Ep.2 - I'll Take Care of You for Life (1)

Consciousness doesn't come back easily.

"..."

I'd seen plenty of characters infinitely regressing through endless deaths, but I'd never truly thought about the pain they felt at the actual moment of dying.

My head was blank, my body twitching from the lingering afterglow of pleasure.

My body itself had recovered to its previous state, but my mind, steeped in that pleasure, still hadn't returned to full function.

A sense of helplessness and terror, as if trapped in a nightmare that wouldn't end.

Involuntary reflex made tears trickle out, and my lips and tongue, having lost control, allowed saliva to keep leaking from my mouth unchecked.

"...!"

He dreams. No, you could say certain scenes replay inside his brain.

Several images flashed by in rapid succession, flickering through his

mind. Most were images tied to the kind of pleasure that makes your vision go white. A woman's breasts, violet afterglows, limp hands...

But what appeared after those images passed was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the place from the dream he'd had inside the carriage.

"...rin!"

If you crossed the path thick with piled blossoms, there lay a garden where the flowers swayed softly,

and his future self—or perhaps it was his dream self—kept running, looking back over his shoulder for some reason, with no time to worry about trampling those flowers.

There was nothing behind him, so I don't know why he kept looking back. Before, I'd thought he was being chased, but now, looking again...

He was hesitating.

Right in the middle of that flower field, hesitating...

That figure he'd seen before, once again...

"Delin! you ffu..."

He recalls.

And then consciousness returned.

"Del... kheuk..."

The first thing that entered my vision was Philmark thrashing against clanking chains.

In front of her was Neva, strangling Philmark.

I clutched my throbbing head and thought. My brain felt jammed and the processing speed was considerably slow, but at least one single word was easy enough to produce.

'I'm back...'

Philmark, who'd been struggling in a trembling fit, went still. The blood spurting from her neck plainly showed that every last bit of her remaining life was gone.

Neva's grip hadn't just strangled Philmark — it had crushed her throat.

"..."

Yet in the sight of this female knight's back—she wouldn't utter a single word, she'd become something like a machine—I sensed something deeply unreal.

Something that made my skin crawl.

I had no talent whatsoever to express it in words.

"Uh, uuh..."

Watching someone get killed right in front of me would've been shocking enough, but on top of that, the lingering echoes of pleasure in my head hadn't yet faded...

I soon stumbled backward and fled. A reflexive action driven by survival instinct.

Neva's silent back was more terrifying than Philmark, who had violated me right to the brink of death moments before.

"S-somebody save me...! Help!"

Once I escaped that crushingly narrow passage, a spiraling staircase appeared.

I remembered it. I'd definitely come down these countless stairs while being carried on Neva's back.

But now those stairs had become an obstacle blocking my path...

"Huh, huuuhk..."

The female knight stepped closer, one step at a time, with those fine hands dripping blood, her expression so rigid I couldn't tell what emotion she was feeling, calling for me...

"Delin?"

"Aaaah! Please save me!"

Panic-stricken, I frantically scrambled up the stairs. I could no longer make rational judgments.

I didn't even register that Neva could catch up instantly with a single leap—I didn't even register the curse etched into my own ankle,

"Ggraahaahhk!"

and so I collapsed on the spot as an immense, crushing pain surged through my ankle.

"Aahk! Huk! Kkeuhuk!"

Unable to keep my balance on the staircase, the simplest law of physics sent my body tumbling end over end down the stairs,

and the point where my fall finally ended was right before Neva's toes, as she stood silently at the foot of the stairs.

"Kkiheuuh... it hurts..."

There, I sobbed as I clutched my ankle, with no way left to flee, merely trembling beneath Neva.

"Hic, huuhk..."

So scared...

I couldn't bring myself to even dare look up at her.

It couldn't even be compared to a horror movie. This chilling sensation, every single cell screaming at me to run, polluted my entire mind and made me cry like a child.

"Delin."

But she paid no mind and kept calling my name. The pressure in that voice coldly coiled around my heart.

I just couldn't muster the courage to look up.

"The goddess has granted us another chance. Delin. She showed us mercy and gave us a chance."

She muttered something as she placed her hand on my head.

Philmark's thick blood, still on her hand, trickled down my forehead,

but I couldn't move a muscle, just trembling as I agonized over whether to call out 'Load' or not...

"Our merciful Goddess has granted me a chance... a chance to protect the untainted Delin. Ahh. Lady Penola."

What the hell is she talking about...

Is she misunderstanding something? No way...!

Does she think she regressed?

"Delin. Lift your head. I won't harm you."

"R-really...?"

When I barely managed to look up, a remarkably bright smile sat on her face, unlike just moments before.

Relieved that the unnerving bloodlust which had made me tremble, fearing she might kill me too, had vanished, I let out a sigh of relief and clung to her leg.

"Y-yes, Neva! I didn't run away on purpose. I was just so scared..."

"Shh. It's alright. In a sense, I'm the one who showed you such a gruesome sight. I'm sorry for frightening you."

