Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Trials of the Hell Train Judges
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I know that too.
Having a conversation with another human as a human is always fascinating. Human personalities vary wildly from birth, and they're further shaped by their environments and experiences, so exchanging ideas feels like stepping into a new world of intellectual pleasure.
『Foolish mortal, how dare you debate the Dharma with me.』
If that's true of fellow humans, then it's only natural that conversing with an entity beyond human comprehension would captivate me even more.
"Yes, we must debate. Anyone can see your actions don't follow the Buddha's teachings. If there's some new teaching of the Buddha I'm unaware of, would you kindly enlighten me?"
『You humans are pitiable, born with original sin. So it's only right to offer yourselves in atonement to the world—don't you know this?』
See? It's already getting interesting.
"Original sin? That's Christian doctrine."
『By being born, you bring suffering to your mother and commit filial impiety. By eating and drinking other living beings, you sin. Every action you take breeds sin, so you're undoubtedly beings made of sin.』
"That's the natural order of life. Living creatures have no choice but to consume others to survive. If that's called sin, then every breathing being on this earth is a sinner."
『Exactly.』
The monk laughed.
『All living things are sinners.』
"Well now."
It's profoundly interesting, but profoundly narrow-minded.
"If all living things are sinners..."
『Atone through asceticism.』
As the monk struck his wooden fish drum, a strange sensation flowed into my mind.
*'I feel like self-harming.'*
But I had no desire to do such a thing, so I ignored it and continued debating sin with the monk.
"If all living things are sinners, then you're a sinner too, aren't you? A sinner judging sinners isn't judgment—it's mere slaughter, a sophistry to justify your own violence."
『?』
"And you've been striking that drum, preaching asceticism and atonement, but that's misguided conduct."
『Why refuse asceticism?』
"In Buddhism, the wooden fish symbolizes wakefulness, ceaseless diligence toward enlightenment. Yet you're judging humans through a narrow lens—lost in the three poisons of delusion, specifically ignorance that distorts the true nature of the world through foolish eyes. Isn't that right?"
Regrettably, the debate couldn't continue.
『Begone! How dare you reject asceticism!』
The monk rose and tried to smash me down. While seated, he'd been ordinary human size, but upon standing, he swelled several times larger.
Upward and outward. He was no longer human-sized, but that was no problem.
"Do you know why large creatures walk on four legs? Because quadrupedal locomotion is more stable for supporting body weight than bipedal."
『Atone!』
I easily dodged the attack, advanced, and targeted his knee with a light hook. Cartilage crunched as the monk dropped to one knee.
"See, bipedalism limits weight distribution, so lower-body injuries directly threaten life."
『Graaaah!』
"Perhaps there were once many large bipedal creatures. But natural selection wiped them out, leaving only quadrupeds. That's why the giant bipedal robots so many men dream of remain mere fantasy."
I climbed his body and drove a knee into his jaw. The bone-cracking snap was more cheerful than the drum.
"More importantly, preaching original sin and withholding compassion while claiming to follow the Buddha's teachings? You're a breaker of precepts."
『Y-You bastard! How dare...』
He tried attacking again without giving up, so I kept beating him down.
"I dislike violence, but sometimes violence must be met with violence."
His size made for a satisfying feel.
"Please give up soon. I want to move to the next car quickly."
＊＊＊
『Guh... enough... please... mercy...』
The bloated monk reverted to his original form. Seeing him weep and beg for mercy stirred my artistic soul.
*'A monk, who should be most compassionate, showed none—yet begs for it in his own pain.'*
How ironic!
"I'll take a photo."
I couldn't resist snapping one. In the developed picture, the bloodied monk sobbed. On the back, I wrote:
[Ignorance of Reversal]
I showed him the photo to explain the art and persuade him to show mercy henceforth, but instead, he panicked and blurted unasked confessions.
『Please! Mercy! I'm not a real monk! That's why I showed no compassion! So please! Don't ask about the Dharma, and stop the pain!』
"You're not a monk?"
Something's off.
"Isn't this the Hell Train, Buddhism's hell, judging sinners by the Dharma? Strict and excessive as the standard may be, it's plausible for an entity..."
『Please, please...!』
Regrettably, as I approached, the monk foamed at the mouth and passed out.
"Wake up."
A light shock did nothing.
"Hmm."
No choice—ask the next car's judge.
『Another lustful sinner arrives.』
In a hotel lobby, a 10-meter naked giant bared his teeth at me.
"Could we please end this peacefully with talk?"
『I'll ease your sin by ravishing your lascivious self.』
"No such luck."
No victim in sight. Probably already train fuel.
"I've handled giants in the forward cars already."
I'd hoped for a quick talk, but complaining changes nothing—time flows on. I shattered his knee and beat him thoroughly like the monk. The giant belatedly lost the will to fight, wailing for forgiveness.
『Th-that...』
"You're a judge on this train, I hear. Yet none of you follow compassion or the Buddha's teachings. What's going on?"
『Hoo... hee... forgive...』
I must've hit his face too hard. His words were incomprehensible, and before long, he passed out.
"Hmm, 'forgive'... yokai?"
That explains everything.
