Chapter 260

Discord: https://dsc.gg/reapercomics

◈ I’m an Infinite Regressor, But I’ve Got Stories to Tell

The Mastermind XI

My hand jumped to my waist, only to grasp at nothing but thin air. Something that should have been there had vanished without me noticing.

“Hmm.”

From across the room came a playful laugh.

“Looking for your cane-sword Do-hwa, sunbae?”

“......”

“A blade that transcends regression and always ends up in your hands. It’s a god-slaying weapon specialized in killing me. But alas! That method—I’ve already seen it before, you know? A long, long time ago, when I collected the data.”

“Infinite Void...”

“Don’t be so tense, sunbae. Honestly, I’m overflowing with kindness right now and just wanted to give you a warning.”

Infinite Void jumped to its feet with an exaggerated “Oooshyaa!” It walked between the desks in the classroom, its hands clasped behind its back. I readied myself for battle, watching its every move.

“You’ve been a little impatient lately, haven’t you?”

Warily, I asked, “What are you talking about?”

“Oh, I get it. You and I both know the Mastermind is a tricky opponent. But using an Outer God like me for the hunt, and even going as far as to involve that pink entity... It’s like you’ve got nothing left to lose.”

“......”

“Ah, I suppose that’s a virtue for regressors, though. Unlike regular humans, you can afford to experiment with everything. But sunbae, Outer Gods are dangerous.”

Indeed. I thought I’d prepared for every eventuality, yet there were still gaps in my defenses.

I’d let my guard down. I’d made a mistake.

“You didn’t let your guard down.”

With unnerving ease, Infinite Void read my thoughts.

By now, it had gathered enough data about me. Countless simulations of the regressor Undertaker’s simulation had given it mastery over the cosmos itself. My way of thinking, my behavior, my expressions, even the faintest breath or pose—I had been completely decoded.

“It wasn’t carelessness... just a logical failure. Who would have imagined that a sealed Outer God could become the Miko of another Outer God? Neither I nor the Mastermind could have foreseen this.”

“What are you planning to do with me?”

“Hehehe... Oh, that’s simple! I’ll use the powers of the Outer God to wreak havoc, scrambling everything into chaos until I turn you into a Miko who obeys only me!”

“......”

“Oh, relax. I’m kidding. Kidding! Sunbae, your face has been so stiff. You pretend to be human, but you don’t seem to understand human emotions.”

Something felt off.

‘Why hasn’t it attacked me yet?’

It was both an Outer God and the Miko of one—a being at the peak of monstrosity and transcendence.

Never before had I faced such a formidable adversary.

If it wanted, it could easily deal with me.

‘If I kill myself now, will I move to the next cycle? No... the risk is too great.’

At this point, I had to assume Infinite Void could persist across cycles, given that it had already consumed the Mastermind.

Or was I wrong?

Could it be that Infinite Void’s absorption of the Mastermind proved its superiority, meaning it couldn’t enhance its essence any further? Or was it the opposite, that the Mastermind had become a part of its essence, inheriting all of its properties, including the inability to recognize regression?

I didn’t know.

Nothing was certain. The only thing I was sure of was that pressing the reset button now would be extremely dangerous.

I had to assume the worst-case simulation. If the worst was true, Infinite Void might manipulate the causality of the “simulation” to summon a monster wave from beyond the Urals the moment the next cycle began.

Not just in the next cycle. Or the one after that. Forever.

‘Checkmate? Is that why it’s acting so smug, knowing it can’t lose no matter what I do?’

“That’s not it.”

“......”

Infinite Void stopped walking. It didn’t specify what it was refuting.

“Sunbae.”

Its hands were still clasped behind its back. With the poise of a former basketball ace, it tilted slightly and glanced at me.

“Did you not have fun?”

What?

“What are you talking about?” I countered, baffled.

Cheon Yo-hwa (天寥化), named for the desolation of heaven itself, mimicked throwing punches into the air.

“When the world was obliterated by the monster wave. When I, Infinite Void, the joker card you played at the last moment, yanked the hair of the oh-so-elusive Outer God.”

Jab, jab.

“And after that? A grand search of the Great Void! Oh, the hidden research facility of mad scientists mimicking you and your comrades’ appearances! You infiltrated it, pretending to be one of their researchers, taking them out one by one. But alas! Destroying the lab only led to another lab cropping up somewhere else?! Truly tragic!”

“...Infinite Void.”

“Destruction wasn’t the answer. That cunning Outer God even simulated Infinite Regression, creating a simulation beyond simulations. What now? Shall humanity be left to have its minds devoured by an Outer God?”

“......”

“But then! In the Regressor’s mind emerged the final trump card—an ace to be used only at the absolute last moment! A truly devilish idea to replicate that horrifying pink entity five thousand times and drop them into the fray...!”

I didn’t understand. What was Infinite Void even talking about?

“A party of Outer Gods wreaking havoc! The foe taking critical damage! And just when the finishing blow is within reach, the comrades who had fought alongside you suddenly turn to tempt you...! They tell you to become the Demon King! To seize power near omnipotent!”

I couldn’t decipher what Infinite Void was trying to convey.

“But sunbae, you refused the offer.”

Infinite Void’s exaggerated gestures froze.

Its arms lowered, and the air grew still.

“Fascinating. Is that what it means to be human?”

The desks in the classroom still held their bags, hanging from hooks. Notebooks sat open. Indoor shoes were slung over racks.

