Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Damn."

Inside the elevator, I clenched and unclenched my fist.

Regression.

An ability that appeared in countless stories.

Remaining regression attempts.

[Remaining Regressions: ??]

My ability was regression.

And I had to survive this place using an unknown number of regressions.

And just now...

I had died.

"..."

I touched my neck.

I'd definitely heard something snap near the back of my neck.

"..."

Cold sweat trickled down.

I had died in the blink of an eye.

Slowly, I turned my gaze toward the hallway.

An empty corridor.

So this was what they meant when they said the scenery inside the elevator and outside it were different.

But nothing in the notebook mentioned the pools of blood.

Shouldn't someone have written about that?

Thinking that, I searched through the notebook again.

There was nothing directly describing the blood puddles.

"..."

Don't tell me...

I reread everything carefully.

Eventually, I found a strange section with parts deliberately covered over.

[91. Why is nobody talking about ■■■■? I almost died.]

[92. I think someone is deliberately erasing that.]

[93. Then does that mean we're being watched right now?]

[94. According to the opinions of the three above, are we saying someone is monitoring us?]

[95. More precisely, I don't think it's censorship. I think certain pieces of information are being intentionally blocked. We need a way around that.]

"..."

Information censorship.

I understood what they meant.

If ■■■■ meant "blood puddles," then everything made sense.

And thinking back on all the other blacked-out words made it even more obvious.

You could write anything in the notebook.

But the notebook didn't show everything.

Some information was censored.

For now, I should write something again just in case.

There were entries up to No. 149, so...

"..."

That made me No. 150.

A pen...

As though it had read my mind, a pen dropped from the notebook with a soft tap.

I picked it up and slowly wrote.

[150. Watch the floor.]

"..."

I carefully watched the words after writing them.

Nothing happened.

So the censorship wasn't immediate.

"Good."

I put the notebook down and stood.

Apparently, staying inside the elevator for too long wasn't safe.

I stepped out and carefully moved forward.

At the same time, the scenery changed again.

A sticky floor.

This time, I would watch out for the puddles.

I left the elevator.

The flickering hallway still waited for me.

The lights turned on the moment I stepped outside.

Now that I knew what to look for, I could make out dark-red puddles of blood and skid marks.

I held the notebook in one hand and moved.

Whenever the lights went out, I held my breath.

Whenever the lights came on, I moved again.

After repeating that for a while, I reached a hallway that split in two directions.

They said to go left here.

I turned my gaze left.

At the end of the hallway, I spotted a door.

"..."

I slowly made my way toward it.

After struggling forward, I finally reached the door.

I opened it.

Creeeak.

Bright light stabbed into my eyes.

"Ugh."

I frowned and looked ahead.

A brightly lit room waited for me, so different from the hallway I'd just crossed that it almost felt unreal.

There was nothing especially unusual about the room.

A single plastic chair.

A table that looked like something you'd find in a convenience store.

And...

"..."

A mascot was standing there.

A bear mascot.

A round, friendly-looking bear head, complete with a full-body mascot suit.

The costume itself was filthy.

Strangely, the bear head was quite clean.

"...!"

The moment it saw me, the bear mascot happily waved.

The atmosphere was slightly...

No.

Completely different from everything I'd experienced so far.

"W-Wait...!"

Before I could say anything else, it came up behind me and started massaging my shoulders.

"Wait!"

When I shouted in alarm, the mascot flinched and immediately raised both hands as though surrendering.

"...I-Is this..."

The mascot cupped one hand beside its ear, as though listening carefully.

"Is this the halfway room?"

"...!"

The mascot nodded repeatedly.

Then it gave me an enthusiastic thumbs-up, as though praising me for doing well.

"F-Finally."

"...!!"

"Finally...!"

I'd reached the halfway point.

I shouted in joy.

The mascot also raised its thumb again, then hugged me and started bouncing up and down with me.

Just as the notebook said, the mascot didn't seem particularly harmful to humans.

Of course, that didn't mean I could completely trust it.

Still...

After dealing with something that snapped my neck the moment it noticed me, this thing made me feel a little better.

My celebration lasted only a moment.

I looked at the mascot, which was clapping enthusiastically.

"Hey."

