The Inquisitor III
To start with the conclusion, Go Yuri’s solution of "Why don't we just burst the heads of the fairies 100 more times to get perfect information?" did not come to fruition.
It wasn’t because my tender heart suddenly sprouted sympathy, thinking that such cruelty was too much.
Just looking at my brother, Seo Gyu, who suffered from anger management issues and had his head delivered express by the fairies more than 50 times, sympathy was out of the question.
I, the Undertaker, oppose racial discrimination but proudly consider myself a thorough species chauvinist. My emotions only open a two-way street for Homo sapiens.
The reason Go Yuri's solution failed was simple.
"Initiate extermination."
"Initiate extermination."
As soon as we left the interrogation room, a swarm of fairies rushed at Go Yuri.
“What...?”
Fairies appeared from every direction—hallways, ceilings, above, below, everywhere. They all had identical faces and emotionless expressions.
Even though it was quite a cosmic horror scene, my attention was focused elsewhere.
‘The fairies didn’t use their usual speech pattern?’
Good grief. It was a cultural shock.
Is that even legal?
Before my tongue could express its shock, the trained reflexes of a seasoned Regressor kicked in.
“You bastards! From where!”
Bam! Wrapping my thighs and calves with aura, I kicked and shattered the three fairies charging directly at Go Yuri.
But it didn’t end there.
The fairies fell from my kick, but then their bodies swelled like red balloons.
The small bodies of the fairies rapidly bloated with red liquid, and the scene played out in slow motion right before my eyes.
A chill ran down my spine.
‘Self-destruct!’
The aim wasn’t to attack us directly but to close the distance.
I quickly wrapped my entire body in aura protection and pulled Go Yuri into a tight embrace.
“Ah-”
Go Yuri’s lips moved, but her voice was drowned out by the subsequent explosion.
KABOOM!
The entire Cheongsong Prison shook from the explosion. Although it was remodeled to incarcerate fairies, the thick walls couldn't entirely block the blast.
Of course, they couldn't penetrate my barrier either.
“Damn...”
Everything collapsed. Walls, pillars, ceilings, all fell apart.
Concrete chunks pounded against my aura-shielded body.
“Hoo. Go Yuri, are you okay? Can you speak?”
“Yes, thanks to you, guild leader. You’re amazing.”
Despite her words, I could hear her coughing from the dust stirred by the collapsing debris.
Srrr... The surrounding landscape visible through the dust clouds was drenched as if hit by red water bombs. It must have been the LCL liquid expelled from the exploded fairies.
Amid the chaos, one fairy still floated in the air, looking intact.
“You... you bastard...”
“I request a dialogue.”
A fairy spoke as if nothing had happened.
“However, there are conditions. I demand to speak with you alone—”
Boom! I immediately dashed forward and crushed the fairy’s head.
I wiped the sticky, bloody mucus from my fingers.
“Don’t make me laugh. You pull a suicide bombing, and now that I’m still standing, you want to talk? As expected, murderous psychopaths have a completely different mindset.”
-Caution. No questions will be entertained.
Then an astonishing thing happened.
Liquid from the surrounding puddles began to boil and quickly formed the shapes of fairies.
But they were incomplete shapes. From various puddles, only heads, mouths, and fingers of fairies were forming, each twitching independently. Damn it.
-No demands will be entertained. If anyone interferes with our conversation through filming, recording, or eavesdropping, all terminal entities in this zone and any future encounters will be immediately destroyed.
“......”
-You have 30 seconds.
I frowned and looked to the side.
Go Yuri was giving a mixed smile, both troubled and amused.
“Hmm. It’s okay. Don’t worry about me, guild leader.”
“Really? ...Thanks for understanding.”
“Haha. Instead, could you take me to Busan next time you go? I’m interested in meeting your friend, Dang Seo-rin.”
“Hmm. Sure, let’s do that.”
There was no reason for me to feel indebted to Go Yuri.
-If one survives the tutorial, their subsequent 365-day survival rate soars to 69%.
“So, what? Are you saying you prepared this death game parade for us? That’s really generous of you. I’m almost in tears.”
-We have no benevolence. We have no malevolence.
-Please judge whether our ‘experiment’ contradicts your purpose.
At that moment, I sensed movement behind me and quickly turned around. Ten or so fairies, who had apparently regenerated, were creeping towards me.
Our eyes met.
-.......
“Damn it!”
I quickly summoned aura and harvested the fairies' heads. Pop! Their heads exploded like strawberry juice.
“Attacking during a conversation? You’re worse than Nazis!”
-Mission failed.
-Reassessing your threat level.
“You really intend to go all the way with me? Alright then. Let’s see how far this goes!”
-We must correct you. It was not us who initially initiated hostile actions. You kidnapped our entities out of abnormal hostility and subjected them to a highly simplistic experimental environment.
-The environment was poor, and the experiment’s purpose was unclear. It was you, not us, who abducted intelligent beings for mere amusement.
“What...? Ha.”
The retort, “You were the ones who roasted and tormented humans like anchovies from the first cycle to the 89th,” was on the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed it.
I didn’t want the anomaly in front of me to know I was a Regressor. Even the smallest hint could lead to dangerous consequences.
-It is extremely difficult to subdue you with force.
-Establishing an ongoing relationship of mutual interaction with you is preferable.
“Dream on. Who says I’ll cooperate?”
-Instead, we will disclose information you haven’t asked for. Information directly linked to your survival.
The Fairy King moved its lips slowly, perhaps excessively so.
-The being you■■■call■■■■■ is■■■■■.
A crackling noise like an old radio echoed in my head as the Fairy King spoke.
I frowned.
“...What did you just say?”
-■■■■■■■. It’s■■■, not■■■■■.
The noise grew louder, filling my head with static. The frown on my forehead deepened into a valley.
“Stop it. It’s noisy. If you’re playing a pointless prank, cut it out.”
-.......
Fairies all around, peeking from the debris, looked at each other.
-Failure. The contamination level of the target entity exceeds 99%.
-Abandoning Operation B. Redirecting anger through hostility towards a specific entity is deemed ineffective. Higher-level mental manipulation than the target entity is impossible.
-Commencing Operation C.
“......”
I began to think about how to completely eradicate the collective anomaly known as the Fairy King.
“If you keep ignoring and looking down on humans like this, I’ll—”
-We will share information. Although we did not bring the entire void into this world, it is true that we are among the highest-ranked anomalies.
-Currently, there are seven such highest-ranked anomalies.
I blinked.
Yes, this was the moment I first heard about Level 5 anomalies, classified as “Outer Gods” by the future Library Society.
“Seven highest-ranked anomalies?”
-Indeed. These anomalies exert a strong influence over humans, leading to contamination without their awareness.
-If we compare anomalies to gods, entities that worship them inevitably emerge, whether they are objects, plants, animals, or humans. This phenomenon occurs regardless of whether the entities consciously worship the anomaly.
-No belief is necessary.
-Among these worshippers, some are as powerful as apostles.
-Naturally, as the “Fairy King,” we have human awakeners who serve as our apostles.
I tilted my head.
“Well, that’s interesting information... But why are you suddenly telling me this?”
-There is a high probability that you already know our apostle.
-Cheon Yo-hwa.
I froze.
Numerous fairies, one Fairy King, looked at me from various angles like the eyes of a spider.
-Tutorial Dungeon, Baekhwa High School.
-The survivor there, Cheon Yo-hwa, is the chosen apostle of the “Fairy King.”
Footnotes:
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