They say that for humans, a physical bond is something that can never be ignored.
I heard that for humans, the bond of the flesh is something that can never be ignored.
Blood flowing from the corpses formed a river.
No one near me could breathe any longer.
Only the cold, lifeless bodies of my comrades lay scattered around.
A scene I had witnessed countless times.
Yet, it was a sight that made my rage impossible to suppress.
"It seems this is as far as I go this time, too."
It was all because of that person.
My family being massacred by demons.
All my comrades dying horribly.
And having to witness that scene again and again, through countless Regressions.
It was all because of that person standing before me, that person I wanted to tear to shreds.
"Bersia......!!"
The Demon King, Bersia.
The King of Demons and the beginning of all my tragedies.
Because of that bitch, happiness vanished from my life.
My hometown disappeared, and so did love.
All because of that bitch.
"Screaming with such a furious voice won't change anything."
Bersia looked at me with her characteristic indifferent and hollow eyes.
That gaze was utterly detestable.
Unable to suppress my rage, I swung my sword.
"I will kill you. I will kill that bitch no matter what."
"By what means do you think you can do that?"
Ka-ang!
The sword blade was caught by Bersia's hand, letting out a metallic clang.
"You have challenged me tens of thousands of times already. Yet, here I am, still alive, aren't I?"
"If that's not enough, I will repeat it hundreds of thousands of times."
With force, I pulled the sword from her grasp and swung it once more.
This time, faster.
Aiming precisely for her heart.
"If hundreds of thousands of times aren't enough, I will repeat it millions of times. If millions of times aren't enough, I will repeat it tens of millions of times. Even if it means I break, I will kill that bitch and then break!"
"......How unfortunate."
However, my sword left no mark on Bersia.
Instead, Bersia easily caught my sword once again.
And with her grip, she snapped the sword.
Chae-aeng!
"Kuh...!"
"You still haven't realized your limits, now that you've become a woman."
Yes.
Just as Bersia said, after my first Regression, my body had changed into that of a woman.
Two large lumps of flesh, too disadvantageous for battle.
And a soft body with no muscles whatsoever.
It was truly a body utterly unsuited for combat, but....
Nevertheless, I continuously strived and sharpened my blade.
Because that bitch was too hateful for me to give up just because I had changed into a woman.
"...I can overcome any such limits. Don't you know that my hatred for that bitch is greater than the pain of my body being torn apart!"
"Yes. As you say, there may be no limits to the body. However."
Kwaak!
"Keo-heok...!!"
Bersia grabbed my neck tightly.
"Have you forgotten that you're not the only one who Regresses?"
Bersia was right.
Going back to the past with all memories intact....
It was the same for Bersia.
"No matter how much you grow and return, you cannot defeat me."
"Kkeu-heuk, Kkeok...!!"
"Even after thousands of Regressions, do you truly still not understand?"
Bersia lifted me by the neck.
Then, she spun me once in the air and slammed me straight down onto the floor.
"Keo, heup......!!"
Blood gushed from my mouth from the impact.
The pain was so intense that my vision momentarily turned white.
It seemed my bones were thoroughly shattered by that last attack.
"You said you would keep coming back, no matter how many times."
Bersia said, looking at me, unable to get up from where I was embedded in the floor.
"Stop this foolishness. I, too, am growing tired of killing you."
Tired?
After hurting me so much through thousands of repeated lives.
After massacring my precious people without exception through thousands of repeated lives.
She can say such a thing?
"......Then I'll keep bothering you."
Ppudeudeuk! Ppudeuk!
As I pushed myself up, I heard the sound of my bones grinding.
At the same time, an overwhelming, distant agony swept over my entire body.
Nevertheless, I stood up and gathered magic into my broken sword.
"I'll keep bothering you until I put an end to that boring life of yours."
"......Is that truly your choice?"
Bersia slowly closed her eyes.
And the next moment.
"If so, then I have no choice but to prevent that choice."
"Keo-heo-eok...!!"
As Bersia's fist accurately struck my solar plexus.
I immediately lost consciousness.
***
And how much time had passed?
"Heo-eok, Heo-eok......!!"
