Memoirs of the Returnee - Chapter 210



Only Krnovel

The Regressor’s Notepad 210

Meaning of Villain (3)

──36 hours have passed since the technique was developed. From now on, the number of infected and uninfected humans will be announced.

13th floor of Ceylon Tea Tower.

I’m exploring the interior where the void’s broadcast resonates.

The further you went down to the first floor where there were a lot of people, the closer it got to hell.

──If one side becomes 0, the barrier is lifted.

Literally all day long, people are screaming and the infected are howling. It’s a situation that is difficult for a human being to endure.

──Infected: 6,753 individuals.

I’m trying to trace the void as much as possible with the SZX-9500.

Where the hell are you hiding?

──Human: 1,357 individuals. There are still many alive.

I searched every floor from the 1st floor to the 12th floor, but I couldn’t find any voids, and there were still 28 floors left. It was so uselessly wide-

Quadadadang──

In the silence of the 13th floor, a loud, rumbling noise suddenly resounded. I looked back at it.

It wasn’t just me.

The floor was filled with infected beings looking at you.

Ughh …

“Yes, Yeri!”

Then a man’s voice resonated.

“Ugh, euaaaang… … .”

A child had fallen. The father quickly ran over and held the child in his arms, but it was too late.

Dozens of infected have already rushed there.

The father and the child will be torn apart.

And, I… …

… … .

I guess I shouldn’t have come out today.

I should have kept Yeri at home.

Jackson held the child in his arms. He was panting in extreme fear, but he could not stop feeling the child’s heartbeat in his chest.

Ughh …

As he watched the infected rushing towards him as he fell, a series of flashes of thought crossed his father’s mind.

Kids cafe.

I was going to let Yeri play at the kids cafe because she likes it.

I just wanted to ride a motorcycle and eat dessert.

Jackson hugged Yeri tightly.

“… … It’s okay. Yeri.”

If I die like this, at least it’s not the worst.

It’s much better than dying separately.

Jackson managed to find Yeri, who was hiding somewhere in the kids’ cafe, and they ran away together.

In such a hellish situation, I saw a child who smiled as if the world had been saved simply by meeting his father.

If I could die in Yeri’s place, I would, but if I can’t, it’s my father’s job to be with her on the way…

Boom─! Boom─! Boom─!

“Eu …

Jackson closed his eyes, comforting Yeri who was crying in his arms.

“It’s okay. It’ll be okay… … .”

I waited like that.

Death, infection, whatever.

But, no matter how long you wait, he is a person who will be calm.

No, is he already dead?

The moment when Jackson tilted his head at the unknown situation.

Quazzzzzzzzzzzzzz───!

There was a sound of something being ripped. Hot liquid and cold skin poured down his entire body.

“Keuhhup.”

Jackson opened his eyes with a gasp.

“… … .”

There was skin and fur everywhere. Jackson looked around, breathing heavily.

A man was standing.

Beyond him, who was believed to have saved him, countless infected were still swarming.

─Cover the child’s eyes.

A heavy, gravelly tone, as if it had been altered. A hockey mask was placed over the face.

Jackson knows who he is.

No, if you’re from Trick City, you probably know.

You must know this.

Avenger──Rakel Dra.

“… … .”

While Jackson was just blankly blinking, he waved his hand in the air.

It was just one time.

Just with one lazy wave of the hand, as if shooing away a fly.

Kwaaaa …

A tremendous gale arose. The wind rushed forward in the shape of blades.

Pazuzuzu!

The infected’s entire body was ground up like a blender. The corpses burst like pus. The debris fell down in a sloshing motion.

Jackson covered the child’s eyes with both hands.

“… … .”

I looked at Rakel Dra, almost in a daze. It was as if my mind had been burned away.

─… … .

He also looked back at himself.

No, to be exact, I saw a child in my arms.

The guy has already fainted.

But I felt like I had to let you know.

“Alive, alive… … sleeping.”

─… … .

Raquel looked up. He didn’t say anything. He just took out the wand from his waistband and shook it slightly.

Salang-

A wind rose. A gentle current. It carried away the bodies clinging to the father and child.

“uh…….”

Jackson doesn’t know what to say.

He is the most famous villain in Trick City. He is an indiscriminate terrorist who kills respectable adults, assassinates businessmen, and terrorizes the wealthy, regardless of social status, personality, wealth, gender, or age.

He helped himself.

─7th floor. There are survivors there.

Jackson blankly stared at her back as she walked away, leaving those words behind.

It was only after he was gone that I finally opened my mouth.

“……thank you.”

* * *

Anyone directly infected with alien magic waves will turn into a monster. The monsters will then bite others and infect them in the same way.

