Chapter 207 : Regression (2)
Everything flowed in reverse.
Time.
Attacks.
Everything that defined me was being fixed to a single point in time, rewinding.
Mindscape: Regression.
The Mindscape I had awakened.
My first life had been one steeped in regret. That was why I was granted a second.
And this… this was the result.
Rohan swung a fist at me.
<Mindscape: Regression>
The moment the fist flew vanished into the past, erased as if it had never happened.
With a whisper of movement, he swung again, and I evaded it with ease.
Attacks formed of demonic energy. The power that summoned hell itself. I countered them all, one step ahead, as if I could see the future.
“How!” Rohan roared, thrashing wildly.
His eyes were bloodshot.
He struggled against my grip on his throat, but escaping me now—now that I had reclaimed my peak strength—was no simple feat.
“Let me go!” he shrieked.
“No can do.”
“Nngh…!”
Rohan bit his lip and screamed at his surroundings.
“Get up and kill this bastard, now!”
At his cry, the fallen Demonkin began to rise.
Among them were corpses, some clearly villagers.
They moved like the undead, groaning.
But they were conscious, their minds still their own. They were merely puppets, unable to control their own bodies.
Their eyes screamed for release, and I gave a slight nod.
Then, I manifested my Mindscape.
<Mindscape: Golgotha of Thorns>
Ash formed of pure divinity began to drift through the air. White petals danced on the wind, and blood streamed from my Stigmata.
It was the same as always.
And yet, I felt something had changed.
…The pain is gone.
My Mindscape was an art that fed on my own pain to strike at others.
No matter the technique, my sacrifice was the foundation.
But not anymore.
I felt no pain, and the crown of thorns on my head felt as light as if it were woven from flowers.
Sensing something was wrong, Rohan summoned my family.
“I order you! Kill your son this instant!”
My father appeared, spear in hand. Tears streamed down his face as he took one slow step after another toward me.
My brothers were the same, standing beside him, their mouths moving without a sound as they advanced.
Just a few hours ago, I would have unleashed my fury and charged at the fiend.
But I was not that man now.
Instead, I simply opened my mouth and spoke.
“You struck the Holy Kingdom first because you feared its divine power, didn't you?”
“…What?”
“So why send only Pepia, instead of all Twelve Nobles?”
I wasn’t asking because I didn’t know.
I was full of certainty.
“You were afraid of a potential contingency. You feared the one being who is sometimes born in the Holy Kingdom, and so you sent Pepia, a powerhouse on his own, to handle it.”
The one being born in the Holy Kingdom.
Unlike the Saintess, this was a being born with a singular purpose.
The Saint, who was also called the Son of the Goddess.
A brilliant radiance erupted behind me.
My Mindscape, once a path of penance, began to transform. As time rewound, it forged something new.
“Goddammit! Kill him, you bastards! Kill him now!” Rohan screamed in desperation.
But his wish would not be granted.
Of course not.
<Mindscape: Heaven>
A new Saint. For a being forged to stand against the darkness was born in this very place.
“Let all things return to their rightful place.”
With that one quiet word, the world dissolved into light.
And in that instant, the Aspect of the Baron of War was extinguished from the world.
* * *
Rohan could not comprehend what was happening.
Just moments ago, the man had been a mindless brute, charging forward on pure instinct. He had been a creature of pure rage, surrendering himself completely to his fury.
But now… what was this?
In a single second, he had wiped his emotions clean, becoming someone else entirely.
He evaded every attack as if he could read every move. He unraveled every use of the Aspect.
It was as if he were turning back time itself.
Impossible.
Yes, this was impossible.
A mere human, turning back time.
If such a thing were possible, the war against the Demonkin would have ended long ago in the Goddess’s victory.
Rohan shook his head, trying to deny the thought.
It was then that the monster before him used his Mindscape.
Normally, Rohan should have used the red jewel to shatter it. But that strategy was no longer an option.
All he could do now was stoke the flames of the man’s rage.
“Kill him now!”
He had barely issued the command to the man’s family when—
“…Huh?”
The man’s Mindscape began to change.
A nauseating scent washed over him. It was… the stench of the Goddess, that celestial whore.
Divine energy began to set his body ablaze.
“Aaaaargh!”
A scream tore from his throat, but a greater emotion drowned it out: sheer terror.
This is impossible…!
