Chapter 1471 - IR 53

The Skeptic I

"Mister. I'm going on a trip to Southeast Asia with Ha-yul. Huh? Why do you look so serious again?"

"It's nothing, just..."

Something felt off.

"I feel like I've seen this before. Anyway, you're going on a trip? You know you have to use Yeouido Airport for international travel, right?"

"Of course. If I go to Namsan and get a Central Intelligence Agency ID and a passport, I can board the plane with a free pass, right? I remember everything."

"Right. At Yeouido, you have to say you're from the Special Forces, not the CIA. The historical background of each Anomaly is subtly different."

"Got it. I'll enjoy a two-night, three-day beach vacation and bring you back some pretty seashells as a gift!"

With that, Dok-seo waved goodbye and left.

[It's... It's my first time traveling abroad.]

"Huh? You lived in Japan, though."

[That was more like exile than a trip.]

Ha-yul scurried after Dok-seo, and further behind, a housekeeper doll dragged a suitcase behind them.

The room grew quiet.

Something still felt off.

"Undertaker."

"Ah, Seo-rin. What's up?"

"We've caught the Trolley Dilemma this time, and I think if we use it well, we can establish a permanent railway. The Trolley Dilemma is so dumb that it even counts the dolls Ha-yul made as 'humans.' So, I'm thinking of tying a bunch of dolls to either side of the tracks to make the Trolley Dilemma move back and forth. What do you think?"

"Sounds like a great idea."

"Right? Maybe railways will replace highways as the main transportation system on the Korean Peninsula. I'll lay the tracks right away, so wait for me."

"Ah. I'll be waiting."

Seo-rin hummed a tune as she led the underlings of the Samcheon World guild away. She had somehow managed to recruit Ha-yul, and now, the witches transported doll hauls that numbered in the hundreds.

If Seo-rin's plan to create a Trolley Dilemma railway succeeded, it would truly revolutionize transportation.

In the original history, trains were a symbol of the industrial revolution. Perhaps a similar upheaval was about to occur in this apocalypse.

And yet, something still felt off.

Here, "off" meant a nagging feeling in my heart.

When Dok-seo and Ha-yul casually mentioned going on an overseas trip, and when Seo-rin declared she would start a railway revolution, a strange unease tickled the back of my neck.

"Your Excellency," Ji-won said as she approached. "The financial policy you devised for Dream Casino has now been perfectly implemented. The people are accumulating wealth to dream even sweeter dreams."

"Ah..."

"The credibility of the won is quite high and not just on the Korean Peninsula, but also on the Japanese archipelago and the Chinese mainland. All of this is thanks to Your Excellency's orders to dispatch Tutorial Fairies to various regions. I, Yu Ji-won, am always moved by Your Excellency's care for all humanity."

"Good..."

"Voices praising Your Excellency's benevolence are echoing across the world. How can this not be called a golden age?"

Ji-won then spent the next 30 minutes singing my praises before leaving. Her light footsteps exuded the satisfaction of having completed her daily tasks.

Something was off.

Really off.

Problem was, I couldn't pinpoint exactly what, which made me feel all the more frustrated because of it. It was like having an itch right in the middle of my throat that I couldn't scratch, so I kept letting out pointless little coughs.

It was a cold winter.

Do-hwa sipped her mulled wine, exhaling a relaxed breath.

"I don't know how long it's been since I've had this kind of leisure. Lately, the workload around here has decreased, so life feels a bit more livable..."

"Your workload has decreased?"

"Yes. We have the airport, the highways, and—even if they're a bit unstable—the railways. The financial system is also running smoothly. Heh. For an apocalypse, this is practically a developed country—"

"Ah."

At that moment.

"Ah! Ah! Ahhh!"

The spot on the back of my neck that had been tingling exploded.

I had finally realized the true nature of the "off" feeling that had been tormenting me all this time.

I couldn't help but jump up and scream. How could I have not noticed this until now?!

"Damn it."

Do-hwa's wine glass tipped over as I slammed the table, but this minor collateral damage was the least of my concerns.

"What the hell is it now, huh?" she grumbled. "Did you catch some new kind of crazy virus and start raving again...?"

"Life is too comfortable!"

"Huh...?"

"Commander Noh. Haven't you ever felt like something was off? This is the apocalypse. The world is on the brink of destruction. So how can people casually go on overseas trips, and what's with this railway nonsense? A golden age? What golden age?!"

Wiping her wine-splattered monocle with the hem of her lab coat, Do-hwa looked at me like I was a lunatic.

"No. Have you finally lost it? All of that infrastructure was built because you defeated the Anomalies. Your memory was your only redeeming quality, but now you're getting dementia too..."

"I supervised the Tutorial Fairies from start to finish, yes, but Yeouido Airport wasn't this convenient before. The Trolley Dilemma was also much more troublesome."

Yet, at some point, the Anomalies had started obediently serving humanity's needs.

The Tutorial Fairies could communicate from the start, and cooperating with me benefited them too. They received a constant supply of "dreams," the staple food of the Baku. But Yeouido Airport? The Trolley Dilemma? These Anomalies couldn't communicate and had no concept of benefit or loss.

So why were they cooperating with the reconstruction of human civilization? Were the Anomalies just pushovers?

No way. If the Anomalies were pushovers, my story would have ended around chapter 120, and the tragedy of SG Net readers suffering from Dok-seo's constant hiatuses would have been avoided.

"This itself is an Anomaly!" I exploded in frustration. "Those cunning bastards! Cowardly Anomaly scum! As expected of the source of all evil, they've subtly changed their survival strategy without anyone noticing! Ha! How dare they try to deceive me, the Undertaker! Pretending to cooperate with my convenience and humanity's comfort, they're slyly pushing for coexistence! Ha! Not a chance. Even if I starve and freeze to death on the streets! I will never! Tolerate! Their schemes!"

"Hmm."

Do-hwa adjusted her glasses and flipped through her notebook.

"Let's see. Is there any free time in Kim Ji-soo's schedule at the mental ward today...?"

"Godfather, do you ever have sudden outbursts in your daily life, where hatred, contempt, or past traumas overwhelm you?"

"Yes. Just thinking about the Ten Legs's tentacle piercing Seo-rin's abdomen makes my skin crawl."

"Godfather, how do you usually maintain your peace of mind?"

"I read Romance of the Three Kingdoms or write parody novels about it, always reflecting on how to navigate turbulent times."

"Godfather, do you ever feel like someone is watching you, monitoring you, or plotting against you, even on an ordinary day?"

"Ah. Ji-soo, you might not know this, but there's a terrifying entity called Go Yuri. Never say her name out loud. Refer to her only as the 'pink entity.'"

"I see. Is the pink entity targeting you, Godfather?"

"Of course! The pink entity is always waiting for the moment my resolve weakens. Phew, I'm breaking out in a cold sweat just thinking about it."

"I see..."

And so, the one-hour counseling session ended.

"Godfather."

"Ah, do you have the results? How is it? You've never seen a client with as sound a mindset as mine, right?"

"I'm sorry. You have a severe case of Anomaly-hating syndrome and Three Kingdoms addiction."

"What?"

"That's ridiculous..."

"See! I knew this would happen!"

While I was dumbfounded, the people who had tagged along as my "guardians" chattered noisily.

"Even if Mister's been through a lot, he's always blaming Anomalies for everything! This is the Anomaly's fault, that's the Anomaly's fault. We just went on a trip to Southeast Asia to relax, and now you're saying we've been bewitched by Anomalies?" Dok-seo demanded.

Ha-yul was next to respond. [We didn't even relax much. The sea was beautiful, but the constant sound of cannon fire from beyond the horizon was annoying.]

"Yeah, well. Undertaker does tend to overreact sometimes," Do-hwa said with a shrug.

"I don't trust these psychological tests, Your Excellency," reassured Ji-won. "The fact that I was diagnosed as a psychopath shows how flawed these tests are."

"Hmm..."

The local broadcast was as noisy as ever.

"No, something's really off!" I insisted. "You guys don't know how cunning these Anomalies are, so you're letting your guard down. They're like viruses! They might seem convenient and comfortable now, but the backlash from using them will definitely be massive!"

"Look at him. He's at it again."

[He's like a broken record. Anomaly this, Anomaly that.]

The self-proclaimed "guardians" (I never asked for them) whispered among themselves.

Not one of them trusted me—I could feel it.

Saintess! The Saintess would understand!

The Saintess, who shares a heart and soul with me, will surely understand!

[Um... I'm sorry.]

[Actually, I think it might be better if you became a bit more flexible in your mindset.]

Even you, Saintess?

[I respect you, Mr. Undertaker. But sometimes, I feel like you underestimate your own achievements.]

[Whether it's Yeouido Airport or the Trolley Dilemma, you're the one who pioneered their strategies and uses.]

[The fact that people can feel even a small sense of convenience in these times is thanks to your efforts.]

[To suspect that even your achievements are part of an Anomaly's conspiracy... I can't help but feel like you're undervaluing your comrades.]

Ugh.

The Saintess's comfort was appreciated, but I wasn't being paranoid for no reason.

The regressor's intuition was screaming at me. The "civilization" or "convenience" of the Anomalies—there's definitely a terrifying malice hidden behind it!

"No, intuition is just your subjective feeling. What the..."

It was noisy.

In the end, no one agreed with my argument. The only exception was Ji-won, who said, "Your words are truly wise, Your Excellency" and nodded along.

But as everyone knows, Yu Whatever's agreement was about as useful as a human's wisdom teeth.

'Could my intuition really be wrong?'

