Chapter 108 - Death Delay [We'll Meet Again Here.]

The memory from the 16th loop surfaced above the waters of my mind.

[Sorry for always leaving you alone.]

"That was definitely something NoName said in the loop right before this one... But now!"

As I chewed over every forgotten memory up to the final 17th loop, tears welled up in my eyes.

[This time, I'll definitely come back alive.]

"Hic... I did it... I don't know what, but I succeeded...! I remember everything! So please, God...!"

The moment Adella saw the words telling her to go back, she couldn't shake the thought that she had to find NoName. Absentmindedly stroking the stone wall, a sudden spark flared with a pop, and the mechanical noise that had been jumbling her head rang out clearly.

[Remember, recall it, don't forget.]

At the command to remember, she could recall. NoName had gently brushed her hair back today, and today, and today again. In every 'today.'

And at the plea to remember, she finally did. In the mission that could never succeed, NoName had willingly sacrificed her own body to protect her.

And the world reset.

Having kept even the final promise not to forget, Adella rushed to where her benefactor should be.

"This memory...! I'll never let anyone take it from me. I'll save NoName no matter what!"

But it was too soon to relax. The condition for Adella's memories returning was always limited to when NoName died and the world collapsed.

But Adella was certain this loop felt strongly different somehow.

The background shifted in an instant, and the academy arena came into view. Having lost her dear friend twice already in the same place, Adella's chest ached as if it were being crushed.

What if she was too late? What if another strange message appeared pointing to her death?

Clutching her anxious heart, she leaped from rooftop to rooftop between buildings, avoiding people's eyes.

And there she was. The brilliant golden hair rare in the capital, the sharply pointed ears—and focusing her mana further, even the youthful expression came into sharp focus.

She's alive.

"NoNameeeee!"

She screamed at the top of her lungs, praying it would reach. Even if her voice gave out like this, even if she lost her voice forever, it didn't matter.

"Adella...?"

Without a second thought, Adella threw herself at NoName. Even though they'd been together just moments ago, the emotions surging through her felt like reuniting after ten years apart.

"Why are you here? Where's Sisiela?"

"I did emergency treatment! Just like you taught me? Tissue regeneration magic."

"No, you...!"

Leaving NoName frozen in disbelief, Adella calmly assessed the situation. They were still at a standoff, but the battle hadn't started yet.

Hope was in sight.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Forest Keeper, let's run...!"

"What are you talking about? In the middle of a mission—"

"If we die, what good is the damn mission!"

She hated the elf's eyes, still so stubbornly upright. How could she throw herself away without a moment's hesitation?

"Adella, calm down. They're not going to let us go anyway. And Alperion too..."

NoName pointed to the knight collapsed on the opposing side. He looked on the verge of death.

Adella squeezed her eyes shut. It was a hopeless situation. They never should have taken this mission in the first place.

But they couldn't just leave the demon's cornerstone in the Tree of Life laurel alone either. If the laurel fell into the hands of demon worshippers, the world's destruction was inevitable.

"I hoped it wasn't true, but to think you'd still be at the academy. This is beyond imagination."

A hoarse, unpleasant voice echoed, accompanied by the tick-tock of a pocket watch.

Jin Chronicle, the academy's vice principal—and a demon worshipper—had descended.

The story had gone completely off the rails. Normally, as long as he was inside the academy, players could never encounter Jin Chronicle. No matter how much time they spent fighting students and guard knights, it didn't matter. Logically impossible, but that was the constraint the game devs had placed on the boss. Jin Chronicle would just wait endlessly for the protagonists to escape the academy.

The man descending from thin air walked straight through the crowd of onlookers. He passed right through them, as if they hadn't existed from the start.

"What... how did he pass ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠through people...?"

Adella's instincts went into maximum alert. This was impossible. Was he really a ghost come back to life?

"What people are here? It's just you and me, and that guy impersonating the Forest Keeper."

In Jin Chronicle's vision, only NoName and Adella were visible. Two different worlds overlapping.

Overwhelming enough with one side, but now they had to face both factions.

"Forest Keeper... how is this...?"

"Adella, you said all your memories returned, right?"

"Ah... yeah! That bastard... he's a demon worshipper! He wasn't even from the empire to begin with!"

"Then you handle Jin Chronicle. I'll take on everyone else."

A way to escape this interminable first act flashed through NoName's mind.

* * *

The boss fight with Jin Chronicle erupted suddenly. But NoName couldn't join. She took all the aggro from the army and dashed toward the academy main building.

She gave a curt reason—finding a kid named Giselle Phoenix—and left.

"Exactly two years, huh?"

The man's indifferent question made Adella's fists tremble.

"It's been less than a day, you son of a bitch...!"

"Pity. I feel like I'm seeing you for the first time. Did you steal a glance at me from afar or something?"

Even with 18 loops of experience accumulated, Jin Chronicle's presence was on another level. The stronger she'd become, the clearer she saw it. The title of academy vice principal wasn't some parachute appointment.

