.

It was as if a beast had transformed back into a man.

The writhing under his skin grew more violent, as if rebelling against his decision.

But the man paid no mind and slowly rose to his feet.

His back was still hunched, and his skeletal body looked like it could break at any moment.

With trembling hands, he picked up a napkin from beside the table and carefully wiped the blood off his hands.

His movements were slow but precise.

It was like a ritual he had performed countless times.

When the solemn act was complete, he walked to a corner of the room.

There, a neatly pressed suit hung—a stark contrast to the bloody, gruesome surroundings.

As he put on the suit, the thing inside him continued to writhe more violently, as if trying to stop him.

But his expression remained unchanged.

In fact, as he donned the suit, his gaze seemed to regain a certain vitality.

After adjusting his tie, he took a look around the room.

The lone candle continued to flicker, casting a grotesque shadow over the pile of flesh on the table.

He gazed at the sight for a moment, then turned his head away.

As he stepped through the door, his back seemed slightly straighter, his steps more powerful.

The door closed behind him, and the room fell back into silence.

The candle kept burning, casting light over the pile of human flesh on the table.

In the depths of a dark cave, a dense mist had swallowed everything.

In the darkness, the only sound was the faint breathing of two girls.

Out of the mist, a man stepped forward to block the path of the Silver-haired Girl and Brown-haired Girl.

His hunched figure was imposing.

In the mist, his outline was disturbingly sharp, and even the air around him seemed to grow heavy.

At that moment, the sprout on top of the Silver-haired Girl’s head emitted a warning.

[Harmful Object!]

The Silver-haired Girl sensed the danger radiating from him.

The smell of blood—thick and pungent—permeated from him.

But the reaction from the Sprout Reaper was more intense than she had expected.

The Silver-haired Girl gently raised a hand to stroke the Sprout Reaper.

“It’s okay. It’ll be fine.”

Gradually, the mist began to thin.

As if signaling the start of a tense showdown.

The man slowly straightened his hunched back.

The Silver-haired and Brown-haired Girls exchanged glances, silently affirming their determination, and charged at the man.

But their attacks had no effect on him.

The Silver-haired Girl’s swift blade, fueled by her time-acceleration ability.

The Brown-haired Girl’s heavy punches, backed by her physical enhancement.

With one hand casually behind his back, the man blocked and deflected their strikes with swift, precise movements, as if performing a martial arts demonstration.

“One of you… barely rises above the level of livestock.”

His indifferent voice echoed.

Before his words even finished, the Brown-haired Girl’s body was flung into the air.

A simple blow from him had left her bones shattering as she slammed into the cave wall, as if struck by a truck.

“The other… has only just surpassed livestock level.”

This time, his evaluation was directed at the Silver-haired Girl.

As his words reverberated in the cave, the Silver-haired Girl watched his approaching fist in her slowed perception of time.

Because of her ability, everything around her appeared almost frozen, yet his fist continued to move toward her.

It was unavoidable—coming at an angle and speed from which there was no escape.

In that moment, she heard a voice, one only she could hear.

[Human, don’t get hurt!]

Then, as if the world took another breath, time slowed even further.

In this decelerated state, the Silver-haired Girl did the impossible.

Moving slowly as if underwater, her body twisted just enough.

The man’s fist brushed past her cheek, and her needle-like blade slashed toward his neck.

As the tip of the blade touched his skin, time resumed its original flow.

The Silver-haired Girl lost her balance and rolled across the ground.

When she stopped, her first instinct was to check on the Sprout Reaper.

She understood now where her enhanced strength came from.

With a worried gaze, she lifted the Sprout Reaper.

The once-vivid indigo Sprout Reaper was now almost gray.

“Are you okay?”

Her voice was filled with concern.

The Sprout Reaper gave her a weak nod with a faint smile.

Then the Silver-haired Girl turned her attention to the Brown-haired Girl, checking her condition.

‘Thank goodness. It looks like she’ll survive.’

Meanwhile, the man touched his neck, where it was slowly healing.

A look of surprise and interest crossed his face.

“To think you accelerated twice over… You can no longer be compared to mere livestock.”

His voice held a hint of genuine admiration.

Slowly, he unclasped his hands from behind his back.

His fists clenched, and his stance lowered.

The tension in the air thickened.

“Well, I suppose… I’ll just have to use both hands now.”

The Silver-haired Girl took a deep breath.

Gently placing the Sprout Reaper on her head, she raised her blade once more.

