The moment I heard Sage Nyau’s name, I was seized by an irrepressible urgency.
Before I knew it, I had secured a horse and was galloping toward the site where Second Prince Diluecca had reportedly been ambushed.
A march from the Royal Capital to Kataroff Village alongside a large contingent of soldiers was a journey that couldn't be completed in a single day. Their itinerary apparently called for them to stay overnight at a place called Liot Village, situated midway between the capital and their destination.
According to the reports, the attack had occurred in that very village.
That was why I raced toward Liot Village with everything I had.
Traveling alone on horseback, I could reach it in about five hours.
Nyau, please, just let me be in time—!!
Praying fervently in my heart, I pushed the horse to its limits, desperate to arrive even a second sooner.
However, the moment I reached the village, I knew my prayers had gone unanswered.
The village had been transformed into a massive morgue where ten thousand corpses were meticulously organized.
The sheer scale of the carnage spread out before me was staggering.
The bodies were lined up with such precision that each individual's face was clearly visible. Whoever had done this was possessed by a terrifying sense of order; every corpse was spaced at equal intervals, their heads all pointed in the same direction.
The silence was absolute, as if the battle had long since concluded. Not even the chirping of a single bird disturbed the air.
"What are you?"
The voice was terribly raspy and low.
Having spotted me from a distance, the speaker came lumbering toward me with a sluggish gait.
As it drew closer, its true form became clear.
It was a hairy, misshapen monster. Its head resembled some kind of beast, and while its lower body was vaguely humanoid, it was fundamentally different. It moved on four legs, yet a pair of additional arms sprouted from its back.
This creature had organized this mountain of corpses all by itself.
"What are you doing?" I asked, my voice hollow with shock.
In truth, there were far more important questions I should have been asking, but my mind refused to function properly.
"Hm? Oh..."
The monster paused as if to consider the question, then began to speak with unsettling fluidness.
"I’m counting how many humans I managed to kill. It’s much easier to keep track when you line them up neatly like this, don’t you think? Once, when I explained this to someone else, they called me an idiot and asked what the point was. But they were wrong, weren't they? What’s your opinion?"
"I... I suppose it's fine..."
Though the words left my mouth, my mind was a total blank. I was merely offering a hollow affirmation; none of his words were actually registering.
"I thought so. You’re a sensible fellow. So, what brings you here?"
The monster asked, pointing toward me with a front leg as if it were a finger.
"I came... to find Nyau..."
"Nyau? I believe there was a Nyau in here somewhere... Wait a moment. I'll go find her for you."
With that, the demon began to scrutinize the rows of the dead.
"I think she was in this row... or was it that one over there...?"
I could do nothing but stare blankly as he searched, muttering to himself as he went.
"Hey! I think this is the one!"
The monster called out from a distance.
A part of me knew I had to check, while another part of me recoiled in horror. I was certain that the moment I confirmed the truth, I would be plunged into total despair.
Still, I forced my leaden feet to move toward the creature.
"Don't step on the corpses or move them!" the monster warned.
Despite myself, I found myself carefully navigating the field of the dead, avoiding the bodies with strange diligence. I had no reason to obey the creature's whims, yet for some reason, I followed his instructions to the letter.
"See? Isn't this the Nyau you're looking for?"
When I reached him, he casually hoisted an object that had been lying at his feet.
It was something that had once possessed the form of a human being.
The remains were so severely mangled that the face was unrecognizable. Even so, the silhouette of the body was one I knew.
I accepted the truth instantly. It was Nyau.
"This one was the most troublesome to kill. That’s why she stayed in my memory," the monster explained matter-of-factly.
There was no malice in his voice, which only made it worse. He had descended upon this village like a natural disaster.
"What... exactly are you?" I managed to choke out.
My head throbbed with a violent ache. My vision swayed as if I were standing on the deck of a ship in a storm. Despite the warmth of the day, my hands and feet felt frozen to the bone. I was barely able to remain standing.
"Demon Beelphegor," the creature stated bluntly.
"I am known as the Slothful Demon, though as you can see, I am actually quite diligent."
A demon. I had heard stories of such things, but I knew nothing of them in practice.
A terrifying existence. That was the extent of my knowledge.
"Oh? Is the name not ringing a bell? Perhaps this will be clearer: I am Master-Rank 3rd Seat. That makes me the third strongest being in this world. Now, tell me, what are you? I’ve explained myself to you, so it's only fair that you tell me who you are."
Demon Beelphegor pointed the tip of his leg toward my eyes.
"...I'm Kiska. An adventurer. My class is Thief."
Deep down, I wondered what the point of introducing myself even was.
"I see. It’s important to ask these things. Otherwise, when I add you to the collection, I won't know what I've got."
"Collection...?"
"Yes. My Corpse Collection."
The moment those words reached my ears, a sharp, explosive crack echoed through the air.
In that single, fleeting instant, he had already ended my life.
It happened so fast that there wasn't even time to feel the pain.
"Ah..."
The realization hit me all at once.
"Kiska? What's wrong? You're spacing out."
Namia was standing right in front of me, looking concerned.
Namia was supposed to be a fake—an entity I had killed with my own hands. So why was she here, smiling at me?
"Ah, right..."
Then I remembered. I possessed a skill called Save & Reset.
Everything made sense.
The world had been rewound.