Chapter 106
Chapter 106
Civil Servant Hunter’s S-class Resignation Log – Chapter 106
From the moment he couldn't properly put his past memories into words, Se-ra had already guessed that things hadn't ended well between Song Han-na and Yoon Jae-hun.
But this? She never saw this coming.
Suicide, of all things. Not just Yoon Jae-hun killing Park Jin-yong in a fit of rage, but suicide. Her brother! Her last remaining family!
And what about Song Han-na?!
"I'm asking if it's true!"
Her mana surged with anxiety, shredding one corner of the sofa. Right then, a sharp sting ran through her finger.
The fox was biting her finger, staring right at her.
Unlike her own frenzy, those calm green eyes made Se-ra swallow hard and take a deep breath. She had no business snapping at Kang Se-jun.
"...Sorry for yelling. But please, just tell me."
At her softened tone, Kang Se-jun let out a sigh.
"About Yoon Jae-hun, yeah, it's true. I didn't know he'd killed Park Jin-yong. The body was so thoroughly pulverized that no one could identify it properly. And Yoon Jae-hun's suicide was such a massive scandal anyway."
It was real. Do Jun-young's nightmare had actually played out in the erased past. How many times had something like that happened?
"...What about my aunt?"
"Song Han-na did bring Seoul to ruins once. But not right after Yoon Jae-hun's suicide."
"Then?"
"You said Joo Eun dies when the Japan dungeon break-out hits? That's when Song Han-na snaps. By then, she'd already failed to protect you and Yoon Jae-hunher mind was like an overinflated balloon. Joo Eun's death was the pinprick."
The balloon pops the instant it's pierced. That's how Song Han-na's sanity shattered.
"A full-grown entity seized the opening and took over her body completely. Song Han-na's contracted adult form, the 'Greedy Predator,' had always wanted to possess her. It was the perfect chance."
Destroying Seoul had been the predator's handiwork in the end. Driving the country she'd fought so hard to protect straight into oblivion was its ultimate thrill.
Fucking monster.
"Did Korea fall?"
"In my first life. I was too low-rank to stop it. Korea and North Korea vanished, and when it spread to China, their L-rank..."
Kang Se-jun trailed off, clamping his mouth shut.
Lu Enwei and Wei Hu.
How overjoyed they must have been to kill Song Han-na once Korea was gone.
Se-ra couldn't take it anymore and buried her face in her hands. So that's why Kang Se-jun wanted her to warn Song Han-na about the adult form.
"The first time means you did it next?"
"My regression started around the time Yoon Jae-hun's familyyoudied, so I couldn't prevent his suicide either. I tried to save at least Joo Eun, but it cost me my life. In the next one, I killed Song Han-na. Another time, she got me instead..."
It felt like the first time she was truly facing those five wretched lives head-on. How could Kang Se-jun keep smiling and fighting to save the world after enduring that many times?
"The worst was the life right before this one. I couldn't stop Yoon Jae-hun's suicide, Joo Eun's death, Song Han-na's rampage... none of it. And in the end..."
Kang Se-jun gave a bitter smile. His clenched fists brimmed with raw strength.
"That's why I staked everything on you. This life is the first where none of those horrors happened. All because of you."
She lived, so Yoon Jae-hun lived. No death for Joo Eun at the Phantom Lord's hands, so Song Han-na wasn't devoured. Korea wasn't destroyedinstead, it rose as the world's strongest power.
Just Yoon Se-ra surviving had changed everything.
"So Yoon Se-ra, pleasejust live, no matter what happens. Even if someone begs for your help, think only of your own life."
The bitterness faded from his face, leaving only unyielding resolve. He truly believed this life's peace hinged on her survival.
"Your parents sacrificed themselves to save everyone. I've offered myself up to rewind time over and over. But youdon't do it."
Se-ra's eyes went wide.
"Having power doesn't mean you have to sacrifice yourself to save the world. Sometimes, just staying alive is the salvation. That's what you are."
"..."
"So live, no matter what. Think only of yourself. Anyone who calls you selfish? I'll gladly break their fingers for you. Just focus on you."
His words carried the heavy sincerity of someone who'd witnessed worlds end time and again. For Se-ra, who'd spent her life rejecting sacrifice after reliving her parents' deaths, nothing could have hit harder.
I have to live.
Staying alive matters most.
It was so obvious, yet no one ever said it.
"Honestly? I'm touched."
"Don't just get toucheddo it. You told me not to sacrifice myself. I won't, so hold up your end."
Her end? Simply living.
Well, damn. World peace riding on my life? Heavy responsibility... but honestly, she couldn't help feeling glad.
"Thanks, Kang Se-jun."
Se-ra beamed. Her smile outshone the glittering Han River nightscape beyond the window.
