Infinite Regressing Knight

Chapter 15: Stage 2. Celestial Stone (8)

I hadn't considered it before because I wasn't confident I could break through Velicaya, but now I thought it might be possible.

It wasn't that I could win against Velicaya, but winning and passing by were different issues.

So, I led Search Team 8 to Slash-and-Burn Village, and Squirmers appeared.

Then, a thought belatedly occurred to me.

"Where did the pathfinder go?"

"When the Commander collapsed, he disappeared saying he was going to get herbs. I think he ran away……"

I didn't know if the herb gatherer was cooperating with Sebastian or being used by him.

"But, is it okay to just leave him alone?"

"Leave him."

What followed was the same.

Squirmers spewed out darkness, and spatial displacement began.

‘If possible, I hope it's the timeline with the pirates.’

Because if I met the Nine Fiends, I would be able to confirm how strong I had become.

So, I entered the forest.

I was used to it now.

Even if the timelines changed, the entry point was always the same.

Dominic, who was about to move to the base camp out of habit, paused for a moment.

If the Nine Fiends were at the base camp, it would be better to go alone.

It was just a baseless feeling, but I felt like the Nine Fiends would be at the base camp.

"Wait here. Build a temporary campsite."

"What about the Commander?"

"I'll scout the surroundings."

With those words, Dominic moved to the outskirts of the forest and fought shadow monsters.

Because I needed time to adapt to my changed body.

But the shadow monsters were so weak that I didn't feel like they were helping much.

And…….

I also felt confident that I could beat the Nine Fiends at this point.

Having reached a conclusion, Dominic headed straight to the base camp where he had stayed in the previous iteration.

There.

"……."

There were eight men sitting leaning against a large tree.

‘They’re really here?’

These men hadn't reacted at all to the appearance of Search Team 8 last time, but it was different this time.

As if they sensed something from Dominic, they slowly rose and gripped their weapons.

"Who are you?"

"Search Team 8 Commander, Dominic."

"……Tera Defense Army?"

"Yes. I killed Aaron. Will you take revenge?"

"……."

I could see that those who had read Dominic's intention were hesitating.

It was absurd, but on the other hand, it was also natural.

If the Nine Fiends were really people who crossed all lines, they would have been punished by the absolute beings of the Seven Knights or the Four Emperors long ago.

It wouldn't be easy to wipe out those who roamed the sea like their own home, but it wouldn't be impossible either.

In other words, they were weak to the strong and strong to the weak.

It was just that nine people with outstanding individual martial power had gathered and built up a reputation.

"I'll ask again. Will you take revenge?"

This time, I didn't wait for an answer.

"If so, I will."

Revenge for Search Team 8 who were humiliated and killed.

Kakang!

Dominic's sword began to rage.

***

Kang- Kang-

Edgar looked back at his subordinates at the faint sound of metal echoing from afar.

The knights nodded.

It meant they had heard it too.

It had already been a month since they had been wandering in the unidentified forest.

The food was long gone, and all they had was a few pieces of jerky.

This couldn't go on.

"Protect the priestess. We're approaching."

With that, Edgar approached the source of the sound with his subordinates.

The situation he wanted most was the mutual destruction of the two groups fighting.

Then, he could obtain the food without an owner.

If not, he could participate in the battle in the form of helping one side.

He wouldn't be able to distinguish good from evil in an instant, but he could distinguish who was close and far from the 'Tera Royal Knights'.

Arriving at the place, Edgar witnessed an amazing sight.

A man in familiar clothes was fighting eight men.

But the skills of those eight men were extraordinary.

Each one was a swordsman above Edgar's level, and they were skilled in combined attacks as if they had been working together for a long time.

If I had fought those guys?

I would have been killed in an instant.

But the situation was the opposite.

One man was pushing back eight men.

It wasn't that he overwhelmed every moment.

He was also cut by swords, and his ears were also cut by sword strikes that barely passed by.

But every time that happened, one person died.

"Fourth!"

"Kill him! Aim for the blind spot!"

But Edgar knew that man.

Dominic Diamond.

A dropout from the academy.

Swish!

Then, with the last sword strike, the eight men lost their lives.

The battle was over.

Dominic had suffered various injuries, but he didn't seem to have lost his energy.

If he attacked them?

They wouldn't be able to survive.

At that moment, Dominic began to approach as if he already knew they were there.

Chaechaechaeng!

The knights under him hurriedly drew their swords to protect Hanshuya.

"Identify yourself."

"Tera Defense Army Search Team 8 Commander, Dominic."

"What?"

"Long time no see, Edgar."

"……Dominic Diamond."

As the knights realized that the captain knew him, they slowly backed away.

"Is that a priestess over there?"

"I am Hanshuya, serving the Goddess Elena."

"Please heal me a little. I think my subordinates will be worried if I go like this."

When the embarrassed Hanshuya looked at Edgar, Edgar opened his mouth.

"Before that, who are those guys?"

"Aaron's sworn brothers. They were called the Nine Fiends."

"What?"

"You should know that I killed Aaron."

I had heard rumors.

That Defense Army's one sword, Dominic, had killed Aaron.

That Dominic, was the Dominic I knew?

No, more than that, he had single-handedly killed eight of the Nine Fiends?

"If you heal me, I'll give you food. Search Team 8 is preparing to camp nearby."

