Chapter 90: Territoriality
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 90: Territoriality
They say that when you commit a sin, the Sky God knows, Mother Earth knows, and you yourself know.
If you were to ask which of the three knows first, devout followers of the Sky God might deny it, but the answer is yourself.
A person about to commit a sin usually knows they are in the wrong. They glance around suspiciously, unable to blend into the scenery, moving about restlessly until, at some point, they tense up and do the deed.
If they get caught, they freeze as if time itself has been carved out, their eyes darting back and forth. Then they either bolt or pretend they have no idea what's going on.
This is proof that you are the first to recognize your own sin. An expression of guilt, you could say.
Unfortunately, for the Regressor, who had torn her conscience to shreds and scattered it across thirteen timelines, even that was absent.
“You agree, right? I’ll take care of it.”
Correction. Her sense of guilt was in the negatives.
‘You agree, right?’ What kind of thought process leads to that conclusion? Why is she so sure I’d naturally agree?
The Regressor’s 13th plug-and-play thought circuit truly is beyond imagination. Maybe it’s a good thing my mind-reading only half-works on her. If I misread her thoughts, my own mind might get contaminated.
I immediately shouted to stop the Regressor from doing something terrible.
“Stop! You amputee production manager! What in the world are you trying to do?”
The moment I tried to raise my voice, the Regressor quickly swung Chun-aeng.
Skyblade Art, Fall’s Edge.
Chun-aeng’s strike drew a boundary in the air. The edge of a distant cliff, where the wind shatters. Where Chun-aeng drew the line, the path of the wind was severed. For one minute, the wind would carry nothing through that space—not the scents dissolved in it, nor the sounds that vibrated through it.
That sword is seriously overpowered. Then again, it’d have to be for the Regressor to have carried it since the beginning of her regressions.
As I grumbled to myself, the Regressor muttered with equal dissatisfaction.
“Why? You said you were a laborer. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but now that you’re in here, you’re on bad terms with the Military State, aren’t you?”
“That’s true. I’m a prisoner, after all.”
“Then the answer is simple.”
Chun-aeng spun in the Regressor’s hand. Catching the wildly dancing blade in a single motion, she held the sword steady and glared past the door.
“I’ll leave the people who are already here, but I’m going to strike down every dog of the Military State that comes down from now on. One by one, as they enter.”
“Wait. Strike down what?”
“The dogs of the Military State.”
I was so dumbfounded I could only open and close my mouth.
So, the Regressor was planning to kill every single person affiliated with the Military State who entered from now on. She was serious.
“I’ll explain it simply. Listen carefully. There are two types of people in the Military State: those who try to control everything they can, and those who try to control even the things they can’t. And the ones out there right now are the most extreme of the latter.”
Having finished her truly simple explanation, the Regressor came to a simple conclusion.
“So. I’ll kill them before they do something stupid.”
“Huh.”
“The lieutenant colonel is just a pawn. So what? If I kill her, we’ll get a reaction. Either they’ll lose their minds and all come down, or they’ll watch like cowards. If they come, I’ll kill them. If not, I’ll leave them be. Either way, the Military State will no longer have a presence in Tantalus. Then I can protect the people here.”
It was a very simple logic.
Azzy and Tyr, who could later become Fragments of the Apocalypse, were fine. Meanwhile, I, the biggest variable, was not actually part of the Military State.
That meant the only remaining variable was the Military State’s intervention.
So she’ll erase it. Completely.
Is this… the Regressor’s perspective?
She’d rather cut the knot with Chun-aeng than untie it. It’s rational in a way, but isn’t it a bit… shortsighted?
I asked cautiously.
“Um, what about supplies? If you kill people as they arrive, won’t they cut off the supply line?”
“I have food in my Pocket. I stocked up in advance for emergencies. I’ll distribute it.”
“While everyone else was living on canned beans, you were hoarding food for yourself?!”
Is this… the Regressor’s preparedness?
“People could get hurt fighting the Military State! What if they just keep dropping bombs in supply boxes?”
“The Military State isn’t stupid enough to pour bombs on a place that causes no trouble if left alone. I can handle simple bombs, and even if someone gets hurt, I can make simple healing potions… If worst comes to worst, just ask Tyrkanzyaka. You can just become a vampire, right? Tyrkanzyaka would be delighted.”
Is this… the Regressor’s personality?
“But we can’t live here forever, can we? Or… are you really planning to live here forever?”
“Not forever. A way to escape will present itself soon enough. If ‘she’ falls from the surface, then… one way or another, things will come to an end.”
‘Whether I die, or she dies, the rest will be able to escape. Because the Abyss will collapse.’
The emotions I sensed from the Regressor were a vague anxiety and a grim determination. It was like a gladiator facing an uncertain battle, putting their life in order.
This was the Regressor’s resolve.