The sunlight and wind filtering through the windows, however, were the same as ever.

“Probably not.”

I had no answer.

“Because someone like you, sunbae, exists as the only volume in my library.”

https://dsc.gg/reapercomics

Infinite Void spread its arms. The twilight filtered through the curtains cast a slanting glow on its closed eyes.

“Humans are coordinates, fixed points, entities defined within specific traits. When someone mentions a name, we instinctively think of the domain they occupy. And that domain is already at rest—it doesn’t move. But.”

But, said Infinite Void. But.

Its lips repeated the word in a hum.

“But you, sunbae, carve out your direction with every iteration, every moment. At the same time, you embody what it means to be human.”

The curtains fluttered. Infinite Void glanced toward the window, as if to greet the wind. Its drifting words lacked a clear target but instead floated on the gusts, eventually settling at my feet like a shipwrecked piece of flotsam.

“That’s why I don’t love humanity.”

“......”

“It’s simply that I think you’re beautiful.”

From the depths of my recollection, a memory suddenly surfaced.

The fourth basement of Baekhwa Girls’ High School.

In the past, in that demonic lair where the first Outer God, Infinite Void, had slumbered, I had wielded Do-hwa.

The Outer God crumbled under Do-hwa’s strike. And just before its collapse, it muttered an incomplete final statement.

- Ah. Oh, how beautiful this is―

That had been the moment Cheon Yo-hwa of heaven’s desolation (天寥化) was born and Infinite Void met its end. A contradiction—and yet, within the being before me, birth and death overlapped. It felt as though the silenced continuation of that ancient exclamation now reached my ears.

“This is my third strategy.”

The two pieces of chalk I had broken earlier began writing from opposite ends of the board. One piece started from the beginning of a sentence, the other from the end, converging toward the middle.

[Strategy C: Miko's Seal]

* Use the Miko to fully consume the Mastermind. The Miko will become an entity indistinguishable from the Mastermind.

* Apply the Regressor’s Time Seal to the Miko.

What?

For a moment, my breath stopped.

The two fragments of chalk, indifferent to me, carved words into the blackboard.

From afar, their movements mimicked the steps of human feet.

* A being under Time Seal vanishes from the world. While the seal requires the target’s consent, making it ineffective against Anomalies, the Miko can both understand and express consent in the Regressor’s language.

* By sealing the Miko, the overlapping Outer God is sealed simultaneously.

* Thus, the Mastermind is erased from existence, as though it had never been.

I opened my mouth to speak.

Infinite Void placed a finger on my lips, silencing me.

“Shh.”

Even as I moved my lips and tongue, no sound emerged.

This had always been a divine realm. Sound and speech required air as their medium. Yet the air permitted to me seemed to vanish under Infinite Void’s command.

In other words, every word I had spoken here was granted only by Infinite Void’s permission.

“Don’t raise your voice, sunbae.”

“......!”

“Ahaha. I’ve always wanted to say that line. But really, there’s no need for shouting.” Infinite Void smiled. “You know that I understand everything you want to say.”

“......!”

“Silent comprehension. A truth that transcends words. You, who embody such principles, could be said to have reached the realm of gods.”

I couldn’t move.

Of course I couldn’t. This was Infinite Void’s playground.

Ordinarily, it wouldn’t have been able to exercise such dominion, but having reduced five thousand simulated universes to 666, it had taken full control―

Ah. Ah!

“Yes, that’s right.”

The reason the Mastermind’s divine realm, the self-proclaimed Heavenly Kingdom, had transformed into 666 Hells!

I had ridiculed it, saying it was proof the Outer God’s power had diminished and its true nature was exposed. Infinite Void had countered, claiming, “This is the result of your actions, sunbae.”

And Infinite Void had been right.

“Do you remember? The name you gave me was Infernal Hell.”

The transformation of the so-called heaven into hell was definitive proof that control over this divine realm had passed from the Mastermind to Infinite Void!

Yet despite this glaring evidence, I had failed to notice.

“Aha! I was so nervous back then, worrying that you’d figure it out. Lucky for me, your overflowing hatred toward the Mastermind worked in my favor.”

“......!”

“I’m sorry, sunbae.”

The wind blew.

Infinite Void untied its hair. The ponytail that had symbolized Cheon Yo-hwa scattered, loose strands fluttering in the breeze.

“I’m not here to debate strategy. This is right, and it’s perfect. You can’t logically refute it.”

“......”

“Oh, don’t worry too much. I’m not planning to sacrifice my ‘younger sibling.’ I intend to seal myself in time. This is the best simulation for you, sunbae. And honestly... it’s the best for me too.”

I didn’t understand.

“You’ll understand soon.”

The wind stopped.

A globe rested on the desk between us.

I immediately recognized it as the model of Universe 107, our one and only reality.

“So, sunbae.”

Cheon Yo-hwa of heaven’s desolation (天寥化) smiled.

“Make me... a happy human.”

My vision darkened.

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Simulation.

Set Undertaker’s perspective to the 1st cycle.

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Cheon Yo-hwa of heaven’s desolation (天寥化) set as the twin sister of Cheon Yo-hwa of the hundred tales (千謠話).

Searching for the most natural connection between Undertaker and the twin sisters... Connection established.

Causality in progress.

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Starting point set as Gangnam Void Incident, Gangnam White Night, or one year before Seoul’s Summer.

Causality established.

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Simulation, commence.

Footnotes: