Chapter 406
In retrospect.
I always thought I was quite a bland and flavorless individual for an awakened one.
Imagine if there were an organization like the Hero Acknowledgment Association from a genre novel, and during their interview, they asked something like this:
"Oh! A regressor! Impressive. But simply being a regressor isn’t enough to stand out among today’s protagonists, is it?"
"The important thing is your unique skill!"
"Excluding regression, which everyone has these days, what is your powerful, one-of-a-kind ability?"
Hmm.
Despite being a seasoned regressor who had gone through over 1,000 iterations, I wouldn’t have much to write down on a résumé if asked that question.
Time sealing?
"Definitely unique! But without the other party's consent, it’s just useless."
"It’s far from being powerful. I’m telling you, this kind of thing isn’t popular nowadays."
Overwhelming aura?
"Oh. Recognized. That’s powerful indeed. But reading your résumé, it seems you’re now at the aura diet stage, is that so...?"
"Aura isn’t even a unique skill in the first place, is it?"
Interview result: Rejected.
Indeed.
Aside from having a more flexible mentality than most and a unique love for the “Romance of the Three Kingdoms,” there wasn’t much special about me.
But perhaps, this is tradition in itself?
The cliché of the “ordinary protagonist” which has become an old joke; perhaps my perseverance, stubbornly preserving this beautiful culture like a fossil, was my true identity.
At least, that’s how it had been until now.
"I can hear the voices of the anomalies. It’s not just noise or static. I can decipher the screams of the anomalies as if hearing someone's voice. Everyone, by partnering with me, you’ll savor days of crafting highly sophisticated strategies to conquer these anomalies."
"Undertaker! Undertaker! Undertaker!"
"Woahhhhh!"
"Hey, hey! I knew you could do it!"
He received raucous cheers from the awakened, raising both arms triumphantly. The roar grew even louder.
Undertaker.
Finally succeeded in making his protagonist debut on his 1,000th iteration.
4
At times, life could be truly ironic.
"Imagine if, from the beginning, say around the 5th iteration, I had the ability to understand the voices of the anomalies."
"Hmm."
"Then perhaps, I wouldn’t have faced the anomalies with the same mindset as I do now."
I was walking alongside Oh Dok-seo, Sim Ah-ryeon, Lee Ha-yul, and the youngsters of the Regressor Alliance.
Crunch, crunch. The gritty dust of the ruined highway scraped beneath the soles of our shoes.
Iteration 1,022.
Location: The Japanese archipelago.
"Why? Wouldn't it have been better?"
Oh Dok-seo, burdened under a backpack, cocked her head curiously.
"Being able to understand the voice of every grotesque is an incredible advantage, isn’t it? If you’d acquired it in the early stages of regression, you could have minimized a lot of trial and error."
"Perhaps. Ah, we’ve arrived."
The collapsed highway led to a tunnel half-buried in debris. I pointed to a patch of bare ground near the tunnel entrance.
"Everyone, grab shovels and start digging here and there."
"Wahhh, why this manual labor..."
Sim Ah-ryeon made a face like she would cry. However, with Lee Ha-yul, who was much smaller than her, taking the lead in digging, she couldn't slack off either. Grumbling all the while, she joined us with a shovel.
Soon enough.
[Ah.]
Lee Ha-yul’s shovel paused.
[It's here, brother.]
We immediately ceased our work and gathered around her. After uncovering a bit more earth, what we were seeking finally revealed itself.
It was a child’s forearm.
[It’s an arm, not a leg.]
Lee Ha-yul muttered regretfully. Not from her own mouth, but articulated through the maid puppet she operated.
[It would've been easier if it were a leg.]
"You can't expect everything on the first try. Finding it this quickly is lucky as it is. For now, store it carefully."
[Okay.]
Lee Ha-yul brushed the dirt off the child's forearm before placing it into the refrigerated compartment of a yogurt cart.
No concern of decay was warranted.
