BXBX NOVEL Chapter 162: The End of the "Failure"
Chapter 162: The End of the "Failure"
- The End of the “Failure”
“Wh-What is this voice!?”
Of course, Nare heard it too.
For the first time, Nare showed signs of being rattled by the sudden, mysterious shouting voice.
This seemed to be an unprecedented phenomenon even for Nare, who had repeated the loops countless times.
<<<Lower that fist, cursed child. It is insolent.>>>
Yet again, that strange voice resounded.
The sound was muffled, distorted.
The low pitch made it clear this was a male voice.
“Who are you!! Identify yourself!!”
I raised my voice questioning the unidentified entity, without lowering my guard.
I did not lower my fist either.
Circulating magic power through my entire body, not just the right fist, I enhanced my 【Body Strengthening】.
Instantly shifting to a combat stance.
If an enemy, I would kill.
Kill.
<<<Rein in your murderous intent. It is insolent. You foolish perceiver blind to the unseen.>>>
The very moment that muffled voice spoke those words, a change occurred in the scene before my eyes.
The Luclees family manor I intended to shatter with my punch began creaking and twisting, distorting like a swirling vortex!
The red roof, yellow walls – despite being a wooden building, they stretched like taffy, forming marble patterns!
<<<I am originally unseen by the eye. Yet I am always with you all.>>>
Before Nare and my stunned gazes, the manor’s transformation completed.
What had been the manor mere dozens of seconds ago now floated as a single large facial visage in the sky.
Due to the red and yellow marble patterns, it was somewhat unclear, but it was the solemn face of a bearded man.
<<<I am Time. I am the Time God Totaireregist. In the presence of a god, your ambition soars high. Lower your gaze.>>>
The next instant!
Immense “pressure” assailed Nare and me from that giant face!
This was 【Intimidation】!
Unleashing its divine power, its magic power, that face tried to subdue us with sheer pressure!
“Kuh…!”
Shielding the staggering Nare, I moved to stand before her.
Spreading my arms wide, I withstood the 【Intimidation】 emanating from the face!
<<<Insolent! Insolent!! Insolent!!! Why do you not kneel! In the presence of a god, it is insolent! Kneel!! Lower your head!!!>>>
The face’s 【Intimidation】 intensified further!
But I did not yield.
Straightening my back, I returned the 【Intimidation】!
Glaring defiantly at the face!!
“What god!! Acting so arrogant with just this level of 【Intimidation】!! That Black Lizard from before was far stronger!!!”
<<<What did you say!? You mock me!? Filthy cursed child! Fool! Fool!!>>>
The face bellowed as it continued unleashing 【Intimidation】.
However…it did nothing further than that.
It only denounced me as insolent and foolish.
This god was…likely the very god who had kept this manor looping repeatedly.
Surely its power had been depleted from the excessive looping abuse.
It probably…could no longer do anything beyond using 【Intimidation】.
<Ah, I remember now. The Time God Totaireregist. I’ve heard that name before.>
While brushing off the unendurable torrent of denunciations, Extra-sama muttered.
<A former god said to have mysteriously vanished 300 years ago. It became a topic among the gods back then… I see, so he was trapped in this looping world himself. I wonder who the real fool is.>
Extra-sama continued with an almost mocking tone:
<His divine authority has since been inherited by his younger brother, the former Space God Phybaleghiro. In other words, he is no longer a god. Merely something that was once a god – a god’s residue. Just a pitiful existence appearing solely to beg for a bit more longevity. Though the pride from when he was a god seems to be preventing him from even begging properly. The height of foolishness, really.>
Ooh…you’re being quite scathing, Extra-sama, unusually so.
<…Ufufu, you think so?>
“You said…a god!?”
Then, a voice came from behind me.
It was Nare.
Despite me shielding her from most of the assailing divine 【Intimidation】, Nare firmly stood on the snowy plain, gritting her teeth to face Totaireregist without yielding.
She trembled.
But it was not a tremble born of fear.
“Was it you…? Were you the one who cast me into hell!? Were you the one repeating my time!?”
Gone was her somewhat carefree demeanor from before.
Nare channeled her entire inner passion into her shouted voice!
<<<Ah! Nare Luclees! What foolish prattle is this!>>>
In turn, Totaireregist did not hide his own anger, conveying it in his tone as he retorted:
<<<The foolish protagonist, Nare Luclees! ‘Cast into hell,’ you say!? Don’t be ridiculous! I gave you an opportunity! Over and over and over and over and over again!! It was you who squandered every chance, you ‘failure’ of a protagonist!!!>>>
“Silence!!”
