In the previous run.

The bottomless pit collapsed.

It was far more devastating and horrific than the Tantalus jailbreak, called the worst incident in the history of military rule. The criminals who escaped Tantalus had been heinous enough... but what crawled out from beneath the collapsed bottomless pit were horrors capable of destroying the world.

A catastrophe all the more deadly because its immediate visibility did not match the enormous danger it posed.

Even the Regressor had only barely discovered, after several regressions, that pieces of the apocalypse lay within the bottomless pit. Gathering the clues she had unearthed in the previous run, she arrived at the collapsed pit.

What she encountered there was a horrific monster fashioned from the flesh of tens of thousands of people.

["Now, I'm a victim too, so don't look at me like that. How was I supposed to know?"]

The lingering sunset illuminates the sodden ground. The wet red gleam beneath its light is indescribably beautiful, revolting, and horrific.

For the liquid soaking the earth is all blood spilled from human bodies.

The undying corpse golem that had once headed toward the Empire. Even that had originated in the bottomless pit. After a full day's battle, the Regressor barely managed to defeat the golem and extract the undying one who formed its core.

Yet the undying one himself was muttering with a nonchalance that made a mockery of that desperate battle.

["Tsk. I kept my eyes shut too long. We are undying, but not imperishable. When our life runs out, we return briefly to the world, then receive life from the earth and move again. But some damned thing desecrated me. Cursed my flesh and scattered it everywhere. In a land cursed by Mother Earth, of all places, I could not protect myself..."]

The flesh monster regenerated when shot and remained unscathed by fire, immediately wielding the corpses it swallowed as weapons. Thorny spinal columns thrashed in every direction, while festering boils burst and splattered the ground.

HISS

Whenever the sickly yellow pus fell, the earth began to dissolve as though struck by venom. Its swollen, taut intestines were closer to bombs than balloons, and shinbones sharp as blades poured down like torrential rain.

Amid the stench and filth, the Regressor swung her sword.

A body that absorbed old corpses and their resentment, regenerating indiscriminately. Craving the flesh of other humans, it was a crawling plague, its very existence a horrific desecration of humankind. The Regressor used every ounce of her strength to stop it as it roamed the earth in search of its next meat.

And the result was this.

["Well! I do feel a little sorry for the dead! But what can I do? It wasn't by my own will!"]

The undying one declared it heartily, laughing lightly as though this were nothing of consequence.

It could hardly be nothing. The Regressor wiped away her sweat with the cloth she had wrapped around herself to block the stench. An exhausted sigh escaped through a gap.

["You destroyed three villages. The dead number a hundred and ninety."]

["Had you not stopped me, young lady, more than ten times that many would have died! Well done! You're a true hero!"]

["... I wasn't asking for praise. You have to be put down. This time, there's no other choice."]

Even at that cold pronouncement, the undying one remained unruffled.

["And I wasn't saying it in hopes of living! You see, we're undying, not ageless. As we grow old, our strength slowly fades until one day we return to the soil. Though I am still rather young to die."]

The undying one lifted his left shoulder. With long strands of melted blood dangling from it, his body was centuries removed from anything resembling a human form. Was this what tens of thousands of maggots would leave after years of gnawing and regurgitating? His outline was as indistinct as a painting with its edges smeared, making it impossible to tell where his body began.

Even as his body visibly melted away, the undying one laughed heartily.

["Haha! My body was put through far too much! My lifespan has worn away too quickly. I'll die before long! Still, at least I didn't die inside the bottomless pit. What a blessing that I can be buried in Mother Earth's embrace!"]

Again, that bottomless pit. What on earth had happened in there?

A dead end. In this run, the Regressor had arrived too late. The incident itself occurred so early in the run that there had simply been too little time.

But if some tremendous answer lay within that pit, perhaps she could find hope in the next run. A small spark of anticipation glimmered amid her profound exhaustion.