Even though it had been buried in the soil, the fact that it showed no signs of insect damage and was perfectly preserved indicated that it was no ordinary piece of a corpse.
"The next spot is a tunnel 40 kilometers from here."
"Waaah. Guild Leader, I want to ride in the cart too..."
"Do you really want to take it from someone who doesn’t have legs?"
"B-but! With the special braces from the maintenance chief, it’s like I do have legs now! The Guild Leader only pampers Ha-yul..."
"Sigh."
The three of us shook our heads at Sim Ah-ryeon as we headed toward our next destination.
"Uh. W-wait up! I’m coming too...!"
We probed the Japanese archipelago for weeks.
A left leg here. A few fingers there.
And thus, pieces of the corpse gradually filled the cart's refrigerated compartment.
"Ha-yul."
[Roger.]
With the scattered body parts neatly arranged, Lee Ha-yul drew out her puppet strings.
The strings wriggled into the corpse like living parasites. Tightening. In no time, the severed portions were stitched together by the puppet strings.
[Complete.]
The corpse sprung to its feet.
On closer inspection, you’d notice how seamlessly its parts were joined, akin to the housemaid puppet Lee Ha-yul always carried.
There was one difference from the maid puppet.
"Wow."
Oh Dok-seo grimaced.
"The face is really messed up. Who the hell did that to it?"
Despite the limbs being restored thanks to Ha-yul’s puppet strings, the severe damage to the visage made it impossible to recognize.
Had it been before the collapse of civilization, the youngsters gathered here likely would’ve retched multiple times.
By now, they had seen enough corpses that they merely frowned mildly, without any extreme reactions.
"Ah-ryeon, your turn."
"Mmm... Alright."
Sim Ah-ryeon reluctantly opened her sketchbook, her face showing conflicts — though ‘a request from the Guild Leader’ meant she wouldn’t complain.
"......"
Yet once she began to draw, all remnants of emotion vanished from her face.
"Turn around." "Sitting pose." "Spread your arms wide," and so on.
Sim Ah-ryeon continuously murmured her requests, which Lee Ha-yul acted upon, manipulating the puppet accordingly.
"Hmm... Well, yes. It's done."
Her tone suggested a quality of work that wasn’t entirely satisfactory but acceptable.
The sketch Sim Ah-ryeon drew depicted the full figure of the child. The damaged face was beautifully 'restored' with a cheerful smile shining within the confines of the canvas.
"Good job. You've worked hard following us around, so take a break for a while."
"Ah. Hehe..."
She smiled widely as I ruffled her hair, as if my gesture alone melted away all her fatigue, leaving my heart a little stirred with emotion.
It wasn’t that I didn’t feel happy. It was just that I knew a piece of her heart, cut out by the metaphorical scissors of her mind, remained empty.
"I guess it’s something to address someday. Someday."
But our focus now had to remain on the horror in front of us.
I adhered the portrait Sim Ah-ryeon drew to the face of the corpse puppet Lee Ha-yul had assembled.
Then, I picked up a pre-made mask and covered the puppet's face with it.
The chaotic, marred visage and Sim Ah-ryeon’s portrait were both swallowed and hidden beneath the mask.
"Oh."
And then something extraordinary happened.
"A-Ahjusshi. It's gone!"
Just as Oh Dok-seo mentioned, the puppet, clad in the portrait and mask, vanished in an instant.
It hadn’t fled somewhere with speed that surpassed my own movement technique. It had simply, and quite literally, disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Lee Ha-yul tilted her head.
[Is it exorcised?]
"No."
I shook my head.
"I don’t think so. I’ll be back shortly."
[Back? Where are you going?]
Inunaki Tunnel.
The entrance sign of the tunnel, faintly etched with '犬鳴隧道.'
Below that sign stood a little girl wearing a plain white mask, hesitatingly.
-Ah.
Had she noticed me?
The girl in the mask trembled slightly yet spoke carefully toward me.
-Mister.
"What’s the matter?"
