The One Who Was an Observer II
At this time, I had ample reason to worry about the Saintess's well-being.
As previously mentioned, the public order was not good.
"Another one dead..."
During the regular meeting, Noh Do-hwa muttered. Although a considerable amount of time had passed since she took office as the chief of the National Road Management Corps, her uniquely gloomy eyes, which seemed to hate everything in the world, had not changed.
"Again? Is it that murderer?"
"Yes, the Wheel Murderer. This time the death was reported in Cheongju. It just went up on SG Net. Take a look for yourself..."
It wasn't in my character to fiddle with my smartphone during meetings, but since it was also a break time and Noh Do-hwa had recommended it, there was no helping it.
When I logged into SG Net, sure enough, chaos had ensued.
-Anonymous: December 24th, Cheongju.
The post's title on the bulletin board was nondescript. It was uploaded by an anonymous user, only the date and location were mentioned.
Not only the title but the content of the post was simple as well. A single video was bluntly attached without any adornment.
Upon clicking the video, a man was tied up in an underground parking garage.
-Uh, ahh...
The underground parking garage was already flooded up to the ankles.
Black sewage.
An endlessly murky sludge surrounded a chair placed in the middle, where the man was tightly bound.
-I-I am Lee So-yeol, 29, living in Cheongju. I, until now, have killed six people. The first murder was a year ago... There was a mother and daughter in my neighborhood, they seemed to have plentiful supplies. Originally, I didn't intend to kill, but during a fight with the father, the daughter stabbed me from behind, so, to survive, I had no choice.
The man, for some reason, droned on about his crimes.
The video did not continue seamlessly. It was unmistakably edited.
For instance, the dialogues he just mentioned were cut off in the middle. There were gaps between 'I have killed six people until now' and 'The first murder was a year ago.'
The reason I could notice this difference was that, previously, there had been no nail in the man's hand.
That is, someone who filmed the video was torturing the man. However, the 'video of being tortured' and 'video of screaming' were thoroughly deleted.
Thus, the man's confession seemed to continue smoothly, as if nothing had happened.
-I was angry. I did it because I was angry. But I just killed them. Without torturing or humiliating...
A nail was embedded in his right hand.
-I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
The man's voice trembled a bit more thinly.
-Actually, I tortured each one in front of the mother until they died. The second murder happened in Go-eun. Go-eun intersection. People often pass by there from Cheongju. Not those moving with the National Road Management Corps, but alone or maybe two or three together... I targeted those people... These days, all travelers keep their belongings in their backpacks... Shit! It's the fault of those fuckers who travel alone!
Nails were embedded in both his forearms.
Where the nails were embedded, blood flowed. However, no matter how much blood dripped, the color of the sewage flooding the parking garage did not change at all. It remained pitch black.
-I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I didn't want to live like this. Isn't it the world's fault? When the Gate burst open in Seoul, I was 12 years old. I was a primary school student then.
-...
-Life, half of my life, no, just life itself, was completely thrown into a cesspool. Shit. At least you all lived happily for half of your lives. You lived well. You went to school. I didn't! I couldn't! It's your fault, shit!
-I didn't do anything wrong... If I had been an awakener, I wouldn't have done such things. Filthy bastards. You guys don't even try and just awaken your abilities, huh? Join a guild and live it up. For regular people like me, we're nothing, right? But what...
A nail was embedded in his shoulder.
-The, the third murder.
-...
-The third murder was... some bastard tried to rob my house. Me, a man. The money that an adult earned working his bones off, and he was trying to steal it just like that, isn't his head rotten? I didn't particularly intend to kill him. Just wanted him to starve. I planned to keep him tied up for three days and then release him, but he died on his own in just two days. Really. I was going to release him. Ah. I'm sorry . I'm sorry. I'm sorry! Please save me! Please! No more. Please...
At that moment, something strange was embedded in the man's head.
It was a wheel from a car.
Since gasoline had become a relic of ancient civilizations, the countless cars scattered around the world were no more meaningful than megaliths. However, the person who filmed the video had seen new possibilities in the remains of these decommissioned cars.
"He's dead."
"Yes. He died cleanly. No, filthy..."
The serial murderer's trademark.
The culprit always nailed his victims to death and then hung a car wheel on the nail.
Known as the 'Wheel Murderer.' Or simply 'Wheel.'
"Already the 16th, isn't it?"
"Roughly around that number. Actually, if we only count the videos, it's 16, but there are many more murders that weren't recorded. Last time we found a corpse with a wheel on its head that hadn't appeared in any video..."
The murderer had stolen 'anonymity' from 'Anonymous.'
In other words, the community had no choice but to acknowledge and name him.
-[Baekwha] SixthGrader: I'm so scared... ㅠ_ㅠ
-Anonymous: Kyaa, as expected from Wheel oppa. Nice shot again today.
-[Yuldoguk] SwordMarquess: Is this an act of righteousness, or is it a vile self-justification of an evil faction? I find it truly difficult to judge.
└OldManGoryeo: ew
-Anonymous: A mother-daughter murder in Chungju, and that was from a year ago, right? I think I know what this is about. There were rumors going around inside Chungju because the bodies were brutally mutilated then.
-Anonymous: I'm rooting for you. Kill more.
-dolLHoUse: Neutral.
-[Samcheon] Officer: Who's managing Chungju? If it weren't for Wheel, this bastard wouldn't have been caught until the end. Can't they manage security properly? The awakeners affiliated with that guild should feel ashamed.
Comments were continuously being posted on the bulletin board.
"I'm back... Huh? What's going on? Why the atmosphere?"
Just then, Seo Gyu entered the conference room.
The regular meeting members were Noh Do-hwa, me, and the Saintess, although occasionally Seo Gyu also participated. If Noh Do-hwa controlled the aboveground road network, Seo Gyu managed the underground network.
"Seo Gyu, another post by the Wheel Murderer went up."
"Ah..."
Seo Gyu made a subtle expression. It was a look that seemed to convey both apology and a lack of face.
"Should I delete it?"
"No, the public reaction suggests that arbitrarily deleting it could backfire. More importantly, is this Anonymous really that difficult to track?"
"Yes, for now he's not a regular member... When I checked the access logs, he only logs in to post and doesn't enter SG Net at any other time."
"So, he's not the type who commits crimes for the comments."
"Yep. He might not even be looking at the comments at all. Or maybe he has some kind of unusual stealth ability that my powers can't detect."
"...That's also a possibility."
I nodded.
There really are a variety of abilities in this world.
"Is it about the murderer?"
The Saintess followed Seo Gyu into the room. Both had stepped out of the conference room during the break and had just returned.
"Yes."
"I also just saw the post on SG Net."
The Saintess took her seat, speaking as impassively as usual.
"Even though I keep using my Clairvoyance, somehow I just can't catch the criminal in my sight."
Then, it must be some kind of stealth ability.
"Truly elusive."
After the meeting ended, Seo Gyu was sent away, and we three entered another strategy meeting.
Of course, the topic was the Wheel Murderer.
"With public authority collapsed, there's no way to prevent private sanctions. There's neither justification nor reason. The problem is..."
"Really, where's the guarantee that this murderer is truly a benevolent being?"
Noh Do-hwa took over the conversation.
"So far, he's really only targeted clear villains. But with the same ability, he could kill someone else without anyone knowing. Maybe he already has, just without attaching a wheel to the body..."
"..."
"At the very least, we need to understand who this person is from our perspective. Mr. Undertaker, is this the first time such a type of murderer has appeared in your regressions?"