I couldn't accept it.

I could accept all other opinions, but when it came to Anomalies, I trusted my gut.

A leader sometimes needs stubbornness.

If Hannibal had listened to his advisors saying, "What? You're going to cross the Alps to attack Rome? General, are you out of your mind?" and retreated, he wouldn't have appeared in Fate/Requiem later.

'No, I couldn't have misread the signs of the Anomalies. I'm sure of it. There must be someone out there who agrees with me. Someone!'

But even the Saintess, who always supported me, had made her disagreement clear.

Who would sympathize with my argument now?

My options were running out.

"—so I came to consult you. What do you think? Doesn't it seem like some suspicious Anomaly's scheme to you too?"

"Hmm."

The person in front of me twirled her orange hair.

The setting was a school classroom.

But as if to prove that this wasn't a real classroom, the scenery outside the windows was incredibly dynamic.

Leaves fluttered outside the back window, while snowflakes drifted outside the front window.

"Sunbae."

In the middle of this mysterious classroom, the person sitting at the desk spoke.

"So, you're saying that after regressing multiple times and gathering human comrades, none of them agree with you, so you came to me—an Anomaly and an Outer God—someone you even sealed with Time Seal, and after 300 years in regressor time, you're suddenly asking for empathy?"

"Hmm," I hummed, thinking for a moment. "You could summarize it that way."

"Sunbae, you're really trash, huh?"

Infinite Void.

No, Cheon Yo-hwa looked at me with a gaze full of contempt.

-x-X-x-

The Skeptic II

In the game of Go, there's a term called reviewing the game.

Go is a game where etiquette between players is crucial, so there are few opportunities to show off one's personality. Giving advice during the game is also considered taboo.

However, showing off one's personality is inherently human. How could one ignore their own self?

Thus, Go invented a brilliant solution. After the game ends, players replay the entire match from start to finish, legally exchanging the pent-up banter and advice they couldn't share during the game.

The genius of this idea becomes clear if you replace "Go" with "StarCraft." Even if you lose the game, you can't just rage quit. You must review the replay with your opponent, discussing where you made mistakes and where you should have focused your forces.

Whether in the present or the past, one can see that gamers have always been truly dedicated to teabagging.

If you don't understand StarCraft and the example doesn't resonate with you... Well, that's your fault.

A Korean who doesn't know StarCraft? Such an Anomaly doesn't exist.

"Sunbae, sometimes I feel like you deliberately act like an old man just to enjoy the horrified reactions of people around you. You do, don't you?"

"Stop reading people's minds so casually. Truly befitting the leader of Anomalies."

"No, it's just that reading your expressions is surprisingly easy..."

The person in front of me, who looked exactly like Cheon Yo-hwa, the student council president of Baekhwa Girls' High School, let out a sigh.

"So, after ignoring me for 300 years, you suddenly show up and start talking about Go? Want to play a game?"

With a flick of her hand, a Go board and stones materialized on the classroom desk. The girl in front of me smiled brightly, picking up a black stone with her index finger.

"By the way, as befits a daughter of a prestigious family, I'm quite skilled. Don't expect me to go easy on you just because you're my sunbae."

"Hmm."

The girl in the black sailor uniform—or Cheon Yo-hwa, as she had insisted on being called after once being known as Infinite Void, devourer of the Mastermind—was an Anomaly who claimed to be the twin sister of her namesake.

During the 688th cycle, while defeating the Mastermind, she was sealed with Time Seal.

"I love you in this very moment."

Those were her last, incomprehensible words.

As you all know, those sealed by Time Seal leave no trace of themselves in reality. Their existence is erased, and Cheon Yo-hwa was no exception. After leaving a transparent crystal tombstone like a secret door at the National Road Management Corps headquarters, the Anomaly (or human) vanished forever.

"It's always fascinating when I visit..."

"Huh?" Yo-hwa asked. "What is?"

"Those sealed by Time Seal usually don't remember their lives. They don't even realize they've been sealed. But..."

"But?"

A moment of hesitation lingered on my lips. "Cheon Yo-hwa. No matter when I visit, you're always aware that you've been sealed by Time Seal. Is it because of your status as an Outer God?"

"Ahhh... No, no. Haha. Not really." She waved her hand dismissively and explained, "Sunbae, you're already a monster on par with Outer Gods. Why would you dismiss my abilities just because I have some status? I'm just repeating 'the happiest day of my life' in this classroom."

"Then how do you know you're trapped in a crystal tombstone?"

"Simple. The happiest day of my life was the day I confessed to you, and that day, I willingly requested the Time Seal."

I stared at her, silent.

"Unlike the others you've buried, the moment I was sealed is etched in my memory as the happiest day. So of course I'm aware of it." A smirk played about Yo-hwa's lips. "In fact, I planned it that way. Right after confessing, I got sealed. As you like to say, 'Every ability has a loophole,' right?"

"...Clever."

"Haha. Don't underestimate me. I'm Cheon Yo-hwa, the heir to the cult, a villainess, and a strategist for regressors ♪"

Yo-hwa laughed, waving a fan she had summoned from somewhere.

Even if Yo-hwa was aware of the Time Seal, she wouldn't remember the conversation we were having now once the day reset. After a day passed, her memories would reset again.

"I see. Let's get back to the main point—"

"Oh. Sunbae, hearing that the day I confessed was the happiest day of my life is making me emotional. Are you trying to change the subject?"

"...Let's get back to the main point. Just like reviewing a Go game or watching a replay, I want to consult with you about this cycle."

"Heh." Yo-hwa propped her chin on one hand and looked at me. "The consultation you mentioned earlier? About how the convenience of infrastructure in the apocalypse might all be part of an Anomaly's scheme?"

"Yes."

"Hmm... I don't really care. Though it's funny—you treat me like an Outer God rather than a human, so you're consulting an Anomaly about Anomalies."

"Don't tease me. You know why I've been calling you Cheon Yo-hwa. If you keep this up, I'll start calling you Infinite Void again."

"Hehe. Sorry, sorry."

Her giggle eased into a sly smile. I paused, wanting to scold her but hesitating at the sight of my cherished student acting cute...

This kid and I really didn't get along.

"To cut to the chase—yes. I think your speculation is correct."

I was right!

"I've said it before. You, a regressor who's lived through hundreds of cycles, are practically an environment of your own. So it's only natural that Anomalies adapt to you and try to thrive."

"You're saying they're pretending to help humanity while secretly parasitizing us."

"Well, if you want to put it bluntly, yes."

Yo-hwa placed a Go stone with a click against the board. Even though I hadn't made a move, she began sketching out the game's flow on her own.

"This mysterious Anomaly... Let's call it 'Infrastructure' for now. Wow, this reminds me of the meetings we had while strategizing against the Mastermind. Good times."

"Hmm."

"Anyway. Infrastructure's role model is probably the Tutorial Fairies. The Baku. Thanks to you, they didn't just protect their domain of dreams—they became its rulers."

"That's right."

"Yeah. Infrastructure might be pursuing a similar strategy. 'Regressor, I can provide you with passenger planes. Regressor, I can allow you to build railways. So please, don't exterminate me.'"

Tap. Tap.

I stared at the black and white stones as Cheon Yo-hwa continued to play out the game, lost in thought.

"So... should I interpret the expansion of Infrastructure as a sign of surrender rather than a threat?"

"Maybe."

Yo-hwa tilted her head and smiled. The sunlight streaming through the classroom window cast a diagonal shadow across her face.

"Or this surrender could be a ruse. A ploy to lull you into complacency before striking from behind... Which is it? Genuine surrender? Or a scheme? The materials to judge are already in your hands."

I rested my chin on my hand.

The rhythmic sound of Go stones clicking against the board served as background music. Oddly, the orderly noise helped me focus.

After a while, my mind was settled.

"I see. I understand."

"Yeah?"

"Normally, my comrades trust me unconditionally when it comes to Anomalies. But this time, for some reason, they all seemed to conspire to dismiss my concerns about Infrastructure."

"Yeah."

"At the time, I laughed it off, but looking back, it's incredibly strange."

My comrades were a diverse group. Just take Dang Seo-rin and Cheon Yo-hwa (the other twin) for example—they were practically enemies. Yu Ji-won and Kim Ji-soo were outright rivals. Yet all of them agreed that 'Anomalies mimicking infrastructure isn't strange'? Without a single objection?

"It's mental manipulation. That's what it is," I concluded.

Yo-hwa smiled. "As expected of you, sunbae. Right, I think so too. To be more precise, it's closer to altering common sense. A widespread distortion of perception that 'Anomalies contributing to human civilization isn't strange at all.'"

"If they were genuinely surrendering, they wouldn't resort to such underhanded tactics."

"Yeah. And the second-hand shopping mall Toad House you frequent might also be part of Infrastructure." When I didn't respond, she continued, saying, "Without you realizing it, this Anomaly has already infiltrated your daily life. Thankfully, your mental defenses are strong, so the common sense alteration didn't work on you."

The National Tax Service Anomaly collecting taxes.

Yeouido Airport's overseas travel services.

Village Bus No. 44's long-term transfers.

The Trolley Dilemma's railway usage.

Even the Toad House's delivery of missing persons' remains.

If you replace "infrastructure" with "national systems," you could even include Namsan's Central Intelligence Agency.

'Wait. If you think about it that way, even the Supreme Leader Anomaly that ran rampant last time might have been part of Infrastructure.'

A chill ran down my spine.

The darkest place is under the lamp. Anomalies that seemed completely unrelated were actually connected.

