When humans first entered the Crusade, they were the weakest among the intelligent races.

There were millions above them. Races with scales like steel. Races that breathed fire from birth. Races that could shatter stone with a thought.

Some lived for a thousand years. Others could cross worlds long before the first human stepped into a tunnel.

On the ledgers of the Crusade, humanity sat near the bottom—below species that would not even earn a name for another century.

They should have been wiped out.

Yet they endured.

Not just endured; they rose. They became one of the apex races in the Crusade.

Looking down on them had been her greatest mistake.

Her sob faded on its own.

Ayla did not wipe her face. She sat with her knees drawn close and let the tears dry against her skin in the cold air.

Perhaps losing to humans this early was not so bad. It taught her something she needed to learn.

She still had much to understand about them.

Devouring their brains was not enough. To truly grasp them, she had to become one of them.

Ayla shook off the last trace of sadness. There was no point clinging to what had already happened. Mistakes were inevitable.

What mattered was what came next. Her mind steadied as she began to plan.

She needed to find a way to join a human group. That was the only way to enter their society.

Not the same group. Her eyes hardened slightly. She still held that grudge.

Ayla chose a tunnel and moved forward, searching for a team.

*

* *

"Kenji, if you give me that mana stone, I will leave you alive. If not..."

The words echoed down the narrow tunnel, carrying a threat that had already played out once before.

Kenji stood with his back near the damp stone wall, shoulders relaxed, breath steady. His hazel eyes held no fear, only a quiet, familiar irritation.

In front of him stood Daniel and Haiz. Same stance. Same distance. Same greed in their eyes.

The same as his last loops.

"Daniel, Haiz," Kenji said, voice calm, "what do you mean? This is my share from the hunt."

He watched their reactions closely.

A twitch in Daniel’s jaw. Haiz shifting slightly to the right, cutting off escape. The rhythm of betrayal had not changed.

It never did.

They had worked together to clear the goblin settlement. They fought through waves, coordinated strikes, and finished the chieftain.

The mana stone in Kenji’s hand pulsed faintly, warm against his skin. The reward. The trigger. And the reason they would kill him.

Again.

Daniel chuckled, low and mocking. "Your share?" He took a step forward. "You still think we’re playing fair?"

Haiz said nothing. He never did much talking. His blade angled just enough to catch the dim light, ready to move.

Kenji exhaled slowly. When they had betrayed him the first time, he had been confused, angry, and desperate.

The second time, he had tried to talk. The third, he ran.

After that, he stopped reacting. Instead, he learned. Every loop carved new details into his mind. Timing. Distance. Habits. Weaknesses.

And beyond them, something far worse. His fingers tightened around the mana stone.

’I don’t have time to waste here.’

If things continued as they had in earlier loops, the real problem would appear soon. Deep within the tunnels, something was feeding. Growing.

Evolving.

The first time it happened, no one understood. By the time they realized, it was too late. The entire party had been wiped out. Then the next. Then every human in the tunnel.

And Kenji...

Kenji had died with them. Only to wake up an hour before his death.

Again. And again. And again.

Trapped in this stretch of time like a broken record. If he failed to stop that evolution, he would never leave this place.

Daniel stepped closer. "Last chance."

Kenji looked at him, expression flat.

"You’re going to kill me anyway."

Daniel’s smile thinned. "Then why make it harder on yourself?"

Kenji did not answer. Instead, he moved. Mana surged through his body, sharper than before. His foot pushed off the ground as he lunged straight at Daniel.

The same move as every loop.

Daniel reacted fast, blade coming up to intercept. Kenji already knew this action.

After all, he had experienced it countless times.

At the last moment, Kenji shifted his angle. His shoulder dipped, narrowly avoiding the strike. His free hand snapped forward, slamming into Daniel’s wrist.

A crack.

Daniel’s grip loosened. Kenji twisted, following through. Haiz was already there.

