J pressed his lips together and took a step back.
At the same time, Kwon Taehyuk, who had been watching from beside Cha Seohu, gripped the hilt of his sword more tightly.
A different kind of tension filled the air now.
Cha Seohu's declaration to kill J had practically been an order to Kwon Taehyuk.
As a Supporter, Cha Seohu didn't have the power to kill J himself—but there were plenty of Hunters here who would've stepped forward without hesitation if Cha Seohu so much as asked. Kwon Taehyuk was just one of them.
Now that the buff had been cut, J couldn't win against Kwon Taehyuk, who still had it.
'Even if I die anyway...'
J dropped his gaze.
Maybe dying now would be better. When time rewound, he'd carry this memory back and be able to try again.
He could meet Cha Seohu earlier and properly persuade him. Not rambling like now—he could take his time and calmly win him over, and that might lead to...
"...!"
Lost in thought, J flinched when he saw Cha Seohu suddenly striding toward him.
"W-What the hell?"
"Cha Seohu Hunter!"
J wasn't the only one startled—Kwon Taehyuk, who had assumed he'd be ordered to kill J, was also taken aback.
J yanked his scythe back and shouted sharply.
"Are you crazy? Why the hell are you walking toward me?!"
"Is there a problem?"
Cha Seohu sounded as nonchalant as ever, not even slightly shaken despite making both of them panic.
"You're asking because you don't know? D-Don't come any closer! I said don't!"
Every step Cha Seohu took forward, J backed up two in a fluster.
Watching tensely, Kwon Taehyuk lowered the tip of his sword when he saw that J wasn't raising his weapon.
If he interfered here, he might end up provoking J unnecessarily.
"...Do you have a death wish?"
J had retreated all the way to the flower and now glared at Cha Seohu with a fierceness he hadn't shown before—but it still didn't work.
"Then go ahead and kill me."
His tone was almost joking, but his face remained expressionless.
"You really think I can't—"
"Hey."
"Ugh...!"
Without warning, J's collar was seized in a brutal grip.
Startled, J's eyes widened as Cha Seohu yanked him in close and said coldly:
"Wow, you really lived your life wrong. How do you know one thing and not the other?"
"W-What?"
"You said it yourself—those dumb cult bastards are acting unusually desperate this time. Don't you get why that is?"
"..."
"It's because of me. Because I kept finding and stopping every fucked-up thing they tried to do."
"...Fine. I'll give you that. But you can't keep doing that forever—"
"Why not."
The sharp retort made J furrow his brows. Seeing that, Cha Seohu tilted his mouth into a crooked smile.
"Let me ask you one thing. Was there anyone like me in the previous timeline?"
"What are you—"
"Someone who can heal an entire field, purify, buff—some overpowered Supporter like me. Did you have that?"
"..."
"Someone insane enough to find all the flowers those freaks planted in secret, treat monsters before they rampaged, stop dungeon breaks. There wasn't anyone else, was there?"
As Cha Seohu continued, J's expression grew more and more dumbfounded. His lips slowly parted.
Cha Seohu drove the point home like he was trying to engrave it into J's skull.
"You've got the cause and effect reversed. They're not going crazy for no reason—it's because I keep stopping them. Doesn't that tell you something? That maybe this time the outcome will be different."
"...!"
"It doesn't matter if you don't trust me. I'm going to stop them no matter what they try, now or later. Scared that next time might be worse? Then dump it all on me and get lost. Go lick those cult bastards' boots like you've been doing. Just don't pull this fake moral crap while blocking my way."
Cha Seohu muttered in a low voice, mixed with irritation and fury, and then threw J aside roughly.
J, too stunned to react, collapsed to the ground just as he'd been shoved, exhaling a hollow breath.
He saw Cha Seohu approaching the flower again—but unlike earlier, he didn't have the energy to stop him.
He had promised himself he wouldn't be swayed no matter what Cha Seohu said, but here he was—unable to even argue, letting the flower go.
J whispered faintly.
"You'll regret this."
Cha Seohu knelt down on one knee and answered calmly.
"I've been regretting things for a long time already."
No one here knew just how long Cha Seohu had been living with regret.
Back before the regression, when Ryu Sunghyun collapsed right before his eyes.
