The Villain is Too Good at Sniping - Chapter 153



Only Noblemtl

Episode 153

Episode 153. Things That Will Not Be Remembered (7)

I don’t remember what happened after that. The gate connected to the imaginary space. Zion hugged Reg, who had started to mutate into the Demon King, and threw himself into the gate.

[By achieving the conditions, the additional ability of the trait ‘Player’, ‘Unbreakable Will’, is activated.]

[An unbreakable will begins to take hold in your body.]

In a colorless space with nothing, Zion faced Reg. The guy who had started to mutate into a Demon King was unable to fully exert his power in this space.

The gate was already closed, and probably destroyed by Kyle. There was no exit. They just destroyed each other’s bodies in an infinite loop of time.

Zion’s body was torn apart like a piece of paper. However, inside this gate, death and rebirth are repeated endlessly. Just like in Professor Björn’s ‘time prison’, the moment you die, time is forcibly returned to before you died.

The body is infinitely regenerated, but the mental power begins to wear out. Especially, Reg, who has started to transform into the Demon King, cannot handle it. His self as the Demon King and his self as the little boy are clashing with each other and slowly beginning to collapse.

It felt like it took years for the leg to completely disappear. And that was only a feeling I had, not a definite one.

You can’t feel the passage of time inside this gate. You can’t even check how much time has passed or what your condition is.

[Complete Main Quest: The Final Battle]

[The effect of ‘Indomitable Will’ ends.]

Zion closed his eyes, hearing the dry system in his ears for the last time.

***

“I don’t know where to start talking about this.”

When I opened my eyes again, I was still in the black space. I heard a familiar voice.

“It’s complicated, but to sum it up, yes.”

“Are you saying I’m dead?”

“Yes. To cut to the chase, you’re dead.”

I faced the owner of the voice. An angel stood before me. The one who had dropped me into another world. I honestly was a bit surprised, since I had never thought I would meet him again.

“It took some time, but you stopped the Demon King’s descent. I was watching, and honestly, it was a bit unexpected. There were many things I missed, and there were also parts where I made mistakes. So I felt a bit sorry for you.”

As for that, I had a lot to say. The difficulty of this other world was not hell. It was something worse than hell. No one could have predicted the rolling snowball.

But one thing I can say for sure is that I did my best.

“But… you cleared the main story before I could intervene. You died in the process, but at least you saved a world.”

There was still nothing to see. Only black space and an angel remained. It was the same scene as when I first died, so I felt a strange sense of deja vu.

“So, are you going to send me to hell again this time?”

“No. That’s impossible.”

The angel shook his head.

“You have already lived your full lifespan. You have spent more than a dozen years inside the Gate.”

“Dozens of years… …?”

“Yes. To be exact, 173 years and 4 months. That’s how long it took you to defeat the final boss.”

My image was reflected on a display that appeared in the air. In the colorless space, I was shown fighting with Reg. The endlessly replayed and destroyed scenes were repeated dozens, hundreds of times.

“Well, it wasn’t the flow I had in mind, but you have already achieved the conditions for being considered for heaven. You have also filled up your remaining lifespan, and on top of that, you have achieved the feat of saving a world.”

The angel gestured as if he would not speak for long. A staircase covered in clouds appeared behind the angel.

“While you were here, the examination was all over. To cut to the chase, you can now go to heaven. You’ve saved a world, so you’ll be treated well in the world above.”

But I stared blankly at the endless staircase stretching up into the clouds. It was an unfamiliar sight. I had been living as Zion Esperland for too long.

“but.”

As if reading my hesitation, the angel added a word.

“Going to heaven like this isn’t the ending you want, is it?”

“You knew everything.”

“You didn’t come to this world to be judged for heaven, but to enjoy a comfortable old age.”

The angel had already seen through my thoughts.

“So I’m going to give you a choice. There’s no pressure like last time. It’s your choice all on your own.”

“Why did you come all the way here and give me another choice?”

“As I said, I’m not trying to show off. It was my fault for not being able to adjust the difficulty level, so I’m leaving it entirely up to you this time.”

I had a choice.

“First of all, the first thing is to climb the stairs to heaven like this. You can either become like me, or you can live a leisurely life there.”

The first option is to go to heaven like this.

“The second is to go back down to the other world. You will live again as Sion Esperland. The only problem is that in this case, some action is needed.”

“Is action needed?”

“Yes. You are already dead in that world, right? You died beyond the gate. So in order to send you back to that world, we have to change the history of that world. And on a grand scale.”

The second is falling back into another world. However, in this case, special measures are required.

