“I feel like my mind can’t endure this more than two more times.”
With those words, his vision went black once more.
This time was also filled with shocking revelations. But perhaps thanks to his previous experience, he wasn’t stunned into silence.
Instead, he tried to imprint the scenes he had just witnessed into his mind.
‘So, Ariel and Ian were close at first.’
Although they were now bitter enemies, before his regression, Ariel and Ian seemed like siblings who cherished each other.
It was a surprising fact considering how antagonistic they were now. They had been such a harmonious sibling pair that it was hard to imagine a closer bond.
But Ian focused on something else.
‘Though it’s not clear how many times, Ian has repeated his regressions countless times. All for Ariel.’
In his dream, Ariel was chosen by Elysion and became a hero.
To save her, Ian had repeated regressions to the point of mental collapse.
‘Thinking about it that way, the diary entry about the path for family and the Empire makes sense.’
The part about the Empire likely referred to Erzebeth, who appeared to be his lover before the regression.
And the part about family likely referred to his wish for his parents to live happily without fighting.
A mad life of repeating regressions countless times for his sister and precious people.
The look in his eyes at the end didn’t leave Ian’s mind.
‘It seemed like he had reached his limit.’
Though he told Elysion he could still endure, that might not have been true.
‘If two more times is the limit, it means it’s not strange if he collapses immediately.’
Ian sighed deeply and shook his head.
There were still many unresolved questions, but what could he change by worrying?
If he truly wanted to uncover all the hidden secrets, he had to capture and understand the demons as the system desired.
‘I’ll find out and work towards a happy ending.’
For that, he needed to become stronger.
Fortunately, the system provided help this time as well.
[You have confirmed the second secret!]
[Neltalion’s divinity has been enhanced!]
– Ian! Look! I’ve become so strong!
Even before the notification ended, Neltalion smiled brightly and bounced around.
Previously, he was just a slime with two arms. Now, he had transformed into a small child with black hair and red eyes, appearing about six years old.
‘Even his skin color changed. He used to be just a slime.’
Now, he just looked like a six-year-old child. Anyone who saw him might think he was Ian’s much younger brother.
‘Of course, others can’t see Neltalion, so there’s no need to worry about that…’
Still, Ian felt unsettled.
Neltalion’s true form was a monstrous being with a thousand arms. Now he looked like an unmistakable child.
Could it be that he would return to that monstrous form when he grew up?
‘I’m not sure now, but if he still looks like that after growing up…’
Ian might need to consider other plans.
Having a monster following him around didn’t sound appealing.
‘If others could see him, he would at least be intimidating. But since they can’t…’
Perhaps the current cute and playful form was better.
Was Neltalion annoyed that Ian wasn’t praising him and just thinking?
– Ian! Praise me!
Jumping into Ian’s arms, Neltalion looked at him with sparkling eyes.
– Ian! I’ve grown a lot! I can control my strength now!
‘Really?’
– Yes! You don’t have to be in pain anymore! I’ll make sure you don’t get hurt!
The ability to control his strength… That was indeed good news.
‘This is really great.’
Neltalion’s thousand hands had been the greatest asset in fighting Mammon and Beelzebub.
They had been pounded thoroughly by Neltalion’s overwhelming punches.
But the immense power came with significant recoil.
‘Controlling it was nearly impossible, and I also felt the backlash.’
When he drew out Neltalion’s power for about two minutes, blood poured from every orifice of his body.
It was sufficient as a trump card, but the severe bleeding was too high a price.
‘Fortunately, they stayed still. If they had moved, I might have died first.’
If the fight dragged on, he would undoubtedly face severe blood loss.
There were only two ways to prevent the worst-case scenario.
‘I either reach a level where I can control Neltalion, or Neltalion adjusts to me.’
However, the former was honestly impossible.
‘It’s an ancient god. How could I grow enough to control a being with power that even Demon Kings fear?’
What level would I need to reach? Master? Maybe even the legendary Grand Master level might be necessary.
Until recently, I was at the mid-upper Expert level, and now aiming for Master seemed almost impossible.
In such a situation, Neltalion’s divinity recovering and adjusting to me was the best outcome.
– Hehe. Now I can hug you, Ian!
‘Yeah. Hug me as much as you want.’
Just then, while holding the grown Neltalion in his arms.
Kaduk! Crack!
The space itself, covered in darkness, cracked and light began to come in through the cracks.
‘It’s time to go back now.’
Though he regretted that his rest was ending, he couldn’t afford to relax with so much left to do.
***
He defeated the enemy threatening the family and opened his eyes thinking about his golden return.
What greeted Ian was not people cheering, but Eri with a frown on her face.
“This time, I’ll let it go, but I won’t agree to such plans again! Do you understand me?”
‘So much for a hero’s welcome. I don’t even get a modest one.’
