Falling Short

The plan worked wonderfully but she didn't like seeing herself handled that way, if she didn't follow through with the attack he might've molested her (avatar) more.

"Thought so," Hae-in turned around with a chuckle. She didn't need to hear her to understand what Soo-young thought of just now.

With this done they had to move to the main location now, though not all of them would be able to participate in the final showdown.

"Then let's go to do—!!" Before she could finish the words the ground rumbled as roars of hundreds of beasts could be heard in the distance. They were loud enough to shake the intact glass windows around here.

'So it has started,' Dok-ja could not help but look in the direction those roars came from. 

The Beast lord has woken up a little too soon.

"Unnie you can leave, I'll head back and join the other unit," Jin-ah said.

Hae-in did not have to give orders for pre-existing plans, Queresha had asked for Hae-in to regroup with them, as for the others. They had to return to base and prepare for the onslaught of beasts, but now things changed. They will be striking the beasts head-on as the other team deals with the Disaster of Floods, the future Shin Yoo-Sung.

Soon everyone left but one person. 

"You in the mood for another stunt?" Hae-in stared at him with the same amused expression.

"I want to go and face the Disaster of Floods," Dok-ja said. He may have taken a backseat for the most part, but this was different.

The Disaster of Floods was something that even Jung-hyuk barely defeated after facing catastrophic losses, and he didn't want to see that repeat. If Haru was around he wouldn't do this, as there was hope that the two might be able to defeat Shin Yoo-sung. 

But he wasn't, though Dok-ja doubted if he would step back even if their strongest fighter was here. This was an important fight for him, but not because the world's fate was at stake. He had to change this story as someone who had read the novel. That tragedy doesn't need to end that way again.

"Give me a reason I should take you along," Though Hae-in had other plans from him. 

He had to answer this properly now that he had come this far. From what he has seen, no matter the situation she was the sharpest of the group.

'I saw her observing Il-sang after her first attack as others went after him. She did probe things in the middle too.' He was correct, most of the plans she made were supposed to test their supposed opponent, then figure out what their strong and weak points were as they had no leads prior. 

This way they could switch things up and exploit their weakness, which was the reason she had such a versatile team.

And the moment her eyes caught the swiftly increasing speed and power of Il-sang, it clicked to her that he would continue to grow if left and they'd lose their chance. She might've not understood the mechanism of the questions, but as far things were concerned Hae-in saw enough to end him quickly.

That decisiveness was a deadly weapon too and the incorrect answer might even get him 'killed'. But he knew the best possible answer to this, after all, he too knew how to observe people.

"I know how to save Shin Yoo-sung," After agonizing over everything the information he got about their group, he knew that this was the best way to neutralize the situation.

"So, you finally decide to come out in the open." She smiled. 

"…" But he couldn't see it as a friendly smile. He too had his own agendas for pushing through, and it would be better to think that she knew about them.

Leaving agendas aside, he wasn't lying.

It was true that the adult Shin Yoo-sung would perish if the younger one died, but the other way around wasn't a problem. Anything that happened to the past version will be carried onto the future self, but what happens with the future doesn't affect the past even if they were from the same timeline.

"Come along then, just know that if it turns out to be a lie… I will kill you," She turned around with those words hanging in the air.

'Regardless, I have to make this work,' Dok-ja was certain that he could make this possible, even if dies once it was a small prize for what he will achieve.

"Another thing… I don't like dealing with rats but that doesn't mean I'll let them be," The words came out of nowhere and it left him confused. Why did she speak louder than her usual soft tone?

But before he could ask Hae-in was already off, and if he dilly dallied he would be late. That was the one thing he couldn't afford at the moment.

After they left a figure walked out of the nearby alley, the thin frame had a black hoodie and cargo pants with the hood that covered his face.

Guessing by the words his cover was blown even when he tried a different get-up. But it couldn't be helped as Hae-in has unknowingly been her bane since the start.

"I might need to stop this form of information gathering around them," The body slowly vanished in thin air. 

Rather than activating a skill, it was more akin to it deactivating. Following them was a viable option before, but now there was no other way but to go there in person, which is a risk too big just for information.

.

.

.

A few minutes back…

The moment the girl came out of her deep slumber, fur grew to cover her in the form of clothes. Descending to the ground she took the first step as her eyes landed on Jung-hyuk.

"I've been waiting for you," He said.

"You were waiting for me…? Then this isn't the first time…?" Her words trailed off, but Jung-hyuk didn't bother with anything else.

"I need your help,"

"But I gave you the information I had… yet you still failed," She said, yet once again her words were disregarded.

"That is why I need more information," The information he received helped him clear many scenarios, but he fell short on the 46th scenario.

She was sent to the past from the 41st timeline to deliver information to the Jung-hyuk of the previous regression. But that journey was anything but a straight line, for thousands of years she drifted across the Labyrinth of worlds trying to complete the task. If it was someone else they would've collapsed long ago, but she endured.

But as the years past her by the doubts piled up, having nowhere to return but the memories she had of her companions. Though the loneliness erased her cause and only hate remained, she resented Yoo Jung-hyuk for turning her into this. 

She was just another tool for his sense of justice, he had done the same to others that she held dear. He left them for dead and moved on to the next world, no matter what happened only he lived, and they were all replaceable. Even then she decided to trust him once more to not let everyone's sacrifice be in vain.

"Are you going to give me more information or not? We cannot waste any more time," Jung-hyuk didn't want to reveal too many secrets here, Queresha and the others were one thing.

But if by some chance the filter did not work and this is conveyed to the star stream, he would have a tougher time dealing with the upcoming scenarios. Failing completely was not off the table either because of the restrictions this would bring. In that moment, he missed the tired smile on Yoo-sung's face.

"Captain never changed," To her, he was the same man that in the future would once again send her into the Labyrinth of the Worlds to suffer, he would continue to walk his own path and the suffering would never end. 

"What?" The current Jung-hyuk had no idea of what was going through Yoo-sung's mind, but there was someone who could partially understand her struggle.

"There is only one thing I can tell you, your third regression ends here."