Chapter 374

“It hurts… it hurts… it hurts…”

“My arm!”

Screams and groans filled the space.

Lee Taeyeon clenched her fist, her face grim.

They had barely secured victory against the monsters.

But it was a victory drenched in blood. Nearly half of the players had died, and most of the survivors were severely wounded.

The shelter she and the others had desperately built was completely destroyed.

“Ugh…”

Lee Taeyeon barely held back the surge of emotion. She had seen countless horrors. She thought she had grown used to them—but that was just a delusion. The scent of death and fear still clung thickly to the air.

She grit her teeth and moved.

She took out the items in her possession.

She purified the miasma of the land and reestablished their territory. She treated the wounded and eliminated the remaining monsters.

It was only through her desperate efforts that they managed to finish things.

“What the hell… What is all this…”

But the confusion hadn’t subsided. The people who had placed all their hopes in Lee Taeyeon were driven to despair again by the appearance of monsters she barely managed to repel.

Even Lee Taeyeon had no words to ease them—when Kang Taesan spoke coldly.

“Get a grip. You survived with your life on the line, and now you’re planning to die just because you’re despairing?”

His icy voice struck the survivors like a slap.

“Get up. We’re the last survivors of Earth. How many deaths have we overcome to get here—and you’re going to give up over something like this?”

People clenched their teeth. The despair and grief began to subside.

Taesan stepped back.

“Your turn.”

“Ah, r-right.”

Lee Taeyeon consoled the people and began rebuilding once more.

They reconstructed the damaged buildings. The destroyed protective zone was rebuilt stronger and wider than before. Now, they could likely withstand monster attacks.

They also restructured how to respond to monster threats. Until now, whenever a strong monster appeared, everything had been left to Taesan and Taeyeon.

But S-rank monsters were creatures even the two of them couldn’t guarantee victory against. While they were occupied, the other players needed a way to hold out.

There were countless discussions.

“There was a wave before I got here too?”

“Once. A lot of people died then too.”

“So this is the second one…”

* * *

Time continued to pass.

Players continued returning from the labyrinth. Since so much time had passed, there were especially many Hard Mode players.

They had grown far stronger than they were during the second wave.

And so, the third wave began.

A monster invasion.

Hundreds of A-ranks and several S-ranks attacked.

“AAAAAAAAAAH!”

Lee Taeyeon let out a scream filled with rage.

“Die!”

She used all the valuable items she had been saving without hesitation.

People and monsters slaughtered one another.

In the end, they once again won a victory full of scars.

“Damn it…”

Lee Taeyeon collapsed, coughing up blood. This time, it had been truly close. Even with full preparation and knowledge of the enemy’s strength, they had been driven to the brink.

She barely managed to stand, leaning on her trembling knees. The survivors forced out cheers of triumph. Despite countless deaths and the ruin of their territory, they were about to celebrate their victory—

Crunch.

The space twisted and compressed.

Lee Taeyeon looked up at the rift in the sky, her face pale. From there, a gaze could be felt.

“…Ah…”

She shivered.

A chill ran down her spine.

From beyond the rift, an overwhelming power could be felt.

She wasn’t the only one who sensed it. Players in Easy and Normal Mode collapsed under the pressure of the gaze. Even Hard Mode players who managed to endure were shaking all over.

Creep.

The gaze that had been scanning them disappeared.

People exhaled in relief and collapsed to the ground.

“…What was that.”

Only Taesan’s grim remark lingered in the air.

They barely managed to recover.

They rebuilt their damaged territory and repaired the collapsed buildings. Using the battle experience they’d gained, they pushed themselves through even harsher training.

But no one was smiling.

Most of those who had looked at Taeyeon with trust when she first returned were now dead. The remaining ones held no hope that they would survive. Everyone was thrashing about, resigned to eventual death.

“…Haha…”

Lee Taeyeon let out a hollow laugh.

After the wave, that gaze from beyond the rift.

It was likely the monster that would invade Earth next. As someone who had cleared the labyrinth, she knew exactly what it was.

“…An Apostle…”

A being that had transcended mortality.

Even if she died and revived dozens or hundreds of times, she could never defeat it.

The others couldn’t be as certain as she was, but they would’ve instinctively sensed it too. That the power from beyond the rift was something utterly beyond their reach.

There was no sign of hope.

Everyone lived with death constantly looming nearby.

“What are you doing?”

Taesan frowned as he looked at the people.

“If you’re going to kill yourselves, do it outside the barrier. Don’t drag down the ones who are trying to survive with you.”

“But…”

“But what? You’re going to give up because we can’t win? Is that what you cleared the labyrinth for?”

“Hyungnim, calm down.”

Geum Jung-geun rushed over to Taesan, who spoke coldly.

“I’m not planning on dying. I’m going to give it everything I’ve got to win.”

His voice was frigid.

But he wasn’t wrong. They hadn’t cleared the labyrinth to die—they’d done it to survive. Now wasn’t the time to give up on life just because the enemy seemed undefeatable.

To give up now would be to disgrace the very lives they had risked to conquer the labyrinth.

People clenched their teeth and forced their bodies to move.

Lee Taeyeon watched them with a bitter smile from afar.

