WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient First-Person's Viewpoint

Chapter 311

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We Are All Hostages to Ourselves

What makes a good hostage?

Are they important or symbolic to the other side, or can the very fact that they've been taken be used as leverage? There are many factors, but first of all, they have to be weak. A hostage you can't use when needed is as awkward and useless as money you can't get back when you need it.

By that standard, Historia is unfit in every way. The moment someone binds Historia, the one called the Daughter of the Military State, military-state morale will plummet, and above all, she's too strong. With most of the Six Generals already gone, how much would it cost to bind or kill her?

The named Historia sat in silence, deep in thought. The regressor replied with a puzzled look.

"...You want to make the Gunslinger a hostage? Is that even possible? No, why?"

"It's different. The hostage isn't Historia."

Hilde wiped the smile from her lips. She hopped off my lap, climbed onto the round table, and pressed the biometric terminal on her wrist. Her loose clothes instantly shrank to fit her frame.

"The hostage is the military state. This pitiful nation could break at any moment, and for its final bulwark, it needs Six Generals Historia. Halberdier Maximilien, Yeonggwe Zikhrund, Heavenlink Eimeder, they're gone or away from their posts. Without Gunslinger Historia, it could collapse at any moment."

Strangely enough, the military state had all the qualities of a hostage. If it fell, chaos would spread across the world. If left standing, it could become a solid ally for me. Depending on how it was handled, it could collapse quickly or recover just as fast.

A whole country as a hostage. The scale was hard to get used to, but considering its actual condition, I could see why it made sense.

"Of course, this doesn't mean it won't collapse with Historia around! It just means if General Headquarters has no force it can use when needed, then General Headquarters has zero influence! Your communications officers will hit their limit soon too, Father! So, will you accept it, Father?"

That said, what did I care? I shrugged.

"No point asking me that. Ask Ria. Ria, are you willing to be a hostage?"

"..."

"She says she needs time to think. Fair enough."

I answered in place of silent Historia. Hilde asked again.

"Even if the military state falls?"

"Do you know what I said most while living in this country? 'This damn country should just collapse already.' Looks like the day finally came to make that wish real instead of just muttering it."

"Amazing! Not even the rise and fall of a nation makes you blink. As expected of Father!"

Hilde squealed and praised me. Watching this farce, Tyr covered her mouth again and sank into an even bigger misunderstanding.

'From how naturally she calls him Father, to how perfectly their rhythms match...! Looking now, they do resemble each other...! Is she really his child? Then just how young was he when he got married...!'

No, she wasn't. Hilde was older than me, so I'd have to go back to before I was born and have a kid.

Still, watching her dig herself deeper was kind of funny, so I left her alone. Tyr was the one misunderstanding, and Hilde was the one who'd suffer for it, so I could just watch.

"Right. Anyway, let's continue this after we rest a bit. That's all."

When I said that, Tyr carefully approached Hilde, held one side of her skirt with one arm, and greeted her elegantly.

"Pleased to meet you, child. I am called Tyrkanzyaka. In the world they call this wretched body the Progenitor of vampires, but I received great help from Hughes in the Abyss, so do not be afraid. I swear upon my blood. I will not covet your blood."

'Huh? Why is she suddenly acting like this?'

Ah, Hilde blinked, flustered. Looks like even she got flustered.

Still, before she was a transformation artist, Hilde was an excellent performer, and she handled the situation smoothly.

"Nice to meet you, Tyrkanzyaka. I heard Father owes you a lot."

"Little compared to what I received, but we have still depended on each other greatly through give and take. You may rely on me as well."

"Wow! That's reassuring, I love it!"

...I trust you to handle this, Hilde. Just don't call her Mother by mistake.

Leaving those two to mass-produce misunderstandings, I walked over to the regressor.

"Well, putting that aside. Mr. Shei. You admit it now, right? How hard I worked. I break my bones working and still no one recognizes it."

The regressor glared at me in displeasure, then snapped her head away and said,

"...Fine! Thanks! I'm really glad you were there!"

"Seriously. I had to force that out of you. Try thanking me before I have to push for it next time."

"You've got so much to say even after I thanked you! I would've felt better if you'd told me sooner!"

The one who farted is the one getting angry. Even when I ask for what I obviously deserve, she still complains.

And you didn't tell me either.

"Mr. Shei. When Ria and I were facing Maximilien, we tried talking to stall for time."

"Oh, right, you said you fought him?"

'That Halberdier bastard loved to run his mouth. Definitely the type to get careless and take a hit.'

"Yeah. Back then, when I brought up the King of Sin, Maximilien said this. He said there was no way the King of Sin existed. Asked if maybe I meant the Human King by another name."

I started carefully. But the regressor shook her head firmly.

"No. The King of Sin is the King of Sin."

"But he said sin wasn't something beasts had. Humans were the only beasts with sin, so the King of Sin had to be the Human King."

"No. The King of Sin is not the Human King. They're different beings... they have to be."

Oh?

The regressor, who was usually bad at lying, said that without even blinking. So that was it.

The King of Sin was different from the Human King. The regressor didn't believe that. She wanted to believe it.

In other words, she didn't believe it at all.

She knew quite a lot about the Beast Kings and the world's secrets. But she desperately looked away from the conclusion that the King of Sin had to be the Human King. She kept insisting on the opposite, so hard she even deceived herself. Because...

'I don't want to think that being I have to face is the Human King, the king representing all humans. If that's true... then humans were abandoned by humans, me included....'

If she didn't believe otherwise, her will might break.

It was purely an emotional issue. Well, that happens. Motivation matters a lot.

"Hmm. Got it. If you say so."

"You believe me?"

"Believe or not, I don't really have a choice anyway. The world ends, that's what you're saying. Hard to believe... but you know way too much for that to be fake, more than most Holy Maidens. Even if you don't explain it well."

"Ah, w-well, that's..."

"And I get some profit by following you around. Just this time, I piggybacked through chaos and got a line into the military state's General Headquarters. Crisis means opportunity. Couldn't do that in the back alleys."

"That was what mattered to you?!"

"Maybe you're a top-tier scammer, Mr. Shei. That's fine. What if it's a world-class scam? If I can pull something out of it, I profit. In a scam, you get more by riding it than by exposing it."

"...Now I'm starting to wonder if I should trust you at all."

The regressor shook her head. Then she suddenly looked at me and fell into thought.

'Come to think of it, Maximilien looked at Hughes and asked if he was the Human King. It was a half-baked conclusion because Azzy was nearby, but maybe...'

I'd been waiting for this. Finally, I could confirm it.

I was the Human King. That part was true anyway, and there were plenty of tells. But the regressor, who should have known this secret first, had never noticed. From the first moment I met her until now, she hadn't considered that possibility even once.

