Although I couldn’t see the health or name of the monster, I could roughly gauge its abilities just by looking at its size and speed.

‘……Absolutely not.’

Suji thought that without even realizing it.

‘Absolutely…… I can’t win.’

“I am.”

With surprisingly clear pronunciation, ‘it’ spoke.

It was automatically translated and transmitted through the in-ear device, but I couldn’t tell what language it was originally speaking. I could only guess that it was one of the languages the translator could recognize.

“The Messiah. Have you been waiting for me?”

It was a familiar title I had heard before.

‘……Different.’

It was so different from the monsters I had faced so far.

At least none of the monsters I had fought until now spoke like this.

Given that we’re in a situation where we have to fight for our lives, there’s no need to consider whether it’s unsettling for the opponent to have a personality and speak.

Still, it wasn’t pleasant to have one that could talk.

It was more unsettling and frightening.

Suji gritted her teeth.

Even though it was obvious she couldn’t win, judgment and action are separate issues.

She couldn’t die like this without putting up any fight.

Suji habitually reached out to open her inventory, but her hand didn’t move. Instead, with a sinking sensation, her view flipped and switched to a different scene.

“If you dislike it that much, I’ll take care of it this time.”

As if singing a lullaby, someone was whispering in a gentle voice close to her ear.

Suji thought her eyelids felt heavy as she rolled her eyes.

The background was the Tower. The Tower of Sages.

The structure was the same, with the messy dark red interior walls and the stairs coming up from the previous floor.

The only difference was that there was no mirror-like passage leading to the next floor.

And the person sitting close beside her was Ilaine.

She had always thought he seemed so mature, but for some reason, his face was a mess now. Tears she had never seen before were staining his cheeks.

Ilaine…?

But the whisper didn’t come out as words.

Suji wanted to raise her hand to wipe his cheeks, but she couldn’t move a finger. Just like in the scene she had just seen.

Ilaine’s face, tear-stained and tired, looked terribly sorrowful.

“But if we come here, we can stop it. That terrible thing.”

It was her own voice.

‘…Am I speaking?’

Her mouth was spouting words she had never even thought of.

“It’s merely delaying the inevitable.”

“I used to wonder where the delay was, but now I’m sick of it. I’d rather just die.”

“…Daphne.”

It felt like her heart dropped with a thud.

Ilaine’s voice, as if gently soothing her, it was the first time he had called her that way. Yet somehow, Ilaine acted as if that name itself was all too familiar.

Come to think of it, his hair had grown shaggy too. It had always been short and neatly trimmed.

“…I don’t know what to do anymore.”

“This time, really, just close your eyes and don’t worry. I’m not sure if there will be a good outcome… I don’t have much attachment to life, but I want to find a good result.”

Meanwhile, the voice murmuring something to her was only gentle. She felt a hand patting her as if putting a child to sleep.

“Because I…”

The moment she heard those words, their eyes met.

Suji thought she knew what he was about to say.

Or, she thought she had no idea at all. Whether this was a dream or reality.

Just as Ilaine’s voice was about to continue, her vision turned black as if ink was spreading, and then light and darkness reversed once again, bringing brightness.

Blink.

Blink.

Suji slowly blinked her eyes, trying to take in what she was seeing.

The completion message was still floating in front of her eyes.

The corpse of the fallen boss monster had already disappeared.

‘Right, this is the top floor of .’

Her heart was pounding as if it would burst.

A dream?

Was it a dream?

Suji felt like her chest would really burst, and as she tried to put her hand near her heart, she realized something round was clutched in her hand.

‘…What’s this?’

It seemed to be the item she had just obtained.

Crack.

At that moment, the sphere cracked and then split into several pieces before completely disappearing.

Suji stared blankly at her empty hand and then fell to her knees on the floor.

Belated fear consumed her entire body.

Her body trembled.

Her hands and feet, completely out of control, shook like aspen leaves. Having not shivered from cold in a long time, even in the dead of winter, she blankly watched the sight of her limbs trembling terribly.

