Reset Life – Chapter 188

Chapter 188: A Special Thank You (3)

I nodded, listening to the large footsteps moving further away behind me.

I quickly drew Referndi’s attention.

“Hey! Red-haired bitch! I think I know why you lost to Lucy!”

“What?”

“You must have played around when the opportunity came, failed to capitalize on it, and then got counterattacked! I can see it clearly! You overestimated your own strength, indulged in arrogance and pride, underestimated your opponent, and then got completely reversed! You probably couldn’t fix that even if you died and came back to life!”

“Kid, you really want to die, don’t you!”

“Ha! I’ve already died once! Death is familiar to me! Why did I only focus on Lucy? Because I wasn’t interested in a red-haired hag like you who lost to him! Losers belong in some back room, whimpering and crying!”

“You……! You……!”

Referndi’s entire body seemed to be on fire with rage.

She is different from the other resetters.

Even Baius Extoria regretted killing the Spear King and is trying not to make the same mistake in her new life.

Lime-hyung, Duke Ecoshian, and Grandma are the same. They didn’t harbor great anger towards those who killed them. They tried to make themselves and their surroundings better than before.

I am the same. But the world isn’t filled with only those who have such an upright spirit.

That loser from Breedpo was the same, and the destroyer in front of me is a petty person who risks his life for trivial matters.

She broke her comrade’s request, barged in here on her own, and is yelling for Lucy. She couldn’t possibly have a broad mind and perspective!

“Do it! Try to kill me! And then rejoice, you stupid bitch! Feel the size of your vessel!”

I forgave my father and brother who played a decisive role in driving me to death. It wouldn’t happen anyway, and resentment wasn’t the driving force behind me.

Sometimes resentment leads people, but not me.

I control where I am, my surroundings, and myself. That’s the driving force behind me.

Even this situation where I’m being chased is not what I want.

So, I control it.

Light up your eyes! Come at me, Referndi!

“If you wish……! I will erase that insignificant life!”

Referndi, half-crazed, grabbed her staff. She stepped into the air, raised her staff, and began chanting a spell.

It was a chant that indicated a higher level of magic, not ordinary magic. And that’s what I wanted.

“Try it if you can!”

I smiled, pushing back my wet hair. She wouldn’t even think about why I drew her attention and why I separated from Joey.

While I drew her attention and she prepared her magic, Joey, who separated from me, would retreat to a suitable location, prepare to throw something, and then throw it with all his might.

An attack fueled by Joey’s monstrous strength. Whoever gets hit will die instantly.

However, Referndi, who had been chanting the spell for a while, stopped.

“Kid, do you think I wouldn’t know your trick?”

“Wha, what?”

“You seem to have forgotten that magic doesn’t work on you. Or did you think I forgot that?”

I made a face like I had been hit in the back of the head.

In response, Referndi swung her staff backward. Joey was just in the middle of taking a throwing stance where her staff was pointing.

Referndi smiled with utmost pleasure.

“Ahaha! You idiot! Watch your friend die from there! Erase!”

A crimson light emerged from the tip of the red staff. And it headed straight for Joey. To my sworn brother who seemed surprised and frozen in place.

I couldn’t help but shout his name.

“Joey-!”

“You’re next! Ahaha! Hahaha!”

“Throw!”

“What?”

She looked puzzled by my shout. Immediately after, along with Joey’s loud yell, the crimson light disappeared right in front of him.

“Uwaaaa-!”

You’re the idiot, Referndi!

I had detached Brandione from the longsword and handed it to Joey.

Referndi pretended to be fooled by my scheme, anticipating that Joey would throw something while I distracted her. But that meant she had fallen for my scheme.

I’ve already anticipated any guesses you could make!

Joey, holding a stone the size of a human head, which looked like a pebble compared to his large hand, threw it. The stone cut through the air and flew towards Referndi, and at the same time, I prepared to throw my dagger.

Whoosh-!

The stone flew towards Referndi, cutting through the wind. Its speed was comparable to an arrow. When the stone almost reached her, I threw the dagger.

“Hiek!”

Referndi moved to the right almost instinctively.

She could move more complexly because she was floating in the air, but a person’s instinctive habits are revealed in moments of crisis.

My dagger flew there.

The stone passed her by, and when she turned her gaze along its trajectory, the dagger pierced her body.

