The Third Choice
More annoyances keep piling up.
Nix didn’t know much about Kwon Je-na.
All he knew was that she was always with Yoon Myung-ho in the same guild. He hadn’t paid her much attention beyond that.
Just the basics that anyone else would know.
A hunter who can do both healing and damage.
An unparalleled genius who had reached a high level in both as an SA-rank.
But that’s as far as it goes.
Many people said it.
Kwon Je-na was an outstanding hunter, but she’d eventually hit her limit.
If she didn’t choose one—healing or damage—she’d never break through to SS-rank.
It wasn’t fair to say that to someone who’d already reached the top as an SA-rank, but on the other hand, it rang true.
In reality, if she’d chosen one or the other, she might have already surpassed the SS-rank wall.
Thud—
Kwon Je-na’s fist slammed into Nix’s left head.
There wasn’t much visible external damage, but the impact was far from minor.
[Kyaa—! It’s like my skull’s ringing!]
Her punch shook him from the inside out.
His vision spun like the world was whirling around, and in the end, the left head closed its eyes and staggered.
Kwon Je-na didn’t miss the opening.
“Shhii—!!!”
She didn’t even dodge the attack from the sixth head lunging at her like it had been waiting.
Healing her own wounds as she pressed forward relentlessly, she finally drove her fist home.
A barrage of punches followed, and the left head slammed face-first into the ground like it had been thrown.
Bam—
A heavy thud echoed as Kwon Je-na raised her fist again.
A fierce blade-wind howled toward her.
“Don’t forget about me!”
Screee—
An arrow shot out, shredding the blade-wind in reverse.
It didn’t stop there—it pierced the left head that had been pinned to the ground, standing in for Kwon Je-na who hadn’t had time to swing.
“Kyaaa—!!!”
Blood poured down from the arrow embedded in the side of the head.
And Leysha’s arrows had a special property that suppressed regeneration.
Unable to bear the pain, the left head thrashed wildly.
Kwon Je-na, who had swiftly retreated, watched with a bright smile.
“We’re syncing up pretty well, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“Wanna form a raid team after we get out? We could be the best.”
“Too busy for that. But if you’re okay going into the labyrinth once every three months, sure.”
“Hmm… yeah, that won’t work.”
The two exchanged relaxed smiles and casual chat, then dodged in unison without a word.
Lightning crashed down right where they’d been standing.
They seemed leisurely enough, but in truth, both Kwon Je-na and Leysha were utterly exhausted.
They were holding on somehow, but that was all—just barely hanging in there.
In contrast, the monster before them was still full of energy.
Anyone could see how this would end if it kept going.
…I’m not dying here.
For Kwon Je-na, the option of one buying time while the other escaped had never been on the table.
Not for her, and certainly not for Leysha, who wasn’t the type to die in a place like this.
She had promises with Yoon Myung-ho, and with Leysha too.
She hadn’t trained so hard just to die here.
I need to find an opening and run.
But how?
Would that thing really let them escape?
No way in hell.
So to even have a shot at escaping, she needed to land a big hit on it first.
Pure potential-wise, Leysha’s the one who can actually hurt it.
But Leysha hadn’t had a clear shot amid its constant harassment.
So realistically, the only one who could land that blow was Kwon Je-na herself.
But can I pull it off?
The public saw Kwon Je-na as a near-perfect all-rounder who could heal and deal, but unlike that image, she viewed herself objectively.
I’m lacking in both.
Her healing and damage were at levels ordinary hunters couldn’t dream of, but compared to other SA-ranks, she fell short in every way.
Generously, she was SA-rank level; in truth, she wasn’t at the top among SA-ranks.
I’m half-assed at both.
When Kwon Je-na had been pushing to break her wall, those around her had said it.
Give up one.
Pick one and master it.
It’s not too late.
Then you can reach SS-rank.
She’d brushed off the advice back then, but now she finally understood.
This was the moment to choose.
Healing or damage. Pick one.
Faced with this crossroads, Kwon Je-na thought:
Screw that shit.