"Sunbae. If we assume Infrastructure's specialty is altering common sense, there's one thing in this cycle that's unexpectedly explained, isn't there?"

Yu Ji-won.

The silver-haired secretary—the only one with an absolute ego who could face Go Yuri without being brainwashed.

What did Ji-won say when all the other comrades dismissed me as paranoid?

"I don't trust these psychological tests, Your Excellency."

"Your words are truly wise, Your Excellency."

That's right.

Only Yu Ji-won agreed with me. While it might be because she was a power-hungry psychopath, it was also because she was immune to Infrastructure's common sense alteration.

"Even a broken clock is right twice a day..." I mused. "Who would've thought Ji-won would be the only one to say something sensible?"

"Haha. Everyone has their uses, which is why you keep them around, right? Well, except for me."

Every word this kid said carried weight.

"Now, sunbae. Look at the Go board."

I looked.

The game had reached its endgame while we were consulting. All that was left was to count the points.

"Doesn't it look familiar?" Yo-hwa pressed.

"This game?"

"Yeah."

"...No. Even with my Complete Memory, I can't recall it at all. If I had to guess, both players seem to be around amateur 2-dan and 3-dan level."

"Of course you don't remember," she said, another sly smile tugging at her lips. "Because this is a game we played secretly when you were tutoring me at my house."

I didn't respond.

"This is today's consultation fee."

Swoosh!

Memories from a past my Complete Memory couldn't reach were colored in by the girl in front of me.

'Ah.'

There's a meme on the internet called "memories that don't exist." It originated from a Japanese manga.[1]

Ridiculous as it sounds, the same phenomenon was happening to me.

Cheon Yo-hwa sneaking me through secret passages in her grand, palace-like hanok.

Inviting me to her private hideout and suddenly pulling out a Go board while we discussed what to do.

Cheon Yo-hwa, the jewel of a prestigious family, happily chattering away as we played Go.

Like a montage of movie scenes, every moment flashed through my mind's eye, and when they did, everything about them was automatically etched into my memory as an eternal recollection.

Just now, Cheon Yo-hwa had planted a piece of eternity in my soul.

"Yeah, today was fun too!"

This was also the core reason I didn't visit her crystal tombstone often.

As someone who had devoured both Infinite Void and the Mastermind—two Outer Gods—Cheon Yo-hwa was undoubtedly the best consultant for Anomalies. But at the same time...

She was dangerous.

Every time I consulted her, she demanded a "consultation fee" in the form of small memories, unforgettable recollections, and her own existence.

Isn't it astonishing? Even though she had been sealed by Time Seal and should have long since exited the stage, the girl in front of me still had a way to intervene in my reality.

As she said, she truly was a strategist worthy of the title.

"By the way, would you like to pay another small consultation fee, sunbae? I might even help you figure out how to deal with Infrastructure."

"No, thanks. Confirming that Infrastructure is an Anomaly is enough. I'll find a way to deal with it myself."

"Aww, what a shame." Yo-hwa laughed, not looking disappointed at all. Then, she said, "Then here's a freebie."

"A freebie?"

"I have a conscience too. I feel a bit guilty for charging a consultation fee just for confirming an Anomaly. If you ever feel stuck dealing with Infrastructure, there might be an unexpected escape route you haven't considered."

"...I'll keep that in mind."

The chair creaked as I stood. As I walked toward the classroom door, Cheon Yo-hwa waved at my back.

"Come back anytime... Next time, let's play Go like we used to, Sunbae."

Looking at her smiling face, I could no longer call her Infinite Void as I used to.

"...Alright, Yo-hwa."

"Yeah!"

With a creak and a thud, the classroom door closed and the cold air of reality brushed against my cheeks.

Below the Tower of Babel, the ruins of Busan—destroyed by the Monster Wave—lay scattered.

I smiled bitterly.

'Really. Whether in this world or the next, everyone's just trying to charm me. That's the problem.'

It was time to exterminate Anomalies again.

To the next cycle we go.

Footnotes:

[1] The meme in question originates from the series Jujutsu Kaisen. To not get too deep into spoilers, a character there is featured several times in "memories that don't exist" wherein adversaries are suddenly struck by nostalgia for moments they know didn't happen but that still endear them to this character without them really being able to resist the change.

-x-X-x-

The Skeptic III

Once, I had a drink with the Great Priestess of the Magical Girl Association, and we had a conversation that went as follows:

"Undateikeo-san. You sometimes compare yourself to a supporter, but from my perspective, that's nonsense."

"Oh?"

"A thief. No, in this case, the term 'assassin' would be more appropriate." The Great Priestess wagged her nine tails and smiled slyly. "You calling yourself a supporter is a result of being overly focused on your allies. From the perspective of your enemies, there's no assassin as ruthless as you."

"Hmm."

"You appear out of nowhere, assassinate your enemies with a strategy in hand, and then, you vanish. While Anomalies are a disaster that strikes humanity in the dead of night, to them, you are also a disaster that descends without warning."

As the head of the Magical Girl Association, the Great Priestess assigned roles and abilities to all magical girls. To the trained eye of an Awakener with that sort of expertise, I was more of an assassin than a supporter.

The term "assassin" did have a somewhat ominous connotation, but I was willing enough to admit to seeing her side of things. I preferred one-on-one duels over full-scale battles and ambushes over duels, and when dealing with enemies like the Infrastructure Anomaly, whose true nature was hidden, I readily adopted the mindset of an assassin.

'Infrastructure still doesn't realize I've caught onto its existence.'

In the next cycle, I acted as if I knew nothing and went about my usual routine. Of course, behind the scenes, I was secretly gathering information about the Anomaly in question.

'I can't consult the Saintess or anyone else.'

Infrastructure's most terrifying ability, I presumed, was its widespread common sense alteration. Even if my comrades seemed fine now, there was no telling when or where their perceptions might be corrupted.

Only one person—Yu Ji-won, the psychopath born immune to brainwashing—could be trusted with the strategy, and even then, I couldn't discuss it carelessly.

"Why is that, Your Excellency?"

"Because there's a risk that the Saintess might peek into our thoughts at any moment, leaking information to Infrastructure."

"Ah."

So I came up with a plan.

"From now on, all discussions about Infrastructure must take place within the dreams of the Baku. Understood?"

"Yes."

Using the Tutorial Fairies.

With the Baku's power, it was entirely possible for me and others to share the same dream. No matter how powerful the Saintess's Clairvoyance was, she couldn't follow us into the dreams of the Awakeners. It was the perfect place for a secret meeting.

"I'm endlessly pleased that it's me, Yu Ji-won, upon whom you ultimately rely. But Your Excellency, may I ask one thing?"

"Go ahead."

"Down there, at the entrance to the stairs, there's danger tape with warnings like 'Handle with Care,' 'Safety First,' and 'Authorized Personnel Only' plastered all over like spiderwebs. What exactly is lurking in the depths of the subconscious that you've blocked off so thoroughly?"

"Shh! Don't ask. Don't even get curious! Divine punishment will strike!"

Legend has it that if you linger too long in the subconscious, a shadow with pink hair will eventually loom behind you.

I really hate that story.

Anyway, aside from the minor drawback of a 0.1% chance of Go Yuri appearing, the dream world of the Baku served as an excellent hiding place.

"Right now, Infrastructure is slowly working to alter people's common sense. We need to strike while it's focused on that."

"And to kill an Anomaly, the first step is to expose and define its true nature."

"Right. We need to reveal its identity."

"Hmm."

Ji-won turned her head.

The background of our dream was the ruins of an abandoned construction site. Painted on the building's walls were words, the thing Ji-won was currently scanning.

National Tax Service, Yeouido Airport, Village Bus No. 44, Trolley Dilemma, Toad House, Supreme Leader Comrade...

All were Anomalies either connected to or suspected of being part of Infrastructure.

"Your Excellency..." Ji-won began after a long pause. "If I may ask, which cycle are we in now?"

"This is the 776th cycle."

"Did Infrastructure start altering people's common sense in the 775th cycle? Were there no signs before that?"

"Ah. Well, it might have been subtly making changes for a long time, but I only noticed it then."

"Hmm," she hummed, resting her chin on her hand. "Then the conclusion is that Infrastructure didn't originally exist in Your Excellency's cycle line and has now suddenly appeared."

"Like a mysterious ghost. This thing is capable of altering common sense on the level of a whole population across the entire peninsula. How could such a powerful Anomaly just appear out of nowhere?"

"No, there's no need for ghosts to wail. The reason for Infrastructure's appearance is actually quite clear."

I blinked. "Oh? Do tell."

"Yes. The cause is none other than you, Your Excellency."

Huh?

"Ji-won..." I trailed off, choosing my words carefully. "I know there are some in our cycle alliance who push the Undertaker-Anomaly Theory, but if you take that at face value..."

"Oh, I'm not saying you are an Anomaly, Your Excellency. Just that you are the one who drastically increased the probability of Infrastructure's appearance."

I tilted my head. What on earth was she talking about?

"Your Excellency. South Korea has fallen. Human civilization has collapsed. Isn't that right?"

"Yes."

"But from an individual's perspective, the state itself is a powerful monster. State power controls individual thoughts, restricts actions, and limits freedom."

"Hmm..."

Did she think that way because she'd been a serial killer since middle school? If you've spent your whole life outsmarting the police, of course state power would feel unfriendly.

"I won't interrupt," I reassured her. "Go on."

"Certainly. Originally, the monstrous power of the state vanished with the collapse of civilization. Whether it's the National Tax Service or Yeouido Airport, they're all scattered like dismembered limbs, leaving only traces of the state and infrastructure." Ji-won turned to look at me and said, "But Your Excellency, you've begun to rebuild a part of civilization."

