“Put that thing down. Please!”

The creature’s voice was mixed with a metallic ringing sound.

It seemed to be tinged with annoyance.

But Seo Suji ignored it and waved the back and forth.

The creature spoke more urgently.

“You’re going to break the space I worked so hard to create.”

“Break it?”

“Yes.”

“The tower seemed fine even with cracks. Why are you so concerned about this place?”

“…This is just a temporary space I created to give you compensation. I never thought you wouldn’t use , so I borrowed one of the pre-made ‘boxes’. If you swing that thing around, I won’t be able to fix it.”

She frowned.

The temptation of was certainly strong.

What hunter could resist the temptation of ‘repetition’?

Of course, even ordinary people would want to live their lives over again, but it would be even more so for hunters with unattainable goals.

However, it was amusing that the creature didn’t expect Suji not to use .

And somehow it felt refreshing too.

She couldn’t end up looking like a monkey playing in the Buddha’s palm.

Suji casually rested the long scythe on her shoulder.

“I want to go out and experiment too. But if I leave here, I’ll have to say hello to ‘Messiah’. Will I even have time to try things out in that situation?”

At the threat that wasn’t quite a threat, the creature irritatedly spat out the instructions.

“When the user focuses and envisions the space where the cracks will connect, that’s how it will link. You’ve already done it. You should know you can do it without having to experiment.”

Suji pulled her lips into a smile.

“See, isn’t it good for both of us when you explain it so easily like this?”

A sound like a sigh echoed in her head.

“It seems like your personality is only getting worse.”

Suji laughed softly, amused by the creature’s discomfort.

“What’s the point of having a good personality when I could die at any moment? Right?”

“That’s true.”

It was funny how it candidly acknowledged that.

Suji looked up at the empty void and sat down on one of the three boxes.

Now the end was truly near.

Once the final battle with Messiah was over, everything would be concluded.

Her own life, the fate of her teammates and humanity, and the bet of the ‘Great Beings’.

‘How will it turn out?’

Of course she wanted to win.

It was natural to think that, but…

Were the ‘Great Beings’, who had been eager to somehow bring her back to the chessboard whenever she tried to escape the battle, cheering now that the endgame was approaching? Or were they nervous?

Suji lightly lifted the scythe in her hand and repeatedly switched it to her other hand.

It wasn’t a good thing to have time for deep thoughts at a time like this.

She didn’t know what the other team members were doing. They might have already made their decisions.

It would be nice if she could contact them.

But as expected, the terminal she had unconsciously taken out was disconnected. It was in the same state as when the call with the dedicated manager had been cut off.

“How long are you going to keep doing this?”

It hadn’t been that long of a silence, but the creature urged her.

As if aiming at the ‘Great Beings’, Suji lightly swung the scythe toward the void.

“I’m thinking. Don’t rush me.”

“What is there to think about at this point?”

“Whether I can win. What do you think? I’m curious how you all see it.”

“…Honestly, I don’t know.”

Perhaps judging that it wasn’t information to be shared with a racehorse, the creature trailed off.

She hadn’t asked expecting a serious answer, but she felt strangely upset.

“Can you say that so irresponsibly? I worked hard to clear the tower all the way to the top because you said I could face them if I did.”

After a moment of hesitation, as if pondering, the answer came back.

“It wasn’t in the way we expected.”

Suji tilted her head to one side.

“What do you mean?”

“You skipped over all the highest floors. And you didn’t use on the last floor either.”

That was true.

But it was just a repetition of what they had talked about earlier.

She shrugged her shoulders.

“I had a reason I had to do that. There were things I needed to protect.”

The moment she said that.

Suji realized her words precisely overlapped with someone else’s and closed her mouth, which she had been about to continue the conversation with.

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

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

“You’re saying I can inherit it instead of choosing it myself?”

Her mother’s voice, which she had heard from ‘s mouth, belatedly rang loudly in her ears.

