Chapter 51: Regret

[00 Months: 01 Days: 13 Hours]

Jeff's mind swirled with memories as he stood before his paralyzed comrades, his heart heavy with the weight of his past, as well as his current actions.

The flickering natural lights in the Dungeon's Boss Room cast eerie shadows across his face, emphasizing the lines etched deep by years of struggle. He took a deep breath, his voice trembling as he began to speak.

"I... I need to apologize," Jeff's voice wavered, his eyes darting from one frozen face to another. "I've been lying to all of you. Keeping this secret... it was tearing me apart."

His mind wandered back to the day his life had changed forever. The image of his wife, the love of his life, lying cold and lifeless, haunted his thoughts. The void she left behind, both in his heart and in their daughter's life, had driven him to desperate measures.

"I was just an office clerk, a nobody," Jeff's voice cracked with a mix of sadness and determination. "But when my wife died... I had to become everything for my little girl. I had to provide, protect... no matter what."

The memory of sleepless nights and countless sacrifices flooded his mind. He had fought tooth and nail to scrape together a living for himself and his daughter, navigating a harsh world that showed no mercy.

He had taken on jobs he never thought he would, made choices that tested his very morality.

"I've done things... things I'm not proud of," Jeff's voice trembled with a mixture of regret and conviction. "But I did it all for her. My daughter. She's the only family I have left."

Even now, many years later, he couldn't stop or go back on the promise he made to his dead wife. The pact to always be there for their little girl.

"All I did, even in the Tutorial... it was for her. All those innocent lives that had to be sacrificed. It was all for her sake." He murmured, as if trying to convince himself as much as he tried convincing those who lay before him.

"I... I don't enjoy this. I don't like this. But..."

He glanced at his motionless comrades, his eyes filled with a mix of sorrow and determination.

"I need your 'Currency,' your equipment, your Rewards... for her. I need to ensure her safety, her future. I need to find a way for her not to be consumed by this violence, this new world we're trapped in."

His voice grew more resolute, filled with a determination born out of desperation. "I've found a settlement, a small Inn not far from here. It's a place where she can live, grow up away from all of this. I need to secure her future, and if that means I have to soil my hands, betray those who helped me... then I'll do it."

Jeff's gaze lingered on each of his paralyzed companions, his voice filled with an odd mix of remorse and resolve. "I never wanted any of this. I don't enjoy causing harm or taking lives. But it's necessary, for my only family, for my daughter."

A single tear welled up in the corner of his eye, reflecting the torment within his soul. "I'll find a way, somehow. To give her the life she deserves. To shield her from this darkness."

With a heavy sigh, Jeff's voice lowered to a mere whisper. "I'm sorry. I truly am. But this is the path I have to take... for her."

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'Bullshit!' My thoughts angrily echoed as I did my best to glare at the traitor who was uttering utter nonsense.

'Everything you're talking about is bullshit!'

Just because you needed to help those dear to you, or save their lives, why would you need to take the lives of others?

What did we ever do to deserve it?!

'Just as you have something to protect, I also have something to protect. My own life!'

By actualizing his goal, didn't this fucker realize he was depriving others of their own motivations?

How was that right? How was that just? No... it wasn't.

It was terribly unfair!

'Don't you dare cry and act like you're the victim! You're the criminal here! You're the villain!'

Why... why did I keep finding myself in these kinds of situations? Why was I still encountering people like this?

First Lisa and her friends, and now this man.

'When will you ever learn, Mikey?'

How could I make the same mistake as I did before? Allowing myself to think, even for a moment, that people could actually be decent!

'Fuck! Fuck Fuck!'

I wasn't interested in this man's sob story or his little tragic tale. We all had people we had lost. We all had things we wanted.

'That doesn't mean you should deprive me of my own goals! You fucker!'

In the end, despite my thoughts of anger and desperation, I was unable to do anything. I couldn't move or act, and nothing but anger consumed me.

I could feel all the strong emotions being suppressed by my <Visionary> Title, and the big questions suddenly began to pop into my mind.

'This bastard... how did he do it?!'

I began to hear squelching sounds as Jeff used Byron's blade to behead everyone in his path.

He started from Byron, making his way towards Lu, completely severing her head right in front of me.

I watched her face roll, and I watched the rest of her body bleed without even twitching.

Even though she was so strong, I couldn't believe she could just die without being capable of any resistance.

The next to go was Jesus, and then Daniel. Everyone was dead, and since I was the furthest away from him, he made his way towards me, dragging the heavy, bloodstained blade on the ground like the grim reaper.

'Energy Ball... I can use Energy Ball. I can also use Root... yes! I'm not powerless anymore! I'm not as weak as I was!'

... Or so I thought.

But without being able to call the System Window, or even tapping the icons if they appeared, I was as good as powerless.

In the end, I was just as weak and powerless as I was in the past.

"I'm really sorry, Mikey. You really seem like a good guy." Jeff whispered as he raised the sword that signaled my execution.

'Nothing... nothing has changed!' I could feel tears oozing from my eyes as mucus dripped from my nose.

'N-nothing has... cha—'

~SQUELCH!~

[You Are Dead]

<Dream Sequence Has Ended> Searᴄh the nôvel_Fire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

{Based On Exclusive Skill: <Dream>, your recent experiences have been dissolved into a dream}

<You Will Now Be Returned To The Preset Save Point>

[You Will Now Wake Up]

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[A/N]

Just as Mikey thought he could move forward from the last and make a new independent life for himself, he finds himself stuck in the same loop that haunts him... learning yet the same lesson.

'Never trust anyone!'

What did you think about Jeff and his own motivations, as well as the way everything turned out.