She wouldn’t give up either.
Advice from those around her?
Their words weren’t the answer.
They weren’t SS-rank themselves—how could they advise her?
And even if SS-rank Leysha urged her to, Kwon Je-na had no intention of abandoning one.
Where I go is the path.
Even if it looped in circles. Even if it was a dead end.
Even if she regretted it later, Kwon Je-na would walk her own road.
Purely on her own will, without anyone’s interference.
Kwon Je-na chose a third option, beyond the two before her.
And whether that path was right or wrong would reveal itself in time.
Hmm…
As Nix watched his other heads press the two hunters hard, he quietly furrowed his brow.
His checks on Leysha had grown more perfect through the fight, and Kwon Je-na, who’d joined midway, had been thrown off by her unfamiliar style at first but was adapting.
At this rate, he could take them down without much trouble.
Just a matter of time.
Leysha’s potions were running low too, and there seemed to be no end to it.
Never thought I’d end up killing that Leysha like this.
When they’d first met, he’d thought she needed watching, but with no real connection, he hadn’t imagined they’d be trying to kill each other.
This is gonna cause a storm.
With Seong Jae-myeong and Charlotte Michelle already gone, three SS-ranks dead—this would draw the world’s eyes to the Seoul Great Labyrinth for a while.
They probably won’t come down to the Snow Mountain Zone, but… without Arde, they might head straight here.
Thinking of that, he needed to prepare countermeasures.
Depending on the situation, staying outside to monitor things might be smart for a bit.
Above all, the escaped subjugation team knows I exist.
Leysha wasn’t an idiot; she’d have told the other hunters about him.
A monster first spotted in China, suddenly deep in the Seoul Great Labyrinth.
Hunters couldn’t ignore that.
They might think there’s a way to jump from one labyrinth to another.
In the worst case, they could figure out he was disguised as a human.
That’s why he’d needed to wipe out this subjugation team completely…
“Shhii—”
Leysha had made even that impossible.
She looked ready to collapse any second with her precarious movements, but she clung on tenaciously.
And that fierce fighting spirit never left her eyes.
If he pushed too hard to kill her, he might be the one who got hurt.
I’ll give up on wiping the team.
For now, focus on killing Leysha here and avenging Arde.
He’d use her bow and arrows to build Arde’s tombstone.
“Shhii—”
As Nix resolved himself and moved subtly, a strange sense of incongruity hit him.
Kwon Je-na, struggling against three heads, had changed her movements.
[Main body. That woman’s aura shifted.]
Nix nodded slightly at the ninth head’s quiet telepathic message.
No obvious big change, but something had definitely shifted.
It was tiny, subtle—but unmistakable.
What is it? What changed? Some doping skill that boosts stats suddenly?
Nix frowned slightly.
No more variables.
Take out Kwon Je-na fast.
The left and right heads could handle Leysha’s checks for now.
The remaining seven heads lunged at Kwon Je-na all at once to kill her.
Unlike monsters, whose rank-ups came with flashy changes, hunters’ rank-ups were subtle—no immediate visible signs.
No exploding light, raging winds, or gathering dark clouds.
Those were just stories made up by the clueless.
In truth, growth to SS-rank happened quietly.
A change so minute you might miss it even fighting side-by-side.
But the shifted aura was clear as day.
Leysha noticed first.
How to break this? She didn’t care about herself, but she wanted to save Kwon Je-na.
Racking her brain with those thoughts, Leysha spotted Kwon Je-na.
Smashing rising boulders, casually dodging pouring light, tearing through gale-force winds—Kwon Je-na charged forward boldly.
Her confident stride wasn’t much different, but something was off.
“…No way!”
Leysha gasped as she realized what had changed in Kwon Je-na.
Nix, catching on late, roared savagely and charged her too.
Judging her the biggest threat now, not Leysha?
Even the heads checking Leysha turned on Kwon Je-na en masse.
To kill her before she adapted to her evolved body.
“Shaaah—!!!”
The left and right heads barreled in like enraged bulls.
