#050

Who could possibly condemn one who can turn back time?

Even the Saintess doesn’t realize that time has been reversed.

‘Fuck…’

I’ve really messed up.

A slayer who can turn back time.

‘It might not end with just one death.’

Of course, even if I died multiple times, I wouldn’t remember it…

‘…Begging won’t work.’

Athanas, the one who screams ‘Die Heretic!’, is a man who once beheaded parents who pleaded for their child’s life, killing the child along with them.

And on top of that, he can turn back time…

“…Why are you so terrified?”

‘Would you not be terrified, you crazy slayer!’

Even a person with ordinary morality could easily become a lunatic if they were given the ability to turn back time.

Gamers are a prime example.

In a game where ‘loading’ is possible, how cruel can a player become?

Imagine meeting an NPC you like far too much in a game where marriage is possible.

The player would grant every wish that NPC had, and if they accidentally did something the NPC hated, they would simply undo it, smoothly building Affinity until they reached the goal of marriage.

And then, they would probably try killing that NPC—the one whispering words of love—at least once.

Why?

Because they’re curious about what lines the NPC says when they’re betrayed!

“I-if I don’t answer that question…”

My voice trembled violently.

“W-what do you intend to do?”

“…What on earth do you think I would do?”

“Nothing will matter!”

“So, what exactly…”

“Knowing that it won’t end even if I die, what do you think I would confess?”

Athanas’s face crumpled.

‘Fuck, I’m so scared.’

I said those words, but I was truly terrified.

A torture expert who can turn back time.

Torturing someone without leaving a trace is very difficult.

Keeping someone alive while inflicting excruciating pain also requires considerable skill.

But what if you can bring them back to life as many times as you want, even after they die?

What could be simpler than torture?

“N-no amount of torture will make me open my mouth! You’ll just get to hear my terrible screams to your heart’s content!”

“…Why do you think I would torture you?”

“You can make anything as if it never happened, so why wouldn’t you use the easiest method to make someone talk?”

“I do not do such things.”

“How can I believe those words?”

“…Do you have any intention of trusting me?”

“I don’t! How can I trust someone who can turn back time! No matter what oath they take, if they set their mind to it, they can break it and then make it as if it never happened!”

My heart pounded.

Even in a situation where I felt like I was going crazy from fear, I didn’t stop thinking.

‘In the game, Regression can only go back a maximum of one hour. If reality is the same…’

I just have to hold out for one hour.

No matter how many times Athanas turns back time, he can only torture me for exactly one hour.

So, I just need to endure that one hour over and over again until Athanas feels that all of this is a waste of time.

After spending a few days torturing some strange extra only to have his own Health bottom out, Athanas will eventually think it’s a waste of time.

‘And since all of that will become as if it never happened…’

I will remain in a peaceful state, knowing nothing.

That was the only way left for me.

“…You speak as if you’ve experienced such a person before.”

Athanas’s pupils looked pitch black, like the deep sea where light cannot reach.

“Is there someone other than me who can turn back time?”

“N-no! At least, I don’t know of anyone!”

“Then how can you be so specifically terrified?”

‘Because I’m a gamer!!’

“I-I will not answer.”

“…Have you been tortured before?”

‘Fuuuuuuck…’

I feel like I’m going to piss myself from fear.

I said I just have to hold out for one hour, but how can I endure when I don’t know how hellish that one hour will be?

I’m the kind of coward who takes painkillers if I think I might feel even a little bit of pain.

No, that’s not being a coward.

Ensaid-based painkillers don’t even cause resistance, so why wouldn’t I take them!

Enduring pain is truly ignorant and stupid.

Enduring pain not only releases stress hormones, raises inflammation levels, and causes various negative effects on the body, but it can also cause nerve damage leading to CRPS.

(Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. Refers to chronic neuropathic pain that persists after trauma.) ‘I hate pain!!’

“What kind of torture did you undergo?”

Why are you asking that?

Are you going to pretend I’ve never experienced it?

How truly kind of you! Fuck!

Tears streamed down my face.

“…Fabio.”

Why did I watch videos like [Horrific Medieval Torture Methods!] out of boredom?

That wasn’t something to watch while eating!

If I hadn’t known anything, I would have been less scared!

“Fabio.”

Is he going to drag me to the torture chamber?

No, that would be a waste of time, so he’ll do it here.

And there’s conveniently no one around!

Fuck!

“Fabio.”

You son of a bitch, why do you call me three times?

Are you the Grim Reaper? Huh? Are you the Grim Reaper?

“…If you just answer, I will do nothing.”

Do you think I’ll answer, you lunatic?

“What did you come here for?”

“T-to read books…”

“…I asked why you came to the Capital Church.”

I wiped my tears with my sleeve.

“I-I don’t want to die…”

“I have no intention of killing you.”

“I came here because I don’t want to die. Because I don’t want to die, because I want to live…”

No matter how much I wiped, the tears kept coming.

‘Fuck, what kind of trash game is this.’

To think that the only thing I can do is beg for my life.

Why the hell did you make me possess this character?

Piece of trash game!

‘I should have just ended it quickly instead of struggling.’

I should have just died when I realized it was a trash game while I was a serf…

To think that nothing is worse than death! How naive of me.

“Who is trying to kill you?”

‘You, you. You heretic-slaying bastard.’

Look at him pretending not to know after trying to kill me in the last loop.

Absolutely loathsome.

He probably thinks what he did was just a test? Because it’s already been undone?

“What on earth are you so afraid of?”

I kept my mouth shut.

The longer I dragged this out, the less time would be left for torture.