But…
But listen…
You can’t die. If you do, the world will end.
Whether the world rewinds or some other apocalypse arrives, what’s supposed to happen to everyone else?
I have to stop her first. I’ll think after that. My expression clouded over as I spoke.
“Um, but… I just played a little trick on them. Could you wait until it takes effect?”
“Don’t you get it? Those things are more dangerous than bombs! Even if she’s ‘just’ a lieutenant colonel, there’s no telling what tricks she has up her sleeve!”
‘Just’ a lieutenant colonel? They’re pretty high-ranking in the Military State, and she calls her a nobody.
Ah, but for you guys, that’s possible. Sigh, sometimes I just can’t get used to the scale of things around here.
Seeing my uncomprehending expression, the Regressor clicked her tongue and lowered Chun-aeng.
“If you don’t believe me, I’ll show you right now. Here, watch. See what a lieutenant colonel does when she comes to the Abyss.”
Just then, I sensed the intent to leave from inside the warden’s office. The lieutenant colonel had started to move. The Regressor also noticed the presence and gestured for me to come closer.
As I moved close to her side, the Regressor gripped Chun-aeng and took a middle guard stance.
Skyblade Art, Fall’s Edge.
She cut through the empty air. The sky sword severed the news the wind would carry. Scent and sound. Anything that flowed on the air was cut off at the fault line. A wall of severed air enveloped the Regressor and me.
In that state, the Regressor pointed her sword down. A wind blew out from Chun-aeng.
Cycle of Water: wind, cloud, rain, and dew.
As the compressed space was released, the suddenly expanding area filled with a thick layer of dew and mist. The mist, which should have dispersed into the world, struck the wall of Fall’s Edge and bounced back.
The Regressor summoned the watery mist to blur our forms, then gripped her sword again.
Skyblade Art, Heavenly Mirror.
A mirage is an afterimage of light bent as it passes through a distant space. That phenomenon was now being reproduced at a distance of barely a meter. The Regressor and I were now hidden within the bending light.
Immediately after, the door to the warden’s office opened, and the officer stepped out. A single gust of wind that had just flowed from Chun-aeng brushed past the officer’s hair.
Feeling the wind blow in the Abyss, the officer looked around, puzzled. Her gaze briefly fell upon the Regressor and me, but we, hidden by the camouflage, were invisible to her.
Nodding to herself, the officer strode toward the stairs, her combat boots clomping. With her hands clasped behind her back, she disappeared down the stairwell.
The Regressor let out a deep sigh.
“Phew. Doing that in a hurry is a bit tiring.”
“Is that a camouflage technique? That’s amazing. I can’t believe she couldn’t see us right in front of her.”
At my pure admiration, the Regressor seemed slightly smug but answered as if it were nothing.
“Hmph. It’s nothing special. It blocks sound and scent and blurs your presence, but it doesn’t work on powerful individuals who constantly exude their energy.”
“Is this what you used when you were trying to spy on me last time? The ability is incredible, but your uses for it are all so shady.”
“…Shut up and follow the lieutenant colonel.”
The only sounds blocked were those that traveled through the air. Wary that our footsteps might be heard, the Regressor and I crept carefully down the stairs.
The officer walked out into the courtyard of the Abyss. Positioning herself in the middle of the area lit by the daytime lights, she took a rubber ball from the hands she held behind her back.
A pitch-black rubber ball—bouncy, durable, and a perfect fit for her hand. It was a toy several times better to play with than my own makeshift leather ball.
Bounce, bounce. The officer bounced the rubber ball on the ground a few times. The springy ball shot up like it was on a spring.
Her preparations complete, the officer called for Azzy.
“Dog King!”
“Woof?”
Azzy peeked her head out from around a corner. The officer bounced the ball a few more times, then threw it hard toward the far side of the courtyard.
“A present for you!”
The rubber ball flew far into the air. After a long flight, it bounced on the ground and rolled all the way to the other side of Tantalus.
Wag, wag. Azzy, who had been wagging her tail at the sight of the ball, could no longer hold back and kicked off the ground, sprinting.
“Woof woof!”
Azzy chased the ball happily. She dashed on all fours to catch up to it, tried to snatch it in her mouth, but when it bounced off her face, she only got more excited and continued the chase.
After missing a few times, Azzy finally caught the rubber ball and returned to the officer. The officer picked up the ball with a sharp, disciplined motion and offered a perfunctory compliment.
“Well done.”
“Woof woof! Ball!”
“I’ll throw it again. Here!”
“Woof!”
‘Just as it was written. The Dog King isn’t wary of me… I should be able to make her obey more easily than I expected.’
The sight of the officer with her sinister intentions taming Azzy.
Watching this, I felt my world crumbling.
“No! Azzy!”
“See? She’s a lieutenant colonel, and the first thing she does is tame the Dog King. Isn’t that suspicious?”
