The Tales of an Infinite Regressor - Chapter 265

Chapter 265

──────

The Murderer II

“Wh-what should we do, Guild Leader?”

“Let’s observe for now.”

No matter how many millennia I’d surpassed with ease, I, the Undertaker, was not foolish enough to believe the world revolved around me.

In this world, there were as many circumstances as there were people. Even if these thugs were kidnapping people and tying them to the railroad tracks, it wouldn’t do to act rashly and interfere without a plan.

Instead, we set down our burdensome loads (calling them “luggage” would be a gross understatement) and approached the tracks stealthily.

That’s when we overheard their conversation.

“Hey! Did you count them up properly?” a burly man, who seemed to be their leader, shouted at the top of his lungs. I guessed he was the leader based on his ostentatious gold necklace and rings. Only someone protected by their group would dare flaunt such accessories in the apocalypse. Otherwise, it was as good as declaring, “I’m no longer human, I’m a golden goblin.”

“Yes, boss! They’re tightly bound!”

“You idiot! I’m asking if the headcount is correct! It’s 133 people! Today, we must offer exactly 133 people to Lord Trolley! Don’t waste any precious slaves!”

“Yes, sir! I’ll double-check!”

“Ugh, I can’t rely on you lot for anything. Damn it, I can’t relax even for a second.”

“Haha! I swear, it took ages to teach these guys how to tie proper knots!”

Lord Trolley?

I exchanged glances with Ha-yul. The two of us didn’t need to speak, we could communicate swiftly using our unique sign language.

This sign language, for the record, was something only Ha-yul and I could use. It incorporated Korean, Japanese, minute nuances of Aura, and secret signals only the two of us understood.

[What are they saying?]

[A gang of thugs. They’re calling the people tied to the tracks “slaves.”]

[They’re villains for sure?]

[Probably. Especially since they’re addressing the Trolley Anomaly with “Lord,” which reeks of a typical Forsaken Village setup.]

[Oh.]

Forsaken Village.

The term referred to settlements thoroughly corrupted by the Void poison. Outwardly, these places looked no different from ordinary towns or cities, but the air carried an eerie, twisted vibe because their societal nerve centers were consumed by Anomalies.

For instance, the Eastern Holy Kingdom also qualified as a Forsaken Village since it was a community that worshipped the Anomaly Mo Gwang-seo Christ as a deity. The scale was simply upgraded from a “village” to a “nation.”

“Wh-what are you two whispering about? Please, speak so I can understand!”

Ah-ryeon, who always became visibly anxious when left out, voiced her complaint. After listening to my explanation, she rested her chin on her hand with a huff. Meanwhile, Ha-yul gave her a smug look, clearly enjoying the fact that she couldn’t understand our sign language.

“G-Guild Leader, have incidents like this happened in previous cycles?”

“No. This is the first time I’ve taken this route. Also, the areas near India are usually wiped out within five years, so I haven’t had much contact with survivors.”

“Hmm…”

Ah-ryeon fell into thought, likely devising another of her peculiar schemes.

It was then that we heard it.

– Bwoooooooooooo.

In the distance, a train horn, or more precisely, a steam whistle, resounded. Both our group and the gang, as well as the people tied to the tracks, instinctively turned to the source of the sound.

In a world where civilization had collapsed, it was impossible for a steam locomotive to function properly. This could only mean one thing: the Trolley Dilemma Anomaly was approaching.

“Lord Trolley has descended!” the leader shouted. “Everyone, get off the tracks! Beat the drum! Welcome and worship Lord Trolley!”

“Trolley! Trolley! Trolley! Trolley!”

“Everyone, gather here!”

The residents of the Forsaken Village stepped back and began chanting bizarrely. Their appearance didn’t resemble ancient ceremonial worship. Most were dressed relatively well, wearing suits, though many were frayed and tattered. It felt more like a cult gathering—complete with unnerving fervor.

Well, most Forsaken Villages were like this.

– Bwooooooo!

Chug-chug, chug-chug!

The Anomaly train came into view, close enough to see with the naked eye.

The hundred or so captives tied to the rails were trembling violently from the heavy vibrations coming from the ground. Tears flowed freely as screams and wails erupted all around.

They could have been criminals receiving divine punishment, to be fair, but the sight of infants no older than two among them suggested otherwise.

[Oppa.]

Ha-yul tugged at my sleeve.

“Hmm.”

Nodding, I shot forward from the underbrush.

If Ha-yul asked, there was no question—I would act.

The sudden sight of me dashing into the open, straight toward the train, startled the Forsaken Village residents.

“H-huh?”

“What the hell is that?”

The Trolley Dilemma was a village-grade Anomaly that could appear anywhere in the world. Thus, there were numerous methods for exterminating it. Among them was one simple but extreme method that only a select few Awakeners could utilize.

“Look at me!”

This involved throwing oneself directly in front of the train, before any of the captives.

More specifically, crashing into the Trolley with one’s own body!

The Anomaly’s face was visible through the window of the oncoming steam locomotive. It resembled a train engineer, but its face was a dark shadow, unreadable yet somehow betraying its hesitation.

Fair enough. It was likely the first time this Anomaly had encountered a crazy Awakener throwing themselves into its path.

Shouts erupted from behind me.

“Hey, hey! What the hell are you doing, you bastard!”

“That guy’s insane!”

“It’s going to hit him! He’s gonna die!”

– KA-BOOOOOOOM!

A thunderous crash rang out.

Of course, I hadn’t simply thrown my body at it recklessly. I had wrapped myself completely in Aura before impact. Otherwise, it would’ve been impossible to outrun the train in the first place.