["What happened in there? Who did what to create a monster like you?"]

["It's a little hurtful to call a person a monster. But I can't deny it! I certainly look like one now!"]

["There's no time for chatter. Hurry."]

["Ah, of course. I've been selfish! You must be busy!"]

Death approached as slowly and surely as the sunset. Though the undying one's manner of speaking had not changed, its pallor settled over his face. Words he barely managed to form slipped from that shadowed face.

["Do you happen to know that people escaped from that bottomless pit?"]

["I do."]

["That makes this easier to explain! I fought one of the fellows trying to escape. On the surface, I'd have regenerated in an instant and torn his head off, but unfortunately, I couldn't regenerate in the bottomless pit without the earth's veins! Some inexplicable sorcery tore off my limbs, and I fell asleep when my life force ran out. But..."]

He frowned like someone straining to retrieve a hazy memory.

["When I first opened my eyes, there were several people there. The first to approach was a man calling himself an Instructor. He said he'd awakened me. After asking me something, he told me to go back to sleep because 'managing' me was too much trouble. My life force hadn't recovered much, so I went back to sleep."]

Listening, the Regressor's brow tightened sharply.

["... That's it? Nothing else?"]

["I think he said something else. I don't remember."]

["Try a little harder to remember!"]

["I'm sorry, but remembering every word a man mutters isn't a hobby of mine. Especially not some conjurer's empty boasting."]

["There must be something that could serve as a clue! How many people there were, or who was there!"]

["A clue. Hmm. When I looked... there were two women, I suppose? Both were attractive."]

["... That's all?"]

["Do you not realize how important that information is? Surely it's ten times more important than the number of men?"]

Was he accustomed to death, or had death's very unfamiliarity driven him mad? Steadying her throbbing head, the Regressor pressed him again.

["Anything else?"]

["The next time I opened my eyes, everything was in chaos, though I couldn't tell what was happening. The building shook ominously, and I could hear a beast howling in the distance. The people who woke me said the Instructor was trying to kill them and asked me to fight him."]

["Who were those people? What did they say?"]

["Who knows? I don't. One thing's certain: they weren't women."]

["..."]

There was far too little information. But she could hardly expect more from the undying one, who had only awakened intermittently before falling back asleep.

Even so, the Regressor was not disappointed. She would enter that bottomless pit in the next run, regardless. This was merely a lead to help her uncover information.

["I fought and lost. Had that place not been on the surface... No, had my hands and feet been intact, I wouldn't have fallen so helplessly. But in truth, beating him wouldn't have made much difference. He had a Beast King with him."]

["A Beast King?"]

["Indeed. What was it...? Humanity's great cherished wish, or something. Did he say a desperate struggle was necessary to find that person...? Good grief, it was such utter nonsense that I actually remembered a man's prattle. Heh heh..."]

Dry laughter falls and trickles across the earth. The vessel cracks, and life leaks out through it. Even the limitless lives of those called undying must ultimately be fleeting candle flames, destined to end someday.

["The last time I opened my eyes, I was no longer myself. Only pain and resentment remained, and I was rampaging to repay an ancient grudge. I was hungry as though there were a hole in my body, and my flesh hurt as though someone were stabbing it with needles. In my hunger, I think I ate all sorts of... things I shouldn't have."]

["Yes. It was pretty disgusting."]

["Well. If not for the ending, it might... have been a decent life. Heh. If I could, I'd like to cut away... the end of my life..."]

With a brief, hollow chuckle that seemed to epitomize his life, he died. Once the Regressor confirmed it, she slowly stood.

["I don't know if this is any comfort, but don't worry. You'll come back to life in the next run anyway."]

Unfortunately, his final end had not yet come. He would probably live again. When the world turned back upon the Regressor's death, the outcome would be different.

The Regressor rose calmly.

["... Humanity's great cherished wish, that person, a Beast King... Is that where their plan started? Honestly, no matter how many roots I dig up, there's no end to them."]

