Chapter 191
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: White Flower
The aftermath of the beasts with human faces wasn't that big a deal.
It was all thanks to regression.
“What? It's already resolved? When!?”
“We finished it last round. Go check the Absolute Time Indicator at the lab right now.”
“Round? You don't mean a regression ability!?”
I told Yi Ha-yul the truth and wrapped up the zoo incident.
I worried this might cause me some hassle, but fortunately the Korean branch agents finished their treatment and returned, so no major problems arose.
“Glad to see everyone's on the mend.”
『I still sometimes dream the Earth is flat.』
“Hmm, the Earth should be flat. But science won't acknowledge it, so it's round.”
Not fully cured, huh?
“Thank you for resolving the human-face incident while we were out.”
“Heavenly Demon, it's time to head back.”
“......Master? I told you not to.”
『Heavenly Demon Reincarnation, All Demons Rise!』
“Ah, crap, I said don't!”
The group that arrived with Mi-ri left as well.
That evening, Baal paid a visit.
“The chairman says he'll gladly take care of your request.”
“Really? He didn't ask for anything in return, did he?”
Perfect.
But the guy's the king of demons.
After getting Baal's help last time, I'd been dragged into one headache after another, so the same could happen here.
“Oh, didn't I mention?”
Luckily, our interests aligned this time around, making it straightforward.
“The chairman burst out laughing over your entanglement with the Creator. Said the glory forged by the Creator is now on display, ridiculed across every dimension.”
“No strings attached, then.”
“Yep. Even if there were, he wouldn't have asked for much.”
At most, maybe a new CEO spot down the line?
Baal vanished once the discussion wrapped.
“He still won't give up on me.”
Even though I'm a reserve Death King now.
From what I'd heard, even that last date fiasco was part of their scheme to corrupt me. They might try again.
A few days later, amid the return to everyday routine, I lounged through a leisurely tea party.
『Mr. Lee Seung-hoon, meals should be taken in order of protein, dietary fiber, then carbohydrates to prevent blood sugar spikes......』
“Just get diabetes and treat it. Diabetes meds exist now, right?”
Back when wall-mounted TVs ran on dials, the very first broadcast I caught prompted me to buy stock in that company.
[Hello.]
At that moment, the TV flicked on.
"Your wall-mounted TV announcer, Announcer here!"
It's been ages.
"No clue how long it's been since the last broadcast. Right to the news!"
About time for some news.
Announcer Announcer looked perfectly healthy.
Seemed the shock from tackling Dirty Lee Apple—Black Hole flavor—had been fully treated.
"First up! Ando Chef's latest masterpiece shaking all dimensions—Dirty Lee Apple is still whipping up a storm. Tons challenged the Black Hole flavor for VIP tickets to Ando Chef's restaurant, but zero successes."
Didn't realize it was still blowing up.
"They call it the Dirty Lee Challenge, or DLC—still a massive craze. And filming your DLC attempt for upload? That's the new hot trend! Take a look!"
In the void of space floated some massive hunk of flesh—or whatever it was.
White blobs of flesh buzzed around it, blaring trumpets as the giant mass pulsed rhythmically, like it was asleep.
One trumpet-blowing angel pulled out a Dirty Lee Apple—Black Hole flavor—and chucked it at the throbbing mass.
The instant the black apple made contact, countless eyes snapped open across the flesh.
Then the universe blinked out.
'What the hell was that?'
No clue.
Some cosmic critter?
"Mammon, you really doing this?"
Next up: an office.
A slick-suited man grinned slyly as he sliced into a black apple.
"Heh, curious, right? What kinda face the chairman makes chowing down on this?"
"You're insane."
"As promo chief, can't pass this up! Demons gotta seem approachable these days! Chairman caught off-guard on live feed? Wariness of demons and corruption melts away!"
No electronics in that office.
And Mammon... figures.
"Chairman! Have this apple first!"
The man swung open a plain door labeled Chairman’s Office, though the interior stayed off-camera.
"How's it taste?"
"Mammon."
A deep, resonant voice rumbled.
"From now on, for the next century, you'll be hyper-aware of every blink."
"Huh?"
"No unconscious blinks till the hundred years are up."
"Argh!"
Screen switched.
Someone familiar appeared.
"Phew! Doctor! Your brain just got fixed—what now?!"
"Assistant! How could I ditch Ando Chef's VIP ticket so easily?! Science conquers all—this time, no way I lose!"
Dr. Janus and his assistant.
Janus pureed the black apple in a blender, then mixed it into a thick white sauce.
"Spicy gets neutralized by fatty! So horrific hallucinations turn happy!"
"Phew, you think?"
"Down the hatch!"
Dr. Janus chugged the drink in one go.
