Global Awakening: Only I Can Respawn

"Don't worry about them," YuWon smirked and charged towards the monsters.

Everyone followed suit, preparing to fend off the ogres. However, just then, YuWon turned to the side and swung the sword. But he wasn't aiming for the ogres.

"Argh!"

One of Anna's teammates let out a cry of pain as his hand got severed. He was the one who had held Gina back while YuWon struggled to get on the train. Since his hands touched her, it was only right that he lost it.

Everyone thought they had to work together to stand a chance against the ogres. But YuWon? He didn't care. The ogres weren't his target. Anna's team was.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Anna shouted in Korean.

"Do I have to tell you the reason?" YuWon retorted.

The look YuWon gave Anna confirmed her fears. YuWon had respawned, somehow, and now he knew about her and her plan to trap him in the penalty zone.

"Stop him! Don't let him get close!" Anna yelled, pointing at YuWon.

If YuWon knew about her regression, he would stop at nothing to end her. She had to act fast and regress.

However, before she could regress, a dagger hit her square in the chest. Anna stumbled backward and noticed [Medusa's Fang] buried in her chest. The blade would never kill its target, but it would seal their abilities, and that was a death sentence in itself.

Upon noticing the blade, Anna wondered how much ahead in time YuWon had gone to get a mythical weapon. Just then, one of her subordinates rushed towards her.

"I'll pull it out—"

"No!" Anna pushed her back. "If you pull it out, I'll die."

"What?"

Her subordinate appeared confused, but Anna wasn't lying. If anyone pulled out the dagger, the rebounding curse would kill her. Once someone got bitten by [Medusa's Fang], there were only two ways to negate the curse.

First, they would need to kill the fang's owner, and second, if the owner removed the dagger themselves. Anna didn't see any way for the latter to happen, leaving them with the choice to kill YuWon.

But even that won't work.

Anna bit her lips in frustration. Even if they killed YuWon, he would just respawn and do it all over. It was a lose-lose situation. She scanned her memories, hoping to remember something that would help her in this situation.

If only I could get my hands on that Goblin...

Gina was YuWon's lifeline. As long as they captured her, they could force YuWon to pull the dagger out. Then Anna could have him to use the dagger on himself and kill him.

Unfortunately, they didn't have the time to do either of those things. Anna's team wasn't strong enough to fight on two fronts simultaneously. On one side, YuWon was attacking them, and on the other were the ogres.

But unlike the ogres, YuWon wasn't in a hurry. He was methodical, taking his time as he dismantled Anna's team piece by piece.

"Fuck!" Anna cursed loudly.

Anna knew her teammates couldn't stop YuWon. He was stronger than them and, by the looks of it, also had memories of the future. That was enough for Anna to know YuWon was unbeatable in their situation.

"We can't hold him!" one of her teammates yelled.

Meanwhile, YuWon incapacitated another one of Anna's teammates. Even then, his cold eyes were focused on her, like a predator closing in on its prey. Now only one person remained between YuWon and Anna.

But instead of defending Anna, the girl tried to run away. However, YuWon wasn't in the mood to spare anyone. As the girl ran past him, he grabbed her hair, yanking her back.

"Where do you think you're going?" he snarled, his eyes never leaving Anna.

The girl mumbled something in English, but YuWon couldn't understand her, and neither did he try. He casually tossed the girl towards the ogres, who turned the girl into minced meat.

Anna clutched her chest. In all her regressions, YuWon hadn't been so cruel, not so open at least.

I pushed him too far...

Anna shook her head before picking up her teammate's spear and charged at YuWon. She had lost, but she wasn't going down so easily... at least that's what she thought.

As she rushed towards him, YuWon ducked and swung both his blades. A moment later, Anna fell on her face... her legs severed. But instead of crying out in pain, Anna laughed. It was a bitter, painful laugh.

"You're still the same... YuWon," Anna laughed, wiping away her tears. "Doing anything for the ones you love and going just as far for revenge."

"I don't know what kind of person I was," YuWon replied. "But the one before you is nothing like the one you loved... if you ever did."

Anna's face changed as soon as she heard YuWon's words. The hysteria was replaced by anger and she sat back up.

"If I ever did!?" she yelled. "Do you have any idea how much we have gone through together? You were the only one I ever loved—"

"You got a funny way of showing it."

YuWon scoffed, and Anna dropped her head and sobbed. For once, YuWon realized she wasn't pretending anymore. Everything she said was the truth.

But even then, he couldn't help but wonder why she would try to kill him if she loved him so much.

"I didn't have a choice..." Anna continued and fell back.

She had lost too much blood and was struggling. But even then, she couldn't leave without clearing her conscience and having that last conversation with YuWon that she never had.

"That angel bitch... she gave me a choice. To save the world, I had to kill Gina or the angels would destroy everything... starting with you."

"Bullshit—" YuWon said, but Anna wasn't hearing him and continued.

"With you trapped in eternal slumber, I had no choice... those bitch angels, they love playing with us. The only way to wake you up was to kill Gina. But no one could know about it."

She continued, "So... that's what I did. I killed her to save the world and you. But the angels... they tricked me. You woke up right before I killed her and saw me doing it.

And those angels… they messed with your mind."

"...I don't believe a word you're saying," YuWon shook his head, but Anna didn't care.

"Grief-stricken, you... destroyed everything. That's why I couldn't risk it and wanted to trap you in the penalty zone... forever."

"Destroying the world..." YuWon mumbled, looking at Gina fending the ogres. "Yeah, that sounds like something I would do."

"...I know," Anna chuckled, gesturing for him to get closer. "There's something else... I want to tell you."

YuWon thought for a bit, wondering if she had an ulterior motive. However, curiosity got the better of him and he leaned in to hear her last words.

As he leaned closer, Anna's trembling hands suddenly shot up, and she pulled him closer. Before he could react, she pressed her lips on his.

Even though she was dying, there was a strange intensity in that last moment, as if she had been waiting to do it for a lifetime.

"Maybe... we'll get a happy ending in some... other timeline..."

For a moment, everything stood still. Then Anna's grip loosened, her eyes blankly staring at the sky above as she smiled. Her chest rose one last time, then fell... she was gone for good this time.

"..."

YuWon stood there, speechless, before he turned and left, forgetting about the regressor after one last look.