Chapter 188
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Pommy
“Why did you try to kill me?”
“Because of a deal.”
“What kind of deal?”
“In exchange for extending my lifespan, I agreed to kill you.”
I had suspected as much, but someone really had put out a hit on me.
“So that’s why you tried to kill me?”
“I’m not human. Even though it was a promise with a human, a deal is a deal, and it must be kept.”
“And in return, you gained the power to turn other beasts into human-faced creatures while extending your life?”
“Do I have any obligation to answer that?”
Chorong flopped down onto the desk.
The way it lay there, front paws neatly gathered, staring at me—it was the bold posture of a culprit whose true nature had been exposed, utterly unfazed.
“You think I won’t kill you?”
“If you’ve regressed before, you must have tried killing me already. You’d know what happened as a result.”
“Right on the money. So everything that happens after I die really was your plan?”
“......That wasn’t my plan. It’s inevitable.”
The toothless poodle was clearly frail.
“Don’t belittle it as some plan cooked up by a decrepit old dog as heavenly punishment for how you humans have enslaved, tormented, and toyed with us.”
“If we go by that logic, no living creature could survive. Survival of the fittest is instinct for all beings, isn’t it?”
“Survival of the fittest?”
Unlike the other human-faced creatures, it didn’t seem to have any particular unique traits.
“Survival of the fittest is eating other lives to stay alive, which is why a full lion doesn’t eat the gazelle right in front of it. But what about you humans?”
And yet, it exuded a more intense presence than any other human-faced entity.
“Is grinding up newborn chicks in a shredder for feed because they won’t make money survival of the fittest? Killing a baby camel to make its mother remember the way survival? Lighting cats on fire for fun, or abandoning an adopted puppy on the road when you get bored of it, letting it wander lost until it starves to death—is that survival of the fittest?”
It was as intense as that time in the previous regression when I’d set up a buffet of rare, gruesome dishes.
Chorong’s eyes burned with fierce hatred and rage.
“Don’t test my patience.”
“I’ve got nothing to say to that. Humans live for convenience, after all.”
“So you admit the justice in our hatred and vengeance.”
“You made a deal with that human who gave you power, but instead of just wiping out the world right away, you targeted me first?”
“The end of the world?”
The hatred and rage vanished from the old dog’s eyes.
In their place was mockery.
“What ends is humanity alone. We will survive in the end and finally be free.”
“So you really do plan to wipe out humans.”
“After the deal is done.”
“Then why haven’t you?”
That was the biggest source of unease after my second regression.
“Bomb Dust Beetles triggered nuclear explosions, a massive whale swallowed a city whole. Invisible attacks sliced through space, gravity manipulation sealed off movement, communications and machinery were fried.”
There are still undiscovered, unrecorded species out there—animals are that diverse.
If each one is armed with unique anomalies, even if the Foundation flies and crawls, humanity is doomed.
“Did you really need to scout things out in a situation like this? Why not just wipe out humanity and take me out along with it? Your client didn’t add some clause about not hurting anyone but me. Every time you tried to kill me, the collateral damage was insane.”
But it hadn’t done that.
“There was no need to be cautious at all.”
“Don’t you humans have a saying about tapping a stone bridge before crossing it?”
“What you did wasn’t tapping the bridge. It was hesitation.”
The lingering unease that wouldn’t fade.
Thinking from its perspective, the answer came quickly.
“You... you still like humans, don’t you?”
“Me? Like humans?”
When humans have nothing to say, they resort to insults.
“Don’t talk like a crazy cat!”
Even a dog with human intelligence was the same.
＊＊＊
“What reason do I have to like humans? Selfish, worldly, greedy creatures who plunge into self-destruction without realizing it, blaming other humans instead! That’s your species!”
Chorong spat out its tirade.
This was different from its previous laid-back, cold fury.
“Even among yourselves, you despise, blame, deny, insult, kill, and slaughter each other—idiots! You think I like scum like that? Ha! Don’t spew such madness! Have you got rabies or something!?”
Its rage radiated heat like touching a flame.
I’d seen this temperament a lot on community forums.
“I’d sooner mate with a cat than like humans! In my 16 years of dog life, I’ve never heard anything more absurd or insulting!”
The flailing of humans when struck at their core.
Desperately spewing every insult they could muster to hide their panic and true feelings.
“You call yourself some special ‘fixer’ among humans, so I listened patiently, and all you do is dirty my ears!? There’s no more value in talking!”
“Really? You really don’t like humans at all?”
“Stop stating the obvious!”
Convincing it to admit that would take ages.
Fortunately, this wasn’t a community where I’d get blocked, but with no more regressions possible and no telling when it might snap, I decided to use a little cheat.
“Then take a look at this.”
“What is it?”
“A crystal showing the happiest moment of your life.”
Its lips twitched several times, but Chorong’s hesitation never formed words.
“See for yourself if time with humans really wasn’t happy.”
I pressed the button on the crystal.
Target: Chorong.
It was still silent, but its eyes shifted from me to something else.
‘Please, let this work.’
＊＊＊
Chorong stared at the corner of the office.
The ordinary office vanished, replaced by a familiar place.
A rundown alley at the edge of countryside and city.
