Chapter 45: As Long as It Tastes Good
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 45: As Long as It Tastes Good
The previous timeline.
The Abyss had collapsed.
It was an event far more deadly and horrific than the Tantalus jailbreak, which was already considered the worst incident in the history of the military government. The criminals who had escaped Tantalus were heinous, to be sure… but the things that crawled out from the collapsed Abyss were horrors capable of destroying the world.
It was a disaster made all the more lethal by how inconspicuous it was compared to the immense danger it posed.
The fact that a Fragment of the Apocalypse lay in the Abyss was a truth the Regressor had only managed to uncover after several regressions. The Regressor gathered clues from previous timelines and arrived at the ruined Abyss.
What she faced there was a grotesque monster sculpted from the flesh of tens of thousands.
“Hey, I'm a victim here, too, so don't you look at me like that. How was I to know?”
The lingering sunset light illuminated the sodden ground. The way it touched the sunset, glistening a wet, sticky red, was indescribably beautiful, disgusting, and horrifying.
Because the liquid drenching the earth was all blood from human bodies.
The immortal corpse golem that had once marched toward the Empire. Its origin, too, was the Abyss. After a full day of fighting, the Regressor barely managed to defeat the golem and pull out the Undying who had been its core.
Yet the Undying, its core, was muttering nonchalantly, making a mockery of the desperate battle.
“Tsk. I had my eyes closed for too long. We Undying are immortal, but not eternal. When our life runs its course, we return to the world for a time, receive life from the earth, and move again. But some bastard desecrated me. Cursed my flesh and scattered it all over. Of all places, it had to be a land cursed by Mother Earth, so I couldn't protect myself….”
The flesh monster regenerated even when hit by bullets and was unharmed even when scorched by fire. It immediately weaponized the corpses it devoured, swinging them about. Thorned spinal columns flew everywhere, and pustules burst, splattering the ground. Sizzle. Wherever the yellowish pus landed, the earth began to melt as if struck by acid. Its taut, swollen entrails were more like bombs than balloons, and blade-sharp shinbones rained down like a torrential downpour.
Amid the stench and filth, the Regressor swung her sword.
A body that had absorbed ancient corpses and their lingering grudges, regenerating indiscriminately. Craving the flesh of other humans, it was a crawling plague, a horrific blasphemy against humankind itself. The Regressor used all her strength to stop it from roaming the land in search of its next meal.
The result.
“What! I feel a little sorry for the dead! But what can you do! It's not like I did it of my own free will!”
The Undying shouted cheerfully, laughing it off as if it were no big deal.
Impossible. The Regressor wiped a bead of sweat with the cloth wrapped around her face to block the stench. An exhausted sigh escaped through the gap.
“You destroyed three villages. One hundred and ninety people are dead.”
“If you hadn't stopped me, miss, ten times that number would have died! Well done! You're a true hero!”
“…I wasn't looking for praise. You have to be executed. This time, there's no other way.”
Even at her cold declaration, the Undying remained unfazed.
“It's not like I said that hoping to live! Look, we're undying, not ageless. As we get older, our energy slowly wanes until, at some point, we return to the earth. Of course, I'm still on the younger side to be dying.”
The Undying lifted his left shoulder. His body, with its long trails of melted blood, was a few hundred years removed from anything resembling a human form. Was this what a body would look like after being gnawed on and vomited up by tens of thousands of maggots for years? The outline of his flesh was as faint as a painting with blurred edges, making it impossible to tell where his body even began.
Even as his body melted away in real-time, the Undying laughed heartily.
“Haha! I really pushed this body too hard! My lifespan has worn down so quickly, I'll be dead soon! Well, at least I didn't die inside the Abyss, so I can be buried in the arms of Mother Earth. What a relief!”
The Abyss, again. What in the world had happened in that place?
It was a bust. The Regressor of this timeline had been too late. The incident had occurred so early in the regression that she hadn't had enough time.
But if a great answer lay within that Abyss, perhaps she could find hope in the next timeline. Amidst her deep fatigue, a small spark of anticipation flickered.
