Chapter 25: The Resistance
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 25: The Resistance
A leather ball flies through the air, followed by the sound of joyful barking and frantic running. Thud-thud. Paws tipped with claws strike the hard concrete, creating a powerful, syncopated rhythm. Unlike dirt, the concrete doesn’t absorb the vibrations, so the impact transforms entirely into sound that travels straight to me.
“Woof! Woof!”
My short break was coming to an end. Azzy, the ball already in her mouth, was racing back. With an unfocused gaze, I watched the small disaster approach.
My rest time was directly proportional to the distance I threw the ball.
Throw it high, and it would take Azzy longer to catch it.
Throw it far, and it would take her longer to return.
So, at first, I threw it as far as I could without overdoing it, just so I could rest until she ran all the way over, retrieved the ball, and came back.
But nothing lasts forever. Except for Azzy’s stamina.
I learned that fact by throwing the ball.
With each repetition, the distance grew shorter and shorter. The leather ball that once soared high into the sky now barely cleared my head before dropping to the ground. It was at the point where it rolled farther than it flew.
Now, Azzy didn’t even bother getting into a running stance. She just crouched at my feet, and when the ball rolled to a stop, she’d fetch it and bring it right back. Then I would pick it up again and, using only my still-functional wrist, give it a little toss.
Eventually, the inevitable moment arrived.
“Hold on.”
Humans are animals at their core, and sometimes, a beastly intuition strikes without warning. My own inner animal, which hadn't made an appearance in a long time, was whispering to me.
If you throw it one more time, your shoulder is going to be wrecked.
“Woof?”
I stopped mid-throw and raised my hand. A strange, grinding sensation came from my shoulder, like turning the handle of a pencil sharpener with a misaligned axle. It was a familiar feeling, but one that should never, ever come from my own arm.
I stopped trying to throw the ball and let my arm hang limp. Azzy trotted over, a puzzled look on her face.
With my arm dangling at my side, I declared, “That’s enough fetch for today.”
“Woof woof! More! More!”
“I could throw it more. But.”
I deactivated the Clothing Packet I was wearing. The sweat-soaked, standard-issue shirt dissolved into particles, revealing the pitiful body hidden beneath.
A lean, agile body specialized for escape and survival. I’d never felt particularly inconvenienced by my physique before, but now that its durability was being tested, I regretted all the time I’d spent lazing around. If I had known I’d be trapped in Tantalus as a ball-throwing machine, I would have worked out when someone suggested it…
No matter how soon you feel regret, it’s always too late. All I could do was my best in the present, hoping my future self wouldn’t regret this day.
Putting my regrets aside, I sat down on the ground and showed Azzy my flushed, red shoulder.
“If I do, my shoulder will break. You still okay with that?”
“Woof!”
“You wanna die?”
“Whine.”
Still, Azzy seemed deeply dissatisfied that she couldn’t play anymore. With a sullen expression, she began to circle me, shooting me dirty looks.
Hmph. Nice try.
“What are you going to do about it? Look. If you make me throw the ball now, I’ll become a man who can no longer raise his arm. I’ll suffer from the aftereffects and then, one day, I’ll just drop dead.”
“Woof!”
“What? You don’t die from losing an arm? What are you talking about? I could fall down the stairs and die because I can’t raise my arm to grab the railing, or a terrorist could break in and threaten me to put my hands up, and I’d get shot because my arm won’t go up! Having a physical disability is, in itself, an incredibly serious threat!”
“Woof woof…”
“And if I die, look. The one human in this Abyss who will obediently throw the ball for you will be gone from this world! Are you really going to destroy your ball-throwing machine forever for a moment’s gain? Are you going to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs?”
“Woof… I don’t want that.”
“Haha! See? If you don’t want me to break, you’d better guarantee me some rest time!”
It was time to teach this intellectually challenged beast the basic concepts of labor efficiency, fatigue limits, and rest. Azzy seemed to ponder this for a moment, then hugged my arm with both of her front paws and brought her mouth close.
What is this? Is she going to eat me? Since I can’t lay golden eggs anymore, am I just goose meat to her now? No, she can’t be that stupid.
Wait a minute. A dog would probably value goose meat more than inedible golden eggs, right?
Hold on.
“Boss, I’m sorry! I’ll throw the ball, just please spare my life!”
