Chapter 19
Chapter 19 - Despair Seeping into the Bones
Damn it. Damn this. Fucking hell.
I'm furious. I'm so angry I might go crazy.
"Why... just why...!"
I growled, glaring at Leila with disgust. The question wasn't directed at Leila. It was a question I was asking myself, who had been helplessly defeated once again.
Was my level up insufficient?
Was my training lacking?
Or was the problem my inexperience in utilizing ether?
Why is this maid so incredibly strong?
Is this a scam?
Isn't the balance team doing their job?
What kind of fantasy world has the final boss appearing from the prologue?
Countless questions poured out and then dissipated emptily. In the place where the questions disappeared, only a quiet rage remained.
The directionless rage was poured directly towards Leila.
"Why, you ask?"
Leila looked down at me with an indifferent gaze, then crouched down and spoke casually.
"Instead, I want to ask you. Why are you looking at me with such eyes?"
"What... did you say?"
"Don't misunderstand. I didn't betray you."
"......."
"I never believed in you from the start."
Leila said this and immediately drew her blade.
A strange sensation and pain burst from my chest. It felt like my lungs were being pulled out of my body.
Clang. The goddess's sentence I had kept in my pocket rolled on the ground and stopped in front of my eyes.
"Kahahhh!"
"Your attempt to deceive me was good, junior. Well Then."
Leila coldly spoke and immediately raised her blade. Her emotionless movements were slowly processed in my turbulent mind.
I made a sound of air escaping my lungs.
"Huh."
Right. I'm almost grateful.
At least this suspicious person who never believed me is showing me her true face. Me, who has died so many times. How much did I want to see your face?
Just to confirm your true nature. I've repeated this nonsense twenty times.
" Kr... ugh..."
Beyond the faint light emitted by the emblem, I stared intently at her face. With bloodshot eyes glaring at her, I slowly opened my mouth.
A voice filled with viciousness flowed out.
"I... will remember your face."
I muttered as if spitting it out. Leila momentarily recoiled at that intensity but soon countered with a cold smile.
"What will you do by remembering? It'll be useless when you're dead."
"Is that so?"
I laughed provocatively. Every time I chuckled, blood gushed from my internal injuries. It hurt. It felt like my heart was burning.
"How utterly disgraceful. Showing off bravado right before dying."
Leila, who had been staring at me, soon gripped the broomstick in reverse.
Keeing! The long blade that emerged tickled my eye area. A familiar phosphorescence. Memories of seeing sparks bouncing on the floor beyond the darkness came flooding back.
It was nostalgic enough to feel dear.
"... Hahah."
I gave Leila a challenging smile. Making this life's Leila as uncertain as possible.
I laughed desperately. A kind of curse I was placing on her in my own way.
"Try killing me. See what happens."
"I'll do it even without you rushing me."
“In the next life, you’ll hit the ground and regret this moment. Of course, you won’t have any memories of this mo–”
"Nonsense."
Leila's cold verdict cut off my words.
Immediately after, blades rushed in. I'm not exactly sure where I was pierced.
Before I could know, my Sentiment was cut off.
* * *
"Kheuk!"
Immediately after passing through the gate in a white space, I opened my eyes as if having a seizure.
It felt like my breath was rising to my throat. Desperately, following my instincts, I rolled my eyes to assess the situation. The scenery of a damp sewer entered my vision. A foul stench mercilessly stabbed my nose.
"Whew... T-this is strange. Was it this difficult when I passed through the gate before?"
I was disoriented for a while, trying to shake off the inexplicable suffocation pressing down on my entire body. I roughly wiped away the cold sweat that soaked my body and caught my ragged breath. Then I put all my effort into organizing my murky mind.
"I feel a bit better now. So, where..."
I, having gathered my wits, used the skill 'Mímir's Eye' to check my condition and inspect my items. Overall, there was nothing unusual. The special items were exactly as explained.
However, there were a few strange points. First, I started at level 9 instead of 1. And another thing...
"What is this? It's flickering."
