Five Time Regressor Walks the King’s Path - Chapter 13
Chapter 13
Now I realized the demon king’s intentions.
The reason why he didn’t run away and even brought the warrior here.
The demon king didn’t want to die, so he handled the warrior himself and eliminated the only way to kill him.
“Who’s the one laughing now?”
The demon king wore a smile that seemed truly worthy of his title.
As soon as he had nothing left to fear, he transformed into a real demon king.
A lump of black ki was formed around him.
“You can’t kill me unless you’re a warrior, thus I’ll never die from you. Then, if you fight with me, will you be able to beat me?”
I was absent minded for a moment when I saw the demon king looking triumphant.
My mind wasn’t working properly because a variable had exploded in an unexpected place.
‘Should I give up on clearing this?’
“Die.”
And the moment the demon king’s energy arrows rained onto me, I hit him onto the floor.
The ki arrows were already sliced by my sword, and blood veins stood out on my face.
“Keuhak.”
After downing the demon king, I lifted the Heavenly Star Sword.
“You’re the one who made me angry first.”
“I’m the one who’s angry!”
The demon king made some noise, but he wasn’t qualified to be angry.
Why was he mad at me after he killed the warrior?
Fine, I knew it was impossible for me to topple the demon king.
The only way to kill him, the warrior, was already dead.
Instead…
“I’m going to smash the demon king’s castle.”
“What?”
As the demon king stood shocked, I raised my sword.
If killing the demon king doesn’t work, my only option is to smash the entire castle and release him.
“This is what I can do as Villager 1.”
“You’re crazy.”
My sword moved in a half-moon shape.
Cracks appeared in the air from a sword that moved as if it were cutting the world, and simultaneously, the walls of the castle began to split in half, collapsing.
Fifth Form—
Intangible Lightning Death.
Spark. The spark that splashed between the cracks rang out.
In the collapsing castle, I smiled, and the demon king frowned.
“Villager 1!!!!”
And the howl of the demon king echoed.
* * *
I collapsed the demon king’s castle and exited while sighing.
Aside from destroying the castle, the biggest problem now was that I lost the warrior that could kill the demon king.
Even if the demon king was nothing much, he couldn’t be killed.
It was like saying that ‘The One and Only Warrior’ could not be cleared.
It became the worst of the worst situations.
‘Damn it, isn’t there another way?’
I returned to town, stroking my beard-covered chin.
[You are becoming ‘Villager 1’. Erosion rate: 9%]
I felt at home in the village.
Frowning at the rising erosion rate again, I was lost in thought.
This was not the time to care about the erosion rate.
‘I don’t intend to give up the Floor. If I give up, I’ll receive a penalty and be unable to challenge Floor 23 for a week.’
A week is a long time.
I somehow had to find a way to clear this challenge, or at least a way to clear it without issue if I did restart a week later.
The warrior died.
But what was a warrior?
A warrior is a being that knocks down the demon king.
If so, isn’t the one to topple the demon king a warrior?
Seeing myself doing something like a syllogism, I squeezed my chin.
There is always an expedient in clearing Floors.
Even with the warrior dead, I didn’t receive the ‘failed to clear’ notice.
Meaning, there’s another expedient prepared by ‘The Spirit of All Things’.
In the first place, the clear condition was defeating the demon king, not finding a warrior to do so.
Unexpected situations happen all the time, and I’ve been through situations like this before.
‘Is there really only one warrior?’
I began to focus on a different point of view.
As I said before, a warrior is a being that destroys the demon king.
If so, the existence that toppled the demon king was a warrior, which meant anyone could be called a warrior.
In other words, wouldn’t it be best to find a man who could be called a warrior, and raise him to defeat the demon king?
‘It makes sense.’
Convincing myself, I slowly began to look around.
In an ordinary village, on a normal road where people passed by, I began to look for a man who could become a warrior.
If possible, finding one who’s willing and held the ambition of becoming a warrior in the past.
“You punk! I finally found you!”
