Infinite Regressing Knight

"Thank you."

It was awkward.

In the previous life, he had quite a few conversations with Hanshuya and had formed a reasonably good relationship.

The knights were the same.

They expanded the range of the formation to the limit for Dominic, and Dominic moved with faith in those knights.

He hadn't had as many conversations as he had with Hanshuya, but it was enough time to become comrades on the crossroads of life and death.

But those memories remained only with Dominic.

He felt like he had become a mental patient.

Nevertheless, Dominic's tone was somewhat more friendly than before.

"I will definitely repay this debt."

"Well, then I think you've already paid almost all of it."

"Hmm?"

"We ate some of the food that seemed to be the swordsman's."

"If it's about that, it's okay. All my comrades are dead anyway."

"...Would you like some water?"

At Hanshuya's words, Dominic belatedly realized one fact.

Canteens.

Originally, they had emptied all the canteens while wandering for 48 days.

But what was it like now?

Two canteens were hanging on each of their waists.

The fact that pirates were stationed at the base camp, and the fact that canteens remained…

'It's earlier than that time?'

There was no other way to explain it.

Then Edgar, who approached, handed over Dominic's sword.

As he received the sword, a voice followed.

"Long time no see."

"Do you know me?"

"I can't forget. Dominic Diamond. A dropout from the academy, and the murderer of Grandfather Kedral Diamond."

"..."

Honestly, it was a bit absurd.

In the previous life, Edgar didn't recognize him right away.

But now he recognized him.

What did this mean?

That he knew from the beginning but pretended not to know.

There was no point in bringing up old grudges to get food.

And then, when he was convinced that Dominic's subordinates were indeed the Tera Defense Army, he brought out the truth.

It wasn't something he couldn't understand, but it was still absurd.

"Looking at the corpses, I can see the Tera Defense Army's items."

"I am the 8th Search Team Commander of the Tera Defense Army."

"You are?"

"Yes."

"How can that be? Weren't you a wanted man?"

"No."

"That's it?"

"Yes."

"...Then who were those guys who fought the Tera Defense Army?"

"Aaron's sworn brothers. Called the Nine Fiends."

At Dominic's words, the knights were shaken.

The knights also knew the Nine Fiends.

They also knew how powerful they were.

He killed all those Nine Fiends?

With just the Defense Army?

Edgar was surprisingly calm.

"I remember. Tera Defense Army's First Sword, Dominic. The one who killed the pirate admiral Aaron. Was that you?"

"Yes."

"I don't quite understand, but… The circumstances are right. And there is no time to question."

Edgar, who said that, gestured to his subordinates, and the knights began to cover the fire with dirt and put it out.

In addition, they packed food and supplies.

It was like people who had to move somewhere in a hurry.

While watching that scene, Hanshuya spoke to him.

"Can you move?"

"I can move, but where are you trying to go?"

"It's past midnight. We don't know when the witch will appear."

"Then today is…?"

"Yes. It's the full moon. When the witch appears."

Dominic got up from his seat.

His whole body was screaming, but he gritted his teeth.

Even if he died, he had to check the Stele that Hanshuya had mentioned.

That was the most important goal in this life.

* * *

He had only heard about it, and didn't know how the witch would appear.

He had vaguely thought that she would pop out of the tower.

But Edgar and the knights were heading outside the safe zone.

'Does the witch only receive applicants from inside the safe zone? Are they trying to hold out outside?'

But it didn't seem like they were preparing for battle at all.

Edgar spoke to him.

"Dominic. How long have you been in the forest?"

To exchange information on an equal footing, it would be ideal to say that it had been about 30 days.

But Edgar wasn't a fool either.

Dominic's clothes and body cleanliness were too good to say that he had been wandering for 30 days.

It was a different matter from the clothes being damaged due to the fierce battle.

"3 days. Excluding the time I was asleep."

"Do you know about the witch?"

"I met other survivors, gave them food, and heard information. They were hard to believe, but I kept them in mind."

"Survivors? What kind of group were they?"

"They were mercenaries. I only knew their names while working as a search team. How long have you guys been here?"

The answer came from Hanshuya.

"It's been 30 days."

His guess was correct.

In the last life, he had encountered these people who had been wandering for 48 days, but this time it was 30 days.

Considering the time he had been unconscious after the battle with the Eight Fiends, he had entered on the 28th day.

48 days at first.

Now 28 days.

A difference of 20 days.

Why did this time difference occur?

'Is it affected by the time I arrive at slash-and-burn Village?'

In the previous iteration, the time he entered slash-and-burn Village was quite late.

That was because he struggled to avoid entering slash-and-burn Village.

In this iteration, it was faster than that.

There was probably a difference of about 2 hours, but did that cause a difference of 20 days in the forest?

'What happens if I run to slash-and-burn Village as soon as life begins?'

Could he enter a point in time further in the past than now?

It was something to check.

He didn't know how to use it right now, but the gap between time and information was always meaningful.

"Why are you moving to the outskirts?"

"The witch appears from places close to the tower. So, we're moving away from the tower."

"I heard she receives applicants. The mercenaries said that hungry people apply."

"There are times when there are no applicants. We're moving away in preparation for that."

After a while, they arrived at the outskirts of the safe zone.

It was almost the end of the safe zone, and if they walked a few more steps, it was the point where the shadow monsters' attacks began.

The knights put the items they had brought into the roots of a huge tree.

When giant trees grow, spaces naturally form in the roots.

"Do you know how wide the safe zone is?"

