Chapter 26: Real or Fake?
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"I know you've been watching me all along. I've had enough of your tricks. Stay as brave as you pretend to be… and wait for me — because I'm coming for you!"
After cutting off the old man's head, Sayru shouted those words toward the sky.
Then he turned and headed straight toward the village before him.
The moment he entered, six villagers stood in his way, holding spears and wooden shields in trembling hands.
Sayru glared at them. "So you're going to play this kind of game with me, huh?"
With precise, swift strikes, he hit each of their vital points — enough to knock them unconscious without killing them.
He continued toward the center of the village, but the deeper he went, the more villagers appeared, like puppets following the command of some hidden master.
Yet, none of that slowed Sayru down — it only made his anger burn hotter.
His destination was clear — a familiar shop at the heart of the village.
The same place where he had died the last time.
It was obvious what he intended now — the shopkeeper was inside.
Sayru entered and found the woman standing alone. Without hesitation, he grabbed her by the neck and lifted her into the air.
"What the—?!"
His eyes widened — the shopkeeper's body was lifeless and cold, just a corpse.
As he stared, startled, a young girl sneaked up from behind and stabbed him in the side with a small knife.
But instead of reacting in shock, Sayru's lips curled into a grim smile. He had known she was there… and let her do it.
He gripped her tiny hands tightly, his voice low and furious.
"Found you!!"
What in the world was going on in this place?
Two cunning minds — one web of deceit. Sayru and whoever was behind this nightmare.
"You think I'd die from a cowardly stab like that? Enough of your games — I've already figured everything out!"
He was partly right — though it was ironic coming from the same man who had once been killed by a dagger in his first life.
Veins bulged across Sayru's arms as he glared at the girl, his hand crushing hers with unyielding force.
"Or maybe… you're doing this because I killed your dear father?"
It was becoming clear — she was the daughter of the old man Sayru had just executed.
But how? She didn't resemble him at all.
"It hurts! Let me go, you murderer! I'll kill you!" she screamed, crying as she bit his arm in desperation.
Her struggle was useless. His grip didn't even waver.
Sayru turned, dragging her behind him, then sighed — and hoisted her over his shoulder like a sack of grain.
He dashed back to the first village at full speed.
When he arrived, he entered the same house he had visited when he first came to this world — the house of the old man whose head he'd taken.
It was empty. Silent.
No one was there. That confirmed it — she truly was his daughter.
"As I thought… everything started here," Sayru muttered, staring at the wooden table before him.
He set the unconscious girl down on the rug near the table and poured himself a cup of the tea left there. It was cold now, but he drank slowly, waiting for her to wake up.
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Night fell. The villagers lit torches, hearths, and lanterns.
A calm night — yet one heavy with fate.
Inside one quiet house on the village edge…
"How long do you plan to fake being asleep, you little troublemaker?" Sayru said, eyes fixed on her.
The tension in the room thickened.
"...Tch. When did you figure it out, you bastard?"
She sat up, glaring at him with defiance.
"I've sealed your spiritual energy," Sayru replied calmly. "You won't escape this time. If I hadn't noticed your trick back at that shop, I'd still be dying over and over again."
Her eyes widened. "How did you know? How did you realize I was using this world's Spiritual Energy?!"
Sayru exhaled deeply. "Yeah… that reminds me. My endless deaths began here — the moment I drank that cup of tea."
The girl froze, disbelief and fury battling on her face.
"What…?!"
"There's no need to look so shocked. I should be the one surprised. How in the world did I miss your Spiritual Poison from the start? Strange… truly strange…"
He stood and walked toward the window.
"Look at that beautiful night sky. Those shining stars — all fake. That's what gave me the first clue.
I've lived longer than you could imagine, little girl. Yet this is the first time I've seen a world so real… and yet so fake at the same time.
When I first arrived here, the day turned to night in an instant, and I couldn't sense a single trace of Mana.
Those oddities made me use my spiritual sense recklessly, trying to understand what was going on — and because of that, I failed to notice the faint spiritual threads floating in the sky.
Then I realized something. Every star has its own Star Energy, which remains even in daylight. But the energy of these stars vanished completely when the sun rose…
That was when I sat at the village gate to meditate — to calm my vitality. And as I focused, I saw it: threads of Spiritual Energy, thin and faint, connected to every living villager… and one of them was connected to me."
As Sayru spoke, the girl's face grew paler with every word. She looked trapped — cornered by truth.
"When I came back to this village the second time, everyone acted like it was my first visit. Even your father. Everyone… except you.
I felt your fear.
And then I realized — every one of those threads was connected to you.
I sat and drank that tea again, just to make sure… and the thread between us thickened slightly.
That Spiritual Poison created the link — and you controlled it to kill me again and again.
No… not to kill me — to attack me spiritually, until I believed I had died, right~?"
The girl's face turned white as snow. Sayru's guess was perfect.
"Y-you… monster…"
Sayru smirked faintly. "Good. That face tells me I'm right. But there's still one thing I don't understand…"
"Why?" he asked quietly. "Why go this far? What are you after?"
The girl's eyes flared with rage.
"It's all because of you! This world belongs to me! I won't let you take it — even if I have to die!!!"
Sayru stared at her furious expression — and smiled softly.
"So that's it… I finally understand what this 'Trial of Death' really is~."
"Trial…?" she whispered, her voice trembling.