Chapter 4: Doubt
Why, and how?
Why was Seraphia standing before me?
My thoughts continued, but I could not reach their conclusion. The surging madness consumed my mind in an instant.
My mind was stained crimson, and everything before me burned blood-red. Memories of the past flashed through my mind.
My comrades from the coalition army, who had died gruesome deaths at my sister’s hands. Seraphia, who had mercilessly slaughtered people as they screamed and begged for their lives.
The vicious witch who had taken Ian’s left arm even as she died.
Those horrific memories and emotions surfaced all at once and spoke to me.
—Kill that bitch.
I surrendered my body to the explosively surging madness.
My body suddenly shot forward. The surrounding soldiers did not even have time to react. In an instant, I seized Seraphia by the throat.
“Gasp!”
Seraphia released a short breath.
I tightened my grip with a crunch, cutting off her breathing. Seraphia’s feet left the ground, and she began thrashing helplessly. Her eyes pleaded with me to spare her life.
....She was far too weak.
She did not look like the Monarch of Frost who had mercilessly massacred the coalition soldiers and countless civilians.
The Seraphia struggling in my grasp was not the Monarch of Frost. Nor was she the vicious witch who had taken Ian’s left arm even as she died.
She was merely a small, weak, and exceedingly fragile woman. That was the only kind of woman held within my grasp.
Therefore, this was my only opportunity.
“Kegh...!”
I had to kill her now.
I had to kill Seraphia before she became the Monarch of Frost. Just as I was about to twist the neck held within my grasp—
—If you….manage to go back....
Ian’s voice suddenly echoed through my mind.
I could not tell whether it was an auditory hallucination produced by my madness-consumed mind.
It was simply Ian’s final words to me before his death.
It was the voice of Ian as he leaned weakly against me and died without his heart.
—Don’t….hate your sister….too much....
Ian’s regret echoed beside my ear like an auditory hallucination.
* * *
Adrian glared at her as though he wanted to kill her.
That was not how someone would look at his younger sister. There was not even a trace of familial affection in his eyes.
Adrian’s eyes contained nothing but intense rage toward Seraphia.
‘Brother….’
She had known for a long time. She knew Adrian hated her enough to want her dead.
Seraphia had been adopted into House White Wolf five years ago.
That was also around the time Adrian began losing himself to gambling and pleasure.
Believing that her presence had ruined Adrian and that everything was her fault, she studied harder and devoted herself even more diligently to the house.
She worked tirelessly, day and night, hoping to be of even the slightest assistance to the house and Adrian.
However, Seraphia’s efforts merely drove a dagger deeper into Adrian’s heart.
Not long ago, the head of the house had passed away, and his will had been revealed.
He had left everything belonging to the house to Seraphia instead of Adrian.
But Seraphia had never intended to follow the will.
The members of the house had adamantly tried to dissuade her, but Seraphia remained resolute.
The rightful master of the house was Adrian.
However, before she could resolve the misunderstanding, Adrian left the house.
And now—
“Because of you….!!”
Adrian shouted at Seraphia.
She could feel his bitter rage over his belief that she had taken everything from him.
The expression on Adrian’s face made it seem as though he were confronting a malicious demon rather than his younger sister.
Creak!
The hand constricting her throat grew progressively stronger.
The soldiers did not dare approach carelessly, fearing that they might provoke Adrian.
Her vision gradually blurred. Her consciousness slowly faded into darkness.
Seraphia could not offer any resistance.
Just as she sensed the approach of death—
Release.
The strength in Adrian’s constricting hand weakened.
Her suspended feet touched the ground, and Seraphia’s body collapsed limply onto the snow.
Only then did her blocked airway open, causing her to erupt into violent coughs.
“Kegh...! Cough! Cough...!”
“My Lady!”
The soldiers hurriedly approached and positioned themselves in front of Seraphia.
Clang! Clang!
Exuding a fierce aura, they drew their weapons and pointed them at Adrian.
The soldiers looked ready to fight Adrian if necessary.
Seraphia hurriedly steadied her breathing and shouted.
“S-Stop...! Cough! Please, stop...!”
“But, my Lady—”
“I said stop!”
The soldiers flinched at Seraphia’s shout. However, they did not lower their weapons.
“That is an order! Lower your weapons immediately!”
