Chapter 368

Réa​d ȯ​n ̂K‍atＲẽа​d&i;ｎ&g;C‍af̈&e;

Living life, there are moments like that.

Déjà vu.

A place you’ve never been feels familiar.

A person you’re meeting for the first time feels oddly familiar.

It’s something you’ve never experienced, but it feels like you have before.

It’s just a delusion.

Confusing similar memories.

It’s just the brain making a mistake while searching for memories.

She, Anastasia, felt that sensation every day. It couldn’t be dismissed as a delusion. In a way, it was recalling something she had actually experienced. She was singular and plural. One person, but not one person. 

The girl called ‘Anastasia’ constantly multiplied and decreased depending on the day. It was something she hadn’t experienced, but another version of herself had experienced something similar.

Clones.

Anastasia’s Supernatural Ability.

The ability to replicate herself infinitely.

She was special even among clone-type supernaturals. She didn’t experience the division of ego.

The memories of the clones were inherited by the original. Because of that, clone supernaturals suffered from confusion about their identity. They couldn’t distinguish whether a memory was their own or a clone’s. 

If it deepened, they became confused about whether they were the original or a clone. It worsened the more they used the ability, so it was rare for clone supernaturals to reach a high level.

However, while most clone supernaturals suffered from identity crisis, she always preserved her ego.

She had never seriously thought about it, but Anastasia had a rough idea.

Lack of self-love.

What did it matter if she herself was the original or a clone?

Even if she was replaced by a clone one day, it wouldn’t matter much.

In the end, it’s still ‘me’.

The person ‘Anastasia’ exists unchanged.

So, wouldn’t it be alright?

Armed with a way of thinking that lacked something important, Anastasia recklessly created clones. The experience of the clones was inherited by the original. Memories were connected. 

Anastasia was born with talent. When that Anastasia gained tens, hundreds, or thousands more experiences than others, she was able to achieve results beyond her innate talent.

Naturally, déjà vu was an everyday occurrence.

‘I’ haven’t experienced it, but ‘I’ have.

A place you’ve never been feels familiar, and a food you’re eating for the first time feels familiar.

A weapon you’re holding for the first time feels familiar, and a person you’re meeting for the first time feels familiar.

…In fact, it was rarer for things to feel unfamiliar.

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about it.”

So, this memory must be a kind of déjà vu.

That’s what Anastasia thought.

“Yeah, something felt strange.”

But something was off.

Which ‘clone’ experienced this?

“Yeah, haven’t you ever thought that?”

‘Anastasia’ tilted her head.

Who was she talking to?

Anastasia also tilted her head.

“…Instead of talking nonsense, what’s the conclusion?”

He was a boy like the night sky.

Hair as dark as obsidian.

Gold eyes that sparkled like starlight.

Anastasia was unusually flustered.

God of War? God of War? Why?

“Yeah, listen.”

‘Anastasia’ raised her index finger and wagged it from side to side, saying.

“The regression of time is the work of the Noble Prince Agares.”

“So what?”

“The time regression is already out of the Noble Prince’s hands. Even if the Noble Prince dies, time will repeat.”

“…Because it’s established by causality. Not only I, but even the Four Seasons can’t interfere.”

“Yeah, so the Four Seasons used a trick. They erased the memories of the Devils. This makes the time regression meaningless. It’s just a meaningless repetition.”

What’s a Devil? Regression?

Anastasia followed ‘Anastasia’ and wagged her index finger.

Why am I having a private meeting with the commander of the Celestial Corps?

I don’t know what’s going on, but ‘I’ am amazing.

“But why are your memories being erased?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“You, and Eugene. You’re both strong. Chosen ones.”

The chosen ones who have undergone the Incarnation process and awakened.

The swords of the Four Seasons’ forged to defeat the Devil God’s King.

“Divine Being Among Humans. You’re stronger than the Four Seasons.”

“Only in terms of force. Our abilities are specialized for fighting. Because we are swords to kill Bael. In fields other than force, we can’t compare to a ‘righteous’ god like the Four Seasons.”

“Still, you’re gods. God of War. Heavenly God. You’ve reached the ‘Pinnacle of Humanity’, and you’re not just ‘Godlike’. You’ve surpassed the Limit of the Human Realm, surpassed resembling a god, and become gods yourselves.”

“…What’s the conclusion?”

“Yeah, why don’t you remember?”

