The Regressed Mad Dog Bites
The regressed mad dog asked me a question.
“You really brought a lot, didn’t you?”
Thanks to the administrative office finally emptying out after even the headmaster left, I had a moment to check the loot I’d farmed.
“You grabbed all the equipment, and you brought even more potions than I expected. Three spiritual medicines too?”
“There’s also scrolls and magic items besides that.”
“You really scraped everything clean, huh.”
I shrugged without answering. It wouldn’t have looked good to say it was because of a gamer’s compulsion.
“Is there anything else we need?”
“Just a few more potions should do it. And…”
Diana rummaged through her bag for a moment before continuing.
“Some camping gear? Food supplies too.”
“I already brought that stuff.”
I pulled a brick out of my pocket. The Helisbort family’s treasure had finished its engraving process, but because we ran out of time it was still in brick form.
A brick-shaped artifact whose true power has yet to awaken.
Engraving complete. Activation pending.
“???”
“Well, you probably already knew about this.”
Since Diana was a regressor, it was obvious she already knew, so I slipped it back into my pocket.
“Huh? Did you have something to say?”
“…No. It’s nothing.”
She looked a little flustered, but Diana simply shook her head.
“We can buy whatever we’re missing on the way out…”
I drew out my words, setting the mood.
“Can you finally tell me properly now? We still have time, right?”
“Alright. Honestly, I’ve been waiting for you to ask.”
Diana smiled as if she were hiding nothing at all.
She didn’t answer because I never asked.
It was like a habit for regressors—they only spoke when questioned. But for a normal person who had to listen to it every time, it was incredibly frustrating. Most people didn’t even know what they didn’t know.
“Shall we talk while we walk?”
There was one thing I wanted to make clear: I wasn’t saying I couldn’t trust Diana anymore.
She had already shown me goodwill and even proved she was a regressor. However, I had done many things at her one-sided request—or rather, demand. Of course, everything she asked was necessary for a regressor. In reality, every single thing had benefited me.
The kidnapping was the fastest method. The training was the most necessary. And the Pilgrimage would clearly be needed in the future.
But just because something was necessary didn’t automatically make it right. From the perspective of the one enduring it, it was impossible not to feel anything.
Accumulating dissatisfaction, anxiety, alienation, and humiliation gnawed away at the heart. This was a completely separate issue from trust.
So while it might seem like a frustrating and pointless procedure from a regressor’s point of view, for the person following along, these emotions absolutely needed to be resolved.
“I want to know about your goal.”
Even if we couldn’t share that time together, I at least wanted to clearly understand her objective.
Regression was her unique ability. In other words, she chose to do it. There had to be an incredibly powerful motive—strong enough to repeat it so many times that her very senses had changed from everyone else’s.
If I heard her ultimate goal, wouldn’t it be easy to cooperate with all the sub-objectives beneath it?
“My goal…”
Her voice sounded somehow distant. As if she were recalling a very old memory.
“Are you sure you want to hear it? Once you do, things will never be the same.”
“? Well, I’m prepared for that much.”
At my answer, she looked at me. With an expression that seemed either pitying or amused, she told me.
“That you don’t die.”
“…Huh?”
For a moment, I couldn’t understand. I mean, I’m alive right now. So why was not dying her goal?
“Helio Helisbort. You die roughly between three to five years from now.”
It was a clear statement that shattered any foolish escapism.
“I die?”
Rather than fear, I simply felt dazed. Diana had gone through an enormous number of regressions, hadn’t she? And yet the purpose of all those regressions was my survival? That meant that in all those countless loops, I had never once survived.
“Cough.”
In my dazed state, Diana coughed. It sounded closer to something wet than the sound of wind. When I looked at her, blood was already flowing from the corner of her mouth. Bright red blood.
The restriction.
Reality came crashing back in an instant.
“F-first, let’s treat—”
“Listen.”
When I brought a handkerchief to her mouth, she grabbed my wrist. Even with strength over 200, the grip was so powerful it caused pain.
“I have made many choices and challenges. But the end has always been the same.”
She continued speaking, blood gushing between her teeth.
She told me.
“You die. No matter what I do.”
A verdict. A declaration.
The regressor had pronounced my absolute death.
My body trembled. This wasn’t on the level of whether I could use mana or not. The goal I had wanted to hear to lighten the burden on my heart turned out to be this heavy.
Was I afraid? Yes, I was afraid. Who wouldn’t fear a predetermined death?