I found that odd too, and before long I formed one hypothesis. If it was right, her failure to recognize me made sense.

To verify it, though, I needed a careful tightrope walk. Most of all, I needed to pull the keyword Human King out of her memories without revealing my identity if possible.

'The Human King... no, impossible.'

It took a while, but I got my chance to test the hypothesis. The regressor began sinking into that memory.

'Because I saw the Human King... no, the King of Sin with my own eyes.'

Then the regressor's recollection continued.

***

The King of Sin appeared. In less than a day, one nation fell.

The Sanctum noticed first and spread the news across the world. Humans exhausted by wars of mutual slaughter stopped those wars and joined forces to defeat the King of Sin.

Maybe they had only been waiting for a reason to stop. At that rate, each nation was on the verge of collapse before humanity could even reach extinction.

Either way, the King of Sin was overwhelmingly powerful. Not only that, humans tainted by sin offered themselves to the King of Sin even knowing they would die. The King of Sin personally executed them and walked on while chewing their hearts.

What a horrifying being. Called the King of Sin, and those evil acts matched the name.

The masses were enraged by what the King of Sin had done. That rage retroactively spread, and even the disasters and tragedies born from their own wars were blamed on the King of Sin. Humans marched toward the King of Sin to demand accountability for every sin that had ever happened.

But.

The sin humans had ignored until then... was too vast.

"You wished for souls to be eternal, and to be judged after death by good and evil. That was the most dreadful lie."

That was not human. It was sin in human form, disaster, the personification of death.

"There is no heaven or hell in this world. The god you cry out for does not exist above the sky."

Lightning rained from the sky like a storm. The earth refused to support humans. One who had never fallen in a lifetime tripped on flat ground, and one who swung a blade at an illusion stabbed an ally. Beasts born from fruit surged like killer waves. Technology developed to kill beasts twisted in the wrong direction.

Blood and flames erupted. Screams and thunder echoed. Burnt flesh rose with black smoke. Death by electrocution, death by burning, death by blood loss, death by falling, death by crushing, death by explosion. Every kind of death was displayed across the battlefield in the shape of corpses.

At the center, the King of Sin walked with death as footsteps.

"There is no warriors' hall only for those who died in honor, no paradise prepared only for those who endured hardship, no shelter above the clouds. After death, there is nothing."

Warriors who had stood out in war, heroes who had turned impossible battles into victory, recluses who had hidden from the flames of war. The strong came charging at the King of Sin with treasures and relics, wrapped in blessings of wisdom.

All of them died.

They weren't even opponents. The King of Sin mocked the masterpieces the human race had forged and shattered them one by one. Every time the scythe flashed, someone's head fell to the ground.

Shei was no different.

Jizan broke. Skywarbler shattered. Her crushed leg had no sensation, and blood streamed from holes in her body.

Unlike the others, Shei was still alive, but only in the sense of "still."

"What remains is only one abandoned ossuary."

The King of Sin pulled out the scythe. Blood spilled from someone's corpse. Step, step. The footsteps of calamity, searching for the next sacrifice, headed toward Shei. Shei gripped Jizan's broken hilt and desperately forced her drooping head back up.

In front of her stood it.

The calamity humans had made, the King of Sin.

"I am the smallest ossuary in the world. A library mourning the forgotten. When you issue checks you can never cash, I pick them up and make them grave goods, a mortician."

Messy hair sticking out in patches. Pitch-black eyes like they'd peered into the human abyss. Blood tattoos on the face, someone's skull worn upside down. A wildness like a beast's offspring.

Yet even that appearance was eerily beautiful.

Her head wanted to bow. From exhaustion? No, instinct commanded her to bow before that majesty. It screamed that she could never win, that she should submit and beg for life.

She wanted to kneel even now, but Shei clenched her teeth and resisted. Born rebellious, she rejected instinct and stared back at the King of Sin.

This life was not the end. She had to see one more thing, fix even a little more in her eyes. For the next round, if nothing else.

-But.

"Even if there is a next for you, I will return."

At words that sounded like they anticipated regression itself, Shei lost composure and froze. A groan leaked from her open mouth.

"...Ah, ugh...."

"Go and deliver this. Your justice has gone bankrupt, and soon I will come to collect. The justice and morality you cried out for, mortgaged against future and fate, have finally hit bottom."

Even death could not be an escape. The world beyond was not safe either. Only then did the regressor grasp her fate.

Her regression would continue unless she defeated the King of Sin.

Fear swept over her. A threat death itself couldn't shake off. A wall she had to cross.

At the end of endless regression, exhausting, overwhelming, lonely, the destination she found was too far and too high. So far she couldn't imagine reaching it in one lifetime, no, not even in eternity.

Still.

Even so.

Instead of giving up, instead of collapsing in tears, Shei glared at the King of Sin.

"Hmph.... You just keep babbling things no one can understand...."

She was too foolish to predict even the obvious result. Her understanding was too shallow to fully grasp the gap between them. She was too stupid to know how hard a wall was until she smashed into it first.

Shei gripped broken Skywarbler with her bare hand.

"Someday I'll shut that mouth of yours.... Just... watch."

The King of Sin fell silent for a moment. Maybe it was ridicule for foolishness, maybe respect toward a human.

At the end of that silence, the King of Sin smiled faintly.

"For as long as it takes."

Right after, the scythe moved. In that round, that was the last thing Shei saw.

***

Mm. Yeah.

I'd expected it, but that was definitely the Human King. He looked way too strong, but there was probably some reason for that. Anyway, Human King was right.

But no matter how I looked at it, it wasn't me. Face, build, sex, everything was the opposite of mine.

Hmm.

'...Not the Human King. No way. Looks nothing like that one.'

When a Beast King met death, another Beast King was born somewhere in the world. The new Beast King was a separate being from the previous one. They carried the same promise, but aside from that, memory, appearance, personality, all different.

So... in other words.

The me in the previous round had died.

When? Where? How? I didn't know. But considering what the Lords of All Creation did, and what the Sanctum did, any death scenario was plausible.

Apparently I die one year later. Apparently the world ends ten years later. My life had been spoiled.

Of course, the fact that I died in one year wasn't confirmed. But I was sure. If the King of Sin destroyed the world in ten years, then I had to die before that.

The regressor's arrival got me out of the Abyss... but because of that, I got tangled deep in a flow far too large. I probably couldn't live an ordinary life anymore.

Damn it, I wanted to live normally, but if I wanted to stay alive, I couldn't be normal. Still, it couldn't be helped.

The world ending was not what I wanted. Human extinction too. I had no idea what humans had done for the Human King to begin species-level self-destruction, but I had no intention of that yet.