She had been smiling when he first woke up, but her anger had grown like a gradient.
Of course, Ian couldn’t say anything. He had assured her, only to end up making her worry.
“I was carried back covered in blood? And I’ve been lying unconscious for four days?”
“Do you know how worried I was? It was the first time I’d seen you so badly injured.”
Ian nodded as he chewed on the boiled potato in his hand.
According to Eri, after defeating Mammon and Beelzebub, he had collapsed in the snow, bleeding profusely. Celia, who had been nearby, safely brought him to the rear.
Thanks to his automatic Super Regeneration, his wounds were gone, but he had been unconscious for four days.
‘She has every right to be angry.’
Understanding the full story, he realized why she was so furious.
Not only had he worried her, the Princess, but also Celia, whom she disliked, had to carry him back.
Even someone who usually encouraged and supported him couldn’t let this slide.
“I didn’t mean to worry you. I didn’t expect it to get that bad.”
“If you’re sorry, then rest completely until you’re fully healed. Don’t try to work.”
“I will… But can I have some water? My throat’s dry from eating just potatoes.”
“Here.”
Thunk!
Eri placed a steaming bowl of soup in front of him, filled with cubed potatoes.
He looked at her, wondering why she gave him this instead of water.
“While you were lying down, we had a potato surplus. They’re overflowing, so eat this instead.”
Seeing her expression, he lowered his head.
‘Well, what can I do? It’s my fault.’
Feeling that continuing this conversation would drive him crazy, he decided to change the subject.
“By the way, how are things with the family while I was out?”
“There’s no need to worry about that. For some reason, the vassals have started working hard.”
“The vassals are working hard?”
“At first, I wondered what was going on. They were even crying while working. They don’t stop even when I tell them to. Some have been working three nights straight.”
“They wouldn’t suddenly work hard without a reason. Is there some hidden motive?”
“I thought so too and investigated. You might not know, but several vassals went missing after you dealt with the demons.”
“Missing vassals…”
Eri seemed to think they ran away, fearing execution. But Ian thought differently.
According to Bedon, the aura of greed had enveloped the family.
This meant that some had become or were close to becoming demon-possessed due to Mammon.
When the host supplying them with demonic energy vanished, they naturally followed the process of disappearing.
“Did you find anything?”
“Sorry, but I haven’t found the cause yet. However, all those I was watching closely have been confirmed missing.”
“Understood. Let’s postpone the investigation and prepare for the upcoming events.”
If the people Eri had been watching were the ones undermining the family, there was no need to delve deeper now that they had all disappeared. It would be better to focus on other matters.
“Due to this incident, the world might perceive our family as facing another crisis. It’s crucial that we show we are still strong.”
He couldn’t afford to lose the momentum they had built.
To continue their prosperity, it was necessary to reorganize the family and continue hosting events like before.
“Though it will be challenging to proceed with the event while reorganizing the knight order, we need to move as quickly as possible. I’ll help as soon as I recover.”
“There’s no need to worry about the knights. The issue has already been resolved.”
“Already resolved?”
While it was true that they had rescued all the hostages, minimizing casualties, repairing the equipment would still be a formidable task.
In only 4 days?
‘How could that have been possible?’
It wasn’t just a difficult task; it was nearly impossible. He hadn’t expected the answer he received.
“Platoon Commander Kyan was instrumental in resolving the knight order issue. Since he arrived late and couldn’t participate in the battle, he focused on reorganizing the knight order. Some of his acquaintances were among the reinforcements, which expedited the process.”
“The Platoon Commander… What about the equipment?”
“Lia’s family offered to help with the equipment. All the damaged equipment has been sent for repairs, and we’ve received temporary replacements.”
“If that’s the case, there’s nothing to worry about.”
Though their main business was leather, the Hurst family also had many craftsmen skilled in making equipment.
‘I should consider hosting a tournament with the Hurst family in the future.’
If you have something to receive, isn’t it natural that you have to give something as well?
Ian didn’t want to be shameless enough to accept help without doing anything in return.
“Then we should proceed with the tournament as soon as possible.”
“Understood. Please rest now.”
With that, Eri left the room.
He basked in the warm sunlight mixed with the gentle coolness in the room.
Knock, knock!
Click!
The door opened again, and someone entered.
‘Is Eri back?’
Ian turned his head, only to see a different visitor.
“…Young Master.”
“Viscount Shulkin?”
With bloodshot eyes and a small dagger in one hand, the man approached Ian.
‘Is he going to…?’
Just as Ian thought he might try to stab him, Shulkin set the sheathed dagger on the floor and knelt down.
Panting heavily, he spoke with a trembling voice.
“I failed to serve the Volkanov family loyally and instead acted with disloyalty…”
Tears streamed down his face as he bowed his head deeply, trying to hide his tears.
“Please… kill me…”
