Chapter 59
Evan Taylors, having regressed, kidnapped Jin.
And he drove a sword into Jin’s heart.
Even in his final moments, guilt weighed heavily on him for killing someone still innocent, but in the end, he carried out what he believed he must do.
Jin died in vain, and Evan thought the task was complete.
But as the years passed and that time came again, Persetos resurrected in Ricardo’s body.
Once again, the end of the world arrived, and time repeated itself.
On the third round, Evan Taylors slaughtered everyone of the Winchester family.
When Sasha Winchester begged him to kill her, this time, he granted her request.
— Thank you.
Even after three regressions, Ricardo was no easy foe.
Evan lost one of his arms but succeeded in killing Ricardo.
Yet when he heard that Persetos had risen in his half-brother’s body, he looked up at the darkening sky with a devastated expression.
Fourth round, fifth round, sixth round.
Evan Taylors regressed again, striving to prevent the apocalypse at the hands of Persetos.
The only way to stop Persetos’ resurrection was to find and kill the human host before the appointed time.
But without fail, when the moment came, Persetos awoke inside someone completely unexpected.
No one knew whose body he hid in—until the very last moment.
In the sixth round, Persetos resurrected in the body of Casillion, the Tower Master whom Evan trusted most.
The overwhelming evil devoured people and carried out Persetos’ will.
In the end, Evan once more witnessed the world crushed into ruin, powerless to stop it.
By the seventh regression, Evan’s eyes no longer looked human.
With more than a century of experience behind him, no one could stand against him anymore.
He began massacring people indiscriminately.
His half-crazed eyes brimmed only with hollow despair.
He killed Chenoa Taylors and all the members of House Taylors, then turned on the other families.
He killed everyone in sight—
As if he truly meant to end the world.
After slaughter on a scale that even his ancestor Caissa could not match, the world was soaked red with blood.
In the final moment, Evan smiled and said:
— You’re inside me, Persetos.
But just as he gripped his sword to pierce his own neck, his hand froze.
Because Persetos did not permit it.
Darkness surged from Evan’s body, and once more, the world fell into ruin.
Evan’s empty eyes held only pain.
In the eighth round, Evan opened his eyes again.
The world was filled with eternal ruin, and he was left utterly alone.
And so, for the twenty-eighth time, he awoke.
[The Secret of the Blue Hawk has been destroyed.]
The black theater-like space vanished, and I was left alone, standing in Evan’s room.
“Phew…”
The item disappeared as if it had fulfilled its role.
I retraced the scenes I had just witnessed.
The screening had lasted nine full hours—thankfully, time flowed differently inside.
I could feel, in my bones, what “the twenty-seventh time” meant.
Twenty-seven destructions, deaths, and regressions.
The moments Evan Taylors had endured after the <Original> story were vividly recorded.
Of course, I hadn’t seen everything.
Only certain meaningful scenes were shown in fragments.
Betrayed by someone he had trusted as a comrade…
Killing villains he believed to be Persetos’ hosts, only to realize they were innocent…
At times screaming, at times broken into a shell of himself…
Covered in blood amid endless carnage…
And even in the seventh regression, when Evan became nothing more than a killer.
The eyes swallowed by Persetos had been chilling to behold.
“He couldn’t help but go mad.”
I didn’t look away from a single moment.
The Evan Taylors I knew was already somewhat frayed as a person, yet still, he was the male lead I had once cheered for.
The Evan who had once endured ten nights on a cliff to protect children in the original novel… had become a cold-blooded man who didn’t even blink at their deaths.
He barely regained his sanity, only for it to crumble again. He realized, despaired, stood back up, and fell once more…
A desperate struggle of one man, just to save the world.
No—more like the downfall of a hero, trapped in meaningless regressions, losing his humanity.
“So that’s how it became like this…”
And then, I saw myself within those memories.
No—Sasha Winchester.
Always the same expression… pitifully begging Evan to kill her.
In the twenty-seventh round, for the first time, Evan gave Sasha Winchester an answer.
— Always at this moment.
His mouth smiled, but his eyes did not.
— …I’m a little jealous.
Then, without mercy, he took Sasha’s life.
Unlike before, Sasha met her end with slightly widened eyes, as if surprised.
The unfortunate Sasha… and Evan Taylors, who even envied her death.
My stomach churned.
I had seen Jin’s death more than ten times, Othello’s at least fifteen.
Evan was running on a treadmill of a cosmic horror novel, where the ending had already been decided.
Like a beast with a leash around its neck, almost resigned to it all.
“…”
I stepped out of Evan’s “special domain.”
Now that the Secret of the Blue Hawk was gone, I wouldn’t be able to enter at will again.
