Chapter 76 - Endless Resuscitation
"Isn't this cheating?" I almost found myself saying it aloud.
Because this, to put it in vulgar terms, is an automatic continue ability.
It could be called an extraordinary skill that reverses the results of battle with such ease.
"I never imagined you would swallow it... If it has come to this, I suppose it is safe to assume that slow and heavy projectiles will not work against you, Hero-dono."
The High Priest raised her eyebrows, looking repeatedly impressed.
"What about you, what is this skill? In short, it means you won't die in combat, right?"
"Ah. Have you finished decoding the skill details?"
You've figured it all out, haven't you? The High Priest stuck out her tongue.
This personality-disordered woman rejoices unconditionally whenever my interest is directed toward her.
Even if that interest is nothing more than an analysis during combat.
"That's right. I don't particularly care for such terminology, but I believe it is a 'cheat ability.' Since it was a word you used often, I memorized it. ...How nostalgic. When you were freshly summoned, you used to talk about 'video games' quite often, didn't you? Was that the entertainment of this world?"
"I didn't come here to reminisce about the old days."
The High Priest showed a disappointed face.
Her eyes were saying that she wanted to talk more.
It was unclear whether she wanted to fight or just wanted attention. Perhaps, it was both.
"You are quite impatient, young man."
"I'm already thirty-two. I'm not young."
"To me, you are always a fifteen-year-old boy. ...Since you seem to dislike being teased, shall we get to the main topic? There are certain conditions for acquiring a skill. In addition to one's class, that person's individuality and desires also exert influence. Just as you were granted the Fatherhood skill after you killed your own child. I, too, was granted this ability after you returned to this world. It was a cursed thing, triggered by regret and self-reproach."
The High Priest continued, spreading her arms wide.
"You, who repented that you wanted to be a better father, awakened to the Fatherhood skill. Because I wished to return to the time before you met Lady Elsa, I obtained the Time Regression skill. Do you not find it touching?"
She directed a smile at me, as if saying she desired Hero-dono that much.
"Ever since I obtained this skill, I make a point of being killed on purpose during my first battle. It is to grasp the opponent's reach and attack patterns. From the second battle onward, I give it my all. It seems your physical abilities have increased since you were in that other world, haven't they? However, the range of your Light Sword has barely extended. As for your crucial skill, are you not perhaps a little duller than before?"
"Mind your own business," I said, acting tough.
Even though I didn't have a shred of hope for victory, I was the kind of person who was all talk.
"In the past, your swordsmanship had much more brilliance. It is likely because the environment lacks other powerful creatures. Lukewarm water weakens all races. Yes, just like the underground goblins. As you know, the strongest goblins are a subspecies that lives around volcanoes. Any creature shines most in a harsh environment."
The High Priest spoke, saying that I was beautiful when I fought life-and-death battles in the other world.
"I have preparations in place to summon about twenty thousand goblins. Shall I call for dragons and demons as well, while I'm at it?"
"That's obviously impossible. Don't give me that bluff."
"Is that so? Have you not noticed as well? The gravity is lower in this world, and isn't the magic floating in the air quite abundant? Thanks to that, I can easily repeat summoning arts that were high-level techniques in that other world. If I felt like it, I could turn the Earth into a hell. Though, even if that happened, you alone would likely survive."
"...Don't screw with me."
Driven by rage, I delivered a full-force blow to her head.
Even though I knew it was meaningless, my hands wouldn't stop.
"...Gah...!"
The High Priest's head shattered, splashing red water across the floor.
A headless body twitching, eyeballs rolling down the hallway.
I stared at the corpse, covered in blood splatter.
Watching the High Priest, who had turned from a person into an object, I felt an unbearable emptiness.
It was painful to see an old comrade who could no longer die, and I hated myself for destroying her simply because she wouldn't die anyway.
"...Is this lump of flesh the woman I used to love?"
And then, time wound back once more.
A time movement that induced physiological discomfort occurred, and all actions returned to nothingness.
"Dammit!"
I was standing in front of the bathroom once again.
In front of me was the uninjured High Priest, and in the living room, Rio and Angelica were making a fuss.
