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 no

It was their fate.

you bastards! Come and

forget about me!

to divert the attention of the demon away from him, Kevin's chest began to feel as if

'Why? ...Why?'

his eyes drawn toward

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

him during his fourth regression

of his eyes, trickling down the side of his cheek before softly landing on the

finally better understood

forward toward where his parents

"Don't go..."

Don't leave me.

*

Many years later.

Ashton City, Lock Library

a stop near a particular word

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

traced his finger across the definition that was in front of him with

reason, he felt that the

his parents, he had the impression that the world, which seemed already to be devoid of meaning to him, had taken on an even more hollow

goal had always been to better

old if one counted all of the

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

was also why he was now in the

better understand what he was feeling and find an answer

over and looked at the cover of the

guide

for the records to

book in front of him and gently placing his

was his identity. The identity of a human. A social being

with such pointless issues; however, as more time passed and regressions took place, Kevin realized that he was not an exception to the natural biological system of the

was aware that the fleeting sensations that he experienced in the immediate aftermath of the

he could not run

world or ignore whatever was happening around him, like the death of his parents or his own death,

that made Kevin realize that he could no longer

had to better understand this

Clank―!

and grabbed the book that was on the table in front

"Hm?"

turning around to return the book when he suddenly became aware of

was someone

approximately three in the morning, and it was very strange to see someone still in the library at

that exam season has already

man with jet-black hair covering the front of

currently glued to a large book, and beside him was a stack

[Demon anatomy]

to watch out for from

curses and what is

found himself staring at the books that were piled up in front of the young

young man was showing signs of anxiety, given the

curse... where is it? ...where is it? ...There

looking for the cure to the mind

asked, stopping in front of the young man and startling him out of

"Eh, ah!"

Clank―!

floor, resulting in a deafening crash. It was a good thing the

expression changed dramatically the moment his eyes landed

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