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Whiiiing!
The bodies of Beelzebub and Mammon, turning to ashes, began to scatter in the mountain winds.
Ian continued to watch the pitiful sight of those who had ruined his family and tried to trap him using the barbarians.
"Aaaaargh!"
"Are these the souls of the dead? They must be the ones Beelzebub absorbed."
Countless souls flying into the air, seemingly endless, showed just how many had been absorbed.
'With so many absorbed, no wonder he reached the rank of Demon King.'
The souls that were not only killed but also exploited. There was no need to watch, but…
Ian steadfastly stayed in place.
It wasn't to honor their souls.
'You never know what might happen. There's no harm in being cautious.'
Who could tell? Some of those lost souls might come out and cause chaos.
After such a commotion, it was necessary to prevent further disturbances.
"Aaaaah!"
At that moment, as he watched the black souls wail and fly into the air…
"I… How did I get this far! So close to destroying Volkanov, only for it to end like this!"
A woman's soul, emitting a sinister aura, began to emerge.
Ian recognized her appearance.
"Asmodeus?"
He blinked, thinking he might have seen wrong. But it was undoubtedly Asmodeus.
Ian knew her appearance well, having killed her countless times while playing the original game.
The soul of the Demon King emerging after defeating Beelzebub?
'Was there internal conflict among the demons? So, Beelzebub and Mammon were planning to use her to escape.'
Asmodeus, the master of succubi, used her ability to enter dreams for pseudo-teleportation.
Beelzebub's power included the additional effect of using the abilities of those he absorbed. They must have planned to use that.
'After moving to the Demon Realm, they would inform the demons of Neltalion's resurrection and plan a joint attack.'
Of course, that was now impossible.
They lost their lives before even setting foot in the Demon Realm. The remaining Demon Kings wouldn't learn about Neltalion's existence.
With a smirk, Ian watched Asmodeus scream.
"No! I don't want to die yet!"
Was it because she had reached the rank of Demon King? Unlike the other souls flying into the air, she maintained her form and stubbornly resisted.
'If this continues, it might cause problems…'
As the head of his family, it was better to prevent threats in advance. Besides, it would be a chance to avenge those who tried to destroy his family.
Crunch!
"Aaaaah! Guh! Let go! Let go!"
"Still don't know your place, huh? I'd love to take my time and make you suffer, but…"
He didn't choose to keep her alive for long.
She was practically the root cause of his ruined life. Why put in the effort?
Instead, he would use everything at his disposal to make her departure painful.
"Ether."
"Ah, it hurts! It hurts! It hurts!"
After summoning the celestial power, he crushed her body, which emitted a piercing scream.
"Aaaaah! No! Stop! Stooop!"
Using her pleas for mercy as a requiem, he squeezed harder.
"Aaaaah!"
Whoooosh!
When the soul in his hand finally turned to smoke and vanished, no more screams were heard.
At the same time, a system message popped up quickly.
[The beings of the abyss targeting you have disappeared.]
[Emergency quest completed! You have discovered part of the hidden secret!]
'I get to see it right away this time too…'
He would have preferred to confirm it in a more comfortable place.
With the oncoming tide of fatigue, Ian could only close his eyes.
***
His flickering vision soon calmed, and Ian found himself lying on a cold wooden floor.
'A familiar ceiling.'
At first, Ian thought he was seeing things and turned his head from side to side. However, it was clear that this place was familiar to him.
Not only the cold that made his body tremble and the familiar scent, but also the man lying on the bed with his eyes closed helped confirm it.
'He looks about eight years old. His face is exactly like mine. So…'
Was this the room Ian lived in as a child?
Judging by the size difference from Ian's room in the Blue Moon Pavilion, it was likely the room he stayed in during his childhood.
Leaving the sleeping young Ian behind, he looked around.
'Nothing has changed.'
The room was sparse, with only basic furniture. The interior was quite similar to the one in the Blue Moon Pavilion, but the room was much smaller.
After taking a quick look around, Ian sat on the worn-out desk.
'What secret am I supposed to find here?'
He watched the young Ian lying down with his arms crossed, but nothing changed.
Since the system didn't lie, he was sure he would uncover a hidden secret here. But what could it be?
'Could it be that I have to figure it out myself this time, unlike before?'
He even speculated that he might need to search for hidden clues, like in an escape room.
Just when he was entertaining such random thoughts, there was a knock at the door.
Knock! Knock!
"Brother… Are you asleep?"
A young girl's voice came from outside the door.
'The only one who would call Ian "brother" is Ariel…'
As if to confirm Ian's thoughts, young Ian, who had his eyes closed until a moment ago, suddenly got up and opened the door.
There stood Ariel, clutching a tattered deer doll to her chest.
"You weren't asleep… Thank goodness!"
