"W-What...is this?"
Ruby was stunned by the sudden turn of events.
She took a step back with a bewildered expression
"What the hell is this?"
The moment she had been longing for, the point in time she had been dreaming of coming back to every day for the past years, was unfolding before her eyes.
"Is this... a dream?"
That was the first possibility that Ruby thought of as she stared blankly at the scene for a while.
But she had just pierced her heart and committed suicide moments ago.
If she were dead, there was no way she could be dreaming.
"Is this hell? Is this my own personal hell ...? Or... Am I experiencing my memories before I die?"
Immediately, other conjectures came to her mind.
Could this place actually be hell or purgatory that showed her the moment of her biggest regret?
If not, was she seeing a fantasy before her last breath?
Congratulations on Clearing the Quest!
Ending 999 - Corruption of the Hero
However, such thoughts quickly dissipated as a simple message popped up before her eyes.
"This...?"
Touching the System Window in front of her, Ruby murmured with a pale expression.
"It's real."
She knew it well from occasionally summoning it when bored, bouncing, and playing around with it.
This texture, this responsiveness, and the feeling of something gradually disappearing from her body.
"...Could this be... reality?"
The emergence of the System meant one thing: what Ruby was experiencing now was not punishment in hell or purgatory, nor was it a hallucination.
"T-then..."
As her mind raced, Ruby's eyes widened.
-Thump, thump, thump...
At the same time, her heart began to race like crazy.
"Could it be..."
The moment when Frey chose corruption in her place...
No, it was the one wish she had been wishing for every single moment since the moment she did not accept the Purification quest.
But she knew very well that it could never come true, so she made that earnest wish that she had only dreamed of.
She didn’t know why, but she had a feeling that her wish had come true at this very moment.
Ending the Path of Pretender System.
"L-let's just confirm it first. Let's check–"
Grabbing her pounding heart, Ruby dismissed the System Window that appeared like before and started running somewhere.
"...!"
And before long, Ruby came to a stop.
"H-Hero?"
"A-are you okay...?"
"G-Guys..."
The faces that she thought she would never see again were right in front of her eyes.
The faces of the Hero Party who had shared life and death with her for the past few years.
"Hero."
"Miss Ruby..."
And even Vener and Aria.
Tears began to well up in Ruby's eyes as she looked at the faces she had sorely missed.
"What is the meaning of this...?"
"Miss Ruby, what did you tell my brother earlier?"
At that moment, Vener, who was thrown out by Ruby, and Aria, who had gone to check on Vener’s condition, asked at the same time.
"G-Guys. Don't you remember...?"
"Huh?"
"That, uh... what happened last time..."
"...?"
As Ruby tremulously questioned them, she had a hunch when she saw their puzzled expressions.
I've returned.
For some reason, she had returned to the past, with her memories intact.
Only me. Only I have returned to the past with my full memories.
Her heart was pounding as if it would burst at any moment.
But it didn't matter.
If her wish had truly been granted, then her heart... no, her own fate didn't matter.
"Help System."
With such thoughts, Ruby called on the Help System in a low voice.
"I have a question."
Since the day Frey got corrupted, the 'Help System' couldn’t be opened no matter what method she tried.
Even after recovering her strength and trying repeatedly, it didn't open.
She had speculated about the reason for a while.
After much contemplation, Ruby concluded that the 'power' needed to open the 'Help System' was lacking in herself, who had become a 'Girl’, and no longer the ‘Demon King’.
That meant, as long as she still had some remnants of her power as the Demon King, she could try asking a question at least once.
In fact, she had asked a question at this moment too before.
Please speak.
"Has... 'retry' appeared in me by any chance?"
As expected, the 'Help System' appeared before her eyes. With a tense expression, Ruby asked the question.
“T-This is a regression, right? Going back to the past–”
That's correct.
"Ah."
The System's straightforward answer cut her off.
Her eyes stared blankly at the text floating in front of her.
You currently possess the unique ability 'Retry.'
"Ah..."
"M-Miss Ruby?"
After giving the answer, the Help System vanished with a buzz, causing Ruby to lose her strength and slump to the ground.
Alarmed by the sudden turn of events, Vener and Aria hurriedly approached Ruby.
“Sniffle... Sob..."
"Wh-why are you crying all of a sudden..."
"W-waaa..."
Tears started streaming down her face as she sat on the ground.
"I’m back..."
"Yes?"
"I really, really came back..."
A miracle had occurred.
The unique ability 'Retry,' which Frey had used countless times to save her and the world, had been bestowed upon her.
The second chance she had longed for had arrived the moment she faced death.
"Thank you..."
Was it a gift from the gods?
Or a jest from the Demon God?
Or perhaps the 'System' itself had intervened?
"Thank you so much..."
Regardless, it didn't matter to her.
“Sob...”
"It's the first time I've seen you cry so sorrowfully, Hero..."
"How much suffering have you endured until now..."
The fact that she had been given a second chance was more important than anything.
"S-so... what now..."
After crying herself out on the ground, she finally managed to pull herself together.
-Step, step...
Suddenly, footsteps were heard from in front of them, and at the same time, Ruby's expression started to stiffen.
"Hello there."
Because she had forgotten due to the shock and the excitement of her regression.
"Members of the Hero Party."
"...?"
At this point, Frey had already fallen into corruption.
"Ah..."
Ruby’s expression turned grim at the sight of the Demon King.
Unlike the previous cycle where he vaguely remembered her and Aria and stopped his destructive act, this time he was solely focused on his ‘destructive acts’.