It wasn't fakenot from acting, or capitalism, or office politics. Her first purely joyful smile aimed straight at him.
So Kang Se-jun couldn't find any more words. That smile pierced straight to his heart, freezing his usually nimble tongue.
Her smileearned after five deaths to reach this sixth lifedazzled like nothing else.
"...I meant it when I said I'd devote my life to you. I'll truly look after you."
His tongue finally stirred, spilling those words. He'd said them in front of Song Han-na too, but this time, far more tangled emotions wove through them.
"Forget that! Kang Se-jun, you just handle your own stuff. Gotta train your ass off if you don't wanna regress again."
Se-ra burst out laughing, oblivious. Kang Se-jun stared at her, dazed.
A strangely tender mood settled between them. If it were a color, shy pink. The onlooker hated it.
The fox, thumping the sofa irritably with its tail, finally lost patience and launched itself into the air.
Where to? Straight onto Kang Se-jun's head.
Crunch. The fox's gaping jaws sank into the head of the guy she couldn't stand.
"Ugh!"
"Gah! What the?!"
Se-ra lunged to pry off the dangling fox, but it wouldn't budge no matter what. Worse, blood trickled down from that sturdy L-rank skull.
"Aaagh! Elizabeth! Eliiiiizabeth!!!"
The elegant name echoed pitifully through the vast penthouse. The pink-tinted mood turned blood-red in an instant.
* * *
After the move, Se-ra headed back to work.
Do Jun-young had told her to rest since she'd be entering the labyrinth soon, but she refused. No telling when she'd emerge, and this was her first time facing the team since her identity came outshe wanted to greet them properly.
But her noble intentions fell flat. Her colleagues looked utterly terrified at the sight of her.
"Y-Y-Yoon Se-ra... N-no, Headbang-nim!"
"W-Welcome, Headbang-nim!"
The barrage of horrifying titles hit her the second she walked in, leaving Se-ra aghast.
"Don't call me that! Please, just treat me like normal. I'm L-rank now, sure, but I'm still the same person!"
"H-How could we dare...!"
"Is the chair uncomfortable? We'll bring a new one right away!"
A luxury single-seater sofa appeared with the shoutone fit for a corporate tycoon. These were people who hadn't acted this way even around Seong Ja-rim or Kang Se-jun. What was going on?
"Get rid of that now. If things don't go back to normal, I'll have private one-on-ones with each of you."
"Yoon Se-ra, long time no see! You good? Man, you cleared the Japan dungeon and you're already back? Take a break!"
"Right? And the labyrinth's coming up. You okay? Not that I'm complaining seeing your face!"
"Totally! Haha!"
Amid the rowdy laughter, the tycoon chair vanished. Turns out everyone was just Gong Hae-yeon and Jung Tae-seok types. Even Se-ra ended up cracking up.
"Oh my, civil servant Yoon Se-ra. You've got that glow-up glow. Rested up nice? Your face is practically radiating."
But when Gong Hae-yeon shot her a side-eye from the next desk, Se-ra couldn't help but flinch.
"W-What'd I do?"
"Well, you'd better be glowing. I slaved away solo while you were gone!"
Oh no. Of courseif one person slacks, the rest pick up the load. And in Dungeon Management Team 1, the grunts were just Gong Hae-yeon and Yoon Se-ra. She'd probably handled everything alone. Se-ra felt awful.
Hmm. Better keep that resignation plan secret forever.
"Uh... sorry."
"For that crime, you owe me a meal."
"Deal. Shabu-shabu today? I'll splurge on hanwooextra meat all around!"
"Ooh, Yoon Se-ra. Rest easy from now on. I got this solo. Ho ho ho. Anywhere sore? Shoulder rub?"
Three years together had them perfectly in sync. They grinned at each other and shared a hearty laugh for old times' sake.
"How's work been?"
"Nothing major. A dungeon break popped up a few days ago, but it got handled fine. Near Yeongwon Guild HQ."
Yeongwon Guild. The name brought Joo Eun to mind instantly. The guy who'd died so many times would pull through this round too. Thank goodness.
"No dispatches?"
"Oh, gotta head to Suhorang Guild today. Clash over a healer dispatch with a mid-tier guild."
Suhorang Guild boasted the most mages and healers around. Raids rose or fell on their presence, so mid-tiers requested them constantly.
It was basically pimping out guild members for cash, but the pay was fat, so satisfaction ran high.
The problem? All the resentment from other guilds.
"Suhorang's at fault this time. Grade 4 dungeonthey barely sensed danger, and their healer bailed."
"That's rough."
"Totally. They cleared it somehow, but with casualties. The real issue? Suhorang won't hand over the healer."
No matter how greedy Yoo Su-eun was, this didn't add up. Among the big five guild masters, she had the sharpest business sensethere's no way she'd let her guild's rep tank.