Past Life Returner

The composition of a single round was from the moment I acquired the Time Reversal insignia until fifty-five seconds had passed. It held no significance to count the number of rounds that had transpired, whether it was the tenth or hundredth round.

One certain thing was that the bastard became noticeably fatigued. Whenever the stage was reset, its eyelids were half-closed.

[Are we…still…not done yet? Your Highness…]

[I, Lu-neah, am astounded by Your Highness’s unwavering determination. However, I, Lu-neah, am the problem. I am too feeble to keep up with Your Highness’s resolve.]

It was evident that the bastard’s strength was gradually waning. If the Time Reversal seemed to yield no promising results, then it would be fitting to proceed to the Revival insignia at this point.

Nonetheless, that was not true. I had finally succeeded in finding the blueprint of the insignia when the bastard was whining. It was then that I figured out how to navigate through the majestic, yet serene, power. My determination solidified even further.

When would I ever have another opportunity like this? Even if I were to revive Yeon-Hee, I couldn’t burden her with this task. I had no choice but to repeat the short fifty-five-second stage millions of times without respite, which was akin to torture. It was something I could not and should not expect from Yeon-Hee.

Only the bastard deserved to endure such grueling labor. If it was to perish from exhaustion, then so be it. There was an Awakened with a mental attribute as an alternative.

However, my focus had to be solely on the Revival insignia by moving to a different stage. Thus, the best-case scenario was achieving my goal before this bastard died.

If I could master using the Time Reversal insignia… I would attain power beyond the revival of Yeon-Hee! I saw new possibilities, and that was another reason that prevented weariness from overtaking me.

***

One time, the bastard asked with an appearance on the verge of death about how I could remain unperturbed and continue my ‘research.’ When I didn’t respond, it hesitated to reset the stage. Now, even uttering a single word seemed burdensome to it.

Its face, which was no different from the beggars outside of the window, gazed at me. Its mouth looked like it was about to emit a putrid odor, but fortunately, it preferred to communicate through messages.

[If you obtain the power of reversing the time…]

The bastard no longer asked if I wanted to reset the stage as it realized I would never give up until I fulfilled my goal and would continue doing this nonstop.

[Your Highness… I would like to ask you for a favor. Please inform me in advance of how will be despicable to me, Lu-neah.]

The bastard said as if I had already gained the mysterious power of reversing time.

[Then, I will pretend to give allegiance to Entegasto and betray it by telling everything to Doom Kaos at the critical moment. Then, Your Highness will revive the priestess and obtain the final volume of the Book of Death.]

[Also, I, Lu-neah, will be able to serve Your Highness wholeheartedly, and no longer be in this feeble state.]

I stared at it silently, and I sensed no impatience from the bastard. It seemed convinced that I would accept its suggestion. It was peculiar how it could maintain such composure even in the face of the unpredictable nature of time reversal.

Its message continued.

[If Your Highness goes to my, Lu-neah’s, mainland…]

However, the message that was supposed to follow did not appear. Its eyes were quivering, and it had been quite a while since I last witnessed a flicker of uncertainty in the eyes of the bastard. Such a reckless spirit was cautiously debating whether or not to say more. There was crucial information inside its throat that needed careful consideration before being spoken.

I did not urge it to reset the stage, and the trembling in the bastard’s eyes began to subside. This reminded me of a long time ago when it babbled about the reasons to save its life while mentioning the last volume of the Book of Death.

Its words led to a new topic.

[Please give a hint to me, Lu-neah, if you go back in time. I am really, really telling the truth now. The past loyalty of Lu-neah was not as great as it is now. It is not that there was no loyalty at the time. I am just saying that I have never been so loyal before.]

[Anyway.]

[The same thing keeps happening. What Lu-neah and Entegasto will do in the future… Only Doom Man knows what will happen.]

[You will appear in time, when the little Lu-neah inevitably attacked the priestess, right?]

“It depends on what you do.”

[No way~ Lu-neah is not done speaking, so please listen carefully until the end. I am going to say something very, very important. You will be intrigued.]

[I, Lu-neah, joined later than Doom Man’s human corps. However, I was able to obtain various special information more quickly, including the last volume of the Book of Death.]

[Please listen more. In order to obtain such a secret, finding the records of the Great Gold is one way. However, that will take too much time.]

