Repeat Vice - The Villainous Noble Doesn't Want to Die, So He Swore to Not Die As One of The Four Heavenly Kings - Chapter 95: The Dark Reaper III

Chapter 95: The Dark Reaper III

The colossal strike of the Dark Scythe unleashed by Rinus obliterated the rocky mountain, creating a massive crater resembling a volcanic caldera.

From the bottom of the crater, groundwater gushed forth, forming a simple lake.

Though the circumstances of its creation differed, it truly resembled a caldera lake.

Rofus, who fell into the lake, sank deeper and deeper.

Blood pouring from his wounds dyed the water a dark red.

There was no light in Rofus’s eyes as his consciousness sank into deep darkness.

*

A black world as far as the eye could see.

Rofus suddenly noticed a figure in front of him.

A man with sharp eyes and black hair, reclining on a giant black wolf as if it were a sofa.

It was none other than himself—no, it was the “Shadow Wolf” Rofus, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the story.

The “Shadow Wolf” snorted mockingly when he saw Rofus.

“What a disgrace. To be toyed with by such an old fool.”

Rofus narrowed his eyes at those words.

There was another presence deep within him—the will of the “Shadow Wolf” often surfaced.

In the past, the dark emotions thought to be those of the “Shadow Wolf” had overflowed, causing Rofus to act against his will, sometimes even speaking to him.

Looking back, never before had it manifested so clearly before his eyes.

“A hallucination—would be preferable…”

“Escaping reality? How pathetic. After all the times you called me a loser, look at you now.”

“…I must admit, you’re quite annoying.”

Rofus pressed his temples and shook his head in frustration.

The “Shadow Wolf” continued regardless.

“But I refuse to die here. Let me take over. I’ll handle the rest.”

“What…?”

Rofus frowned at the self-assured smirk of the “Shadow Wolf.”

“The old man was right. Such a pitiful way of fighting. All that abundant magic, wasted if not used.”

The “Shadow Wolf” taunted, patting the head of the giant wolf.

Rofus’s eyes wandered to the “Shadow Wolf’s” body.

The “Shadow Wolf” was much leaner than Rofus.

Rofus had a well-toned body, always prepared for close combat, a stark contrast.

“…I see.”

Rofus understood.

By following the path of the Four Heavenly Kings “Shadow Wolf,” he had stopped training his body, abandoning close combat in favor of long-range magic.

This was a path Rofus, who had been killed countless times in close combat and couldn’t stand leaving that weakness unaddressed, had not taken.

“That’s why you were defeated—by Abel and his merry band.”

The “Shadow Wolf’s” forehead veins bulged at Rofus’s words.

“It was because I lacked magic power. If I had more, those small fry…”

“Magic power is finite. It will eventually run out if used. If you faced the same situation again, you would utter the same words and lose the same way.”

“Hey, who do you think you’re picking a fight with? We’re like two sides of the same coin. Fighting each other is pointless.”

“I refuse to be killed anymore.”

At Rofus’s words, the “Shadow Wolf” shrugged in exasperation.

“Are you really me—Rofus Ray Lightless? Saying you don’t want to die like some child. What a coward.”

“…Huh?”

“That’s right. All the Four Heavenly Kings, including me, risked our lives for Raymond—”

“Hey.”

Rofus interrupted the “Shadow Wolf’s” words.

He tilted his head, staring at the “Shadow Wolf” with abyssal black eyes.

“Have you ever had a dream?”

“A dream…? What are you talking about—”

“No, maybe I asked the wrong question. How many times have you been killed?”

“What?”

The “Shadow Wolf” furrowed his brows, not understanding the question.

“A dream… Oh, are you talking about the dream where you were killed tens of thousands of times? I don’t know that. So I was killed once—don’t lump me in with you. It’s absurd to compare someone who was actually killed with someone who just dreamed of being killed a few times.”

The “Shadow Wolf” laughed mockingly, as if it were utterly foolish.

Rofus quietly watched, chuckling as if he had seen something strange.

Rofus laughed quietly, his shoulders trembling.

Though he was laughing, to the “Shadow Wolf,” it seemed like he was crying or angry, and the eerie smile faded.

“…What’s so funny?”

“‘Just a dream,’ huh. How laughable. Truly laughable.”

The space around Rofus distorted.

From the shadows at his feet, countless dark arms emerged.

The black giant wolf sitting beside the “Shadow Wolf” grimaced in horror at the bizarre sight.

