Reset Life – Chapter 185

Chapter 185: Let’s see how much you can dodge (5)

“W-Well. Were those two always that strong?”

However, the two in question were staring at their fists, which were touching each other, with wide eyes. They also seemed bewildered by the sudden shaking of the ground and the throbbing sky.

Then the ground shook again, with a loud roar.

*Kwaaaang-! *

“Ugh?!”

This time it was a little more intense. I steadied my wobbling knees, and Levidian quickly lowered her stance. An earthquake followed by a roaring sound…… Did a volcano erupt?

I quickly looked around. There was nothing wrong with the buildings around the training ground. As I looked around, my gaze passed over the southern sky.

“Huh? What’s that?”

“Smoke……? No, it’s dust. And it’s rising from a wide area…… Risel!”

The sharp-eyed woman was startled as if she had discovered something. She fixed her gaze somewhere in the air.

“Over there, look over there!”

“Huh? Where?”

“Up there! Can’t you see it?”

I looked where she was pointing. I think I can see a small dot through the rising dust cloud. A bird? No, no bird other than a hummingbird could stay still in the air. Then it’s something other than a bird……

“Levidian, what is that?”

“Can’t you see? It’s Referndi!”

“What?!”

“Ah……!”

She gasped again as she looked at the sky where the dot, which she called Referndi, was. I turned my head in the same direction as her, and there I saw a second sun.

Oh my god! A fireball visible from this distance!

The fireball created in the air burned red and yellow, and eventually became a lump of white flash.

Is she going to throw that? No, don’t!

My inner plea was ignored. The fireball fell towards the city of Baekslan without mercy.

Explosion, light, roar, vibrations like an earthquake.

I gritted my teeth, unable to say anything about this absurd surprise attack. It was the same for the others who were here.

As everyone was frozen like that, a dry laugh spread out as if it would split the sky.

<Ohohohohot-! Did you see that, Kersilla Creon! Did you see my power! Did you see my power that won’t be helplessly defeated by you like before-!>

A sharp voice that seemed to tear my eardrums. A voice that condensed the madness of a person covered the sky and dug into my ears.

<Where are you! Where are you! I will repay the humiliation I received! Ahahahaha-!>

No way? Did she come looking for Lucy? She’s got the wrong address! And she’s firing magic spells just to call out to Lucy?

Lucy doesn’t remember anything about her. However, Referndi doesn’t care and has come all the way here to avenge herself.

What kind of absurd person is this!

“Kun, bring Brandione! Joey, bring Namia! Al! Aila! Levidian!”

We are all armed. It’s the perfect time to face the enemy. I didn’t really expect an enemy to come, though.

The three of them seemed to know what to do without me telling them. Kun and Joey hurriedly moved, and I drew my sword.

“Let’s go!”

We have to stop Referndi before she causes another destruction!

To cut to the chase, we couldn’t completely stop her. While we were running, she slammed something that looked like the ancestor of all lightning bolts twice into the defenseless city.

I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the sound of the sky being torn apart, no matter how many times I hear it.

Since we all had a way to run without regard for the road, we approached Referndi in almost a straight line.

On the way, Aila said,

“This is strange. No matter how I think about it, it’s strange. Even if that bastard is impatient, he wouldn’t send a crazy bitch like that into enemy territory like this!”

“He’s the enemy.”

“Al, hostile relationships often have stronger trust than cooperation. There’s an unspoken rule between him, me, and us to avoid this kind of reckless behavior! Until now, he’s created plausible battlefields, gathered people, and fought, but he’s never acted like a crazy bitch like this!”

Hostile relationships require as much trust as cooperative ones. The rule of not betraying each other applies to both relationships. Betrayal in a hostile relationship is to stop being hostile.

There are two kinds of enemies in the world.

One is the worst enemy that comes out mercilessly from the beginning, and the other is an even worse enemy that enjoys a power struggle.

Artshever is one of the most unpleasant bastards in the second category, but he still has his own code of conduct.

Maybe it’s the nature of a clown, but he likes to create a stage and fight on it like he’s putting on a circus.

If you reduce the war between the Empire and the Herduke Kingdom, it becomes the war between Artshever and me. This is because this war is a stage that was created by mutual tacit agreement.

“But there’s no guarantee that will always be the case.”

Al brought up the story I least wanted to think about.

Actually, that’s right.

As long as we are hostile to each other, there is no need to be courteous. It is desirable to stab the opponent’s weakness, make them crawl in pain, and cut their throat when they are staggering and unable to think straight.

This is not a duel between nobles; there are no fouls in a fight between those who are designated as ‘enemies’. All means and methods are legitimate tactics.

I bit my lip. I said,

“But this is not his way.”

“Way?”

“Yeah, that’s right. He likes unconventional expressions, but he doesn’t prefer brute force. There’s a big difference between the two. And if he had decided to send Referndi to do sabotage, he would have sent me a letter.”

He would have done so just to see me clutch the back of my head and foam at the mouth.

《On such and such date, at such and such time, Referndi will appear in such and such region. Good luck.》

He would have sent me a note like this, and then enjoyed watching me struggle to stop her while sweating blood, rather than sending her without a word and telling her to destroy everything.

“I know him as well as I know myself. He likes to mock and play with me. He’ll take a small loss to see that. You know, right? When we almost cornered Baius and Silvan, he played a card we knew about but couldn’t predict! He’d rather hide in a back alley on a cold night and surprise us with a ‘Boo!’ than hit us on the back of the head with a club.”

“I agree with you, although it’s unpleasant. But Al’s point is also valid. There’s no guarantee he’ll keep doing that forever. Who knows? Maybe he’s tired of playing around.”