She thought she had merely observed everything like watching a movie, but the image that passed in an instant was at least not a dream.

Events happening in a different dimension like a multiverse? Or something that will happen in the future?

Suji tried to get up somehow while anticipating the worst possibilities, but the trembling in her limbs wouldn’t easily stop.

She reached out to grasp the , using it as a cane to stand up, but her legs were still shaking.

“Damn it.”

Two completely different images filled her head, making her dizzy.

“Are you alright?”

Just then, a gentle voice came from behind.

She stiffened.

It was shocking that she hadn’t noticed someone approaching. She belatedly realized how much panic she was in.

Suji raised one hand and slapped her cheek hard.

As much as her abilities had improved, the physical shield surrounding her body had strengthened to some extent, but her strength stat had increased first. Thanks to the merciless slap, her cheek stung to the point of numbness.

That helped clear her mind.

Gathering her trembling limbs that had finally stopped shaking, Suji glared at Ageha.

He looked at her face and then spoke with an expression that seemed almost pitying.

“You saw it too.”

“……”

‘Does that mean Ageha saw the same thing?’

Suji took a defensive stance without returning her weapon to her inventory.

“So?”

“Now you must have realized.”

“Realized what?”

“That humanity will become extinct anyway. Death is right in front of us. Did you see? It’s not even that far in the future.”

She narrowed her eyes.

Ageha was speaking as if everything was certain.

“…How do you know it’s something that happens in the future?”

“The Sky Tree… Ah, you might have seen something different. I saw the future of Japan.”

Suji didn’t want to give him any information, but she was curious about what Ageha wanted to say. She simply shook her head to indicate that she hadn’t seen anything about Japan.

Ageha brushed back his long black hair, which had become disheveled during the battle, with one hand, and then forced a smile, pulling only the corners of his lips.

“The Sky Tree is a very old building. Recently, it even tilted because of the Gate, and despite various repair attempts, it was useless, so it’s set to be demolished. Probably next year.”

Suji’s face hardened as she guessed the content even before hearing the rest.

Although Suji stood still like a stone without saying anything, Ageha continued speaking, unconcerned.

“That’s right. It was there in the future I saw.”

“…The Sky Tree.”

Ageha nodded at Suji’s dry voice, which came out like a groan.

“You can probably guess roughly how much time is left.”

Suji recalled the scene she had seen again, confirming once more that it was a view of downtown Seoul.

“…I think I should go back to my teammates.”

Ageha shook his head with a smile.

“Wait, just a moment please.”

“Yes?”

“I have a bit of a situation. If I don’t obtain this reward, I’ll have to crawl back into that wretched prison.”

Suji tried to glare at Ageha with a calm face, showing no change in expression, but her hand gripping the tensed involuntarily.

“…You know the difference in our skills. It’s better not to do anything foolish.”

“Hahaha.”

Ageha laughed loudly and heartily, then nodded.

“I know the difference in skills all too well. This, clearly, someone like Daphne can say such things without sounding arrogant.”

“What do you want to say?”

“But what can I do? I’m in a position where I have to choose between being chased by the government or stealing the reward. So, I too.”

Suji glared at Ageha and suddenly gripped her sword with both hands. Then she whistled softly and opened her mouth.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but if you’re going to attack me, I won’t hold back either.”

There’s something called an SSS-rank Hunter’s fighting spirit.

Ageha, who had been planning to attack considering that Suji was tired after the series of battles, tensed up at her suddenly changed atmosphere and drew his curved sword.

It seemed that neither of their characteristics would be effective in a human-versus-human fight.

Suji stared straight at him and slowly moved her feet.

‘One.’

She counted silently. As she took one step to the left, Ageha also moved his left foot to maintain the distance.

‘Two.’

As she moved her foot to the left once more, Ageha, anticipating the impending clash, adjusted his grip on the sword and gauged the distance.

‘Three!’

As she silently counted three, Suji leapt greatly to the left, and with Ilaine tucked under one arm, she threw herself towards the window.