I stayed quiet, waiting for her to continue.

"The scattered remnants of human infrastructure have been reconnected. The National Road Management Corps you established is the symbol of a unified state. Furthermore, you've even connected Eurasia with the beacon of the Sacred Fire."

A faint electric current ran down the back of my neck in realization. "Are you saying... that as I rebuilt human civilization, the Infrastructure Anomaly also grew alongside it?"

"Yes. More accurately, you've created an environment where Infrastructure can run rampant."

Ji-won picked up a paint can. With a practiced stroke, she wrote a word on the ruined wall:

"Therefore, the name 'Infrastructure' is somewhat inaccurate. It can't explain Anomalies like the 'Supreme Leader Comrade.' To name this Anomaly on a larger scale—"

The word she wrote was the one she spoke next.

"State. The power of the state. The ideology of the state... This is the name of the Anomaly that has newly appeared in your cycle line, the parasite that has grown by riding on your success."

For a good, long while, I was stunned stiff, unable to recover from the shock.

Seawater lapped at my feet, soaking my socks, but the thought of drying them with Aura didn't even cross my mind.

'The more I restore human civilization... the more I create opportunities for another Anomaly to grow?'

What kind of nonsense was that?

Until now, I had classified Anomalies based on whether they were useful to humanity or not. If an Anomaly was useful, I boldly recruited it into the regression company. How else could the National Road Management Corps operate caravans when car fuel was more expensive than gold? It was all thanks to the Kongkongi and Byojoki I raised on my ranch. The northern barrier blocking the Monster Wave was also maintained by the resurrection Anomaly, Mo Gwang-seo.

Logistics, currency, even security—there were few areas where Anomalies weren't utilized.

'And all of that ultimately feeds into the growth of a larger, more dangerous Anomaly—the State. An Anomaly that might even evolve into an Outer God.'

Does convenience always come with a price?

Perhaps I need to completely overhaul my strategy as a regressor.

'Should I abandon the plan to connect Eurasia with the beacon? Scrap the Baku's currency? What about our adorable Kongkongi?'

My head spun.

Ah, the incompetent and weak regressor could only crouch by the breakwater and gaze helplessly at the horizon...

"Meow. Why are you moping here, Undateikeo?"

I suppose I should say—I was standing on the shore of Noto Peninsula in Japan, where the Magical Girl Association had illegally occupied a famous ryokan-style hotel and turned it into their headquarters.

Since sulking in Korea would inevitably attract the Saintess's attention, I came here under the pretext of a business trip to film The Undertaker's Melancholy.

"Ah, Manyo Neko," I greeted, making a nihilistic expression. "I envy you, a shrine maiden serving a cat god. Animals don't need countries or governments, so you can't empathize with my worries..."

"Are you picking a fight? I'd love to punch you right now, nya." Manyo Neko hissed. "I came to comfort you because you looked so pitiful, but I regret it now."

"What I need isn't comfort, but a vacation. And the next vacation season is still 100 years away. Manyo Neko, do you understand this pain and resentment?"

"Our Great Priestess is a handful, but the Awakeners in Korea must have it tough too, nya..."

Manyo Neko crouched beside me, her shadow falling over me. The magical umbrella she always carried cast a galaxy-like shadow even in broad daylight.

"I don't know what you're worried about, but why not spill it? Since I'm not part of your organization, you might feel less burdened talking to me, nya."

Hmm. "Should I?"

"Meow, meow."

What followed was a two-hour counseling session.

In the middle of it, a summer event occurred where monsters with tuna heads and shark tails landed on the shore and attacked, but as seasoned Awakeners, we casually defeated them and continued our conversation.

Manyo Neko sliced into fresh tuna sashimi with a contented purr and tilted her head.

"So, to summarize, you want to provide as many people in Korea with the benefits of infrastructure, but doing so risks creating an Outer God disguised as a state, leaving you stuck between a rock and a hard place. Is that right, nyan?"

"Ah."

"Hmm." She swallowed a piece of tuna belly, then said, "Honestly, I don't get why that's a pawblem."

"Huh?"

"Just because people come together to build organizations and infrastructure doesn't mean it has to take the form of centralized state power. Look at us nya. We're not a Magical Girl Nation, but a Magical Girl Association, right? A network of shrines across the country, each forming its own group of shrine maidens. The Great Priestess just helps coordinate joint operations or agreements among magical girls. She's not some kind of queen, nyan."

She was right.

It was surreal to hear political philosophy spilling from the mouth of a cat-eared magical girl, but they had their own ideas (surprisingly?) and had formed an association to realize them. Specifically, the Great Priestess was a believer in anarcho-syndicalism and spread that ideology to other magical girls.

If you're wondering what that is... Well, it's similar to anarchism. Long story short, in this reality, the Tutorial Fairies were revolutionaries and the magical girls were anarchists.[1]

There's a reason the world ended.

"Anyway, just because social infrastructure exists doesn't mean you have to worry about centralized state power. Politics can take many different forms—"

I shot to my feet. "That's it."

"Purr?"

By now, my socks had dried from the seawater and were soft again. Aura surged through my body like a tiger's energy.

"Thank you, Manyo Neko. My eyes have been opened. Thanks to you, I've thought of a way to maintain infrastructure while defeating the Anomaly. Truly, the Manyo Neko Strategy."

"Uh, meow. You're welcome?"

"I'll repay this debt someday."

Splash!

I didn't need to wait any longer. I stepped on the seawater and hurried back to Korea.

As I distanced myself from Manyo Neko, I heard her mutter, "This feels weird. I'm sure I did a good thing, but why do I feel like I've done something terribly wrong, nyan...?"

Infrastructure— No. The State Anomaly.

I needed a way to lure it out and exterminate it while preserving the systems I'd built as a regressor.

There was only one solution.

"From now on, we will stop pretending to be the only legitimate government organization on the Korean Peninsula."

The Regression Alliance. Meeting room in the Tower of Babel.

I made the declaration in front of all my comrades.

"The state is ultimately a servant of power and has now become a plaything for Anomalies. Until the day all Outer Gods are exterminated, the reconstruction of civilization is a distant dream. The National Road Management Corps was never meant to replace the government."

Silence fell over the room. Do-hwa raised her hand, piercing the quiet with a question.

"Then what the hell are we supposed to do?"

"Ah. An excellent question." I nodded. "From this moment on, the National Road Management Corps will be reborn as a terrorist organization."

Immediate confusion.

"In this hellish situation where our peninsula is ruled by vile Anomalies, violence is our only meaningful form of resistance!"

I slammed the table, impassioned as I delivered my speech.

"We will fight as a resistance force—as an independence army—to protect human dignity and individual freedom against the monstrous Anomaly State! Ah! One hundred million humans, unite! Long live freedom! Long live the resistance!"

Everyone fell silent.

Then—clap, clap, clap—applause rang out. All eyes turned to see Ji-won on her feet in the corner of the room.

"Long live freedom! Long live the resistance! Long live the eternal Supreme Leader of the Resistance, Undertaker!"

Clap, clap, clap.

"Your Excellency. The lack of response proves that these traitors have already been swayed by the Anomaly State. We must execute them to uphold the discipline of the Resistance and Your Excellency's dignity."

"Stop messing around and sit down, Ji-won."

"Okay."

The National Road Management Corps has officially transitioned into a terrorist organization for humanity and civilization!

Footnotes:

[1] To put it simply as one poor, confused editor to any of you readers who are also confused, anarcho-syndicalism is essentially anarchy where you want to abolish the centralized government of the state plus syndicalism where that power would then be invested back into labor unions and the hands of worker revolutionaries.

-x-X-x-

The Skeptic IV

My plan was simple.

First, I would hand all of the functions of the State's infrastructure over to the Anomalies. Places like the National Tax Service and Yeouido Airport had been playgrounds for Anomalies from the beginning, after all, so it wouldn't make much of a difference.

But then, all Awakeners, including those in the National Road Management Corps, would join the resistance and carry out terrorist acts against the Anomaly State—all the while hiding their identities so that they could continue to make good use of its amenities in their daily lives. This way, the people of the Korean Peninsula could freely enjoy the infrastructure of the State while maintaining their identity as a resistance force, untainted by the Anomalies.

A true win-win situation. A double kill.

The reputation of Undertaker, the world's foremost expert on Anomalies, was indeed well-deserved.

"No. You're kidding..."

Do-hwa balked, scrunching her face in bitter denial. I could hardly fault her for it, considering her job had suddenly changed from being the rightful ruler of the Korean Peninsula to the leader of a dark resistance organization.

"Is this strategy really feasible...?" she lamented.

"Entirely so. In fact, the concept of humans being a force of resistance fits the current reality much better."

The world was already dominated by Anomalies. In fact, the Anomalies had mimicked even the National Tax Service, collecting "taxes" in the form of human blood and limbs. In such occupied territory, gradually expanding liberated areas was the duty of a regressor.

"At its heart, our National Road Management Corps is like a network of scattered guilds across the Korean Peninsula, barely connected and used as a backbone for resistance," I said sagely.

"So since it's come to this, we might as well declare ourselves terrorists?"

I clicked my tongue. "Let's use the more dignified term, resistance."

"You're the one who called it a terrorist organization first, you damn lunatic..."

The motion was passed. However, simply declaring among ourselves "From now on, we are the resistance fighting against the illegal occupation of the Korean Peninsula by the Anomaly State!" wouldn't have much impact. Rituals required procedure.