Nebida and the Sanctum and a few others might think differently... but that was their business.

Just like the regressor, I had no choice but to struggle to survive.

(Side Story) An Unobserved Story: The Abyss Without the Regressor - (Part 1)

The best way to escape danger is to put physical distance between yourself and danger.

Still, sometimes in life, you have to accept danger to gain something. Then what do you do?

You investigate dangerous factors as thoroughly as possible, remove them carefully, then approach with caution.

I'd proudly done exactly that. Thanks to it, this Abyss had been quiet and comfortable.

But as expected, there was one small thing I'd overlooked.

The Abyss was bottomless depth. A place where those who fell to the bottom tested their limits one last time. No matter how carefully I removed danger, there was nothing I could do about mayflies who threw themselves into the Abyss on purpose. I wasn't a prophet.

Well, I said all that, but there's only one point.

"In the end, Ebon is trying to kill all of us. Azzy is blocking him, but she won't hold long. So, what do we do?"

I was screwed. Very badly.

"Dammit. I shouldn't have trusted him. I should've known a military-state general would never leave us alive."

Kanisen Riverwood spoke in a heavy voice. He once burned with hatred for the military state, but had sunk all those feelings to the bottom of the Abyss, and now he was tense before a new threat.

These people were the Resistance group that had infiltrated to destroy Tantalus. But Tantalus was far too large to blow up with the explosives they brought. The Resistance had thought the Abyss was just a big pit, got crushed by a reality nothing like they expected, and I approached and persuaded them to survive down here.

As a result, we had been living together peacefully at the bottom of this Abyss... but it seemed the Resistance weren't the only ones who fell into the Abyss.

I said,

"That's why I kept signaling from the moment I first met him. I told you that guy was dangerous. Told you we had to prepare to blow him away somehow."

Delta answered with a stammer.

"S-signal? When?"

"I used hand signals behind my back."

"Ah, when you curled and uncurled your fingers behind you..."

Tsk. You were taught hand signals in the Resistance, weren't you? No wonder your memory was fuzzy. You were the only one who remembered anything, Delta, and even you forgot it all?

That's why a mind reader shouldn't stay among idiots. The rhythm never matches, and I feel myself getting dumber with them.

"Ugh, it did look familiar.... So it was hand signals. I thought it was one of your hand tricks...."

"I play with my hands a lot, sure, but what would I gain by flirting in that situation?"

"Sorry...."

As Delta answered in a shrinking voice, Beta, the only woman in the Resistance, gently covered for him.

After settling in the Abyss, Delta and Beta became lovers, and their relationship only got better and better. Put badly, no matter what happened, they only covered for each other.

Like now.

"It's okay, Delta, no, Elsi. We didn't know either."

Bravo, what a boast.

Tsk, I never expected much from you anyway. What could I expect from a fool who prayed to the Celestial God at every meal in the Abyss, with Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka sleeping right beside us?

"And we were distracted by Ebon's appearance. Hughes's hand signal happened right then, so it was hard to notice."

Pretending to comfort him while subtly pushing blame onto me too. Saving your boyfriend's face yourself?

"Anyway, everything bad is Ebon's fault. Right now we should think of another way, not blame someone!"

What a joke. This is survival, not good and bad. And if you wanted another way, you should've thought of that before comforting your boyfriend. What you're doing now isn't planning, it's politics.

"R-right. You're right, Cindy! We need a method now! Anyone, any good idea?"

Impressive. You got comforted and still looped straight back to the same conclusion.

The fact these people were my allies made my vision go dark. Alpha was just a strong, dumb ordinary guy. Beta was the opposite kind of idiot. Delta was a low-confidence model student, never reliable.

Kanisen, who had once aimed to be a knight, was smart and capable, but like a knight, his thinking was stiff, so our compatibility was awkward. The one I could use best was...

I gave an order to Gamma, the only engineer in the Resistance.

"Gamma. Grab the explosives and get to the point."

Gamma, the engineering technician, jumped in shock at my words.

"T-the point? That's...!"

"No choice. If not there, the explosives mean nothing. At least we can use them as a threat."

"But if it explodes at the point, all of Tantalus could collapse...!"

"I'll take responsibility. Move!"

When I pressed him, startled Gamma ran off like his tail was on fire.

The explosives the Resistance brought were laughably insufficient. They'd be barely useful even if planted after drilling into the center. Even with full engineering knowledge, they were far from enough to destroy Tantalus, but with luck, maybe something could happen.

Kanisen asked,

"...Hughes. Didn't you say Tantalus couldn't collapse? Even if it can, collapsing it puts us in danger."

"No choice. You place your card in the most dangerous spot. If fear of risk makes you unable to use it, that's backwards."

"True enough, but...."

'Incredible. To act like that even knowing....'

This man was good in many ways, but lacked flexibility in thought. This kind of judgment should've come from you, nominal leader. Sigh. Why are there only loose-screw people around me?

Then someone who'd been waiting silently for a chance suddenly shouted.

"The only way is to make the Progenitor open her eyes!"

...Hoo. Here we go again.

"Shut up, Finlay!"

Alpha yanked the stakes in Finlay's arms and legs. Blood beaded out of the opened wounds, then Finlay panicked and pulled it back into himself. The drops he failed to recover rolled on their own toward somewhere else.

Finlay shouted urgently.

"Pull carefully! Every drop of my blood is under the Progenitor's control right now! If holes open and blood leaks, the Progenitor will take even my existence itself!"

I knew. That's why I drove stakes through your limbs.

Finlay let his chain hang as long as possible and said,

"Your strength is not enough. Didn't you see? The opponent is the King of Cats! The King of Dogs is barely keeping her away, but the King of Dogs cannot attack humans! He'll collapse before long! Without the King of Dogs, you are lower creatures no better than trash. If the Progenitor does not wake, you'll die like trash!"

Hmm. Should I spin the stakes in place while they're still in?

As I seriously considered it, Kanisen muttered low.

"The strength of vampires? Hard to trust. You were subdued by us, were you not?"

"That is because the sleeping Progenitor absorbs all blood in this space! If I could have drawn my blood magic circle properly, your kind would've been a single meal!"

'Is that so? Never fought vampires before.'

Kanisen looked at me for confirmation, and I shook my head.

"Not to that degree. Yeling are easy to clear like burnable food waste if you know the method."

"You bastaaard! Kgh! Fine! I got it! Don't spin the stake! Compared to the pure Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka, the great Elders, the noble Ain, yes, Yeling are weak like insects!"

"You know well. If you don't speak properly, I'll rotate it counterclockwise next time."

"Y-you... fine! I said fine!"

