The rose is a flower of many colors.
Due to its splendid colors, people tend to ascribe various meanings to different shades.
For example, the blue rose that Pina loves originally symbolized the impossible…
But now it has changed to represent miracles.
‘What if it’s a black rose…? No way.’
But what lay before my eyes was a pitch-black rose.
Death, resentment, hatred… or perhaps…
‘You will forever be mine.’ This flower language was more famous than the others.
The person it indicates could only be one.
Pina Grancia, presumed to be the Demon God.
I couldn’t find her white hair or golden eyes.
Instead, there she was with black hair, her eyes a deep red, as if shedding blood tears.
“What’s going on here─?”
A chilling sensation creeped up my body.
I was about to realize the anomaly and inform the gods, but…
Clang─!!
With the sound of shattering glass, rose vines burst through the status window.
“The Succession System…?!”
Soon, the vines creeping to engulf me began to intertwine.
The rose vines transformed into multiple hands and arms, grotesquely gripping my limbs with strength.
Even trying to pull out my Mind Sword was futile, as my mouth was sealed and my arms restrained.
“The scales of Fantasia are under attack. Who the hell…!”
“…It’s Pina Grancia from another world line. Damn it, I didn’t think it would invade here.”
The God of Wisdom, Akasha, spoke in a frightened tone as she witnessed the scene.
I had a glimpse of what she had written back in the Library of Truth.
A notebook stained with blood.
Originally, it was something I used in the academy dormitory.
What kind of mess did my other self commit for black-haired Pina to be like this?
“She even entered my dreams, breaking my barrier…”
Tardun attempted to draw his weapon to slash the vines holding me, but…
It was just too much.
Even the one called the God of Swordsmanship had no way to deal with it.
“Licht.”
A voice emerged from the vine-like hands tightening around my arms and mouth.
Like a stuck record, it repeated…
“Lichtlichtlicht.”
The name echoed on and on.
Was that a trembling voice I heard? Or was it an empty sound?
From Pina’s other voice, sorrow seeped through.
After subduing the four gods striving to free me…
“….I won’t let you escape this time.”
Her voice became clearer.
An unforgettable sound.
A slightly high-pitched tone, along with a cute giggling laugh.
‘Yep, it really is Pina.’
No matter how much I tried to deny it, the owner of that voice was indeed the Pina I knew.
“Did she share her power with the Magic Sword Horizon…?!”
“That’s why she could invade this space…”
The magic sword that I could never find.
The four gods were screaming that they had already whisked it away.
I was struggling, unable to escape the rose vines.
“I’ll try to fix the Succession System. Maybe I can at least help you escape, Lee Soo-hyun.”
Pantoze crafted a hand out of sand and began patching up the status window.
“It better not be too late…!”
In the meantime, the rose vines were pulling me closer to the opening they came from.
It looked just like when the Demon King of Might used their power.
“Lee Soo-hyun, it’s best if you abandon any thoughts like ‘won’t I be able to win like with the Magic Hat?’”
“…….”
My thoughts had been read.
Even in another world line, perhaps someone like the Nameless Saintess could help me.
“Blanc hasn’t been the Demon God for long but…”
But why?
“That individual has been a Demon God for ten years.”
As soon as Pantoze spoke, a large mouth opened beneath the scales.
A flower with teeth that looked ready to engulf everyone drooled.
“See? So if you meet her… beg her to spare you.”
Pantoze continued, looking down at her feet.
If I begged for my life as someone she loved, maybe she’d show mercy.
“The best case is… not meeting her at all! Lee Soo-hyun.”
After all, since she was on the same level as a higher god, they said there wasn’t much they could do.
Finally, Pantoze finished repairing the status window.
“Licht. Licht. Licht. Where are you? Where are you? Where are you?”
Then came an anxious voice seeping out from the black space.
As I tried to escape using the Succession System, more hands appeared to grip all over my body.
“You have challenged the Grand Route countless times, haven’t you?”
Thud, Pantoze pressed the status window that read [Would you like to start again?].
“25 attempts. And 24 failures.”
At last, my body flickered and glowed golden.
Eyes wide open, I beheld the mirage-like fading body.
“Perhaps now, I might truly be able to achieve the Grand Route.”
“…Does that mean…?”
