The Tales of an Infinite Regressor

Chapter 40 – The Former Watcher II

[Translator – Jjsecus]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 40 – The Former Watcher II

At that time, I had enough reasons to worry about the saintess’s safety.

First of all, the security wasn’t great.

“Another one died…”

Noh Doha muttered during the regular meeting. Despite having been in office as the head of the National Road Management Division for quite some time, his gloomy gaze, as if he hated everything in the world, remained unchanged.

“Again? Is it the serial killer?”

“Yes, it’s the Wheel Killer. This time, they died in Cheongju. It just got posted on SGNet. Take a look yourself…”

Although it was never his character to fiddle with smartphones during meetings, it was a brief break, and Noh Doha insisted, so I couldn’t help it.

When I logged into SGNet, chaos ensued.

-Anonymous: December 24th, Cheongju.

The title of the post on the bulletin board had no distinctive features. It was posted by an anonymous user, and only the date and location were written.

Not only the title but also the content of the post was simple. There were no flowery words, just a single video attached.

Clicking on the video, I saw a man bound in some underground parking lot.

– Ah, no…

The underground parking lot was already flooded up to the ankles.

Pitch-black sewage.

A chair was placed in the murky water, and the man was tightly bound to it.

– I, I’m Lee Soyeol, 29 years old, from Cheongju. I’ve killed six people so far. The first murder was a year ago… There was a woman in my neighborhood who seemed well-off. I didn’t originally plan to kill her. But when I got into a fight with her father, the daughter stabbed me in the back, and I had no choice but to…

The man somehow recounted his crimes.

The video didn’t continue uninterrupted. It was undoubtedly edited.

For example, there were gaps between the lines the man just spoke. There was a gap between “I’ve killed six people so far” and “The first murder was two years ago.”

The reason why you could notice this difference was because there was a new nail driven into the back of the man’s hand.

In other words, someone filming the video was torturing the man. However, they thoroughly deleted any footage of “torture” or “screaming.”

As a result, the man’s confession seemed to continue smoothly, as if nothing had happened.

– I, I got angry. I got angry, so I did it. But I just killed them. I didn’t torture them or, um, curse at them…

A nail was driven into his right hand.

– I’m sorry. I’m sorry.

The man’s voice trembled a bit more thinly.

– Actually, in front of the women, I tortured them until each of them died. The second murder was committed in Goeun. Goeun Intersection. People passing through there to Cheongju often. Not those who come and go with the National Road Management Division, but alone. Or with two or three people… Targeting those people… Nowadays, travelers put all their belongings in their backpacks… Damn it! Those who dare to travel alone without fear!

Nails were driven into both arms.

Blood dripped from where the nails were driven in. However, no matter how much blood dripped, the color of the sewage flooding the parking lot didn’t change at all. It remained pitch black.

– I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry… I didn’t want to live like this either. Isn’t it the world’s fault? I was 12 years old when the gate to Seoul exploded. I was an elementary school student.

-…..

– Half of my life, no, my whole life, was completely thrown into the trash. Damn it. You guys at least lived half your life happily. You lived well. You went to school. I didn’t! I couldn’t! It’s your fault, damn it!

– I didn’t do anything wrong… If I were awakened, I wouldn’t have done such things. Dirty bastards. They awaken their abilities without even trying, and then what? They join a guild and act all high and mighty. People like me, ordinary folks, are worthless, right? But what…

A nail was driven into his shoulder.

– Th, the third murder was.

-…

– The third murder… Some punk tried to break into my house and steal. Me, an adult. Trying to steal money earned through bone-breaking work without a care in the world, isn’t that insane? I didn’t particularly plan to kill him. I just wanted him to starve. I was going to untie him after keeping him tied up for three days, but he, he died on his own after just two days. It’s true. I was going to untie him. Ah. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry! Please save me! Please! Stop it, don’t. Please save me…

The next moment, something strange was embedded in the man’s head.

It was a car wheel.

Ever since gasoline became a relic of ancient civilizations, the cars scattered around the world had lost their meaning beyond megaliths. However, the person who filmed the video witnessed new possibilities from the wreckage of discarded cars.

“He’s dead.”

“Yes. He went down cleanly. No. He went down filthy…?”

The trademark of the serial killer.

The culprit always drove a nail into the victim’s skull after killing them. And then they placed a car wheel on the nail.

Known as the ‘Wheel Killer.’ Or simply ‘Wheel.’

“Isn’t this the 16th already?”

“That’s about it. Actually, when you just take the videos, there are about 16, but there are likely many more murders that weren’t posted as videos. Last time, we found a body with a wheel attached to the head, but that person never appeared in any of the videos…”

The killer’s signature left no anonymity with ‘Anonymous’.

In other words, becoming a ‘named’ figure in the community was inevitable.

-[Baekhwa] 6thGradeHighSchooler: I’m so scared… ㅠ_ㅠ)

-Anonymous: Wow, as expected of the Wheel Master. Nice shot today too.

-[Yull Nation] Investigator: Is this cooperation or is it the self-justification of a malicious cult member? It’s really hard for me to judge.

