Infinite Regressor, Chapter 436 - I’m an Infinite Regressor, But I’ve Got Stories to Tell

---TL NOTE: Some things in this chapter may not be conveyed correctly through the translation.--- ---TL NOTE AGAIN: WHO THE HELL IS CHANGING THE WIKI WHILE I'M TRYING TO TRANSLATE THIS. I NEEDED UNDERTAKER'S ALIASES BUT THEY DISAPPEARED RAAAAAAAAH!!!--- "I'm not afraid of anything anymore!" Chuunibyou Oh Dok-seo shouted resolutely. "Because I'm not alone!" Some of the raid members seemed deeply moved upon hearing these words. They likely took it at face value, interpreting “not being alone” as having other comrades around. "......" On the other hand, some of us who knew the original context of that line, especially the fellow raid members from the Japanese archipelago with a passion for magical girls, wore a more complex expression. They, adequately cultured and educated, couldn’t help but wonder, “What’s going on? Does she want to get decapitated?” Yet, surprisingly, in this particular instance, Oh Dok-seo’s words were not just a jest; they contained a sliver of truth. Indeed, Oh Dok-seo was not alone. -You crazy miko! A voice, distorted by the speakers, roared. The sound came from a laptop tucked under Oh Dok-seo's arm. Soon, a petite pixelated chibi lady jumped off the laptop screen and, in an instant, her body expanded to the size of a real person. -Please, stop piling on the clichés already! Do you have any idea how hard I'm working behind the scenes because of you?! The identity of the furious white-haired girl was... well, there was no point in hiding it. There stood the former admin of "Infinite Metagame," once capable of mocking the world and sending horrors into trembling fits. "Wow." Oh Dok-seo nodded in faux welcome. "Who do we have here? The loser of a bygone era." Her hands remained naturally clasped as if in greeting due to being bound to her twin sister, but even in another circumstance, her greeting wouldn’t have likely been any more formal. Infinite Metagame frowned at the rudeness. -Hmph? Silence, you fool of a minor deity trying to curry favor with mere humans. “Whoa! Your brutal honesty hurts so much. But it’s a bit wasted... It would’ve stung more if those words didn’t come from someone who once begged a human to spare them with all their powers and dignity surrendered.” -...... “Meanwhile, I've long joined up and earned my human certification. You, however, spent all you had and submitted a surrender document. Now, even if the punitive war is over, you’d barely be a 1 thousand viewer virtual tuber at best?” -...... “Hahahahaha!” Infinite Metagame trembled at the bold exchange of words between them. Luckily, red tendrils of flesh were surging from all directions. The noise was so deafening, and the raid members were preoccupied with reorganizing their formation, relying on the barrier that Dok-seo deployed. Oh Dok-seo shouted. “Hey! Infinite Metagame! We’re running low on power here!” -Huh. How’d I end up with this miko as my fate... “Shut up and do something about the tendrils! They’re all enhanced with special effects, making them overwhelming!” -Yes, yes, I got it. Their relationship held a different hue from what I was accustomed to witnessing. I could infer the reason. ‘Indeed. Those two have been through countless iterations together, opening new paths.’ For Oh Dok-seo, who had to run around alone to thwart the tragedy of June 17th, the god of exclusion trapped inside the laptop would have been her first companion. Originally, the term "companion" wouldn’t have been applied... But thanks to me, Infinite Metagame had progressed significantly towards humanization. Sharing countless trials and deaths together, they could only become special to each other. ‘There are still stories unknown to me. Even here, where I claim as my own mythical territory.’ Of course, there are tales I do know. “Samcheon World.” Dang Seo-rin raised her broom. “We won’t get anywhere by just defending. We'll carve a path forward. Everyone, follow me.” “Yes!” Members of the Samcheon World unit formed a squad and soared into the sky. