Ch 91 – Second Loop

Pressing the button, Honda watches the machine's screen scroll down through various images ranging from shadowy figures to spells. And so, the screen scrolled down and down, making seconds tick inside the dark void Honda was currently floating in.

Watching the screen with anticipating eyes, he slowly watches it scroll down slower and slower compared to before until it was about to come to a halt.

"Structural Analysis?" Honda muttered as the machine came to a halt. The final prize he won from dying to the Shadow was a certain spell Honda never heard of. And so, the contents and knowledge of the spell gained by the Shadow became his as memories flooded his mind.

'So this is how those Shadows manage to somehow become a perfect copy of their targets, they even manage to gain their memories, experiences, personalities, and atomical structure! Tch, sadly, it takes too much brainpower and my brain wouldn't even be able to show a fraction of its true power. But with this, I finally know one of the Shadows' abilities.' Honda thought with disbelief in his eyes. To analyze something down to the atomic level is just an absurd notion for magic, even for Honda. It must mean that the Shadows were created by something or someone, for a spell as complex as Structural Analysis could only be made by a genius born once in a thousand years.

Taking a deep breath even if he didn't need to considering he was dead, Honda nods his head as he activates his cheat and felt the river of time pushing him back against the current. Quickly, he felt his conscious mind within the dark void going dark as he let his cheat activate fully. And with that, he opened his eyes wide to see a passage of text written on a light brown wall in front of him made of wood.

"Within every living being lies a malignant shadow, the other side of the same coin. The incarnation of their impurities, the other self. This island is plagued with such a disease, the Shadow Sickness. Your other self, given life, yet not given a soul. Their true bodies lie within the darkness, trying to take ahold of the light and receive a soul. Remember, trust no one, not even yourself." Lute's voice was instantly heard from the side as Honda turned his head to see Lute was sitting beside him. An intrigued grin was on his face as he read the ominous message on the wall.

'I'm back!' Honda thought as he felt his palpitating heart calm down. Noticing him, Lute turns his head towards Honda with a raised eyebrow.

"You okay?" Lute asked as he saw beads of sweat roll down Honda's forehead.

"Lute-san!" Honda shouted, grabbing both Lute's and Kira's attention and both looked at him strangely. Just suddenly shouting Lute's name is really a strange action done by Honda, but he needs to inform them quickly.

"Mmm?" Lute mmmed, trying to know what Honda wants to say.

Taking a deep breath, Honda prepared to explain the situation fully and said: "You might not believe this, but I'm Honda Yuuya! The Looper!"

Hearing his absurd claim, Honda opened his eyes and was greeted by Lute looking at him with a wide but understanding grin. It was as if he already knew that he was Honda, so it must mean Lute's previous words were true back in the first loop.

"So, Honda-san, how did we die specifically?" Lute asked with a nonchalant grin which made Honda heave a sigh of relief. It was truly a relieving feeling for somebody to instantly believe him.

And so, Honda went to explain the gist of things to both Lute and Kira as Lute nods his head, clearly understanding the situation quickly.

"Hmm… The words that you did say are believable, but I still have to do one final thing, if you don't mind," Lute said as Honda hastily responds.

"Of course, I'll let you do whatever you want," Honda responded with a smile.

So, Lute went to put his right hand inside his pouch situated on his waist and went to rummage inside it. And after that, Lute takes out a potion vial holding a strange blue liquid that Honda has never seen before, but from one glance alone, Honda can't help but let out a shocked gasp as he senses the faint mana emanating from the vial.

"A Mana Potion, an absurd creation, isn't it?" Lute said with a smug smile as he swirled the blue liquid inside the vial.

"H-how?" Honda muttered, intrigued and curious at how Lute managed to produce a Mana Potion.

"Secret, though it is pretty expensive to make one batch, I grabbed enough for us to last more than three days. Now, I'll have to reveal another one of my secrets to you, so do your best to not let this leak out, Hero-sama~" Lute teasingly said as he casually drinks the Mana Potion. After that, he grabs his wooden staff and pointed it at Honda.

Closing his eyes, Lute went to instruct Honda to follow his instructions: "So, what I want you to do is to close your eyes and focus on your memories starting from the time we entered this dungeon. I'll cast a super duper self-made spell on you to do a little something."

Following his instructions, Honda closes his two eyes and easily focused on his memories considering a mage needs to have strong mental control to cast spells. After that, he heard a shocking phrase be uttered by Lute.

"[Memory Transfer]" Hearing the spell be uttered, Honda opens his eyes wide and looks at Honda with a gaping mouth.

'Dual Attributes!' Honda gasped.

"Oi! Focus on your memories! If you want me to find out your dark secret, then, by all means, let go of your focus!" Lute shouted with closed eyes as Honda hastily closed his eyes to resume his focus.

As he felt the mana entering his brain, he felt his memories being extracted and going to the surface of his mind clearly like a video being played. From the first time they found themselves in the dungeon inside the very same room, to them encountering Bella, and even his dark nightmare, the duo saw all of it from Honda's perspective.

