Chapter 343: Yggdrasil (3-51)
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We'd escaped Cerberus through a hole and managed to calm Han Bom down inside it before pressing on.
And just like that, crawling through the hole led us to an exit.
But the real problem came next.
Han Bom, Park Jin-hee, and Park Seon-hee.
These three women were clinging to me tightly, eyes scanning warily for threats.
It was a similar formation to before, but the difference now was how close they were—pressed right up against my sides.
The reason was simple.
"Th-the holes... I can't see any."
"…."
The holes that had at least been somewhat visible earlier had vanished completely.
We moved forward in tense silence, breaths held, but no holes appeared the entire way.
And there was one more thing keeping us on edge.
"20 minutes... not much time left."
Now we had 20 minutes and 40 seconds remaining.
The modifiers that kicked in every 20 minutes.
We couldn't just ignore them and push on.
Not when we were so close to the end—some bullshit modifier could pop up and make clearing impossible.
We wandered, searching for holes as time ticked away relentlessly, down to just 5 seconds left.
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.
Survivors: 7
Active Modifiers:
[Death's Eye], [Death's Nose], [Death's Ear], [Death's Whisper], [Death's Illusion]
Han Bom clenched her fists tight, Park Seon-hee widened her eyes in shock.
And Park Jin-hee squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the holographic alert.
But…
19:59… 58… 57… 56.
"…?"
"Wh-what's going on?"
Nothing happened.
In that instant, the tension drained from us like a popped balloon. We slumped to the ground, letting out hollow little laughs.
"Haha… wow… that really got me."
"I thought my heart was gonna stop…."
The iron grip of stress released all at once, and smiles crept onto our faces.
Even in this deadly situation, the brief mood lift felt like a good sign.
But if it led to a bad outcome later, it'd just be something to regret.
Playing along with the vibe, I chuckled softly.
"Alright, let's go find the rest of the party."
With the atmosphere loosened, we stumbled upon a hole by sheer luck.
But finding it only gave us headaches.
"Should… we go in here?"
"…."
I fell into thought.
If I said yes, hole or massive tunnel, these three would follow without a word.
But skipping it meant no guarantee another would appear.
I couldn't just blindly suggest diving in either.
I can cover things here somehow, but over there with Han Yeoreum, it's tricky.
Warping out Min Hayeon was getting way harder now.
To avoid tipping off the regression, I couldn't warp right in front of Han Yeoreum.
Of course, if Min Hayeon was really about to die, I'd use it without hesitation….
As I pondered, Han Bom sidled up and whispered in my ear.
"Hey, mister, how about this?"
"…?"
She laid out her plan.
***
'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 scattered everywhere early on had disappeared.
'At least I took out insurance… should be fine.'
Before exiting the last hole, she'd destroyed the key completely, ensuring no ascent to the next floor.
With that safeguard in place, the next pressing issue stood out.
'The gem… I need to check it….'
This loop had been the worst yet—endless humiliation, contempt, scorn, and mockery piled on.
She'd endured it all, barely snagging the gem from Seong Su-ho and extending the contract to the end.
Now she might not even see what the gem said.
'The gem aside… what about regression? 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, but regression would wipe it all anyway.
'But… what if that backfires and we end up ascending due to some miscalculation?'
Her deepest lingering fear.
If she tried dying with Min Hayeon just for regression and they survived to floor 2 instead?
Game over.
Han Yeoreum wanted a perfect scenario in any loop: smash Seong Su-ho and reclaim 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 rest.
And what she hated most wasn't death anymore.
'Fuck… anything but getting eaten by that monster!'
Death was better than facing it—the terror had rooted deep.
Crushed by a hole seemed preferable, but now even those were gone.
Like a neurotic mess, Han Yeoreum hunted for holes when—
'Hole… hole… hole… hole! There!'
Spotting one, she bolted toward it.
Min Hayeon and Son Hye-eun whipped around, startled by her sudden dash.
Relieved to confirm the hole, they sighed and hurried after her.
The three reached it quickly and huddled to discuss quietly.
"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 backing her now.
Min Hayeon gave a hollow laugh, 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 the end plays out. If we screw over others because of us… I'd regret it forever."
Son Hye-eun looked disappointed but quickly smiled back.
"Decided then. Let's move."