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa...! An innumerable barrage of tendrils suddenly altered their course to intercept the witches of the Samcheon World. Even the slightest hesitation could lead to death under the relentless waves of tendrils, yet the witches’ flight never ceased. In a dizzying, yet expertly trained maneuver born from countless drills and battles, the witches from Samcheon World etched geometric flight paths into the sky. Even facing opponents reincarnated through billions of lifetimes, the mission given to humanity’s frontline was essentially the same. Whether battling against the ten scourges or shooting down meteor showers. They were to be the first to conquer the sky. “What are you all doing!? Move forward with Oh Dok-seo! Use the barrier as a shield and advance! Ah, seriously. Sister! Don't just stand there, move with me!” “Aah. I’m a support role strategist…” “Hurry!” Baekhwa Girls High rallied forward. If each witch of the Samcheon World was a pilot adorning the night sky with starlight, then the warriors of Baekhwa surged forward like Roman soldiers, with shields at the forefront. In the sky and on the ground. Both sides attacked the red flesh, each halving its mass. Humanity’s armies gradually pressed towards the horizon where the external gods resided. ‘They’re fighting well.’ They were never a mere force to be treated as extras. They too had briefly regained their past life memories. ‘They are humanity’s greatest veterans.’ My life as a regressor guaranteed it. Through countless regressions, I’d never once insisted on clearing the game 'alone' or 'solo.' ‘Perhaps, for this very moment...’ I raised them. ‘Was it all inevitable?’ When we defended Busan. When we occupied Sejong. When we reclaimed Seoul. When we secured Pyongyang. When we guarded Shinui-ju. “This is more doable than I thought!” “Wow, what was that? Axes just appeared out of nowhere.” “Time stop, idiot! It’s the Saintess’s doing!” “If you end up slower than the broomsticks, you’re dead meat!” These companions were always at the front where I stood. Thus, they could not be anything but the strongest force. Ah—ah—ah—— The witch commander sang. The cape slipping from Dang Seo-rin's shoulders glittered like the Milky Way. The night sky blazed, fueled by the burning of lifespans. ―Ah―ah―aaaa― The starlight in that night sky never faded. Before she realized, several tendrils of flowers wrapped around Dang Seo-rin's body. With each chorus she initiated alone, black violets burst into bloom. These were branches of the World Tree awakened by Sim Ah-ryeon. Ah―ah―aaa― The World Tree returned lifespan as swiftly as it was burned away. A combination literally deemed 'theoretically strongest.' Dang Seo-rin, who once grew to despise plants more than anyone else, was an awakened being in perfect harmony with the World Tree. Aaaa—aaa—aa— The sky. Her song never broke, and it was enough to transform a universe once covered in red flesh back into humanity's night sky. The witches jubilantly raced through the night created by their goddess, their speed exhilarating. "Teacher!" "Senior, we're targeting and eliminating the dangerous powers!" The ground. On the earthly plane, human corpses that had met death countless times continued to fall, dragging down the red flesh’s powers underground with them. Just moments ago, the sheer volume of tendrils had seemed endless—like the sands of the river Ganges—but now they burst, spraying fountains of blood. And yet, the remaining onslaught of red flesh was halved; the saint shielded one half, while Oh Dok-seo held the other. The gap forged between those halves—a path through the skies and ground—became a way forward for humans to advance to the surface (地上). "Matiz." The sea. Yu Ji-won spewed forth a seven-colored sea. "Go ahead. I will support you." There once was a girl who silently wished for the world to simply sink. Yet now, the sea emerging from her fingertips propped up the humans progressing toward the horizon, instead of inundating them. The surroundings became saturated with immeasurable aura. The song raining from the night sky blessed them, and the aura rising from the sea seeped into them. “Embalmer! Seize this opportunity!” On the left, a Sword Star surged forth with a shout. “Do not worry about the flanks, Sword Duke.” On the right, the Sword Marquess vowed softly. “No matter what, I shall see you safely to the monster's front.” I nodded and Sprinted. Each time my step resonated, the aura stretching to the horizon rippled. The happiest of Stepping-Stone Water Walking experiences. Though I wasn’t the only one to achieve this stage, the luxury of treading on the Milky Way reflected in the night sky felt solely mine. ‘Once I slay that reincarnator, this miracle might crumble like a midsummer night’s dream.’ Scenes flashed by in an instant. A certain magical girl, crying ‘nyah-!’ while brandishing her umbrella and crafting her own spells. An awakened one cheering comrades with a lion's roar. ‘Someday, these memories may all blur, triggering a sense of déjà vu in some distant village when I see someone I vaguely recognize.’ The younger sibling, boasting massive muscles yet neither a dealer nor a tank but a supporter. A child conjuring puppet strings to decimate the red flesh obstructing my path. ‘It may be lonely, but hardly an unbearable solitude.’ For they lived. ‘If life is but a dream.’ When I awaken from the dream one day, ‘I shall say it was not a nightmare.’ Nichi-jōmu (Day Long Dream). It was a long dream of a certain day of the week. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa...! Before I knew it, the red flesh had reached right in front of me. Crossing an entire horizon felt but a moment in hindsight. Crash! Even when cornered to such extremes, did the eternal reincarnator indeed have one last move? A tendril shot forth, breaking through the saint and Oh Dok-seo's defense, aiming to pierce my heart. ‘Go Yuri.’ I blocked that strike. As the pressure mounted, the sword in my grasp shattered, even Do-hwa broke. But it didn’t matter. A certain blacksmith who have created over a thousand blades for me each time the world was reborn. In the valley where all artisans had perished, I was always gifted a sword. Unknown to death, nor known to life. Withstood pain to create many weapons. These gifts, tied to the number of my deaths, formed a mountain of blades (刀山劍林) on this path. Yet those hands will never hold anything. So as I pray, ---TL NOTE: OKAY YEAH THAT WASN'T IN THE RAWS HAHAHAH.--- I kept running. Discarding the broken sword, I pulled a new blade from the ones lodged in my heart. ‘Was I called greedy?’ The desperate struggles of the red flesh did not cease. The sword broke. And broke again. The monstrous grip of a wound born from entirely destroying a life repeatedly surged like waves to shatter me. When a person crosses a stream, a cane is needed, and the sword (渡河) that took form as a cane for me had been entrusted to my hands. ‘If I am allowed any greed.’ On the left, Emit Schopenhauer intercepted a red fleshy shadow burst forth from concealment, aiming for a perfect strike. ‘I wish this world is not a nightmare for you either.’ On the right, Hong Bi-cheong cut down the end of a tendril trying to bind my death by self-detonating. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa...! I ran until the end. When the sky, the earth, and the sea rippled, I swung a sword. ――――――――――……! A scream. The red flesh convulsed peculiarly. Struggling failed, scraping for fallen flesh couldn’t mend the crossed wounds. Having gazed into the void more deeply than anyone, it became void itself. Untimely death (非命). An old nightmare was crumbling away. Reaching into the cascade of blood, I found a sensation gripping against my fingertips. “――Ah.” There, a girl with pink hair wore an expression on the verge of tears, her wrist caught by me. She was merely a human surrounded by all this nightmare. Now finally, as her futile struggles alone couldn’t free her, the nightmares vomited blood and washed away. The pinkish hue of her hair slowly returning to its original black, starting from the tips. “Go Yuri.” Regression. Reincarnation. Such names held destiny. “There was all that fuss waking me up every single morning, but it was you.” Since a person’s life is a journey towards death, each act of living inevitably equates to an act of dying. On this journey, there was also someone who, in the end, could not prevent destruction and finally let go. "This time, it's my turn to speak." "Ah..." "We’ve overslept—both you and I." Drawing her wrist closer, I embraced the being who had died with me and would eventually die with me again. "Now, the night has ended." "......" Go Yuri's expression crumbled, and soon she leaned into me for solace. "......Yes." With the weight and warmth of a person, her voice flowed from within my embrace. "Yes, Go Yo-il." Transience (幻生). An alias. Someone's family. Someone's sister. Someone’s daughter. Salvation. Wounds. Despair. Hope. Nightmares. Classification. Outer God. Subjugation complete. "You were always the sun to me." And thus, Someone's epilogue begins. -Savior Ω. The End. ---TL NOTE: Ahem, sorry about that UBW chant in the middle. I had to do it since the original texts made me remember the chant.--- ---PS NOTE: Also, what should the Go Yuri Outer God be named? Transience? Reincarnator? Phantom?---