“If you want to stay in that world, you have to erase any traces of yourself. You can either fix the time you lived as Sion Esperland, or fix the time you lived as Sion Illionheart… However, it’s less risky to erase Illionheart than to fix the time you lived as Sion Esperland.”

“Then what happens to me?”

“In the world that falls again, the name ‘Zion Illionheart’ will disappear. To begin with, it was a fake identity, wasn’t it? You were also prepared to abandon it at any time.”

The angel’s voice sank heavily. This was the only thing he seemed to truly regret.

“The people of that world will not remember ‘Zion Illionheart’. They will be erased from history, so it will probably be difficult to regain their memories. If that’s okay, I can send you down to that world.”

In this world that is falling again, ‘Zion Illionheart’ disappears.

For some reason, I burst out laughing. I thought it was just a fake identity that I could get rid of at any time, but now that it’s like this, I can’t just throw it away like dust.

But, if I had to decide, it would be better to fall into another world than to go to heaven, which I don’t even know what it is. Anyway, the conditions for going to heaven have been met, and I can go whenever I want. There was no reason to think about it too deeply.

“I will go to another world.”

“Good choice.”

The angel turned around and began to recite a spell. While I was waiting quietly, I remembered something I had forgotten.

“Are there any other special privileges this time?”

“Do you really need another special privilege?”

“If possible, I hope it will be a special benefit that will help me enjoy a comfortable retirement.”

The angel looked dumbfounded at my bold request.

***

The fake identity, Zion Illionheart, has disappeared.

People have forgotten the existence of Zion. That’s okay. What’s important is that I have returned to this world, and that this world has not been destroyed.

In fact, I didn’t have the time to think about the fake identity I lost because of other things. The final boss was destroyed, but the Mine Association was still alive and well. The fight didn’t end even though it seemed to be over.

The surviving members of the Mine Association, such as Lucille and Balak, are trying to rebuild the Mine Association. They are still active in various parts of the continent, hiding out.

But don’t worry, there are protagonists who will lead this world.

I looked through the articles pinned to the wall.

[Meet Arsene’s Hero, Kyle Ivanstair]

Kyle Ivanstair became a Hunter after graduating from Arsene. Along with fellow Arsene students such as Elin Beonard and Esili Silvergarden, he took up a high-ranking position in the Hunter Association. It was a natural conclusion, as he helped to achieve the feat of saving the world.

[The rise and fall of Steelheiden, a genius wizard from Arsen]

After graduating from Arsene, Lara Stillheiden entered the ivory tower. There, she is said to be devoted to research with her father, Aidan Stillheiden, whom she was reunited with after much suffering.

I expected that to happen, but a variable arose in a completely different place.

“There was someone who helped me a long time ago.”

“The boy’s name was Galion Esperland.”

“Yes, Galion… that was the name. If I hadn’t rented a motorcycle back then, would I be here now?”

Another fake identity of mine popped up from an unexpected place.

However, Lara Stillheiden’s mention of Galion Esperland ended up being a good thing, as the world’s perception of Esperland softened a little as Lara and Aidan began to treat him more favorably.

[Esperland’s new head of household, Camille Esperland. What will Esperland’s future plans be?]

Esperland survived. It was a long fight, but Duke Esperland was defeated by Camille and me, and the solitude that threatened Esperland did not activate as all the elders were killed.

Camille, the new head of Esperland, miraculously signed a truce with the Hunter Association. This was possible because Esperland had collapsed from within and the mastermind behind it all, the Duke of Esperland, had already passed away.

“My younger brother, Sion Esperland, was a great help in my becoming the head of the household. He is currently missing, but I will find Sion in the name of Camille Esperland.”

Camille Esperland is still searching for me. But I had no intention of meeting Camille yet. At least, I planned to visit Esperland again after my situation stabilized a little more.

[Uncovering the Sugarmond Family]

On the other hand, Airi lost her memories. In a way, it was a natural result. Airi doesn’t know that I am ‘Zion Esperland’. From the time we first met until we parted ways, I was close to Airi as ‘Zion Illionheart’.

So it was inevitable that Airi would lose her memories of me. The problem is that even though I don’t know where the snowball I rolled hit, there was a variable here too.

“So, Airi, you’re experiencing memory loss.”

“It’s not just me, it’s the same for my sister too.”

“Oh, yes yes. So you’re looking for someone whose face or name you don’t know?”

“I think you can find it. I have a feeling.”

I heard that not only Airi, but also Lilia was the same. Even if Airi could do that, it was surprising that Lilia got involved as well.

[Saint Isabella Reforms the Holy Order]

Finally, Isabella, who had been a priest, became a saint. The Holy Order was reformed from within, as Esperland had done, and the Pope, who had reigned as the emperor of the Holy Order, was finally deposed.

