I’m an Infinite Regressor, But I’ve Got Stories to Tell

Editor: echo

Discord: https://dsc.gg/reapercomics

◈ I’m an Infinite Regressor, But I’ve Got Stories to Tell

Chapter 316

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The Skeptic IX

Squelch.

Squelch.

When our Human Allied Forces at last marched out of the Inunaki Tunnel, the first thing to greet us was the smell of soggy earth that clung like muddy chocolate, along with an endless deluge of rain and fog.

The plaza in front of the casino, which had always been crowded with homeless drifters and beggars pleading for loose change, now lay eerily empty.

The rain beat down without end, cold to the touch, as the surrounding fog clung to us, creeping over our fingers, our thighs, and the backs of our necks in a clammy embrace.

Already, the Super Monsoon Anomaly was letting us sense through the temperature and the feel of it all that its master had arrived.

– Kyeeeeh!

All of a sudden, beyond the wall of dark fog, something like a hunting hound came rushing at us—if you could call a figure with two heads and tentacles writhing from its forepaws a “hound,” that is.

The creature leaped from just a few meters away, heading straight for Manyo Neko. The instant she let out a “Funya!” in fright, a jet-black Aura slashed across the hound’s neck.

– Kkiaaaak! Kkieeek! Kiiiii!

Then, the hound splattered. Its body and severed head thrashed a final death spasm, but before the surrounding Awakeners could react, it vanished into splashes of mud without leaving even a corpse behind.

“Th-thanks, nya, Undateikeo.”

I locked eyes with Manyo Neko in acknowledgement, then said, “Everyone, stay on guard. Visibility is extremely poor. Even a village-class Anomaly can inflict serious wounds if we let it ambush us.”

Manyo Neko and several of the Awakeners nodded in agreement.

Right on cue, the gate behind us closed with a great creak and a thud. As previously discussed, Do-hwa sealed off the entrance to the tunnel.

Ahead of us stretched limitless territory and lurking death. Behind us lay survival, but the path was barred. A true predicament.

All 3,721 of our allies had literally put themselves in a do-or-die position.

A chill of murderous tension swept through our ranks. Before the hearts I had stirred with my speech could cool in the face of this menacing reality, I issued an order.

“Ha-yul.”

[Yes, Oppa.]

“Activate all your totem dolls.”

[Got it.]

Ha-yul’s stockings soaked through as she knelt in the mire, paying no mind to how the mud buried her prosthetic leg.

[Strings that bind a human’s shoulders...]

[But to a spider’s legs, it’s just a circus wire...]

As soon as the Puppeteer murmured that incantation to herself, a wave of golden Aura spread outward from her small body. It branched like a spiderweb, splitting again and again until the entire city was veiled in shimmering light.

“Whoa...”

“Incredible skill for someone so young.”

“They say she’s Mr. Undertaker’s adopted daughter. Makes sense.”

Impressed whispers spread among those who had never before witnessed the Puppeteer’s abilities, particularly the Awakeners from overseas.

Ha-yul paid no attention to those looks, focusing solely on controlling her Aura.

“Keep it going, Ha-yul.”

[Okay. No problem.]

As mentioned before, Ha-yul’s puppet strings functioned almost like a superconductive medium for Aura, an asset she had put to use all across Korea. Needless to say, her web was even more extensive in Busan. Even under the crushing pressure of rain and fog from above, that golden spiderweb gleamed like a river of stars, enough to spark a fragile hope for survival.

[Oppa, I’ve finished connecting.]

Creak, clank.

All around Busan, “dolls” opened their eyes. They had been hidden at key points among that golden constellation that blanketed the city, numbering no fewer than 999 dolls in total, each one a perfect look-alike of Ha-yul.

A legion of dolls, obeying the single command of Lee Ha-yul, had awoken.

“Well done,” I said warmly. “No need to micromanage their line of sight—just keep them linked to your consciousness.”

[Got it.]