“What happened in there? Who did what to create a monster like you?”
“It's a bit upsetting to be called a monster. But I can't deny it! I certainly look like one right now!”
“There’s no time for small talk. Quickly.”
“Ah, right. I’ve been too selfish! You must be a busy person!”
Death approached as slowly and surely as the sunset. The Undying’s tone was the same as before, but the pallor of death had settled on his face. Words struggled out from his shadowed features.
“By any chance, do you know that someone escaped from the Abyss?”
“I do.”
“Then this should be easy! I fought one of the fellows who was trying to escape. If it had been the surface, I would have regenerated in an instant and torn his head off, but unfortunately, regeneration doesn't work in the lifeless Abyss! My limbs were torn apart by some unknown magic, and I fell asleep as my life force ran out. But…”
He grimaced like someone trying to squeeze out a faint memory.
“When I first opened my eyes, there were a few people there. The first one, a man called an instructor, came up and said he'd woken me. He asked me something, then told me to go back to sleep because it was a pain to 'manage' me. My life force hadn't recovered much then, so I fell asleep again.”
Listening to the story, the Regressor’s face hardened.
“…Is that it? Nothing else?”
“I think he said something else. Can't remember.”
“Try to remember a little harder!”
“My apologies, but I have no hobby of remembering every little thing a man mutters. Especially not if it's the vain words of a sorcerer.”
“There must be some kind of clue! The number of people, who was there!”
“A clue, you say. Hmm. When I looked, there were two women, I think? Both were attractive.”
“…That’s it?”
“Why do you ask? That's crucial information, isn't it? Ten times more important than the number of men!”
Was he accustomed to death, or had its unfamiliarity driven him mad? The Regressor fought back a throbbing headache and pressed on.
“Anything else?”
“The next time I opened my eyes, I don't know the details, but all hell had broken loose. The building was shaking ominously, and I could hear the roar of a beast in the distance. The people who woke me said the instructor was trying to kill them, and they asked me to fight him.”
“Who were those people? What did they say?”
“Hmm? I don't know. What's certain is, they weren't women.”
“…”
There wasn't enough information. But she couldn't expect anything more from an Undying who had only been waking and sleeping intermittently.
Still, the Regressor wasn't disappointed. After all, she was determined to enter the Abyss in the next timeline. This was merely a lead to gather more information.
“I fought, and I lost. If it hadn't been the surface… no, if only my limbs had been intact, I wouldn't have been defeated so pathetically, but it probably wouldn't have made a difference even if I had won. He was with the Beast King.”
“The Beast King?”
“That's right. What was it now… Something about humanity's great desire, and how a desperate struggle was needed to find 'Him'… Good grief, it was such an absurd thing to say that I actually remember the fellow's ramblings. Heh heh…”
His dry laughter fell to the ground and dissipated. His life was leaking out as if from a cracked vessel. The infinite life of those called the Undying was, in the end, just a fleeting candle flame destined to be extinguished.
“When I opened my eyes for the last time, I wasn't myself anymore. Only pain and resentment remained, and I was rampaging to settle an old grudge. I was hungry, as if my body were full of holes, and it ached as if someone were stabbing me with needles. In my starvation, I think I ate… things I shouldn't have.”
“Yeah. It was pretty disgusting.”
“Well. If it weren't for the end, it would have been… a decent enough, life. Heh. If I could, I'd want to carve out… the end of my life…”
With a short, dry laugh that seemed to symbolize his entire existence, he died. Confirming this, the Regressor slowly stood up.
“I don't know if this is any comfort, but don't worry. You'll be alive again in the next timeline anyway.”
Unfortunately for him, his end had not yet come. He would probably live again. When the world reset with the Regressor’s death, the outcome would be different.
The Regressor calmly rose to her feet.
“…Humanity's great desire, 'Him', the Beast King… So their plan started from there? Damn, no matter how deep I dig, there's no end to these roots.”