"Father, did you find something over there?"
"Idiot, you shouldn't move!"
The exchange I had heard just a moment ago. A repeating world. The third week's world.
With a sense of shock, I turned my eyes toward the High Priest.
The face I had smashed just seconds ago had returned to a state without a single scratch.
"Shall we make a deal, Hero-dono? If you quietly allow yourself to be killed, I will stop summoning monsters to this world. Of course, I will properly follow after you and commit suicide. Since Time Regression does not activate for causes of death other than homicide. How about it? It's not a bad condition, is it?"
The High Priest spoke to me while tilting her head.
"Are you telling me to commit double suicide with you?"
In the other world, suicide is religiously forbidden.
Both in the Monotheism the High Priest believes in, and the Polytheism Angelica believes in.
And yet, this woman speaks of following suicide quite casually.
Despite being in a position at the top of the religious world, she does it again and again. That is how broken this woman is.
"That is how it will be, yes. I wish to die with you in passion..."
The High Priest said, with a slightly bashful expression.
Her cheeks were flushed, wearing an expression that was entirely out of place in this setting.
"What will you do, Hero-dono? You are always on the side of the masses. Isn't that right? You don't want to let unrelated people die, do you? It would be unpleasant if your homeland were turned into a dungeon, wouldn't it?"
With eyes devoid of light, the High Priest held out her hand. In a casual manner, as if to shake hands.
I.
I—
"If you want to do it, then do it. Unfortunately for you, I can now bring the dead back to life. Just like Elsa over there."
The answer I chose was to "bluff."
I pointed at Rio on the table, putting on as much bravado as I could muster.
To give even a slight impression of composure, I even contorted my lips into a contemptuous smirk.
"...Is that truly Lady Elsa?"
"Obviously, isn't it? Look closely, she's the spitting image of her when she was young."
The High Priest's gaze swung back and forth between me and Rio, and she began to ponder something.
A highly prone-to-misconception personality, and excessive expectations of me.
It seemed those things had meshed well together, leading her to misunderstand that I had awakened to resuscitation abilities.
Humans tend to measure everything by their own scale.
Since the High Priest had awakened to new skills after entering middle age, perhaps she thought it wouldn't be strange for others to do the same.
"No matter how many Earthlings you kill, I'll bring them all back one after another. Let me tell you, my resuscitation is a broken performance. Just as I said, I'll bring them back at their peak age. Try some indiscriminate murder, and you'll just be providing me with powerful reinforcements."
"...I am defeated."
Since status appraisal can only be performed by a Summoned Hero, the High Priest has no way to verify my ability.
Everything depends on intuition and situational judgment.
Be deceived, be deceived, be deceived, be deceived.
In the first place, during the combat before Time Regression, the High Priest had unilaterally misidentified Rio as Elsa.
I should be able to push through like this; it's bound to work.
It'll work, it'll work...!
As I watched the High Priest's movements with bated breath, a noisy voice came from behind.
"Father!"
"Nakamoto-san!"
Angelica and Rio.
Just like the first time, the two girls came running toward me out of concern.
This is bad. If Rio talks to the High Priest, the lie might fall apart.
I called out for her not to come, restraining Rio. No matter how much she looked like a carbon copy, their personalities were not alike at all.
I ordered Rio through eye contact not to speak, please.
Rio gave a small nod and quickly hid behind me.
"High Priest...!?"
As for Angelica, she seemed unable to hide her surprise at reuniting with someone she knew.
"...I will withdraw for today. It would be troublesome if no matter how many times I kill those young girls, they are resuscitated. However, this does not mean you have won. Do not ever forget the reality that I do not die, even if killed."
The High Priest's body began to fade, enveloped in light.
If it is her, an authority on summoning arts, simple spatial teleportation would be child's play.
Feeling both relief and impatience, I stared at the vanishing woman. The one who was my first Party Member and became my strongest nemesis.
While glaring back at her, refusing to lose to her persistent gaze.
"It may be a bit ridiculous for a woman to say to a man, but I will certainly kill you, and then ravish you."
And so.
Leaving behind those vulgar parting words, the High Priest disappeared.