How to Steal the Hero's Woman - 342: Yggdrasil (3-51)

After escaping through a hole to avoid Cerberus, we were able to calm Han Bom down inside it and press on.

And just like that, by crawling through the hole, we finally reached the exit.

But the real problem came next.

Han Bom, Park Jin-hee, and Park Seon-hee.

These three women were sticking to me like glue, warily scanning our surroundings.

It was a similar formation to before, but the key difference was how tightly they were pressed right up against me.

The reason was simple.

"Th-the holes... I can't see any."

"... "

The holes that had at least been somewhat visible earlier had completely vanished.

We'd been moving cautiously, silently, barely even breathing, on high alert—but we hadn't spotted a single hole the whole way.

And there was one more thing keeping us on edge.

"20 minutes... not much time left."

We had 20 minutes and 40 seconds remaining.

The modifiers that kicked in every 20 minutes.

We couldn't just ignore them and push forward.

Not when we were this close to the end, and some bizarre modifier could pop up to make clearing impossible.

And so, as we wandered searching for holes, time ticked away relentlessly—until we were down to just 5 seconds.

Everyone stopped scanning the surroundings and fixed their gazes on the empty air in front of them, falling silent.

5... 4... 3... 2... 1...

And then it hit zero.

Han Bom clenched her fists tight, while Park Seon-hee widened her eyes in shock.

Park Jin-hee squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the hologram alert.

But...

19:59... 58... 57... 56.

"...?"

"Wh-what's going on?"

Nothing happened.

In that instant, the tension drained from everyone like a popped balloon. They slumped to the ground, letting out hollow little laughs.

"Haha... whoa... that really got me."

"I thought my heart was gonna stop..."

With the crushing tension suddenly gone, they even started smiling.

I figured it was a good sign that they could find some brief levity even in this dire situation.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

But if it led to a bad outcome down the line, it'd just be something we'd regret later.

Playing along with the mood, I chuckled softly and said,

"Alright, let's go find the rest of the party."

With the atmosphere lightened, we pushed on—and by sheer luck, spotted a single hole.

But finding it only gave us headaches.

"Should we... go in here?"

"... "

I fell deep into thought.

If I said the word, hole or massive tunnel, these three women would follow without question.

But if we skipped it and no more holes appeared elsewhere, we'd be screwed.

Still, I couldn't just blindly suggest diving in.

I can cover for this side somehow, but over there with Han Yeoreum... that's tricky.

Rescuing Min Hayeon with warp was getting way harder now.

To avoid tipping off the church, I had to steer clear of using warp right in front of Han Yeoreum.

Of course, if Min Hayeon was truly about to die, I'd use it without hesitation...

As ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I wrestled with the dilemma, Han Bom sidled up and whispered in my ear.

"Mister, how about this?"

"...?"

Han Bom laid out her idea.

***

Holes, holes... where are the damn holes?!

Han Yeoreum glanced nervously at Min Hayeon and Son Hye-eun while frantically scanning for holes.

But the holes that had littered the place early on had vanished without a trace.

At least I took out insurance... should be fine.

Before exiting the last hole, Han Yeoreum had completely destroyed the key to prevent advancing to the next floor.

With that safeguard in place, the next pressing issue caught her eye.

The gem... I need to check it...

This regression loop had been the worst yet—endless humiliation, contempt, scorn, and mockery piled on from every angle.

She'd endured it all, barely snagging the gem from Seong Su-ho and extending the contract to the bitter end.

But now she might not even get to see what was inside the gem.

Forget the gem... what about regression? Should I just close my eyes, yell, and summon that monster freak?

It was her best—and worst—option.

Dragging Min Hayeon to hell as the world's biggest asshole? Whatever, regression would wipe it all anyway.

But... what if that backfires and we end up ascending by mistake?

Her deepest lingering fear.

If she tried dying with Min Hayeon just to regress, only for them both to survive and head to the second floor?

Game over.

Han Yeoreum wanted a perfect scenario in any loop: smashing Seong Su-ho and reclaiming Min Hayeon.

Turning Min Hayeon's heart was impossible now, but she refused to give her up.

The first button was botched, but she couldn't fumble the next ones too.

And what she hated most wasn't even death anymore.

Fuck... anything but getting eaten by that monster!

Her fear of facing death had rooted so deep that dying outright seemed better—but even the holes had disappeared.

Like a neurasthenic, Han Yeoreum shuffled along, desperately hunting for holes, when—

Hole... hole... hole... HOLE! There it is!

A hole caught her eye, and she bolted toward it.

