"Dad, how are you going to resolve this?"
"If I can't resolve it, then what if the only choice is to kill all of Class 3-3?" Isaac asked with a smile.
"Then I have only one option."
Sitting by the broken stump, Rinji's weary face showed a faint smile.
"I'll just keep protecting them until we find another way. Or… I'll simply stay here for twenty years, until the tiline catches up with the era I ca from."
"You've really made up your mind, haven't you?"
Isaac glanced toward the direction of the approaching presence. "Actually, from the very start, I had two plans."
"Huh?"
"One was similar to what you figured out—kill everyone in Class 3-3 to end the curse directly. Of course, that thod was never truly viable. Its only purpose was to test your determination."
"Tch."
"As for the other plan… it's to extend this ga indefinitely."
"Hm?"
Seeing Rinji's confused look, Isaac explained, "From what we know, each year Class 3-3 has a 'dead one' mixed in. When that class graduates, the dead one returns to death, and the cycle continues into the next year."
Isaac explained as his hands moved restlessly.
"This is like a cycle. When the ga begins, everyone's mories are altered, and when it ends, those mories are restored to prepare for the next round. But what if we extend the first ga indefinitely? Then the next ga can't begin, right?"
"What do you an?"
"The thod is simple."
Isaac's lips curved slightly.
"As long as the ones who have already died and mixed into this class—the so-called 'dead'—are resurrected."
"…"
Rinji thought this sounded absurd, but he quickly realized what it implied.
"I see."
"Looks like you already figured it out," Isaac smiled. "If the 'dead' are revived, it ans there are no dead among this class. That way the calamity won't happen. And since the 'dead' are brought back as living humans, when ti resets, they won't return to being dead. Because the previous round's dead cannot return to death, the next ga cannot continue. The cycle constructed by the curse will be broken completely."
"It's a workable thod, but… can you really resurrect the dead?"
"As your father, I'm not omnipotent, but under certain conditions I can do quite a lot. Especially if both body and soul of the dead remain intact."
Isaac took out a gem glowing with a strange red light from his pocket and smiled.
"…So you had this thod planned from the very start?"
"Your father isn't lacking in intelligence."
"Then why have you been wasting so much ti playing around here?"
"I wanted to spend more ti with my son. After all, there's still a long while before you're even born." Isaac smiled.
"Tch."
Rinji clicked his tongue and tried to get up from the ground, but the battle had drained him too much. He collapsed again.
Looking at Isaac, who stood there as if untouched, Rinji felt anger rise inside him. The gap in strength was as clear as ever.
Just as Isaac was about to leave, sothing seed to occur to him. He turned back toward Rinji, his gaze falling on Rinji's golden hair that had grown to his waist.
"You're looking more and more like your mother," Isaac said with a smile. "By the way, son, when you lost consciousness, did you see anything?"
"Hm?"
"You don't realize it, but in that mont you suddenly went feral, crippled my right arm and left eye, and later when I struck you down again, you suddenly stood up and smashed into the ground with one blow. You even wiped out half the forest in passing."
Hearing that, Rinji looked around.
He hadn't noticed before, but the scene around him was truly catastrophic.
The once-lush forest looked like it had been bombarded by rockets. Most vegetation was destroyed, only charred stumps remained.
If not for the heavy rain, this would already be a forest fire.
"…When I woke up after blacking out, all I saw was the sorry state you were in, old man." Rinji rubbed his head. "But now that you ntion it, I think I did see sothing."
"What did you see?"
"In the haze, I was in a pitch-black space. Then… a girl with golden hair about my age appeared before ," Rinji recalled. "She just smiled, patted my head gently, and then… I woke up."
"I see, so that's it."
A gentle smile appeared on Isaac's face.
"Your sister gave you a hand."
"What?"
"Nothing. I have to deal with the aftermath of this incident now. You handle the rest yourself," Isaac said, turning his back. "Oh right, don't keep your hair this long if you're going to be a man."
"Wait…"
Rinji tried to stand, but his body wasn't recovered yet. He wobbled and fell backward.
Smack.
He didn't land on the muddy ground. Instead, he felt warmth and softness behind him.
Turning his head, he saw a girl with an eyepatch holding him from behind.
"i…"
"I finally found you, Takamine," i said softly. "Running out of the inn all alone like that was too reckless."
"Ah, sorry."
Lying in her arms, Rinji smiled and slowly closed his eyes.
This battle had ended thanks to Isaac's large-scale rcy, but it was still the hardest fight of his life.
"I just want to rest a little now."
"Mm."
i nodded gently without saying more, brushing her hand through Rinji's rain-soaked golden hair.
"You really should rest."
She knelt on the damp ground and let Rinji rest his head on her lap.
"Rest well. No one will disturb you."
"Thank you."
Rinji whispered.
Monts later, he suddenly spoke again.
"i, can I ask you sothing?"
"Go ahead."
"Do I… look like a hero right now?" Rinji asked.
"…"
i stayed silent, her hand brushing across his rain-drenched cheek.
"Of course."
"…Thanks."
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