The One Who Saved a World Before Will be Best at Saving Another

The reanimated corpses, acting purely on instinct, couldn't make the simple choice to step aside. They just kept rushing toward the entrance with nearly zero friction, slipping again and again.

"Ugh."

Things were mostly under control here, but when I heard Han Sang-ah groan, I turned my head.

"What the hell is that thing?"

A headless corpse, wearing samurai armor and wielding a katana, was fighting Han Sang-ah. She was being pushed back. Behind her, I saw people standing helplessly.

They looked worn out from not eating or drinking properly for days, filthy from being unable to wash, and their limbs were tied so tightly that the ropes had dug into their skin, soaked in blood and pus.

"Hey, switch with me!"

At my words, I heard Han Sang-ah grit her teeth.

"Okay."

She seemed disappointed in her own performance, but she didn’t let it cloud her judgment. She ran toward the hostages while I intercepted the attack from the headless samurai, wrapping black flames around my spear.

"Sir, did you forget your head somewhere?"

He couldn’t answer, obviously. I slid my spear along his sword, then kicked him hard in the exposed chest. With a metallic thud, his body was pushed back.

"A chill."

As I stepped back, I checked my leg. It was like a curse. I burned it off with the Paradoxical Flame, then turned my attention to the sword he held. A sinister, dark purple energy was swirling around it.

How sinister did it feel, you ask?
It was about as repulsive as a fat middle-aged man licking the thighs of a girl young enough to be his daughter.

― The offering... must protect...

"Oh, my. The corpse talks? How does a headless one even manage that?"

The thing snapped into a stance.

The aura it gave off was disgusting, but the stance was solid, like a carefully stacked game of Jenga.

Clearly, this one was different from the other corpses. A special specimen.

"Is it done yet?"

I called out, and Han Sang-ah shouted back.

"Just finished burning everything!"

Then I didn’t want to stay here any longer. Fighting this thing wasn’t especially hard, but… why bother?

"It was nice meeting you."

I gave a quick farewell and tried to fall back, but the thing slammed its sword into the ground. The blade struck, and the sinister energy took the shape of a snake and lunged at me.

I didn’t block it. I kept retreating, dodged the snake’s mouth, and climbed onto the roof of a mid-sized van.

"Since we're in Japan, should I try the Japanese I know? Hey, ora ora!”  

With that shout, I smacked the van with my spear.

With a loud screech, the tires tore into the ground and the vehicle surged forward like a bull stabbed in the butthole.

"Don’t go back through the entrance! The car will slip!"

"I know, I have eyes too."

As I braced myself on top of the car and shouted, a reply came from the driver's seat.

"Han Sang-ah, sword!"

At my call, an arm shot out from the window, holding a sword. I grabbed it, drew on my glove's magic, and launched myself forward.

I ran ahead of the van she was driving, slicing through trees, bushes, corpses, and ghosts alike to clear the path.

"Faster, go faster!"

With another burst usage of mana, dozens of afterimages of swords shimmered in the air and vanished.

They appeared and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"Like my bank account balance."

Like a trimmer shaving a head, I cut through the forest and eventually found a proper road.

"The car needs to slow down. Can you help?"

"I can."

At her words, I sighed, moved ahead to the road, and braced myself. I faced the mid-sized van barreling toward me at 150 km/h, reached out both hands, and summoned power from my bracelet.

I caught the van with both hands, redirected the force, and shifted its trajectory.

With the smell of burning rubber, neat tire marks were left on the pavement. Then, with a twist, I jumped into the van.

"Now, don't look back and let’s get to the port."

Once we got there, the fishermen's rescue would be complete. Seven people had been saved.

"That’s not enough. Were there no bodies?"

Han Sang-ah shook her head.

"How about asking them?"

I shook mine in return.

"Not now. Let them rest first."

We had no way of knowing how long they’d been held captive on this island. Probably a very long time. First, we needed to feed them warm food and let them sleep.

Of course, feeding warm food to someone who hasn’t eaten in days could be dangerous. Refeeding syndrome, I think it’s called? Either way, they needed rest.

We could ask about the others later.

"We should contact the police and ask for medical staff too."

"Yeah, that’s probably best."

I didn’t know exactly what they needed. I wasn’t a doctor. I turned to the survivors.

"Any more survivors?"

"They’re all… dead."

One of them answered weakly, barely audible.

"That answer is enough."

That meant we didn’t need to push ourselves further to find more.

"Persistent bastards."

Han Sang-ah muttered as she watched corpses and ghosts chase us through the rearview mirror.