Across the city that had been swallowed in thick fog, giving Anomalies an absolute advantage, the Puppeteer had planted hundreds of “wards.” Of course, Ha-yul couldn’t personally watch all 999 points, but that hardly mattered.

“Saintess.”

[Yes. I’m connected to Ha-yul’s feed now.]

We had our own dedicated “control tower” ready to interpret all those vantage points in her stead.

[Anomalies are gathering from the north side of Busan—places like Nopo-dong and Dugu-dong.]

[They’re also crossing the Nakdong River. We can probably consider the Sasang District completely fallen by now.]

[Same thing in the east. The area near Haedong Yonggung Temple is already gone. The downpour beyond is much heavier, closing in on us from every direction.]

[It appears to be a Monster Wave.]

[We suspect it’s a Monster Wave that’s been taken over and mutated by Leviathan.]

[Their target is here, the entrance to the tunnel.]

The map lit up. Almost immediately, howling calls ripped through the fog on all sides.

– Grooaaaar!

– Kkieeeeeeek! Kiek, kyeeeh!

– Uu-uu-uu-uu-uu...

They had sensed us.

Just as we gazed into the Void, the Void was gazing back.

Though Leviathan’s true form had not yet appeared, the Anomalies enslaved by the sea dragon howled as they rushed in unison toward our position.

The first to breach the fog were colossal, octopus-like tentacles. They whipped out, stretching over ninety meters to grab three of our Awakeners at once.

“Aaaaaah!”

“Sever it! Intercept!”

“Stay calm!”

Ever vigilant, our Awakeners immediately fought back. Two of the captured fighters managed to break free, but the last was dragged off by the remaining tentacles.

“U-urgh...!”

Even as he was hauled off, the Indian Awakener slammed his sword into the ground—zzzzik!—tearing a twenty-meter-long line through the black mud as he slowed himself.

“Nice one!”

“Hold on, we’ll save you!”

“O-ooh... oh...”

The tentacle was hacked apart by a barrage of attacks from his comrades. Just before he was pulled beyond the veil of fog, the Indian youth was freed.

But then—

“O-o-o—o-o-o...”

Around the man’s waist, where the tentacle had grabbed him, “water droplets” began to bubble out.

Wherever the bubbles churned, muscle fibers and blood vessels appeared beneath his skin until the foaming had gone so bad that his bones were laid bare.

The would-be rescuers froze in their tracks. The “water foam” had already spread up to the young man’s chest.

“A-Akash! Snap out of it!”

“O-o-o-o-o-o—”

In an instant, the bubbles swept up to his neck, head, arm, fingers, and right back down to the hand that gripped the sword. Then—

Pop!

The watery foam burst, and the muscles and bones that had made up the youth’s body vanished into thin air.

All that remained was rainwater. Even the severed tentacle sections had completely evaporated.

At the spot where man and monster had died, droplets wiggled in place before crawling off into the fog like centipedes.

“Ah...”

“Avoid physical contact with the Anomalies at all costs!” I commanded, all the while repelling the other Anomalies assaulting us. After crushing the pack of hundreds of hounds, I shouted so that every Awakener could hear, “This rain and fog is Leviathan’s Void! If moisture seeps into a wound, you’ll lose sight of yourself and become part of Leviathan’s forces!”

“Aaaargh!”

Skirmishes erupted all across the plaza as Awakeners clung to our makeshift barricades, warding off the enemy’s ambushes.

‘Good. So far, this isn’t too bad.’

We’d lost one fighter in that sudden attack, but the Human Allied Forces followed protocol and responded to each threat accordingly. Seo-rin’s Cursed Song Incantation was already at its fifth verse, all dedicated to defending our minds against brainwashing or mental pollution. If we kept up a battle of attrition like this, we could survive at least a week.

‘Of course, if it drags on a full week, that’s effectively a loss for us. But if we discover a clue to Leviathan’s weakness in that time, we can still mount a counterattack.’

In the worst-case scenario, we still had the Saintess and Ah-ryeon. With the Saintess maximizing Time Stop or Ah-ryeon bringing the World Tree into bloom we might stand a fighting chance, even at a great sacrifice.