"Yes. This is a first in all my lives. It's the first time a run has proceeded this smoothly up to the 16th year, so it's not that surprising."
This run had been unusually fortunate.
Normally by this time, beings called the Outer Gods would have interfered in our world, causing utter chaos. However, for some reason, the 107th cycle was quiet.
It was almost like a miracle.
Therefore, it was all the more precious.
"Then, Mr. Undertaker, please try to gather more detailed information on the criminal this cycle... That way, we can plan how to handle this going forward, whether we recruit or eliminate."
"I was planning on that anyway."
"Some guild leaders suspect the Wheel Murderer might be an assassin we're cultivating. Things would have been much easier if we had such an assassin, huh..."
We were doing our best.
By the 16th year, the National Road Management Corps had successfully connected nearly all major cities with primary roads.
Guild leaders holed up in each city like feudal lords, but Noh Do-hwa reigned over these lords as a king. She monopolized the distribution networks from city to city, which was a natural consequence.
Most importantly, Busan, the largest city on the Korean peninsula, had fallen into the hands of Dang Seo-rin of Samcheon. As you know, Dang Seo-rin was one of the key figures behind the establishment of the National Road Management Corps, and she was extremely favorable towards us.
If necessary, Dang Seo-rin could even reign as the supreme leader of the guild leaders, such was the strength of her forces. With such a person's cooperation behind us, no one could ignore the National Road Management Corps. Hmm, it would be like the French royal family securing the loyalty of Burgundy in the Middle Ages.
Despite all this, the limits of the National Road Management Corps were clear.
We could not take responsibility for the security of the entire Korean peninsula. We could not manage the administration. We could not handle the judiciary.
Originally, we couldn't even govern the surface area of the Korean peninsula. At best, we controlled the lines connecting city to city.
In the voids that the spider web could not envelop, monsters and anomalies always lurked.
Whenever these things tried to tear through the spiderweb and invade humanity's lines, I had to respond. The military power of the National Road Management Corps was formidable, but moving as swiftly as me was inevitably difficult.
This was also fundamentally why I lacked time.
"We just don't have the capacity. We don't."
"..."
The meeting adjourned, and we each returned to our respective lodgings.
The reason I turned my steps this way was entirely capricious.
Since the Saintess had ended her reclusive training and started wandering outside, my visits to Yongsan Dongbinggo-dong, which used to be the Saintess's hideout, had become infrequent.
Even though the Saintess herself didn't mind at all, it didn't look good for a man to be frequently visiting the home of a woman living alone. Previously, since the Saintess had been confined at home, it couldn't be helped, but now the situation had changed.
We could always communicate via [Telepathy].
"But because of the Wheel Murderer, the Saintess must also be feeling uneasy."
No one was more fastidious about ethics than her.
In a situation where public power had crumbled, she still guarded against private sanctions. The reason was simple: without a system, a single deviation could lead to a major error.
The reason judgments were made through three courts—first, second, and third—by different people was not unrelated to this situation. It was unrealistic to expect one person to be absolutely fair and error-free forever.
Because of these various concerns, the Saintess's mind must also be in turmoil.
"I've just gotten a rare fish, too. She'd be happy with a gift."
December 24th. Christmas Eve.
I put the tropical fish in a plastic bag and headed for Dongbinggo-dong.
Thump, a silent touch settled on my forehead. White snowflakes. Even though the roads had turned into snow paths with last night's heavy snowfall, it seemed they were about to snow again.
"Hmm."
Worried that it might be too cold for the tropical fish, I wrapped the plastic bag with my palms. I also did not forget to skillfully raise an aura to maintain the temperature.
Footprints were double-pressed into the path leading to Dongbinggo-dong. Likely, all of them were the Saintess's footprints.
"Saintess, are you there?"
Knock, knock.
I knocked on the door, but there was no response.
'She should have gone home right after the meeting...'
I tilted my head and turned the doorknob. The shoes the Saintess had worn during the meeting were in the entrance. This meant she had at least stopped by the house once.
"Saintess?"
Still no answer.
"Hmm."
...I decided to enter the house, even at the risk of being rude. The memory of what had happened to the Saintess at the hands of Go Yuri lingered somewhat traumatically.
If the Saintess was alright, I could just apologize immediately. She was someone who knew how to accept an apology.
I stepped into the living room and...
"…?"
Soon, I witnessed an unbelievable scene.
The tanks that had surrounded the Saintess's living room like a fortress.
The tanks that always shimmered a brilliant blue were now completely empty.
"What?"
I opened my mouth unwittingly.
Raising fish was the Saintess's unique hobby. Even until the end of the world, she would never give up on her fish. That had been proven even back during the 90th cycle when I was running a convenience store.
But the tanks were empty.
Well, actually, two tanks were still filled with water. However, it seemed like a long time had passed since the water filter had been working, as the water color was murky.
A few tropical fish lay belly-up in the murky water, transformed into debris.
Coincidentally, all the fish corpses left were the ones I had gifted her before.
"Mr. Undertaker?"
At that moment, a voice came from behind me.
I turned around, and there was the Saintess, just coming through the front door.
I looked at the Saintess, holding the plastic bag with the tropical fish I intended to gift her.
"What happened?"
"...Ah. I'm sorry for entering without permission. Someone gifted me some tropical fish, and I thought it would be better to give them to you, Saintess, so I came without notifying you first. But... are you not keeping fish anymore?"
The Saintess blinked.
"...Yes."
"Why? You liked them so much..."
"I did, but most of the original fish had died, and maintaining the tanks became increasingly burdensome. I planned to clean up the remaining tanks at some point, but I just haven't got around to it yet."
I looked over the Saintess's attire.
A double coat. Not exactly comfortable attire for moving around. It was different from what she had worn at the meeting.
It wasn't her usual fashion choice either.
"...I see. Were you coming back from a walk?"
"Yes. If I had known you were coming, Mr. Undertaker, I would have prepared some tea. It seems you visited while I was briefly out."
In other words,
'I had returned home once before going out again, and there's nothing much I could do in this outfit except for a simple walk.'
Outside, it was snowing. Snow clung to her double coat, but it looked somewhat unnatural. As if, maybe,
if you shook the double coat lightly on snow-covered ground, it would have such snow marks.
"..."
"Undertaker?"
I looked past the Saintess to the snow on the ground outside.
Until I entered, the footprints had only been double-pressed. One set was from my arrival, and the other must have been from when the Saintess returned.
I picked up the shoes the Saintess had just taken off at the entrance, examining the soles.
The pattern of the soles did not match the footprints in the snow.
"Undertaker? What are you doing?"
"Saintess."
It was a kind of intuition.
It was hard to call it deduction, given the lack of evidence. There was no physical proof, but a kind of flash, like a lightning strike, flickered in my mind.
The fish belly-up. The empty tanks. The Saintess occasionally gazing blankly into space. Seo Gyu's apologetic eyes. The double coat. The footprints.
An unlikely possibility, never before considered, suddenly clicked together like a puzzle and slipped out of my mouth.
"Could it be, Saintess, that you are the Wheel Murderer?"
Silence.
A moment that felt like eternity passed.
As if the world had hit the pause button.
When it seemed that impression was about to lift,
"Mr. Undertaker."
The Saintess's lips parted.
"You really know me well."
-x-X-x-
The One Who Was an Observer III
There was a hypothesis I had long suspected.
――Perhaps certain monsters, certain anomalies, were actually born from humans?
