Chapter 3

I died.

A Gate had exploded right beside me. There was no way I could have survived something like that. Besides, the explosion I had witnessed just before my death had been so enormous that there hadn’t even been anywhere to run.

And yet, I sniffed the air like a madwoman.

It was because of the fragrant scent that had been drifting around me for some time, and the unfamiliar sensation of something soft and fluffy, like a cloud, enveloping my body.

‘Could it be… I’m not dead yet?’

With that faint hope, I carefully opened my eyes.

What filled my vision was a scene that looked like it had come straight out of a painting in a history book.

I raised my upper body and blinked blankly.

A clear, brilliant blue sky and dense, lush greenery, as though I had stepped into another world.

A refreshing breeze brushed against the tip of my nose, carrying pristine air without even a speck of dust.

For someone like me, who had known nothing but a world covered in ruins and dust, this scenery was incredibly unfamiliar and strange.

It was so beautiful, like a paradise on earth, that I felt as though I might become intoxicated by it just by staying there.

Unable to tell whether I was dreaming or awake, I pinched my own cheek as hard as I could.

It hurt just like reality.

“If this isn’t a dream and I’m not dead, then where the hell am I?”

I looked around for someone I could ask for directions or at least an explanation.

That was when—

“S-Someone, please save me!”

A child’s desperate voice rang out from deep within the dense forest.

“Help! Somebody save me!”

As if to confirm what I had heard, the voice echoed again from somewhere around the boundary between the forest and the meadow.

I instinctively jumped to my feet.

“Ah!”

My foot caught on the hem of a dress with a fluttering layer of lace, and I fell forward.

To be precise, it was the dress I was wearing.

With an incredulous expression, I muttered blankly,

“Wait, why am I wearing something like this?”

I had never worn such a fancy dress in my entire life.

Besides, I had been wearing brown leather pants only moments ago.

I was still standing there in disbelief when—

“Graaagh!”

This time, I heard the roar of some unknown creature.

There were definitely both a person and some kind of creature nearby.

Although its cry was weaker than the roar of a monster, there was no doubt that whatever it was, it was dangerous.

As if to confirm that fact, the child’s voice came from very close by.

“Aaaah! G-Go away! I don’t taste good!”

Whatever it was, it was threatening a child.

I had never fought anything on my own before, so fear suddenly swept over me.

But after hearing the child scream, I couldn’t just ignore the situation.

Why?

Because I was a healer.

A healer whose destiny was to save people!

Whatever was happening, I had to assess the situation first.

I immediately stood up, grabbed the skirt of my dress tightly with both hands, and hurried toward the source of the screams.

The faster I ran, the more the grass and flowers brushing against my legs tickled.

The refreshing breeze, filled with the scent of the forest, also made me keenly aware that I was alive.

Even though the situation was urgent, I couldn’t suppress the joy that welled up from these newly heightened senses.

Eventually, a huge smile blossomed across my face.

‘Oh my goodness. This feels amazing!’

Anyone watching me might have thought I had completely lost my mind.

But who cared?

If feeling this happy meant I could run even a little faster, then that was a good thing.

Before long, I reached the middle of the forest.

And the moment I locked eyes with the terrified child—

Whoosh—

As though it had been waiting for me, the beast’s black body sprang toward the child.

The child murmured with clouded eyes, seemingly convinced that death had come for him.

“Maybe the Angel has come to take me away….”

For a moment, I thought, Huh?

But I had no time to worry about that.

That little kid thought he was about to die!

“No! You can’t!”

Life was precious!

I threw myself forward, wrapped my arms around the child, and shouted the name of a skill inside my head.

‘Shield!’

At the same moment, a blue barrier shaped like a shield appeared.

The charging beast slammed into it, was sent flying backward, spun once through the air, and tumbled across the ground.

“Are you okay, little one?”

I immediately checked the child’s condition.

He didn’t answer.

Instead, he simply nodded with a dazed expression.

He looked like he hadn’t yet understood what had happened.

“Grrr….”

At that moment, the beast jumped back to its feet.

It arched its back, wrinkled its nose, and glared at us.

I was relieved that it wasn’t a monster.

But that didn’t mean the beast was safe.

I was trying to decide whether I should run away while carrying the child or attack it first when—

Pwooooo—!

Suddenly, the sound of a horn rang out from deep within the forest.

At that, the beast turned around and fled deeper into the woods.

I had no idea where the sudden horn blast had come from, but at least the beast had run away.

That was a relief.

“Ugh… It’s throbbing.”

Only then did I look down at my hands.

They were numb and aching from the recoil damage caused by using Shield.

Then I suddenly noticed something strange.