I tried to pull my arm away, but Azzy’s snout was faster. Anticipating excruciating pain, I squeezed my eyes shut. Then, with a soft lapping sound, something wet and smooth brushed against my shoulder.
Peeking through one eye, I saw Azzy diligently licking my red, inflamed shoulder.
“What the. Are you trying to grease me up because I said I was hurting?”
“Woof.”
Of course. The Dog King wouldn’t eat a living human.
Damn it. Not being able to read her thoughts makes me flinch like this. I can’t help it. It’s a self-preservation instinct.
Feeling awkward, I scratched my head and stared at Azzy as she licked me with great care.
She treats me like a ruthless boss. The machine isn’t running smoothly, so she greases it up first.
“Hey. Even if the lick of a Beast King is said to heal wounds, do you really think this will work? This isn’t an injury, it’s a body part that’s worn out from overuse…”
As I muttered, I felt a strange coolness spread from my shoulder. It was a pleasant sensation, as if a window had been opened in my body to let a breeze through—refreshing, but not chilling.
It was too different from the simple dampness of saliva. Just in case, I tried lifting my arm.
It was a little stiff, but my arm moved much more easily than before. In fact, it might even be smoother than before I started throwing the ball.
“This actually works?”
I’d heard that a Beast King’s lick was on par with holy water, but was it really this effective? Or is Azzy just special?
As I tilted my head in confusion, Azzy inspected my shoulder from various angles and then barked as if to say she was done.
“Woof! All better!”
“The after-service is top-notch, I’ll give you that. Guess my arm won’t fall off. Still, it just healed, so let’s rest a bit before we continue.”
“Woof woof!”
Azzy promptly laid her upper body on my thigh and flopped down. I ran my fingers through her fur and looked around.
According to the golem, the supply drop should be arriving soon. But how exactly is it going to get here?
Logically, dropping it from above would make the most sense. But can anything reach the bottom of the Abyss by normal means? And if it does, how am I supposed to receive it? They wouldn’t just tell me to catch it with my body, would they? I’d just end up as a hamburger patty, which would only make the vampire happy.
Ah, speaking of which, there was the vampire. I turned my head to look at the underground armory in the distance. Its entrance, ominously situated like a door to the great beyond, remained firmly shut today as well.
“She’s been having trouble getting up lately.”
They say the older you get, the more you sleep. If there’s even a tenth of truth to the correlation people talk about between age and sleep time, it wouldn’t be strange for a vampire’s average daily sleep to converge on 24 hours.
On top of that, she has orthostatic hypotension, so she can’t easily get out of her wheelchair—I mean, coffin. And yet, she pushed herself to give me some of her precious original blood just because we formed a master-disciple bond. And now she can’t even get a new supply of blood.
Tsk, tsk. As I clicked my tongue, a certain fact suddenly occurred to me. Blood. Supply.
“Wait. If the vampire runs out of blood, doesn’t that put me in danger?”
If the vampire’s dementia makes her forget I’m human, or if she gets peckish in her sleep and casually reaches for a snack, wouldn’t I be the first to die? I have no way to resist; she’d just drink my blood like tearing open a bag of chips and eating what’s inside.
“The supply list… probably doesn’t include blood, does it?”
A chill ran down my spine. Shouldn’t I do something about this?
Blood packs… aren’t the kind of thing you just drop in a supply crate. Maybe they could send a death row inmate instead?
“No, that would be a problem too. There’s no guarantee I could beat a death row inmate.”
I should be fine for a while. If a three-day food supply for the four of us here has now become a ninety-day supply, that means there were originally at least a hundred people living here. Even excluding those who escaped, a lot of people must have died.
But when I first came down here, I didn’t see any bodies or bloodstains. The Military State wouldn’t have sent a cleanup crew, so there’s only one possibility: the vampire ate them all.
That’s a rather disgusting thought. She’s not a human sewer…
In any case, if she drank that much blood, she probably won’t be craving more for a while. But you never know. An engine that’s been started needs a constant supply of fuel, so the vampire might need a steady stream of blood from now on.
I need a blood source to survive… Is there some kind of livestock I can keep squeezing blood from?
Wait. There is.
Didn’t I just find one?
“The Undying. Yes, that’s what they’re called.”