What ran down her spine was either a thrill or an emotion that might have been sadness.

When she heard those words, she was so focused on dealing with that she didn’t fully understand their meaning. But her mother also had a reason to do that…

Her mother also wanted to preserve her current memories.

Her current daughter who remembered her, her current husband, her current colleagues… She wanted to keep them.

Or perhaps she wanted to protect the self that they remembered.

It was so understandable.

Her mother’s situation was different from hers, so it must have been even more so for her.

Her mother didn’t know the prospects of what would happen to humanity’s future. All her mother had to protect was her own life.

‘…But you should have just used and lived, Mom.’

Suji forcibly suppressed the feeling that she was about to burst into tears.

The situation was the same as hers, but also different.

So if her mother died, they wouldn’t be able to meet anyway.

What was the point of preserving mere memories like that?

“…I won’t end so futilely.”

Whether the creature understood what Suji’s murmured words meant or not.

It answered in a slow tone.

“You grew faster than any stage we anticipated. Even more than we expected you to ultimately grow. That may have been a design flaw, or a route we failed to find.”

“Becoming an EXS grade?”

“Yes.”

After a brief silence, the creature spoke in a slightly different voice.

“Humans are infinitely fragile beings, living infinitely short lives. So they entrust themselves to higher beings, rely on them, and sometimes chase a thread-like hope. But sometimes they let go of that thread themselves. That seems to be when they become the strongest.”

‘Is this a human praise or what.’

The creature’s words reminded her of the many who followed .

She now understood to some extent that organization, which had a large number of quite skilled hunters joining.

It was probably like the temptation the owner of the ring had offered when she first conquered and received the ring. That they would spare only her.

Honestly, if one wants to rely on something, they will endlessly rely on it.

But once you start depending on it, you can never stand on your own again.

That’s what Suji thought.

Only when you can stand on your own feet can you move forward.

“You’re talkative today. I think you’re more nervous than me, facing the final boss.”

“Heh heh.”

The creature laughed for a long time as if Suji’s words were quite amusing.

“In human terms, the house deed and the land deed are all at stake.”

Though it claimed to be a being above humans, it was too pathetic to see it commanding humans with the mindset of a gambler who practically lived in a casino.

Suji shook her head in disbelief and got up from her seat.

The creature’s betting table was also coming to an end.

She couldn’t hesitate at the entrance to the final stage forever.

There was nothing more to gain except the gacha boxes.

“Is the luck stat still in effect?”

“Huh?”

“I have to open these boxes now.”

Suji said with a grin.

The creature answered as if there was no choice at this point.

“…I’ll do my best.”

“Try hard. If you don’t want to lose both the house deed and the land deed and end up on the streets.”

There was no answer.

But Suji could guess that it would try hard enough to satisfy her.

As Suji took out all the remaining random boxes and placed them in front of her, a series of notification windows popped up.

[νόμος watches your actions.] [Μουσα takes notice of your actions.] [Κάστωρ applauds your actions.] [Νύμφη watches your actions.] [απόγευμα is intrigued by your actions.] [Κάστωρ watches your actions.]

Suji stared blankly at the sudden notification windows and opened the box.

[Opening Random Box (Hidden).

It’s a gift sent by απόγευμα.

You have acquired the trait .

Trait

When facing a hunter or a monster of equal or higher grade within a 1,200m radius, critical damage efficiency increases by 1%.] [Opening Random Box (Epic).

You have acquired the trait .

It’s a gift sent by Κάστωρ.

Trait

All potential options of the items the hunter is wearing are unlocked.] [απόγευμα is sanctioned for a week due to interference beyond regulation. The connection with απόγευμα is severed.] [Κάστωρ is sanctioned for a week due to interference beyond regulation. The connection with Κάστωρ is severed.]

The traits were beyond expectations, and it was an unexpected intervention from the ‘Great Beings’.

Surprised by the unexpected log, Suji opened her mouth slightly.