episode_0081

An awkward silence followed.

Even after telling the whole story, she was still struggling to control her emotions.

It seems that just telling the story calmly required a considerable amount of effort.

Memories of the past that I didn’t know about were more traumatizing than I thought.

I still see you crying a little bit.

Although the silence was heavy and uncomfortable, I didn’t bother to break it.

Because I also needed time to organize my thoughts.

To be honest, I don’t know if all of those words are true. How much of it is true and how much is false.

Judging from the attitude, it seemed real… but it was such an absurd story that it was hard to believe.

I’ve already died.

No, it’s so absurd that it seems believable…

‘···Let’s stop.’

After thinking about it for a while, I decided to believe it for now. It was a problem that I couldn’t find an answer to even if I doubted it.

If a story this complex is fake, she would be better suited as a novelist than a sorceress.

“Ah.”

While I was thinking like that, something suddenly crossed my mind.

Come to think of it, there was one person whose attitude changed significantly before hers.

Yuris. The saint of our team.

My curiosity piqued, I broke the silence and asked her.

“Lily. Has anyone else gone back to the past before you?”

“Huh?”

By then, she had also calmed down her emotions to some extent.

There’s still some tears in his eyes, but at least his voice isn’t shaking like before.

“Ah, there you are! Yuris. I heard you came back when you captured Chungwang.”

“······Phew.”

I guess I was more of a retard than I thought.

I’ve already lost twice. Where did my 900+ game experience go?

In fact, it was all eaten up through the asshole!

I am more like a worm than a human being because I cannot learn from my failures.

I thought I was doing well, but I guess not…

As he was alone and depressed like that, Lily opened her mouth cautiously.

“That’s why Yulis wanted to keep it a secret···. I was afraid that Luke would be depressed······.”

“Haa, no···. But I guess it’s right to say this. Thank you.”

Although I still feel a bit guilty, I feel like I have some things to sort out.

“Let’s meet Yuris first.”

It seemed like a three-way meeting was necessary.

*

Although quite some time had passed, the saint was still busy.

At the same time as treating the seriously injured Jess Cuban, I had to purify the puppet.

That’s why when we visited, Yulis was still working.

When he found us, Yulis greeted us with a tired face.

Lily and I told her what had happened so far.

The fact that Yulis’ face, which was receiving the story, was getting more and more tired in real time… was probably because of her mood.

“Ah, ahh···!”

After hearing the whole story, she touched her forehead as if she was getting a headache.

“In the end··· You ended up telling me. I told you to keep it a secret······.”

Lily makes excuses, avoiding eye contact.

“I couldn’t help it···. What can I do when they keep asking? And I can’t keep it a secret my whole life.”

“Haa···.”

Yuris let out a small sigh.

“Yes, it already happened···.”

It seemed like there wasn’t as much foolishness as I thought. As Lily said, I couldn’t keep it a secret for the rest of my life.

If it’s something that will come to light later anyway, it’s not a bad idea to say it now.

Yulis, who had brushed back her hair once, looked at me.

I looked at her and said.

“That’s why I’ve been helping you secretly all this time.”

“···Yes. Because I want to do something for you.”

“Thank you. Oh… I’m sorry for making you suffer for no reason······.”

Until then, I was still stuck in a self-destructive mindset that I had failed.

Think about it. Aren’t I a veteran of the game? I’m the one who knows more about the Demon King’s army than anyone else.

I went on a rampage, even accepting a curse, to protect them, but somehow I ended up being defeated by the Four Heavenly Kings, even if only for a little while. Because of that, I felt a sense of guilt, confusion, and various other emotions, and I reproached myself for a moment.

But I guess that was something I shouldn’t have said in front of her.

“Please don’t ever say that.”

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her with such a serious expression.

“It wasn’t your fault at all. It was an inevitable result. It was a fight that had to happen at least once. Rather, it was our fault···.”

