On the soft, marshmallow-like plains, the Mini Reaper Garden stretched out.

The sky hung above like the canopy of a giant bed, softly enveloping everything beneath it. A peaceful landscape breathed quietly under this serene expanse.

But in the middle of this calm scene, an out-of-place black sphere floated alone.

Unchanging Black Sphere.

Its stark contrast against the soft hues around it was so jarring that it seemed to pull the viewer's gaze irresistibly toward it.

"Maah."

The Bleached Reaper stood in the same spot every day, staring up at the unchanging sphere.

Though the Bleached Reaper had only recently been born and had no idea what the unchanging sphere was, they watched it daily, feeling an ominous presence in the silent sphere.

... ...

The unchanging sphere seemed to show no change, yet it felt as though someone was constantly whispering from deep within its darkness.

As if calling to a child, and claiming that it was needed by them.

This strange call was not felt only by the Bleached Reaper.

Soon, Black Reapers began to gather around the unchanging sphere, their faces filled with confusion.

Who? Is someone calling?

The Black Reapers whispered to one another, slowly moving toward the sphere, step by step.

Though their wills were fraught with unease, they could not stop their steps.

As if hypnotized by something.

Mom? Not Mom!

The Black Reapers' voices carried suspicion and wariness, yet their steps continued, as if they were puppets on strings, moving inexorably toward the unchanging sphere.

"Maah!"

At that moment, the Bleached Reaper blocked the way of the Black Reapers.

Though they couldn't fully express their will, their expression and gaze were as firm as that of a hero.

Their expression seemed to shout, "Don’t get too close!" causing the Black Reapers to stop in their tracks, startled.

'!!!'

At that moment, it was as if the Black Reapers had awakened from a dream.

Looking down at the Bleached Reaper, they let out a relieved cry, "Bii!"

"Maah."

The Bleached Reaper, too, cried happily, following the Black Reapers' lead.

The Black Reapers then began to build a marshmallow fence, the very fence that designated the Mini Reaper restricted area, as established in the Golden Reaper Tournament.

Dangerous mom? Dangerous object!

As the Black Reapers scattered to various corners of the garden after building the fence, the Bleached Reaper felt a gaze from behind.

It was as if someone was watching from a distant, deep darkness.

But when the Bleached Reaper turned in surprise, there was nothing there.

Only the unchanging sphere remained, still floating in its place.

The situation room in James Tower, located on the outskirts of Songpa District, was filled with tension.

Normally a place of silence and calm, it now felt like a battlefield.

The staff hurriedly moved about, carrying materials, and the incessant ringing of telephones heightened the urgency of the situation.

On one of the walls of the situation room was a giant world map, visible to everyone entering the room.

On the map, a large red area, centered on the Pacific Ocean, was drawn in winding shapes, nearly covering the entire Pacific region.

James and the alchemist stood before the map, silently staring at it with serious expressions.

Some of the Golden Reapers, brought by the James Institute staff, seemed to be swept up by the atmosphere, standing with their arms crossed in serious contemplation, much like humans.

In this tense atmosphere, the alchemist sighed and spoke.

"I came to warn about the east, but it seems the situation is already far worse."

"Yes. The situation is much more serious than expected."

James picked up a prepared report, handing it to the alchemist as he spoke.

"There’s no solution, other than the Gray Reaper. We’re at a loss. After you read this report, I’d like your opinion, if there’s anything you can contribute as an alchemist."

The alchemist slowly began to leaf through the report.

Her eyes quickly scanned the contents.

At that moment, a cry came from within the conference room, raising the tension even further.

"The California research institute in the U.S. is suspected to have been consumed!"

"Most of the research institutes along the U.S. West Coast are reporting missing data!"

With the staff’s reports, the red marks on the map began to spread wider.

The red area, nearly swallowing the entire Pacific, now reached the U.S. West Coast.

The alchemist alternated between watching the scene unfold before her and reading the report in her hands, grasping the seriousness of the situation.

The contents of the report far exceeded her expectations.

“All forms of mental contamination countermeasures are being instantly bypassed by this mental contamination.”

“Reality distortion, invisible to external observation, is included.”

“The current affected areas are impossible to confirm.”

On the last page, a line written in red caught her eye.

“People affected by the Pacific erosion commonly mention the blue sea, writhing clouds, and an underwater city.”

The alchemist recalled an old book at this.

An ancient alchemical artifact made of jade.

There was certainly an arcane book related to the sea that had been worshipped by the ancient alchemists and jade-worshippers.

The alchemist began to strain her mind, trying to recall that ancient memory.

At that moment, the world shook.

As the man was about to take a step toward the woman, who had been a long-time friend, the ground beneath his feet trembled.

