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Chapter 2
Bell stared at the man who was burning and melting.
He wasn’t used to being in a situation where someone tried to help him, so he had instinctively misunderstood.
From an objective point of view, he looked like an ordinary 15-year-old boy.
That man hadn’t been asking Bell for help—he had been trying to help him.
‘…Should I save him first?’
After a brief pause, Bell reached out toward the burning body.
By this era’s standards, the man was already as good as dead.
But for Bell, reviving him was simple.
A magic that combined ultimate defense and healing—Biological Barrier.
Once applied, the body would regenerate on its own.
There was nothing complicated about it.
[Warning! This is magic from after year 953!
[Excessive use may cause disruption to the timeline!]
“Heh… just a human brat?”
A voice came from beside him.
“So you’ve gone mad with fear! You’re not even running after seeing the lord of hell!”
Flames began gathering around the demon’s mouth.
The temperature had exceeded 10,000°C—plasma was forming.
This was a demon capable of pushing an entire era into crisis.
No army in the world could withstand that heat.
“But I show no mercy—even to children. Taste the flames of my homeland.”
Like a dragon’s breath from legend, flames burst forward.
Sssss—!
The ground melted under the heat.
Any normal child standing there would have been completely vaporized.
But—
“This works better than a warm air spell.”
Bell stepped out of the smoke completely unharmed.
Something had evaporated, though.
The moisture in his still-damp hair.
The biological barrier allowed him to selectively let only certain heat pass through.
“Do the other side as well.”
ROOOAR—!
The demon roared again.
Before even being asked, it continued blasting flames.
After being hit twice with hellfire, Bell’s hair was now perfectly dry.
And there was something else he gained from this.
[You have memorized ‘Hellfire’.]
By observing it, knowledge buried in his subconscious resurfaced.
Magic he had learned in past lives could be “remembered” simply by watching it closely.
‘Not bad.’
Bell let the demon keep breathing fire for a while.
Watching multiple times helped restore mastery to its previous level.
As he casually bathed in flames again, he thought:
‘That was stubborn thinking.’
He had been influenced too much by his past life.
Leaving the demon alone just because it was troublesome—that was foolish.
What he wanted wasn’t just a relaxed life.
He wanted to experience a normal, human life.
And for that—
Wouldn’t it be better to eliminate threats like this?
‘…I should hunt it after all.’
Dark energy gathered at his fingertips.
He wasn’t as skilled as with the “Demon of the End,” but he still knew how to handle black holes.
A magic that erased existence itself—
Banish.
“W-wait…!”
The demon suddenly fell to its knees.
Its face, unworthy of the title “lord,” was filled with terror.
“I didn’t recognize you!”
From the start, something had felt off.
A child not running.
A child unharmed by hellfire.
And those incomprehensible eyes staring at him.
The moment Bell raised his hand, the demon realized—
It couldn’t escape.
‘I’ll die like this!’
“I will never come to this world again! Please… spare me!”
“Sorry, but I can’t do that.”
“…!”
“If you break your promise, it just becomes more troublesome for me.”
Bell spoke casually, like scolding a child.
The demon’s heart dropped.
Resistance was impossible.
Before him, the demon was no more than an ant.
Thud!
The so-called lord slammed its head into the ground.
“Then… how about being your servant?!”
“…Hmm?”
“I may be insignificant compared to you… but I still have useful abilities in this world!”
That proposal was… tempting.
Having it dry his hair would certainly be more convenient.
It could also heat tea or cook.
Seeing Bell hesitate, the demon begged even more desperately:
“I can even be a pet! Any position is fine! Just… please spare my life!”
The lord of hell, crying in fear for the first time.
But that was its mistake.
At the word “pet,” Bell shook his head.
“Come to think of it, you’re too ugly.”
“…What?”
“If I raised you as a pet, people would think I’m insane. I’m not interested in that.”
“Ah… ah…”
It was a death sentence.
But at the edge of death, creatures show their greatest desperation.
“Ah! Thank you for raising me! I will serve you forever!”
“…What?”
Thud! Thud!
The demon kept bowing repeatedly.
Bell tilted his head.
He never agreed to that—why did it misunderstand?
“Ah…”
Then he realized.
The demon had disappeared.
While Bell was distracted, it opened a dimensional gate and escaped.
‘Please… please…!’
The demon flew desperately across molten magma.
Even in its homeland—the sea of hellfire—it felt no relief.
It had to escape somewhere no one could find it.
Sleep for a thousand years—
But—
“…!”
Its wings suddenly stopped.
There was no point running.
Behind it—
A massive force approached.
A vertical line split the sky and ground of hell itself.
“…”
There was nowhere to escape.
A black blade devoured everything—
Sky, magma, even space itself.
It was a storm of annihilation.
“God… please…”
For the first time in its life, the demon prayed.
Everything it had—power and authority—was meaningless.
[Target has been annihilated.]
‘…It’s done.’
Bell withdrew his hand.
The magic he used—Banish.
One of the three spells he carried after regression.
Extremely dangerous.
If misused, it could destroy entire dimensions.
[Warning! This is magic from after year 1010!
[Excessive use may disrupt the timeline!]
‘This is annoying.’
[‘Eye of the Absolute’ settings updated.]
[Safety warnings disabled.]
He turned off the AI’s safety warnings.
This time, he planned to live however he wanted.
“You can come out now.”
Behind a rock, a small child stepped out.
“Why didn’t you run?”
The child glanced at the fallen guard.
They looked alike.
“Your brother?”
The child nodded.
“He’s not dead.”
That wasn’t just reassurance.
The Biological Barrier was already healing him.
“He’ll wake up soon.”
“…”
The child stared at the regenerating body in shock.
Burns disappeared.
Limbs regrew.
Like a miracle.
“…Are you a god of magic?”
“A god…?”
Bell smiled bitterly.
A god is omnipotent.
He wasn’t.
“I’m just a beginner mage with a lot to learn.”
He only had four spells now.
In this era, that made him a novice.
That’s why he planned to attend the academy—
To relearn magic quickly.
‘I should go now.’
He had wasted time.
He might miss the train.
Just as he stepped forward—
Swipe!
His wallet was gone.
“Hey loser, I’m borrowing this!”
A boy ran off at incredible speed, using an acceleration artifact.
‘…Right.’
In this life, he was being bullied.
‘No speed magic yet.’
He almost raised his hand—
Then stopped.
Using Banish on a child?
Ridiculous.
“Why didn’t you stop him?” the child asked.
“Even the worst punishment for pickpocketing is cutting off a wrist.”
“…?”
“Taking his life would be too harsh.”
Over countless lifetimes, he had set rules for himself.
One of them—
Avoid killing whenever possible.
“Don’t worry. I’ll get it back soon.”
He patted the child’s head.
“We’ll meet again.”
The boy was also an academy student.
They’d cross paths again.
And Bell still had his train ticket.
“Now I really need to hurry.”
The train whistle sounded.
“I’ll become strong like you! I’ll defeat all the bad guys!”
Bell called back:
“I’m not a sister. I’m a brother.”
* * *
The train was overcrowded.
Too many tickets had been sold.
Bell had to stand for 24 hours.
‘No priority seats, huh.’
This era lacked such concepts.
‘Guess I’ll stand.’
He found a long-standing table.
Elegant, spacious, near a window.
‘Perfect spot.’
He leaned against it.
Maybe he’d rest his eyes—
Footsteps approached.
Students surrounded him.
He ignored them.
“Hey loser. Found you.”
“…How did you get on the train without money?”
“You’re still sleeping?”
Splash—!
Cold water hit him in the face.
