Theatrical Regression Life

Chapter 96

HELHEIM SCANS

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Demon God ]

Chapter 96

As Lee Jaehun had previously anticipated, the depictions in the novel were indeed unclear.

The adult-themed survival novels he read were all from the perspective of the protagonist, Jung Inho. In other words, the novel depicted even Jung Inho’s misjudgments as if they were correct. This led to scenes that appeared to be errors in the setting, and Lee Jaehun often confronted the author about them.

As a result, the detailed abilities of the green algae monster were not mentioned in the original novel. Only its large body, heavy footsteps, unbeatable strength, and blood-sucking habits were described.

However, with the slight mental ease brought about by the transformation of a third-rate villain, Jung Inho was able to discern the abilities of the green algae monster.

"Sa, save me…!"

"Die, die, die!"

"Ah, aaaaah…!"

It drove people mad.

"Huh?"

It drove people mad, filled them with murderous intent. And so, it led them to kill.

Jung Inho saw a man striking down with a pipe, his eyes bloodshot and red. As he killed someone with the only item left behind by Director Lee Jaehun before he died, turning them into a mottled lump of flesh, he laughed.

Jung Inho remembered this man's name.

"Choi… Jungman-ssi."

He was the one who had patted his shoulder and consoled him when he was misunderstood.

Choi Jungman was rough in speech and insensitive, but he was not inherently evil. The kindergarten teacher he turned into a pulp had a son about the same age as the child he always carried, and Choi Jungman would share his food with him or comfort him when he cried.

"...Choi, Choi Jungman-ssi...! Wait a minute!"

"Die, die, please just die…!"

"Wait, what are you doing! Stop it!"

At that moment, he looked insane.

Choi Jungman’s face, distorted with murderous intent, looked like a different person altogether. His smile was twisted upwards while tears flowed from his drooping eyes, a contradiction. It was as if a passing stranger's eye, nose, and mouth had been sewn together to create a monster.

Jung Inho did his utmost to stop him. He may not have been a saint like Constable Kim Yeonwoo, but he could have been a decent adult. Because he was a genuinely good person, it was even more desperate.

But he couldn’t stop him.

"Sob, sob. Please, just die…."

"……."

"Die, die. Please just die…!"

The woman who had introduced herself as a kindergarten teacher was no longer recognizable, and naturally, there was no sign of life. She was already dead, and even if he had stopped him earlier, she could not have been saved.

Unsatisfied with the lump of flesh, Choi Jungman muttered ‘die’ repeatedly as he turned towards someone else.

"……."

He didn’t want to stop him.

"...Ha, haha."

It was simply absurd.

The night was falling. For some reason, the bonfire they had lit was out, and even the gray sky would soon turn black. Then we wouldn’t be able to see anything.

Jung Inho instinctively pushed through the chaotic crowd, searching for a lighter.

"What are you doing!"

"I want to live, I want to live…! Please save me!"

"Stop, please just stop…!"

The dull thud of beatings echoed in his ears, indistinguishable cries from both friend and foe. The sound of crying from those who couldn’t bear the harsh reality, the footsteps of those running away. Sound, sound, sound.

And then, clink,

"...Found it."

The sound of shattering glass tormented me.

Jung Inho frantically looked around after finding the lighter in the clothes of the dead body, but nothing seemed to register properly. His pounding heart was the only noise echoing through his mind, threatening to drive him mad with anxiety.

Among all these things, there was nothing for Jung Inho to protect.

"……."

Because they were already dead or had changed.

"...Ah…."

Because they were already dead because I couldn’t save them, and they changed because I wasn’t strong enough.

There was no longer Yoon Garam by his side, nor Ha Sungyoon who used to treat his wounds. Kwon Yeonhee had been crushed by fire, and Kang Mina and Noh Yeonseok had turned into dolls long ago. Director Lee Jaehun had been dragged into the lake, leaving behind only bloodstains and a pipe.

So what could I protect? The weak child who could do nothing but cry? That child was no longer visible. The students in the distinctive uniforms who had fled? They had already become butchers and meat among the maddened people.

'How, no. Why.'

Why did it turn out like this?

The unbearable question made his brain itch, driving him insane.

The time Jung Inho had been away wasn’t long. Without a watch, he couldn’t tell if it had been minutes or hours, but it certainly hadn’t been long enough for people to turn into human butchers. That much he was sure of.

Then why were they killing each other? There had been conflicts and contradictions among them, but they had managed to act humanely. They kept their manners, respected others, and cared for the children. The sudden transformation into thrill-killers was too ridiculous.

He wanted to ask.

‘Did you push me so hard just for this?’

Did you drive me to the edge just to create this deafening madness?

You agreed to my death for a better chance of survival. I agreed with you on that. So you shouldn’t have died like this. You shouldn’t have gone mad like this.

Even if you died, it should have been more moving, heartwarming, poignant, and tragic. Instead of loud screams, there should have been quiet tears. At least then, the thorny path I walked would have been worth it. But this, this….

This wasn’t just a meaningless death.

"Sob, sob…."

"……."

HELHEIM SCANS

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Demon God ]

…At my feet, a familiar pipe touched me.

But it was much more bent, dark red, and foul than what I remembered. It was more disgusting and bloody than when Director Lee Jaehun’s blood-stained pipe had rolled towards me.

The revolting monster reached me.

"……."

I picked it up.

Just like I had ignored the death of someone who was losing breath from strangulation, I bowed my head. Gripping the much more slippery pipe frame, I looked at the world again.

"...Ah."

