Ch 131 – Interfering with Time

A sky dyed the color of blood. That was the first thing that greeted a bloodied man in a broken city. His mind was blank, while his eyes stared at the red landscape he was in. Buildings that were torn down created countless rubble on the ground, many humans can be seen squashed under those rubbles, causing bits of flesh and brain matter to splotch everywhere. Many beings flew around in the sky, some were demonic in appearance, while others were angelic. Not only that, he could see countless explosions of colorful light exploding in the red sky, illuminating the broken city he was in. It felt surreal to him, to see such a horrific yet dazzling sight at the same moment.

He could already feel his body losing strength, the pool of blood that rose up to his waist while he was sitting down on the ground with a broken knee made him feel like he was in a dream. It felt like he was transported to a novel, and he was merely a side character watching the end of the world, unable to do anything with his powerlessness.

As he looks further to the sky, he watches as more and more blue dimensional rifts open up, where devils poured out in armies and hordes. Not only that, demonic beings rose from the ground while previously dead hunters around him got revived, their eyes glowing a deep purple light.

He could already feel his body giving away from the pressure of the chaotic war he was experiencing, causing him to have his life flash before his eyes. ' W-What happened? Why did this happen?'

'Devils, angels, otherworldly beings? When did they exist? How come the system is actually a tool made against us? The strongest hunters are on the invaders' side… Is this all real?' He questioned everything that has happened up to this point.

"S-Status," he called out with blood leaking out his mouth, and just like the event that he hoped not to happen, no status window appeared in front of him. His eyes trembled, while he gritted his teeth.

'Why did they invade us?! What did we ever do to them?! They were the source of the dungeons that appeared in this world, and now they announce that we were the reason this all happened?!' he shouted in his mind, yet he knew that he was powerless to win against them.

Countless angels flew down to the sky, turning into demonic creatures that caused more destruction around him. Devils of gargantuan strength, immeasurable to any normal S-Rank hunter appeared relentlessly, causing mass destruction to the surrounding area. In all of that, he was merely a puny ant, a C-Rank hunter with no future prospects.

He cried out to the heavens, yet nobody respond to the unjust reality he found himself in. There was no hero to save the day, they were all killed one by one like moths to a flame. The strongest of hunters were actually villains, the perpetrators of all the chaos the world found itself in.

'The Crimson King, Grand Sorcerer, and the others, they were the ones who caused all of this! Why did they side with the demons?!' he questioned further, yet nobody was there to answer him.

He felt the hand that was supporting his body slip, causing him to fall down and lie on the pool of blood that formed in the city to envelop him. He closed his eyes, they were full of regret and anger, yet also confusion, full of yearning to solve the unknown. He sighed helplessly, knowing all too well about his powerlessness.

'If I can just go back in time, I'll definitely save this world from marching into this fate.' He vowed to himself, yet he knew he will not be given that ridiculous chance. To turn back the sands of time, he knew full well only a god can achieve that feat.

"Are you sure about that vow of yours?" Out of nowhere, a voice rang in his ear. It definitely belonged to a woman, like a caring mother full of love and care for their children. It instantly caused his mind to become crystal clear, while also easing the pain he felt throughout his limp body.

'W-Who?' he called out in his mind, alarmed at the sudden appearance of the voice. Yet, he already felt like he knew whose voice it belonged.

"I'm the Goddess, Angelica. And you, Arpe, are the last living hope for the fate of humanity."

Arpe widened his eyes substantially. He? The last hope of humanity. He will definitely laugh loudly if somebody was to say that to him with a straight face, but this time, he felt that the voice was definitely serious about this matter. 'M-Me? The last hope of humanity?'

"Yes, Arpe. You're the only human who has the greatest compatibility with the power I'll bestow upon you. Wherein, when you die, you'll restart to a certain point in time, to the year 2050, to the time you were still at your prime and about to start school in Seoul High."

'!' Arpe gasped in shock. He was the chosen one? He almost couldn't believe it at this point.

'Why me?' Arpe asked, wondering if the voice was toying with him.

"Because you simply have the will and heart to strive for the future of humanity. That's why I asked if you're serious about your vow."

'…' Arpe stayed silent, contemplating about what possible changes he could have if the voice wasn't joking.

After a while, Arpe nodded his head and said, 'Are you sure you're willing to pick me?'

"Yes, nobody else is better suited than you."

'Then I accept!' Arpe shouted with resolve, he could already feel his soul and heart churning with excitement at this sudden twist of events. He felt like he turned from a side character who could only watch from the sidelines and see the heroes die, to becoming the main character. A regressor, that's the word he described himself as.

"Thank you, Arpe."

As he raised his head, he watches as golden light swirled around him like a whirlpool. Not only that, he could hear the cries of shock from the devils and demons all around him, causing a wide smirk to form on his face.

And so, he felt his soul getting detached from his body, and the golden light was incorporated into his soul. As he felt endless power coursing through his astral form, the whole world turned blank.

Countless visions passed through his 'eyes', from the previous second, minute, hour, day, week, month, and year. His whole life played out before him in reverse, just like when a person reversed a video. He felt nostalgic, and melancholic, along with other emotions inside him. But also, he felt a sense of exhilaration for what the future holds for him.