The bastard continued after checking my face.

[Why? You also suspected that Cassian would be the Great Gold, didn’t you?]

[I, Lu-neah, can proudly say that when it comes to collecting special information, I am above the human corps. Your Highness should still command the human corps but should operate another channel to obtain information.]

[Please wait a minute. I am not done yet. This is the last and very important thing.]

[There is a ‘memory warehouse’ in Lu-neah’s mainland. Highly advanced species like Lu-neah can share memories and emotions with each other. Your Highness would know about it well because your faithful subordinate Orca does the same thing.]

[However, the difference between Orca and Lu-neah is that I am a more superior being.]

[Lu-neah’s clan stores memories and feelings separately for the next successors.]

[That is right. Your Highness must have noticed. I will explain where to hide and retake them. In summary, it is like this.]

[First, go back in time.]

[Second, enter Lu-neah’s memory warehouse.]

[Third, give a hint about what is happening to Lu-neah who will be surprised.]

[Fourth, reveal all the crimes of Entegasto to Doom Kaos with Lu-neah.]

[Fifth, take the last volume of the Book of Death.]

[Sixth, command Lu-neah as much as you want.]

[Seventh, Doom Man’s priestess will have a happy ending without any harm~ ٩(๑^o^๑)۶ ]

The bastard lay down on the table, smiling slyly.

I said, “You insects talk too much… I will do that.”

[Thank you, Your Highness.]

***

We had gone through many rounds, and the bastard’s life had deteriorated to the brink of death. It had the appearance of a young female student, but its face had turned ghastly pale, and it no longer sent any messages.

It was lying on the table, looking at me. Its desperate gaze, as if it was about to die, felt like it was cheering me on. It wanted me to gain the power of reversing time more than anything else because it was convinced that it was the only way for it to survive. Of course, it was only possible if I gained the power before its life was extinguished.

It was silent as it was saving its energy to speak later. It had put all its efforts into resetting the stage to the point of near-death.

“It is over.”

It had been a long time since I opened my mouth, then the corners of the bastard’s lips twitched. It smiled faintly, but it didn’t last long. It frowned again as if it didn’t even have the strength to be in pain.

Swoosh-!

The first thing that came into view was the bastard. It passed by my sight and collapsed immediately. Despite the absence of a physical body, the bastard stopped as if it had hit the ground.

The time spent in the mental world was like hell for the bastard. Thus, having achieved something and returned, it rolled over as if wanting to witness the final moment with its own eyes.

It looked at me as if it was saying, ‘We did it.’

In the corner of my vision, Yeon-Hee was lying down just like long ago. She was lying on a bed, and her body was covered in monitoring sensors that reminded me of a Maruka’s tentacles. An urge to tear them off right away welled up inside me. That was right after returning to reality.

I moved to a larger area.

[You have used Gate Formation.]

***

[Odin’s Absolute Warzone has opened.]

I formed a barrier first, being alert of things like Entegasto. Next, I started taking out items. If I reversed the time, what happened here would vanish as if it had never occurred. I would get these back anyway. I had no hesitation in destroying whatever equipment was on my body.

[Extractor has been activated.]

[Lunea’s Light has been destroyed.]

…

[Zeus’s Thunder Spear has been destroyed.]

[You have gained XP.]

Then, I peeled away the components that made me up one by one and threw them into the insignia.

[The Man Who Overcomes Adversity has been removed.]

[Passion has been removed.]

…

[Odin’s Ethereal Animal has been removed.]

[Odin’s Wrath has been removed.]

[Devi’s Sword has been removed.]

I pulled out everything from the shell that determined my four main abilities except for Strength.

[Warning: Odin’s Absolute Warzone is on the verge of destruction.]

Everything was swirling around. It was not the time to appreciate how vast and powerful the Mana Blade I had created was.

I endured with the Strength of the Overlord section. Since I could be swept away by the force that was stirring the barrier, I tensed up all the muscles in my body to withstand it.

When I entered the self-obliteration state, there was no barrier left anywhere. Instead, the message I had been waiting for appeared before my eyes.

[You have obtained the insignia ‘Time Reversal.’]

[Time Reversal (Insignia)

Effect: You can go back once in time within a twenty-four-hour period.

Class: SSS]