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Chapter 1
“Humanity is facing the worst crisis in its history…”
Inside a bar glowing with neon lights, a tearful news anchor was reporting the situation on a holographic TV mounted on the wall.
“There was nowhere left to escape—not on land, not in the sky… Even the last shuttle evacuating humanity to Alpha Centauri has been shot down by demons… resulting in 570,000 casualties…”
Boom—!
On the screen, towering skyscrapers collapsed like dominoes, while magical satellites that had fallen out of orbit crashed into the atmosphere.
The streets had already turned into chaos, filled with nothing but screams.
Yet the old man with white hair, watching such horrifying news, simply nodded quietly.
‘It’s over again.’
This was not the first time.
It was the final day—something he had experienced countless times before. Every time he reached the end of a regression, news like this would always play.
Yes… even though humanity’s magic had conquered the stars, it had never been able to overcome the demons.
‘Maybe it was impossible from the start.’
This was his 1,000th time turning back time to stop the end.
But after around the 800th or 900th regression, he had stopped getting any stronger. Even if he repeated this for a time equal to the age of the universe, nothing would change.
Humanity’s destruction was not something one individual could prevent.
It was fate.
‘…Might as well drink.’
The old man lifted his glass.
In past lives, he had desperately searched for a solution until the very last moment. But now, having realized it was all useless, he simply waited for the end with a drink in hand.
“Bell, where are you?! We need you!”
“People are dying! Everyone is waiting for your help!”
His name suddenly appeared in the news.
The old man turned his gaze back to the screen.
This was the first time he had abandoned humanity, so the tone of the broadcast was slightly different.
“Why didn’t you do anything? You could have stopped the shuttle from crashing…!”
“Are you really going to let everyone die like this?”
His hand holding the glass paused.
Because he had chosen to do nothing and stayed in the bar, he was now hearing things he had never heard before.
The camera zoomed in on a crying child blaming him. It felt deliberate.
“Millions of lives could be lost because of your whim!”
“You promised to always do your best—please keep that promise!”
His eyes widened slightly.
Were they… blaming him?
Him—the one who had devoted every life to fighting demons?
Just as an uncomfortable feeling began to rise—
“Ha… it’s too noisy. I can’t even enjoy my drink.”
Click.
The holographic TV turned off.
The bartender sitting across from him had shut it off. Empty bottles were scattered around her, as if she had been drinking recklessly.
“You’re Bell, right?”
“……”
“You don’t need to care about that trash.”
So she recognized him?
He thought she wouldn’t, since she seemed completely drunk.
“Everyone’s going to die soon anyway… so let’s just talk about anything.”
“…That doesn’t sound bad.”
The old man nodded.
He didn’t need to start the conversation. As he quietly sipped his drink, the bartender began talking about her life.
“Well… it wasn’t anything special.”
She talked about being bullied at the academy, meeting a man by chance, and how he saved her—which eventually led to marriage.
It was an ordinary story. The kind you could hear anywhere.
“I actually got pregnant first. The wedding is in about a month.”
“I see.”
Listening to someone else’s life was interesting.
Through their experiences, he could imagine emotions he himself could no longer feel.
He was glad they got along.
If only they could continue talking like this peacefully until the end—
“……”
He narrowed his eyes at a faint rattling sound.
At some point, the bartender’s whole body had begun trembling.
It seemed even the alcohol couldn’t completely erase her fear.
“I… I don’t want to die… There are so many things I haven’t done… Before he leaves… I didn’t even tell him I liked him first… I haven’t seen my child’s face… I want to see them go to the academy…”
Her voice had lost all traces of drunkenness.
When she lifted her head, her face was a mess of tears.
“Just once… I want to live one more time.”
As if asking for comfort, she forced a weak smile.
“If I’m born again… I’ll be able to do everything, right?”
He couldn’t answer.
CRASH—!
A sudden meteor struck, obliterating everything.
The bottles, the table, the chairs—along with the woman—vanished without a trace.
Only he remained unharmed.
‘…Damn.’
He cleared the debris with magic.
The sky was filled with falling black meteors.
Each one wasn’t just a meteor—but a small black hole.
Even one was enough to destroy a star system.
This world would soon disappear completely.
“Why aren’t you saying anything yet? You’re the leader of the World Magic Tower Alliance!”
The same voice echoed again.
The broken building screens continued broadcasting the news.
“Are you just going to stand by and watch humanity perish?! You will be remembered as the worst mage in history!”
He decided to ignore it.
There was no point listening to fools talking about history when the world was ending.
But—
“Found him! It’s Bell!”
He couldn’t ignore the crowd surrounding him.
“Where the hell were you?!”
“My whole family is already dead!”
