"So... what if you went back to that southern forest?" Lianne suggested, her voice low but insistent. "They say mutants appear there at night. Maybe"
"Lianne, I'm level 9. Level nine!" Yuto snapped, running a hand through his disheveled hair. "I needed to be at least 30 to have a chance against that damn Shadow Knight."
Silence fell over the cabin again. Only the crackle of burning logs filled the space between them.
Yuto paced back and forth, his feet sinking into the packed dirt floor.
"I'm going to die. And it won't be pretty."
"You're not going to—" Lianne began, but the sentence trailed off before it could be fully released.
That's when it happened.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The knock.
The dry, metallic sound that preceded every system message. They both froze. A purple glow lit up before Yuto's eyes, and he read the new notification aloud, his throat tight:
**[Mission Updated]**
**Calculation Error: Time Reduced**
**Time Remaining to face the Shadow Knight: 3 hours.**
**Get ready. The hunt will begin soon.**
Yuto stopped breathing for a moment.
"...Three hours?"
The echo of those words seemed to reverberate through the cabin walls like muffled thunder.
"This... this has to be a joke," he whispered, his face draining of all color. "It was supposed to be a week. I had a week!"
"Yuto..." Lianne took a step forward, but he held up his hand.
"NO!" he shouted, his voice cracking. "I haven't even been able to train properly. I barely understand my new ability!" I don't even know if that damn sword will obey me in the middle of a fight!
He stared at the wall, his fists clenched until his knuckles turned white.
Lianne approached slowly, her eyes welling up.
"I... I wish I could do something."
Yuto laughed. A dry, bitter laugh, drenched in despair.
"Can you? Yes, you can. Go out there, find a dragon, bring it here, and I'll ask it to lend me its power for a few hours. Easy."
Lianne clenched her fists at her sides. Her eyes fixed on his back. Fear, guilt, helplessness... everything blended into silence until she said slowly:
"What... if... you killed me?"
The world stopped.
Yuto turned slowly.
"What?"
"What if you killed me, Yuto?" Lianne repeated, her voice steady despite the visible tremor in her lips. "Maybe... maybe the system will give you experience. Maybe... it'll be enough for you to evolve. To win."
"That's not an option!" he yelled. "Are you crazy?!"
"What if it's the only option?" She took a step forward. "What if it's this or dying without even having a chance to fight?"
Yuto shook his head, his hands trembling.
"I'm not going to do it. I... I can't..."
Lianne smiled. A sad, tired smile.
"I'm just a peasant, Yuto. You're the Executioner. The Chosen One. Maybe... maybe I delayed you by staying here, distracted you. Maybe this... is the only way I can truly help you."
"Shut up," he whispered. "Just... shut up."
But she didn't stop.
"Why don't you kill me?"
Silence.
Just the two of them there, surrounded by fear, pain, and now... a dilemma.
Three hours from death.
Three hours from the end.