How the Regressor Loves the Reincarnated

73. Fear…?

1.

When is the moment when a person feels the greatest fear?

Someone may object to me, but I don’t think anything can overcome the fear of death.

I haven’t really felt the fear of death after experiencing the first regression, but it was different in the first playthrough.

It’s because the situation in the first round was so dizzy that it’s embarrassing to compare it to now.

With the Zodiac free to roam around, it goes without saying that all the Holy Land’s relics came together and Nox found its power. In the process, an all-out war broke out between the Eldnorus Kingdom and the Barthes Empire due to the apostles’ plotting, and various abnormal phenomena occurred in the three major demonic landscapes of the continent.

No matter how much I have risen to the level of a master, there are bound to be quite a few moments when I feel a threat to my life.

But now, after going through the second round and reaching the third round, the story was a little different.

And the reason was simple.

Because the speed at which Luke and I stopped the apostles’ plans and eliminated them one by one was faster than the speed at which the Zodiac moved in the first round.

If all three apostles are removed from this place today, there will be only six remaining apostles.

It was embarrassing to even try to compare the 1st playthrough, when all the apostles were alive and well, and the 2nd playthrough, with more than 10 remaining, based on the same time frame.

Anyway, for that reason, my fear threshold was infinitely high.

The moment my life was in danger for the first time to the point where I thought, ‘Ah, am I going to die like this?’… Looking back, I think it was a truly humiliating moment.

The fear of death that I faced without knowing anything, as if I had become immortal, with the confidence that I could win against anyone.

As if I had stepped into a swamp from which I could never get out, the fear that slowly squeezed my throat was a shock that I did not want to go through again because it was so fresh.

And the moment he actually died.

In the second episode, I chose the path of death myself, so the emotion I felt at that moment seemed to be quite far from fear.

I blame myself for being complacent.

It is regrettable that I could have done better.

If I had done this at the time, I would regret it.

The feeling I felt as the energy drained from my body was strangely warm, unlike what I expected, so maybe that’s why my expression relaxed a little. At that moment, I was obviously deeply regretful.

It is death that can be said to be the farthest in the world from the emotion of fear.

But it wasn’t that peaceful until his death in the first playthrough.

Three full days of bloody battles at the risk of life and death with monsters wearing angelic masks, without even taking a single moment of rest.

At that point, even if it was the body of a sword master that could fly and crawl, it would reach its limit in the past. Nothing can make the impossible possible.

In the end, exhausted and exhausted, I gave up the gap.

Then the bizarrely large one-eyed angel’s spear tip pierced my abdomen. At the same time, a large angel with a wolf’s head bit off my entire arm.

The face of that one-eyed monster, twisting and turning the spear that pierced its body as if it were a confirmation kill, smiling with joy as if it were enjoying the act of inflicting pain on me.

And the grunting sound I heard as the wolf-headed angel chewed up my arm.

It was the first and last time I had a real fear of death, and it was an experience I would never want to go through again.

Immediately after going through a regression, that experience would often come up in my dreams.

But rather, that’s why I was confident against Virgo’s authority. The basis for this could be the fact that I already had a record of overcoming Burgo’s power in the previous round.

At the time, due to the experience of almost losing my life to Libra’s two escorts in the first playthrough, my hot-tempered aspect was somewhat dead. It is a bonus that I became a little more careful in planning and moving something.

But no matter how carefully I moved, I couldn’t avoid the prank of a god named coincidence.

It was about three years after I returned to the past when I moved to get rid of Burgo in the second playthrough.

Among the apostles, not many have social influence or power. No, it’s safe to say that it’s just the two of us.

However, they could be seen as truly irreplaceable human resources in the great world of the Zodiac.

One of them, Burgo, was the headquarters of the Lumineria Church and the center of the Zodiac believers who roamed the Lumineria Cathedral, the heart of the Church, as if it were their own home.

At the same time, it was also a shield that protected those who were eating away at the church from the inside.

It was also a threatening spear that could destroy the unity of the Lumineria Church simply by revealing its true nature.

