Where Did It Go Wrong?

Yuseong’s expression subtly twisted at the sudden appearance of the girl who should have been far away.

“I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else, I’m just an ordinary archer…”

“Don’t make excuses. I clearly saw with my own eyes that the arrow came from here. Not just this ambush, but all the arrows until now, and the arrow that killed Sister Jia on the first day – they were all shot by you, right?”

‘It was a trap. No wonder they seemed to fall for it too easily.’

Yuseong, who had been slowly backing away, clicked his tongue and stopped when he saw the girl approaching exactly as much as he retreated.

The girl’s skills rivaled those of top-ranked fighters.

Though he was tired from continuous battles, she wasn’t an opponent he could let his guard down against.

‘Huh? Wait. Something’s strange here. Someone with those skills, an assassin no less, approaching so carelessly?’

If the girl had wanted to, she could have easily stabbed him in his defenseless back.

Yet instead of doing so, she deliberately made footsteps to announce her presence.

There were two possibilities to consider.

One was that she was too exhausted to conceal her presence, and the other was…

Zing!

The moment Yuseong’s pupils glowed with a faint golden light, the girl, expecting an arrow, drew a dagger from her waist and took a defensive stance.

At this close distance, unlike if they were far apart, she judged there wouldn’t be time to reload an arrow, so she planned to block the arrow and then attack.

The girl’s judgment was half right and half wrong.

While there truly wasn’t time to reload an arrow, Yuseong’s target wasn’t the girl but elsewhere.

“W-wait!”

The girl let out a scream when she saw Yuseong aiming his bow in a completely different direction from her.

However, the arrow had already left the bowstring.

“Aaaaagh!”

As the arrow struck a shadow nearby, a terrible scream rang out and a boy revealed himself.

The girl, who had turned pale, tried to rush toward the boy, but Yuseong was faster once again.

Firmly wrapping his arm around the boy’s neck, Yuseong spoke while looking at the girl who had frozen like a statue:

“Drop your weapons.”

“……”

“I won’t say it twice. Drop your weapons.”

“Aaaagh!”

When he touched the arrow lodged in the boy’s side with his remaining arm, another scream burst from the boy’s mouth.

The hesitating girl dropped the daggers in both hands to the ground the moment she heard the boy’s scream.

“Take off all your equipment and throw it this way too.”

“First promise you won’t kill my brother.”

“Do you think you’re in a position to make such conditions?”

Seeing the boy’s complexion growing increasingly pale, the girl bit her lip and began taking off her equipment one by one and throwing it.

‘That was close.’

Yuseong inwardly let out a sigh of relief.

If he hadn’t remembered the existence of the boy who always accompanied the girl, it would have been like dropping ashes in a finished meal.

When the girl finished removing her equipment, Yuseong then removed all of the boy’s equipment as well.

After a moment, the girl, wearing only a thin layer of clothes, opened her mouth.

“What do you plan to do with us?”

“Well. Thinking about safety, it would probably be better to just kill you both now.”

“…Please spare us. No, you can kill me, but please at least spare my brother.”

“No, no! Kill me and spare my sister!”

-Ahem, how about letting these children live?

Yuseong, who had been looking at the siblings with indifferent eyes, twitched his eyebrow at Kim Hyun-jun’s unexpected request.

‘What nonsense is this all of a sudden?’

-They’re still just children, aren’t they?

‘They look at least high school age, what do you mean children. And if we spare only these two, what about all the people who died until now?’

-When you put it that way, I have nothing to say but… Still, it feels a bit wrong with children.

Though he could understand what Kim Hyun-jun was thinking, that was merely common sense that applied in society, not common sense that applied in this crazy world where people killed each other.

If he had been in this position himself, he wouldn’t have shown mercy just because they were minors.

But the one in this position wasn’t himself but his client.

In the end, Yuseong decided to follow his client’s will as he had done until now.

‘Still, it feels a bit wasteful to just let them go.’

Though she had been pathetically subdued because of the hostage, the girl was a top-class assassin with skills rarely found even among high-ranked fighters.

While pondering how to make use of the girl, Yuseong unconsciously turned his head at the sound of a massive explosion.

The battle between the regressor and the ranked fighters reaching its climax.

Yuseong’s eyes narrowed as he watched that battle.

“What’s your name?”

“…Lee Ha-eun.”

“Good. Lee Ha-eun. If you do one thing for me, I’ll spare your brother’s life.”

“What is it?”

“Nothing much. So…”

* * *

This was the hardest fight ever.

His head felt like someone was stabbing it with needles, his eyelids kept drooping without warning, and his body was as heavy as water-logged cotton.

It was only thanks to his mental fortitude cultivated through decades of battling in all sorts of battlefields and his body strengthened by various hidden pieces that he was barely hanging on – if he had lacked either one, he would have collapsed long ago.

Clang!

‘Where did it go wrong?’

Han Sang-jin, deflecting a sword that had flown toward his face, asked himself the question for what felt like the hundredth time.

Everything had gone smoothly.

He had gathered companions with outstanding potential, obtained all sorts of hidden pieces with information that only a regressor would know, and achieved tremendous growth for both himself and all party members.

But things started going strangely from the moment they were returning to the village after defeating the boss monster.

‘Should I not have picked up those items?’

After pondering briefly, Han Sang-jin shook his head.

Even if he could go back to that moment, he would make the same choice.