"Knew it!"
Dr. Janus has a long way to go before normalcy.
"DLA—loved by so many. I gave it a shot too, haha! Bombed. Next: new event at Family Zoo—check it!"
Family Zoo.
Where I'd passed the white bead—the root of this mess—via Lucifer.
'Any connection?'
There was.
"Bead, mystery, face-attach!"
A zookeeper with a twisted-up face brandished the white bead.
Face hidden, but his voice brimmed with glee.
"Normally nope, but grit—bam!"
Suddenly, a human face sprouted on the universe inside the cage.
"Like this!"
"Aaah! Humans! Hateful! The void within! Why won't you fill it?!"
"Fun! Awesome! Sights galore! Come on over!"
"Evolve already! Universe wars! Species clashes! Dyson Spheres at least! What's the holdup?!"
Family Zoo treats everything as animals.
Universes included—so they used the white bead to slap human faces on 'em.
"Can't take it! Big Rip! Mega-explosion!"
The universe overheated.
Looked ready to blow—but the head zookeeper knuckle-rapped its forehead, and it settled.
"Cocky cuties—smack fixes it, dummies."
"Kieek!"
Sent 'em to Family Zoo—solid call.
"Third news: checked threats for Bucheon's Mr. Lee (26). Shockingly! No world-ending, city-wiping, humanity-dooming disasters left this year!"
I'd seen danger forecasts before.
Safety guarantees? First time.
"Such a shame. Danger's what makes it exciting. Final news: keen viewers feel it—today's a bit light? Our HQ's under remodel! Staff grinding hard. Gotta join post-broadcast. Wrap with VLOG of the crew hustling!"
Scenes flipped by like a photo album.
"Senior! Help me!"
"Argh! Intern Intern! Told ya to watch it!"
Intern Intern dangling from a ladder on the verge of plummeting, Reporter Reporter below ready to catch.
"Overtime, overtime, unpaid overtime......"
"Grew big, mindset still trash......"
Staffers with faces made of fountain pens.
"......Fun times."
Even someone with a newspaper for a face.
A desk flashed by: 「Wall-Mounted TV Director, Director」.
“No more doomsday threats till year's end—vacation time?”
『Where to?』
“Dunno. Fortune Cookie it is.”
Regression wrapped, but the shady trader's ticket scored me the Apocalypse Set.
Handy for emergencies as survival gear, plus Fortune Cookie's tips proved gold.
[An opportunity to gain new knowledge is coming.]
Love that one.
“Vacation plus new knowledge.”
Meaning?
Lately, the same dream keeps hitting.
Tonight, darkness welcomed me with flowerless grass.
'Paradise Lost's flower.'
The tulip—stripped of blooms after every regression—swayed gently in the breeze.
'Shame. Regression made it so easy.'
One intriguing revelation from this mess.
Peering into the future with both eyes isn't invincible.
'Neither eye triggered this time.'
Just this once?
Flat Earth incident too.
'Three hypotheses.'
First: Creator-tier players involved—no eye activation.
Second: Singularities tangled so bad, extinction futures too vague to pin.
Third: Extinction so predictable, no eyes needed.
'Third's likeliest...'
Happy Apartments.
Andromeda's starlight.
Flat Earth, human faces—all unfolded in my awareness, deaths easy to foresee.
'Couldn't dodge 'em anyway. Enter regression.'
Good news: a bud formed.
Regenerating dead slow—from my watches, one flower'd take months minimum.
'Why the nonstop wind in the dream, though?'
Every night, without fail.
Paradise Lost's flower dances in it, swaying every which way.
'Wind......'
Shady trader's tale resurfaced.
The primordial Creator deemed Adam's deeds betrayal and utterly demolished the three glories crafted.
Paradise smashed and buried deep underground.
The promised greatness—turned black, shattered, cast into shadow.
'And the mighty power bestowed on beasts? Reclaimed and scattered on the wind.'
This time, figured Adam's traces wouldn't snag that power.
Beast strength stays with beasts.
But what if awakening beast power differs from wielding the beast horde?
'White bead holds the juice for human-facing animals and singularity-granting... but the command power settled in me?'
That realization hit—and Paradise Lost's flower bloomed.
Not the old bud—a fresh white one beside it.
“Hmm.”
Bloomed right as I woke.
Peak autumn, yet a mosquito buzzed through the dark.
'Feels like a switch flipped inside.'
It alighted on my arm.
Proboscis poised to pierce—the switch engaged.
'Target designation required.'
Target: mosquito.
It froze mid-stab... then bit anyway.
“Aigoo! Customer! Blood type, if I may?”
A talking mosquito.
Zero human hatred.
“Picky eater here. O or A type, by chance?”
Just like any regular Joe.