Chapter 625 - Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint

The bounty had been lifted. The avatar that once displayed my face and warned others now issued a retraction, and the Black Tower Master's command called back the mage from the Security Bureau who had come to capture Shei. Our arrival at the floating city had been fraught with troubles from the first day, but it seemed we could finally relax. The Blue Tower Lord arranged accommodations for Shei and me, complete with a small adjoining room. While introducing us to our lodgings, the Blue Tower Lord remarked, "You probably don't know how to operate magical devices, do you? I'd love to teach you, but if you're not a mage, it's impossible to handle them. You'll have to manage without for now." "And how does one become a mage?" "At the very least, you need to be able to sense and infuse mana, and have the knowledge to use them. It's nearly impossible to learn in a short time if you start with nothing, but you've already learned ceremonial magic and have been hailed as a 'genius' by Lankart... hehe, so maybe you'll pick it up quickly?" "You just mocked me, didn't you?" "Sorry, did you hear that?" "I'll turn that mockery into admiration for you." "Haha. I look forward to it." With a friendly wave, the Blue Tower Lord returned to the Crystal Tower. Relieved, I relaxed into a chair. "Phew. This has been exhausting. Getting caught up in incidents the moment we arrived." "...So. Since when were you two so close?" Why was she so curious about this? Didn't she realize the same Blue Tower Lord who befriended her could just as easily befriend me as well? Trying to reason with an apparently irritated Shei, I explained, "The Blue Tower Lord is also said to be close with Lankart. The head of the Federal Information Bureau? That's the Blue Tower Lord, and Lankart is an affiliated investigator, I've heard. Lankart introduced the Blue Tower Lord to find you." "...I see." "The person you initially sought help from was the Blue Tower Lord, after all. She's got the character for it. The order is different, but the result is the same." "...Right." "By the way, with all the incidents, you must be pretty exhausted, Shei. You need some rest, don't you?" Caught in various incidents from the moment we arrived at the floating city, Shei was nearly at the point of collapse. Had her energy and stamina been sufficient, she wouldn't have fled so weakly earlier. Not that she could have won against a Tower Lord anyway. The Green Tower Lord, the Black Tower Lord, and the Blue Tower Lord. Their strength surpasses that of the military powerhouses. Their unique magic alone is formidable, but wielding holy magic adds devastating power. Frankly, they seem much stronger than the Elder, who is simply overwhelmingly powerful. Though, in a prolonged engagement, who knows. And the Demon King was... outside the realm of standard measurements. The God of Evil? It's not quite like that. It's different from understanding the grand laws governing all things in the world. It's just that his own unique magic was overwhelmingly powerful. And now, my curiosity grows. Just how powerful was the King of Sins, whom even the Sword Saint and the Demon King could not defeat? "Shei. By the way, there's something I'd like to ask." "...Why do I have to answer?" "At least hear the question first before dismissing it!" Why so hostile? She wasn't like this before we came here—she'd softened a bit, but now she's back to her old self! "Alright, I'll listen. What is it?" "About what you mentioned, 'that thing above the floating city.' What exactly is it?" "Oh, that." It seemed this was important to Shei as well, as her expression turned more serious. 'I'm still not over it, but just this once, I'll let it go.' Let it go? Why should I care about your mood? There's definitely something peculiar about her. Though I wanted to argue, what Shei had to say was crucial, so I decided to let it pass—just this once. "Hughes. I told you, didn't I? I'm a regressor." "Yes, you did. Though I didn't get a proper explanation." "Indeed. I've experienced death over twelve times... Each time, I return to an alley in the military nation from years ago. And then I start a new cycle." Though I was familiar with the concept, I pretended to listen intently, my expression suitably grave, as Shei recounted her past with sincerity. "At first, I was conscripted into the military nation, unaware of anything, and got swept up in the war and died. Then I came back to life. From then on, I did everything I could to survive—running, fighting, gathering information, and building strength—to escape death. But, while there were times I died sooner... I never died later than that war." "What was that war?" "The Second War of Sins." Upon saying that, Shei shivered. Even the name alone suggested something monumental. "Was that a war against the King of Sins?" "...Yes, it was." "Did they really call it a war just against one King of Sins?" "It was warranted. The King of Sins was stronger than any human…." As Shei muttered vacantly, she began to reminisce, albeit vaguely. Her memory wasn't clear—at that time, she was too weak and insignificant to be part of such a battlefield. She was merely swept along. Even with her mastery of ki, standing on two legs was impossible. The ground trembled, storms raged across the sky, and lightning fell like rain. The world was torn apart by thunderous roars countless times. Though she barely survived thanks to some heavenly fortune, it was only temporary. Equal death visited Shei. The King of Sins, who easily slaughtered the Sword Saint, the Demon King, and the Saintess, appeared before Shei. And it was then that I recognized the identity of that face. It was the visage of the ‘elder sister’ with gray hair. "You can't defeat the King of Sins. That's why I decided to delay the birth of