The battlefield was silent.
A cold wind moved across the endless wasteland as another demon collapsed onto the ground. Its body slowly dissolved into black fragments before disappearing completely.
Gaurav stood there, breathing heavily.
Blood ran down his arm, dripping onto the cracked earth below.
Nine months.
Nine months inside the loop.
Fight.
Rest.
Repeat.
The cycle had become so normal that even pain felt ordinary.
Another demon appeared.
Gaurav stepped forward to attack—
Then he froze.
Someone was standing behind the demon.
A girl.
His eyes widened.
"…Anzhu?"
The demon vanished as if it had never existed.
Gaurav slowly turned around.
She stood there, exactly as he remembered.
The same eyes.
The same expression.
Watching him.
For a moment he said nothing. His mind refused to believe what he was seeing.
Anzhu looked at him carefully.
Then she spoke.
"You look terrible."
Gaurav blinked.
For a second he wondered if he had finally lost his mind.
But she was still there.
Still standing in front of him.
A strange warmth spread through his chest.
He laughed quietly.
"You… you're actually here."
His legs moved before he could think.
He walked toward her slowly, almost afraid she might disappear if he moved too fast.
Anzhu also stepped forward.
Her eyes were filled with emotion.
For a brief moment, both of them simply stood there.
After months of endless battles, the battlefield suddenly felt quiet.
Peaceful.
Gaurav smiled.
Then—
SMACK.
The sound echoed across the empty wasteland.
Gaurav's head snapped to the side.
He stared at her in shock.
Anzhu's hand slowly lowered.
Her eyes were filled with anger.
"How could you become so cruel?"
Her voice trembled.
"Do you even realize what you've become?"
Gaurav said nothing.
Her words cut deeper than any demon claw.
Cruel.
The images flashed through his mind.
Endless fights.
Endless killing.
Every day he had destroyed creatures without hesitation.
At some point… it had stopped feeling wrong.
His gaze slowly dropped to the ground.
"…I didn't have a choice."
Anzhu stepped closer.
"You always have a choice."
Her voice softened slightly.
"I came all the way here to—"
Suddenly her body flickered.
Both of them froze.
"What…?" Gaurav whispered.
Anzhu looked down at her own hands.
The air around her distorted.
"No… wait…"
Her voice began to fade.
Somewhere far away, an unseen force was pulling her back.
Gaurav stepped forward quickly.
"Anzhu!"
But it was already too late.
Her form dissolved into light.
And she was gone.
The battlefield returned to silence.
Gaurav stood there, frozen.
"…What just happened?"
His heart pounded violently.
Was she real?
Or had he finally gone insane?
Before he could think further—
A cold blade suddenly rested against his shoulder.
A demon had appeared behind him.
The creature leaned forward, its sword pressing slightly into his skin.
Normally this would have been a dangerous moment.
But right now—
Gaurav was furious.
His fist moved before the demon could react.
CRACK.
The creature exploded into fragments instantly.
The battlefield fell silent again.
Gaurav stared at the empty air where Anzhu had been standing.
"…You came here."
"If she had reached this universe once…
Then it was possible.
Escape was possible."
His fists slowly tightened.
"I'm getting out of here."
For the first time in months, he stopped thinking about survival.
Now he was thinking about the system itself.
The rules.
The pattern.
Every three demons.
Five minutes of rest.
Then the battlefield reset.
Everything followed strict logic.
A mathematical structure.
Gaurav sat down on the ground and began watching carefully.
One demon.
Two demons.
Three demons.
Then rest.
Reset.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Days passed.
Then a week.
Finally…
He noticed something strange.
The system always processed events in order.
Three eliminations.
Then reward.
Then reset.
But what if…
The system couldn't process the eliminations fast enough?
Gaurav slowly stood up.
"…Let's try something."
For the next three days, he pushed his body beyond its limits.
Faster.
Sharper.
More precise.
His movements became almost invisible.
Finally, the moment arrived.
Three demons appeared at once.
They roared and charged toward him.
Gaurav inhaled slowly.
Then he moved.
Three flashes of movement.
Three strikes.
Three demons.
All eliminated in less than a heartbeat.
For a moment—
Nothing happened.
Then the battlefield began to shake.
Golden symbols appeared across the sky.
Error.
Error.
Error.
The system had broken.
Cracks spread through the battlefield like shattered glass.
The ground beneath his feet collapsed.
A powerful force pulled him upward.
The entire time loop began to collapse.
Gaurav closed his eyes as the world around him dissolved.
Then—
Silence.
He landed on solid ground.
When he opened his eyes again, the ruined battlefield was gone.
Instead, he stood inside the vast space of the Master Universe.
And in front of him…
The disciples were waiting.
One of them smiled calmly.
"Welcome back."