Reincarnated Hero System

Khand City Outskirts

Osaburg Region

Desert Country of Tarse

April 11th

Year 1055 of the 51st General Calendar

I wiped the sweat off my brow, completing the drawing of the magic circle on the ground. Slamming my staff onto the floor, I infused my magic power into the circle, causing it to shimmer briefly before slowly fading underground and disappearing from sight.

This one was done.

Once I finished, I turned to the nearby paladins, knights, and the Warlord of the Desert Empire, informing them that the preparations were complete.

“Thank you for your hard work, Lady Eliza.”

Warlord Isobel spoke with a light bow, and I gave a small nod in acknowledgement before glancing in a different direction.

“You guys should get ready to move out. I’ll be over there for a bit.”

Before anyone could even respond, I kicked off the ground and dashed away at a speed that even Isobel found shocking.

Blinking, she turned to the others.

“She’s a healer, right?”

The paladins exchanged glances.

“Well…she’s supposed to be.”

The warlord scoffed, still dumbfounded.

“Since when were healers faster than warriors?”

I paid no mind to the sounds of the words that reached me through the device in my ear. Instead, I switched it off and focused on crossing the distance.

Within minutes, I arrived at what remained of a city. A barricade surrounded the entire area, restricting entry.

However, I was one of those few existences who were allowed unrestricted entry, so I wasn’t stopped as I walked right into it.

The ruins of Kreah Trade City.

A city destroyed on the 10th of December, year 1054 of the 51st General Calendar during the final clash against the Fallen Celestial Deities.

I walked slowly through the ruins, making my way toward the centre—toward the place where everything had happened.

Not a single thing had been moved from where it was. Only the corpses of the fallen had been retrieved before the Desert Emperor ordered the entire place to be sealed off.

As I drew closer to the city centre, my eyes widened in surprise.

Right in front of the spot where the magic circle that had captured Evan once was, an unknown man stood.

This place was restricted and sealed off with powerful magic seals, so how did this man get here?

The moment I spotted him, I tightened my grip on my staff, twisting it slightly as its tip sharpened into a spear. I pointed it at him, narrowing my eyes.

“Who are you?”

Hearing my voice, the man turned around, and the moment his eyes landed on me, they widened in surprise—no, in recognition.

“Eliza?”

I tensed immediately.

I didn’t know this man, yet, he addressed me in such a familiar tone, as if we were long-time acquaintances. That alone was enough to put me on high alert.

That, and the fact that my instincts were screaming at me.

This man was DANGEROUS. A danger I couldn’t even begin to comprehend.

Then he spoke again, his lips curling into a wry smile as if realizing my wariness.

“Ah, that’s right. Of course, you don’t know me. We haven’t met yet.”

“…what?”

The question slipped from my lips before I could stop it.

The man, seemingly unbothered by my reaction, turned around completely, allowing me to take in his full appearance.

He had shining silver hair that glinted in the evening sun and heterochromatic eyes that sent a warning through my very being.

He took a step forward, his hands casually crossed behind his back. I instinctively stepped back.

“Don’t be so wary. I mean you no harm.”

His words only put me further on edge.

“Who are you?” I asked again.

The man placed a hand on his chin, tilting his head slightly as if in thought.

“Hm… Since we haven’t met yet, I can’t exactly tell you who I am. But you’ll realize when we do meet—if we do meet. That’s still up in the air. The Author hasn’t made it canon yet.”

What?

I had no idea what he was talking about, but before I could ask, he continued.

“Anyway, let’s just say I’m a friend of Evan’s. A friend from his time in the past.”

The moment those words left his mouth, my eyes widened.

‘A friend of Evan’s… from his time in the past?’

He ignored my reaction and kept talking.

“Evan’s an old friend of mine, you see, and he was always worried about how things were going on Aidos after he got sent back in time.

