Chapter 1441 - IR 23

The Disbeliever II

Initially, I didn't pay much attention to Mo Gwang-seo and the Resurrection Church.

The stories about Mo Gwang-seo and the actions of his followers described in this chapter were embellished by about 50% with my imagination. I had reconstructed the events from various testimonies rather than witnessing them firsthand.

Why didn't I care?

'I'm too busy to deal with cults.'

Frankly, they weren't worth my attention.

The situation was different with New Buddha, which was also a heresy. Although similar in using anomalies for faith, New Buddha's Udumbara posed a direct threat to human civilization.

Moreover, New Buddha was hostile towards Awakeners. Immediate action was necessary.

But the Resurrection Church?

"Awakeners? What does that matter now? Jesus has resurrected!"

"Amen!"

"The end has come. Brothers and sisters, repent now and board the ark of salvation designed by our leader."

"You! You look like a kind person who must be saved!"

Aside from occasionally encountering evangelists on the street, they weren't particularly harmful. And street evangelism was already a side quest encountered on the way to work in South Korea before the apocalypse.

As a regressor, I had far more important main quests to worry about.

The more crucial fact was that the Resurrection Church also had its own main quest.

- Everyone! I will pave the path so you can ascend. You must also help others.

During his lifetime, before transforming into a Resurrection Anomaly, Mo Gwang-seo targeted a unique sales point in the religious market of the Korean Peninsula.

- But where do you think your help is most urgently needed?

- Hmm? ...Yeouido?

- No! It's North Korea!

- What.

He advocated the Northern Evangelism Theory.

- Jesus said to go out into the roads and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled. Why did He say to compel them? Was He telling us to drag unbaptized people into the church by force?

- Absolutely not. There are those who forcefully block the path and fence off the sheep who would normally respond to the shepherd's call. They are evil Satanic demons. These are the Antichrists we must forcefully oppose.

- The unbaptized brothers and sisters in North Korea are not at fault. The grave sin lies with the Kim family, who have erected iron fences and barriers against them. Since the Korean Peninsula was split, the 'path' was cut off, and 'fences' were erected. Jesus commands us to restore the weeping path and the bloody fence with your steps.

- Ah, brothers and sisters! We do not tread this difficult path out of pride or to show off. We believe that other brothers will guide the sheep through easier fields, and we take this arduous path of evangelism out of faith and love for them.

- So let the lightning of faith break down Satan's wall and let our steps reach their fingertips as soon as possible, Amen.

Mo Gwang-seo's Northern Evangelism Theory was quite well-received among his followers. More precisely, those who responded to it joined his congregation.

In truth, the Northern Evangelism Theory was just another 'diplomatic' phrase Mo Gwang-seo had devised.

If understood literally as a call to march north to spread the doctrine, both Mo Gwang-seo and the JSA guards would be at a loss. As a citizen of a democratic country, Mo Gwang-seo had merely presented a 'promise' to the electorate.

But as mentioned before, the root of all evil lay with the anomalies that did not have a translator installed in their brains. In this case, it was the Ten Legs.

"The barbed wire fence has fallen!"

Ten Legs was highly responsive to gatherings of over 300 people.

Having concluded that Korean humans were quite palatable, the Ten Legs became interested in similar meat. The military camps in North Korea, where the distinction between prison and barracks was becoming blurred, looked like Michelin 1-star fusion restaurants to the Ten Legs.

"Ah! Chairman Mo Gwang-seo, no, Jesus's prophecy has been proven again!"

"The fist of fire has broken the fence, now it is time to spread the gospel!"

"Let's go, brothers! To North Korea!"

The Resurrection Church really did 'march north.'

After absorbing various cults across the country into their congregation, they trained them and continually sent their followers marching north.

This new crusade continued its advance even as the national army was decimated.

If you wondered why a crusade appeared on the Korean Peninsula instead of Jerusalem, you either didn't study history enough or were influenced by Occidentalism. Pyongyang was originally known as the Jerusalem of the East.

"March north!"

"God wills it!"

Kaesong, Kumchon, Pongsan, Sariwon.

North Korea's major strongholds were liberated one by one. The Korean Peninsula undoubtedly had a terrain that favored volunteer soldiers over regular troops.

The Crusade's success was simple. The Resurrection Church treated the Ten Legs that broke the armistice line as 'Apostle of God,' and followed behind them after they devoured the North Korean army.

In a sense, the Resurrection Church's followers were among the humans most adept at surviving the apocalypse. Their leader was an anomaly. Their vanguard was an anomaly. Undoubtedly, few groups utilized anomalies as effectively as they did.

And finally.

"Look over there!"

"It's Pyongyang! We've finally arrived!"

"Ah... The Lord's light fills the Jerusalem of the East."

Pyongyang was liberated!

The followers were thrilled. Besides Gung Ye, what other religious figure since Dangun had achieved such a feat?

Of course, the so-called Jerusalem of the East was devoid of the Lord's light. The only church in Pyongyang, Jangchung Cathedral, had long been in ruins. There were hardly any people left.

—The҉re҉'s҉ some҉thing҉ ҉co҉ming҉!

In fact, they were disappearing in real-time.

The North Korean regime had prepared for a final soul-staking battle to defend Pyongyang. And as you might guess from the past tense, they had been utterly annihilated.

There were even some Chinese troops in Pyongyang. Their minds had abruptly reverted to the 1950s upon hearing the intel that liberation forces from the south were advancing north.

That's right. Although they sometimes forgot, Pyongyang and Beijing were blood allies.

So they bled together.

—Gu҉a҉h҉҉!

The Ten Legs roared. Ten Legs was super strong, the strongest among anomalies.

With its tentacles reminiscent of Cthulhu, the Ten Legs burrowed effortlessly through the underground bedrock, rendering bunkers meaningless.

The leadership of the North Korean regime, the generals of the North Korean army, and most importantly, the North Korean soldiers and Pyongyang citizens, all departed to meet Mr. Marx.

Even the Chinese People's Liberation Army troops from Manchuria realized they might have misinterpreted the intel. The Ten Legs liked East Asians too much to be an imperialist vanguard.

At that moment.

As North Koreans perished, Chinese despaired, and South Koreans who had just arrived in Pyongyang screamed.

Step.

Mo Gwang-seo walked out.

"Chairman!"

A follower shouted. The followers who had followed Mo Gwang-seo even before he performed the miracle of resurrection still used the old title 'Chairman' to flaunt their sense of privilege.

"Jesus!"

The belated converts also shouted. Mo Gwang-seo had walked at the forefront throughout the crusade march. Seeing such an esteemed person walk towards that terrifying monster! Even if the Ten Legs was apostles of God, it was natural to worry.

"What the hell is that bastard?"

The North Koreans also shouted. The Chinese were no different. It was a normal reaction.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, or Chairman Jesus bastard, Mo Gwang-seo walked.

With a squelch, Mo Gwang-seo was skewered by one of the numerous tentacles of the Ten Legs.

"Chairman!"

"Oh Lord! Lord!"

It was as predictable as the law of gravity, yet the Resurrection Church's followers were horrified. How could this be! The Ten Legs were indeed apostles of God, but it turned out their name was Judas Iscariot.

This was why one should always confirm the true name before summoning a servant. The Resurrection Church's followers seemed to be paying the price for ignoring an old proverb.

As everyone either burst into tears or looked at the crying people with confusion, wondering 'What the hell are they doing?'

Flash—

There was light again.

—GRu҉a҉h҉!

The light radiated from the tentacle of the Ten Legs. The city, amidst a massacre, was momentarily enveloped in a white glow.

Ten Legs spat Mo Gwang-seo out as if it had bitten into a shell while eating fresh oysters.

By the time the light subsided, all the humans participating in the urban warfare saw Mo Gwang-seo's halo.

"..."

"..."

The battlefield fell silent.

Smirk.

Mo Gwang-seo, the Resurrection Anomaly who monopolized the gaze of tens of thousands, just smiled kindly, unchanged.

—Grrrr…

And a miracle occurred.

Ten Legs that had bitten and spat out Mo Gwang-seo turned its back.

Perhaps in human language, it would translate to 'I wouldn't come to this tasteless restaurant even if you paid me,' but just as anomalies didn't have human translators, humans didn't have anomaly translators either.

Thud, thud... The massive figure of the Ten Legs gradually receded. A moment ago, the faces of the North Korean soldiers and the Chinese soldiers, who had been ready to be annihilated, were now filled with astonishment and awe.

What had just happened?

"Hallelujah!"

The Resurrection Church's followers provided the answer to their question.

"Jesus has defeated the Apostle of God!"

"Ah, compatriots! Praise the Lord! He has affirmed our crusade!"

"It's a miracle, a miracle!"

The Chinese troops didn't understand the Koreans' excitement. But the North Koreans did.

Through the North Korean officers' translation, the Chinese soldiers also understood the Resurrection Church followers' cries.

The few remaining soldiers and citizens' eyes changed.

Coincidentally, that day was Saturday, and the next day, the Resurrection Church held a special 'mass.' Even disbelievers who were still skeptical of Mo Gwang-seo's miracle attended the live concert to see how amazing it was.

The mass ended.

That day, Pyongyang was reclaimed as the Jerusalem of Joseon.

The Eastern Holy State.

It was the name of the new country established in the ruins of Pyongyang.

Although not internationally recognized, it was no less competitive. The previous regime was similar anyway.

Now, North Korea was Rome itself. Though too far east to be called Eastern Rome, it didn't matter.

Naturally, the capital was Pyeongyang Sacred City. The head of state was Mo Gwang-seo.