It wasn't a thought I had always held.
The point at which I began to seriously consider this hypothesis was when I unraveled the identity of Udumbara.
As you know, the Udumbara germinated in Asan, South Chungcheong Province. The bodies of a mother and child, presumed to have starved to death. It was a human that had given birth to a virus of unprecedented scale.
Logically, it didn't make sense that an anomaly could be born from the body of an ordinary human. However, with a slight change in perspective, it was entirely plausible.
If we assume that the mother or child had 'that ability,' everything was clarified.
Which of the mother or child was the awakener, I couldn't tell, as they had already starved to death by the time we found them. But if either or both were awakeners?
If the Udumbara itself was a type of ability?
――If an awakener's ability is, in fact, no different from the abilities of monsters and anomalies when objectively considered.
In theory, all awakeners could potentially degenerate into anomalies. No, it could not even be called degeneration. From the start, awakeners and anomalies were fundamentally the same.
[The ability to continuously regenerate tentacles and grow two hearts within one's body].
Thus were born the Ten Legs.
[The ability to freely observe a vast area as large as the Korean Peninsula and telepathically communicate with all awakeners].
Thus claimed herself the Saintess.
If viewed from the perspective of someone entirely unrelated to humanity, say, an alien, which of the two would be considered the more dangerous creature?
Whether they took on 'human form' or not was merely a superficial difference, both were terrifying beings in essence.
"...Saintess."
"Yes, I killed them."
An unexpectedly refreshing affirmation.
But considering it came from the Saintess, it was more chilling than refreshing.
"Why...."
"Mr. Undertaker. That's a strange question. I have always maintained the same stance."
The Saintess remained expressionless.
"To prevent awakeners from committing crimes rashly, I created the constellations that don't even exist in this world. I simulated them. The operating principle of the constellation system is the possibility that [someone might be watching every move I make]. Anxiety. Humans restrain themselves when observed by others, and let go of their reason when they are not."
The Saintess tilted her head.
"Isn't a serial killer no different?"
"...."
"The constellation system was able to control the rampages of the awakeners. However, it couldn't reach ordinary people, civilians. Sadly, my telepathy only works with awakeners. So, I simply created another possibility for civilians to fear."
Snow was falling.
Flakes of snow landed on the Saintess's head and double coat, melting as soon as they touched her.
The Saintess's eyes narrowed.
"There are too many pieces of trash in this world. No, that's not quite the right word. There are far too many beasts masquerading as humans."
"So...."
"So, I killed them. Are you worried there might have been innocent people? You don't have to worry about that, Mr. Undertaker. I checked several times. I have never once regretted my killings."
Why?
Despite clearly having a conversation with the Saintess, the presence of the person before me felt unfamiliar. It wasn't just that she seemed like a different person or had a changed personality.
Her very existence had changed.
Unexplainable sweat formed on the palm of my right hand.
"Mr. Undertaker, you are too kind."
"...Me? I didn't expect to hear that from you, Saintess."
"You always give everyone infinite chances."
Crunch.
The Saintess took a step forward. The snow beneath her feet crunched. I reflexively stepped back, maintaining a distance from the Saintess.
Even if the Saintess was a murderer, I had no reason to flee from her. We were bound by blood. Even if she were to burn the whole world down, I would stand by her side.
Therefore, the reason I moved wasn't logical but instinctual.
"Infinite chances?"
"Yes. Mr. Undertaker, what do you think about your [regression] ability? Surely, you must believe that you are constantly receiving chances. But from my point of view, observing you from the sidelines, my opinion differs."
"Which is?"
"It's not just you receiving chances. Every time the world regresses, everyone else gets a chance too."
One step.
"In the last cycle, a villain who killed an innocent girl received a chance to change this time around. The evil one who took the last bit of food from a child, tying up the child and watching them starve to death, also had the opportunity to make a different choice. Once. Twice. Ten times. Twenty times. Thirty times. Forty times. Fifty times."
"...."
"But how many really hesitated before their wicked deeds? How many have killed and tortured the same person over and over again, forty, fifty times?"
"...Those people do not know that the world is regressing."
"That's right. Ignorance. Not knowing is always a good excuse. Even when it comes to killing people, they always hide behind ignorance. I understand. I will understand. But what about the people who were killed?"
"...."
"Why must they endure countless wrongful deaths and wrongful suffering?"
One step.
"Someday, Mr. Undertaker, you will succeed in saving the world. Yes, definitely. In that future world, even the villains will be granted the chance to live a new life. Perhaps in a more relaxed, more peaceful era, they might not feel the need to commit crimes. I think, that is very… wrong."
Another step.
"Mr. Undertaker. If someone kills, they should be punished."
The Saintess spoke quietly.
"They shouldn't just get another chance."
From some point on.
Without me noticing, a small, sleek hand axe had appeared in the Saintess's grasp. That she had armed herself at a speed beyond my perception indicated this.
Sweat dripped more freely from my neck.
"No matter how many times you regress, Mr. Undertaker, and no matter how much you strive to save this world, the sins committed by the villains will not disappear. No. I will make sure they don't disappear."
"What do you mean...?"
"I will eternally inflict pain on the sinners."
Vapor rose from the Saintess's mouth.
It was a white smoke rising towards the endless sky.
"Feel free to regress anytime, Mr. Undertaker. A hundred times. Two hundred times. A thousand times if you must, to save this world, but I will not leave the benefit of your efforts for the villains to enjoy."
"...."
"Each time you regress, I will execute the punishment that should rightly descend on this world. If the villains continue to commit crimes forever, I will forever torture them."
The vapor twisted from the Saintess's mouth.
It was her sneer.
"Although I may be powerless to create a paradise in this world, I have enough ability to create a small hell."
When the Saintess took that final step, I drew my sword like a flash of lightning.
The target was the hand axe in the Saintess's hand.
Why the Saintess had drawn her weapon against me, I could not tell, but I had no doubts about her intellectual abilities. If the Saintess had drawn a weapon, there must have been a reason for it.
What was the Saintess's plan? To subdue me, a regressor, and then what did she intend to do?
It was hard to guess, but certainly, it would not end well for me.
I suppressed an ominous feeling and attacked the Saintess.
"What...?"
However, the Saintess easily dodged my sword energy. Just one step to the side.
A simple movement as if she had known from the start where the attack would come from and where it would go.
Clang—!
Suddenly, a sound like glass breaking rang out from my body. It wasn't from one place alone. Left arm, right arm, left leg, right leg, my limbs vibrated as auras collided.
Four hand axes had struck my body and rebounded in all directions.
I couldn't tell when or from where the hand axes had flown at me.
It was as if they had suddenly appeared 'right in front of me.'
"Keuk?"
If I hadn't developed a habit of wrapping my body in aura like armor, the blow just now would have caused serious injuries to my limbs.
I immediately widened the distance from the Saintess. I kicked the snow-covered ground and jumped far back.
But the gap did not widen.
"You're strong. As expected, Mr. Undertaker."
Despite having jumped tens of meters at once, the Saintess was already standing before me.
"...!"
Not only that. Clang, the hand axes rebounded off my body. This time there were six. I could only react and knock two away with my sword.
'How? Even if she had a talent for martial arts, this was too much. This couldn't be an ability unless...'
It was then.
Seeing the Saintess easily following my movements, a memory from long ago surfaced.
36th cycle. The first conversation I had with the Saintess.
-How did you create the Constellations?
