Repeat Vice - The Villainous Noble Doesn't Want to Die, So He Swore to Not Die As One of The Four Heavenly Kings - Chapter 35: Repeat

Chapter 35: Repeat

Redcap’s magical eye could directly see magic power.

In other words, in addition to the normal field of vision, which is the reflection of light, he had another field of vision that could see the world of magic power.

Both fields of vision were independent and ran in parallel, allowing him to see through things he couldn’t physically see if they had magic power.

He couldn’t see things without magic power, but effectively, it was like having X-ray vision.

In addition to his magical eye, Redcap was born with exceptional night vision, allowing him to see clearly even in true darkness.

For the first time, Redcap was taken aback.

He had never encountered a situation where he could not see any magic power at all.

Even if he were to be swallowed into the stomach, Redcap, with his night vision, would be able to see through the darkness where light did not reach.

And theoretically, he should be able to visually recognize the magic users, Rofus and Riruka, with his magical gaze.

However, he could not see anything.

There was nothing there except the dark footing.

Even the dark footing was devoid of spell formulas.

Suddenly, Redcap felt something was off and focused his gaze on the dark footing.

“…What?”

Redcap stared in surprise.

The dark footing he had created in the darkness was not without spell formulas.

Upon closer inspection, countless tiny spell formulas were intricately woven together, densely packed.

Countless spell formulas were intertwined without any gaps, and they were pitch black.

“What, is this…?”

Looking around at the surrounding darkness, Redcap felt a sense of dread.

It was truly a massive number of spell formulas created by the darkness.

“What a nasty…?”

Suddenly, a clear spell formula appeared in the darkness.

Redcap was forced to retreat in astonishment.

Immediately thereafter, a dark spear was thrust out from where he had just been standing.

He would have been skewered if he had been one step slower.

And Redcap, with his magical sight, realized that the same spell formulas were being deployed in countless numbers, surrounding and attacking him.

Given the speed of deployment, it wouldn’t be difficult to destroy them before activation.

However, there were simply too many of them.

With the number of knives he had on hand, it would be far from enough to destroy all the spell formulas.

Inevitably, he would have to directly counterattack with his knives.

Moreover, the number of these spears would increase over time.

“…If this is a Rofus-only magic, it might just work. This could indeed be a kill-me kind of magic.”

Despite such thoughts, Redcap smiled with a grin that split his cheeks.

Already over a hundred spears had been deployed, and they all simultaneously attacked Redcap.

A black dome-like object appeared, swallowing half the mansion and emerging from underground. This was the “Darker Belly of the World of Darkness Tartarus” that Rofus had created. If one had to classify it, it would be considered an advanced or higher-level magic. The consumed magical power was enormous, surpassing even ancient magic.

The shape of Tartarus was a massive body with no eyes or nose, just a mouth to devour its prey, making it a simple yet formidable life-form. Half of the body was underground, and from the side, it looked exactly like a dark dome.

Tartarus possessed an attack method akin to a living organism’s, but it was different from shadow familiars or summoning magic. It was a product of magic.

“It’s over.”

Seeing that Tartarus had not disappeared, Rofus spoke confidently.

“…Will magic just break and come out again?”

Riruka, who was shocked by the appearance of Tartarus, asked doubtfully.

Rofus chuckled at her.

“Impossible. What’s happening inside is a continuous emission of magic in all directions, with a total number exceeding thousands. It’s physically impossible to fend off with just a knife.”

He added nonchalantly, “Even if he were alive and unscathed… well, it would be quite difficult, but still.”

“That sounds like wishful thinking before destruction…?”

Riruka muttered anxiously.

And when Tartarus had finished releasing all the magic contained within, it dissolved its massive black body into the air like it was melting.

Tartarus had not left a single trace of what it had swallowed. The bedroom floor was gone, as if the mansion itself had been scooped out and a circular hole remained.

Of course, the figure of Redcap was nowhere to be found.

“…You really did defeat him.”

Riruka said, astonished.

“Are you that surprised? Or are you disappointed that I won?”

“Absolutely not.”

Riruka got up, brushing off her clothes, and looked down at the scooped-out floor.

The mansion was completely gone from the ground up, and the underground dungeon exposed beneath was visible.

“Wow, that thing ate all the way down to the underground.”

Riruka smiled wryly.

Rofus looked at her.

“Now, I’ll have you explain.”

Riruka tilted her head and smiled at Rofus’s words.

“…Hmm, I did say ‘later,’ but I never said I would talk now.”

“Don’t play games with me.”

Rofus glared at her with a murderous look, but Riruka immediately raised both hands in surrender and smiled.

“Just kidding, just kidding. Don’t make such a scary face.”

