I’m an Infinite Regressor, But I’ve Got Stories to Tell

Chapter 176

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The Diver VIII

Screams rang through the command center. The loudest of them came from Seo Gyu, who was quite unfortunately still folded in half, his life resembling a pinball game.

Even when ignoring such collateral damage, terror remained with the gravitational acceleration that struck the ark fleet.

“Oppa! The people here can’t hold on!” Ha-yul shouted, but it was really the voice of the maid doll kneeling beside her. “They’ll burst! Their bodies can’t take it!”

“Got it!”

I immediately summoned my aura. It felt as if the deep water source, bottomless just moments before, had suddenly dropped to half-capacity. Even for someone like me, who prided himself on being an aura monster, the loss was palpable.

My aura alone wasn’t enough to protect the regular citizenry aboard. With urgent-softened-to-delicate strokes of my fingers, I distributed the aura sent by the Awakeners from the twelve arks. Most of the Unawakened had already fainted due to Leviathan’s tortuous movements.

There was no choice. To lure the super monsoon anomaly’s focus to Busan, we needed as many people as possible aboard the ark. In present-day East Asia, Busan was the most prosperous human fortress.

Rumble!

The mythical storm dragon seemed determined to punish humanity’s arrogance, thrashing even more violently.

[Mr. Undertaker! The dragon is plunging toward the sea surface again!]

The ark shook violently, sent diving into a freefall for the surface. Despite simply streaming from above to below, the excessively high drop and speed were cataclysmic. The ark shuddered like a small boat drifting in the Pacific.

Outside the command center window, the sky, clouds, and sea whizzed past like a revolving lantern. We were plummeting, from sky to sea.

“Saintess! Give us the timing!”

[Three seconds, two seconds, one second—brace yourselves!]

Wham!

Even though I squeezed out my aura to protect the ship as much as possible, the enormous shock couldn’t be fully absorbed.

“Gasp.”

“...!”

People in the command center fainted one after another. Sim Ah-ryeon and Noah, less adept at aura, lost consciousness. Other isolation areas were in even worse shape. Inexperienced Awakeners foamed at the mouth and blacked out.

Leviathan had simply leapt into the sky like a dolphin and then plunged back into the sea, and yet, half of the Awakeners aboard the ark were knocked out of the fight.

‘Is this the power of the super monsoon anomaly?’

I gritted my teeth against my heightened senses as the screams and scent of blood from the ark’s passengers overwhelmed me.

“Ah――ah――ah――”

Dang Seo-rin’s song bloomed. It was an unplanned fifth verse. We had agreed to sing only up to the fourth verse before the operation, but recognizing the enemy’s extraordinary power, Dang Seo-rin pushed herself further.

The melody reinforced the ark’s structure itself, easing the burden on my aura considerably.

Rumble!

However, Leviathan’s violence stemmed not just from its enormous size.

Swoosh.

Not long after Leviathan reentered the sea, water began to flood the command center again. It was the original weapon Leviathan possessed, attacking once more.

“Damn it. Ha-yul!”

“Yes!”

Ha-yul unbuckled her belt and grabbed a bucket, furiously scooping and dumping water.

“...! ...!”

Leviathan wasn’t swimming lazily at 30 knots. Thousands of puppet strings bound its main body as it thrashed in agony and fury, sending waves 20 meters high to devastate Busan.

Inside the ship, Ha-yul slipped several times as she desperately bailed water, gasping for breath.

“I’ll help you.” Go Yuri grabbed Ha-yul’s hand.

“...!”

“Heave-ho, heave-ho.”

Ha-yul instinctively tried to pull her hand away, but Go Yuri’s grip was stronger than expected. Undeterred, Go Yuri helped with the bucket. Ha-yul looked at me, her eyes asking, What should I do, Oppa?

I nodded. We needed every available hand, including Go Yuri’s.

“Saintess!” I called. “How are the other areas?”

[They’re fine. I’m directing them with constant communication and movement from the constellations. Don’t worry about the other isolation areas, Mr. Undertaker!]

Indeed, the situation was dire, but there was no time for tears or despair. The world had always been harsh to us.

I wasn’t an omnipotent regressor. I was merely a supporter, burdened with tasks originally meant for the old man Scho. It was why I had painstakingly nurtured party members through countless trials and errors. In this ‘Typhoon Hunt’ operation, there was hardly anyone useless (except perhaps Seo Gyu, who was still floating around unconscious).

[The water levels in all isolation areas are stabilizing.]