‘Is this all?’ I thought to myself as I adjusted my cane-sword, Do-hwa. ‘Rain and fog covering every side. A poisonous “Void” that transforms you into some water-bug if you suffer even the slightest injury. A Monster Wave forcibly mobilized by Leviathan.’

It was definitely a tough enemy.

‘No doubt it’s dangerous... but it doesn’t feel insurmountable.’

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Editor: echo

https://dsc.gg/reapercomics

A day passed. Then two, then three.

We lost four Awakeners on the first day, but there were no further casualties after that.

‘It seems we may not even need anyone to sacrifice themselves.’

The sticky humidity made breathing a chore, but we had more breathing room than I expected.

‘If I can just hold out until I find some clue to defeating Leviathan, I’ll reset this run afterward. Next time, I’ll unite the Human Allied Forces well before June, then march straight to Leviathan’s origin and wipe it out easily before—’

“Doc.”

I blinked.

I had only closed my eyes for a second, but from one glance to the next, Go Yuri suddenly stood in front of me, pink hair and all.

That in itself was nothing strange for Go Yuri. If she wanted, it’d be easy for her to toy with my perception. Strangely, though, not a single drop of rain clung to her clothes or hair.

Go Yuri’s external Aura mastery was, at least by all outward signs, pretty terrible. If she’d truly avoided a single raindrop for three days of non-stop battle, wouldn’t she be risking letting everyone see she was “not normal?”

“What’s up, Go Yuri?” I asked cooly. “I’m busy leading the troops. If you want to talk, come back once the enemy’s assault eases up a bit.”

“Oh! Sorry! Didn’t realize you were so busy.”

“Of course I am. I’m putting every ounce of care into ensuring that there are no more casualties. Not even one.”

“Hmm?”

Go Yuri put a finger to her lips.

A soft smile curved over the neatly trimmed nail.

“Mmm. I see. But that sounds a bit strange.”

“Strange how?”

“Yes, because―”

She exhaled, and the sweet scent of apples slipped into my nostrils.

“Doc, you finished your speech just now and haven’t even moved one step away from the tunnel entrance, have you?”

“...”

The sound of rain.

The smell of mud.

Squelch.

Squelch.

When our Human Allied Forces at last marched out of the Inunaki Tunnel, the first thing to greet us was the smell of soggy earth that clung like muddy chocolate, along with an endless deluge of rain and fog.

[Visibility is terrible,] the Saintess reported quietly. [I’m using Aura to sharpen my eyesight, and even then, it’s hard to see more than 50 meters ahead.]

The plaza in front of the casino, which had always been crowded with homeless drifters and beggars pleading for loose change, now lay eerily empty.

The rain beat down without end, cold to the touch, as the surrounding fog clung to us, creeping over our fingers, our thighs, and the backs of our necks in an oppressive embrace.

The Super Monsoon Anomaly spoke through temperature and touch, announcing the arrival of its master.

– Kyeeeeh!

At the exact moment a hunting hound emerged from the fog with fangs bared, my jet-black Aura was already slicing through the mongrel’s throat.

Its head and body parted ways in a splattering gasp, but my Aura didn’t stop there. It burned the hound down to the last hair.

“E-ehhh? F-funyaaang?” Manyo Neko let out a startled cry. The enemy had died before she had even registered the ambush. It was no wonder she was flustered. “Wh-what just happened, nya?”

I had come back. The moment I finished my speech in the lobby and stepped out of the tunnel—I had returned to that precise point.

Or rather, I might never have left it.

I swallowed hard. “Saintess.”

[Yes?]

“There’s a soldier from New Delhi, India, named Akash among our allies. Check whether he’s safe.”

[Oh, of course. Right away.]

“And also count how many people are in the Human Allied Forces. My memory says we had 3,721.”

[Understood.]

Creeeeak, thud.

Right then, the tunnel gate shut behind us. As planned, Do-hwa had sealed the entrance.

