All of a sudden? Why?
That was my first thought.
I didn't feel any particular regret, nor did I wish to regress, so what had triggered the blessing?
Are there activation conditions other than my emotional state?
The only thing I could think of right now was... death. But that was absurd.
That means I died...?
Without even realizing it?
No way. How is that possible?
I wasn’t trying to sound arrogant, it was just a fact.
I’d been neither asleep nor defenseless. I’d been walking in the middle of enemy territory, so my guard and senses had been heightened to their peak.So, what... All of a sudden, I died of natural causes...?
It was hard to believe.
Then, this place... Was it some kind of border between life and death?
Jingle.
“...Mm.”
The sound of the bell brought me back to my senses.
I didn’t know what exactly had happened, but from an efficiency standpoint, there was nothing bad about regressing now.
I didn't know how far I would regress... but it wasn’t like my current situation was good.
If I went back, I’d have a lot more useful information and a lot more options.
In other words, choosing to regress was definitely the better option.
So I walked to the left, toward Spirit Mountain.
Jingle.
When I heard the bell once again...
“...”
An old memory suddenly resurfaced.
* * *
I was in complete darkness.
It was expected since my eyes were covered, but it was not natural for a thin piece of cloth to block out all light.
In that sense, the blindfold given to me by Second Senior Sister was a fascinating object.
The moment I’d put it on, my vision had been plunged into darkness as if night had suddenly fallen.
It made me feel slightly nostalgic.
Spirit Mountain was always shrouded in white mist and faint light 24/7. In such a place, it was rare to experience darkness.
Jingle.
I wondered if it was because my eyes were closed.
This time, the sound of the bell reached my ears more clearly than before.
To the right. About ten steps... eight, five...
The sound of the bell grew closer and closer... When it was close enough, I thrust my left palm toward it.
My palm pierced empty air. I didn’t feel even the brush of cloth, let alone a body, leaving me baffled.
Thwack!
“Ow!”
I winced at the pain in the back of my head and crouched down. The pain was intense, like a steel bar had been driven into my skull, and tears welled up in my eyes. Ŗ𝓪ＮＯ𝖇Êś
With a low chuckle, a gentle hand ruffled my hair, and the blindfold blocking my vision was removed.
“You can't rely solely on your hearing,” came a gentle voice that seemed to soothe my throbbing head.
I wiped the tears from my eyes and replied, “...If I can't see, I have to rely on my ears.”
Second Senior Sister habitually unfolded her iron fan with a soft fwop. “Luan, do you think I rely solely on my hearing?”
“Um...”
“You've heard that losing one sense sharpens the others, yes?”
“Yes.”
“Well, that isn’t entirely wrong... although it is less sharpening and more better utilizing the remaining senses.”
I looked at my second senior sister. “Hmm...”
I had never seen her eyes beyond the cloth that covered them. According to her, she did not have any.
She had no eyeballs, and it was not a birth defect—she had lost them later in life. Her eyeballs had been gouged out by someone else.
Senior Sister often said how fortunate it was that what she had lost was her eyes.
“It's a good thing I only lost my two eyes.”
Apparently, among the five senses, sight was the least important for a martial artist.
“...”
Only when it was lost could one fully utilize other functions.
I think I understand, somewhat. Like the way I trained my swordsmanship with only my left arm after the tendon in my right arm was severed.
“I've lost my sight, but I still have five senses. In addition to the four traditional senses, I have gained a sixth.”
When one reached that state, they could hear the whisper of the wind with their skin, taste the flavor of stone with their nose, and see the movement of rippling water with their ears.
“In a battle between two masters, the easiest sense to deceive is sight.”
“Ah.”
Her explanation helped me understand the concept a bit better.
Even basic hand-to-hand combat and feints were carried out under the assumption that the opponent was “seeing.”
According to Senior Sister, freeing oneself from that bias allowed one to see more, even without eyes.
“But what about the bell sound just now? I definitely attacked where the sound came from...”
Senior Sister laughed softly and unfurled her iron fan.
The bell on the end of the fan rattled vigorously, but it made no sound.
“Uh...”
“It is a sound technique, although it is not a grand one.”
As soon as she finished speaking...
Jingle.
“...!”
The bell sounded not from my sister in front of me but from a distance away.
I whipped my head around, but sure enough, there was nothing there.
“Wh—”
“It is a simple trick. During battle, I continuously ring this bell, allowing my enemies to hear it. Then, the moment I disappear, they rely on their hearing, even if for a moment, hoping to hear the bell somewhere.”
Seeing where this was going, I said, “You use this trick to mislead them, making them think you’re in one place while you ambush them from another.”
Senior Sister patted my head. “Exactly.”
