Reset Life – Chapter 25

KR Translators:

・StarrySkySailor
・KawaiiKage
・ImmortalInk
・KingPotato
・SugoiSenpai

Chapter 25 : That’s Not It. No, It’s Not! (6)

“Tsk!”

I examined the floor, checking for Footprints’ presence. I wish the guy was blind too, but……I was running straight towards Damachi. Even so, it seems the priest is in the most danger!

“Damn it!”

I quickly kicked Damachi.

With the intention to help and the accumulated resentment, with all my might. A roundhouse kick.

“Uwaaagh!”

The old man, unable to see, screamed and tumbled after being kicked in the chest. And then I, without hesitation, thrust my sword towards the creature charging at me.

All or nothing!

Crack!

I felt something on my thrusting sword. But it wasn’t the feeling of piercing the enemy, but the feeling of the creature’s weapon grazing past my sword.

Tsk. Did I fail?

Thud!

“Kuhuk!”

A heavy feeling lodges in my abdomen, and lightning flashes before my eyes. I suddenly remember the time I ran into a log during military training.

It feels like my insides are being crushed in a compactor.

“Aaaah!”

Still, I gritted my teeth.

The creature’s footprints were still in front of me.

I put strength back into my weakening hand and thrust it with all my might towards the space where the footprints were.

Slash!

I feel something slight. But I don’t know where or how much I injured it. I can’t see, so I don’t know what to do.

But there’s one thing I do know……! If I don’t attack, I’ll die!

Whizz!

The sword cuts through the air. I swung my sword wildly towards the creature’s footprints. Footprints are said to look similar to ordinary humans. Then I should be able to predict its movements to some extent!

“My sword, dances, playing with space.”

Thrust forward. The footprints retreat. Pull my body in and slash upwards. The footprints take a half step to the right. I swing the sword down and with my left hand, I draw a dagger and raise it perpendicular to the trajectory of the downward strike.

Clang!

As expected, the weapons clash. It felt like my stomach was being ripped open, but thanks to that, I could tell that the creature’s weapon was a blunt weapon.

The shock still lingers within my body. Ugh……

“Haaab!”

I try to stab with my sword, but pull it to the side. And then step forward with a left and right slash. The creature’s steps clearly retreat. Good, keep it up!

“Take this!”

I bend forward at the waist and thrust with all my might. At the same time, I throw the dagger!

Spinning and flying, Iperfect silently embedded itself in the air.

Kuaaaagh!

And a sound came from the air. I twisted my mouth into a smile and swung my sword towards that space. This time, I feel it properly, the sensation of it embedding itself.

Kwaaagh!

Kooer!

I don’t know where I cut it, but anyway, the sword goes in. And again, a strange roar is heard.

Good! Let’s finish this!

Thud!

A powerful impact sound is heard. The dagger stuck in the air slowly tilts backward. Footprints are weaker than Bearmen, except for the fact that they’re invisible.

I smiled faintly.

Thump!

The sound of it collapsing is quite pleasant.

But why……does my back hurt so much?

Huh?

Why can I see the ceiling?

My chest……hurts……

“Cough! Kehek!”

Only after a pathetic cough escaped my mouth did I understand my situation. I didn’t knock down the enemy, but instead, I got hit and fell backward.

“Uh uh……”

A dazed voice comes out of my mouth. I don’t know where my sword went, my hand only feels the emptiness of grasping air. And my dagger was floating in the air.

Iperfect trembled and then slowly retreated. And ungratefully, it pointed its blade towards me.

Hey……you……you shouldn’t do that……

“Risel!”

Levidian’s voice was heard. My body still couldn’t move, but hearing her voice somehow calmed me down. Her hurried footsteps could be heard in my ears.

Clang! Clang! Clang?!

The footsteps passed by me, and soon the sound of weapons clashing could be heard. Even while I continued to lie down, those sounds continued. I tried to get up, but my body wouldn’t listen.

Then suddenly, Crown Prince Lymant’s face appeared.

“Risel, are you alright?”

“Ah……Your Highness, Crown Prince.”

“Quickly, get out of the way. Quickly.”

He put his hands under my armpits and dragged me, and I had to be dragged away helplessly. He moved me to one side and called Damachi.

“High Priest Ir, this way!”

“Ah, yes……!”

Meanwhile, Crown Prince Lymant pressed on my arms, rolled my eyes back, and then said.

“It seems your heart was compressed, causing slight paralysis. If High Priest Ir can heal you, you’ll be able to move soon.”

That……frankly, I’m not confident about that.

“Please wait a moment……”

Damachi was still rubbing his eyes, as if the aftereffects of the light he emitted were still lingering, and rummaged through the scriptures. And soon he began to recite a passage.

“The source that embraces all things lies in His power……”

The recitation continued for a long time. Thanks to that, I couldn’t even hear the sounds of Levidian fighting.

How much time had passed? Damachi’s recitation ended, and a bright, warm light began to envelop my body. A comfortable energy so relaxing that I felt like I would fall asleep enveloped and surrounded my body.

