Regresssion
Benevolence sometimes comes at a cost. And the ending is not always a happy one.
“Tsk, tsk... what are we supposed to do when a swordsman loses one of his arms like that...”
“The heavens really are heartless... why would they do that to such a brave young man...”
“Mom, that big brother’s arm is weird...”
“Jiho, you shouldn’t say things like that. Be quiet.”
It had been an accident. Not even an ordinary one. And it wasn’t due to my carelessness, either.
After the academy entrance exam ended, a monster that had been prepared as a sample for the students broke loose, and a girl was put in mortal danger. I protected her willingly.
I didn’t even have proper swordsmanship to speak of, so of course I couldn’t kill the monster myself. But because I bought time, the creature was eventually slain. In exchange, the arm it had severed from me during the fight never came back.
The girl, who had survived by a thread, clasped both trembling hands together and came toward me.
“I-I’m sorry... because of me, your arm...”
She sank to her knees, then sobbed as she murmured to me.
“Y-you need to attach the arm quickly. I-it might still be inside the monster’s body...”
The girl moved toward the collapsed corpse of the beast.
“Hey! Don’t touch the monster’s body! It might still be alive!”
But she didn’t stop. She rummaged through the monster’s half-burst organs.
“Ugh...”
My stomach lurched at the sight, but the girl never paused. She splashed through the blood, stirred the monster’s innards, and tried desperately to find the man’s arm. How many minutes passed...? Something was clutched in the girl’s bloody hand.
“Th-the arm...”
The monster had chewed it to pieces. It had been reduced to powder. There was no longer any shape to recognize. Every nerve had been severed, and the bones were crushed. Reattaching it was impossible. I had known that from the start. I still remembered the sensation of being bitten, and because of that, I had already given up.
“I-I’m sorry... sorry...”
I stroked the girl’s head and said,
“You’re the one who should be sorry? Wasn’t this just an accident?”
The girl cried for a long time, and I asked her,
“What’s your name?”
“Ch-Choi Daeun...”
“Daeun, this wasn’t your fault. I’m alive, so that’s enough. Still, you did save my life, so could you promise me one thing?”
The girl nodded.
“With a body like this, I don’t think I’ll be making many friends. Later, after I enter the academy, could you be my friend?”
“Y-yes... yes. I promise.”
The academy president, who had rushed out far too late, stared at me in shock.
“I’m terribly sorry. Because of our mismanagement...”
He looked at my arm, then lowered his eyes to the ground, seeming overcome with guilt.
“I know it’s disgraceful to even speak of compensation, but... I’ll make amends in any way I can.”
I slowly rose to my feet.
I hadn’t done it for compensation. And there was no compensation that could ever make this right. I hurriedly told the president, who was following after me in a panic,
“I don’t know whether I can learn swordsmanship with a body like this, but would it be possible for you to let me take the entrance exam here someday? It’s been my dream to learn swordsmanship since I was a child.”
The president gripped my hand tightly and said,
“Flote Academy is open to anyone, at any time. All the more so for the brave and the righteous.”
Listening to him, I thought that I would absolutely, absolutely enter this place one day. Even if I only had one arm, I would work hard and prove myself at the academy known as the best in the country.
But that thought didn’t last long before it shattered.
Breaking news. An explosion, believed to be the work of monsters, has occurred at Flote Academy, resulting in the deaths of several hundred students inside. Among the dead are the girl who had once been attacked by a monster and miraculously survived, as well as the president of Flote Academy, drawing even greater public grief. The last words left by the deceased girl read, “I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my promise,” and the Magical Investigation Unit is currently analyzing the meaning of the message.
It felt empty. And for some reason, my chest ached.
We had only met once, but they didn’t seem like bad people. The girl had promised to be my friend later, and the president had said he would welcome even a swordsman missing one arm at any time.
“Ha...”
That day, I gave up on entering the academy. Hearing about their deaths made me think of the younger sibling who had gone before me.
- Big brother... big brother... I can’t move my legs...
I shook my head.
After that, I trained with the sword.