Not just charging—they unleashed the central Magic Eye too.
Charm and petrification from each.
The other heads watching from behind opened their Magic Eyes without hesitation.
Death’s shadow closed in without gaps.
Kwon Je-na didn’t dodge.
She faced the approaching death head-on.
Arm turning to stone, legs exploding, flesh tearing, bones shattering—she didn’t stop.
Staring straight into the central head’s Magic Eye, she stepped forward.
And swung her fist fiercely.
Kwon Je-na smashed the oncoming death with dignity.
Dazzling light exploded.
* * *
The rendezvous point where the split subjugation teams were to regroup. In the command tent with the leaders, an unexpected shout rang out.
“We have to wait.”
“Nonsense! We need to leave now! We don’t know when that thing will catch up!”
Choi Sang-hyuk’s outburst was met with uneasy silence.
Yoon Myung-ho, attending in Kwon Je-na’s place, said flatly,
“We have to wait.”
“Is that all you can say? We need to leave now! Even Leysha couldn’t handle it! With our current force, we’re all dead!”
“We have to wait.”
“Are you saying the whole team should risk their lives for people who might not even be alive?!”
“…We have to wait.”
Choi Sang-hyuk grimaced fiercely at Yoon Myung-ho repeating himself like a broken robot.
“Do we have to keep listening to this idiot? We’re in a hurry! The others would want us to escape safely too!”
“……”
No one among the leaders spoke up against Choi Sang-hyuk’s words.
Logically, he was right—but emotionally, they wanted to wait too.
“We have to wait.”
“You bastard…!”
Choi Sang-hyuk shot to his feet and grabbed Yoon Myung-ho’s collar roughly.
Hong Jun-yeol rushed toward him, but Cha Won-taek, waiting nearby, blocked him.
“Cha Won-taek, you…!”
“…She’s still our guild master for now. She won’t harm anyone here, so stand down. I’ll stop her if needed.”
“Urgh…”
Hong Jun-yeol groaned and backed off.
But he gave off the vibe he’d charge again if things went south, and Cha Won-taek didn’t stop that either.
As he’d said, he’d handle Choi Sang-hyuk himself if it came to it.
Meanwhile, as Hong Jun-yeol and Cha Won-taek stood off, Choi Sang-hyuk snarled at Yoon Myung-ho, still gripping his collar.
“You moron! Waiting’s pointless! Leysha and Kwon Je-na are already dead!”
“…We have to wait.”
“You psycho… Fine, Leysha might’ve survived—she’s fast! But Kwon Je-na? Who knows if she’s as quick! Maybe she turned herself into bait! Always trailing after Leysha like that—stupid bitch!”
“…She promised.”
“…What?”
“She said she’d come back. The raid leader told me. We even made a promise.”
Choi Sang-hyuk’s face twisted at the quiet mutter.
He worked his lips, then let go of Yoon Myung-ho’s collar with a scowl.
Thud— Yoon Myung-ho collapsed limply to the floor and clamped his mouth shut.
“…Anyway, my stance hasn’t changed. We need to retreat ASAP. We can’t sacrifice the team for just two people.”
Choi Sang-hyuk’s gaze turned to subjugation leader Park Han.
He held final say here.
“…I think…”
As Park Han hesitated after a brief silence,
A scream erupted from outside.
Richard, who’d been silently shut-mouthed, bolted out first.
Yoon Myung-ho, half-dazed, followed.
The stunned leaders chased after belatedly.
And as they emerged from the tent, they saw it.
The monster with nine heads.
Nine pairs of red eyes glaring at them.
“You monster! What did you do to the Chairman?!”
Richard, eyes rolled back, charged Nix.
In stark contrast, Yoon Myung-ho collapsed weakly to the ground and murmured,
“Hey… she promised… She said she’d come back… Raid leader…”
Panicked hunters’ shouts and screams filled the air.
The leaders, and every hunter in the subjugation team, lost their wits at the horrific despair that arrived—not the two they’d waited for.
Merciless death had come for them.