Mana String

Four years had passed since Shin Sooyeon was summoned into this world—a world where she was forced to play the role of a hero. She had fought, bled, and survived countless battles, rising from a confused salary woman into an adventurer feared by both monsters and men.

"After sealing off this Typhon bastard, I'll be able to slack off and live as I want," she muttered to herself, rolling her shoulders as she gazed at the towering dungeon gate ahead. "I've saved enough from all those rewards, got my own mansion, and even land from those quests. This is my last job."

Her party—seven people in total—stood before the colossal doors. The dungeon had taken them days to navigate, an endless labyrinth filled with nothing but dim corridors and suffocating silence. Now, they had finally arrived at the deepest chamber, where their final task awaited.

Zephyr Krest, the mage, raised his staff. "Let's get this over with. Firebolt!"

A stream of fire shot toward the torches lining the gate, and in response, the ancient doors groaned as they creaked open. Inside, a long hallway stretched forward, each pillar alight with ethereal blue flames. At the end of it, a throne sat—empty.

"A castle? Inside a dungeon?" Sylphine Deus, the healer, murmured, doubt creeping into her voice.

"This place gives me the creeps," Lucien Falken added, eyes darting toward the unseen ceiling lost in darkness.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Sooyeon asked, growing impatient.

Aether Gus nodded firmly. "This is what's on the map the king gave us."

The air thickened with unease as they ventured further, the sound of their footsteps echoing in the eerie silence.

Then—

Glitch

Sooyeon's breath hitched. For a fraction of a second, the empty throne was occupied.

A hooded figure.

Glitch

The image distorted, disappearing as quickly as it appeared.

"Did you see that?" she whispered.

"See what?" Orin Newt frowned.

"That hooded giant in the throne?!"

Another flicker.

Glitch

This time, the vision remained longer. A colossal figure sat on the throne, its golden hood shifting slightly. Beside him, two beings loomed—angels, but not the kind depicted in paintings. They were eldritch, incomprehensible, their forms shifting between feathers and countless, unblinking eyes.

"Uh… there's nothing there, Sooyeon," Zephyr said hesitantly.

But she knew what she saw.

And then—

Pain.

A searing, unbearable pain tore through her leg. She gasped, body crumbling as blood pooled beneath her. Her vision swam as she looked down.

A sword. A five-inch blade had pierced through her right thigh.

She turned, barely able to comprehend what was happening—

Zephyr and Sylphine lay on the floor, their bodies lifeless. Blood smeared across the cold stone.

The hands that had struck them down belonged to their own party.

Orin wrenched his blade from her leg, his face devoid of grin and remorse. "You were always sharp, Sooyeon. I had a feeling you'd notice. Luckily, you didn't."

Her mind reeled. "Wh… why?"

"You really think you were the hero of this world?" Raelith Odal scoffed, stepping over Sylphine's body like it was nothing more than dirt. "You're just another sacrifice. Just like the ones before you."

Another glitch erupted across the room, and the hooded giant's voice finally broke through the distortion.

"How pitiful…"

His voice was like the birth of stars, an overwhelming force that shook the chamber.

"You have no idea that your doom is their salvation."

Sooyeon's mind spun, fighting against the blinding pain and confusion. She gritted her teeth, forcing herself up despite the blood gushing from her leg. She grabbed her warhammer—

The symbol of the hero.

But then the golden-hooded being's words repeated, echoing like a death knell.

"That warhammer is the symbol of a sacrifice."

Realization struck her like lightning.

She had never been a hero.

She was a sacrifice all along.

Her grip tightened around the warhammer. If she was going to die, she would make sure she took them with her.