When its eyes met Rofus’s dark, murky ones, it let out a high-pitched scream and ran into the darkness, leaving the “Shadow Wolf” behind.

“What’s your plan…? Are you going to fight me here?”

The “Shadow Wolf” raised a hand in irritation, trying to cast a spell.

But the spell didn’t activate.

This was Rofus’s mental space.

In other words, it was Rofus’s personal inner world, and the phenomena occurring here depended on Rofus’s mind.

The “Shadow Wolf” couldn’t activate magic.

This meant that the “Shadow Wolf” didn’t have enough power to wield magic in this world.

“Impossible, why won’t it activate…!?”

As the “Shadow Wolf” panicked, countless dark arms extended from Rofus’s shadow, painting the already dark space even darker.

“This can’t be… You’re supposed to be me…! Why is there such a difference in power!?”

“Who knows. As clichéd as it sounds, my power surpassed your expectations, and your power fell short of mine—that’s all.”

Rofus’s shadow finally swallowed up the dark space, and countless black arms pinned down and restrained the “Shadow Wolf.”

In this mental space, strength equates to mental strength.

Rofus and the “Shadow Wolf” were originally the same entity—it should have been impossible for such a clear power difference to emerge…

Mental strength depends on the experiences one has gone through.

No matter what experiences one has in the short time allotted to a person, it’s just a slight difference, like comparing acorns.

But Rofus had an experience the “Shadow Wolf” didn’t.

That was—over twenty million deaths.

Rofus’s mental state, having undergone that, had already surpassed that of a human.

“Impossible…! How will you defeat the old man without me!?”

Pinned down by countless dark arms, the “Shadow Wolf” still struggled and shouted.

Rofus grabbed the head of the wailing “Shadow Wolf” and glared quietly.

“…Enough running away like a child. Let’s face it—our past mistakes.”

“…!”

At Rofus’s words, the “Shadow Wolf” widened his eyes and fell silent.

Past mistakes—the “Shadow Wolf” knew what that meant, being the same entity as Rofus.

It was all too clear.

Rofus’s failure referred to the past magical rampage.

The incident where he severely injured his brother Remus, terrified his mother Karen, and was stopped by his father Rudens—the biggest failure of Rofus’s life.

The catalyst that led him to leave the main house and nearly destroyed the Lightless domain—the High-End Demonic Transformation.

“Are you serious…?”

Rofus’s unwavering gaze answered the “Shadow Wolf’s” question.

The “Shadow Wolf” quietly exhaled and relaxed his shoulders.

“I see… If that’s the case, I’ll stay quiet. Because that… is something I couldn’t do. But if you lose control again, at that time—your body will be mine.”

With those final words, the “Shadow Wolf” stopped resisting and was dragged into Rofus’s shadow.

*

Rofus awoke at the bottom of the lake formed from the overflowing groundwater.

Frowning at the constant bleeding from his chest wound, Rofus retrieved an amulet stored in his prosthetic arm.

It was the highest-grade healing magic amulet given to him by the maid Yurika before his visit to the Sky City.

He hadn’t had a chance to use it in the Sky City and had kept it in his prosthetic arm as insurance for emergencies.

Sighing at having to use it against a family member, Rofus activated the magic within the amulet.

Healing light enveloped Rofus, and the wound that reached his heart quickly healed.

Healing magic could heal wounds, but it couldn’t restore lost blood.

The time Rofus had been unconscious was less than five seconds in the real world.

However, given the wound reached his heart, he had lost a significant amount of blood.

On the verge of losing consciousness due to blood loss, Rofus circulated his magic throughout his body.

The demonic transformation he had once lost control of.

At that time, it wasn’t an intentional demonic transformation.

Young Rofus, skilled in magic control, had tried to wield magic beyond human limits out of curiosity.

Normally, such an attempt would fail, but Rofus had exceptionally excellent magical talent, for better or worse.

Young Rofus’s body was transformed to wield magic beyond human limits as if adapting to it.

The unintentional demonic transformation was something young Rofus couldn’t control and went berserk.

Though unintentional, Rofus had experienced demonic transformation once.

Possessing a natural talent for magic, Rofus had grasped and understood the essence of High-End Demonic Transformation from that one experience.

Until now, he had deliberately avoided it, not even considering it as a combat option.

Rofus’s body was now enveloped in darkness.

Rofus now unlocked the combat method he had been suppressing.

＊

Above.

