The Tales of an Infinite Regressor

[Translator - Jjescus]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 148

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Godslayer III

6

Namsan Void.

The eerie presence that had settled here was known as the Central Intelligence Agency, abbreviated as CIA.

It could also be called the National Intelligence Service.

If you preferred a title reminiscent of a relic from the Fate/Stay Night series, you could refer to it as [The Gun That Pierces the Heart of Dictatorial Power], or [The Holy Priests of Water Resisting Communism].

"This primitive country!"

In the distant past, the Namsan Void was one that Old Scho despised the most.

"I'm not a communist advocating for violent revolution, but a social democrat who advocates for gradual reform through parliamentary means! Ultimately, I seek to transition to exclusive party power by seizing parliamentary authority! Why am I being labeled a Red!"

There was a specific reason why Old Scho testified so vehemently about his ideology.

-Get that commie bastard!

-Target is strongly resisting.

-Director! The target is a foreigner; if something goes wrong, this could escalate into a diplomatic incident!

-Hey! Kim! Just because his hair color is different doesn’t mean he's not a commie! So, is Stalin a freedom fighter then? Just capture him!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gunshots echoed around Old Scho.

Indeed, the "Central Intelligence Agency" monsters lurking on Namsan would appear every chance they got to capture people with suspicious ideologies.

In fact, this Central Intelligence Agency played a role similar to goblins on the Korean Peninsula.

No, in many ways, they were undoubtedly goblins.

A. First of all, there were a lot of them. If you walked through the void, you could easily meet men whispering, "I'm actually a CIA agent" or "My relative actually works at Namsan...".

B. They kidnapped people, dragging them to underground lairs, never to return. In the Namsan bunker, you could always hear the screams of people.

C. If you let your guard down, thinking, "How strong could a mere goblin be?" you'd definitely get hit in the back of the head.

The person most tormented by these CIA goblins was, without a doubt, Old Scho.

The CIA goblins would suddenly appear and fire bullets at him whenever he was near Namsan or anywhere else.

"Damn you, fucking bastards!"

The German man shouted with a thick accent.

If only he could have met Seo Gyu, they would have acknowledged each other as blood brothers, given the realm of sonic arts they shared.

"I am a social democrat who affirms capitalism and liberal democracy!"

What Old Scho had failed to consider was that in Korea, such nuanced ideological distinctions were not expected.

At one time, the works of "Max Weber" were labeled as seditious because they were pronounced the same as "Karl Marx". Social democrats were nothing more than communists with slightly adjusted RGB values.

Moreover, to the CIA monsters, "Germany" was, like Korea, a place currently divided into West and East. From their perspective, Old Scho was undoubtedly an East German spy.

Bang!

In one episode, Old Scho actually died from a CIA gunshot.

It was a death so monumental that it deserved the Darwin Award across all the timelines. It was extremely difficult for me to wait for our next reunion.

After barely overcoming the urge to commit suicide and going through the normal return process, I immediately rushed to find Old Scho.

Old Scho knowing how embarrassing it was, was standing with his hands behind his back.

I tried to approach and check out his face, but every time, Old Scho maintained his "hands behind his back" stance with amazing evasive maneuvers.

The first thing Old Scho said then was this:

"Embalmer, how? How could such a primitive nation exist? How?"

As expected.

Although he always shouted at me to stop being racist, deep down in his shadowy brain folds, the European imperialist ego, which looked down on Asia, was lurking. I knew it.

"I assure you, back in your hometown, Nazi monsters would be dancing hand in hand with the Gestapo."

"Send me back to my homeland immediately! I'll show you what it means to untie the knot you tied!"

"Well, if you want to witness World War I and World War II unfolding alternately in the Grand Void, I won’t stop you…"

"Why is humanity so primitive!"

A typical line uttered at the moment a revolutionary turns into a dictator.

"They don't arrest bald people, do they? Why don't you just shave it all off?"

"Shut up! No one can touch my hair!"

Anyway, Namsan was a void that I had been familiar with for a very long time.

I had followed Old Scho when he ground his teeth and went on the hunt. The strategies for dealing with it were gradually developed since then.

Moreover, since the Saintess' dwelling was located in Yongsan, I had to be thoroughly prepared for the safety of my key ally.

Of course, the Saintess had no political inclinations.

Imposing such a collective way of thinking on the Saintess was absurd.

But the CIA agents from the 1960s to the 1980s were a bit old-fashioned in their thinking to understand the concept of a hikikomori.

Someone who stayed cooped up in their house and was suspiciously obsessed with external communication networks (= the Internet)? Didn’t have a proper job? Clearly, a spy, right?

[Last week, I was taking a walk while reading Kant. But a monster in human form approached and asked, "Miss, what's the title of the book you're reading?"]

The Saintess once vented her frustration with a somewhat angry voice.

[It seemed like it was the type of monster that could communicate, so I answered. It was Kant's Critique of Pure Reason.]

[But then it started questioning whether the book I read was seditious.]

[Of course, I refuted.]

[Marxism starts from a materialistic interpretation of Hegelian philosophy, and Hegel and Kant remain opposing philosophical currents even in modern times.]

[Moreover, I support Schopenhauer's philosophy. As is well known, Schopenhauer detested Hegel. How could I possibly side with Marxism?]

[But the CIA agent didn't understand my explanation at all.]

[It was a very, very primitive monster.]

"Hmm…."

In fact, it was an explanation difficult to understand even if it wasn’t a monster.

In any case, the Saintess almost got dragged off by the Namsan goblins a few times. She might have been kidnapped if she hadn't possessed some of the most powerful abilities.

In reality, many awakened beings and civilians were "bewitched" by these monsters.

It was only natural that I wrote a strategy guide and uploaded it to SGNet for the sake of others.

-Hey, you! You look suspicious. Unpack what you're carrying.

"I am American citizen."

-What?

The American passport!

Through countless experiments, I discovered the most straightforward and cost-effective method.

No matter how eager the Namsan monsters were to kidnap people indiscriminately, when you showed them a US passport, they suddenly became as docile as a bureaucrat encountering a superior.

-Oh, um. I apologize, sir. Recently, many unsavoury incidents have been occurring, so the higher-ups have ordered us to intensify searches.

"Wow. Korea is still the frontline in the fight against communists. Very interesting."

-Yes, sir. Please proceed with caution!

The monsters who had been fiercely accusing Old Scho of being a Red instantly turned into polite gentlemen.

It was the moment when American passports (forgery) became essential for everyone on the Korean Peninsula.

By now, people were no longer startled when the Namsan Monster suddenly appeared nearby. They knew it would just disappear if they showed their passport and muttered a few words in broken English.

However, this strategy was only a way to pass the Namsan Monster safely.

If you wanted to defeat the Namsan Monster completely, you needed something a bit more substantial.

"Stop!"

Like I am right now, heading toward Namsan.

"Who are you? Where did you come from?"

"Take off your hat! This guy looks suspicious."

[Translator - Jjescus]

[Proofreader - Gun]

"Do you even know where you are? Hey, you punk! Raise your head!"

All I had done was try to pass through the front gate, but hysterical reactions were flying my way.

But from their perspective, it was natural. The fact that they didn’t immediately open fire showed that the monsters were still maintaining their professional conduct.

I was currently wearing my cap pulled down low. I must have looked highly suspicious to the monsters.

"Move, and I'll shoot!"

"Raise your hands! Raise your hands, you bastard!"

Click. The monsters aimed their guns at me.

I calmly raised both hands.

And just as the monsters were about to sigh in relief―― I took off my cap.

"Gasp...?"

My head shone brightly.

Yes. This was actually an incident that occurred in the 592nd turn.

The curse left behind by the Monkey's Paw after squeezing out its last bit of power.

The aftereffects of the spell remained valid beyond the 591st turn, into the 592nd turn.

