Eternally Regressing Knight
Chapter 598 - Just Three Days

Chapter 598 - 598 - Just Three Days

Chapter 598 - Just Three Days

The Evil Eye, the city, the people, and the criminal guild—everything was, in reality, one big trap, a snare.

And the Apostle of the Dark Mountain Sanctuary, who set this trap, had not underestimated the goal even once.

Not even a little.

"Could a knight possibly fall to something like the Evil Eye?"

It couldn't be.

Apostle Anella had kept her plans to herself for this very reason.

She had to ensure that the enemy didn't notice all her preparations.

She had sent her subordinates to their deaths for this very purpose.

"Go, show him your abilities. Do you think he can kill you without even looking? What if you thrust a spear into his heart using telekinesis? A knight is not an immortal being."

"I will bring his head. I will bring it and offer it to the Demon God."

She had sent a follower with the Evil Eye, but the target wouldn't fall easily.

Her prediction was correct. As the Evil Eye perished and its connection to the mind was severed, the vision disappeared.

The Apostle sat quietly on the dirty ground, hands clasped in prayer.

Those who knew Apostle Anella called her the Angel of Calamity.

Why?

Because of her abilities.

She could sacrifice her own life force to cast forbidden spells derived from disasters.

And what she had prepared this time was the "Walking Fire."

Forbidden spells, by nature, sought the caster's lifespan.

She had focused especially on spells that consumed life force because it allowed her to fully utilize her own powers.

When she first started preparing, she had thought that the spell would burn half of her life away.

But after sensing Enkrid's presence, her thoughts changed.

Especially when he had thrown a fork to track her gaze—she was stunned.

So, it was also regretful.

"How regrettable."

Why had someone who should have been an asset to the Dark Mountain Sanctuary gone down the wrong path?

Now, it was too late to turn back.

She had warned him many times, told him to find the light, but he hadn't listened. Now, there was only punishment left.

To do that, hadn't she used the city as bait?

After all, the bigger the bait, the better.

That's why she had cast the city aside.

And so, the pitiful soul, meant to walk in the light, bit the bait.

"Great Demon God."

She, like the Apostle of the Curse, possessed a power that absorbed the lifeforce of others, and with that, she performed these nonsensical spells.

She did it.

She summoned calamity.

She invoked the Demon God's name and chanted the spell.

She burned the lifeforce she had accumulated, burning more than half of her lifespan, as she had predicted, to complete the spell.

"Arise, Fire that coveted the sun."

Blood flowed from her eyes, and in front of her, a fiery form rose, transforming into something resembling a person.

It was smaller than a giant but larger than a human.

The flickering flames engulfed its entire body like fur.

Naturally, it had no facial features or eyes. It was a spell, nothing more.

But it had legs. Thus, the spell was named "Walking Fire."

The fire walked, heading toward the Cross Guard.

Peace, the chirping of birds, the harmony of winter flowers and the blue sky led Enkrid to another world for a brief moment.

He had taken a short nap, nothing long.

It was just a quick rest, a peaceful nap.

During that brief moment, Enkrid felt a sudden disappearance of sleep.

His body instinctively responded.

It wasn't even a dream, but his instincts had awakened.

A chilling sense of dread stabbed at his heart.

Why?

What was it? His gaze shifted.

Whoosh.

He saw a fire rising from a distance. It was clearly an artificially raised flame.

"Why doesn't it feel warm?"

Between the winter winds, a hot, suffocating blast filled the air.

A wave of intense heat, filled with a sense of foreboding, swept through the area.

Enkrid jumped to his feet, instinctively scanning his surroundings.

He saw someone, their entire body engulfed in flames, screaming as they ran away.

"Ahhh!"

It was fire.

More precisely, a fire monster.

From its shoulders to its head, flames rose into the air, while fiery feet seemed to walk on air, suspended above the ground.

Seeing this, it appeared light, yet when he confirmed what it had done, it felt overwhelming, heavy.

There was no speech.

Fire couldn't speak.

It only created flames.

"What is this?"

Delma, who had been bringing water, came face to face with the fiery creature.

The child was unfortunate.

A few conversations shared before the nap flashed through Enkrid's mind.

Delma would inherit the inn, assuming he didn't die.

If left as he was, he would burn alive.

Whoosh.

Winter flowers burned to ash.

The trees caught fire, and a path of flames trailed behind the creature.

The moment Enkrid locked eyes with the fire monster, flames spread to everything around him.

Whoosh.

The fire spread to everything nearby.