Mo Gwang-seo's official title was neither king nor president, prime minister, nor chairman. Not even the pope.

The only fitting title for Mo Gwang-seo was Jesus, and so the full name of the head of the Eastern Holy State was set as 'Mo Gwang-seo Jesus.'

The comedy scripted and starred by the Resurrection Church had finally reached its climax.

"No, fuck. What the hell..."

Noh Do-hwa's expression upon hearing the news from the North was priceless.

"Wasn't that place a communist den? What's this Jesus rap now? Marx would have defined religion as the opium of the people...?"

"Hmm. Wouldn't a cult be better than Juche ideology?"

"Fuck, what's better? They're all the same shit. The country's really gone to hell..."

Indeed, this world was a fantasy. If a reality with 'Holy Empire' marked on the map wasn't fantasy, what was?

In any case, Ten Legs remembered Pyongyang as a 'dirty restaurant' and avoided it.

The followers of the Eastern Holy State praised this as the 'glorious miracle of Mo Gwang-seo Jesus Christ.'

Naturally, other North Koreans flocked to Pyongyang. It wasn't so much that they were deceived by the Eastern Holy State's propaganda but rather because they didn't want to serve a meal to the nasty Ten Legs.

As time passed in the apocalypse, the governments of Korea, Japan, and China collapsed one after another.

Although the three East Asian countries didn't die together despite being born at different times, they bonded like brothers in death. Only the Eastern Holy State preserved its national identity. Truly, it was a region where the concept of international diplomatic cooperation had been neutered for generations.

As surrounding nations watched with 'Why haven't they collapsed yet?' looks (similar to the previous regime), the Eastern Holy State gradually became self-aware.

'Huh? All our neighboring countries are gone?'

'Then isn't it legitimate to occupy those empty lands now?'

The Eastern Holy State once again initiated 'march north.'

They didn't justify it with some newfound nationalism. Such nationalistic thinking was not sexy.

The Eastern Holy State was the only government directly recognized by the Lord. Therefore, it could officially claim any territory in the world.

Thus, the Second Crusade was officially declared in Pyongyang Sacred City.

The Crusaders, restricted to populations of around 300 by the Ten Legs, swept through the Gando region like a tsunami. Liberation, liberation, and more liberation.

"Today, the Holy Crusade of the East liberated three more villages, guiding them into the arms of our Mo Gwang-seo Jesus Christ. Let us pray for the well-being of our brothers and sisters. Amen."

"Amen!"

This was not a contest between nations or peoples. It was not a national conflict.

It was a bloody battle between the Resurrection Church, equipped with a hypnosis app, and the unfortunate ordinary people opposing them.

Naturally, in this genre of battle, the ordinary people were always at a disadvantage. Even those who had never encountered an R-rated doujinshi could sense the clear foreboding.

If this were the world of a doujinshi, the first person to sense the 'foreboding' would have been the first to fall.

"Hmmm..."

Fortunately, reality was not a doujinshi.

Unlike doujinshi, which strictly adhere to genre conventions even if it lowers humanity's average intelligence, real humans could make normal judgments.

Especially Noh Do-hwa, the Director of the National Road Management, who would confiscate the opponent's phone if they had a hypnosis app and explain '101 reasons why you should commit suicide right now' in return.

Initially appalled by the cult chaos, Noh Do-hwa's eyes gradually changed.

"Undertaker..."

"Yes."

"I'm just curious, but is there any way to use Mo Gwang-seo's Resurrection Church...?"

It was a kind of fate.

The Director of National Road Management, the ruler of the 'South' of the Korean Peninsula, instinctively began to pay attention to the leader of the 'North.'

-x-X-x-

The Disbeliever III

It was obvious, but Noh Do-hwa was a pragmatist.

She was an extremist who went beyond the black cat and white cat analogy, believing it didn't matter if the cat was black or white as long as it tasted good (and indeed, rats were a good source of nutrition in the apocalypse).

In short, Noh Do-hwa was specialized in squeezing out extreme efficiency from any situation, regardless of whether the counterpart was a cult or something else.

"Use them? The Resurrection Church?"

"Yes. I'd like to consult the 'Regressor Wiki' first, though... The Resurrection Church won't last long, right?"

"Of course. The Resurrection Church will collapse within three years at the latest."

Indeed.

No matter how wildly the Resurrection Church expanded, aiming not only for the North Korean region but also reaching into Manchuria, there was no reason to care. It was destined to collapse soon anyway.

It was different from New Buddha's Udumbara.

Udumbara genuinely provided 'benefits' to its virus-infected followers. New Buddhists could regenerate from severed limbs, crushed heads, and torn organs endlessly. They could even live without eating, surviving solely on photosynthesis. If not for the minor drawback of having to sacrifice their lives to the World Tree upon the due date, I might have converted to New Buddha myself.

But the Resurrection Church?

"Mo Gwang-seo has no powers. Apart from shining every time he resurrects, he has no abilities at all."

"Hmm..."

This had already been verified multiple times.

In one cycle, we even kidnapped Mo Gwang-seo and conducted biological experiments on him. We tried everything: scorching, roasting, burning him with aura, and other methods.

'Is he still not dead? Even now?'

Despite our efforts, the results were disappointing. Mo Gwang-seo resurrected every time.

One day, we tied Mo Gwang-seo to a spot where a meteor shower was expected to hit. The meteor shower, which devastated everything around it, failed to kill him.

We even hired a UFO to kill him. We put Mo Gwang-seo on a fishing boat that sailed to the East Sea, timing it with the fall of aliens there.

-Kyaaaah!

-Kiyah! Kyaaah!

An interstellar warrior race attacked Mo Gwang-seo.

Flash! Flash! Mo Gwang-seo died dozens of times per second, creating blinding flashes everywhere. The East Sea turned into the hottest club in the world in no time.

Thirty minutes passed.

-Kiyaaaah...

-Kyak, kyaaaah...

The miracle UFO, which could survive space but melted like salt in H₂O, sank.

The aliens, who had put all their energy into the club party, also turned into liquid and flowed away. These guys were just Ultraman with a time limit extended from 3 minutes to 30 minutes.

Bing—

Amidst the aliens evolving into slimy slimes, only Mo Gwang-seo remained, smiling peacefully on the fishing boat.

It was an astonishing vitality.

But... that was all.

The light emitted by Mo Gwang-seo had no divine blessing, not even the rejuvenating effects of a Bacchus drink. It was just bright.

Very bright.

Besides damaging the human cornea, it had no other, real, or significant meaning.

-Ooh! Mo Gwang-seo Jesus Christ has returned to save the Earth!

-I believe!

For some reason, people were fascinated by Mo Gwang-seo. They worshipped him as a god, despite his lack of usefulness beyond shining.

Why?

I had no idea. If I knew, I would have run to Pyongyang to chant Amen to Mo Gwang-seo myself.

Isn't the world mysterious?

"Well, there's no need to analyze why. Leave that to psychologists or sociologists. What's important to us is that the Resurrection Church has mobilization and action capabilities..."

Returning to the main point, Noh Do-hwa continued.

"We only need to guard a few strongholds. If the Resurrection Church can attract the attention of anomalies in the North, wouldn't that be beneficial?"

"Oh. Are you planning to use the Resurrection Church as a human shield?"

"Yes..."

Clang.

Noh Do-hwa lightly tapped the ankle brace with a hammer. Even after becoming the Director of National Road Management, she would make or repair braces herself if there were no urgent issues.

In her usual routine, Noh Do-hwa had a memo attached to the brace with the name Shin Soo-bin written on it. She was one of the elderly who still referred to her as 'the brace mechanic' rather than 'Director of National Road Management.'

"Undertaker, if you think about it rationally, the Resurrection Church doesn't cause us much trouble aside from their northern crusade. If we can use these people who are so desperate to die as shields, wouldn't that be the right way to use lives...?"

"Hmm."

I pondered.

In previous cycles, I didn't interfere with the Resurrection Church. I viewed the Resurrection Church as a slow suicide ritual for the remnants of South Korea.

Christianity. The religion with the deepest roots in Korea. The Resurrection Church merely imitated its language and grammar on the surface.

Northern Crusade. The ideology with the longest roots in Korea. The Resurrection Church also borrowed the color and scent of this ideology.

The cult of all cults.

The parasite of all parasites.

But a parasite can't survive if the host dies. Civilization had collapsed. South Korea was dead.

Only the parasites remained, writhing in the last season on a corpse that had already stopped breathing.

I didn't respect their lives, but I honored their deaths. People should have the right to choose their deaths. The 'Eastern Holy State' and 'Pyongyang Sacred City' were their self-chosen graves and coffins.

"Let's consume the brain of the Resurrection Church..."

Noh Do-hwa was someone who would use corpses if necessary.

In front of Noh Do-hwa's eyes, which had a gloomy shadow, I temporarily set aside my personal sentiments.

It wasn't difficult. I didn't have to disregard the opinions of a life I valued for lives I didn't respect.

"So, you're suggesting we take control of the Eastern Holy State's leadership and play the puppet master."

"Yes..."

"It's not easy. The Eastern Holy State is not a country. It's not even a single group. It's just a collection of cultists gathering and dispersing under the symbol of Mo Gwang-seo. We have to either bring all twelve so-called 'Apostles' to our side or choose one as a champion and make them 'Pope.' Of course, our support must flow to keep the Eastern Holy State intact. Is it worth the effort?"

"No, it's not worth it..."

Heh, Noh Do-hwa chuckled.

"But if we can manipulate just Mo Gwang-seo, won't it be a profitable deal...?"

