# Chapter 20
Turning his head with a creaking sound, Lee Hwan saw the gradually fading forms. Though they still gave him goosebumps just by looking at them, they now appeared merely as projected images.
Of course, there was still a vivid sensation… but hadn’t that phantasm from earlier felt the same way?
‘That vision and feeling were so similar.’
If that was the case, could those also be memories from before his regression? Memories from the day the accident happened. They remained faintly, twisted and circling this cavity.
Could it be the influence of the skill stone? Perhaps with just the traces of where it had been placed, a part of the erased future was being drawn in this place like a vision. If they were distorted to the point where it was difficult to guess their original form, it might be due to the absence of the skill stone he had taken.
It wasn’t just any stone but a regression skill stone—perhaps as it rewound time, it brought along remnants of what had already happened.
It was then.
Rumble-
BOOM!
Without touching anything, the gate began to shake.
Lee Hwan felt his spine tingle again. Things always unfolded according to the most ominous imagination. He didn’t want to think this way, but if he was right again this time…
Right now, the tragedy of the past was about to repeat itself.
Static-
“Leader, this is VIP!”
Crackle-
“This is VIP…”
—Lee… AAAAHH!
‘!’
Screams heard through the radio. Lee Hwan’s hands trembled. His anxiety had taken form and stepped right in front of him.
It was the same. Except for the fact that he was here instead of Kang Dongha this time, everything was exactly the same as before the regression. Having glimpsed the memory of the skill stone so vividly just now, Lee Hwan felt his breath caught in his throat.
However.
Tap!
If that was the case, there was no time to waste.
What about Dongha, who had fled with the propeller? That worry briefly crossed his mind. But looking back, Lee Hwan had often overcome gaps like this before his regression.
He decided to trust his body, hardened by training.
‘I can do this.’
Lee Hwan adjusted his mask again and powerfully kicked the ground. His calves tensed with strength as his body shot forward rapidly.
There would be no catastrophe.
‘This time.’
This time, unlike the past, Lee Hwan was here.
With that thought, Lee Hwan bolted out of the cavity and launched himself without a moment’s hesitation. Stepping on the entrance with his right foot, he exerted force to leap up.
Tap tap tap tap!
He bounced off the wall with wide strides. And leaped again.
Lee Hwan’s body soared powerfully through the air. His eyes glowed blue as he designated a space, and he fell slowly, slowly.
During this, even in mid-air, Lee Hwan twisted his body several times, rotating as he flew forward, and descended horizontally to the entrance of the vertical cave.
THUD!
“Ughh…!”
Finally landing at the entrance of the vertical cave, Lee Hwan groaned loudly. The pain that resonated through his body penetrated deep into his bones. Although he had reduced his speed, it was still too high.
But Lee Hwan got up immediately without rest and shot forward again. In the opposite direction from where Kang Dongha was in his pre-regression memory.
Tap tap tap tap tap-
His speed was so fast that the sweat flowing down was almost dried by the passing wind. Though the radio had long since gone silent, the sounds of battle continued to be heard. Faintly, from a distance.
Lee Hwan was gradually approaching the center of the gate.
“Dodge!”
“AAAAHH…!”
As he reached nearby, he heard the Support Team’s shouts and screams.
‘Found them.’
In Lee Hwan’s extremely focused ears, he could no longer hear the tearing cries of monsters at some point. What he concentrated on were just the screams. Only the voices that had passed through human vocal cords. Following those sounds, Lee Hwan ran without hesitation even at forks in the path.
And finally.
“Fall back!”
Lee Hwan discovered the Support Team in formation, bleeding.
A couple of them had already collapsed and seemed unable to move, while the rest were holding firearms that weren’t much help, forming a line. And in front of them, a Class 2 plant-type monster swinging its stems, and…
‘Kang Dongha.’
Kang Dongha was hiding behind the Support Team, unable to stand up. Although his face was pale, it seemed like he was sitting down not because he was scared but because he had injured his leg.
‘This fucking bastard…’
Despite being the one who had driven everyone to their deaths and fled in the past, here he was, being protected like this as a Naru family member. It was treatment that no one here had ever received, and for Lee Hwan, it was a privilege he would spit on even if offered.
CLANG!
Lee Hwan struck the wall with his stone gun, making a loud noise. The people who had been frozen and unable to move when he shouted to fall back now stepped backwards hurriedly, as if they had grabbed a lifeline.
At the same time, the plant monster, which was about to launch a frontal attack, also turned its body. Despite being just a massive bundle of stems, the way it tilted what seemed to be its head was utterly disgusting, as if it actually had a brain.