Whatever the case, an important clue clearly lay dormant within the bottomless pit. It was already too late for this run. Should she regress immediately, while the memory remained fresh, or investigate a little further?

After some deliberation, the Regressor drew Sky Cherry Blossom.

["If I'm going to regress anyway, better to finish wreaking havoc before I die than kill myself. All right. I'll throw this run away."]

At that moment, that run's fate was decided.

The recollection ended.

Having recalled the immediately preceding run, the Regressor stared at the undying one.

'The first time he opened his eyes. He definitely said the Instructor woke him and asked him various questions. To be certain that's this moment... He said there were two women. And that they were attractive.'

As the Regressor's reflection dragged on, the undying one urged her along.

"Well, boy? What do you have to say that's got you racking your brains so hard? If you've something to say, out with it. I don't want to wait long to hear a man speak."

"Oh, all right. I'll ask."

Having finished thinking, the Regressor addressed the undying one with the utmost seriousness.

"Here. How many women do you see?"

A perfectly natural train of thought. To confirm that this was the moment he had first awakened, the Regressor intended to compare his past testimony with his present answer. If he said there were two women again, this was the very moment the undying one had described before...

'Shei? What sort of question is that? What on earth is the purpose of asking such a thing?'

No. Wait a second. The vampire's thoughts brought me back to my senses.

Without mind reading, wasn't this conversation taking a strange turn?

Faced with that peculiar question, the undying one did as asked and counted the women. One vampire sitting in front of him, and Azi lying on her belly in the back made two.

Why wasn't he counting the Regressor? Oh, right. She was disguised as a man. Finished counting, the undying one held up two fingers and replied.

"One, two. Two, isn't it? Unless you're an idiot, you should be able to tell how many women there are at a glance."

"Are both women attractive? Not anyone else?"

"Of course. To begin with, there's no such thing as an unattractive woman. Each simply has her own particular charm. As for men, well, they're none of my concern... But why do you ask?"

Even the undying one questioned her motives.

Naturally. The conversation had gone subtly—no, blatantly off course. The Regressor was speaking on the basis of information carried over from the previous run, but the onlookers couldn't follow that conversational leap and filled the gap with their imaginations.

The vampire in particular. Covering her mouth with both hands, she looked between the Regressor and the undying one and sighed.

'Why? Why ask that fellow about the number of women and their charms? What could you possibly want to know? Surely you are not curious about that earthfolk man's tastes?'

Remarkably, the undying one picked up on something in that peculiar atmosphere. With a look of dawning suspicion, he turned to me.

"Wait. Sir. When you said that boy was interested in me... did you mean that kind of interest?"

"Wow. You remember that, of all things. What's with the selective memory?"

Ah, to hell with it.

I gave a vigorous nod, confirming his suspicions.

"That's right. Trainee Shei once loudly declared, 'I like men.'"

"What? Why bring that up now? That's completely irrelevant!"

The Regressor started to step forward and reflexively dispute my words, only then noticing how everyone was looking at her. The vampire had momentarily forgotten about her heart and was covering her mouth, while I nodded in sympathy with her thoughts.

Above all, the undying one was stroking his chin, seriously appraising the Regressor's appearance.

Huh? Hey, why are you seriously sizing her up?

"Hmm! Though I normally wouldn't give a man a second glance!"

Though? What an odd conjunction. Didn't that imply he was about to contradict what he'd just said?

Surely he didn't mean what I'd just read in his mind?

"With a face that pretty, I might somehow manage!"

Is he out of his fucking mind?

"You fucking lunatic!"

The Regressor abruptly shouted.

Ah. We were of one mind. Finally realizing what she had said, the Regressor huffed with rage and yelled.

"No! Absolutely not! I have absolutely no interest in the likes of you!"

"You could put most girls to shame with that sharp tongue. Seems you were born the wrong sex."

