EP.340 Yggdrasil (3-49)
Min Hayeon let out a deep sigh as she stared at the hologram floating in midair.
“Haah….”
Survivors: 7
[Death's Eye], [Death's Nose], [Death's Ear], [Death's Hallucination]
It was one mountain after another.
They were already in a situation where they needed to meet up quickly and join forces, but now these bizarre modifiers had been added on top.
“But what exactly does that mean? Even if it's coming from far away, it would shake the ground like crazy as it charges, right?”
“We shouldn't assume anything until we experience it ourselves. Let's be extra careful when passing through big tunnels.”
“Got it.”
The two recalled the Cerberus with its heightened hearing and proceeded while whispering as quietly as possible.
Right now, in Min Hayeon's mind, there was someone occupying even more space than Seong Su-ho.
…I hope Bom made it out safely?
The survivor count hadn't dropped yet.
Just that fact alone was enough to put her mind at ease.
The next person who came to mind…
Amazing… She wasn't nearby earlier, but it sounded like Su-ho was right next to me.
If Seong Su-ho's voice hadn't suddenly rung out, Min Hayeon might have died long ago.
The Cerberus had instilled that much terror in her.
Even after overcoming the danger, the fear rooted deep inside her didn't fade easily.
And Son Hye-eun had been even more shocked than Min Hayeon.
Thank goodness they were together; if they'd encountered the Cerberus separated, both would have died by now.
For now, we need to find the others quickly…
As Min Hayeon scanned the large tunnel with that thought,
Son Hye-eun suddenly bent her legs and crouched down.
“Hah….”
“You okay?”
“I-It’s just… my legs suddenly gave out… Sorry.”
“It's fine. Just calm down and take a deep breath.”
“Hoo… haah… hoo….”
Son Hye-eun steadied her breathing, barely stood up, and started apologizing.
“Sorry. The stuff from earlier suddenly flashed back, and my stomach started churning….”
“I get it. I felt the same.”
Truth be told, Min Hayeon wanted nothing more than to curl up like Son Hye-eun and cry her eyes out.
But the reason she didn't was the difference in the harsh paths their lives had taken.
The whispers that came from every direction the moment she rose to national representative status.
The consolations whispered to knock her down from that position.
She'd heard them countless times.
The only reason she could lead Son Hye-eun now was the endurance she'd built up surviving until this point.
“One hour. Just hold on for one hour, and it's all over. You got this.”
“Yeah. Oh, over there….”
“!?”
Min Hayeon whipped her head around, following Son Hye-eun's pointing finger—from her shoulder, down her arm, past her fingertip—in an instant at the alarmed expression.
And in her line of sight was a man.
A man she'd known her whole life.
“…Han Yeoreum?”
It was Han Yeoreum, scrambling out of a hole and gasping for breath.
***
Yes! It's over now!
Han Yeoreum clenched her fist at the edge of the hole, watching the contract with Seong Su-ho vanish right before her eyes.
She could feel all the commands binding her washing away, proving the contract had expired.
First, the gem! Check the contents and die here!
But the problem was the time to check them.
The moment Han Yeoreum pulled out one gem, a hologram popped up in front of her with an alarm sound.
Survivors: 7
[Death's Eye], [Death's Nose], [Death's Ear], [Death's Whisper]
Fuck! Get out of here first and move somewhere else!
What Death's Whisper meant didn't matter to Han Yeoreum.
Escaping the hole before it buried her and checking the gem's contents was far more urgent.
I need to extract even one piece of info! Head to another hole, crack one open…
Han Yeoreum forgot the gem and bolted to find an exit.
And at the 10-second mark.
Th-there! That's it!
An entrance glowing with white light came into view.
9… 8… 7….
A razor-thin timing.
With her pathetic stamina, she wasn't sure she could reach it.
6… 5… 4… 3….
I can't die like this!!!
Screaming inwardly with all her might, Han Yeoreum squeezed every last drop of energy into her thighs and ran.
And she made it.
1… 0.
Boom!
“Hahk, hahk, hahk… I-I lived.”
As she slid in, the hole she'd escaped collapsed from above, bricks sealing it layer by layer.
Boom… booom… boo….
It looked like everything inside was being crushed and erased, starting from the entrance.
“I-I lived. N-Now to another hole right away….”
Han Yeoreum, drenched in cold sweat, struggled to crawl to her feet.
But her body wouldn't obey, only swaying her vision and making her stagger.
As she panted desperately, scanning her surroundings—
What actually moved her body wasn't desperation or longing.
“Hey, Han Yeoreum.”
“Heok!”
At the sudden voice, she jolted up, spun around, and checked the source.
And there was the woman she'd loved her whole life, letting her breathe a sigh of relief.
That beloved woman quietly scolded Han Yeoreum.
“Shh! Quiet!”
“Phew… H-Hayeon.”
“Haah… Glad we met. Not much time left. Let's find the others first.”
Relief washed over Han Yeoreum, but then a crucial realization hit.
Wait… If we stick together like this? No way! The gem—the gem comes first!
For Han Yeoreum, impressing Min Hayeon right now took a backseat to looking good to her after regression.
This run's screwed anyway. Gathering max info is key.
With that thought, she forced her legs straight and spoke.
“Nah. I'll go solo.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“Sticking together now just keeps drawing that monster's aggro. To maximize survival, we split up.”
Han Yeoreum spouted her prepared excuse, inwardly patting herself on the back.
Nice… Even I think that's solid.
