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The ones who entered the room where the spirit was being held captive were the Hero Ichinari, the Sage Tsukihara, the Knight Asahi, and the Saint Yamabe. In addition to them, there was Takuma, the leader of the group that used to bully me, and Masumoto, his usual sidekick. That made a total of six people.

Each of them had stats slightly lower than those of an average B-Grade Adventurer. However, given their skill sets, it was fair to say they were all equivalent to B-Grade Adventurers.

It made sense why Princess Topersion had chosen to conduct the unveiling now. After all, B-Grade Adventurers were respected citizens, capable of making a living through combat.

However, the one who stood out to me the most wasn’t Ichinari—it was Tsukihara. Her stats averaged 100, which just barely qualified her as B-Grade. Yet, among the group, she had the highest overall stats.

Takuma also caught my attention. His Stamina and Strength were the highest among them. However, his Intelligence and Mana were pitifully low, making it clear that he was the muscle-brain type. Masumoto’s stats were similarly distributed.

What stood out the most about Takuma, though, wasn’t his stats—it was his expression. His eyes were empty, like those of a machine staring through me. It felt as if his heart had been broken. Personally, I’d have preferred it if his heart had simply been sealed away and his body taken over.

When it came to their expressions, the most intense glare belonged to Masumoto. His eyes burned with rage, as if he were ready to pounce on me at any moment. Among the six, he was the most eager to fight.

Ichinari and Asahi avoided making eye contact with me, while Yamabe looked like she wanted no part of this at all. Tsukihara, however, locked eyes with me, her gaze full of determination.

I took a quick glance around, but Princess Topersion had already given her orders. I would have liked to exchange a few words with them, to ask what they were thinking, but there wasn’t time for that.

Masumoto was the first to charge at me. He had the skills Iron Body and Pressure. He tried to immobilize me with Pressure, and his fist—reinforced with Iron Body—came flying toward me.

His Strength stat of 120 was more than enough to break a mud wall. Combined with his decent Agility, the past me wouldn’t have stood a chance. A single blow would have killed me.

But now, his attack was laughable. Pressure had no effect on me, and I effortlessly dodged Masumoto’s punch.

As I sidestepped, I noticed Takuma trying to strike me. I caught his fist and, with minimal effort, hurled him into the wall. The moment he hit the wall, a loud thud echoed through the room, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood before collapsing to the ground.

For a moment, I was concerned that I might have broken the wall, but it seemed I had held back just enough.

Or maybe the walls were just unusually sturdy. On second thought, that seemed more likely.

While I was lost in thought, Masumoto lunged at me again, attempting another punch. I spun around and kicked his leg. I only meant to give him a light kick, but I heard the sickening crack of his leg snapping like a dry branch.

Still, he wasn’t dead, so it was fine.

(Yeah, it’s fine. I didn’t overdo it. Of course not.)

The next one to come at me was Asahi. She charged at me, sword in hand, but her movements were hesitant. It was obvious she didn’t want to fight, though it didn’t seem to be out of concern for me. It seemed like Asahi felt a bit guilty, but more than anything, she didn’t want to get hurt.

Regardless, I dodged her incoming slash and slipped beside her, flicking her chin lightly.

(This should be more than enough for a flick.)

It was my first attempt at knocking someone out with a mild concussion, but it seemed to do the trick. Asahi’s knees buckled, and she crumpled to the ground.

With the three vanguards taken care of, my focus shifted to the healer—it would be troublesome to leave Yamabe alone. I cast Ice Bead on her. Countless beads of ice formed from my Mana and rained down on Yamabe.

I tried to hold back as much as I could, but even so, Yamabe ended up collapsing, bruises covering her entire body.

That left only two. As I turned to deal with Tsukihara first, I noticed an Ice Bullet flying toward me. Ice Bullet was a spell that created a fist-sized chunk of ice and launched it at high speed.

It was a smart choice. Given that we were inside the castle, her options were limited. Large-scale or fire magic would have been catastrophic.

I swatted the chunk of ice away with my bare hand. Tsukihara stared at me, disbelief written all over her face.

While she stood frozen in shock, I seized the opportunity and cast a Capture spell. The spell summoned thick ivy, far larger than usual, which shot out and coiled around Tsukihara, binding her tightly.

The ivy even wrapped around her mouth, muffling any protests, but she didn’t seem to be in any danger, so I ignored it.

Lastly, Ichinari activated his Hero skill, doubling his stats. He charged at me faster than anyone else so far, but even with the boost, his stats only reached the low triple digits.

He thrust his sword—the very same sword he had used to kill me that day.

For a brief moment, memories flashed through my mind—of my skin, flesh, and bone being pierced, my heart run through. My body froze in place, caught in the moment. But this time, everything was different. I caught Ichinari’s sword between my thumb and forefinger and applied pressure, trying to snap it in half.

Ichinari’s face contorted in disbelief, and for a moment, I felt a weight lift from my chest. I glanced around and noticed Princess Topersion, standing still, her expression frozen in shock.

“Are you really… Toriyama?” Ichinari asked, his voice trembling with a mix of fear and surprise.

It was understandable. Seeing someone you once killed standing before you was enough to make anyone afraid.

“And if I am?”
“You’re… alive.”
“No. I died. You killed me, remember? Or did you think that the fact I’m standing here now somehow forgives what you did?”

Ichinari averted his gaze, guilt written across his face.

(He really thought that… How shallow.)

Just because I hadn’t stayed dead didn’t mean his actions were erased. There was no excuse for stabbing someone through the heart and claiming you never intended to kill them.

Setting those thoughts aside, I found myself wondering what had happened to Princess Topersion’s order. Perhaps she had called it off, realizing that it was futile. Or maybe she decided it wasn’t worth risking the heroes’ lives.

After all, even though they were defeated, the heroes were still valuable weapons.

“Then why…” Ichinari began, trailing off.

“I died and came back. That’s all there is to it. There are forbidden spells capable of making it happen. They’re not perfect, but it’s not impossible. Princess Topersion went to great lengths to ensure that it wouldn’t happen, but perhaps there’s a way the Fraus Kingdom isn’t aware of.”

(Of course, I can’t let them know it was God who brought me back. Now then… I wonder, what’s running through Ichinari’s mind right now?)

Status Breakdown as of Chapter 43