The flames turned his face red, and the heat pressed down on his entire body.

Enkrid unsheathed his sword and charged.

He extended his leg, swinging his sword.

He poured his Will into the strike, aiming to cut down the monster.

The movements were swift, seamless, and without hesitation.

Whoosh!

'It feels nothing.'

Clash.

At the same moment, a strange sound echoed in Enkrid's ear.

The sound came from his sword.

Blue light shattered across the blade like broken glass.

'It's the magic Esther cast.'

The magic dispersed.

The Walking Fire extended its hand.

Instinctively, Enkrid reached out with his Spark, piercing its arm.

By spinning in place, a gust of wind swept around Enkrid's body.

Whoosh!

Spark pierced its arm, but that was all.

The hand of the Walking Fire had fulfilled its purpose. Enkrid couldn't stop it.

The thread-like flames stretched toward Delma.

Whooosh!

Flames shot up and exploded. Delma couldn't even scream. The figure simply stretched out his hand, and the fire engulfed Delma faster than an arrow. The smell of burning flesh filled the air instead of screams.

Other streams of fire, which had been spreading like threads, soon turned into towering flames.

"Ha!"

Enkrid raised his sword, striking with a shout. The blade cut through the figure's arm.

The severed arm flew sideways, impaling a building in the city, and exploded.

Boom!

The compressed air swept around in a storm. Explosions followed one after another.

"Ahhh!"

"Help me!"

"Why...?"

"Grrr!"

"Leni? Leniiii!"

A hell created by a sea of fire spread before his eyes. The pressure from the explosions pushed his body, but Enkrid held his ground and took in the devastation.

Everything was burning.

People, buildings, children, Delma, the inn, fools, lovers, families, fathers, mothers—everything.

"What are you?"

Enkrid felt an unbearable sense of discomfort and asked.

The overwhelming sense of danger remained.

"Forbidden spell? A walking fire!"

Then, he heard Luagarne's voice.

The conclusion was this

Enkrid couldn't cut the flames.

The figure spread fire and eventually burned everything.

Luagarne burned to death, and Enkrid held out until the end, dying as well.

Dying in fire was far more painful than dying of thirst.

His whole body was ablaze, and the pain was unlike anything that could be compared.

He was clearly burning, but it felt as if ice spear points were stabbing into his body.

That was how Enkrid died.

The blackout.

This blackout lasted a long time.

Then, as if waiting for it, there was a sensation of rocking.

Sway.

The place where the water currents rocked his body was the side of a boat.

The ferryman was smiling at him.

Enkrid couldn't bring himself to smile at the sight of that grin.

"Are you enjoying this?"

The ferryman asked.

In his final moments, Enkrid instinctively braced himself, watching everything burn.

A tree that bloomed flowers even in winter burned.

The inn burned.

Delma burned.

Luagarne burned.

He burned.

"Isn't it time for enjoyment?"

He heard the ferryman's next words, followed by another.

"Go enjoy it more, and then we'll talk."

After the ferryman spoke, before Enkrid could respond, the black river disappeared, and the purple lamp faded and scattered.

Everything scattered like grains of sand.

Once everything dispersed, Enkrid opened his eyes and realized it wasn't morning.

'Did I just wake up from a nap?'

Was sleep the key to turning back the day?

No, it could have been the ferryman's prank.

Maybe it was.

There was no time for long contemplation.

He had opened his eyes because he felt the same sense of dread again.

Once more, the same feeling.

It was ominous, and this time, he knew what was going to happen.

He had repeated this day before.

Enkrid, upon opening his eyes, jumped up in a sudden motion.

"Wah! What's wrong? You scared me?"

Delma, who was nearby, exclaimed in surprise as she spilled the water from the cup.

"Go to your uncle."

Enkrid said and ran off in one direction, towards the source of the heat—an unwelcoming warmth that could hardly be called a breeze.

Whoooosh.

"What's going on?"

"Who's the crazy bastard playing games?"

"Fire! Fire!"

The flames rose, and the presence of the walking fire was unmistakable. Enkrid ran and drew his sword. Cling! The sword's tip shot up to the sky and fell in an instant.

Bang!

Enkrid's sword split the flames. The split flames spread out, causing explosions. Blue light scattered like grains of sand on the blade. Magic shattered. The flames exploded. The flames were cut, but it didn't work.

"No, you can't cut it. It's a walking fire."

He heard Luagarne's words again.

Enkrid didn't die instantly.

The body he had honed allowed him to withstand the flames, and the walking fire didn't target him first.

"Look at me!"