It only made her realize how incredible the Forest Keeper was to overwhelm him head-on.

Adella thought that as she bared her sharp claws and steeled herself. All she could do now was buy time until NoName's plan succeeded.

Thick fear weighed her down, but what terrified her more was the thought of losing her comrade forever.

"I'm not as strong as NoName... but!"

Adella crossed her arms. Beyond the vicious dagger blades, her eyes gleamed green even in the night.

"If you remembered the previous loops too, I'd feel like NoName facing me right now."

No more Chur or carrots. She had to make every judgment herself.

Yet Adella was confident she could make the same calls as NoName in any situation.

Filled with exhilaration like she'd been born for this moment, Adella hurled all her daggers, signaling the start of the fight.

The two daggers shot toward the man like boomerangs. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠One straight on, the other curving wide.

Clang!

The dagger that failed to pierce Chronicle's sword aura bounced off. Adella, now right in front of him, snatched it mid-air and thrust at his throat again.

Surprise flickered in the man's eyes. She should have been a kid with zero potential for growth.

But her movements were worlds apart from two years ago.

No time to think deeper. His pocket watch intercepted the strike at his vitals.

He didn't forget the incoming dagger from the side either. Not devastating power, but who knew what tricks it held? Not a sword user himself, he opted for evasion over blocking.

In that split second, his gaze locked on Adella's head. Her hair looked slightly mussed.

"So that's why your skills improved so suddenly. You have the laurel."

"Hmph, try taking it! This isn't the Tree of Life laurel you contracted with!"

"Can't use magic anyway, so no big deal. I'll kill you here and take both."

* * *

Live NPC viewpoints were on Camera 9. And the few viewers watching Camera 9 on NoName's stream cheered Adella on fervently, even if their shouts wouldn't reach.

Show them NoName's faith in you wasn't wasted.

And as if answering that faith, the moment Adella landed the first hit on the boss.

Jin Chronicle dodged both boomerangs from different directions. But Adella appeared behind him, slashing his thigh with her blade.

Enraged, the man fired his signature laser disguised as a water cannon, but her agile body didn't take a single hit.

To viewers, it looked like easy dodges, but Adella had run at full speed, her molars grinding as if they'd shatter any second.

As they said, one hit from the pocket watch would spell danger for her.

She knew ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that. But death no longer scared her.

Having realized something more frightening than death, she threw herself between the laser barrages.

Dozens of fierce exchanges later, she judged smashing the movement-restricting watch was key to victory.

"This damn noisy clock—shut up already!"

Adella channeled all the laurel's energy into her legs and sword. The blade grew so heavy she had to grip with all her might or drop it.

Her eyes locked solely on the pocket watch. The gaze of a predator eyeing prey.

"Farewell."

"...!"

Before Adella's sword reached the watch, Chronicle's beam fired faster.

Enveloped in the straight-shooting light. No one could predict her survival.

"No...!"

Taking the beam full to the face, Adella swung her eerie dagger.

"You're the one dying! I decided it! Because I promised NoName!"

The blade tip slashed Chronicle's throat.

Too late, brain-searing pain hit Adella's face.

A desperate gamble risking death.

Adella's bloodied body collapsed atop Chronicle's crumbling form.

"Haa... hope she comes back soon and gives me some Chur..."

Even she thought it was reckless, something NoName would never do—but that's why succeeding made her proud of herself.

* * *

Adella defeated the boss. But only a Jin Chronicle without the laurel.

The Tree of Life laurel NoName carried floated over and absorbed into the now-corpse man.

"Nice timing, you handled it well."

NoName, back from the academy, rushed to heal Adella with a heel skill.

But at that moment, the man sprang up, frowned once, and cast magic without warning, splitting them apart.

108 pillars tried to bind NoName again. She resisted fiercely, but bound by physics, escape was impossible.

"Too dangerous after all. A bit more time, and even his power wouldn't have sufficed."

"No... NoName..."

Sprawled on the ground, hands shaking pitifully.

"Your talent is truly astonishing. Even overcoming the curse I placed on your body, foolish creature."

Like loops 1 and 2, the demon in the laurel tried to use Adella's body as host. She knew when he fell, the demon would descend.

But with no strength left, she was dragged helplessly.

"Touch my body... and see what happens..."

"Not killing you. Giving you a new life. Don't you want to steal the body Yggdrasil bestowed?"

"Get out... I don't need huge tits like that!"

"Resistance is futile. We understand your nature better than anyone. Just laying the foundation to easily fulfill your dreams."

"Get out! All of you, get out!"

"What? Something about tits?"

A sudden gale blew, hurling the bloodied man away from Adella into a building.

NoName, limbs now free, cracked her neck and approached Adella.

Seeing the murderous glare, Adella murmured in a daze.

"How...?"

"Must've been an easy opponent? Still spouting nonsense like that."

The false 'Frozen Prison' was melting. Thanks to Giselle Phoenix's 'Avatar Descent'.