Honestly, Yeling were weak enough that even I could hunt one alone without cards. Not barehanded, sure, but roast them or soak them in electrolytes and scramble blood control, and Yeling dropped below vermin. Vampire immortality was an advantage, but nothing was a bigger weakness than having such clear weaknesses.

Above all, I had the immortal's right arm ready now. Even if Finlay went wild, I could kill him immediately. Honestly, considering how much I'd worked him over, killing him would leave fewer future problems.

"But Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka, oldest darkness and Queen of Night, origin of all vampires. With her power, not only that insolent human but even the Beast King can be subdued!"

Still, there was one reason I didn't kill him.

His proposal to wake the Progenitor was pretty attractive.

Delta muttered uneasily.

"...Will the Progenitor really help us?"

"Hmph! You insult the nobles of the night and expect to live, aaaaagh! Gaaah! S-stop! I will specially petition her. To spare at least your lives!"

With Finlay screaming from the counterclockwise twist in the background, Kanisen clenched his fist. Once a knight's squire, and though not devout, still a believer in the Celestial God, he had instinctive revulsion toward vampires.

Still, his faith wasn't so stupid that it would betray his life, and he knew this was the only way to survive.

"N-no way! How can you even think of waking the Progenitor? Disgusting vampires who only covet others' blood will help us? They'll just drain all our blood!"

...Unlike a certain idiot who clutched a cross every time she passed in front of the Progenitor. What was wrong with her?

"From the start, even if we die, we must never wake the Progenitor! For the peace and safety of this world, the Progenitor must stay buried forever under this Abyss...!"

"Cindy, calm down for a second."

Beta kept going even after Delta tried to quiet her, but the fuse was already lit. I could see sparks in Finlay's eyes. If it were anyone else maybe, but Beta, you were definitely dead.

"All right. No method left in overthinking now. I'll summarize simply."

...Well, it couldn't be helped. I couldn't protect the life of someone who put faith above her own life.

I clapped loudly and organized the situation.

"Kanisen, go with Alpha and help Azzy. If Azzy and Nabi fight one on one, Azzy wins. You two handle Ebon and his underlings."

"...I don't like saying this, but my skill does not reach Ebon's. Alpha cannot match a colonel either."

When Kanisen hesitated, Alpha flared up and said,

"Commander! What are you saying! We have battle packets, war-suits!"

"Even counting that. Knight Tracker Ebon, even in military days he was a strong man who relentlessly hunted and killed three full knights. I have trained all this time too... but I cannot match him."

Still, Kanisen, who knew his own limits, was the most dependable. I encouraged him and added advice.

"You only need to buy time. If needed, take the explosives as hostage and endure as long as you can. Overall combat power is on our side because of Azzy. If you read the flow right, you can buy enough time."

I said that, but my real thoughts were the opposite.

Buying time required fast adaptation to changing situations. Sadly, Kanisen lacked that. He wouldn't hold long.

...Still, no choice.

People who had only learned Geon and Gon energy could be taken down by poison, ambush, or tactics. If only that colonel were there, I could probably kill him somehow.

But precision qi control. Once someone reached the stage of reinforcing their body with qi, poison, ambush, tactics, all became meaningless. When bone and flesh themselves hardened, what were you supposed to pierce them with? Strangle the neck? With even some precision qi control, they could open their own throat muscles.

Kanisen had not reached precision qi control. He had bullet-deflecting energy, but that was a method for people who had not grasped precision qi control yet to protect themselves. In pure physical ability, Ebon was superior.

Precisely because of that, Ebon had to be handled by Kanisen.

That was the only place I could use Kanisen.

"Understood. Leave it to me."

Kanisen nodded firmly, prepared for death. I nodded back.

Once, with half-baked vanity, he'd driven these people toward death. He had deceived not only the Resistance members but himself, trying to gain glory that would remain after death, and in a meaningless way too, by terrorizing a Tantalus where prisoners had already vanished.

I'd briefly considered just killing him, but fortunately he realized it himself. Because of that, he found a small but real honor, fighting with his life for the few subordinates he had left.

...Even then, death was still the end.

I turned away from Kanisen as he gathered his war-suit and said,

"The rest of us go to the Progenitor now. We wake her. Until now she answered none of Finlay's calls, but we still have a method we haven't tried."

Delta, who had been about to nod, flinched.

"W-wait. Cindy, no, Beta is going too?"

"If you want to leave her here alone, do that."

"N-no... right. If the Progenitor doesn't help, we're dead anyway, so we just have to be very careful."

Delta answered stiffly and soothed Beta, who showed clear reluctance. Without any real suspicion, they each left for where I told them. They still hadn't read my intent.

All except one.

'Hughes, he's the most annoying human here... but among the humans here, he's the most capable. Can't deny that.'

Only Finlay, whose body was skewered on stakes, saw through my intention. A blood-red smile spread across his pale face.

'Right. We have to use that woman as a sacrifice. Judgment for that pathetic bitch who dared call the Celestial God before the Progenitor!'

(Side Story) An Unobserved Story: The Abyss Without the Regressor - (Part 2)

The battle happened indoors, terrain Kanisen knew well. Even so, he knew how to use the terrain to his advantage and could still make relatively tactical moves. While a complex indoor battle unfolded, I and Finlay, and Beta and Delta, headed to the underground armory where the Progenitor stayed.

Before the huge, grim iron gate of the underground armory. Normally, it should have been packed with weapons the military state had built with care, but Tantalus was different. Inside slept a being more terrifying and powerful than any weapon.

Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka.

Progenitor of all vampires. Shadow Queen.

An eccentric who had half-volunteered to come in because the Abyss was quiet and had little sunlight, and a monster.

The solitude of killing humans, darkness, hunger, every reason humans feared the Abyss, none of those applied to her. She herself was a terror comparable to the Abyss.

Fear really did resemble itself.

Facing primordial darkness, Beta spoke in a trembling voice.

"So this is where that cursed vamp... mmph."

Delta quickly covered Beta's mouth. At least he knew what kind of person his girlfriend was. Delta grabbed Beta's hand and pleaded earnestly.

"Cindy. Please, I'm begging you. Watch your words. In front of the Progenitor, don't say a single thing."

"Mhm, okay. If Elsi asks."

'...Right. I didn't betray my faith. I'm just following my beloved Elsi's request.'

Reading Beta's thoughts, I clicked my tongue.

Some people need reasons before they can start doing what they're capable of. Not just Beta. Before compromise and survival, the Resistance was similar.

They acted because reality frustrated them, then dressed it up as if it were for a great cause. Bit by bit they got buried in that mindset until they could do nothing without orders. As a result, without even their own will, they followed Kanisen and fell into the Abyss.

How had it come to this? Plenty of reasons, sure, but if I had to pick one, it was because the unseen became god.

Which was why I became someone who dug into gods.