In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, a solitary rocky island rose from the endless blue waves.

Following the procession of Mini Reapers spilling out like a wave, I cautiously stepped onto the mysterious island’s solid ground.

“Object!”

“Object Island!”

The Mini Reapers ran across the broad expanse of the island, emitting waves of “Object” intent.

As security personnel and Mini Reapers took their positions, researchers began descending onto the island one by one.

“Contamination levels below the threshold!”

“This island is floating on water, yet its material composition is extremely dense.”

“It doesn’t seem related to the ‘Blue Mist’ or the ‘Underwater City.’ Could it be an unrelated Object?”

Ignoring the researchers inspecting the island with various devices, I continued walking toward its center.

At the heart of the island, there was a cavern resembling the mouth of hell, a seemingly bottomless pit.

Whenever someone attempted to enter, lightning would strike as if to ward off intruders.

“Zap!”

The Mini Reapers cheerfully walked into the cavern one by one, raising their hands in delight as they were struck by lightning.

“Thunder!”

The Golden and Black Reapers, unlike the Blue Idol Reaper or the Cloud Flesh Reaper, simply found it an amusing game.

“Lightning!”

I stood at the entrance of the rowdy cavern, gazing down into its depths.

“The space is… broken.”

The cave’s interior was shrouded in utter darkness, as if cut off from the outside world.

Inside the cave adorned with artificial starlight, on the fog-filled battlefield.

The once-vibrant indigo Sprout Reaper was now a dull gray, clinging tightly to the Silver-haired Girl’s sprout.

One of her arms hung limp, broken, as she struggled to stay upright, her breathing ragged.

Her needle-like blade quivered in her hand.

She was on the brink of exhaustion.

Yet, the man standing before her was unscathed and showed no signs of weariness.

‘Just a little more… Just a little faster.’

Despite the hopelessness of the situation, she didn’t give up.

‘With the Sprout Reaper, I can become even faster!’

She was still accelerating.

To keep up with her, the man had called forth the fog once again.

“It’s time to put an end to this.”

A low mutter escaped his lips as he vanished into the mist.

At that moment, a glimmer of indigo light shone in the Silver-haired Girl’s eyes.

The silver-haired girl’s eyes emitted an indigo light, and the world around her seemed to slow down further.

[Human...!]

With the help of the Sprout Reaper, time slowed even more.

At that moment, from behind her, the man emerged from the mist, his fist hurtling toward her.

The silver-haired girl’s blade shot toward his neck.

A simple, direct path—no tricks, just a straightforward attack.

Yet, even with the additional speed, it wasn’t quite enough to reach him.

‘Just a little more, a little faster!’

As his fist drew nearer, her desperate desire to overcome him seemed to resonate. A faint glow began to emanate from the sprout on her head.

Once again, the Sprout Reaper radiated a soft indigo light.

...

The man’s fist was already pressing against her stomach.

But the silver-haired girl was smiling.

"Impressive," the man muttered in a low voice.

Embedded in his neck was her needle-like blade, driven deep to the hilt.

Though his wound attempted to regenerate, the indigo sprout started spreading across his body, blocking his regeneration.

The indigo sprout gradually crept across his skin, covering him from head to toe.

"Hah, haha."

The silver-haired girl collapsed, letting out a soft laugh.

[We did it!]

The Sprout Reaper clung to her head, giggling.

She shakily rose to her feet, then lifted the unconscious brown-haired girl over her shoulder.

Slowly, step by step, she made her way toward the exit.

As they approached the mouth of the cave, the sunlight pouring through the entrance bathed them in a warm glow, like a blessing.

The silver-haired girl breathed a sigh of relief, murmuring to herself.

“The exit... it’s right there.”

She took a few more unsteady steps toward it, but then, the air around her suddenly grew heavy with a suffocating pressure.

A figure emerged from beyond the light.

The presence of the man was overwhelming.

It felt as if space itself bent around him, and everything around him seemed to shrink under his shadow.

The aura he exuded was as vast as an endless abyss, stealing the breath of anyone who dared to behold him.

As soon as the silver-haired girl laid eyes on him, her strength drained away.

Her knees gave out, and she collapsed to the ground.

[So strong...!]

Though his face was obscured by the backlight, the chilling smirk on his lips was clear.

He radiated the confidence and poise of someone who held absolute power.

With a single step forward, he was suddenly right in front of her, as though his movements defied the laws of space itself.