EP.4 I Lifted the Curtain and Peeked into the Future, but There Was Only
"Everyone, please rest assured! Tartarus is safe. I am your ally!"
I shouted with fierce conviction. A line that would force anyone listening to feel at ease and go about their business.
However, the regressor merely scoffed at my speech.
'Our ally? How absurd. Does the military nation even have such a thing as allies?'
Huh, she doesn't believe me.
Well then, shall I show a slightly more friendly attitude? They say there's no woman who hates cute animals, right?
In that case. I looked at the King of Dogs and smiled softly.
I lightly tapped the broken golem with my foot. The crystal sphere embedded in its eye socket popped out and rolled across the floor. I flicked it up with my foot and repeatedly tossed and caught it in the air.
"Woof! Woof!"
At that, the King of Dogs approached, wagging his tail enthusiastically.
Though the King of Dogs wore a human guise, his essence was that of a dog. It was only natural he'd go crazy for a game of fetch that stimulated his hunting instincts.
The King of Dogs kept his gaze fixed on the crystal sphere, his body bouncing up and down every time I tossed it.
Excitement brimmed from his perked ears and sparkling eyes. Sensing I had drawn enough attention, I threw the crystal sphere with all my might.
"Fetch!"
"Woof!"
The crystal sphere flew far away in a parabolic arc. In that instant, the King of Dogs kicked off the ground and chased after it. He distanced himself in the blink of an eye.
There's nothing quite like a game of fetch when playing with a dog. I struck up a conversation with a gentle smile.
"What a cute doggy. Do you raise him here?"
This should be enough to weaken her guard. I glanced sideways at the regressor and read her thoughts.
Now, let's see.
'A doggy? She's treating the King of Dogs... as a mere dog?'
Strange. I clearly tried to drop her guard, but her wariness of me only increased. Why? Normal people usually let their guard down when someone shows affection to animals.
Let's try again.
"Dogs are truly wonderful creatures. Loyal and helpful to humans, and above all, cute, aren't they? There aren't many animals that are this helpful without even providing quality meat."
'...On top of that, she's treating the dog beastman as completely beneath humans. Even bringing up meat regarding livestock? Is she some kind of racial supremacist?'
Huh. Having another misunderstanding piled on is unexpected.
More importantly, I didn't treat the dog beastman as a dog. That King of Dogs might look like a beastman on the outside, but he's actually a dog in human form. What's wrong with treating a dog as a dog?
You wouldn't send a diplomatic envoy to a queen ant either. Even if he's the King of Dogs, there's no way he can sit at the same table as humans.
"Let me tell you something. I came here to form a friendly relationship with you all. I am..."
The very first step in interacting with others: building rapport.
It would be safest to say I was brought here as a captive just like them. They wouldn't be so on guard then.
Just as I was about to say that.
'In one year, this Tartarus will collapse. The Abyss will sink, and countless lives will fade. Those who survive will number no more than a handful.'
Uh.
Wait a minute.
Tartarus? This place is going to collapse?
'Azi, the King of Dogs, and Tirkanjaka, the Vampire Progenitor. They survive the collapse of Tartarus, but... for some reason, they become corrupted within the Abyss.'
Not only that, but the Vampire Progenitor who once brought the world to its knees, and...
The King of Dogs, representing the collective will of all canines... Corrupted? They become corrupted?
'The corrupted Seeds of Doom will hasten the apocalypse that was meant to arrive ten years later. They will slaughter people indiscriminately, plunging the world into chaos. And then.'
Ten years at the latest. When that day, promised by inevitability, finally arrives.
True "Doom" will descend.
And the world will end.
Reading up to that point, I was completely dumbfounded.
When I was captured by the military nation, and even when I was dragged to Tartarus, I felt despair, but I was confident I could somehow pull through. I planned to use my telepathy to butter up the instructors and prisoners, build up my reputation, dig up their deepest secrets, and then escape through blackmail or negotiation.
