The Regressor's Vow
In the heart of a scorched battlefield, a lone woman knelt, breathing in ragged gasps.
"Haa... ugh!"
With a harsh sigh, she spat out a mouthful of blood that had pooled in her mouth, then hurled her weapon far into the distance and collapsed onto her back. Her body was already in tatters, making it impossible to even twitch a single finger. Her eyelids grew heavier, sleep pulling at her, but she clung to consciousness with sheer willpower. She couldn't fall asleep yet. She had to think about the next one.
It's not enough... At this rate, I can't do anything.
She had gathered strength to protect the people she cherished and borrowed power from countless comrades to stop the Ruin. Yet it still wasn't enough. Despite all her efforts, the Ruin threatened to swallow everything in the end. As if no matter how desperately she struggled, it was all pointless...
-Cough!
A small cough sent pain ripping through her entire body like a convulsion. She nearly lost consciousness for a moment, but the agonizing torment refused to let her slip away peacefully. She could feel with painful clarity that she had finally reached death's door. But it was okay. It wasn't truly over yet.
"Again... from the beginning..."
She was a regressor. Death allowed her to turn back time. So no matter how many times the world ended, she would never give up.
Again... I'll start over...
To save the ones she held dear. To protect the world. She regressed once more.
"The world has ended again."
"But I will not stop."
⟨ REGRESSION ⟩
The scenery around me blurred past at blinding speed. Having experienced this phenomenon several times before, I recognized it immediately.
Ah, regressing again.
I closed my eyes for a brief moment, then opened them to find time flowing once more. I quietly looked out the window. Bright sunlight, countless buildings, and people bustling along the streets. The blue sky wasn't shattered, the buildings weren't reduced to rubble, and the streets weren't engulfed in flames. Peaceful smiles filled the faces of the people. Some looked a bit sour, but those expressions certainly didn't belong to people facing the world's Ruin.
Yes. With the regressor's time rewound, the world had regained its peace once again.
Even though time had been turned back, nothing had really changed. As always, I acted like nothing had happened. Today, brought back by the regressor, was the day of the Academy's entrance ceremony. I couldn't skip it from the very first day, so I quickly gathered only what I needed and headed outside.
As I left the dormitory building, I saw students in uniforms similar to mine walking with stiff postures. Most of them were freshmen heading to the entrance ceremony. They all seemed pumped up, not wanting to look weak on their first day. A few students were already glaring at each other with murderous intent. To someone like me, who had experienced the entrance ceremony multiple times, it was just a meaningless power struggle between heirs from rival families.
I walked past those who were starting to channel their mana in excitement after some heated words, not sparing them a glance. A professor would sort them out soon anyway. After walking for about ten more minutes, I could overhear conversations from students walking together, apparently acquaintances.
"Did you hear that the Hero is enrolling this year?"
"I heard rumors that the Saintess is coming too."
"The Eloshi family and the Nissen family are also..."
Just as they said, this year's incoming students included many outstanding geniuses. The Hero who wielded the Holy Sword, the Saintess who had received the most divine power, geniuses from certain families, someone's disciple, and so on... Even someone like me, who had little interest in worldly affairs, had heard of these famous figures. They were all enrolling together. It wasn't for nothing that both professors and students unanimously called this year's freshmen the Golden Generation.
Among them, the three I was particularly conscious of were the Hero, the Saintess, and the regressor. Excluding the Saintess, I figured I might see the Hero and the regressor today if nothing went wrong.
Lost in thought, I soon arrived at the auditorium. The entrance ceremony was held here, in this massive dome-shaped hall. I found a suitable seat and sat down, then looked toward the spot where the most student gazes were gathered. In the front row, closest to the podium, a woman with long golden hair sat with perfect posture. That was the Hero.
The Hero waited calmly for the ceremony to begin, ignoring the pouring stares around her. Beside her, a single sharp sword emanated a warm aura and gave off a faint glow. That was the Holy Sword. It only produced a weak light for now, but given its nature of growing stronger alongside its wielder, the light would surely become much brighter as the Hero grew.
Watching the Hero remain utterly still, I recalled her from the previous round. Backed by the regressor, who memorized the locations of countless treasures with future knowledge, she had grown endlessly. The Holy Sword's light, which now was barely a firefly's glow, had been bright enough back then to blind ordinary people who glanced at it for even a moment...
The regressor had even said, after seeing the Hero struggling to control that intense light, that she couldn't imagine the limits of the Hero and her Holy Sword. Sadly, they had failed to stop the Ruin every time, but if she continued to grow stronger in this round, she would once again become a powerful ally to the regressor.
In every round, the Hero had always been a good person. Whenever the Ruin approached, she was the first to extend a hand to the regressor, and perhaps because of that, she received the most support. It showed just how much the regressor cherished her.
When it came to the regressor's powerful allies, the Saintess couldn't be left out... but she hadn't arrived at the Academy yet. Unlike the relatively free Hero, she led a massive organization called the Church, so she was quite busy.
As for the regressor, she was probably...
"Everyone, pay attention."
At that moment, a voice rang out across the entire auditorium. The brightly lit space instantly darkened, leaving only a single beam of light illuminating the podium. A sharp-featured man wearing glasses now stood on the podium, which had been empty just moments before. Unlike the startled students, I wasn't particularly surprised. Having experienced this several times, I simply thought, So the entrance ceremony is finally starting.
"Thank you all for attending the entrance ceremony. I am Ricaron Schneider, a third-year magic professor."
He cleared his throat slightly and continued slowly.
"Due to unavoidable circumstances, the headmaster cannot preside over the entrance ceremony, so I will be conducting it in his place."
I let the following pointless sermon go in one ear and out the other. I'd heard it all before anyway, and none of it was relevant to me.
The entrance ceremony ended quickly. It was never a particularly important event to begin with—one you could skip without any real consequences—and since the headmaster hadn't shown up, it wrapped up after a few formal greetings.
"...That concludes the entrance ceremony."
-Clap, clap, clap!
With the students' applause, Professor Ricaron finished his speech and vanished from the podium in an instant. The way he disappeared without a trace, as if evaporating, suggested it was the same method he'd used to appear suddenly. Small gasps of admiration and sighs echoed here and there, apparently impressed by the third-year magic professor's skill.
The lights returned to the auditorium, and once the entrance ceremony was truly over, students began rising from their seats one by one. I slowly stood up as well. I walked past the students who were subtly approaching the Hero to strike up a conversation and left the auditorium.
So far, I saw no differences from the previous round. In that case, the next part would surely be...
"Hehe, hello?"
Yeah. I knew she'd show up soon.
Suddenly, beautiful sky-blue hair filled my vision. The regressor had quietly approached me and spoken.
Then, just as she always did, she naturally...
"......"
"......"
She wrapped me in a tight embrace. Burying her face in my chest, she whispered in a voice so soft only I could hear it.
"I'll do my best this time too."
"......"
Just to be clear, at this point in time, I had never met the regressor before. We hadn't built any rapport yet. If anyone asked her in confusion, she would always answer like this.
"...Who are you?"
"Just... someone you know?"
The regressor always gave the same reply, flashed a slight smile with her eyes, and gracefully disappeared. This inexplicable behavior of hers had happened in the previous round and the one before that too.
I put on a bewildered expression and waved back at the regressor, who was waving from a distance. Honestly, I still didn't understand why she did that. I had never once revealed to her that I was regressing alongside her, had no plans to do so anytime soon, and was certain my acting had never been caught. That only made the question more puzzling.
Why did this poor regressor, who didn't even know I was regressing with her, always act like she knew me every single time she regressed...?
The regressor—Elisha—returned to the dormitory with leisurely steps. She changed into comfortable clothes and immediately dove into bed.
"Ugh, seriously... how many times has this been now..."
Overcome with embarrassment, Elisha buried her face in the pillow and pounded it repeatedly. She recalled what had just happened.
I'll do my best this time too.
...Who are you?
Just... someone you know?
"Haa..."
Even though she had said it herself, she thought it sounded a bit cringey. She wanted to ask her past self, Why did I do that? but she already knew the answer.
This was the third time she had approached him like that after regressing. It would be stranger if she hadn't realized it by now. Her face had been burning since earlier, but...
Elisha wasn't a child who didn't understand her own feelings. She liked him. She still loved him even after regressing. In all the rounds she had lived through, he had always been the one to save her when she was on the brink of collapse. When she tasted despair and was about to break, he held her together with warm words. How could she not love him?
Whenever she faced him, she craved affection and wanted to express her feelings. In this endless cycle of regression with no known end, his very existence gave her strength and kept her from giving up. The only reason she could keep challenging the seemingly insurmountable Ruin was because being held in his arms and breathing in his scent gave her the power to keep going.
He was the regressor's... Elisha's one and only source of strength, her most important person. That was why she sought him out and embraced him every time she regressed.
Of course, I also want to mark my territory in advance...
She wanted to kiss him if she could, but she didn't want their first time to happen so impulsively. Having watched his actions across previous rounds, Elisha knew he hated anything that drew attention. So she settled for a brief hug and quickly left. She didn't want to disrupt his Academy life, and above all, she wanted him to live a peaceful one.
Keeping some distance for now would be best for both of them.
...Of course, if it involved his love life, she fully intended to interfere as many times as necessary...
She still had no right to comment on his romantic affairs. From his perspective, the current Elisha was nothing more than a strange woman acting like she knew him. Even if he flirted with other women, there was nothing she could do about it. So...
She would approach him little by little. She would get closer to him and, someday, carve her feelings into his heart. She would keep expressing her emotions.
But unfortunately, there were far too many things she needed to do right now.
I won't be able to attend classes tomorrow.
She was already worried about how to explain it to the professors, but she had no intention of wasting the information she had gained in the previous round. Yes. For now, getting stronger took priority over everything else. Building relationships with the Hero and the Saintess could come after that. For the sake of their future together...
Elisha had to become even stronger.