Chapter 3: Reviving me… meant this?

Rita was momentarily flustered.  

“What does that mean…?”  

As she tried to question, a strange text appeared before her.  

White letters on a blue background flickered chaotically for a while.  

At times, they paused, but the characters were incomprehensible to Rita.  

Soon, the shifting text stopped and stabilized.  

The transformed letters were in the all-too-familiar language of the Lagos Continent.  

[Origin: Hell]  

[Name: None]  

[Rank: Adult – 1st Class]  

[Attribute: Fire]  

Beyond the transparent window containing the text, a beast in the form of a lizard appeared.  

Shortly after, another beast materialized beside it, accompanied by similar yet different information.  

[Origin: Hell]  

[Name: None]  

[Rank: Juvenile – 2nd Class]  

[Attribute: Wind]  

“What is this…?”  

Rita let out a disbelieving laugh.  

More than the mechanics of how this was possible, the information before her eyes was astonishing.  

‘I could roughly guess their rank by size, but to know their attribute right away? Witout a single word?’  

Attributes were critical in offensive magic.  

Their effectiveness varied depending on compatibility.  

Naturally, beasts also had attributes.  

However, since attributes couldn’t be discerned at a glance, the subjugation force always wasted time in battle.  

Thus, the information before her was truly shocking.  

With this knowledge, she could exterminate them far more easily than before.  

[You will now protect your world through those eyes. So, go back and find them—destroy them.]  

Rita’s eyes widened sharply as she processed the words. 

The atmosphere suggested she was about to be sent away.  

“Wait, hold on! I don’t understand what’s happening or what you mean. What is this? Please, explain a bit more…”  

[Remember this: Iskis is the ‘enemy.’ And if you fail to fulfill our agreement, I will take your life at any moment.]  

“What? Are you saying you’ll kill me if I don’t keep the promise?”  

There was no reply.  

The silence felt like affirmation, and Rita’s blood drained.  

As she tried to press further, her head was forcibly tilted back.  

A ringing filled her ears, and her vision blurred.  

Her body floated, and her mind grew distant.  

She couldn’t tell if this was a dream or reality.  

‘What is this? What’s happening? Is this really a dream?’  

If it was, it wasn’t a bad one.  

Rita let out a hollow laugh and lost consciousness.  

***

March of Lagos Year 280 was when the mysterious seed appeared in the central continent.  

At that time, the beast known as ‘Iskis’ didn’t yet exist in Lagos.  

It was merely a seed that had suddenly appeared in the northern regions—or, at most, an unidentified plant that grew from it.  

Thus, people back then paid little attention to the seed’s emergence.  

“Be careful not to break the mana stones! These are natural ones, so they’re expensive.”  

In the capital of the Kingdom of Lagos, Kabala, specifically in the southwestern district, Grang Street stood a white, spiral-staired tower shaped like a conch, a symbol of the city.  

Its official name was the Mage Tower.  

Commonly called the Tower, it was led by the 14th Tower Master, Talos, with the kingdom’s mages active in various fields.  

The most bustling area was the first laboratory on the second floor.  

Even late at night, first-class mages affiliated with the Tower were engrossed in crafting magical tools.  

The night of March 10, Year 280, seemed to be winding down in the same way.  

***

“Now’s not the time…!”  

Rita shot up from her seat, slamming her fist on the desk.  

The mages immersed in their work glanced at Rita, who was fuming alone.  

Swallowing her frustration under their cold stares, Rita realized she had awakened in the past—eighteen months before her death at the hands of Iskis.  

Thud—  

A dull sound jolted Rita awake.  

Surrounded by specks of light, she screamed and opened her eyes.  

Gasping for breath, she froze at the sight of the dimly lit laboratory.  

“The Mage Tower?”  

Confirming the familiar surroundings, Rita felt momentary relief.  

Then, she noticed an odd dissonance.  

A cluttered desk. 

Her slumped posture. 

A stiff neck and shoulders. 

She looked as if she’d just woken from a nap.  

But stranger still was her attire.  

Rita stared uneasily at the brown cloak she wore.  

Adorned with a red ruby, this cloak was a symbol of the Mage Tower’s research division.  

She was momentarily flustered to find herself wearing the clothes from her most difficult days.  

Then, faint memories from before she lost consciousness surfaced.  

The final battle with Iskis.  

The incomprehensible choices of the saint and the hero.  

Her master’s betrayal, her death. 

The strange dream.  

But it was too vivid to be a dream.  

Recalling her death clearly, Rita blinked in a daze.  

“What’s going on?”  

Barely piecing together her memories, Rita frowned and touched her body.  

Astonishingly, it was completely intact.  

She slowly retraced her memories after her death.  

The white space. 

The god-like entity. 

The things it showed her.  

She recalled its promise to bring her back to life.  

“Did I really… come back to life?”  

It was an unbelievable reality.  

But her memories were vivid, and her body was unharmed.  

It didn’t make sense as a dream.  

‘If I was truly brought back to life, does that mean I need to return to the battlefield and destroy Iskis?’  

Her trembling eyes reflected her growing acceptance of reality.  

“Mikael. Talos…!”  

The failed subjugation due to the saint’s foolish choice.  

And the master who discarded her like a worn-out shoe.  