But with the truth I had just read, my entire plan went up in smoke.
A predetermined future is tragedy and despair incarnate. It's no wonder countless prophets have taken their own lives or gone mad.
Moreover, if it foretold an inevitable apocalypse...
...What do I do?
'And, in every future I know of, this man never appears.'
It's only natural I'm not visible. I'm just a petty criminal. There's no way someone like me would get involved in a fight to save the world. What an absurd thought...
I grumbled inwardly, but my face stiffened at her next thought.
'Even in the very last iteration, when I came right after Tartarus collapsed, this man wasn't there. There were only corpses down below.'
The regressor glared at me, thinking.
'A man who arrives late to Tartarus at a time like this... he could be a Seed of Corruption. Or perhaps an unfortunate victim... but one thing is certain: this man does not exist in the future I know.'
So, to summarize.
This world will end in ten years.
And I'm going to die in the Abyss before that destruction even arrives, right?
"Ha, haha."
A hollow laugh escaped my lips.
My life had been spoiled.
And the ending was a tragedy. Given that the place was Tartarus, a horrific death too gruesome to even speak of was likely waiting for me.
By reading the thoughts of the regressor who had seen the future, I ended up reading the future myself.
Just like countless other prophets before me.
However.
I am different from them.
This iteration has a regressor, and I have read her mind. A regressor is someone who transcends time, alters the past, and seeks out futures that shouldn't exist. Since I read her mind, the future of my death can also be changed. An observed prophecy can be altered.
Don't tense up. Relax your body. Put on a smile and step forward with confidence.
It's just the same as it's always been. When have I ever survived because I was strong? I recruited the strong as allies, and if they became enemies, I avoided them. What I needed to survive wasn't power, but knowledge.
The colossal enemy known as fate is no different. There's no need to fight it head-on. I just need to ensure fate doesn't kill me.
Fortunately, I have the pieces in place.
The Vampire Progenitor.
The King of Dogs.
And the regressor.
I will earn their goodwill. I will build friendly relations. I'll forge connections and ties so they cannot kill me. No, I'll make it so they protect me instead.
I will survive. By any means necessary.
Alright. I've made up my mind.
In the previous iteration, I probably would have confessed everything to them honestly. I'm a convict laborer, I was captured by the military nation just like you, and we are absolutely not enemies. After persuading them like that, I would have kept my head down and lived as uninvolved with these dangerous freaks as possible. Because that would have been the best way to survive.
But now that I've read the future, stubbornly sticking to the original plan is a fool's errand. Only by avoiding the inevitable choices can I grasp a different future.
Let's pull a scam on fate. I'll become a different person from my past self, and from the me of the previous iteration.
I held my head high and shouted at the top of my lungs.
"I am an instructor of the military nation, dispatched here to guide you, the trainees!"
"An instructor?"
The regressor asked, her eyes sharp.
Impersonating a military officer in the military nation was a serious crime. But who cares? Being arrested for impersonation is better than dying in a year.
I had resolved to intervene proactively. If I was going to shove my face into everything, it was better to have a title to my name. I shouted brazenly.
"That's right, trainees! You all possess highly dangerous abilities and violent temperaments, and due to your lack of social skills, you were scheduled to receive socialization training here in Tartarus, completely isolated from the world! However, an unfortunate incident has occurred in Tartarus!"
I recited the golem's exact words and continued.
"With the recent mass breakout, the military authorities determined that resocialization training was urgently needed for you vicious trainees, and they dispatched me directly! I will be residing here to manage and supervise you all!"
I'm buttoning the first button differently.
A very trivial step of change. But this alone will significantly alter the future. The situations I find myself in and my standing will change drastically going forward....
But wait a minute.
Speaking of variables... I narrowed my eyes and looked at the regressor.
Wasn't the regressor herself a variable who wasn't in Tartarus in the previous iteration? If a variable had already appeared, was there even a need for me to step up?
