How a Regressor Conquers the Tower of Urban Legends
Chapter 21
Philosophy is, in a sense, a way of living.
Whether it's the belief that human nature is inherently good or the belief that it is inherently evil.
People are influenced by different philosophies before eventually finding one that suits them.
Why am I suddenly talking about this?
Because I'd realized something just before I died.
When I thought about it carefully, the behavior of the visitors I'd encountered was different from what the instructions had described.
Normally, the visitors should have left me alone while I was screaming.
After all, I'd been doing exactly what they wanted.
I'd been diligently reading philosophy inside the Hall of Philosophy.
But instead, they'd tried to turn me into human-skin parchment.
That raised a question.
What made them behave differently?
When I thought about it, there was only one possible answer.
Because I'd done only one thing.
I'd read that bizarre book made from human skin.
That led me to a hypothesis.
What if the visitors merely observed the philosophy displayed here without being influenced by it?
And what if they could be influenced through some kind of medium?
What if that medium happened to be me?
In that case, wouldn't it be better to awaken the strongest philosophy available?
Instead of going insane by myself, I could make everyone go insane together.
And if you're wondering how my gamble turned out...
CRASH!
Something shattered in the distance, and a shadow tumbled across the floor.
Visitors were running around endlessly, even with their ankles dangling loosely from their legs.
Some were even pulling out their own eyeballs and throwing them.
It was absolute chaos.
As for me...
"Mmmph! Mmmmmmph!!!"
The mascot was carrying me while running.
And it wasn't simply carrying me over its shoulder.
It had shoved its fingers into my mouth to prevent me from harming myself, folded my body in half, and was holding me tightly against its chest as it ran.
"Mmmmmph!!"
There was a reason for that.
My body wasn't obeying me.
I was constantly being overwhelmed by an irresistible urge.
The desire to destroy everything and start all over again.
But it wasn't exactly a feeling of wanting to destroy things.
How should I describe it?
It felt like a perfectly reasonable conclusion that destruction was the correct course of action.
And the truly frightening part wasn't even that.
It was that I could still think normally.
I was being controlled by an impulse without even realizing that it was controlling me.
Every thought I had led to the same logical conclusion.
Everything must be destroyed.
That was why I should be grateful to the mascot carrying me.
Without it, there was no telling what bizarre things I might be doing right now.
Or was that really true?
Isn't the mascot preventing me from carrying out the destruction?
Logically speaking, wouldn't it be better to destroy everything and start over?
In that case, I should...
CLATTER!
The mascot knocked something over while running.
The sound snapped me back to my senses.
Right.
Get a grip.
I could still think rationally.
Although I desperately wanted to bite off the fingers the mascot had shoved into my mouth, that wasn't what mattered right now.
The most important thing was escaping this place.
So I decided to endure the situation by biting down on the mascot's fingers.
I looked around.
Countless creatures were fighting.
The visitors had completely surrendered to their impulses and were relentlessly slaughtering one another.
I wanted to join them.
Even if my body was ground into powder, wouldn't it be worth it if I could contribute to the destruction?
But no matter how much I struggled, the mascot held me tightly and refused to let go.
There was nothing I could do.
After being carried through the chaos for what felt like an eternity, my mind slowly began returning to normal.
"..."
I tapped the mascot's arm.
When it looked down at me, I gave it a thumbs-up.
I stared at it, trying to convey that I was fine now.
The mascot silently looked back.
Then...
"Ugh!"
It tightened its grip and started running even faster.
I think you misunderstood me.
The mascot continued carrying me at full speed until we finally reached the end of Exhibition Hall 2.
"Huff... haa..."
Only after it put me down was I able to breathe properly again.
"??"
The mascot patted my back.
"Ah, yes. I'm fine. Really."
We'd survived.
I let out a sigh of relief and looked behind us.
The exhibition hall was still a complete disaster.
The visitors were tangled together, tearing apart one another's bodies.
Blood, chunks of flesh, and even clumps of cotton were scattered across the floor.
But somehow, we'd managed to get through.
Even if we'd practically forced our way past, it still counted as a success.
Now only Exhibition Hall 3 remained.
I turned around.
"...?"
It was different.
Completely different.
An even more luxurious building than the art museum we'd seen earlier stretched before us.
The ceiling was so high that I had to tilt my head back just to see it.
There were staircases leading to upper floors and countless rooms.
It looked almost like...
"...A palace?"
It really was a palace.
I lowered my gaze to the instruction sheet.
[Hall of Philosophy — Exhibition Hall 3]
[1. Exhibition Hall 3 of the Hall of Philosophy is the Palace of Memory.]
[2. However, the memories contained here do not belong to any of you who have been isolated here.]
[3. It has not yet been determined whose memories these are.]
[4. You must find a specific object within the palace and take it outside. The object you are required to retrieve will be determined the moment you step through the palace entrance.]
An object?
In a place this enormous?
I stared at the palace for a moment before continuing to read.
[5. The type of object changes each time. In some cases, it has been a vase. In others, a picture frame. There have even been cases where the object was the palace itself.]
[6. If you successfully leave with the object, it will become bound to the person who carried it out.]
[7. Be careful. You are never alone inside the Palace of Memory.]
[8. Those who failed to escape are after your object. Take care not to let them steal it.]
[9. If your object is stolen, another person may escape in your place. However, there is a high probability that these individuals are no longer sane and have already lost their humanity.]
[10. If your object is stolen, or if you determine that you can no longer carry it, turn back.]
[11. The fact that you have reached this point already demonstrates your outstanding judgment and extraordinary courage. Continue forward just a little longer. We sincerely hope you escape safely and wish you the best of luck.]
"..."
Escape, huh?
I slowly folded the paper.
Good.
Let's give it a try.
I might have to prepare myself to die another time or two.
No matter how difficult it was, I didn't have another option anyway.
I gripped the stake that I'd somehow managed to keep with me through all the chaos.
"Shall we hope the object is something light?"
"!"
The mascot suddenly raised its hand.
"Huh?"
It pointed at itself and proudly puffed out its chest.
Don't tell me...
"You know the way?"