"?"

It tilted its head.

"How many people have come here?"

"..."

The mascot spread and folded its fingers several times, then shook its head.

"You don't know?"

"!"

It nodded.

"..."

It didn't know.

There had been 150 people including me.

Whether it hadn't counted or simply couldn't count that high...

"..."

No need to tell it about the notebook.

I hid the notebook in my pocket and looked at the table.

A mayonnaise cucumber sandwich.

Tomato juice.

And the mascot was holding them out toward me insistently.

"You want me to eat these?"

The mascot nodded over and over.

"..."

If it wanted me to eat, then I should eat.

It would be a problem if I refused and somehow made it angry.

I slowly stuffed the food into my mouth and looked around.

The mascot.

A small chair.

A desk.

Nothing special.

The notebook had also said there weren't any particular details worth noting here.

Well...

There was one unusual detail.

I looked at the mascot again.

An NPC.

According to the notebook, that was what people called it.

I studied the mascot carefully.

It didn't speak.

It simply stood there with both hands clasped, looking at me.

"Do you know how to get out of here?"

"?"

"Hint."

"??"

"Escape method."

"???"

"Secret."

"????"

"Hidden piece."

"?????"

No matter what I asked, the mascot only tilted its head more and more.

Right. My mistake for asking.

I sighed deeply and looked toward the door.

If I passed through here, the exit should appear.

Once I got through this...

I could go home.

"..."

A terrible thought suddenly crossed my mind.

What if home wasn't waiting for me?

What if I escaped this place, only to end up somewhere else?

No.

This wasn't the time to think about that.

Smack!

I slapped both cheeks with my hands and looked away.

Right now, I had no choice but to keep moving.

I opened the notebook while facing the mascot, who was still staring blankly at me.

Before going out, I should organize the information one more time.

First.

This time, I had to do the opposite.

Move when the lights were on.

That was actually good news.

Until now, the darkness had made moving difficult.

I still couldn't make noise, though.

"..."

But there was one thing bothering me.

[19. Found the exit. The way out is to move quietly, lose the monster, then quickly press the elevator button.]

[Never ■■■■■■.]

[22. Found the exit.]

[Only walk when the lights are on. Don't be scared. But don't be too brave either.]

[Be prepared to sacrifice an arm.]

[■■■■■■]

[I will leave information on the next floor as well. I pray that we meet alive.]

[Lastly, never ■■■■■■.]

■■■■■■.

Everyone kept warning about the same thing.

What was it?

What had all of them seen?

And...

"..."

At some point, everyone had realized certain information was censored.

Yet they all kept trying to write the same warning anyway.

Why?

Even though they knew it would be censored.

Either it was extremely important...

Or...

"..."

I pressed my fingers against my temples.

My ability might be regression, but that didn't mean I could treat death lightly.

Just thinking about dying and waking up back in the elevator again was horrible.

For now, I would leave ■■■■■■ aside.

Let's remember everything else I had to be careful about.

I quickly reviewed the information.

There were two major rules.

First, move when the lights are on.

Second, trust your instincts.

"..."

Good.

I looked at the mascot again.

"I'm going now."

"...!"

It gave me another thumbs-up.

As if wishing me luck.

Maybe it was because it was a mascot costume, but I still felt slightly uncomfortable around it.

I awkwardly waved goodbye, then turned toward the door.

I slowly moved forward.

The door opened with a creak.

Beyond it was a clean hallway completely different from before.

It was so bright and spotless that the contrast with the hallway I'd crossed earlier was almost disturbing.

The only sign that this place was still completely insane was...

"..."

Pieces of torn clothing scattered here and there.

Not a single drop of blood.

Not a single corpse.

Just a clean corridor glowing beneath fluorescent lights.

And scraps of torn clothing.

I slowly moved forward.

The moment I stepped outside, the lights above began to flicker dangerously.

So they're warning me that the lights could go out at any time.

I moved slowly.

Without making a single sound...

Soon, the lights went out.

I held my breath.

Don't make a sound.

And trust my instincts.

Though I don't really know what that means.

I stood there in silence for a while.

Then the lights came back on.

I started moving again.

This is easy. At this rate, I'll be out in no time.

At that moment...

