Even after he looped back, Raive’s skill was still in its upgraded state.
Furthermore, staring ahead, he could still see the three rewards floating mid-air. Even the scroll and the candy that he just consumed was still there.
"This..."
Furthermore, there’s one more thing.
His skill was the upgraded version, but he wasn’t getting warned about his "vessel" capacity reaching near maximum. There’s no countdown for his death either.
This meant one thing.
Even the effect of the candy remained!
’This is amazing!’ Raive thought. ’Doesn’t this mean that I can upgrade my skills and stats infinitely as long as I reload?!’
He could already imagine how he’d become the strongest there is right from the start, then cheesing all the remaining trials!
However, this thought didn’t last for long.
Even before the archangel left, he already rushed over to the scroll and candy. He popped the candy into his mouth, chewing it deliciously with loud crunches, while opening the scroll to use it.
But...
[You have already used this Upgrade Scroll in a previous loop. You cannot use it again.]
[To upgrade your skill, you need Skill Upgrade (Level 2) Scroll.]
[You have already used this candy in a previous loop. You cannot use it again.]
"...What?"
The result was completely disappointing.
Neither item worked!
In the case of the scroll, he could somehow understand. Since the scroll was now "under-leveled" for his skill, he couldn’t really use it anymore.
However, why did the stat-up candy not work? His dream of becoming the strongest on step one vanished instantly!
While he was distracted by the results, the sound of something wet echoed in his ears. Raive felt pressure coming from his back, making him look down.
And as soon as he did, he found something foreign peeking through his chest. Through his blazer uniform. A silvery-white edge, steeped in the sickening color of red.
The color of his own blood.
"No... way..."
Raive whispered, but since his left lung was pierced, it was barely audible... No, not just his lungs, but even his heart had been cut in half, ensuring that he couldn’t survive.
SLASH!
But as if deeming that wasn’t enough, the assailant waved his hand, causing the sword to cut from the middle of the chest out the left armpit, even cutting off Raive’s entire left arm along with it.
"As expected of a magic sword...!"
A crazed voice echoed as Raive fell forward, slumping into the ground.
A voice too familiar to even mistake for someone else.
Raive could feel everything turning colder. From the tip of his fingers down to the core of his body. As if he was left in an industrial freezer for hours.
A feeling that he couldn’t get used to no matter how many times it happened.
Once again...
’Khamish... You fucking stabbed me twice...!’
Along with intense pain, Raive’s consciousness faded to black.
[User’s Heart had Stopped Beating.]
[Detecting saves... Only one save location is detected. Skipping selection.]
[Auto-Load activating...]
[Success.]
"Hiss...!"
As soon as his consciousness returned, Raive hissed.
He turned towards the back, to where that man stood, and lunged.
"How dare you...!" Raive growled like a mad dog.
He grabbed Khamish by the neck, planning to strangle him. However, the man stepped back, dodging the attack.
"H-Hey, what’s wrong with you?!" Khamish shouted back. "Did you lose your mind?!"
Khamish looked gaunt, but his movement was agile. Faster than even Raive, who was healthier in comparison.
Almost as if his thin appearance was nothing but an illusion.
"Kuh...!"
Realizing that he couldn’t catch up, Raive changed tactics. He turned back and rushed toward where the rewards were, then reached for the handle of the Magic Sword.
"...Huh?"
But the instant he touched the pommel, something felt wrong.
Raive continued to move, but... It wasn’t him who was moving his body. Like he suddenly turned autopilot or something. His body refused any conscious command he gave.
It felt like he was watching a first-person POV cutscene of a game or a movie.
He walked backward, turned, then slashed at the closest target available—Hershey. The little girl, completely taken by surprise, got her head split open in one slash.
Half of it fell to the left, and the other half to the right, before she crumpled to her knees, then fell forward like a puppet with its strings cut.
Unlike what was portrayed in movies, there was no fountain-like splash of blood. It was just brain matter quietly spreading across the white ground, mixing with blood...
A quiet death.
"N-No..." Therese, who was standing right beside her, gasped in disbelief. "NO!"
But before she could move, Raive’s sword swung once more. This time, cutting across the widow’s neck.
It wasn’t a shallow wound either, cutting almost halfway through her windpipe at once.
Blood bubbled out of the wound as she clutched her throat, with more blood surging out of her lips, turning purple. Even if left as is, she was already destined to die.
However...
"HAAA!"
Raive swung the sword again, stabbing the woman’s temple.
In one strike, her body stopped trembling, resulting in an everlasting silence.
"...Bastard!!!"
Only two remained.
But before Raive could turn, he noticed an anomaly.
Half of his body had already frozen solid. He couldn’t move his legs.
In a desperate attempt, he slashed toward the ice, planning to free himself, but as soon as the blade touched the ice, it cracked into a hundred fragments, resulting in Raive losing half of his body along with it.
He fell to the ground, almost like a ragdoll falling over.
"..."
Raive didn’t speak.
He just stared up, straight at the ceiling, watching as a face, colored in a mix of despair, anger, and confusion, appeared. A dark face far from her usual aloof look.
"...Why."
Shymine, the one who neutralized him, looked like she was about to cry. She bit her lip, as if holding back her grief.
Then, she waved her trembling hand once more.
And then...
[Auto-Load activating...]
[Success.]
"..."
Once again, Raive returned to right before the rewards appeared, with the archangel still blabbering away words that lost meaning to him already.
Instead, he recalled what just happened.
His first death: Khamish killed him using the Magic Sword.
His second death was the same, getting slashed by a crazed Khamish wielding the Magic Sword.
Then, finally, just now, he wielded the Magic Sword to kill Hershey and Therese, before getting eliminated by Shymine.
"Phew..."
Raive let out a cold breath.
He couldn’t believe what he just did, but he could recall everything as clear as day.
Staring at Hershey, who looked back with curiosity, then toward Therese, who just nodded slightly with a shy smile... Raive’s heart felt a slight prick.
’That Magic Sword is cursed.’
After experiencing it himself, he was sure of it.
He killed others without the intent to do so. It was an accident, technically, but still, he did it.
He turned to Khamish.
And seeing the man look greedily towards the sword, Raive smiled bitterly.
As soon as the Archangel’s explanation was done, and her figure vanished, Raive spoke.
"Everyone, my foresight just told me the future just now."
To save himself.
To save everyone.
It was time to add more lies upon his lies.