-Thanks to my ability. I can use [Clairvoyance] and [Telepathy].
-But just with Clairvoyance and Telepathy, it's impossible to perform the constellations, right? You need to observe multiple people simultaneously and send messages. Don't you have another ability?
-Ah, that's...
At that time, the Saintess had smiled faintly.
-That, is a secret. I'll tell you later.
An old memory.
Now, I seemed to know what that secret was.
"Time stop...?"
"...."
The Saintess hesitated.
"Did you know?"
"I only guessed. It was one of several possibilities. To perform multiple constellations and observe multiple awakeners simultaneously, anyway, a tremendous ability would be necessary. Like multiple perspectives or multiple personalities.... But time stop."
Time stop. The least likely joker card I had thought of.
If it was true that she possessed even the [Time Stop] ability, then the Saintess was essentially the most powerful awakener.
I forgot even the predicament I was in and let out a hollow laugh.
"Clairvoyance, Telepathy, and now Time Stop? That's unbelievable. Even one would be enough to be called a top-tier ability, and you monopolize three. Please stop cheating, Saintess."
"You flatter me too much. No matter how much I advance, I'm nothing compared to an infinite regressor."
...At last, everything made sense.
The Saintess had been using [Time Stop] to simultaneously observe so many awakeners and perform the constellations.
Avoiding my attack and suddenly throwing hand axes from four directions was understandable.
After all, if she had stopped time, she could calmly assess from which direction the attack was coming and where she needed to attack.
Was that all? If she used [Clairvoyance] on me, the Saintess could synchronize her vision with mine, immediately knowing which direction I was looking at and aiming for.
If she was cautious, she could be called practically invincible.
"From the beginning, my ability wasn't this strong. When I stopped time initially, only my consciousness flowed or at best, my eyes could move, but as time passed, it grew stronger. Now, I can stop time and travel across the country to find villains."
"Amazing. So, what do you intend to do by overpowering me?"
"Well."
The world momentarily stopped.
In the blink of an eye, I could only widen my eyes.
What had been barely three or four footsteps in the snowy ground had suddenly blossomed with countless footsteps. There were no footsteps of mine. Only the footprints of the shoes worn by the Saintess surrounded me by hundreds, thousands, as if displayed in a kaleidoscope.
This meant that my moment was her eternity.
The Saintess did not waste her time.
Now, thousands of bullets flying towards me from all directions proved her diligence.
Why just bullets? Among them were dozens of hand axes, each meticulously infused with aura.
[It's a secret.]
Countless bullets surged towards me.
Boss battle.
Threat Level:Lv.4 Oceanic-class
Awakener. Alias, Saintess.
Corruptor. Alias, Executioner.
Begin Subjugation.
-x-X-x-
The One Who Was an Observer IV
For reference, the proper nouns I use in the text are mostly of my own creation.
I didn't fancy myself a creator afflicted with the delusion that I alone had the right to name everything. Rather, it was simply because I was often the first to witness these wondrous phenomena.
Think about it. Who else but me has watched in real time as an awakener transformed into an anomaly?
Thus, I alone had to come up with terms for phenomena like 'corruption' and for entities known as 'Corruptors.'
What I had to create wasn't limited to terminology. Every time a formidable boss-level anomaly appeared, I had to write the 'strategy guide' for defeating it.
I hope others will not have to make the same mistakes I did.
Therefore, here and now, I will write down a strategy guide to prepare for the Executioner—the anomaly that the Saintess, one of the strongest Awakeners, turned into upon her corruption.
──────────
[Saintess Corruption]
[Executioner Route: Route Activation Conditions]
1. At least 15 years have passed while the Saintess is still alive.
2. The number of civilian casualties the Saintess has witnessed exceeds 'at least' one million. Especially if she has observed powerless elders and children dying or being tortured over 100,000 times.
3. When the Saintess masters the use of aura.
──────────
This is known as the 'Executioner Route.'
None of these conditions being met means the Executioner Route does not activate.
This is knowledge I've gained through numerous regressions. In fact, conditions 1 and 2 are almost identical, so it is fine to consider them as one.
The existence of SG Net is irrelevant here. Even if SG Net, which allows the spreading of videos, disappears, the Saintess does not stop her 'executions.' Only the locations of the executions change.
If the pathway to disseminate videos online is blocked, the Saintess would not just use underground parking lots; she would hang the bodies of villains directly in city squares. If she managed to obtain a cassette of the villain confessing their sins, she would play it, or if that wasn't feasible, she would use paper, attaching it to the corpse's body as if posting a notice.
Has anyone ever witnessed bodies being hung simultaneously in 12 cities across the nation on the same day and at the same hour?
Let me reiterate, the Saintess is a multi-ability awakener almost to the point of cheating. She should never be underestimated.
The best strategy is never to enter the Executioner Route in the first place. But if you do enter it, you must subdue the Saintess as quickly as possible.
──────────
[Executioner's Abilities]
1. Time Stop
2. Telepathy
3. Clairvoyance
──────────
Let's start with an explanation of Time Stop.
Our time is not the same as the Saintess's time.
From my perspective, I might have only delayed a day, but to the Saintess, it could have been two days, a week, a month, or perhaps even a year. Each second that passes might give the Saintess an opportunity close to eternity.
Take, for example, right now.
"Damn it...!"
It was impossible to dodge thousands of bullets and dozens of axes. I ran with all my might, but like a light drizzle soaking clothes, or rather a torrential downpour during the monsoon, I was barraged.
I surrounded my body with aura to block the damage, but aura is not infinite. My mental energy was continuously depleted in real time.
[I think Mr. Undertaker's combat prowess is impressive.]
As the battle continued, hundreds of footprints appeared on the snow-covered ground.
In front of me. Behind me. All around.
Footprints I hadn't stepped in or seen tightened around me.
[But how long can you hold out?]
The Saintess's aura was infinite.
Despite having just unleashed countless attacks, the Saintess seemed not to tire, sending dozens of axes, each meticulously infused with aura, flying towards me again.
It was an absurd manipulation of aura.
"You're not telling me you're charging up aura while stopping time?"
[Yes.]
The Saintess's indifferent tone pierced directly into my mind. Though her tone was the same as usual, for some reason, it sounded annoying to my ears.
[I took a ten-day break and recharged. While Mr. Undertaker was standing still, I rested.]
I cursed internally. It was as if I was fighting someone with an infinite HP and MP cheat code.
'Is this how Ten Legs felt when it faced me?'
I might not remember Ten Legs, but from its perspective, I must have seemed like a being who, no matter how many times they killed me, would always come back to life and demand a rematch. They probably wanted to complain about me cheating.
Right now, I felt exactly like that. Involuntarily, my monster empathy was flourishing.
However, like my regressions, the Executioner's [Time Stop] was not a perfect ability. There was definitely a weakness.
'If she had kept attacking me while stopping time, she could have subdued me easily, but she didn't.'
Her not doing so meant she couldn't.
Above all, the Saintess used 'hand axes' as throwing weapons rather than 'swords' or 'spears' that could strike an opponent directly. She stubbornly persisted in long-range combat rather than close combat.
This clearly meant something.
──────────
[Executioner's Abilities]
1. Time Stop: An ability that allows for an almost infinite number of attacks while always being able to dodge an opponent's attacks. However, it is presumed that time stop is canceled 'in cases of direct contact' with an opponent.
2. Telepathy
3. Clairvoyance
──────────
This might be the flaw in the Time Stop ability.
