The Author's POV

'Why did it happen again?'

While sitting on the curb in front of the bus with a perplexed expression on his face, Kevin mused to himself about the situation.

Why did they die again?

He did everything that he was supposed to do.

He didn't go toward the inner city and lead his parents away from home, yet, they still died.

This time by a road accident.

The demons weren't even responsible for their deaths.

Kevin's gaze lifted toward the clouds in the sky. Staring at the clouds that were moving ever so slowly in the sky, he had a sudden thought.

'...I wanted to spend more time with them.'

***

Bang―!

"Watch out, Kevin!"

Once more, Kevin watched as his parents threw their bodies over to protect him. This time, their bodies were completely severed in half, and blood spilt all over Kevin.

The expressions of helplessness and anguish that they displayed just prior to passing away left an indelible mark on his mind as he could only watch them die in front of him.

Crash―!

"Get behind me, Kevin!"

Booom―!

"Ahhhh!"

Unbeknownst to him, the same events kept happening over and over again with each and every one of his regressions.

Before Kevin even realized it, he had reached his twentieth regression, and for the twentieth time, both of his parents had passed away right before his very eyes.

This time, it was due to an explosion that occurred outside of the city.

'...Why?'

Kevin never managed to muster the required strength to come to the aid of his mother and father, no matter how many times he tried. Each time, they would suffer a horrible death, and he would be left all by himself once more.

The heaviness in his heart, which had been barely noticeable at first, became increasingly obvious with each and every one of his regressions, and it intensified with the passing of his parents in all of the regressions.

Over the course of those twenty regressions, he would have an immeasurably better chance of defeating Jezebeth, but despite his best efforts, he continued to fall short in every single one of his endeavours.

Kevin understood that it was only a matter of time before he could beat Jezebeth.

Be it one hundred, one thousand, ten thousand, one hundred thousand, or a million regressions...

Kevin had all the time in the world to accumulate experience and become stronger.

Jezebeth was still ahead of him by quite a lot, but Kevin knew that his time would come very soon.

...In those times, with each regression, he would spend more and more time with his parents. By the time the twentieth regression happened, he had spent at least a century of his life with them.

He pretty much knew them like the back of his hand.

...and it was because of this that he found it more difficult to part ways with them every five years since his birth.

After each of their deaths, he would experience a sharp pain, and the colour that had been slowly developing in his vision would slowly fade away.

would continue indefinitely, with

It was their fate.

over here, you bastards! Come and get me if you

forget about me!

Kevin watched his parents yell and scream at the top of their lungs, doing their best to divert the attention of the

'Why? ...Why?'

wondered inside of his mind, his eyes

their own. Putting your needs above mine is how I show you that I love you. Isn't that what every

fourth regression rang in

trickling down the side of his cheek

he finally better understood the meaning of his mother's

hand forward toward where his

"Don't go..."

Don't leave me.

*

Many years later.

Ashton City, Lock Library

a stop near a particular word as he paged through a book about

feel empty, alone, and unwanted. People who are lonely often crave human contact, but their state of mind

on the area around him, and he traced his finger across the definition that was

that the words strangely resonated with

quite get it, but ever since the passing of his parents, he had the impression that the world, which seemed already to be devoid of meaning to him, had taken on an

always been to better understand the sensations he

about 600 years old if one counted all of the

the sensation of emptiness that was eating away at his body gradually became worse, to the point where every

why he was now in

understand what he was feeling

and looked at the cover of

Johnson's guide to

a mistake for the records to have birthed

at the book in front of him

moment was his identity. The identity of a human. A

as more time passed and regressions took place, Kevin realized that he was not an exception to the natural biological system of the being

sensations that he experienced in the immediate aftermath of

he could not run away from

like the death of his

realization that made Kevin realize that he

understand this so called thing

Clank―!

got out of his chair and grabbed the book that was on the table in front

"Hm?"

was on the verge of turning around to return the book when he suddenly became aware of a faint light off in

someone else

the morning, and it was very strange to see someone

considering that exam season has already

upon turning around, saw a young, skinny man with jet-black hair covering

to a large book, and beside him was

[Demon anatomy]

out

and what is

that were piled up in front

was covering his face, it was obvious that the young man was showing signs of anxiety, given the rapidity

is it? ...where is it? ...There must be a way ...There has to

cure to the mind

the young man and startling him

"Eh, ah!"

Clank―!

fell back and hit the floor, resulting in a deafening crash. It was a good thing

man's expression changed dramatically the moment his eyes landed on Kevin, nearly unable to

"You...you're Kevin Voss."