The Regressor muttered with her arms crossed.
“My prediction was right. They’re the ‘Human Regime.’ They’re the type to tame the Beast Kings and control them as they please… There’s no telling what they’ll do next. It’s better to take care of them beforehand… Are you listening?”
“I’m not listening!”
Is that what’s important right now? She’s trying to snatch away the puppy I’ve spent months working on!
Do you know how much time and patience I put into taming her! I struggled through pitch counts that pushed my limits, I fed her every single day, I even petted her and groomed her fur! And she’s going to fall for some uniformed officer with a medal on her chest?
“That… that fickle puppy! She’s wagging her tail just because someone brought a slightly bigger, bouncier rubber ball?”
“Uh, because she’s the Dog King? Hey, wait. Don’t move. If you move too suddenly—”
“Not a chance! You think you can tempt Azzy with a single toy? I’ve spent months with her; I know every little thing she likes!”
Ignoring the Regressor, I dashed back inside the prison. Taking the stairs two at a time, I reached my room, grabbed a handful of rubber balls and steel discs from my drawer, and came back out, throwing them all on the ground in front of Azzy.
Azzy, who was bringing the ball back, saw me and the discs and stopped in her tracks.
“Woof?”
“Azzy, come here! You graduated from balls a long time ago! We finally broke the two-disc barrier, it’s time to move on to three discs!”
“Woof woof?”
Azzy looked back and forth between the officer and me, then dropped the rubber ball and ran straight to me. I held up three discs in front of her and tossed them into the air, slightly spaced apart.
Kicking off the ground, Azzy leaped and caught one disc. Then she pushed off the prison’s outer wall to snatch the higher disc, and finally, she stretched her body out to go for the last one.
“Aigoo. Just a little short…!”
When she couldn’t reach it, she just grabbed it with her hand.
I took the discs from Azzy’s mouth after she landed and praised her.
“Using your hands is technically cheating, but you did great. That’s how you do it!”
“Woof! Woof woof!”
I was petting the excitedly hopping Azzy.
The officer, who had had Azzy stolen from her mid-play, approached, glaring at me with terrifying eyes from under the deep brim of her cap. Her combat boots thudded against the ground.
“…Laborer. Why are you interfering with me again?”
I answered nonchalantly.
“Just a bit of territoriality, Lieutenant Colonel. If you want to get close to Azzy, you’ll have to get through me first.”
“…You bastard. Do you truly wish to die?”
“My, my. A scary face like that will make even the friendliest dogs run away.”
“How dare a petty criminal speak to an officer of the Military State…!”
The enraged officer took a step forward.
[Withdraw your killing intent, soldier.]
A voice rose from the shadows. It wasn't a voice produced by vocal cords, but one created by the trembling of darkness itself.
The officer flinched at the ominous energy and gritted her teeth.
“Tsk, the Progenitor…!”
[I care not what you do… but I will affirm this once more. Hu is under my protection. Should you attempt to inflict any kind of harm upon him, I will not stand idly by.]
The billowing shadows issued a stern warning. It was as if a demon spoke through the darkness, or perhaps as if the world itself was uttering a solemn admonition.
Just as the officer shrank back from the voice, which carried a terror that surpassed mere intimidation…
I tapped the shadow and spoke to it in a friendly tone.
“Tyr. If you’re going to watch like that, just come out.”
The voice that had sounded ready to swallow the world just moments before suddenly wavered. A moment later, Tyr’s slightly deflated voice came from the shadows.
[…I. No. As you said, how can people spend every day together? It is necessary to have some time apart.]
“Are you sulking because I said, ‘How can people stick together all the time’?”
[I am not sulking. I simply thought you were right.]
“If you’re going to do it, at least commit. You planted your eyes in the shadows anyway.”
[…Then, may I come over?]
“Of course.”
[I shall be there shortly.]
Soon after, the door to the underground armory opened. Tyr, sitting demurely on her floating coffin with her arms and legs gathered, flew quickly toward us. She had been waiting behind the door the whole time, ready to rush out at a moment’s notice.
The all-stars had assembled. The Regressor was still hiding with her arms crossed in disapproval, but she was on my side nonetheless.
Azzy’s affection level was still much higher for me.
And as for Tyr, that went without saying.
The officer must have realized it too—the wall she had to overcome.
“You can’t have Azzy. If you think you can, then try playing with her in a way that’s more fun than I do!”
The officer glared at me with murderous eyes and bit her lip. But acting out in front of this lineup would only hurt her. Soon, she gave up and spun around.
‘He’s openly checking me. Could he know my identity…? No, there’s no way a mere petty criminal would know. Is this just a power struggle?’
Walking away from me, the officer made a decision.
‘It’s a bit of a waste to use it so soon, but I have no choice. I’ll have to use one of the three packets that person gave me for emergencies…!’