I'd planned to hold out until Jiseon arrived, but relying on Resistance leftovers was enough to make me sigh. So I sighed and said,

"If we write letters in blood, she might react. Better if it's blood similar to the Progenitor's. She'll probably prefer female blood over male...."

"Y-you'll offer my blood?! To a vampire?!"

"...I'll write with mine first, and if that fails I'll borrow Beta's."

Was it because she didn't want to wound her own body? Or because offering blood to a vampire was a religious taboo? No need to separate the two. Both reasons led to the same result.

She would not give her blood.

I bit my finger. Blood welled from the lightly torn skin and dripped. Blood that should have spread on the floor beaded up, rolled, and seeped through the crack in the door. As if once outside your body, it was no longer yours.

Watching that unreal scene, Finlay spoke.

"You'll use blood as ink to write? An interesting idea. But the Progenitor takes all blood outside your body. How will you write with ink that runs away?"

"Originally, ink comes from scorching something with fire."

I answered shortly and used standard spellcraft with my bleeding finger.

"Set, Ri. Fahrenheit."

Whoosh. A weak flame rose, matching my mana. High temperature, low heat volume, just enough to slowly scorch the blood black.

"If I coat with blood and burn it with fire, it'll stick. Then the letters keep their shape."

"Oh.... I see."

"I'll keep writing until I get anemia. Wow, a blood letter written by tearing my own finger and scorching it with fire. Even the emperor of The Empire probably never got such a sincere letter. Very grand."

"Our Progenitor is greater than any human emperor, so there is nothing grand about it."

'As expected, capable. Letters written with scorched blood should be recognizable even to the Progenitor. This one is human, but excellent. But... then why did he bring that woman?'

It was a test.

Even if I woke the Progenitor in some bizarre way, if Beta did something suicidal, all of us would be in danger.

While Finlay watched, I dotted marks with scorched blood. Start with something cliche first, and if that failed, try a confession of love. If that still failed, scratch at her about vampire age.

No one has a refreshing wake-up. Human or vampire, to wake from sleep you need a stimulus that's a little unpleasant and intense.

So while I wrote a somewhat cliche blood letter.

That pair just held hands and watched.

"Hughes, it looks painful...."

"Hughes alone has limits. Even if he writes in blood, he can't write much. If it comes to it, we should use my blood."

"But do we really have to? If the Progenitor still doesn't react after all that, there's no reason to write more."

"...This is the best option now. Without the Progenitor, we can't beat Ebon."

"From the start, do we have any guarantee she'll help us? The Progenitor is a villain who killed over ten thousand people. She might drain all our blood because she's hungry."

Saying that, Beta unconsciously brought her hand to her chest. There hung the cross of the Celestial God, her support and idol, on a necklace....

Ah, in the end. She crossed the line.

"Elsi. What if we just detonate the explosives?"

"Cindy! Are you serious? Then everyone dies!"

"Our Resistance came in prepared for that from the beginning. We'd just resume the plan we delayed."

Positive sensations don't wake sleeping humans. What moves people who have stopped is always negative sensation. Maybe history is soaked in blood because the humans who carry and drive it are all driven by malice.

Same thing here. The Resistance fought the military state because they were unhappy with their current lives, and Beta was throwing a fit because she hated vampires.

And Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka...

"Do you mean... we all die together?"

"If we're going to die anyway... better to embrace all this and martyr ourselves than become food for vampires...."

Damn it. You can just die, then.

I stopped writing and stepped one pace to the side.

Right then, the door exploded open. The steel gate that didn't budge even when Azzy pounded it opened greedily like a mouth, and a long crimson blood-aura tongue shot out from inside, toward Beta.

"Ah...?"

As her view turned crimson-black, Beta reflexively grabbed her cross. At the same time, the blood aura that stretched out grabbed Beta too.

Crack, crunch. Bones broke and blood splattered. I'd never eaten a human, but I didn't need to learn that was the sound of chewing one. It didn't take even a moment for Beta's thoughts to cut off.

Even a blood tide seemed to have ebb. The blood aura that had been violently reaching for the surface withdrew like an ebbing tide when its time came. After the ebb, nothing remained, like an empty beach.

Delta blinked.

"...Cindy?"

'W-what. She was just here. I was holding her hand. Something warm splashed, then....'

He called his lover's name, but no answer came back. Unable to grasp the situation, he groped the air, searching for her.

"Cindy? Beta? W-what's wrong. You're joking, right? W-where did...?"

Unfortunately, Delta was moderately smart.

His knowledge reached the answer through logic, that his girlfriend who couldn't abandon the cross to the end had finally received the Progenitor's judgment. Obvious to anyone.

But Delta himself desperately denied it. He rejected reality and looked around for the lover who had vanished from the world. She was nowhere, but he believed she had to be somewhere.

Then Finlay laughed loudly, uncaring that his wounds were reopening.

"Kuhahaha! Yes. A fitting end! In this Abyss where even the Celestial God cannot reach, she kept seeking the Celestial God with the Progenitor nearby! That's the same as begging to be killed! Hahahaha! If she wished to die, she should die! Yes! This is right!"

At those words, like hammering in a nail, Delta turned his head with blazing anger.

"You...! Finlay...!"

"He's right. If you commit suicide, you die. No matter how I think about it, dying was right."

When I said that coldly, Delta looked like he'd been hit over the head. I ignored his gaze and pulled the stakes out of Finlay. Freed, Finlay regenerated his wounds and said,

"Did you expect this?"

"To some extent. I'd hoped my blood letter would be enough."

"Kuhahaha! As expected, I like you! I've changed my mind, Hughes! I had planned to beg the Progenitor to kill everyone, but I'll let only you live!"

Ridiculous. Why would whether I live or die depend on you? It depends on me.

"No need. You think if you beg for my death, the Progenitor will listen? Is she your errand girl?"

"W-what?"

"Stop yapping, the door is open, let's go in first."

I strode through the wide-open gate. Finlay stood dumb for a moment, then hurried after me.

A little after we entered, Delta followed behind me with weak steps. What he was thinking as he entered... was still unclear.

The Progenitor's residence itself was blasphemy toward the Celestial God. Beautiful murals were soaked in blood and gleamed eerily, and calm candle flames burned in ominous blood-red light.

Feeling our way through darkness where only our feet were barely visible, we reached the Progenitor's chamber at the end.

[I called you here purely out of curiosity.]

Though awake, the Progenitor had still not risen. She lay in her coffin and showed herself only through voice.

With pure curiosity, she asked me.

[Did you provoke me by offering that pathetic believer as sacrifice, or did you try to wake me with that absurd love letter? I could not return to sleep out of curiosity. What in the world was your intent?]

