Chapter 453: Indeed
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 453: Indeed
Did a shorter day change anything? No.
His task remained the same: stop the threat descending upon the city.
Encrid moved immediately. Repetition naturally bred mastery, and even without today’s practice, his hands were already expertly adept at donning his gear.
"Is it a local custom here to wake people up with screaming?" Rem muttered, stirring from his sleep.
"Monsters. It’s a wave."
Encrid spoke calmly as he stepped outside.
The rest of the group would follow on their own. Cutting through the throng of soldiers, he headed toward the city walls once more. Instead of climbing up to where Oara stood, he waited by the city gates.
"Let me out!"
Rowena’s boyfriend appeared, shouting at the guards. Encrid didn't hesitate; he cuffed the back of the bastard’s head.
Thwack!
"...Uh? What are you doing?" Milio asked, staring in surprise.
"If we let him out, he dies," Encrid said flatly.
To be precise, it was Milio—who would have gone out to support this fool—who ended up dead in the previous loops.
"Well, that’s true, but..."
"A commander must keep a cool head."
Encrid spoke with a detached coldness, but his heart was anything but calm.
He shouldn't die like that.
The final moments of Knight Oara refused to leave his mind. There had been no solemn grandeur, no heroic weight to her end. Regardless of the battle that preceded it, she had died without being able to put up a proper fight.
She had sworn to protect the city, and she had failed. Thus, it was a dog’s death—a meaningless, pathetic demise.
Should he just leave it at that? No. He refused. He couldn't let it end that way.
Encrid set his jaw, his goal clear.
Watching this, the Ferryman chuckled. There were things that would never change, even if one altered every other variable, and the Ferryman believed those immutable truths would eventually tear Encrid to shreds.
Yet, at the same time, the Ferryman felt a spark of anticipation.
Indeed, what will he do?
What would this madman gain by repeating this day? What could he possibly change?
The Ferryman didn't know. And because he didn't know, it was thoroughly entertaining. This was why he laughed. It would be quite a spectacle to watch the boy struggle to change fate, only to end up trapped, sinking into the abyss of this endless cycle.
"Oah!"
The battle cry rang out. Encrid sprang into action. Bracing himself against the incoming arrows, he dashed through the city gates before the hostages could even be brought out. He didn't stop at the perimeter; he marched relentlessly into the darkness beyond.
"What are you doing, going mad out here?" Rem asked, catching up from behind.
"And what does that make you for following me?"
"A caregiver looking after a patient, I suppose."
"If you're going to do it, do a proper job."
Encrid scanned his surroundings, his eyes searching for the slightest anomaly. Sometimes, Rem found his captain fascinating. He acted as if he knew the future.
Is it some kind of instinct you got instead of talent? Rem wondered silently. If he asked aloud, Encrid would only spout nonsense again. Nonsense like, "If I die, I repeat the day."
Who would ever believe such a thing?
Encrid quickly located the pole and the luminescent stone. A spider monster was pinning them beneath its belly, part of a pack waiting in ambush.
"Rem."
Just hearing his name was enough. The two immediately split the monster's head open.
They rescued the hostages. Encrid noted that it had taken less time than yesterday, but the outcome had already shifted.
"Where is Sir Oara?" he asked, spotting Aisia as they returned to the gates.
"She saw two of those monster bastards and went into the Demon Realm."
He was too late. The ripple effects of his faster pace had altered her timing. Encrid tried to sprint straight into the Demon Realm, but he was stalled.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud.
It was just like yesterday. Arrows flew, and the wave of spider monsters began. Spiders as large as grown men swarmed forward.
"Rem, Dunchabel, let's break through!"
"Is that really necessary?" Luagarne asked, but he ignored her.
Encrid began to carve a path toward the Demon Realm—specifically, toward where Oara had gone. It would take time, but they had to push through. Without a single complaint, the group followed his lead.
"Good thing I sharpened my axe," Rem said, letting his arms hang loose. His limbs swayed with a relaxed rhythm, gripping his Mount Lewis steel axe.
Then, Rem unleashed the technique he called the Feather Axe.
He dashed forward, his axe tracing unpredictable, lethal trajectories. Any spider caught within those arcs was instantly reduced to a corpse. Amidst the spray of thick, black blood, Luagarne held her whip in her right hand and her Loop Sword in her left.
"Do not block my path," she hissed, lashing with the whip and slashing with the sword in a blur of motion.
Dunchabel also drew her twin scimitars, joining the fray. Encrid was no different. He advanced, slashing, thrusting, and crushing with Aker and Spark.
Together, they broke through into the depths of the Demon Realm.
"Roman—!"