<<<You are the one who should be silent, ‘failure’! Your life was shaped by your own choices! Yet you shift the blame for your failures onto a god! Foolish! Insolent, and utterly foolish!!!>>>
“Silence! Silence!!”
<<<Why could you not achieve happiness! I wove a story for you to become happy! Why do you not walk the path of life as I envisioned! Why did you not borrow the power of Kotakka Keyrestone!!!>>>
“……..Hm?”
Kotakka Keyrestone?
“……..Who?”
Confused by the sudden new name, I turned toward Nare behind me.
“……Eh, Kotakka? Keyrestone?……Who?”
Nare also seemed perplexed.
She didn’t know who that person was either.
<<<…….Eh? No, ‘Who?’……Eh?>>>
Seeing Nare’s reaction, Totaireregist also became bewildered.
<<<……………..>>>
An indescribably strange silence dominated the scene.
<<<No, not ‘Who?’ Kotakka! Kotakka is the wise and brave traveler! Nare, during that time you were secluded in the head’s study room, he was supposed to be staying at an inn nearby! If you had just sought Kotakka’s aid, Kotakka would have lent you his power, and the two of you together would have overcome any difficulties, advancing time forward! That was the plan!!!>>>
Regaining his composure, Totaireregist bellowed while unleashing 【Intimidation】 tinged with anger at Nare!
“Wait, wait, O God! To begin with, I don’t know any Kotakka! Moreover, a traveler, you say!? Why would I ever seek aid from some traveler I don’t know! That makes no sense, doesn’t it!?”
However, Nare’s confusion persisted.
And her argument was valid.
I nodded in agreement.
<<<It is not nonsensical! The truth is, you played secretly with that very Kotakka in your childhood! In the time you spent together with Kotakka, you were meant to regain those memories, deepening your bond!!!>>>
“If I was meant to regain memories from after meeting him, there’s no way I would remember that now! In which case, I would have no reason to seek that man’s aid, nor any opportunity to regain those supposed memories in the first place!”
<<<…..Ah.>>>
<<<………………>>>
Another indescribably strange silence dominated the scene.
<It seems Totaireregist became so fixated on the individual character settings that he lost sight of maintaining narrative coherence… Truly an amateur broadcaster, it would appear.>
Extra-sama sighed mentally.
“….Well then, shall we?”
My voice resounded across the quiet snowy plain in front of the manor, the strange atmosphere lingering.
I stepped forward once, twice, taking my stance again.
【Body Strengthening】, 【Body Strengthening】, 【Body Strengthening】……
Enhancing my attack power higher and higher as I prepared to unleash a single strike.
Mishi……Bakibaki……Bakibakinaki……
Space began creaking again!
<<<Hih!?……N-No…Stop, cursed child! You would still raise your fist against me knowing I am a god!?>>>
The giant face faltered, arrogantly beginning what Extra-sama called “begging” according to him, but I ignored it.
I turned to face Nare.
“Shall I do it?”
Nare let out a sigh, mustering a tired smile as she said:
“….Hahaha…Hah, go ahead Emi. I’ve just lost my nerve, you see. Hahaha.”
<<<Stop! Stop! Stop! I am a god! You would raise your fist against me, a god! What insolence! Stop! Stop!>>>
“You may be a god, but I cannot bring myself to revere you. Just a giant face.”
Ton ton, I stomped my feet.
Using 【Solidification】 to reinforce my footing for striking with full force.
“Stop! Don’t do this!”
“……!?”
At that moment, a voice other than Totaireregist’s resounded – a woman’s voice.
Looking closely at the giant face before me, a woman’s face had surfaced on its cheek area.
It was Keranko’s face.
No, not just Keranko’s.
One after another, the faces of those trapped in the manor loop emerged – Karashia, Fateu, Doj, Sarelka, the servants…calling out in unison!
“Stop it! Why are you listening to that ‘failure’!?”
“If you destroy this world, we’ll disappear too! Stop such a cruel thing! Stop! Stop!”
“To begin with, wasn’t it that ‘failure’ who caused time to repeat unjustly!? We were just caught up in it!”
“That’s right! Do you intend to kill us who were just bystanders!?”
“Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!”
Ah, a desperate… desperate plea.
“How insolent!!!”
Those were the words I used to cast it aside!
Just calling Nare a “failure” meant those words were being put in their mouths by Totaireregist.
Moreover.