A blade cut toward Kenji’s side, forcing him to break off and retreat. The attack grazed his arm, tearing cloth and drawing blood.

Kenji clicked his tongue.

Still not enough.

Even with all his repetitions, fighting two at once remained difficult. They were not weak, not compared to him at this stage.

He stepped back, resetting his stance.

Daniel recovered quickly, shaking out his wrist, anger flashing across his face. "You’ve got some nerve."

Kenji ignored him. His mind ran ahead.

Time.

He needed to end this faster.

In the previous loop, the evolution had started roughly fifteen minutes after this point. That gave him little room.

If he wasted too much here, everything would repeat again. And he was tired of repeating.

Haiz moved silently. A precise strike aimed at Kenji’s neck. Kenji anticipated it.

He ducked low, the blade slicing through the air above him. At the same moment, he kicked forward, aiming for Haiz’s knee.

Impact.

Haiz staggered, his balance breaking for a split second. Kenji pressed in. This was the opening.

His hand shot toward Haiz’s throat.

Then he felt it. A faint vibration in the air. So slight that anyone else would have missed it.

Kenji’s eyes flickered.

’Too early.’

Something was different. That presence... it should not be here yet.

His instincts screamed. He pulled back without hesitation. A thin strand cut through the space where his arm had been.

Fast, silent, and deadly.

Daniel froze. "What was that?"

Haiz turned sharply, scanning the darkness. Kenji’s gaze shifted toward the shadows deeper in the tunnel.

He had never encountered this before.

Not in any loop. Something had changed. The air grew colder. Then a figure stepped out.

A woman.

Loose clothing draped over her frame. Her expression was calm, almost detached, as if none of this concerned her.

Daniel frowned. "Another one?"

Haiz adjusted his stance, wary now.

Kenji said nothing. His eyes locked onto her. There was something wrong. He could not sense her properly. Not like a normal human.

And that attack just now...

Not normal either.

The woman’s gaze moved between the three of them, observing. Then it settled on Kenji.

"Do you want to team up with me?" she asked. For a brief moment, silence caught the surroundings.

Her brows furrowed at his lack of answer.

Daniel scoffed. "Stay out of this if you want to live."

The woman did not respond. Daniel’s patience snapped.

"Fine. Die with him."

He lunged. Haiz followed. Their coordination returned instantly, both aiming to eliminate the new variable first.

The woman moved her palms. It was subtle, only a slight shift of her body.

Daniel’s blade missed.

A thin thread snapped around his wrist. Another around Haiz’s ankle. Both of them reacted, trying to break free.

Too late.

The threads tightened. Daniel’s arm jerked violently as the thread bit deep. Haiz lost his footing, pulled off balance.

Kenji watched, eyes narrowing.

’What is she...’

The woman’s fingers moved slightly. That was all it took. The threads pulled, and blood and flesh rained down.

"Now we can talk." She smiled.

Kenji stood still, processing. This had never happened before.

Not once.

The loops had always been consistent. Predictable.

But now...

Something had changed. His grip on the mana stone tightened. The woman looked at him again with a friendly smile.

Kenji did not lower his guard.

"Who are you?" he asked.

She tilted her head slightly, as if considering the question.

"I am Ayla."

"Why do you want to team up with me?"

"You fight differently," Ayla said as she walked toward him, "almost like you knew all their attacks before they even moved." She reached closer to him.

Kenji’s expression didn’t change. Inside, his thoughts sharpened. Observant. Too observant.

"I got lucky," he said, and then his hands shot forward. His palms turned into monster claws as he reached for her neck to sever it.

But it was his own head that was severed.

"Rude..." was all he heard before his next loop began as he died.

*

* *

[Trait acquired: Death Looper (S+)]

[Death Looper: Upon death, the host regresses to a fixed point two hour prior. New Anchor points will be updated after the host successfully solve the last reason of death. Any deaths before this will make new Anchor points, creating a loop inside the loop.]

"Hm..." Ayla murmured.