My breath returned, and my eyes snapped open.
The pain in my chest was still palpable, a testament to how much it had hurt.
Naturally, I had expected to have died by Bersia's hand and Regressed back to the beginning, but....
The ceiling that came into view looked completely different from what I saw at the starting point of my first Regression.
Originally, it was a shack.
Now, it somehow resembled the interior of a castle....
"......???"
Unable to understand what was happening, I cautiously raised my body.
Then, the interior of the room came into sight.
It was a remarkably luxurious room.
All the decorations filling the room were inlaid with jewels.
The floor was entirely marble, and an expensive fabric carpet lay over it.
A room like a king's bedchamber in a castle.
'It doesn't seem like I... Regressed.'
Until now, I had never once entered a king's bedchamber in my entire life.
It was natural.
Even if I was a Hero, I was ultimately a commoner.
And the reality was that commoners couldn't even enter the king's audience chamber.
'...Then where exactly am I?'
While trying my best to process the utterly incomprehensible situation.
Kki-ik.
The door opened, and a woman entered.
No, I need to correct that.
One damned bitch entered.
"You woke up faster than I expected. Are you still a Hero, then?"
"Bersia!"
The current Bersia was completely unarmed.
Thinking I could kill her with a surprise attack, I tried to pull out the dagger from my pocket, but.
No matter how much I searched my pocket, I couldn't find the dagger.
"Are you looking for this?"
The reason was that the dagger was already in Bersia's hand.
"When did you...."
"I took it while you were asleep. Well, it wouldn't have changed anything even if you had it."
Bersia tossed the dagger towards me.
It was as if she was saying, 'If you can kill me, try it.'
My anger flared, but I took a deep breath and barely suppressed it.
I hated to admit it, but... as Bersia said, the difference between her and that bitch was overwhelming right now.
And most importantly....
"...Why didn't you kill me?"
I was curious why Bersia hadn't killed me.
She was the bitch who had brutally killed me at the end of thousands of repeated lives.
But now, she was suddenly giving me a bedchamber and letting me into her castle.
Even my body had been healed.
"Didn't I tell you? I'm simply tired of killing you."
"Just that?"
"When you Regress, everything returns to the starting point. A life endlessly repeating the same thing. I no longer want to live in frozen time."
She didn't kill me because she didn't want to live in eternally repeating time.
Unable to listen any further, I picked up the dagger from the floor and aimed it at my throat.
After all, if I died, I could start over from the beginning.
If I couldn't kill her, I was prepared to at least bother her, so I stabbed my throat with the dagger.
However.
The dagger, which had clearly been in my hand, instantly turned into water droplets and vanished, leaving me unharmed.
"...So even after I personally saved you, this is how you'll act?"
"......Yes! Because I want to make that bitch suffer just as much as she made me suffer."
I glared at her with a distorted expression, but Bersia calmly met my gaze.
Then, she closed and opened her eyes, and spoke.
"I didn't want to resort to this method... but it seems there's no other choice."
With those words, Bersia slowly began to undress.
Her dress flowed down to the floor, and soon after, her underwear was removed....
I saw something I couldn't believe even with my own eyes.
"That's......."
A massive object hanging between Bersia's legs.
Even though it wasn't erect yet, it boasted a size larger than my own dick when I was a man.
"I heard that for humans, the bond formed through physical intimacy is something that can absolutely never be ignored."
"W-wait.... What that bitch is thinking, that's not... right?"
"You're probably right about what I'm thinking, Rubel."
Bersia slowly began to approach where I was lying.
"From now on, we will share a bed, and I will make it so you can no longer think of killing me."
"What the hell is this bullshit?! I was a man to begin with, so getting a dick shoved in me won't create any physical bond, you know? Especially not with a bitch like you!!"
"But you are a woman now, aren't you?"
Goosebumps spread all over my body.
No matter how I looked at it, everything Bersia was saying seemed to be serious, not a joke....
I tried to get away from the spot somehow.
However.
"Eueut!?"
My body didn't move at all.
It was because Bersia had cast Paralysis Magic.
"It would be best not to think of escaping, Rubel."