For no reason other than to kill monsters, I pushed my body to the limit in real combat.
I ran to the places monsters were known to appear, again and again, and fought them with my life on the line. Every time I did, I grew stronger.
My name began to spread among the people, and some came to call me the One-Armed Sword Saint. At first, many ignored me, but later they all only pitied me.
“If only that splendid young man had both arms...”
Ignoring them, my training and battles continued. But there was a limit to what one man, acting alone with one arm, could do.
“Damn it....”
- Ssshhhk
I had let my guard down. A pair of monsters fled, and I pushed too hard to pursue them so they wouldn’t get away. I’d fallen straight into their trap, and in an instant I was surrounded by thousands of monsters.
“Monsters... don’t have a command structure, do they...”
That was common knowledge, accepted by the world. Monsters generally didn’t attack members of their own kind, but because they didn’t take orders from anyone, they also didn’t act in groups. I had relied on common sense, so I couldn’t help but be careless.
Thousands of monsters moving at once. It was impossible. I had been told monsters never lived in groups.
“Just what the hell are you...”
If this many monsters had gathered, then there had to be some kind of commander. I turned my head this way and that, looking for any creature behaving strangely. Then I felt an unusual presence somewhere nearby.
When I looked, a man was standing there, smiling.
“Wow... I was thinking I wouldn’t have to step in this early, but you really ought to know when to stop. Do you know how many of our kids you killed?”
He had a human appearance, yet he stood among monsters, and not a single one attacked him. It was a bizarre sight. It was as though he were controlling them.
“Who... are you...? Human? Or a monster...?”
The man smiled unpleasantly and answered,
“Neither monster nor human. We call ourselves the Creators.”
“Creators...? No—more importantly, how are you controlling so many different kinds of monsters all at once? Monsters only ever move in groups with their own species...”
“It doesn’t matter, since you’re going to die anyway. Monsters were made by us from the very beginning. Their tendency to gather only with their own kind is just a safeguard we built into them.”
“What are you...”
“No point telling you. There’s nothing you can do. Die. After we kill you, we’ll head to the city and slaughter everyone there. It’s a little early, but we’ve gathered enough power by now.”
Surrounded by more than a thousand monsters, my body was eventually torn apart and killed. My consciousness blurred in the agony.
In the end, I couldn’t protect anyone.
I had failed to protect my younger sibling, the nameless girl, or anyone else. And I died before I could even avenge them.
If only I had one arm... If only I still had one arm...
- Crack-crack-crunch...
If I had still had even one functioning arm, what then? Would I have been able to drive my blade into the heart of that unknown bastard standing in front of me? I didn’t know. But I wanted it.
“Just once...”
Give me one more chance.
- Squelch...
- Crunch...
With the sound of bones grinding, I began to lose consciousness.
*
*
*
“Hey?”
“Fuck...!”
Something had spoken from behind me. I wasn’t dead yet. I cursed and swung my sword at the sound, driven by nothing but the resolve to kill that mysterious Creator bastard.
“H-hiiik... What’s wrong with you? You dropped this!”
But there was no sword in my hand, and a frightened girl holding a wallet was staring at me.
W-what...?
I had no choice but to stop. No choice but to be confused. I recognized the girl’s face clearly.
Choi Daeun....
I couldn’t forget. There was no way I could forget. I couldn’t have mistaken her. It was the face of the girl I had saved by sacrificing my arm.
I stared blankly at her and muttered,
“What in the world is...”
Then, all of a sudden, a strange sensation ran through my body.
My right arm...
“Um... I’m really sorry, but I think I’m going to be late for the entrance ceremony. I’ll just give this back and go!”
The entrance ceremony...?
Still dazed, I looked at the sign in front of me.
[Flote Academy 23rd Entrance Ceremony]
The girl I had thought dead was alive and moving. The body part that had been severed was attached again. And even the academy exam hall I had once abandoned in the past lay spread out before me. Everything pointed to a single truth.
This is insane...
I had returned to the morning when I lost my arm.
With an intact arm—and the memories of the One-Armed Sword Saint.