"What? How? If you're thinking of using Cheon Yo-hwa's brainwashing ability, we've already tried that. Mo Gwang-seo's brainwashing resets every time he resurrects. Yo-hwa can't go up to Pyongyang every Sunday to act as a missionary."

"No, not the Baekhwa guild leader. Don't you have a bum in your guild? Are you saving that for soup...?"

I blinked. A bum?

"Oh."

I had a solution.

"Guild Leader? Why are you looking at me like that...?"

"Not you, Ah-ryeon."

"Huh?"

Our guild had two bums.

One was Sim Ah-ryeon, who dreamed of being Professor Quirrell's tongue. The other was the one nestled in Sim Ah-ryeon's arms, tilting their head.

The bum waved at me when our eyes met. Then, a maid connected to the bum by a transparent thread spoke.

"Why?"

The Puppeteer, Lee Ha-yul.

Ha-yul rarely appeared in my stories, for a simple reason. She often left without telling anyone.

You could say she liked traveling. Describing her as a wanderer with an itchy foot wouldn't be far off. Ha-yul would disappear for half a month to a month after extracting just enough puppet threads for use.

Sometimes, she would randomly ask me to join him on trips to dangerous areas.

'This time, I want to go to India, Oppa.'

'Let's make rice balls at Uyuni Salt Flats. You make the rice, Oppa.'

As someone who enjoyed life in the apocalypse, Ha-yul perfectly embodied the principle that hard workers can't beat those who enjoy it.

If Ha-yul were to become the protagonist of a spin-off, the genre of the story would swiftly change from survival to road movie travel.

Maybe she was a counter-revolutionary who was born oppressed by a normal market—just a guess.

Anyway, from Noh Do-hwa's perspective, who believed humans should devote 25 hours out of 24 to work, Lee Ha-yul was naturally a 'bum.'

The bum was currently lying on the sofa, using Sim Ah-ryeon's lap as a pillow, munching on potato chips.

"Ha-yul."

I tried to smile as warmly and kindly as I could.

For reference, I also believed that humans should spend at least 20 hours a day working, even if not as much as Noh Do-hwa.

"Why?"

"Ha-yul, you like puppets, right? Puppets? I found a puppet in the North that you might like to play with. Interested?"

"..."

Blink, blink. The golden eyes of this lazy hitchhiker child swayed emotionlessly.

"Not interested."

"Hmm... How can I make you interested? I think it's time for you to start working, don't you think?"

"No need to work. Puppet threads, only I can make them. Patent rights. Other guild leaders beg me to install them in their hideouts. Consulting fees alone are enough for a lifetime of playing."

This damn privileged talent...

"I finished reading the Romance of the Three Kingdoms you told me to read last time. At least give me three years of impunity."

"Hey. Does reading it properly include supporting Wei? How could anyone support Wei?"

"Sun Quan's country was invisible and transparent. Shu was an infinite labor black country. If you're not from Xu Province, why wouldn't you choose Wei?"

"...If you don't help with this, I'll tell Seo Gyu to delete your SG Net account."

"I must have been from Xu Province in my past life. How can I help, Oppa?"

A direct highway of puppet threads was laid from Seoul to Pyongyang.

Ha-yul had to become a thread-spinning machine for two years, producing about 250km of threads, but it wasn't a big problem.

The threads were laid without being noticed by anyone, and they were transparent. It was difficult to cut the threads without using aura.

I infiltrated the Holy Pyongyang City.

"Hmm? Just now..."

"What's wrong?"

"No, I felt a breeze. Was it a mistake?"

Although Mo Gwang-seo had an awakened bodyguard unit, avoiding their detection was no big deal. Thirty percent of them were opium addicts anyway.

Some of the bodyguards even carried firearms. Using guns in this day and age—they were amateurs who didn't value their lives.

I erased my presence and snuck into the 'Mo Gwang-seo Christ Cathedral.'

The place, once known as the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, had been haphazardly rebuilt with spires and crosses all over the building, some of which had collapsed in the wind.

In the heart of the cathedral, Mo Gwang-seo was alone. Without an altar or a tabernacle, only the presence of the cult leader, Mo Gwang-seo, sitting on a golden throne, sufficed.

"..."

Though it wasn't mass time, there was no telling when a follower might enter. I quickly attached puppet threads to various parts of Mo Gwang-seo's body.

"Saintess, it's all set up."

[Yes, I've told Ha-yul... She says it's too far, so it's difficult to control.]

"Does that mean it's impossible?"

[No, she says he can still move the mouth.]

I nodded. For this task, I had intensely trained Ha-yul in aura control for the past two years.

"Tell her to say something random as a test."

[Okay.]

A moment later.

"Oppa."

Chills ran down my spine. Mo Gwang-seo's lips, which always wore a smile, were slowly moving.

"Can I take a break from training now?"

"...Sure, Ha-yul. Just endure it on the days of the mass once a week."

"You- the hypocritical bastard- who betrayed Liu Bei of Yi Province. Zhang Fei's head dangling- Guan Yu's head dangling- Brother, why don't you come, Brother? Did you forget the Peach Garden oath? Come quickly, Brother."

Click.

Mo Gwang-seo's mouth returned to its original position.

"..."

I was furious but held back. Okay. After all, the kid endured hellish training, spinning puppet threads nonstop for two years, so she deserved some stress relief.

I slightly adjusted Lee Ha-yul's awakened rank from 1,000m to 900m in my mind and slipped away.

The very next day's Sunday mass, the Eastern Holy State's hypnotic app (with backdoor installed) showcased its performance.

"From the far frozen land, monsters will come."

The followers were startled.

"Ch-Chairman...?"

"Mo Gwang-seo Jesus has spoken!"

Buzzing.

The cult followers, who had never heard the resurrected leader speak, were shocked. Some impatient individuals were already kneeling and weeping.

Mo Gwang-seo spoke softly.

"You have purified the kingdom with your faith, now it is time to build walls with your body and blood. When this winter comes, the demon army will arrive. Build fortresses and walls at every path to testify your faith."

"W-Walls, you say...?"

"Your kingdom must be preserved for the lost sheep to find their way. Protecting this place is the path to heaven. My beloved children, prepare to fight the monsters and demons. But do not oppress my people, build walls solely with your voluntary faith."

"Oooooooh!"

Mo Gwang-seo's official first speech caused a huge uproar.

The crusaders, who had been marching north endlessly as if they relished throwing their lives away, stopped and began constructing fortresses. The leader's command was sacrosanct.

Even if the fortresses couldn't significantly impact the monsters, it was far better than futile expansion of church influence. The number of monsters coming down from the North also decreased.

And that wasn't all.

[The Morning Star of the Second Coming commands the faithful followers.]

We even created a Constellation imitating Mo Gwang-seo.

On non-mass days, the Saint impersonated Mo Gwang-seo and sent 'Constellation Messages' to control the followers.

Claiming to be the reincarnated Jesus, so the second coming. Mo Gwang-seo's name, Gwang-seo (曙光), reversed to Seogwang, meaning dawn. So, the Morning Star of the Second Coming.

Naturally, this Constellation was newly established exclusively for awakened individuals who worshiped the Resurrection Church.

[The Morning Star of the Second Coming prophesies the imminent arrival of monster armies.]

[The Morning Star of the Second Coming guides your path forward.]

[The Morning Star of the Second Coming orders not to antagonize the National Road Management, as they fulfill God's will.]

The malicious software secretly installed by Lee Ha-yul and the Saint worked perfectly on the Resurrection Church.

Now, the followers of the Resurrection Church were puppets controlled by us.

"Excellent..."

Noh Do-hwa, who commanded this grand hacking project, was thoroughly satisfied. Confirming the proper functioning of the backdoor, the Director of National Road Management smiled faintly.

"We can use them whenever necessary now. Thank you for your hard work, Undertaker..."

"It was nothing."

From this point on, our actual control extended beyond the Han River to the North.

The time taken to reach this point, combining all cycles, was about 2,000 years.

It might be the slowest territorial expansion in all genre novels and alternate history novels.

Here's a short epilogue.

Even though a direct highway of puppet threads connected Seoul to Pyongyang, occasional maintenance was necessary.

Every six months, I infiltrated the Pyongyang Sacred City cathedral to check on the puppet threads.

After finishing the usual tuning, I turned around.

"Enter through the narrow gate."

I turned around.

Mo Gwang-seo's unfocused eyes were looking down at the floor.

"The gate to destruction is wide, and the path is broad, and many are those who enter through it."

"..."

"But the gate to life is narrow, and the path narrow, and those who find it are few. O Scribe, enter through the narrow gate."

Then Mo Gwang-seo fell silent again.

It felt a bit eerie, but I didn't take it seriously. I thought Ha-yul was just playing a prank on me again.

Back in Seoul, I asked.

"Ha-yul, I didn't know you read the Bible."

"Huh?"

"You quoted the Gospel of Matthew in Pyongyang. Why did you call me a scribe?"

"...?"

Lee Ha-yul tilted his head.

"I've never read the Bible."

"..."

"I'm not religious."

...Whether Lee Ha-yul was telling the truth or lying, I'll leave that judgment to you.

-x-X-x-

The Victim I

Let's talk about the end of our world again today.

Whenever fifteen years pass since the start of the regression, peace and stability slowly begin to return to the Korean Peninsula. Of course, the phrase "peace on the Korean Peninsula" has always been known to elicit different reactions from foreigners and locals alike.

"Siren? What's this? An air raid? Is the Korean War breaking out?"

"No. It's just daily life."

"What?"

While other countries peacefully harvest mackerel or herring from the sea, the East Sea's specialty was missile parts.

