I'm an Infinite Regressor, But I've Got Stories to Tell-Chapter 396 – Operation Briefing. ON.

Chapter 396 – Operation Briefing. ON.

“Normally, Awakened ones perceive the Void as a kind of dungeon.

However, the Void doesn’t follow the laws of physics, nor can it be defined as a physical location.”

Crack! The chalk in my hand snapped cleanly in half.

It didn’t matter. The chalk had fulfilled its purpose — it had written its final words across the blackboard and died a heroic death.

“Therefore, the Void can also appear inside a person’s mind.”

“…That’s what’s happening to my sister now?”

“Most likely.”

On the board was a little SD-style doodle of Yo Hwa.

In the middle of that rather cute drawing, right at the center of Yo Hwa’s chest, I drew a big empty box — a hollow square.

“Yo Hwa isn’t the only one.

Everyone who lost the most precious person in their lives because of the Time Seal — all of them.”

“……”

“For all of them, it’s reasonable to assume that a Void has formed deep in their subconscious. You could call it… a hole in the heart.”

“A hole in the heart…”

“And up until now, Yo Hwa’s psychological emptiness has been plugged in this way.”

Scratch, slide, tick.

With the broken piece of chalk, I drew an arrow pointing to the empty square and wrote one name beside it.

□ → Undertaker

Blink.

Cheon Hwa, sitting in the front row, widened her eyes a little.

“Ah.”

“Yo Hwa has a hole in her heart.

Then, right after that, a person appeared — someone who saved not only her own life but also the students of Baekhwa Girls’ High School. That person was—”

“—You, Senior.”

“That’s right.”

I’d been wondering for a while.

‘Even if I saved their lives, isn’t the affection they show me… far too quick—and far too deep?’

The first time I became suspicious was when I encountered the anomaly known as ‘Savior Syndrome.’

‘Of course, I did approach those kids exactly when they needed me, in the way they needed me. But unlike me, the regressor, to them I was still just… a stranger they’d met not long ago, wasn’t I?’

Why had they latched onto me so quickly?

Why had their heartbeats resonated with me, as if they’d been waiting all along?

I recalled that question — and arrived at my own answer.

“It’s simple. If you assume there’s a hellishly deep void hollowed out in her heart, everything makes sense.”

“……”

“Yo Hwa has a psychological emptiness that cannot be filled.

To deny and seal that emptiness, she placed the figure called the Undertaker at the center of her heart.”

“Are you saying my sister’s feelings toward you aren’t love?”

“No. I’m not talking about the color of the emotion — I’m talking about the structure of the mind.

In some ways, it’s an emotion far deeper than ordinary love.”

“…I see. And if she can’t plug that hole—”

“She’ll become a monster.”

A desperate struggle to remain human.

She couldn’t remain human on her own.

Like I said — a fatal gap had already been opened in her heart.

So she sought a guarantor.

Because she alone wasn’t enough, she borrowed another person’s existence to fill and patch the void.

“Trust, because you entrust yourself to another.

Love, because you each guarantee the other’s humanity.

Sacrifice, because you give your most precious feelings to someone else.

Obsession, because you can’t let go.

Call it whatever you like.”

“……”

“The crucial point now is—”

The chalk began to dance again.

Cheon Hwa (Elder Sister) → □ → Undertaker

The board trembled — then went still.

“The person originally meant to occupy that place… wasn’t me.”

“……”

“The reason we failed last cycle was because we missed this. We were thinking too simply.

I assumed that once she saw her long-lost family, she’d feel instinctive affection.”

“…But by then, the Undertaker had already taken root in Yo Hwa’s heart. I see.”

Cheon Hwa’s expression fell.

“To Yo Hwa, I must’ve looked like a threat. Not only to herself, but even to you, Senior.”

“Exactly.”

“She can bear being threatened herself.

But if she feels that someone’s trying to take the place of the person filling her void… she’d react sharply. No way around it.”

A more delicate approach.

A more precise plan of attack.

That was what we needed now.

“In the end, it’s all a matter of timing.

Once the Undertaker became her teacher and completely replaced the hole — it was already too late.”

“Right. So I had to appear before Yo Hwa fell for you — as her lost sister.”

