I blinked a few times, utterly bewildered and strangely exhausted.

  The memory of a sudden blur slicing across my face was still vivid.

  "Three, two…? What? Why aren’t you getting ready?" the rabbit-man asked.

  I glanced at him, watching the water drip from his purple fur.

  Calm down…

  I wanted to steady myself, but this bastard had lied about being bound to a contract.

  And I had fallen for it.

  I forced a confident smile. "Nothing. Just getting my head in the right mindset."

  I had been sent back about three seconds in time. That raised an unsettling question—how many times could I respawn before death became permanent?

  Without hesitation, I opened my skill set. I could view it through the HUD as well.

  After a moment, I found the passive skill.

  I didn't understand how I had never seen it before, but I didn’t have time to dwell on the how or why at the moment.

  After a second, I looked at the amount of energy points I had remaining…

  Ah, so this is the energy-draining ability Vacinay warned me about…

  “Well?!” the rabbit man snarled. “What’s taking so long?!”

  I clenched my fist. “Let’s go.”

  Sweat trickled down my forehead as I considered what would happen when my energy points hit zero. It wasn’t really a question—I already knew the answer.

  Death.

  “Rock, paper, scissors!” we both shouted. I needed to think fast. What could work?

  I threw paper. He threw scissors.

  A wide grin spread across his face. “Take me to—”

  I turned to a guard. “Spear gun?”

  The guard raised an eyebrow. “Wha—?”

  The rabbit man screeched, “Don’t ignore me! Or I’ll kill you!”

  I raised my palm. “Nope. Your mistake was letting me turn my back on you—that triggers one of the skills I was granted when I became a reality defender—”

  A blur. A punch. My skull shattered.

  Darkness swallowed me. No amount of bullshit was going to get me out of this.

  He doesn’t care about the rules. And we don’t have the manpower to kill him.

  “Don’t ignore me! Or I’ll kill you!”

  Oh, shit. It only sent me back like two seconds. Is this going to keep happening until I have, what, 0.2 seconds to respawn?

  I held up my hands in surrender. “Okay. Okay. Sorry about that. What if we tweak the rules a bit?”

  “No,” he snapped.

  I clicked my tongue and glanced at Vacinay. She raised an eyebrow, confused.

  She muttered, “The hell you looking at…?”

  “Seduce it,” I said.

  Ghomas and Hessien recoiled in horror.

  Vacinay’s eye twitched. I could practically feel the murderous intent radiating off her. Well, I couldn’t think of anything else.

  “Seduce it?!” the rabbit man growled.

  I pointed at her. “Yeah, a lot of guys say she’s really good at what she does—”

  A massive rock slammed into my head. The shock rippled through my body as I crumpled to the ground.

  Everyone turned toward the culprit.

  Vacinay, arms folded, smirked. “Go on, return by death, Natsuki Subaru.”

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  I’m going to kill her…

  Darkness. Gone in an instant.

  Vacinay was already picking up another rock. I grabbed one too.

  “You killed me,” I shouted.

  She blinked before realization hit.

  “Ohhh. Nice.”

  “Not nice!” I hurled the stone at her, hitting her thigh with a sickening crack.

  She collapsed, screaming.

  Did I go too far? Nah. She killed me first. I mean, I guess it was different since she knew I could rewind time. Meh. She’ll heal.

  “I’m going to kill you in your sleep!” she shrieked.

  “Come on, I’d love to see you try.”

  Hessien stepped between us. “Have you both lost your minds?”

  “No. Not yet.”

  Before he could say anything else, the rabbit man roared, sending tremors through the leaves.

  Oh right. He’s still here.

  “I won! Now take me to the settlements of the Flowmans.”

  Flowmans? That’s their name? Hu-man… flow-man…

  Well, okay then.

  I wasn’t even going to argue with him this time.

  “Aight. Let’s go.” I started walking toward the city.

  Everyone froze—including the rabbit man. He glanced at the others, then back at me.

  Then, scowling, he leapt in front of me. “You think I’m stupid? You think I’d fall for a cheap trick?!”

  “Nope.” I stepped around him. “I’m helping with the genocide you want.”

  “She isn’t serious, right?” one of the guards stammered.

  Hessien tried to calm him down, but all he managed was a weak, “She’s… very petty…”

  Vacinay stared at me. I couldn’t tell if it was revenge or curiosity flickering behind her eyes.

  “She’s betraying us, guards. Hang her head on a stake,” she said flatly.

  The rabbit man, who had been blocking my path, now looked uneasy.

  He glanced between the tense guards and me. “Oh. You’re serious.”

  “Yup. And don’t let those guards try to backstab me—I don’t like dying.”

  He lowered his arm and nodded. “Understood. Now, lead the way.”

  Ghomas panicked. “What are you waiting for? Stop her! Just—don’t kill her, obviously.”

  “W-We? Aren’t you guys the reality defenders?” one of the guards stammered.

  “Who cares about that right now?” Ghomas snapped.

  I ignored them and kept walking.