Amid the trash-strewn spot, a poodle staggered and vomited blood.
“Keong, keong!”
It screamed as if on the verge of death, but Chorong didn’t move.
“Kkaeng......”
As the wielder of authority to restore past powers to all beasts—gaining intellect beyond humans—this old dog realized it was an illusion.
“Huh? It’s a puppy!”
And in the illusion, it saw another glimpse of the past.
“Whoa, no way! It’s hurt so bad?”
The journey leading up to this place.
Its life, one that had no choice but to hate humans.
＊＊＊
“Aigoo, so cute.”
The first sound it ever heard was someone’s voice brimming with joy.
One of six puppies born to its mother, nameless, it suckled at her teat and sniffed the world’s scents.
“Cute, but we can’t raise them all. What to do?”
“When they’re big enough, we’ll rehome them. If we send them off too soon, they won’t be socialized, so I’ll raise them a few months and post adoption ads.”
Delicious scents from mother’s embrace.
Warm, nostalgic scents from siblings.
Earthy warmth rising from the ground.
“Aigoo, so cute.”
Among the many scents, the best was from a huge something.
The cozy sensation wrapping around it as it was lifted, that scent—it made body and soul happy.
“Woof!”
As its head grew a bit, it realized this was an amazing being.
“Let’s eat.”
“Come here, sweetie! Time for a bath!”
“Aigoo, made a mess again?”
They could do anything.
They gave tasty food and meat, let it splash in warm water, and with a stretch of their hand, even high places it couldn’t climb became reachable in an instant.
“Woof!”
Such wonderful beings.
Ones it wanted to be with forever.
“Getting pretty big now, huh?”
But even that moment came to an end.
“Hello? I saw your adoption post!”
“Aigoo, welcome. It’s had its shots, so you can just take it.”
“This one’s cute. We’ll take this guy!”
One day, hands from other huge beings carried it away from everyone.
They looked just like the big beings, smelled the same.
“Man, so cute. Perfect for going viral.”
“Poodles are smart, right? Train it well, and subscribers will skyrocket.”
So they must be good beings too.
“Sit, sit!”
“Hey! Jump! When I say jump, you jump! Jump!”
These big beings were a little different from the previous ones.
They commanded things, and if expectations weren’t met, harsh beatings came.
“Why can’t you understand? Huh?”
“Don’t hit it directly—scare it. Direct hits cause trauma, and we can’t film.”
When the long something whipped the ground, its ears rang like they’d burst.
But the scariest was the darkness.
“No talking back, so three hours in solitary.”
“Nng! Nng nng!”
Fail to do what they wanted, and it was locked in a pitch-black bathroom.
Terrified, the puppy clawed at the door until its nails bled, but they didn’t let it out until time was up.
“Wow, listens so well?”
“Poodles really are smart.”
It had to do it.
Had to succeed.
Only then would they love it.
“Good job! Animals only obey if you abuse them, right?”
“Smart or not, it’s still just a beast.”
And they really did love it.
“Pommy! Bite!”
“Woof!”
They even gave it a name.
Pommy—that was its name.
The puppy Pommy desperately tried to live happily with them.
“Hello, subscribers! It’s genius dog Pommy!”
“What will Pommy show us today?”
No formal training, but with keen instincts and innate smarts, Pommy met their demands and suffered no more abuse.
“Wow, 100k subscribers!”
“Silver button!”
Thank goodness.
It was tough at first, but now everyone could live happily.
“Oppa, look at this.”
“Huh? What?”
“In that old video, Pommy looked scared going into the bathroom. People are saying that’s proof you abused it while teaching tricks.”
“Tsk...... I cut out bathroom footage as much as possible, but they caught that corner glimpse.”
“Maybe say it got traumatized from a time we accidentally locked it in as a pup and went out?”
Please keep it like this forever.
“No. Don’t respond. Not many know, and more people defend us—no need to stir up trouble.”
“Then what do we do?”
Until the day it died.
“Content’s getting stale anyway, reactions dying down. Let’s switch it up.”
＊＊＊
That day was different from usual.
Rides in the big, fast-moving thing always meant a cramped cage, but today it was held in its owner’s arms.
“What’re you looking at?”
“Shiba Inu adoption post. Shibas are dramatic and cute, super popular.”
Something felt off.
Instinct screamed it, but it chose to trust them.
“Community post?”
“About to write it.”
It didn’t want to doubt those who loved it.
Didn’t want to doubt those it loved.
“Really sorry to share this heartbreaking news. Around 5 PM today, our Pommy tore through the open screen door gap and ran off. Wild dog packs have been around lately, so we searched fast, but the last sighting was it fleeing from them...”
“Wrote it well. You could be a writer.”
Sorry for the bad thoughts.
Pommy licked its owner’s hand.
“Aww, does Mama like it that much?”
“We’re here. No people around—perfect.”
The vehicle stopped.
Owner grabbed Pommy’s scruff tight and got out.
A cliff loomed ahead.
“Hurry, before anyone comes.”
“OK.”
The world flipped.
Legs flailed, but nothing connected.
As Pommy plummeted down the sheer cliff, its owner’s voice reached its ears.
“Hello? Yes, calling about the Shiba Inu adoption post.”