In the end, Edgar had no choice but to nod as he looked at Hanshuya.

***

After meeting Edgar's group, we exchanged food and information.

"This forest is an ominous place."

Dominic already knew everything, but he just listened quietly for the sake of Search Team 8.

What Dominic focused on was the Edgar group's travel route.

It turned out that they had started near the base camp and had been circling the safe zone for a month.

They had returned to their original location in a month.

It wasn't an incomprehensible move.

If Dominic had tried to escape the forest without the ring's ability, he would have searched the entire safe zone with his subordinates.

"So? When does the witch appear?"

"In two days. I think it would be good to move to the outskirts of the safe zone at midnight. The witch appears as she pleases."

"I can't guess the time, can you tell me when it's midnight?"

"The goddess is always present. Even in this ominous forest."

It meant that the priestess could tell the time.

"Let's move together."

So, Search Team 8 and Edgar's group joined forces.

***

Dominic wanted to catch central monsters, but he decided to refrain.

If I entered the central area now and ran into Sebastian, the plan to come into contact with the Celestial Stone would be ruined.

It wasn't a big deal if one regression was delayed, but this forest had so many unspecified elements.

Since it was only two days anyway, it seemed better to endure it.

Instead, Dominic adapted to his changed body and researched how he could break through Velicaya.

I also caught shadow monsters along the way, but the pattern in the ring didn't budge.

‘It's completely impossible to fill it with shadow monsters now.’

So, two days passed.

The time for Velicaya to appear had arrived.

"I'm counting on you, Edgar."

"……I'll do my best."

I had a high probability of meeting Velicaya because I was trying to come into contact with the Celestial Stone.

So, I made some excuse and decided to act separately, and left Search Team 8 to Edgar.

This was in consideration of 'after I die'.

I didn't want to imagine it, but what if this world was maintained even after I died?

If there were still people living?

Jarrot was an excellent unit commander, but his individual martial power was lacking.

Joining forces with Edgar's group, including Hanshuya, would increase the chances of survival by even 0.1%.

So, I parted ways with Search Team 8 and hid, moving in the opposite direction from them.

There was a high probability of meeting Velicaya, but I didn't necessarily want to meet her.

A moment later.

[Hello!]

[Anyone want to eat-!!!]

Velicaya's voice was heard.

Ggeugeugeugeuk-

At the same time, the tower split open vertically and the witch popped out.

[Today's menu is freshly baked bread and tender lamb!]

[There's also soup!]

[Isn't there anyone who will eat with me?!]

I definitely felt extremely hungry last time, but this time I felt nothing.

I had heard a story during my mercenary days that if there was a lot of mana in the body, resistance to magic would increase.

Could it be that I had become strong enough to ignore the magical influence in Velicaya's voice?

At that moment.

"……."

A stone began to appear in the air.

The Celestial Stone.

"What happens if you touch that stone?"

"Ah, that? You'll experience the future."

"The future?"

"Yeah. You get to see the singularities that may exist in the future."

Velicaya had clearly said that if you came into contact with the Celestial Stone, you would see the future.

So, this was the most important issue for Dominic.

What if I saw the future and Dominic was still trapped in the forest?

That meant there was no way to escape this forest.

But what if I was acting somewhere other than the forest?

That meant I could escape the forest.

Of course, the words of the mages were vague, so I didn't know exactly what 'singularity' meant.

But it was definitely a point where continuity disappeared and causality was broken.

Dominic was the one who had the greatest continuity right now.

Because I was living in a closed time.

Then, couldn't I see getting out of here as the moment when continuity disappeared?

Or it could be the moment the infinite regression ends.

Dominic closed his eyes.

And imagined.

That the stone existing in the sky would connect to him.

At that moment, I felt ‘some kind of energy’ gathering in front of me.

An energy that felt evil and ominous.

Velicaya.

I opened my eyes.

"Hello?"

Reddish-brown eyes were staring intently at him.

Dominic closed his eyes again.

And the moment I opened my eyes.

"……Huh?"

A stone was protruding through Velicaya's abdomen.

***

The Celestial Stone had the property of changing its form according to perception.

Then, what would happen if I perceived a form that 'penetrated Velicaya'?

This was one of the plans Dominic had prepared, and it worked.

However, even though her abdomen was penetrated, Velicaya didn't seem to have taken any damage.

But she was greatly flustered.

"You can materialize more strongly than me?"

Dominic didn't hesitate.

I was about to throw myself and touch the stone.

But the magical storm that blew in began to tear Dominic's body apart.

[If you touch that, you'll die.]

Velicaya's power was nothing like Sebastian's.

The tremendous magical storm was not a force that the human body could withstand.

But even the greatest power had a limit.

The center of the typhoon was calm, and the source of the tsunami was quiet.

Dominic's sword flew.

The sword, which he hadn't let go of even though he had wounds that revealed his bones, reached the extreme point of the magical storm.

And, Mana Burn.

Kwang!

The moment the magical storm disappeared, another magic flew in, but Dominic didn't stop.

I had suffered mortal wounds, but I wasn't dead yet.

Then I could move forward.

I threw my body with a desperate determination.

Thud.

The arm, with its humerus completely crushed, touched the Celestial Stone.

Tuwhack!

A bright light burst out.