In any case, it was certain that an important clue lay dormant in the Abyss. It was already too late in this timeline. Should she regress now, while the memory was fresh, or investigate a little more?
Mulling it over, the Regressor drew Chun-aeng.
“If I'm going to regress anyway, it's better to die after raising some unfinished hell than to kill myself. Alright, let's throw this timeline away.”
At that moment, the fate of that timeline was decided.
The memory ended.
The Regressor recalled the memory from the immediately preceding timeline and stared intently at the Undying.
‘The first time he opened his eyes. He said an instructor woke him up and asked him a few things. To be sure this is that moment… he definitely said there were two women. And that they were attractive.’
As the Regressor’s thoughts dragged on, the Undying grew impatient.
“Well, what is it you have to say that's got you racking your brain so hard, boy? If you have something to say, say it. I don't like to wait long for a man to speak.”
“Ah, right. I have a question.”
Having finished her thoughts, the Regressor turned to the Undying with an utterly serious expression and asked.
“Here. How many women do you see?”
It was a very natural train of thought. To confirm that this was the moment he had first awoken, the Regressor planned to compare his past testimony with his current one. If he said there were two women this time as well, then the moment the past Undying spoke of was right now…
‘Shei? What kind of question is that? What on earth is your intention?’
No. Wait a minute. The vampire's thoughts brought me back to my senses.
Without mind-reading, doesn't the flow of this conversation seem… strange?
Faced with the bizarre question, the Undying first counted the women as asked. One vampire sitting in front of him, and Azzy lying on her stomach in the back. Two.
Why isn't she counting the Regressor? Ah, she's dressed as a man. Having finished his count, the Undying held up two fingers and replied.
“One, two. There are two, are there not? Unless you're a fool, you should be able to tell the number of women at a glance.”
“Are both women attractive? And not anyone else?”
“Of course. To begin with, there's no such thing as an unattractive woman in this world. Each simply possesses her own unique charm. As for men, well, that's none of my concern... But why do you ask?”
Even the Undying was suspicious of the question's intent.
It was a natural suspicion. The flow of the conversation was subtly—no, blatantly—off-kilter. The Regressor was speaking based on information carried over from a previous timeline, but to onlookers, the conversational gap was jarring, and they filled it with their own imaginations.
The vampire, especially. She covered her mouth with both hands, looked between the Regressor and the Undying, and gasped.
‘Why? Why would you ask that brute about the number of women or their charms? What could you possibly be curious about? Don't tell me you're curious about that Earthener's tastes?’
Impressively, the Undying managed to catch on to something in this strange atmosphere. He turned to me with a speculative look and asked.
“Wait. Teacher. Could it be that the boy's interest in me is... that kind of interest?”
“Wow. You remember that. What's with the selective memory?”
Ah, screw it.
I gave a big nod, affirming his words.
“That's right. Trainee Shei has a history of once shouting in a loud voice, 'I like men!'”
“What? Why are you bringing that up now? It has nothing to do with this!”
The Regressor, who had reflexively started to rebut my words, finally noticed the stares of the people around her. The vampire had momentarily forgotten about the heart issue and was covering her mouth with her hands, while I, sympathizing with the vampire's thoughts, nodded in agreement.
Most importantly, the Undying was stroking his chin, seriously appraising the Regressor's appearance.
Huh? Hey, why are you seriously appraising him?
“Hmm! This body of mine doesn't usually give men a second glance, but!”
—But? That ending is weird. It implies a contradictory opinion is about to follow, doesn't it?
Don't tell me it's exactly what I'm thinking.
“If he has a face that pretty, I suppose it might just be possible!”
Is he insane?
“You crazy bastard!”
The Regressor suddenly shouted.
Ah. Our minds are in sync. Finally realizing what she had just said, the Regressor seethed and yelled.
“No! Absolutely not! I have no interest whatsoever in the likes of you!”
“That sharp tongue of yours puts most girls to shame. It seems you were born into the wrong gender.”
“I… said… no…!”