“Face!! You’re the one who is mistaken!!”
<<<What did you say!?>>>
“I’m not following Nare’s lead!!”
<<<Hah!?>>>
“I’m killing you for my own sake! Killing you to get out! For myself, you! Karashia, Keranko, Fateu, Doj, Sarelka, the servants…and Nare too!! I’LL SLAUGHTER YOU ALL!!!”
I screamed.
Ah, I’m really fed up with this.
I’m irritated.
Why must I do such a thing?
Why must I bear this burden?
<<<I-I see! Then I understand! I shall let you escape to the outside world! I am a god! At least that much…>>>
“If you can do it, then try! You’ve grown so feeble you can’t even do that much! That’s why I’m here now!!”
<<<Gu-Gu-Guuuu! D-Damn, damn, damn, damn! How dare you, how dare you! Ah, ah! How dare you! Phybaleghiro! How dare you how dare you how dare youuuuuuuu!!!>>>
“Take this, YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!”
I crouched slightly, firmly planting my feet on the ground, before leaping upward with all my might…!
Using that momentum, I swung the right fist imbued with layer upon layer of enhancements, smashing it squarely into the giant face’s forehead!!
<<<GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!>>>
With a scream that shook the world, cracks began spreading outward from the point of impact with my fist on the face.
No, not just the face.
The cracks extending from the edges of the face left inky, root-like scars even in the supposedly empty space around it.
And then, the world –
This small world endlessly repeating the inescapable loop –
Shattered into pieces with a resounding noise, and then……
When I realized it, I was in utter darkness.
This was the void.
I immediately understood.
The pitch-black darkness I had passed through once before reincarnating.
However, nearby, I sensed a warmth I couldn’t perceive before.
This warmth was a world.
Ardyst.
Naturally drawn to its immense mass, I drifted towards it gently.
Along the way, I saw the remains of the Luclees family manor floating in the darkness.
Gradually disintegrating and vanishing from its edges.
It seemed lingering in this darkness for too long was inadvisable.
“……..”
But the manor wasn’t the only thing appearing in my vision.
Floating around the manor’s remains were varicolored spheres of light.
They flickered a few times before being blotted out by the eternal darkness, vanishing from sight.
“……..?”
However, one remained.
A pale purple sphere of light alone did not become blotted out by the darkness, instead drawing closer to me.
The sphere of light twinkled repeatedly, then……
“My apologies.”
It spoke those words.
“I won’t forgive you. I’ll never forget.”
“Hahaha, thank you……”
The pale purple sphere of light smiled gently, then……
“!?”
Suddenly lunged straight toward my chest!
Without bouncing off, it was absorbed into my body… into my pitch-black soul, the pale purple.
<This is my final apology. Hahaha, managed to graze it in at the last moment. I had sensed it, so I thought maybe… Seems you can do it if you try!>
A cheerful laughter resounded in my mind.
<Hmm, it seems that wasn’t quite enough to sate your ravenous soul, but it was still divine power, however depleted. It should provide some sustenance, at least.>
However, that cheerful voice grew progressively fainter.
<Well, I suppose it’s about time for me to melt away too. Emi, thank you. Truly, thank you…..>
Leaving those parting words, the pale purple condensed into mere magic power and merged into me, along with the parting divine power… a great quantity of magic power.
When I realized it, I was standing alone on the snowy plain.
Not a trace of the bizarre manor remained anywhere.
As far as the eye could see, an endless expanse of snow.
And the white haze that had enveloped the surroundings was gone, a cloudless blue sky stretching overhead.
Byuoooh!!!
As if chasing me away, powerful gusts of wind occasionally blasted me, shaking my body.
However, I remained unmoving.
For a while, I closed my eyes and clasped my hands, remaining still.
My ravenous inner beast did not let out a single growl.
Author’s note: Well, there are actually around 2 more chapters (essentially about 1 chapter’s worth of content) for the epilogue, but those are more like bonus content.
With this, Arc 10 is mostly concluded, so I’d like to give my usual end-of-arc greetings.
This arc was quite difficult for me to write. There were likely more flaws than usual.
But I did my best writing it!
I hope you were able to enjoy it.
Ah, come to think of it, it has been a year since I started posting this work “The Reincarnated Extra.”
Being able to continue this far is entirely thanks to your support.
Thank you always for bookmarking, leaving star ratings, writing reviews, and more.
I still have many more stories I want to tell, so I hope you’ll continue joining me on this journey.
I humbly ask for your continued support going forward.