That’s all Raye found out in two days.

High-level ideas like studying the spell to dismantle it or finding a way to decipher it are too difficult for Raye. She is more knowledgeable about the technical side than the theoretical.

“……fizzle.”

Anyway, this is a corner of the 10th floor of the infected tower.

Raye turned around and put a finger to her lips. The group following her nodded with nervous faces.

“I’ll just grab some food and leave. Be quiet. Don’t let anyone catch you.”

This tower has a total of 39 floors. It is so large that survivors are hiding everywhere, but there is a problematic figure.

It’s a ‘line’.

He is an active-duty soldier who has taken over the most important food court on the 10th floor and is slaughtering people. He is cutting off the heads of anyone who shows even the slightest sign of infection.

“Take it slow. Make sure not to make any noise. There’s no sign of patrol.”

Raye and her group packed canned goods and other items in a basket. Fortunately, the food section itself was very spacious.

“… … Okay. Let’s go quickly.”

A few dozen cans of canned food and water. The menu is not very diverse, but this should be enough to last you for two days.

Stealthily─ Stealthily─

They returned to the emergency stairs again.

“……phew.”

Raye wiped away the cold sweat and sighed in relief.

“What should we do now?”

Security asked. Raye glanced at her group.

One security guard, one department store cashier, one janitor, and one high school student. These four people are relying too much on themselves.

“… … Let’s go back to our residence for now.”

7th floor. A floor lined with furniture stores and electronics stores. That’s where Raye and her group hideout is.

“ha…….”

Raye pondered as she went down the stairs.

This is too big of a case for Raye to solve. We still don’t know who the mastermind, ‘Void’, is, and thousands of people are trapped inside, and even if they all cooperate, they’re killing each other.

Should I reveal myself as ‘Milla’?

I’m willing to go to that extent to protect Ellie.

But… …then I won’t be able to keep my promise to my father.

Because the moment a hero reveals his identity, he ceases to be a hero.

“uh?”

Upon arriving at the 7th floor, Raye opened her eyes wide and looked somewhere.

“Ellie!”

Ellie was left with her upper body raised.

“Ellie! Are you okay?!”

“… … .”

She nodded, albeit with a pale face.

“I think it’s okay.”

“How, how? What is that magnet?”

Elise looked a little odd. She had a bandage wrapped around her head, and there was a magnet stuck to the tip of it. It was as if the magnet had been placed there on purpose.

“I have restrained this alien technique. With my own magnetism.”

“detention?”

“Yeah. There’s a bug crawling around in my head. This alien magic itself has become alive.”

Huh- Huh- Then the group let out a surprised sound.

“Well, then? What should I do?”

Raye asked back quickly. Elise continued, breathing heavily.

“It’s fortunate that it’s a tower. There will be a lot of useful items… … First, we need to find the ‘core’.”

“nucleus?”

“We’ll need a microscope, a solution of magic stone, and various experimental equipment. We’ll analyze it by looking at it with our eyes and write up a dismantling technique.”

“… … Ellie. Can you do it like that?”

Elise nodded.

“It’s bearable.”

“Then how do we get the nuke?”

“… … The source of the drink. It should be somewhere in this tower.”

“… … .”

Raye let out a heavy sigh.

“okay.”

Corpses are strewn about. People whose entire bodies have been transformed into purple tentacles, moving around like zombies, or people who were killed before they could mutate.

“Well, what should we do?”

The group asked her.

“… … Everyone, please protect Ellie here. We don’t know when that Knight of Lines will come again. Ellie is our only hope.”

They nodded with very stiff faces.

“I, I don’t know if we can protect it… … .”

“If anything happens, contact me right away.”

Raye tapped the small walkie-talkie. It was something she had brought from the electronics store on the fifth floor.

“All right.”

“Do you have water?”

Elise asked the group. Security quickly opened the lid and brought it over.

“Ellie. I’ll be back. I have someone to talk to.”

“… … Yeah. Be careful.”

* * *

Raye went up to the 10th floor again. In the center of the food corner, there was a space where the stalls had been barricaded.

“after……”

Raye, who had been breathing deeply, approached slowly. People armed with sickles, swords, and harpoons were glaring at her from the entrance.

“… …Stop.”

“I need to speak to the person in charge there.”

“Whether you are infected or not-”

“You’re saying I’m not emotional? Can’t you tell just by looking at me?!”

“I don’t know. Judging from your face, it looks like you’re infected.”

“What?!”

“──It’s okay.”

A voice flowed from behind. Then a knight came walking out with footsteps.

line.

He had a cold and dry look in his eyes and killed hundreds of people in a single day.

“What’s going on?”

Line asked. Raye took a deep breath and said.

“I found it.”