Just as they agreed to skip the hole, a voice boomed nearby.
"Whoa!"
"!!"
Startled by Han Yeoreum's sudden yell, the two women tensed, whipping around to scan for threats.
But nothing—just the vast, silent cave.
They relaxed, turning glares on Han Yeoreum.
What they saw was…
"Wh-what?"
"Han Yeoreum… what the hell are you doing?"
"S-sorry… tripped…."
Han Yeoreum, half-fallen awkwardly inside the hole.
"…."
Min Hayeon covered her face with both hands, despair etched in her expression, while Son Hye-eun stared in disbelief.
Silence hung briefly before they sighed and entered.
"Damage done. In we go."
"Yeah. 7 minutes left—short! Hurry and find the exit."
"…Weird."
Min Hayeon eyed the 7-minute timer, frowning at the air.
Son Hye-eun asked,
"What's up? Problem?"
"Doesn't it seem off? Every other hole was over 10 minutes—up to nearly 20."
Son Hye-eun caught on and smiled.
"Someone might be in this cave?"
"Quick—let's go! Good job, Yeoreum!"
"…."
Han Yeoreum watched them cheer, muttering inwardly.
'Fuck….'
***
Han Bom's idea was straightforward.
If we're entering a hole anyway, lure Cerberus to our side.
Didn't take long to decide.
(Check the timer first once inside.)
The hole triggered a 14-minute timer as soon as we entered.
Then we started yelling to draw Cerberus from the tunnel.
And the one that appeared shortly after was…
(…Of all forms, why that asshole?)
Han Yeoreum's shape.
Thanks to that, not just me but every woman here saw through the illusion and slipped into the hole unscathed.
One uneasy point, though…
'…Its rage is getting seriously out of hand.'
Ferocity ramped up over time, but this was next level—like it knew it'd been tricked, howling with pure hatred.
A sound that shouldn't exist in this world.
Undeterred, Park Seon-hee and Park Jin-hee trailed me calmly, chatting lightly like it was nothing.
"Phew… so real. If it was Hye-eun, she'd have fallen for it."
"Even knowing, it's hypnotic… unaware? You're done."
Seemed they all thought we were in the clear.
Couldn't blame them…
Survivors: 7
Active Modifiers:
[Death's Eye], [Death's Nose], [Death's Ear], [Death's Whisper]
You are currently in a hole safe from death. Time until collapse: 2 minutes 04 seconds.
Five minutes left at most.
Plenty to survive, as long as Cerberus wasn't camped at the exit.
Time passed, hitting the five-minute mark.
"There's the cave exit! Hurry… huh?"
Leading the way, I trailed off, staring blankly at the urgent alert popping up.
Survivors: 7
Active Modifiers:
[Death's Eye], [Death's Nose], [Death's Ear], [Death's Whisper], [Death's Illusion], [Death's Berserk]
You are currently in a hole safe from death. Time until collapse: 1 minute 53 seconds.
Death is rampaging!
Death's movement speed +200%. Death's strength +300%. Death's focus +500%.
Death's hide thickness -50%. Death's defense -40%. Death's vision -50%.
An escape exit has been generated. Escaping through it counts as success without enduring the timer.
Everyone stared blankly at the air when—
BOOM! KABOOOOOM! SKREEEEE! CRASHCRASHCRASH!
"Wh-what the—!"
A sound on another level from Cerberus's roars before—a shockwave like hell itself crashing in.
It flooded our cave wildly.
And we pinpointed the berserk roar's origin.
"No way—the exit!?"
Right at the exit now in sight.
This was bad.
I rushed to the exit, peeking out cautiously.
Thankfully, no Cerberus there—the source was far off.
Relieved, my eyes caught a massive door beyond it.
A colossal iron gate flickering with red flames.
Bigger than Cerberus, etched with grotesque patterns screaming "stay out."
Is that the exit? Shitty position….
[Suho! That's not the issue!]
Huh? What's wrong?
[Cerberus right now!]
Hearing Armonia, I narrowed my eyes, focusing intently on Cerberus.
It thrashed the walls with frenzied motions.
If its prior form was somewhat rational, this was pure monster.
But its actions… didn't feel like blind rage.
Armonia's shout cracked my mind like splitting ice.
[Min Hayeon is trapped where Cerberus is!]
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