A faint cry echoed. The twisted trees of the Demon Realm muffled the sound, preventing it from carrying far. An unpleasant, oily sensation washed over Encrid as he stepped deeper into the corrupted woods, but he ignored it.
He saw three spider legs piercing Roman’s abdomen. The serrated limbs protruding from the man's back were stained crimson with blood. The spider monster wasn't unscathed, either; its head had been crushed by Roman’s greatsword.
"Damn it... I can't go alone," Roman wheezed.
"Where is Sir Oara?" Encrid asked, his gaze shifting.
The cry had come from the short-haired blonde squire. She was panting, clutching her stomach off to the side. Looking around, Encrid saw the carcasses of dead Owlbears.
Was there more than one?
There were two more Owlbears, monsters of similar caliber. Even if they weren't quite at the level of a knight, it must have been a continuous crisis. The area was a mess of blood and broken earth; the traces alone made the desperation of the struggle clear. They had risked their lives to defeat them.
But there was no ghoul. Nor was there that bastard called the fragment of Balrog.
"How did you know to come here?" the squire asked. Her face was deathly pale. She was far from fine; blood gushed from her abdomen. It was a wound so severe that even immediate first aid couldn't guarantee her survival.
"Because of me... Master couldn't fight properly." She spoke flatly, but her voice was steeped in melancholy.
"That's not true, you idiot," Roman said with a weak chuckle. Her eyes never left him. With those final words, Roman’s eyelids began to flutter. The heavy scent of death hung thick in the air.
"Did the monsters set a trap?" Luagarne murmured. It was exactly as she said. This was the price of stepping inside.
Encrid processed the situation and moved. As he took another step deeper into the forest, Rem asked, "Are you going there to die?"
It sounded like a plea for him to stop.
"Anyone can see it's impossible," Dunchabel muttered.
Encrid looked back at them. "Even if this is my end."
He had no intention of trying to persuade them. Only his raw sincerity remained. Knight Oara must not die there. She must not die like that. Knowing what lay ahead, he could not just let her go.
"If I must move forward, then I will."
"Who's stopping you?" Rem smirked. He followed up by muttering that there was no point in talking to someone whose head was clearly broken.
"Who are you to talk?" Encrid retorted. Sometimes, Rem seemed completely unaware of his own insanity.
"I'm the one to talk. Just move your feet faster."
*
"I was about to carve up my ex-husband's face before leaving, but what is all this? Just how many lovers do you have, exactly?"
Even in this new today, Knight Oara’s jokes remained the same. This was the moment they encountered a pack of trolls blocking their path.
"If you go alone, you'll die," Encrid warned. He tried to stop Oara as she prepared to enter the Demon Realm, but she shook her head.
"If we retreat here, there is no next time."
No sooner had Oara spoken than five trolls, writhing in the darkness of the Demon Realm, began to creep forward. They were the ones commanding the lesser monsters.
"I'll leave those to you." Oara was still smiling. She offered a bright, cheerful grin.
In yet another new today, she said: "Your dream is to become a knight? I asked you back then—if you are a knight, define the boundaries of what you will protect. And I told you what I would protect, too. What must I do to protect the city?"
The answer required no second thought. "Destroy the Demon Realm."
"Exactly. That's why my dream is to kill Jerix."
She had named the ghoul after her ex-husband and sought to kill it. Oara’s purpose was clear. She was poisoned, living on borrowed time. The candle had melted down, leaving barely an inch of wax. In the time she had left, she desired only one thing: to kill the core monster sustaining the Demon Realm. To eliminate a monster that possessed power equivalent to a knight.
But she did not know that Jerix was not the core.
"What are the chances of winning?" Luagarne asked.
"If we go head-to-head, I will absolutely never lose," a smiling Oara replied.
Encrid knew she was right. She wouldn't lose to the ghoul. The only problem was that another monster of a similar level—or something even more terrifying—would always appear.
What if there was one more knight-level combatant? Then things would be easy.
In fact, Oara had known all along that such a force was necessary. What she needed was a knight. Destroying a Demon Realm was a task of that magnitude. If she had one, she could fulfill her wish without suffering devastating losses.
But she didn't have one.
"Even if I die, I will kill him before I go."
That was Knight Oara’s dream.
Encrid had witnessed the end of that dream countless times. The Demon Realm did not end. The soldiers died. Roman died. The city fell. The wave could not be stopped. The Demon Realm was prepared, while the humans were not.
That did not change this time, either.
The creature known as the fragment of Balrog approached the exhausted and wounded Oara. Naturally, Jerix the ghoul lay dead and discarded to one side.
"Damn, that thing is a monster," Rem realized the moment he saw it.