Under the moonlight, Riruka’s hair shimmered pale yellow as it swayed in the wind.

Riruka briefly looked down and sighed before turning back to Rofus.

“…Rofus, you’re kind, aren’t you?”

“What? What’s with the sudden change of topic?”

Before Rofus could finish his question, a sudden gust of wind blew.

Riruka’s body was pushed forward and she was thrown off the edge of the floor.

The sudden wind seemed to reenact Riruka’s example, as if to say, “What if you fell from here?”

With the mansion being three stories high and nothing to obstruct her fall straight down to the underground dungeon, it was clear that without help, she would be in trouble.

“…Damn it.”

Spitting out a curse, Rofus dove after her.

Immediately, multiple Dark Hands emerged from inside Rofus’s coat, reaching out to grab the falling Riruka and pull her back.

“What are you doing falling like that!? You have a death wish!”

“You came to help me. You really are kind, Rofus.”

Riruka smiled and clung to Rofus in mid-air.

“If you have the energy to say that…!”

As Rofus tried to create a large Dark Hand in the air to serve as a foothold, Riruka tightened her grip and smiled, stopping him.

“You don’t need to do anything. It’s okay—Embrace of the Wind.”

A gentle wind enveloped the falling Riruka and Rofus.

Riruka had activated this intermediate wind attribute defense magic using chant cancelling, which absorbed the impact from outside.

Soon, Riruka and Rofus landed in the underground dungeon, but the impact was absorbed by the wind, and they landed softly.

“See, it was fine, wasn’t it?”

“Let go of me already. How long are you going to cling to me?”

Riruka, who had been glaring at Rofus, finally let go with a “Fine, fine.”

“That sudden gust of wind was no coincidence. Why did you come down here? What’s your purpose?”

The gust of wind that had knocked Riruka off balance was too much of a coincidence.

Faced with Rofus’s questioning gaze, Riruka sighed.

“The purpose isn’t anything that grand. I heard Shiguru and the others are on the floor right below us. You see, I didn’t want our conversation to be interrupted.”

Rofus narrowed his eyes at the mention of Shiguru’s name. It was something he had not known about, and it was also something that Riruka, who had been following Rofus with her stealth magic, should not have known.

However, Riruka had peeked down at the floor below earlier. If she had confirmed Shiguru and the others’ presence there at that time, the story would make sense. But her phrasing of “I heard Shiguru and the others are down there…” made Rofus more suspicious.

Nevertheless, Riruka paid no attention to Rofus’s suspicion and sat down on a pile of rubble, tapping it next to her.

“Come on, sit down, Rofus. It’s going to be a long talk. You want to hear the story, don’t you?”

“I don’t feel the need to sit. I’ll listen here.”

“…I wish there was something to lean on. I wonder if there’s anyone kind enough to lend me their shoulder?”

“…”

Faced with Riruka’s melodramatic words, Rofus glared at her coldly.

After a brief silence, Riruka pressed her side as if in pain.

“Ah, the wound from when I protected you… it’s still pretty sore.”

“You’ve got quite the guts… Well, fine, but only until we’re done talking.”

Letting out a sigh of resignation, Rofus plopped down next to Riruka.

Riruka giggled and rested her head on Rofus’s right shoulder.

A brief silence ensued.

Rofus’s question was interrupted by Riruka’s voice.

“…Before we start talking, I have something I want to ask you, Rofus.”

“What now?”

“You’re surprisingly kind, aren’t you, Rofus? You saved my life in the ruin, and even though you only had one potion, you shared it with me. And just now, you jumped after me when I was pushed by the wind. You could have let me fall, but you didn’t.”

“…Is that what you wanted to ask?”

Rofus glared at her intensely, but Riruka met his gaze head-on and wiped the smile off her face.

“No, wait. Don’t make such a scary face. I’m just curious… why did you become one of the Four Heavenly Kings in the future? —I mean, Shadow Wolf Rofus.”

Riruka’s words, devoid of jest, caused Rofus to widen his eyes for a moment before glaring at her even more fiercely.

*

Time rewinds slightly.

In the corridor of Gilaran Manor, a group of five men was running. They were Hawk, Kay, Dan, Faratiana, who had joined them, and Sigurd, who had been safely rescued from the underground dungeon.

Hawk, Kay, and Dan had been incapacitated by Redcap and were saved by Faratiana, who had come after them, defeating Redcap. Afterward, they cautiously searched the mansion and freed Sigurd from the underground dungeon.

Hawk, skilled in lock picking and decoding mysteries, released Sigurd by deactivating the magical locks and iron bars of the cell with the help of the items they had brought with them.