Levidian’s words were undeniable. I bit my lower lip hard.

I need to check that.

We reached a point where we could clearly see Referndi. The red despair floating about 30 meters above the ground was giggling while riding on a staff.

Below it was literally a scene of chaos.

Screams and groans of people flowed through the collapsed and burning buildings. The voices of people struggling to rescue their families, lovers, and friends from the collapsed debris were filled with despair.

No horrific war could have created such a scene. Just an hour ago, many people would have been living their simple lives.

An attack that no one was prepared for, and therefore even more shocking.

Screams are heard.

Help me! Somebody help me! Aaagh!

Shrieks are heard.

Mother! Sam, don’t die! Sam! Honey! Honey!

Frustration is heard.

A little more! Just a little more strength! You can live! You can live-! Please!

I want to cover my ears. If I could just not hear the sounds, I would. The air is thick with grief. The wind carries the smell of blood.

What bloomed in my chest was an uncontrollable fire.

A bright red fire called rage.

“Referndi-!”

The rage in my chest flowed out through my mouth. The terrifying red color that was grinning wickedly in the air turned to me.

“Oh, aren’t you Kersilla’s friend? I’m sure…… Yes, you were called Risel, right?”

“Why! Why did you do this!”

“Because I wanted to.”

She said it as if it were a matter of course. I could feel her pure intention to destroy because she wanted to destroy, something that even children wouldn’t say.

“You’re saying you caused this destruction just to destroy and to call out to Kersilla Creon?”

When I couldn’t bring myself to speak, Levidian said in a clear voice. Referndi said in an unbearably joyful voice.

“That’s right! Correct! Although it’s not our clown’s taste, he probably won’t be angry. Ahahaha! I don’t know why you tried to stop me from doing something so simple! Ahahaha!”

A chilling laugh, devoid of any dryness, cut through the air. I gritted my teeth so hard I thought they would break.

So it wasn’t Artshever’s intention after all? No, that’s not important. What’s important is that this red crazy bitch has indiscriminately destroyed innocent civilians!

“Risel……”

“Huh?”

I turned my head at the low voice of my friend. There was the ash-gray haired fury, her shoulders trembling.

Aila asked quietly,

“Can I kill that bitch?”

Her golden eyes were burning red. She seemed to be filled with a burning rage in her chest as well. She said,

“I don’t want to see her act of ignoring everything except for her own purpose…… twice.”

Artshever, who possessed the body of her biological father. What was it that he had done?

She seemed to be recalling it.

Artshever had said that he had messed up that world just to move to a parallel dimension.

Now Referndi was also destroying Baekslan to get revenge on Lucy. The way she inflicted damage on places completely unrelated to her purpose, without any guilt……

Perhaps Referndi is the most similar to Artshever.

Aila seemed unable to stand it. Whenever it came to Artshever, she became emotional. I could have pointed that out, but I nodded without a word.

Because……

“I’d like nothing more. Don’t leave a trace.”

“That’s what I’m thinking.”

I doubt her superpower will work, but she didn’t seem to care about complex calculations or possibilities right now. She fixed her gaze on Referndi, and at the same time, Levidian helped Aila.

She spoke to Referndi.

“What is your purpose?”

“Purpose? What purpose?”

“What is it that you want to do most?”

“Hahaha! There’s only one thing! Kersilla Creon! To destroy that bastard with my own hands! To destroy him without leaving a single piece! Lindy, who holds this fundamental, was defeated by that lowly wizard! Yes! I can’t forget it even if I die!”

She expressed her rage with her whole body. Even from afar, her chilling rage was expressed in a voice that scraped at the bone.

“The humiliation of that time, the disgrace of that day! And the days that were like hell! In that dark, secluded room, I could only cultivate rage! Kersilla Creon, who made me like this! The clown told me to endure it, but how could I endure it!”

Eventually, she seemed to lose control and began to express her rage using all sorts of words. This also gave Aila time.

Aila was muttering something with her eyes closed.

“Target lock on. Unlimited chase mode. Drive function. Loop. Upgrade and setup complete. Will of destruction!”

She raised her right hand. There was a lump of white light that she had wrapped around her body when she was about to fight Levidian before.

Is that…… the Will of Destruction?

The lump of white light grew larger and larger, and Aila said to me, keeping her eyes fixed on Referndi,

“Risel, there’s nothing you want to hear from that bitch, right?”

She’s Artshever’s confidante. And as someone Artshever cherishes, she’ll know a lot. A cost-benefit analysis quickly ran through my head.

However, I soon gave up on the calculation altogether.

Sometimes, people act with their hearts, not their heads.

I looked at a part of the city that had been reduced to ruins.

“Even if there is, I don’t want to hear it.”

“Got it. Ready!”

The lump of white light, a sphere about 1 meter in diameter, rose into the sky. Referndi had stopped talking at some point and was slowly looking up at the white sphere rising into the sky.

Aila glared at Referndi with a cold expression.

“Set!”

The moment she shouted briefly, the white sphere instantly split into dozens of smaller spheres.

A flock of milky, opaque light spheres hovered in the air.

100 spheres, arranged in 10 rows of 10. If they had the same power as the one I saw before, they would boast tremendous destructive power.

Aila slowly pointed her finger at Referndi. My ash-gray haired friend had a smile on her face. It wasn’t the playful smile she usually wore, but that of a bloodthirsty demon.

She murmured softly,

“Let’s see how much you can dodge. Action!”

Snap!

The moment she snapped her fingers, the 100 spheres flew towards Referndi all at once.