# Chapter 41
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## The One Who Was the Watcher III
### Shin Noah
#### 5
There was a hypothesis I had been suspecting for a long time.
——Perhaps certain monsters, certain anomalies, were actually born from humans?
It wasn't from very long ago that I held such thoughts.
The point when I began to seriously consider this hypothesis was precisely when I uncovered the true nature of the World Tree Udumbara.
As is well known, Udumbara germinated in Asan, South Chungcheong Province. From the corpses of a mother and child, presumed to have starved to death. What birthed that record-breaking virus was none other than humans.
Thinking常识ally, it made no sense for anomalies to be born from ordinary human bodies. But if one slightly shifted their perspective, it could be fully understood.
If one assumed from the start that they were Awakeners with 'such abilities,' everything was explained.
I don't know which of the mother and child was the Awakener. By the time we discovered them, they had already starved to death. But if one or both of them were Awakeners?
What if Udumbara itself was an ability?
——If the very concept of an Awakener's ability, when objectively examined, was no different from the abilities of monsters and anomalies.
Theoretically, all Awakeners had the potential to degenerate into 'anomalies.' No, in fact, it couldn't even be called degeneration. It meant that Awakeners and anomalies were essentially the same from the beginning.
[The ability to grow two hearts in one's body and endlessly regenerate tentacles].
Thus called a monster—Shibzok.
[The ability to observe at will a range vast enough to encompass the entire Korean Peninsula, and freely shoot telepathic messages to all Awakeners].
Thus calling herself an Awakener—the Saintess.
If viewed from the perspective of someone completely unrelated to humanity, an alien for instance, which of the two would truly be the more dangerous creature?
Whether they took 'human form' or not was merely a difference in appearance——wouldn't both be identical in that they were terrifying existences?
"...Saintess."
"Yes. I killed them."
An affirmation so refreshingly absurd.
But considering those words came from the Saintess's mouth, rather than refreshing, it was closer to coldness.
"Why......"
"Funeral Director. That's a strange question. I merely took the same stance I always have."
The Saintess remained expressionless throughout.
"I created Constellations that don't even exist in this world, to keep Awakeners from recklessly committing crimes. I mimicked them. The operating principle of the Constellation system stems from the possibility that 'someone might be observing my every move.' Anxiety. The view that humans exercise self-restraint while others are watching, but let go of reason when no one is watching."
The Saintess tilted her head.
"Is the Hwheel Murderer any different?"
"......"
"The Constellation system could restrain Awakeners' rampages. But it couldn't extend its reach to ordinary people, civilians. Unfortunately, my telepathy ability only works on Awakeners. So, I merely created once again a possibility for ordinary people to fear as well."
Snow was falling.
Over the Saintess's head, over her double coat, snowflakes descended. The cold descending from the sky melted away the moment they touched her body, unable to maintain themselves.
The Saintess's eyes narrowed.
"There's too much trash in this world. No, calling them trash isn't quite appropriate. There are far too many beasts pretending to be human."
"So......"
"So I killed them. Are you perhaps concerned there might have been innocent people? You needn't worry about that, Funeral Director. Again and again. Again and again, I confirmed before killing. I don't regret my murders for even a single moment."
Why was that.
Even though I was clearly conversing with the Saintess, the presence emanating from the figure before me felt unfamiliar. It wasn't simply that the person had changed or the personality had changed.
The existence itself had changed.
Inexplicable sweat seeped from my right palm.
"Funeral Director, you're too kind."
"...Me? I didn't expect to hear that from you, Saintess."
"You're giving infinite chances to everyone."
Rustle.
The Saintess took one step forward. The snowy ground crunched beneath her feet. Reflexively, I took one step backward, maintaining distance from the Saintess.
Even if the Saintess was a murderer, there was no reason at all for me to avoid her. We were blood allies. Even if the Saintess burned the entire world, I would stand on her side.
Therefore, the reason I moved my feet was not logic but intuition.
The instincts built up over 107 cycles of life controlled my footsteps.
"Chances?"
"Yes. What do you think of the [Regression] ability, Funeral Director? You undoubtedly think of it as receiving endless chances for yourself. But from my perspective, from the perspective of watching you from the side, my opinion differs slightly."
"What opinion is that?"
"It's not only you who receives chances, Funeral Director. All other people besides you also equally receive chances every time the world regresses."
One step.
"The villain who killed an innocent girl in the previous cycle received a chance to change in this cycle. The wicked one who stole food a child had saved until the very end, tied the child up, and deliberately watched until they starved to death also received a chance to make different choices. Once. Twice. Ten times. Twenty times. Thirty times. Forty times. Fifty times."
"......"
"But how many do you think hesitated before their evil deeds? How many do you think killed and tortured the same people more than forty times, fifty times?"
"...Those people don't know this world is regressing."
"Correct. Ignorance. Not knowing is always a good excuse. Even regarding killing people, they always hide behind ignorance. I understand. I'll understand. But what about those who were killed?"
"......"
"Why must they endure countless unjust deaths and wrongful suffering?"
One step.
"Funeral Director, you will someday succeed in saving the world. Yes, without doubt. In that future world, villains too will be granted chances to live new lives. Perhaps in a slightly more leisurely world, in a slightly more peaceful era, the villains might not need to commit crimes. I think that is extremely——wrong."
Another step.
"Funeral Director. If someone killed a person, they should receive punishment."
The Saintess spoke quietly.
"They shouldn't receive chances."
At some point.
Without my noticing, a small, agile hand axe was already gripped in the Saintess's hand. This meant she had armed herself at a speed beyond my perception.
