“Everyone, rest assured! Tantalus is safe. I am your ally!”

I shouted those words with fierce conviction. The sort of declaration that left its listeners no choice but to feel reassured and go about their livelihoods.

Yet the Regressor merely snorted at my speech.

'Our ally? What a joke. Does the Military State even have allies?'

Huh. She wasn't buying it.

Well, how about showing her my friendly side? They say no woman dislikes cute animals, right?

In that case... I looked at the King of Dogs and smiled.

I gave the broken golem a light kick. The crystal orb embedded in its eye socket popped out and rolled across the floor. I scooped it up with my foot, then tossed it into the air and caught it a few times.

“Woof! Woof!”

The King of Dogs approached, her tail wagging furiously.

She might look human, but at heart, the King of Dogs was a dog. Naturally, she went crazy for ball games that stimulated her hunting instincts.

Her eyes fixed on the crystal orb, she bobbed up and down every time I tossed it.

Her perked ears and sparkling eyes brimmed with excitement. Sensing that I had her full attention, I hurled the orb with all my might.

“Fetch!”

“Woof!”

The crystal orb traced an arc far into the distance. At that instant, the King of Dogs kicked off the ground in pursuit. In a flash, she was far away.

Nothing beats a game of fetch when it comes to playing with dogs. Wearing a gentle smile, I spoke.

“What a cute doggy. Do you keep her here?”

Surely that had lowered her guard enough. I glanced sideways to gauge the Regressor's gaze and read her thoughts.

Now, let's see.

'A doggy? He's treating the King of Dogs... like some ordinary dog?'

How strange. I had meant to put her at ease, but she was even warier of me now. Why? Normal people relaxed when I showed kindness to animals.

Let's try again.

“Dogs are such wonderful creatures. They're loyal to humans, useful, and above all, adorable, aren't they? Not many animals are so helpful without even providing quality meat.”

'... And he's treating dog beastkin as completely inferior to humans. Bringing up livestock and meat, too? Is he some kind of racial supremacist?'

Huh. I hadn't expected to add another misunderstanding.

Besides, I wasn't treating a dog beastkin like a dog. That King of Dogs might look like a beastkin, but she was actually a dog in human form. What was wrong with treating a dog like a dog?

You wouldn't send a diplomatic delegation to a queen ant, either. King of Dogs or not, she couldn't exactly share a dinner table with people.

“You see, I've come here to establish friendly relations with all of you. I am...”

The very first step in connecting with someone: finding common ground.

It would be safe to say that I'd been imprisoned just like them. Then she wouldn't have any particular reason to be wary.

I was just about to say so when it happened.

'One year from now, Tantalus collapses. The bottomless pit sinks, and countless lives are extinguished. Only a handful survive.'

Uh.

Hold on.

Tantalus? This place was going to collapse?

'Azi, the King of Dogs, and Tyrkanzyaka, the Progenitor. They survive Tantalus's collapse, but... whatever happens to them, they become corrupted within the bottomless pit.'

And the Progenitor of vampires, who had once brought the world to the brink...

The King of Dogs, who represented the collective will of all dogs... Corrupted? They became corrupted?

'Those corrupted seeds of the apocalypse hasten the end that is due in ten years. They slaughter people indiscriminately, plunging the world into chaos. And then.'

Ten years at most. When that inevitable, appointed day arrived...

The true “end” would come.

The world would perish.

Having read that far, I was dumbfounded.

When the Military State arrested me, when I was dragged off to Tantalus, I had felt despair—but I had still been confident I could find a way through. I'd planned to use mind reading to please the instructors and prisoners, build a reputation, gradually unearth their deepest secrets, then blackmail or negotiate my way out.

But the facts I had just read had wrecked my entire plan.

A predetermined future was tragedy and despair in itself. So many prophets hadn't killed themselves or gone mad for nothing.

And if that future foretold an inevitable apocalypse...

... What was I supposed to do?

'And this man doesn't appear in any future I know.'

Of course I didn't. I was a petty criminal. Why would someone like me get involved in a battle to save the world? What a load of nonsense...

That was my inward complaint, but her next thought made my face go rigid.

'Even in the previous run, when I came here immediately after Tantalus collapsed, this man wasn't here. There was nothing down below but corpses.'

The Regressor glared at me and thought:

'A man arriving so late at Tantalus, at a time like this. He could be the seed of their corruption. Or he could be an unfortunate victim... But one thing is certain: this man doesn't exist in the future I know.'

So, to sum it up...

The world would end in ten years.

And I would die in the bottomless pit before that end even arrived?

“Ha. Haha.”

I was so hollowed out that I actually laughed.

Someone had spoiled my life for me.

And it ended in tragedy. Given what kind of place Tantalus was, a death too horrific to speak aloud probably awaited me.

