The Regressor Trains (3)
The Regressor Trains (3)
Usually, an "association" is just a tool for dodging responsibility while grabbing all the rights you can, but the Player Association is different—competent. The basic requirement for an executive position is probably being a player, and maybe the Intelligence stat in their Status Window helps.
Despite that, Death God had never been caught, even with countless security experts and white-hat hackers on his trail.
The reason was simple: Death God, Asai Yūki, was remarkably clever for a middle schooler.
[The reason they couldn't catch Death God until now was because he only used other people's electronic devices.]
Death God left no trace of himself when operating online. He took photos with the victims' smartphones, left no hairs or bodily traces at the scene, and even used a VPN when uploading.
With no trace left on the web, they had to track his movements in the real world. But whatever ability Death God possessed, he traveled between countries without leaving a single mark. And he even had the combat power to behead top-ranking players—truly, abilities worthy of the name "Death God."
That was... until he started a livestream today.
[It was an emotionally driven decision. Rumors that he had died were circulating, his identity as someone who only killed evildoers was being denied... He impulsively went live. On a platform with the largest possible audience.]
Death God might have impulsively started the livestream, but he did take precautions. He wore a mask, used a voice changer, and logged in through a VPN. The broadcast location was a warehouse in Russia, and even the phone wasn't his.
Smug and self-assured, Death God stood before a backdrop of corpses and launched into a speech about how he had killed only evil people, how he was a guardian of justice, and how he sought to deter crime.
At first, it seemed to be going according to plan. Even those who had dismissed him as just another villain listened, shocked that the dead Russian player had been such a despicable person.
But unlike the deep web, which didn't require an account, YouTube did...
[His ID... he used an account that only changed a few numbers from his usual ID, and that got him caught because his personal blog hinted at Death God activities.]
"..."
[His name is Asai Yūki. He lives in Shimane Prefecture, Japan, and is a third-year middle school student.]
Death God, who had been so meticulous about erasing his tracks, had made a ridiculously simple mistake. He'd been thorough about details no one else considered, yet slipped up on something utterly obvious—a truly middle-school-kid thing to do.
"So... did the Association figure out Death God's identity?"
[The problem is, they didn't.]
It's true the Association provoked Death God to draw a reaction. But the one who actually uncovered Death God's identity wasn't the Association, but a user on a Japanese anonymous forum. What's the difference?
[Death God's identity... was seen by too many people.]
The difference is that Death God's identity became public property.
**
Two days passed.
The self-proclaimed Death God, Asai Yūki, saw his family destroyed in a single day.
Multiple news articles were already out, and "Asai Yūki" was trending on Twitter. Someone claiming to be his classmate's friend surfaced and posted his elementary school graduation photo, and Yūki's father's workplace was flooded with calls. His older sister had to throw away her phone, and his mother resigned from the neighborhood women's association.
Afraid of Death God's revenge? At first, people were cautious, testing the waters with insults, but the mood shifted in an instant.
- If you killed people like that, you should've been ready to face the consequences.
- Wow, you went around killing people so brutally and had the nerve to act normal at school? Disgusting.
- You animal. The fact that you're still breathing is a disgrace to Japan.
- Leave Japan.
That's how the story of vigilante justice usually ends. The logic that because he committed crimes, he deserved to suffer miserably was thrown right back at Death God. People don't hesitate to throw stones at a sinner. They believe they hold the moral high ground.
Moreover, players were often the target of public envy, whether they knew it or not. The media had a strong tendency to hype players as heroes. For some reason, the identities of Japanese player criminals had never been publicly discussed in the media, so this was the first time a big fish like this had been caught. (Mainly because they handled it by keeping those criminals listed as "deceased" and using them in other ways.)
Thus, the entire world's attention focused on the individual named Asai Yūki—with an indescribable variety of slurs thrown in as a bonus.