“Grab the VIP and stick to the wall as much as possible!”
Was it because a person who could take control had appeared, or because the monster’s attack had ceased? The team members moved in unison, firmly grabbing and dragging the clothes of Kang Dongha, who kept retreating backwards, dragging his buttocks.
BOOM-
BANG!
The stone gun spewed ammunition. Under Lee Hwan’s control, small bombs twisted left and right, reaching three or four monsters and exploding.
KABOOM-!
WHAM- BANG!
SCREEEEECH!
A spine-chilling cry echoed through the gate. After avoiding an oncoming stem with a few jumps, Lee Hwan began to launch his body in earnest, kicking off the wall.
A body that evaded the monster’s stem by rotating once in mid-air. Under everyone’s terrified gaze, Lee Hwan flew like a rhythmic gymnast. Simultaneously, bullets were fired again.
BANG-!
With consecutive explosions, stems caught fire, and two monsters collapsed at once.
“Catch that bastard!”
Lee Hwan turned his head abruptly toward the team leader and shouted angrily. In that moment, Kang Dongha, who had gotten up alone and was trying to escape, was caught by a strong grip.
That idiot. Having never directly witnessed a monster’s attack, Kang Dongha had fallen into a state of panic and was trying to limp away, feeling along the wall.
However, when a blue light flickered through the eye holes of the white mask Lee Hwan wore, Dongha seemed to regain his senses somewhat and slumped back down to the floor.
The white mask with blood still dripping and the bright gleam in the eyes. In reality, that appearance might have been scarier than the monsters.
‘Damn. If only there was fire.’
Water for fire, fire for plants. As everyone knew, the best attack against plant-type monsters was indeed flames. If only he had a butane gas canister like before…
Lee Hwan looked down at his hand, newly disheartened that he had to feel someone’s absence even here. The stone gun, which should still have at least five more bullets loaded, was showing off its long, thick barrel.
No choice. This needs to be placed in front of that scorched area.
“…Get down!”
Giving another instruction, Lee Hwan took a deep breath. This time, it seemed he would have to push himself a bit.
Lee Hwan took out a small bomb and raised its temperature. After attaching the swollen bullet that was about to explode to the stone gun, Lee Hwan exerted so much force that a growling sound could be heard.
The entire space where the monsters stood was designated. The stone gun flew into that space as a whole, and…
KABOOOOOM-!
With a tremendous explosion, flames shot up, and the space inside was dyed with red and blue fire.
* * *
After leaving the half-destroyed gate, Lee Hwan had been listening to words of gratitude all along. But he was too exhausted for those words to even reach his ears.
He had lost so much blood earlier that the sky looked slightly yellow. If he had fought alone, he would have finished it quickly while appropriately avoiding hits, but this time there was too much baggage.
The mask was painted completely red below the nose. In fact, most of it was just a nosebleed, but it gave the visual impression that he had been injured in combat and vomited a large amount of blood.
This was probably why the Support Team was even more nervous. Even when Lee Hwan just sighed, they kept bringing out emergency medicine.
Well, he had pushed himself. Although he had become quite accustomed to his ability and no longer bled just from using it, the situation earlier was different. There was also the horrific vision he had seen.
Moreover, after handling the post-battle cleanup and bringing everyone out, he felt nauseous and like his insides had turned to mush.
At his side, the unconscious Kang Dongha was being carried, looking cleaner than anyone else here. The bastard had twisted his ankle but hadn’t even fallen down during the commotion; he didn’t have a single scratch.
“Son of a bitch.”
Thud.
“Ugh…”
Angered, Lee Hwan hit the unconscious man’s side, and it seemed to hurt quite a bit as Dongha moaned even while unconscious.
What kind of weakness was it to pass out just from the sound of monsters and explosions? Lee Hwan found it incredibly frustrating that he had to carry this bastard instead of Taesung.
Lee Hwan truly didn’t want to keep making these comparisons every time. He should accept his changed circumstances now. But this accident was something that would never have happened if Taesung had been the one who entered in the first place.
He would have saved the Support Team. With his perfect ability, he would have roasted the monsters and evacuated everyone without a single injury.
No, from the moment he discovered the strange hole, he would have reported it to his superiors. He would have formed an advance team and cleared it safely.
Lee Hwan would have been by his side. After the battle, the two would have returned to Taesung’s house to eat meat and mess around together.
A useless assumption. But the difference was so palpable that Lee Hwan couldn’t shake off the regret.