-I need to cross that tunnel, but it’s too dark, and I’m scared to go alone. Could you possibly accompany me?
"......"
I smiled.
"Of course. It’s no problem."
-Ah, thank you!
"This tunnel is rumored to be haunted, you know."
-Ghosts!
The child jumped in surprise. Even though her face was hidden beneath the plain mask, the fear was palpable.
"Yes. If you hear something calling you, make sure not to look back. And don't let go of my hand until we're out of the tunnel. Understood?"
-Y-yes, I won’t.
I extended my hand. The child lifted her arm and grasped it tightly with mine.
We ventured into the tunnel.
Our footsteps echoed longer than usual.
My footsteps were followed by the slightly smaller footsteps of the child, creating a lingering sound.
-Uh...
"Are you scared?"
-I’m not scared...
This wasn’t my first time entering Inunaki Tunnel. In fact, it was probably where I'd spent the longest time in my regressor journeys, so it was familiar by now.
I could walk through it safely.
Even when venturing in unwisely could lead one to be submerged up to the neck in invisible waters, making it impossible to breathe, or when torn limbs appeared around us, or fingers started to split.
"Oh, why are you trying to cross the tunnel? I forgot to ask."
-Melt went inside.
"Melt?"
-It's our family dog. It’s huge. But earlier, it started barking loudly and disappeared into the tunnel.
"......"
-Without Melt, both my dad and I would be so sad. Melt would be sad too. So I have to cross the tunnel to bring him back despite being scared!
"You must be scared, yet you gathered your courage because you feared for your pet. That’s very brave."
-Hehe. Ah, I-I’m not scared!
Plod, plod.
As always, Inunaki Tunnel was exceptionally long.
It's not unusual. A tunnel seen through a child's eyes always seems longer than one experienced by an adult.
Why is it so rare for an adult to extend a hand when a child bravely reaches out?
-I hope Melt didn’t wander too far...
The masked girl mumbled through the entire walk, both to fend off fear and out of genuine concern.
-There were lots of posters in the village about lost dogs and cats.
"Really?"
-I used to wonder what’s the use of those posters. But if Melt got lost, I’d have to put up posters too...
How long had we walked?
Woof!
A dog barked from the other side of the tunnel. The child holding my hand looked up in surprise.
-It’s Melt!
Forgetting her fear of this eerie tunnel, she let go of my hand and dashed toward the sound.
A faint light spilled from beyond the end of the tunnel, pooling in a puddle on the ground, springing up with droplets as the girl’s foot stepped into it.
-Melt! Melt! Melt!
She kept calling the dog's name repeatedly, imbuing each call with hope that the name would bridge the gap between them.
Woof, woof.
Perhaps the voice recognized her. Although I couldn’t see the pup crying out to its young master, the masked girl seemed to see something else.
She collapsed at the tunnel's end, hugging the air as if the pup awaited her there at the exit.
-Thank goodness, Melt. I’m so glad. It’s a relief you didn’t wander too far.
Woof.
-From now on, don’t just run off like that, okay? You really scared me. Let’s hurry home, Melt. Let’s go home...
Woof.
And then, all was silent.
I stepped out of the tunnel. The exit was overgrown with foliage, and the concrete was in ruins. There was no sign of a dog waiting for its owner.
Nor was there any sign of the child.
Instead, a mask laid on the ground. Beneath it, the drawing Sim Ah-ryeon had made was pressed flat.
I picked up the mask and paused for a moment.
In the drawing, the girl was smiling. And there, by her side, was something Sim Ah-ryeon hadn’t drawn.
A large brown dog, sketched clumsily with crayons, had appeared on the paper.
“......”
I carefully stored the drawing to ensure it wouldn’t fold.
This time, there was no epilogue to document separately.
In fact, from now on, there wouldn’t be any need to note down separate epilogues for any such tales that followed.
And rightfully so.
From this point onward, every story would become an epilogue of one regressor’s tale.
-The Interpreter