Rinus, transformed into a demon, floating effortlessly in the air, looking down at Rofus who had fallen into the caldera lake.

“I’ve done it now,” thought Rinus.

In his overzealousness, he had accidentally cut Rofus with the “Scythe of the Reaper.”

The blow had definitely been fatal.

“…Well, whatever.”

Rinus shrugged nonchalantly.

If he died, it was all he was worth.

No matter how much magical talent and skill one had, if they couldn’t secure victory, it was meaningless.

The loser is weak.

Such a person was unfit to bear the name of the Lightless family.

What was needed as the head of the Lightless family was not the noble pursuit of a romantic or principled victory, but the cunning to achieve victory by any means necessary.

Rofus lacked an overwhelming thirst for victory.

At this rate, even if he didn’t die here, he would have been easily killed someday by someone insignificant.

If that were the case, it was somewhat better to die by the hands of his own kin here.

The loser loses everything to the victor.

Life, of course, and even property, land, and dignity.

So, it was better this way.

How fortunate Rofus was to die by the hands of his own kin here.

Rinus raised the “Scythe of the Reaper.”

It was to reap the magic power – the flame of life – that still remained in the depths of the water.

“…There is still your brother Remus. The Lightless family will not perish. Die in peace, Rofus, my beloved grandson.”

Just as the scythe was about to come down, Rinus stopped his hand.

As he was about to strike, he felt an ominous, murderous intent.

The source of the killing intent was a black bird flying nearby.

“…Spying on me? You’re still as gloomy as ever, Rudens.”

Rinus glared at the black bird – Rudens’s familiar – with a click of his tongue.

“Are you saying not to kill him? Fool. It’s precisely because of you that Rofus turned out to be such a wimp -“

As he was about to complain, Rinus was seized by a deeply unpleasant sensation.

It was something more physical than the killing intent he felt from Rudens through his familiar.

A wave of extremely high-density magic power emanating from the bottom of the caldera.

A chill as if he were peering into the depths of hell.

Sweat broke out on Rinus’s forehead.

“——Demonization High End… ‘Creation’? First, he imitates Rudens, and now he imitates me. But I’m not so soft that a desperate demonization would work on me.”

Besides, according to Rinus’s assessment, Rofus was not suited for Demonization High End – ‘Creation’, which transforms the body.

The output of ‘Creation’ heavily depends on the quality and quantity of the caster’s magic power.

The further the quality of the magic power is from human, the further the body transforms from human.

And the larger the quantity of magic power, the higher the output – but it also requires a high level of mental strength to handle it.

Even for the battle-hardened Rinus, it took over ten years of training to handle demonization freely.

Even from the perspective of Rinus, who was said to have an unusually large amount of magic power among the successive heads of the Lightras family, Rofus’s amount of magic power was overwhelmingly vast.

Handling Rofus’s Demonization High End ‘Creation’ would be unimaginably difficult.

With ordinary mental strength, losing control was inevitable.

Without an extraordinarily high spiritual quality akin to a deity, it couldn’t be managed properly.

“Cornered and losing control – what a pathetic end… huh?”

Rinus suddenly felt that the extremely high-density magic power – power far exceeding what a human could handle – was strangely stable.

Unlike the rough, chaotic magic power from the great disaster caused by Rofus’s loss of control years ago, the current magic power was as calm as the surface of still water.

“——Oh?”

His vision tilted.

Without sound, impact, or pain, Rinus’s body was split into upper and lower halves.

A black wall that had extended from the water’s surface had divided Rinus in two.

Rinus immediately realized that the black wall was not made of darkness.

It wasn’t a substance; rather, it was the trace of a slash – the trajectory of a slash aimed at the sky.

“Hey, hey… what the hell is that? Did that brat Rofus just cut through the world——he’s a monster.”

The black wall – it was a tear in the dimension.

The slash had cut through space – slicing through this entire world.

Rinus, divided into upper and lower halves, fell, laughing weakly.

It was a selfish yet somewhat satisfied laugh.

＊

On the ground, by the caldera lake.

Rudens stood there with a stern expression.

Nearby, Rofus, having removed his wet clothes and sitting cross-legged, was being attended to by the maid Yurika.

Yurika was casting healing magic to treat the slash marks carved into Rofus’s chest.

The wounds had already been treated with magic talismans and had closed, making it difficult to completely erase the scars.

But Yurika continued to cast healing magic, trying to erase the painful scars somehow.

