I Refused To Be Reincarnated

Shadows flickered, playing tricks on the mind and conjuring phantoms in the corners of his vision.

In the distance, like death\'s champion sitting on an alabaster throne composed of thousands of bones, a young man with long black hair eyed him. Exuding a malevolent aura familiar to him, he sighed.

"I must be in hell..."

Disappointed to die after less than eight years in this magical world, a pang of regret struck his heart like a bayonet. Despite his ghostly state, it was always better to be alive like that than dead. Magic and alchemy also interested him. Yet, he wouldn\'t be able to delve more into those arts.

"Time to meet the devil," He said, his trembling legs taking him to the man. Earth was not lacking in stories about this entity, and none of them portrayed him as good or weak.

The noise of his steps splashing on the wet ground echoed in the surroundings as sweat dripped from his forehead. Gradually, the devil\'s figure became clearer, and soon, he noticed the piercing blue glow dancing in the devil\'s eyes.

Deep-rooted anger, even hate, replaced his fears as he distinguished the man\'s signature eery smile.

"Welcome to hell, my dear Adam. Shall we follow your suggestion and dance here for eternity?"

Gaston\'s voice dripped with malice as he rose from his throne like an overlord, hand outstretched. Blood bubbled beneath, rising in a stream before solidifying into a sinister weapon: a crimson guandao, gleaming with a sinister sheen.

"Shit."

Adam\'s lips twisted into a wry smile after Gaston used his own words against him.

This version of Gaston was more threatening than ever. He had a body, therefore his Ethereal Radiance\'s Light Ward would be ineffective. As if it wasn\'t enough, Gaston would use the weapon he was most proficient with, making him deadlier.

Yet, he didn\'t care! Be it in the living world, the afterlife, heaven, or hell, they couldn\'t live under the same sky. Gaston had to die!

Madness melded with his anger and hat, swirling into a chaotic vortex in his eyes as bright light condensed in his hand before the crystalline Ethereal Radiance appeared.

However, who was Gaston in his prime? A man who fought twenty trained knights, leaving death and misery behind in under five minutes. A body refining expert who defeated a tier two mage and a tier two knight simultaneously without giving them a chance to counter-attack. An unbeatable anomaly escaping mundane comprehension and outclassing anyone on the same level.

So, how could Adam defend himself against him without the Light Ward\'s protection?

He couldn\'t.

Like a savage beast, Gaston dashed and swung his guandao in a wide horizontal arc.

PLOP

The world spun in his eyes for a second before his head splashed to the ground. He died without understanding how.

Then, he saw Gaston pick up his severed head, his hands dripping with blood as an ominous smile crept onto his lips.

"I hope you\'ll enjoy this eternity you wished for because trust me... I will."

From the moment his head was cut until he heard Gaston speak, he didn\'t even have enough time to process what happened. He only saw a blur before his vision spun, and the world darkened.

However, his body mysteriously shattered in a rain of glistening sparks, then reappeared further away, perfect, as if nothing had happened a few seconds ago.

"Gasp."

He breathed with difficulty, eyes trembling in shock and tremors shaking his body. Yet, a dark brazier ignited in his heart, scorching the encroaching terror\'s finger with a mix of madness and defiance.

Gritting his teeth, he understood in a split second that winning in a frontal confrontation was impossible. Speed, strength, reflexes... he was superior in everything. But why would he fight in melee in the first place?

With a steely glint in his eyes, he leapt back, creating distance between them before extending his index finger towards his nemesis and firing a barrage of mana bullets.

As the bullets whistled through the wind, homing towards Gaston, the latter\'s smile enlarged in ridicule. With an elegant movement, his arm came to life as scarlet lights flashed, crisscrossing in the air. A second later, perfectly sliced bullets splashed to the ground behind him.

"You don\'t have to suffer for eternity, you know? Just give up and be done with it. After all, you\'ll never beat me, no matter what trick or plan you use."

Gaston\'s calm voice resounded like an inviolable and absolute imperial edict.

Before the echo of his words vanished, he appeared before him like a ghost, swinging the scarlet guandao with lethal precision at his neck and decapitating him for the second time without putting much effort.

A deafening silence engulfed the space for a few seconds before his gasp resounded again. Yet, his focus shifted to his nemesis\' words instantly.

Give up? Against his friend\'s murderer? He would rather suffer torture than surrender!

"Let\'s see who\'ll throw the fight first, fool! I can\'t beat you, but you can\'t kill me either!"

Fueled by rage, his visceral roar thundered as the vortex in his eyes hastened. With a spiteful glare, he shattered the overwhelming image Gaston built. No matter what, he would fight until the end.

"I knew you wouldn\'t give up that easily... Fortunately, I have time, a whole eternity even, to make you surrender," Gaston answered, his eyes filled with malice before ending Adam for the third time.

****

Each passing minute brought him terrible agony as the same scene repeated itself for so long that he lost count of how many times he died.

By now, the count had long exceeded one thousand, that he was sure of. And the worst about the situation? Despite using every strategy he could think of, he still failed to graze Gaston\'s skin. The gap in strength was just that wide, rendering all tricks useless in front of the monstrously strong Gaston.

However, a dim light shone in the darkness. Instead of dying instantly like before, he could now survive the first hit, surprising Gaston.

*****

After the death count surpassed ten thousand, he could withstand two hits before succumbing. His improvement was slow yet steady, especially now that an idea blossomed in his mind.

He was a mage. His strength lay in mana control, so he returned to the basics, upgrading the first thing he ever did: blowing mana to clean Alina\'s house. However, the intensity was on an entire level. By expelling mana in short bursts through the body parts he wanted to move, he reached a speed almost comparable to someone in the early stages of the second tier.

Unfortunately, he was still developing this new application of mana and lacked proficiency. But his eyes sparked as he could see a path to victory.

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