“Ah, Father, really. You keep bothering me.”
At that moment, a familiar voice entered my ears.
Turning my head, I found the delinquent who led me to the castle on the other side of the street. He was being scolded by his bald father, with his hands in his pockets.
“What are you going to be when you grow up? I still remember a young boy smiling brightly, wanting to become a warrior when they grew up.”
“Why the hell are you bringing up old stuff?”
“Hell? Stop fucking around. How dare you curse in front of an adult! I should just set your tongue on fire.”
At his father’s cruel words, the delinquent covered his mouth with a squeak.
For some reason, I had a feeling that this father would’ve really burned the delinquent’s tongue at least once.
Anyway…
‘When he was young, he wanted to be a warrior.’
When we met before, he kept talking about aspiring warriors.
Looking closely, I think he still desires to be a warrior.
‘Was it a coincidence that I met him when I first came in?’
The Constellations control everything on the Floor.
Coincidence is also the intention of the Constellations, and their intention is a factor in the clearing of all Floors.
‘Coincidence? No way.’
That guy is another plot device created by the Constellation.
“Hey.”
“Oh, Big Bro!”
When I called out to the delinquent, he looked at me and bowed his head at a 90 degree angle.
“Did you go to the demon king’s castle?”
“Yeah, I destroyed it.”
“Haha, I see.”
This guy, does he think I’m joking?
“Hey, what’s your name?”
“Huh? It’s Sohon.”
“Yeah, Sohon, don’t you want to be a warrior?”
The eyes of Sohon turned round when he heard me.
As if he was thinking, ‘what is this person talking about?’
Looking at such a soul, the corners of my mouth curled up.
“I’ll make you into one. A warrior.”
“A war…rior?”
“Yes, you wanted to be a warrior.”
A dream that children would have dreamed of at least once.
Just now I was convinced by what this guy’s father said.
Sohon wanted to be a warrior.
However, because it was his fate to become a delinquent, he gave up and accepted his destiny.
“Big Bro, stop saying strange things.”
But an unexpected answer came back.
“What do you mean strange?”
“Let’s say you made me into a warrior. What need is there for a warrior when there’s no villain, no demon king?”
“No, that’s…”
That’s true.
I inadvertently agreed.
Even in the memory of ‘Villager 1’, the demon king was always a pacifist.
Of course, he deliberately created peace because he didn’t want the warrior to kill him, but it was right that the current world was peaceful enough that a warrior was unnecessary.
‘Hm, so that’s how it is.’
I, who was briefly lost in thought with my arms crossed, soon nodded.
Fine.
“Wait here. I’ll be right back.”
“What? Okay.”
Leaving behind the dazed Sohon, I turned around and made my way back to the demon king’s castle.
Seeing monsters here and there doing construction to rebuild the demon king’s castle, I entered with leisurely steps.
“Who are you?! This is the residence of the demon king, the Four Heavenly Kings…”
After killing the new Four Heavenly Kings that blocked my path, I opened the door of the demon king’s room and entered.
There, the demon king sat on the throne and he seemed to be shocked by my appearance.
“You again! Again!”
“Long time no see.”
“Long time no see, my ass!”
The demon king yelled.
Did he swallow the engine of a train?
I cut down the demon king again.
“Eek, Eek!”
But again, the demon king was restored.
In the instant the black particles were shot at me, I skillfully sliced them all up.
The demon king frowned when his blows did not work, and I raised my sword with a smile.
“N-No! Not the castle!”
“I will.”
“Do you know how hard it is to rebuild it? I’ve finally rebuilt the frame!”
“I don’t know. Build it again.”
I stopped with those words, standing tall just before bringing my sword down.
Then, I looked back at the demon king with a smile, and when his eyes met mine, he trembled.
“I can bring the castle down at any time.”
“And I can do it every day.”
When I uttered these words, the demon king’s eyes shook wildly.
He really thought I would do it.
“You will lose your abode. Every day. And since you won’t die, I’m going to persistently cut you. That way, your daily life will be ruined.”