  By the time we reached the city, the rabbit man was draped in a massive cloth to stay hidden. Before we entered, I turned to him.

  “I’m taking you to a place that connects to other cities. You’ll be able to exact your revenge more efficiently from there.”

  “Interesting. Tell me, why are you cooperating so easily all of a sudden?”

  Shit, I don’t know. Maybe because my energy points are at zero. Whatever energy it drains must be a form of mental stamina—feels like I just spent a week cramming for an exam I didn’t study for.

  I shrugged. “The people here tried to kill us the first time I arrived. Maybe I just want revenge.”

  The guards following us muttered among themselves.

  “Shit… Damn it. This is all because of Yuen.”

  Hessien carried Vacinay on his shoulder. I noticed the deepening bruise where the rock had hit her.

  She was still glaring at me.

  I almost felt bad. Then I remembered she killed me. She’d just have to wait for a healing elixir or whatever.

  The rabbit man nodded. “Ah, I see. By the way, don’t think that sob story will make me spare you.”

  “Oh wow. You still want to kill me?”

  “I’m going to rip your guts out, just like I did to your friends.”

  Well now, you just had to piss me off.

  “Ouch,” I muttered, deadpan.

  The city gate guards looked at me, then at the rabbit man.

  “What the…?”

  “He’s one of my skill summons,” I said. “Unlocked it tonight.”

  They turned to the other guards, who were sweating bullets.

  The rabbit man grinned and flashed his fangs.

  “Y-yup!”

  “Crazy cool summon!”

  “Super useful!”

  They blurted out, desperately trying to mask the fear in their voice.

  The guards exchanged glances before nodding and opening the gate, allowing us inside.

  I noticed Hessien had messaged me through the party chat. I ignored it and kept moving until we arrived back at our living quarters.

  Using the key, I unlocked the door and stepped inside.

  He hesitated. “This feels like a trap.”

  “A shitty one it would be,” I said as I led the way toward a golden door.

  It followed me. Hessien and the others followed too.

  “What’s behind the door?” Rabbitman asked.

  “You’ll see soon enough.” I opened the door and entered the bathroom, now spotless.

  I shut the door behind me and scanned the room, quickly spotting what I wanted—the spear Hessien had used.

  Despite the fact that it had been cleaned, I removed my shirt to use as a glove and gripped the spear. Then, I began stabbing the toilet monster. Over and over.

  Ha…

  The tension in my body melted away.

  Heh… heheheheheheh…

  I opened the door and gestured for him to step inside.

  “What’s this?” Rabbitman asked.

  I pointed at the tall cylinder. “It’s a travel mechanism, allowing movement across the city and even between cities. However, to trigger the skill condition, you need to stand over it with your mouth open within three seconds.”

  “What?”

  “Two seconds!” I called out, already making my way out of the bathroom.

  “But why does it smell?”

  “It’s meant to keep people away since it’s so powerful.” I stepped out and slammed the door shut. Just before I did, I caught a glimpse of him standing there—mouth open.

  Ha…

  A violent surge of liquid blasted from the toilet.

  “ARGHH!” His scream was muffled, but it was still filled with pure agony.

  My body shook as I fought to contain the laughter bubbling inside me.

  “HHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” I burst out, doubling over and collapsing onto the floor.

  Too much. It was too much!

  Thud! Thud!

  “Le—mee—“ He pounded against the door, his voice still muffled.

  I scrambled to my feet, calling to the others, who were still frozen in shock.

  Hessien put down Vacinay and saluted me. “I always had faith in you.”

  “That doesn’t matter now.” I grabbed the doorknob. “Help me drown it!”

  Vacinay snickered under her breath. “Drown in shit.”

  Everyone, except Vacinay due to her broken leg, yanked on the knob, putting all their strength into keeping the door sealed shut.

  For a short while, the door shook from Rabbitman’s desperate struggles. But after that, the pounding stopped. The muffled screams faded.

  I stepped back. “About two minutes, right?”

  Everyone turned to look at me, puzzled.

  “What do you mean?” Ghomas asked.

  “That’s how long it takes for the creature to absorb everything back. Then we’ll see if there’s a corpse.”

  Hessien nodded slowly. “Not gonna lie… you’re starting to scare me a little.”

  I grinned. “Oh yeah? Pretty badass, aren’t I?”

  “Eh. Not sure if that’s the right word. It was kind of cowardly. Smart, though. And gross.”

  “But it worked. So smooth! I had such a calm expression. Everyone was fooled. I. AM. A. GENIUS!” I declared, panting.

  Hessien chopped me on the head. “Yeah, yeah. You did good.”

  Hmph.

  One of the guards opened the door. “Two minutes have passed.”

  The filthy, shit-covered Rabbitman collapsed in front of us.

  His eyes were wide, but he wasn’t dead. Not yet.

  Using my shirt as a glove, I retrieved the spear that had been swept away in the flood and stepped toward him.

  His gaze flicked to me. He tried to move—but failed.

  I raised the spear. Then, with a swift motion, I drove it through his skull.

  His eyes, once filled with life, emptied.