She spoke in a sharp tone, a hint of irritation evident in her voice.

It’s been so long since I’ve seen something like that, I was honestly a little scared.

That’s why I answered politely.

“Oh, yep.”

“Yeah, huh···.”

She exhaled once and continued.

“And to be honest, I wasn’t even held that long. Maybe a week at most? So you don’t have to worry too much, I should be the one apologizing, but I···.”

As if she had said everything she wanted to say, she turned her head. Since my curiosity had been satisfied, I thought the conversation would end here.

The conversation would have ended if Lily hadn’t spoken again.

“One week···?”

It was a question that contained a lot of meaning.

Yulis, who felt something strange, asks her.

“Why? Is there a problem?”

“Uh··· Wasn’t it originally 2 weeks?”

“···Huh?”

Julius seemed to sense that there was something fundamentally wrong with those words.

He made a serious face and grabbed Lily’s shoulders. Then he asked her in a serious tone.

“That story. Can you elaborate a little more?”

After that, Lily’s explanation continued again, leaving out all the detailed explanations of what had happened.

He only conveyed his own perception of time.

“I’m honestly not sure if it was exactly two weeks. There was no clock there, and I wasn’t in my right mind either… But I’m sure it was at least a week. The days and nights changed at least seven times.”

As I listened to her, I turned on the status window.

And then I went into the [Power of Sacrifice] description window again.

Because there was a part that I could guess a little.

The golden aura is subtle but clearly weaker than before. I thought this was simply due to the skill being used…

‘Does the effect get weaker the more you use it?’

Of course, you can’t just use the fraudulent skill called regression.

After hearing the whole story, Yulis muttered with a serious expression.

“That can’t be······.”

In fact, this was a serious problem.

If skill casting time keeps increasing, how long will it take next time?

3 weeks? 4 weeks?

Time was an issue, but the remaining Four Heavenly Kings were also a problem.

Because they were enough despair to break your spirit in the remaining time.

Among them, the one with eternity in particular… is not necessarily limited by the remaining time.

“···First of all, let’s keep it a secret from the other party members.”

That’s why I made a slightly conservative decision. I felt like I understood a little bit about their feelings of keeping their regression a secret until now.

“Telling them will only make things more confusing. They might get scared. They probably won’t believe me anyway.”

So, let’s keep it a secret for now. And I also have to be more careful not to die.

Honestly, looking at the opponent’s ability, I wonder if it’s possible… But anyway, aren’t you fully aware that there are a lot of people who can do it?

Yuris and Lily nodded at my words.

That day, I felt like I had finally found a trustworthy party member.

*

“Then I wish you good luck.”

“Thank you, Farrell.”

Three days after the battle with the puppet master.

Our party, having reorganized, is ready to go on another expedition to the Demon World.

Now that we’ve identified the location where he teleported, it’s time to truly subdue him.

Now was the perfect opportunity, as the guy’s injury had not yet healed.

Although the bastard’s abilities were fraudulent, his regenerative abilities were poor.

Even elixirs made with human power do not work on it.

It’s a bit far, but you can think of it as leveling up.

“How is Cuban’s condition?”

“All the wounds have healed. But··· the mana circle is almost completely broken. It seems like it will be difficult to use proper magic in the future···.”

“That can’t be···.”

Lily is depressed after hearing Yuris’ words. There was much to lose in this battle. One of the Empire’s strongest men was forced into retirement, and the people’s anxiety also grew.

As the loss was great, the expectations placed on the warrior party were bound to grow as well.

“In the end, you’re the only one I have to trust and leave to me. I really don’t like it···.”

Of course, since it is cursed, most of the looks are ugly.

Especially that guy McGuff, he still seems to hate me.

“I won’t say much. Just cut your throat and come in. I’ll be in charge of this place.”

I nodded.

So we went through a long journey of empire.

Back to the Demon World. To completely subdue the puppet master.

I turned back again.