“What?”

“Why are your memories erased when you regress?”

“That’s…”

The ‘commander’ closed his mouth.

He frowned as if lost in thought.

Anastasia also frowned.

The God of War must be the God of War, but what is the Heavenly God?

Today is full of things I don’t know.

“Lucia said. Forget everything. Forget everything. If you exclude the ‘Needle of Casuality’, the world will be reset.”

Why?

I’ll let the Devils slide.

Originally, they could remember, but they lost their memories due to external interference.

But what about you?

“Gods are beyond the concept of time. Even if time goes back, you should preserve your memories.”

“…I’ve told you. Our abilities are only specialized for force.”

“Gods are beyond the concept of space-time. Even ‘those who resemble gods’ can imitate that. There’s no way you, who have become complete gods, can’t do it. If you didn’t recognize the time regression, well, I guess that could happen. 

An ambush from nowhere. Let’s say you were helplessly defeated. But, you know, you know now, right? There must have been many times when you knew about the past regressions, right?”

“…”

The warmth slowly disappeared from the commander’s expression.

Emotions were erased, and only a bone-chilling coldness remained in their place.

‘Anastasia’ shrugged.

“This is… a really pure question.”

The time regression of the Devil Agares.

‘Chosen Ones’ can resist it.

But every time, they forget their memories.

“Is Agares more amazing than we expected?”

Or is there a hidden secret?

“Commander, what do you think?”

◈

“…Ah.”

Anastasia suddenly came to her senses.

She blinked her eyes blankly.

She saw the ear of a small girl.

Why am I putting my mouth to Eugene’s ear?

Come to think of it, I think I said something just now?

Yeah, I don’t remember very well.

Since my memories are vague, I must have let myself go with déjà vu again.

It happens often. In her head, countless memories of ‘me’ are piled up. 

She is buried in those memories and forgets the ‘present’. At such times, she moves almost instinctively and doesn’t remember what she did. 

It’s similar to a sleepwalking patient moving on their own while asleep. Anastasia pondered for a moment, trying to recall her memories, but then gave up. It probably wasn’t important.

“Munch munch.”

“Hiek?!”

She bit Eugene’s ear.

Without baring her teeth, she started munching.

There was no reason. It was just there in front of her. The reaction was fun.

“Hey, what are you doing?!”

Her bizarre behavior continued until Leo, horrified, stopped her. 

What a shame. It was delicious. Anastasia smacked her lips, looking at Eugene’s ear dripping with saliva. 

But why is this girl Eugene? Eugene was too small. Eugene was tall, wasn’t he? No, wasn’t he a man?

“…Something’s wrong.”

“I don’t know what’s wrong, but it’s probably less strange than you eating Eugene’s ear.”

“Eugene? Girl? Why?”

“That’s what I’m saying. Why a girl? I’m actually still suspecting that she’s a mentally ill person who still mistakenly believes she’s Eugene.”

“And why are you kidnapping girls?”

“This isn’t kidnapping, it’s… Are you perhaps suffering from amnesia? Please cut me some slack.”

Leo brushed it off nonchalantly.

Anastasia’s bizarre behavior was an everyday occurrence.

Even if she suddenly committed strange acts, it was part of her daily routine.

Anastasia stared up at Leo, who was answering jokingly.

He must think it’s a joke. I was serious.

“….”

The problem children of Class D being held by Leo.

Eugene who had become Alice.

Oh, Alice is here.

Then what is it? What is it? Who are you?

“Yeah, I don’t know.”

Anastasia came to the same conclusion as always.

I don’t know.

Since I don’t know, let’s just ignore it.

“Ugh…”

Lucia, who had been sleeping, woke up at the same time that Anastasia stopped thinking.

As she groaned softly and tossed and turned, Frey exclaimed with joy.

“Lucia! You’re awake? Are you okay? Are you alright?! Does anything hurt?! Is there anything uncomfortable?!”

She had been replaced by Alice in the middle, but that wasn’t important. The most important thing was that Lucia had woken up. 

Alice, who had been pouring out questions tearfully, paused. Eyes like cherry blossoms that couldn’t focus. An unintelligible groan flowed from her slightly parted lips.

“Huh? You’re awake?”

“Haa, that’s a relief. I was worried because you suddenly collapsed.”

Anastasia’s and Leo’s voices sounded distant.