Indeed, God was equal to those who believed in him. Thanks to that, my body was able to recover enough to move, though not as well as usual.

“Whew, that’s a relief.”

Damachi wiped the sweat from his forehead and spoke as if he had accomplished a great feat. I only gave him a perfunctory thank you. As I got up, Levidian approached.

“Risel, are you alright?”

“Yes. I’m fine. Ah……that’s Footprints, I see.”

The blue-scaled corpse of Footprints lay quietly in a corner. It’s a monster that reveals its form when it dies. I can see it with my eyes, so it’s definitely dead. As I thought, the creature was holding a mace.

“Here’s your dagger. And High Priest Ir, did you thank your lifesaver?”

“Lifesaver?”

“Risel. When everyone was blinded by the bright light, Footprints rushed towards the High Priest, and Risel stopped it. That’s why he got hurt.”

I don’t know how Levidian grasped the situation, but she said it while looking at Damachi with a cold gaze. There are probably few people who can speak so boldly to a High Priest.

“Ah, I see. T, Thank you, Arisein-gun.”

“No, it was nothing.”

“And because of your improper use of Holy Spells, everyone was almost put in danger. I believed in the High Priest’s abilities, but to think they weren’t even at the level of a regular priest, I’m truly disappointed. I didn’t intend to do this, but I’ve changed my mind. I’ll officially submit a petition to the Achuni Church later in the name of Sword King Levidian, so keep that in mind.”

“S, Sword King! You, you’re……?”

“Let’s go for now. This is the last one.”

She turned around mercilessly, and I pocketed my dagger and approached her as she walked towards the stairs. And I looked back at Damachi, who had a bewildered expression on his face, and said to her.

“Teacher, um……”

She looked at me and said softly.

“He’ll listen to you now, right? Try to persuade him yourself. I’m not going to submit a petition.”

And she smiled faintly. For a moment, I had to suppress the laughter that was about to burst out.

“Pfft, Teacher. You’re quite mischievous.”

“Actually, I was a little angry. I expected the High Priest to have some level of ability, even if it was lacking, but to think he would be so incompetent. You were right, Risel. It seems he ascended to the position of High Priest through arguments alone. And through arguments unrelated to the scriptures, at that. In the end, he was someone who couldn’t do anything when his true worth was revealed.”

She shook her head. With this, I knew that I had perfectly achieved one of my goals.

Now all that’s left is the real objective.

The lighthouse’s reflector was attached to the ceiling of the lighthouse. The fireplace below, where the fire was supposed to be lit, was devoid of any embers. Only a few lamps hanging from the pillars served as lighting.

From the east and west, I could see the two Knight Orders arrayed in formation.

We finally reached the top of the lighthouse after about two hours of climbing. I turned my head and looked towards the part leading to the railing.

The young man, who looked to be about twenty years old, the culprit behind all this, was holding a staff that emitted a gloomy aura and was in a state of panic.

“H, How……even Footprints……”

“You villain! Surrender peacefully and face the consequences of your crimes according to the law!”

Prince Lymant shouted majestically, pointing his sword. The black-haired man had a face contorted with frustration. He stammered.

“Th, th, this can’t……this can’t be……!”

His gaze was directed at the monster’s corpse under Levidian’s feet. It was probably the monster of monsters that he had carefully chosen. The prince knew of its existence too.

The intermediate-level monster, Corpse Eater, was known as the ‘Butcher’ in the vicinity of the Royal Capital and Breedpo. This monster, which feeds on corpses, is known to have a preference for freshly dead bodies. It’s known to spare no effort to obtain them.

This monster, slightly taller than Levidian and incredibly muscular, couldn’t withstand the Seven Star that Levidian unleashed. With a single blow from the Sword King, this monster died with seven holes pierced through its body.

The man, who had confidently chosen Corpse Eater as his escort, must have been quite flustered by that sight. And he must be lamenting the fact that he has no particular abilities himself.

His skinny body didn’t give the impression that he could fight.

Just in case, I asked Damachi.

“High Priest Ir, is he a Dark Priest?”

“I don’t sense that kind of energy. However, that staff. That thing strongly emanates that kind of feeling.”

A rotten mackerel is still a mackerel. It’s useless now, but anyway, I turned my attention to the staff that was emanating a gloomy aura.

It was as if it was made of tree roots painted black, and at the end of the winding staff, a fist-sized black crystal ball was attached. It looked like it would suck you in if you stared at it for too long.

Levidian stepped off the corpse she was stepping on and said to him.

“Put down that staff and surrender peacefully.”

“Th, th, that’s impossible! This is……this is the power I’ve obtained!”

“Otherwise, there’s only death.”

I know what her eyes are like. They’re probably radiating killing intent. Even from behind, it’s clear that she has a presence that’s too frightening to even approach.

The man’s expression was filled with frustration, despair, and fear. But that fear didn’t seem to be directed towards Levidian, but something else.

