#090

Fabio opened his mouth, then closed it.

His expression suggested he had much to say, but didn’t know where to begin.

“Why… why won’t you use it? Was this the last chance?”

He looked genuinely bewildered.

Athanas answered calmly, still on his knees.

“Because I believe this current situation is the best possible outcome, I will not use it.”

“…This is the best? Are you seriously saying that?”

Fabio’s face crumpled instantly.

Before Athanas could respond, Fabio began to pour out his words.

“This is the worst-case scenario! We’ve gained nothing and lost everything! We didn’t get any information on the Distorted One, and the clues regarding Adelaide are as good as gone forever! Moreover, the Distorted One will now start suspecting that you possess Regression. Because Andrea was killed unnaturally before he could do anything. And you will be put on trial for murdering an innocent person. What do you plan to do if you’re sentenced to death? No, even if it’s not death and you get a labor correction sentence, it’s over! There are less than 50 days until The ‘Stars’ open! If you, the Savior of Order, are tied up and doing nothing, what will happen to the world? If this were a game, this would be a Bad Ending! A Bad Ending! The kind of end where not even an ending illustration pops up! If it were a game, it would at least end there! But this is reality, so no matter how terrible the choice, time keeps flowing!”

Fabio’s face flushed red as he panted.

Athanas, who had been listening quietly, asked.

“What does ‘Bad Ending’ mean?”

“…It means the situation is completely ruined.”

“And the ending illustration?”

“That’s… No, that’s not what’s important right now! Why, just why won’t you use Regression?”

Fabio grabbed Athanas by the shoulders.

“Actually, you’re planning to use it, right? You’re just teasing me before you do? I know you’re just saying this because it’s time that will disappear anyway, like clicking a weird dialogue option. Please, tell me that’s the case. Please….”

Fabio’s hands were trembling as he pleaded. Athanas wrapped his own hands around the ones on his shoulders.

“I have never once thought lightly of this as ‘time that will disappear.’”

He could have sworn it in the name of the Lord. Not a vow that would vanish by turning back time, but a vow he wanted to carry for a lifetime.

“I am sincere in believing that this is the best. Because you are alive, unhurt, safe… and you are trying to trust me.”

This was the first time Fabio had shown even a slightly positive reaction toward Regression. Athanas did not want to miss this opportunity.

“If I use Regression, you will be back in a situation where you are alone with the Distorted One’s Vassal. Even if what I experienced was a hallucination, the fact that you were in a dangerous situation remains unchanged. What do you think a person who harbored hostility toward me and showed me such horrific hallucinations would have done next?”

If he had been entranced by Fabio’s death, would Andrea have softened his hostility toward Athanas?

No, absolutely not.

Athanas was certain he could not persuade Andrea. Andrea was already twisted. Even while claiming that the ‘slayer’ he knew would never act this way, he didn’t consider for a moment that the information might be wrong. He didn’t even doubt where the power he was using originated from. No matter how Athanas responded, Andrea would have found a reason why Athanas had to die. And then….

Athanas tightened his grip.

“…This is my best. And if it still feels wrong, it is because I made an irreversible mistake before this.

Not stopping you when you said you’d be alone with the Othergod’s Vassal, giving you an item that made you more endangered under the guise of protecting you, and not telling you about Regression…. It is all my fault. Fabio, please forgive me.”

Even as he begged for forgiveness, Athanas felt a sense of relief. Because he was asking for forgiveness from a living, breathing person, not a dead one….

“Athanas.”

Fabio spoke in a low voice.

“Still, I believe you should use Regression.”

…He had guessed he would refuse.

Athanas felt his stomach churn.

‘Even so, if I don’t use it, he has no choice but to accept it.’

He would not turn back time this time. Athanas repeated this to himself. Eventually, Fabio would understand. He would absolutely not use Regression. Never….

“If you listen, you’ll understand.”

Strangely, that voice sounded vivid.

* * *

‘I’m totally screwed.’

I tried to move somehow, but I couldn’t budge an inch, as if I were experiencing sleep paralysis. Andrea’s hand moving to open the reliquary looked like it was in slow motion.

‘Please be empty!’

If the box were empty, there would be no need for further proof. What evidence could be clearer than giving a lover a phone number that doesn’t exist?

‘Please!’

The reliquary clicked open. Andrea picked something up from inside. I wanted to squeeze my eyes shut.

‘Fuck! Athanas! What did you put in there!’

Why the hell did he care about useless details! I resented Athanas for no reason. If it had been empty, everything would have gone smoothly! No, in the first place, if he hadn’t given me that reliquary….

“There is no need to be afraid. I will make sure no harm comes to you.”

My thoughts stopped for a moment after hearing Andrea’s words.

‘…Didn’t he say he’d test if Athanas comes for me when I’m in a life-threatening crisis?’

How are you going to create a ‘life-threatening crisis’ without causing harm?

‘I thought he was planning to torture me?’