“Huh? Why are my hands so small and pale? They’re even so soft…”

Wait.

Now that I thought about it—

I grabbed the pink hair that had been bothering me since earlier.

The fluffy, cotton-candy-like hair even carried a pleasant fragrance.

I grabbed a handful and tugged hard.

“Ouch!”

A scream escaped me involuntarily.

With a terrible suspicion creeping into my mind, I brought both hands to my face and began kneading my cheeks.

“This is impossible.”

I didn’t know what this face looked like, but I could tell one thing for certain.

The sensation beneath my hands was strange.

This wasn’t my face.

‘Is this… what they call transmigration?’

I was standing there with my mouth hanging open in disbelief when—

Pop—!

[System: Congratulations! F-rank Healer Iverta Enrick has successfully made first contact with the future Emperor, Leo Astra.]

For a brief moment, I was delighted to see the system window again.

Then I was horrified.

‘Contact? What? What did I do with Leo Astra?!’

No, wait!

That meant…

The only person I had made contact with since arriving here was the child I had just saved.

‘Then this kid is the Dark Overlord… no, he’s the child version of the Dark Overlord?!’

“This can’t be.”

I swallowed nervously and carefully examined the child’s appearance.

…Eyes as crimson as the ones in the portrait.

Hair the exact color of honey, just like the portrait.

And those same sharp, cat-like eyes.

Other than the fact that he looked a little younger than the age depicted in the portrait, with even rounder baby cheeks, the child looked almost exactly like the Dark Overlord.

…No.

He looked identical.

For some reason, I suddenly felt like crying.

I had saved the Emperor I hated so terribly with these very hands.

I couldn’t exactly call it a good thing.

But I couldn’t call it a mistake, either.

My face naturally twisted into a miserable expression.

“Um… Angel? Are you okay? Your eyes are red…”

Perhaps he was worried about me.

Leo cautiously reached a hand toward my face.

That was when—

Pop—!

[System: Stopwatch loading… …20%… …100%. Stopwatch is functioning normally.]

The Stopwatch activated.

All time except for me came to a complete halt, and Leo froze in place like a wax figure.

The system continued rapidly displaying messages in its windows.

[System: Your world has just been destroyed. In order to turn back time and reconstruct the world, the assistance of a Hunter is absolutely necessary.]

[Because Hunter Iverta has made first contact with the Emperor, a quest has been granted.]

[(Quest) Save this world from Leo Astra, the First Emperor, who will become the First Emperor and open the world’s first Monster Gate.]

[※ Important Notes]

1. If Leo Astra, a major historical figure, dies, the mission will immediately fail.

2. During the quest, you may be granted access to certain information depending on the system’s recovery status.

*Recovery Status: …21%

3. If Hunter Iverta refuses this quest, all worlds will immediately be destroyed.

[(Accept) / (Reject)]

I stared at the system window and cursed inwardly.

‘If I reject it, the world gets destroyed? That basically means I have no choice but to accept!’

And as if the sudden quest weren’t enough, telling an F-rank healer like me—not even an offensive-type Hunter—to save the world was practically the same as telling me to fight a boulder with an egg.

But apparently, there was no other Hunter who had fallen into this world besides me.

Which meant I was truly stuck with this situation.

‘I thought I had barely managed to survive, and now I’m being thrown into another trial immediately. This is seriously too much.’

I wanted to complain a little longer, but there was no time to waste.

I took a deep breath and calmly organized my thoughts.

1. I time-slipped several hundred years into the past, to the era of the Pandenion Empire.

2. I am currently possessing the body of an unfamiliar woman.

3. The child I happened to save is Leo Astra, the future Dark Overlord who will open the First Gate.

4. I have to succeed in the mission of stopping Leo Astra in order to reconstruct the destroyed world.

I couldn’t simply dismiss the system’s warning that the world would be destroyed if I failed to stop Leo Astra.

After all, I had personally experienced the destruction of the world just before coming here.

After thinking it over, I bit down on my lower lip.

‘All right. Let’s think positively. It’s not a losing deal for me, either.’

I would survive.

I would stop Leo before he opened the Gates.

And afterward, I would spend the rest of my life happily in this peaceful, tranquil world.

As freely as anyone could!

Perhaps the dream I had long cherished might finally come true.

And if I could even keep the promise I had made to my younger brother—that I would survive no matter what…

A faint smile appeared on my face as I clenched my fist.

“Then it’s worth trying.”

But before blindly accepting the quest, I needed to think carefully about the person known as Leo Astra one more time.

Only then could I figure out how I was going to deal with everything that lay ahead.

‘Hmm… So, in the end, what exactly was the reason Leo opened the Gates…?’