The Villainous Noble Who Kept Rewinding After Death: The Story Somehow Changed When I Committed Suicide

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The Villainous Noble Who Kept Rewinding After Death: The Story Somehow Changed When I Committed Suicide

Episode 336: This is Also a Classic

“Seiyaaaaaaa!!”

“Ha ha! Your enthusiasm is definitely coming through!”

Back with the holy sword in hand, Shudo launched into a series of attacks right from the get-go, his determined voice echoing with each blow.

“Ha!!”

His weight shifted to the right. Then it’s a spinning slash.

“Sei!!!”

Next, he shifted his weight to the base of the left thumb, thrusting.

“Fu!!!”

He drew my gaze to the right… but that was a fake-out; he slashed down diagonally from above on the left.

“Yaaaah!!”

“Finally, a magical slash sends a shockwave!”

With each swing of his sword, Shudo poured out his spirit, attacking without pause, but like before, none of his attacks landed on me—I dodged or deflected each one with my sword.

Still, my sword was just a normal training sword with a dull blade, so if I clashed head-on with Shudo’s holy sword, it would definitely break.

Thus, I utilized my wrists, arms, and footwork to deflect his blows with the sides of my sword and focused on negating the impact from his holy sword.

“Flexibility is key. I can move more easily than before. Don’t you think so?”

“Ha, ha…”

While I was active as Luna in Saramāju, I realized the advantages of softer muscles and joints typical of women in combat. Since that day, in addition to my regular training, I began to focus on flexibility exercises, and it showed—I could move more freely now.

Thanks to that, I’ve gotten better at deflecting attacks. But to think I could even deflect a holy sword with an ordinary one—I was a bit surprised myself.

“Even though my physical capabilities should be boosted by the holy sword, you tire out surprisingly quickly. Can’t you try a little harder?”

“Ugh!! Waaahhh!!”

“Ahaha, what a pathetic sound you’re making.”

Though he wasn’t fully developed as a hero yet, his voice sounded incredibly pitiful and clumsy.

“The hero I know wasn’t like this. Come to think of it, heroes in stories are weak before awakening and tend to make sounds like that when using a stick as a weapon. Well, you’re technically already awakened, though.”

It was understandable that Shudo appeared embarrassing now.

Right now, he hadn’t yet used the fourth ability of the holy sword, meaning he was only demonstrating half the power that he should have.

So, even wielding the holy sword, it was tough for him to close the power gap between us, and since I was stronger than my past self, it made sense that this fight was one-sided.

“Well then. Guess I’ll try attacking this time.”

As Shudo swung upward, I stepped back, gripped my sword in reverse, and coated it with lightning magic before throwing it with full force.

“Come on, try dodging this!”

“?!”

Though it wasn’t as fast as a sunlit flame, the speed of my sword imbued with lightning was incredible, and Shudo barely managed to avoid it by turning his face away, then charged toward me, now weaponless.

“Throwing away your weapon? Don’t underestimate me!”

“Huh? Who said I was done here?”

“Eh…?!”

The moment I entered striking distance of Shudo’s sword, I bent my index finger towards myself, and my sword, which he had dodged, attacked from behind him, burning his cheek before returning to me.

“Don’t let your guard down.”

“Ugh… Was that… dark magic?”

“Correct. I used the dark magic’s black hand to grab my thrown sword and tossed it back at you from behind.”

What I did wasn’t that difficult; the moment Shudo dodged my thrown sword, I prepped the black hand of dark magic behind him, grasped the sword using a magical hand that sprouted from the ground, and threw it back at him.

“How does it feel to be attacked from behind unexpectedly? My friends experienced something similar, and I thought I’d repay the favor, so if you want, send me your thoughts on it.”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

“Oh, right, you wouldn’t remember. So asking is pointless.”

I wanted to pay back what had happened to Fiera, but since he didn’t recall sneak-attacking Fiera from behind, it didn’t hold much meaning.

“Well then, let’s stop playing around and get serious.”

With that, I regripped my returned sword, exhaled deeply to switch my focus, and slowly stepped toward Shudo.

“Ha… vanishing… ugh?!”

“Oh? You reacted. Then try to withstand this next one.”

My signature move of seamlessly blending in for an attack was stopped just in time by Shudo, whose senses had sharpened due to the abilities of the holy sword.

Even so, I kept attacking, moving in sync with the flow of wind and magic, striking from the front, sides, above, below, and even from behind.

“Now, what will you do?”

“I won’t fall for the same trick twice!!”

After several attacks, I created some distance and threw the lightning-imbued sword just as before. Shudo easily avoided it and readied himself for a follow-up from behind.

“Fool! There’s no way I’d use the same trick for no reason. {Acceleration}!”

