I shouldn’t just think of it as an opponent I can’t handle, but focus and respond properly.

Otherwise, I’ll cause trouble for my teammates too.

“Daphne, from here is the next phase. If you’re not careful…”

‘Huh?’

For a moment, it seemed like the monster’s movements were slowing down.

It was looking at something.

Was it my imagination?

Whether it was my imagination or not, it didn’t matter.

Suji aimed for the opening that momentarily appeared.

It was only about 1-2 seconds, but that was enough.

Suji grabbed the back of that it never allowed.

Usually, when striking a monster, a rear attack deals more damage than a frontal one.

A lot of damage was dealt.

She slashed the shin and the back of the knee several times, then jumped greatly to avoid the scythe and gain distance, but no attack flew to where she had been.

‘What’s going on…?’

As Suji looked at the monster, puzzled, the tip of its scythe struck the ground. Suji realized there was a shiny object lying there.

She hurriedly felt around her neck.

In the midst of such an intense battle, she hadn’t even noticed it was gone. It seemed the necklace from her mother that she had been wearing around her neck had broken off.

‘Why that?’

While frowning in confusion, one of the monster’s three mouths opened and made a strange sound.

“It’s a good item. But I don’t need .”

It was a human voice.

A human woman’s voice casually coming out of the mouth of a monster over 10 meters tall, almost touching the ceiling, was truly bizarre.

“…What?”

“Is that thing talking right now?”

“It’s a woman’s voice?”

The monster’s movements had completely stopped, but it was unclear whether it was okay to rush in now.

Everyone in the party hesitated.

Suji looked at Elaine, but Elaine shook her head.

“There was nothing like this when we caught it last time. Of course… the one I caught wasn’t from the Korean . I’ve never heard of it either.”

The reason why all the team members momentarily stopped their actions was because they couldn’t understand this situation where a human voice was coming from a monster’s mouth.

And this situation itself, where the monster wasn’t attacking first, was too unfamiliar.

Suji was the first to come to her senses.

“I don’t know what kind of event this is, but this is our chance…”

“Find someone else who needs . I have a reason why I can’t turn back time.”

Suji gripped her sword and was about to rush forward, but froze in place.

When she first heard it, she was too confused to notice, but hearing it again, the realization struck like lightning.

It was clear.

This voice was…

“…Mom?”

Yes.

It had been so long since she heard it that she had forgotten, but it was clear.

It was the voice she had desperately wanted to hear, even in her dreams.

Suji looked up at the monster’s grotesquely shaped mouth, gritting her teeth.

Once again, it opened its mouth.

“So don’t try to deceive me with such nonsense.”

The monster’s mouth kept moving, pouring out Peneios’s voice.

Was it perfectly replicating Mom’s voice?

Had Mom refused of her own will?

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Her heart was pounding as if it would jump out.

Her head was so chaotic it throbbed.

“I can pass it on instead of not choosing it? Really? My daughter is still very young. Can I give it to my daughter? Not now. Later. Someday when she’s ready.”

Thump, thump, thump.

“She’s a child with outstanding talent. I hoped she wouldn’t be. But you’ll know when you raise a child, she takes after me more than necessary.”

I don’t know what all this means.

It’s been over 10 years since Mom died?

As Suji stared at the monster with confused eyes, the corner of the mouth on its forehead lifted as if smiling.

And it spoke with the mouth on its chin.

“I like beautiful things. And I can tell you’re that ‘child’.”

This time, it had returned to the monster’s voice that emitted creepy groans, not a human voice.

The sight of it brazenly imitating human speech was spine-chilling.

Suji raised her sword straight and frowned.

The reason she usually disliked monsters being overly intelligent was because she thought it would be uncomfortable to kill them if they felt like intelligent beings when facing them.

But now she disliked it for a slightly different reason.

The monster, which she had always wanted to meet and kill someday, already knowing her name, and perfectly mimicking her mother’s voice – she couldn’t understand what this situation was.