Even in the apocalypse, the situation wasn't much different. In Busan, the largest city on the Korean Peninsula, power outages happened almost daily, and bizarre creatures held gatherings inside and outside the city.

Experienced Koreans were prepared to humbly accept reality, thinking, "Well, it's still peaceful enough, right?"

Foreigners, however, had a different perspective.

In most regions, the fifteenth year marked the beginning of the inevitable collapse of civilization.

[Mr. Undertaker.]

"Yes?"

[Monster waves have been detected in North Korea. It's currently assumed that they are moving south from the Gando region towards the Korean Peninsula's interior.]

Monster waves.

A phenomenon where all anomalies gather and surge like a tidal wave.

This anomaly had led to the destruction of countless nations and societies: Russia, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India, Mongolia, China...

Korea was no exception.

[It's been 16 hours since the monster wave was detected. The Eastern Holy State in the North Korean region continues to resist, but the final defense line is in jeopardy.]

[Final defense line breached. Battle in Pyongyang has commenced.]

[The Mo Gwang-seo Christ Cathedral has collapsed. It has now been engulfed by the monster wave. The number of awakeners in Pyongyang is rapidly decreasing.]

[Ah. There's a light coming from the cathedral. The light... It keeps flashing. It seems that Mo Gwang-seo is repeatedly experiencing death.]

[The Resurrection Church believers in Pyongyang have launched a final assault. Soon, all the awakeners observable with 'Clairvoyance' will be annihilated. Six, five, four, three, two… one.]

[Pyongyang, annihilated.]

[The monster wave continues to move south.]

Even if humanity managed to overcome the cycles of being slaughtered by the Ten Legs and wiped out by meteor showers, extinction was inevitable.

Danger level: 4. Ocean-class.

Monster waves were not even anomalies with unique gimmicks like the Meteor Shower or the Infinite Void.

As the name suggests, monster waves were more fittingly associated with "monsters" rather than bizarre "anomalies."

Their strength lay in one simple fact.

[The monster wave is about to enter Seoul. The number of anomalies engulfed by the wave is estimated to be around 500,000. Estimated at about 500,000.]

[Blow up the Jamsu Bridge.]

It was their overwhelming 'quantity.'

"100,000. 200,000. 500,000. In severe cases, it's almost like an army of one million. It's an anomaly that defies any strategy."

"Hmm…"

Naturally, I shared this information with the Blood Pact members every time we held a secret meeting.

Noh Do-hwa, who joined my 'Regressor Alliance' in every cycle, sighed as if it were bothersome.

"Is there no specific strategy for this?"

"There is. According to the information I've gathered so far, the first place where the monster wave occurs is Istanbul in Turkey. It appears exactly one day after I regress."

"Hooh…?"

"When the monster wave first appears in Istanbul, it's actually not that difficult to handle. It's just 1,000 anomalies gathered together."

"One thousand... Hmm, that's within the range that Awakener Undertaker could barely manage alone, right?"

"Exactly. So, in the next cycle, I plan to head straight to Istanbul with the Saintess as soon as I land at Busan Station."

The Saintess, who was quietly sipping her bagged coffee beside us, was startled and looked up.

"What?"

Noh Do-hwa and I looked at the Saintess. Then we looked at each other again.

"Is it really necessary to take the Saintess with you? The longer the constellations remain silent, the more the awakeners will go wild..."

"I also need to keep the map on and fight. It would be fine to go with support, but honestly, enjoying a trans-Eurasian trip with a high-intelligence psychopath is a bit much for me. I'll defeat it as quickly as possible and return."

"Hmm. Fine, then. I'll draft a 'protocol to endure the first month even without Awakener Undertaker and the Saintess' for the next cycle..."

The Saintess carefully raised her hand.

"Um, excuse me. I'm not comfortable with such long trips abroad. Mr. Undertaker? Captain Noh Do-hwa. My opinion is――"

The apocalypse was too harsh a time to respect the opinion of a shut-in NEET.

In the next cycle, I carried the Saintess across the Eurasian continent.

It felt as if my endless aura training had been for this very moment, and my steps literally took a different form.

"Please let me know if it gets tough."

"...! Just, a little- Mr. Undertaker, please slow down a bit-"

"I'm glad you seem to be fine."

It took just 113 hours.

It was the time needed to cross the void filled with terrifying anomalies and occasional tactical nuclear bomb drops and reach Istanbul, Turkey.

It was truly fortunate that the Saintess had mastered [Time Stop]. Even basic human necessities like sleep could be instantly resolved by stopping time for a moment.

As for me? I was fine without sleep for up to six days.

"Saintess, I'm sorry to ask immediately after arriving, but please use the awakeners' vision to let me know if you spot any remnants of the monster wave."

"...I've just decided I will never travel with you again, Mr. Undertaker."

"Don't worry. I'll take you back to Korea even faster!"

"..."

One of the most historic cities in the world, Istanbul, was now facing the peak of over-tourism due to the 'monster wave.'

Various types of anomalies, all with different characteristics, mixed like dirty water to form a tsunami. From a distance, it looked like a 'black wave.'

However, having managed to obtain a travel ticket as early as possible, the black wave was only surging in the western part of Istanbul.

At this level, I could handle it alone.

I descended.

"No way! Who are you...?"

"Thank you! Friend from afar! We will never, ever forget your help this time!"

The locals, who were planning a recapture operation across the Bosphorus Strait, couldn't contain their gratitude.

The monster wave was smoothly exterminated. Although both governments had collapsed, a renewed 'brotherhood' was formed between the Turkish and Korean people.

After filming a light national pride drama, I returned to my companions.

"Thank you for your hard work, Saintess. But isn't it meaningful that we defeated an anomaly that could have grown to an ocean-class level in the future? Let's hurry back to our homeland and deliver this good news."

"Ah... Ah..."

"I'm truly satisfied to see you happy, Saintess."

"Ah... Ah... Ah..."

We returned home safely.

Everyone was happy.

And exactly 17 years later, the entire Korean Peninsula, including Busan, was destroyed by the black wave of the monster wave.

"Damn. You, you crazy regressor. Didn't you say you exterminated them?"

"Ah, sorry."

That was the last conversation between Noh Do-hwa and me.

What went wrong?

To conclude, the 'monster wave' was not an occurrence limited to Istanbul.

It just happened to appear in Istanbul first. Under certain conditions, 'monster waves' could appear anytime, anywhere.

"What conditions are those?"

"Turns out, they occur whenever the void reaches a certain size."

In Istanbul, the void occurred in the middle of the city, similar to Seoul's case.

However, unlike Seoul, which simply wiped out the surface, Istanbul's void was abnormally large.

Even roughly measured, the void inside spanned the size of the Mediterranean Sea. The so-called 'Constantinople' void was teeming with fictional Crusader anomalies.

"Even if we somehow block the Turkish side, it's pointless. Once civilization begins to crumble, voids appear so frequently it's almost absurd. In Germany, India, Russia, Mongolia, monster waves can occur anywhere."

"Hah...? So, how do we exterminate them...?"

"Practically speaking, it's impossible to exterminate them."

Yes.

Even as a regressor, there was nothing I could do. The power of 'sheer numbers' was just that formidable.

"We're struggling just to manage the Korean Peninsula. We can't possibly take care of the entire Eurasian continent."

"Well, that's true..."

"Yes. If we somehow manage to defend against the horde of anomalies coming from Manchuria, survival itself is possible."

The problem is.

"But monster waves don't occur just once; they appear continuously and periodically. Sometimes with a month's gap, sometimes weekly. Defending against waves of tens of thousands of anomalies, no matter if I take the lead, the damage will inevitably accumulate."

"..."

"Awakeners are not invincible."

As the forces were gradually worn down, the point would come when it would be impossible to stop the southward advance of the monster wave.

We could delay. We could postpone.

But one day, we would inevitably reach the 'end point.' Whether we wanted it or not.

The National Road Management Corps conference room fell silent.

Noh Do-hwa let out a hollow laugh.

"Isn't this a bit of a scam...?"

It was Noh Do-hwa's way of laughing off the situation.

We kept this information confidential. If the future of humanity were widely known to have such a 'predetermined bad ending,' countless people would have despaired.

The Ten Legs or the Meteor Shower at least existed as entities. They could be killed.

But how could we possibly deal with an anomaly that existed as a horde? An anomaly that occurred like a natural phenomenon?

"Is there no way to use the Resurrection Church of Mo Gwang-seo...?"

The idea of using the Eastern Holy State as a puppet state was proposed against this backdrop.

From Noh Do-hwa's perspective, it would have been better to erect a 'human barrier' in the north to delay the southward advance of the monster wave, even if only slightly.

It was an effective method but not a perfect solution.

I was deep in thought.

"Ummm."

Cornered on all sides.

As the cycles continued, I gradually accumulated strategies for dealing with other anomalies while constantly pondering a final solution for the monster wave.

Yet, no brilliant ideas came to mind.

As I sat on the café hideout sofa mimicking Rodin's 'The Thinker,' Sim Ah-ryeon with her green hair approached.

"Guild leader..."

"Yes? What's up?"

"Remember the Meteor Shower anomaly you mentioned last time? I finished drawing the illustration today... Can I post it on the SG Net board under the name 'The Librarian of the Great Library'?"

Our Ah-ryeon wants to play Constellation again.

I nodded generously. After witnessing Ah-ryeon reduced to 16-bit pixels in the 'Logout Game,' I had become somewhat lenient towards her.

"Go ahead."

