When I Cleared the Death Game World, I Reincarnated as a Villainous Noble Even if They Talk About Doom Flags, I'm Actually Immortal. - Chapter 42

When the swordsman awoke, he found himself in an unfamiliar place.

Before his eyes stretched a vast field of white flowers in full bloom. In the distance, gray towers—buildings—stood in silent rows.

As he gazed around in astonishment, he noticed a cross-shaped monument at the center of the flower field.

Yet, it was not merely a decoration. Bound to the cross was a metallic figure with a human-like body, yet its head bore the likeness of a dragon.

A chill ran down his spine as he looked upon it.

It felt as though he was witnessing something that should never be seen.

The feeling was akin to watching a child crush an insect beneath their foot—but amplified tenfold.

A pure, innocent child taking a life. A sight of desecration, twisted into something even more horrific.

“What is this place…? What on earth is that…?”

Creak! Creak!

Before the bewildered swordsman could comprehend, the crucified dragon stirred.

The sound of rusted metal grinding against itself was eerily reminiscent of a scream.

As the dragon broke free from its cross, it descended lightly onto the flower field.

“Guh—?!”

Before he could react, a searing pain erupted in his chest.

The dragon’s tail had pierced straight through his torso.

With a sickening squelch, the tail was yanked free, sending bl00d gushing from the wound, dyeing the white flowers crimson.

As his knees buckled and he collapsed, his vision fixed upon the flowers, his consciousness faded.

When he awoke again, the swordsman found himself upon a colossal bridge.

The bridge, covered in seamless black stone, was upheld by red arches on either side.

Scattered across it were countless iron boxes—strange objects with wheels akin to those of a carriage.

Though he knew not their purpose, they were, in truth, abandoned automobiles on a bridge paved with asphalt.

Had he possessed the knowledge, he might have realized that their passengers had long since fled, abandoning their vehicles in haste.

“What is this!? Am I… not dead? Where am I—”

“GYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!”

“W-What was that!?”

A thunderous roar echoed from above.

Instinctively, he looked up—and saw it.

A massive dragon soared through the sky.

Yet, this was unlike any dragon he had ever known.

Its body was forged of metal, and flames spewed from the cylindrical contraptions attached to its wings as it tore through the heavens with a deafening roar.

The dragon circled through the sky before diving toward him.

It crash-landed on the far side of the bridge, scraping across the ground, grinding up the asphalt, and scattering the abandoned vehicles.

“Uwaaaaaaah!?”

The swordsman turned on his heel and ran.

If he remained, he would surely be crushed beneath the beast.

But mere running would not be enough to save him.

A white glow emanated from the dragon’s mouth. Then, as it parted its jaws—

A blinding beam of light tore through the air.

BOOOOOOOM!!

The dragon’s breath ripped through space itself, igniting the air, peeling up the asphalt, and hurling the vehicles into oblivion.

A car standing in its path evaporated in an instant, vanishing with the faintest sizzle, like a burning match dropped into water.

“A-Aaaaaaaah!?”

The swordsman had no time to escape.

Perhaps the only mercy was that his body was obliterated in an instant.

When he awoke again, he stood atop a towering structure.

A structure so high he could see the entire city of gray stretching endlessly below. Beyond the horizon, the setting sun cast its final glow.

Looking up, he saw what appeared to be threads stretching beyond the sky.

No—merely an illusion of scale. In truth, they were colossal tubes.

Unbeknownst to him, he now stood upon an orbital elevator, the tallest structure in this world, used to ferry people and cargo into space.

“What… What is happening to me? I’ve died multiple times, yet I’m still here. Why…? What is going on…?”

But the swordsman had no time to dwell on his confusion.

The next anomaly struck immediately.

“What? Why did the sun disappear in an instant…?”

He blinked once—only once—and the sun was gone.

Above, the sky shimmered with countless stars.

Impossible. The sun should have taken far longer to fully set.

Yet in the span of a heartbeat, night had fallen.

Click… Clack… Click… Clack…

The sound of gears turning reached his ears.

He followed the noise and saw a serpentine dragon gliding through the sea of stars.

Like those before it, this one, too, was constructed from metal.

Not a true dragon, but something man-made.

“What… is it this time…?”

Despair twisted his face.

He had already died twice. Each death stripped away something from his mind.

This was not a mere wound healing.

Each death carved away at his very soul.

Twice now, he had endured it. He could not bear a third.

He did not want to die again.

But fate was unkind.

The stars above did not grant salvation.

Instead, they grew ever brighter.

And he knew.

They were no mere stars.

They were descending.

Like shooting stars, they rained down from the heavens.

All of them—every single one—hurtled toward him.

From the earth, only around 8,600 stars were visible to the naked eye.

And now, an equal number of radiant lights streaked toward him, converging upon his position.

His vision was engulfed by light.

“Ah… Ahhh….”

To kill a single man, such a number of stars was excessive.

His body was pierced by several—obliterated by dozens—before vanishing entirely.

When he awoke.

When he awoke.

When he awoke.

“No more!! I don’t want to die… Stop this!!”

When he awoke. When he awoke. When he awoke.

When he awoke. When he awoke. When he awoke.

When he awoke. When he awoke. When he awoke.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I was wrong. I was mistaken. Please, stop this. Please, send me back to my world….”

When he awoke. When he awoke. When he awoke.

Again. Again. Again.

Over and over.

Until—

“Kill me! KILL ME ALREADY!!”

The swordsman’s deaths would never end.

It would not end until he had died the same number of times as Lior had in his past life.

The only mercy was that his mind shattered early on.