And a short distance away, Rinus, who had undone his demonization, was sitting in seiza, wearing only a loincloth.

“Umm… I’m much more seriously injured than Ro-boy here. Could you please treat me, pretty young lady?”

Rinus pleaded in a cajoling voice, but Yusrika ignored him.

Though Rinus had been cut in half at the abdomen, he was somehow still alive.

This was because Rinus’s Demonization High End – ‘Skeleton of the Farmer’ had undead-like properties, making physical damage to his body non-lethal while demonized.

Thus, even in a state where his body was cut in half, he wouldn’t die.

However, even with undead properties, if the demonization were undone while his body was split, he would die for sure.

Rudens hurriedly arrived and collected the severed upper and lower halves of Rinus, who had been cut by Rofus. He managed to revive Rinus by connecting his torso and undoing the demonization.

Rudens himself had momentarily considered abandoning him but decided to take resuscitative measures, thinking Rofus might not have hit him enough.

However, even though Rinus gained immortality in his demonized state, he was not unscathed.

The severed wound on his torso left a deep scar that still oozes blood.

“Hey, little girl—”

“Be quiet.”

Ignoring his continuous requests for help, Rudens silenced Rinus with a slap to his cheek, accompanied by a click of his tongue.

Ignoring Rinus, who held his swollen cheek and looked at him in disbelief, Rudens looked at Rofus.

“I’m glad you’re safe. This idiot… I never thought he was such a fool…”

“Who’s an idiot? I’m not senile yet.”

Rinus was slapped again by Rudens.

Then Rudens composed himself and turned back to Rofus.

“Don’t think this is the custom of the Lightless family, Rofus. It’s true that there is a rule to duel for the head’s seat, but it doesn’t mean we encourage fighting among family. Rinus is just crazy, and the Lightless family is not a barbaric warrior clan.”

Rofus shrugged at Rudens’ extremely serious speech.

“…I understand that, of course.”

While receiving treatment from Yurika, Rofus glared at Rudens.

“Father, we should complete the succession ceremony before I enter the academy.”

Rofus’ words brought a tense atmosphere.

Rofus and Rudens stared at each other in silence.

And Rinus watched them with a smirk.

Yurika, looking flustered, pleaded, “At least heal your wounds first…!” but Rofus ignored her.

After a brief stare-off, Rudens sighed.

“…A duel is unnecessary.”

“What…?”

Rofus frowned at Rudens’ declaration of unnecessary.

“I said it’s unnecessary. You’ve mastered demonization, haven’t you? In that case, there’s no need to duel. After you graduate from the academy, you will be the head of the Lightless family—Rofus.”

Rofus glared in disbelief at Rudens, who had spoken so nonchalantly.

“That’s absurd… There’s no way I can accept that.”

“Who says you can’t? As the current head of the Lightless family, I recognize it. That’s all there is to it.”

“That’s sophistry…!”

As Rofus continued to argue, Rudens shrugged and pointed in a certain direction.

It was the black wall extending from Caldera Lake to the sky—the rift in the dimension, a scar carved into the world.

An act beyond human reach.

“I have no means to stop that.”

“Hmm…”

“I have no hobby of wasting lives. Unlike that idiot over there.”

Saying this, Rudens turned his back, flipping his cloak.

He then grabbed the face of Rinus, who was sitting upright.

With Rinus crying out in pain, Rudens began to sink into the shadows.

“We’ll discuss this fool’s punishment later—rest your body for now.”

As he sank, Rudens glanced at Rofus.

“…You’ve gotten stronger—Rofus.”

Rudens muttered and disappeared into the shadows.

At that moment, Rofus felt that Rudens was smiling a little.

Rofus, who hadn’t seen his father smile in a long time, stood there with a complex expression.

Despite Yurika’s efforts, the scar on Rofus’ chest never disappeared.

While soothing the desperately apologizing Yurika and feeling downcast, Rofus, who was injured, ended up comforting her. And so, the day came to an end.

By the way, it is said that Carlos, upon hearing the events of this day, stormed into Rinus’ mansion with a naked sword, chased him around, and gave him a rather serious lecture.

At that time, Carlos was raging in a way that was unimaginable from his usual calm and gentle demeanor.

From Rinus’ perspective, it was as if he had returned to the time before he became the Sword Saint, when they rampaged together on the battlefield—like the time he was called the “Crimson Oni,” and he said, “I thought he was going to kill me for real.”