I witnessed my own death.

Mary was Sobbing, holding my corpse tightly.

Emily was clinging to Raphne and wailing.

Seeing them like that, Raphne, whose faith in my return wavered, also shed tears.

And I watched it all unfold.

‘...This is more heartbreaking than I thought.' I knew everyone would be sad about my death.

But I didn’t expect the atmosphere to be this grim.

I had only told the truth to Raphne, who might go berserk after I disappear.

‘...No, it’s probably better this way.’ From the culprits’ perspective, seeing Mary and Emily act indifferent despite their friend's death would surely seem suspicious.

Therefore, through this trick, they won’t gain any hints.

I have to resurrect without any reloads.

That means the next victim will be chosen.

Whether the victim will be Mary, Emily, or someone else, only the culprit knows.

It's a painful truth that I have to endure.

So, as a spirit after my death, I watched the people mourning for me.

This is how you quickly clear the event by using a scroll.

"I have something I want to say...."

Found it.

In the game, if Emily dies during this event.

The culprit approaches the character most saddened by Emily's death and says the following: ‘The Child of Prophecy killed her. You have to find her.’

‘In the game, Emily died, and I didn't understand why they needed to find the Child of Prophecy...'

But now, looking back, it was all a ploy to find Raphne.

They manipulate someone driven by vengeance over a death to hunt down the Child of Prophecy.

And that's how they plan to take possession of the Child of Prophecy once discovered.

Just like the previous loop event and this current one.

The Demon King's Army is truly vile, to the point of being nauseating.

The one who tortures Emily with scissors, savouring her pain.

The one who exploits the sorrow of someone grieving a loved one's death.

Fuelled by rage, I gleaned a crucial hint and quietly awaited my resurrection.

However.

An unexpected variable emerged.

“…The Child of Prophecy is… me.” That was what Emily conveyed to Mary when they went to join forces.

Unlike in the game, where my death occurred, there was another disruption, another Child of Prophecy, Emily, remained alive.

The Demon King's Army wouldn't have known.

That Emily is also a Child of Prophecy.

With that, Mary realized the identity of the culprit.

As the icy shards and dust began to settle, another figure started to emerge.

‘Whew, I barely managed to block it with this sword made from the Dragon Bone…’ Ken shook his hand, feeling the sting from Siegfried's powerful strike.

And at that moment, Mary could hardly believe her eyes.

“…Ken, is that you?” Her voice trembled with disbelief.

‘It couldn't be true.

Maybe it was just someone who looked like him.

But the familiar, cherished voice reached her ears unmistakably.’

Mary clutched onto the slender hope before her.

Even if it was a rotting rope, she wanted to grasp onto any sliver of hope.

Responding to her desperate hope, the man turned and smiled warmly.

"I'm sorry, Mary.

I was away for a while." And then, Mary threw herself into his arms.

Thud.

"M-Mary?" The sturdy reality of being held by him felt so real.

If this was a dream, she never wanted to wake up.

But his tender touch reassured her that this wasn’t just a dream.

"Ken!

Sob, Keeen!

It's really you, Ken, right?

Sob, Ken, you’re alive, right?" With tears streaming down her face, Mary looked up at him.

As her prayers, which she had always hoped were dreams, were answered, the pain that had gnawed at her heart turned into tears of relief, soaking the ground.

And Ken responded to her questions with a smile.

"Yes, I'm truly alive.

So, please don't cry anymore."

"Sob, Keeen...

Ken..." With those words, Mary’s tension melted away and she collapsed to the ground.

She sobbed uncontrollably in his arms.

And as the smoke cleared, another person was watching that scene.

"...Ken.

...Really, ...is it really Ken?" Siegfried's shoulders trembled, finding it hard to believe the transformed appearance.

His face was uncertain as he looked at Ken.

The aura and voice matched the boy he remembered.

But the appearance wasn't the round face he remembered; it was long and sturdy.

However, contrary to Siegfried’s doubts, the boy in front of them smiled and answered in a familiar voice.

“Surprised?

Don’t worry.

I’m not some kind of ghost.

...Besides.” His gaze shifted elsewhere.

At the end of that gaze was Elise, who had been hiding behind a tree and watching the scene.

Realizing what that look meant, Siegfried urgently blocked Ken’s line of sight.

“No, Ken!

Elise wouldn’t do something like that!

There must be some kind of misunderstanding!” Ken effortlessly blocked even Siegfried’s full-powered strike.

This strength was on a whole different level compared to their training sessions.

If Ken were to threaten Elise now, Siegfried wasn’t confident he could protect her.

To reassure Siegfried, Ken reached out his hand as if to calm him down.

“It’s alright.

She’s not the culprit.” Ken gently set Mary aside and stood up.

“But the culprit is attached to Elise.” Ken’s eyes sharpened.

With his senses heightened, Siegfried turned to look at Elise.

“S-Sieg...” Tears welled up in her eyes as she started calling his name the moment their eyes met.

"No, no!

It's really not me!

They're lying!

Sieg, you'll believe me, right?" She pleaded tearfully, expressing her fear and hoping that at least her childhood friend would trust her.

Siegfried's hand, gripping the Black Blade, trembled at her sight.

His clenched fist was filled with strange emotions.

Behind him, Ken watched worriedly and called out to him.

"Senior..." Knowing what Elise meant to him, Ken readied himself for a potentially hostile situation.

But Siegfried did not direct his blade at Ken.

"S-Sieg?"

"I believe Ken." His eyes, sharp as a wolf's, turned to Elise.

They burned with rage.

"I don't know who you are, but...

to use Elise to commit such acts." Ken, standing behind, shivered at the massive fury and the killing intent emanating from Siegfried.