“…You can put it that way. Either way, the direction’s correct.”

“But it’s impossible.”

Cheon Hwa spoke flatly.

“Think about it, Senior.

I’m trapped by the Time Seal — I can’t take a single step off the Babel Tower rooftop.

Meanwhile, for Yo Hwa to get here, she’d have to clear the Baekhwa Girls’ High tutorial dungeon first.

But that dungeon requires your presence to clear, right?

So how can we possibly— Ah.”

Her eyes went wide.

She pushed her chair back and stood up with a bang.

“The fairy!”

I smiled.

“Exactly.”

The Tutorial Fairy.

Or, as some call her — the First Monster.

She was the very first real monster that the majority of Awakened ones encountered.

Naturally — she was the “Fairy of the Tutorial.”

Of course, that nickname was just a convenience.

Her true name — the one that revealed her real nature — was something else entirely.

I sighed.

“So, in our world, you’re both a succubus and an incubus…”

“Hueeeh~.”

Fairy No. 264 stuffed sausages into both cheeks like a happy hamster.

For the record, I’d bribed her.

For some reason, her species went absolutely insane for “Champion” brand sausages.

Once, I thought maybe they’d prefer premium ones, so I brought some Johnsonville sausages.

But she just shook her head, saying they didn’t suit her taste.

Weird creatures.

And yes — the fact that I said “creatures,” plural, meant what you think it does.

“Such sweet flavor…!”

“Hueeh~. Now I understand how the comrades of the revolution were seduced by bourgeois bribery and turned into the hunting dogs of power~!”

“It’s a flavor that could make one abandon world revolution and fall into nationalist revisionism like the Russians~!”

In front of me, a whole group of fairies were sitting around, sulking and nibbling.

“You lot don’t seem very motivated.”

“Hueeh~ That’s because…”

“We enthusiastically launched the Tutorial Dungeon, but then our Fairy Lord suddenly disappeared on us…”

“We were hailed as revolutionaries heading for the jungles of South America… only to realize we’d just been purged at home…”

“The wall of reality is colder than the Arctic Sea Palace~…”

Indeed.

Originally, the Tutorial Fairies had been under the rule of Mugan, the forsaken god — or under the Shadow.

But Mugan had been lobotomized, reduced to a lump of power,

and the Shadow had been sealed away by someone on the Babel Tower’s rooftop.

In short — the fairies now were…

“Basically, stray dogs abandoned by their masters.”

“Hieeek! S-such cruel wording!”

“We’re running the Tutorial Dungeon on autopilot, but somehow the motivation’s gone…”

“When you think about it, why should we care about humans anyway~?

If they get eaten by other monsters, that’s just their karma~…”

The fairies were collectively drowning in depression — like a whole race had come down with clinical despair.

And I had a strange déjà vu.

‘Could this, too, be a result of a Void suddenly appearing inside them?’

…Once upon a time, I would never have even considered such a thought.

My hatred toward monsters was still there, frozen in my perfect memory, burning endlessly in my heart.

But now — at least for these Tutorial Fairies — I could observe calmly from the other side.

‘Maybe… they’re not so different.’

One day they woke up,

and Mugan was broken, the Shadow was gone.

Because of me — the regressor’s interference.

It always followed the same pattern.

“I’ll become your new landlord.

In concrete terms — I’ll distribute one Champion sausage to each of you per day.”

“Hueeeh! Comrade Secretary-General!”

“Rule over us!”

“Vanguard of the revolution!”

“Long live the Secretary-General! Long live! Long live~!”

What exactly are monsters, anyway?

Why do such things even exist?

‘Nearly every Awakener meets the Tutorial Fairies first.’

‘And the fairies’ true identity — is Dream Demons, beings of dreams.’

‘In other words, the very first Void that humanity encounters… is the dream itself.’

Human dreams — the primal Void.

‘Maybe a better title for the Tutorial Fairies would be the Fairies of Beginnings.’

Tutorial.

Starting point.

Dreams.

All the pieces — faintly visible, almost within reach — shimmered somewhere in the back of my mind.

‘Could all of this really just be coincidence?’

One step more.

Just one missing puzzle piece, and I’d see the full picture.

