✠

I was immediately teleported to Panel, the capital of the Elfenheim Church.

On either side of the beautiful white triumphal arch that was the entrance to Seonghwangcheong were lined up holy knights. They were gatekeepers to filter out non-related people like me.

'What should I do?'

Since it was just a dream, I had a brief urge to barge in and yell at the leader to come out. But Unryeong stopped me.

[I advise you to be careful not to go against the laws, as the 'World-Building Word' is the dream of a thousand-year-old regressor, chaos evil, and transcendentalist of the 9th Circle.]

Dreams hate to be recognized as dreams. If you don't want to get in trouble, you have to pretend to be a resident of this world.

However, there was no need to worry about how to enter or invade Seonghwangcheong, because soon there was no reason to do so.

"......what's this."

Less than five steps from the entrance, a poster published by Seonghwangcheong caught my eye.

Among the announcements of holiday events and worship schedules, one thing stood out.

A portrait of a man drawn in rough lines. The text underneath read:

[Wanted Person: Tesilid Argent

Charge: Apostasy

Report Reward: 5,000 Gold

*Since this sinner was excommunicated, those who hid or helped him are also subject to punishment in the name of 'strict order and good']

"why......?"

The 17th Tesilid turned his back on the church?

Even though I felt skeptical about the return without an exit, it must have been a time when I couldn't let go of my duty as the owner of the Holy Sword?

It must have been a false accusation, but for the time being I had no idea what had happened in the lumped word 'apostasy'.

That was when.

“Tesilid, this bastard.......”

“......!”

A voice that seemed to be suppressing its emotions was heard right behind me.

When I turned my head, I saw a young priest with black hair braided into a single braid and a knight with blond hair growing out like a mane.

'Hesti, Ipale?'

I recognized him at a glance because his face still looked like it did when he was a child. However, it seems that his opponents were not like that.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that? Do you have something to say?”

“Hey, Hestio. Please speak carefully.......”

“What am I.”

I realized that it wasn't just that he didn't remember me.

'These two people don't know me at all.'

Since I am a possessed being who exists only in one episode, in other episodes where I do not exist, no one in the world remembers me.

The regression world erases my existence without regard to probability, and only the regressor in charge of the axis of regression is an exception.

That is, the only one in this world who remembers me is ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) Tesilid Argent.

My heart, which had barely calmed down, became unstable again. It was throbbing and hurting.

I looked at Hesti and Iphael. I suppressed all the emotions that were swirling around me and made an expression as if it was my first time meeting them.

I need to get information.

“I’m sorry, but I find the contents of this wanted poster unbelievable and shocking. Do you happen to know what happened to the owner of the Holy Sword?”

I locked eyes with the more vulnerable of the two, hoping they would divulge even a little information to an outsider.

“......Why are you asking that?”

Hesti's speech, which can easily be misunderstood as a joke, seems to be the same. However, we should not make the mistake of expressing feelings of longing. After all, we are strangers now.

“The master of the Holy Sword is an apostate? I can’t believe it, because he’s not that kind of person.”

“He is a wanted person who has been excommunicated. Don’t you know that if you defend him, you will be punished together? It’s written here?”

There is no need to elaborate here.

“I believe in the Master of the Holy Sword.”

“.......”

“Please.”

“.......”

Hestio's expression distorted defenselessly. His sloppy strategy of only having sincerity was barely working.

Tesilid's past actions were recorded in a tone that seemed to have lost its sharpness as if it were a lie.

“It is said that he left the Knights Templar right after completing a dungeon raid in Greenwall.”

“......!”

“Afterwards, the Knights of Chanyoung, to which Tesilid belonged, found him, but he refused the order to return. In the process, he even used force against his superiors.”

“That can’t be.......”

“All of the Knights of Chan-young have testified with one voice. Anyone who needs to refute or defend themselves is currently on the run.”

