Free Web Novel“Not good—something else is coming this way!”
Rakaide frowned. In the darkness, pairs upon pairs of scarlet eyes emerged, multiplying as they crept closer to their position.
“We’ll hold them off. Buy Vieya and the others as much time as we can.” Menesis said decisively.
“Look... the man who died in front of the Hero’s armor just now—he’s getting back up.”
“What?!”
A bad feeling rose sharply in Menesis’s chest. She turned and saw corpses struggling up from the ground. A terrible thought crossed her mind, and her expression hardened.
“Don’t die here, no matter what! If we die in this place, we’ll become part «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» of Mount Aisa itself!”
Rumble—!
Thunder cracked. Rania brushed aside her rain-drenched violet hair and looked toward Vieya, her tone laced with helplessness. “Even with all my strength, I still can’t break through this space. It’s already full of cracks, but it won’t yield...”
“......”
Vieya said nothing, only turned her gaze toward the ghostly lady with a silent look that clearly meant, I’m counting on you.
Flaviel pressed her lips together in a faint smile. The scene before her seemed to overlap with fragmented memories—years ago, it had been the same. Whenever there was trouble, Vieya always came to her for help, pretending to be lazy.
“We’re such good friends, right? Help me out just this once—after it’s done, I’ll treat you to dinner.”
“Forget dinner. You can take over dishwashing duty instead. For a week.”
“Can I make someone else do it? I’ll assign it as a party task, take turns.”
“No way. You asked me for help, so it has to be you.”
“...Fine. Then at least give me a small perk.”
“Nope. But you can tell me what you want to eat. The Great Magician will make it happen for you~”
Flaviel’s eyes dimmed slightly. Those memories felt like they had happened only yesterday. But every time she came back to her senses, she realized that the people from back then had already gone their separate ways, each returning to their own future and their own time.
They could remember, mourn, struggle, and hurt—but they still kept walking forward, toward the future.
Unlike her, trapped in time. Her so-called “future” was like Tantalus’s fruit from Greek myth—forever out of reach.
Even meeting the person dearest to her heart now required disguise and deceit.
How pathetic I’ve become...
Lowering her eyes, Flaviel whispered, “In Mount Aisa, doors exist everywhere. The Holy Sword is the only key that can open them. That’s why that armor can move freely through any space.”
“So... swing your sword—toward wherever your heart tells you the door lies.”
“......”
Vieya gripped the Holy Sword and took a deep breath, clearing her mind of distractions. In that instant, the mark upon her chest seemed to resonate with the blade in her hand, golden light rippling outward from her body.
Holy Sword, once again—become my strength! Vieya recited in her mind, eyes sharp. Take me back to the time and space where Luna and the others are!
Slash!
“Hmm?”
Rania blinked, staring at the white-haired girl raising the Holy Sword high. That silhouette... seemed to overlap with the image of her teacher in memory.
She shook her head quickly, driving away that blasphemous thought, muttering inwardly, Sinful, sinful...
Her teacher would forever be that invincible figure who bore the world upon her back—not this shameless, compulsively lying, messy, unwed, pregnant white-haired disaster.
Yes. That’s right. Rania convinced herself.
“Haah!”
A golden arc flashed through the void, graceful as a falling meteor.
Vieya swung her sword, cleaving open a rift before them. Through it, the other version of Mount Aisa was visible!
“Go!”
Vieya waved to the two still holding back the villagers and soldiers in the distance. “The path’s open!”
“Move!”
Menesis gritted her teeth, kicking aside a soldier wearing a familiar military uniform and shouting to Rakaide before sprinting toward Vieya’s direction.
At the same time, Rania swung her giant scythe, sending two shockwaves to block the pursuing soldiers and miners.
In the final instant before the rift closed—
Menesis and Rakaide dove through!
The crack sealed shut, and at that same moment, the soldiers and miners stumbled about again, reverting to mindless confusion.
Most of them, after endless cycles of seven-day resets, had long lost their ability to think. Though everything restarted every seven days, they had already regressed into instinct-driven living corpses trapped in perpetual despair.
Except for a rare few whose will still held firm.
......
Traveling between timelines was supposed to be nearly impossible, yet within Mount Aisa, it now felt almost effortless.
After escaping their original timeline, Vieya’s group arrived in another version—a wasteland of ruins, devoid of any human presence.
“This isn’t the one Luna’s party is in. I can’t sense their energy signature anywhere.” Rakaide shook his head.
“......”
Vieya raised the Holy Sword again, recalling Luna and the others’ faces, and slashed once more.
A rift opened!
“Go! We’ll search the next one!”
Rumble—!
Luna unleashed a powerful strike, sending the swarm of miners flying, then glanced back to check on her team’s condition.
“Captain Luna! There are too many of them!” Kare shouted, flames bursting from his fists as he punched through one enemy after another. “They just keep coming—like cockroaches!”
“Fall back!”
Luna commanded steadily. “This area’s bad for defense. We’re relocating. Yuancherin, see if there’s any way to throw off their pursuit. These are just small fry for now, but I suspect there are far smarter monsters hidden in this town—ones like that forest witch.”
Of course, not all of them might be monsters.
“Yes, Captain.”
Yuancherin pulled a vial from her pack and smashed it on the ground. A cloud of colorless, odorless mist spread outward, masking their human scent.
The miners paused briefly—but then, their scarlet eyes refocused on the team!
Useless!
“No good—they seem to have their own internal communication system! We have to vanish from their sight first before the scent-masking agent can work!” Yuancherin said anxiously.
“Retreat...” Luna began, then suddenly her voice sharpened.
“Everyone, be alert! Five hundred meters ahead—something intelligent is observing us. Its intent is hostile. Stay sharp.”
Arc’s face twisted in barely restrained rage. He wanted nothing more than to throw away all restraint and charge in swinging—but he held himself back. ƒrēewebnovel.com
“Captain, this can’t go on! If it keeps up, we’ll be trapped here forever! Maybe we should—”
“Don’t even think about it.” Luna’s voice cut him off like a blade. “We still don’t know the enemy’s numbers or scale. If we split up now, we’ll just be picked off one by one. That’s suicide.” She paused, then ordered:
“Pus—find a way to block their line of sight!”