I think we’ve been talking for about 40 minutes, so maybe I only have to endure for another 20 minutes?

“Fabio. I have no intention of harming you. I can even swear it to the Lord.”

“A-anyway, if you turn back time, that oath will disappear too, won’t it?”

“At least for this duration, it will be maintained.”

‘Fuck, so even oaths are nullified?’

This guy really has no limits on his actions, does he?

Terrifying.

‘…But why is he stalling instead of torturing me?’

Then it hit me.

“Y-you’re worried the Saintess will come, aren’t you?”

The necklace I’m wearing emits divine power the moment it’s attacked.

If it’s the Saintess, she would head here the moment she senses that emission.

Since I already experienced it in the last loop, I know this.

‘How many minutes does it take for the Saintess to arrive? 10 minutes? 20 minutes?’

Even if he turns back time, if the Saintess arrives 10 minutes after the torture starts, the time limit becomes 10 minutes. That’s why he’s trying to resolve this with words…

“Even if I tried to torture you, I wouldn’t be able to once the Saintess arrives…”

’10 minutes is much better.’

What an idiot.

Why didn’t I think of just calling the Saintess every time?

If I had called the Saintess as soon as Athanas revealed his Regression, Athanas would have given up.

‘Damn, I’ll probably forget this realization once time is turned back.’

“That’s why you’re not doing it, right? Were you planning to use another method besides torture to make me talk this time?”

“…I have never tortured you.”

“Sure you haven’t. An oath? Go ahead. I’d love that! Because then I can get through this without torture!”

“Fabio.”

“I may be a coward, but I’m not stupid. No matter how many times you repeat this, I won’t say anything.”

“…What on earth made you like this?”

“No matter how many times you repeat it, I won’t remember anything. You’re the only one who will get exhausted. Do you understand?”

“First, wipe your tears.”

Athanas held out a handkerchief to me.

‘Athanas holding out a handkerchief…’

For a moment, a scene from the game overlapped.

But I wasn’t Adelaide.

I was the heretic who was meant to be killed, saved, and then killed again.

“I-I don’t need it.”

“…I understand. Then I shall swear to Loclem. I will not inflict any physical harm upon you for the remainder of today. If I break this oath, I shall lose all my divine power.”

‘You’re just going to turn back time anyway…’

No matter what he does, I must not show a reaction.

If I react even once, he’ll repeat the action that worked.

‘…I feel like an NPC being conquered.”

Now I understand why characters with meta-awareness in dating sims become crazy killers.

This feeling of utter helplessness is horrific…

“I understand you have no intention of speaking. Then just listen.”

“……”

“I had no intention of frightening you. I am sorry for reminding you of something terrible. Although I have no way of knowing what you experienced since you will not tell me…”

“……”

“Next time, I should speak to you after finding a way to use the Blessing of Consolation.”

“…It will be a waste of time.”

“Whether it’s a waste of time can only be known by trying.”

“Even the Blessing of Consolation used by the Saintess had no effect…”

“The Saintess’s blessing didn’t work?”

Athanas looked slightly surprised.

I immediately regretted saying that.

‘I just gave away information with my own mouth to reduce the number of loops I won’t even remember.’

If I hadn’t said anything, he might have misunderstood and thought it didn’t work because the grade of the ‘Sacred Relic’ he obtained was too low.

“You… who exactly are you?”

“……”

“Fabio.”

“……”

“Have I ever done something terrible to you?”

‘You’d know that, fuck, how would I know.’

“Is that why you’ve been so terrified from the moment you first saw me?”

‘…Not really?’

“No, you weren’t this scared from the beginning. You clearly recognized me, and although you were caught doing so, you had enough composure to lie calmly.”

Athanas continued speaking as if talking to himself.

“You fell into a panic the moment you realized I possess Regression.”

Athanas said as he withdrew the handkerchief.

“You seem to be dreadfully afraid of the fact that I have Regression.”

Of course I am.

Even if a soft-hearted, gentle person who could live without laws obtained Regression, I’d be afraid of when their morality would wear away—but you’re already a worn-out Heretic Butcher, fuck.

Of course, I know what the process of Athanas wearing down like that was.

Athanas’s slaughter was never once an act to satisfy personal greed.

Athanas always knew he was a sinner who could never be a hero, even while saving the world.

The Gray Saintess, Adelaide, pitied Athanas until the end.

But that’s that.

Regardless, the fact remains that this bastard is a slayer more accustomed to killing than eating.

I also liked Athanas very much when he was a ‘character’ inside a screen.

I sympathized with his tragic fate and was moved by his refusal to give up.

The emotion I felt when Athanas finally killed the Cult Leader of the Plague God!

But fuck, he’s a character I never want to meet in real life!

To use a zombie apocalypse analogy, Athanas is a veteran who is sick and tired of taking down zombies. He’s from a special forces unit, knows exactly how to survive in various crisis situations, and can perform basic medical treatment. There could be no more outstanding or necessary asset in a zombie world.

But if it were me, I would never join a survivor group that had Athanas in it.

Because Athanas would kill someone who might be infected by a zombie without a moment’s hesitation.

He wouldn’t make an exception even if that person was someone who risked their life to get food and medicine for others.

Not just a bite, but even if they were just scratched by a zombie’s nail, he’d say, ‘You might be infected,’ and immediately strangle them.

He wouldn’t even waste a bullet to kill them. He’d say it’s a waste because if he kills them in a way that splashes the infected’s fluids, he’d have to disinfect the area.

Honestly, it’s efficient and rational, but fuck!

‘It’s terrifying!’

Chapter 51