"Your Highness, wake up!"
Air slammed into my lungs like someone had dragged me up from the bottom of the sea.
"I'm still alive."
My heart pounded violently. The memory of what had happened before crashed into my mind without mercy.
My body split in two. My organs scattered. The metal floor covered in my own blood.
My fingers moved on reflex, touching my abdomen.
No wound.No blood.
But the image was too clear.
I could still remember it.
The lower half of my body lying several meters away from me. Blood spraying. My hands clawing at the metal floor slick with my own red.
My breathing turned uneven.
"This is real—"
The small whisper slipped out of my throat without me realizing.
My hands began to tremble. Nausea rose up into my throat.
"Your Highness?"
My vision shook. The smell of blood still seemed to cling to my nose. The hum of the ship's engines echoed like a nightmare that hadn't fully faded.
"Your Highness, look at me." That voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
Suddenly, my hand was grasped.
Her face was too close. Her blonde hair brushed against my shoulder. Her eyes were filled with genuine worry.
"Are you injured?"
I wanted to answer.
But my throat felt dry.
My body still remembered the pain—like my nerves hadn't accepted that it was over.
Without realizing it, my breathing sped up again. The nausea worsened.
Seraphina didn't ask anything else.
Without hesitation, she pulled me closer.
Her arm wrapped around my back, drawing my head to her chest. The movement was firm, protective—and warm.
"Breathe slowly," she whispered near my ear.
Her hand moved rhythmically across my back, steadying me.
"I'm here."
The spinning world gradually stabilized.
My heartbeat was still fast, but no longer out of control.
My hand, which had been trembling, unconsciously clenched the fabric at her back.
Real.
This is real.
No blood.No severed body.No burning pain tearing through my nerves.
Just the warmth of her embrace.
Seraphina tightened her hold slightly when she felt my body still stiff.
"You're safe," she said softly. "No one will touch you while I'm standing."
Those words should have been reassuring.
But instead, something in my chest felt heavy.
Because I knew.
I had already died.
The automatic door at the end of the room opened with a mechanical hiss.
Seraphina hadn't let go of me yet.
But I could feel the subtle change in her body—her muscles tensing.
Heavy footsteps echoed from beyond the doorway.
Dark armor.
And a voice far too familiar.
"Yo, who would've thought you didn't die after that attack."
My heart started pounding again.
Damn it. That executioner showed up again.
I have to figure out how to survive this time.
But how?
I don't even know what's really happening. I don't know the rules of this game.
I need something. Something that can protect me from that lunatic's attack.
Just like before, they laughed.Seraphina raised her sword.Gun barrels lifted.
But this time—I moved first.
A flash of light streaked above my head as I ducked.
Right.
I have it.
That transparent shield—the dome with faint hexagonal patterns—that will appear around me.
My brows furrowed.
I don't know if this shield is actually strong enough.
But this time, the beam didn't hit it.
Maybe… maybe this is my chance.
With knowledge of what's about to happen, I can avoid that strike.
I swallowed. My heart pounded at the memory of that horrific death.
The temperature in the room dropped sharply.
Just like before, the attackers froze inside blocks of ice.
Their swords began clashing.
"Now."
I turned and ran.
The scene ahead was exactly the same as before.
It seems I really did regress.
If that's the case—
I just need to avoid that slash.
If I succeed, that means I have one extra life to deal with unexpected attacks using the energy shield I possess.
And if Seraphina fails to defeat him… then I'll have to die again. And again. Until reinforcements arrive.
Suddenly—
The world spun.
"Eh—?"
A sharp heat sliced across my waist.
I fell.
Blood poured heavily across the metal floor.
And—there.
The lower half of my body lay several meters behind me.
...
"Your Highness, wake up!"
Air slammed into my lungs again.
The memory came before I could even fully open my eyes.
My body split in two.
The searing heat cutting across my waist. The hollow sensation as my lower half separated. Blood flowing, too warm.
"Huek—!"
I bent over and vomited onto the floor. Bitter liquid came out uncontrollably.
My hand immediately grabbed at my waist.
Intact.
My fingers clenched my clothes, as if confirming my body was still in place.
What's wrong? Even if I couldn't dodge, the shield should have activated...
No—what if the shield never reacted from the beginning? That was only my assumption that it ran out of power after absorbing the laser shots earlier.
"Your Highness!"
Seraphina quickly supported my shoulder so I wouldn't collapse.
"Are you hurt?! Tell me!"
I shook my head weakly. "No… I…"
I swallowed, trying to hold back the remaining nausea.
"Your Highness…" Seraphina looked at me with teary eyes, and tears began to fall.
"Sera…"
"Yo, who would've thought you didn't die after that attack."
My spine stiffened instantly. A cold sensation crept from the back of my neck down to my waist, stealing my breath.
Damn it. He's already here.
The temperature in the room dropped drastically.
My body shivered at the sudden shift.
Wait, it shouldn't be this cold yet.
"Arrg… what the hell is this?"
"Please, someone save me!"
My eyes trembled. In front of me, several of the armed men were already lying on the ground, red-tinged ice protruding from their bodies.
"This is all my fault."
Seraphina muttered. Her blonde hair had completely turned white-blue.
"If I hadn't underestimated them, none of this would have happened."
"Hoho, seems you're not just an ordinary knight."
The man smiled and released a black aura from his entire body.
The aura was like living smoke. It moved, pulsed, touched the floor and slowly eroded it.
The air vibrated.
Ice and darkness pressed against each other.
Cracks spread across the metal floor.
I stepped back.
This is different.
Seraphina never lost control like this in the previous regressions.
A storm of ice swirled around her. Sharp crystal fragments floated in the air.
The man raised his hand.
His black aura condensed, forming a long spear as dark as the abyss.
Seraphina slashed.
A wave of ice surged forward.
They collided.
The explosion of energy struck my body. My breath caught, the freezing air making it hard to breathe.
This isn't a duel anymore.
I need to get away. Fast.
Without waiting, I turned and ran along the edge of the room, keeping low. Don't stand out. Don't be in the center of their clash.
While taking cover, I searched for an emergency exit.
My steps were quick, but careful.
I almost reached the broken section of the wall—
Suddenly.
Something touched my chest.
Cold.
I stopped.
Not because of fear, but because my body literally wouldn't move.
I looked down.
A small, clear ice crystal had formed right in the center of my chest.
It grew.
Slowly.
As if emerging from within.
"What…?"
Cold spread.
Like thousands of tiny needles piercing through my blood vessels.
I gasped.
The crystal fused with my flesh.
My body began to feel light.
As if something was being drained out of me.
"Khh—"
My knees hit the floor.
The metal felt strangely warm compared to before.
The ice trembled.
Thin red cracks appeared inside it.
A faint light pulsed.
Red like blood.
Each pulse made my body weaker.
I could feel my life flowing into that crystal.
"Your Highness!"
Seraphina's voice echoed.
Far away.
Too far.
"Ah… so that's it."
My vision blurred.
The crystal in my chest now glowed fully blood-red.
And for a split second—
I realized what was really happening.