Chapter 137
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The Imposter II
Shin Noah
3
"Eek. Wait just a minute, old man!"
Oh Dok-seo, who had been listening to my story, was startled. She spoke so hastily that espresso splattered around her.
"Th-then that means that Japanese person was a returner!"
"Calm down."
"How can I calm down? If there's someone other than you and that Noshin or whatever old fart, there'd be a whopping three returners!"
"Well. Just calm down for now."
I calmly wiped the table with a handkerchief. Oh Dok-seo's gaze, which had initially been entirely occupied with examining the 'Monkey's Paw,' had now completely shifted to the diary.
Coincidentally, the diary was open to the page I had mentioned. The sentence 'Time is turning back.'
"I too was quite excited when I first read that phrase in the diary, just like you."
Naturally so. How could my heart not race?
If a 'third returner' existed, it would truly be a tremendous discovery.
Even if that person had been discovered as a corpse at Seongsan Ilchulbong, it wouldn't have been any problem. There was plenty of possibility they'd survive unscathed in the next loop.
But to give you a spoiler beforehand, no such miracle occurred.
In the next loop, and the loop after that.
No matter how much time passed, the furry corpse didn't budge from a corner of Seongsan Ilchulbong.
"C-can I read it too? The diary?"
"It doesn't particularly matter. Unlike the Monkey's Paw, that diary really is nothing more than an ordinary notebook."
"Thank you, old man!"
Flip.
Oh Dok-seo frantically turned the pages.
Suddenly, her hand movements overlapped with my past self.
With my fingertips when I first discovered that diary.
4
――――――――――
《Day 5???》
Again. The centaurs attacked again and started killing our party.
Why do I keep returning to Day 5? Did my wish to the Monkey's Paw become some kind of anchor point?
I don't understand anymore.
Since I knew they would launch a surprise attack beforehand, this time no one died and we succeeded in driving away the centaurs. The party members are praising me, saying I'm amazing.
Even that expressionless You looked at me with a surprised face, but for some reason I didn't feel happy.
――――――――――
To you all, this dying note may appear to have neat handwriting, but the reality was different.
The handwriting in the diary became increasingly disordered, like scribblings written by a madman.
Very occasionally when the writer came to their senses, the penmanship became neat, but even that was only outwardly normal.
The content of the dying note itself. In other words, the mental state of the diary's owner was already rolling toward the abyss at an uncontrollable speed.
――――――――――
《Day 12??????》
It's certain. No matter what I do, I cannot leave this dungeon.
Next, I'm thinking of capturing and interrogating the 'fairy' who appears to be the organizer of this death game. That guy should know some information.
――――――――――
《Day 13??????》
The fairy ran away the moment it saw me.
Something like 'Hwaek! This isn't the place! I made a mistake!' I don't understand the meaning.
I wanted to capture it forcibly but honestly it was impossible. When the fairy waved something that looked like a magic wand, people simply died, and in an instant it turned transparent and became invisible.
I arrived at the final stage again. The mountain Koreans call Seongsan Ilchulbong.
Other people, upon reaching the summit here, were wrapped in bright halos and disappeared somewhere on their own. But only I remained inside the dungeon.
Why?
Why can only I not leave the dungeon?
I begged the Monkey's Paw countless times to please let me out of this dungeon. But nothing changed. Why?
I prayed to let me meet my family and friends, but again there was no response. Why?
Out of anger, I threw the Monkey's Paw. The next day when I opened my eyes, the Monkey's Paw was lying on my chest.
――――――――――
《?????????????》
Someone please help.
――――――――――
《Day 5??????????????》
The Day 5 attack again.
Something suddenly became extremely tiresome. This time I didn't stop the centaurs and deliberately left them be.
Rather, I joined the centaurs' side. I attacked the party members who were fighting against the centaurs from behind. Without me and You, those guys couldn't do anything, so the group collapsed ridiculously easily.
I saved You for last. You opened his eyes wide upon seeing my face.
You tried to say something, starting with 'You―――.'
At that moment, the massive body of a centaur struck and passed through You.
A human trampled by a horse dies in a terrible state. I felt pleasure for the first time in a while. Maybe a bit interesting.