It should’ve been her role.

She was the only player who had cleared [Solo mode]. The leader meant to guide the people—yet it was Taesan, an Easy Mode player, who had stepped into that role in her place.

‘The one who truly fits the role of leader—’

—wasn’t her, but Kang Taesan.

But Taesan couldn’t become a leader. He was an [Easy mode] player.

Lee Taeyeon bit her lip.

Time continued to pass.

They repaired the damage and, together with returning players from the labyrinth, continued expanding their territory.

But the monsters scattered across the world only grew stronger. Without being a [Hard mode] player, survival was nearly impossible.

As a result, their numbers continued to dwindle.

“Ugh…”

Lee Taeyeon looked up at the sky’s rift with a troubled expression.

A considerable amount of time had passed since the third wave. The fourth wave could begin at any moment.

“…Guess I’ll head out.”

With a jump, Lee Taeyeon soared into the air.

“Jung-geun, I’ll go scout. Taesan went after the [Hard mode] player who fled, right?”

“Yes. But he’ll probably come back alone anyway.”

Geum Jung-geun replied with a bitter smile. Lee Taeyeon shook her head.

“I’ll be back.”

“Ah, safe trip.”

Lee Taeyeon vanished and stepped beyond the barrier.

She looked back at the massive wall that protected the people, her expression bitter.

Calling it massive was generous—it was just small enough to fit within her field of view. Humanity had been reduced to a number that could be protected by a single barrier like that.

Suppressing her emotions, she moved again.

Just like before, she arrived beneath the sky’s rift. Thanks to repeated experiences, she could predict the wave’s timing by reading the fluctuation of power from the rift.

“…Hm?”

While quietly observing the energy from the rift, her eyes trembled.

The wave of power from the rift was spreading chaotically.

“…Ah.”

Her legs trembled for a moment. She recognized this energy pattern.

It was a sign—the fourth wave would begin in less than a week.

Creep.

And then she felt it.

A gaze, directed at her from beyond the rift.

Lee Taeyeon suddenly felt suffocated. She had all her stealth skills activated. Even single-digit [S-rank] monsters hadn’t noticed her at close range.

But the gaze beyond the rift clearly perceived her.

After staring at her for a moment, the gaze disappeared.

“…Ha. Hahaha…”

Only after some time did she let out a laugh. A hollow laugh, full of despair.

Staggering, she returned to their settlement.

The people waiting for her erupted in cheers.

“Oh! Taeyeon-nim! You’re back?”

“How was it this time?”

Lee Taeyeon stared at them for a moment.

“…Where is Taesan?”

“Taesan-nim? He’s training the newly returned [Hard mode] player right now.”

“…I see.”

She passed by slowly. The man who had answered called after her, concerned.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.”

After a brief moment of thought, Lee Taeyeon spoke.

“Tell Taesan to come see me tomorrow.”

* * *

The ticking of a desk clock echoed through the room.

She stared vacantly around her room.

Ornaments and paintings decorated the space—tools she had used to conceal her emotions.

Now, they were useless. It was all going to end anyway.

‘There’s no way I can win.’

There was no chance of victory. Even knowing that, she activated a skill.

[You have activated Ten Thousand Possibilities.]

Was there a possibility of defeating the [Apostle]?

Searching for a possibility…

Every result ended in her death.

[You have activated Ten Thousand Eliminations.]

[You have activated Ten Thousand Possibilities.]

[You have…]

She kept activating the skill. Repeating death dozens, hundreds, thousands of times in search of an answer.

But none came.

Until her mana was completely drained and the skill could no longer activate, no outcome appeared other than her death.

Her trembling hand pressed against her chest.

In a week, she would die.

Her breathing became shallow. The fear she had been trying to forget surged over her.

“…Hahaha…”

She reached into her chest and touched something solid.

The [Ouroboros Time Crystal].

It could rewind time once.

If she used this item, she could survive—for now.

But she couldn’t bring herself to use it.

Return to that labyrinth? That hellish place?

If time was reversed, all her power would be reset. She would return to the weak version of herself who had nothing.

And she couldn’t guarantee she would clear it again. The only reason she had survived was due to a perfect combination of luck and miracles.

Even if she cleared it again, she would still have to return to Earth in the end. She couldn’t choose to abandon the remaining survivors and live in the labyrinth alone.

But she didn’t want to die here either.

She couldn’t decide.

Time kept passing, but she remained seated, unable to reach a conclusion.

Would she meet her end here?

Or return to the labyrinth?

Her head was a mess. Neither option held more weight.

While she was still torn in indecision—

She sensed someone approaching.

Lee Taeyeon realized it was Taesan.

“I told him to come tomorrow…”

She hurriedly checked the time. Then realized she had been agonizing over her decision for an entire day.

‘No!’

She couldn’t meet Taesan in this state.

She hastily feigned composure.

Creak.

The door opened with a voice of disbelief.

“Well, damn. Still haven’t broken that weird habit?”

“I don’t need your commentary on my hobbies, thank you?”

Her mouth moved on its own.

After so much acting, she had become a masterful performer. Though she hadn’t found an answer, she welcomed Taesan with a perfectly composed expression.