"Ah, fuck, you mean I gotta do this all over again?"
Those were the first words one of the regressors said after coming back in time. Projected to be the actual person to snag the first place and also someone enough to be the third one that shook the zodiac system, this person was none other than Noa Roselle.
Slayer of demons and the one who murdered thirteen outer gods singlehandedly, Noa's fame was even beyond Luka's in the original timeline.
And that wouldn't have changed this time either. If she weren't lazy as all hell.
"Entrance tests? That can go fuck itself."
"World's ending? Oh no, anyway."
Such statements being her staple, Noa's life was one of disinterest. Always bored, always tired, she desired stimulation, but didn't seek it.
***
"You already know what happened before the start, right? The reason that student went all the way up."
Luka nodded at Lushan's words.
The reason he had blown up at Eugene, and also the reason that Eugene avoided the classes for so long.
Before the start of their very first dive into the Elysium Tower…
***
"Hm, aren't you Noa Roselle?"
Eugene had approached the girl with hair that held streaks of white and black. Noa Roselle raised her brows, disinterested in whatever he had to say.
"It is me, what of it?"
"I had heard a bit about you," he said.
Noa frowned when she noticed Luka standing away from Eugene, as if a child caught playing a prank, but her reaction was smoothened out when she noticed he was more surprised at Eugene Hall talking to her than he was at seeing her.
"And? What do you want?"
"Let's race."
"Hm?"
Now she was mildly intrigued.
Stimulation had come her way.
"Race? In the tower?"
"Mhm, whoever reaches farthest."
"Heh… never did I think of all people Eugene Hall will come and challenge me." Noa wore a cocky smirk, completely interested in things now. "Fine. Let's do it."
"I have mildly competent teammates, so choose whoever you want."
"Don't sugarcoat your words for trash. I'll go with trash too."
Eugene smiled and nodded, and the two of them separated.
Noa Roselle found her heart pounding from the excitement of a challenge after a long time.
And so, she kidnapped two losers from her class.
***
"Eugene Hall said just that?" Luka asked. He had come to realize that Eugene was different now, and more than some hints and clues had been dropped his way, but this solidified another theory in his mind. Eugene Hall, just like this new Albert, knew about him before they met.
That reaction… had Noa, like him, come back in time? But he never really had 'physical relations' with her… was there some other connection between all the returners? With one solution came a dozen more questions.
"Fairies won't lie. That boy seems to be innocent."
"He wasn't there at all then?"
You guys' rate of climbing the first twenty floors was absurd," Lushan said. "No students had done it before, but Noa Roselle's pace was downright egregious."
"Bad?"
"Shockingly good."
"Huh?" Luka hummed.
"Coming back. She outpaced everyone with two baggage in her hands. We didn't provide you with any video devices since it was always safe, but there were flags on each floor."
They had controlled the environment to such a great degree, which made the death even more absurd.
"As soon as you reached the thirteenth floor, and Noa Roselle crossed the twelfth, overtaking the other group…" Lushan lowered his voice. "Her fairy disappeared."
Luka pursed his lips, his eyes trembling.
"The fairy couldn't connect with her anymore, something was blocking her brand. And the other two teammates of hers said the same thing, she disappeared from their eyes."
"At that same time… Eugene Hall fell into the trap—"
"No. I checked that, Eugene Hall fell in the trap earlier than she disappeared and met up with you minutes after her disappearance. It was nowhere enough time to do anything without leaving a trail of proof…"
"To block a brand…"
"That's beyond us humans in the first place. Even I can't stand in front of Alfheim, what is a student?"
Lushan's words made Luka look down.
"Then… It must be…" Luka thought a lot before speaking, but in the end, he couldn't not know. "It must be a god?"
"A god?" Lushan asked. "What kind of god would mess with such a place? You should know dungeons are not something the gods created either. They exist, and we all research them. It's as much a threat to gods and demons as it is to us."
Luka clenched his fists.
"I am sorry, kid. But the only person who would know now is gone… it would either be her or whatever killed her that can tell you what happened next."
***
"What happened next?"
"Haah, you were there, Dantalian."
"It's still fun. Tell me, tell me, how did you kill that bitch?"
Lying on the bed in the dead of night, Eugene, Dantalian and Titania engaged in a small chat.
Sighing, Eugene shook his head.
"Titania can manipulate brands better than any being in Alfheim, and since dungeons are spaces beyond all of us…"
***
Noa Roselle found herself in a strange place, one she had never seen before even during her previous life.
"The system punk is gone… the trash are lost… perfect, it seems like I've come to a fun place."
"Bold. Noa Roselle, Bold."
A flashy grin spread through her face as she twisted to her back. Darkness everywhere.
She recognized the voice well.
"Eugene Hall…"
"That's right, it's me. Your very own, first love. Sadly, all first loves end bad with bitter exes. Just consider this another episode of a bitter ex."
"I never loved you? And I never dated you either, I am rather pure despite my looks."
Joking at a time like this, this fucker was bad news.
She loved bad news.
Grinning like a maniac, Noa closed her eyes. The room was dark, sight was useless anyway. All her sense heightened as she tried to find where Eugene's voice was booming from.
"Oh well, I don't know what history we shared in your previous life. For convenience's sake, let's just go with that backstory, yes? It'll make this more enjoyable."
His voice came from every direction, it was useless, something else.
Magical energy? Ki?
Neither were being used.
Footsteps? No.
"Don't be like that. It seems you know of a previous life, but didn't have one yourself. If you want, we can discuss it all over some tea."
Something else… she needed to figure something else.
Breaths.
Deep, soft, silent breaths.
She cancelled every other sound and looked for only that. Hearing from her ears was useless as well, the vibrations of the air… something tingled in her feet.
"Too bad, I prefer exchanging blows."
Found him.
A large axe appeared in her hands as she twisted her body and swung down on the ground.
"How fun, I do too."
Noa's jaw dropped.
Sweat started filling her forehead as she tried to pull back her axe, but it didn't bulge.
Hair streaks of white and black, just like hers.
Eyes a deep purple, just like hers.
But the person in front of her…
"Eugene Hall…"
Her heart pounded more than it ever had. This stimulation, she had never felt it before.
Her sweat continued to drip and her hands started shaking.
"I don't have a lot of time, or I'll be suspicious. So let's end this quick. I'll be puking for weeks, but its fine."
Ah…
"World's"
This wasn't the stimulation she seeked. It wasn't thrill.
"End."
It was… fear.
"Beam."
***
"AHAHA! HAAHAHA!" Dantalian laughed as Eugene finished his retelling. "You completely erased her from the surface of the world. Not a single proof remains, bwahahaah!"
Eugene nodded, staring back at Dantalian.
"Not a single proof remains… anywhere in this world."
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