"Ugh... F-Frey..."
"Good, finally this damn barrier is lifted."
At first, Ruby thought that if she tried a little harder, Frey would realize something and back off.
During his last moments in the previous cycle, he was clearly wearing an innocent smile like before.
But that was a mistake.
“How... How the hell did this happen...”
"Is this the Hero's Armament? Once, I was deemed as a worthy hero, maybe I can use it..."
- Click...!
"It's actually working. Very good."
After that, Frey mercilessly slaughtered the Empire’s Army, the Hero’s Party, and everyone who tried to go near him right in front of Ruby’s eyes.
There were no hesitant looks or thoughtful expressions like the one that briefly appeared in the last cycle.
In the mansion, where the corpses of countless people piled up like mountains and the smell of blood hung heavy in the air, Frey simply focused on killing someone or dismantling the barrier in the basement.
"Who... are you."
It was only then that Ruby realized.
"WHO ARE YOU!!! YOU BASTARD!!!"
"I'm the Demon King."
The Frey in front of her was not the Frey she wanted to return to.
He was just the Demon King.
"Why... Why on earth..."
Finally, Ruby began to feel a sense of unease in her mind.
Something was definitely missing.
For some reason, it felt like she had missed something she had done in the previous cycle...
It was quite a while ago, and she couldn't remember well because so much had happened.
No, did she actually miss something?
Was it just her own delusion or rationalization?
"Goodbye, former Demon King."
"W-Wait... Frey..."
- Stab...!
"Ugh..."
As she pondered such thoughts, Ruby, with tears streaming down her face, let out a pitiful groan as the Hero’s Armament pierced her heart.
She couldn't resist him.
She had suffered too much damage on the first day of her regression, and she was beaten by him mercilessly after trying futilely to recover his memories.
I'm... really stupid.
"You're quite persistent. Please just die already, you annoying wench."
I was given a second chance... but I failed so foolishly...
With her last strength, Ruby tried to reach out her trembling hands towards Frey.
It was her last attempt before her death.
If she could mimic Frey's actions of frequently touching or tapping her cheek, and if that could awaken his memories, then that would be enough.
Even if she died foolishly here, if she could save Frey who had chosen corruption in her place...
"Disgusting."
"Ah..."
However, the current Frey simply brushed her hand away and looked down at her with a disgusted expression.
"Still... I love you fore..."
Looking at Frey with a remorseful expression, Ruby closed her eyes without even finishing her words.
- Crackle...!
The last thing she felt was the sensation of her body being torn apart by Frey’s ferocious sword strike.
Frey, now the Demon King yet wielding the Hero’s Armament, would no longer need to fear anyone and could easily tear the world asunder, truly bringing about its destruction.
- Crackle...!
Then she felt her world spinning.
"Huh."
And she opened her eyes again,
"I love you forever, Ruby."
Now, the same scene unfolded before her eyes for the third time.
"..."
Waking up again immediately after death, Ruby stared blankly at the Frey, who was tied up to a chair and just had accepted the Corruption Quest.
Congratulations on Clearing the Quest.
Ending 999 - The Corruption of the Hero
"Ha, hahaha....."
After confirming the message for the third time, she collapsed in front of Frey and burst into a hollow laughter.
"Hahahahahaha, hahahahahahaha..."
She just realized.
Retry: 2nd Round
"Ha ha... ha..."
Retry was a miracle, but at the same time, it was also a curse.
She couldn't even imagine how many regressions she would go through, how many tragedies, how many bad endings she would face in the future.
"..."
Thanks to this realization, the former Demon King almost collapsed in an instant.
But soon, she composed herself, and with a slightly trembling but determined expression, she whispered to the bound Frey, holding him in her arms.
"Is this how you feel?"
"..."
"Then if I keep trying like you did... someday, I'll reach you too, won't I?"
"Ughh..."
"I love you, Frey."
And so, time passed, and began to flow again.
.
.
.
.
.
On a particularly warm morning, at an inn,
- Click...
"Are you here for dining or lodging?"
The innkeeper shouted out cheerfully towards a woman covered in a robe.
"Both."
"Yes! Here's your room key! And what would you like to eat?"
Receiving the key from the innkeeper, the guest replied in a subdued voice.
"Rye bread and potato soup."
"Got it!"
As the guest headed quietly towards the dining area with prompt acceptance, the innkeeper scratched his head and muttered.
"But... the order and everything, it feels like I've seen it somewhere before..."
"...Yes?"
"Oh, no, it's nothing!"
After a brief pause, the innkeeper went into the kitchen, leaving the sighing guest behind.
“...”
Until the potato soup and the bread were served, the guest sat with bowed head in a corner of the dining area for quite some time.
"Hello~!"
"...?"
"Excuse me, may I join you?"
That was until someone wearing a robe appeared in front of her.
"...There are plenty of empty seats."
"Oh my..."
As the uncomfortable guest tried to avoid the person in front of her, thinking of them as a peddler or a scammer, the person urgently grabbed the guest's arm.
"It's written all over your face."
"What are you..."
Trying to shake off the grip with a cold expression, the guest froze upon hearing the next words.
"You've just done about ten regressions, haven't you?"
"...!!!!!"
Upon hearing that, the shocked guest widened her eyes in astonishment.
"You, you..."
"How are you? Not so pretentious now, huh? Miss Ruby?"
With a smile, Ferloche partially revealed her face by lifting her robe.
She was directly looking into Ruby’s eyes, who was stunned by the revelation.