When even a novelist's mental health can crack from hate comments, there's no way a middle schooler could withstand being the world's punching bag. The dark hero Death God, once brimming with a sense of responsibility and justice, vanished. Instead, a terrified middle schooler, Yūki, ran away from home. He didn't know any way to solve problems other than killing. And to solve this problem right now, there was no answer except to massacre every Japanese person.
His family was branded as criminals' family. His father, who worked at a major corporation, left a note saying he would pay the price for failing to raise his child properly, and jumped off a building. His sister and mother disappeared without a trace.
"...This isn't right."
I have no intention of defending Death God, who created innocent victims. But still... this just isn't right.
I couldn't help but feel that being beaten down by public opinion and destroyed like this was far too cruel.
Does a murderer deserve to die a horrific death?
Then what about the murderer's family? Do they deserve to die too? For the crime of not keeping him in check?
"Ji-won."
I felt like I'd start retching from the weight again, but this time my will was resolute.
"Let's regress. Then let's go find him ourselves."
After quickly clearing Floor 11, I'll go to Death God, Asai Yūki, myself. Then I'll decide what to do about him.
Even if he's trash who deserves to die, an ending like this isn't right.
If he has to die... I'll be the one to kill him.
[You have taken damage.]
[Regressing to the moment you first entered Floor 11.]
***
[You have cleared Floor 11.]
To minimize variables, I cleared Floor 11 the same way as before. Anything notable? Ji-won's proficiency with Heart of Lightning improved a bit, and I shamelessly grabbed a little more loot from the dwarves' fortress.
I used the same method to scare them. Except this time I added a bit more detail, throwing in lines like "Heh heh... I punish evildoers..." and "Die, you insect"—the kind of thing Death God would say. If he's the type who can reform... this should help.
The next step was obvious: get on a plane and go to Japan.
I'm a wealthy man with two billion won in cash. Money resets when I regress, so there was no need to hold back. I took a comfortable flight to Japan.
"The address we're looking for..."
Since Asai Yūki's home address had been widely circulated before our regression, finding it wasn't hard.
So we confidently went up to the door and rang the bell. Death God's mother opened it, and Ji-won greeted her with a bright smile.
"Hello, may I ask what brings you...?"
"Oh, we're from XX Middle School..."
Surprisingly, the entire conversation was in Japanese. Players can understand each other thanks to the Status Window, but the auto-translation feature doesn't work with ordinary people. Yet we could talk because...
"May we come in for a moment?"
"Of course. Yūki! Guests are here!"
Ji-won knew Japanese. Her father had frequently interacted with Japanese masters—kendo's country of origin—so she had learned Japanese to near-native proficiency.
Anyway, we headed straight to Death God's room without any trouble. Not a two-story house like in anime, just an ordinary apartment.
"Teachers? Why would you come on the weekend...?"
Asai Yūki emerged from his room, a dark, shaggy-haired kid in his growth phase, with heavy dark circles, scratching his head as if he hadn't slept all night.
His relaxed yawn froze halfway when his eyes landed on Ji-won.
"Choi Ji-won...?"
His gaze shifted from Ji-won to his smiling mother behind her, as if saying, "How could you not recognize Choi Ji-won?"
Next, his eyes turned to my face. But even staring intently, he wouldn't know who I was.
"And... Kim Jun-ho."
"...?"
Death God Asai Yūki looked at me and recited my name. I genuinely flinched and stepped back in alarm.
I could understand him knowing Ji-won's name. She'd become a global celebrity. She had joined the ranks of Park Ji-sung, Kim Yuna, Psy, Bong Joon-ho, and Son Heung-min.
But my name... how did he know my name?
Had he really awakened some "Death God's Eyes"? Could he see my name and lifespan floating above my head right now? I froze, bewildered by the incomprehensible situation.
"You look like you're wondering how I know your name."
What Yūki said next... was far more shocking than I expected.
"You... are quite famous on the deep web."
"...Me?"
Something... something was wrong.