By reading the thoughts of a Regressor who had seen the future, I had read the future myself.

Like so many other prophets.

But...

I was different.

In this run, the Regressor was here, and I had read her thoughts. A Regressor crossed time, changed the past, and sought a future that should never have existed. Now that I had read her thoughts, the future of my death could change as well. A prophecy, once observed, could change.

Don't tense up. Relax your body. Wear a smile as a mask and step forward with confidence.

This was no different from before. When had strength ever been the reason I survived? I made allies of the strong, and if they became enemies, I avoided them. Survival required knowledge, not strength.

The great enemy called fate was no different. I didn't need to fight it head-on. I only needed to make sure it didn't kill me.

Fortunately, I had the pieces.

The Progenitor of vampires.

The King of Dogs.

And the Regressor.

Win their goodwill. Build friendly relations. Grow close and forge bonds, until they couldn't kill me. No—make them protect me instead.

I would survive. Whatever it took.

Good. My mind was made up.

In the previous run, I had probably told them the truth. That I was a convict laborer, that the Military State had imprisoned me just like them, and that we were certainly not enemies. After persuading them, I would have lived quietly, avoiding these dangerous specimens as much as possible. That was the best way to survive.

But now that I had read the future, stubbornly sticking to my original plan would be idiotic. To seize a different future, I had to avoid the choice I would inevitably make.

I'd pull a con on fate. Become someone different from my former self, from the me of the previous run.

I held my head high and shouted:

“An instructor from the Military State, sent here to guide you trainees!”

“An instructor?”

The Regressor questioned me, her eyes sharp.

Impersonating a soldier was a serious crime in the Military State. But so what? Being arrested for impersonation was better than dying in a year.

I'd decided to take an active role. If I was going to stick my nose into everything, it would help to have a title. Shamelessly, I shouted:

“That's right, trainees! With your exceptionally dangerous abilities, violent dispositions, and lack of social skills, you were scheduled to receive socialization training here in Tantalus, completely isolated from the world! Unfortunately, an unsavory incident occurred!”

Repeating the golem's words verbatim, I continued.

“In light of the recent mass breakout, the military authorities determined that these vicious trainees urgently required resocialization training and dispatched me personally! I will reside here to manage and supervise all of you!”

I was changing how I fastened the very first button.

A tiny change in the first step. Yet that alone would greatly alter the future. Both my circumstances and my position would change dramatically...

But wait a minute.

Speaking of... variables. I frowned at the Regressor.

Wasn't she a variable too, since she hadn't been at Tantalus in the previous run? With a variable already here, had I really needed to step in?

Just as a vague regret crept over me, wondering whether I'd done something pointless...

“An instructor... I see. So that's your story.”

Cold murderous intent pierced me.

Before I could even register my surprise, she had already drawn Sky Cherry Blossom. Her sharp hostility toward the Military State erupted with almost spasmodic intensity. And that hostility had taken a definite form, aimed straight at me.

I'd made a mistake.

Regression. Knowing she possessed the absurdly overpowered ability to return to the past upon death had made me careless. I'd thought far too highly of her based on her power alone. I'd mistaken her calm scrutiny for an unshakable mind.

It had merely been a Regressor's characteristic wait-and-see gaze.

Growing stronger over thirteen regressions meant, in other words, that she'd died thirteen times.

This woman was a walking bundle of PTSD!

And in seven of those deaths, the Military State had killed her, directly or indirectly. She carried seven lifetimes' worth of grudges!

'I'll kill him.'

Her murderous intent suddenly swelled. The emotional shift was so violent I suspected schizophrenia. Well, after thirteen deaths, a mental illness or two wouldn't be surprising—but I hadn't expected her to swing her sword immediately.

Worse, my right arm lay in its path.

'Let's start by cutting off an arm. Then I'll interrogate him. Find out what business he has in a prison all the prisoners escaped from, and “what” he came here for.'

Had I hit a self-destruct switch? Or was this fate forcing my hand?

Whatever it was, the reality facing me right now...

Was a weightless sword swinging toward my right shoulder.

Sky Cherry Blossom was a sword with neither weight nor thickness. Compared to its speed, my body was agonizingly slow. A mere flick of the Regressor's wrist sent the transparent blade stretching outward.

I saw the future. Sky Cherry Blossom sweeping through my shoulder, my right arm dropping clean off. If I were an ordinary person, I would have lost my arm before I could react.

But I could read thoughts.

Just before the Regressor swung her sword, I sensed her murderous intent and thought frantically.

Block it? Impossible. She had honed her abilities through thirteen regressions. If I took a defensive stance, she'd cut straight through it.

Dodge? Too fast. Even if I read her thoughts and moved first, Sky Cherry Blossom was far too fast. At best, I'd lose my arm at the upper arm instead of the shoulder.