To be honest, it felt a little weird. Not even Eldest Senior Brother treated me like a child like she did.
But it was not a bad feeling, only a weird, unfamiliar one.
If I had an older sister, would I feel like this?
Was this what it felt like to have an older sister? I did have a few half-sisters, but... it wasn’t like we had good relationships. Our relationships were actually worse than those of strangers. I couldn’t even remember some of their names...
“It seems like a simple trick, doesn't it? And you may wonder who would fall for something so simple?”
“Mmm...”
“However, even some of the most renowned and trained masters in the martial world have fallen for it. I’ve used this method to defeat many despicable hypocrites from the Just Faction, and it was quite an amusing sight. They did not even realize what was happening until their limbs were torn apart. Such ridiculous and laughable ends, they met...”
...This probably wasn’t a good time to say, But you don’t have eyes, Senior Sister. Hahaha.
“Luan, please remember this: There is nothing easier to provoke than a stubborn, dim-witted old fool.”
“...Right. I'll keep that in mind.”
Sometimes, the way the Senior Sister spoke could get a bit harsh...
At times like those, I honestly found her as scary as Master; I could only agree with whatever she said.
* * * * *
* * * * *
“...”
I snapped out of my reminiscing and looked ahead again. At Spirit Mountain, pale and faintly visible, and at Senior Sister’s silhouette.
Maybe I was being too paranoid, but that wavering figure seemed like bait perfectly designed to lure me.
Jingle.
One thing was clear: If that path was really the right answer...
She wouldn’t be giving me such an obvious hint.
When it came to teaching, my Second Senior Sister was just as harsh as Master.
She had explained that it was because of her upbringing, of a life like that of a starving demon. Of days where if she didn’t take, she would be taken from. Of a place where she had to learn from even the faintest, barely there teachings and grow on her own... or die.
“I am sorry that this is the only way I know,” she had told me.
She’d seemed to feel a bit of resentment, even some irritation, toward her own teaching methods...
But honestly, I was fine with them.
Unlike Master, who threw impossible tasks at me and then left me to figure them out all on my own...
Senior Sister would watch me from her perch high up on the rocky mountain, giving advice at just the right moments.
“You should always question the obvious, and I am not just speaking of battle. In life, the path that looks easiest is often a trap.”
“...”
Back then, I’d found those words hard to understand, but now they made sense.
In the unreasonable race of life, there were a few points of fairness, and this was one of them: When something was too obvious, it was often a trap.
What was truly desired was down the difficult road.
I let out a laugh.
Of course, I could be wrong.
Maybe I was actually in a very dangerous situation, and Senior Sister over there was trying to give me advice in the most direct way possible.
Everything came down to intuition.
Personally...
I had a gut feeling that the left path was incorrect.
So I turned and took a step to the right.
Jingle.
Was I imagining things, or did the bell sound a bit urgent?
I chuckled at my silly thought and continued to the right.
As I continued, the mist on the path cleared, and the scenery began to change.
—Wh-why...!
—There should still be time left...?
The first thing I saw was a building.
Upon closer inspection, I realized it was Building 12, occupied by Headmaster Alderson.
Inside the building, Headmaster Alderson, Sir Barter's special forces, some of the more experienced cadets, and the remaining young heroes were putting up a strong defense.
Of course, Headmaster Alderson's barrier magic was still holding strong.
It seemed the armored troops hadn’t been deployed yet. Only the adult dolls filled their surroundings.
Inside, it seemed safe. For now, anyway.
—W-we’re all going to die!
—Help! W-we have to get out of here!
—You idiot!
Even if it was safe, the sight of a horde of dolls clinging to the windows and swinging their fists was anything but reassuring.
It had to be a nightmare for the inexperienced cadets.
Overwhelmed by no real threat, the cadets fell into chaos and panic erupted amongst them.
Honestly, I had not expected things to get this bad.
Step.
I kept walking.
The scenery changed again.
—H-Headmaster, do you think the barrier will hold?
—Do you know what you must most be wary of in a defensive battle?
—Huh...? Why the sudden question...?
The figures of Headmaster Alderson and Arin appeared.
Arin O'Handel, caught off guard by the headmaster’s question, hesitated for a moment before speaking in an uncertain voice.
—Well... maybe patience?
—That is an important factor, not something to be cautious of.
—Oh.
—The answer is internal cracks. No matter how strong the gates or how high the walls, if the gates open from within, the battle is over.
—...
—This barrier works the same way. It is vulnerable to impacts from within. It can hold up for hours against a massive horde of powerful dolls, but it can be shaken by the feeble struggles of frail cadets within...
The headmaster’s tone was somber.
—At this rate, we won’t be able to hold out for long.
