I Want to Die, But I Am Immortal
Chapter 38: Glimmer of Hope

Chapter 38: Glimmer of Hope

The bullet tore through Adam’s thigh an explosion of white-hot agony. His leg gave out instantly. He crashed to the wooden floor his charge brought to a brutal and abrupt end.

The heavy frying pan flew from his grasp skittering across the floorboards with a loud metallic screech. He was down. He was wounded. And he was completely at their mercy.

The assassin at the very front the one Adam had been targeting stepped forward. He walked calmly over to where Adam lay clutching his bleeding leg. He pointed his silenced pistol directly at Adam’s forehead.

"A good attempt," the man said his voice a low emotionless monotone muffled by his mask. "For a child."

Adam lay on the floor the pain in his leg a throbbing all-consuming fire. He could feel the cold metal of the pistol’s muzzle pressed against his skin.

He looked up. He could only see the man’s eyes through the slits in his mask. They were a startling piercing blue. The blue eyes stared down at him cold and devoid of any human emotion. And then the masked man pulled the trigger.

The world vanished.

Complete darkness. A familiar empty void. The system window appeared a constant companion in his endless cycle of death.

[Host Adam has been killed. Sending to respawn point.]

His eyes snapped open. He was back in Sophia’s bed. The first light of dawn was just beginning to peek through the window. This time there was no hesitation no moment of despair. He moved with a cold practiced efficiency.

He stood up from the bed his movements silent and fluid. He walked to the bedroom door and stepped out into the hallway. He quietly turned the lock on the outside of the door sealing Sophia inside. He then moved to her younger sister’s room and locked that door from the outside as well.

As he turned from the second door he noticed something he had missed before. A small wooden drawer sat in the hallway between the two rooms. On top of it sat a small potted plant.

And next to the plant was a small paring knife left there for some unknown reason. Adam’s eyes locked onto the knife. He picked it up.

The blade was short but sharp. It was another weapon another small advantage in this impossible fight. He tucked it into his waistband and began to move.

He was moving faster this time. He was still walking not running. He remembered from the previous loop that the assassins had not reacted to the sound of his slow measured footsteps. But he couldn’t afford to waste any time. He needed to get downstairs as quickly as possible.

He reached the bottom of the stairs and once again picked up the heavy cast-iron frying pan from the small table near the kitchen. This time he had two weapons a knife and a frying pan. It wasn’t much but it was more than he had before.

He reached the end of the corridor just as the soft spitting sound of the silenced pistol echoed from the shop. He peered around the corner.

Sophia’s mother was collapsing to the floor her face a mask of shock and surprise a dark hole already blossoming on her forehead. She was dead.

But this time Adam was ready. He didn’t hesitate. He burst from the corridor a blur of motion. As he ran he drew the small paring knife from his waistband and threw it with all his strength.

The three assassins who had been focused on their first kill saw the movement in the corridor. They turned their attention towards him their movements swift and professional. But their reaction was a fraction of a second too late.

The small knife flew through the air a glint of silver in the dim morning light. It struck the first assassin directly in the chest.

Adam felt a surge of relief a small glimmer of hope in the darkness of this impossible loop. Finally something had gone right. He had been dying over and over watching this innocent family be slaughtered before his eyes. But this time he had made a difference. He had struck a blow. He had changed the outcome. He was certain that this time he would do something. He would save them.

The two assassins standing behind their fallen comrade took a step back their pistols still raised their aim steady. Adam saw his chance. He was already in motion. He was in mid-air leaping towards the wounded assassin the heavy frying pan raised high ready to deliver a finishing blow.

But then his eyes widened in disbelief.

The knife which had struck the assassin squarely in the chest had not penetrated deeply. It had clattered harmlessly to the floor. The assassin looked down at the small red mark on his chest where the knife had struck him. Then he looked up at Adam his eyes cold and unreadable behind his mask.

The assassin standing behind him raised his pistol and fired. The bullet struck Adam directly in the forehead.

The world dissolved into an instantaneous all-consuming darkness.

He was dead again.

And in the empty void the familiar blue window appeared once more its words a cold and mocking testament to his utter and complete failure.

[Host Adam has been killed. Sending to respawn point.]

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A massive thank you to every single one of you for joining the adventure! Your support means the world. If you’re enjoying the story, your Power Stones are like mana potions that keep me writing, so thank you for every single one!

Now, for a bit of fun! I want YOU to be a part of this world. Our hero is about to name their new signature technique. What should it be called?

Drop your most creative ideas in the comments! I’ll pick my favorite, and it will become canon in the story, with a special shout-out to you.

Can’t wait to read your brilliant suggestions!

Alphaboss

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