I kept threatening him, with scenarios that would make it seem like hell from the demon king’s perspective.
“I will make it so being alive is not living for you.”
“W-Wait, wait! What do you want from me?! What on earth do you want, to say such a cruel thing?!”
“Wow, this is so easy. We’re on the same wavelength. As expected of the demon king.”
When I saw the demon king kneeling on the floor, seemingly begging, I smiled slyly.
And I kneeled down to meet him at eye level.
“Mobilize the demon king’s army.”
“…The demon king’s army? For what?”
“The warrior is dead. Is there any reason to keep the peace now?”
“No, but the current situation is not bad, so why should I?”
I held my sword.
“I’ll do it! I’ll do it! I’ll definitely do it! Oh, the desire to conquer is boiling! I feel like I’m back in my youth!”
“There you go. There you go.”
I applauded the active demon king.
“Then start today.”
“I-I have to restore the castle of the demon king today.”
“Would you like to restore it tomorrow, restore it the next day, and still restore it a week later?”
“I’ll do it right away.”
Yeah, you should’ve done that sooner.
Smiling, satisfied with the demon king’s answer, I walked out of the demon king’s castle while waving.
Perhaps because I killed the Four Heavenly Kings with a single blow, the demon king’s army was startled and moved out of the way.
“I’m hungry.”
Returning to the village, I mumbled and touched my stomach.
I had to find and raise Sohon quickly, but as always, eating came first.
[You are becoming ‘Villager 1’. Erosion rate: 11%]
But that thought only increased my erosion rate.
The erosion rate troubled me, as it naturally rose whenever I ate food and thought of my hometown.
The rising erosion rate was at 11% today.
In simple calculations, after ten days, I would completely become ‘Villager 1’.
“Damn it.”
It was a troubling mental contamination.
“Sohon.”
“Yes, Big Bro?”
Immediately after I ate, I found Sohon and snapped my fingers at him.
“The demon king began to move.”
“What? You mean, the demon king?”
“Breaking news!”
When Sohon tilted his head strangely, a man jumped toward us and shouted.
He ran desperately, scattering the papers around. I picked up a newspaper and looked through it.
And when he handed the newspaper to Sohon, his eyes slowly began to grow bigger.
“Big Bro?”
“What?”
“It says the demon king suddenly began activities. The neighboring country has already been conquered…”
“I told you. I will turn you into a warrior.”
“…Did you do it?”
“No, I didn’t do anything special.”
‘I threatened to destroy the castle of the demon king.’
And it was the demon king who accepted it and moved on his own.
“But isn’t there a warrior already? Do you have any reason to make me a warrior?”
“There isn’t.”
“What?”
“There isn’t one. The demon king killed him.”
The eyes of Sohon turned round when he heard me.
And soon he began to look over the newspaper in haste, stopping at the phrase ‘Where is the warrior?’
“That’s why I came to see you. I thought you could be a warrior.”
“You mean me? But I’m just a local delinquent.”
“You’re not just a delinquent. You’re a delinquent who dreamed of becoming a warrior. I’ll make it happen. I’m going to make you into a warrior.”
Sohon’s expression changed strangely when I gently seduced him.
“You know that a warrior marries a princess, right? You can do it, too. You can obtain both wealth and women.”
[You are becoming ‘Villager 1′. Erosion rate: 13%]
As soon as the princess was mentioned, the rate of erosion rose.
In his memory, the princess had a very beautiful appearance and was a woman revered as a saint.
At the mention of marriage to a princess, the delinquent coughed.
He also showed such a reaction because he knew the princess.
“It’s great to be admired by people and marry a princess. Don’t you think so?”
“But can I really be a warrior?”
“It’s possible. You have talent, young man.”
“I have talent? What kind of talent…”
“You have a dream. A dream of becoming a warrior. That’s what talent is. No one is more talented than a dreamer.”
I pressed my fist against Sohon’s chest.
“Believe in your dreams. You can do it.”
Of course, it was just nonsense.