And while the Saintess casually mentioned she had 'rested for ten days,' it was likely an exaggeration.
In this era, firearms and ammunition were not abundantly stocked. Gathering those rare resources to bring here and fire at me would have consumed a significant amount of time.
For me, it was merely a moment, but during that time, the Saintess had likely traveled the nation preparing her attack.
Of course, it wouldn't matter if she could stop time for a year, or even ten years, but even for the Saintess, that would be difficult.
Living alone for years in a world where no one else moves or speaks would be challenging.
At least every ten days, if she didn't release time, the Saintess's mental energy would rapidly deteriorate.
Thus, battling the Saintess resembled playing a shooting game, or perhaps more accurately, a bullet hell game.
Even just closing my eyes for a moment, countless bullet curtains obscured my vision. Somehow, I had to dodge the barrage of bullets and axes and finally, approach the Saintess and 'touch' her.
It seemed an excessively difficult victory condition, but unfortunately, the Saintess's gimmick wasn't over yet.
[Roar!]
I flinched—
A sudden loud bang from my left startled me. Had the Saintess finally resorted to using bombs as well as guns?
But that was strange. I quickly looked around, but there was no explosion anywhere to be seen.
Of course, hesitation during combat was quite fatal. As I flinched, countless bullets pummeled my body.
My entire body vibrated. My head was dizzy. I felt the remaining aura dip significantly from the impact.
'What was that explosion sound?'
As I moved swiftly, I endlessly pondered. Before I could even hypothesize what the explosion sound was, a new noise tore through my mind with a ferocity.
[Screeeeech—!]
My face contorted. The sound was like dragging a steel tooth across a metal plate. Already having a highly developed sense of hearing compared to the average person, my discomfort grew even more.
But with bullets raining down from all directions, such a metallic noise shouldn't have been so loud.
'Telepathy ability!'
I gritted my teeth. This was noise that the Saintess was directly implanting in my head.
"Wasn't telepathy supposed to only transmit voices!"
[As I mentioned, my ability has evolved over time. I can replay any sound I remember storing. Would you like me to play a song for you?]
Damn it.
If the Saintess personally took on the role of a radio DJ, I would be grateful to listen and even send fan letters regularly. The problem was that the DJ was currently causing me noise pollution.
It wasn't just explosion sounds and screeching that tormented me.
[Undertaker! I've come to help!]
That was Dang Seo-rin's voice.
Even though my head knew Dang Seo-rin wasn't actually here, my body couldn't help but react. I hesitated, and yet another barrage of bullets cascaded down on the aura barrier. It was maddening.
[Hyung!]
That was Seo Gyu. I gritted my teeth and ignored it.
But the next moment, when I heard a whispering voice right next to my ear, I thought I was going crazy.
[Is that the guild master?]
It was none other than Go Yuri's voice. Chills ran down my entire body.
'I'm going mad.'
Such maliciousness was unmatched. As much as I knew the Saintess, she knew me too well.
Closing off my senses was useless. How could I dodge telepathy that was being hammered directly into my brain?
Eventually, I couldn't even trust my own hearing. My senses muddled, I continued the battle.
[No matter how much you run, it's meaningless, Mr. Undertaker. Have you forgotten that I am still revered as a constellation by others?]
I widened my eyes. Could it be?
[As soon as the battle started, I designated Mr. Undertaker as a 'target for subjugation' to awakeners across the nation. I've notified them of your location as well. Looking through Clairvoyance, hundreds of awakeners are converging here.]
"All the awakeners like me!"
[No, only 50% of the awakeners like you. It's just that many of the strong ones are among that 50%. Many others have been eyeing you eagerly, like the SwordMarquess of Yuldoguk. Now that I've declared under the name of Constellation that 'the Undertaker has fallen,' even if only temporarily, they've been given a reason.]
"Dang Seo-rin..."
[Of course, I haven't implanted any messages to the guild master of Samcheon World or the leader of the National Road Management Corps. But since I didn't want you to be disappointed that they weren't invited, I prepared a surprise gift for you without Mr. Undertaker knowing.]
This is insane.
"Please tell me it's not Go Yuri!"
[You know me well, Mr. Undertaker.]
My head felt faint. Dealing with the Saintess turned Corruptor was deathly enough, but now Go Yuri joining the fight too? Was she planning to turn the regressor into a minced regressor salad?
[You have three hours left.]
A time attack had been added to the bullet hell game. It might have been just bluffing to make me anxious, but.
In conclusion, the Saintess's abilities were as follows:
──────────
[Executioner's Abilities]
1. Time Stop: An ability that allows for an almost infinite number of attacks while always being able to dodge an opponent's attacks. However, it is presumed that time stop is canceled 'in cases of direct contact' with an opponent.
2. Telepathy: Initially, it transmitted only the Saintess's voice, but as the ability upgraded, it transformed into 'sound playback.' She could reproduce not only other people's voices but also noises such as explosions.
3. Clairvoyance
──────────
How was one to defeat this?
Honestly, it wouldn't be out of line to declare her unbeatable.
"..."
But there is always a way to win.
Whether it was Ten Legs, Udumbara, or Milky Way, when I first faced them, it always seemed like there was no answer, but as could be seen from the case of the Udumbara, sometimes the problem was solved in an entirely unexpected way.
I gave up.
More precisely, I gave up on defeating the Saintess.
Instead, I suddenly wiped out all the aura that was wrapped around my entire body.
"...!"
From a distance, I saw the Saintess's eyes widen.
-x-X-x-
The One Who Was an Observer V
Clang—
The sound of glass shattering echoed from all around. Just now, though invisible to my eyes, it was proof that the Saintess's aura had activated.
The bullets rushing towards me like a swarm of sharks shattered all at once. The hand axes tumbled to the ground. The sight of thousands of bullets, crushed into powder and mingling with the snowflakes, was truly a spectacle.
"...."
The creator of this miraculous scene, the Saintess—or the Corruptor that would later be named by me as the 'Executioner'—was staring blankly at me.
"What are you trying to do?"
The Saintess's tone seemed casual at first. However, having spent countless years with her, and expecting many more, I knew it was difficult for someone bound by thousands of years of destiny to perfectly hide their emotions.
The Saintess was disconcerted.
'As expected.'
I nodded.
This fight was never viable to begin with.
The Saintess really had no intention of killing me. Her goal was merely to subdue.
What plan the Saintess harbored now was beyond me. Regrettably, I had mastered mind reading only in the 554th cycle, and this was merely the 107th.
Yet, there were clues for speculation.
"Saintess."
"Yes."
"Please stop using Time Stop. Send back the awakeners you called as well. Otherwise, I will commit suicide immediately, without any delay."
"...."
The Saintess looked into my eyes. For a moment. Perhaps for eternity. Or maybe she was looking at herself through my eyes. Eyes within eyes met.
Thunk.
The axe the Saintess had been holding buried itself in the snow. Snowflakes continued to fall from the sky. Snow settled on the thousands, tens of thousands of footprints that marked the ground.
Time passed.
"It has stopped."
That was how the Saintess chose to describe it.
I suddenly felt an overwhelming emotion. We both lived in a twisted flow of time, making us kin in that aspect.
Typically, one who has lived in a familiar space is called a compatriot, and one who lives in an unknown space, a stranger. What about time then? To ordinary people, weren't we both helpless foreigners?
Snow fell. I thought of this place as an exile from any world, a place abandoned by the universe.
Coincidentally, exile originally stemmed from returning home. At some point, returning home had become a punishment.