I immediately led the National Road Management Corps's Operations Team—the resistance's strongest force—along with its Yu Ji-won to raid a shabby house in Busan.

"Mr. Jo Yeong-su! Are you there?"

"Huh? What, what is it? Who are you?"

Jo Yeong-su came out of the shack, looking flustered. In this cycle, he had been diligently collecting public opinion data to announce the "End of Service for South Korea." Thanks to my full support, his opinion polls had progressed much more smoothly than before. The results were piled high under the roof of the shack.

Documents. To Jo Yeong-su, these were more precious than his own life, the last survey papers of South Korea.

"Wh-what is the meaning of this?" he stammered. "Why have you all come here to threaten this helpless old man?"

"Hmm. It's Jo Yeong-su, alright. Take him away."

"Ahhhhh!"

Thus, the Mr. Jo Yeong-su was immediately transported to Seoul.

By the way, all members of the Operations Team were wearing sunglasses and face masks to avoid being recognized.

After skillfully navigating the Inunaki Tunnel, we arrived at the National Assembly in Seoul in no time. Jo screamed when he saw us.

"Y-you! You're Anomalies pretending to be human! You may suppress this old man's body, but you'll never defile my spirit!"

Truly, he was a man who had traveled the length and breadth of the country to complete his opinion polls in this insane world. Even most Awakeners would feel their knees go weak if they suddenly found themselves kidnapped by Anomalies, but Jo's shout remained resolute.

No, perhaps "resolute" isn't the right word. Judging by his expression, it seemed like he was inwardly welcoming the arrival of what he had been waiting for.

"Comrade Secretary-General! Welcome!"

Once we were in the National Assembly, the Tutorial Fairies greeted us. The Operations Team had already gathered here under my orders. At the sight of the Tutorial Fairies, the Anomalies most well-known to the general public, Jo became even more convinced and shouted, "S-Secretary-General? You...! Are you spies infiltrating from the puppet state in the north?"

I hummed, thinking over how to respond. That original puppet state had long since fallen, and a new regime had taken its place. But in retrospect, the Eastern Holy State was also my puppet state led by the puppet Mo Gwang-seo, wasn't it? Jo's outburst wasn't entirely unfounded.

"Now then, human," I boomed, deciding to just go with it. "Sit in the Speaker's seat and stamp the document declaring the end of South Korea."

"Y-you! You vile Anomalies! I'm trying to dissolve the government with the voluntary consent of all citizens, not sell the country under your coercion!"

"Tsk. You're being unnecessarily verbose when you're going to destroy it anyway."

"L-let me go! You can't hold me!"

Jo resisted fiercely, but as one of the Unawakened, there was no way he could escape the grasp of the fairies. In the end, he was forced to sit in the Speaker's seat and stamp the document.

"Hooray! With this, we declare the end of South Korea!"

"Ahhhhhh!"

Amid Jo's screams, thunderous applause erupted in the assembly. It wasn't the Tutorial Fairies or me clapping. Invisible Anomalies were applauding.

'Good. It's done,' I thought, clenching my fist. 'With this, the last human government on the Korean Peninsula, South Korea, was not voluntarily dissolved but neutralized by the machinations of Anomalies.'

Crucially, this was what separated this cycle from those that came before it.

To be honest, Jo Yeong-su's "End of Service" event had been deeply moving to me personally, but given the current state of affairs, allowing it to go through would be a misstep. From the Anomalies' perspective, it could be interpreted as "humans voluntarily giving up state power!" So, while I felt sorry for the old man, this was a small sacrifice for the greater cause.

"Hooray! This land has now become a paradise for Anomalies!"

"What shall we name the country?"

"The term 'Puppet State' has a more traditional ring to it than 'Anomaly State.' After all, we are the hands and feet of Comrade Secretary-General!"

"But 'Anomaly' is just a name humans arbitrarily gave us, and we're not exactly the same species, are we?"

"Shh. Those who lack awareness are to be purged!"

The fairies chattered and left. Jo was sent back to his home in Busan via delivery service. Having suddenly become the main culprit behind the fall of the nation, the old man holed up in his house and refused to come out.

"Mr. Jo. Are you there?"

Startled, Jo Yeong-su turned to look and let out a sigh of relief. This time, I visited alone, without a mask or disguise.

"It's you, Mr. Undertaker..." he said, trailing off. "I should offer you some instant coffee..."

"Oh, it's fine. Please, sit down. By the way, I haven't seen you around lately. Did something happen?"

"Ah, actually..."

Regressor Psychological Counseling mode, ON.

"...and then those bastards! The Anomalies grabbed my finger and forced me to stamp the document with red ink!"

"Oh my. How could such a wretched group exist in this world? You must have been through so much."

"Waaah!"

Within 30 minutes of our counseling session beginning, Jo was bawling like a baby until his already thin frame seemed to be squeezed dry of all moisture.

"I... I became the accomplice of the nation's downfall with my own hands! I signed that accursed treaty! The burden of my family's legacy has fallen upon me again! Oh! Oh! How can I bear this injustice, this fury?!"

"How could this be your fault, Mr. Jo? It's entirely the fault of the Anomalies who forced you."

"Mr. Undertaker...!"

"Even if the world doesn't understand, I, the Undertaker, understand your pain. We all lost our country, but we, each of us, still carry the name of 'Korea' deep within our hearts, do we not?"

"Comrade Undertaker...!"

We shared a passionate embrace. Sometimes, men need intense emotional exchanges.

[...]

Of course, the Saintess, who was watching all this through Clairvoyance, gave off a silent aura. It felt like she had a lot to say yet chose to hold back.

Sorry, Saintess, but the show isn't over yet.

"Since you've called me comrade, I'd like to make a proposal to you—one to be kept secret."

"Huh? A secret proposal...?"

"The responsibility for the nation's downfall lies with the Anomalies, but your anger belongs solely to you, doesn't it? Come with me."

I guided the still tearful Jo to the Inunaki Tunnel. He jumped when he saw the casino thriving at the tunnel entrance.

"What is this place?! A den of evil where vile Anomalies run an illegal gambling den!"

Surprisingly, Jo had never visited the Dream Casino, which was popular among both Awakeners and the ordinary citizenry. In a way, he seemed to hate Anomalies more than most Awakeners. He was truly an impressive man.

"Oh. Everyone thinks that way. But it's always darkest under the lamp. Mr. Jo. Keep your eyes on the ground and follow only my footsteps."

Following the steps known only to members of the Regression Alliance, we soon arrived at the depths of Inunak, my hideout.

Jo's eyes widened. "Wh-what is this place...?"

"Let me introduce you."

The hideout's interior was a bit different than my usual fare. Unlike in previous cycles, where it was built to maximize the convenience and welfare of guild members, this cycle's hideout was... well, a bit shabby. The lighting was indirect, making it oddly dim. The tables and chairs were all old antiques, and the wallpaper gave off a musty smell. And one detail stood out above all the rest.

The Third Provisional Government of South Korea

An old-fashioned plaque hung on the wall.

"This is the true workplace of the Undertaker. The base of our independence resistance army, where we will dedicate nothing but blood and sweat until the day the Korean Peninsula is liberated from the Puppet State."

Jo trembled as if struck by lightning. "Th-then, the reason you supported my project and helped me complete the opinion polls...!"

"Yes. As you've guessed, it's because I was convinced that your project aligned with the ideology of our resistance."

Actually, it just looked interesting.

"Then the reason someone as noble as you associated with a dictator like Noh Do-hwa...!"

"Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. Noh Do-hwa, the head of the Management Corps, has no idea that I'm leading a branch of the resistance."

Actually, I was the one who forced Do-hwa into the position of Management Corps leader when she didn't want it.

"Now," I began, moving the topic in a different direction, "there are many people to introduce today. This is Yu Ji-won, the team leader of the Operations Control Room, part of the National Road Management Corps."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Jo Yeong-su."

Ji-won walked over from where she had been waiting and shook Jo's hand. His eyes watered.

"What?! But y-you're Yu Ji-won, the loyal subordinate of the dictator Noh Do-hwa and the leader of the secret police who oppressed countless people!"

"That was all a disguise."

On the other hand, Ji-won answered expressionlessly, without batting an eye.

"My loyalty lies solely with one person—not Noh Do-hwa, the head of the Management Corps, but the Undertaker here."

"Wh-what...?"

"The core of a dictatorship lies in its intelligence and military organizations. I, Yu Ji-won, have firmly taken control of the Operations Control Room, which combines both. Noh Do-hwa may be a dictator, but she's on humanity's side. Our true goal is to use the power of the National Road Management Corps to fight against the world's main enemy, the Anomalies."

Then, with appropriate gravity, she murmured, "For the day the Korean Peninsula is liberated."

Jo was already at risk of a heart attack from shock overload, but sorry to him, the show wasn't over yet.

"Mr. Jo," I called, directing his attention to someone new. "This child here is Lee Ha-yul. She's known as the Puppeteer."

"Puppeteer...?"

"Let me introduce her. The daughter of Jeong Sang-guk, the head of the Second Provisional Government. His only successor."

"Wh-what...?" Jo stuttered, stunned.

Ha-yul skillfully manipulated a puppet to speak.

[Nice to meet you.]

[I'm Lee Ha-yul, carrying on my father's will and working for the provisional government.]

[Let's work together to achieve our goals.]

Ha-yul's poker face was also top-notch. When it came to expressionless faces in our Regression Alliance, the Saintess, Yu Ji-won, and Lee Ha-yul were always mentioned.

[I have fully inherited the network my father established in the Japanese archipelago.]