"Love letter? You bastard, what did you write in blood?"

I answered casually.

"I've admired you for a long time. Please show me at least that beautiful face. That's what I wrote."

"Youuu bastaaard! How daaaare!"

[Silence.]

At one word from the Progenitor, Finlay shut his mouth. Not voluntary silence. The Progenitor's command, which controlled every drop of vampire blood, was absolute. Until she allowed it, Finlay could not open his mouth.

'What a pleasant child. How long has it been since someone answered me clearly without trembling in fear even before me.'

Inside the coffin, the Progenitor chuckled.

[Heh. Absurd. It cannot be sincere.]

"If it were sincere, would you accept it? In that case, I'm always sincere. This time I'm not lying."

[As if I would accept your heart. Let me see. The blood war above is your concern, yes?]

"If you accepted my heart, that would've been my first request."

[Hehehe. Your tongue is slick as oil.]

'I do not interfere in battles between unrelated humans. If the Beast King is added to that battle, even less so. But... if it is only to stop the fighting, depending on your story, I may listen.'

Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka's heart did not beat. She didn't become displeased easily, and likewise didn't become pleased easily. She wasn't without emotion, but there was a huge gap between emotion and action.

All the more reason to be slightly provocative when dealing with Tyrkanzyaka. The more I stood out, the less ordinary I looked, the higher the chance she'd leave me alive.

[For one who claims to value comrades so much, did you not just let that believer of the Celestial God die?]

That didn't mean you could hold a cross in your hand. Even jokes had a line.

"I'm not interested in people who already belong to someone else. So uninterested that life or death is none of my business. They won't be linked to me anyway, so why should I care?"

[Ho. Are you truly cold, or pretending? Fine then. I too will offer you two choices.]

"Sorry, but any choice is meaningless. I only have you."

[You are the greatest actor in the world!]

'Quite a delightful child. Keeping him beside me would stave off loneliness. Yet one thing bothers me....'

I'd succeeded in planting a good impression. Now I just had to harvest. I waited calmly for the Progenitor's words.

[If you wish to live alone, I will preserve only your life. If you wish to save your comrades, I will step in as mediator and propose a ceasefire. But even if you are put in danger while stopping the battle, I will not save you. Now. Which do you choose?]

Certain safety for me alone, or safety for everyone. No need to think. Of course...

Just as I was about to recite my prepared answer.

"Waaaaaaaah!"

Delta charged at the Progenitor's coffin with a gun in hand.

(Side Story) An Unobserved Story: The Abyss Without the Regressor - (Part 3)

I wasn't a prophet. I could read human thoughts, but I couldn't predict exactly what actions came next.

Still, did I really not know?

"Set, Ri!"

Several months since falling into the Abyss. In darkness without a single ray of light, you survived only by relying on each other. In an isolated space with frequent contact, it was natural for feelings to grow even where none existed.

Also, love was an emotion tied to species preservation, so when man and woman had little choice, it grew stronger. Delta and Beta were exactly that case.

Well, that was a grand long explanation, but.

"Fahrenheiiiiit!"

In conclusion, Delta loved Beta.

"Whyyyyyy!"

Bang. Flame spiraled from the muzzle, ignited by magic. Not really a magic bullet, more like a bullet lit by magical fire. Still, the intent to attack came through more clearly than what the eyes saw.

Through gunshots, Delta shouted.

"You cursed vampire! Did you really have to kill her in such a horrible way? Cindy was less than a bug to you! Even if a bug screamed, you could've ignored it, couldn't youuuuu!"

Of course, only his intent and his shouting reached her. If Delta, who had not even become an officer, could injure the Progenitor, she couldn't have remained a symbol of terror for over a thousand years.

As bullets vanished meaninglessly into darkness, the Progenitor recognized Delta and answered.

[Cindy? Ah.]

The coffin opened slightly, and from the gap stretched a pale white hand. At those colorless soft fingertips... stood a blood-stained cross upside down.

It was Cindy's. Holding the cross upside down, the Progenitor said coldly.

[You speak of that lump of blood who dared toy with the Celestial God's toy before me?]

"Cindyyyyyy!"

Bang, bang, bang. He fired without aiming the moment he loaded each round. Before asking whether the damage was meaningful, the shots didn't even hit the coffin.

But Delta didn't care. He already knew this was suicide.

He simply couldn't not do it.

[As you said. Whatever you babble is meaningless crying, whatever you do is meaningless gesture. I neither evaluate nor care for it.]

"Fine! If you're so strong, then you can show mercy toooo!"

[But faith in the Celestial God is different. It is insult and blasphemy toward me. I have always made that faith pay a price, and I always will. If that faith is so deep, then dying to me to practice it should bring no regret.]

His remaining ammo ran out. He hadn't expected much from bullets anyway, and approached the coffin with an empty gun still raised.

"Monster! You're just, just a monster!"

[I have heard that too often to feel anything from it.]

Delta's heart churned. So many emotions raged that even I couldn't read them clearly. Fear of death, anger that surpassed it, love, loss, revenge.

The one wish I could still make out through the noise was...

'You have to hurt too...!'

A single wish that had finally bloomed at the bottom of this Abyss. I'd watched just in case, and this was the result.

'I don't believe I can kill you. I just want to deliver even one tenth of this grief and pain to that monster! If bullets can't hurt that monster's body, then her heart!'

Delta, that only looked easy.

Language is a tool too. Only someone who handles it often can use it properly. For you, who can't even speak well, impossible.

"Yeeees! You're great. Great Progenitor, right! Stay a monster forever, live as a monster till the end of the world!"

I got what he meant. That she'd stay lonely forever, a monster until world-end, dying without knowing emotion or anything.

If he'd refined it a little more and understood the other side better before saying it, maybe he could've scratched the Progenitor's small wish. But Delta couldn't reach that far.

[Your screaming is the same. If your lover is so precious, go where she went.]

Darkness covered Delta. His feet rose off the ground. In that moment, he sensed death.

Truth was, Delta was already in suicide. He had stepped off the cliff, and only the timing of impact remained.

For suicide, it took him long, but the end came. The Progenitor said,

[I hope you reach heaven. I will not be there, so it should be better for us both.]

Hearing that not-blessing blessing, Delta struggled. Not because he wanted to live, but because he wanted to achieve something before dying.

'Somehow... even a little, the pain I felt....'

As his fading consciousness thinned, Delta strongly wished for the Progenitor's pain. Even while blood swallowed his body and chewed bone and flesh. Even amid unbearable agony, he wished only that.

A human who had been Elsi Clark for most of life and Delta in the Abyss died like that, leaving only a sticky aftertaste.

He had fallen into Tantalus with a grand cause, found small happiness only after abandoning that cause at the bottom, and still failed to keep it before falling asleep inside me.