“Hup.”

The impact was substantial, a combination of the train’s physical force and the Anomaly’s unique curse that “anyone hit by it must die.” For a village-grade Anomaly, it was absurdly lethal.

However, its ultimate weakness was clear: if a faster entity collided with Trolley head-on before it struck its victims, who was hitting whom?

Caught in this paradox, the wheels screeched against the tracks, sparks flying in all directions.

– Screeeeeeeech!

I spread my arms and embraced the train, bracing my feet against the ground to absorb the impact.

The Trolley Dilemma came to a dead stop. A single human had halted the train.

Even with my back turned, I could feel the astonishment radiating from the residents behind me.

“Good heavens…”

“What… What is he? Is he even human?”

“An Avatar! He’s an Avatar of the gods!”

And just like that, the Anomaly known as Trolley Dilemma vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed.

“Whew.”

It was a natural outcome.

The moment someone “collided with the train on the tracks,” the Anomaly had to disappear according to its own rules.

Village-grade Anomalies could sometimes be dispatched this easily. However, if the NRMC Captain were here, she’d likely swear, “What the fuck? If it was this easy, why did the world even collapse?”

Well, the pre-100th cycle version of me wouldn’t have dared attempt such a brute-force method.

“Ahhhh!”

“What… What’s happening to us?”

While I had stopped the train, my comrades hadn’t been idle. Looking back, I saw the Forsaken Village residents writhing on the ground, cocooned in threads like trapped prey. Naturally, this was Ha-yul’s doing. While the residents were distracted by my stunt, she had swiftly bound them using her signature Puppeteer’s threads.

“Ugh, guh! You crazy bitch, what the—!”

“Yup.”

Meanwhile, Ah-ryeon stomped on the faces of the webbed-up villagers, seemingly enjoying herself. Though the trapped villagers tried to protest, she paid them no mind.

She really had a knack for drawing aggro, didn’t she? It was reassuring to know we were in such “capable” hands.

“Wh-who are you? Where do you come from that you would dare attack us like this?” The leader, surprisingly composed despite his predicament, attempted dialogue in accented English. His tone was formal, but it carried a distinct Indian cadence.

I brought my hands together in a gesture of prayer and answered, “We are travelers.”

Hearing my fluent Hindi, the leader’s eyes widened in shock. “Travelers?”

“Yes. We hail from the distant East. These two are priestesses blessed by the goddesses, and I am but a humble monk who accompanies them on their journey.”

“Goddesses?”

The villagers murmured among themselves.

I gave a meaningful glance to Ha-yul and Ah-ryeon. Catching on quickly, Ha-yul activated her Aura. A radiant, golden Aura burst forth, leaving the villagers in awe.

“A-amazing!”

The leader’s eyes bulged as he stared at the golden pillar of Aura.

Aura could be wielded by any sufficiently trained Awakener, but the structured techniques for mastering it had only ever been conceptualized by me. As my direct disciple, Ha-yul’s Aura manipulation skills were among the best, even in a competitive region like Busan. The golden Aura, towering over ten meters high, left the villagers utterly dumbfounded.

“N-not fair! I can do it too!”

Not wanting to be left out, Ah-ryeon mimicked Ha-yul’s display. The villagers, who were already overwhelmed, practically fell apart as her Aura joined the spectacle.

Ah-ryeon seemed to relish the attention. Back in Korea, showing off her Aura had only ever earned her ridicule. Comments like “Is that all?” or “She’s just another one of those” had kept her from truly enjoying her strength.

“That’s enough, Ha-yul. You’ve made your point. But can you enhance the effect? Add some grandeur with a subtle Aura pulse.”

[Anything specific?]

“Doesn’t matter. Make it sound like divine decree or something.”

[Got it. Just gotta spout nonsense.]

“…Fine.”

Ha-yul concentrated, spreading her Aura outward while generating an eerie, resonant vibration that mimicked a voice. Though the tones lacked consistency or clarity, they created an impression of divine command.

“O-oh, my god…”

“It’s divine! Truly, an Avatar of the gods!”

The chaotic resonance only made the villagers more convinced. To their uninformed eyes, it must have felt like the heavens themselves were speaking.

I smiled serenely and addressed the group, exuding calm authority.

“I apologize for intervening without knowing your full circumstances. However, as a monk devoted to protecting life, I cannot ignore the sight of over a hundred lives at risk. Why did you use the train to attempt such a mass sacrifice?”

“…”

“The priestesses I serve are compassionate and will judge your reasons fairly. Speak the truth, and it may yet save you.”

While Ha-yul employed visual intimidation, I opted for an invisible approach. Spreading my Aura into the ground, I directed it subtly toward the villagers, creating the sensation of unseen pressure closing in on them.

The combination of these tactics had the desired effect.

“I-I understand.” The leader’s face paled as he stammered, “We’ll untie the slaves immediately. However, I cannot make such decisions alone. May we escort you to our city to meet with our leader?”

“Of course. Please, lead the way.”

With that, we were formally invited to the city—a place that, in the time before the collapse of civilization, had been located near New Delhi, India.

Carrying a massive load on my back, I allowed Ha-yul and Ah-ryeon to ride on top as we moved. The leader watched us with a mix of disbelief and trepidation.

“Is there a problem?” I asked.

“N-no, not at all. Do travelers from the East often use such… mounts? May I ask where exactly you hail from?”

“The Japanese archipelago.”

“Ah, I see. Please, this way…”

Forgive me, magical girls. I’ve done so much for you already, consider this a favor returned.