Chapter 33

How a Regressor Conquers the Tower of Urban Legends

Chapter 33

"...The farther we go, the less I understand this place."

It was a hospital, and now suddenly there was an aquarium.

No.

This probably wasn't really an aquarium.

I looked at the human-like things on the other side of the glass, all mouthing the word human at us.

More precisely, at me.

Then I turned toward the mascot.

It nodded the moment it heard me.

"..."

What exactly was this place trying to do?

Come to think of it, ever since we'd arrived at Jeina Tree Hospital, there had been constant references to water.

Still, I never expected an actual aquarium to appear.

"You don't know them, right?"

"!"

"All right."

I looked back toward the glass wall.

Then, from somewhere in the distance, the sound of something dragging across the floor returned.

It was still some distance away.

But we needed to move.

"Follow me."

"!"

The mascot trotted along behind me.

I looked forward again.

Those things were still silently forming the word human.

What were they?

Why had the hospital turned people into things like that?

Did the hospital genuinely consider this treatment?

If so, why?

Was there some kind of life that required people to survive underwater?

"..."

I had no idea.

And now wasn't the time to think about it.

"Let's find the back door first."

Finding an exit was the top priority.

Even if we couldn't find one immediately, we couldn't stay here.

I glanced at the creatures still slamming their heads against the glass and began checking our surroundings.

I'd almost forgotten, but there was still some unknown thing dragging something behind us.

"Let's search for the exit. We should split up."

"!"

The mascot nodded and ran off in one direction.

I turned toward the other.

The creatures behind the glass were still staring at me, mouthing the same word.

But now wasn't the time to pay attention to them.

I hurried behind the enormous tank and searched the area.

A door.

A passage.

Anything.

"...!"

A long corridor came into view.

Is that it?

I rushed toward it.

"Ow!"

I slammed face-first into an invisible wall.

I didn't even have time to care about the pain.

An invisible barrier blocking entry could mean only one thing.

"...Offstage?"

This was offstage too?

Then where the hell was the back door?

Before I could think any further...

CRASH!

The mascot came running toward me, slipping once before recovering.

"!!!!!"

"All right! I'm coming!"

Its gestures made it obvious.

It had found the elevator.

There was no reason to enter the offstage area right now.

Escaping came first.

I followed the mascot.

Soon, an elevator entrance appeared.

I rushed toward it and hammered the call button.

Clunk.

The doors began opening.

At the same time, the dragging sound behind us grew steadily closer.

"Come on... open faster...!"

The mascot moved behind me and stood guard while I repeatedly pressed the button, desperately wishing the doors would move even slightly faster.

The dragging sound came closer.

Just in case, I turned around.

"Goddamn it."

Something rounded the corner.

At first glance, it had the general shape of a biped.

That was where the resemblance ended.

Its arms and legs were grotesquely elongated.

Its fingers hung all the way to the floor.

Its jaw seemed dislocated, leaving its mouth hanging open as it dragged itself forward.

But what caught my attention most was the sack it was carrying.

A sack drenched in blood.

I had no idea what was inside.

But it definitely wasn't something that normally belonged in a sack.

Our eyes met.

"Human!"

The creature screamed.

The sound was like nails scraping across a blackboard.

Pain stabbed through my ears and tinnitus rang in my head.

Even with the headset on, it's this bad?

Before I could think further...

"...!"

The elevator doors opened just wide enough for one person to squeeze through.

I immediately slipped inside and started hammering the close button.

"Hurry!"

The mascot had crouched, ready to spring forward at any moment.

At my shout, it hurried into the elevator.

"Human!"

The creature screamed again and bounded toward us on its long legs.

Fast.

Even an idiot could tell it was moving faster than the elevator doors could close.

Before I could say anything, the mascot stepped in front of me and raised both arms defensively.

WHAM!

The sack swung.

The mascot was launched backward.

THUD!

The elevator shook violently.

There was no way to withstand a blow like that.

The mascot slammed into the elevator wall and collapsed.

"Hey!"

Before I could even call out to it...

The monster raised the sack again.

BZZZZ...!

My phone started ringing.

But I had no time to care.

"Damn it...!"

I threw myself sideways.

But there was only so much room to dodge inside a cramped elevator.

CRUNCH!

The sack struck me directly in the torso.

"Ghk...!"

Agony exploded through my body.

Then...

WHAM!

The sack swung again.

This time, it struck my head.

I felt something above my neck tear away.

Then everything went black.

"Human!"

The scream struck my ears.

"Haaah!"

I opened my eyes in a panic.

I just died.

Then why was I hearing a sound I shouldn't have been hearing?

Before I could process it...

WHAM!

The mascot blocked the sack with both arms and slammed into the elevator wall.

THUD!

The elevator shook violently again.

<The maximum occupancy has been exceeded. The doors cannot close.>

<Participant, please remove the foreign object.>

A mechanical announcement rang out.