But she didn't realize her idea centered on not caring about others.
“Ah…? Split up to survive?”
“W-What… Yeah? What's wrong?”
“Then where do we run to?”
“The holes, obviously?”
“Haah… You didn't just keep hiding in holes the whole time, did you?”
“Y-Yeah?”
Han Yeoreum sensed the weird vibe and waited for Min Hayeon's response.
But what reached her wasn't Min Hayeon's words—it was faint footsteps echoing from deeper in the cave.
Fuck… Someone else coming?
Irritated by the shoe sounds, Han Yeoreum glanced around.
Hurry and ditch Hayeon, then check the footage… Ugh!
Suddenly, her body yanked forward, nearly toppling her.
But the one pulling her steadied her and snapped quietly.
“Run! Hole over there!”
Not just Min Hayeon—even Park Seon-hee beside her looked terrified as they bolted.
Han Yeoreum dazedly followed, bewildered.
“Wh-What's going on? Why? Isn't that just someone coming?”
“You didn't see the alert!?”
“Alert? What alert?”
The moment the question left his mouth, chats flooded his vision.
Wh-What sounds?
As he wondered that and chased Min Hayeon while glancing back—
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
The sound of shoe heels lightly echoing through the cave, and suddenly rounding the corner… a monster.
A massive building-sized Cerberus charged at them from the corner with zero vibrations.
“Wh-What the hell! What is that!!!”
“Hurry! Hole over there!! Hurry!!!!”
The scene behind Han Yeoreum induced massive cognitive dissonance.
In his eyes, the Cerberus was thundering toward them from hundreds of meters away with massive strides—but the sound was just human footsteps.
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
Yet those everyday footsteps signaled death drawing near.
Facing death, Han Yeoreum once again summoned her soul to run.
“Hurry! Ru-Run!! Over there!”
As Min Hayeon pointed the way—
Thud!
“Kyaaak!”
Son Hye-eun, running beside her, suddenly lost balance and fell.
“Hye-eun!”
“Damn it!”
Of all places, right in front of Han Yeoreum.
They could all tumble if not careful.
Fucking useless bitch!
Han Yeoreum cursed inwardly, leaped over the fallen woman, and kept running.
“Hy-Hye-eun! Hey! Han Yeoreum!”
Han Yeoreum hesitated at Min Hayeon's shout but that was it—he ran on.
Anyway! Hayeon's done for now! I gotta save myself first!
As a regressor, Han Yeoreum thought only of her ability—they'd revive anyway—and ditched Min Hayeon and Son Hye-eun.
Naturally, the chat exploded as he ran.
Fuck, you think I'm some chat-only loser like you? I'm a regressor! Regression fixes everything!
Adrenaline surging as he ran, he felt more rage at the chat mockery than the running itself.
His survival instinct moved his body independently of his anger.
And…
Splat!
Survivors: 7
[Death's Eye], [Death's Nose], [Death's Ear], [Death's Whisper]
“I-I'm in! Made it!”
Hearing only the sound of human running footsteps outside, he cheered.
Han Yeoreum entered a drug-like frenzy he'd never felt before.
“I lived! I'm alive! Hahaha!”
Sprawled out in excitement, he heard sprinting footsteps outside.
And soon after…
“Kyaaak!”
“Hurry! Hurry!”
Min Hayeon and Son Hye-eun slid into the hole like baseball players stealing home.
And that moment.
Kaboom! Crash! Boom! Kwang!
As the two entered, a massive forepaw began clawing at the hole's entrance.
“Fuck!”
Han Yeoreum scrambled deeper into the hole like a schizophrenic flipping from joy to seizure.
Soon after he retreated, silence fell outside again.
The footsteps rapidly fading…
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.
Polite, small, impeccably mannered footsteps.
The stark contrast squeezed the three's hearts even harder.
Thankfully, the sound soon vanished from their ears without a trace.
“Haah… haah… W-We lived. You okay?”
“H-Hayeon… Th-Thank you… Hic….”
The three lay rolling on the filthy sewer floor, desperately reclaiming their sanity.
As time passed, Han Yeoreum snapped to and glanced at the two women.
Contempt, hatred, disgust.
Their eyes held it all.
Panicking, Han Yeoreum shot up and opened his mouth.
“Y-You're the one who tripped!”
“Right… My fault for tripping.”
“Then why look at me like that!”
“What did we say?”
“Th-That’s….”
Han Yeoreum wanted to crawl into a hole from shame.
Realizing he already was in one, he inwardly exploded in rage.
Fucking bitch, tripping and then…. Damn, would've been easier if she'd died.
He rationalized the unforgivable thought to shed his shame.
I lived. That's what matters. Regression ends it all. But I need to check the gems….
One wasn't enough.
Even skipping unimportant parts, it'd take at least an hour.
“Let's go.”
“Hng… M-My legs… gave out….”
“I'll help you up.”
“Hic… Really, thank you. Truly… thank you for saving me.”
Min Hayeon draped Son Hye-eun's arm over her shoulder, carefully helping her up as she tearfully thanked her nonstop.
Supporting her, she said,
“Hey, get up.”
“M-Me?”
“Who else? Hurry and move.”
“Ah… Uh… O-Okay.”
Han Yeoreum's earlier abandonment became his leash; he couldn't defy Min Hayeon's order.
F-Fuck, not like this. No choice…. Stick together a bit, then find a chance to split.
With that, he glanced at the silent hole outside where the Cerberus had been, shuddered, and hurriedly followed Min Hayeon.