#076

“…From the moment you discovered this secret space, you began to consider the possibility that I possess [Regression].”

Athanas began to ramble on his own, like a mid-boss villain, answering things I hadn’t even asked.

“Would it be better to prevent you from ever coming down here? No, I couldn’t do that. This is the first moment you’ve shown a willingness to cooperate with me. And no matter how I blocked it, your suspicions about me would only grow.”

Athanas spoke in a tone that sounded almost pitying.

“If you had just asked me, I would have answered everything. You wouldn’t have had to put me through a test like this. If you had asked for my help, I would have gladly complied. Why do you not trust me?”

‘How the fuck am I supposed to trust a bastard who does shit like this!’

And more importantly, the “test” was something you did to me, Athanas, you prick!

You made me solve a problem that you set!

And now you’re saying that recognizing it as a “problem I set” was me testing you?

This wouldn’t have happened in the first place if you hadn’t tried to deceive me using [Regression]!

“I even tried pretending to obtain Regression for the first time while we were together. But being as cautious as you are, you asked me to swear that I would tell only the truth, and then immediately asked: ‘Have you ever used Regression in front of me?’”

‘Aaaagh! You moron! Why did you use such a stupid method of verification!’

If you were going to check it that way, you should have at least stalled for time until a point where [Regression] couldn’t completely undo everything!

“…Since I couldn’t answer, your expression changed instantly.”

I also found out then that the Saintess could be summoned just by calling her name, Athanas added.

‘He panicked then and spilled all his cards.’

What a complete idiot….

Suddenly, I felt resentful toward Happy God.

If only I could have increased my mental strength, this wouldn’t have happened.

“So I reached a conclusion. To prevent your thoughts from flowing toward the possibility that I might have [Regression], I decided it should look as if the person who first discovered this secret place was another ‘Watched One.’”

‘Why the hell did your conclusion end up like that?’

What possible benefit is there in deceiving me so perfectly?

“I wondered how I could mimic the messages you left for other players so that you wouldn’t be fooled….”

Athanas sighed again.

“…Tyrannosaurus.”

‘……?’

“Stegosaurus.”

‘Suddenly?’

“Allosaurus.”

‘What… what is this.’

“Aside from the fact that you react a bit more to these words, I’ve gained nothing in particular.”

‘That’s because….’

It’s probably because the sight of Athanas saying dinosaur names is fucking surreal.

How could I not react to that?

“…So, have you calmed down a bit?”

“Guh-huh hi-ha.”

“It seems you have. Anyway, what I want to say is that I am on your side. Fabio, I want to prevent the apocalypse you fear from coming. And I sincerely want to save you.”

‘Bullshit.’

Want to save me?

Is that something you say after suppressing a person like a criminal?

“…I want to apologize for deceiving you from our first meeting. You were so adamant about not wanting to be involved with me that I had no choice.”

No choice?

People who murder witnesses to erase them probably say the same thing. That they had no choice?

“But yesterday, you told me you wanted to check this place. I felt a glimmer of possibility there. That if I explained everything like this, you might eventually cooperate with me, even if you came to loathe me….”

Cooperate?

Can listening to a guy with [Regression] even be called cooperation?

Even if I say ‘No’ a hundred times, it’ll be undone a hundred times, and only the 101st time I say ‘Yes’ will remain as the result.

“Fabio. You are a very intelligent person. Therefore, you will surely be able to understand my position. I am not asking for your forgiveness. I am telling you to use me. Just let me know what you intend to do and what you are thinking. Use me as your tool. Wouldn’t that make me less frightening?”

‘As if.’

How could I not be afraid of someone who can turn back time and make anything as if it never happened?

It’s a structure where the asymmetry of information can never be resolved, no matter what.

“I-huh-ha no-ho ma-hae!”

“…If you promise not to call the Saintess, I will let go. I want to have a conversation with you. If you agree, blink twice.”

I immediately blinked twice.

First, I had to get out of this restraint before I could do anything.

“Understood.”

As soon as Athanas removed his hand from my mouth, I spat.

“You piece of shit….”

I felt absolutely fucking disgusting. I raised my hand to massage my throbbing shoulder.

Athanas picked up the lantern that had been rolling on the floor and looked at me.

Since his hand holding the lantern was hanging down, only the outline of Athanas’s face was barely visible.

“You want to talk? Do you think I want to talk? You might get information and then turn back time again? What am I supposed to trust….”

“…If you do not trust me, I will have no choice but to use [Regression] again.”

Hearing Athanas’s calm voice made my stomach churn and twist.

In my head, yes, I could ‘understand.’

‘Rationally, cooperating is the right move.’

There was nothing to be gained by being hostile toward Athanas right now.

Suppose I managed to escape the current situation with a lie, went to the apostles, informed them about [Regression], and had Athanas imprisoned.

Would I be at peace then?

‘I’d probably just end up watching Order collapse and the world perish.’

The fact that Athanas had [Regression] meant he was a chosen being.

Whether that ‘choice’ was made by Loclem or someone higher who governs this game, it was certain that he was the protagonist.

Compared to him, I was….

‘…A piece-of-trash Unit who should be grateful just for the chance to help the protagonist.’

In fact, the very act of explaining this and seeking my consent was a situation where Athanas was being incredibly considerate.

He didn’t even need to do it!

Even if I called the Saintess, it would take at least a few minutes for her to arrive.

How much could he accomplish in those few minutes?

He could just interrogate a trembling, terrified man and repeat the time-reversal process.

I was certain that I would succumb to pain and fear in less than a minute.

Yet, Athanas was deliberately waiting for me to reach the conclusion to help him through ‘rational’ thought.

