Global Awakening: Only I Can Respawn

[Thermo-sense] revealed the position of multiple creatures around them. But strangely, none of them were heading towards them. They were rushing past them, barely even noticing them.

"They're ignoring us?" Gina asked, swiping away at one creature.

The creature lost its finger but didn't stop to fight and kept running.

"No. They're not ignoring us... they're running from something," Yeji commented.

Suddenly, a howl echoed through the forest, and the creatures began running even frantically. Then came the heavy footsteps, shaking the ground as the thing got closer.

Even the trees didn't have a chance against the one as it pushed through them and found itself before the humans. It was a werewolf, thrice as big as them. That's what the creatures were running from.

At first, the creature didn't care about them. But then it skidded to a halt. The running beasts no longer seemed interesting as it stared at the humans.

"Uh, guys?" Yuna muttered, slowly backing up. "I think... that thing isn't interested in chasing the beasts anymore."

"Don't move..." Anna mumbled. "It's curious. As long as we don't give it a reason—"

Anna tried to warn everyone. But it was too late. An awakener was already on the run.

"For fuck's sake!" Anna cursed loudly.

Upon noticing the running man, the werewolf let out a howl and charged at them. YuWon didn't hold back either. He drew the noir blade and stabbed the werewolf in the chest. However, his action only enraged the creature.

It swung its claws at YuWon. Even though the attack didn't connect, YuWon still got injured as blood dripped down his neck. Even so, YuWon didn't flinch and kept attacking. Hydra's heart could deal with such superficial wounds.

Unfortunately, YuWon wasn't the only one with regeneration. Each time his blade cut through the werewolf, the beast healed instantly. Behind him, the others tried to assist.

Anna stabbed the werewolf's feet while Gina did a number on its arms. But nothing seemed to work. The werewolf shrugged off their attacks and kept his attention on YuWon as if it recognized him as the only threat.

"This is going nowhere."

YuWon was about to call for a retreat when something jumped between him and the werewolf. When YuWon saw it, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.

"Mickey!?" YuWon exclaimed.

The one-armed skeleton glanced at him before turning towards the werewolf, raising a bell in its direction.

"Stand back," a feminine voice called out.

YuWon turned to see Soo-Ah standing beside Mickey. But something was different. Much like Mickey, she too was missing an arm and the way she looked at him wasn't one of a friend, but cold like an enemy's.

"Soo-Ah?" YuWon called out.

He remembered her and Min-Joon turning into blood-thirsty creatures in the dungeon. But more importantly, he remembered killing them. Yet she was standing before him like none of that ever happened.

"Timelines..." YuWon mumbled, answering his question.

But even then he wasn't sure which Soo-Ah was he facing now. Was it the one he had saved from the hobgoblin, or someone else? From the looks she was giving him, it was probably the latter.

I wonder what I did to her in her timeline. Fucking hell, all this is bullshit!

In his moment of distraction, the werewolf lunged at him. But before it could land a blow, Soo-Ah struck the bell. A loud screeching noise came from the bell, forcing everyone to their knee.

Even the werewolf stumbled and whimpered in pain, covering its ears. In an instant, all urges of hunting vanished from its mind and it fled into the woods.

As the werewolf ran with its tail tucked between its legs, YuWon turned to thank Soo-Ah. But before he could say anything else, Soo-Ah backhanded him across the face.

"Don't you dare..." she hissed.

Everyone stepped towards her. But the next moment, countless bony hands emerged from the ground, grabbing their legs. They were all the skeletons under Soo-Ah's control.

But that wasn't all. Countless more figures appeared from the trees and bushes. They were centaurs, dozens of them with their bows and arrows pointed at the humans.

"What's the meaning of this?" Yeji asked, clenching her fists.

But like everyone else, she was ignored as Soo-Ah lifted YuWon's face by his chin.

"I've been waiting for this moment for so long," she smirked. "Waiting for your arrival."

"What the hell happened to you?" YuWon asked, easily pulling out of her grip.

But before he could say anything else, a sharp pain hit him in the back of his head. His vision blurred, and the world spun around him before he collapsed.

"Min-Joon!?" Yeji gasped.

Yeji couldn't believe her eyes. Min-Joon hit him in the back of the head. But just like Soo-Ah, something was different about him.

His arms were covered in scars, and an eyepatch covered his right eye. But more importantly, he was wielding the same blade as Gina... the crimson blade.

"We got another one," Min-Joon laughed, nudging YuWon's unconscious body with his foot. "I told you this is the better way to hunt his bastard."

Soo-Ah hummed in agreement, before walking towards Yeji. Without warning, she pulled Yeji into a hug as if she were meeting a long-lost friend.

"Don't worry," Soo-Ah whispered. "That bastard won't harm you anymore. Everything's going to be fine now... like it was supposed to be."

Yeji, however, didn't know what she was talking about. The only thing she felt was disgusted and pushed Soo-Ah back.

"Don't touch me," Yeji hissed, glaring at her.

The smile on Min-Joon's face faded. No matter how important Yeji was to Soo-Ah, he wouldn't tolerate any disrespect towards her.

"You better watch your mouth, Yeji, before I—"

"Stop!" Soo-ah stopped him. "It's not her fault. She doesn't remember."

"What are you—?"

"All in good time, Yeji." Soo-Ah smiled, but there was no warmth in it.

With that, she nodded towards the centaurs. The beast people moved quickly, binding everyone and dragging them deeper into the forest.