“Aack!”

Although it wasn’t fatal because it hit her arm, Joey’s second attack flew in. Levidian taught me that attacks should be made consecutively, considering the timing of the first hit.

Joey and I are good disciples who listen to our teacher’s words, although not as much as Lea!

A second attack, no less impressive than a catapult, flew towards Referndi. Taking advantage of the moment she stumbled, the second stone I threw hit Referndi’s slender body…… but it didn’t.

Clang!

Referndi swung her staff and struck down the stone as if she were chasing away an annoying insect.

“Did you think…… such an attack would work twice?!”

She gritted her teeth and pulled out the dagger embedded in her arm. Before the dagger could fall to the ground, I ran towards Joey. For no other reason than to survive.

“Joey!”

“Ah, yes!”

Joey, who was preparing for the third attack, quickly picked up a stone and threw it, then ran towards me. Right now, I’m practically standing naked in front of Referndi.

I need to quickly join Joey and get under his protection……!

Crackle, boom!

At that moment, a huge cliff appeared in front of me. It was a rough and high gray cliff, so much so that I wondered if I had come to Mopum in Grenoian.

Looking left and right, its ends touched the walls that enclosed the square. And judging from the fact that I couldn’t hear the sounds from the other side, it seemed quite thick.

“Hyung-nim-!”

Joey’s voice sounded distant.

“Hu, huhu……!”

Referndi’s voice came from directly above. She was now looking down at me, her eyes bloodshot, and chuckling.

Damn it……!

The tables have turned. I calmly thought about countermeasures. Thanks to detaching Brandione, I can now receive magical effects. I also have the knives hidden in my gauntlets and greaves.

I have enough weapons, and my stamina is decent.

The enemy’s location…… Referndi is 20 meters above. If I could get a running start, I could reach her, but…… no. First, I need a means of flight to catch up to her.

I slowly retreated from the cliff. Her low laughter seemed to follow me.

“Excellent. A deceptive tactic that’s one step ahead…… Yes. Al’s words were right, that you’re quite a skilled chess player. You have to be at this level to be an opponent worthy of our Clown’s attention. But what now? I think the Clown will be a little bored from now on.”

“Ah, yes. He will be bored.”

“You think so?”

“Yes. He’ll be quite bored being stuck between a middle-aged man and a gloomy old man after losing the only woman.”

Referndi burst into laughter. It seemed she was amused by my attitude despite the fact that nothing was in my favor.

She said,

“Very funny. You still don’t know when to give up? Do you think you can survive here? There’s nothing left to protect you!”

“Is that so? I still have a lot to rely on.”

I shrugged and spoke confidently. And Referndi realized the meaning of my words.

“Don’t bluff.”

“Suddenly getting sharp. That’s cheating.”

“Hahaha! Funny! It’s like watching a comedy at the circus! It was the same when the Clown came to me. Kid, where is your friend?”

“I have quite a few friends. Joey is like a younger brother but also a friend, Aila and Al are friends too. Kun offered to be my subordinate, but I decided to treat him as a friend. Wait a minute. If I think about it a bit more, I’ll come up with a lot of friends. Surprisingly, I’m well-connected.”

“Stop messing around! Where is Kersilla Creon!”

Referndi lacks composure. This is the first time I’ve seen a mage with less self-control than Lucy. Maybe that’s why Lucy was able to win.

She shouted with bloodshot eyes.

“Kersilla Creon! Kersilla Creon! That impudent spatial mage! Thanks to him, I was confined in that cold and dark prison, unable to even count the days! I! Lindy, who obtained the Prime!”

“That’s your fault. If you hadn’t caused indiscriminate destruction, that wouldn’t have happened.”

“Are you trying to buy time now? Hoping someone will come to help you while I’m answering! Hahaha! But I’ll answer you! No one will come to help you now! You cheeky little brat. Are you questioning my reason for destruction now?”

“Yes.”

Referndi pushed her hair back. She let the raindrops from the slowly scattering dark clouds wet her face and opened her mouth.

“Damn old geezer. Did he think I wouldn’t know he was trying to change my consciousness while pretending to teach me magic? I barely managed to kill him before, but this time I killed him as soon as I saw him! Hahaha! Why? Because it’s fun! Just erasing insignificant things from the world! Hahaha!”