Just as a vague sense of regret crept in, wondering if I had done something pointless—
"An instructor... Right. So that's what you claim."
A chilling murderous intent pierced right through me.
Before I could even think, "Huh?", she had already drawn Cheon-ang. A razor-sharp hostility toward the military nation flared up, almost spasmodic in its intensity. That hostility took a clear form, aimed directly at me.
I made a mistake.
Regression. Knowing she possessed the cheat-like power of returning to the past upon death, I had let my guard down. I had overestimated her based on her power alone. I had mistaken her calm, observing gaze for composure.
It was merely the observant, wait-and-see gaze unique to a regressor.
Growing stronger over the course of thirteen regressions meant, in other words, that she had died thirteen times.
In other words, that woman was a walking mass of PTSD!
Furthermore, seven of those deaths were directly or indirectly caused by the military nation—she harbored a grudge worth seven lives!
'I'll kill him.'
Her murderous intent suddenly ballooned. It was a violent emotional shift extreme enough to suspect schizophrenia. Granted, dying thirteen times would leave anyone with a mental illness or two, but to immediately draw her sword over it?
And my right arm was directly in its trajectory.
'Let's start by lopping off an arm. Then, I'll interrogate him. To find out what business he has in a prison where all the inmates have escaped, and "what" he's after.'
Did I just hit the self-destruct button? Or was this the coercive force of fate?
Whatever it was, the immediate reality in front of me was—
A weightless sword was swinging straight for my right shoulder.
Cheon-ang was a sword with neither weight nor thickness. Compared to its speed, my body was agonizingly slow. Just a flick of the regressor's wrist sent the transparent blade extending out.
I saw the future. A future where Cheon-ang carved through my shoulder, and my right arm dropped clean off. If I were an ordinary person, I wouldn't have been able to react, and my arm would have been severed.
But I can read minds.
Just before the regressor swung her blade, I sensed her killing intent and quickly racked my brain.
Block? Impossible. My opponent was a regressor who had honed her skills over thirteen loops. If I took a defensive stance, I'd be sliced apart right then and there.
Dodge? It was too fast for that. Even though I had read her mind and moved first, Cheon-ang was simply too fast. Even if I dodged perfectly, my shoulder getting severed would just become my upper arm getting severed.
What other options were left?
None.
Huh? Am I going to die? Was it not a year from now, but a minute from now?
That can't happen.
I must survive. By any means necessary, I must keep this pathetic life going.
I've survived tooth and nail to make it this far. Do you know how servilely and miserably I survived in those back alleys!
I didn't survive all that just to lose my life in this godforsaken Abyss!
"Aaagh!"
I flailed my arms and legs frantically. It was a desperate struggle. A meaningless thrashing, just to raise my chances of survival by even 0.1%.
However, a person is only saved if they try to save themselves.
'What?!'
*Ting*—a clear ringing sound echoed. Ripples spread across the transparent blade. Its trajectory twisted slightly, grazing just a hair's breadth above my shoulder joint.
Sparks flashed along the trajectory of the blade. Cheon-ang was a sword that could slice through the very air; the air caught on its edge shattered, etching a bolt of lightning that sliced vertically through the space. A beat later, thunder cracked, assaulting my eardrums.
Every hair on my body stood on end. Even I couldn't tell if it was from the static electricity or from sheer terror.
'He deflected Cheon-ang?!'
Huh? Did I survive?
Arm, intact. Body condition, good. Pain, none.
I survived. Cheon-ang missed.
Wait, hold on.
Did Cheon-ang hit the hand I flailed and bounce off?
What? How did that happen?
'He didn't just block this... he flicked it away with his fingers? Impossible. He doesn't even look that strong...! Was he hiding his power?'
I read the regressor's thoughts and roughly figured out what had just happened.
I can read minds. Therefore, no matter who I'm facing, I can read their intent to attack and their method of attack beforehand. This is one of the few advantages of my otherwise useless telepathy.