Only after receiving Seraphia’s direct command did the soldiers reluctantly lower their weapons.
Adrian silently watched the entire scene.
He remained completely unfazed by the hostility radiating from dozens of soldiers.
For some reason….he seemed like an entirely different person from the Adrian Seraphia knew.
“I have one question.”
Adrian finally spoke.
“Why did you come looking for me?”
Adrian was asking why she had pursued him after he left the house.
Seraphia lowered her gaze slightly and answered.
“Isn’t it….obvious?”
“Obvious? What exactly is obvious?”
“....It’s only natural that I would be worried.”
“Worried?”
For the first time, a hint of doubt appeared on Adrian’s previously impassive face.
Seraphia bit her lower lip and spoke.
“Because we’re….family.”
Adrian’s eyebrows twitched.
Adrian looked down at Seraphia. His eyes were filled with contempt. It was almost as though they were saying—
—I don’t consider you my sister.
Adrian displayed nothing but an icy gaze before slowly turning around and leaving.
* * *
If I truly had returned to the past, it seemed that I had failed to meet Seraphia back then because I had fled from the Ice Troll.
This time, I had been able to meet her because I defeated it.
In any case, that was not important right now.
Only one thing mattered.
I had failed to kill Seraphia.
It was not because of some ridiculous sympathy over the fact that she was still my younger sister.
Nor was it because I had grown complacent since she had not yet become the Monarch of Frost.
It certainly was not because I was afraid of the surrounding soldiers.
To be more honest, it was not because of Ian’s words either.
It was not because of Ian’s pointless request that I refrain from hating Seraphia too much.
That was not why I had chosen not to kill her.
I had been unable to kill her.
Ironically, that was because of something Ian had said.
—Was there truly no other way besides killing your sister? Did she really have to die? That is what I regret the most.
More precisely, it was because of Ian’s regret. Ian had bitterly regretted killing Seraphia.
He regretted it even more than the time he confessed to the Saintess and was rejected.
“Why did you have to leave me with something like that?”
I never heard why he regretted it.
Nevertheless, his words were enough to make me hesitate before twisting Seraphia’s neck.
If he regretted it even more than being rejected by the Saintess, there had to be a significant reason.
“Surely he wasn’t actually in love with Seraphia?”
It seemed unlikely, but I could not dismiss the possibility with complete certainty.
The Ian I knew was entirely capable of something like that.
An impossible love between a Hero and a witch.
There could be no romance more heartrending than that.
In any event, Ian’s regret was why I had been unable to kill Seraphia.
But it was not the only reason.
I should have twisted Seraphia’s neck.
There was no doubt that Ian’s regret had made me hesitate. However, I had been consumed by the madness of Predation.
Once madness consumed me, reason ceased to exist.
Therefore, if I had been the same person I was fifteen years ago….
I undoubtedly would have twisted Seraphia’s neck.
◆Player’s Will [EX] resists the encroaching madness!
That message had suddenly appeared as I was about to twist Seraphia’s neck.
At the same moment, my mind snapped awake.
Slowly but surely, my reason returned, and the madness consuming me disappeared.
“Player’s Will….”
As I muttered those words, my vision flashed, and a translucent message appeared.
== 「Acquired Skills」 ==
◆Solo Level Up [EX] : The player can accumulate experience and increase their level. Each time the player’s level increases, they receive 1 stat point.
◆Player’s Will [EX] : The player gains immunity to all effects that exceed the player’s mental strength, including curses, illusions, brainwashing, hypnosis, suggestions, and similar effects.
◆Predation [S+] : By consuming the heart of a living creature, the player can absorb that creature’s abilities and convert them into skills. However, doing so consumes mental strength.
◆Regeneration [C+] : Restores damaged parts of the body by consuming nutrients accumulated within the body. The type and quantity of nutrients consumed vary depending on the damaged body part and the severity of the damage.
<Absorbing additional Genetic Factors will strengthen this ability.>
One thing was certain: [Predation (S+)] was my ability.
Meanwhile, [Regeneration (C+)] was the ability I obtained by using [Predation (S+)] on the Ice Troll.
However, neither [Solo Level Up (EX)] nor [Player’s Will (EX)] had originally been one of my abilities.