└KoreanVillage: Template

-Anonymous: The murder of a woman in Chungju, even if it was a case from a year ago, I think I know what that’s about? At the time, the body was so brutally mutilated that rumors spread in the Chungju area.

-Anonymous: I support you. Kill more.

-dolLHoUse: Neutral.

-[Three Thousand Worlds] Officer: Where is Chungju guild managing? If there hadn’t been a wheel, they wouldn’t have caught that guy. Can’t they even manage security properly? Awakeneds belonging to that guild should be ashamed.

Real-time comments were being posted on the bulletin board.

“I’m back… Huh? What’s wrong with the atmosphere?”

Just then, Seo Gyu opened the door and entered the conference room.

The regular meeting consisted of Noh Doha, me, and Saintess, but sometimes Seo Gyu participated too. If Noh Doha controlled the surface road network, Seo Gyu managed the underground road network.

“Seo Gyu. The Wheel Killer posted another message.”

“Ah…”

Seo Gyu made a subtle expression. It seemed apologetic, as if he had no face.

“Should we delete it?”

“No, looking at public opinion, if we delete it arbitrarily, it might backfire. But is this anonymous person really so difficult to track down?”

“Yes, for now, they’re not a regular member… I checked their access logs, and they only log in when they post something, they don’t even access SGnet the rest of the time.”

“The reaction from the comments is high, so it means they’re not the type to commit crimes because of the reactions.”

“Yeah. Maybe they don’t even read the comments at all. Or maybe they have a very unique hiding skill that my abilities can’t catch.”

“…That’s also possible.”

I nodded.

There were indeed a variety of abilities in the world.

“Talking about the murderer?”

The Saintess followed Seo Gyu in. They both had left the conference room for a moment during the break and came back.

“Oh, yes.”

“I just saw the post on SGnet too.”

The Saintess took her seat. As usual, she spoke with an expressionless face.

“They accessed SGnet and posted a message, so it’s clear that they’re an Awakened… But no matter how much I continue to use Clairvoyance, for some reason, the culprit doesn’t appear in my sight.”

So, it’s probably an ability in the Concealment category.

“It’s puzzling.”

After the meeting ended that day and Seo Gyu left, the three of us entered another crisis meeting.

The topic of the meeting was, of course, the Wheel Killer.

“Since the public order has collapsed anyway, there’s no way to prevent private sanctions. There’s no justification or reason. The problem is…”

“Is there any guarantee that this murderer is truly a good person?”

Noh Doha continued the conversation.

“So far, they’ve only dealt with clear villains. But with the same ability, they could kill someone else without anyone knowing. Maybe they’ve already killed someone and just haven’t attached a wheel to the body yet…”

“…”

“It’s necessary for us to at least understand who this person is. Are you saying this type of murderer appearing is unprecedented for us Awakeneds?”

“Yes. It’s the first time in my lifetime. It is not that surprising, as this is the first time that a run has progressed so steadily until it’s 16th year.”

This run was lucky in many ways.

Usually by this point, beings known as Outsiders would interfere with our world and cause chaos. But for some reason, the 107th run was quiet.

A miraculous run.

Therefore, it was even more precious.

“Then, Doctor Jang, as an Awakened, please try to find out at least some detailed information about the culprit this time… So we can plan how to deal with it in the future, whether by negotiation or elimination…”

“That’s what I planned to do anyway.”

“Some guild leaders suspect that the Wheel Killer might be an assassin raised by us. If we had such an assassin, things would have been much easier, sigh…”

We were doing our best.

By the 16th year, the National Road Management Authority had successfully connected almost all major cities with primary roads.

While guild leaders in each city acted like feudal lords, the ones ruling over them were the lords of the National Road Management Authority. Since they monopolized the distribution network connecting city to city, it was a natural conclusion.

Above all, the current largest city in the peninsula, Busan, fell into the hands of the Three Thousand Worlds guild leader, Tang Seorin. As mentioned before, Tang Seorin was one of the key figures who contributed to the founding of the National Road Management Authority and was extremely favorable to us.

[Translator – Jjsecus]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Her influence was powerful enough that she could potentially rule as the lord of guild leaders herself. Having her cooperation meant no one could ignore the National Road Management Authority. It’s akin to the French royal family securing the loyalty of Burgundy in the Middle Ages.

Yet, despite this, the limitations of the National Road Management Authority were evident.

We couldn’t take responsibility for the security of the entire Korean Peninsula. We couldn’t handle administration. We couldn’t manage judiciary affairs.

In essence, we couldn’t even govern the whole peninsula. At best, we controlled the lines connecting city to city.

Where the spider’s web didn’t reach, monsters and anomalies always lurked in the void.

Whenever they tore through the web and encroached upon humanity’s territory, I had to respond. While the power of the National Road Management Authority was considerable, moving as swiftly as I did was still challenging.

A fundamental reason was my lack of time.

“I don’t have the capacity. I just don’t.”

“… ”

After the meeting ended, we each returned to our lodgings.

The reason I turned back at this point was purely capricious.

Since Saintess concluded her training at the secluded retreat and started wandering outside, my visits to the Yongsan Dongbinggo neighborhood, which used to be Saintess’s base, had dwindled.