This was a routine task for the Wind of Scarlet, who often explored ruins and dungeons.

Hawk, the one mainly responsible for picking locks and solving mysteries, explained that while Elma and Riruka could also handle such tasks, the male members, except for Hawk, were not good at brainwork and could not perform tasks that required the use of their heads.

After releasing Sigurd, the group, focused on their mission to rescue Sigurd, quickly exited the mansion.

However, that’s when things took a turn.

Vallum, sensing something amiss, grabbed Kay by the collar and threw him backward just as they were running through the corridor.

“—Guah!?”

Kay rolled on the ground.

The others, Sigurd, Hawk, and Dan, were stunned by Vallum’s sudden action and stopped in their tracks.

“Get back! Hurry!”

Vallum shouted, and he too retreated to the back.

Just moments before, where all five of them had been standing, a dark wall appeared, swallowing the space as if it were cutting through the mansion.

This was the dark wall, Tartaros, created by Rofus.

Vallum narrowed his eyes and the other four men turned pale.

Vallum looked at Kay, who had been thrown to the ground.

“Sorry. Are you okay? No injuries?”

“…It’s fine, just… thanks for saving my life.”

Kay stood up, dusting himself off and patting Vallum on the shoulder in gratitude.

“…Vallum, you did well. You reacted quickly.”

Seeing the dark wall that completely blocked the corridor, Sigurd said with a strained expression.

“Well, I had a feeling…”

Vallum said as he stared at the magical power emanating from the dark wall.

“This magic power… it’s Rofus. It’s a dangerous place… full of death.”

Vallum silently vowed to settle the score with Rofus next time they met.

As he thought this, the dark wall began to dissolve, revealing the mansion, which seemed to have been scooped out, leaving a circular hole where it had stood.

“Seriously, if we had been caught in that, we would have been dead for real…,”

“…That was close.”

Hawk and Dan grimaced, looking at the scooped-out mansion.

Suddenly, Vallum sensed a slight movement of air and turned around alone.

Of course, no one was there.

However, upon closer inspection, he noticed a drop of blood on the floor that hadn’t been there before.

Vallum narrowed his eyes and gripped his spear tighter.

“Sorry, I had to do it. You guys should go ahead and escape.”

Leaving only these words behind, Vallum dashed off without waiting for a reply.

“Hey, wait!”

The others were surprised and called out to him, but by the time they reacted, Vallum’s figure was nowhere to be seen.

The remaining four in the corridor exchanged glances and decided to leave the mansion as planned.

Hawk sighed and looked at the dissolved dark wall and the bloodstain on the floor that Vallum had seen. He took a deep breath.

“…Damn it, both Rofus and Vallum are acting on their own. Riruka’s not here either… Recently, all these kids are acting so independently… I wonder if we, as…”

He trailed off, self-mockingly smiling to himself.

Hawk clenched his magic revolver and stood up.

“What’s wrong, Hawk? Let’s get moving.”

“…Yeah, whatever.”

Hawk, called by Sigurd, holstered his revolver and set off to catch up with the others who had already started walking.

He couldn’t help but feel that this wasn’t enough, but he kept these thoughts to himself.

*

“…You’re surprisingly kind, aren’t you, Rofus?”

“What? What’s with the sudden change of topic?”

Before Rofus could finish his question, a sudden gust of wind blew.

Riruka’s body was pushed forward and she was thrown off the edge of the floor.

The sudden wind seemed to reenact Riruka’s example, as if to say, “What if you fell from here?”

With the mansion being three stories high and nothing to obstruct her fall straight down to the underground dungeon, it was clear that without help, she would be in trouble.

“…Damn it.”

Spitting out a curse, Rofus dove after her.

Immediately, multiple Dark Hands emerged from inside Rofus’s coat, reaching out to grab the falling Riruka and pull her back.

“What are you doing falling like that!? You have a death wish!”

“You came to help me. You really are kind, Rofus.”

Riruka smiled and clung to Rofus in mid-air.

“If you have the energy to say that…!”

As Rofus tried to create a large Dark Hand in the air to serve as a foothold, Riruka tightened her grip and smiled, stopping him.

“You don’t need to do anything. It’s okay—Embrace of the Wind.”

A gentle wind enveloped the falling Riruka and Rofus.

Riruka had activated this intermediate wind attribute defense magic using chant cancelling, which absorbed the impact from outside.

Soon, Riruka and Rofus landed in the underground dungeon, but the impact was absorbed by the wind, and they landed softly.

“See, it was fine, wasn’t it?”

“Let go of me already. How long are you going to cling to me?”

Riruka, who had been glaring at Rofus, finally let go with a “Fine, fine.”