[I act as a mediator between the Korean Peninsula and the archipelago, organizing the resistance as a united front.]

[Let's be comrades-in-arms.]

[For the greater cause. For the day humanity is liberated.]

"Ahhh...!" Jo cried, falling to his knees. "There was still hope in this land! I, Jo Yeong-su, had no idea such wonderful people were fighting underground, and all I did was lament the future of the nation! Now I feel ashamed of my entire life!"

"No." I knelt down with him and firmly grasped his hands. "You weren't all talk. You protested in front of the Tower of Babel every day, condemning Noh Do-hwa, the head of the Management Corps, and ran around gathering public opinion. Why blame yourself?"

"Now, Mr. Undertaker."

"Please join the resistance. Although victory over the Anomalies that have engulfed the world is still far off, with your help, humanity will undoubtedly take one more step forward."

He burst into tears. Today, his tear ducts were like faucets. Turn them on, and they flowed.

"I... I see! If this old man's life can be of any use, I'll gladly give it!"

He was on board.

Jo Yeong-su was the key to my plan. The Anomaly State—or rather, the Puppet State—that had descended upon the Korean Peninsula was undoubtedly relying on his declaration of the end of South Korea.

All rituals require procedure.

If the Puppet State Anomaly had piggybacked on Jo Yeong-su to subtly swallow up the void left by the Korean state, then it would also have to be influenced by his decisions in kind. Thus, "South Korea was forcibly destroyed by Anomalies" (a fact) and "an underground resistance was formed to reclaim the lost homeland" (also a fact). As a result, members of the Regression Alliance along with other participating parties were freed from the Puppet State's common sense alteration brainwashing.

Why?

Even if we made good use of the infrastructure of society, it was merely a means for independence and resistance. Resistance members were never truly citizens of the Puppet State. QED.

'Am I a genius?'

For the first time in a while, I couldn't resist the urge to take a moment to praise myself for my own brilliance. Although I had received advice from Cheon Yo-hwa and Ji-won, the credit for developing the method to break the ritual was mine.

"Thank you, Mr. Jo. Your dedication will surely be rewarded. For the greater cause. For the day humanity is liberated."

"For the greater cause! For the day humanity is liberated!"

It was the moment when my organization, which had been called simply "my guild" or "guild hideout," officially gained the name "resistance."

As we were sharing a touching embrace among us proud children of Korea, the Saintess's Telepathy reached me.

[...Sometimes, I really feel overwhelmed being with you, Mr. Undertaker.]

That, too, was a small sacrifice for the greater cause.

-x-X-x-

The Skeptic V

"Ugh... Oh, today is truly... a joyous day for this humble man... Ugh."

Jo Yeong-su downed a celebratory shot for joining the resistance and left, thoroughly drunk.

The play is over. Acta est fabula.

Yu Ji-won, the "independence fighter who hides her true intentions while living as the right-hand woman of a dictator," and Lee Ha-yul, the "young successor who carries on her father's will to fight Anomalies," had both exited stage left.

Of course, an encore performance would be ready whenever Jo returned. After all, a masterpiece never gets old, no matter how many times you see it.

[Oppa.]

After the commotion died down and the room quieted, Ha-yul suddenly approached me. I didn't hesitate to pick her up, celebrating the star of today's performance.

[Ah.]

Viking ride. Top spin. Roller coaster. Carousel.

The carnival of amusement rides invented over hundreds of cycles specifically for Ha-yul unfolded. She laughed silently, her golden Aura rippling with joy.

"You did really well today."

[Yeah. And, this might be a bit TMI, but I'll confess now—my mother's family name is Uibong Lee.]

I tilted my head. Uibong Lee?

[The most famous superstar from that family is Lee Wan-yong, the Marquess of the Empire, who drove everyone crazy, whether they loved or hated him.]

"..."

[And according to the intelligence gathered by my network, the grandpa who just left is from the Pungyang Jo family.] [1]

No way.

[Yes.] Ha-yul drew a "V" with her fingers, expressionless. [The combo of Pungyang Jo and Uibong Lee leading the Korean Peninsula Independence Resistance Army—the last resistance of humanity—and it's based on a true story? My heart swells with pride.]

That was truly, 100% pure TMI.

Still, it seemed our Ha-yul, who used to be so well-suited for reading, was becoming more of an otaku.

This dad was worried she might be hanging out with the wrong crowd.

As the saying went, "What's next to ink turns black."

Even if Do-hwa and the Saintess were horrified by my strategy, they didn't refuse to execute the plan.

Once the goal was set, our Regression Alliance cooperated as one united front. By now, everyone was used to my style.

Noh Do-hwa's orders came down next.

"We will strike the Voids that are impersonating or mimicking 'state institutions,' such as the Central Intelligence Agency on Namsan, Yeouido Airport, and the National Tax Service, which appears every tax season..."

Up until now, we had focused on separating the Puppet State and the resistance.

If we had warmed up with WWE, it was time to move on to UFC. Now, it was time to show the Anomalies what a real resistance looked like.

And I, the Undertaker, had learned UFC techniques from an old German communist.

"Wait," I interjected. "Before we launch attacks on the Voids of the Puppet State, there's one last thing we need to set up."

"Which is...?"

"Let's establish the 'real names' and 'aliases' of all Awakeners this time."

In the past, almost all revolutionaries used aliases instead of their real names. They all wanted to become idols of ideology. For example, the original idol Lenin's real name was Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, a name that no one except hardcore idol fans remembered. Not even his comrades were familiar with it. It was thanks to this discretion that anyone captured and interrogated by the state could maintain some level of security.

"If you don't want to die, tell us the name of the leader who gave you orders!"

"L-Lenin! Comrade Lenin!"

"Lenin? Who's that? Tell us his real name!"

"I don't know his real name either!"

Surprisingly, an equivalent security system was maintained in Korea until the early 2000s. Ideological agitators were often ignorant of technical and practical advancements like cybersecurity.

I decided to follow this ancient tradition.

"Until now, aliases were either self-proclaimed or naturally created, like pro gamers' nicknames. But from now on, we'll assign these aliases with the explicit purpose of acting as pseudonyms for the resistance."

"Oh?"

"Revealing your real name to Anomalies is quite dangerous, even from a ritualistic perspective. Let's change the culture entirely this time."

Hide your real name as much as possible. Never call each other by your real names, even by mistake, especially when entering Voids or fighting Anomalies.

'This taboo was already being observed voluntarily within the more experienced guilds. With a little push, it'll soon become an unspoken rule across the Korean Peninsula.'

As I predicted, the guilds across the regions followed the guidelines from the National Road Management Corps without much suspicion.

We formed the organization. We prepared the members. And just as the atmosphere was ripening, Do-hwa finally dropped a quest directive across the Korean Peninsula.

Author: [National Road] Noh Do-hwa

Notice:

Recently, numerous Anomalies and Voids claiming to be or mimicking "state institutions" have been discovered across the Korean Peninsula.

As you all know, there is currently no legitimate government in the Korean Peninsula. Do not trust anyone claiming to belong to a government institution.

As of now, the National Road Management Corps will collectively refer to all Anomalous phenomena mimicking government institutions as the "Puppet State."

Those who subdue Anomalies and Voids related to the Puppet State will receive certain rewards.

Rewards will be paid in Korean won.

Please ensure you have a means to prove your subjugation and report it to the National Road Management Corps.

A permanent post has been set up on SG Net for submissions, so please make use of it.

That is all.

National Road Management Corps Leader, Noh Do-hwa

The extermination order had been issued.

'How touching.'

In the past, say, around the 100th cycle, we could never have issued quests like this. The only way to mobilize Awakeners on a national scale back then was to borrow the voice of a constellation. Rewards were also haphazard. We had to gather useful weapons or visions that could enhance each Awakener's abilities and distribute them like "opportunities."

'Not anymore.'

Liberating the Tutorial Fairies from the Infinite Void and establishing a cooperative relationship to successfully open the Dream Casino had afforded us access to the dream-based currency system, where earning money in dreams allowed you to fulfill wishes.

The desire to escape from the harsh struggle for survival and enjoy a comfortable fantasy, even for just eight hours of sleep, was universal and primal.

'Simply offering rewards of tens of millions, hundreds of millions, or even billions of won is enough to stimulate the desires of countless Awakeners.'

I'll admit it. Everything in the world has its pros and cons. My steps to expand humanity's liberated zones inadvertently helped the Puppet State Anomaly grow, but the regressor's system was prepared to crush such minor side effects.

[Mr. Undertaker.]

[The Baekpa Guild in Chungju has raided the National Tax Service. One member was seriously injured, but the Void was successfully half-destroyed.]

Soon, the Saintess's Telepathy began relaying urgent reports.

[Awakeners across the regions are subduing buildings like police stations, fire stations, community centers, and schools while exploring Voids.]

[Some of these Voids don't seem related to the Puppet State. What should we do in such cases?]

"Leave them be. For now."

It didn't matter if the resistance's attacks weren't precise. After all, the enemy wasn't human, they were Anomalies. What mattered was fostering an atmosphere where subduing Anomalies related to the Puppet State and receiving rewards was seen as a sweet "honey" among Awakeners.

"We don't even need to completely subdue them. Just damaging the buildings or disrupting their operations is enough."

[I see... Understood.]

The resistance was fundamentally an underground force. Completely eliminating the Puppet State was a distant goal. No, even if we toppled the Puppet State and the Korean Peninsula returned to the resistance's control, a new state born from the resistance would eventually emerge.

"Both WWE and UFC are shows. Even if blood spills and bones break, the show must go on."

