The Broken Possessors of the Infinite Regression Academy

Chapter 215 – Side Story: The Strange Sword Saint of Earth – 2

After leaving a note for Mira Crate and disappearing, Black Saint Rachel wandered the world without a care. She simply walked wherever her feet took her, wherever her eyes took her, and wandered to all sorts of places.

Sometimes he would wander the Demon Realm for a long time. The demons did not touch the Sword Saint. Now that the Demon King was gone, no one could stop the Sword Saint.

‘… … What would it have been like if I had lived as a truly insignificant mid-level knight?’

Geumseong walked aimlessly with his legs and thought about what Mira had said to him.

It was all true. The Sword Saint had to be the hope of humanity. Even though there was a warrior chosen by the goddess, it was clear that the warrior’s skills were not up to the Sword Saint’s.

Since he had the Holy Sword, he would eventually become stronger. However, if the Demon King came to attack before that ‘someday’ came, he thought that in the end, the only one who would have to step forward was the Sword Saint himself.

On the one hand, he was still afraid. Could he really stand up to the Demon King who had given such a miserable defeat to the Sword Master in the past? Could it be that nothing would change even now?

That was also the reason why I couldn’t bear to hear that the Demon King had died. It felt like something that had been keeping Rachel from exploding under the weight of her status as the Sword Saint had been ripped away.

I just couldn’t stand that empty feeling.

‘What is left in Rachel, if not the Black Star?’

Ironically, such feelings were the very proof that Rachel was no longer a transcendent power.

The chains that had been binding my ankles and the heavy burden of duty that had been weighing down my shoulders were all released, so I was able to think about the value of my existence as ‘Rachel, not Black Star’.

“… … This is.”

Rachel, who had been locked away in a secluded place and spent days meditating, sensed something unusual and got up. As she scanned the empty space, a golden halo appeared on her fingers.

Instinctively, he drew his sword and swung it. The time rushing towards Rachel was split in two, and a small safety zone was created in the center of the swirling torrent.

The only remaining sky-blue eyes looked at the time overflowing outside.

“I see.”

Rachel, who was looking at time itself, picked up a piece. It was someone’s memory. It could be said that it had flowed in by chance, or it could be said that it had inevitably flowed in since it was entangled with the mummy crate.

Rachel looked into her memory and saw the truth.

How this world came to be, the fact that it was all just a novel, that there was a dimension beyond it, and the truth that he was just a character in a novel.

“That’s what it was.”

Rachel felt comforted rather than angry at the fact that the entire world she lived in was created by the hands of a single human being, and that even her own defeat and terrible trauma were paths set by someone else.

Because all that suffering was just something that was created.

The fact that he was defeated by the Demon King and had his arm crushed, the fact that he suffered from terrible trauma, and the fact that he couldn’t hold a sword and had to pretend to be strong by carrying around a mere teaspoon. It was all like that.

But not anymore. Everything that happens from now on is Rachel’s will. Whatever actions you take, who you meet, and where you go, it will all be Rachel’s choice.

The path chosen by human Rachel, not by black Rachel.

“Haha… … hahahahaha… … hahahahahahahaha!”

Rachel laughed. She laughed until her throat burst open, as if pouring out all the emotions she had suppressed for decades, watching the passage of time. And when the laughter stopped, she stood before the passage of time.

I knew instinctively that if I got caught up in that flow, I would never come back. I would be drifting for the rest of my life, not knowing where I was going or what would happen to me.

That was the future Rachel wanted.

Rachel grabbed her sword on her left waist with trembling hands. Her right hand pulled out the sword in a time that could not even be counted as many years. The tingling sensation made Geomseong smile without realizing it.

Soon, the body was swept away by the golden hour and disappeared.

“… … And, I encountered countless possibilities in time. This arm was also cut off at that time. It was to symbolize that I would no longer be bound by the past since I had defeated the Demon King. Even though I lost one arm, I felt much more comfortable than when I had both arms. After that, I wandered aimlessly through time until I was drawn to a bright light, which led me here.”

Oddly, the story ended with the swordsman sipping tea with his only remaining arm. Priscilla, Elissier, and I were all left speechless.

“So now… … you’re saying that you threw yourself into the flow, wandered through all sorts of timelines, killed the Demon King Elisiere in an unknown world, and even after cutting off your right arm to completely overcome the past, you continued wandering through time?”

“In summary, that’s how it will be. I saw it clearly.”

“… … Was it possible to save time?”

“I am the Sword Master. No, I was. How can I receive such a title when I can’t even do that? The way I attacked you when you tried to approach me was also a method of using time to buy time.”

No, I don’t think that’s right.

I am amazed at Laura for creating such an absurd character. I wonder how she will react when she hears that the character she created has arrived here after cutting through the torrential flow of time.

“But now it’s all meaningless. To be honest, I was even thinking about dropping the name Rachel. I really, truly wanted to start over.”

Rachel looked down at her empty right sleeve and smiled faintly.

At first, I tried to heal him with healing magic. Rachel herself had buried the severed arm in a world line that may or may not have disappeared, but with the highest level of healing magic, it could grow back.

But for Rachel, the severed arm was not just a body part. It was a trauma from her past, and proof that she was nothing more than a character in a novel.

It wasn’t just cutting off an arm, it was also giving up a part of the existence of the memory, trauma, and the sword. It wasn’t something I could carelessly talk about.

“I should thank you. If you hadn’t given me the opportunity to reflect on myself, I wouldn’t have even gotten here.”

I didn’t say that with this situation in mind.