I kept walking.
The scenery changed once again.
This time, I saw a place that looked somewhat familiar.
The chaotic scene of the second-floor hallway of Building 13, the one we had broken into.
I saw the figure of Mir Giant.
Bloodied, smiling, and holding up the doll as if bearing a mountain...
She was frozen like that. I couldn’t tell whether she was alive or dead.
However, I felt like I understood why Mir had done this in what might be her final moments.
When she’d thought she could no longer hold on, she released cold energy from her entire body, freezing both herself and the doll together.
Mir’s cold was different from Sellen’s.
Mir's hands were embedded firmly up to her wrists into the base of the doll, and the cold spread far and wide, freezing even the floor.
In that state, the doll could not escape even if it broke its skin, not unless the thorn called Mir was removed.
I wondered if Mir knew that even in her frozen state, she was smiling.
“...”
I continued onward.
The scenery changed again.
Three young heroes were in the midst of a battle, their injuries growing in number... but the horde of puppets showed no sign of diminishing.
They look dangerously close to being swept away.
I saw Charon throw his sword at the princess.
The princess, who had been sitting leisurely, jumped in surprise. It seemed she had not expected the sudden attack.
Stab!
The flying sword pierced her. She let out a piercing scream and collapsed to the ground.
The attack hit its mark, but at a cost.
Throwing a weapon was, of course, a costly move, especially when done at full power.
Even throwing a small ball at full force was taxing, but Charon had thrown a long sword.
In an instant, his entire body was left wide open to attacks while his hand was empty.
Smack!
A nearby doll struck Charon’s face. His left eyeball might have been crushed.
The moment Charon slammed to the ground, dozens of puppets fell atop him at once.
Grind.
Gritting her teeth, Sellen spread her arms. A storm of cold swirled in all directions.
Although Evan and even the fallen Charon got swept up in it, she must have thought it was better than leaving them as they were.
“...”
Are you still not turning back?
Turn back right now.
It's not too late.
It was as if some unseen voice was whispering to me.
I...
Step.
...Did not stop walking.
At the same time, I was forced to rethink the power of the blessing I possessed.
At first, I’d regarded it as a tremendous opportunity.
I’d thought of it as just a convenient power that allowed me to change and undo the past, to challenge a foe or event again and again, even after making poor choices.
However, it wasn't that simple.
A sudden thought had crossed my mind that made me rethink everything.
If I were to return to the past, what would become of their achievements, their determination, their struggles, and most of all, their growth?
The answer was obvious: It would all simply vanish.
That... somehow felt like trampling on their dignity as humans.
Perhaps even having such thoughts was arrogance. After all, most people prioritized their lives over any mission.
But...
Regression was the blessing I possessed.
It was my power.
If this power were to fall into someone else’s hands, it would inevitably be wielded by their subjective standards.
By my standards, I made a difficult decision.
I decided that it was still okay.
Step.
The path ended. Darkness still surrounded me, but that was just what I felt.
The scenery had changed to something blatantly different from what I had seen before.
A blood moon hung at the edge of the darkness.
“...”
The blood moon began to spin as if it had gone mad.
Blood-red clouds emerged from all directions, forming a certain shape.
“...”
A monster shaped like a tongue.
A skeleton draped in a black robe.
Though a bit sloppy, I recognized them.
Demon lords?
The Demon Lord of the Green Tongue and the Demon Lord of the Black Swamp.
Between them was a human figure. Though it looked as simple as a child’s doodle...
That’s me.
I could tell that human was me. But what happened next was even more absurd.
The two demon lords grabbed my arms and started yanking as if playing tug-of-war.
“What the...”
I was lost for words at the sight before me.
What could I even say?
It looked exactly like two kids fighting over a favorite doll.
Except the kids were demon lords, and the toy was me. Even I, someone who laughed easily, was unable to laugh at all.
Riiip, riiiiiip.
The arms of the Luan doll were about to be ripped off.
As I watched the scene with a mixture of distaste and faint anxiety...
Shhhk!
A new figure descended from the sky and swiftly cut down the two demon lords.
The two demons, wounded by the sword, glared at the new figure before slowly vanishing like mist.
The newcomer was clad in full armor, draped in a tattered black cloak.
An unfamiliar presence.
But I felt like I recognized it.
Despite the armor... the sword and blade clutched in its hands, the spear strapped to its back... they were all too familiar.
“...”
I instinctively placed my hand on the hilt of the Dark Star Blade at my waist, and then I heard a voice from somewhere.
[Their... desire... I... understand.]
A voice like a broken record.
I realized the voice was coming from the blood-lit moon beyond.
[Possessiveness.]
A low voice whispered.
[I... too... want... to have... you.]