The problem was that the centaurs who wiped out our group hunted me too.
Aren't they stupid? As expected of monsters, they don't understand concepts like cooperation or alliance.
――――――――――
"…."
I swallowed a groan.
Should I call it a typical sign of corruption?
The 'diary owner' who believed themselves to be a returner was increasingly losing their humanity.
Originally, human nature only exists when living together with others.
Conversely speaking, if my space cannot interact with others and my time cannot intersect with others, a person rapidly transforms into 'something not human.'
The Saintess who fell and became an Executioner would be a representative example.
The diary's owner was no different.
――――――――――
《Day 17???????????????????》
I reflect on my past self.
Reflection on the past leads to the path of the future. I have grown enough to believe that. Since no progress can be made in this space, only the cultivation of the self has meaning.
Why did I dislike You so much?
Because her hair looked similar to the girl Sena cheated with in the past? Because her expression was annoying? Because she looked like a model student at a glance?
I reflect on my prejudice.
Now I like You. I really do. Other humans break within 3 days at most, but You has endured for nearly 3 weeks.
Rika- Rika- she keeps muttering what seems to be the name of someone precious to her.
She says she has a promise she must keep to go back? It was so foolish I laughed.
――――――――――
《Day 20???????????????????》
The world outside this space must have already disappeared.
The concept of 'stage clear' doesn't exist. When people are wrapped in halos at the settlement, they actually die.
So it's definitely better to stay here with me. Sometimes monsters pop out, but that's better than dying, right?
Around this time, the Korean groups that separated at the starting line arrive at the summit one by one. But I didn't let them go.
I remembered
I hung You in the middle of the crater. Then I grabbed everyone approaching the summit and rolled them down.
Roll roll roll. If lucky, a person rolled and hit exactly where You was positioned in the center of the crater. Did it! Hole in one.
I wondered why Korean students came to a place like this for a field trip, but now I've realized the true charm of this location.
Each time I roll a person, the path varies greatly depending on the angle and force. This is a game with great depth. I hereby designate this place as my private golf course. It's private property.
Some Korean person shouted calling me a boss monster. How rude. I am a beautiful young lady.
――――――――――
《Day 27???????????????????》
My heart dropped for the first time in a while.
A quite powerful group rescued You and ambushed me as well. Did the last survivors unite to form a suicide squad?
When a spear grazed my neck, I thought my heart would fall out. I barely survived the ambush and killed them.
I felt the reality of being alive. So this is what interaction between humans means.
I gathered all the wounded and killed them one by one in front of You. I put special effort into the human who almost cut my throat.
That Korean person glared at me with terrible eyes until the very end.
Too bad. Sorry, but I'm a human who maxed out 'luck' with the Monkey's Paw.
You made a nice sound. Wasn't the violin an instrument born from human screams? I've become more learned again.
――――――――――
Flip.
The diary contained plenty of content that was difficult to even transcribe.
Unless someone well-versed in gore or ryona content, from my perspective, it was merely repetition of similar content.
Torture carried out solely for the purpose of 'eliciting new reactions from others.' A tragedy that would make even the tutorial fairy say 'this is a bit too much.'
But human reactions as toys couldn't be infinite either. Creativity had limits too.
Eventually, the diary was stained with yellow blank pages, leaving only one last sentence.
Staggering handwriting.
――――――――――
I'm sorry for being born.
Mr. Monkey's Paw, please make me disappear.
――――――――――
Thud.
I closed the diary. Then I looked down at the furry corpse that had originally been clutching this dying note with both hands.
The corpse's posture looked as if it were praying toward someone.
5
What exactly happened to the 'furry corpse'?
Was she really a returner? On what principle did the Monkey's Paw work?
An ordinary person would have found it difficult to continue the investigation here.
But I, the Undertaker, was an experienced 'true returner.'
Even if it seemed useless at the moment, I hadn't neglected building connections with others.
Therefore, I could inquire about the 'Japanese person' who had been dragged into the tutorial dungeon that appeared on Jeju Island.
"Nya? You mean You-nyan?"