So, when I realized that this was around the time Evan was supposed to be in the past, I decided to come over and check on things while he was not around. But I gotta say, you guys are doing far better than I expected.”

He looked up at the sky, his gaze thoughtful.

“Satellites, huh? No wonder Evan hoarded those communication devices from Denerth Prime.”

My eyes narrowed at his words.

Communication devices. Satellites.

‘He could see the satellites?’

The ones he was talking about weren’t even on the planet. They were in space, beyond Aidos’s atmosphere.

‘How could he see them just by looking up?’

A moment later, I warned myself.

‘Wait. Whether he can see those satellites or not isn’t the issue. The issue is what he’s doing here.’

So I asked, “Why are you here?”

He tilted his head slightly. “Didn’t I just say so? I came here because I wanted to see how things were while he wasn’t around.”

“I don’t mean why you’re in this world,” I clarified. “I mean, why are you in this place?”

At that, he finally seemed to understand.

“Oh, that. Well, Evan did tell me a little bit about how he got sent back in time, so I looked for places that had traces of Celestials and powerful time magic. And I found myself here.”

He paused for a moment before continuing, “And while I was here, I had a little idea. I was going to come meet you, even if you hadn’t come here. But I suppose you’re still an existence bound by the Concept of Fate, so you were destined to come here eventually.”

He then gave a small smile. “Because of that, this makes things easy for me.”

My grip on my staff tightened. The moment he brought up Fate, I felt an uneasy weight settle in my chest.

‘Could he be…?’

Then, for the first time, he pulled one hand from behind his back and reached it forward. I tensed immediately, but before I could react, he spoke.

|Authority of Time.|

I felt my head ache at the sound of his words. There was no doubt about it, this was the same kind of power that Celestial used on that day!

A powerful pulse of blue energy surged from his palm, enveloping all of Kreah in an ethereal glow.

That was the same blue light of time that had taken Evan to the past.

The man continued, “Now then, I have made it so that when Evan returns to the future, he will definitely return to this exact spot.”

He clenched his fist, and the blue energy collapsed inward, condensing into an orb of swirling light. Before I could even process what he was doing, he flicked his wrist, and the orb shot toward me, striking my chest before I could react.

I gasped as a strange sensation flooded through me, making my grip on my staff loosen.

“You will be automatically teleported to this place when Evan returns,” he stated.

My breath caught.

‘Automatic teleportation? The moment Evan returns?’

“Why?” I demanded. “Why would you do this?”

The unknown man only chuckled in response to my question.

“Didn’t I tell you? Evan’s an old friend of mine. This is the least I could do for a friend.”

His expression remained calm, but then he sighed, almost in amusement.

“Now then, I would love to talk with you more, Eliza. Unfortunately, it seems I’ve stayed here too long, and my little action just now has caught the attention of a certain goddess.

So, in about five seconds, I should have an angry goddess coming to drag me out of here. Let’s say… two, one.”

Just as he finished speaking, the space behind him shattered like fragile glass. A hand reached through the void, grabbed him by the back of his collar and yanked him into the rift.

Despite this, he only laughed as the space sealed up behind him.

Silence settled over the ruins. I stood there, staring at the spot where he had disappeared, my mind racing.

Then, in the distance, I heard my name being called.

I turned around to see Isobel and Church’s Paladins I had come with, all with their weapons drawn.

Their expressions were tense, and Isobel called out.

“Lady Eliza! Are you all right?! What happened?!”

She glanced around warily, her energy roused to its peak. The Paladins rushed to my side, and then I realised that at some point, I had fallen to my knees.

They must have sensed the surge of magic power he had released and rushed into the restricted area, and the sight of me on my knees didn’t make the situation look any better.

Hearing this, I took a breath and got to my feet.

“Reinforce the seals on this place. There is still a possibility of trespassers entering.”

With that, I turned and walked away, fully aware that if an existence like that man ever decided to trespass again, no seal on Aidos would be able to stop him.