Chapter 118: Interlude – Madness

Inside the barrier of blood-red, mucous-like substance, a silence hung over like a heavy curtain.

A low, humorless chuckle escaped the lips of Seto, the Archbishop of Madness. “Hah! Seriously? You actually pulled it five times?”

The cadet before him replied, “No one ever said you can’t pull it multiple times on your own, right?”

Seto’s expression hardened. He stared at the cadet, eyes boring in as if to see through him. That calm gaze, utterly unshaken, as though nothing had happened, filled Seto’s mind with one question: How? How? How can he be so unaffected?

What Seto was unable to comprehend wasn’t that the man had just pulled the trigger on his own head five times. The Archbishop had seen plenty of people willing to throw away their lives to protect someone dear to them: parents leaping in front of danger for their children, lovers facing death to shield each other, or fools who would die for a stranger they had never once met.

However, even those kinds of people showed something when death was staring them in the face. It could be fear, relief, or at the very least, joy. On rare occasions, some even welcomed death. Who, at the very moment death loomed before them, would smile wide and open their arms to it?

But you, you’re not even showing that, Seto thought.

The Archbishop’s eyes trembled as he looked at Dale. During those five trigger pulls, there had not been a flicker of change in the cadet’s gaze. It was as if he had multiple lives to spare. He had been detached and emotionless. He had just pulled the trigger.

Seto clutched his stomach and burst into laughter, grinning broadly as he looked at Dale. His true face glimpsed beyond the mask. “You. You’re insane, aren’t you?”

The word madness suited this cadet perfectly. Perhaps even more so than Seto himself, the man called the Archbishop of Madness.

Seto spread his arms wide and bounced on his feet like an excited child. “Heehee! Ahahaha! Yes, yes, YES! That’s it! I came here just in case, and I ended up finding someone more insane than me!”

A shiver raced down his spine, and he trembled with rising ecstasy. He nodded and snapped his fingers. “Mm, good. I’m satisfied. I’ll head back for today.”

The blood-red mucous barrier around them melted away, seeping into the ground.

As soon as the barrier dissolved, Yuren, Camilla, and Iris, who had been crushed under Seto’s oppressive aura, gasped for air.

“Paha! Haah, haah!”

“Cough! Cough!”

“Haah! D-Dale!”

Yuren and Iris immediately ran to Dale’s side.

“Ugh!” Elisha, freed from the bloody mist that bound her, kept a wary eye on Seto’s movements.

Seto turned back and said, “Well then, see you next time, Dale Han!”

However, just as he took a step toward the exit, something unexpected happened. A hand grabbed his shoulder.

“Hey,” Dale said.

“Hm?”

“Oh? What, you’re just going to run your mouth and then walk out?”

“Uh, w-what?” Seto asked.

Dale yanked him back by the shoulder.

***

I held out the revolver toward the Archbishop and said, “Here, it’s your turn.”

Seto’s mouth fell open as he stared at it. He then said, “W-wait, you didn’t get what I meant? I said I’d let you all live!”

I leveled the gun at his head. “Letting us live is letting us live. But if you’re leaving, you should at least fire it once. You’ve still got one shot left, don’t you?”

He was speechless.

“If you don’t want to do it yourself, I can pull the trigger for you,” I said.

Still aiming at his head, I pulled the trigger. With a bang, gunshot rang out, and Seto’s head snapped back. The dark mana condensed in the bullet erupted in an explosion. A chuckle slipped from Seto’s lips. When he lifted his head again, a single stream of blood was running down his forehead.

“Tch.” I was disappointed. As expected, the bullet didn’t carry enough mana to blow his head apart.

Seto laughed maniacally, not even bothering to wipe the blood away. “Yes, yes, YES! This is what I’ve been looking for! A lunatic hero like you!”

Unlike the others who would tremble in terror before him, I probably looked twisted, warped beyond repair, and broken to him. Seto licked his lips, breathing heavily. “Haaah! What should I do? I think I’m falling for you.”

I frowned and shook my head. “I’m not interested in guys.”

“Oh? Should I cut it off, then?”

“No.”

What the hell would you even cut, you psycho, I said inside.

“Hahaha! I’m joking!” Seto chuckled, his shoulders shaking, then leaned in close. “Look forward to it, Dale.”

His grin twisted viciously, his tongue flicking out. “Because I’m going to kill you with my own hands.”

A dry laugh escaped me. “Yeah? Then go ahead. Kill me, if you can.”

If you can, that is, I added inside.

Seto laughed in satisfaction. “Hahaha! Yes, that’s exactly the reaction I wanted!”