Then, perhaps this flaw in the world was our true homeland.
"…Very well. Since you do not wish for my death, and I do not wish for yours, we should be able to have a conversation."
"I agree."
The distance between us was just over 6 meters.
"Let's first establish each other's demands. I wish that you do not suppress my freedom."
"…I, likewise, hope that you do not interfere with my executions."
The Saintess spoke.
"If another regression occurs, and the 108th cycle begins, Mr. Undertaker will certainly try to prevent me from 'becoming this way'."
"...."
"You wouldn't want me to become a murderer. You always want to place me in a position that is just and beyond reproach. But this decision—to personally inflict pain on those who have sinned—is a conclusion I have reached myself."
"So you intend to subdue me?"
"Yes. I planned to detain Mr. Undertaker until I found a way to erase only specific memories. The world is vast and there are many awakeners, so surely somewhere there is a power to manipulate memories. In the worst case, I could rely on Go Yuri."
Go Yuri is not an option.
"Speaking of which, you mentioned earlier that you had summoned Go Yuri. Is she on her way here?"
"That was a lie."
The Saintess said indifferently, her expression unchanging.
"The claim that I had summoned other awakeners in the name of the constellation was also a lie. It was a strategy to make Mr. Undertaker anxious and force a mistake. No one else is coming here but us."
"…I see."
So it was all a bluff. One really could never let their guard down around her.
I took a deep breath, then sheathed my sword.
"Saintess, I assure you that I will never hide from you the fact that you have decided to punish the villains yourself, not in the next cycle, nor in the one after that, no matter how many regressions I undergo."
"...."
"I promise. So, please calm your uneasy mind."
"...."
"I am on your side, even if you were to set the world ablaze."
Silence fell.
As snowflakes landed on the Saintess's shoulders, a tiny, almost imperceptible sound of glass cracking could be heard. Only the sounds of snow falling and glass shattering softly echoed in the entire world.
"I am distressed."
The Saintess's voice seeped in like a shadow among the pale, transparent sounds.
"That this memory, this conversation, might be completely forgotten by me in the next cycle. That memories of the 16 years I spent with Mr. Undertaker might melt away like snow."
"…I will remember."
"Yes."
The Saintess slightly lowered her eyes.
"That makes it all the more regrettable."
"...."
"It's embarrassing. You will probably be sadder than me, but I couldn't bear it. The possibility that all things, all memories, the meaning of someone's death, might disappear. That I should bear all that on my shoulders."
"It's okay. I can handle it. And so can you."
Snow fell.
With a tinkling sound, the Saintess's lips parted.
"When an awakener's power reaches its peak, it becomes no different from an anomaly."
This was the first time in my regressions.
And perhaps the first time in human history that the phenomenon known as 'corruption' was elucidated through a human's mouth.
"Really?"
"At some point, I was able to move freely even in a frozen world. My telepathy evolved to replay not only my voice but any sound I remembered."
The Saintess was earnest. She carefully constructed her words at a pace I could follow.
"At first, I thought it was just the blossoming of my abilities. It was a natural conclusion. But as time passed, another hypothesis, another possibility, began to circle in my mind."
"What possibility?"
"That it wasn't so much that I was growing, but rather, that I was losing myself―a hypothesis."
The Saintess's eyes narrowed.
"Originally, telepathy transmitted only 'my' voice, but what if I transcend my physical body? What if I move further away from being human? Then, wouldn't I be able to reproduce many sounds, not just human voices?"
"Uh... Logically possible, yes. But couldn't the phenomenon you described be interpreted as just an expansion of your scope or identity?"
"Yes, but the two are not much different."
The Saintess shook her head slightly.
"…It's very hard to explain this feeling to someone else, but the symptoms are too distinct to be regarded merely as psychological unease."
"What symptoms?"
"Transparent aura."
Why? When the Saintess spoke those words, I too was seized by an ominous feeling.
An invisible tongue seemed to lick my spine from the nape of my neck to my pelvis.
The Saintess was looking straight at me.
"Each awakener's aura has its own color. Mr. Undertaker, you interpreted the lack of color in my aura as it being 'transparent'."
"…Yes."
"But what if it wasn't aura at all?"
The Saintess murmured, likely pondering a problem she had often considered within the frozen time.
"As if it has the effect of aura enhancement, but is not aura. Such phenomena must have been witnessed countless times by you."
"Anomalies...?"
"Yes. Monsters."
The Ten Legs did not use aura.
They are simply born with bodies that seem enhanced by aura.
My heart thudded. Synced with my heartbeat, a continuous noise echoed from the Saintess's entire body.
"I am increasingly being eroded by the void."
"...."
"That's not all."
Snap.
The Saintess flicked her fingers.
At that moment, my vision flipped.
"...?"
No, to be precise, it hadn't flipped.
It was as if I was experiencing an out-of-body experience―seeing my own body from 'above'.
My perspective shifted from first-person to third-person.
"Saintess?"
My lips moved. I saw my lips moving.
It was an exceedingly strange sensation.
I could see my own back. If I were to perform strength training in this state, I could precisely measure the weight, but a third-person world did not offer only advantages.
"What in the world…?"
A sensation of buoyancy.
A person's self is ultimately attached to the body.
The body is the most direct object. If the body loses its directness and is laid 'side by side' with other objects, becoming just one of many things, then a person's self also floats aimlessly on the waves of a vast ocean without an anchor.
"That is the world I see, Mr. Undertaker."
Rustle.
The Saintess stepped on the snow and approached me. I was unable to maneuver like an infant who hadn't yet learned to control their body.
"At first, this perspective only unfolded when I used Clairvoyance, but as I grew accustomed to it... I've reached the point where I can no longer distinguish between my own view and the third-person view."
The Saintess took my hand.
The touch of her hand, chilled by the snowflakes, was vividly felt. Yet, that touch felt somehow 'distant'.
Should I describe it as if touch had a color? Touch, more than anything, should be felt directly on the skin, yet a sense of distance was perceptible.
As the Saintess said, it was a sensation difficult to explain to someone else.
It was bizarre.
It was extraordinary.
An anomaly.
"I think I'm already halfway there to becoming an anomaly."
"...."
"When you discovered my secret, I thought I was in big trouble. But now that I think about it, I'm glad I was discovered now. If a little more time had passed... I might have lost the most important part of myself."
The Saintess whispered right in front of my nose/spoke monotonously from afar.
The Saintess gathered the little remaining warmth in her hands around my hands/The Executioner assumed a posture as if praying to the sky.
"If it had gone that far, I might have been able to halt time to prevent your regression from proceeding. No. Not might— I am certain of it."
"...."
"I would lose my color, my vision, my form, and even time, becoming merely something that looks down upon and watches everything. Such a grotesquery."
Vapor streamed from the Saintess's mouth.
A slender thread of human warmth rose in the middle of a snow-covered world.
"Please remember, Mr. Undertaker. This fight, the challenge to save the world, is not a game where time is given indefinitely. There are only infinite opportunities to challenge, but once you enter the stage, there is a 'time limit'."
"Time limit…"
"The duration of that time limit is probably 15 to 20 years. When awakeners become so familiar with their powers that they are consumed by them, they will become like me, nearing grotesquery. Do you understand? An awakener's power is not purely a blessing. It is a double-edged sword."
Crackle—
Somewhere, in front of me, or perhaps very far away, the sound of glass cracking resonated.
I then realized that it might not be glass but a kind of transparent film surrounding the Saintess, the human being.
