Chapter 241
Chapter 241
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 241
Chapter Title: The Final Fragment of the Third Monad
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4
The last, third fragment of the Monad.
[Undertaker. I'm sorry to contact you so late at night. Yoo Ji-won just passed away.]
Thud.
I stopped while walking down a night street. It was one of those days when the full moon, polluted by the Void and glowing intensely red, was spewing blood-red mist.
Now, my breath was layered over that mist as well.
“What was the cause of death?”
[It's hard to know for sure. Yoo Ji-won was resting in her private quarters when suddenly the sound of a mirror shattering echoed.]
[It was that full-length mirror you called the 'Magic Mirror.']
[It shattered for no reason at all, so Yoo Ji-won tilted her head in confusion. At that moment, someone knocked on her door. Tap tap.]
[Yoo Ji-won demanded the passphrase. The person outside responded. So the moment she opened the door, everything went dark before her eyes.]
[I immediately sent a Constellation message instructing nearby Awakeners to check on Yoo Ji-won.]
[And we found her dead at the door, which was left wide open.]
“…….”
A brief silence.
[Do you have any guess as to what anomaly it might be, Undertaker?]
None.
These incidents had been happening more frequently lately.
“I have no way to speculate right now. Did this happen at the National Highway Management Corps headquarters dorms?”
[Yes.]
“Please inform Corps Leader No Do-ha as well. I'll go embalm Ji-won's body.”
[Understood.]
“…….”
Yoo Ji-won's sudden death.
But this wasn't the only one. The person delivering the news to me had no idea, but the Saintess had also been suffering a surge in sudden deaths.
'Again. Ji-won died in another ridiculous way.'
The turning point was the 669th regression.
That was after encountering the Nenets in Nar'yan-Mar, receiving the Sacred Fire, and establishing beacon towers around the world.
From then on, cases of Yoo Ji-won and the Saintess dying started increasing strangely.
670th regression.
The Saintess, strolling across Seongsu Bridge, missed a step and fell into the Han River, plummeting to her death.
Considering the Saintess's Awakening abilities, it was an utterly bizarre way to die. Moreover, she always used the Banpo Bridge for walks and never Seongsu Bridge.
Still, up to that point, I chalked it up to an unpleasant coincidence.
'The Saintess shares vision with Awakeners, so she encounters anomalies far more often than others. That heightens the chance of mental strain. She must have been possessed by some bridge-related anomaly.'
But as if mocking my judgment, absurd accidents rained down suspiciously often around Yoo Ji-won and the Saintess.
Tripping to death. Freezing to death in midsummer. Heatstroke in winter. Friendly fire. Blind arrows on the battlefield and other idiotic deaths――.
After the 683rd regression, when I began seriously investigating 'Black Screen Syndrome,' this parade of deaths reached its peak.
As if.
'As if the world itself harbored malice toward Ji-won and the Saintess.'
Why?
Why those two, of all people?
…I pondered this throughout Yoo Ji-won's funeral.
A portrait hung in place of a photo for the memorial. It was hand-drawn by Sim A-ryeon.
In the portrait, Yoo Ji-won stared blankly this way, as if saying, 'Your Excellency, I know full well there's another regression coming anyway.'
'The beacon towers I built worldwide. And Black Screen Syndrome. Triggered by my meddling with those two phenomena, something that had been dormant awakened.'
What exactly? Why?
I had no answers yet.
'Then the opposite... What if I don't build the beacon towers? Will this phenomenon disappear?'
A plausible hypothesis.
I tested it in the next regression.
I sought out the surviving Nenets in Nar'yan-Mar but avoided contact. I didn't receive the Sacred Fire from him. Naturally, I didn't build beacon towers worldwide.
“Saintess.”
[Yes.]
“No anomalies detected around Ji-won nearby?”
[No, everything's normal.]
Just like that, the sudden deaths plaguing Yoo Ji-won and the Saintess vanished as if they'd been a lie.
Until the end of this regression, the two met deaths that were, if not heroic, at least plausible.
I rubbed my dry face.
'...Alright. The trigger's confirmed, at least.'
The anomaly's identity remained shrouded in mystery.
It could be a Pariah God-level anomaly, or something pathetically weak that only activated under specific conditions.
For whatever reason, as long as I didn't build beacon towers worldwide, the 'mystery anomaly' showed no intent to eliminate Yoo Ji-won or the Saintess.
A faint lead emerged.
I threw down the gauntlet to this enigma.
'Fine. I won't aim for worldwide then. How about the entire Korean Peninsula? Can you let that slide?'
Next regression. I took the Sacred Fire from the Nenets and built beacon towers across the Korean Peninsula.
To be extra cautious, I even referenced Joseon-era beacon sites.
