"She’s not breathing."

"...ಠ⁠_⁠ಠ..."

For half a second, nobody moved.

Then every fangirl detonated into action.

"OH MY GOD!"

"MOVE!"

"GIVE HER SPACE!"

"NOOOO DON’T DIE NOW, THE ARC JUST STARTED!"

Three girls lunged at once.

One began fanning Mihu with both hands at hurricane speed.

Another grabbed her shoulders and shook her like emotional clarity might fall out.

A third dropped dramatically to her knees beside her.

"I KNOW FIRST AID!" she shouted.

"You failed biology!"

"I KNOW LOVE!"

That was apparently enough.

Two more rushed in carrying absolutely nothing useful but immense determination.

"Raise her legs!"

"Why?!"

"I SAW IT IN A DRAMA!"

Someone in the back was already crying.

"Mihu, stay with us! You haven’t even seen the jealousy arc yet!"

Another clasped both hands in prayer.

"Please breathe! There’s still misunderstandings left!"

Meanwhile, Mihu remained limp— more like... standing but limp, eyes closed, body still, expression serene like she had passed into a higher realm made entirely of romantic tension.

Then—

Then, without opening her eyes, she weakly lifted a hand toward Seong and Si Hon’s direction.

"Continue..." she whispered faintly.

Heroic.

"Worth it..." she whispered again.

And turned froze again.

The fangirls screamed louder than before.

"NOOOOO SHE’S RELAPSING!"

Back at the center, Seong still held Si Hon’s waist in rigid silence.

Aeloria looked moments away from combusting into blue flames.

Si Hon had not yet resumed normal consciousness.

And above them all, the bunny announcer leaned over the railing, one hand on her cheek, eyes sparkling with wicked delight.

"Oh my..."

She tapped the mic gently.

"Now this is premium entertainment."

Seong looked up, (where did the railing come from?)

After a bit of a moment.

The bunny announcer was somehow still leaning lazily over the railing that absolutely had not ’existed’ a moment ago, one elbow propped against it like she had owned the place the whole time, well she doesn’t but with her power I surely think she can.

She watched the chaos below with bright, satisfied eyes, then gave a small sigh of theatrical disappointment.

"Well, I’d love to see where this goes," she said, glancing meaningfully toward Seong, Si Hon, and the still fuming Aeloria. "Truly. Deeply. Spiritually. But sadly, we do not have all day." She straightened slightly and clapped once. "So... let’s assign things now, yes?"

With a careless flick of her wrist, the giant wheel behind her spun so fast its colors blurred into a glowing ring. The sound rolled across the arena like grinding thunder before it began to slow, clicking through each option one by one.

Her eyes shifted toward Team One.

Yellow and Red.

The pointer jerked once... twice... 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Then stopped.

"Protect a village from monsters."

She tilted her head, lips curling. "Hmm. I see. Lucky... I guess." A pause. "Maybe."

Another flick of her fingers opened a tall portal in front of the combined teams, its surface rippling like liquid glass. Warm light poured out from inside, carrying the faint smell of grass, smoke, and something old.

Several members of the Red and Yellow teams immediately erupted.

"HAHA! That’s it?!"

"A village defense mission? Easy!"

"We got the beginner stage!"

"Monsters? We’ll clear that before lunch!"

Confidence spread through them fast, the kind born from hearing only the title and imagining the easiest version possible. A few were already laughing, slapping shoulders, grinning like victory had been personally delivered to them.

At the front of Red Team, their leader stepped forward with a low snicker.

She was the broad shouldered, short haired, built like someone who solved problems by walking through them girlq. Her grin was sharp and casual as she rolled one shoulder, then glanced sideways at Han Islat, the leader of Yellow Team.

"Relax, kid," she said, voice rough with amusement. "Nothing’s gonna happen. Couple ugly goblins, maybe some wolves, villagers crying in the background, then we collect rewards and leave."

Han Islat didn’t answer immediately.

He simply stared at the portal, expression tight.

Too tight.

The bulky woman noticed and barked a laugh. "Don’t tell me you’re nervous already."

"I’m not nervous," Han said quietly.

He looked up toward the announcer.

"I just don’t trust her."

That made a few nearby chuckles fade.

Above them, the bunny announcer placed a hand over her chest in mock offense.

"Me? Hurtful." She sniffed dramatically. "I would never mislead participants."

The entire arena went silent for one long second.

Then someone in the back shouted, "You have this kind of power!"

She pointed instantly. "And yet here you are, still participating— as an Announcer!"

Before anyone could respond, she waved again and the portal widened, its light dimming just enough for shapes to become visible inside.

A dirt road stretched through the center of the portal.

Wooden fences.

Stone wells.

A quiet little village sitting beneath low gray skies, smoke curling from chimneys like it was any ordinary place in any ordinary world.

Then—

Something moved between the houses.

Only for a second.

Too tall.

Too fast.

Too wrong.

The shape that moved between the houses wasn’t merely large or fast. It was something grotesque, built in ways that made the eyes resist following it properly. Its limbs were too long in some places, too thin in others, bending with angles that didn’t belong to anything natural.

When it passed through the gray streets, it seemed less like a creature running and more like a mistake dragging itself across reality. In short... uncanny.

Several people in Team One instinctively stepped back from the portal.

Then the image changed.

The village view blurred like disturbed water before focusing again, this time inside a small wooden house lit only by a trembling lantern. A man crouched in the corner, clutching two young boys tightly against his chest. All three were shaking. Their lips moved in hurried prayer, voices too faint to hear, but terror needed no translation.

The front door shuddered.

Once.

Twice.

Each impact made the walls groan.

Dust drifted from the ceiling. One of the boys began crying openly now, burying his face against the man’s shoulder while the father only held them tighter, eyes locked on the door as if refusing to blink might somehow keep it standing.

Then—

Boom.

The door burst inward.

Wood splintered across the room.

Something tall unfolded in the entrance.

A black, narrow figure ducked beneath the frame, its silhouette too thin to be human and too twisted to be anything else. Its arms hung low and crooked, fingers nearly brushing the floor. It tilted its head slowly, scanning the room with a curious stillness that felt worse than rage.

Then it saw them.

The father froze.

The boys screamed.

For one moment... or let’s say a second only, the creature simply stood there.

For the next—

It was already in front of them.

No footsteps.

No charge.

Just the distance was erased.

Its jaw opened far too wide, rows of jagged teeth layered deeper than they should have been, like hunger built into a machine. The father barely had time to move before the thing struck.

The lantern toppled.

The room plunged into chaos.

The image blurred with motion, cries, shadows, splintering wood.

Then the portal steadied again.

The father was gone from where he had been kneeling.

Only his fallen body remained collapsed near the wall.

One of the boys was sobbing uncontrollably, crawling backward across the floor, while the other stared in silent shock too deep for tears.

The creature slowly turned its head toward them.

In the arena, nobody spoke.

Even the Red Team leader had gone still.

Above them, the bunny announcer rested her chin on one hand and smiled pleasantly.

"So," she said. "Protect the village, yes?"