She laughed so brightly. I’m sure she’s twisted somewhere or lacking a part of her mind.

Otherwise…… she wouldn’t be able to say that she destroys the world for fun, so innocently.

Artshever…… why did you revive such a thing?

“It was him who freed me from that terrible darkness. In exchange for letting me take revenge, he asked me to listen to him. There was no reason to refuse! But do you know how long he made me wait?! Three years is a lot of patience!”

There’s a saying that revenge is best served cold, but depending on the person, they might prefer it hot.

Was it Artshever’s mistake? To ask someone with such a lack of self-control to be patient.

She raised her staff. It seemed she was now determined to ‘destroy’ me. Something dark wriggled up from the depths of my heart.

Her staff…… it overlapped with the Azot Kingdom army’s volley fire.

I barely managed to suppress my despair, frustration, and anxiety, and opened my mouth.

“Why…… can’t my friends come to help me?”

“Why? Are you stalling for time too much? But I’ll answer you. Why do you think those dark clouds still haven’t dispersed? Because of my excellent control over nature? And why is the sky outside the square that old orange color? Because the sun is setting? No. It’s because this space has been manipulated with Prime elements so that nothing can come in from the outside or go out from the inside.”

“Wha, what……?”

“Kid, you’re underestimating Prime mages too much. What is space? What’s in those Prime elements? Do you think there’s no element that says ‘anyone can come and go’?”

I bit my lip. A surprisingly realistic point. I think I know why Aila, Levidian, and Namia aren’t coming to help me.

It’s not that they aren’t coming, but that they can’t.

Referndi giggled, looking at my expression.

“Ahahahaha! Good! That’s the expression! That’s what I wanted to see! It’s a shame I won’t be able to see it anymore, but it can’t be helped. I was going to torment you and then kill you…… but I guess I’ll have one more thing to apologize to the Clown for.”

She looked down at me with an arrogant and haughty expression and began casting. All sorts of words that invoked magic flowed from her mouth.

I couldn’t stop it.

Think, Arisein. Think! Damn it! Find a way to not die meaninglessly here!

All sorts of methods went through my head. And then disappeared. I couldn’t think of any way to attack her or get out of the range of the magic.

‘What should I do in a truly desperate situation?’

I had asked Levidian before. What should I do in a desperate situation where I can’t do anything?

She answered.

‘There’s nothing you can do but believe that someone will come to help you.’

‘Believe that someone will come to help me?’

‘Yes. I hate the word destiny, but if it’s a destiny where you won’t die, you’ll definitely receive help. Strong luck, a sudden breakthrough, or……’

‘Or?’

‘Friends. Because you’ll have precious people who will help you in any situation.’

When you’re powerless, when you’re in a situation where you can’t do anything, still have hope.

Because it’s better than despair, better than anything else.

I took a deep breath and tried to calm down and be composed.

There’s no point in being anxious. If I can’t solve this situation, then surely my friends, or someone, will come.

I also thought it was too naive, but there’s a limit to what one person can do in the world, right? Instead of despairing over things you can’t do, it’s better to believe in what you can do.

Then I heard it, the voice of the person I believe in.

「Risel!」

Huh? What’s this?

「Lucy? Lucy is that you?」

「Master, thank you! We’re connected! Yes! It’s me! Lucy! I’ll be there soon, so picture the place where you are in your mind! Right now! As strongly as you can!」

「Huh? Oh, alright.」

You’re coming now? How?

Questions arose in my mind, but Lucy would answer them. I put a smile on my face and started to picture the place where I am now in my mind.

The paving stones I’m standing on, the stone barrier that appeared next to me, Referndi in the air, the distance and closeness between them, the falling raindrops, the water droplets bouncing off the ground……

I started to picture all of that in my mind.

“Die now, Arisein.”

And I also pictured Referndi’s cold voice in my mind.

Crackle, boom!

Red lightning erupted from the tip of her staff. A bolt of lightning that flew towards me, dyeing my vision red. The fact that I closed my eyes in front of it was due to an unavoidable instinct.

So I couldn’t see my friend’s appearance.

“Protect From Magic-!”

A loud and energetic voice struck my ears. At the same time, I felt something incredibly reliable and solid appear in front of me.

My friend, who protected me from Referndi’s magic.

I opened my eyes.

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