Isaac POV
'I'd bet my life those idiots are waiting outside the evacuation routes,' Isaac thought with a faint smirk.
He had deliberately let Hazel know he was gathering money.
His suspicious behavior would've alarmed Merlin and Duke Falcon.
They would realize he was trying to run away, and after seeing him enter the library with money and clothes in the bag, they would predict he was going to use the evacuation route listed in the academy's records.
'They are waiting outside the documented evacuation route.'
'Unfortunately for them, the evacuation route I used is one that is not documented at all.'
This passage wouldn't be discovered until much later in the novel, when an academy student secretly uses it to smuggle a summoner inside, causing massive damage.
Why had Isaac let Merlin and Duke Falcon know about his escape?
Simple, this route opened up in the territory of Duke Falcon!
Now that Duke Falcon's men were busy manning all known evacuation routes, which numbered in hundreds, there were only a few soldiers left in the Duke's territory.
And as they say, the darkest place is below the lantern!
From that day, Duke Falcon, Duke Wright, and the Church started a huge search.
Everyone gave different reasons.
Duke Falcon was worried about the fiancé of his daughter. Duke Wright was worried about his son. The Church wanted to purge the heretic who insulted the sacred duel.
Isaac would've been unquestionably killed if anyone caught him.
Fortunately, he had the knowledge from the novel.
He used it to hide in the Forest of the Journey's End, the homeplace of elves, a magical forest that no one could enter normally.
There, he spent his years in peace and luxury.
The elves approached him over time, cautious and curious.
He shared his knowledge from the modern world with them.
Smartphones. Video games. Pop culture. Novels. New style of clothing. Spices. Cooking.
The forest of the elf underwent huge changes.
Just as they learned from Isaac, he also learned from them.
They taught him farming.
Isaac also wanted to learn combat, but they did not teach him that, since he was technically an outsider, and teaching him fighting methods of elves could be dangerous.
It would be a lie to say that he did not feel bad when elves treated him as an outsider after being friends for years.
But…
"How about you marry my daughter? If you become a part of my family, we can teach you everything you want."
Isaac was stunned when the elf chieftain spoke those words to him.
He looked to the side, seeing Sylvie blushing and fidgeting.
She kept sneaking glances at him.
"….It will be my pleasure."
Isaac married the daughter of the elf chieftain.
He, who had received hatred as soon as he came to this world, truly felt loved for the first time.
One year. Two years. Ten years. As time passed, the love between him and Sylvie only bloomed more and more, like a beautiful flower.
His happiness only increased when he had a child with Sylvie.
Their daughter was just as beautiful as her.
Then, they had another daughter, and then a son.
Offspring between different races were rarely born.
Isaac felt blessed to be able to see the fruit of the love between him and Sylvie.
That's why…
He was smiling on his deathbed.
"D-don't die…. please…. please…"
Sylvie's voice trembled as she held his hand, tears falling freely.
"Please… don't leave me alone… please…"
The dignified elven empress, the one known for her being calm under all circumstances, had her face covered in tears.
Isaac's weak, and trembling fingers patted her hand gently.
She was as beautiful as the day he had met her.
In contrast, he had grown old and wrinkled.
But he was smiling.
Because he was happy.
Truly happy.
"Sy… lvie…"
"Y-Yes?"
The sobs of his children, now grown up, echoed in the room.
Isaac moved his lips with the last vestige of his strength.
"Thank…. you… for being with…. me… until the end…"
His eyes lost their light.
[Ending 'Loser of the Sacred Duel' reached.]
[You have failed to reach the true ending.]
[Deaths: 02]
"Isaac von Wright! Step into the arena!"
The voice boomed inside Isaac's head.
He blinked, and looked around.
The forest, his Sylvie, his children. Everything had vanished.
What appeared in front of him was a huge arena, dozens of students, and the protagonist.
The protagonist was staring at Isaac with intense hatred.
"Isaac von Wright! Please step into the arena!" the referee announced again.
He was back.
Again.
"W-what? Failed to reach the true ending?"
Isaac's eyes were trembling.
The return, another chance of meeting Sylvie, did not bring him joy.
No…
Instead, dread settled into his heart.
How?
Why?
He stared at the screen in front of his eyes, hoping for an explanation.
[Ending 'Loser of the Sacred Duel' reached.]
[You have failed to reach the true ending.]
[Deaths: 02]
What did this even mean?
He did not die in the Sacred Duel this time.
He had died happily, in the arms of his family.
What could be a true ending if not that?
And…
'I-If I'm back to the past, what happened to my children?'
Elowen, Isolde, and Adam.
Would they be born again?
'Y-Yes, they will be born again if I marry Sylvie.'
Isaac's stomach lurched.
Because he knew.
His children were dead.
They were never coming back.
Even if he were to have more children, they would not be Elowen, Isolde, or Adam.
"Huff… Huff…."
A parent's biggest nightmare was to see their child depart before them.
And now Isaac was living in that nightmare.
If only he had paid more attention to the screen….
If only he had tried to reach the true ending instead of running away….
Time wouldn't have turned back.
Isaac felt as if his hands were stained in the blood of his children.
This was his fault.
His alone.
"Isaac von Wright! Son of Duke Wright! This is the last warning! Enter the arena!" the referee was shouting with a red face.
Right.
He still had to participate in the duel.
Isaac wanted to do something, anything, that would take his mind off the horrible truth before his eyes.
He grabbed the sword and entered the arena.
"The Sacred Duel will begin! As decided before, the winner can demand anything from the loser!"
At the words of the referee the protagonist, Merlin, raised his wand.
He chanted swiftly. Multiple magic circles appeared around him, through which seven Ignis Spears came out.
The crowd gasped.
Not because of Merlin's displace, but because—
"Use a defense spell, or you will die."
—Isaac was in front of Merlin already.
He had covered dozens of meters in an instant!
Unknown to them, a screen flickered before Isaac's eyes.
[Weapon Element: Unawakened → First Layer (Beginner)]
Isaac might've returned to the past, losing the body he had trained for decades.
But he still possessed a wealth of experience.
Element awakening, that should've taken anyone years, was done in an instant by him.
His sword flashed, empowered by his Weapon Element.
The protagonist raised the wand, hurriedly changing the Spell, and used a Shield Spell.
A transparent shield appeared.
Merlin sighed in relief.
'That caught me by surprise. How can he move so fast?'
'Anyway, I should finish this battle—'
Isaac's sword cut through the shield like a knife through the butter.
Instincts roared inside Merlin's head as the sword descended on his neck.
His years of combat experience allowed him to dodge the attack by moving back just in time.
He quickly began to cast spells.
But…
Isaac did not attack again.
He sheathed his sword, and turned around to leave.
The unexpected move caught Merlin by surprise, leaving him frozen.
"Is—Isaac von Wright has won the Sacred Duel!" the referee's voice echoed.
Only then did Merlin look below.
He was standing outside the arena.
'I… lost?'
That one step he took to dodge the attack had been his defeat.