Chapter 94
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: The 98th Regression
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Boom!!
A massive explosion ripped through the air, loud enough to tear space itself, as Choi Min's Air Raid Shelter enveloped the hunters.
"Gah!"
"Huff, heok, uwek."
As the shadow hands vanished, the hunters collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.
"Kang Se-bin, you psycho..."
Ha Mi-jun muttered curses while rubbing his neck. Shin Ji-ui stood there in a daze, staring at Choi Min. Her mind wasn't working properly, so her head had simply turned toward the person she trusted most.
Choi Min clenched her teeth and stepped toward Ji-ui. She couldn't bear to watch her die in the Hell Path—even if it meant killing her here herself.
Crack.
"Ugh!"
At that moment, thick wooden vines wrapped around Ji-ui. Mi-jun approached right in front of her, handaxe raised.
"Sorry, Miss Ji-ui. No hard feelings."
"......"
"You mentioned being a regressor, knowing you'd have to sacrifice yourself, right?"
Mi-jun raised the axe high. Before Ji-ui could even close her eyes, it plummeted toward her head with terrifying speed.
Kiiing!!
Se-bin appeared out of nowhere, turning his attack to nothing.
"Wh-what?!"
"Aaagh!!"
Screams erupted from the hunters everywhere. Mi-jun grimaced and pushed back Se-bin's sword.
"Didn't expect you'd come inside the Air Raid Shelter."
"You know all my skills."
"Yeah. That insane one that erases your very existence."
Boom!!
"They say if you use it too long, you really disappear."
"......"
"Might as well vanish completely while you're at it."
Mi-jun and Se-bin clashed once more. In that gap, Choi Min released the shelter, snatched Ji-ui, and soared into the air.
"Kgh!"
"Choi Min Hunter!"
Se-bin's shadow surged up, yanking Min's leg. Ji-ui and Min plummeted straight to the ground.
Ji-ui scrambled to her feet to stop Se-bin, but his sword had already pierced Mi-jun's chest.
Splat.
As Se-bin shook off his blade, dark red blood splattered onto the ground.
"Everyone hates dying like this."
Se-bin muttered softly.
"So why do they think it's obvious for Ji-ui to sacrifice herself?"
Se-bin's gaze turned to the hunters.
Thud!
The hunters froze in place, unable to move a step. It was the effect of Se-bin's mental skill, 'Fear'. Anyone who met her eyes was overwhelmed by extreme terror, unable to do anything but desperately wish to escape the situation.
'No.'
Warning lights flashed in Ji-ui's mind. She couldn't watch anyone else die. And she couldn't let Se-bin kill anyone more.
'I need to die quickly.'
Ji-ui turned her head. The dagger of the hunter who had targeted her earlier lay rolling on the ground.
Tap!
Ji-ui dashed to it, reached down, snatched the dagger, and brought it straight to her own throat.
Crack.
"Aaagh!!"
In that instant, a black hand shot from Ji-ui's shadow, snapping her wrist. As she screamed in agony and pitched forward, more hands from her shadow bound her limbs tightly. The dagger had long since flown far away.
"Just a moment. You get it, right?"
"Let me go right now!"
Vmmm—
The air vibrated, and the shadow hands pinning Ji-ui tore apart. Se-bin clutched her head and staggered wildly, allowing the fear-stricken hunters to slowly regain their senses.
"Choi Min Hunter! Cha Do-yun Hunter!"
The two flinched at Ji-ui's shout. Seeing their furious dark brown eyes, they instantly understood why she was calling them.
Kill me quickly.
That's what her eyes were saying.
While Min hesitated, Do-yun had already nocked an arrow.
Slash.
Before the wind arrow could even leave his fingers, a pitch-black sword cleaved through his body.
"Cha Do-yun Hunter!"
"Cha Do-yun Hunter!"
Jin-woo and Ji-ui shouted simultaneously. Jin-woo unleashed Healing Hand to try to save him, but it was too late—he was already gone. Black hands then lunged for Jin-woo's throat.
"Guh!"
Before Ji-ui could see Jin-woo's final moments, the shadow hands bound her body again, dragging her to the ground. Her head hit hard enough to nearly knock her out, but she bit her tongue to stay conscious.
Crunch.
"Mmph!"
But the shadow hand gripped her jaw, limiting the damage to faint teeth marks on her tongue.
"It'll be over soon."
Se-bin appeared above Ji-ui's head. She gave a faint smile to her childhood friend, then draped her coat over her face.
The blood-soaked coat enveloped Ji-ui, plunging her vision into total darkness.
Screams of people, things bursting, and bodies hitting the ground assaulted her ears. The shadow hands blocking her were gone, but Ji-ui lay there, unable to do anything.
