[Remaining time: 21 seconds.]
If I had the strength, I would grind my teeth so loudly that it would fill this entire space.
[Remaining time: 20 seconds.]
Yes, Constellation Murderer. I admit it. You’re a fearsome Hunter. I now see why the Sword Emperor couldn’t kill you and how you managed to end the duel with him in a draw. By using your thirteen puppets and giving everything you got, you have shown that you’re the Sword Emperor’s equal.
Even when compared to the Sword Emperor, the only one who reached the ninety-ninth floor, the Constellation Murderer matched him in terms of skills.
[Remaining time: 19 seconds.]
That was how he defeated me. He didn’t just kill me but utterly defeated me. My time would freeze at any moment, and the eighty-first floor stage would be isolated, becoming a lone island where my comrades couldn’t reach me.
If only I were alone…
[Remaining time: 18 seconds.]
If only I were alone like him, I would be doomed to defeat.
[Remaining time: 17 seconds.]
Raviel.
[The Scream-Gathering Sky sends a message to Duke Silver Lily.]
I’m sorry.
[The Scream-Gathering Sky asks Duke Silver Lily to die.]
Please die right now.
The Constellation Murderer looked at me and tilted his head once more. “I don’t understand.”
Shiveringly cold ice covered most of me. The only part not yet shrouded in eternal frost was my face. Even so, only my eyes and mouth were left uncovered by the ice.
“Why are you smiling?” he asked.
“Ha...”
Was I smiling? I hadn’t realized it because the ice had crept up to the corners of my mouth. My lips were clearly curved in a smile, however. It wasn’t a sneer, but a real smile born from happiness.
I chuckled. “Can you imagine…?”
“Imagine what?”
“Hearing someone say ‘die for me’ and then actually doing it in less than ten seconds.”
The ice covered my left eye.
“Do you have someone like that?” I asked him.
My right eye was became trapped in ice.
“I don’t think so,” I muttered.
My nose bridge, too.
“You had so many chances during your centuries… but you didn’t take it… You only chose solitude. That’s why you’ll lose to me, Constellation Murderer.”
My lips…
[Remaining time: 5 seconds.]
My heart…
[Remaining time: 4 seconds.]
Right before they all froze…
[A Certain Returner’s Love has been activated.]
[Remaining time: 3 seconds.]
I stopped breathing.
[You share your lover’s timeline.]
[The timeline has ended.]
[Remaining time: 2 seconds.]
Death closed my eyes before winter could.
[You have died.]
[Remaining time: 1 second.]
Two voices were layered in my head.
[Sealing complete. You are sea—]
[Rewinding time to twenty-four hours ago.]
When I opened my eyes again…
“I wonder what I should eat today. What would be the best choice?”
“Well, I’m not sure, but I do want some fish and chips. It’s been a while.”
“Hahahaha, that’s a choice I didn’t expect!”
The place was all too familiar to me; it was the shared lodging. In this place, my colleagues, friends, and clan members gathered, talked, and ate. Lounged on the sofa, I opened my eyes, now back to twenty-fours hours in the past.
“What do you think, Master?” The Inquisitor, who was sitting on the other sofa, turned to look at me. “Fish and chips is a bit too… Huh? Master, you look strange.”
Upon hearing the Inquisitor’s words, the Black Witch also looked at me.
“Hm?”
So did the Countess, the Viper, and the Paladin. Everyone who had spent time with me and promised to spend more time with me in the future was now looking at me.
“It’s true. He has a weird look on his face.”
“Yes, he does. It’s the face of a tuna that took the bait, thinking it was food, only to realize too late that it was a plastic bag.”
“Oi, what kind of metaphor is that?”
“Nisha, it’s all your fault for suggesting we eat strange food like fish and chips. I’m sure it would have been better to just go with potato fries.”
“Potato fries sound good. It’s been a while. Back then, we ate hamburgers for all three meals. Remember?”
“Yeah, that was a really long time ago!”
I smiled. “Hahaha…”
Really, I didn’t feel like I was going to lose.
“Bambolina,” I said.
“Yes, Master?”
“Could you give me an alarm clock?”
The Inquisitor pulled out his smartphone and turned on the alarm app. Handing me the phone, he tilted his head. “Here you go, but why do you suddenly need an alarm clock?”
“Actually, it’s a stopwatch that I need. Let me see…” I pressed the timer. The clock, which had shown 00:00:00, quickly began to start the count. I nodded with a smile. “Yes, that’s good. Give me some time, please. I want to see how long it’ll take.”
“Huh? I don’t know what’s going on, but use it all you want if you need it, Master!”
“Thanks.”
I sank back into the sofa. My friends gave me odd glances. Still, they soon went back to their chat since this wasn’t the first day I acted weird. Today’s night snack was decided to be potato fries. The Viper and Sylvia went to the kitchen to fry the potatoes.
One minute passed. Everyone was relaxed and found themselves comfortable. Three minutes passed. The Paladin and the Countess started to flaunt their love in the disguise of a quarrel. Six minutes passed. The Black Witch hit them both on the back of the head with her three-striped slippers, telling them to stop. Seven minutes. Eight minutes. Nine minutes.
When the numbers 00:09:21 appeared on the phone screen, noises could be heard from outside. One of the Four Demon Kings, in charge of the lodge’s security, shouted, “Y-you can’t do that here!”
Tap, tap.
Dozens of footsteps echoed through the hall and reached the room. The Black Witch and the Inquisitor sprang to their feet. Both wore gym clothes and three-striped slippers. Although Anastasha lacked one slipper, both looked keenly alert. They focused on the approaching footsteps from the distant hallway beyond the living room door.
“This is where our Tower’s executives are. Regardless of everything, you can’t—"
“Shut up. You’re getting in my way.”
Thuuuuud!
The living room door flew off from its hinges. My friends, who were about to charge forward at the possible assailants, froze when they saw the person that appeared where the door had been. They stared at the intruder, their eyes fixed in shock.
“Hm.”
However, the intruder paid no heed to the existing residents. Standing before many knights, she slowly turned her head to look around the room. Our eyes met.
I could not help but smile bitterly. “That would be nine minutes and forty-three seconds, Raviel.”
“You were thirteen minutes and twenty-seven seconds. I’m faster than you, Gong-Ja.” Raviel smiled brightly, her red eyes also grinning. “So, which son of a bitch are we supposed to kill?”
✦ ✦ ✦
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