*'Yokai impersonating Buddhas, tormenting humans on the Express Train to Hell?'*
Before leaving, I eyed the giant. Even unconscious or dead, his manhood stood erect.
"About 10 meters tall, yet his member is roughly 30 cm."
I calculated the ratio.
*'10 meters is 1,000 cm, so 30/1,000 = 3%. For an average adult male height of 175 cm: 175 x 0.03 = 5.25 cm.'*
He was an adult male with a 5.25 cm penis.
*'Micropenis.'*
I photographed it for a good shot of the manhood, then titled the back of the developed photo:
[Anger Over What One Lacks]
"Deprivation breeds overcompensation. If this giant's judgments weren't proper, his assaults on passengers might've been excessive acts to satisfy that lack."
I moved to the next car. In a valley with a stream, a boy spotted me and vanished.
『Hello?』
"Hello?"
The boy whispered suddenly at my side.
『Your friend Homin? He never actually saw you as a friend.』
He seems to read memories.
"Hmm."
『He resented you until his dying breath. He's whispering from hell now. Hear that? 'Why didn't you revive me?!'』
"I truly wanted to resolve this with words alone..."
『Kekeke! And you know, you... Huh?』
"I'm human too, so when you do that, I can't help getting angry."
『Y-You! How did you beat the other ju-judges!』
He must've seen recent memories.
"Too late."
For the first time, violence not for talk's sake—but violence for violence.
[Gate of Verbal Catastrophe]
I took a photo too.
＊＊＊
『Ah! A jewel!』
Car 2, the last passenger compartment save for the judge's—the greedy one snorted his pig nose and took the diamond I offered.
『Pretty gem! The one gem I don't have!』
The greedy one judges by making humans into swine: scattering gems, breeding those who gather them as human-pigs.
But the one gem he lacked was a diamond.
*'In the game, offering a diamond as a bribe got you off the train.'*
Seemed the same in reality. He pointed to a spot on the plain.
『Go straight there to exit the train!』
"No, I want something else."
『What?』
"Who are you?"
The pig grinned brightly.
『We are the sinners of...』
His head flew mid-grin.
"..."
The severed head and body crumbled to dust. This proved the judges I'd faced hadn't died—just fainted.
"Why did this happen?"
I moved to the next car as instinct urged.
"There's only one reason."
Unlike prior cars, this one resembled an ordinary subway Line 1 compartment. In the center, a figure awaited.
『...』
Outdated engineer's uniform.
Face shrouded in black shadow, unrecognizable.
Just like in the game.
『Did you enjoy it?』
Save for one thing: no honorifics.
『Fun prancing like a thunderbolt with your tiny power? Drunk on your strength, thinking yourself something great?』
"No, never."
『How arrogant. Beating judges, you thought you stood above sacred law. A mere mortal, less than a worm—a human insect—bouncing around, mistaking yourself for a god. It's inevitable, foolish, noddingly obvious, sigh-worthy.』
"To repeat, I've never thought that."
『But now it's over.』
Impact like being hit by a train warped my vision.
『No matter how it thrashes, a worm is a worm. Ever seen a human die from a worm bite?』
A venomous worm could, I wanted to say, but shocks from all sides churned my guts—I couldn't speak.
『That's what you are: slightly better than other worms, with a few extra teeth, but forever trapped in lowly worm fate.』
I endured blackouts repeatedly, barely opening my eyes to find my body wrecked.
『Worm, crawl on the ground—that's your place.』
Everything ached. Legs cracked, ribs broken, and crucially, my left eye was blind.
*'Ah.'*
The engineer reflected in my right pupil. Beyond his shadow, I saw something.
*'Yokai.'*
Horns on heads, grotesque bodies dancing wildly in fire pits, blood pools, skeletal towers reaching the sky—scattered across a dark plain or space unknown.
*'Hazard rating, huh.'*
Like the blindfolded girl, was the engineer not hazard-rated, but annihilation-class?
"Hoo."
With trembling hand, I reached into my inner pocket. Inside the crumpled Void Pocket, I pulled out cigarettes and a lighter—and my smartphone too.
"Excuse me, mind if I smoke?"
『I expect no courtesy from vermin, so smoke if you wish. I'm merciful, and it'll be your last.』
"Surprisingly merciful. Thanks."
Luckily, my lungs were fine. I inhaled deeply.
"First, I'm Yi Seung-hoon. Greetings are in order. And..."
Smoking where I shouldn't—delicious.
"I know. That I'm like a worm."
『You admit it?』
"Yes."
For a very long time now.
"I know all humans are like worms."
I'd always thought so.
"Like earthworms crawling desperately to breathe in the rain, only to get squished unluckily."
『A creature knowing its place did such things?』
"But what can you do? Humans are 'worm-like,' not actual worms."
That's why, in this world turned game of "survive the entities," I keep living.
"Not worms, so we live desperately, not knowing when death comes. Even if squished by bad luck, giving our all each moment."
Thrashing to survive, not knowing when an annihilation-class entity might kill us.
"That's how I think humans should face death."
That's my current life.
『Pity. One who thinks that way faces death now.』
"Maybe."
And right now too.
"Anyway, let's talk."