the King of Sins and eliminate whatever would contribute to its power." "How?" "By preventing the catalyst for the Second War of Sins, the First War of Sins, and obstructing Nevina's plans." Ah, of course. Talking about a Second War of Sins implies there was a First, doesn't it? "The war where I was first conscripted and died—that was the First War of Sins. Spread of plagues, discrimination and massacres, conflicts over the God of Evil, the rift between the Empire and its vassal states... Every nation on the continent had its reasons to fight. It all ended with the Empire's victory, but... it left the world impoverished through great warfare, and resentment towards the Empire had only grown. Sin was rampant across all nations." That recollection, too, was hazy. Perhaps it was too grand a concept. The black plague, causing massacres of the Beast Kin at the borders, the ensuing conflicts and divisions, and the dissatisfaction and standoffs of the vassal states. Amidst these fleeting visions, Shei recalled her most vivid memory. "And... the trigger for the First War of Sins. It's the Great Descent." "The Great Descent?" "Yes. When that thing from above the floating city falls...." Shei's voice trailed off as she spoke. Her memory seemed to be fading further, and she soon dozed off momentarily, then awoke, blinking. I suspected her unusually blurry recollection was due to sleepiness. "Are you tired?" "I'm fine. I can still hold on." Despite Shei's attempt to gather her energy and shake off sleep, to me, it seemed a futile effort. "‘Holding on’ means you're not fine. Enough. Just get some rest." "I want to finish what I was talking about...." "We can continue that tomorrow. It's not like anything is chasing us. We have tomorrow." If you keep nodding off and giving me hazy memories, I'm the one at a loss here. Especially regarding the floating city, it's all the more critical to listen carefully, given the unknown events that might transpire. "...But." "I'm getting tired too, so I need some rest as well. You should close your eyes. Running around while not fully recovered must have worn you out." I rose, signaling I wouldn't listen any further. Though Shei still seemed displeased, I ignored it and moved behind the chair she sat in. "Ah. Wait a moment. What was this again?" With a brief infusion of mana, the chair altered its form. The armrests spread apart, the backrest reclined, and it transformed into a fine bed. Shei asked with a puzzled look, "Is that a magical device?" "Yes. Since space is limited in the floating city, they make use of magical devices like this." I dimmed the lights and even draped a blanket over her, urging her not to rise. Despite her grumbling, her eyelids eventually succumbed to their weight. Watching her yawn deeply, I was preparing to sleep as well when— "...Hughes." "Yes." "I've failed many times up until now. Thirteen failures, dying, and coming back. Gaining greater power, learning more information, discovering more treasures.... Yet...." Shei's eyelids drooped as she spoke of her exhaustion. Even a master of ki like her couldn't resist fatigue. Forcing her reattached arm with ki must have consumed a tremendous amount of energy every moment. As I planned to stay in the floating city a while longer, I'm sure Lankart wouldn't cause any trouble. This meant Shei could also focus on her recovery. "This is the first time I’ve met you..." "I imagine it is." If she'd known I was the King of Humans all along, she'd have come looking long ago. Ugh. This is why I wanted to avoid getting too deeply involved with Shei. Thinking that it was inevitable it'd be discovered eventually, I started to accept it. "...And despite the struggles, and the getting my arm torn off in this cycle...." As her eyelids drooped further, Shei's voice grew softer. Right before fully drifting off, she managed to complete her thought. "...Still, with you here... it feels like it's going the best it ever has...." With that last sleepy breath, Shei fell into a gentle slumber, unfazed by my presence. Hm. Does Shei realize how hard I've worked to handle this potentially disastrous relationship? YW9peUx5cktZYXhyU2hzY1VsMkQ0WDFmM2pYMG9jSXd2bmN6dVNYTEdNV0QzcWNJd2s3Y2l6RmhUa1F5Y2t4bQ Perhaps that's why it feels like things are going well. It's best to be close if you can't maintain distance from a regressor. I pulled the blanket up to her shoulders and was about to get to my own matters when— Wait. Something was tugging at my clothes. I glanced down to see, beneath the blanket, the regressor's right hand firmly gripping my sleeve. I had no idea when she'd started doing this. "Shei." I called, but there was no response. Earlier, she struggled to stay awake, and now she refuses to wake at all. Be consistent, really. Despite the predicament, I'm no ordinary person. Known as the Escape Artist when I was a magician—no mere grip should hold me. Slipping a card between her fingers and my sleeve as I prepares to extricate myself... "Wait, what?" Her grip didn't even let a single card pass through? What's going on here? Even rigor mortis isn't this formidable. Is celestial energy at work? Ugh. No choice. If I forcibly break free and her arm detaches—wait, she just had that arm reattached not long ago. What if it comes off if I use force? Caught in a situation where neither this nor that worked. To think I'd escape a gravitational barrier only to be snagged by a simple grip. My pride felt wounded. Moreover, I needed some sleep too. If I'm stuck like this, I can't rest— "Ah. I can still sleep, can't I?" To heck with it. I abandoned the idea of freeing Shei's grip. Instead, I lifted the blanket and lay down next to her. You're the one who won't let go, so I'll just sleep here. Savoring the sound of her gentle breathing and the warmth beside me, I too fell asleep beside Shei, her hand still clutching my arm.