Encrid wondered, for no particular reason, what the actual Balrog was like—the real deal, not just a fragment. Not that he could see it now even if he wanted to. For now, focusing on the task at hand was enough.
Greeting yet another new today. Meeting the ghoul.
"Do you even eat your meals?" Encrid asked the monster, just because.
"He's my ex-husband. I'd appreciate it if you let us catch up," Oara chimed in with a laugh.
The monster had evolved, and now it faced a knight. The ghoul raised its sword, wearing a stolen, twisted version of Oara’s smile.
Gwoooooh.
The sound it made was pure intimidation. Even so, the monster would die. Oara’s sword would slash, tear, and cleave it apart. And after that, Oara would die again.
She could have run away if she wanted to. Oara was fully capable of escaping. She could have chosen to flee before the fragment of Balrog reached her. That monster didn't pursue those who fled; Dunchabel had once run in terror, and it hadn't chased her.
Yet, Encrid never asked Oara why she went to such lengths. He understood her.
"Roman, wait. That one is mine," Oara said, and killed the ghoul.
There were times when she fought valiantly against the fragment of Balrog. But it was too difficult in her exhausted, wounded state. Encrid observed the situation, reviewed the day, fought, and endured.
What was needed right now?
A few times, they managed to push back the ghoul and the other monsters. He even mobilized Aisia to hold the line. There was a today where they held out and Oara didn't die, but... what they saw upon returning from the Demon Realm was a nightmare.
The group beheld an insanely massive horde of spider monsters. Even if the city walls held, it was a number that could not be withstood without Knight Oara or the squires. He saw monsters scaling the walls and invading the city. The city could not withstand the wave.
He watched a soldier being chewed and eaten alive by a spider.
"Aaaaargh!"
That was the first time Encrid saw Oara lose her smile. And right on cue, the ghoul and the other monsters rushed out from the Demon Realm. This time, Oara couldn't even overcome the ghoul.
What should he do? The conclusion was simple.
Abandon the city.
Sacrifice was inevitable. He could persuade Knight Oara to escape and plan for the future. They could prepare properly, cherry-pick the high-ranking monsters, and eliminate them. That way, they could stop the Demon Realm, win, and fulfill Oara’s dream.
But the city would fall. He would have to abandon the city gates carved by his grandfather, along with most of the people defending this place. Furthermore, the monsters would sweep past this area and spread. Countless villagers in the surrounding region would die.
Even if the end result was victory, it was a reality Oara could never accept. Encrid had no confidence in persuading her. And above all, Encrid himself had absolutely no intention of doing so.
His dream was to become a knight. Was the knight in the songs someone who abandoned the people behind him just to win in the end?
Walking a path of thorns despite knowing it was foolish—that was what being a knight meant to Encrid. Fleeing was never an option.
In today, repeated once more, Encrid said, "Go to the West first."
"Did you take a nasty blow to the head?" Rem retorted from right beside him. He had no intention of leaving. Naturally. Rem had never once left his side.
"Ugh... uuuugh." Dunchabel groaned, consumed by fear. One of their key combatants was acting like a fool.
He was on his way back after witnessing Oara’s death. On some days, she barely survived, but the moment dawn broke, he lost consciousness. It was the repetition of today.
"Enjoy it. Just like before," the Ferryman said.
Encrid opened his eyes again. He repeated today.
"If this city doesn't exist, neither do I," Oara said.
He repeated today.
"Even if the end is a cliff, if I must run, I will run. That is why I became a knight," Oara said with a smile.
"Oah!" A soldier shouted the battle cry.
"I'm going out with a smile!" Roman died laughing.
The short-haired blonde threw away her life. The spider monsters swarmed. Bundles of web-arrows flew. When the space in front of the walls cleared, the soldiers blocked it with their bodies.
Four squires died. Soldiers died. Milio died. Even abandoning Rowena changed nothing. The flower that bloomed in the Demon Realm withered and died.
It was the moment when frustration and despair finally seeped in. The moment when, as usual, one should close their eyes and give up.
"I will give you the answer. Run away," the Ferryman said.
As always, it was the best option. He was telling him to flee, greet a new today, and settle for a comfortable present. The Ferryman was offering him a way out.
Encrid nodded at the Ferryman’s words. It was after a total of one hundred and twenty-one repetitions of today.
"This is what I plan to do. What do you think?"
Encrid discussed the plan he had been devising with the Ferryman.
"Indeed."
The Ferryman looked into Encrid’s eyes. In them, he saw two blue flames steeped in madness.
"You crazy bastard."
The Ferryman marveled. Eyes that spoke of hope instead of frustration and despair naturally elicited such words.