The Puppet State must not disappear. In fact, it must maintain its identity as a "state" forever. So that we, the Awakeners, humanity's allies, can continue to exist as humans who are "not enchanted by state ideology" and "fight for their own freedom."

[Not subduing them is itself a method of subdual... I didn't know such a thing existed.]

"It's not that rare. The Tutorial Fairies are the same."

[Really?]

"Yes. Thanks to the fairies, we can interfere with the vast Void of "dreams." If we forcibly capture all of them, the Nameless One from the unconscious world will rise."

[The ecology of Voids is truly fascinating the more you think about it...]

Three years passed like this.

- Anonymous: Went Void exploring this time and found a bunch of school buildings lined up like dominoes lol. Thought it was some kind of academy city lol

└Anonymous: Did you get the reward??

└Anonymous: Yep. Knocked over the dominoes and easily sucked up 1.3 billion in rewards lol.

└Anonymous: Damn, I'm so jealous...

└Anonymous: So I donated 300 million of my share to our golden-handed DM-nim lol. This is why I risk my life exploring Voids.

└Anonymous: ?

Now, posts like this were common on SG Net. There was no need to completely destroy the Puppet State's buildings, which were tainted by Void Corruption. Just damaging the exterior enough would automatically trigger the rewards. For Awakeners, there was no better farming ground.

'This is enough.'

I turned off my smartphone.

'With this, Awakeners using aliases are no longer susceptible to the Puppet State's common sense alteration brainwashing.'

The Puppet State's strategy of parasitizing the regressor's success to build its own power had been thwarted.

I stood up, a satisfied smile lingering on my lips.

It was Wednesday—time for my regular study session with the Saintess. For a regressor with no weekends, Wednesday was the happiest day of the week.

'Where should I have Dok-seo place this story?' I thought to myself as I walked toward the Saintess's house in Yongsan. 'Since it's about the Anomaly connected to the National Tax Service, maybe around then? Or right after the story where we meet parallel-world Dang Seo-rins on a passenger plane at Yeouido Airport?'

Let me confess upfront: neither option became canon.

I didn't know it yet then, but this story wasn't over.

'Hmm. Both the Eastern Holy State and the Puppet State are state systems, so contrasting a human Puppet State built using Anomalies with an Anomaly Puppet State building a state using humans isn't a bad idea...'

My footsteps halted.

A regressor's vision was broad. Even while walking without paying particular attention to anything, I could catch a sentence in the corner of my vision.

It was on a stone wall blocking the exit of the Inunaki Tunnel. Written there—not in Japanese but in Korean, not in red but in pink—was the following sentence:

Hello, Mr. Undertaker?

I stared at it silently. The Inunaki Tunnel was a Japanese Anomaly through and through. Even though I used it as my hideout, it shouldn't have learned Korean.

Perhaps Ah-ryeon or Dok-seo had painted it as a joke. I decided to think so.

I walked ahead and exited the tunnel.

About ten meters away, small stones were scattered on the ground in a very particular pattern that could be read as follows:

If this is not a dream

Or rather, it had to be read that way.

The thickness of the letters was expressed with pebbles, and the strokes of the handwriting were marked with gravel.

A spring breeze blew, scattering the gravel.

The sentence changed.

Can I borrow a moment of your time?

The spring gently breezed.

May I borrow a moment of your time?

A gust strong enough to blow away eyebrows blew.

The gravel all flew away. Even the pebbles rolled away.

Only twisted traces remained.

?

I immediately changed my route.

I had prepared 365 routes to the Saintess's house in Yongsan from the tunnel in Busan to the tunnel in Seoul. I even matched the number on purpose.

Although the cycles were different, the Saintess had sealed Nut, the Night Goddess. Nut governed the geocentric model, the power of the sun, and the model of the universe. She was an Outer God. The sun was the protagonist of the calendar. The number 365 to represent days of the year honored Nut. Therefore, the 365 paths from me to the Saintess were themselves a ritual crossing the solar system.

'The Saintess loves water. Water is the primordial mirror. Wednesday is the day of water in the Korean calendar. Therefore, Wednesday is when the Saintess's presence is strongest.'

I chose the 88th route, the number of days it took Mercury to orbit the sun and the path closest to water.

Since ancient times, rituals had been composed of three elements: heaven, earth, and man. Wednesday was the heavenly timing. The path of Mercury was the earthly geography. And the strongest Awakeners in the Korean Peninsula, ranked first and second, were here as well. So, there was no room for another being to intervene—

I am now behind you

Dead ants.

The corpses of millions of insects floated on the Han River.

I swallowed, sensing nothing behind me.

No, I felt the wind. The spring breeze was almost indistinguishable from a whisper. It carried the warmth of a human breath.

That spring breeze licked the back of my neck. Its tongue was long and sticky, licking me and the Han River, scattering the millions of corpses.

If you turn around, you will understand

I squeeze my eyes closed.

I couldn't bring myself to turn around. Yet ignoring it and walking away was even more impossible.

So, I let my voice flow backward alone.

"Go Yuri..."

"Yes."

The wind laughed against the back of my neck.

"Hello, Mr. Undertaker."

Footnotes:

[1] A reference to Joseon Dynasty history, where these families were also part of the resistance.

-x-X-x-

The Skeptic VI

The very first "He Who Must Not Be Named" was an Englishman who got taken down by some dropout. The second-generation successor of that title, however, was different.

Go Yuri appeared like a superstar, taking the world as her stage. And the moment she set foot upon it, she took everyone by storm.

My comrades and I were annihilated and, presumably, humankind itself went extinct.

In my epilogues, I've described it like this:

After that day, I never again contacted Go Yuri.

At the very least, the number of times we met face-to-face could be counted on one hand. We only interacted three, maybe four times at most over hundreds of cycles.

Take special note of the phrase "the number of times we met face-to-face."

In truth, I very rarely had a real-life fan meet-up with Go Yuri. Of course, in the unconscious realm of the dream-within-a-dream, I saw her fairly often, but that wasn't reality. It was quite literally just a dream. You wouldn't claim, "Wow, Mom! I just met this YouTuber in person!" just because you chatted with them on a livestream. (Although there were some folks who got reality and the virtual world all mixed up.)

Anyway, back to the point.

How to tell apart the "real Go Yuri" from the "Go Yuri in my dreams"? Surprisingly easy. You could figure it out just from how she addressed me.

First, the dream version of Go Yuri preferred calling me Guild Leader.

As you know, Dream Yuri was an illegal squatter in my unconscious, which meant she could peep at my memories anytime she pleased. Even the fact that she'd once been a member of the Undertaker's guild—she learned that by sifting through my recollections.

The real one was different.

The real Go Yuri usually called me "Mr. Undertaker," "Undertaker, sir," or simply "Doc." She had no sense whatsoever that we'd ever belonged to the same guild, so for her, that reality was never even on her radar.

Incidentally, her forms of address changed based on her level of affection for me. From least to most affectionate: Mr. Undertaker, Undertaker, sir, and then Doc.

An example would go like this:

"Huwa. How intriguing. To think you're calling me exactly by my name."

Her voice, friendly and gentle, drifted from behind me.

"Surely, for you, Undertaker, sir, this must be nearly the first time we've met. All we did was briefly lock eyes at Busan Station, right? But could it be that you've known me for longer?"

Yes.

What was there to hide?

This very moment in this cycle was one of those "three, maybe four times" where I actually met Go Yuri in person that I spoke of in that epilogue. A genuine, real-life fan meet-up for the first time in thousands of years.

I felt like I was about to lose my mind.

If worst comes to worst, I'll just kill myself.

I swallowed hard, concentrating on the sensation of saliva sliding down my throat and on the graceful ripples of the Han River—where ant corpses drifted by.

I forced myself to stay calm.

"What's so strange about it? You called me 'Undertaker' even though we've only just met, so we're even."

"Ahaha. Doc, you're way too famous compared to someone like me. The gap in prestige feels even bigger than Guan Yu's fame versus Bian Xi's name value."[1]

Wee-ooo! Wee-ooo! Wee-ooo!

In my head, a police siren was blaring nonstop.

Amazingly, even that siren was something Go Yuri, as an illusion in my mind, was mimicking with a sunny smile. The entire world had become Go Yuri.

This is dangerous.

Why?Why? We'd only exchanged two lines, so how had she instantly jumped multiple rungs up the affection-laced address ladder?

I struggled to remain calm.

"Heaven's net is vast and wide, seeming loose yet letting nothing slip through... I have sources of information you know nothing about, so of course I'd be aware of an Awakener of your level."

"Oh, the Tao Te Ching. That's a passage discussing the Way of Heaven and Earth, right? You've been referencing the sky and ground repeatedly—is that on purpose?"

Spare me.

Please, just let me live.

"Ahaha. Also, there's actually no way I could not know about you in the first place, Doc."

"That's a strange thing to say. Why's that?"

"Because—"

Then, inexplicably, there was an instant of silence, maybe a decisecond of hesitation. It was so brief that unless you knew Go Yuri as intimately as I did, you'd never notice, but her lips gaped for a moment, as if glitching. Right after that, her voice resumed.

"Because—I'm a huge fan of Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Gongsun Zan Edition, the serial novel posted every day on SG Net by the author Mudang, who does two chapters a day!"[2]

"..."

"Ehehe. I've never left a comment, but I follow every chapter and always click that recommend button! Even this morning."

"..."

"Seriously, Mudang goes too far sometimes. In the author's notes, he casually brags that he still has over 200 chapters in reserve. Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for the daily double updates, but from a reader's viewpoint, that just makes you wish for five updates a day."

