Chapter 134: Pursuit
Sitting aimlessly in the stands, I quietly activated Izanami’s Heart under my cloak.
A residual memory was detected outside the stadium. Judging by the direction, it was heading toward Adrang’s mansion.
‘This doesn’t feel right.’
This was the first thought that came to my mind.
The only reason I would go near the Shrine of the Mindless would be to sleep over at Adrang’s place. So, chances are the residual memory should indeed be there.
‘But if something lethal awaits me at Adrang’s….’
I keep imagining myself perforated like a punching bag, my file folder-like self overlaying those thoughts. Only ominous scenarios appear in my mind.
I couldn’t even look at Adrang anymore, and the whole competition seemed out of focus.
“You seem unwell, friend. Rest well tonight for tomorrow’s match.”
This was what Adrang said to me as we returned to his quarters after the matches concluded.
Apparently, I hadn’t concealed my agitation well.
“A… Yes, I’m sorry.”
After barely nodding in agreement, I waited until Adrang entered the main building.
Then I reactivated the lantern at my waist.
‘Is it in the garden?’
Being careful not to be seen by Adrang or Carhalas, I quietly slipped toward the garden. As I passed neatly arranged trees and flower beds, sure enough—
Right in the middle of the garden laid my corpse.
“What… is this?”
A clean, diagonal cut, from my left chest to the right flank.
Though I thought I’d moved past wrinkling my brow at the sight of my own corpse, I couldn’t help but exclaim involuntarily. The wound was so unique.
Even Vestark, who was carried along just in case, seemed impressed as it trembled slightly.
“WTF, man… Are we crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside now?”
“That’s exactly what I was going to say.”
The crispy remnants of my past self.
The severed edges were roasted to a golden brown, and my body bore blackened burns all over. My hair, which I hadn’t cut for nearly four months, was now entirely singed off, leaving my head with an utterly bizarre hairstyle.
‘This is unusual. I’m not affected by ordinary flames, am I?’
While pondering this, I moved the residual memory closer to Izanami’s Heart. If I’m curious, the fastest way to get answers would be to retrieve the memories.
With an ominous resonance, the corpse disintegrated.
“Ugh…!”
I writhed a bit in pain, trying to squeeze every bit of memory from my mind. I rolled around on the ground convulsively.
[Item Activation – Izanami’s Heart]
[Obtained residual memories from a previous life.]
[Restored 0 points of Strength, 0 points of Agility, and 0 points of Intelligence.]
[Mastered the practical skill ‘Stinger’.]
[Recovered all memories of my previous life.]
“……”
Even after the pain subsided, I remained motionless on the ground, unable to get up for quite some time.
– Hey Jung Yong. Are you alright?
Between the worried voice of Older Brother Sooho and the subtle trembling of Vestark, I did my best to process the bright red nightmare implanted into me by the lantern.
“I have to make a move!”
I abruptly stood up.
I’ve learned this lesson too many times by now. To prevent the nightmare from becoming reality, I must act first and eliminate any variables. There’s no time to waste!
‘There’s so much to do!’
I need to arrange for Ruci to attend the Day of the Mindless as a spectator.
I need to warn Adrang about the impending attack tomorrow.
I need to investigate the witch hunters in more detail.
I also need to understand why Zenon changed and the meaning behind that ominous curved blade.
‘There’s only twenty-four hours to go.’
Until the attack on Cassas’ mansion begins tomorrow night.
My head is about to explode from trying to juggle everything. This multitasking is too much for a man who is better suited for manual labor.
“Let’s start with the new skill I’ve learned!”
The skill Adrang from my previous life left me with: Stinger, which fires chi bullets from a weapon. I instantly maxed it out to level 20.
Since I rapidly leveled up in Resurrection Sect dungeons, I have nearly 120 skill points that are going to waste. So this is good.
Learning anything new might help. That’s why I’ve decided to develop it.
‘As before… one step at a time…!’
To be honest, I don’t know what my priorities should be right now. I can’t figure out what I should handle first.
So I’ll start with what’s closest. There’s no point in brooding over uncertainties now.
“Ah! Where have you been, Hero? In this situation!!”
Upon returning to Adrang’s mansion in a confused state, I was greeted by none other than Ruci.
She marched over, grabbed the collar of my shirt, and began shaking me violently from side to side.
“What’s going on? Time has reset! Hero, you know you are dead, right? What’s happening?”
“…”
I looked down at Ruci, who seemed confused.
After staring silently for a while, I finally spoke, my voice hollow.
“Ruci, what were you doing in the previous life?”
“Uh, me? I… I was talking to that girl with blue hair.”
“About what?”
“Wh-what? Wh-what about?? Aah, forget it!”
Ruci turned her face away and mumbled vaguely. It was clear she was flustered, but since the content of the conversation didn’t matter at the moment, I decided to let it pass.
Perhaps she was talking girl talk? Hard to believe Ruci indulged in such chatter, but let’s leave it at that.
‘Blue-haired woman. That must be Seseona.’
So Ruci always converses with Seseona at night? Perhaps it’s too early to jump to conclusions, but let’s keep it in mind for now.
I shook my head slightly and looked back at Ruci.
“Did you remember anything about the attack?”
“…Attack? What are you talking about?”
Ruci’s eyes widened as she asked me in return.
I let out a powerless laugh.
“…Never mind.”
Ruci doesn’t remember the attack from two lives ago.
Why not? Was she sleeping? No way. It’s impossible for her not to have woken up amidst all that commotion. Even if she can’t recall exact details, she should, at the very least, remember there was an attack.
‘There’s one explanation.’
As Kern had manipulated Ruci with magic the last time, it happened again this time.
‘That’s right, just like last time… exactly the same.’
I recalled Zenon standing in the flames.