Even if the Saintess herself didn’t care at all, it didn’t look good for a man to frequent a woman’s home too often when she lived alone. It couldn’t be helped before when Saintess was holed up at home, but circumstances had changed.

We could communicate telepathically at any time.

‘But because of the Wheel Killer, Saintess must be feeling complicated.’

More than anyone, she was stringent about ethics.

The reason we were cautious about private sanctions even in a situation where public authority had crumbled was simple. In a place without a system, one person’s deviation could cause a major mistake.

The reason for different individuals making judgments in the first, second, and third stages also had something to do with these circumstances. One human couldn’t be expected to be absolutely fair and just forever.

With various complaints like this, Saintess’s head must have been spinning too.

‘I’ve got a precious fish now. She’ll be happy if I give it as a present.’

December 24th. Christmas Eve.

I put tropical fish in a plastic bag and headed to Dongbinggo.

A silent touch settled on my forehead. White snowflakes. The snowy path from last night had turned into a snowy road again.

“Hmm.”

Afraid the tropical fish might get too cold, I wrapped the plastic bag with my palm. I hadn’t forgotten to delicately create an aura to maintain the temperature.

There were footprints engraved in the path leading to Dongbinggo. They were probably all Saintess’s footprints.

“Saintess, are you there?”

Knock, knock.

I knocked on the door, but there was no response.

‘She must have gone straight home after the meeting?’

I tilted my head and turned the doorknob. The shoes Saintess wore during today’s meeting were by the entrance. That meant she had at least stopped by home once.

“Saintess?”

Still no response.

“Hmm.”

…I braved rudeness and stepped inside. The memory of Saintess being assaulted by Koyori in the past had left a slight trauma.

If the Saintess was okay, I could apologize right away. Saintess was someone who knew how to accept apologies.

I entered the living room.

“…?”

Soon, I witnessed an unbelievable sight.

The aquariums that surrounded Saintess’s living room like fortress walls.

The tanks that always gleamed with a vivid blue were now empty.

“Huh?”

I inadvertently opened my mouth.

Raising fish was Saintess’s only hobby. Saintess had never given up on her fish, not even on the day the world ended. This was proven back in run 90, when I was still working as a convenience store manager.

But now, there was nothing in the tanks.

Well, upon closer inspection, there were two tanks filled with water. However, the water’s color was murky, indicating that the filters had not been running for quite some time.

In the muddy water, a couple of tropical fish lay dead, flipped upside down.

Coincidentally, all the fish that left corpses were the ones I had gifted before.

“Doctor Jang?”

I heard a voice behind me.

Turning around, I saw the Saintess entering from the front door.

I looked at Saintess, holding the plastic bag of tropical fish intended as a gift.

“What’s going on?”

“…Ah. I apologize for barging in. Someone I know gave me tropical fish, but I thought it would be better to give them to you rather than keeping them myself, so I came without notice. But… do you no longer raise fish?”

The Saintess blinked.

“Yes.”

“Why? You loved them so much…”

“Most of the ones I used to raise have died, and managing the tanks has become increasingly difficult. I’ve been meaning to clean up the remaining tanks, but I’ve only been thinking about it and haven’t actually done it yet.”

I glanced at Saintess’s attire.

She was wearing a double coat. It didn’t look particularly comfortable to move around in. It was different from the clothes she wore during the meeting.

It wasn’t her usual fashion choice.

“…I see. Are you on your way back from a walk?”

“Yes. If I knew you were coming, I would have prepared something, at least. You visited while I wasn’t looking, didn’t you.”

In other words.

‘I returned home once before going out, and with this attire, there’s not much else I could be doing besides a simple walk,’ was strongly implied by her attire.

It was snowing outside. Even her double coat was dusted with snow. However, it seemed somewhat unnatural. Like, yes.

There were traces that suggested if you brushed the snow off the floor where it accumulated under the coat, you wouldn’t find those footprints.

“…”

“Doctor Jang?”

I looked past Saintess and stared at the snow-covered ground in front of the house.

The footprints, which were previously only two layers deep until I came in, had increased to ‘four layers’. One was the footprint I made when I arrived. The other was the one Saintess made when she returned.

I picked up the shoes Saintess had just taken off at the entrance and examined the soles.

The footprints on the snow-covered ground and the appearance of the soles were different.

“Doctor Jang? What are you doing?”

“Saintess.”

–—It was a kind of intuition.

It was weak evidence to call it deduction. There was no physical evidence. But a flash of insight like a spark flickered in my mind.

The overturned dead fish. The empty tanks. Saintess’s occasional absent-mindedness. Seo Gyu’s apologetic eyes. The double coat. The footprints.

A possibility that had never crossed my mind until now suddenly fit together like a puzzle and was thrown out of my mouth.

“Could it be, Saintess, you’re the Wheel Killer?”

Silence.

An eternity seemed to pass.

It felt like the world had been pressed on a pause button.

“Doctor Jang.”

Saintess’s lips parted.

“You really know me well.”

[Translator – Jjsecus]

[Proofreader – Gun]

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