What could be more stupid of her than keeping her alive for so long?

Saint Aster, the greatest pillar of the Church of Lumineria and loved by the entire Church.

The moment Burgo, who took off his hideous mask, denies Lux and declares apostasy, not only the kingdom but the whole world fall into chaos.

I knew that through the first playthrough, so she was one of my top priorities to be eliminated.

Although the time three years after returning to the past is not that early, it was never too late either.

But she can’t slit the throat of a heavyweight like her casually, without any special plan.

Wouldn’t it be fine if I openly committed the crime and put a dump on the Zodiac, not on anyone else? Came to the conclusion that

The first day of the Lumineris Festival commemorating the day Lux spread light in the world, the biggest event of the kingdom that came soon after.

“Let those ignorant and oblivious people who serve false gods listen!”

I moved to deal with Burgo, who appeared in front of countless Koreans and tourists in Lumineria Plaza.

“Soon this world will meet its end!”

It didn’t matter if I understood the thoughts of the zodiac or their essence.

“And your god, your light, will not save anyone. No, I won’t!”

The essence of what I said was also not very important. In the first place, there was no way that I, not being a very faithful religious person, could invent plausible sophistry, and there was no need to do so.

“But don’t worry about it. Even if your false light does not embrace you, the holy night will gladly embrace you. Even if you don’t believe in Knox yet, you will soon do.”

Because I didn’t really move with the intention of splitting the Church of Lumineria.

“However, those closest to your false god will deny our god, our ideas, and our existence.”

No matter what nonsense you say, it’s enough to bring the Zodiac’s existence to the surface and imprint its existence on the world’s most influential religious body.

“So I’m telling you right here. The one who spreads Lux’s lies ahead of anyone else, Saint Aster. Die for this world.”

With the crowd buzzing and Burgo’s face stained with embarrassment in the background, I moved to finish it.

As it was originally, Burgo’s neck had to fall off on the spot. Her escorts were wary of my presence, but she hadn’t drawn her sword yet.

Even if they held their swords properly, they wouldn’t be able to stop me.

However, to my dismay, my sword did not properly reach Burgo’s neck.

Instinctively, I took a backward step, but the tip of my sword narrowly brushed the neck of Virgo, who suddenly stepped on something and fell backwards as if slipping.

“Ah, ah…!”

As she fell, Virgo’s eyes, which she bumped into slightly, were stained with deep fear.

“Holy Lady!”

A terrible coincidence overlapped and the moment Burgo saved his life, my plans went awry.

In that absurd situation, Virgo’s pupils widened greatly as she caught my eye as I tried to move again after clicking her tongue.

Actually, it must have been an embarrassing situation for Burgo as well.

In common sense, who would openly try to kill Aster, a saint who serves Lux, the god of light, who is loved by everyone?

Even while pretending to be a member of the zodiac that contained her body, Apostle Virgo, the entity of Saint Aster.

But Burgo was given only one chance.

Virgo’s authority, which was exerted just before her death, was strong enough to permanently destroy the spirits of nearby paladins.

Even I, who had already felt the fear of death in my body, couldn’t come to my senses easily.

One by one, the Paladins could not overcome the extreme fear and one by one they could see themselves losing their minds. But unlike them, I was able to stand tall and hold on to my head.

At some point, I even started to see fantasies.

The fantasy of my family dying right in front of my eyes at the hands of the angels who gave me death in the first playthrough.

At the time, I didn’t know if it was simply a hallucination caused by extreme fear, or if it was caused by the influence of Virgo’s authority…

Now that I was once again receiving the power of Virgo with my body, I wondered if this was the latter.

“Heh, hehe… Adele Ludmeier. Indeed! You are a woman who deserves to be called the First Lady of the Empire.”

“…You? Why are you here…”

The sight of the man rolling his sinister eyes right in front of me and his trembling cheeks was so unsightly that I couldn’t keep my eyes open.