And Elise, who faced that intense energy head-on, erased her fearful expression.

"...Ah."

Shaaack!

Black Liquid erupted around her.

It enveloped her and began to grow in size.

The black liquid formed into a giant creature.

"…How vexing, …Ah, how vexing.

…How are you still alive, human." The creature spoke in a peculiar, resonant human voice.

"…What on earth is that?" Mary, who had been sitting in shock, stood up, feeling a wave of tension.

"Ken, help us.

…What should I do?" Siegfried, facing the creature with killing intent, gripped the Black Blade and asked Ken.

Ken adjusted his hold on the Bone Sword.

"Elise-senior should have a new accessory on her body.

You need to destroy it.

…But." Ken didn't have much time.

It needs to be finished in a single blow.

Ken saw two accessories on Elise.

A necklace and a ring.

"Which one of the two accessories is the Enchanted Ornament?" The Enchanted Ornament randomly generated in this event.

In the game, the Ornament would always attach itself to a character close to Emily, so it was easy to identify which one it was at first glance.

But Ken couldn't tell which of the two accessories was the real one.

"It's fine," Siegfried, who had taken his stance, told the hesitant Ken.

"Just clear the way...

I'll destroy the Ornament."

"Are you sure?

You've used a lot of energy just now..."

"It doesn't matter." At Siegfried's growling response, Ken fell silent and focused on the enemy before him.

Siegfried was seething with a great fury.

Even if he didn't have teeth, he would kill his enemy with his gums if he had to.

"Mary!

Help us!"

"...Got it!" At Ken's signal, Mary released a burst of cold air, creating ice pillars on either side of the Black Liquid.

Shiiing!

The Black Liquid's body began to freeze upon touching the ice pillars.

"...So resentful, so resentful.

...Contemptible humans.”

Shwaaash!

The attacked Black Liquid forced its body to spew out multiple streams of liquid.

Like mud, the liquid quickly surged towards Siegfried.

Ken stepped in front to block it.

“Haap!”

Whack!!

With one powerful swing, Ken scattered the dozens of streams into dust with a strong gust of wind.

“Thank you, Ken, Mary.” Sieg, who was in a ready stance, then focused his magic into his legs.

With explosive leg strength, Siegfried launched himself forward, shattering the ground beneath him as he rushed towards the enemy.

His form thinned like a streak of dark light as he swiftly closed in on the Black Liquid.

“...So resentful...”

Shwaaaash!!

His blade cleaved the liquid body in two.

Maintaining his momentum, Siegfried grabbed the unconscious Elise from within the liquid.

'...This is it!' Immediately, he removed the ominous ring from her left ring finger.

Gulp.

Black Liquid flowed out of the ring again, attempting to cover Elise.

“…Ken!!

Catch it!!” But before the liquid could touch Elise, Siegfried swiftly swung his hand.

The flying ring was precisely intercepted by Ken.

“…Hup!" Ken struck the ring without missing.

Crack.

The ring shattered into pieces.

“…Ah, …Ahh, …Ah.”

With the destruction of the ring, the voice, as if a transmission signal had been cut off, reverberated.

The body of the creature disintegrated into black droplets and evaporated into the air.

‘…Thank goodness.

We finished in time.’ They annihilated it in one swift motion.

It would have been troublesome if they had made a mistake and exceeded the time limit.

"Alright, then.”

Pook.

As Ken turned to assess the situation, something small wrapped around his waist.

Mary buried her face into Ken's chest and remained still.

Her shoulders were trembling.

She was probably crying.

“…I’m sorry.

You've been through a lot, haven't you?”

“…Sob, how can you, sob, say that…” Mary’s thin arms held him tight.

It was an embrace filled with her wish to never lose anyone again and to never let go.

Her trembling shoulders and warm body heat.

“Please, Sob, never, …never disappear again.” Ken smiled and placed his hand on her head.

Grrr...

“Ah.”

“……”

Suddenly, a stomach growled.

Ken scratched his head and laughed sheepishly.

“…Um, can we eat first?”

Hearing this, Mary, who had been crying, “…Pfft.”

Laughed without even wiping her tears away.

Feeling the reality that Ken had returned.

A little after Mary ran out of the dormitory.

Emily, who was debating whether she should chase after her, eventually sat by the window, staring blankly at the darkened sky.

She had felt a surge of vengeful anger upon hearing Mary's story.

But in the end, it was all just rumours.

The ridiculous story that the Child of Prophecy had killed Ken.

And the main character of that story was none other than herself.

‘…Ken.’ Feeling the futility of it all, Emily just kept staring at the sky.

The last words she had said to him kept replaying in her mind.

While wasting away in such regretful thoughts.

Tap.

Tap.

Something small tapped on the window.

Naturally reacting to the sound, Emily turned her gaze to see what was tapping on the window.

Upon confirming the unbelievable sight, Emily, ignoring the rational voice telling her it couldn't be, rushed out the door in search of one last hope.

He was dead.

Yet, Emily's expression, as she rushed down the stairs in a trance-like state, was almost as if she were possessed.

A complex mix of disbelief and hope showed on her face.

Arriving urgently on the first floor, she opened the main gate and moved to the back of the dormitory, underneath her room.

“…Oh, were you… surprised?”

“…K-Ken.” There he was, awkwardly smiling and waving at her.

The very image she had prayed and wished for so desperately was right before her eyes.

‘Even if I’m going mad… it’s alright.’ Tears streamed down Emily's face as she stared at him in shock.

“Ken… K-Ken.” Reaching out with trembling hands, she moved closer to him.

“Keeeeen!!” She rushed into his arms.

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