The Hero Who Returned From Death Quits

Chapter 47

47 – EP4: Crossroads of Life and Death

The taste was bitter.

Countless deaths, countless discoveries, countless battles, countless achievements.

Was that why? Was it because he had been blinded by the sweetness of his achievements, ignoring the pain he had endured to obtain them?

No, he could assert with certainty that it was not the case.

Because his achievements only made him think that it was “over”, not that he had “succeeded” or that it was “good”.

If we were to compare, one could say that he was in the process of becoming as numb to his soul’s senses as he was to his physical senses.

He began to lose himself gradually.

He experienced pain. He experienced fear. He experienced despair.

He lost the pain. He lost the fear. He lost the despair.

All that remained for him was the repetition of choices that forced him to run until he could see the end of the endless path, and he gradually lost the value of his own life in that process.

Instinct. Something inherent in every creation made by any god, or something that had been inherent. It was stronger and more powerful than most human emotions, surpassing both joy and sorrow.

But he started losing his instinct. When faced with the threat of death, he found himself thinking about safeguarding whatever he could, even if it meant sacrificing some things to the brink of death. He lost the ability to cower in the face of death and became nothing more than a mindless machine swinging a sword.

He thought of himself as a decaying dead tree.

And secretly, he considered it fortunate that he had discovered such a side of himself. It would have been unimaginable if he had discovered it later.

His mind sank into contemplation. Was it right to continue like this? Should he gradually lose his humanity, lose himself, and end up as a broken stone rolling along the riverside?

He looked at the trembling hand holding the sword.

After he grasped this sword, he began to lose himself.

He was no longer afraid of death.

The fact that he no longer feared death frightened him.

And as his mind fell into chaos, the knights stood up.

The knights were bound together. All weapons, such as swords, were stored to be safe, and all that remained for them was their bare fists and armor, just motionless bodies.

“… We have been defeated.”

One knight uttered these words. Ainzel nodded slightly. After that, he crossed his arms and simply watched them.

“I want to hear why you tried to kidnap her.”

“… I can’t tell you.”

Ainzel snorted and said. He hadn’t expected an answer from the beginning.

“Of course, you won’t.”

Ainzel pouted.

Peria looked down on them coldly.

“Should I torture them a bit?”

Ainzel said.

“… It seems too eerie to consider a hero.”

Perrya said.

“It can’t be helped. The situation is like this.”

Perrya could only nod in response to Angel’s abrupt statement.

“Let’s stop. They are the ones who bite their tongues before torturing.”

After thinking for a moment, Angel shook his head and said.

“… All right, then.”

Angel killed them.

Afterward, Angel and Perrya incinerated their bodies without leaving a trace.

“… Well, it’s strange that they wanted to kidnap me.”

Perrya touched her chin.

“Isn’t it because of that ring?”

Perrya’s eyes widened at Angel’s comment.

“What?”

“No matter how you think about it, there’s no other reason. There’s no reason to kidnap the next Matap Lord. Even the country wouldn’t have any interest. But maybe there could be something different if it’s the heir to that ring.”

Perrya furrowed her brow, then grasped her head and organized her thoughts.

“The ring I got from my grandfather?”

“Honestly, isn’t it strange that Matap Lord would only give it recently? It could have been given right from the start as a family heirloom. But why would they need to give it just before their death?”

“It does make sense…”

“For now, tell me. Has anyone else seen that ring, besides me?”

“What? Mei… maybe.”

She began to speak but then furrowed her brow in suspicion.

“She suddenly started acting very suspicious.”

Although Angel didn’t know what kind of person Mei was from inside Perrya, he had a vague feeling.

“Damn it, idiot… You should’ve been suspicious of that girl if anything happened.”

… What kind of noble is he to be so hated by people?

Angel clenched his head.

“Let’s go quickly! Let’s beat that girl to the punch!”

Angel started following her.

And when Peria ran to the top of the tower, May’s place was gone without a trace.

“…She was caught. Helplessly caught.”

Peria sighed.

“…What should we do in this situation?”

Angel clenched his jaw and said.

“…First, we need to escape.”

“Where to?”

“To a place where the royal hand cannot reach.”

Peria hesitantly nodded her head.

“…Since it has come to this, I have no hope. You were never involved in this. Understand?”

Angel bit his lip.

From Noble mtl dot com

“So what?”

“So what do you mean, so what? You’re telling me to give up.”

Peria casually spat out the words, and Angel began to bite his lip even harder, and soon blood started flowing.

Give up like this? He had run all the way here, risking his life to save her, only to be told to act like she never existed and go back?

He couldn’t do that. No, he didn’t want to.

Angel roughly grabbed Peria’s wrist and began to step outside of the tower.

“Hey! What are you doing? That hurts!”

As they stepped outside of the tower, Peria forcefully brushed off Angel’s hand.

“You’re making a fuss.”

“What?”

“It’s noisy. Who has the right to give up?”

Peria sighed.

“I appreciate everything you’ve done until now, but this is ultimately my problem…”

“No, it’s my problem too.”

He was angry.

After desperately trying to save her, to now hear her say she’ll give up was nothing to laugh about.

Who has the right to give up on life? When their fate hasn’t even been determined yet. When there is still hope. To give up on themselves because of a mere probability game only invoked bitter laughter.

“What?”

“I died once by the Shadow Knights.”

Peria’s eyes widened. Her expression showed that she did not understand what was being said.

“Listen, I can turn back time by dying. That’s my ability.”

The power, the ability possessed as a hero.

It was something she had never heard of, a power that manifested itself by reversing time.

And such an outrageous ability came with a grave consequence, and he had already mentioned that consequence.

The death of the caster.

“So, even if you’ve given up, I will forcibly save you no matter how many times I have to die. So think about how to live.”

Angel’s words, spoken with a grimace, reverberated through Peria’s heart.

“What…?”

“Even if you stubbornly resist, the outcome is already determined. I have decided so. I can’t stand to see you give up just because the odds are low.”

“What does that mean…?”

What? Time goes back when you die? That’s an ability?

Peria was speechless, unable to believe what she was hearing.

And it was also unimaginable that he would save her using such an ability to defy death.

“Why…?”

When Peria asked, Angel replied as if questioning the obvious.

“Because I want to. I want to save you.”

“So why…! I’m not someone worth sacrificing your life for multiple times!”

“Worth? Do we need value judgment when saving a person, a comrade? If you want to be valued that much, just say it. My life is infinite. My life doesn’t need to be subject to value judgments to begin with.”

He said as if making his final point.

“I’m not saving you by dying multiple times. I’m just saving you.”

Peria was overwhelmed by Angel’s atmosphere and couldn’t say anything.

On the other hand, after saying those words, Angel composed himself and spoke.

“Well then… Although it’s not the only life, at least in this life, I will use it to protect you, Miss.”

He smiled.

He was smiling.

He finally began to see his life as a tool.

On the other hand, facing that bright smile, she held back the words she wanted to say and wore a bitter expression.

What are you fighting for?

“For now, it seems like we need to find out something about this ring,” she said as they boarded the carriage departing from the capital.

“…Yeah, there’s someone who’s willing to help me at the cost of their life, and I must find out for sure.”