The sky twisted, and the space itself began to warp.

It felt as though the thin veil of illusion was tearing apart, like the burst of a delicate soap bubble.

The man’s vision blurred.

In that fleeting moment, a faint blue spiderweb-like shape swept past his vision.

"!"

It was a brief instant.

But in that short time, his mind seemed to clear.

The chaotic thoughts vanished in an instant, and a clear question surfaced.

Why am I doing this?

Only then did he realize.

He didn’t know that woman at all.

Was she a friend from his days as a contractor?

There was no such memory.

Everything was a lie.

Instinctively, he drew his gun and aimed it at the suspicious woman.

In that moment, a meaningful smile spread across the woman’s lips.

"Do you think you can shoot me in that state?"

The man looked down at his own hand.

He was horrified.

The hand that had been reaching for the gun was now completely consumed by the spiderwebs, to the point where he couldn’t even move a finger.

'!!!!!'

The moment he realized this, all illusions shattered.

The peaceful-looking cabin vanished, revealing the endless spiderweb nest that had been hidden.

Spiderwebs crawled toward him from all directions, like parasitic tendrils.

Where the woman had been standing, a massive spiderweb mass in the shape of a human now occupied the spot.

Between the tangled webs, small eyes writhed and scurried, all of them staring at the man.

"!!!!!!"

The man tried to move, but his entire body was entangled in webs, rendering him immobile.

Where am I?

At the same time, the man quickly started to assess the situation.

The spiderwebs consumed his body slowly, without pain.

His body was bound by the webs, unable to move.

Where the bed had been, his sister and Cheong were now buried within the webs.

At least they’re still alive, it seems.

The man turned his gaze, looking for someone else.

Where are the Purple Reaper and the Crown Reaper?

Before he could finish his thought, a purple shadow flared in the air, and the webs that had been constricting the man’s body were burned away.

Human! You’ve finally awoken!

At the same time, the Purple Reaper landed beside the man.

Though weary, the Purple Reaper’s face was filled with joy.

It was the first time the normally calm and serious Purple Reaper had shown such an expression.

Beside the Purple Reaper stood the pale-faced Crown Reaper.

Freed from the webs, the man looked around.

His unconscious sister and Cheong.

The exhausted Purple Reaper and Crown Reaper.

I can’t give up now.

Despite the desperate situation, the man steeled himself as he felt the flow of energy reflected in his prosthetic eye.

Running across the spiderweb-covered horizon, I reached out to grab the air.

A huge black sphere appeared, tearing everything apart as it began to consume everything.

The spiderwebs swarmed toward the void, covering the cracks in space and erasing the emptiness.

Like bees fighting against a hornet.

As if the "Kwiik" sound was strangely familiar.

The spiderwebs had mostly dissipated, but it was not enough to handle the near-infinite webs.

As the spiderwebs began to fill around me once more, I endured the pain and called for the Halo.

Ability Nullification Halo.

The white flames melted and burned the webs, but it was impossible to destroy all the spiderwebs across the Pacific.

Other halos were the same.

The most effective Halo was the Halo of Space, but these webs responded too quickly to spatial abilities, leaving little impact.

At times, it even felt like these webs understood spatial abilities better than I did.

Of course, "Kwiik" and the Halos were causing significant damage to the webs, but it would likely take an almost infinite amount of time to burn them all.

That would mean my defeat.

Even if I had enough fuel to use the Halo, I couldn’t fight infinitely.

The foreign news wouldn’t work either.

Looking at these webs, they would only appear as <■■■■■> like the red foreign news.

Even if I called upon the Mini Reapers to use the Halos simultaneously, it probably wouldn’t make much of a difference.

There’s no answer.

With my abilities, I couldn’t handle this foreign entity. If I were a giant, like the black giant, maybe I could create a "Kwiik" over a massive area…

Would I have to use the unchanging sphere’s power to fight the foreign entity?

But using the unchanging sphere felt strangely unsettling.

Especially after gathering all the moons, the feeling became a thousand times stronger, and I couldn’t bring it out.

What should I do?

It looks like there are Mini Reapers under those webs…

It’s dangerous...

Wouldn’t it be better to summon the black giant?

I just want to pierce my heart with a "Pook" and bring out my “Halo of Seeing Death.”

Thinking about the kids, I felt frustrated and pierced my chest.

?!

Surprised, I instinctively pulled my hand back, but inside my grasp was a golden, distorted Halo pulsing like a heart.

Keeek!

At the same time, the surrounding webs began to writhe in agony, transforming into cotton candy as they fluttered about.

Thud. Thud.

With the heavy vibrations of the Halo, the surrounding webs turned into various treats, as if the unseen waves from the Halo spread out.