The moment I read her intent to slice off my right arm, I sensed my death and flailed my hands frantically. Naturally, my right hand was included in that flailing trajectory.
The problem was, the regressor's sword was just as fast as my thoughts.
Because the timings perfectly aligned, the regressor's blade collided directly with my spasming fingers.
Under normal circumstances, this would be impossible, but the regressor's sword was Cheon-ang, a weightless blade. The moment it touched my fingers, the blade was deflected, allowing me to avoid losing my arm by a paper-thin margin!
I actually pulled that off. Wow. I've achieved a once-in-a-lifetime feat.
No, that's not the point.
The horrified regressor bounded backward, raising her sword vertically. If her demeanor earlier was that of someone doing a job, now she was in a combat stance prepared to face a formidable enemy.
Crazy bitch. Why is she the one on guard? If anything, I should be the one on guard after being attacked out of nowhere!
"...I made a mistake."
You sure did. A massive mistake. I almost died, you know.
The regressor glared at me, her entire body tensed up like a cornered cat.
"If you're an instructor dispatched to Tartarus, you should at least possess that level of martial prowess... I apologize for underestimating you."
"No. Your apology is directed at the wrong thing."
I'm grateful she carelessly gave me a free whack, but now is not the time for this. If I get branded as an 'enemy' by the regressor, not only my future but even my existence in the next iteration will be in danger.
Seriously. It's infuriating and unfair to be attacked out of nowhere, but we're stuck in Tartarus together, for better or worse. We'll be living face-to-face for months.
No matter how obnoxious she is, I need to at least steer this conversation in an amicable direction.
So.
"You shouldn't apologize for underestimating me, you should apologize for attacking someone out of nowhere! Do you have no manners?!"
At my sudden scolding, the regressor's brow furrowed. I ran my hand through my hair in feigned frustration and surveyed my surroundings.
"I understand your anxiety. Considering the horrific incident that took place here a few days ago... Starting a riot, killing people, looting equipment, and even breaking out of prison. It's only natural you've lost trust in the military nation that was supposed to protect you. Even if you doubt the military nation, that is a burden I must bear as someone who draws a salary from them."
'No. I never trusted the military nation to begin with. Why would I trust a country like this.'
"However!"
I don't trust them either! Just play along!
I interrupted her thoughts and shouted.
"Even so, such an aggressive attitude is wrong! You're already imprisoned here for your crimes—if you display such antisocial behavior, what's going to happen to me, the one who came here to help you?!"
"Came to... help?"
"That's right!"
Just then, the King of Dogs trotted back with the crystal sphere in his mouth and dropped it at my feet. He was nudging my calf with his nose, as if telling me to stop yapping and throw the ball.
Tsk. Ruining my flow while I'm talking.
I just aimed at the prison cells and hurled the crystal sphere away.
"Fetch!"
"Woof!"
As the enthusiastic King of Dogs bounded after the flying sphere, I turned back to the regressor and spoke.
"Even amid all that chaos, you remained on standby and didn't escape the training unit, following protocol. Light always emerges from darkness. The upper echelons of the military nation are watching you with great interest—the ones who steadfastly abided by the rules right in the heart of fear and confusion."
'No. The King of Dogs had no intention of escaping until his "promise" was fulfilled, and the Vampire Progenitor was asleep. And I only stayed because I have things to do here.'
Why does she always nitpick everything I say! Why is she so damn negative. Just accept it!
Her attitude was foul. People like her were the type to use any momentary pause to construct a logical rebuttal. I pressed on without giving the regressor even a second to think.
"That is precisely why I was dispatched! To support you all, the upper echelons of the military nation sent me directly!"
It wasn't a lie. I was dispatched here to do forced labor. It was true that the upper echelons of the military nation had dispatched me. They just needed a disposable handyman, but still.
But just as a slight change in wording can alter the entire meaning, if I shifted the emphasis from "support" to "me"—
"So I look forward to working with you! Just trust me and follow me, trainees!"