Dark blond hair with a lot of oil flowing through it. Green eyes that reveal lowly desires. He has a massive physique with no muscles to the extent that one wonders if he has ever done exercise in his life.

“What are you doing without coming here and waiting? Ttsk, you don’t have the attitude to take care of Giabi.”

“…”

I knew very well who he was.

The disgrace of the Isvant family, famous for their promiscuity and drunkenness, Prince Luke Isvant.

I didn’t have much contact with me, but his notoriety spread throughout the empire.

And because of the existence of Luke in this episode, he was also a person who had been completely forgotten in my memory.

But why is that idiot here-

“Ah.”

Belated realization, a belated sound squeezes my lips and pops out.

Yes. This situation was clearly the one I was afraid of.

A very small anxiety that has been sitting on the side of my mind since someday.

If I fail this round as well.

And if I were given another chance.

Will Luke in the next episode really be the idiot Young master, who was so infamous? Or will it be this episode’s Luke Isvant, the soon-to-be fiancé and soon-to-be husband, whom I fell in love with so much I couldn’t live without it?

My true fear was losing Luke and nothing else.

“Are you deaf? Now I say-“

“Hey, Pig. It’s noisy, so could you close that mouth?”

“What, what? This b*tch doesn’t even know the subject, and to whom would you do such a stupid thing… Heeik!”

Rook’s screeching eyes flew right next to him and headed for the sword. He swallowed his saliva and then closed his mouth.

“Wow, why are you talking so much about a fake topic?”

I didn’t even want to imagine life without Luke.

Luke and me. If either of us had to die, it would be me, but I was afraid that when that happened, I wouldn’t see Luke anymore.

…But no matter how much it is, I can’t imagine showing you this kind of fantasy as my fear.

Like a fog lifts, the illusions that covered my eyes disappear.

And what filled the place again was the blinding darkness that Luke had prepared for me.

However, the voices of those who ran amok in fear were heard so clearly through the pitch-black darkness.

The body was still as heavy as cotton soaked in water, but the two hands holding the sword did not shake at all.

Simply digging into a movement that couldn’t be found by looking for reason, he drove his sword through the heart of one of Libra’s two guards.

“Ke-heo-!”

Now one. If you take care of one more thing from now on, only two apostles remain with only two insignificant actual forces.

After exhaling lightly with those thoughts, the moment he was about to draw the sword.

“Chit…! Are you going to break the deal?!”

The darkness lifted, revealing the figure of him who is now relieved just by looking at him.

“Luke?!”

The moment I saw Luke, I felt as if all the strength was draining from his body.

I drew my sword, carefully stepping back and leaning against the wall.

…After leaning against the wall, my legs gave out and I collapsed.

It wasn’t something he would have done with an enemy in front of him, but it was close to a half-miracle that he endured this much with Libra’s unresponsive body.

“Breaking a deal… I said something, but it was a bit of bullsh*t, right?”

However, after hearing Luke’s voice, a sense of incongruity that is difficult to explain in words arises in my head.

Look, voice, everything was Luke’s… But that was all.

Looking up at Luke as he slowly walked toward me, I was convinced.

This is not Luke.

“Adele, are you okay?”

With confidence, confirmation has been added.

“Stupid, it’s too late…”

Even though the fake hand touched me, I didn’t move.

No. Rather leaned on him.

As expected, I couldn’t feel the warmth of Luke’s touch at all.

“Can you stand up?”

With a slight smile, as if telling me to grab hold of it and stand up, I grabbed the hand that was reaching out and then stood up.

One hand was holding onto the handle of the sword so tightly that if it were in its original state, it might have crushed it.

Pu-wook-

There was no change.

“Ah…? How…?”

“The first thing you said to me. That’s not what you should have said, Gemini.”

Even if you had said the first thing Luke said when he met me, he would have stabbed you.

And time passed.

“Hey, you bastard.”

The moment I heard the real voice, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Where do you lay your hands on my girl?”

…And today’s Luke was so cool that I can’t see any sign that my heart will stop beating like crazy.