"Wow! Guild leader, you're the best! Hehe. It's so fun to act like a constellation by predicting an anomaly that hasn't appeared yet...!"

As Ah-ryeon rolled away to her home (the world of the net), a sudden inspiration struck me.

"...!"

It was a revelation so immense.

If I had majored in art, I would have slapped Picasso right there. If I believed in Buddhism, I would have placed a lotus cushion right next to Buddha.

"Ah-ryeon, wait a minute!"

"Yes?"

"I'm just asking, but how would you feel if all humans living on this earth, at least Koreans, came to hate you?"

"What...?"

"Of course, they wouldn't really hate you. Suppose, for example, you were OldManGoryeo or the Librarian of the Great Library. The entity you're portraying is the most loathed and despised being in the world."

"Guild leader, do you call my nickname OldManGoryeo in your mind?"

"That's not important now. Just answer my question! Quickly."

"Hmmm..."

Sim Ah-ryeon touched her chin with her index finger.

"If they specifically hate me, of course, I would dislike it as a person..."

"But?"

"If the entity I'm portraying monopolizes such immense hatred... I don't think I'd mind. But why?"

"Got it. Thanks for your answer. Now go ahead and enjoy being a villain."

"I'm not a villain!"

In the next cycle, the 217th cycle, I implemented my unprecedented idea.

Right after regressing, I recruited Seo Gyu, Sim Ah-ryeon, and the Saintess, as usual.

But just when the Ten Legs was about to rampage properly on the Korean Peninsula...

[The Saintess of National Salvation is in mourning, announcing the advent of darkness to humanity.]

Awakeners in Korea received a message they had never seen before.

[The Saintess of National Salvation recommends that awakeners check the Constellation's Playground immediately.]

The awakeners, puzzled by the message, logged into SG Net.

And.

As soon as they logged in, they saw a post pop up on the site.

Author: 'Collector of All Anomalies'

Greetings, human awakeners active in Korea.

I am a Constellation who has been paying attention to your activities.

Considering your significant achievements compared to other regions, I have decided that Korea needs a slightly more... 'challenging choice.' (Smile)

Starting today, an apostle called the 'Ten Legs' will appear in the Korean region.

The Ten Legs has numerous tentacles. If pierced by these tentacles, it is difficult to escape death.

Moreover, the tentacles regenerate in real-time, so even if you succeed in cutting one off, other tentacles will form.

Will you be able to withstand this trial?

This is truly an intriguing 'experiment,' I must say. (Smile)

I wish you the best of luck.

And shortly after, the Ten Legs did indeed appear, causing extensive damage.

"Kyaaaah!"

Sim Ah-ryeon, who logged into SG Net as 'Collector of All Anomalies,' cheered. Yes, it was a cheer, not a scream.

"Guild leader! Amazing! This is amazing! The power! The voices and curses of those who hate me... They're flooding in...!"

"Hmm."

"I feel like I can do anything now! Guild leader! I feel incredibly strong...!"

Indeed.

Why hide it?

The project to make all the main anomalies appearing on the Korean Peninsula seem as if they were caused by a specific Constellation.

Thus, the grudges and resentments directed towards these anomalies naturally accumulated towards the 'mastermind.'

Project Zero Requiem.

-x-X-x-

The Victim II

"Who is this constellation anyway? It makes me so angry!"

Dang Seo-rin slammed her fist on the table.

We were in a sundae gukbap (blood sausage soup) restaurant in Busan. It was unlike Dang Seo-rin, who usually focused solely on eating, to rant about the 'Collector of All Anomalies' throughout the meal.

This was proof of how spectacularly successful our project had been.

"Hmm. Well, it seems that the constellations think of themselves as an administrator of an online game."

"Ha. Running a game with such a nerdy attitude would make it fail in today's world!"

"Well, reality is failing."

"Ah... Seriously, it makes me so mad. Does he think the Korean Peninsula is his playground? I'll make sure he regrets it someday."

Except for the occasional times when she put people in concrete shoes and made them walk on the sea, Dang Seo-rin was a person of character.

Even someone like her was this angry. Imagine how other awakeners felt.

I put aside my guilt towards Dang Seo-rin and quickly focused on manipulating the media.

Author: 'Collector of All Anomalies'

Greetings, human awakeners active in Korea.

I'm surprised! I didn't expect you to defeat the Ten Legs, the apostle I ambitiously prepared, so easily. Should I say it's to be expected from the region that prides itself on being a nation of gamers? (Wink)

For such impressive people, I plan to release anomalies with even higher difficulty levels in the future.

Do you like… 'hide and seek'?

I do. (Smile)

The next anomaly I'll present to you is the World Tree Udumbara. If you can't find it within the limited time, the entire Korean Peninsula, no, the entire world, will be engulfed by a zombie virus.

Shortly after the Ten Legs were exterminated, another new post went up on SG Net, causing an uproar.

-Anonymous: Seriously, why does this bastard keep showing up on the Korean Peninsula?

-[Yuldoguk] SwordMarquess: Oh! I cannot contain my lament at the villainy of this demonic outsider!

-[Baekwha] HighSchoolSenior: Hoeii (>_<);; I want to tie him up and slowly tear him apart with a nail clipper (>_<);;

-Anonymous: Am I the only one going crazy at that 'wink' nonsense??

-Cooking Queen: Interesting.

Only five people in the world knew that the 'Collector of All Anomalies' was a fabricated entity: myself, the Saintess, Noh Do-hwa, Yu Ji-won, and Sim Ah-ryeon.

Noh Do-hwa pouted.

"Sometimes I feel self-loathing, wondering if we really need to go this far... But, since the 'Monster Wave' deceived us first, we must respond to deception with deception..."

In any case, our media manipulation and operation continued to progress smoothly.

From the beginning, I, the Undertaker, had memorized all the anomalies that would appear on the Korean Peninsula.

Their identities, gimmicks, and even the timing of their appearances.

Using this regressor's knowledge cunningly, creating a new constellation as the 'mastermind playing with the Korean Peninsula' was a piece of cake.

If pre-apocalypse journalists saw this, they would have been moved, thinking, 'Indeed, the essence of Korean media continues to be passed down to future generations even after the collapse of civilization!'

Ultimately, all the negative feelings of the people were directed towards the 'Collector of All Anomalies.' In other words, towards Sim Ah-ryeon.

Author: 'Collector of All Anomalies'

Greetings, human awakeners active in Korea. (Smile)

Now, the awakeners would have a fit just seeing the expression (Smile).

-Anonymous: Again? He's back?

-LiteraryGirl: What are the other constellations doing instead of catching that mastermind bastard?

An absolute evil.

Treating this apocalyptic struggle for survival as mere amusement. The tone of the mastermind, devoid of any dignity or intelligence.

…If the 'Collector of All Anomalies' had been a somewhat serious character, a cult might have formed worshiping this constellation.

Even if he caused the death of humanity, the power to freely unleash terrifying anomalies would have seemed enormous to mere mortals.

However, the 'Collector of All Anomalies' was too frivolous to be worshiped as an evil god.

In short, he lacked style.

Whether someone loved or hated humanity, the 'Collector of All Anomalies' exuded such a strong nerdy vibe that no one could respect him as a Constellation. Only hatred, resentment, and contempt poured out.

-Anonymous: Did you see the meteor shower scattering starlight corpses as it died?

└Anonymous: Yep, saw it. It was brutal.

└[NRMC] Officer: It was thanks to the Samcheon Guild Leader that we stopped it. If we hadn't, the Gyeongsangnam-do area would have been completely devastated.

└Anonymous: Why do we keep getting these kinds of anomalies? I just want to beat up that collector bastard.

And so.

Fifteen years passed.

[Mr. Undertaker.]

[A monster wave has been detected in North Korea. It's currently assumed to be moving south from the Gando region towards the Korean Peninsula's interior.]

I nodded.

It had been a long time of enduring.

Who owns SG Net, the only information-sharing platform in this apocalypse? Me.

Who is the person who has alliances with constellations that people trust as the only reliable source of information? Me, the Undertaker.

At this moment, all information power on the Korean Peninsula was in my hands. Pre-apocalypse media outlets wasted this power on electing opposition or ruling party presidents, but― the works I created played in a far more high-dimensional realm than such pitiful political realities.

"Ah-ryeon."

"Yes."

"Have you practiced your singing a lot?"

"Yes, yes...! I got certified from the Great Witch of Samcheon World that I can graduate now...!"

"Excellent. Now, go. Go show the people."

"..."

"Show them that healing was originally a noble's profession."

"...! Yes, Guild leader...!"

There were omens. There were hints. There were foreshadowings.

I didn't focus on this child for no reason when dealing with the 'Logout Game.'

It was all for this moment.

Sim Ah-ryeon.

The person who would become the savior of the Korean Peninsula.

Formerly, the Villain, OldManGoryeo. Internet troll.

Alias, the Bird that Drinks Poison.

Ready to be deployed.

In this world, there were few problems that couldn't be solved by overwhelming firepower.

Just as I had sliced through the Ten Legs with aura despite having little martial arts knowledge, the 'Monster Wave' had destroyed numerous countries with sheer numbers.

But I, the Undertaker, in my 217th cycle, would throw a cold and thrilling critique at this era soaked in the meta of overwhelming firepower.

Overwhelming firepower. It was nothing before 'overwhelming healing power'.

"Hold them back! Don't let them cross the Yalu River!"

"But, sir! There are countless anomalies! Even the visible ones number in the tens of thousands. How can we...?"

"Do not utter weak words! The Second Coming Jesus is watching over us! Even if we die, that will be the path for our ascension! God wills it! Amen!"