"I don't know well. I only wander around the neighborhood."

"The circular safe zone formed around the tower is about three times the size of the Daesu loading dock."

"It's that wide?"

That was about the size of an ordinary rural territory.

"Yes. So, there are more people hiding in this forest than we think. And they are all very hungry."

"So you're hiding food."

"Because stealing from others is easier than throwing oneself into the witch."

He was worried about how to get information from these people, but Hanshuya was surprisingly telling him a lot of stories.

She seemed to think that Dominic had already become an ally.

It wasn't wrong.

Now that all his subordinates were dead and he was alone, it was safest to be with them.

He thought about asking about the Stele while he was at it, but he held back.

It wasn't a topic to be interested in on the 3rd day of entry.

It was appropriate to be interested in how to escape now.

"Do you know of any way to get out of this forest?"

"Well, it's hard to believe-"

It was then.

Frrrrrr-

As if the wind was blowing, all the trees in the forest began to shake.

But the wind wasn't detected by human senses.

It was a strange experience that you could feel with your eyes but not with your skin.

Amidst the strangeness, a huge voice was heard.

[Hello!]

[Anyone want to eat-!!!]

The content contained in the huge roar that was deafening was absurd, but it wasn't for those who knew of the witch's existence.

Hanshuya and the knights lowered their bodies, and Dominic also lowered his head.

At that moment, the tower in the center of the forest began to open up and down.

Geugeugeugeuk-

He didn't know how that was possible, but the huge cylindrical tower split horizontally.

Like a monster opening its mouth wide.

Moreover, the split upper part of the tower was floating in the air.

The witch popped out from there.

[Today's menu is freshly baked bread and tender lamb!]

[There's also soup!]

[Isn't there anyone who wants to eat with me?!]

As the witch's voice was imprinted in his head, saliva formed in his mouth.

He felt extremely hungry for a moment.

But it wasn't something he couldn't handle.

That was all it was for Dominic.

But it didn't seem to be the case for the knights.

They were trembling with their fists clenched tightly, and they were holding daggers so they could burn their palms if necessary.

Except for Hanshuya, who was closing her eyes and reciting prayers.

'The Stele?'

"The moment the witch opens the door to the tower, a translucent Stele floats in the air. The same pattern as the Ring is engraved on it."

He looked here and there, but there was nothing that looked like a Stele.

It was said that it could be a passage that could be escaped, so it wouldn't be too small?

While thinking that…

"-!"

Suddenly, he saw a huge stone.

As big as the royal castle gate, and its thickness was comparable to ordinary siege weapons.

And the stone had the same pattern as the Ring engraved on it.

It was so huge that it didn't make sense that he hadn't found it until now.

Was that the Stele?

If Dominic had described that stone, he would have called it a megalith or an unidentified stone tomb rather than a Stele.

Moreover, it wasn't translucent either.

He blinked, wondering if it was the Stele Hanshuya mentioned.

"...!"

Before he knew it, the shape of the stone had changed.

It was in the same shape as Dominic had imagined when he heard the word 'Stele'.

It was shaped like a Stele commonly erected in a graveyard, and it was translucent, just like Hanshuya said.

'What is this?'

When he blinked, the stone changed back to the megalith he had first seen.

Embarrassed, he was about to look at Hanshuya, but Edgar was looking at him.

Unlike the other knights, he seemed to be able to withstand the magic contained in Velicaya's voice.

"Edgar. Do you see that stone?"

"Did you see the pebble too?"

"Pebble?"

"Hanshuya calls it a Stele… But to my eyes, it looks like a pebble a little bigger than my fist."

When Dominic raised his head, he saw the pebble that Edgar was talking about.

'I'm going crazy.'

He felt helpless because he had no magical knowledge.

After pondering for a while, Dominic began to approach the stone with his body lowered.

Hanshuya said that the stone was like a star.

Like you can't get closer even if you approach a star.

He didn't understand when he heard it, but he understood now.

The distance felt like only about 10m, but it stayed the same even when he approached it.

Moreover, even if he returned to the original position, it didn't get any further.

Couldn't he approach it?

Was confirming the information from Hanshuya the only thing he could get in this life?

No, no.

That couldn't be.

Kedral always said.

"If your thoughts reach, there is always a way."

"The way to solve a difficult problem is not that there is no way, but that you haven't found it."

How could he reach that 'Stele'?

While thinking that, he blinked, and the pebble changed into the shape of a Stele.

He didn't know if it was a Stele or a 'megalith'.

This time, it became the shape of a megalith.

How was this possible?

It was a 'pebble' a while ago.

The megalith quickly changed into a pebble.

At that time, a hypothesis came to Dominic's mind.

Perhaps that stone had the property of changing its shape depending on a person's perception.

The megalith appeared because he thought it wouldn't be small, and the Stele in his imagination appeared because he thought it was a Stele.

Then what would happen if he recognized that stone as extending from the sky to the ground?

Dominic closed his eyes.

Then he began to use his imagination.

The shape of the stone stretching out like Sun Wukong's Ruyi Jingu Bang and slowly approaching him.

How far should it come?

It would be good if it was a distance where he could touch it just by reaching out his hand.

So, right in front of his eyes.

Dominic, who had imagined with all his might, slowly opened his eyes.

"-!"

He could see the thin and long stone connected.

It was close enough to touch if he reached out his hand.

But what caught Dominic's attention more than that was…

"Hello?"

Reddish-brown eyes that seemed to contain blood.

It was Velicaya.