Why the hell did I have to end up in this situation?
In the novel "No Happy Ending in the 999th Regression"—
None of this ever happened.
I don't remember a single moment where an entire nebula of Japanese mythology turned their divine gaze on a mere human like this.
They were supposed to focus on the main character.
Cale Ashblood.
That emotionless, brooding bastard.
He's the chosen one. The center of the stage.
Not me.
So why me?
Some of these constellations...
They want me as their avatar.
Others—
They just want to watch me ruin myself.
And the worst part?
This is just the beginning.
Not even a minor arc has started yet.
This whole practical test arc...
It wasn't meant to be important.
It was just background filler. A setup arc—
Meant to introduce the existence of the Demon from Outside,
And to foreshadow the Elven Princess Elena's death.
That's it.
That's all it was in the novel.
I was still lost in my thoughts—
Still trying to make sense of this nightmare—
And all the while, I could feel it.
My life force… slipping away.
Bit by bit.
The dagger was still lodged in my chest,
Still whispering death into my veins.
My whole body was bloodied.
Broken.
The pain wasn't just intense—
It was inhuman.
Like I was being shattered piece by piece,
Unmade on a level deeper than flesh.
But my body…
Didn't even know how to react anymore.
Too much pain to register.
Too much horror to feel.
And then—
Through the madness… through the ringing in my ears…
I heard her voice.
Princess Elena.
Her voice trembled, barely a whisper, frozen with a fear I had never seen in her before.
"L-Lucifer… what… what is that thing?"
That was all she could manage to say.
And then—
Her legs gave out.
She collapsed to the ground, knees sinking into the blood-soaked earth.
The same ground drenched in the remains of Elin.
Of Aren.
And the obsidian howler—still writhing, still pierced by celestial chains, still bleeding under the judgment of the angel I had summoned.
Elena's hands shook as they smeared red across the dirt, her breath ragged.
She wasn't a princess in that moment.
She wasn't a warrior.
She was just a person—
Utterly broken by what she was seeing.
And I…
I couldn't blame her.
Because even I didn't know what I had brought into this world.
I looked at her.
Elena—trembling, broken, staring at the angel in horror.
And I smiled.
A soft, bitter smile.
Not out of hope.
Not out of peace.
But as an apology.
I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough.
I'm sorry I couldn't do more.
It was all I had left to give her.
Just… that smile.
As if to say—
Forgive me.
It was… strange.
Because that was the first time I ever smiled for someone in this world.
And it wasn't forced.
Wasn't sarcastic.
It was real.
Genuine.
Because deep down…
I knew I didn't have much time left.
And I had finally made my choice.
I would sacrifice myself to the angel.
It was funny, really.
Almost pathetic.
The answer had always been right in front of me.
The name of the spell itself—
"Angel of Sacrifice."
I chuckled—blood bubbling in my throat—and turned toward her.
"Please survive, Elena," I said softly.
"…I'm sorry I was too powerless to protect you."
The words felt heavy.
Like they were carved from everything I had left.
Honestly, I just met her today.
Never seen her before.
Not even a full day has passed.
So why the hell do I want to protect her?
I'm not the same person I was before.
Back when I read the novel in my previous life,
I felt bad for her—
Because she died here.
In the practical test.
After she got injured,
The demon inside her took over.
She did all kinds of things—
Horrible, inhuman things.
And then I thought again, bitter amusement clawing its way out of my dying lungs.
Hah… it's funny, actually.
Knowing everything doesn't mean you can change anything.
I'm just paying the price for my arrogance.
I looked up at the angel—still waiting.
Looks like…
I'm going to die here.
"You can have me as sacrifice,"
I said, closing my eyes.
Elena's cries faded into the distance,
Everything around me blurred and hazy.
The angel, watching me intently, began to approach.
Elena was still screaming.
The obsidian howler howled in agony, chained and bleeding.
The angel's gaze landed on my bloodied body.
Then it summoned a massive black sword—dark, cursed, and heavy with ancient power.
With a cold, merciless motion, it hurled the sword at me.
The blade pierced through the sky and into my chest—half inside, half out—pinning me in midair.
My blood poured out, warm and relentless.
