*
Before diving into the operation, I had something to tell everyone.
It’s time to reveal the facts I’ve been hiding.
“Pina and I have already traveled back in time once.”
“Right. We need to change our plans.”
I didn’t want to be like that Magic Hat again.
I didn’t want to repeat a future where everyone dies.
“Is that.. really true?”
“It’s hard to believe. The flow of time is a natural law; mere humans cannot go against it.”
My words made my comrades make faces of disbelief.
It was as if they were questioning the validity of my claims.
Their furrowed brows and sideways glances screamed skepticism.
I took a deep breath and looked around.
To them, my story of time travel sounded just as ludicrous.
“It’s fine if you don’t believe me.”
I said while scanning the eyes of everyone present.
I wouldn’t run away with lies anymore.
I would fight back.
I’m not afraid anymore.
“I see a transparent window in front of me, and because of it, I’ve repeated many births and deaths.”
A total of 24 deaths.
The same number as the times I killed Magic Hat in the game.
“I’ve met many people along the way. Yes, I’m talking about all of you here.”
As the clock’s hands completed a turn, pointing to a new tomorrow.
I considered this 25th life my last chance and opened my mouth to create new possibilities.
Pina gently held my hand beside me.
Her cold hand felt as if it would melt into warm tenderness.
“From Kainel, Ariel.. to Emperor Rock and Queen Bellin.”
“…What? Bellin..?”
In my first life, I had possessed Licht’s body to hunt down Magic Hat.
And I had returned to the past to meet Queen Bellin.
I poured out everything without holding back to my comrades listening in front of me.
“But I couldn’t always prevent the unfortunate outcomes caused by the demon kings.”
Even though I caught Magic Hat, Pina became the Nameless Saintess.
I managed to stop the demon kings of the Hero Church with minimal sacrifices, but Pina turned into a demon god.
Kainel fell into darkness as the Light Demon after Ariel died.
“Fate that has already been decided could only be changed by the ‘Grand Route.’”
I recounted everything I had persisted in up until now.
Ultimately, to complete the Grand Route, I needed everyone’s affection levels.
“Honestly, I didn’t know what the affection levels in my status window meant….”
Someone could say they’re necessary allies to hunt the demon kings.
Or that it’s what Pina needed to awaken as the Hero of Affection.
Another might say it represents love quantified.
“But now I understand for sure.”
Love doesn’t need numbers.
This is the percentage needed to create the Grand Route.
If it’s a figure necessary for everyone to achieve a happy future, that would fit best.
“Will you help me fool Magic Hat, everyone?”
“…….”
I paused for a moment, waiting for a response.
After deceiving people with lies for almost a year, perhaps the shock was too much. Or maybe they just couldn’t trust me.
“Okay, let’s give it a try.”
A familiar voice broke the silence among them.
“What the heck, Helmet Guy! You were playing us both along with Kain, huh?”
“So that’s why you were so cheesy at first. You really are from a miserable future.”
The couple, Kainel and Ariel, who I hadn’t clicked with at our first meeting, now smiled and nodded in agreement with me.
It was almost as if they were questioning why I had hidden such crucial information until now.
“If it weren’t for Licht, I would’ve just kept living as a drunkard.”
“Longing for forgotten lovers with the power of ignorance.”
Then another voice chimed in.
This time, it was Dennis, the academy professor, and the Celestial Demon, White Lily, from another world.
“If it weren’t for you, our beautiful daughter wouldn’t exist in this world either.”
White Lily and Dennis glanced at their daughter as they spoke.
Their fateful meeting wasn’t supposed to happen until five years later.
“If it weren’t for our junior, I would have cursed myself for not saving my family and Shar for the rest of my life.”
“Nex, don’t say such things…”
“It’s true. You can tell just by looking at my spirit now.”
Outside the window, a massive purple flame burned brightly.
Nex’s phoenix was even more magnificent and regal than Asha Aureus’s.
“If this is a ridiculous plan, I’ll bail right here, you know?”
One by one, people started to rise from their seats and join my plan.
Giseok cracked jokes while smiling.
“Disciple.”
Drake stepped forward and called me.
He gently grabbed my shoulder and patted it lightly as he spoke.
“How difficult has your life been until now?”
“…Master.”
“I could tell your gaze was that of someone who was about to die, but I never expected it would be like this….”
His voice was laden with sadness.
He seemed to have noticed the countless deaths I had endured.
“Here you are, working so hard, and the master is the one who feels ashamed!”
“I never foresaw something like this….”
The sage gasped, covering his mouth in surprise.
It’s no wonder he couldn’t see it.
What I did was akin to an act of bravado, like giving a ring to Pina.
I simply didn’t want to end up like that Demon God Magic Hat.
With this, after capturing Black Cloud, the two of us could naturally connect.
“So, son-in-law, what’s the plan going to be?”
