"..."
Silence spread through the area.
"Ma'am, what kind of nonsense is that?"
"I'm sure she has her reasons. I will follow Miss Dokja's judgment."
"If noona wants it, then I'm fine with it."
"Hm? Makes risking my life to save those two feel worthwhile. Joonghyuk, aren't you going to apologize to the person who died once because of you?"
"Do you want to die again?"
"Yeah, well, I did tie you up too, so let's call it even."
Yoo Joonghyuk had a problem. No matter what regression this was, she never took a joke as a joke.
'Agreed. There is no way that mid-grade Dokkaebi named Paul would let this pass so warmly.'
"You're going to save me...? Don't make me laugh. Who the hell do you think you are?"
After losing everything and being defeated, all Shin Yoosung could do was rage in one last fit of resistance.
But to lose your world, to lose the people you loved.
And even so, to have to go on living in that world once again.
In this world, there was only one person who could truly understand Yoosung's grief. Yoo Joonghyuk.
"You might not understand it now, but you'll know soon enough. In the end, the only one who can understand your grief is Yoo Joonghyuk."
"? I have oppa too. And don't talk about the captain."
"What I can offer is sympathy, not understanding. I can understand living on in a world after losing someone precious... but the pain of losing an entire world, only Yoo Joonghyuk would know that."
Yoosung turned her head and looked at me.
"The one you need to look at isn't me."
"All regressors live while hating 'what hasn't happened yet.'"
Yoo Joonghyuk didn't pity Shin Yoosung.
If this was the Shin Yoosung of the 41st regression, then the one who could understand her best wasn't me, but Yoo Joonghyuk.
No, she wouldn't even call it understanding.
She merely stated her own thoughts in a calm voice.
"If you want, I can become your 'hatred' as many times as necessary. In this regression, live for the sake of killing me."
"Wait, Captain...!"
"Shin Yoosung. From now on, this place is your new 'regression.'"
Yoosung looked at me, standing behind Dokja.
I knew she'd do that.
The Shin Yoosung I understood was indeed full of hatred for Yoo Joonghyuk, but what she had truly wanted was Yoo Joonghyuk's acknowledgment.
They say if puberty doesn't come when you're a student, it comes when you're an adult.
From what I could see, Shin Yoosung had matured far too quickly in a ruined world, so her puberty had simply come late.
That was probably why, even while claiming to hate Yoo Joonghyuk, she kept calling her Captain to the very end.
"One more thing. There's one thing I want to ask."
"What is it?"
"Your oppa—no, our oppa. What exactly is he? He calmly came to where I was... and predicted this entire situation. Without even having [Foresight]. What are you hiding?"
Everyone waited for my answer.
Even if I couldn't see them right now, weren't the Constellations waiting for my answer too?
"I just trusted Dokja, and I trusted Yoosung. I believed Dokja would create a huge variable. I believed Yoosung would accept it in the end. Because that's what family is."
"...Family."
A new family met in a new regression.
Yoosung was confused too, so she'd need time.
"That aside!"
"Huh?"
"Since you killed Dokja once, apologize to your unni—"
He had finally appeared.
The mid-grade Dokkaebi, Paul.
"Dokja?"
"Oppa?"
""Looks like you both planned this?""
Clap
As expected of Dokja.
It seemed she had noticed the loophole in the Scenario just like I had.
"Why is it difficult? We didn't violate the Scenario rules."
This much was still within expectations.
'Agreed.'
The Great Tree always said what I was thinking one step ahead of me.
"Don't worry about that. We are going to kill the disaster."
"Ma'am, what are you... ?"
"Just not now. The Scenario clearly says 'no time limit,' doesn't it?"
This was the loophole we had found.
Since there was no time limit, it meant it was up to us whether we went all the way to the end and killed her right before the last moment, or killed her now.
So there was no need to kill her yet.
"In other words, the timing of when we eliminate the disaster is up to us. So stop rushing us."
"That's your new unni, Yoosung."
"I can let it slide with oppa, but I have no intention of serving a bitch like that as my unni."
"Trying to interfere with the Scenario again? Did you already forget what happened last time when you pulled that?"
So that bastard Paul really had been punished once before.
Was that another variable created because Ways of Survival had become reality...?
No wonder Dokja had it rough, with a Dokkaebi like that around.
[Sub Scenario - Disaster of Floods]
Category: Sub
Difficulty: SS
Clear Conditions: Eliminate the Disaster of Floods, 'Shin Yoosung.'
Time Limit: —
Reward: Double the reward of [Main Scenario #5 - 'Disaster of Floods'].
Failure: —
"Pfft!!!"
"Haha, Paul. You know at least that much, don't you? That I'm not the disaster. You always think humans... will move exactly the way you want them to."
What good was a bigger reward if no one could actually use it?
Shin Yoosung had weakened, yes, but the main fighting force of Seoul Dome would protect her.
More than that, I hadn't even fought a proper battle, so my stamina was still full.
And on top of that, it looked like Dokja had caused a pretty strong butterfly effect.
"Nobody move carelessly! Value your lives! Unless you want to die like moths flying into a flame!"
As expected, there really was a force following Dokja, and they began protecting the disaster in accordance with her declaration.
Paul's words had probably thrown the Constellations watching this into chaos.
"Why don't you just give in? Honestly, by this point everyone should be satisfied, shouldn't they?"
'Me too. It feels like something is churning... but I can't explain it exactly.'
Paul's gaze slowly settled on me.
"If you understand, then why don't you decide already?"
Dokja, as always, said what she wanted regardless.
It was just a feeling... but something was going wrong.
"...Oppa?"
"Dokja, you're one of the people in this world who knows the most."
"What are you trying to say all of a sudden?"
"You've built your plans thoroughly on that information, and until now they've probably worked."
"Oppa?!"
But there was one major flaw Dokja had when making plans like that.
"You exclude too many variables for someone as smart as you. As if you believe 'Plan A' is guaranteed to succeed."
"I don't understand what you mean."
"The Constellations, and the Dokkaebis... they're far more underhanded than you think. And that was the biggest variable."
"...What do you mean?"
Paul sneered at Dokja.
As if he had already won.
Pachichit!
"I knew this shit would happen...!"
"Oppa!!"
"Ah... no, wait, just a moment, I...!"
"Wait! What are you doing...!"
"Aaaaargh!!"
"Back off!"