Is this what they call hell?

The monster, which was initially only Choi Jungman, had become three, four, biting into lumps of flesh. The grotesque butchery looked so crude and raw as if they were tearing the flesh off with their teeth. What could they possibly do with those chunks? If they burned them, would there even be ashes to put in a columbarium?

Blood splattered, flesh fell off, and my vision was painted red, black, and gray. My brain was melting. My teeth chattered, my heart scraped against my bones, and every sound in the world screamed to kill.

At that moment, I couldn’t tell if I was alive or dead.

I couldn’t tell if I had killed or saved.

"……."

Jung Inho saw the fleeting green vines pass by.

Only now did he realize that the green algae monster had been watching all their absurdity. It observed the chaotic, flamboyant mess from a step away, capturing everything within its unseen eyes.

Instinctively, he knew it was all because of it.

“…Wow.”

In the end, Jung Inho couldn’t hold back his laughter.

Salty water dropped into his mouth, and the corners of his mouth curled upwards. When he looked up, what he saw was the ceiling, darkening into black. No, the sky.

Who could I save?

“Unbelievable.”

Who could I kill?

And thus, the darkness swallowed me.

* * *

Clink.

* * *

Hong Kyungjun looked at the pipe in Lee Jaehun’s hand and asked.

“This is a very random question considering the situation, but…”

“What is it?”

“Where did you get that pipe?”

Lee Jaehun blinked a couple of times before answering.

“…That really is a random question.”

They had just finished beating three monsters to death.

After finishing their conversation, Lee Jaehun and Hong Kyungjun decided to look around the area together. Here, ‘decided’ meant that Lee Jaehun, who was close to being a corpse, insisted on moving, and Hong Kyungjun refused but eventually gave in to his stubbornness, persuasion, and threats, ending up fighting three monsters together.

Looking at the sturdy pipe he was holding, Lee Jaehun spoke.

“Where… I just took it before leaving the office.”

“Come to think of it, you mentioned you’re a director.”

“Believe it or not, I’m a director at a large company. Show some respect.”

“Don’t worry, my head often finds itself looking down anyway. But more importantly…”

Hong Kyungjun, who had been fiddling with a wooden club, continued.

“So the people you mentioned traveling with you, are they all your coworkers?”

“Not all, but most of them.”

“…I see.”

Lee Jaehun spoke with such trust in his group that Hong Kyungjun decided to keep his mouth shut.

‘Asking more questions will probably get similar responses.’

To be honest, Hong Kyungjun and Constable Kim Yeonwoo were somewhat suspicious of Lee Jaehun’s group.

Of course, their suspicions were slightly different. Hong Kyungjun was wondering if there might be a criminal among them, and Constable Kim Yeonwoo suspected that Lee Jaehun was being coerced by the people he called his companions.

In Hong Kyungjun’s opinion, Constable Kim Yeonwoo’s suspicion was less likely. After all, he himself wasn’t the type to allow such coercion, and now he knew that Lee Jaehun was a survivor of this world.

‘He’s more likely to be just another crazy person.’

Anyone who had been in and out of this world since their early teens and survived wouldn’t easily be pushed around by their group. It was more logical to see him as an altruistic lunatic.

But still….

‘Is there really no one around here who stands out?’

Hong Kyungjun rubbed the back of his neck in confusion.

‘I have a feeling… there’s someone among them.’

Whether it was someone in Lee Jaehun’s group or not, he couldn’t say.

There were just too many people acting erratically, and Hong Kyungjun couldn’t narrow them down to a single source.

Wasting his mental energy like this wasn’t exactly something Hong Kyungjun was pleased about, but his instincts had served him well until now. More importantly, without being able to interview nearby citizens or analyze scientific evidence, he had to rely on his instincts. In such extreme and primitive circumstances, ignoring the nagging feeling from his instincts wasn’t an option.

So, even if it was a hundred times, he had to make use of this intuition.

In that case, the first person who comes to mind is 'Jung Inho,' whom Lee Jaehun mentioned.

‘But that’s not certain either.’

Hong Kyungjun definitely felt a familiar sense of incongruity when looking at Jung Inho. It was similar to what he felt from Lee Jaehun but different in quality—a fainter, more ambiguous yet simultaneously precarious sensation.

Therefore, he suspected that if any of the survivors were to commit murder, it would be Jung Inho.

‘Many people call the criminal a hedonist when looking at his works, but... there's more restraint.’

The criminal wasn’t a mere thrill killer but someone who thought of himself as an 'artist.' As repugnant as it was, some police officers even considered the criminal's traces to be fantastic works of art, if they overlooked the fact that humans were the primary material.

When examining the term 'work' used by the criminal, Hong Kyungjun saw the restrained emotions of a butcher rather than excessive pleasure. It wasn’t the image of a maniac reveling in murder.

It was more malicious, more vile, more detestable….

“…Detective Hong?”

“…Ah.”

He blinked at Lee Jaehun’s call.

“What’s the matter?”

“I heard footsteps.”

“Footsteps….”

Since Hong Kyungjun hadn’t heard anything, he wondered if Lee Jaehun was hearing things, but it turned out he was right. Hong Kyungjun soon heard the sound of footsteps approaching at a brisk pace.

Before he could even react, the person appeared.

“…Director.”

“…Oh….”

Round glasses, a face full of unease.

Lee Jaehun called out to him.

“Jung Inho-ssi.”

It was ‘Jung Inho,’ the one they had been suspecting as the culprit.

HELHEIM SCANS

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Demon God ]