There wasn't a trace of the past when I had roamed the jungle, shrieking "Ook! Ook!" like a monkey, on my head, which had been swept by acute baldness.

Seeing my radiant head, the monsters murmured.

"L-Leader?"

I lowered my voice with a solemn tone.

"Company, stand at ease."

-...!

The Namsan monsters hurriedly put away their guns and saluted.

I glared at them as if even that was bothersome.

Drip.

Sweat rolled down the sides of the monsters' heads.

"Carry on."

"Yes, sir!"

The monsters shouted enthusiastically, grateful that I had passed them by safely.

This was the true strategy.

If I had a 'bald head' and precisely '290,000 won in cash' in my possession, it was possible to wander around Namsan's void with a free pass.

It seemed simple, but it was actually a method discovered through the coincidence of multiple coincidences.

In a post-apocalyptic world, a human carrying as much as 290,000 won in cash was extremely rare. The fact that it happened to be me, who was bald and also approaching Namsan's void, made the odds even lower.

An insanely improbable chance!

Moreover, after multiple checks, it was confirmed that the only people who could trigger this strategy were Noh Doha and me.

Perhaps it only worked because I was implicitly recognised as a 'ruler of the Korean Peninsula.'

I leisurely headed towards the heart of the void as if I were on a stroll. No one could stop me.

[So, Doctor Jang... does that mean you've intentionally carried exactly 290,000 won in cash to Namsan in the past?]

"Yes."

[How did that even happen?]

"Saintess. After looping about 590 times, you develop a habit of trying many different things."

[How did that even happen?]

The Saintess, being someone with a philosophical nature, pursued infinite inquiry. But the real issue was to change the world, so I moved forward like a rhinoceros' horn.

"L-Leader!"

"Leader!"

"Carry on."

Namsan monsters jumped out from everywhere within the void, but each time they caught sight of my beautiful head, they pledged their loyalty.

Now, only the final boss of this place, the 'Central Intelligence Chief,' remained.

This Central Intelligence Chief was a monster with considerable power. If I followed the normal route, even I wouldn't be able to defeat him easily.

Moreover, in this Namsan void, the KCIA, ANSP, and Anti-Communist Bureau overlapped. Naturally, their boss, the 'Central Intelligence Chief,' possessed powers that far surpassed actual history.

But it was meaningless.

"Krrraaaah! You, you bastard!"

Ssssshhh.

The Central Intelligence Chief melted away like meat in a bone broth the moment he saw my bald head.

Just as sand was deadly to Hannibal in Africa and snowmen were to Napoleon in Russia, a ‘bald head' for the Central Intelligence Chief was an insurmountable weakness.

It was a good example of the truth that matchups always matter for monsters.

Indeed, even in a post-apocalyptic world, being bald had its advantages.

[The Namsan void was dealt with so easily...]

"Knowledge is power in today's world, Saintess."

In the remains of the Central Intelligence Chief, which had melted away like slime, I found the item I had been searching for throughout this entire episode.

I bent over and grabbed 'that gun.'

The strongest weapon on the Korean Peninsula.

A German-made Walther PPK pistol.

"Ahh."

This cool yet heavy sensation.

I couldn’t hold back my laughter.

"I'm relieved. Although I defeated this monster in the past, I never paid attention to the pistol back then. It would have been troublesome to get obsessed with Chekhov's gun."

[...]

"But now, I finally have a use for it."

You’ve waited long enough.

Finally, all the conditions have been met.

Since the 135th turn, when the world was destroyed by the 'Logout Game,' there hasn’t been a single time when I didn’t think about how to kill that outer god.

The Zero Requiem project, which aims to awaken Sim Aryeon's abilities.

The method for using the Luck, revealed through dangerous experiments.

And finally, the Walther PPK pistol, proven to be obtainable here.

All of this was part of the groundwork and stealthy preparations of a regressor to defeat the outer god.

So, there is no epilogue today.

Comrades.

From now on, we will kill a god.

-God Slayer. The End.

[Translator - Jjescus]

[Proofreader - Gun]