Was I in despair? Yes, I was in despair. Total annihilation according to a regressor’s statistics.
You will die.
No matter what I do.
— Diana Diabeluna
[So will you give up?]
Well, I don’t think that’s for me to decide.
“There is a way. It’s just difficult.”
Her voice was calm. But it was hard to believe her easily. Because it was clear that even she herself didn’t believe those words.
Her trembling arms, tightly clenched lips. Her pale face, the moisture gathering at the corners of her eyes. Every single sign showed she was holding back intense emotion.
“Why haven’t you given up?”
Everyone knows studying is for their own sake. It’s obvious that a parent’s scolding is advice for a better life. Yet why do people curse and resent their teachers and parents? Because it’s hard. Sometimes, even when they know the other person isn’t at fault, they resent them simply because they made life difficult.
In that sense, she had fulfilled every condition. Even if the first regression was out of goodwill toward Helio, the continuous repetitions were an entirely different story.
“Because you told me you believed in me.”
Diana smiled faintly with her blood-stained lips.
“‘As long as the regressor doesn’t give up, my life will eventually return to normal.’ Because that’s what you told me.”
As if she had said everything she needed to, she released the hand she had been gripping.
“So my goal has not changed from that time until now.”
Then she took the handkerchief from my hand and wiped her mouth. If not for the faint metallic scent at the tip of my nose and the bloodstains scattered on the floor, it would have seemed like nothing had happened.
“Did that answer your question?”
“…………”
Her answer left me with a strange emotion for a moment. It wasn’t quite disgust, nor was it quite suspicion, but it was unmistakably a dark, murky feeling.
It probably wasn’t a lie. But it wasn’t without performance either. Showing the best appearance at the best timing. It was something any person would do naturally.
“It was an answer.”
“Then now…”
“I believe you.”
“…Pardon?”
But I let go of that entire emotion.
“Whatever your feelings were when you said it, even if it was mechanical, I believe all of it. Your words, my death, and your sincerity.”
“………Why?”
“Because I decided to.”
“……………”
It was easy to doubt. It was easy to act brave and say it wasn’t certain yet. But truly valuable things were always found within what was difficult.
I believe in the situation I chose and the burning affection I feel right now.
Well, if you ask whether I can fully understand it, that’s not exactly true either.
Even now, after long-term Descent with Oh Ji-o, the power of passion was still incredibly strong, wasn’t it? He probably died fighting the Evil God nine times out of ten, but even without fighting the Evil God, he was the type to eventually get stabbed to death.
“So save me. Make sure I don’t die.”
As a pseudo-regressor, Oh Ji-o’s knowledge was vast. But it lacked the vividness of something personally experienced by a regressor. So I would rely on her completely.
Since I had heard her goal anyway, there was nothing left to hesitate over.
“…How can you say something like that so easily?”
“Well… maybe it’s because I’ve fallen for you?”
In this world, the weak have no choice. And by falling for her first, I had already become the weak one.
Even though there had been no special event or time to share feelings, the affection that felt like it had been branded onto my soul continued to burn fiercely.
I was a little curious about the source of that intensity, but it wasn’t that important. Wasn’t that the logic of a coward who had to attach a reason to every single feeling?
Whether it was because of her face, because I fell for her mad dog act, because of some connection from a previous life, or even because of the regressor’s schemes—it didn’t matter.
What mattered was that I felt this way right now, and I chose to follow that feeling.
“If the person I like says it so definitively, then I have to believe her.”
“…Really, you haven’t changed one bit.”
With those words, Diana stepped into my arms.
“Uh…”
“Because you’re so consistent, I can’t help but fall for you every single time.”
Crunch.
“Ugh…”
Diana bit into the side of my neck. It was no exaggeration to say she didn’t just bite—she chewed hard enough to draw blood.
“………”
When she quickly pulled away and looked at me, her mouth was now covered in my blood. A perfect specimen of a mad dog.
“Because I bit you, you’re mine now.”
It was the first time I had heard her speak informally. Yet for some reason, it felt strangely familiar, as if I had been hearing it for a long time.
I didn’t know why she bit my neck, but it seemed to be some kind of ritual for her.
“Well, I guess we’ll have to see who ends up being the owner.”
The regressed mad dog had bitten me. So from this moment on, my life was probably no longer my own.
“Anyway, since you’ve marked your territory, make sure you keep me alive.”
I lightly bit the tip of her finger as I answered.