Now alive again, Rita had much to say to both of them.  

Especially to Talos.  

“I want to rush to him and demand answers…”  

Rita took a deep breath to calm her anger.  

She regained her composure.  

‘What’s happened in the northern regions? Is the capital still safe? I need to go down and check the situation first…’  

As Rita scrambled in confusion, a soft voice came from above.  

Startled, she fell back, having just regained her calm. 

Looking up, she saw a woman on a wooden ladder, clutching a bookshelf.  

Soft brown hair and lake-blue eyes.  

Despite her small frame, she had a strong presence.  

“Ah…”  

Rita let out a reflexive groan.  

The face was vaguely familiar.  

“What kind of dream did you have to make you so frantic? Muttering nonsense with such a serious expression—I thought you were someone else. It was so entertaining I couldn’t help but watch. Oh, sorry for waking you. This was heavier than I thought and slipped.”  

Her slender finger pointed to the floor.  

Among scattered parchment, a thick grimoire lay pitifully open.  

“Wow, this is wild. I never thought I’d talk to you like this… Just so you know, I don’t dislike you like the others do. Oh, and that thing last time? No hard feelings, but it was your fault, right?”  

The woman, chattering away, slowly descended the ladder.  

She looked curiously at Rita, who still hadn’t gotten up.  

In contrast, Rita couldn’t take her eyes off the woman’s perfectly intact face.  

Bright, curious blue eyes.  

A meddlesome personality to match.  

Rita hadn’t liked her and couldn’t even recall her name.  

But she was definitely a fellow mage who had fought on the front lines.  

At least, until seven months ago in her memory.  

Rita recalled the battle to exterminate Asmodeus, one of the seven fragments.  

‘That’s strange. She died back then, didn’t she?’  

***

Her body had been mutilated, limbs and head nearly torn off, leaving only her torso.  

Rita vividly remembered her gruesome death.  

‘Yes, she definitely died.’  

That memory was certain.  

Her fiancé, who had recovered her body, was so devastated that he hanged himself in the barracks the next morning.  

It happened to be right next to Rita’s tent.  

She clearly remembered the screams of the comrade who found his body.  

***

Feeling uneasy, Rita scratched the back of her head and frowned.  

“Could it be…”  

She was about to ask if the woman had participated in the Leviathan extermination battle when—  

“Rita.”  

A deep, robust voice echoed from behind.  

Snapping to attention, Rita immediately turned.  

There, striding from the door with empty hands extended, was the comrade she had been with just before her death.  

“Rita. The report.”  

“Seth…?”  

Tall, with an imposing physique, long red hair, and stern green eyes. 

It was unmistakably Seth’s face.  

“How…? Your head was clearly cut off…”  

Could the ‘god’ have revived Seth along with her? 

Feeling some responsibility for his death, Rita felt a wave of relief.  

‘…Wait. Something’s off.’  

Rita scrutinized him closely.  

Her gaze stopped at Seth’s hair.  

The head she saw severed had short hair.  

‘But now Seth’s hair…’  

She blinked at his hair, which reached his waist.  

Considering the average speed of hair growth, this was impossible.  

Unless she had been unconscious for a very long time.  

“The research report from yesterday. If it’s done, hand it over.”  

His irritable tone and expression made Rita even more puzzled.  

‘What’s with him? Last time, he was all friendly, wanting to be friends. Why’s his tone different now? Like back in the research division days… Wait, research division? Report?’  

A bolt of realization struck Rita.  

‘Oh.’  

Her head felt like it would explode.  

But she forced herself to calm down and think clearly.  

The out-of-season attire. 

The colleague who died long ago.  

The comrade whose head was severed by Iskis. 

Relationships and memories from the past.  

There was only one conclusion.  

‘This is the past. The time when I was part of the Mage Tower’s research division…’  

Even as she reached this conclusion, she was stunned.  

Rita reflexively covered her mouth.  

Then, thinking of the ‘god,’ she was struck with awe.  

“Reviving me… meant this?”  

***

It was an unbelievable yet undeniable reality.  

Even checking the time, treated as half-mad, confirmed it was the past.  

Rita had no choice but to acknowledge and accept the ‘god’s’ power.  

Even so, it took her over a week to adjust to this bizarre situation.  

No matter how vivid her memories, a year was a long time.  

There were many details she couldn’t recall.  

Each time, Rita wracked her brain to remember.  

As a result, within a week, she had become quite an oddity.  

‘I don’t care about being seen as strange.’  

Talos, the Tower Master and Rita’s mentor.  

Having experienced his betrayal, Rita had lost all attachment to him.  

But this was the past.  

Talos hadn’t yet betrayed her and still appeared as the esteemed master she once knew.  

‘Hypocrite. Liar. Trash.’  

Having endured his betrayal, Rita glared at him with cold eyes.  

‘Back then, he seemed so grand, like the heavens themselves. Now, I feel nothing. Instead, I wonder what’s behind that smile. His face just feels despicable.’  

Perhaps he sensed her gaze despite the many disciples around him.  

While lecturing, Talos’s eyes subtly lingered on Rita.  

“What’s wrong, Rita?”  

Even his smiling question was met with her icy stare.  

Rita was no longer Talos’s loyal disciple.  

[To be Coninued..]