But for now, it remained shrouded.

I pushed the thought aside and spoke solemnly.

“What I need from you is very simple.

From now on, I’ll disguise myself as a security guard and infiltrate Baekhwa Girls’ High School.

There’s a girl there — the student council president.

Every time she falls asleep—”

“You’ll use the fairies to manipulate her dreams.

Show Yo Hwa the image of her ‘sister’ again and again, inside those dreams.”

“……”

“Yo Hwa lost her sister not long ago.

Even if she sees just a faint illusion resembling her in a dream, the hole in her heart will respond.”

“……”

“So, Cheon Hwa.”

I looked straight at the girl before me.

“To make the dream as realistic as possible, I need your help.

Tell me — in detail — what kind of life you two shared as children.”

A long silence.

Cheon Hwa’s expression was complicated.

Gratitude toward someone who went so far for her sister.

Guilt, for being forced to rely on him so much.

And joy — that she was being treated not as a monster, but as a human being.

Trust.

Love.

Sacrifice.

Obsession.

Emotions that could be called many names — but never erased.

“But there’s a problem, Senior.”

As expected of the so-called strategist of the Regressor Alliance, Cheon Hwa pointed out the practical flaw first.

“No matter how hard the fairies try, they can’t really reproduce my childhood.

They’re just puppets that act according to whatever they’re told.”

“That’s true.”

“My sister’s got sharp instincts.

Her ability to sense what’s real and what’s fake is almost supernatural.

Will her heart really move for some shoddy ‘sister doll’ the fairies cobble together?”

A valid point.

“What do you take me for?

I’m the guy who once used fairies and writers to run a literal reincarnation project.”

I puffed my chest with pride.

“There aren’t many people who understand both their strengths and weaknesses as well as I do.

Naturally, I’ve prepared a countermeasure.”

“Heeeh. As expected of you, Senior. What kind of countermeasure?”

“A very effective one.

Cheon Hwa, you’re looking at the greatest actor in the world.”

Blink.

“?”

“?”

Her head tilted sideways.

Mine tilted the other way.

We stared at each other for ten seconds.

“Uhh…”

Cheon Hwa spoke hesitantly.

“Sorry, Senior. Maybe I misunderstood you.

If I did, please correct me.”

“Mm.”

“So… based on the story I tell you — and since you have perfect memory —

you’ll memorize it all like a script.”

“Mm.”

“And then… you’ll play me?

You’ll use the dream demons’ help to shapeshift — like some kind of Ditto — into a girl wearing a black sailor uniform and pretend to be me… for my sister?

That’s not what you mean… right? Please tell me that’s not what you mean.”

“No. That’s exactly what I mean.”

“……”

“Don’t worry. I may not have the Vtuber Mode of the Old Reading Witch,

but as a regressor who’s lived tens of thousands of years, I possess the finest acting skills of the modern era.

I’ll portray you — the real Cheon Yo Hwa — better than you could yourself.”

“……”

“So now, come — tell me everything about your life together.

How you two talked, your habits, your quirks — leave nothing out.

I’ll record it all perfectly into my memory—”

“THAT’S DISGUSTING!!”

Why though.

Regardless of the strategist’s protests, the operation proceeded.

The Baekhwa Girls’ High School tutorial dungeon was a den of horrors — leave it alone for even a short while, and casualties multiplied exponentially.

Realistically, at this point, I was the only one capable of entering and performing the “Cheon Hwa in a dream” act properly.

And so—

“…Mister Security Guard.”

Just as in previous loops, after I’d built some trust, Yo Hwa cautiously approached me.

Judging by the fact she still called me Mister Guard instead of Teacher, it had only been a few days.

“Yes? What’s wrong?”

“I, um… I’d like to talk about something.

Would you have a moment to listen?”

Finally! I clenched my fist inwardly.

Outwardly, my expression stayed neutral.

“Of course. You’re the student council president — it must be hard to show weakness in front of the others.

You can always lean on an adult.”

“Ahaha. Thank you.”

“So, what’s this about?”

“Lately, every time I fall asleep, I keep having these… really, really awful dreams.

Like, really awful.

Do you think… it might be because of ghosts or something?”

“……”

Why.