There was nothing wrong with the items themselves.

The problem was the being that dropped those items.

‘That was a trap set by someone targeting me. Even if I had ignored those items and returned to the village then, that someone would have targeted me through other methods. Just who is that someone?’

Since returning to the past, he hadn’t formed any connections with anyone except his party members.

With no relationships formed at all, whether good or bad, it was impossible to even guess the identity of that someone.

He could only guess at their purpose.

That someone was aiming for mutual destruction between himself and the ranked fighters.

Whenever one side seemed to gain the upper hand, someone would inevitably intervene to restore the balance.

‘Is it another regressor like me? But why would a regressor target me? Do they think I’ll become a competitor in the future so they’re trying to eliminate me now? Or…’

Han Sang-jin shook his head.

The increasingly severe headache made it impossible to continue that line of thought.

The only thing he could do now was one thing.

Hold out until the siblings who went to catch that someone returned.

“Haa, haa.”

But even that was reaching its limit.

Not just his stamina, but even his overwhelming skill that had allowed him to hold out until now was gradually being closed in on as the ranked fighters grew stronger.

Clang!

Joy and sorrow crossed Han Sang-jin and Ha Seo-jun’s faces along with the harsh metallic sound.

The sword that had bounced off in an odd direction.

Ha Seo-jun’s spear shot toward the tiny opening revealed for just an instant.

A moment of mortal danger.

In that moment, something nobody expected happened.

Thunk!

Along with the dull sound of flesh being pierced, one person fell to the ground.

“…Huh?”

Everyone, including Han Sang-jin, made stupid sounds as they watched Ha Seo-jun disappear into light with an arrow lodged in the back of his head.

“There’s an ally! Everyone check the surroun-“

Thunk!

Someone who had regained their senses tried to give orders, but an arrow from somewhere pierced through their throat.

People who belatedly realized the situation raised their weapons and stayed alert for arrows that could come from anywhere, but the next attack came not from above but below.

Rustle.

Along with the sound of grass moving, thorny vines that shot up from the ground began snagging people’s ankles.

The time thorny vine could bind a high-ranked fighter’s feet was at most a few seconds.

A few seconds.

More than enough time to determine victory or defeat.

Heads flew from Han Sang-jin’s swinging sword, and arrows from beyond the mountain pierced vital points.

Those who barely escaped from the thorny vines realized the tide had turned and tried to flee, but as if declaring that not a single person would be allowed to escape, numerous arrows flew toward their backs.

Boom boom boom boom boom!

Endless explosions and thunderous sounds.

When the seemingly infinite barrage of arrows finally stopped, all that remained were numerous craters and piles of equipment stacked inside them.

Han Sang-jin, left alone, hid his body behind a nearby tree and stared sharply at where the arrows had come from instead of rejoicing.

‘Arrows flying means Ha-eun failed. They wouldn’t suddenly change their mind about killing me… Did they judge I’ve weakened enough that they can take me alone without causing more damage?’

Crunch!

Han Sang-jin ground his teeth audibly and stood up, gripping his sword tighter.

Rage beyond imagination forcibly moved his body that had reached its limit.

‘I can’t die alone – it’s too unfair. Whatever it takes, I’ll drag them with me to the afterlife.’

“Brother! Brother!”

Han Sang-jin, who was about to burn his life force, unconsciously poked his head out from behind the tree at the unexpected voice.

‘Lee Ha-eun?’

Confused by the incomprehensible situation, Han Sang-jin regained his senses at the voice calling again and opened his mouth.

“Stop there! Don’t come any closer!”

“B-brother?”

“Tell me everything that happened!”

The brother who always accompanied her was nowhere to be seen, yet she boldly showed herself with no arrows flying at her.

Han Sang-jin, who had been imagining the worst case scenario, let out a sigh of relief upon hearing Lee Ha-eun’s explanation that followed.

“…You say you took him hostage?”

“Yes. Ha-jun has him completely subdued.”

“Then those attacks earlier…”

“They said to lend some help since you looked in danger.”

After hesitating briefly, Han Sang-jin carefully emerged from behind the tree.

When no arrows flew even after considerable time passed, Han Sang-jin finally relaxed his tension and leaned against a nearby tree, letting out the breath he had been holding.

“…Are you hurt anywhere?”

“It’s just all the accumulated fatigue hitting at once. I’ll be fine after resting a bit.”

“Let me support you.”

“I’m fine.”

“Come on, you look like you can barely stand. Just lean on me for a moment.”

“No, really, I’m fine.”

What’s with this support nonsense when he could just sit and rest?

However, at Lee Ha-eun’s continued requests, Han Sang-jin finally pretended to give in and held out his hand.

Grip.

‘Sweat?’

The moist feeling when their palms met and the faintly trembling hand.

Survival instinct honed over many years was warning him to let go of this hand and back away right now.

If he had just a bit more stamina left, if he hadn’t let his guard down, he could have moved his body according to his instinct’s warning.

However, Han Sang-jin’s stamina had hit rock bottom, and his body, once relaxed from tension, wouldn’t move as he wanted.

Squelch!

“Kuhk…”

The dagger that pierced through his heart and emerged from his back.

Han Sang-jin’s lips moved as if trying to say something, but like Yu Jia who died first, he spat out bloody foam and collapsed to the ground.

In his final moment, only one thought filled Han Sang-jin’s mind.

‘…Where did it go wrong?’