"This time it's because Mr. Undertaker focused on my growth, resulting in me becoming like this the fastest... But in other cycles, who knows. My intuition tells me that the more powerful an awakener's ability, the more dangerous it seems. For example... Dang Seo-rin of Samcheon World would not be an exception."
"...."
"20 years. Please try to restore the world to its original form before 15 years approach. Please remember, Mr. Undertaker, the time limit…"
The sound of glass breaking became more distinct.
I understood the Saintess's intentions. Therefore, I pulled her hand and embraced her back. It might have been a bit too forceful since controlling the body in a third-person perspective is quite difficult.
The Saintess's eyes widened.
"…Ah."
"You plan to kill me. To make sure the regression happens before you completely change, but that's just greed, to bear it all on your own."
A soft laughter was heard.
"Mr. Undertaker, you really do know me well."
"Let's go together."
"...."
"I haven't mentioned it, but in fact, I'm quite adept at mental management. I once traveled around the country for three cycles and even worked as a convenience store owner."
"Convenience store owner?"
"Yes. You, Saintess, might also need to learn to let go a little."
I pulled up the aura from my entire body.
As the glass-like barrier began to shatter in earnest, crackle—crackle— countless bursting sounds echoed as my aura enveloped us both.
Snow fell. Glass broke. Even as snow continued to fall, the two shadows etched on the white snowfield were not buried.
"…It's warm."
The Saintess closed her eyes.
"Why, people. People... even though they are people."
Clang.
The world quietly stopped the snow.
That was the Saintess's last will.
There is an epilogue.
This epilogue is not limited to a specific cycle.
In the 109th, 110th, 111th cycles... in every cycle where I formed a blood pact with the Saintess, this scene was invariably recreated.
"That happened."
"...."
After listening to my entire story, the Saintess quietly propped her chin. She seemed deep in thought, occasionally tilting her head on her own.
"It doesn't feel like my story, even though it is about me."
"Is that so?"
The Saintess looked at my face. Her expression was seriously intense.
"It's unlike you to be wandering outside so energetically."
"...."
That was it.
The Saintess stood up and fed the fish in the aquarium.
Fish that she had carefully collected before the world became like this quickly gathered at their owner's gesture. Red, white, yellow, blue—creatures of various colors swam through the water.
"It's hard to understand why you would anonymously punish villains, considering how diligent you were to roam around outside. The strategy to elevate oneself to a divine position to instill fear in people is effective, but it comes from a mindset that does not trust others. If you were that diligent, shouldn't you have declared your existence and your powers to the world and directly organized a government?"
"Hmm. Maybe I wasn't that diligent?"
"That's what I thought. It's mediocre. You don't want to become mediocre, so you chose a life of seclusion."
The Saintess's fingertips gently skimmed the surface of the water.
For the fish, it was the boundary of the world, the surface that constituted the screen of their world, lightly disturbed. The Saintess seemed to enjoy the sensation.
"More than anything, in the 107th cycle, I depicted that the phenomenon of corruption automatically occurs as an awakener's powers awaken but that's a flawed analysis. There's clear proof against it."
"Proof?"
"Mr. Undertaker."
The Saintess spoke.
"You have regressed for countless ages and continued to develop your powers. If my theory were correct, you should have experienced corruption before anyone else. However, since no such phenomenon has occurred for you, it's likely that corruption is merely a psychological issue."
Just a psychological issue.
The Saintess was still very strict with herself.
"But I do understand the meaning of your last words."
"What do you think it means?"
"That a person kills another person. Even though they are people, they kill. It's always a painful truth. And…"
"And?"
"...."
The Saintess glanced back slightly.
I blinked. It was as if I was a crab in the aquarium, clicking my claws and blinking my eyes.
Then something truly rare happened.
The Saintess faintly smiled.
"It's a secret."
-x-X-x-
The Returnee I
Among the awakeners, there are many crazies.
I don't know about other places, but the proportion of crazies among the awakeners from the Korean Peninsula is definitely high. Like Dang Seo-rin, who is serious about her witch cosplay, or Cheon Yo-hwa, who calls her guild a girls' high school.
But at least they are manageable because human language still works on them.
Today, I'll talk about one of the most uniquely crazy figures among them—the Sword Marquess of Yuldoguk.
As we've seen so far, the "Wheel Murderer" case somehow wrapped up nicely. However, the fact that the Saintess had become corrupted was a huge shock to me.
It's been a while since I've taken such a mental hit.
To find a comparable case, it would be like when I believed Go Yuri was a "good person" and she hit me with a grand slam to the back of my head.
What this means is...
"It's the holiday season."
A shout erupted from the other side of Busan Station's waiting room.
"You fucking asshole! What the hell are you talking about?"
"Hey."
With a pop, a sound resembling popcorn exploding rang out.
The man who exited the world faster than anyone else, Seo Gyu, was disqualified.
"Screaaaaam!"
People screamed and ran in every direction, a familiar sight, because of a fairy who didn't understand human emotions.
This marked the disappearance of any reason for the birth of SGnet. In other words, I had given up one of the means to control awakeners, both directly and indirectly.
What's to hide?
I, the Regressor Undertaker, had absolutely no intention of saving the world in this 108th cycle. The fact that Seo Gyu was gone was as good as a sign that I had closed shop.
"Besides, that guy... he's too weak against women."
Seo Gyu had completely fallen for Go Yuri and ended up betraying the Saintess's information.
I could understand that. The mind-control beam that Go Yuri possessed was incredibly strong. I almost fell under hypnosis and nearly ended up in an explicit gore-themed doujinshi.
But last cycle was a different story. Thinking back, it's clear now that Seo Gyu was 100% recruited by the Saintess.
He probably took on the role of cunningly manipulating public opinion on SG Net or fueling the fear of the Wheel Murderer.
There was nothing wrong with him cooperating with the Saintess.
The problem was that he hid it from me!
"Despicable guy. Ungrateful guy. After all I did for him."
I had raised him as if he was my own blood, yet in the end, relationships with fellow guild members were more important to him than his life-saving mentor and teacher.
By the way, I tend to hold grudges a bit long. How long? Well... about 200 years?
When a regressor harbors resentment, not just in June but all year round, it brings hail, frost, and sandstorms.
Is it unfair that the self of the next cycle has to suffer for the mistakes made by the self of the previous cycle? Life is inherently unfair. That brother needs a good beating for a while.
Is there any hyung like me in this world?
Because Seo Gyu loved Italian-style pizza so much, I even went out of my way in Busan to save a pizza artisan and helped him set up a shop. Such was the depth of a hyung's love.
"Pizza confiscated!"
As punishment for disappointing his brother, Seo Gyu would have to endure a pizza-free life for 200 years. In other words, 10 to 15 cycles.
Anyway, Seo Gyu got what he deserved from the fairy.
What really matters is how to make the most of this holiday.
As I crouched in a corner of the waiting room planning my vacation, Fairy number 264 approached me briskly.
"What are you doing, human?"
"As you see, I'm planning my vacation."
"Vacation?"
"Yes. Since the world is ruined anyway, I might as well enjoy some peaceful and meaningful time. If I'm going to take a vacation, why not choose a course I haven't experienced before?"
"Wow. You're insane... I learned from my seniors not to even go near crazy people..."
The fairy scampered away.
As usual, I farmed some Silver Bells at the souvenir shop in the waiting room and then sank into contemplation.
