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

Chapter 345: Just as Strong After All

While Lavienne brandished her pitch-black scythe, I pulled out the well-known Ignido and gripped it tightly.

“Ready?”

“I’m good to go anytime.”

“Okay then, here I come!”

With that, Lavienne stepped forward, dragging her scythe behind her. In the blink of an eye, she pulled the scythe back and swung it with an impressive speed that didn’t match her petite frame.

“So fast!”

I barely managed to lean back to avoid her strike, placing my hand on the ground to take a little distance.

“I’m not letting you escape!”

However, as if she anticipated my move, Lavienne used the centrifugal force from her scythe to close the distance even faster as she spun, her next attack coming at me quicker and sharper than before.

“Tch!”

“Come on now, let’s dance together!”

“Seriously! Where’s all that power coming from in that tiny body?”

“It’s a maiden’s secret~.”

Though Lavienne spoke in a carefree tone, her movements, the speed of her attacks, and the weight of her strikes were all phenomenal—just as exceptional as Fiera’s.

Well, given my past combat experience with her, I could handle her attacks without much issue, but I definitely couldn’t let my guard down.

“Wow, aiming mercilessly for a girl’s face? How cruel of you!”

“Hey, hey, if you ask me to kill you, I have to target the vital spots.”

“Ahaha, that’s true! But I’d prefer to die with my pretty face intact, you know?”

“How selfish can you be?”

Taking advantage of her momentary lapse, I thrust my weapon toward Lavienne’s face, but she easily dodged by tilting her head away, and the blade of her scythe swung toward my back as if to wrap around me in a hug.

“I guess being cleaved together with you wouldn’t be so bad, huh?”

In this situation, with Lavienne in front and her scythe approaching from behind, I deliberately closed the distance with her, grabbing her outstretched right arm to throw her down towards the ground.

“Ugh!!”

However, Lavienne switched the scythe to her left hand mid-move, wrenching her right arm free and changing her position. She braced herself with the scythe and slammed me into the ground, kicking me back in a counterattack.

“Fufufu, my joint’s dislocated!”

As she said this, Lavienne popped her dislocated shoulder back in place, regaining her grip on the scythe and spinning it expertly.

“All better~!”

“Seriously? You’re counterattacking from that position?”

“Humans have limits due to their joints, but if you dislocate them, you can move beyond those limits~.”

“That’s true, but how many people can make such a quick judgment and act like that?”

At the very least, that would be impossible for that Hero, who reacts in pain every time, and for the others, the slightest hint of pain would freeze them, hindering any chance of a counter.

“Seriously, you and I are so alike in that sense.”

“Thanks! But you know, it’s a bit troublesome to be praised for something like this, so let’s get back to it!”

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

We continued swinging our swords and scythes back and forth, delivering scratches but not enough to inflict serious injuries, leading to a long deadlock.

“Ahaha! This is fun! It’s been a while since I’ve fought someone for this long!”

“Same here. I wish we could keep this going!”

“Wow, I’m so happy! But we can’t reach a conclusion like this, so I guess it’s time I take it up a notch! Shadow Release!”

The moment Lavienne said that, an aura resembling fighting spirit surged from her, but instead of the shining golden vitality of fighting spirit, it was a shadowy, dark aura that suggested death.

“Finally used it, huh? The Racial Magic ‘Shadow Usurper.'”

The Racial Magic ‘Shadow Usurper’ is a special magic used only by the head and heirs of the Albani Count House. The reason it’s considered special is that, unlike the elemental magic we typically use, it is a unique racial magic.

And as the term “racial magic” implies, the first head of the Albani Count House was not human.

According to past stories from Lavienne, the first head was a close relative of the spirit race known as the Shadow Spirits, who lived hidden in a small village near the modern-day Ruzenia Empire, alongside a few of their kind.

However, a war broke out among humans, drawing the village into the conflict, where their kind began to fall one by one until only the severely injured first head of the Albani Count House remained.

In that dire situation, it was a noble lady from one of the nations that would later become the foundation of the Ruzenia Empire, the Kingdom of Jericede, who helped him, taking him in when he was ready to perish.

Afterward, the first head cooperated with the country that the noble lady belonged to, even falling in love with her and marrying her; but those details are not what’s important right now, so I’ll skip them.

What matters more is that the heads of the Albani Count House have inherited the racial magic of the Shadow Spirits generation after generation, performing inhumane acts to do so.

“I don’t really like this power, but it seems I have to use it against you.”

“It’s not like you want to use it; the curse will force you to eventually, so it’s just a matter of using it willingly to avoid it, right?”

“Well, I guess that’s one way to put it~.”

Lavienne laughed cheerfully, but for me, the situation had become even more tense, as if a scythe was pressed against my neck, filling me with a sense of impending doom.

As for the ability of the Shadow Usurper, simply put, it allows one to manipulate shadows, typically bound by the laws of nature, and move them freely by usurping that control—creating a highly versatile ability capable of offense, defense, moving between shadows, and even storing objects within them.

Currently, Lavienne’s Shadow Release is one of those abilities, distinct from the fighting spirit I normally use; while fighting spirit evenly boosts attack and defense, shadow energy amplifies attack power and speed beyond fighting spirit, enhancing compatibility with shadows to partially transform one’s body into shadow itself.

“Alright then, let’s see how hard I can go after such a long time.”

“Yeah! You better fight like you’ll die! I’m about to get way stronger!”

“That’s true. If I have to face that ability, I definitely need to fight for my life—literally.”

Then again, if I were okay with dying, it wouldn’t be so bad to go all out here, but Oriens says I’m still not allowed to die, so sadly, I have to survive.

Yet, in the past, I’ve been killed once by Lavienne’s racial magic, so it feels a bit ironic to say I’m going to die. But that’s beside the point, really.

“Honestly, I hate fighting just to survive—it’s boring as hell—but I have to do it to fulfill my wish. Sigh, it’s kind of disappointing to face Lavienne at full power under these circumstances, but I guess I have to keep my promise to her anyway.”

Even if dying wasn’t an option, I could at least put my life on the line, so I’ll have to settle for that.

And regardless, if I’m facing Lavienne using her racial magic, unless I’m fully prepared, I’ll just be killed immediately, so I really have no choice but to literally fight for my life or be the one who ends up dead.

“Alright! Shall we continue?”

“Yeah, let’s do it!”

With that, we exchanged excited laughter, gripping our weapons firmly, and kicked off the ground simultaneously.