The way his crimson hair and eyes blazed brighter in the inferno stays vivid in my mind.
I clenched my teeth slightly. It had been challenging once, but making it through twice won’t be easy.
Besides, it seems like I was also under a spell this time.
How else could I have been lulled to sleep until everyone else was dying? Likely, my level was high enough to break the spell halfway.
‘But if they were Cassas’ apostles… they wouldn’t leave a witness alive.’
Based on the context, the attackers were almost certainly Cassas’ apostles. And Ruci would be one of their main targets.
But, since time has reset and I’ve come back to life, this likely means they failed to kill Ruci, preoccupied as they were battling Adrang—to the point of mutual annihilation—or perhaps…
‘They initially intended to capture, not kill.’
In the previous life, it’s unclear whether the attackers sought to kidnap Ruci or were instead targeting witch hunters, as Carhalas had mentioned.
Still, one thing became clear due to the events of the past life:
‘I need to find Gena and Zenon. They hold the key.’
I roughly ruffled Ruci’s hair, who was looking at me with wide, curious eyes.
“Alright, that’s enough. You should rest.”
I quickly made my way indoors, my steps agitated.
Ruci followed behind, fixing her messy hair.
“Enough? Enough what?! If you know something, you’ve got to tell me! Quickly!”
“You should rest.”
“Ha! How dare you, a mere guardian, tell me to rest!”
“Rest.”
I stopped, turned around, and blocked Ruci’s way forward.
Seeing me from below, Ruci hesitated for a moment and frowned, clearly annoyed.
“Why… Why that look?”
“…”
The crimson flames that had devoured the mansion flashed before my eyes, and I absentmindedly recalled the dream of the coffin boy group.
I could vividly imagine my own expression in that moment. To prevent Ruci from seeing that ‘look’, I forced a wry smile.
“Get some rest while you can. Trust me, you won’t be able to rest tomorrow, no matter how much you beg.”
“…Alright. I understand.”
Ruci turned around expressionlessly and headed back to her room.
Her tail drooped beneath her dress as she shuffled along. Though outwardly calm, it was obvious she was upset that I had kept things from her.
Come to think of it, shouldn’t I have told her everything?
That thought struck me momentarily, but I shook my head.
“…There’s nothing certain yet.”
Gritting my teeth, I dispelled those distracting thoughts. Striding across the mansion, I soon arrived at Adrang’s door.
Bang bang bang! I loudly pounded on the door and raised my voice.
“Adrang-sama! Are you there!”
Adrang quickly opened the door and greeted me. The lantern light spilling out of his room suggested he hadn’t gone to sleep yet, fortunately.
His gaze met mine, his brows slightly raised.
“What’s the matter, Jung Yong? Your eyes look quite fierce.”
“…”
I realized then just how agitated I was.
I took a deep breath, calming myself at the sight of Adrang’s composed gaze. My head was still in disarray, but at least my rapid breathing steadied slightly.
After mentally preparing myself, I spoke cautiously.
“I have something to ask you urgently.”
*
The next day, I predictably entered the second-day competition of the Mindless Festival.
“I forfeit.”
As soon as I stepped onto the preliminary stage, I immediately surrendered, just like in the previous life when I met Portia.
The crowd erupted in fierce criticism once again. Huh, go ahead. After all this time, it doesn’t even bother me.
I don’t even remember who my opponent was. A quick sweep with the Eye of Mimir revealed no suspicious signs, so I didn’t even bother to properly look at their face.
“Couldn’t find Portia in the waiting room because it was too crowded…”
But now isn’t the time to get discouraged by such trivialities. There’s no point wasting time unnecessarily, or it would nullify the point of getting one extra turn with the blade.
Quietly determined, I moved toward the bustling area outside the arena.
“Right now, what’s most important is confirming the clue I’ve already snagged.”
At least one of them stands out clearly from the last two lives.
I recalled the sound of the grating metal, ingrained deeply from both lifetimes. My teeth gnashed involuntarily.
“I’ve entrusted the investigation of the others to Adrang.”
Now, it’s my turn to track down Zenon.
Why did that punk whack me over the head and reunite with Cassas? And what exactly happened to him to leave him in such a monstrous state? I intend to figure this all out.
And.
“… Descendant of Oblivion.”
I uttered the final nickname I had spotted on Zenon’s data window.
It wasn’t there when I checked in Kern. What does this alias signify? Why did he acquire this name, reeking of middle-school melodrama?
There is still so much to uncover.
“Given what I can speculate for now…”
The fiery red blade that crackled fiercely.
It’s clear that the one-bladed curved sword is directly related to Zenon’s transformation. Therefore, focusing on the identity of this blade and finding clues about its origins takes precedence.
By the way, I already interrogated Older Brother Sooho earlier.
“Brother, you definitely know something about that sword. You warned me to run away because it had a bad compatibility!”
– Whoa? What are you talking about? Tell me, are you more into that girl now?
“Ahhh, screw you, go figure it out yourself, brother.”
He claims to know nothing. Despite my detailed gestures and descriptions of the sword, there was no fruit from it.
He doesn’t appear to be feigning ignorance. It seems like Older Brother Sooho would only comprehend its significance after witnessing the transformation firsthand.
‘Still, it’s a bit of a wonder how Adrang knows about such a thing.’
Last night, I inquired with Adrang about the details of a ‘sketchy weapon.’
He was kind enough to provide me the address of the largest information seller and black market in Crossfade.
‘Why a knight would even know something like that, I’m not sure…’
But, it was probably useful for his work as a witch hunter. Vaguely, I recall him mentioning such a source during an emergency meeting.
Anyway, this is all the help I have now. I tightly gripped the slip of paper in my hand.
“Shall I go take a look?”