A little more sweat ran down my neck.
"No matter how many times you regress to save this world, the sins committed by villains within it will not disappear. No. I will make sure they don't disappear."
"What do you mean......?"
"I will eternally bestow suffering upon sinners."
Vapor rose from the Saintess's mouth.
It was white smoke heading toward the boundless sky.
"If you wish to regress, you may regress whenever you like. A hundred times. Two hundred times. Even a thousand times, please strive to save this world. But I will not let even villains enjoy the benefits of that effort."
"......"
"Each time you regress, Funeral Director, I will execute the punishment that should rightfully be delivered in this world. If villains commit crimes for eternity, I will torture those villains for eternity."
The vapor flowing from the Saintess's lips twisted sideways.
That was the Saintess's mockery.
"Though I may be incompetent and lack the ability to create heaven in this world, I do have the ability to create a small hell."
When the Saintess took her final step, I drew forth sword-energy like a flash of light.
The target was the hand axe the Saintess held.
I couldn't understand why the Saintess had drawn her weapon against me. But I didn't doubt her intellectual ability in the slightest. If the Saintess drew a weapon, it meant there was a reason she had to.
What was the Saintess's scheme? After subduing me, a Regressor, what exactly did she intend to do?
It was difficult to guess, but it certainly wouldn't be a good ending for me.
Suppressing my ominous feelings, I launched an attack at the Saintess.
"What......?"
However, the Saintess evaded my sword-energy far too easily. One step. By moving just one step to the side.
A simple motion as if she had known in advance where the attack would come from and where it would go.
Clang-!
Suddenly, the noise of glass breaking rang from my body. Not from one place. Left arm, right arm, left leg, right leg—aura collided and vibrated from all four limbs 'simultaneously.'
Four hand axes bounced off my body and scattered in all directions.
I didn't even know when or from where the hand axes had flown.
It was an illusion as if hand axes had suddenly appeared 'right before my eyes.'
"Tsk?"
If I hadn't acquired the habit of wearing aura like armor over my entire body, I would have suffered serious injuries to my limbs from that attack just now.
I immediately created distance from the Saintess. I kicked off the snowy ground and leaped backward in one motion.
——But the gap didn't widen.
"You're strong. As expected of you, Funeral Director."
I had certainly jumped dozens of meters at once, but 'already' the Saintess stood before me.
"......!"
That wasn't all. Clang, the hand axes bounced off my body. This time there were six of them. I could only react to and deflect two of them with my sword.
'How? No matter how talented in martial arts, this is beyond that. Unless this is an ability......'
That was when it happened.
Seeing the Saintess effortlessly tracking my movements, suddenly, a memory from quite long ago came to mind.
Cycle 36. The conversation I had when I first met the Saintess.
-How did you create the Constellations?
-Thanks to my abilities. I can use [Clairvoyance] and [Telepathy].
-But with just Clairvoyance and Telepathy, it's impossible to act as the Constellations, isn't it? You'd need to observe multiple people simultaneously while sending messages. Do you perhaps have another ability?
-Ah, that's......
The Saintess smiled faintly at that time.
-That's a secret. I'll tell you later.
An old memory.
Now I felt I understood what that secret was.
"Time Stop......?"
"......"
The Saintess hesitated.
"Did you know?"
"I was only guessing. It was one possibility among many. To act as multiple Constellations while simultaneously observing multiple Awakeners, tremendous ability would be necessary. Multiple vision, multiple personality, or...... But Time Stop."
Time Stop. The joker card I had thought least likely.
If it was true that she possessed even the [Time Stop] ability, it meant the Saintess was virtually the most powerful Awakener.
I laughed hollowly, forgetting even that I was cornered.
"Clairvoyance, Telepathy, and now Time Stop too? That's absurd. You've monopolized three abilities that would each be called top-tier on their own. Stop cheating, Saintess."
"Excessive praise. No matter how much I strive, I can't compare to an Infinite Regressor."
...Finally, everything made sense.
The Saintess had used [Time Stop] to simultaneously observe so many Awakeners and simultaneously act as the Constellations.
Evading my attacks, suddenly throwing hand axes from four directions—it all had to be understood.
If she had stopped time, she could calmly judge which direction attacks were coming from and where to attack.
And that wasn't all? If she used [Clairvoyance] on me, the Saintess could synchronize her vision with mine. She would immediately guess which direction I was looking at and aiming for.
If she didn't let her guard down, it was no exaggeration to call her virtually invincible.
"My ability wasn't this strong from the beginning. Even when stopping time, at best only my consciousness could flow, or I could move only my eyes. But as time passed, this grew stronger too. Now, I can even travel the country finding villains while time is stopped."
"Impressive. So what do you plan to do after subduing me?"
"Well."
The world momentarily paused.
In the next instant, I had no choice but to widen my eyes.
On the snowy ground where at most three or four sets of footprints had been pressed, countless footprints now bloomed. There were no footprints of mine. Only the shoe prints of the Saintess's boots numbered in the hundreds, thousands, surrounding me like a kaleidoscope.
It meant that my moment was an eternity for her.
The Saintess didn't waste time.
Now, the thousands of bullets flying toward me from across my entire field of vision proved her diligence.
And it wasn't just bullets. Between the bullets, dozens of hand axes also revealed themselves. Unlike the bullets that were merely fired, each hand axe was diligently imbued with aura.
[It's a secret.]
Countless bullets rushed toward me.
Boss battle.
Ocean-class danger level.
Awakener. Epithet, Saintess.
Corrupted One. Epithet, Executioner.
Battle commence.