"I... said... no...!"

Oh. This was bad. At this rate, the Regressor would explode. If she lost her head and started swinging her sword, the undying one might survive, but I would definitely die.

Besides, I couldn't understand the undying one's thinking either. I raised my voice at him too.

"What are you saying, Trainee Rash? Granted, Trainee Shei is irritable, hard to please, violent, and likes men, but you shouldn't join in! Didn't you say men didn't interest you?"

"Hoho. Sir, male or female, what does it matter as long as it tastes good?"

"Huh? What the hell are you saying?"

"It's actually fortunate. I'm an undying one. I can't father children without permission from the tribal council. Producing mixed-blood children is an even greater taboo. Sadly, I've therefore turned down countless women's advances and lived alone in my bedchamber. A man might be better instead... Oh, now that's a new perspective! I must have made the discovery of the century!"

This wouldn't do. The Regressor had already put her hand on her sword. I had to do something about this undying one first.

Suddenly, I looked down at the spike in my hand, then back at him.

His chest was still open.

Hmm.

"Trainee Rash. A moment, please."

"Hmm? What is it, sir?"

I approached him with the spike concealed in my hand. He scratched his head as though troubled.

"Oh dear. Being popular with men is rather a problem."

What?

I was suddenly offended. Whatever misunderstanding he had about the Regressor was none of my concern, but I wouldn't forgive him directing that shit at me too. That was enough of his bullshit. I plunged the spike deep into his chest.

The undying one looked puzzled at the spike buried in his body.

"Hm? Sir? What's this?"

"Volt."

"Guaaaagh!"

Then came the electric shock. The current driven straight into his heart spread throughout his body. The undying one shook all over.

"To think... I'd be... on the receiving... end..."

His huge frame convulsed and crumpled. Trembling, the undying one flashed a grin and left one final remark.

"This... has a unique flavor of its own."

Fucking lunatic.

Spouting bullshit to the very end, he closed his eyes. Soon his consciousness faded completely, and his right arm dropped off.

Whew. Barely managed to sort that out.

"Now, then. We had a brief disturbance."

Still fuming, the Regressor put away the half-drawn Sky Cherry Blossom and muttered, glaring at the unconscious undying one.

"Never wake that thing again. Making such bizarre assumptions. Ugh. At this rate, what's the point of wearing the Mask of Agartha...?"

Hold on. Wasn't she pinning too much of the blame on the undying one? As though she hadn't contributed to the problem.

"Honestly, though, you know this is mostly your own doing, Trainee Shei?"

"What is?"

"What do you think? You've been going around saying and doing all sorts of misleading things. If you don't understand, just look at Trainee Tyrkanzyaka."

The moment the Regressor looked at the vampire, the vampire whipped her head away, avoiding her gaze. She was even fanning herself with a hand, despite being incapable of sweating.

Instinctively realizing what she had misunderstood, the Regressor held out both hands and mustered an awkward smile.

"No, you've misunderstood, Tyrkanzyaka."

"It is all right. I understand everything..."

"You don't look like you understand anything!"

"B-but I think it is a little too soon for me. Is the world truly moving so quickly that even I cannot keep pace...? I-if possible, please do it somewhere I cannot see."

"I'm telling you, you've got it wrong!"

Watching their conversation, I added a remark of my own.

"If you only needed Trainee Rash's body, just say so. I'll lend you whichever part you want. I doubt he'd mind much..."

Just before the enraged Regressor grabbed Sky Cherry Blossom again, I hurriedly clapped my hands and wrapped up the lesson.

"Everyone. You now understand how the Military State discovered that electric shocks can restart a heart, yes? It all began when a suspect's heart stopped after a shock during electrical torture—no, a friendly interrogation with electricity. Another shock made the heart start beating again! So, today's lesson: don't go showing your heart to just anyone. That is all!"

With that, I promptly opened the door and fled.