I could make them mistakenly believe I was someone great.
And if everyone believed it—
'I just can't figure this guy out.'
I actually become someone great.
"Woof!"
Right on cue, the King of Dogs trotted back with the crystal sphere in his mouth again. No matter how far I threw it, he found it like a ghost. I just gave the ball a fierce kick. The instep of my foot throbbed from hitting the hard crystal, but the sphere flew further than ever before, making the pain worthwhile. The King of Dogs bounded after it again, panting heavily.
'That composure he shows even while dealing with the King of Dogs... that slow, relaxed movement that deflected Cheon-ang... He's a man whose depths are impossible to fathom. I can't gauge his strength at all. Not as I am now...'
Of course you can't gauge my strength. In terms of martial prowess, I'm a bug on the side of the road. You've rubbed shoulders with out-of-spec monsters like the Sword Saint and the Holy Maiden, so you couldn't even fathom the life of a lowly insect. The absolute cannot comprehend the mind of the insect.
But I know your mind.
Anyway, it was a success. I clenched my fist.
Humans are fundamentally beasts. When faced with an unknown entity, they instinctively sense danger and become wary. Ignorance equates to danger, and keeping one's distance from danger is the most basic principle of survival.
So she wouldn't mess with me carelessly either.
However, we couldn't live in this cramped Abyss forever while constantly being on guard against each other. We needed to maintain at least a neutral relationship. I put on a benevolent smile and extended my hand toward the regressor.
The regressor flinched and aimed Cheon-ang at my arm. If she had applied force right then, my arm would have been sliced off like tofu.
But if I showed fear and pulled back now, I'd only be exposing my throat to her. Feigning absolute composure, I offered a handshake without a single tremor in my fingertips.
"In that case, shall we shake hands as a sign that we'll get along from now on?"
The regressor looked back and forth between my outstretched hand and my face, then swiftly sheathed Cheon-ang and turned away.
"...Hmph. As if I'd let you do whatever you're plotting."
"Huh? Wasn't I the one who just got attacked? The person who swung the sword is acting like the victim here."
Thanks to reading the regressor's mind, I had even caught a glimpse of a future that was never meant for me. Even though my telepathy could only dig one layer deep into a single person in front of me, I had learned the future like a prophet who could see the flow of the world.
If I hadn't known, I might have been killed. But now it was different.
They say the future is shy, hiding the moment it's peeked at. Since it's already hiding, I hope it disappears forever. I'll pass on a vicious future that's itching to kill me.
"Then let's at least introduce ourselves. You can call me Instructor, with respect and reverence."
I patted my chest and made a vow.
I will survive, no matter what.
If the future foretells my death, I'll cheat that future itself.
The regressor, who had been glaring at me with eyes full of wariness, eventually tossed Cheon-ang above her head and gave a short answer.
"...Shei."
At the same time, the resolution in her heart echoed in my ears.
'I'll watch for now. If worse comes to worst, I'll just abandon this iteration and move on to the next.'
Fortunately, it seemed the regressor had decided to wait and see for now. Someone who has died multiple times really is different. Even while regarding me as a threat, she chose to observe what would happen. Curiosity, or perhaps the regressor's complacency, wanting to watch for even the smallest clue.
The regressor glared at me.
'...It's unsettling to be stuck with such a frivolous man. But the others won't go down easily.'
What kind of eyes are you looking at me with? Over there is a dog wearing a human mask and a thousand-year-old corpse. What kind of depraved thoughts are you having about a dog and a corpse? I'm not a sexual deviant. I have perfectly normal tastes befitting an average human being.
'And I'm perfectly disguised as a man, so it should be fine!'
Ah....
So that's how it is.
Having to live for months with a regressor who firmly believes she's perfectly disguised as a man... this wasn't going to be easy.
I muttered inwardly and flashed an awkward smile at the regressor.