Rachel smiled faintly, seeing my flustered expression, and said that she would just assume it was thanks to me.

“… … .”

Next to her, Elisier had been looking uneasy for a while. This was because it was known that the person here was not the human Ciel, but the Demon Lord Elisier.

Even though it was a story from a time when it wasn’t my intention, it’s true that I suffered such a severe trauma that I had to cut off my arm.

“You don’t have to be nervous, Ciel. I told you I won’t dwell on the past anymore.”

Rachel, who was looking at the scene, continued speaking kindly. The title was still Ciel.

“You probably didn’t mean it. The country created people, and the world created the Crown Princess Laura. How can I blame you for actions that weren’t my own? It’s pointless to search for the past that has passed through time. I even sacrificed my right arm to get it… … But you don’t need to do that, do you?”

“Is that so?”

Elisier slightly lowered her head.

“Anyway, that’s the end of my story. The rest is as we know it. So, where is this place? I know it’s the home dimension of Crown Princess Laura and you.”

“As you know.”

I explained it in terms that were as easy to understand as possible, because Rachel, who was clearly from the other world, had no idea about concepts like gates and bosses.

After hearing the explanation, Rachel looked around as if she was amazed.

“I see. It seems like the space I had been wishing for has been realized… … I became that boss, and this is the space that was created for that purpose.”

“It will be more exciting once you go outside. First, get some rest and then we can talk more properly when we all gather. We will take responsibility, so don’t worry.”

Rachel nodded. We went out. The gate was still open. It was natural, since the boss, the Sword Saint, was not dead.

“What happened?”

“It’s regenerative. I couldn’t kill it.”

The faces of the hunters who hurriedly ran towards the gate, seeing that it was still open, hardened at the word “regeneration.”

“I made sure that no one comes out, so just guard the room so that no one comes in. I’ll come back later. I’ll give you the schedule today.”

“Yes, yes! I understand!”

Rachel and I stood back, hiding ourselves with a stealth spell. Rachel looked at Priscilla and Elisier, acting as guild leaders, with a curious look.

The two opened the dimensional gate, leaving the cleanup to the A-class hunters. Geomseong was very surprised by the scenery nearby as he headed to the top floor of the Eternal Guild headquarters.

“Then what should we do now?”

We were troubled by Rachel’s whereabouts. If it was impossible, there was nothing we could do, but if it was possible, we wanted to stay on Earth and not return to our original world.

“I have cut off the past, but the people of that world are not like that. It would be better if they left me to remember the Black Star.”

Indeed, the moment they learn the truth, the people of the other world will be incredibly shocked.

I thought the missing Geomseong had reappeared, but he turned out to be one-armed. He even denied his own identity, asking not to be called Geomseong anymore.

But if I were to tell you everything that happened, you would find out things you shouldn’t know. To prevent that from happening, it was best to have you stay here.

“No. I’ll stay here with Kensung… … No, Lady Rachel. You guys go first.”

“… … Priscilla, you?”

I asked in surprise. Elisier also looked very surprised. I couldn’t help but be surprised that Priscilla, who had been looking forward to wandering around the festival with me, had volunteered to stay.

“huh.”

“I won’t refuse, are you sure that’s okay?”

“It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter to you either, Rachel.”

“I’m a diner, so I think it’s okay.”

“Okay then. Go and come back. I’ll be waiting.”

Priscilla waved her hand gently.

You’re not the type of person to accept being separated from me so calmly. What is this?

After Mira and Elisier left with several question marks floating above their heads, Priscilla guided Rachel to an empty room.

“You can stay here. First, soak in warm water and rest. I’ll tell you how.”

“Okay, thanks.”

“What? There is no such thing as unmerited kindness in this world.”

Rachel flinched when she heard those words. Then a voice that sounded resigned was heard.

“Yes. Of course. What price do you want?”

“Have you ever been in a relationship?”

“……romantic relationship?”

Elissier and I ended up wandering around the festival alone. Everyone was shocked to hear that Priscilla had chosen to stay away from me.

“Aren’t you decorating it or something?”

“Priscilla, that guy?”

There was talk that I had a separate plan, but since I knew how Priscilla behaved next to me, I concluded that she couldn’t do that and let it slide.

After finishing what she had to say, Elisier quickly grabbed me and started walking around the festival. Unlike Rosaria and Latina, Elisier focused more on finding things that suited her tastes rather than trying to see the entire festival.

So when 6pm came around and the academy’s opening hours were over and it was time for students only, we were getting ready to head back to the dorms.

And when the Academy doors closed and it was time for the students alone, we were ending the day quite contentedly.

“Should we go back now? We’ve seen everything there is to see.”

“What are you talking about? There’s still so much to experience.”

“There’s more to experience?”

I wondered what he was talking about. I had just come back from looking around.

Elisier grabbed my wrist and dragged me into a dark place. She went behind a large tree and put on a restraint that was supposedly made for massage purposes, and tightened when blown with mana.

Then, with her other hand, she lifted the hem of her uniform skirt up to her navel, revealing the underwear hidden underneath.

The surface area of ​​the cloth was about half the size of my palm, and the strings around my hips were tied so loosely that they looked like they would come undone if I applied even the slightest bit of force.

“You’ve never used a punch machine before, have you?”

“……what?”

Elisier, who had been forcibly placing the rope connected to the neck restraint in my hands as I stood there blankly, gently stroked her lower abdomen.

“But no matter how much I look around, I can’t find a punch machine… … .”

Kkuuk, that hand pressed the slightly swollen spot.

“Here, I have prepared a substitute.”