Maybe that was the moment his fate had been sealed—the destiny to protect the world from annihilation.
Kwon Taehyuk stepped past the slumped-over J and quietly asked as he stood beside Cha Seohu.
"You're not going to kill him?"
"I was just saying it. You think I'd really kill a kid-looking guy like that? Creeps me out."
Truthfully, he couldn't kill J anyway—his name was written right there on the quest screen. But maybe that was for the best.
'Might as well keep up appearances with Kwon Taehyuk.'
Enough had already been «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» revealed in the conversation with J.
'I was prepared, but I didn't expect this much to leak.'
As Cha Seohu mentally grimaced, Kwon Taehyuk let out a sigh and said,
"I trust you'll explain everything later."
"Y-Yeah..."
No helping it now.
Let's deal with all that after getting out of this dungeon.
Leaving the cleanup to his future self, Cha Seohu reached out toward the flower.
It looked repulsive even just to behold, but he grabbed it anyway and yanked it out.
The flower that had somehow bloomed on the hard ground came up by the roots, releasing a vile stench.
"Urgh..."
Its roots were just as black as its stem, and as they were exposed, a wave of nausea-inducing energy burst out like a lashing whip—then vanished in an instant.
KUGUGUGUNG!
The entire space shook, and the oppressive energy weighing down their bodies lightened significantly.
Looking back, he saw the boss monster writhing in agony, twisting its limbs.
The spherical red light that had turned the area crimson and endlessly spawned demon-types was rapidly shrinking.
Kiieeeek! Kiik!
Kyaaaak!
The once-rampaging demon-types now whimpered in confusion, darting back and forth aimlessly.
From the now coin-sized light, no more demons emerged, and soon even that light disappeared entirely.
"Huff... huff..."
"What's going on?"
The Hunters who had been frantically battling the endless tide of demon-types noticed the change too.
The boss monster's scream echoed in all directions.
GAAAAARGH!
The cross-shaped mark on its face turned from green to crimson. Its towering body, once so tall you had to crane your neck just to see its head, was gradually shrinking.
This transformation happened less than a minute after the flower was uprooted.
It was now clear just how much influence the "source of the energy" had on the monster.
At that moment, Cha Seohu locked eyes with Cha Sahyeon, who stood facing the boss monster.
While Cha Seohu had been searching for and destroying the flower, Cha Sahyeon had clearly been fighting with everything he had—his clothes were torn in several places, and blood streaked down his cheek.
Holding his side to catch his breath, Cha Sahyeon stared back at Cha Seohu before lowering his gaze.
When he saw the "source of the energy" in Cha Seohu's hand, he straightened his back.
"Hoo..."
Taking a deep breath, Cha Sahyeon drew on his power once more. From beneath his feet, pitch-black haze erupted like flames.
It was so intense that even the Hunters still dealing with the remaining demon-types turned to look.
Revealing his strength without hiding it at all, enormous wings formed from shadow unfurled behind Cha Sahyeon's back.
Like a mimicry of Cha Seohu's own wings, Cha Sahyeon bore black wings and launched himself into the air without hesitation.
Suspended in midair, his wings flapped with powerful force. Cha Seohu watched his every movement without blinking.
A pure, clean longsword with no trace of light reflected in it.
That sword moved sharply in Cha Sahyeon's grasp.
He evaded the monster's outstretched hand and swallowed the screaming spiritual howls that tried to pierce his mind.
Then, slicing through the air, Cha Sahyeon plunged deep into the monster.
The blade swept sideways in a wide arc.
GUUUURGH!
A thin crack, like a hairline fracture, appeared where the sword passed. The crack widened.
The boss monster's hand split in two—and its neck was severed.
From the cross embedded in its forehead, crimson fluid gushed out, and its hand and head fell to the ground.
THUD!
With its head, the monster's massive body also collapsed.
The Hunters stared in stunned silence. Amid the unnatural quiet, Cha Sahyeon fluttered to the ground, wings folding softly behind him.
"I-Is it over...?"
"We really... killed it, right?"
It still didn't feel real that they had survived.
To the voice that muttered in disbelief, Park Minhyuk—who had finished off the last of the demon-types—wiped the sweat from his brow and answered.
"Yes."
Loud and resolute, as if to confirm that every last one of them had made it out alive.
"It's over."

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