It was a smokescreen to signal the anomaly: 'We're just restoring history.'
Surprisingly, in this regression too, Yoo Ji-won and the Saintess met justified ends. The absurd scythe of death didn't reach them.
'Korean Peninsula's okay. Good. Then East Asia? Japanese archipelago, Taiwan, Chinese mainland, Mongolian plains? That alright?'
It was.
Beacon towers rose at key East Asian points.
If reinforcements were needed nearby, they'd hurriedly light the beacons. Spotting vertical smoke pillars in the distant sky, I'd rush over to rescue survivors.
'East Asia's fine too, huh. More generous than expected—thanks. Then, just one last push: the Indian subcontinent and Eastern Europe――.'
The Saintess died.
Overnight, a magnitude 9 earthquake struck Seoul. It wasn't just magnitude 9; a massive chasm like the jaws of hell swallowed the ground whole.
[Sorry, Undertaker.]
[I tried Time Stop, and I'm using it now, but escaping the quake zone seems impossible.]
[Until next time.]
That was the message the Saintess wrote and sent in a single second.
With those last words, her connection cut off. The dissolution of [Clairvoyance] and [Telepathy] wiped out all the Constellations she oversaw.
No, the moment they failed to predict the Seoul megaquake, the Awakeners' blind faith in Constellations had already cracked.
The machine-like social safety net I'd built across the peninsula would collapse in days.
“…….”
After accepting the Saintess's death, I immediately sought Yoo Ji-won. Busan was still intact.
But she wasn't.
That day, while heading to the hideout café, Yoo Ji-won mistook the safe path through Inunaki Tunnel, got her limbs torn apart, and was shipped across the Japanese archipelago.
[She who had Minimap.]
[Who could read maps better than anyone.]
[Yoo Ji-won.]
[Got lost and died.]
Yoo Ji-won's head rolled at the café hideout entrance. Even in death, her expression was serene.
I ground my teeth.
“…Beacons only up to East Asia. A warning not to dream beyond the Indian subcontinent.”
Both the Saintess and Yoo Ji-won were dead.
The National Highway Management Corps could barely oversee Busan outskirts. This regression raced toward its end.
Yet I still had work to do.
There was still a 'consultant' in the world I could discuss this with.
5
“Why not just give up quietly, Senior?”
A girl with an orange ponytail giggled.
Avici. Sealed in Cheon Yo-hwa's soul, barely clinging to life as a 'split personality' and 'former enemy turned ally,' she was a Pariah God.
She'd lost most of her prime power but retained the insight of a former Pariah God.
I asked Cheon Yo-hwa to summon Avici. She burst into laughter upon hearing my story.
“It's obviously Pariah God-level.”
“…As I thought.”
“Yeah. To phrase it in your style, Senior, the Korean Peninsula to East Asia is now somewhat recognized as 'your territory.'”
“…….”
“So that Pariah God over there has no intent to brutally invade your turf. Or rather, it can't. You've laid such solid groundwork.”
But—Avici smirked.
“If you try to save the whole world, beyond just your people, it'll get desperate too. No need to worry, Senior. 'That side' is just offering a moderate deal in its own way.”
“Deal?”
“Yeah. Deal. 'Stop there, Undertaker. We'll concede East Asia and such, so be satisfied. In return, south of the Himalayas and west of the Urals are mine. Reserved in advance. Deal?'”
“…….”
“Ahahaha.”
Avici cackled.
“Honestly, you should be proud. I think so. Yeah. After hundreds of regressions, you finally did it! Wow—whatever Pariah God it is, getting it to recognize the Urals and Himalayas as boundaries? A feat unmatched since Genghis Khan?”
“Any guesses why it's targeting Yoo Ji-won and the Saintess specifically?”
Avici shrugged and pouted.
“Dunnooo~?”
“…….”
“Nyaah. Back when I commanded all succubi as limbs, on the verge of unleashing Tutorial Dungeons worldwide—faster, earlier, and more uniquely than any other anomaly, initiating the Void invasion. Ah! Good times! Nights of a hundred days' revelry! I shone like a star then. This young me claimed the Akashic Records beyond the world... But. Ya know. When cheaters start gunning for me first with their regression hacks, what can ya do? Heh heh. Reduced to a pathetic anomaly trapped in a monkey's corpse, I scurried off...”
I pressed my lips together.
No need to play along with her provocation poker.
Reading my mood, Avici snorted.
Her scarlet eyes narrowed long.
“In this fallen state, I can't offer grand intel. But if Senior pays the fair 'consultation fee,' I could assist materially and morally in slaying that Pariah God?”
“Name your terms.”
“Call me Cheon Yo-hwa.”
“…….”
