How a Regressor Conquers the Tower of Urban Legends
Chapter 45
"..."
I had expected it to feel familiar.
I just hadn't expected it to be this familiar.
I stared quietly at the scenery outside.
Familiar.
No.
Far beyond familiar.
This was a place I could never forget.
"Why are we back here?"
Floor 1.
The place where I'd died more times than anywhere else.
And a place that would never disappear from my memory.
"..."
I looked outside.
The mascot was staring around too, completely tense.
Wait.
Why are you nervous?
"You know this place."
"..."
The mascot didn't answer.
It simply kept staring intently into the corridor.
Fine.
Think.
I wasn't planning on rushing out immediately anyway.
I looked to the side.
As always, a notebook had been left there.
In the end, I had no choice but to rely on the others.
That was what the notebook was for.
I slowly opened it.
How had everyone else made their way through this place?
More importantly, many participants were still stuck on Floor 10.
So the information might not be complete.
With that thought, I looked at the first entry.
[9. How the hell am I supposed to make it down through all of this? I'm going to die.]
[11. I lost too many memories while clearing Floor 9. I only remember that writing things in this notebook helps the people who come after me. Most of the rest is really hazy.]
[11. I'll write down whatever I can remember.]
[11. There are a lot of holes in my memory, but I vaguely remember what happened on Floor 1.]
[11. According to the map, we're currently on the fifth floor.]
[11. Judging from what No. 9 wrote, we're supposed to go downward... so I'll head down. Be careful not to accidentally go upward.]
[11. I'm pretty sure this is the same place we cleared when we first arrived...]
[11. There doesn't seem to be anything particularly difficult here. That's assuming you ■■■■■■■, of course, but anyone who cleared Floor 1 should already understand what I mean.]
[11. Reached Floor 4.]
[11. I don't think you need to memorize every floor in advance. There seems to be a place on each floor where you can stop and check the notebook. You can probably confirm the information one floor at a time.]
[11. Floor 4 is pretty cold. I remember working part-time at a restaurant a long time ago and having to go into the freezer. It reminds me of how I used to shiver in there. Probably shouldn't stay too long.]
[11. Also, there's something like a body bag here, so be careful.]
[24. Greetings. I am someone who belonged to an organization, though I no longer remember which one.]
[24. I remembered that I must not write my name. I do not remember why.]
[24. As No. 11 wrote, I strongly recommend that you never ■■■■■■■■■ here.]
[24. It will likely be censored, but all of you who cleared Floor 1 should already understand.]
[24. It is simple. I hope we meet again alive.]
"..."
I read through the entries quickly.
It didn't look like anyone had died yet.
Then again, everyone who had made it this far had already survived this cursed place at least nine times.
There was no way they'd forgotten the gimmick from Floor 1 by now.
...Unless their memories had disappeared.
I pushed aside the bitter feeling in my mouth and thought.
Either way, they'd gotten their memories back now.
The phone had told me that destroying the camera on Floor 9 would return everyone's memories.
And since there were more entries farther down, things seemed to be okay.
No need to hesitate.
I took a deep breath and looked ahead.
The bleak corridor.
Then, for now, let's focus on getting through the fifth floor.
Trying to memorize every floor at once would only muddle my head.
No. 11 said there was a place to rest and check the notebook on each floor.
So I could use those as checkpoints and gather information one floor at a time.
Let's take it slowly.
One floor at a time.
With that thought, I looked ahead again.
The corridor was familiar.
Far too familiar.
A place I never wanted to become used to.
How had I died here?
Right.
My entire body had been twisted apart and torn to pieces.
There had been the voice begging for help.
And then...
"...!"
The mascot tapped my back.
I snapped back to reality.
It was already holding the camera in both hands and looking at me.
"All right. Let's go."
"!"
■■■■■■.
With my memories of Floor 1 intact, this wasn't difficult.
Don't look back.
No matter what happened, I couldn't turn around.
As long as I followed that rule, it wasn't hard.
But that only applied to people who still remembered.
Anyone who had lost their memories of Floor 1 would've been thrown back into uncertainty all over again.
I sighed quietly and kept moving.
The voices began.
"Please help me."
"..."
"Please. I want to go home."
"..."
"Just once... please..."
"...Sometimes I wonder about something."
I ignored the voice behind me and spoke.
The mascot walking beside me tilted its head.
"?"
"Do you have a home?"
"??"
"Yes. You."
"..."
The mascot stayed still for a moment.
Then slowly nodded.
"You do?"
"!"
It began gesturing wildly with its hands and feet.
I understood none of it.
"...Well, if you have a home, that's good."
"...!"
"Then were you dragged into this place even though you had somewhere to return to? Like me?"
"..."
At that question, the mascot froze for a moment.
Then it shook its head.
"So you came here on your own?"
"!"
"Why?"