Power, fame, money, and most importantly, women.

'But more than that, I'll attain the prosperity of this world. No matter how many times I'll die, I'll definitely find a way to save this world from doom!' Arpe vowed. As he did so, the visions accelerated as time rewinded faster than before.

The flow of time reversed until it finally halted, causing Arpe to open his eyes wide in shock, only to be greeted by his knee kneeling down on the ground of a dark alley. Shadows were cast everywhere, along with the slight stench emanating from the trash littered around the alley, and yet, Arpe could feel tears of joy welling up in his eyes.

He did it, he really did it. He successfully went back in time to the prime of his life. At the time where he was considered a genius and a student of Seoul High, the number one hunter academy in Korea. Back to the year 2050, before all of the chaotic events ensued.

Arpe grinned lightly, before wiping the tears in his eyes. He looked up to the bright blue sky above him while inside the dark alley, and he resisted the urge to shout his emotions. He held all the chaotic emotions inside him and clutched his chest tightly with his right hand.

"Thank you, Goddess. I will definitely not waste this opportunity. Crimson King, the number one reason all of that happened, I'll definitely kill you. I'll remove the traitor of humanity from this world-!"

Out of nowhere, he felt his whole world slow down as he saw crimson sparks suddenly form in front of him, the very same crimson sparks etched into the very recess of his mind. Not only that, he watched as the crimson sparks slowly formed a tear in the fabrics of space-time, the very same plane he recently traveled through after being given a second chance by the Goddess.

'I-Impossible!' Arpe cried out in shock before he could feel a choking sensation suddenly grab him by the throat.

He cried out loudly as he was slammed to the wall, and he opened his eyes and was greeted by the sight of a face that caused him to feel shocked. A pair of eyes cold and colored crimson, hair the color of death, with a glare that caused his body to halt in fear from the killing intent. He gulped lightly, before thinking, 'C-Crimson King?!'

"To think the Goddess would resort to such a futile last attempt. Uncle Ordo really was stupid for falling to the tricks of that woman. Oh well, all is still swell," the man in front of him grinned, before crimson miasma of thick killing intent emanated from his back, causing bullets of sweat to form throughout his whole body.

"H-How?!" Arpe cried out, his eyes were trembling yet he also gritted his teeth. He knew he can just regress back if he was killed, but the mere thought that Crimson King can travel through time scared him more than what his confidence could handle.

"Just stay silent you lucky pig. The Goddess only chose you because you were the worst of the last living humans back on Earth, just like most of the cheaters that were chosen by the Golden C-"

"Huh?" Instantly, the two turned their heads and saw a young kid wearing the same Seoul High uniform as Arpe appears at the entrance of the alleyway. His hair was raven black, eyes the color of crimson, with a childish appearance with smooth, fair white skin.

"H-Help! This guy is trying to kill me!" Arpe cried out hastily, he grasped the arm that was choking him and tried to last as long as possible to get the boy's help.

"Oh, so then you must be a bad guy, because why would I want to kill a random person?" the boy responded with a confused stare.

"W-What? No, I'm not a bad guy! He is the bad guy!" Arpe shouted, his eyes glaring at the man choking him.

"Eh? Me, the bad guy? Now I know you're the bad guy here because there's no way I would be a bad guy! Isn't that right, future me? Though you do seem like a bad guy," the kid pointed at him, like accusing a villain trying to act like an innocent victim. Arpe's eyes widened in shock, before finally seeing the resemblance between the two, especially those crimson eyes the two held.

"That's right, this guy here just tried to travel back in time and ruin father's plans," Crimson King responded, causing Arpe's eyes to tremble.

'T-This is impossible! How come this is happening!' Arpe thought, he felt like he was suddenly turned into a side character once more who is tossed aside once they are not useful. Or a side character thinking they were the main character, and die due to their foolishness in trying to fight the main villain.

"Oh, so he is a bad guy. So, are you planning to erase him from ever existing?" the kid asked.

"Yep. Just forget about this encounter, okay? That timeline is already fucked anyways, so you'll probably live through a drastically different timeline with this guy removed," Crimson King responded.

Nodding his head, the kid turned around and continued to walk, acting as if he had never seen the two.

"W-What are you going to do?!" Arpe screamed, in response, crimson sparks erupted from Crimson King's body before he was then raised to the air with one arm grabbing him from the throat.

"Say goodbye from ever existing, Arpe. Well, you are kind of a waste of space, so it won't matter much, but the butterfly effect should be enormous. Welp, father would have to handle that. Here we go!"

With that, a silent explosion boomed in the dark alley, and the two disappeared from the world. And if one were to notice, the existence of Arpe from every point in time was erased completely, deleting his very existence from this world and universe.

AN: This chapter has 2161 words.

Yes, this is my hate for those bastards who get sent back in time and become the main characters. Fuck you, and how you needed to interfere with time to defeat the villain, fuck them, the villain should have won, and fuck your nine generations or something.

But damn, what a banger of a chapter. The literal start of the volume has time travel, like, the fuck?! Either way, I'm glad that I was able to write this even after the 'Farewell' chapter.

(August 24, 2022 – 273rd day of writing)