He turned away, then waved energetically, as if bidding farewell to a close friend. “Alright, I’m off! See you, Dale!”

Once Seto walked away, a heavy silence fell over the place, but only for a moment.

Professor Baldwin let out a deep sigh and shook her head. “Dale…”

“Yes?”

“Come see me for a private talk later.”

Wait, why? What did I even do wrong? I wondered.

Suddenly, Yurina grabbed me by the collar, eyes blazing. “D-Dale, you! Why? Why would you do something so reckless?”

Her voice trembled, as though she would burst into tears any moment, while her grip on my collar tightened. “Five shots. Five shots! What if it had actually gone off?”

I kept quiet.

Tears finally spilled from her eyes. “If you… if you die, then what am I supposed to do?”

I looked at her and gave a faint, bitter smile. Guess it’s about time I told her.

Right now, the only people who knew about my Blessing of Resurrection were Iris and Professor Baldwin. Yurina had no idea that even if I died, I would come back.

So, I explained, “I can’t die.”

Yurina was baffled. “What?”

“Even if the gun fired and blew my head apart, I’d still be alive.”

Yurina frowned.

I turned my head to check my surroundings; everyone except the still-unconscious Albert was watching me closely. “I have the Blessing of Resurrection.”

“Blessing of… Resurrection? What’s that?”

“Well, easier to show you than to explain.”

I formed a Mana Bullet beside my head. Then I fired it point-blank into my own temple. There was a burst of pain, my head tearing apart, and my vision flickered into darkness.

Yurina’s eyes went wide as she stared at my exploded head. “Huh? D-Dale, what are you?”

Even Camilla, who had been quietly watching us until now, shouted in horror. Then, the soul stigmata engraved over my heart began to glow, and the shattered remains of my head reformed rapidly, as though time itself had been rewound.

Yurina’s and Camilla’s jaws dropped in shock.

“What? What is this?”

“This is insane!”

Even Iris and Professor Baldwin, who already knew about my blessing, watched my complete regeneration as if they were witnessing something supernatural.

I tapped my perfectly restored head with my finger. “See? This is the Blessing of Resurrection.”

Camilla stared at me, her voice trembling. “So you’re saying, even if you die, you come back?”

“Yep.”

“Over and over again?”

I nodded without a word.

Camilla shook her head as if she couldn’t wrap her mind around it. “Unbelievable!”

Yurina suddenly let out a small gasp, as if something had just clicked. “Ah! So, that’s why you didn’t die that time.”

She was probably recalling the day I had stormed the Helios Estate alone.

“Anyway, I pulled the trigger because I knew my blessing would save me, so stop worrying,” I said.

Iris stepped forward, glaring at me. She smacked my back hard, scowling. “Stop worrying? How can you even say that! Just because you don’t die doesn’t mean you don’t feel the pain! How can you tell us not to worry?”

Yurina turned to her, frowning. “You knew? That Dale had the Blessing of Resurrection?”

“Ah! Yes. I knew.”

Yurina bit her lip, then said, “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

It wasn’t like I was deliberately hiding it from her. I replied, “Sorry. I just… never had the chance.”

It was just that there was no point mentioning it unless I actually died. Lately, aside from pushing my mana to the limit during training, I hadn’t been in any real danger, so the topic never came up.

Yurina raised her voice, clearly upset that Iris knew something she didn’t. “You still could’ve told me!”

Professor Baldwin stepped in with a sigh, gently pulling Yurina away. “Alright, alright, enough of the lovers’ quarrel.

She turned to me. “Dale. Come with me for a moment.”

Professor Baldwin led me behind the same pile of rocks we had been near earlier. “Hoo! Where do I even start?”

She took out a cigarette, holding it between her lips, and then bowed her head slightly toward me. “I’m sorry!”

“Pardon?”

Her voice was heavy with guilt as she bit her lip. “A professor who can’t even protect her own student… is a failure.”

I gave a faint smile and shook my head. “No one could have predicted that the Archbishop of Madness would show up here.”

I lit a small spark to ignite the cigarette for her.

She took a slow drag in silence, eyes thoughtful, before speaking again. “There’s something I want to ask you.”

“Go ahead.”

“Why did you pull the trigger?”

“Huh? Well, because I have the Blessing of—”

She shook her head. “No. What I’m asking is, why did you fire at the Archbishop of Madness when he was about to leave?”

“That’s…”

“Did you know? That he would actually welcome such reckless behavior?”

I remained silent.

She exhaled a stream of smoke, her gaze sinking deep into mine. “Were you trying to make sure all of his attention stayed on you?”

Her violet eyes glinted sharply. “Dale, you’re not… from the future, are you?”

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