Chapter 224
Chapter 224
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 224
Chapter Title: Black Curtain Syndrome
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Now, as you all know by this point, there are a few topics I deliberately avoid mentioning in this tale.
For example, the moment of the world's destruction.
Even though I sing the "it's over, it's over" song every time, the scenes of "World_End_1_Second_Before.avi" captured on my camera are surprisingly rare.
As a personification of rationality myself, there are two perfectly valid reasons for this.
The first is an extremely altruistic one.
In other words, to protect the honor and reputation of my comrades.
[Daddy] [Daddy] [Daddy] [Daddy]
[Die] [Die] [Die] [Die]
For instance, in some loops, I was killed by Ha-yul.
Of course, it only looked like Ha-yul on the outside. In reality, it had to be seen as a monster completely corrupted by Void Poison.
It wasn't that Ha-yul's heart was uniquely possessed by a strong Oedipus complex, executing "succeeding your father."
-Guild Leader, please just die.
-Undertaker. Sorry, but will you die with me?
-Please go to hell, Teacher.
-…….
Sim A-ryeon, Dang Seo-rin, Cheon Yo-hwa, Saintess, and so on.
The others had no trouble piercing holes in my heart either.
Regardless of the loop, anyone who satisfied the condition of "being the only one to survive to the end with me" had a very high probability of turning dark and delivering the finishing blow to me.
(No Do-ha would casually deliver the finishing blow even without satisfying the condition.)
For the record, I harbor no ill feelings whatsoever.
There's no way my comrades would have done that of their own free will. What fault could those kids possibly have? It's all the fault of those evil anomalies that bewitched and manipulated people as they pleased.
But what about others... in other words, readers like you all?
'Th-that-thing! How dare it smash the protagonist's head! What a bitch!'
'The vibes are giving me cancer. Let's kill it before it becomes a comrade.'
'Drag those things out! Drag them out right now!'
As someone well-versed in subculture, I could easily foresee that witch hunts and slander like this would erupt among some readers, heating up the forums.
Probably memes like "As expected, Go Yo-ri, who only killed the protagonist once, is the true comrade" would trend.
What a horrific spectacle. As a regressor of common sense and refinement, I simply could not tolerate it.
Therefore, from a national perspective, I deleted most of the loops where I was killed by my comrades. A heartbreaking decision for fans of bleak stories, but please understand.
So, what about the remaining second reason?
"Bro."
"Yeah, Seo-gyu."
"I—SG Guy am the black curtain behind everything."
The second reason was, uh......
Just that it was sometimes fucking hilarious.
No matter how dire the scene, even if the world was on the brink of destruction right that instant, if our SG Guy Seo-gyu suddenly dropped a line like that with a serious face, you couldn't help but wonder, "Was world destruction really such a heavy topic?"
A so-called Black Curtain Syndrome.
Whenever someone other than me survived to the end, that person was designated as the "black curtain" who destroyed Earth, and they went weird.
The 243rd loop was when it happened to be Seo-gyu.
And it was also the first time in the Undertaker's life that Seo-gyu was selected as the final survivor (excluding me).
The SG Guy, whose head always exploded first no matter what, had now survived to world destruction—what a grand feeling in the chest.
"Seo-gyu."
"Yes, Bro."
"If I hadn't been there, you'd have gotten your head smashed by the Tutorial Fairy and game over. Huh? There's a limit to reckless moves. How the hell are you the black curtain?"
Seo-gyu wagged his finger side to side: tsk-tsk-tsk.
"You're clueless, as always."
-…….
For a moment, I nearly turned Seo/gyu into ground meat right there.
To shatter the serene lake-like composure of a regressor in just one try—what an outrageously provocative feat.
"As in all creations, the true black curtain always appears in the novel's prologue, Bro. For you, Bro, the prologue is none other than the Busan Station concourse, right? On that Busan Station concourse, who left the strongest first impression faster than anyone else—who was your 'first character'?"
"Uh....... That'd be you, right?"
"Exactly. So naturally, I'm the most suitable person to be the black curtain. I've been hiding the truth perfectly."
"No......"
You were fated to die right there, you madman.
I blatantly manipulated my facial muscles to convey my intent to Seo-gyu, but it didn't get through at all to Seo-gyu, who was completely consumed by Black Curtain Syndrome.
"All this time, I've been treated as nothing more than an SG Net shuttle. That was also my disguise. Appearing first but thoroughly hiding my importance....... Isn't that the epitome of a black curtain?"
"Wasn't it just literally no importance?"
"Heh."
Seo-gyu flashed a deadly smile.
"—What if I induced you to think that way?"
I decided to return that deadliness back to Seo-gyu himself. I squeezed out aura and smashed my fist into him.
"Heh heh, so barbaric, Bro. Gahk. Using violence now won't change anything. Heh, ugh, heh......"
It had barely any effect.
Black Curtain Syndrome granted the victim baseless confidence, laughter fixed to "heh heh," narrow eyes that reduced pupil area by 99%, and above all, the delusion that everything went according to their plan.
But it didn't grant physical power.
I hoisted Seo-gyu up.
"Ah. Heh heh, even if you eliminate me here, I will one day return......"
And flung him off the cliff.
This wasn't an ordinary cliff. In the 243rd loop, the Flat Earth theory had arrived, making the ground truly flat, and I had thrown Seo-gyu off the edge of that world.