While Hestio chewed his lip, Iphael continued his explanation.

“The Holy See regards Tesilid’s actions as an act of apostasy and is currently searching for him. It seems that the Holy See’s highest search group, the Heresy Judgement, will also be activated soon.”

“Even the heretic judge?”

"yes."

“Tesil, no, there’s no way the master of the Holy Sword could have made the situation worse like that.”

“We couldn’t believe it either. He was a very old-fashioned and faithful guy to the point of being annoying. He seemed like the kind of guy who would never think of rebelling against the church even if he died.......”

“.......”

“But that’s what happened. It’s not like it was late puberty or anything.”

“What the heck.......”

I was about to ask why, but I quickly shut my mouth. But it seemed too late.

“The place where the Knights of Chanyoung first found Tesilid was near Count Gillette’s castle. According to the statement of the witness they met at that time, Tesilid was wandering around asking for someone. That person’s name was.......”

“Don't talk.”

I reacted sharply without realizing it.

Not only Ipale and Hestio, but I myself was also very surprised. I barely managed to calm down and collect myself.

“You don’t have to tell me until then. Thank you, Hestio, Ipale. That’s all for now.”

“Wait a minute, you. What are our names...?”

No, I don't think I calmed down at all. I turned away from the two people and quickly left the place.

'I have to find him.'

But the Serentra continent was too large. Count Gillette had already passed through, so there was no telling whether he would return there again, or if so, when.

At that moment when I felt lost, the devil's ornament on my waist began to vibrate faintly.

'Nightmare Catcher?'

The dream catcher, reminiscent of a bone ornament, lay horizontally, and pulled me towards it with a simple force, holding the direction like a compass.

I knew intuitively that if I followed this, I would meet Reed.

By the way, this Nightmare Catcher is a couple item and they say you can share many things with each other.

It seemed that the item had a location as well as a sequence and nightmare.

“You should have told me about this a long time ago.”

The problem is that it only tells you the direction, not the distance. Let's try using a cheat for this part.

I unfolded the system map and prayed.

“Your Majesty, the Inspector hasn’t come back yet. Please help me.”

✠

'Tesilid Argent' thought of himself as strange.

Now he was disillusioned and exhausted by his fate of being hated by the whole world and by his endless recurrence.

But, contrary to his mental exhaustion, his body was desperately trying to survive this episode.

He abandoned all his duties as a knight and moved according to some 'personal purpose'.

Of course, the church ordered him to return, but he did not obey and even resisted with force in the process.

This was so obviously an act of hostility towards the church that he was eventually branded an apostate and excommunicated.

At first, the Seonghwangcheong only issued an order to arrest, but seeing that the heresy judges began to move, it could be seen that in fact an order to kill had been issued.

In fact, he was still on the run, mortally wounded.

“Don’t miss it! You must catch it!”

“‘Strict Order and Good’ does not forgive apostates!”

He thought as he hid his tired body among the bushes.

This episode was a total mess. There was no point in trying to do anything.

Since he was an infinite regressor, he had a quick and sure way out of the worst of situations. And he had plenty of opportunities.

'I could just die and come back, so why am I doing this?'

Despite the weak spirit that encouraged him to give up, he was still desperate.

The hand that is trying to stop the bleeding from the wound on his side becomes stronger, his rib cage becomes rigid with the effort to hold his breath that has risen to the tip of his chin, and his nerves and senses that are alert to his surroundings become extremely sensitive.

He was rejecting the chance of death with his whole body.

why?

Why on earth?

Not long after I started questioning, the answer came to me naturally.

'That's... ... Oh, right. It's my 17th time... ... . The 17th time has to be like that... ... .'

An answer that seemed to have been brainwashed. What followed was uncritical thinking.

He felt that he had a special mission for the 17th time.

'I have to find it.'

Until the end of this life, he had to wander around looking for someone.

In the 17th round, he had to do it. That was his mission, his destiny.