"...!"

A chill swept over me.

I couldn't explain it with words.

It felt as though something enormous had wrapped its hand around my heart.

Like a human hiding behind a tree while being hunted by a predator.

Is this what they meant by trusting your instincts?

I covered my mouth and stopped breathing.

I stayed still for what felt like forever.

Eventually, the feeling disappeared.

I moved again.

After walking for a while...

"...!"

I saw an elevator ahead.

Its doors were open.

It stood there as if tempting me inside.

Just in case, I looked around.

There was no other exit.

Which meant...

That was it.

The exit.

I began walking slightly faster.

First, I had to get out.

What should I do once I escaped?

Call the police?

What would I even tell them?

That I got into a crazy elevator and was kidnapped into some bizarre place?

While thinking that, I kept walking.

Then...

Rustle!

A sound came from behind me.

Cold sweat instantly ran down my back.

What was that?

Was something there?

I almost turned my head.

Then I saw something I hadn't noticed before.

"...!"

I quickly leaned back.

Then I looked toward the elevator again.

It wasn't far.

Should I run?

Or keep walking?

Would running give me a better chance of reaching the elevator?

Or was it better to obey the rules?

I hesitated for only a moment.

Then I made my decision.

Walk.

If the notebook told me not to run, there had to be a reason.

My heart felt like it would leap out of my throat, but there had to be a reason...

"Please save me."

"...!"

Cold sweat poured down my body.

There was a person here?

For a moment, I almost turned around.

But...

"..."

I kept walking without saying anything.

As far as I knew, if an actual person were here, someone before me would have mentioned it.

It had to be an auditory hallucination.

And I had no intention of ignoring the alarm bells screaming inside my instincts.

Slowly, I reached the elevator.

There was nothing unusual about it.

I quickly looked around and carefully pressed the button.

The doors began to close with a heavy clunk.

"...Phew."

I let out a breath of relief.

I cleared it.

Thinking that, I turned around.

Then my eyes met the thing already standing behind me.

The doors weren't fully closed.

A head was floating in midair.

Where its eyes should have been were empty holes.

An unknown black liquid dripped from its mouth.

Then it opened that mouth.

"Ding..."

The exact same sound as an elevator bell.

"You son of a..."

I urgently reached for the button.

Then...

"...Huh?"

My body collapsed to the floor.

My feet wouldn't move.

Why?

I looked down.

Only my pants remained, fluttering as they dropped to the floor.

"Huh...?"

Before I could react...

"Please save me."

The thing leaned its head toward me.

"Ghk...!"

A crushing force seized my skull.

Was this what it felt like to put a human head beneath a hydraulic press and push the button?

"Please save me."

"Ah... ngh...!"

"Please save me."

"..."

"Please save me."

The thing kept shaking its head and repeating the words in front of me.

The pain went on for what felt like forever.

It hurt so badly that I couldn't even scream.

Only after that unbearable agony continued for a long time...

Crack.

My consciousness disappeared.

"Aaaagh!"

I jolted upright.

Bright light surrounded me.

I'd regressed.

I quickly looked around.

Familiar white walls.

And the mascot looking down at me...

"...!"

The mascot pulled me up, gesturing frantically.

The mascot?

I stood and looked around.

Plastic chair.

Table.

And the mascot holding a plastic bag.

I put a hand over my chest.

My heart was still beating insanely fast.

I was alive.

No.

I'd come back.

Ignoring the mascot's stare, I opened the notebook again.

■■■■■■.

What was it?

Besides the warning everyone repeatedly wrote, what else could I deduce?

"..."

Before thinking about my own actions, I should think about why everyone else wrote it that way.

At least the people who had read this notebook knew that directly written hints were sometimes censored.

And yet all of them had tried to write the exact same thing.

Why?

"..."

The most likely answer...

Because they were in a hurry.

They had only enough time to write that one warning.

What kind of situation would make them so desperate that...

"..."

I thought back on what I'd done.

And why they would have been forced to write it in a hurry.

It was probably because that was their final moment.

They had to quickly write in the notebook before escaping.

"...I got it."

I looked at the mascot, which tilted its head.

Then I nodded.

"I found it."

I knew what ■■■■■■ meant.