A strange discomfort crawled through his body.
It felt like needles piercing every pore.
“How are you going to take responsibility?!”
Memories of his 1,000 lives flashed through his mind.
The countless battles against demons.
“…Were you drinking? While everyone is dying…?”
His body and mind had long been broken.
Pain, fear, joy, despair… he had experienced so much that nothing shook him anymore.
“Bell, it’s basically the same as you killing everyone!”
That’s why he hadn’t expected this outcome.
That abandoning his duty just once would provoke such rage.
“He really sided with the demons!”
“Then explain yourself! Otherwise, why would you do nothing?!”
The crowd began closing in.
Whether anyone was defending him, he couldn’t tell.
The noise had become incomprehensible chaos.
“……”
It felt strange.
Countless memories tangled together in his head.
Maybe he had already gone insane long ago.
A being who had lived a million years was no longer human.
“——!”
There was no need to care about ignorant people.
They would die soon anyway.
Even though killing them would mean abandoning the humanity he had preserved for so long—
His hand moved unconsciously.
‘Gravity Amplification.’
BOOM—!
The ground shook violently.
The crowd was crushed into blood and pasted onto the ground.
Silence followed.
Bell fell into thought.
Originally, he planned to end everything today.
Instead of repeating meaningless regressions, he wanted to put an end to his long life.
But now—
A question appeared.
Had he ever lived for himself?
‘If I were born again…’
He remembered the bartender.
Her story had been simple. Ordinary.
That was why it felt good.
He had never lived a normal life.
Never attended an academy properly.
Never watched his child grow.
Those simple human experiences didn’t exist anywhere in his million years of memory.
‘What do I want to do…?’
Then—
The world turned black.
Humanity’s time had finally run out.
At the end of a dying world, his consciousness once again faded into white.
* * *
He opened his eyes on a soft bed.
Year 1673.
The starting point of regression always felt like the first page of a long dream.
‘This place…’
In the mirror, his old white hair had turned into flowing silver hair.
A neatly folded academy uniform lay on a chair.
He quickly recalled his situation.
Right… he was a new academy student.
15-year-old Bell Tempus.
He had spent the night at an inn near the station to catch a train to the capital.
‘An inn, huh.’
Beep—
As he tried to get up, a sharp sound rang in his ears.
No—it was a warning from the AI magic, “Eye of the Absolute.”
Beep—Beep—
[Approaching demon…]
That reminded him of something else.
On the first day of academy admission, a demon appears—one capable of pushing the world to near destruction.
It could wipe out 30% of the population.
That’s why he set this moment as the starting point of regression.
Beep—!
[Calculating damage based on current era’s magic level…]
[Estimated damage: Continental destruction]
[Your chance of subjugation: 100%]
In previous lives, he would have already jumped out the window.
To minimize casualties, he needed to kill it immediately.
But now—
Even as the building trembled from an earthquake—
‘I should wash first.’
There was no need to rush.
This time, he decided to live for himself.
‘I’ll wash, eat… and think later.’
Flames shot into the sky outside the window as he showered.
The demon had begun rampaging.
Still, it wasn’t a problem.
Even if the inn burned down, his barrier would hold.
‘…Wait.’
There was one issue.
After showering, as he tried to dry his hair—
He stopped.
‘I don’t have anything to dry my hair.’
Most magic is forgotten after regression.
Even basic utility spells.
Right now, he only had:
- One attack spell
- One defense spell
- One AI magic
Enough to kill demons—but useless for drying hair.
‘…My breakfast is gone too.’
As he went downstairs, he sighed.
The bread in the oven had burned into charcoal.
The innkeeper had already fled.
‘At least there’s something to drink.’
He calmly poured himself tea.
No matter how urgent things were, he never skipped this routine.
It was necessary to keep his sense of self.
‘Looks like I’m ready.’
He picked up his bag and straightened his uniform.
As for the demon—
Unless he ran into it by chance, he wouldn’t bother killing it.
If 30% died, that meant 70% would survive.
If people could solve it themselves, why should he help?
‘Let’s go.’
As he stepped outside—
ROAR—!
A horned beast engulfed in flames stood at the entrance, roaring.
“I will burn the world for my lord of hell!”
Bell stared at it, thinking.
Should he kill it?
Ignore it?
Or just walk past?
“H-Huh…? You were inside?!”
A man with a spear—a village guard—shouted in shock.
“Damn it… why show up now…!”
Bell clicked his tongue.
Same as always.
People always relied on him.
Never trying to fight themselves.
“Run out the back—!”
But—
Before he could finish—
The man was engulfed in flames.
Sizzle—
Moments later, only a melting body remained at the entrance.