[No drowning casualties.]

[Some people have been contaminated by water bugs, but the surrounding Awakeners are handling it.]

[Those who fainted from the impact with the water’s surface are quickly regaining consciousness... Ah, Mr. Undertaker, the dragon is rising again!]

I cursed. Was it planning to keep repeating this?

‘A long battle doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll lose.’

The problem was the damage to our side. The 60,000 people aboard the ark fleet represented invaluable human resources, the last remaining assets in this apocalyptic era.

The resilience. The vitality. The dedication.

None of these lives were expendable.

‘Should I cut the strings now and let the other eleven arks escape? No, that would weaken the puppet strings holding Leviathan. We might end up losing it. Should I wait for the next summer or the next cycle?’

Then, it happened.

-GWAAAAAAAAARGHHHHHHH!

A powerful roar echoed from outside the ark, shaking the command center. It was a deliberate shout, infused with aura, aimed at the Awakeners in despair.

My mind lit with recognition. I knew that voice. Even before the shout ended, I knew its owner.

“Yo-hwa!”

Baekhwa Girls’ High School’s student council president. The only necromancer in the Korean Peninsula. The shrine maiden who sealed the outcast gods in her hourglass. Cheon Yo-hwa had arrived.

-Sink back down!

Leviathan extended its head, poised to soar skyward again, and Cheon Yo-hwa, once the basketball team’s ace, struck it down.

Boom!

The enormous impact forced Leviathan’s head back into the sea. The wave generated by its plunge damaged the beach, and the last intact building in Busan, the National Road Management headquarters, was engulfed.

-ROAAARRRRRRR!

-Baekhwa High! Jump! Don’t tremble like cowards! No matter what, don’t let this snake rise again!

I couldn’t see them, not from the limited view from the command center window.

The Saintess spoke in a hurried admission. [I did it.]

“Saintess...”

[Yes. After communication was cut off, I requested reinforcements from Cheon Yo-hwa. I judged that we must prioritize the eradication of the super monsoon, even if it meant risking the northern front. When persuading her, I claimed it was your request, Mr. Undertaker. I apologize for making a unilateral decision.]

“No, you did well!”

[Thank you,] the Saintess replied, as if she had expected my forgiveness. Her voice was much calmer than before.

“How did Yo-hwa manage to stop Leviathan?”

[She bombed it.]

“Bombed?”

[Originally, Samcheon World guild members were scouting the super monsoon’s approach. Now, they’re carrying Baekhwa High Guild members on broomsticks.]

[When Samcheon World Guild members approach Leviathan with flight magic, Baekhwa High Guild members drop from thousands of meters high and strike the dragon directly.]

“They’re using themselves as missiles...”

[Yes, it was Ms. Cheon Yo-hwa’s plan.]

It was a crude but effective method. Leviathan’s own tactics were equally brutal, so we responded in kind. Yu Ji-won, the least affected by the turmoil, reported, “Sir, Baekhwa High Awakeners are appearing on the mini-map. Some are already drifting in the sea.”

Boom! Ba-boom!

Following Cheon Yo-hwa’s lead, dozens, even hundreds of impact sounds resonated on the battlefield.

Though it was hard to see through the window, Baekhwa High Guild members were bombarding Leviathan in continuous waves, their bodies wrapped in aura.

-ROAAARRRRRRR!

-Teacher!

Cheon Yo-hwa’s voice rang out, desperate.

-We don’t have much time left! Do it now, before that happens!

I immediately left my seat, opening the hatch prepared for diving to a blustering wind.

For the first time, I took in the full view of the battlefield, not just the restricted view from the window. The first thing I saw was Leviathan’s massive body, stretching to the horizon.

“Teacher!”

Then I saw Cheon Yo-hwa struggling, her body half-buried in Leviathan’s eye. She unleashed a fierce aura, furiously attacking the monster’s eye with flailing limbs.

Only then did I understand how Cheon Yo-hwa had grounded Leviathan. This crazy student had jumped from thousands of meters high and stabbed Leviathan’s eye in one fell swoop!

“Yo-hwa!”

“Yes!”

“Well done!”

“Yes! Please save me!”

-ROAAARRRRRRR!

Leviathan went berserk with a mosquito-like intruder sucking its blood. Tsunamis continuously battered Busan’s coastline. Even the National Road Management headquarters began to sway dangerously, and the sight of it inspired a thought.

‘Noah would be happy about the savings on city redevelopment costs.’

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