The moment it closed, the Saintess reported, [I’ve checked, Mr. Undertaker. First, there is no one here named Akash. It seems nobody else has noticed, but he’s nowhere to be found. Also, right now the total headcount of the Human Allied Forces is 3,717.]

It had decreased.

Our numbers had dropped.

By my memory, we’d had four casualties over the course of the three-day battle. I could still picture our struggle to survive clearly in my mind as if it were reality itself. Yet for whatever reason, I was back to the instant we’d set foot outside. It was as though all that memory had been a lie—

‘In other words, in the mere blink of an eye, four people have already died.’

Rain roared in my ears.

The sensation of rain soaking my shoes, the vibration of rain pounding my eardrums, the smell of rain in my nostrils—these were all undeniably real.

“...Ha-yul.”

[Yes, Oppa.]

“Activate all your totem dolls.”

[I’m already on it.]

Was it reality or illusion?

I couldn’t tell them apart, but I also couldn’t afford to dismiss this as a mere hallucination and abandon the fight.

‘If everything up until now was an illusion and only this moment is real, then Leviathan might deceive me into giving up the battle altogether. And that might be exactly what Leviathan wants.’

“Seo-rin,” I called.

“Huh? What’s up?”

“This time, be especially cautious with your Cursed Song Incantation. Leviathan has wide-area mental corruption abilities, we’ve confirmed that.”

“Oh... Sure, but wasn’t that in the strategy briefing? Don’t worry, I came plenty prepared.”

Three days passed again.

We were even more thorough in defending against mental contamination this time, wrapping ourselves in Aura so thoroughly that not even moisture could permeate our senses. It led to greater fatigue, but we limited the casualties to two. We’d been through the same fight once, after all, and it felt easier this time.

‘Even if this too is an illusion, it’s fine. Next time, I’ll reduce casualties from two to zero, and keep going without losing a single person.’

“How curious.”

I blinked.

Again, after just a moment’s break in my vision, there Go Yuri stood. As before, not a single drop of rain clung to her feet up to her pink hair.

“Go Yuri...”

“Please don’t look too frightened, Doc. Like I said before, I’m only here to help you.”

“...So I’m imagining things? These last three days of battle were all fake?”

“Hmm, that’s a tough question.” She smiled as though sheepish as she explained, “I can’t really tell the two apart. Rather, think about it from Mr. Dragon’s point of view.”

“You mean from Leviathan’s perspective?”

“Yes. If you’re difficult for the Dragon to handle, it’s precisely because you remember everything in perfect detail.”

Complete Memory.

Thanks to that ability, I was immune to most mental brainwashing. Whenever faced with illusions contradicting my recollections, I could instantly deduce, This was fake.

For a contrasting example, look at someone like Dok-seo, who had incomplete memory. She was instantly deceived by Go Yuri’s presence, believing, Right! She’s been with us since the Tutorial Dungeon!

“But as you know, Doc, advantages can become drawbacks.”

“What do you mean?” I asked warily.

“Illusions that vanish into hazy memory are meaningless against normal people. It’s impossible to trick your memories, so what if Leviathan repeats the same scene over and over, in continuous succession?”

“What?”

“A reversal in perspective, Doc.”

Go Yuri breathed out a laugh.

“For a normal person, if you feed them illusions of two or three days, it won’t remain crisp in their mind. But for you, giving you illusions of three entire days has the effect of actually making you live out those days.”

A chill crawled up my neck.

“A fleeting illusion might fade for anyone else, but for you, it’s indistinguishable from an actual 72 hours.”

“So you’re saying Leviathan is... bombarding me with these three-day illusions from the moment I step outside the tunnel?”

“Yep!”

Go Yuri pressed her palm to her cheek and sighed.

“How troublesome.”

“...”

“That thing you consider your most reliable armor is flipped around and chaining you in place.”

That’s right.

Complete Memory, the skill that let me gather up even dreams and illusions without losing a scrap.

Leviathan had forged that into its deadliest weapon against a regressor like me.