"...?"

Wait.

Why?

I looked up.

The creature holding the sack was staring down at me.

"Human!"

It screamed and brought the sack down.

The air split with a violent whoosh.

But until the sack reached my skull, I had only one thought.

The regression point updated.

And it updated here.

Then there was no time to hesitate.

No reason to wonder what had happened.

Next time, dodge.

CRUNCH!

The sack slammed into my head.

Terrible pain exploded through me.

Then everything went black again.

"Human!"

"...!"

The moment I opened my eyes this time, I shoved the mascot aside.

"?!?!!"

It stumbled away.

The sack that had been aimed at it smashed into the elevator floor instead.

BOOM!

The elevator shook violently, throwing me into the air.

But somehow, I managed to get outside.

I immediately looked up.

The creature towered over me.

Where its eyes should have been were empty holes.

Something resembling gills covered its neck, opening and closing as it breathed.

"Human!"

The creature screamed and swung the sack down.

WHAM!

The mascot had already regained its footing.

It crossed both arms and caught the blow, then shoved my back.

"Ugh!"

I slipped beneath the creature's legs.

When I looked back, the mascot was frantically gesturing for me to run.

"!!!!?!!?!"

"All right!"

Where was I supposed to go?

I started running unsteadily.

"Human!"

"...!!!"

"Human!"

The creature continued shouting, but it wasn't coming after me.

That meant it was still with the mascot.

"...!"

I spun around.

The mascot was desperately clinging to one of the creature's legs, preventing it from following me.

"Damn it...!"

I couldn't leave it behind.

I reached into my clothes and pulled out the handgun.

This probably wasn't what the gun had been given to me for.

But...

I calmly gripped the handle with both hands and aimed.

BANG!

I fired.

The bullet struck the back of the creature's neck.

It flinched slightly from the impact.

I hadn't expected a single bullet to kill it.

But I hadn't expected that little reaction either.

Still, I'd achieved what I wanted.

"This way!"

"!"

The mascot immediately turned toward me.

"Don't die. Follow me!"

I shouted loudly enough for it to hear.

Then I ran.

My ankle throbbed sharply.

Maybe I'd twisted it.

Still, I kept running while gripping the pistol inside my clothes.

"Human!"

Where should I go?

Back the way we came?

I wasn't sure we could shake it.

And if we ran into the medical staff on top of that, we'd be in even worse trouble.

I briefly looked back at the monster.

Then I remembered what had happened on the sixth floor.

When I'd crossed into the offstage area, the monsters had acted as if I'd vanished.

Which meant the way to lose this thing was...

"...We're going offstage."

"...!"

"We don't have another choice!"

I met the mascot's startled gaze and shouted.

Eventually, it nodded.

Then it began grabbing nearby objects and throwing them behind us to slow the monster.

"Damn it."

I'd been trying to avoid entering the offstage area because of what happened last time.

But now we had no choice.

I ran toward the corridor I'd found earlier.

Just like before, it waited for us with its black mouth open.

"I'm going in!"

"!"

I raised both arms to protect my face and jumped forward.

There was a brief sting.

Then my body passed into the corridor.

"Hum—"

The monster's voice cut off instantly.

I hurriedly looked back.

"...Haa... haa..."

The creature had stopped dead.

It looked around in confusion.

"...You're not leaving?"

"...!"

If it just moved away, we'd happily go back.

But as if determined to ruin our hopes, the monster remained rooted to the spot.

"..."

I slowly turned around.

A corridor stretched before us in absolute darkness.

No light at all.

Maybe we should just wait here instead of going deeper...

BZZZZ...!

The old flip phone immediately began ringing.

"...Why are my bad feelings always right?"

"?"

I looked away from the mascot's tilted head and answered.

"Hello."

<Keep going.>

"You called just to tell me that? Do you have any idea how close we just came to dying—"

<I didn't call just to say that. Listen first.>

"..."

<You cannot leave through the offstage entrance you just used. That fellow will not move from that spot. And if you take an elevator inside the offstage area, you won't avoid death either.>

"...I'm listening."

<Go straight ahead.>

"..."

I stared into the black corridor.

There wasn't a single incandescent bulb.

Only endless darkness.

<Keep the headset on. And breathe. You are not swimming. You are walking on land. It is perfectly natural that you cannot breathe underwater.>

"..."

<Move forward. And think.>

"What?"

<You think too much.>

"...That's true."

<Think, but do not try to understand. The world where this hospital exists is not a place you are meant to understand.>

"..."

Perhaps taking my silence as agreement, the voice continued.

<Breathe. You absolutely must keep breathing.>

"..."

<For now, just do what you can. I think you'll manage.>

I looked ahead.

The pitch-black corridor stood before us like an open mouth.

"Let's go."

And all I could do was walk forward.