“That sudden gust of wind was no coincidence. Why did you come down here? What’s your purpose?”

The gust of wind that had knocked Riruka off balance was too much of a coincidence.

Faced with Rofus’s questioning gaze, Riruka sighed.

“The purpose isn’t anything that grand. I heard Shiguru and the others are on the floor right below us. You see, I didn’t want our conversation to be interrupted.”

Rofus narrowed his eyes at the mention of Shiguru’s name. It was something he had not known about, and it was also something that Riruka, who had been following Rofus with her stealth magic, should not have known.

However, Riruka had peeked down at the floor below earlier. If she had confirmed Shiguru and the others’ presence there at that time, the story would make sense. But her phrasing of “I heard Shiguru and the others are down there…” made Rofus more suspicious.

Nevertheless, Riruka paid no attention to Rofus’s suspicion and sat down on a pile of rubble, tapping it next to her.

“Come on, sit down, Rofus. It’s going to be a long talk. You want to hear the story, don’t you?”

“I don’t feel the need to sit. I’ll listen here.”

“…I wish there was something to lean on. I wonder if there’s anyone kind enough to lend me their shoulder?”

“…”

Faced with Riruka’s melodramatic words, Rofus glared at her coldly.

After a brief silence, Riruka pressed her side as if in pain.

“Ah, the wound from when I protected you… it’s still pretty sore.”

“You’ve got quite the guts… Well, fine, but only until we’re done talking.”

Letting out a sigh of resignation, Rofus plopped down next to Riruka.

Riruka giggled and rested her head on Rofus’s right shoulder.

A brief silence ensued.

Then Riruka opened her mouth to speak.

“…Before we start talking, I have something I want to ask you, Rofus.”

“What now?”

“You’re surprisingly kind, aren’t you, Rofus? You saved my life in the ruin, and even though you only had one potion, you shared it with me. And just now, you jumped after me when I was pushed by the wind. You could have let me fall, but you didn’t.”

“…Is that what you wanted to ask?”

Rofus glared at her intensely, but Riruka met his gaze head-on and wiped the smile off her face.

“No, wait. Don’t make such a scary face. I’m just curious… why did you become one of the Four Heavenly Kings in the future? —I mean, Shadow Wolf Rofus.”

Riruka’s words, devoid of jest, caused Rofus to widen his eyes for a moment before glaring at her even more fiercely.

*

Riruka’s background and how she came to know the future:

Riruka’s knowledge of the future was fundamentally different from what Rofus saw in his dreams about the future.

In Rofus’s dreams, he saw the future from the perspective of the protagonist, Abel. On the other hand, Riruka’s knowledge of the future was based on her own lived experiences.

In her first life, Riruka lived as one of the heroines, the sky pirate Riruka, and experienced the storyline of the five chapters alongside the protagonist Abel.

Riruka’s first life ended several years after the conclusion of the entire story, around the age of twenty-five, with the demise of the world.

The final chapter that Rofus saw, Chapter 5, involved the revival of the , the archenemy of humanity, and a fierce battle between the protagonist’s faction and the combined forces of various countries, resulting in many sacrifices. Ultimately, humanity emerged victorious under the leadership of the protagonist and the heroines, which was the ending Rofus witnessed.

However, the experience Riruka had was the story after the final chapter. Although the was defeated, it did not perish, and as a result, the world was doomed.

After her death, Riruka met with one of the Six Gods, the Wind God. This entity, who claimed to be the Wind God, greatly resembled the long-extinct subhuman race, the elves, which now only exist in myths and legends.

The Wind God told her that they would reincarnate into the world to prevent it from reaching its end.

Riruka, as one of the Wind God’s apostles, was tasked with searching for a future where the world would not perish.

In return, the Wind God offered to grant one of Riruka’s wishes.

The Wind God also mentioned that the other five Gods had chosen their own apostles, meaning that there were five other individuals, in addition to Riruka, chosen by the Six Gods to ensure the definite destruction of the .

After explaining everything, the Wind God asked Riruka if she had any wishes.

“I want to save my sister, Iz.”

Riruka, who had grown up aboard the flying fortress, cherished her sister Iz deeply.

Stricken with illness, Iz was unable to do anything and suffered until her last breath, leaving Riruka with deep, unresolved regret.

Riruka wished for her sister’s peace of mind.

The Wind God replied that he could not directly heal Iz’s illness.

However, disappointed as she was, the Wind God continued, saying that he could at least show her the way to someone who might be able to.

That person was none other than Rofus Ray Lightless.

After imparting this initial guidance, the Wind God’s figure dissipated, and Riruka found herself three months in the past.

That was the entirety of Riruka Skyfield’s experience.

This was her everything.