The Victory

He was smiling. After thousands and thousands of attempts, he had finally managed to defeat him. He had died exactly 346,879 times to achieve it. But with each death, he became a little more traumatized. Even his current smile, after winning, was real, yet he was mentally exhausted. Dying hundreds of thousands of times was in no way bearable for a human. He was only holding on because of his rage. Without it, he would have collapsed long ago, succumbing to mental wounds.

Right now, he felt okay. Thanks to his victory, the damage from all his deaths was less than before, even if it still existed. But he kept smiling like a child. Then, once the tension had subsided, he stopped smiling, picked up his phone, and called Tilan.

— Hallo, Master?

— Yes, Tilan. Come immediately to the location I just sent you.

— Right away, Master. Do we need reinforcements?

— No, just bring Cecilia with you.

— Understood.

Then he hung up. Ehito, who hadn't been able to rest for a long time, dozed off outside, away from prying eyes. But after a few minutes, he was awakened by two voices.

— Master!

— Master!

He slowly opened his eyes.

— Yes… What is it?

— Master, we have arrived. We await your orders.

— Ah… uh, right. Wait, he said as he got up. Do you see him? Lock him up in one of our prisons. And once you're done, enroll in the same high school as me. It will be easier for the next phase of the plan.

— Right away, sir.

— And stop calling me Master. It sounds suspicious.

— As you wish, Ehito.

— So, by next month, I want you to be in my class.

— It will be done on time, don't worry

— And assign a bodyguard to Lia. A woman must stay with her the whole damn day. If it's not done and something happens to her, I will kill everyone. Understood?

— Understood, sir. Your wishes are our orders. We will take care of it immediately.

— Good. Now, I'm heading to class. Go get Lia and make sure she sleeps in the guest bed.

He turned to leave, but one of his men stopped him.

— Sir, how can you go like this? You're covered in bruises, wounds, and blood…

— It doesn't matter. I'll find an excuse and put on some bandages on the way.

Ehito ignored them and left.

Once he arrived in class, everyone was staring at him, questioning why his arms, neck, and legs were wrapped in bandages, and why Lia wasn't there. But he ignored them all. He didn't feel like answering. Especially since the effects of his deaths had returned. He wanted to see no one, move no more, exist no more. To him, his existence felt fake.

But he ignored everything, to the point of thinking about nothing. He was empty.

He took a deep breath and pulled himself together. Then, as he lifted his head, he noticed that everyone was still watching him. They had sensed that something was wrong, but no one dared to approach him. His eyes were lifeless, empty, filled with darkness. His classmates were afraid. That's why they kept their distance.

But once he regained his composure, they finally came up to him. At that moment, the teacher arrived and started the lesson.

The class was boring—he already knew everything, just like with almost every other class that year. He gazed out the window, lost in thought about all the times he had died. He almost regretted dying so many times…

But one thing he didn't regret was everything he had learned. Even traumatized, one could learn. Dying hundreds of thousands of times had taught him how to fight better, how to survive. Permanent scars had formed on his body because of that battle. Yet, his instincts told him that it wasn't the hardest one he would face. Far from it. That fight had been rather easy compared to what awaited him.

But in the end, he didn't care. He could always come back and learn. As long as he could, he would defeat everyone. Dying hundreds of thousands, even millions of times, meant that no one would ever be able to defeat him. He would know everything, predict everything. No one could torture him or take him down.

He was stronger than death. Stronger than man. Stronger than life.

Stronger than everything.

He smiled discreetly. He was invincible

But he still had to learn how to overcome his fear of death.

He searched for solutions but found none. The fear of death was human. And to get rid of it… he had to die.

Again and again.

Hundreds of millions of times.

Or… he had to want to die.

But for now, he never wanted to reach that point. Yet, deep down, he knew that if he continued like this, he would eventually give in to that desire.

The class finally ended. Some students approached him, asking what had happened. He simply told them he had been attacked the night before. Everyone was shocked, even though the truth was far worse. So, his classmates kept their distance, letting him rest.

When lunchtime came, he decided to eat at the cafeteria, something he rarely did. But then, a student called out to him.

— Hey, you! Are you the one always hanging around with Lia?

— Yeah, that's me. Why? What do you want?

— I'm here to tell you to stop being around her.

Ehito's gaze darkened. Murderous. He stared straight into the student's eyes. The boy was trembling but tried not to show it. He didn't want to appear weaker than Ehito.

— You bastard! How dare you look at me like that?!

The student raised his hand, ready to strike. But before he could, Ehito dodged the blow, grabbed him by the neck, and lifted him off the ground. Then, he threw him down and said:

— Repeat what you just said.

The student, lying on the floor, couldn't speak. He was too shocked, his body overwhelmed by the sudden impact. Ehito was about to hit him again, but five other students rushed in to stop him. Two of them helped the injured boy up while the others held Ehito back.

At that moment, the principal arrived.

— What the hell is going on here?!