Looking at her from behind, Jinhyuk found himself hesitating for a brief moment, because the figure in front of him no longer felt entirely familiar.
Was this really the same Seo Elena he knew?
Her hair, which had always been a soft brown, now shimmered with a much lighter tone, almost platinum under the fading light. There were still faint streaks of her original color, but they were barely noticeable, blending into the brighter strands that caught his attention.
"Yena," he called out, his voice quieter than before.
The moment the name left his lips, the light around her vanished.
The halo behind her head disappeared without a trace, and the strange color in her hair faded just as quickly, returning to its original shade as if nothing had happened.
Her body swayed.
Then she collapsed.
"Elena!"
Jinhyuk reacted instantly, stepping forward and catching her before she could hit the ground. Her weight fell into his arms, completely limp, her breathing shallow.
His grip tightened slightly as he steadied her, his expression hardening.
There were too many questions.
Far too many.
None of this made sense, and the more he thought about it, the more unsettled he became.
Who is she...?
Why have I never seen her before?
Across all his regressions, across all the timelines he had lived through, there had never been a person like Seo Elena. Someone with an ability like that should have been impossible to overlook.
Unless... She never lived long enough to appear.
The thought lingered.
If she had died before he ever crossed paths with her, then it would explain why she never appeared in his memories, but for some reason, that conclusion left a bitter taste.
A strange feeling he couldn't quite name.
His brows furrowed slightly as he looked down at her.
"...What exactly are you?" he muttered under his breath.
Before he could dwell on it any longer, voices broke through his thoughts.
"It's here! It's here!"
"Argh! Someone, help!"
"N-no, my child is still out there, please, someone help—!"
The desperate cries of both hunters and civilians filled the air, overlapping and frantic.
Jinhyuk's expression sharpened immediately.
As an L-ranker, his senses were far beyond normal, allowing him to pick up details others would easily miss. Among the chaos, one presence stood out clearly like a sore thumb.
A colossal being stood in the distance, its massive body towering over the surrounding buildings as if the city itself had shrunk beneath its presence.
So that's where the noise was coming from.
"Stay here for a bit," he muttered, glancing down at the unconscious Elena before gently setting her against the base of a tree. He made sure she was stable before standing up.
I'll be back soon.
The next moment, he disappeared from her side.
By the time I reappeared, I was already standing on top of a tall building, high enough to meet the creature's gaze directly. The wind brushed past me, carrying the stench of blood and dust, but my focus remained entirely on the monster in front of me.
It noticed me immediately.
Its large frame shifted, its attention locking onto me without hesitation.
Looking at it closely, a sense of familiarity crept in.
I've seen this thing before... where was it?
The thought lingered, but before I could dig deeper into my memory, the creature spoke.
"Human."
My eyes narrowed slightly.
It wasn't speaking a human language, but I understood it clearly. The words formed naturally in my mind, translated by the skill I had obtained long ago.
Beast Tongue.
Most monsters couldn't speak properly, their intelligence too low to form coherent thoughts, but this one was different. Its voice carried intention, awareness, and something else that made it stand apart from the rest.
The first time I encountered something like this... it killed me.
That memory flashed briefly, enough to make my grip tighten.
"Our master has left a message for you," it continued.
I frowned.
"What?"
The creature's lips curved into something that resembled a smile.
"'You, who have taken my lives so many times, will pay for it. Consider this your last regression, human.'"
For a split second, I didn't move.
Regression.
That word echoed in my head, louder than it should have been.
How does it know?
My expression darkened immediately, irritation and something sharper rising to the surface as a vein pulsed visibly at my temple.
Without another word, I moved.
In an instant, I appeared right in front of it.
Before it could react, my sword was already out.
A clean swing.
Its right arm fell.
There was no delay, no resistance, just a simple result as its limbs dropped to the ground.
I stood there, looking up at it.
"Where is he?" I asked. "Where is this master of yours?"
My voice came out calm, but it wasn't calm at all. Beneath that thin layer of control, something violent twisted inside me, like the very thought of my regression being exposed was tearing through my insides.
Fuck... how does a monster even know that?
The creature staggered slightly, but instead of panicking, it laughed.
"He will come in time. Until then, protect your loved ones properly."
My brows twitched slightly.
Loved ones?
Before the thought could settle, I swung again. Its remaining arm falling.
"What does that bastard know?" I growled. "Why is the word regression coming out of your filthy mouth?"
The creature continued laughing, as if none of this mattered.
"How could a dungeon master not know? He is a being you cannot fathom. Our Beast King knows everything."
Beast King.
That damn name.
It was one I had killed in almost every regression, and yet, there were just as many times where I was the one who died instead. No matter the timeline, no matter the outcome, we always ended up facing each other in the end.
Jinhyuk's expression hardened as the thought settled in.
I can't believe I'm hearing about him already.
It was too early.
In every timeline he remembered, that existence only appeared much later, after countless events had already unfolded.
Why?
His grip tightened slightly, the remains of the monster already forgotten at his feet.
What changed?
No matter how he thought about it, the flow of events had clearly shifted. The timing was off, the appearance of certain beings was off, and even Elena...
A low breath escaped him as his thoughts continued to spiral, each possibility worse than the last.
If things are accelerating like this...
Then that means... This regression won't follow anything I know. And that was the worst outcome possible.
For a brief moment, I said nothing. My grip on the sword tightened, my thoughts settling into something colder and more focused.
"That beast," I said quietly, lifting my blade, "will die by my hands. Just like before."
I swung.
Its head separated cleanly from its body.
Without waiting, I reached forward and grabbed the core before its form could fully collapse. The energy pulsed once in my hand before I crushed it without hesitation.
Its body shattered completely.
"You... insolent—"
Its voice cut off and there was only silence that followed.
I exhaled slowly, looking at the empty space where it once stood.
...This timeline really is different.
And I don't like it.
Should I just regress?