At the genius idea that popped into my head, I couldn’t help but praise my own intellect. Self-praise may be ugly and embarrassing, but this time, calling myself a ‘genius’ wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
The Undying don’t die even if their arms are cut off. Similarly, they probably won’t die from having a little blood drawn. And they’ll keep regenerating by eating, so as long as the supplies are sufficient, they could provide a near-infinite source of blood.
“Heheheh. Good. Perfect. It seems I’m not destined to die here after all.”
“Woof?”
“Hey, Azzy. I just had an awesome idea. Wanna hear it?”
“Woof woof?”
“I know, I know. You’re too dumb to understand. That’s why I’m telling you, so just listen. You see, I just came up with an idea so brilliant even the greatest genius in history would be stunned.”
“Woof? Dumb? Me?”
“Hehehe. Originally, I was going to have you deal with the leftovers, but why should we do that? Let’s just live well amongst ourselves. The leftovers, the burnt food, the spoiled food—we’ll give it all to the Undying.”
“Woof! I’m not dumb!”
“Spoiled food should go to a spoiled person. Besides, the Undying probably won’t even die if they eat it. Instead, their bodies will detoxify it and turn it into blood. Then, I’ll draw that blood and sell it to the vampire. The vampire is dirt poor, but that guy who claims to be her disciple is rich, so he’ll pay for it. So…”
Smack.
Azzy’s front paw struck my cheek. The sudden impact snapped my head to the side.
It didn’t hurt, but I was stunned. No way. I glared at Azzy, slightly miffed, but she just stared back at me, still resting her head on my lap. She’s still using my leg as a pillow? Does she have no awareness of what she just did?
How dare a mere beast strike a human’s cheek?
She crossed the line. I really didn’t want to do this, but it’s about time I prepared the marinade protocol.
Just as I made that decision and shot up to shake Azzy off…
I expected Azzy to slide off my thigh, but she shot up first and looked upward.
What is it? What’s up there? I also tilted my head back, but saw nothing but the same pitch-black darkness as always.
What the hell? Was she just messing with me?
No, Azzy doesn’t have the intelligence for that.
I looked up again, scowling and squinting. Then, far in the distance, I saw something glowing within the black space. Was it the sky visible through a hole? Unlikely, as the light was growing larger, as if it were approaching.
The merciful Mother Earth sometimes draws near, but the noble Sky God rarely condescends to approach. The Sky God is one to punish humans with wind and lightning if they try to climb too high to reach him.
So, whatever is coming closer isn’t the sky. Probably.
“It must be the supplies the golem mentioned.”
Right after, I heard a flapping sound. A massive presence could be felt in the darkness. The Abyss is still, without wind, but now the air grew heavy and sank.
It would arrive eventually; there was no need to be impatient. I waited calmly. The shimmering darkness and a periodically flashing light in the distance drew closer.
As they entered the range of the ambient light, their form became much clearer.
A square box wrapped in a tarp was descending, suspended from a large parachute. A small indicator light on the side of the box was blinking. A precaution, I supposed, so no one would get crushed by it in the dark. The claim of a 90-day food supply wasn’t an exaggeration; the box was large enough for a person to fit inside. It must be packed with food.
Perhaps due to the lack of wind, the supply box descended without a single wobble and landed squarely on the concrete. Thump. A heavy vibration traveled through the ground.
“Woof!”
Azzy hopped and skipped toward it. I followed her to the landing spot.
So this is how they do it in the Abyss, just drop it with a parachute. I was probably dropped in the same way. Those bastards in the Military State at least use a parachute to keep things from breaking. It’s common sense, of course, but I was honestly a little touched that the Military State was observing common sense.
As I got closer, I heard the sound of rustling fabric, and the parachute was sucked into a small packet. The parachute was also made from a Clothing Packet. Using it like that meant you didn’t have to go through the trouble of folding it back up. They really were clever with their applications.
I was smiling as I went to open the lid of the box.
Huh.
Why is the seal broken? Did someone open it and have a snack during delivery?
‘Infiltration successful. It has been a long wait, comrades. Let us move out.’
At that moment, a thought drifted out from inside.
Comrades? Infiltration?
Those weren’t thoughts that should be coming from a box of food supplies.
While I stood there dumbfounded, I heard frantic movement from within. The supply box rattled ominously as something that had been crouched inside stretched out.
‘Let us risk our lives, comrades! To defeat the oppressor, the Military State!’
Damn that Military State. What the hell did they send me?
Before I had any time to prepare, the side of the supply box burst open.