Even Emperor Rock, who had been watching from a distance, approached to ask about my plan.
The original idea was simple.
Magic Hat probably thinks he’s the only one who returned to the past.
“Let’s exploit that fact to the fullest and deceive him.”
Failed pasts aren’t without value.
They serve as stepping stones; after all, that’s how people always grow.
It was something I discovered while being with Pina.
“We’ll pretend to repeat the past… and create new possibilities.”
I said while handing over the Magic Sword Horizon to Pina.
She made the masterpiece based on my armor.
The reason I had mistaken Pina for a boy before.
With distortion magic added, it should be flawless.
If we swap helmets and armor, nobody will catch on.
“I feel like I’m being surrounded by Su-hyun.. hehehe, nice…”
“Pina, saying it like that makes it sound weird.”
Pina, donning the gear I once wore, blissfully inhaled the scent.
Just how much does she like me?
“It’s not embarrassing for married couples to do such things.”
“…….”
“…So saying it politely like a saintess makes you speechless, huh? Silly.”
She gently kissed me while placing the glass helmet on my head.
“I won’t lose to the future me either.”
She meticulously made sure every detail was in place, like sealing an unhandled stamp.
*
“Cough, cough….”
“How does it feel to be on the receiving end of your usual tricks?”
With that dazzling glass armor on, I plunged my weapon straight into its heart.
This guy hasn’t changed at all.
I devised a plan, thinking he would assume I’m the only one wearing the Black Knight armor.
“Th-this is impossible!! I’m definitely a Demon God!!”
“Oh, that? Regardless, it’s just talk.”
The power to manipulate time and space was already in Pina’s hands.
She is also someone chosen by the God of Light, Starter, and the God of Darkness, Risette.
“Focusing on that is how you lose.”
Magic Hat, obsessed with titles like demon king or hero.
I pressed my sword harder into his heart as I spoke.
If such things were truly important, I wouldn’t have been able to defeat this guy in the first place.
“I’m not going to die! With the power of the inheritor—”
Swoosh—!!
I pulled my sword out and slashed at him, even as he still had a mouth to speak.
I utilized all the swordsmanship techniques I had learned.
From Shadow Slash to Void Slash, from One Sword Falling Flower to Demon King Kill, everything.
“Rather beg to die. That’s better for you.”
I gritted my teeth, gripping my sword tightly.
Flesh and blood splattered on my armor as Magic Hat began to fall apart into many pieces.
“Gaaah!!”
Is he really not dying unless it’s the Grand Route?
He stubbornly held on to life.
“My lord can’t kill me—!!”
Of course, that made sense since the inheritance system hasn’t malfunctioned.
“No matter how you repeat it, it’s a meaningless act….”
“Shut up. Don’t even think of laying a hand on my husband.”
Before I knew it, Pina had freed herself from his grasp and thrust her sword in.
As our blades intersected, Magic Hat was shattered each time he tried to regenerate.
“Stop it alreadyyy!!”
Magic Hat, bleeding from his eyes and mouth, struggled to imitate Pina.
He had reverted to his original form.
A magician’s form that was a shadow from head to toe.
What would be left for him now that he couldn’t even use the power of the demon god?
“You filthy bastards… dare you try to complete the Grand Route?!!”
Magic Hat glared at us, seemingly resentful.
Even as he summoned minions, our two had already unravelled his tricks.
“You wouldn’t know. Your allies have already been defeated!!”
“……”
Was he unwilling to admit defeat or trying to tell me the truth that we couldn’t change fate?
“If it’s not the Grand Route… you can’t overturn the predetermined outcome! I didn’t bring the demon kings here for nothing!”
Magic Hat screamed like a madman, his raving words directed at us.
In the original history, that would have been true.
In the game, players needed assistance to catch the demon kings.
“I know that much already.”
“Exactly!! If you don’t free this space and rescue your allies, they’ll all die….”
But this isn’t a game; it’s reality.
A reality where the impossible becomes possible.
“No need for that. I am the Ideological Hero.”
I gazed at him and spoke.
Not the idealistic concept of ideology (理念) but the other thought of ideology (異念).
I merged my heart with the helmet Pina had crafted for me.
“Even another version of me from a different world must also hate you.”
Just as Pina summoned the other me to this place, I did the same.
*
In the battlefield where my comrades fought against the demon kings, excluding Lee Soo-hyun.
At first, they seemed to struggle due to his absence.
“Um, what should we call you guys…? I know you’re the same as Helmet Guy, but….”
“Dunno.. what should we call ourselves?”
Soon, men in black helmets appeared and sliced through the demon kings.
“Can’t we just call ourselves Licht?”
Seemingly displeased with that remark, Kainel and Ariel crossed their arms and stared thoughtfully.
They exchanged glances, smiling, and then said in unison.
““Academy’s Pure Love Black Knight!””