Swish. Manyeom-myo waved her cat tail. From across from me, Manyeom-myo blinked after stopping mid-sip of her green tea.
"Suddenly wanting to meet You, what do you mean by that-nya? Undertaker?"
"She's your childhood friend, isn't she? I know she's from the Jeju Island tutorial dungeon."
You.
Why hide it? The person who appeared numerous times in the diary was actually an acquaintance of mine as well.
Since there were many people with the name 'You,' I had been uncertain, but various pieces of evidence gave me certainty.
The fact that she was powerful compared to other awakeners. The fact that she still had black hair despite having awakened. Most importantly, the fact that she murmured the name 'Rika' while being tortured.
That's right. It was mentioned several times in the episode where the Inunaki Tunnel was conquered.
Manyeom-myo's real name was Rika. And Manyeom-myo had a childhood friend named You.
If I hadn't conquered the Inunaki Tunnel, I wouldn't have been able to ask for this meeting.
Connections are mysterious things.
"Nya. I certainly heard that You was kamikakushi'd to a Korean island-nya…"
"I'm investigating something related to the Jeju Island dungeon lately. It's tied to quite a troublesome kwi-mul (ghostly entity). I want to hear some testimony from your friend."
For reference, the Magical Girl Association was extremely exclusive toward outsiders.
From the fact that they named their organization 'Magical Girl' 'Association,' one could sufficiently read how this group interpreted society's gaze.
"Nya. If it's the Undertaker's request, I have to listen-nya. I understand-nya!"
And I was a person who had even received a 'Honorary Magical Girl' certificate of appreciation from the head of that organization, the so-called Great Shrine Maiden.
From my perspective, I wasn't particularly grateful.
Anyway, in a society that runs on connections, my request was easily fulfilled.
Soon after, not much time passed before I could meet with her real name You, magical girl name Heuk Yo-geum (Black Obsidian Harp).
"You wanted to see me?"
Among all the concept-obsessed people overflowing in the Magical Girl Association, the person before me belonged to the relatively normal side.
Heuk Yo-geum was covering her mouth area with a black mask with an 'X' drawn on it. For those who experienced the corona era, this much could be understood as simply fashion.
"Yes. We briefly crossed paths when working on the Inunaki Tunnel matter, right? Nice to see you."
"Ah… Yes. I was truly grateful back then."
"It's not that. I heard you conquered the tutorial dungeon at Seongsan Ilchulbong on Jeju Island."
"…."
"There's a strange entity suspected to have originated there. To determine how dangerous that entity is, I need your testimony. I ask for your cooperation. Could you tell me what happened in the tutorial dungeon?"
Actually, I was quite cautious when bringing up this topic.
According to the diary, the person before me had, with high probability, been tortured by the 'diary owner.'
If even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of the diary's content was true, Heuk Yo-geum would have had indelible trauma branded onto her like a seal.
When a story they'd buried in their heart and didn't want to bring up was mentioned, the other party would typically show negative reactions.
Flinching, or twitching.
"This is the first I'm hearing of it. Was there a strange entity dangerous enough for Undertaker-nim to be interested in that place?"
But Heuk Yo-geum's reaction was neither.
Her tilted jaw gesture contained purely only puzzlement. The response was too composed for someone who had trauma.
I continued my investigative inquiry while feeling something strange.
"…By any chance, have you ever seen this form in the photo?"
The photo I took out from my pocket contained the 'furry corpse.'
Then finally, "Ah-" Heuk Yo-geum let out a sound. She seemed to recognize something.
But still, her reaction was quite strange for a reaction toward someone who had left indelible wounds on her.
"…I think I know who it is. Is what Undertaker-nim wants to know related to this person?"
"Yes. Even the smallest clue is fine, so I'd like you to share any information you know about this person."
"Of course I can share it, but…."
Heuk Yo-geum furrowed her brows.
I tensed. This might be the moment where a clue about the third returner would be given.
"I'm not sure if it will be helpful. Actually, I don't know much information either."
Beyond the black mask, Heuk Yo-geum's lips moved haltingly.
"――That's because this woman was so weak that she died almost immediately after the tutorial dungeon started."