Ariel jumped up and down with a smile, as if something made her very happy. Young Ian approached her with a faint smile.
"Are you going to sleep here again tonight?"
"Yes… Is that okay?"
"You should start sleeping on your own now. You're almost seven years old."
"But… I heard Mom and Dad shouting. It's scary."
Hugging her deer doll tightly, Ariel looked up at Ian with a pitiful expression.
"Just for tonight! I'll sleep alone starting tomorrow."
Ian, as if he had no choice, let her into the room. He gently placed Ariel, who clung to him, on his bed.
"Hehe."
Ariel's relieved smile made Ian pat her head.
"You're that happy?"
"Yeah! I like it because I'm not scared when I sleep with you!"
The atmosphere between the siblings, relying on a single candle, was warm.
'But…'
The Ian observing them let out a wry laugh.
Ariel's attitude was completely different from the usual one where she despised him.
Seeing this, they seemed like close siblings. What could have happened to make their relationship so strained now?
'No, according to the diary, my relationship with Ariel wasn't good from a young age. So this must be a scene from the past?'
After defeating Lilith, Ian discovered that he had regressed.
Therefore, what he was seeing now must be from before his regression.
'Still, I don't understand.'
Since pondering alone wouldn't solve anything, Ian decided to focus on their conversation.
At that moment, Ariel was chattering away.
"Hey, today I learned how to use a spear from Sister Celia?"
"Really? I'm curious how you did it."
"How I did it was…"
At Ian's question, Ariel jumped up from the bed, stretched her arms out, and mimicked swinging a spear, then giggled.
"I swung a wooden spear this big! Sister said I did well and praised me! She said I have talent!"
"That's amazing, Ariel. You might become an even better spearman than Celia."
"Really? Hehe, but I want to use a sword well like you, Brother!"
"When you grow up… Ariel, you'll use a sword better than me. So don't worry."
After some time, Ariel, who had been talking enthusiastically, started to blink sleepily.
"Yawn."
She let out a big yawn, and Ian covered her with a blanket.
"It's getting late. Let's sleep now."
"Wait a minute. I still have more to say."
"Really? What is it?"
"You know… last night, I had a strange dream."
"A strange dream?"
"Yes. I met a girl dressed in white, and she said I would become a hero! And she told me that if I defeat the bad people, she would grant me one wish."
"…A girl dressed in white."
For a moment, Ian's demeanor changed significantly.
"Um? What's wrong, Brother?"
Ariel sensed something was off and tilted her head quizzically, but Ian had already masked his expression.
"It's nothing. So, what wish did you make?"
"I wished to be happy!"
"To be happy?"
"Yes! I asked for Mom and Dad to stop fighting and for us to live happily! And then the girl in the dream said that the happier I am, the stronger I'll become, and that I have to defeat the bad people to make it happen! She said she'd make us happy if I did that."
"Really? Then we should train hard so you can defeat the bad people. Shall we go to sleep now?"
"Yes! Good night, Brother…."
With those words, the siblings' conversation came to an end.
Ian was stroking Ariel's head as she fell asleep in his arms when he suddenly spoke.
"You can come out now, Elysion."
With a completely different tone, Ian addressed the empty air.
As soon as Ian finished speaking, the mana in the atmosphere stirred, and a woman with white hair, Elysion, emerged from Ariel's body.
"I… I'm not sure where to start."
Elysion fidgeted nervously, unable to stand still, while Ian stared intently at her.
"Just tell me. Did it fail again?"
"Yes… When Ariel, who was injured, retreated from the front lines for treatment, the demons targeted the family… I'm sorry. I didn't anticipate that the demons had infiltrated the family."
"Is that so? I thought it was strange for the timeline to reset."
"I'm sorry. I tried to stop it."
Elysion bowed her head, ready to apologize deeply, but Ian just shook his head.
"With the Hero who can wield the Holy Sword fallen, there's nothing you can do. You don't need to feel guilty."
"But… Are you okay? You've already repeated your life several times. Your mind must be on the verge of breaking."
"I'm still okay. I can bear it."
Ian grimaced, holding his head. Even just watching, it was clear how intense his pain was.
After maintaining his breathing for a while, he managed to regain his composure.
"So, the plan to attack the Demon God before the demons are fully prepared has failed as well."
"But it's not as if we gained nothing. While you were attacking the Demon God, someone from the demon side offered to help us."
"That person you mentioned before?"
"Yes. According to him, there's a way for Ariel to become stronger than she is now. It will be tough, but if we use that method, it might end your cycle of regression."
"Then we need to prepare as soon as possible."
His unfocused eyes warned that he was not in a normal state, but Ian clenched his fists and endured.
"Two more times. I don't think my mind can hold out beyond that."
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