Yalu River Defense Line.

Not long ago, the Eastern Holy State had been immersed in its northern conquest. It must have been so much fun to simply loot the Manchuria that the Ten Legs had ravaged.

However, as Proverbs 13:11 says, wealth obtained dishonestly dwindles.

The believers of the Eastern Holy State were terrified by the endless black wave of anomalies.

In the DNA of the Korean people was a fear of 'overwhelming attacks from the north.' No matter how brainwashed a cultist was, it was not easy to overcome fear embedded in DNA with faith.

"Ca-Cardinal! The anomalies are trying to cross the river by piling up their corpses!"

"No! Stop them! If this place is breached, there's only the Chongchon River and the Taedong River left!"

Just then.

[The Morning Star of the Second Coming takes pity on humanity and sends down his Saintess.]

The Resurrection Church believers fighting at the front looked up at the sky with wide eyes. The fighters who couldn't even look up had their heads decapitated by the anomalies, seeing the sky from a closer view.

The Morning Star of the Second Coming? Isn't that our church's Jesus? He sent down the Saintess?

"Ah―――"

A single line of song pierced through the battlefield, soaked in black filth and red blood.

Step. Step.

Sim Ah-ryeon, our guild's once nerdy child, walked across the battlefield with her hands neatly clasped.

Her voice was not as astonishing as Dang Seo-rin's, who could make Chinese people marvel, Japanese people gasp, and Koreans kneel.

It was still far from reaching the level of the peninsula's top idol.

But, Sim Ah-ryeon was Dang Seo-rin's disciple.

More precisely, I made her a disciple. Dang Seo-rin had squeezed out her busy schedule to tutor Sim Ah-ryeon one-on-one.

For ten years!

So, while she might not be the peninsula's top idol, she could be considered the top idol of Pyongyang. Sim Ah-ryeon, our healer, walked while singing a beautiful Latin Requiem (Sim Ah-ryeon didn't know the meaning of the lyrics).

I secretly used aura to amplify Sim Ah-ryeon's voice so that it echoed far beyond the horizon.

"Ah―― Ah――"

Then, a miracle happened.

A warrior who had been sent flying to heaven by an anomaly's 'split and die' attack had his lower body regenerated.

"What?"

A person who had lost their arm saw it grow back.

A person whose foot had been crushed saw it reappear.

The half-bodies strewn across the battlefield regained their arms, legs, fingers, toes, eye sockets, and mouths.

The blood that had soaked the ground returned to its owners and became flesh again.

As the wave of song spread from Sim Ah-ryeon, the injured and the half-bodies in its range were healed one by one.

Resurrection.

But it wasn't just human lives that were resurrected. The green grass and colorful flowers, dirtied by the black filth, bloomed anew.

"Ah... Ah..."

Green regeneration.

The believers looked down at their hands. Hands that, just seconds ago, had exposed bones.

Someone unknowingly murmured.

"It's a miracle..."

Indeed.

It was a miracle.

Even in this apocalypse filled with anomalies and awakeners, the sight of life being reborn with every step Sim Ah-ryeon took was profoundly moving.

The 'Monster Wave' tried to attack, but I quietly dealt with those nasty anomalies.

I, the Undertaker, was a person who valued manners. It was a courtesy for villains to stay quiet during magical girl transformation scenes.

"Saintess, she's the Saintess..."

"Jesus has called Santa Maria!"

"Hallelujah! God wills it!"

The battle situation rapidly changed.

The Monster Wave was bewildered. It learned the lesson of empathy the hard way. No matter how much it killed and cut, the number of human heads seemed endless.

Humans were inherently a warrior race. As long as their heads weren't chopped off, they could 'start anew stronger,' following the rules of the game.

For four straight nights.

In the battle at the Yalu River defense line, the 2,000 elite soldiers of the Eastern Holy State achieved an overwhelming victory against 200,000 monsters from the Monster Wave. It was a historic triumph.

"Uwoooo!"

"We won! We really won!"

"The Great Mo Gwang-seo Jesus Christ has not abandoned us humans! Long live Jesus! Long live the Saintess!"

"..."

Sim Ah-ryeon smiled.

It wasn't that Ah-ryeon had learned to mimic Go Yuri. I had repeatedly told her, 'You look fine as long as you keep your mouth shut, so please never open your mouth.'

As long as she wasn't involved with online communities or the Logout Game, Ah-ryeon was generally a well-behaved child.

Her mysterious smile drew enthusiastic cheers from the Resurrection Church believers.

Once again, the genre of this world was, in fact, fantasy.

And according to the rules of the fantasy genre, the Holy Empire must have a Saintess.

Especially since there was already a Saintess in the south of Seoul, there must be another Saintess in Pyongyang in the north. That was the physical law of the Korean Peninsula.

Who could have foreseen it?

The Eastern Holy State's Saintess.

Her name was Sim Ah-ryeon.

There is an epilogue.

Thanks to the success of , another ocean-class anomaly, the Monster Wave, was safely dealt with.

However, this 'dealing with' couldn't be called an 'extermination.' Beyond the Yalu River, monster waves continued to occur periodically.

Each time, Sim Ah-ryeon had to ride on my back to the Yalu River front to demonstrate her Saintess's dignity.

"G-Guild leader. Did I do well? I did well, right? Praise me..."

"Yes. You were perfect. You did a great job. As expected of the world's greatest healer. Ah-ryeon, you are a gem."

"Hehe..."

Even if it was only a temporary solution, Sim Ah-ryeon consistently protected the Korean Peninsula as the 'indestructible barrier of life' in the north.

In the fifteenth year, in the sixteenth year, in the seventeenth year, in the eighteenth year, in the nineteenth year, in the twentieth year, in the twenty-first year, and in the twenty-second year.

Although, by the twenty-second year, her power had grown so strong that a 'corruption phenomenon' occurred... In reality, Sim Ah-ryeon had almost single-handedly defended the front for those eight years.

――As I dealt with the 'Monster Wave' this time, I was deeply troubled.

The Monster Wave, one of the mid-boss anomalies that had destroyed our world countless times, had caused many tragedies.

At first, I intended to write about those solemn deaths as I did with the 'Ten Legs' and 'Meteor Shower.'

But when I thought of Sim Ah-ryeon, I changed my mind.

Despite receiving all kinds of hate and contempt from the awakeners, playing the Saintess against her will, and being summoned to the battlefield at least once a month, Sim Ah-ryeon never showed signs of struggle.

As her guild leader, I should sing of joy rather than tragedy.

Majesty, sorrow. At least while Sim Ah-ryeon was smiling, I didn't want to paint such landscapes.

Because.

"Hehe... When we get back to the hideout, make me a café mocha, please... With lots of chocolate syrup..."

Because I had come to love her smile as much as she loved my coffee.

-x-X-x-

The Eschatologist I

Do you often have nightmares?

I have them frequently.

For example, one night in my dream, the Villain, OldManGoryeo completely subjugated Seo Gyu to his side, making him the tyrant of SG Net.

-OldManGoryeo: From now on, topics like the Three Kingdoms in SG Net will be banned 24/7…

-ZERO_SUGAR: What are you talking about, Ah-ryeon?

-OldManGoryeo: Ah, this resentment and grudge. As expected, guild leader's trolling is the best. It's so delicious. Guild leader is the ultimate gourmet spot…

-OldManGoryeo: From now on, I will stand in the sky…

Then, all SG Net members applauded the new administrator's decisive action.

Even the Saintess, who always logged in anonymously, and Noh Do-hwa, who rarely participated in the community, joined with their real names to praise OldManGoryeo.

What a horrible nightmare.

Even if the world forgave such a tragedy, I, the Undertaker, could not. After having this dream, I secretly added an extra shot of espresso to Sim Ah-ryeon's café mocha the next day (Ah-ryeon was puzzled by the change in coffee taste).

There were other nightmares, less terrible but with a bit more realism.

-Teacher? Teacher…?

In that nightmare, I, the Undertaker, was already dead.

I couldn't remember exactly how I died. Even with my 'Complete Memory', recalling the scenes of the dream was difficult. Perhaps if I bought a lucid dream from the Tutorial Fairies for a billion won, I might remember.

How did I die?

Was I betrayed and stabbed in the back? Was I killed by someone I trusted enough to let my guard down, even though I usually had my defensive aura active?

Or was I killed by an anomaly that my aura couldn't affect?

Unlike others, I had over a thousand possible causes of death, making it impossible to pinpoint.

-Teacher, teacher. Teacher… Please wake up, teacher. Open your eyes...

In the dream, Cheon Yo-hwa was looking at my dead body.

Actually, "looking" wasn't the right word. Her red eyes were so wet they looked like a car windshield in the rain, unable to see anything.

She knelt in front of my corpse, using her hands to trace my outline since her sight was gone.

It was fortunate she couldn't see.

Since it was a dream, I experienced it in third person, as if I were having an out-of-body experience. The genre of that world was gore. There wasn't a single intact part of my corpse.

-...

Cheon Yo-hwa soon realized this. Her hand stopped.

-Die.

And she repeated it.

-Die, die. Die. Die. Just die.

Crash, the sound of something breaking.

Then the scene in the dream changed abruptly.

Around Cheon Yo-hwa, something resembling the noise of an old TV twisted. White and black alternated rapidly, spreading out quickly.

'Ah.'

The noise waves that spread from Cheon Yo-hwa engulfed an entire city, the Korean Peninsula, and then the whole world.

As the noise expanded, the world screamed. Between the screams, blood kept spurting.

Birch trees and spider lilies.

The color of the noise and the blood resembled what once bloomed at Baekwha Girls' High School.