"Don't you regret it?"
Min's question echoed in Ji-ui's mind. If Min asked her the same now, Ji-ui would give a different answer.
Rustle.
Suddenly, light flooded her eyes. Ji-ui grimaced, then slowly opened them.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Blood-drenched Se-bin was the first thing she saw. Ji-ui slowly rose and surveyed the scene before her.
All her fellow fighters lay as corpses on the ground. Dark red blood trickled along the cracks in the asphalt.
'Choi Min Hunter...'
Even Min, who had seemed like she'd be by her side forever, was gone. She lay with her hand outstretched toward Ji-ui.
[Time until Recreation: 3 hours 43 minutes]
In just a few hours, Se-bin had killed every hunter except Ji-ui.
Thud.
Se-bin pulled Ji-ui into her arms. Fresh blood smeared onto her face.
"There's a bunker in my house basement. Let's head there first."
"......"
"If monsters come close, we can take them one by one. Sound good?"
Se-bin gently straightened Ji-ui's hair with her hand.
"I built it bit by bit since moving out—just in case. Glad we can use it."
"......"
"Sorry about your wrist. I'll heal it when we get there."
Her stomach churned from the stench of blood and horror, yet Se-bin's hand stroking her hair was excessively tender.
'If there's a cliff on the way, I should jump.'
98th regression. This timeline was a failure too. Ji-ui planned her next move in her head.
The world would make her its savior until she stopped the apocalypse. Simple: after death, use the Power of Words to rewind time and destroy the Hell Path like this timeline.
Ji-ui gently pushed Se-bin away and looked up. Their eyes met—black like the night sky—and a sentence tightened around her throat.
'Can I really not hate her?'
When she regressed after this, she doubted she could see Se-bin the same way. She'd thought petty pity and humanity were gone, but they crumbled before her childhood friend.
Thud.
Tears fell from Ji-ui's eyes. She, who hadn't cried once in this timeline, now wept.
"Yeah. It's all my fault."
"......"
"Sorry. I'm really sorry."
Se-bin patted Ji-ui's back. Normally, Ji-ui would say It's not your fault, but this time, she said nothing.
Kiiing.
Then Ji-ui noticed Se-bin's longsword, Shadow, stabbed into the ground, emanating pitch-black energy as it awaited its master.
Ji-ui burrowed into Se-bin's embrace. Se-bin stroked her back, eyes closed, hands trembling.
Ji-ui's hand reached for the longsword. Her fingertips caught the hilt, and she took a deep breath.
Thud.
Ji-ui shoved Se-bin. Se-bin staggered back, eyes wide.
"Ji-ui..."
Stab—
Shadow pierced Ji-ui's abdomen. She lost balance and fell backward.
"Ji-ui!!"
Se-bin screamed and instinctively pulled the sword free, soaking her shirt in bright red blood.
Thud.
As Ji-ui's body hit the ground, Se-bin dropped to her knees and pulled her into her arms.
[The world desires you.]
[The world designates you as this world's Savior.]
[Power of Words]
[The once-in-a-lifetime moment granted to the Savior who faces the world's end]
[The Savior's words become reality.]
"Time..."
Ji-ui clamped her mouth shut. Her eyes met Se-bin's through the status window. Se-bin frantically pulled potions from her inventory, but nothing could heal Ji-ui's gaping wound.
Thud.
Se-bin buried her face in Ji-ui's shoulder. Even as all sensation faded, Ji-ui could feel her trembling.
'Emotions are so ridiculous and terrifying.'
The one who ruined all her plans—and yet she didn't want to hate her.
Ji-ui opened her mouth toward the status window again.
"Each time I regress, reset my memories."
[Activating 'Power of Words' will greatly impact the Savior's karma.]
[Power of Words activated]
[Scope: All timelines of this world]
In the end, she made an irrational choice. For the shallow reason of not wanting to hate her one childhood friend, she threw herself back into the fire.
[Savior's karma increased]
[Savior karma reached 99%]
[Ecosystem shift]
[Timeline initialized]
As the 98th regressor Ji-ui had declared, the 99th regressor Ji-ui remembered nothing. Right after awakening, she became the Creator's Apostle and failed to stop the Hell Path.
'Ji-yu, I don't think I can last until I'm 300.'
Ji-ui lay twisted in the middle of the street. Monsters and gates kept pouring from the Hell Path.
In the chaos, only the Traitor stood unharmed. Ji-ui painfully lifted her head to look at his face.
Silver-white hair and blue eyes. A face she knew all too well.
"Good work."
The Traitor left those words and turned, walking into the Hell Path.