It implies this wasn’t the first time. Did I end up dying while subduing the Magic Hat?
“Every route I’ve built until now will help you.”
“No, no.. NO!!”
In the distance, I could see red eyes resembling blood tears.
Noticing that I had escaped, I soon began to hear the black Pina’s scream.
“…I hope this time you witness a happy ending. Lee Soo-hyun.”
Her encouraging smile.
Pantoze claimed I could achieve the Grand Route that had eluded me.
*
Whoosh─.
The refreshing rain fell from the sky.
In the darkened night, a familiar sign caught my eye.
“Grand Hertz Academy…”
After burning down during the battle with the Magic Hat, the place that seemed untraceable had been restored.
The very fact the building remained meant I had managed to return through the Succession System.
“It’s not a dream…”
I couldn’t believe I was alive after having died just moments ago.
Fidgeting my hands, I pinched my cheeks to confirm I was indeed alive.
‘I’ve returned. I’ve come back….’
Suddenly, I spotted students leaving the academy.
Oh? Something seems off.
I thought I’d returned before my battle with the Demon God Magic Hat.
‘Why are their clothes black instead of white…?’
The Grand Hertz Academy’s attire was reversed.
The white outer garments and black ties were gone, replaced with what seemed to reflect the inverse.
“Excuse me, can I ask something?”
I began running toward the university students exiting the building.
“Do you happen to know what year it is in the Empire’s calendar?”
I asked, hoping against hope.
Given that the academy was intact, it had to be my world line.
“It’s the 28th year of the Empire. Wow, look at that cold sweat… are you okay?”
“……”
It had been ten years since I last knew.
‘What on earth happened…?’
Clearly, the Succession System had functioned correctly.
I thought I would return to the time before the battle with the Magic Hat.
“Oh, are you a hero from another world?”
Seeing me lost, another student spoke up nearby.
They seemed unaware of me.
“No way. I mean, with the Empress around, another world’s hero coming to the Academy? Nah!”
Empress? The rightful heir to the Grancia Empire was supposed to be… Pina.
Had I been obstructed by the black rose, landing me in the far future?
“Ugh, I just wish this annoying rain would stop.”
“I can’t help it. Ever since the person the Empress loved died, it’s been like this.”
They were dodging the mana-infused downpour.
Did Pina keep searching for me even after becoming the Empress, thinking I was dead?
“Who was that loved one…?”
I felt an urge to meet her quickly and asked my juniors filled with hope.
“Black Knight Licht, of course. Didn’t you see the statue over there?”
“…What?”
Their response was off.
Shifting my gaze to where they pointed, I saw the statue.
‘Black Knight Licht. Here lies.’
Beneath the soldier in armor was my name, Lee Soo-hyun, not Licht.
It couldn’t be that Pina purposefully left out my real name.
‘…Fell defending the Princess against the Demon King Head.’
It even detailed the reason that my heart was pierced by the Demon King’s attack, leading to my death.
I was clearly alive after receiving a dragon’s heart transplant from Pina.
But if…
What if, just what if, I hadn’t received the transplant in time?
‘……’
It felt as if I was viewing a world slightly askew from the one I knew.
“Wait a second, isn’t that person unable to manipulate mana? Why are they getting drenched?”
Feeling something odd while startled before my own tombstone…
“…Who is that? Excuse me, coming through, students!”
“Chairman Nex, do you know this person?”
Before they could contact someone, a man with violet hair approached me.
“Why didn’t you inform me if you were coming?”
The man, referred to as chairman by the students, had a sly smile as he looked at me. It was Nex Aureus.
“Nex..?”
So Nex had become the chairman of the academy.
Even though I had just seen his face, time had slipped away, almost making me not recognize him.
I was about to greet him with joy, but…
Shh, I’ve cast soundproofing and recognition-disruption spells. Act normal.
He immediately whispered while putting an arm around my shoulder, wary as if someone was chasing him.
‘Nex-senpai, why do we have to do this…?’
We were gradually moving deeper into the academy.
The safest place in the academy.
Finally arriving at the deepest corridor leading to the principal’s office, he sighed in relief.
“The Princess went insane after becoming a Demon God.”
Nex began revealing terrifying facts to me.
“…If the Princess notices you now, I have no idea what will happen.”