I had learned more than enough—far beyond what I had ever wondered about that book.
So, I no longer felt the need to go back.
I opened the door and stepped out.
“Young Lady, where are you going?”
Maya, who had been arranging my dolls, hurried after me.
I headed into the ruined hallway and said:
“To Evan.”
From what I’d heard, an Awakener’s rampage was something one had to endure alone.
That was true for Jin, and I’d been told it was the same for Othello.
Servants and soldiers were outside Evan’s door, but none dared to enter.
Nor should they—it wasn’t a situation they could interfere with.
Evan’s body floated slightly above the bed, limp.
A dark blue aura wrapped around him.
The jagged, blade-like aura looked as though it would permit nothing near.
“Young Lady!”
As I tried to enter Evan’s room, Maya cried out in panic.
“Ah—Young Lady.”
The attendants gasped when they saw me.
“You mustn’t. It’s too dangerous.”
[Skill: Black Dominion (SS/Lv.4) activated.]
Children of noble families whose abilities had not yet manifested were treated as literal children.
But in this case, such “protection” would only be a burden.
“Ugh!”
“I—I can’t move my body!”
I had to restrain them—otherwise, they might be punished later.
“Young Lady!!”
Ignoring Maya’s pleas, I subdued the servants with my skill and stepped into Evan’s domain.
There was one thing that had struck me as odd while watching Evan’s past.
In all twenty-seven regressions, his ability always awakened at just four years old.
But in this round, Evan had only awakened recently.
And likely, it had been triggered when he trespassed into my room—when he met me.
Yet every time his power awakened in the past, Evan always suffered terribly.
No matter how many times he regressed, letting such a vast aura dwell inside a child’s body was never easy.
I climbed onto the bed and approached him.
The jagged aura writhed like blades, splitting under my skill’s influence, but its energy remained menacing.
Even as I straddled him, Evan remained unconscious.
“Wake up, Evan!”
I shouted at him.
For a moment, I even thought about biting him.
But his face was too beautiful, and my teeth too precious.
“I know you don’t want to wake up!”
In the last round, Evan had told Sasha that he envied her plea for death.
After twenty-seven rounds of hellish regressions, he must have wanted to escape.
It made sense that he longed for eternal rest.
“I understand that you suffered, and that you wanted to run away.”
At the sound of my voice, Evan’s eyebrows twitched faintly.
At that moment, the aura quivered and brushed against my cheek.
A sharp sting ran down my skin.
If I had awakened his ability, then surely I could suppress his rampage too.
“Young Lady!”
Maya’s desperate voice echoed from outside.
The aura had now taken the form of thorns, preventing anyone else from entering.
Was the aura moving by Evan’s will? Or did it have its own?
I grabbed his collar, leaned over him, and shouted:
“If it ends here, you’ll only go back again! You know better than anyone that’s not the answer.”
Persetos must be defeated.
Until then, time would never release Evan.
If I died as Sasha was meant to, what would happen?
There was no guarantee I would regress alongside him. I might simply face the reaper again.
But I didn’t want to throw away my given life so easily.
“You’re not alone anymore. I’ll be right here, with you…”
My hand shook as I gripped his collar.
I would find the Elixir, regain my health, and help Evan track down and defeat Persetos, bringing peace to the world.
I would keep a balanced, peaceful relationship with the Winchesters—who had become my family—and live well.
For that, Evan could not die like this.
“…I’ll stay by your side. I swear it.”
And at that moment, Evan slowly opened his eyes.
The violent aura was restrained by Black Dominion, forcibly suppressed.
Without it, I might have been killed instantly.
I looked into his eyes and spoke clearly:
“This time, I’ll outlive you.”
In Evan’s blue eyes, I saw myself reflected.
Was the corner of my eye really so red?
As I tried to let go of his collar, Evan suddenly grabbed my hand.
As if to say—don’t let go.
“…”
After a moment, his lips moved.
“You…”
His voice was hoarse, broken.
Just before he cut down Sasha Winchester in his memories, he had sounded like that.
A sudden ache welled in my chest.
“…You’ll have to take responsibility for what you said.”
Were Evan’s eyes always like that? No—they weren’t.
In none of the memories I had seen had he ever looked at a comrade like this.
His gaze was so piercing, so intense, it almost felt hostile.
“I’ll make sure of it.”
And then, I could see it—the aura that had loomed threateningly over us had completely calmed.
The jagged blades had turned into droplets, quietly circling around Evan and me.
As if they had always been that docile.
Had he overcome his rampage?
It seemed my gamble had succeeded.
But I couldn’t smile.
Because even now, he was staring at me with eyes sharp as a tamed beast’s.