Thank god...!

Just forget that bitch Philmark is dead! At least I have to stay alive...!!

"And, I'm sorry. I think we're both going to die now."

Huh?

Why?

"I couldn't control my anger and killed that trash... so in the end, everyone will hold me accountable."

"O-oh, I see..."

"You, Delin, without me there... you won't be able to survive properly either. This world is far too harsh for someone as delicate as you."

She pulled me into an embrace.

Wait a second... this is a little...

"Let's make love one last time and go together. I'll send you off without any pain, so wait for me on the other side."

"Huh, Neva? Hold on..."

"I love you. More than anyone in this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠world."

"Wait a moment! I think you've got something seriously wrong...! Mmmph!"

And so the two pressed their bodies together beneath the cold underground.

For Delin, who'd been sexually exploited for a long time, that suffocating coupling wasn't exactly welcome — but how could he possibly resist Neva, the strongest sword in the Albator Kingdom?

After that achingly tender final sex came to an end...

"Delin. I love you."

"W-wait! Neva! Hold on! Just listen to me for a sec. First calm down and put that sword dow..."

Kwajik-

Without even a moment to feel pain, Delin's head was completely crushed.

And so Delin faced death once more...

[You have died. Auto-restoring to the most recently saved point.]

He came back again.

"Ggaahk! Heok, heooeok..."

Fuck.

Fuuuck!

My head... my head.

Ah... it's attached...

"Keheuk, kkeuhuk..."

Philmark?

"Fuuuck... hurts like a bitch..."

Our eyes met. Both of us, in a state where the lingering echoes of death hadn't yet faded, sensed what would happen next.

Gr-r-r-umble-

"Delin... you ffuu... get this off me... hurry!..."

The seal on the massive stone door came undone. The narrow passage slowly revealed itself.

Me, and Philmark,

only after experiencing those ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠two rounds did we finally understand the system by which the Save&Load function operated.

If I died, I came back to the save point...!

"Hurry... keohuk... hurry up..."

Philmark, who'd returned to the body battered from being tortured, grimaced as she coughed up blood continuously...

"N... no! Just die on your own! If Neva knows that I come back like this, she won't kill me—!"

That's right!

Neva, who seemed to regress alongside me likely due to the affinity increase, had killed me that time just before, but this time she definitely wouldn't!

Why?

Because last time she killed me thinking it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance — but this time is the second!

She'll definitely treat me kindly again!

"You... fffuuckin..."

Not straying far from my expectations, Neva, who'd opened the door and entered, looked back and forth between me and Philmark with a rather startled expression, then soon relaxed, strode right over to Philmark, and started beating the living hell out of her without the slightest mercy.

The dull, wet sounds of fist meeting face filled the prison.

That noise, audible even when I plugged my ears, was quite chilling — but I was just sincerely grateful that the person on the receiving end wasn't me.

That simple yet vicious venting of rage, with blood and sweat flying, continued for a few more minutes after that,

then stopped only at the very instant just before Philmark's life would have been extinguished.

"Hooo..."

Fuck...

Is it over now?

She's not gonna rest and then start beating her again, right...?

Fucking terrifying...

"Lady Penola. Thank you. I shall dedicate my entire life in devotion to You. I shall live forever engraving into my heart the vast mercy and grace You have bestowed upon this foolish servant, granting me a second chance."

Neva knelt reverently and offered a prayer to the goddess of this other world.

After that.

"Delin. Let's go home. Any longer here and I feel I'll make a choice I can't take back."

"Ye-yes..."

She hoisted me onto her back and strode right out of the underground prison.

So it's all over now.

I've escaped that horrific situation...

Ah. Wait.

"U-uhm. But, what about my ankle...?"

"Your ankle?"

"Ah... yes. My ankle."

"Don't worry about it. I'll bring you everything you need."

Huh...?

I feel like I've heard this somewhere before...

"What...? What do you mean..."

"There's no need to go outside. From now on, you only need to stay by my side. You don't need your ankle, do you? When you need something inside the house, call the other maids. If you want to go on a walk, you can just get on my back. You don't need your ankle, do you?"

"Eh...?"

"Just like this, forever. For life. I'll do everything so your legs won't be an inconvenience, so there's no need to fix them. This is actually for the better. The world outside is filthy and treacherous, but the inside of our home is safe. I'll protect you so no one can ever interfere again. Right. Now I understand. This is why Eva left me in the end, isn't it. I should've locked her up more tightly. It's because I let her wander around. You, Delin, are even more fragile than ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠she was, so don't even think about going outside anymore. Living at home will be plenty happy. From now on, I'll always come home in the evenings, and every time I return, we'll share our love. Just like this, forever. Until we die. For life. No. That alone won't be enough. Now that it's come to this, to live forever... right. Let's cross the sea to God's Garden, which they say the Demon King guards, and pray that we may both live forever. No. Our children too. All of us. Let's ask to never age. That way, we can keep whispering our love forever and ever..."

"...Load!"

[Loaded to the save point.]