Chapter 166
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 166
Chapter Title: Fallen Petals (4)
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The armor that had been blue and the holy sword that emitted brilliant light were now dyed black, but there was no mistaking it.
...
That guy was me.
Moreover, the me from the first playthrough—the one who had witnessed this world's ending, even if it wasn't a happy one.
"...!"
A split second.
The moment I froze upon seeing his face lasted only that long—an incredibly brief span of time.
But the first-playthrough me wasn't green enough to miss such a gap.
He slipped through the opening created by my momentary hesitation and charged.
Slash—
In my stead, a single petal fell.
Originally, Eugene's death was inevitable.
The first-playthrough Eugene...
Now reborn as the Revived Fallen, he had grasped every situation from the very start.
Just like Eugene in his first playthrough, he analyzed his opponents thoroughly and only fought battles he was certain to win.
The fake boss not being a lich or ghoul, but a Death Knight, was no coincidence.
The Revived Fallen had chosen the Death Knight—most similar to his own combat style—as the fake boss to gauge his enemies' strength.
In the end, the Revived Fallen deemed Lilith and Bianca unworthy opponents.
He was confident he could shatter Lilith's barrier, which had blocked the Death Knight's flurry of strikes, in an instant. As for Bianca's hand-to-hand techniques, they weren't even worth comparing.
"..."
Only one element gave him pause: Eugene.
It wasn't just that Eugene hadn't unleashed any special magic or unique abilities. The real reason was...
...it rubbed him the wrong way.
The Revived Fallen, sustained by his false resurrection, couldn't recognize this as the inferiority complex a counterfeit feels toward the genuine article.
And so, the Revived Fallen resolved to kill Eugene first.
He felt that if he didn't eliminate Eugene, this gnawing displeasure would devour him whole.
"..."
The instant it hit the ground, it spewed demonic energy, halted its momentum, and swung its sword to cleave Eugene.
A plan so straightforward.
There was no reason it should fail.
Yet the Revived Fallen's expectations went awry.
The blade meant for Eugene sliced into Bianca instead.
The Revived Fallen couldn't make sense of it.
Bianca's physical prowess could never hope to match his speed.
[Swing the sword]
With that condition met, Eugene's death should have been sealed.
...But the Revived Fallen had made one critical miscalculation.
Bianca hadn't reacted to the sword swing.
'Eugene...!'
The moment the Revived Fallen dropped from the ceiling, Bianca bolted toward Eugene.
She didn't know why.
She simply felt an unshakable certainty that that thing posed a massive threat to him.
Even when the Revived Fallen unleashed a burst of demonic energy strong enough to fell the conscious, Bianca pressed on.
She kicked off the ground with such force that her leg muscles tore, desperately hoping to reach him.
And when Bianca shoved Eugene aside...
Bianca managed a smile.
Facing death, she recalled the promise she'd once made to him.
—I hate doing dangerous crap too! But I hate it even more when you're in danger! So I'll protect you! Even if it kills me, I'll protect you! That's how much I like you! Why can't you get it through your thick skull, you moron!
...She'd never dreamed she'd have to honor it so soon.
Truth be told, she hadn't wanted to keep it at all.
Despite her bold words, if there was a way, she'd have preferred a long, happy life with Eugene—free of peril.
'Still...'
Even so, Bianca harbored no regrets.
Knowing she'd shielded Eugene was enough to make her smile.
'...I love you.'
That was the thought in her mind as the demonic blade plunged into her body.
But Bianca never voiced it.
She knew any words from her lips now would curse Eugene, so she closed her eyes in silence.
Believing it her final gift to him.
Splat—!
What rang out wasn't the swish of a sword, but an explosive blast as Bianca hurtled far away.
Her blood and entrails, flung skyward, rained down like a crimson shower.
'Bianca...?'
I couldn't draw breath.
Eeeeeeeee—
A piercing tinnitus stabbed my ears.
My heart thundered wildly; sensation fled my fingers and toes.
My vision bleached white, vertigo so fierce I could scarcely comprehend my surroundings.
...An unbearable nausea surged up.
The instant dizziness overwhelmed me and I slumped to my knees...
"She's alive!"
Lilith's voice jolted my ears.
"...She's... alive..!"
Her strained words again pulled my fracturing mind back from the brink.
It was a fragile tether—hope's slender thread—but I couldn't release it now.
So I didn't turn around.
Instead, I forced strength into my legs, rose, and glared at my foe... at me.
"..."
Sensing my stare, the Revived Fallen slowly lifted his sword.
Fortunate amid calamity, perhaps.
My shattered mind held vast empties.
I couldn't recall what belonged there.
No need to know. No desire to.
'Think...'
I crammed every void with strategies to counter me.
My brain overheated from excessive computation, threatening to dissolve into pulp.
'...But.'
That bought me a fleeting moment—a way to stall against him.
'If that's truly first-playthrough me...'
This tactic would land for sure.
Boom—!
The Revived Fallen kicked off the floor; debris sprayed wildly.
As he closed in right before me...
"Devour—Shadow"
"....!"
The sprawling shadow engulfed the Revived Fallen in an instant.
Normally impossible to trap a living being in shadow, but he was me.
With Parvoli's blood in his veins regardless, the shadow had every reason to claim him.
Thud—
The shadow roiled violently as the Revived Fallen thrashed within.
'Won't hold long...'
I wiped the blood from my face and hurried to Lilith, dropping to my knees.
"...Saintess... I beg you. ...I'll grant any wish you have..."
I knew it.
This desperate act was pure selfishness.
"...Save her.."
Even now, if she fled alone, Lilith might survive.
Yet to save Bianca, I exploited her conscience and guilt.
I bowed my head to the floor.
"...Save... Bianca."
Lilith felt tears blurring her vision but didn't wipe them away.
Even that brief moment might cost Bianca her life.
'...Please..! Please...!!'
Bianca's abdomen was utterly gone.
Her upper and lower halves clung together by a miracle.
Whoooosh—!
If it were a mundane wound, Lilith had already channeled mana enough to heal it several times over.
'...Please... hold on..!'
But the corruption-tainted gash rejected her healing.
"...Saintess... I beg you. ...I'll grant any wish you have..."
Eugene's voice came from ahead, but she couldn't spare a glance.
"...Save her..."
His silhouette alone showed him prostrated on the ground.
"...Save... Bianca."
Witnessing it, Lilith forced more mana into Bianca, biting her lip until it bled.
"I... am Lilith... servant and saintess who attends the goddess from the nearest place..."
Her unique ability's mana efficiency far outstripped magic—it was true.
But it still consumed mana.
Especially her current Healing, which devoured vast amounts rivaling top-tier spells.
No matter her saintess's reserves, this pace would drain her dry in moments.
Proof: her face blanched, cold sweat drenched her as mana fled.
"...I've never once considered abandoning a needy lamb to preserve my own life."
Yet Lilith refused to yield.
Not for Eugene's plea.
Even without it, she wouldn't have quit.
If mana ran short, she'd burn her very life force to save Bianca.
That's what made her a saintess.
Not raw power or overflowing talent, but her readiness to sacrifice without hesitation for another.
"...I will save Bianca."
She swallowed blood from mana exhaustion.
Lilith whispered conviction to keep Eugene from crumbling.
"...So Teacher, do what you must."