Fujimiya stood frozen as he saw Elysia's lifeless body hanging, bruises covering her skin.
He dropped to his knees.
"What… What is this?" he muttered.
Suddenly, from behind, someone swung an axe at him.
Caught off guard, Fujimiya was struck.
Everything went black.
Loop.
"What just happened? A loop?" Fujimiya murmured.
His loop only sent him back two minutes before his death.
Standing up, Fujimiya pretended to be searching for something in Elysia's room.
The same figure quietly crept up behind him, axe raised, ready to strike again.
But this time—Fujimiya was prepared.
He summoned Eidolon Fang, blocking the axe in a shower of sparks.
"A woman?" he whispered in surprise.
The woman backed away, keeping her distance.
"What were you doing with my fiancé?" she asked coldly.
Fujimiya looked confused.
"Wait... I don't know anything about this."
"You were close to her yesterday. So why did she kill herself?"
Then, it hit him. The real reason he had come here.
"William… William did this."
A sudden round of applause echoed through the room.
"How impressive. After everything I've done for you, now you're accusing me?" said William, stepping into view with a calm smile.
Fujimiya grew more confused.
Taking advantage of his moment of distraction, one of William's mage guards shackled him with magical chains.
William turned to the woman who had attacked Fujimiya.
"I'm sorry, Miroku, for letting a human live here. It led to your fiancé's death."
Miroku fell silent for a moment.
"…Kill him," she said coldly.
"With pleasure," William replied.
With a snap of his fingers, his guard seized Fujimiya.
The guard, a woman named Seele, dragged him away, taking his device.
"A human without his gadget is nothing," Seele scoffed.
They brought Fujimiya to an underground dungeon.
There, he was brutally tortured—without mercy.
Each day, he was fed only animal waste and rotten food.
Even when he resisted, they forced it into his mouth.
Fourteen days of torment passed.
One night, Fujimiya, bound in chains, looked up through the small window in his cell. A faint purple sky shimmered above.
"Why is this happening to me? Why must I suffer like this…?"
"You are not suffering," a voice echoed back.
"Who's there?" Fujimiya called out.
A young girl appeared before his cell.
"I am Mei, your contracted spirit. I was also the spirit of the Hero, many years ago."
Fujimiya's expression twisted with frustration.
"A hero? Everyone here hates me. I was framed the moment I entered this world—and now you say I'm supposed to be a hero? That's a joke."
"What's wrong with you?"
"Just shut up and give me your power!"
"I can—but we must perform the contract."
"We've already contracted. Just do it!"
Mei entered his body, and a new gadget was formed in his hand.
With a sharp tug, Fujimiya shattered the chains and escaped his cell.
"If I was born to be a hero, why am I treated like trash?" he muttered as he ran.
"My destiny isn't to be a hero… it's to be the villain."
He collapsed in the middle of the forest after escaping.
By midday, he finally regained consciousness, lying under the open sky.
Realizing he was in the middle of a wild forest, he stood and began wandering in search of a way out.
Using his new gadget, he checked for a map.
A strange light caught his eye—thinking it was an exit, he ran toward it.
But instead… he found himself standing at the edge of a witch village.
Alarmed, he hid in the bushes.
"…I'm going in circles?" he whispered. "Is this some kind of illusion magic?"
Turning around, he looked toward the sun—yet with every step, the sun seemed to disappear behind him.
"As I thought… this is illusion magic."
He turned back to the witch village.
While observing from afar, he noticed they were holding a ceremonial ritual.
An idea popped into Fujimiya's mind.
During the ceremony, one witch excused herself to relieve herself.
That was his chance.
As she walked away, Fujimiya ambushed and kidnapped her.
Using his gadget, he hypnotized the girl and dragged her deep into the woods.
The witch eventually woke up—her hands bound behind her back.
"Where… where am I?" she asked groggily.
"You're awake, huh… pretty girl," Fujimiya said with a smirk.
"Who… are you?"
"Relax. I won't hurt you… as long as you answer honestly.
But you know how witches in that village love to lie… right?"
To be continued.