I couldn't describe the pain.
It wasn't just physical—
It was something deeper.
Like my soul was being torn apart, piece by piece.
But even through all of it,
There was only one thought burning in my mind—
One final plea.
I looked up at the summoned angel,
its blindfolded face unreadable, its wings dripping with blood.
And I whispered:
"Please… kill the Obsidian Howler.
Please… save the girl."
A moment of silence.
The wind didn't move.
The world didn't breathe.
The angel didn't reply.
My body began to give up on me—pain spreading like wildfire, every breath harder than the last.
Then, it did something unforgivable.
It summoned another sword—
Cold, black, and merciless—
And pinned Elena down.
It was not hard to accept.
Because it was my fault to begin with.
I heard her last cry.
I could barely make out her blurry figure—
Pinned down by the angel's sword.
The ground beneath her was soaked in blood, a red pool swallowing everything.
She tried to move…
Her bloodied lips trembled,
Still trying—fighting—to say something, even in her final moments.
Her eyes—fading, full of pain and something else—locked on mine.
And then I heard it.
"Lucifer…"
My name.
Her last word.
And then—
Silence.
She died just like that.
I was just about to curse myself again.
To sink even deeper into this pit of guilt and grief—
When I heard it.
The angel's voice.
Cold. Condescending.
"Pathetic human."
"Do not command me."
And just like that—
Everything broke.
All at once.
Every breath I took since waking up in this cursed body,
Every blink.
Every step.
Every goddamn second—
Came crashing down.
It hasn't even been that long.
Weeks, maybe. A handful of days.
But I've already seen hell.
Powerlessness.
Desperation.
The moment I gouged out my own eye to barter with a constellation—just for a taste of strength.
The time I stepped into the Garden of Eden for a so-called "practical test"—
And came out drowning in blood.
And now—
Elin is dead.
Aren is dead.
Elena… the girl I just met… died screaming while reaching for help I couldn't give.
And thanks to my cursed Exclusive Attribute: Perfect Recall—
I couldn't forget a single detail.
Not the blood.
Not the sounds.
Not the way they looked at me—like I was supposed to save them.
My mind fractured.
My heart drained.
And every last drop of emotion vanished.
And then—
I screamed.
Louder than thought. Louder than reason.
"AHHHHHHHHHH— I'VE HAD ENOUGH, YOU MOTHERFUCKER!"
I turned my blood-stained gaze on the angel—
A being of ruin, a judge carved from flame and silence—
And I roared.
"You think you're above us?
You think we're just insects for you to step on?"
"FUCK. YOU."
"I'll kill every single one of you."
"I'VE HAD ENOUGH!"
[[ Condition for the awakening of the Personal Attribute has been fulfilled. ]]
[[ Personal Attribute: ■■■■■'s ■■■■■ is beginning to awaken. ]]
[[ Choose a target for Synchronization. ]]
Synchronization?
I didn't understand.
I didn't have time to think.
I didn't want power.
I didn't want glory.
I just wanted to kill that goddamn angel—
And rip apart the monster that took my teammates.
[[ You have chosen "Angel of Ruin" as your Synchronization target. ]]
[[ All conditions met. ]]
[[ Initiating Evolution of Your Very Being. ]]
Blank.
The world—
Stopped.
Not slowed.
Stopped.
Everything beyond our proximity shattered into stillness.
The Akashic Record froze.
The rivers of causality paused—
Time dared not breathe.
Even the angel, once beyond comprehension, once a weapon of divine judgment—
Froze with it.
And then—
It began to disintegrate.
Not violently.
Not with fire or screams.
But with a stillness deeper than death.
As if reality itself had accepted this truth:
The angel would no longer exist.
Every particle—
Every rune inscribed on its divine frame—
Began to unravel.
And those fragments—
They came to me.
Like ash caught in a gravity I never asked for.
Like a dying star folding itself into a singularity—
The angel fused into me.
The black sword in my chest dissolved—
Its blade splintering into particles of light and memory.
[[ Synchronization in progress. ]]
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[[ Author's Note:
If you enjoyed the chapter, please leave a comment and a Power Stone! Your support means a lot to me. ]]