“Found it?”

Raye nodded triumphantly.

“Yes, Elise found out.”

Ryan frowned.

“… … I told you. That person is infected.”

“I overcame it on my own. I told you. You can overcome it.”

“… … .”

Line’s eyes wavered, but soon he shook his head in disbelief.

“It only seems like she’s overcome it. Elise, you’re a magically exceptional human, so you can endure it to some extent. Soon, you’ll become a monster. A monster worse than an ordinary person.”

Line placed his hand on the sword at his waist.

“I’m going to kill him.”

“No, I told you I found a way?!”

Raye was terrified. What kind of person is this? This is really blocked up.

“People turn into monsters because they have a magical life form in their head? Or something like that.”

“We found a way too.”

Raye flinched. She looked around and asked quietly.

“… … Really?”

“Yes. It’s simple. Just kill all the infected people.”

“… … Oh really!”

Raye crossed her arms.

“I’m serious. ‘Void’ said so. You heard it too.”

“He’s the one who locked us up. Do you believe him?”

“Then. Will they rescue us from outside? It’s been two days already. This is happening at the Ceylon Tea Tower in the middle of Sector C. What is the country doing?”

Line’s eyes opened wide. It seemed as if blood would flow out of his bloodshot eyes at any moment.

“Shall I tell you? The people outside are also afraid of infection. That’s why they abandoned us. They are afraid that if the tower door opens, the infection will leak out.”

“… … .”

Raye bit her lip. Line continued, grumbling.

“Edsilla, Trick City won’t help us until we solve the problem inside.”

Then he took a step back. He motioned for Raye to go inside the barricade.

“Come in.”

“… … Me?”

Raye was slightly embarrassed.

“Yes. Come inside. You are not infected.”

The line gestured inward. Raye also stepped forward hesitantly.

“… … There are a lot of people.”

There were a lot of people. There seemed to be about 500 of them.

There were couples, lovers, friends, and children. Each of them was trembling with anxiety.

“Mr. Raye. There are 7,000 infected. If we combine our forces, we can kill them. And… … .”

Line paused for a moment. Then he gestured to a child.

“This is… … adding insult to injury.”

“Why this child?”

Raye saw the child. It was a boy who looked to be about 12 years old.

Line put a hand on his shoulder.

“Tell me what you saw.”

“yes.”

The child looked up at Raye.

“Hello. Mr. Laye Hilton. Are you? Department of Magic at National University.”

“… … Huh? Oh, uh… … That’s right.”

A very mature child. He pointed to Raye’s ear.

Does that mean you’re whispering?

As Raye lowered her head, the child whispered softly in her ear.

… … Here, there is ‘Rakel Dra’.

At that moment, Raye’s eyes opened wide.

“… … What, what did you say?!”

“Shh. Be quiet. People are getting anxious.”

The child put his hand on his mouth. Raye looked back at the line. Raye had a heavy expression on her face, thinking, “That’s right.”

“You. Are you telling the truth? If you’re lying, you’re in big trouble.”

“I saw it with my own eyes.”

Raye bit her fingernails without realizing it.

“Isn’t this a mistake?”

“Let’s go to the office.”

The child led Raye somewhere. It was a separate office within the barricade.

The child opened the laptop and plugged in the USB.

“I brought a USB containing CCTV footage from the security room… … ”

Click- Enter.

After that, CCTV footage was played on the screen. Raye looked at it with a surprised expression on her face.

“This person. Rakel Dra, right?”

Hockey mask. Strong build. Definitely Raquel Draco.

However, the place in the CCTV was more shocking to Raye.

“Here… … it’s the 7th floor.”

Raquel Dra was standing in the middle of Raye’s residence, on the 7th floor. Even so, she was staring intently at somewhere.

To be exact, ‘furniture store’.

That is, the place where Raye stayed.

“… … Mr. Raye. Raquel Dra was looking at you.”

Line hummed softly. Raye’s body trembled.

“I don’t know the exact reason yet, but the most likely hypothesis is… … .”

Line calmly confirmed the kill to Raye, who was only looking at the CCTV screen.

“Perhaps you are Rakel Dra’s next target.”

Raye clenched both fists.

“After the entrepreneur from District B, the only daughter of the Hilton family. She’s a good match.”

I bowed my head as I listened to Line’s words.

“… … So come with us and give us strength-”

“It doesn’t matter.”

He cut him off.

It doesn’t matter, Rakel Dra, whether you come or not.

No, it would be better if you came to me. I could crush you myself.

“If you’re going to come, then come.”

Ssik- The sound of a child’s laughter rose. Raye looked at the boy.

“You are awesome.”

“… … I’m originally like that.”

Raye shrugged and replied.