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.

indefinitely, with

It was their fate.

you bastards! Come and get me if

forget about

at the top of their lungs, doing their best to divert the attention

'Why? ...Why?'

mind, his eyes drawn toward the scenes in the

needs above mine is how I show you that I love you. Isn't that what every mother

Kevin's mother had told him during his fourth regression

the corners of his eyes, trickling down the side of his cheek before softly landing on the hard ground beneath

this time that he finally better understood the

his hand forward toward where

"Don't go..."

Don't leave me.

*

Many years later.

Ashton City, Lock Library

word as he paged through a book about

about it. Loneliness causes people to feel empty, alone, and unwanted. People who are lonely

candle cast a dim light on the area around him, and he traced his finger across the definition that was in front of him

felt that the words strangely

of his parents, he had the impression that the world, which seemed already to be devoid of

to better understand the sensations he was

was about 600 years old

that time, the sensation of emptiness that was eating away at his body gradually

he

he could better understand what he was feeling and find an answer

flipped the book over and looked

guide

a mistake for the records to have birthed

the book in front of him and gently placing his hand over

The identity of a human. A social

Kevin believed that he would never be forced to deal with such pointless issues; however, as more time passed and regressions took

that the fleeting sensations that he experienced in the immediate aftermath of the passing of his parents were classified as

could not run

how much he might try to distance himself from the world or ignore whatever was happening around him, like the death of his parents or his own death, the biological system that he was born

was this realization that made Kevin realize that he could no longer ignore

this

Clank―!

chair and grabbed the book that was on the table in front

"Hm?"

when he suddenly became aware of a

someone else

very strange to see someone still in the

when considering that exam season

saw a young, skinny man with jet-black hair covering the front

a large book,

[Demon anatomy]

watch out for

curses and what is known

found himself staring at the books that were piled

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

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

for the cure to the mind

of the young man and startling him

"Eh, ah!"

Clank―!

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

his eyes landed on Kevin,

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