Suddenly, a conversation I had with the Saintess in a previous cycle struck me like lightning.
-All awakeners like me!
-No, only 50% of the awakeners like Mr. Undertaker. The strong ones are mostly in that 50%, but there are many among the rest who are eyeing Mr. Undertaker for an opportunity. Like the Sword Marquess of Yuldoguk, for instance.
Her words inadvertently pricked my pride.
I, Undertaker, a humble regressor, take pride in treating people without prejudice and helping them. Haven't I always insisted on using formal language to everyone I meet for the first time, lest my personality become arrogant after such a long life of regression?
If I put my mind to it, I was confident I could make not just 50% but 90%, no, 95% of awakeners like me.
"Alright."
I stood up from my crouched position.
In this cycle, I would win over the heart of the Sword Marquess of Yuldoguk.
That the Sword Marquess was a crazy old man was clear just from his title "Marquess of the Sword".
Those familiar with martial arts fiction would know that "Marquess of the Sword" is a title, but specifically, it's a respectful title used only for female masters, not male.
However, our world's Sword Marquess was a man over 60 years old with a splendidly grown beard.
Doesn't that make you uneasy already?
"I am the supreme ruler!"
And this person used the first-person "I" as "this seat".
Calling himself the Sword Marquess, he carried a sword around, but it was actually a fake sword made of aluminum, stolen from a bankrupt kendo dojo.
I believe it is perfectly explained why I haven't been close with the Sword Marquess for all these cycles. He's a complete mad old man.
"And also, the greatest in ancient and modern times."
Now.
You might think, "Ah, I thought he was just crazy, but if we delve into his background, we might find he's surprisingly normal, right? I know that cliché."
If so, I'm sorry to bring sad news: you definitely have no talent as a fortuneteller.
A true madman is different from those pretending to be mad. Digging into their background is like approaching a radioactive exposure site—the madness level only goes up.
"And finally, I am the Sword Marquess of Yuldoguk!"
"Oh. What is Yuldoguk?"
"Ho, you don't know Yuldoguk? Oh, what a great ignorance. It is a nation established righteously by His Excellency the Archduke, who rose in anger against the tyranny of those British fools."
Upon further investigation, it turned out that the real name of Yuldoguk was "Sirland Duchy," a micronation.
How the Sword Marquess found a fateful intersection between "Sirland" in English and "Yuldoguk" in Korean is something even I, fluent in eight languages, couldn't understand. Even the laborers at the Tower of Babel construction site probably wouldn't know.
By the way, Sirland... no, Yuldoguk wasn't a democratic republic but opted for absolute monarchy. A class system was clearly present. It was a bit outdated compared to the global trend.
Taking a step further, the Yuldoguk government learned its statecraft philosophy from none other than the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
In ancient times during the Three Kingdoms, there was an emperor named Liu Hong in Han, commonly known as Emperor Ling of Han. This ruler, considered advanced and trendy at the time, had intuitively grasped the principles of capitalism.
- The state is my property. Therefore, official positions are my private property.
- Shouldn't one show sincerity when borrowing someone else's private property?
The emperor firmly rejected the old practice of securing official positions based on blood relations. Instead, he relied on the only faith that existed in the world: money, and appointed officials based on it.
This reformist emperor sold higher positions at higher prices, and to accommodate his cash-strapped subjects, he even allowed them to pay for their positions in installments. Contrary to popular belief, the buds of capitalism bloomed in the East well before they did in the West.
Although Liu Hong's reforms ended in failure, they inspired many revolutionaries afterward.
Even the home of capitalism, Britain, couldn't escape its influence.
At the end of the 20th century, a Briton decided to establish a nation in a remote area, learning the wisdom of state governance from ancient sages.
- Wouldn't selling noble titles help the state finances?
It was a reversal of Eastern methods with Western tools, and Western methods with Eastern tools.
This Briton went one step further than his predecessors, opening the gates not just to his compatriots but to people worldwide. The British knew well that money should not have borders.
The power of this open door policy affected even South Korea, far away from Britain. The protagonist of this story, the Sword Marquess, is precisely that individual.
He spent a substantial amount of 250,000 won (about $250), including various options, to purchase a baron's title in Yuldoguk. It was a triumphant return of a noble rank to a Korean since the fall of the Korean Empire.
The old man proudly held his head high.
"From now on, please address me as Sword Baron."
Liking martial arts, hence Sword. Being a baron, hence Baron.
It was a crazy naming sense, but the tragedy didn't end there.
While humanity was divided and conflicted over race and nationality, monsters treated all humans equally. When Seoul was wiped out in Korea, East Anglia in England was obliterated.
Naturally, the nearby micronation wasn't spared either. Yuldoguk, boasting an actual population of four, disappeared, becoming a page in history.
It also holds the record for the fastest destruction of a nation after the Gate disaster.
"How could this be! My homeland has perished!"
The old man swallowed his grief after losing his nation overnight.
If he had collapsed here, he would have been nothing more than third-rate. Righteously, he stood up. A man's tears for his ruined country were enough with just a single drop.
"From now on, I shall carry on the legacy of Yuldoguk!"
The shortest-lived nation experienced an equally brief revival movement.
"However, how could I, unworthy as I am, claim the title of Archduke in place of His Excellency's grace? I will only claim a title less than that of a marquess. From now on, please call me Sword Marquess!"
Indeed.
Jumping from baron directly to marquess, skipping viscount, count and marquess, was unheard of even in Yuldoguk. Because the original Yuldoguk didn't have a marquess rank.
Naturally, the official name of the new Yuldoguk became the Tributary State of Yuldo, the country ruled by a marquis. Of course, the only citizen of this backward nation who claimed such was the Sword Marquess himself.
If you've heard the background of how the Sword Marquess came to be, any sensible person would conclude, "If I get close to this old man, my registered address might be transferred to a mental hospital."
However, surprisingly, the Sword Marquess survived. Even in these chaotic times when the world had ended and monsters ran amok, he firmly preserved himself. Far from being confined to a mental institution, the awakeners couldn't wait to take the Sword Marquess with them.
Could it be that he was a master of the sword as his title suggested?
The answer is NO. The Sword Marquess didn't even know how to use Aura. What good would a fashion swordsman wielding a fake aluminum sword do in a fight? I guarantee that even a primary school student who just received a yellow belt in Haidong Gumdo would show more mastery than the Sword Marquess.
The Sword Marquess's survival strategy was established in a completely unexpected field.
"Sir, elder."
"..."
"..."
"...Lord Sword Marquess."
"Oh, isn't it a junior of the martial world? What brings you here?"
"It's nothing much, just wanted to ask how this spring's farming is going..."
"Gah! Farming is about care and attention. You should think that I, of course, am taking good care of it instead of coming here to spy!"
"No, it's not spying..."
"Gah! Why is such a young junior so bothersome! Keep bothering me, and I might just cut off the food supply to your guild!"
Behind the loudly shouting Sword Marquess lay a golden wheat field.
The Sword Marquess's ability was [Plant Growth].
Regardless of climate, land, or water quality, he could grow crops anywhere and accelerate their growth rate by three to six times, a ridiculously overpowered SSS-class ability.
This made the Sword Marquess evolve from a "crazy old man" to an "absolutely untouchable and undisturbed old man."
"Do you understand? If I just wish it, all of your folks will starve! Want to taste a real famine?"
"..."
Sword Marquess.
Unfortunately for Korea's awakeners... this crazy old man was the only lifeline in a peninsula where civilization had collapsed.