This wasn’t the kind of event she had wanted.

She just wanted to cleanly kill it and get at least some revenge.

“…That’s right. I’m the daughter.”

Suji really didn’t want to, but after a long silence, she had no choice but to answer.

Only then did the monster seem satisfied and continue.

“I don’t live in falsehood. Falsehood is the truth. Because truly beautiful things cannot exist in reality.”

“…What nonsense are you spewing?”

“I made a promise with that human.”

In this absurd situation, her stomach churned.

“What promise did you make?”

“That I would give it to you if necessary.”

“…Give what?”

“You’ve come to get this, haven’t you?”

One of the arms hidden in the monster’s body stuck out. The hand with three fingers, where skin and bones were haphazardly arranged, pointed to the table placed in the center of the room.

The item , which the monster had stayed close to as if guarding it even during the battle, was there.

Suji glanced at the black feather-shaped necklace and glared at the monster again.

“I never thought you could speak so fluently.”

The monster’s mouths moved as if mocking her.

“I don’t bother talking to inferior beings.”

“Weren’t you protecting this?”

“Because I promised.”

“Why are you giving it to that inferior being? Why did you promise Mom?”

“Because Peneios met the victory condition.”

Victory condition?

What’s that?

‘It means Mom cleared the 100th floor.’

It was a strange story.

Although Mom’s body wasn’t found, Mom had died.

Many people testified about how Mom was swept away by the crack on the 30th floor of the tower while trying to save those being pulled in. I didn’t know how much Uncle Seunghwan drank at the funeral.

Suji clearly remembered. How much people grieved Mom’s absence after the funeral. Only Dad forgot about Mom.

Suji blankly looked up at .

“Don’t mess around with Mom. You didn’t even save her.”

“What do you mean by ‘alive’ that you’re talking about?”

Suji was dumbfounded and shouted.

“Being alive is being alive. What are you saying now?”

“She was excluded from the Hunter system and lost her body. If that means death, then I killed her.”

I thought I had already experienced too much sadness and had lived in sorrow for a long time, so there was nothing new to be sad about.

But hearing such words directly from the monster’s mouth made me so sad I could barely breathe.

And at the same time, I was angry.

“…That lunatic.”

As Suji felt her eyes reddening and was about to rush forward, Elaine grabbed her.

“Let go, Elaine!”

“Daphne, from what I’ve heard, there’s no such event. You must have encountered this monster a hundred times already. But if there’s something I don’t know… No matter how angry you are right now, it’s better to hear the story.”

“But that thing…”

“I will help you end its life. Anytime.”

At Elaine’s firm and confident voice, Suji barely relaxed.

, who had been silently watching their conversation, spoke again.

“What will you do?”

“About what?”

“. I’m telling you to use it now if you need it.”

Suji looked at the necklace on the table and reached out to touch Deviation.

Unlike in the , the item details were properly displayed.

Can turn back time to 3,650 days ago.

(Condition to view item details: Enter the 100th floor and directly touch Deviation)

When the one who turned back time using returns to the starting point of using again, by the time paradox, the shadow disappears and only the substance exists. However, all changes made by the user of are inherited.]

Suji blankly stared at the item window that appeared before her eyes.

She was tempted.

It was a truly desirable item.

In life, there was no way to avoid regrets. There were always things like, if only I had done this, if only I had done that.

Especially when doing things involving life and death, it was even more so.

She thought of people she could have saved if she had reacted a little faster, and disasters she could have prevented if she had known in advance.

If she went back exactly 10 years… she was confident she could become stronger.

She was confident she could reach the 100th floor of the tower faster than now.

She wouldn’t trust Nature either.

She could better assist her teammates.

She could also acquire 10-tier items faster.

Dozens of possibilities unfolded in her mind.

It seemed like everything would definitely improve.

Suji was startled to realize her own desire that she hadn’t known about.