The surrounding air held its breath.
The sunset glow on the window snuffed out like a candle, plunging into night.
“Huh? Senior. Just once. Pleeease? Even once is fine... Cheon. Yo. Hwa. In your voice, 'Yo-hwa~' Just once?”
Avici tilted her head snakelike, leaning in and peeking up slyly.
“Then I'll cooperate. Happily. Senior. Use me freely.”
“You're already Cheon Yo-hwa.”
“Not that damned name.”
Mechanical noise leaked from Avici's lips.
“Why pretend you don't get it? Senior. Cheon Yo-hwa. Cheon Yo-hwa (千謠話). This human who dared seal me, the hundred tales, declaring she'd sing a thousand songs. This vessel was made for me long ago, my property, give it back give it back give it back give it back.”
Avici seemed unaware her voice had warped. The next instant, she spoke as if nothing happened.
“Just once. You regress endlessly anyway, right? So calling me that once this regression won't affect next me. Think of it as one step back for two forward—fits your grand strategy, no?”
“True. Logical.”
I pushed Avici away.
“If I weren't a Perfect Memory user.”
“…….”
“Even once acknowledging you as Cheon Yo-hwa would etch that memory eternally in me, regression or not. Weakening your seal further. Impossible.”
“Hmm. Then?”
Avici sneered.
“You'll poke that Pariah God hunkered beyond the twin ranges? Without my advice, solo, from scratch? Heh. After 2,000 more rolls maybe. Will your mental hold out that long~?”
“…….”
“Oh, right! Don't you rely on that Saintess for mental stability, Senior? She lives as long as you each time. But whoa, if you clash with this Pariah God, she'll die every time. What if your mind breaks~?”
“No need for your concern.”
“Why? I only think of you, always.”
I lifted the corner of my mouth.
“But one bit of your nonsense is worth heeding.”
“Huh, really? Which?”
“The part about using you conveniently.”
I grabbed her hand.
“……!”
Avici's face lit up, assuming I'd succumbed.
An easy-to-read delusion. No regressor would dance to a Pariah God's tongue.
I softly opened my mouth toward the hand's true owner.
“Yo-hwa.”
“――.”
Blink.
After the red eyes fluttered shut and open, familiar trust-filled pupils gazed back.
“Yes, Teacher?”
The child whose name I'd given. My prized disciple.
“I have a favor to ask. Sorry, but can you entrust this life to me?”
“…….”
“Seoul crumbles, Constellation system collapses. The north will soon drown in anomaly waves too. Still, Teacher has something to confirm here.”
“You need me, right?”
“No one else but you.”
“Yes.”
Cheon Yo-hwa beamed.
“Of course I'll help! Oh, but my kids worry me a bit. If possible, make it painless.”
“Yes. Truly grateful.”
“Me too.”
Cheon Yo-hwa's hands covered my left. Squeeze. Slight pressure and warmth transmitted.
“Always, eternally thankful, Teacher.”
Silence.
Next blink of red eyes, her hands hastily withdrew from my left.
“――What scheme is this? You.”
The eyes held wariness of the unknown. Avici. She'd resurfaced in Cheon Yo-hwa's consciousness.
“Not even calling me Senior now?”
“Answer. What bullshit are you plotting now?”
“As I said, planning to use you.”
I stood.
“Soon the world ends. Until that final moment, I'll survive—and so will you.”
“What?”
“We two become the last survivors.”
Avici looked baffled.
But her face twisted in horror at my next words.
“The one surviving to the end. Standing by my side will inevitably contract Black Screen Syndrome.”
“……!”
“If my hunch is right and this Pariah God governs Black Screen Syndrome, Avici, its claws reach you this time.”
“Y-You! You...?”
I smiled.
“A human mind falls easily to a Pariah God, but can Black Screen Syndrome simply corrupt another former Pariah God's mind?”
No.
Collision would occur.
True, the unknown foe vastly outmatched Avici.
But the asteroid that wiped out dinosaurs was puny compared to Earth.
The clash itself.
That was key.
Even this weakened Avici wouldn't fall helplessly. A tiny 'opening' would form.
A momentary gap was enough for me.
“Avici. While you resist that Pariah God with all you have, I'll seize its tail.”
Use barbarian to control barbarian.
To defeat barbarians, employ another barbarian.
Avici or the mystery Pariah God—mere nuisance barbarians from humanity's view.
“West of Urals? South of Himalayas? That much?”
“…….”
“Ridiculous. From this land, not a blade of grass, speck of dust, breath will I yield to you filth.”
There.
As forewarned, this episode is purely an afterword to the afterword, so no extra epilogue here.
The puzzle is complete.
Now, time to hunt humanity's foe.
-End. Conclusion.