Enkrid shouted, chasing after it, but it wasn't a being of reason.

Once again, the flames burned everything around.

"Delma!"

The child who was supposed to inherit the inn died.

The adult who tried to protect the child died.

Once more, the cycle repeated.

"Go again and come back."

The ferryman repeated the same day, forcing Enkrid to comply.

Enkrid faced the fleeting day once more.

In the waking moment, his thoughts accelerated frighteningly fast.

"Couldn't I meet him before coming in?"

"What if we combine Luagarne's whip with a lack of magic?"

"Should I consider it an irregular monster?"

"Luagarne knows something. She shouted 'walking fire.'"

His thoughts accelerated.

"Lua!"

With a shout filled with Will, his companion rushed out.

In this iteration, Enkrid had two choices.

One was to borrow the whip, the other was to ask about the walking flame.

There was no time for calm discussions; he reached out immediately.

"Give me the whip. Let me borrow it."

No time for lengthy words. Luagarne blinked and threw the whip.

She understood Enkrid's desperation, believing that Enkrid wouldn't speak like that unless it was something truly important.

Luagarne didn't hesitate.

Enkrid grabbed the whip with his left hand, fully aware that he wasn't skilled with such weapons.

Was there no solution?

No.

He wrapped the whip around his sword and charged.

The "walking fire" met him.

The whip caught fire, and the magic of the sword shattered.

The flames weren't cut.

"One more time."

The boatman's voice echoed, demanding another try.

In this repeated day, Enkrid skipped the whip and asked a question.

"What is the walking flame?"

Luagarne didn't ask why but answered immediately, sensing the urgency in Enkrid's words.

"The walking flame? Are you referring to the forbidden spell? When activated, it burns everything until the magic runs out and then disappears."

Could he make it consume magic?

Keep cutting?

But if he cut, it exploded.

Maybe he could endure outside the city?

Lure it out?

"Look at me. Follow me!"

The fire, lacking reasoning, didn't respond to taunts or human desperation.

The fire caused by the 'walking fire' had a purpose: to burn the city.

And so it did.

The entire city was a trap and a lure.

Enkrid repeated today and realized that everything was a trap someone had set, but that didn't change anything.

Twenty-eight iterations of today passed.

Enkrid burned to death again and again, witnessing Delma, the fool, people, buildings, and winter flowers burn as the blue sky filled with black smoke.

The boatman sat at the boat's edge, drinking tea.

He placed a purple lamp aside and brought the teacup to his lips.

It was the first time Enkrid had seen him like that.

Was he that happy?

"How is it? This time, how's the wall?"

"It hurts."

Enkrid answered honestly.

Burning to death was excruciating enough to drive someone mad.

What was worse was not being able to see a way out.

"Yes, it hurts. Want a good method against it?"

"Yes."

"Run. It won't chase you."

Enkrid didn't listen to him.

He burned to death again.

Sixty iterations passed.

"Want another method? You fool, hide. If you don't want to run alone, protect the people who matter to you and escape the fire. Want me to tell you where to go? Fine, there's an underground shelter. It'll be enough."

Enkrid didn't listen to that either.

Eighty iterations passed.

Until now, the boatman had always said what he wanted and sent him off, as if he knew Enkrid wouldn't listen.

Once again, Enkrid burned to death.

The hell was relentless, and there was no time to count the days.

"I'll ask."

The boatman stood, and the lamp's flame didn't waver.

The teacup and chair were gone.

The same as before.

The boat, the black river, the boatman, the purple lamp, and the strange figure whose face was hidden under a hood.

Nothing moved except the shifting water.

After concealing his mouth, the boatman spoke.

"How far will you go to protect them?"

Enkrid felt a wave of heat in his exhalation.

It was from the insanity of having just bitten into the flames, burning his insides.

"What do you mean by that?"

Burning his insides wasn't something he could enjoy, no matter how it was framed.

"If meeting someone is fate, then I'm asking about the depth of that connection."

The boatman spoke again. Enkrid, being a good listener, began to understand.

The boatman didn't wait for Enkrid to respond and spoke again.

"It's a three-day connection. A connection that's not exactly friendly."

Enkrid looked at him.

The unseen eyes, nose, and mouth slowly began to emerge.

"The three days before this day. Decide. Is it worth risking your life for something that won't even happen because of those three days?"

Before the boatman finished speaking, the time before Enkrid fell into a nap, before today repeated, came to mind.

A three-day connection.

Just three days.

Was it worth risking his life for that?

The boatman's question was exactly that.

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