Isabelle chose to remain a saint rather than a pope, because she preferred to be physically active rather than sitting still. Isabelle had not lost her memory of me, so I planned to meet her soon.

dripping-

At that moment, a knock was heard outside. This was not my house, but a makeshift camp set up in a snowy area. There was no way anyone would come here.

I quietly grabbed my Glock and headed toward the door. My [instinct] didn’t respond. But before I could open the door, the doorknob turned on its own. The other party had forcibly twisted the doorknob open.

“Have you been living alone in a place like this?”

There stood a person I never expected to see.

“…Are you Rebecca?”

“It’s only been three years, but how has my appearance changed so much?”

“I think three years is enough time for change.”

The identity of the unexpected guest was Rebecca von Anastasia Grander. Now, she was called ‘Rebecca’, not Grander.

“I’ve been searching for you for quite some time.”

“Was it that much?”

“No one remembers you, and the one who could solve the mystery has suddenly disappeared. So what should I do? More importantly, what did you do to make people forget you?”

I had nothing to say to Rebecca, who kept asking me questions.

The only people who have lost their memories of me are those who met me as ‘Zion Illionheart’. Those who know that I am Zion Esperland have not lost their memories of me. Just like Isabel, Rebecca has not forgotten my existence.

The first thing I had to do after I fell back into this world was to erase all evidence of my life as Sion Illionheart. Since the main story had changed drastically, I planned to completely erase all traces of myself up to this point and then face the main characters as Sion Leonheart.

I was so busy with other pending work that I couldn’t find the time to go see Rebecca first. In the meantime, Rebecca had been searching for me, and after three whole years, she finally found me.

“Zion Illionheart, and Zion Esperland. And now you are using another name.”

“How many alternative names do you have?” Rebecca grumbled, her voice slightly annoyed.

“Yeah… what.”

“And when did you not ask me to call you Illionheart?”

“That was when I entered Arsene. Back then, the circumstances were what they were, so there was nothing I could do.”

But Zion Illionheart is no more.

“Right now, it’s Zion Leonhart.”

I live in this world with a newly created identity.

“So, Sion Leonhart, what are you going to do now? There are many people looking for you. You don’t think you can hide and live alone forever, do you?”

“When the time is right, I’m going to try to find everyone who comes to me. This is real.”

I started preparing for retirement, which I had not been able to prepare for while living my life engrossed in the main quest every day. I started building it again with a new name, so I still have a long way to go.

However, my intention to meet the main characters was sincere. I only wanted to meet them as Sion Leonhart, not as Sion Illionhart.

Rebecca was blocking the camp’s main gate, seemingly afraid that I might disappear like the wind again.

“How can I trust you when you’ve already disappeared several times?”

“I won’t ask you to believe it.”

“We need more concrete evidence than words.”

Rebecca sat down casually and handed me a piece of paper. No need for a pen. It was a pledge to be written with magic.

“Do you really have to go this far… … ?”

“You were Esperland’s assassin, so you could escape at any time. This is just the minimum safety measure.”

“But I think I need to think about it a little more. Once you write a pledge like this, it can’t be undone.”

Rebecca furrowed her brows for a moment at my polite refusal.

The moment I was about to say something more, Rebecca stood up. My [sense] reacted for a moment. I instinctively stepped back. Rebecca was clearly angry.

The main story is over, but there is still much to do. There are people wandering around looking for me, and the Mine Association is still going strong. And the preparation for retirement is also lacking.

My watch vibrated. An emergency call message from the Hunter Association flashed red.

[A clash occurs between the remnants of the Mine Association and the Hunter Association]

[Kyle Evanstairs, Irie de Sugarmond and 3 others revealed to be in the midst of a classic… …]

The message I received was also displayed on Rebecca’s watch. It couldn’t be otherwise. This was a watch I received from the Hunter’s Association as a new member.

“What are you going to do? Zion Illion… no, Zion Leonhart.”

“It seems very dangerous to the point where an emergency call has been made. I should go out.”

The opponent is Jean-Pierre Ballack, an executive of the Mine Association. If he decides to engage in a protracted war, it will be difficult for Kyle to escape easily.

I put on the coat hanging on the wall. I grabbed the Glock that was on the table. If I timed it right, I could somehow use the warp gate in the suburbs.

As I opened the door, a cold wind came in. Rebecca was still staring at me with her lost eyes.

“Would you like to come with us, Rebecca?”

It was something I had said over and over again whenever something like this happened. I felt a sense of foreboding. Rebecca must have felt the same way.

But I clearly saw the faint joy that passed through Rebecca’s eyes. Rebecca, who had been hesitating, grabbed the scabbard.

“…yes.”