The snake wrapped around Andrea’s arm suddenly bit that object.

“Now I will twist the connection and send a distorted signal. The other party will receive a fake signal that you are dying.”

Of course, that’s assuming a connection exists, Andrea said, stroking the snake’s head.

I was a bit stunned.

‘…That’s it?’

Sending a fake signal via Distortion?

I mean, of course, it makes no sense to beat the person you’re trying to persuade to a pulp first, and this is the common-sense approach, but….

‘There are so many crazy bastards in “Die Heretic!” that I thought it was possible.’

I was terrified that Andrea would talk to my corpse, saying, ‘See, Athanas doesn’t love you! Now you can believe me, right? Poor Fabio! I shall save you!’

‘…Because once you hit Madness Stage 3, you don’t even find it weird to talk to a corpse.’

Even without reaching Stage 3, once you hit Stage 1, you stop feeling hesitation while torturing a human who resists conversion. No amount of pleading or screaming can wake the opponent from their madness. Think about it. If a puppy that ate chocolate is struggling because it doesn’t want to vomit, should you respect the puppy’s current feelings? If you do, it dies.

The guardian might feel the puppy is ungrateful for not understanding the good being done, but a responsible owner will ignore however much the puppy struggles and force it to vomit. The more they love the puppy like family, the more they will never give up. Even if the puppy comes to hate them because of it.

A guy in Madness Stage 1 sees the world with exactly that mindset.

Still, a Stage 1 person is aware that they are doing something others dislike. But once they hit Stage 2, they perceive agonizing screams as joyful expressions of gratitude. And when they hit Stage 3?

‘Now they’re the type to fish a fish out of the water to “save” it and then feel proud of themselves.’

Fortunately, it seemed Andrea didn’t have the Madness Trait yet. Or if he did, it was only Stage 1.

‘In the Dark Realm, that’s basically a normal person.’

As soon as I realized Andrea wasn’t crazy and had no intention of harming me, I calmed down rapidly. Instead, I became anxious that Athanas might actually come to rescue me.

‘Isn’t there any way to let him know it’s fake?’

In the first place, by what principle does that item detect the other person’s crisis? The moment I had that question, Andrea spoke with perfect timing.

“…Valentine says there is no such thing as eternal love, and that the person whose heart beats fastest at that moment is true love. Therefore, Valentine’s Blessing loses its effect the moment love cools. If Athanas does not love you, he will feel nothing.”

‘Wow, fuck! Oh, Valentine! Thank you!’

I was incredibly relieved.

Love? There was no way such a feeling existed between me and Athanas. It was a point in time where even camaraderie hadn’t developed yet. Well, I personally have a one-sided sense of camaraderie, but that was built while playing “Die Heretic!”. From Athanas’s perspective, right now I am….

‘…Probably just a group project teammate who isn’t very trustworthy.’

And that’s thinking very positively.

If I summarize what I’ve told Athanas, it’s roughly this:

‘I’m a piece of shit chosen to destroy this world, but I don’t intend to…. I can’t prove it, but anyway, that’s how it is….

I have some secret that even the Saintess couldn’t figure out…. But I can’t tell you what it is…. Anyway, the Saintess is suspicious for not noticing it….

You are the Savior of Order…. How do I know? An Othergod showed me…. Anyway, you’re the hope….’

The more I chew over it, the more everything from one to ten is suspicious.

In my opinion, the reason Athanas trusts me at all is because I’m a total pushover.

He’s probably just watching me because he’s confident that even if this pushover tries to scheme, there’s not much he can actually do.

‘If Athanas isn’t an idiot, he wouldn’t have put his own body part in the reliquary.’

There’s no need to do something that has only risks and no benefits.

It’s an item he specifically told me to carry while I was alone with an Othergod’s Vassal. There’s no way he would have put something in it that could conversely cast a curse on himself.

‘Then Athanas won’t be coming….’

Now all that’s left is for Andrea to pity me?

Andrea is under the misunderstanding that I was used by Athanas without knowing anything. To play along with that misunderstanding and extract more information….

‘…I have to act shocked that Athanas actually didn’t love me.’

This is damn hard.

First, to be shocked, don’t I have to expect that someone might love me in the first place?

‘How can I have such an expectation?’

Isn’t it natural to first suspect what their ulterior motive is if someone approaches me saying they like me?

If you believe someone who approaches you saying they’ve fallen for someone with a charm of 30, there’s something wrong with your intelligence.

Of course, Fabio is a naive youth from the boonies, so it wouldn’t be strange if his intelligence were a bit lacking.

If a country bump who just arrived in the city is approached by a beautiful man he’s never seen before, shyly confessing that he likes him….

‘…I can’t immerse myself in this at all.’

I tried substituting the imaginary Athanas with a female character.

A mysterious black-haired beautiful girl suddenly approaches me?

‘Suddenly it feels like a damn rom-com.’

Chapter 91