The very reason they had sought to destroy the Holy Kingdom first was to prevent the potential birth of a Saint.
Whenever the Demonkin rose, a certain being would always be born in the Holy Kingdom.
A being who would annihilate all Demonkin, who would enact the Goddess’s will.
The natural enemy of all Demonkin.
The Saint.
His birth had to be prevented at all costs.
And they had succeeded. Or so they had thought. The Holy Kingdom was half-shattered. While not annihilated, it would be powerless for some time.
But for some reason, the birth of a Saint was unfolding right before his eyes.
And of all people… it was the man who had killed more of the Twelve Nobles than anyone else.
This couldn’t be happening.
Their ambitions couldn’t be reduced to dust by a single mistake.
He had to stop this birth, no matter the cost.
“Nngh…!”
Summoning the last of his strength, Rohan prepared a silent throwing dagger.
Then, he hurled it at the man’s father.
He’ll block it…!
A man like him would surely take the dagger himself.
Then the game would be over.
The demonic energy infused in the blade would act as a poison, halting the Saint’s birth.
It had to.
…It has to, right?
Why…?
Why wasn’t he moving?
Clang!
An arrow, appearing from nowhere, struck the dagger from the air, sending it clattering to the ground.
Rohan finally understood.
Louis Berg, that madman had acted first, firing an arrow.
And he had done it before Rohan had even thrown the dagger.
How was that possible, unless he could see the future?
“Impossible… Impossible!” Rohan shrieked in horror.
But the sacred light pouring from Louis Berg did not cease.
Moments later, it consumed him entirely.
Fssshhhh—
It was a death without even a final scream.
Rohan turned to ash and vanished from the world, leaving behind only the red jewel that had rested near his heart.
The Aspect of the Legion Commander was forever gone.
* * *
Rohan was dead.
I finally caught my breath and released my Mindscape. Using two at once made my head throb.
…The power has increased. But has the duration of use decreased in return?
Well, it didn’t matter.
The Mindscape that was Golgotha of Thorns had transformed into Heaven. And its power was more than enough to annihilate the Demonkin.
“…And my father and brothers have returned to normal.”
Mindscape: Heaven.
The effect of my newly awakened Mindscape was simple.
It was an absolute counter to all demonic energy.
Within my Mindscape, demonic energy could not exist, and the Demonkin could not use their Aspects. Furthermore, even those who had been wounded were fully healed.
It was, in the truest sense, a Mindscape perfectly suited for a “Saint.”
“…What was that just now?”
Lancelot, who had approached me at some point, asked, his face a mask of shock.
I couldn’t blame him.
From his point of view, his commander had charged in, consumed by rage, only to suddenly become unnervingly calm and transform his Mindscape.
I must have looked like a raving lunatic.
Not that it mattered.
“It was all part of the plan.”
“I saw the look on your face, Captain! What do you mean…!”
I offered Lancelot a shameless reply and walked toward the red jewel Rohan had dropped.
My Mindscape, Heaven, annihilated demonic energy. The fact that this jewel had maintained its form meant it wasn’t made of demonic energy alone.
That suggested Duke Altezia, its creator, had more secrets to uncover…
I’ll just have to find out.
I nodded to myself and reached for the red jewel.
But a brutish hand appeared from nowhere and seized my wrist.
“We intend to take that. I’d appreciate it if you’d step aside.”
A figure with dusky skin and a body of sleek muscle came into view.
“What the hell is that?!”
Lancelot and the others drew their weapons in alarm.
The stranger paid them no mind, prying the red jewel from my hand.
“You must have no strength left after dealing with him. Is there really a need to make such a reckless choice?”
The Ogre smirked as he spoke.
I gritted my teeth, my wrist still in his grasp.
He was right. I was in no condition to fight. I had used two Mindscapes at once, and had drawn on their power extensively.
The creature that had appeared was at least on par with Rohan.
Fighting him here would undoubtedly lead to massive casualties.
“…Lancelot, stand down.”
I gave the order, then yanked my hand free.
“Hah! Tough one.”
The Ogre chuckled and released his grip. He glanced at the knights around us with a sneer.
“Move out.”
The instant he spoke, Ogres materialized from the surrounding shadows.
“Hah!”
With a unified grunt, the pack of Ogres vanished in an instant, taking the strange red jewel with them.
“…Something is happening again,” I muttered with a sigh.
My expression soured as I stared into the empty space they had left behind.