The moment Shudo’s focus was entirely on the sword, I activated acceleration magic again to close the gap, then flipped over and planted my hands on the ground, wrapping my legs around Shudo’s neck. Channeling my body enhancement, I slammed him down into the ground.

“Gah!!”

“Phew. You really are simple. Just like Fiera said, your head might just be empty, huh?”

Slammed onto the ground, Shudo expelled all the air from his lungs, gasping for breath, but I ignored him and sat on his midsection.

“Hey. You must realize the difference in our strength now, right? Isn’t this enough? Besides, I’ve never used brainwashing magic on Fiera and the others, so this duel has no real meaning.”

“Shut… up. I will never believe your words…!”

“Sigh. That indomitable spirit of yours is pretty heroic, but your actual power still has a long way to go. Plus, I’m not excited at all fighting you.”

Even when I fought Shudo in the past, for some reason, I never felt that thrill or excitement during our fights. Sure, I was angry, resentful, and driven by revenge in the beginning, but I never felt even once that it was fun.

“Ahh… What should I do… hmm?”

Since it seemed pointless to continue like this, knowing Shudo’s capabilities, I began contemplating a way to surrender and get help from the academy principal when all the S-class students except Fiera and Lime started cheering for Shudo.

“Shudo! Don’t lose to someone like him!!”

“Hero! Please do your best!!”

“Shudo-kun!! You absolutely have to win!!!”

As the voices of Ride and the others enveloped Shudo like a radiant aura, they slowly merged into his body.

“Ah, this might be pushing him a bit too far.”

Having witnessed this scene many times before in my past world, I quickly got off Shudo and created some distance before covering my recovered sword in fighting spirit and observed his condition.

“Thank you, everyone! I will absolutely not lose, for all of you!!!”

Standing up surrounded by heartfelt cheers, Shudo unleashed a shimmering white magical power, and in response, the holy sword he gripped shone even brighter than before.

“Long time no see. The holy sword’s fourth ability: ‘Hero.’ Seems like I won’t be able to play around now.”

The holy sword’s fourth ability, ‘Hero.’

This was precisely the main reason I failed to defeat Shudo, no matter how many times we battled in the past—a power that elevated him to the strongest level.

This ability can be divided into two major parts. The first boosts the hero’s physical abilities when friends or allies wish for or support the hero’s victory, amplifying their magic capacity and the power of their spells.

The second one enhances allies who have connected with the hero’s heart, which is why when Iris or Shuvina fought me in the past, they grew stronger due to this ability’s effect.

However, while the second ability is threatening, the first is by far the more troublesome one because there’s no upper limit to its enhancement.

Emotions from people vary significantly in strength.

For example, some might say, “Well, do your best casually,” while others may wish, “I’d give my life for you; please win!”

And because the hero’s boost depends on the strength of those feelings, just as human emotions are limitless, the hero’s enhancement amount also has no cap.

“Really, it’s a power that mocks those who are genuinely trying their hardest.”

Nonetheless, Shudo’s base abilities weren’t that high yet, and notably, there were about fifteen S-class students present here wishing for his victory, excluding Fiera and the others.

Also, since their own lives weren’t threatened, their emotional intensity wasn’t too strong, keeping the situation within a manageable range.

“Hah. This is why I hate heroes. The moment they seem like they might lose, they awaken a new ability and get strong without any effort. Aah, that’s why I feel no thrill or excitement when fighting you.”

Finally, I understood why I felt no excitement battling what should be a strong opponent like Shudo. But that didn’t mean I’d just roll over and take a loss.

“No, I’m definitely not going to lose, regardless of that.”

I never expected Shudo to awaken his fourth ability in this situation, but I could see this as an opportunity.

“Just a bit more, it might not be a bad idea to try and see how far I can go.”

Well, since I couldn’t use my trump card, the spatial magic, in an amusing way, nor could I utilize the power of gluttony, this was still a good chance to measure my own progress against my past self.

“Alright, I think I’ll try a bit harder.”

Though this was an impromptu extension from my original plan, I accepted it as my fate to face the protagonist and hero Shudo again and steeled myself for a bit more effort.

◇◇◇◇◇

Thank you!!

I’m truly sorry!!

I meant to wrap things up in this episode, but it seems Shudo-kun just wouldn’t give up (it’s still me writing this), so the word count stretched out, and the conclusion will have to wait for the next time.

It’s long.

Don’t stretch it out; just hurry up and beat him already!

I can almost hear such hallucinations, but since Shudo-kun awakened, (I’m the writer again…), the length has increased.

I’m really sorry.

I promise we will absolutely reach a conclusion next time, so please rest easy!

I look forward to your support in the next update!

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