"Their boss is coming too."

Leading the pack was the headless samurai I almost fought earlier.

"What, did he ditch his horse and come running?"

I muttered and moved past the passenger seat toward the back where the survivors were.

"Yes, found it."

I spotted a green cart used for moving cargo.

"What are you doing?"

"Extreme sports."

After that, I strapped each survivor into a seatbelt, tied the cart to the van with a rope, then kicked open the back door.

"Drive well."

With those parting words, I jumped onto the cart and let myself drop from the van.

The van sped off. The cart, tied to it by rope, was dragged along with a screech. I rode it, adjusting the rope with one hand, smiling at the headless samurai charging ahead.

"Hi there?"

At this speed, it wouldn’t be strange if the cart’s wheels melted. These carts were made for moving cargo, not riding like a sled.

But it was fine for now. I’d already burned away all the friction where the wheel met the axle.

No friction meant no heat, so the wheels wouldn’t melt. I just had to worry about durability. The Paradoxical Flame could destroy, but not protect or repair.

Even if the Paradoxical Flame got stronger, it’d only burn durability away, not reinforce it. Still, it didn’t matter. I had already burned the bottom friction of the cart clean.

Even if the wheels broke, I could keep sliding like a snowboard using the cart’s frictionless base.

"I always wanted to try this at least once in my life."

With one hand, I thrusted my spear. The samurai pulled out his sword, blocked my attack, and leapt into the air.

Spear and sword clashed midair in a flurry of sparks. The cart, tied with a climbing rope, bounced with every movement of the van.

"Can you screw off already? Why are you so clingy?"

I kicked him in the chest which sent him flying. He twisted in midair and landed, then came charging back.

He was a corpse so he wasn’t going to get tired. In the end, with a loud crack, the cart’s wheels gave out.

The cart skidded across the road. Just then, the van made a sharp turn.

"Agh!"

Gripping the rope tight, I soared through the air in a wide arc with the cart. Even then, the headless samurai and other corpses lunged at me persistently.

I burst three heads, blocked the samurai’s sword, tapped the cart’s base midair with my toe, and yanked the rope.

With a whoosh, the cart flipped and landed cleanly on the road, and I landed smoothly on top of it.

"Are we there yet?"

At my shout, Han Sang-ah replied.

"We’re almost there. No, we’re here."

At her words, I took a deep breath. The charging corpses and ghosts were suddenly engulfed in white light. Their bodies trembled, black smoke rising from them, and they froze in place.

We had entered the range of the protective formation.

The car stopped in front of the hotel.

"Yeah, I knew you’d make it, headless friend."

But not all of them were stopped by the protective diagram. The headless samurai kept approaching, still emitting black smoke.

The ordinary ones couldn’t endure it, but that one had already been identified as special. Still, it didn’t look completely fine.

"Stupid corpse."

It was an even match between us when he was completely fine. Foolish that he dragged himself all the way here.

"Start moving the survivors inside. Don’t give them food or water."

We didn’t know what could happen if they ate too soon. Once the doctors arrived by boat, they could handle it. All we had to do was keep them safe.

The Paradoxical Flame flared from my spear. Han Sang-ah carefully started moving the survivors into the hotel.

As if he couldn’t bear the sight, the headless samurai charged at her with his sword.

"Where do you think you're going without me?"

My spear wriggled like a piranha swimming through water, slicing toward the incoming wave of strikes.

― You are…

He muttered that and suddenly retreated, correcting his stance. Though he didn’t breathe, he looked like he was trying to steady his breath.

"Mind’s eye. I recognize that. Be careful."

Han Sang-ah, who had been helping the survivors, looked at him and warned me.

"Mind’s eye?"

I asked, and she explained.

"Beyond the five senses, it’s an awakened perception. It lets you sense your opponent’s moves before they attack. But how can a corpse…"

"Oh, that’s what it is."

After hearing her explanation, I chuckled.

It was the kind of thing you trip over once while training in martial arts.

To put it simply, it was an illusion, often called the eye of the mind.

"Don’t underestimate it. It’s a state you reach only through long, serious training."

"What about you?"

At my question, Han Sang-ah shook her head.

"I still have a long way to go. I’m far from reaching it."

"...Listen closely then. I’ll only say this once."

I ran my hand down the shaft of my spear and declared firmly to her.

"There’s no eye in the heart."

It was obvious. Why did people ignore that fact and believe in an eye of the heart?

Fighting someone caught in that illusion called mind’s eye actually made things easier for me.

Because there’s a way to fight against it.