‘What I need to do now is….’

Effort myself to become even slightly more useful to Athanas.

That way, when Athanas thinks ‘efficiently’ later on, the scales will tilt in my favor.

That keeping this guy alive is more helpful.

‘…This act of stalling time also eats away at efficiency, so it’s a negative factor.’

Refusing to cooperate in this situation?

No need to even think about it.

Only a moron who can’t grasp the situation would do such a thing.

Therefore, I had to say I would cooperate right now.

But….

“Just….”

My voice trembled pathetically.

“…Just use [Regression].”

I lowered my head.

“Just use [Regression]. Don’t try to persuade me. Just deceive me. Do what you’ve been doing. Yeah, I get it. The world might end, and it must be so frustrating that some uselessly cowardly guy is keeping his mouth shut. Even so, the fact that you treat me like a human being to this extent is truly admirable patience. You even viewed me as a rational and cold-headed being who would choose cooperation even after experiencing all this, right? I should be truly grateful. But….”

I couldn’t stop shaking.

“…But I can’t.”

I desperately wanted the ‘Blessing of Consolation.’

If only that worked, I could be rational.

But I was already paralyzed by fear, unable to stop my thoughts.

‘…Doesn’t Athanas want to try killing me at least once?’

And what if that ‘once’ is now?

What if he’s already killed me several times?

Rationally, I know that things that didn’t happen are the same as if they never occurred, but….

‘What if this current persuasion is just one ‘attempt’ he’s tried?’

I couldn’t suppress the fear stemming from a profound sense of helplessness.

There really is nothing I can do.

Even if I use my head to fish for information, once I find something, time will just turn back and everything will vanish.

Only the fact that I tried to fish for information will remain in Athanas’s memory.

Knowing all that, how could anyone endure it?

“I understand.”

Athanas conceded.

“Then, before I use Regression, may I ask a few things?”

I nodded helplessly.

No matter what he asked, it seemed better to answer obediently.

I didn’t want to imagine what I would experience the moment he realized I had lied.

‘Anyway, I have to make him feel that I’m useful….’

Above all, I wanted to make him think he didn’t need to intimidate me too much.

That way, he would want to ‘talk’ next time as well….

“…What do you think I should do next time so that you’ll be deceived?”

“…….”

This piece of shit is trying to get the answers for free?

* * *

“…I wonder what used to be here?”

I reached out and shone the lantern.

It was a small space, less than ten square meters, so there was no need to look around.

[Regression] is located in the center of this secret place, inside something that looks like a stone sarcophagus, though it’s too small to be a coffin.

And that sarcophagus….

‘…Is open.’

My heart began to thumping.

“Is there… something inside there?”

“It looks empty.”

“…Really?”

In the game, [Protection] is indicated by something glowing.

‘I wondered if it was just invisible to my eyes….’

If it’s not visible even to Athanas’s eyes, which can see divine power, it means [Regression] isn’t there.

‘I just hope no one else got it first.’

I asked cautiously.

“Is there anything on the floor?”

“…I think I see something like paper or cloth.”

I swallowed hard at that answer.

‘It’s definitely something left by a player.’

In ‘Die Heretic!’, after obtaining [Regression], investigating the sarcophagus only brings up a message saying there is nothing unusual.

“Can you take it out?”

‘I just hope it’s not some infuriating troll message….’

Athanas reached into the sarcophagus, then paused.

Suddenly, Athanas’s face contorted.

“Stay right there and do not move.”

Athanas, having drawn a dagger from his waist with his left hand, scanned the inside of the sarcophagus.

There was a snapping sound, ting, tidik.

“…Someone installed a trap inside. It’s designed to cut you if you carelessly put your hand in.”

“What?”

“It’s not strong enough to cut through bone, but… I don’t know why someone would install such a thing.”

“Did your hand get cut just now?”

“…It’s not serious.”

I quickly shone the light.

Despite saying it wasn’t serious, a clear red line was visible, stretching across his skin.

“Blood….”

“It’s just a slight graze.”

When I shone the light on the bottom of the sarcophagus, I saw droplets of blood scattered there.

My face slowly twisted.

‘…Were they trying to get the blood of an intruder?’

A lot of information can be obtained from blood.

For example, an apostle of Mother God can check the physical traits of an opponent just by consuming a tiny amount of their blood.

They can check if the target is worth offering as a sacrifice via a ‘taste test.’

Even if they aren’t an apostle of Mother God, there are at least five Othergods who can use a few drops of blood in their own useful ways.

‘Either one of them, or someone who wants to be mistaken for one of them….’

Either way, the moment they set a trap, they’re someone who can’t be trusted.

The only people who would put their hands in here are players.

And yet they set a trap?

‘That means they have absolutely no intention of cooperating.’

A sinister bastard who doesn’t want to give away their own information but wants information to bind the opponent.

Is such a person currently wandering around the Church of Order?

‘…And the Saintess just accepted such a bastard when he said he’d convert?’

My distrust of the Church of Order grew further.

“It doesn’t seem like there are any more traps, so….”

“Be careful!”

Athanas fearlessly picked up the paper from the floor.

“How can you recklessly touch something that was where a trap was! It could be a spell that activates when blood touches it….”

“That is why I picked it up with my uninjured hand.”

Athanas turned the paper over a few times, then slightly furrowed his brow.

“…I don’t know what this means.”

“What does it say?”

“Read it yourself.”

Athanas handed the paper to me.

I shone the lantern on the paper.

On it, written in messy Sacred Script that looked like it was written with the left hand, was only this: [Merry X-mas!]

‘…That’s it?’

77 – Chapter 77