"Oh, Honda-chan, so naughty! I didn't know you had a thing for feet," Lute teases Honda as he felt his face getting hot and become as red as a tomato. He can't believe that he would experience that horrid nightmare once more.

After what felt like days, both opened their eyes and Honda noticed only a few seconds has actually passed. Looking at Lute, Honda can't help but feel a sense of admiration for him, such a talented mage he was. One can only wonder what Lute would become in the future.

"If you don't mind me asking, what's your second attribute anyways?" Honda asked while feeling his recent, crystal-clear memories returning to a normal state of being vague and not so clear.

Rubbing his chin, Lute shrugs his shoulders and answers, "It'll probably be an open secret in the future anyway, so why not. My second attribute is Knowledge."

"The same as the Sage?" Honda said, chuckling at how coincidental that two geniuses such as Lute and the Sage have the same attribute.

"Yeah, though my second attribute only appeared out of nowhere one day," Lute explained as Honda nods his head. He was satisfied enough with what Lute revealed.

After that, they went to transfer his memories to Kira and he just silently nods his head after that. Honda can't help but feel how Kira was so distant, yet so close at the same time. He was just silently there, always in the background, but Honda felt a sense of warmth from him as an ally, a friend even.

As the trio walks towards the table holding the guns, Honda went to pick up the shotgun as he was the most familiar with it while Lute grabs the pistol, and Kira picks up the rifle just like last time.

"Operation Save Silvy, start!" Lute shouts as they all went to rush out of the house towards the place Lute estimated Bella and Silvy to be in.

"We first saw them inside the cave and Silvy was said to have her knee bleeding, so they must be near the cave," Lute muttered while the three ran at a relatively manageable pace that wouldn't make them too tired. After a good while, they finally arrive at the clearing outside the cave entrance and didn't see Bella and Silvy anywhere.

"Let me handle this, [Locate - Bella]" Lute went to cast a simple spell as a small needle appeared above the tip of his wooden staff pointing in a general direction which means Bella is around that area.

Following their compass, the trio slowly walked towards that place and after a while, they faintly heard their voices behind some bushes.

"Bella, look at these berries!" a young girl's voice was heard that was bright and lively, which means it clearly belongs to Bella's younger sister, Silvy.

"Hmm, gah, it's too sour!" Bella's much rougher and deeper voice was heard as Silvy's giggle was also heard by the trio.

And so, the trio walked through the bushes which caught the two's attention, and saw a certain familiar figure.

"Lute-san!" both Bella and Silvy shouted in surprise when they saw Lute appearing from the bushes. Bella's face was also covered by a red liquid formed from the red berries she ate on the bushes beside her.

And as Honda saw Silvy, he can't help but feel funny about how different the two were. Bella was like a professional hunter while Silvy looked like a petite young girl who can't bear to kill a boar, but Honda knew she can kill considering being an adventurer is almost all about hunting wild monsters.

Walking up to them with a wide smile, Lute suddenly grabs ahold of their heads and chanted, "[Memory Transfer]"

'He really just went for the kill there, huh?' Honda thought with a smile as the two regained their clarity after a while.

"A-are all of those… Real?" Silvy broke the silence as her eyes trembled in disbelief after learning she just died the previous loop. And she also felt grateful for Lute, Kira, and Honda taking care of her sister who most likely felt traumatized after learning she died.

Nodding in silence, tears streamed down her and Bella's eyes as they took each other into a tight hug. The pain of losing a sibling made their bonds closer to each other.

"I-I'm sorry that I wasn't able to protect you, but I promise you this time, that I'll protect you fully," Bella's resolute voice was heard as Silvy chuckled.

"I know," tightening their hug, the two hugged each other for about a minute or two before looking back at the trio with resolute eyes.

"So, what's the plan? We have a time limit of three days before it starts raining and the Shadows go wild, so we need a plan to deal with all the Shadows before they grow any further," Bella asked as Lute smiled.

"No worries, my previous self explained to Honda before he died that the boss of the Shadows, Yami, is under the very island we are standing on right now. And the entrance to that cavern is right over here, so we just go in there, and kill it," Lute explained as they can't help but feel a bit dumbfounded by how simple that plan was.

"Well, I guess that works," Bella chuckled as the two stood up and the five nodded their heads, for a precarious journey is in store for them.

But unbeknownst to them, currently within an open chasm, a shadowy figure larger than most men sat quietly and suddenly opened its eyes that glowed a dark scarlet.

"Even though it's futile to try and kill the Looper as of now, gaining the knowledge about the Looper is still helpful. Though the memories of the Alchemist are unfortunately sealed and I could only get them if I die inside this body, which means I would lose this special chance to observe him. Though the two around him seem to be a bit special," the Shadow muttered with its eyes glaring scarlet red.

AN: This is 2074 words, you're welcome.

Color is a pretty important part in my writing, so you should really focus on the reasons behind certain colors.

Future author here, back from the no chapter series. So yeah, send me your power stones because writing = hard or whatever.

(July 18, 2022 – 236th day of writing)