What options remained?

None.

Huh? Was I going to die? Don't tell me it wasn't a year from now, but a minute?

I couldn't let that happen.

I had to survive. Whatever it took, I had to keep this wretched life going.

After everything I'd done to claw my way this far. After all the humiliation and misery I'd endured to survive those back alleys!

I hadn't survived just to die in this fucking pit!

I had no particular strength or talent. But there was still one power I could rely on.

Mind reading. The power to read another person's mind. On the brink of death, I pushed my sole ability to its limit.

The Regressor was strong. Strong enough to know exactly when and where her sword would arrive. She had reached a level attainable only by mastering qi arts to their utmost: complete control over her body.

Thanks to that, I too could read exactly when her sword would arrive.

It didn't matter that I couldn't see it. It didn't matter how fast it was.

The Regressor wielding it knew.

And reading her thoughts meant I knew too.

Of course, knowing didn't guarantee I could block it. If that were enough, everyone would succeed. Still, it gave me a chance.

Gritting my teeth, I spasmodically flicked the fingers closest to the blade. It was a desperate struggle, putting every bit of the technique I'd learned flicking cards to use. A helpless struggle to raise my chances of survival by even 0.1 percent.

But only those who tried to save themselves could be saved.

'What?!'

A clear ting rang out. Ripples spread through the transparent blade. Its slightly skewed path skimmed a hair's breadth above my shoulder.

Sparks flashed along the sword's trajectory. Sky Cherry Blossom could cut even air. The air caught on its blade shattered, etching a bolt of lightning that looked as though its upper and lower branches had been pruned away. A beat later, thunder battered my eardrums.

Every hair on my body stood on end. Even I couldn't tell whether it was from static electricity or fear.

'He deflected Sky Cherry Blossom?!'

Huh? Had I survived?

Arm: intact. Body: fine. Pain: none.

I was alive. Sky Cherry Blossom had missed.

No, wait.

Had Sky Cherry Blossom struck my swinging hand and bounced away?

That actually worked?

'He didn't even block it... He flicked it away with his fingers? Impossible. He doesn't look that strong...! Has he been hiding his power?'

Flicking a blade away with my fingers. Normally, that would be out of the question. But the Regressor's sword was Sky Cherry Blossom, a weightless blade. Formed from gathered space, it had bent at the mere touch of my fingers, sparing my arm by a paper-thin margin!

I actually pulled it off. Wow. One of the greatest achievements of my life.

No, that wasn't the point.

Horrified, the Regressor sprang backward and raised her sword upright. Until now, she had acted like she was performing a task. Now she was... on guard, preparing to face a powerful enemy.

Crazy bitch. Why were you the one on guard? Shouldn't that be me, the one you attacked out of nowhere?

“... I made a mistake.”

You sure did. A big one. I nearly died.

The Regressor glared at me, her whole body taut like a cornered cat.

“An instructor assigned to Tantalus would have at least that much combat ability... I apologize for underestimating you.”

“No. You're apologizing for the wrong thing, aren't you?”

I appreciated her inflating her opinion of me because she'd let her guard down, but this wasn't the time. If the Regressor branded me an enemy, not only my future but even the me of the next run would be in danger.

Honestly. Being attacked without warning was unfair and infuriating. But live or die, we were trapped in Tantalus together. We would be seeing each other's faces for months.

However much I resented her, I needed to keep my words at least somewhat friendly for now.

So...

“You shouldn't apologize for underestimating me! You should apologize for attacking someone out of nowhere! Don't you have any manners?”

The Regressor frowned at the unexpected lecture. Feigning exasperation, I brushed a hand back through my hair and looked around.

“I understand your anxiety. Such a terrible incident happened here just days ago... A riot, murder, looting equipment, even a prison break. It's only natural you've lost faith in the Military State, which ought to protect you. If you distrust it, I suppose that's a burden I must accept as someone on its payroll.”

'No, I never trusted the Military State to begin with. Why would I trust a country like this?'

“However!”

Neither do I! Just play along!

Cutting across the Regressor's thoughts, I shouted.

“That still doesn't justify such aggression! You're already imprisoned here for your crimes. If you behave in such an antisocial manner, where does that leave me, when I've come to help you?”

“You came... to help?”

“That's right!”

Just then, the King of Dogs returned with the crystal orb in her mouth and dropped it at my feet. She nudged my calf with her nose, as if telling me to quit barking bullshit and throw the ball.

Tsk. What a nuisance, interrupting me while I was speaking.

I hurled the orb straight toward the prison this time.

“Fetch!”

“Woof!”

As the excited King of Dogs chased the ball flying into the distance, I turned back to the Regressor.