Uh oh. This is bad. At this rate, the Regressor is going to explode. If she loses her cool and starts swinging her sword, I'll definitely die, even if the Undying doesn't.
And I couldn't comprehend the Undying's way of thinking either. I also yelled at him.
“What are you saying, Trainee Rasch! Sure, Trainee Shei is irritable, hard to please, violent, and happens to like men, but you can't be like that! Didn't you say you had no interest in men?”
“Ho ho. Teacher. Male or female, as long as it tastes good, what does it matter?”
“Huh? What's he on about?”
“This is actually a relief. I am an Undying. I cannot have children without permission from the tribal council. Creating a half-breed is even more of a taboo. Because of that, I have sadly had to reject the advances of many women and live a solitary life. Perhaps a man would be better… Oh, now this is a new perspective! I must have made the discovery of the century!”
This is not good. The Regressor already has her hand on her sword. I have to do something about this Undying before that.
I glanced down at the skewer in my hand. Then I looked back at the Undying.
The Undying’s chest was still wide open.
Hmm.
“Trainee Rasch. Just a moment.”
“Hm? What is it, Teacher?”
I approached him with the skewer hidden in my hand. He scratched his head, looking troubled.
“Hmph. It's a problem, being this popular with men.”
What?
I was suddenly overcome with displeasure. I didn't care what misunderstandings he had about the Regressor, but I couldn't forgive him for pulling that crap on me. That's enough of your bullshit. I plunged the skewer deep into his chest.
The Undying looked down in confusion at the skewer buried deep inside him.
“Huh? Teacher? What's this?”
“Bolt.”
“Gaaahhhk!”
And then, an electric shock. The jolt, delivered directly to his heart, spread through his entire body. The Undying’s body trembled violently.
“To think… I'd be… on the receiving… end…”
The large frame convulsed and collapsed. The Undying’s body shuddered, then he managed a grin and offered one final remark.
“This too… has its own unique taste.”
Crazy bastard.
He kept spouting that nonsense right up until he closed his eyes. Soon, his consciousness faded completely, and his right arm fell off with a thud.
Phew. Finally took care of that.
“Alright. There was a slight disturbance.”
The fuming Regressor, who had half-drawn Chun-aeng, sheathed it again and muttered while glaring at the unconscious Undying.
“Don't you ever wake that thing up again. Spouting all sorts of weird misunderstandings. Ugh. At this rate, there was no point in me wearing Agartha's Mask…”
Hey now, isn't she pushing too much of the blame onto the Undying? As if she had nothing to do with it.
“But honestly, you know this is pretty much all your own doing, right, Trainee Shei?”
“What is!”
“What do you mean, 'what is'? You're the one who's been saying and doing things that invite misunderstanding. If you don't get it, just look at Trainee Tyrkanzyaka.”
The moment the Regressor looked at the vampire, the vampire whipped her head away, avoiding her gaze. She was even fanning herself, a vampire who didn't even sweat.
Instinctively realizing what the misunderstanding was, the Regressor held out both hands with a clumsy smile.
“No, it's a misunderstanding, Tyrkanzyaka.”
“It is fine. I understand everything…”
“That's not the face of someone who understands at all!”
“B-But, I believe it is a bit too soon for me. Is the world truly advancing at a pace that even I cannot follow…? I-If possible, please do it where I cannot see.”
“I told you, it's a misunderstanding!”
Watching their exchange, I chimed in.
“If you just needed Trainee Rasch's body, just say the word. I'll lend you any part you want. I doubt he'd mind all that much…”
Just as the infuriated Regressor was about to grab Chun-aeng again, I hastily clapped my hands and concluded the lesson.
“Everyone, do you now understand how the Military State discovered the phenomenon of cardiac resuscitation via electric shock? It's all because, during electric torture—I mean, friendly interrogation sessions involving electricity—the shocked suspect would first go into cardiac arrest. So they administered another shock, and the heart started beating again! So, today's lesson is: don't go showing your heart to just anyone. That is all!”
With that, I quickly opened the door and fled.