A ridiculous death. Humans, beasts at best, know they'll die and still throw away their lives for unseen things like love and cause. Some call it romantic and praise it, but to me it only looks foolish.

Yet.

I was the king of those fools.

I was the broken Beast King who was swayed by unseen things and threw away his life.

Ah. I needed to become normal.

[I gave you enough time. I even showed an example. Have you finished thinking?]

The arrogant Progenitor spoke.

Ah, pitiful being, you had lived too long and tried to define yourself as a phenomenon.

Your wish was surely to return to being human. Why were you trying to become a god? Why did you want to be understood by everyone that badly?

You were not a god. At best you were the king of vampires... and even then, only half, unable to represent even them.

I opened my mouth as if nothing was wrong.

"Now that two just died, I need more. Save me too, and save my remaining comrades."

[Greedy child. Even indulging nonsense has limits.]

"In return, I'll make your heart beat again."

As if stabbed by something, the Progenitor flinched. I twisted my body and went to Finlay, who had bowed his head silently. The Progenitor's command was still active, so even while Delta died, he had kept his mouth shut.

'Hahaha! Beautiful. Yes, this is it! Now this is the right food chain! Kuhahahaha!'

Only his mouth was shut; his thoughts were still loud.

I took out what I'd brought, the stake that had pierced Finlay, and the immortal's arm. As I approached with the stake, his expression changed by the second.

'A human can't harm the Progenitor! Kkhkh. Right! This is right... huh? What is he doing...? With the Progenitor here, I can't die from stakes anyway?'

"Set, Ri, Bolt."

I drove the stake into Finlay so it touched his heart, then sent an electric spell through the tip. Current ran through the stake into Finlay's heart. Finlay's body shuddered.

'Ugh. What is this unpleasant but not dangerous attack...?'

It was weak electricity, too weak to kill even humans. No way it would work on a vampire. Finlay was fine. Just as he flared up, suddenly attacked and about to ask the Progenitor for permission to kill me.

I spoke to the Progenitor.

"Did you feel it? Finlay's heart reacting."

Of course she had. Finlay was inside her domain, and every movement of blood was exposed to her senses. She must've read blood flow like reading palm lines.

The Progenitor did not answer. I read yes in the silence, shrugged, and explained.

"I heard vampires' hearts don't beat. That they move blood all over their bodies with bloodcraft. That's amazing, sure, but isn't it still easier with a beating heart? Moving everything one by one is a hassle. What do you think? My electricity might make your heart beat."

'What is this? Suddenly. What is this insolent human saying to the Progenitor...! What are you plotting, Hughes!'

A reaction came. The coffin lid opened, and a pale girl like drained color raised herself. Showing her true body for the first time in hundreds of years, the Progenitor showed deep interest in this new knowledge about hearts.

"Is it true? Truly, can that move the heart?"

"Of course, my electricity might not work on the Progenitor. You are such a powerful being... but this is a known way human hearts move. If the principle is the same, maybe you'll react?"

'What? This mere human can't possibly harm the Progenitor...! Then why does this feel so ominous my body shakes? Something is dangerous...!'

Even for the Progenitor, exposing her heart to others brought resistance. But not because she feared it would be destroyed, more like the shame of showing inner flesh.

Shame lost to desire. Same for her.

Desire crushed shame. Wanting to be fooled once even if it were a lie, the Progenitor tore open her chest along with her clothes. Beautiful cloth split, and the grotesque inside of her body was revealed.

The Progenitor said,

"Then. Try it."

"If I succeed, you stop the fight. And protect me too while we're at it."

"Should you not worry about failure?"

"I don't waste time worrying about useless things. What more than death could happen?"

Even while I spoke with the Progenitor, I heard Finlay's desperate scream in his mind.

'Progenitor! No, you must not. Please, no! That one is dangerous. I don't know how, I don't know his intent...! But he will definitely do something...! Progenitor!'

But the Progenitor's command was absolute, and Finlay had to keep his mouth shut. She had not permitted him.

I gave Finlay a small smile only he could see and walked to the Progenitor, hiding something fatal in my crackling hand.

Today was a day everyone's wish came true.

The Progenitor would recover the emotion she had long dreamed of, and as Finlay wished, she would end long seclusion and go out into the world.

Humans were creatures who killed themselves for unseen things. It wasn't logical, wasn't rational, far from ordinary beasts....

Still, I was their king.

Kanisen, who fought Ebon, died with his chest pierced through. Alpha bled out after losing an arm. The two had awakened immortals as allies, but immortals on this land without earth energy were broken scrap without fuel. They couldn't rival Ebon's claw.

With Nabi, the colonel pressured Azzy. Unable to attack humans, Azzy couldn't use front paws or hind paws and only took hits, then finally collapsed bleeding.

Ebon had achieved his objective, but anxiety running down his spine made his body tremble.

Kanisen and Alpha looked exactly like they were buying time. Then the remaining personnel were clearly doing something that needed time. Ebon didn't need long to guess.

"Could they be trying to wake the Progenitor...."

Blood flowing from Kanisen and Alpha's corpses crawled on the floor toward somewhere. Following the blood traces to the underground armory, Ebon muttered.

Colonel Grunt McKinsey, Ebon's adjutant and trusted subordinate, heard it and replied.

"What are you worried about? I heard the Progenitor does not interfere in human disputes."

"She doesn't stay out because principle is absolute. She made that principle because she doesn't want to interfere. What would a Progenitor who insults even gods fear? I don't think she'll break principle over ordinary matters, but those mad enough to try waking her, I have no idea what they'll do."

"The Progenitor didn't react even when the military state buried her in the Abyss. How could they wake her?"

As if answering that question, a voice came from beyond the steel gate.

"What about immortal flesh?"

Ebon turned toward the sound. He saw a huge steel gate painted with blood patterns. Crimson energy had been seeping into the cracks as if filling them, then suddenly dispersed and the gate burst open.

A man holding something black staggered out.

Ebon recognized him. A prisoner thrown in after the prison break incident by Colonel Rancart. For Jiseon's plan, someone had to set foot in Tantalus and stay alive, so they had grabbed a light offender recently arrested and awaiting trial and shoved him in. That was possible because Colonel Rancart had taken all dangerous prisoners out.

He had heard the prisoner was a minor criminal.

Then what was this?

'What is this sense of wrongness?'

Observing him, Ebon recognized what the man held.

'The immortal's arm...?'

The man with blood on his face waved the arm that wasn't his at Ebon. Ebon didn't know why, but the sight gave him chills.

"Hello, Ebon Crimsonwild. Well-fed cat. Nice to meet you."

[Hiiihiiiiing!]