Min Hayeon and Son Hye-eun whipped around in surprise at Han Yeoreum's sudden dash.

Thankfully spotting the hole, the two sighed in relief and hurried after her.

The three quickly huddled near it and whispered.

"Hayeon, should we go in?"

"...I can't decide alone. Majority vote."

Son Hye-eun grinned and shrugged at Min Hayeon's words.

"I'm following Hayeon no matter what. You decide."

"... "

Son Hye-eun had fully opened up after Min Hayeon risked her life to save her earlier, eagerly deferring to her now.

Min Hayeon gave a wry smile, shaking her head at Son Hye-eun.

"Better not use that."

She said it for the sake of the others outside their group.

"We don't know how it'll play out at the end. If we screw over the others because of us... I'd regret it forever."

Son Hye-eun looked disappointed but quickly composed herself with a smile.

"Decision made, then. Let's move."

Just as they agreed to skip the hole, a voice boomed right beside them.

"Whoa!"

"!!"

The two jumped at Han Yeoreum's sudden shout, whipping around to scan for threats.

But nothing appeared in their sights.

Just the vast, silent cave.

They patted their chests in relief, then turned to Han Yeoreum.

What they saw was...

"Wh-what?"

"Han Yeoreum... what the hell are you doing?"

"S-sorry... my foot got caught..."

Han Yeoreum, awkwardly half-inside the hole.

"... "

Min Hayeon covered her face with both hands, hiding her despairing expression, while Son Hye-eun just stared in disbelief.

After a beat of heavy silence, they sighed and climbed in after her.

"No choice now. In we go."

"Yeah. Only 7 minutes left! Hurry and find the exit."

"...That's weird?"

Min Hayeon frowned at the 7-minute timer, peering into empty space.

Son Hye-eun asked,

"What's up? Problem?"

"Doesn't it seem off? Every other hole was over 10 minutes—some nearly 20."

Son Hye-eun caught on and smiled.

"Someone else... might be in this cave?"

"Quick, in! Good job, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Yeoreum!"

"... "

Han Yeoreum watched the excited pair, muttering inwardly.

Fuck...

***

Han Bom's suggestion was straightforward.

Since we were going in anyway, lure Cerberus to our side.

I didn't agonize long.

(Check the timer first once we're in.)

The hole started a roughly 14-minute countdown the moment we entered.

Then we immediately started yelling to draw Cerberus in the tunnel.

And the Cerberus that appeared shortly after was...

(...Why'd it have to show up as that guy?)

Han Yeoreum's form.

Thanks to that, not just me but every woman here saw right through the illusion and slipped into the hole unscathed.

One uneasy point, though...

...It's getting seriously pissed now.

Its ferocity ramped up over time, but earlier it seemed to realize it'd been tricked—roaring with way more hatred, howling like nothing that should exist in this world.

But ignoring it all, Park Seon-hee and Park Jin-hee trailed calmly behind me, chatting lightly like they were humming a tune.

"Phew... that was close. If it was Hye-eun, she'd have fallen for it."

"Even knowing, it pulls you in... Imagine not knowing."

They all seemed convinced we'd made it.

And understandably so...

Just 5 ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠minutes left at most.

Plenty of time to survive confidently—as long as Cerberus wasn't waiting right at the exit the second we arrived.

Time flowed on, hitting the 5-minute mark.

"There's the cave exit! Hurry... uh?"

Leading the way, I trailed off, staring blankly at the urgent alert popping up before me.

Everyone stared blankly into the air when—

BOOM!KABOOOOOM!SKREEEEE!CRASHCRASHCRASH!

"Wh-what is that?!"

The sound carried vibrations on a whole other level from Cerberus's previous roars.

A cacophony like hell itself pouring into our cave, mad and unrelenting.

And we pinpointed the source of the berserk onslaught.

"No way—the exit?!"

It was coming from the exit right in front of us.

This was bad. Real bad.

I rushed to the exit and cautiously peered out.

Thankfully, no Cerberus at the exit itself—the noise originated from far off in the distance.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I spotted a massive door beyond Cerberus.

A colossal iron gate flickering with red hellfire.

Vastly larger than Cerberus, etched with grotesque patterns screaming "stay out."

Is that the exit? Shitty position...

Huh? What's wrong?

I narrowed my eyes at Armonia's words, focusing intently on Cerberus.

The beast thrashed wildly against the walls.

If its previous form had any rationality, this was pure monster incarnate.

But its actions... didn't look like mere rage-fueled rampage.

The moment Armonia shouted, my mind cracked like splitting ice.