Due to a false accusation, I was exiled to the depths of the dungeon. For someone like me who had only ever worked the fields, being sent to the depths of the dungeon meant certain death.
Not only was I being exiled to just any dungeon, but it was the S-Class dungeon called the "Katarov Dungeon." This made my chances of survival even slimmer.
As expected, right after entering the dungeon, I was attacked by monsters, and I could feel death closing in. However, right at that moment, someone extended a helping hand to me.
A mysterious figure that appeared out of nowhere granted me the skill "Save & Reset." Thanks to this, I obtained the ability to reset after death.
From that point on, I experienced countless deaths. Then, around the 560th attempt, a turning point came. By using the Parasitic Sword Puppeteer on the dungeon's boss, I managed to defeat it, escape the dungeon, and was given the chance to seek revenge on the villagers who had falsely accused me.
However, the puppeteer, driven to despair by her inability to become human, chose to end her life, and I decided to die and reset once again.
Around the 570th attempt, I hit a dead end. In previous timelines, the puppeteer remained in the form of a sword within the dungeon. By handling her effectively, I had successfully conquered the dungeon.
However, for reasons unknown, no matter how many times I repeated time, the puppeteer started appearing in front of me as a monstrous entity. As a result, I repeated the scenario of being devoured by the puppeteer multiple times.
"Damn it, what should I do?"
Given the current situation where I can't use the Parasitic Sword Puppeteer's ability, I have no clue about how to conquer the dungeon. Well, if I keep repeating the attempts, I might find a way to conquer this dungeon even without the puppeteer in my hands. But that would be meaningless. My current goal is not to conquer the dungeon but to turn the puppeteer into a human.
"Should I rely on the vampire Judite?"
She might know something about how to turn the puppeteer into a human. So, by contacting her — no, by contacting her, there's a possibility that Agetha might start moving again. The memory of Agetha suddenly appearing and killing Judite as soon as I contacted her is a bad memory. It seems that Agetha strongly dislikes me contacting the vampire Judite.
"In that case, should I rely on Agetha?"
Previously, when I tried to release Agetha's seal, I have memories of being killed without a word. Thinking about that, I strongly resist contacting Agetha.
"However, it's not like I can do nothing."
Having made up my mind, I walked straight towards my destination.
"I found it."
When I walked to the first teleportation gate, there was a sealed girl there. She was sleeping inside the barrier, and her body was tied with chains made of light. No matter how many times I looked at it, I couldn't help but find the sight of her being sealed in the barrier beautiful.
"I could easily break the barrier last time,"
I muttered while touching the barrier. Suddenly, the barrier cracked, and with a sound like shattering glass, it started to break. With this, her seal was released. Simultaneously, I took a big step back to distance myself from her.
"Hmm…"
Agetha let out a breath as she slowly opened her eyes.
"Who…?"
That was her first utterance.
I couldn't help but widen my eyes.
"Don't you remember me?"
While I had met her in various timelines, it was clear from her actions that she retained memories from different timelines, just like I did. So I thought it was natural for her to remember me.
"Have we met somewhere before? If so, I apologize. I can't seem to recall you. I can't remember you."
"Well, if you don't remember, that's fine."
I said while feeling relieved. If she didn't remember past events, that might be convenient in some way.
"Um, I know it might sound strange to ask this of someone I've just met, but may I ask you a question?"
"Oh, sure, feel free to ask anything."
I nodded, and she replied, "Thank you," before continuing.
"Do you happen to know who I am?"
"…Huh?"
It took me several seconds to understand what she was saying.