Alice’s expression hardened like a wax doll.

“…”

The atmosphere was different.

Different from the Lucia she knew.

The face was hers, but somehow it was different.

Alice felt like her heart was sinking.

The worst assumption came to mind.

“Haha… It was hard….”

But that worry was short-lived.

The way she groaned was the Lucia she knew best.

Alice breathed a sigh of relief. The anxiety that had risen to the top of her head was barely washed away. For a moment, she thought her body had been taken over by the Devil.

“I barely managed to… Huh? Alice?”

“Luciaaaaaaa…”

She barely borrowed Belial’s authority. Lucia breathed a sigh of relief. It was really fortunate that Belial wasn’t in her right mind. She had been prepared to fight to the death, but it was resolved much more easily than she thought. 

However, adapting to the Devil God’s authority was a completely separate ordeal. It was like giving wings to someone who didn’t have them and then immediately telling them to fly in the sky. It couldn’t be easy.

“I’m sorry. I worried you. I suddenly collapsed… How long has it been since I passed out?”

She asked, calming Alice who was hugging her and crying. She rushed as much as possible, but it still took some time. It was a situation where every minute mattered. She had to go help Yoo-seong quickly. If more time had passed than she thought…

“It hasn’t been long? 5 minutes? Would it have been around that?”

“5 minutes….”

That wasn’t a long time.

Under normal circumstances.

In a life-or-death struggle, 5 minutes was an excruciatingly long time.

Lucia bit her lip. There was no time. Not enough time. Astaroth recreated Dawn, and 5 minutes passed. Perhaps the victory or defeat had already been decided. Lucia urgently pulled away from Alice’s embrace. She wanted to reassure her a little more, but she didn’t have time.

“Lucia?”

“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. There’s no time to explain.”

Many things seemed to have happened while she was unconscious. Regina and Seri were unconscious and being held by Leo, and Eugene was spaced out and being held by Anastasia. Lucia suppressed her curiosity and urgently shouted.

“You guys evacuate to a safe place first.”

“Yes? Then what about Lucia?”

“I have something to do.”

“N-No! I don’t know what it is, but I want to be with you too!”

Lucia hesitated for a moment. She repeated the worry she had briefly had before she passed out. Alice had reached the captain level. Wouldn’t the current Alice be helpful?

The hesitation was short, and the conclusion was the same. Captains might be helpful. But Alice was still immature. If they were veteran captains, they might be able to land a blow on a Devil, but Alice lacked experience. 

No matter how talented she was, she couldn’t help but lack experience. Even if she had reached the captain level, she hadn’t become a captain yet. Moreover, it was a battlefield where even those captains couldn’t guarantee their lives. It was too early for Alice.

“Alice.”

“I’m strong now too! You know that! I’m much better than Lucia….”

“Alice.”

“I can definitely be helpful…”

Even the time to persuade her was precious.

Lucia cupped Alice’s cheeks with both hands and met her gaze.

“That’s right. Alice is strong.”

“Then…”

“So I can trust you to take care of things.”

“…”

“I’m counting on you to take care of everyone.”

She couldn’t convince Alice with just a few words. Knowing that, Lucia didn’t even listen for a proper answer and ran into the battlefield. Alice blankly watched her back. At first, she tried to chase after her, but she realized that she couldn’t. The reason was absurd. It was because she was too fast. She was so fast that all she could do was follow her with her eyes.

“Lucia…?”

Was she originally this fast?

That couldn’t be.

Even if she had awakened as someone close to a god, she was still only at the level of a vice-captain.

There was no way she couldn’t catch up to someone who had reached the captain level…?

“Yeah, this is unexpected.”

Anastasia widened her eyes in genuine surprise and muttered.

“She’s reverse-devouring the Devil. As expected of the Blessed Saintess.”

But what is a Blessed Saintess?

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
I wish everyday was the weekend.

Saturday, Sunday, Saturday, Sunday, Saturday, Sunday, Saturday…

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday, Sunday, Sunday, Sunday, Sunday, Sunday.

0 work days per week.

That is the only salvation…

Sunday… you were right…

Weekday trains… you’re wrong…

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Well, Anastasia isn’t the only one having a mind down.

That being said, no more bad dreams.

(I’d be surprised if anyone got this reference.)

(Not that it matters since no one even reads this novel anymore, tsk. Stupid Vtubers can all die!)