Chapter 124: I’ll Protect You Until 84 Years Old
When I was struck by Vaelgorath’s ultimate attack, [Annihilation Loops], the pain was beyond comprehension. Dying dozens of times over—it was like being dragged into the depths of hell itself. My mind fractured. My soul shattered. I was losing my grip on reality.
Just as I teetered on the brink of destruction, ready to surrender, something resurfaced within me. A fleeting memory, rising from the depths of my endless deaths.
"This is... the 84th time..." I murmured, my voice barely a whisper.
The moment I uttered that number, something clicked in my mind. A long-forgotten memory, locked away in the distant past, began to replay in vivid detail.
It was a memory from my time on Earth. I was eleven years old then, a sixth grader.
That night, my father came home. A man who had long since lost any right to call himself family. Even after his affair had been exposed, he shamelessly barged in as if nothing had happened. And then, just like always, the violence began. He struck my mother. He struck my sister, Takahiro Nana.
The house was a battlefield. The air was filled with the sound of breaking dishes, of shouts and sobs. My older brother, Naki, and I cowered upstairs, hidden away as Nana had instructed. We clung to each other, listening helplessly as the chaos raged on below.
Then, after what felt like an eternity, silence.
The door creaked open.
A dim light from the hallway spilled into the darkened room, revealing Nana standing there. Her figure was backlit by the glow, creating a hazy, almost unreal silhouette. Naki and I stared at her in confusion, our bodies still trembling with fear.
Slowly, she extended her hand toward us.