"..."

Honestly... Maybe Go Yuri really was a good kid? Maybe there were unavoidable circumstances behind her driving me and my allies to our deaths back in the 88th cycle?

As those of you with keen eyes might have noticed, I was bantering to myself—intentionally, truly clinging to life. After all, laughter can lighten gravity. To resist Go Yuri's magnetism, which drew all things toward her, I had no choice but to cast off weight.

"Let's get to the main point."

Contrary to my frantic mental state, my outward tone and expression were heavy as lead.

"If you came here just because you're a fan, then I refuse this meeting," I continued. "I don't play favorites with any particular reader."

"Eh? But aren't you the author on SG Net who's banned the most readers?"

"Wait, how did you know about that...? A ban isn't some sign of affection, it's an expression of disregard. Besides, there's no way I can see those brats who sneer that Romance of the Three Kingdoms is just out-of-touch boomer content to be real readers."

"But isn't your definition of a true reader someone who got started withRomance, dived into the historical records, yet still appreciates the grandeur of the fictional story, thus keeping both romance and realism alive?"

"So what?"

"That's too high a bar!"

"Huh. Well, that's how masterpieces are. Readers pick books, but masterpieces pick their readers right back. You lot who can't appreciate the splendor of the Three Kingdoms—"

Ah.

...

"You lot...?"

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Let's get to the main point."

"Oh? Heh."

Laughter trickled out.

Ah-ha-ha.

The "ah," the "ha," and the final "ha" in that laughter each had different intensities. They grew sharper and grew closer.

Right behind me.

Not even four inches away, a rosy laugh sank softly along with her breath.

"How fascinating."

The fine hairs on my neck stood on end.

Her exhalation was so dense that her voice didn't exactly resonate through the air, it melted into my skin. A breath with a texture reminiscent of dripping candle wax.

It wrapped around my neck from behind.

If someone else had actually grabbed and squeezed my throat, it might have been easier to breathe. Even then, I didn't turn around.

"Understood. It's a shame we can't talk face to face, but—just as you said, Doc—I'll get straight to the point."

She whispered.

"This past winter and spring were unusually dry. The same goes for last year, the year before that, and the year before that. We've had a constant drought."

"..."

"Nature only seems slow to humans, but it still cycles along at its own measured pace. A poor harvest always brings consequences."

A whisper.

"Which is why this summer, there's going to be a typhoon, an incredibly powerful one."

"...Could you talk from a bit farther away?"

"I am far enough. Really."

"That's a lie. You're practically whispering right in my ear."

"I never lie. If you doubt me, why not check with your own eyes?"

I took another deep breath. Again.

During those two twenty-second inhalations, there was no sound from behind me—only a breath, faintly mixed with laughter like the scent of apples, clinging to my neck, my back, my spine, and my waist. At first, her breath merely pressed lightly against my neck, but like fingers counting upward, it gradually coiled around my entire body. Now, I could feel Go Yuri's every inhalation across my skin. It was getting hard to distinguish my breathing from hers.

The edges of my existence were starting to blur.

"If it's a powerful typhoon..."

My voice remained the only thing clearly separated, so I clung to it—word by word, sentence by sentence—like a lifeline on a cliff.

Calmly.

"A sea serpent that causes monsoons and floods... Are you talking about Leviathan?"

"Oh? You knew about that too?"

"As I said, I have an information network you know nothing about."

The Super Monsoon Anomaly, Leviathan. It was an Anomaly once purged by constructing an Ark.

"That's amazing! As expected of you, Doc. Then maybe you've also guessed that the dragon is still getting bigger?"

"You're telling me it keeps growing?"

"Yes."

Haaah, Go Yuri sighed.

Her breath coursed through me like electricity, from the crown of my head all the way down my spine. I barely kept my balance.

"Frankly, I'm really curious about what's going on too. Under normal circumstances, it shouldn't be able to grow this huge. Fascinating, right?"

"..."

Those words brought an old memory to mind—a distant scene from the past.

In the 687th cycle, while we were suppressing the Mastermind, Cheon Yo-hwa ascended until her fist alone swelled to the size of the entire Earth. At that time, the whole world was drowned in bloody waters.

That blood flood was indiscriminate, submerging the domain of humanity and the Void of Anomalies alike. Just when it seemed as if Cheon Yo-hwa would crush the Earth for good, an Anomaly burst forth from the center of that crimson sea.

- Gr҉ oo҉... oo҉... Gru҉... oo҉...!

Leviathan.

Even as all the other Anomalies were swallowed up by the Infinite Void's ocean of blood, Leviathan alone struggled until the bitter end. And though Cheon Yo-hwa destroyed Leviathan's entire body with a single flick of her hand...

At that time, Cheon Yo-hwa had devoured both the Infinite Void and the Mastermind, two types of Outer Gods. She was an Anomaly of unprecedented power—strong enough to rewrite even my past. And yet, Leviathan still fought back.

More importantly, in the 687th cycle, Leviathan was noticeably larger than before. Each of the dragon's scales had turned into a human eyeball, covering its entire body in hundreds of billions of eyes.

I frowned. I had assumed it had gained power because the Earth flooded and triggered a great deluge—amplifying Leviathan's water affinity, but... could there be another cause?

In this cycle, there hadn't been any major flooding, so why was Go Yuri suddenly hinting that "Leviathan has grown bigger"?

Questions piled up, perplexing me even further.

"Even if Leviathan is getting bigger," I began cautiously, "I already have a countermeasure."

"Oh? Really?"

"Yes. If I see Leviathan getting close to the Korean Peninsula, I plan to plaster the beaches with the Chinese character for 'tiger' (虎)."

"Ahhh? Wow! Wow!" Go Yuri clapped her hands in delight. "So you already knew about that tactic! This time I'm truly surprised. As expected of you, Doc. You're amazing!"

It's the strategy you taught me in the past.

I bit back the words that almost slipped off my tongue.

Now that I think about it, both back then and now, Go Yuri had always been strangely... entangledwith Leviathan. When she led the Ark and hunted down Leviathan in person, didn't she appear near the end like some illusion, delivering the final blow?

A case where Go Yuri didn't just advise me but personally subdued another Anomaly...

From my perspective—from what I had witnessed with my own eyes—that had been the only time.

So why? Leviathan was an ocean-class threat, sure, but there was no obvious reason for Go Yuri to treat it with such special attention. Did they share some sort of similarity? Some reason I was missing?

"But, Doc. Unfortunately, you can't quell Mr. Dragon using just that method this summer."

In the midst of my doubts multiplying like germs, Go Yuri dropped a thunderbolt.

"What?"

"He's grown too enormous. Even at this very moment, he's still getting bigger."

Go Yuri smiled sweetly.

My body, already synchronized to her breathing, felt each subtle vibration of her laughter.

"I'm sure you know, Doc, but even predators usually just growl when they run into each other. They don't actually fight."

"...Because both sides know they'd just get hurt."

"Right. So you can scare off a predator just by roaring at it."

She playfully mimicked a tiger's roar.

Roooar!

"But like I said, the drought has dragged on for too long."

"..."

"If a predator gets hungry enough, even if it has to bleed, it'll go out hunting to tear off a mouthful of flesh."

I had no idea what she was implying.

Go Yuri leaned in with infinite gentleness, the way a kid might secretly share answers with their partner during a test.

"I call him Mr. Dragon, but you, Doc... You call him Leviathan."

"..."

"Leviathan. Besides the Bible, there's something else that name brings to mind, right?"

Leviathan.

From the original language of the Protestant Bible, it's rendered as Līvyāṯān. And in English, simply Leviathan.

By coincidence, there was a famous book that used that exact same name.

Thomas Hobbes, an English philosopher, wrote a work titled Leviathan.[3] That work was also where the phrase "the war of all against all" appeared—a line many people encounter at least once in their studies.

In Leviathan, Hobbes discussed many topics: rights, natural law, government, and so on. I read it not only in Korean translation but also in modern English, and with my Complete Memory, I could naturally recall what the original book cover of Leviathan looked like.

.

------------------>

.

Leviathan was a dragon. However, on Hobbes's cover, Leviathan was depicted as a king wearing a crown—a biblical threat, a monster used as a metaphor for the nation's emblem.

Leviathan was so enormous, so gargantuan in size, that it could oversee the world from beyond the horizon. And, although it might not be apparent from afar, if you studied that cover closely...

.

----------->

.

At first, those tiny, scattered details looked just like "scales of armor" draped over a king. In reality, however, the armor was made up of countless humans.

.

-------->

.

Each and every one of those people's heads was turned toward the onlooker, as if each was an "eyeball" staring right at me.

"..."

A sea dragon composed of countless eyeballs.

From ancient times, ruling over the waters has been the sacred prerogative of the emperor.

"Ah. Looks like you've figured it out?"

"..."

"Mr. Dragon is starving, so he's a bit upset. And he wants to find out who's been leaving him so hungry."

Leviathan.

There was another name for it. The State.

An Anomaly that had swelled to colossal proportions along the regressor's timeline was now on its way here.

Footnotes:

[1] In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Guan Yi easily defeats and kills Bian Xi when the latter plotted to ambush him.

[2] Mudang is the phonetic spelling of ZERO_SUGAR in Korean.

[3] In Thomas Hobbes' political treatise, Leviathan(1651), the monster Leviathan symbolizes the state, a powerful centralized authorty meant to prevent social collapse. The book's famous concept of the "war of all against all" (bellum omnium contra omnes) was meant to highlight the necessity of absolute governance to suppress human conflict.