One of the special items, the Box of the Dead, was ominously flashing in an eerie purple color. As soon as I stared at it, a panel popped up.
[Notification: Item Update - Item for saving the previous life's Box of the Dead has been updated.]
I involuntarily held my breath. I instinctively realized what this meant.
I opened the box, feeling a sense of unease. There was a cloth with blood-written letters.
―Do not move rashly. Focus on the residual sentiment first. You are already dead.
"I am... already dead."
These were probably the words my previous life wanted to leave. A final testament.
The excitement I felt just moments ago vanished, and I felt my heart sink. Having seen the blood-written message, I could roughly understand how desperate my previous situation was.
"Well... better to tap the bridge before crossing."
I decided to focus on the residual sentiment as the note instructed. I lifted the Izanami’s heart from my waist.
Wuuuuung. The lantern began to operate, emitting a gloomy light as if it had been waiting. An involuntary despairing voice escaped me.
"Wow... I, I guess I really died. Damn."
Though it's hard to believe for me who just woke up, what can I do when evidence keeps popping up? I have to believe it.
Isn't my only advantage how quickly I adapt when a dog-like situation arrives?
'Is it this way?'
I immediately turned my steps toward where the light was strongly shining, and not long after, I witnessed my own corpse lying on the ground.
Of course, I was terrified. Absolutely terrified.
"Oh my fucking god! Holy shit! What is this?!"
I was so startled that swear words and dialect burst out. Something that rarely comes out except when talking to my father. That's how much I was in a panic.
The condition of the corpse was more gruesome than I expected. One eye was completely pierced and crushed. There was also a sharp penetrating wound on the back.
The back wound was supposedly the mark of a swordsman, so I was probably stabbed while trying to escape. How disgustingly.
"What... what the hell happened to me!!"
The excitement for the unknown immediately turned into fear. The humid sewer air seemed to cling particularly heavily to my lungs. It was difficult to breathe.
Despite feeling uneasy, I brought the lantern to the magic circle shining beneath the corpse. Immediately, the body crumbled like sand, and signals continuously rang in my head.
[Item Activation - Izanami’s Heart]
[Acquired residual sentiment of previous life]
[Recovered 5 points of Strength, 9 points of Agility, 0 points of Intelligence]
[Recovered Lost Skill - Backstab LV.3]
[Recovered Lost Skill - Stealth LV.4]
[Recovered Lost Skill - Mímir's Eye LV.3]
[Recovered Lost Skill - Flash Step LV.1]
[Recovered all memories of previous life]
"Kkaaaaak!"
I let out a soul-tearing scream.
The wave of memories violently overturned my mind. I rolled around in that spot, going berserk for a while. Until the brain-squeezing pain subsided.
And then.
"Gwaaah! Remember this, you bastard!!"
Me, who was truly resurrected in the 21st regression.
The first thing I said after regaining my senses was that.
* * *
"Revenge! Bloody revenge! Revenge! Reveeeeenge!"
Right after my 21st reincarnation began in this sewer. I went berserk with rage.
While my still-confused mind was imagining all sorts of ways to gnaw and chew the limbs of that maid, reason slowly returned.
"Huh... Heh, hehe."
With reason returned, I let out a massive sneer.
A mockery to my previous self.
"Revenge, my ass... Even if I beg, it won't be enough."
Realistically speaking, that was true. The difference in skill between that woman and me was stark.
I had raised my level and even charged my ether, but I couldn't even escape properly. If I fought head-on, the result would be obvious.
'A strategy. I need a strategy to survive against that woman!'
Preferably a peaceful one. I reached that conclusion.
As the Art of War says, winning without fighting is the best strategy, diplomatic warfare is the next best, and direct confrontation is the worst.
'Then...'
After thinking carefully, I let out a sly laugh.
The most appropriate method to break through the current situation had just crossed my mind.
The moment thoughts of "What if I fail?" arose, I crumpled and threw them away.
'If I fail, what's the worst that could happen? I'll just die.'
Me, who has been reincarnated and failed 20 times already.
Let's see who wins. That damn sewer maid.