Divine Realm.

The realm of the Outer God. When Cheon Yo-hwa, who had sealed herself as the priestess, wished for the world's destruction, the Infinite Void enveloped the world in black, white, and red without hesitation.

'Yo-hwa, no. Yo-hwa, don't do it.'

Cheon Yo-hwa, who had imprisoned all the anomalies of the Hyakki Yagyo, displayed her dreadful power.

This exact situation was one of the "Bad Endings" I had anticipated.

The Outer God was dangerous. Sealing such a god, Cheon Yo-hwa always carried the risk of becoming an even more catastrophic disaster.

But Cheon Yo-hwa wasn't weak. She was strong. Since the 117th cycle, I had rarely seen her mental breakdown while I was alive.

Yes. As long as I was 'alive.'

What if I died?

What if I died before Cheon Yo-hwa, especially in a manner too humiliating for her to accept?

What would happen to the disciple to whom I had handed the graduation certificate myself?

Ka ha ha ha ka ka ka ka—

The Infinite Void, released from its glass prison, laughed loudly.

The earth turned into a mass of black and white noise. The Outer God, assassinated by a regressor, finally returned and declared its ultimate victory.

Although it was just a dream, the laughter filling the universe felt too ominous to dismiss as mere mental triumph of the Outer God.

The requiem of the world's end was laughter.

-Huh?

Then it happened. Cheon Yo-hwa (千謠話), who had swallowed Cheon Yo-hwa (天寥化), stopped laughing.

Zzzz—

It stared at me. The black and white noise, the earth, the universe, the god who had isolated the world, was gazing directly at me.

-Not dead yet? Still?

That's where my dream ended.

Similar nightmares repeated several times.

Cheon Yo-hwa wasn't the only one appearing in my nightmares.

Each time, the protagonist changed. Dang Seo-rin, the Saintess, Lee Ha-yul, Sim Ah-ryeon...

Of course, a dream was just a dream. It was simple to dismiss it as 'just an unpleasant dream.' And I had indeed ignored it for a while.

"Hoei? A nightmare?"

But in the 205th cycle, I obtained information that the Tutorial Fairies were actually Baku, which changed my perspective.

I decided to take my nightmares more seriously.

"Yes. Dreams are your specialty. Could there be an 'anomaly that parasitizes dreams'?"

"Hoeii. Of course!"

Fairy number 264 wiggled her hips.

"There are all sorts of anomalies in dreams, not just fairies!"

"All sorts?"

"Hoei. Since ancient times, humans have considered dreams another dimension. To describe the situation using the terms developed by Comrade Secretary-General, dreams are 'an entirely different world from this one, but one we can enter or end up entering'!"

"…A void."

"Hik-hik-hik. Correct! While some humans have never experienced the void, no human has never dreamed...! Humans are a pitiful race destined to experience the void called dreams from birth! And living in that 'first void' are us fairies...! A truly fundamental race! If there's a reactionary trying to invade our rightful Lebensraum, we must punish them!"

"Hmm."

Dreams could indeed be voids. No, they were voids.

Talking with the fairies, the experts in this area, convinced me of this. But I still had questions.

And I wasn't the type to brood alone when I had questions.

I immediately sought out the advisor I trusted most and confided in them about my 'nightmares.'

"Why am I the advisor?"

"Because you've never been the protagonist in my nightmares."

"Hah..."

Noh Do-hwa, the Commander of the National Road Management Corps, cleaned her glasses. It didn't really help much. The cleaning cloth itself was dirty from not being washed for so long.

I snapped my fingers, generating aura. Then I delicately cleaned the smudges from Noh Do-hwa's glasses.

"You should use water instead of a cloth."

"I don't have time for that. I'm terribly busy. Hmph. If someone hadn't burst into my office demanding psychological counseling, I might have had some free time..."

"Was it Ji-won? I'll make sure to scold her later."

"Do you have no conscience...?"

"Anyway, help me think about this. If this 'nightmare' is an anomaly, why does it keep showing me such dreams?"

"Hmm..."

Noh Do-hwa chewed on the tip of her pen.

"...Assuming this isn't just an unpleasant dream created by your subconscious."

"What kind of person do you think I am?"

"It must be trying to shake your mental state. While anomalies don't have intelligence or reason, if we think of them as intelligent beings like humans, honestly, you must be an incomprehensible thorn in their side..."

"A thorn in their side?"

"Yes."

Noh Do-hwa smirked.

"You know when and what anomalies will appear, and you've been using all sorts of bizarre methods to defeat them... What else could be more incomprehensible? There are only two ways to defeat you: overwhelming numbers or psychological attacks..."

"..."

"Overwhelming numbers. That's the Monster Wave. According to you, that Holy Saintess thing will help us hold out for eight years, right?"

"Yes."

"Then, there's no other option. It has to try shaking your mental state. I've been meaning to point this out... Awakener Undertaker, you tend to view anomalies as overwhelmingly powerful enemies."

"Because they are overwhelmingly powerful."

"Well, when it comes to ocean-class ones and Outer Gods, they can treat us humans like insects. Even the Ten Legs was despair-inducing before you grew stronger... But from the anomalies' perspective, aren't you a terrifying existence as well?"

"Hm."

"So if I were an anomaly, I'd try breaking your mind. Showing you the destruction of the people you care about, one by one... It seems like a good strategy. What do you think?"

Indeed.

Noh Do-hwa's analysis made sense.

Of course, as she emphasized, anomalies lacked human-like intelligence.

It was more reasonable to think that the 'phenomenon threatening me' occurred accidentally rather than the anomaly having a 'purpose' of breaking me.

However, whether the anomaly had a purpose or not, the fact remained that there was an anomaly trying to break my mind.

"Talking with you, Commander, helps me organize my thoughts. But still, it's just a dream, isn't it? Since it doesn't seem to be affecting our reality much, let's leave it be."

"Hmph. As you wish. I'll leave the anomalies to you, Awakener Undertaker. By the way, it's good to know I've never appeared in those creepy nightmares..."

But after a few cycles, it became clear that our judgment was overly optimistic.

"Teacher!"

Thud, thud, thud.

Cheon Yo-hwa, a former basketball ace, came running. Even in the café hideout, 1,200 meters deep, small enough that running was unnecessary, Cheon Yo-hwa hurried to me.

As if I might disappear somewhere.

Cheon Yo-hwa sighed in relief only after reaching me.

"Ah... You're safe. Thank goodness..."

"What's wrong? Why do you look so upset?"

"...I'm sorry. I had a really unpleasant dream last night."

"An unpleasant dream?"

The long regressor life had developed a keen sense in the back of my neck. As soon as I heard 'unpleasant dream,' my neck prickled with goosebumps.

"Yes. In the dream, something terrible happened to you. You did your best to help people, but no one appreciated it. I don't remember well, but there was betrayal too..."

Of course.

My hunch was correct.

"So, I was really, really angry. The people around me suddenly felt inhuman, and if they weren't human, I didn't need to care for them... So."

"You broke the seal of the Infinite Void."

"Ah... Yes. Um, the Infinite Void covered the world, causing human extinction, but I felt nothing. I hated that feeling..."

Exactly.

There was something I hadn't considered and that Commander Noh Do-hwa hadn't noticed.

If the 'nightmare' was truly an anomaly, I wouldn't be the only one experiencing it. Everyone having nightmares was being lured by the same anomaly.

I was an awakener with the Complete Memory ability, which allowed me to vaguely remember the nightmare. Most people simply forgot their nightmares.

I wasn't too worried about my own mental state. I had various means to maintain my mental health.

But if others were affected?

The situation changed significantly.

As known, Dang Seo-rin, the Saintess, Cheon Yo-hwa, Sim Ah-ryeon, and others all had the potential to 'fall' and cause world destruction.

An anomaly that gnawed at their minds, even without their clear memory, needed to be treated with high caution.

I immediately moved to the casino.

"Fairy number 264."

"Hoeiit. What is it, Comrade Secretary-General?"

"Gather as many available Baku as possible. Prepare for lucid dreaming. It's time to raise the red flag again."

"Hoek... We can gather about 90. But what enemy has appeared that requires a full assembly?"

I said.

"We need to crush the anomaly parasitizing humanity's dreams."

"Hoeii? As expected of the Comrade Secretary-General...!"

Thud. Fairy number 264 grabbed my hands with both of hers.

"Dreams are our rightful territory...! If it's about punishing a reactionary taking over our ancestral lands, the Fairy Revolution Club will fully support you!"

The fairy shed tears of floral-scented joy.

It was the moment the first ever humanity(me)-anomaly(fairies) coalition was formed.

-x-X-x-

The Eschatologist II

To anyone who might read my life story someday, I have a piece of advice: try to build a good relationship with the Tutorial Fairies.

I was an inexperienced regressor, and we ended up in a cycle of hatred, cutting off heads and smashing skulls. But you don't need to get involved in such bloody disputes.

"Hik-hik-hik. Starting the operation to hunt down the reactionary guerrillas hidden in the Secretary-General's unconscious brain folds...!"

"Alright. I'm counting on you."

The Tutorial Fairies were really decent anomalies. If you overlook their peculiar manner of speaking and their tendency to grind humans through the tutorial, they can communicate with Homo sapiens.

As long as you don't start with 'What the hell are you talking about, you bastard!' you can leave a good impression on the fairies. In fact, it's best not to start with that even when dealing with humans.

The fairies scurried over and surrounded me. I counted 64 of them.

"First, to enter the unconscious, you need to make your mind and body comfortable and then sleep deeply!"

"Hmm."