Scattering creepy "heh heh heh heh—" laughter, Seo-gyu fell into the void.
He probably didn't die alone.
I died not long after.
In a loop hit by Flat Earth, the cliff edge kept narrowing until the entire Korean Peninsula plummeted below. I couldn't escape the falling ending either.
Like this, Black Curtain Syndrome was originally just a spice that annoyed me at the end of certain loops.
Or at least, it used to be.
The anomaly started in the very next loop, the 244th.
2
The moment I opened my eyes in the Busan Station concourse, a strong gut feeling told me something was wrong.
'What the hell?'
This almost never happened.
At most, after the 135th loop ended due to Ten Thousand Illusions' Play, when a laptop was placed on my thigh.
But this felt different from that time. It wasn't that something new had been "added" to my regression.
Quite the opposite.
"You fucking bastard! What the hell is that bullshit!"
As usual, SG Guy roared a majestic lion's roar at Fairy No. 264, but... 'that' was missing from his head.
His head was missing.
No, his hair was missing.
To put it another way, all the hair had run away from the pores on Seo-gyu's scalp.
"Pfft-!"
"Ah, shit. What the?"
"So gross......"
I mindlessly spat out the Cilon tea I'd gotten from the vending machine into the air, and the people around recoiled in disgust and backed away.
But I couldn't even think about wiping my mouth. Not just the Cilon tea and saliva, but my soul was leaking out drop by drop.
What the actual fuck is that?
"You fucking bastard! If you've suddenly dragged people here, you should start with an apology instead of running your mou—......"
"Excuse me. One moment. Ah, over there. Sorry. Yes. Please step aside for a second. Thank you. Seo-gyu? Seo-gyu?"
"Yeah?"
I pushed through the crowd and approached Seo-gyu.
Seo-gyu, who had been unleashing lion roars at the fairy in rapid fire while ramping up his rage meter, froze at the sudden call.
A flicker of bewilderment passed through Seo-gyu's eyes as he looked at me. Naturally, since in this loop, we were total strangers.
-...Who are you to butt in?
"Don't you recognize me? I took PT lessons from you before, Seo-gyu."
"Huh."
"In Nam-gu. Fourth floor PT center. Don't you remember me?"
Seo-gyu looked flustered.
In fact, Seo-gyu had worked as a PT trainer at a center. The address I just mentioned was exactly his old workplace.
Naturally, the rage in Seo-gyu's eyes slowly melted away. Instead, fear settled in—the fear of becoming "the guy who can't even recognize a client who paid good money for PT after just a few years."
"Uh, uh...... Ah, yes. Client. Fancy meeting you here again. It's been so long I didn't recognize you right away."
"Whew, you taught me so diligently back then that I actually got hooked on PT. I used to be a total anchovy, but thanks to you, I became human."
Seo-gyu's eyes instantly scanned my upper and lower body. It was a PT trainer's skill.
Naturally, my muscles—passed down across loops via the [Continue] ability—boasted extreme combat compression.
Seo-gyu's complexion darkened even more. Did I really forget such an excellent client?
"Ah, thank you......"
"Instead of fighting that weird fairy here, come over here and let's talk for a bit."
"Hoee. Weird? The way you humans casually pick fights and slander me is just too scary......"
For the record, this was the surest and fastest way to both "prevent SG Guy Seo-gyu from getting his head smashed" and "not kill Fairy No. 264."
Seo-gyu was a thug, but surprisingly dutiful about his assigned role.
Anyway, I dragged Seo-gyu over and, going really roundabout, asked in the most polite language possible, without any rudeness or offense.
Q. Since when have you been bald?
A. Huh? I've always been like this.
What?
I slipped away before Seo-gyu's gaze shifted to "Are you really my PT client?"
Only then did I have the leisure to look around at the other concourse members besides Seo-gyu—the people tied together by fate, in MZ gen terms, the same "kong-yeon."
Soon after, it was revealed that Seo-gyu wasn't the only one missing something.
"I have no intention of joining Yi Baek's group!"
"Aaaang?"
"Eek. Even if you glare and threaten me like that, if I don't want to, I don't want to!"
Sim A-ryeon's stutter was gone.
Normally, without my intervention, she would have been forcibly dragged away by Yi Baek, but for some reason, in the 244th loop, she was properly voicing her convictions.
An anomaly?
"Ara ara. Ufufu."
Go Yo-ri's shadow was gone.
The others hadn't noticed yet, but it was plain as day to me. The clothes Go Yo-ri was wearing cast shadows, but her head and limbs beyond the clothes cast none at all.
Definitely an anomaly.
'No, what the hell is going on? It's too early for Butterfly Effect influence.'
It was utterly bewildering. Had the worldline suddenly changed in the 244th loop or something?
But the Busan Station concourse was literally just the tutorial.
The real shock came after leaving Busan Station.
"Hi. I'm Dang Seo-rin."
-......
"From now on, I'm gonna gather people and somehow thrash around in this messed-up world. You're the Undertaker, right? Wanna work with me?"
Dang Seo-rin, extending her hand and proposing a joint venture to me—had no witch hat.
No broomstick either.
With a trembling voice, I asked,
"Uh, excuse me for asking a stranger this, but....... D-did you not like Harry Potter and trains by any chance?"
"Huh? What are you talking about? I prefer Pokémon and cars."
-......
Anomaaaaalyyyyyy!