"I told you, Lee Jinwoo. You are seeking death by going against me. Now, you know the consequence of coveting what is mine, HAHAHA!"
Within a massive ancient structure, located inside a C-Rank Gate, the young man who wore the clothing of the Demon Breaker Guild laughed madly as his downed opponent glared at the young man with a bleeding hole in his chest and blood leaking out of his mouth, choking him.
The young man on the ground, now identified as Lee Jinwoo, was dying by the second. His armor was similar to his attacker's, indicating that he was from the same Guild as the young man.
The golden lining on his robe, as opposed to the red lining on the attacker showed that Lee Jinwoo held a higher rank than the attacker and should logically be stronger than the young man, and yet, he fell prey to underhanded tactics and became like this.
With great difficulty, Lee Jinwoo forced out a few words from his mouth.
"K-Kim….Minjun….I…..will…not…let…you…..go-"
Lee Jinwoo was not allowed to speak anymore as the young man, now identified as Kim Minjun, changed his expression to a cold and ruthless look before using his bare hands, which had now changed into claws, to tear open Lee Jinwoo's chest even more, making it look like the attack of a demonic beast.
With such a devastating attack, Lee Jinwoo instantly died, not even being allowed to finish his last words.
With the same cold look as before, Kim Minjun raised his clawed hands and inflicted grievous injuries on his own body, shredding his robe and making it look like he had been mauled and only barely managed to escape with his life.
Yet, his expressions did not change one bit at such a ruthless act on himself, showing just how far he was willing to go to attain his goal.
Returning his clawed hands back to their regular look, he took out his broken sword and started his great act, especially since his Mana sensing was telling him that backup was rushing towards them at extreme speeds.
However, before they arrived, he needed to make one last play to bury all the evidence and leave nothing to chance.
An act that was easy to accomplish thanks to his previous preparation.
Within seconds, three women rushed into the ruins with panic etched on their faces.
The oldest of them had long, silky black hair and black eyes, her mature beauty enough to make any man crazy, yet her power deterred any idiot from trying anything funny with her.
The second oldest looked barely a year or two older than Lee Jinwoo and Kim Minjun, who looked extremely similar to the older woman, making it clear that they were related by blood.
The last one, however, had an exotic look, with strange green hair and golden eyes. She was also the youngest of the bunch and looked to be at least two or three years younger than the two men.
The moment these women rushed in, Kim Minjun began his greatest act yet.
With a fake despairing look that would easily win him the Oscar if he were an actor, he started crying.
"Master, noona, Minseo-ah,I..I…Hyung is…"
Kim Minjun did not complete his words. Instead, he faked going unconscious and fell to the floor, making the women rush forward with even more panic.
"Minjun!"
The two younger women shot forward and caught his body before it hit the ground. Meanwhile, the oldest woman arrived at Lee Jinwoo's body and started using her Mana Sensing to probe for life, her heart thumping hard in her chest in fear and panic.
Slowly, despair filled her being as she concluded that her first recruit and best friend had truly died.
But she was not given the time to comprehend this thought, nor was she allowed to grieve.
Kim Minjun's next phase of the plan went off without a hitch as the various explosives that he planted beforehand went off around the ruins, taking out the pillars that were supporting the roof of the cavern.
"Guild Master! We need to go, or we will all be buried!!"
With only seconds to decide the fate of her team, the older woman stared with despair at the dead body of her friend.
Despite her power, she would not be able to take everyone out of the cavern before it collapses if she takes Lee Jinwoo's body with her, given how much power she had used up while fighting her way here.
On the other hand, if she leaves his body here, she can still barely save the others by taking them away.
Her heart clashed against her mind, wasting precious few seconds.
But, in the end, she made her decision.
Mobilizing her entire mana pool, she took her still-alive teammates and fled the cave. All the while, she kept glancing with despair as her heart felt like it was being torn apart by beasts, knowing that she was not even allowed to properly grieve the unjust death of her friend and was not even allowed to give him a proper burial.
And so, Lee Jinwoo, the young master of the Lee family and one of the strongest members of the Demon Breaker Guild, was buried within the hidden realm that they had set out to explore.
Yet, how could his story end so quickly when it had just begun?
The woman had achieved what she had set out to do. She had barely managed to escape the collapse of the ruins, saving the lives of her remaining disciples.
And yet, in her haste, she missed how the dead body of her friend had started to glow with a golden light just before it was buried under the rubble.
And neither was she able to witness the miracle that had taken place within those caverns.
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I woke up within a colossal forest and could not help but sigh tiredly.
'Another failed loop.'
How many times does this make? I don't know, I can't remember anymore.
And frankly, I am tired.
I want this to end. I no longer even care about victory.
As those thoughts ran through my mind, I could not help but laugh madly as tears streamed down my face.
"You win, Kim Minjun. YOU HEAR ME!? YOU WIN!"
"...I give up."
I whispered tiredly and continued lying down on the ground.
Once upon a time, I held hope. Hope that one day, thanks to this strange ability I got after my first death, I would be able to find a way to defeat that traitor Kim Minjun.
And yet, after so many loops, I have finally given up.
No matter what I do, no matter what efforts. No matter how I try to expose him for who he really is, I always end up losing.
Why? Why does everyone believe in him so unconditionally? Why do people always view me with suspicion, no matter what I try? Why do the people I love so much, whom I try to save so many times from that bastard's hands, always backstab me in the worst way possible?
....Whatever. I give up. Do whatever you want.
With a sigh, I slowly got up from my position, only to fall back down as pain invaded my mind and body the moment I tried to move.
Instinctively, I tried to circulate my mana, trying to search for any injury on my body, but I did not even get the time to do that.
Memories, experiences, thoughts, and much more flowed into me, clicking into place within my mind as if they were always there.
Emotions, powerful and raw, mixed in with my own, increasing my pain further, as skills and ideas not my own invaded my body.
At the end, one name flashed in my mind, and I finally succumbed to the pain, falling unconscious.