“Even amid that turmoil, you obeyed instructions and remained on standby rather than escaping the training facility. Light emerges from darkness. The Military State's senior leadership is watching with great interest those of you who steadfastly upheld the regulations amid fear and confusion.”

'No. The King of Dogs has no intention of leaving until the “promise” is fulfilled, and the Progenitor of vampires was asleep. I stayed because I have something to do here.'

She found fault with every word I said! Why was she so negative? Just accept it!

What a rotten attitude. Give someone like her even a moment to think, and she'd construct an argument to refute you. I pressed on without giving the Regressor time to think.

“That is why I was personally dispatched! The Military State's senior leadership sent me here specifically to support you!”

It wasn't a lie. I had been sent here to perform hard labor. It was also true that the Military State's higher-ups had sent me. They'd merely needed a menial worker whose death wouldn't matter.

But wording made all the difference. If I shifted the emphasis from “support” to “me”...

“So I look forward to working with you! Put your faith in me and follow my lead, trainees!”

I could make others mistakenly believe I was someone remarkable.

And if everyone believed it...

'I can't make heads or tails of this guy.'

I really would become someone remarkable.

“Woof!”

Right on cue, the King of Dogs approached with the crystal orb in her mouth again. No matter how far I threw it, she had an uncanny knack for retrieving it. I simply kicked the ball as hard as I could. The top of my foot ached from striking the hard crystal, but the pain wasn't wasted: the orb flew farther than ever. Panting, the King of Dogs chased it again.

'He's so composed even when dealing with the King of Dogs... Those relaxed, unhurried movements that knocked Sky Cherry Blossom aside... He's unfathomable. I can't gauge his strength at all. As I am now...'

Of course you couldn't gauge my strength. In combat terms, I was a bug by the roadside. Having rubbed shoulders with monsters like the Sword Saint and the Saintess, you couldn't even imagine the life of a worm like me. Those at the top didn't know the minds of bugs.

But I knew yours.

Anyway, it had worked. I clenched my fist.

Humans were animals at heart. Faced with an unknown opponent, they sensed danger and grew wary. Ignorance was danger, and keeping your distance from danger was a basic rule of survival.

So she wouldn't mess with me lightly.

Still, we couldn't spend our lives on guard against each other in this cramped bottomless pit. We needed to maintain at least a neutral relationship. Wearing a kindly smile, I extended my hand toward the Regressor.

She flinched and aimed Sky Cherry Blossom at my arm. Had she applied any force, it would have sliced through my arm like tofu.

But getting scared and pulling back now would only expose somewhere for her to sink her teeth into. Feigning composure, I offered her a handshake without so much as a trembling fingertip.

“Well then, shall we shake hands as a sign that we'll get along from now on?”

The Regressor looked from my outstretched hand to my face, then abruptly withdrew Sky Cherry Blossom and turned away.

“... Hmph. Who knows what you might try.”

“Oh? Wasn't I the one who just got attacked? You're the one who swung a sword, yet you're acting like the victim.”

Reading the Regressor's thoughts had let me glimpse even a future I should never have been allowed to see. I could penetrate only one layer—the single person in front of me—yet I'd learned the future like a prophet who saw through the currents of the world.

Not knowing, I might have fallen victim to it. But now things were different.

Didn't they say the future was shy, hiding itself the moment someone peeked at it? Now that it had hidden, I hoped it would disappear forever. I wanted no part of some vicious future clamoring to kill me.

“Then let's at least introduce ourselves. You may address me as Instructor, with respect and reverence.”

Tapping my chest, I made a vow.

I would survive, whatever it took.

Even if the future proclaimed my death, and I had to deceive that future itself.

The Regressor had been glaring at me with intensely wary eyes. At last, she tossed Sky Cherry Blossom over her head and gave a terse reply.

“... Shei.”

At the same moment, her inward resolve reached my ears.

'Let's watch him for now. If things really don't work out, I can abandon this run and move on to the next.'

Fortunately, the Regressor seemed to have decided to wait and see. Someone who had died a few times really was different. Even though she considered me a threat, she wanted to see what would happen first. Curiosity—or a Regressor's complacency, willing to wait and observe even the smallest clue.

The Regressor raised her eyes to glare at me.

'... I'm uneasy about living with such a frivolous man. But the others won't fall prey to him easily.'

What kind of person did she take me for? The others were a dog wearing a human guise and a corpse that had been dead for a thousand years. What on earth did she think I'd do with a dog and a corpse? I wasn't a sexual deviant. My tastes were perfectly normal, befitting an average human being.

'And I'm perfectly disguised as a man, so it should be fine!'

Ah...

So that was it.

Living for months with a Regressor who firmly believed she was perfectly disguised as a man wasn't going to be easy.

Muttering that inwardly, I gave her an awkward smile.