I had absorbed many abilities through Predation during my time as the Predator of the coalition army, but I had no memory of ever acquiring abilities like those.
That left only one possible answer.
“Ian.”
The translucent display was showing the abilities I currently possessed. I still did not understand the mechanism behind it.
Those were Ian’s abilities.
I had eaten Ian’s heart.
I could not be certain that [Solo Level Up (EX)] had been Ian’s ability. However, I was confident that [Player’s Will (EX)] belonged to him.
“Could that be how Ian was able to face the Monarch of the Abyss….?”
Six Monarchs served the emperor.
Among those Six Monarchs, the Monarch of the Abyss was known within the coalition army as the [An Unknowable Terror Beyond Explanation].
As its name suggested, it was something that could not be explained. Consequently, there was no way to devise a countermeasure against it.
The Saintess’ miracles and the Archmage’s magic—
The Spirit Wielder’s spirits and the Blacksmith’s equipment—
Everything was rendered useless before the [An Unknowable Terror Beyond Explanation] displayed by the Monarch of the Abyss.
Ian alone was different.
Ian did not succumb to the Monarch of the Abyss.
Ian was the only person capable of opposing the Monarch of the Abyss, and he ultimately succeeded in annihilating it.
That allowed me to be certain.
“It was Ian’s ability.”
[Player’s Will (EX)] was Ian’s ability.
Likewise, [Solo Level Up (EX)] must also have been Ian’s ability.
I had absorbed those abilities from Ian through Predation.
I had not known about Ian’s abilities.
However, Ian knew about my Predation ability.
Ian knew that I could acquire a living creature’s abilities by consuming its heart.
That meant Ian’s final words to me—
—If you….manage to go back....
Ian had known that I would return to the past.
In that case—
“Did one of Ian’s abilities allow him to return to the past?”
That was the conclusion I reached.
Whenever the Archmage, one of the coalition army’s champions, discovered an unbelievable phenomenon, she would often say—
“Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever possibility remains must be the truth, no matter how unbelievable it may seem.”
It was an exceedingly mage-like statement. It was also a statement that perfectly described my current situation.
“Regression to the past….”
It sounded utterly absurd.
But every piece of circumstantial evidence indicated that it was true.
I could somehow accept that my body had become younger.
Perhaps it was the result of one of the emperor’s secret experiments.
Something along those lines.
“But the Monarch of Frost is alive.”
Seraphia was alive.
Even the emperor’s supernatural abilities could not resurrect the dead.
Undead existed, but that concept was far removed from genuine resurrection.
If resurrection had been possible in the first place, the emperor would have revived the other Monarchs whom Ian had annihilated.
Furthermore, if he intended to revive her, he would have restored her as the “Monarch of Frost”.
Why would he revive her as “Seraphia” instead?
Therefore, there was no room left for disagreement.
I had unquestionably returned to the past. There was no point in continuing to deny it.
From this moment onward, I needed to change the direction of my thoughts.
“Am I the only one who returned?”
Had I alone returned to the past?
After all, Regression to the Past was not my ability.
It was Ian’s.
That meant there was a strong possibility that Ian had returned with me.
Just as my thoughts reached that point—
◆A Main Quest has arrived.
“A Main Quest?”
As I voiced my confusion, messages poured into my vision.
[You suddenly awakened in the Northern Snowy Mountains!]
[We expected you to panic, but—huh?]
[You remained remarkably calm!]
[You calmly defeated the Ice Troll and calmly analyzed your current situation!]
[As a result—ta-da!]
[You realized that you had returned to the past!]
[Excellent work! Absolutely excellent!]
[You’re a totally awesome guy!]
[But don’t get too full of yourself!]
[The fundamental questions still haven’t been answered!]
[If one of Ian’s abilities allowed him to return to the past, was this truly the first and only time?]
[Could Ian have regressed to the past countless times before?]
[Why did Ian give you his heart?]
[No, was this truly the first time Ian had ever given you his heart?]
[Your head is already beginning to throb!]
[Nothing but questions! Everything remains shrouded in mystery!]
[Fortunately, there is someone who knows the entire truth!]
[Now, with your exceptional insight, you already know what you must do, don’t you?]
[You must find the Hero, wherever he may be on the continent!]
◆Beginning the Main Quest [Find the Hero!].
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