“I……I, I can’t die like this, I, I can’t die like this! I, I! I only killed the bastards who ignored me!”

“Who? Who did that?”

“You don’t need to know! I killed them all! I obtained this power! The power that no one, no one can ignore! But you, you guys, what are you!”

He trembled, clutching the staff tightly with both hands. It seemed like the fear of having to let go of it was greater.

I stepped next to Levidian.

I had something I wanted to ask him.

“Where did you get that staff?”

The man clutched the staff desperately.

“W, Why!”

“It doesn’t look like something you could obtain. Where and how did you get it? I promise I won’t take it away.”

“You, you won’t take it away……?”

“Of course.”

His expression was one of desperation.

It wasn’t the kind of desperation that comes from knowing you might die, but the fear of having to let go of the staff. I don’t know what’s going on, but he seems to fear that more than death.

“Risel……?”

“Risel, you……”

“Shh. Now, tell me. I’ll never take it away. Is that staff something that attracts monsters?”

The man nodded frantically. He said.

“T, This is……it was in the underground of Vetraksia. Originally, it was supposed to be……sealed in the Small Forest Shrine, bu, bu, but, that’s how it is. T, That, but I……I needed power!”

Vetraksia is the name of a ruin 50 kilometers south of here. There was something like that in the underground there? This is the first time I’m hearing about it.

“I, I could rule the world! And I could kill all the bastards who ignored me! No, I did! T,Then what are you?”

He pointed his finger at me and Levidian. Then he hugged the staff again and shouted.

“T, The prince and the priest, th, that’s right. I expected that. But what are you? You, you weren’t there before, you weren’t! You, you……you’re not part of the envoy!”

“He and I were part of the envoy from the beginning.”

Levidian said in a cold tone. The man closed his eyes tightly and shook his head.

I pondered his words.

He wasn’t there before?

“No……! No! That can’t, that can’t be! You shouldn’t have been there! Ye, yes, only then could that unlucky……! That smug noble bastard……! I could have killed him! Why! Why! Why are you here! In my memory, there were no bastards like you!”

My heart turns ice-cold.

This thought that suddenly came to mind, almost like an impulse.

I don’t want to think about it.

That kind of possibility, I don’t want to think about it.

But, my head keeps telling me that it’s true. It tells me to admit it.

I can’t admit it.

I don’t want to admit it!

“Not today. It can’t be today! I can’t die again!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you won’t die right away, at least not until you’re hanging from the gallows.”

Levidian said coldly. And she slowly approached him. His face etched with fear and despair, he suddenly thrust the staff forward.

“T, That can’t be! I’ll live! I’ll rule! I’ll take revenge on this world……! That ignored me━!”

Crackle!

Black flames erupted from the crystal ball on his staff. A chillingly thrilling air drifted around. That staff……whatever it is, it’s dangerous!

“Foolish!”

Levidian’s body was like an arrow strung on a bow. She immediately pierced the man’s chest.

Kwaak!

The man flinched and spewed bloody foam.

“Kuhuk……!”

Clang!

The man lost his grip on the staff. And Levidian’s sword slid out. Blood gushed from the man’s chest, and he looked at his blood-soaked hand with an expression of disbelief.

He staggered backward, muttering blood-soaked words.

“No……! Ugh! This can’t be……! After all this……! Ugh! I came back to life……”

There was the railing of the lighthouse, and his body tumbled backward.

“Ah……”

Thud!

The sound of something colliding with the ground is heard.

I feel like my head has been pierced by something sharp. Like cold blood is flowing from my cold heart throughout my body.

He said.

He couldn’t die again.

Again? When did he die before? Huh?

What……what in the world is going on?

Levidian wiped the blood off her sword and sheathed it. She said in a calm voice.

“The end of a man consumed by power. This seems to be the culprit behind summoning the monsters. High Priest Ir, what should we do? Can you seal it?”

“Hmm, just break it.”

“Alright. Risel, why the long face? Are you still not feeling well?”

“No. I’m fine.”

I shook my head. And I desperately tried to deny what I had heard.

Something big happened that I don’t remember. The person who caused it said he couldn’t die again. He also said he came back to life.

Suddenly, my breathing becomes ragged.

Wasn’t it something I could have thought of? That if this happened to me, it could happen to others too. I wouldn’t think it’s a privilege only given to me, right?

No, but……but……!

“Risel? You really don’t look well. It’s over now, so you don’t have to force yourself……”

“No, that’s not it. No, it’s not!”

I ended up shouting without thinking, and I was startled by myself. It’s such a mess. It’s so messed up in my head that I feel like I’m going to lose it.

“Risel……”

“I’m sorry. As expected……it seems……you were right, Teacher. I’ll go down first.”

I roughly greeted everyone and turned around. And I took a lamp and went down the stairs.

Thud. Thud.

I lost myself in thought as I listened to the sound of my footsteps spreading insensibly.

Thud. Thud.

Perhaps, I’m not the only one who came back to life by going back in time.

And……

It seems like time won’t go the way I think it will.