I lay down on the bed. The fairies formed a circle and grabbed my hands on both sides.

Fairy-Fairy-(Me)-Fairy-Fairy.

That's how it looked if I drew it.

There were 32 fairies on each side, left and right.

"Now, we'll invite the Secretary-General to our fairies' homeland. If you have a song request, please let us know!"

"Song request?"

"Hoi. To enter the land of the Baku, a suitable and charming lullaby is essential…! If there's no request, 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' will be the default BGM!"

I requested 'Island Baby,' as 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' had become a trauma due to the Meteor Shower.

The fairies joined hands and swayed their shoulders from side to side.

"Mom goes to the island shade-♪"

"To cut necks-♪"

"The baby, left alone, poops-♪"

Wait. Were those really the lyrics of 'Island Baby'?

"ZZZ…"

I didn't have time to ponder as the fairies' singing plunged me into sleep.

Blink.

When I opened my eyes, the scenery had changed. A moment ago, I was lying in the hideout bed, but now I was slumped on a café table in the old Baekje Hospital building.

Under the table was the corpse of Old Man Sho.

The fairies were still holding my hands. The formation had halved, with 16 fairies on each side now.

"Oh…? This would be an instant cure for insomnia patients. I should suggest it to Commander Noh Do-hwa, who constantly complains about sleep deprivation..."

"The sea sings-♪"

"The song of destruction-♪"

"ZZZ…"

I fell asleep again within the dream. My thoughts drifted beyond the fading consciousness.

Isn't this like the movie Inception?

Blink.

I repeated the dream within a dream. Each time, my consciousness dove deeper into the unconscious, into deeper sleep.

From the hideout to the café, to Dang Seo-rin's VVIP train car, to the convenience store at Jamsu Bridge, to Baekhwa Girls' High School…

"Oh? Vice guild leader, you—"

Sometimes, the characters in my dreams recognized me and widened their eyes.

In an old cycle, guild leader Dang Seo-rin was surprised to see me.

But the lullaby didn't stop.

"Cutting heads softly-♪"

"Fall asleep-♪"

Deeper. Even deeper.

Dream within a dream.

To the bottomless pit of the unconscious that normal humans could never perceive or remember even if they dreamed.

"—Sunbae?"

"Hyung."

"G-Guild leader…"

"Oppa."

It was an endless descent.

My relationships, memories, and essence as the Undertaker scattered more and more.

Like a slaughtered animal at the butcher shop. Like a wooden doll being carved by a sculptor.

"Humanity sleeps soundly-♪"

"Even though a baby's cry-♪"

"Shakes the soul."

Blink.

With each layer deeper into the dream, the number of fairies decreased. 64, 32, 16, 8, 4, 2…

Finally, one.

"Hoi."

Fairy number 264. The first Tutorial Fairy I ever met held both my hands.

In reality, the fairy appeared as a 2D deformed character, expressing an (>_<);; face.

"Eek… What a tough job! You did great!"

The fairy shook her head, causing deformed sweat drops to fly.

"Secretary-General's unconscious is so solid!"

"Really?"

"Eek. In my long life as a Baku, I've never seen a human with such an unconscious structure! Secretary-General, you have no distinction between 'present' and 'past.' Everything is present before your eyes, and its capacity spans thousands of years! An ordinary mortal couldn't endure this...! As expected of our Secretary-General!"

"Hmm."

As a human, I found it hard to understand the concept of 'solid unconsciousness.'

I could only guess that the fairies struggled because of my Complete Memory.

How should I explain this?

Unlike others, my memories never faded, except those before the 4th cycle.

For me, this had been the case for thousands of years, so I was accustomed to 'memories that seemed truly present.'

It was the reason Old Man Sho genuinely envied me.

The old man's life-long regret was that his wife's face and voice were gradually fading.

I'll have another chance to talk about this unique condition of mine later.

"Anyway, well done. Is this the bottom of my unconscious?"

"Hik-hik-hik. Yes! Only highly skilled Baku could reach this place...! It's an overachievement project brought to life by the heroic will of revolutionary heroes!"

I looked around.

Busan Station's waiting room.

In a way, it felt very fitting. While I had a separate birthplace, the regressor 'Undertaker's' hometown could only be here.

My starting point. The space had a volume, just like reality, flowing through the waiting room.

"It doesn't feel like a dream at all."

"Of course. This place isn't just the Secretary-General's unconscious but is akin to 'humanity's collective unconscious.' For humans, it's an essential phenomenon like air or water… The reality before reality, a priori structure, hyperreality."

"Collective unconscious? Isn't that Carl Jung's concept? You guys know about that?"

"Hik-hik-hik. Thanks to the void, we accessed all human knowledge and had crash courses!"

"Ah."

"Anyway, you must be very careful here, Secretary-General. What surrounds you isn't just physical reality but humanity's unconscious itself...!"

Despite saying that, the fairy didn't let go of my hand. Just like when the Fairy Lord showed me the void, it must be truly dangerous here.

"In this place, the laws of space and time mean nothing!"

"So, it's no different from the void?"

"Not just similar; it is the void!"

Some people talk faster when discussing things they know well, and Fairy number 264 seemed to be one of them.

"In a way, dreams are the first grand void that envelops all humans...! Thankfully, this waiting room is a 'familiar place' to you, Secretary-General, so we could use it as a base camp."

"Base camp."

"Yes, so whatever happens, don't let go of my hand when leaving this place, Secretary-General! To activate the emergency escape protocol if needed..."

It was then.

Tap—

The low sound of high heels echoed through the waiting room. For the noise of heels hitting the floor, it was excessively loud. Like a church bell in a village.

The waiting room beyond our radius was shrouded in darkness. Hence, the figure producing the footsteps appeared slowly from the bottom up.

Tap—

Black loafer shoes. White stockings. A purple skirt covering below the knees. But the white stripes slightly eased the heavy feel of the deep purple.

"Oh?"

Pink hair.

"This is interesting."

"..."

"Meeting you here, guild leader?"

Go Yuri.

Go Yuri smiled brightly.

My heart sank.

My aura pulsed faster than my heartbeat. I gathered aura throughout my body, ready to slash Go Yuri's neck in an instant.

"—Hoi?"

Poof!

The weight holding my left hand suddenly decreased. I turned to see that the fairy's head had been completely ripped off.

Thud, thud. The fairy's flesh fell to the floor belatedly, like a song out of sync.

The arm of Fairy number 264, which I held, hung limply. It swung up and down three times before finally settling.

It was an instant death.

A Baku, which exerted more power in dreams than in reality, had been slaughtered in its own domain.

"..."

"Oh, I'm sorry, but I was so delighted to see you again, guild leader, that I couldn't help it... I'm really sorry—"

No words were needed.

I gathered all my aura and pushed off the floor.

I passed Go Yuri, and the feeling of her neck exploding in response to my slash traveled through my cane-sword to my hand. The sound was more of an explosion than a cut, a pop that followed a step later.

I had grown much stronger since the battle with the Ten Legs. Without saying, 'Did I get her?' or confirming the kill, I just kept running.

In short, I fled as fast as I could.

"—Ah."

But not even 300 meters later, I ran into Go Yuri again.

Thud!

I collided with her head-on, causing her to fall backward.

Go Yuri rubbed her nose, smiling wryly.

"Ouch... Sorry, guild leader. I wasn't looking ahead. Ahaha. I can be a bit clumsy sometimes."

"..."

I immediately shot my aura upwards.

The inverted lightning pierced through the ceiling of Busan Station, revealing the sky. I gathered aura in my feet and launched myself into the air.

Sky Walking.

At this point, only someone who had refined their aura to the extreme could perform such a technique.

"The weather is lovely."

Go Yuri was sitting on a cloud.

"..."

"Doesn't it feel clearer up here than on the ground, as long as you avoid the void? Ah. guild leader, would you like some Pu'er tea?"

Using the cloud as a bench, Go Yuri swung her legs one by one. Next to her, a thermos and teacups were prepared.

I stopped sky-walking and fell. Boom! As soon as I hit the ground, I used all my strength to dig. I tunneled into the earth, descending deeper.

I was a drill, and our drill was one to pierce the underground.

"Oh dear. I almost forgot. Guild leader prefers Ceylon tea over Pu'er tea."

Go Yuri, who had been buried 600 meters underground, was excavated. She smiled brightly, holding two cups of Ceylon tea in her hands.

"..."

"Oh, were we playing hide-and-seek? So... Was I the seeker? guild leader, I found you. Ahaha. Is this how it's done? I haven't played hide-and-seek since I was a kid, so I'm a bit embarrassed."

Dear God, Buddha, Allah, Shiva, Jesus Christ, Mo Gwang-seo! Please!

I had no choice. I activated the last emergency escape protocol 552-71: "Jeokbyeokga Pansori."

"Unexpectedly, a storm raged ururururu! The wind howled fiercely, and Zhuge Liang quickly descended to the platform, looking at the flags…"

"Oh ho— The Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird responded to the White Tiger and Black Tortoise, and suddenly, the wind from the northwest rose to the southeast—"

"..."

"Oh, like thunder, the storm raged, and Zhuge Liang's heart trembled at the sight…"

Boom!

Go Yuri, somehow having obtained a drum, beat the drumhead skillfully. She sang Jeokbyeokga as well as I, who had once received professional pansori training during a vacation cycle.

"Oh? Guild leader, why aren't you singing? I practiced a lot to sing this with you..."

"..."

Go Yuri's eyebrows drooped.

That's when I had to face the cold, harsh reality.

Yes.

I was screwed.

Really, really screwed.