Then hoofbeats approached from beyond the opened gate. A giant blood-red horse shoved through the corridor and burst out. Ebon tensed.

'Blood horse Rallion... the Progenitor's thrall! Did they really wake the Progenitor! But...?'

The blood horse rolled its eyes and... ignored Ebon completely, glaring at the man. Horses were relatively gentle creatures, but that face held immense rage and killing intent. Surely, if Rallion touched him, that young man would be crushed.

Right before raging Rallion rammed the man.

The man stretched his left hand. Cloth spread wide beside him. The fluttering cloth before its eyes pulled Rallion's gaze for a moment.

At the same time, with the immortal's arm in his right hand, the man rubbed the ground. Black flesh crumbled and scattered there, and when Rallion's hoof landed on it, it melted and slipped.

Precise movement like a matador. Rallion barely missed the young man and flew far away, right toward where Nabi was.

Nabi jumped and hissed.

"Nyaaaaak! Weird horse, nya! Smells like blood, gross, nya!"

[Phihiihing!]

With two beasts suddenly fighting behind him, the man walked forward slowly. Whatever the bewildering scene, Ebon regained calm.

'Blood horse Rallion is the Progenitor's thrall. It attacked him, so he likely failed to make the Progenitor his ally. Then there's nothing to fear.'

"Looks like your final gamble failed. I'll pray for your...."

"So you're chasing unseen things too? Hahaha. Wonderful. How warm does your back have to be, how full your stomach, to burn human lives searching for meaning in your own existence?"

Ebon's calm soon vanished. He hardened his face and asked back.

"...What do you mean?"

"At first, you weren't like this. You had only the instinct to survive and hostility toward enemies. With those two, you fiercely defeated the kingdom and became a general, a cat with a warm back and full belly."

The man said what he wanted, but each line touched Ebon's life, so he couldn't dismiss it.

"Now there are no enemies left, so you go looking for enemies. You try to fight your own past. You cling to useless things you can't even consume, kill your men and kill yourself for them. What an elegant hobby."

"You...!"

"You're definitely human, Ebon Crimsonwild! Because only humans stake their lives on the pathetic wish to be recognized as human!"

The man burst into mad laughter. At the same time, the air changed color.

Darkness writhed ominously.

Blood boiled with anxiety.

Something was happening. No, it had already happened. What remained of Ebon's beast instinct screamed that.

"You bastard. What did you do?!"

"Hahahahahahahaha! You'll know soon!"

[Aaaaaaaah! It hurts, it hurts!]

As he said, a scream came from deep darkness. The one sobbing in pain... was Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka.

Ebon's body froze. The Progenitor had an immortal body. Even a stake in the heart should mean nothing. Yet this man... somehow made the Progenitor suffer.

"Looks like the Progenitor slept too long and lost immunity! She's having a heart allergy meltdown! Watch out for seizures and hysteria, everyone!"

[You dare...! You daaaare...!]

"Hahahahaha! How does it feel to be alive, Tyrkanzyaka? Amazing, right? Thrilling, right? It's my gift! A gift for you, who wanted to feel alive!"

Boom. A giant arm made of blood smashed through the steel gate and shot out. It looked like a demon had thrust only one arm out of a hell pit. The dripping crimson arm groped the floor as if searching for someone.

[I will not forgive, I will not forgiiive! I will never forgive you!]

"If life is pain, then pain is life! No need to thank me. Making wishes come true is my role!"

The demon arm sensed his voice and clenched into a fist. In that instant, all Ebon's fur stood on end. The moment Ebon instinctively kicked off and dodged, the giant fist slammed the ground.

Concrete shattered in radial lines under an impact like a meteor strike. Blood sprayed into the air. Ebon barely dodged, but the colonel who couldn't escape was crushed into a handful of blood.

His qi realm was lower, but he was still an officer who had reached colonel. He became a blood lump without even resisting. Ebon would not be very different.

Before fear of death, Ebon glared at the man.

'The Progenitor's rampage is because of him! To live, I have to offer that man!'

Fixing his target, Ebon lunged fiercely. Running on all fours like a beast, he stretched out his arm to subdue the man.

It didn't go well. The man's movements weren't fast but agile, and above all, he used the demon arm like his own. Ebon got knocked away by the demon arm while trying to grab him and shouted urgently.

"Are you trying to kill us all?!"

"I wasn't going to, but everyone here wanted suicide! Well, what can you do! Humans can do anything. If they use that power to kill themselves, I'll lend a hand!"

"You...! Ugh!"

The demon arm swept the ground. Even Ebon couldn't dodge such a wide attack and was flung far away like a ball.

Yet even in this chaos, the man remained unharmed. The Progenitor's voice rang through the whole space as if the space itself were her vocal cords.

[Heaven will not even take you. I will hang you upside down and give you pain for eternity!]

"Wow! Scary obsession. But what can you do, I don't plan to get caught! Nice! Let me give you a mission! Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka, once you get out of the Abyss, come find me! Life's more fun with a purpose anyway, right? Hahahahahahaha!"

[No such thing. You will not escape this place!]

"Sadly, I'm a Magician. When everyone says impossible, I rise to the sky and sink into the earth. Tada!"

The man shouted and snapped his fingers.

Right after, a huge explosion sounded from somewhere. From the management office at the very center of Tantalus. Red fire and acrid smoke shot up, and the shock shook the ground.

Then cracks spread out from there.

In truth, Tantalus could be broken with explosives. Gamma the engineer realized this in only a few days.

Below Tantalus's bottom was empty. Like a lid set on top. If cracks were made in several places, explosives packed into those gaps, and detonated, Tantalus, weakened by twenty-five years of prisoner riots, would fail to bear its own weight, break, and fall into the Abyss below.

But Gamma, who had suddenly grown attached to life, said nothing. He agonized over the fact alone, then later confessed in front of everyone through Hughes's mediation. Everyone forgave him, and he cried in emotion.

But he didn't know.

That someone had independently attached an ignition device to the explosives.

When Gamma learned it, the explosives exploded right before his eyes.

The blood beast roared. Human corpses were swallowed by waves of fresh blood, and bodies that could not be digested were cursed. At the same time, blasts and shock hammered the ground. Trembling earth, collapsing walls. The world tilted. Gravity slipped.

Concrete earth. The artificial ground standing on two legs had reached its end.

Tantalus was falling under the Abyss.

Screams, roars, collapse, descent.

"...Sorry, Azzy. Looks like I can't keep the promise this time either."

And an apology for a promise not kept.

Carrying all that happened there carved into its body, Tantalus fell as a giant gravestone for the dead.

Rumble.

The ground split, and the black Abyss swallowed everything.

And so.

Everything.

Fell into the Abyss.

And into a past no one could ever know.

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