This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 661

Time begins to flow backward.

Or rather, saying time flows backward might not be the right term at all.

Because if time were to flow backward, there would necessarily have to be an intermediate process that didn’t exist at all.

It was exactly like cutting and rewriting the contents of a novel that’s currently being written, where events that had undeniably occurred were instantaneously rewritten to “such things had never happened.”

Yet, no one seemed to notice this fact.

The reason was simple.

Only she, Miss Almighty, was free from this situation.

“First, let’s delete that.”

With a quiet murmur, those who had fallen to the ground in a state resembling mummies at the hands of the Queen suddenly rose back up.

It might be an obvious statement, but there was no intermediate process in that either.

The situation where two people had fallen victim to the Queen’s ambush was changed to one where two people were about to be ambushed.

Of course, the state resembling hundreds of years old mummies remained unchanged.

For a moment, I stared blankly at the two who looked as if they could fall at any moment, and then Miss Almighty began to mutter.

“Hmm, still, would it be better for one of them to take a hit to heighten the tension?”

Should I just say one of them took a hit, or should I revert both to how they were originally?

If I decide on just one being hit, which of the two should it be?

As if reflecting the dilemma that had taken over Miss Almighty’s mind, the mummified forms of those two blinked back to normal and then returned to their shriveled state repeatedly.

If people were to see it, they would undoubtedly be horrified.

Nevertheless, Miss Almighty seemed completely unconcerned.

It was only natural that she couldn’t be bothered.

From her perspective, everything that constituted this world, like that Queen over there or the ‘Tree’ towering high enough to pierce the Heogye’s sky, were nothing more than toys she could play with at will.

One couldn’t get angry at a toy just because it was a bit damaged.

Only the owner has the right to get angry when a toy gets damaged.

And among all the beings she had met throughout her life, there was only one who could be confidently called the owner—herself.

Since when?

Since the moment she became aware of the existence she had held within her since birth.

And that wouldn’t change in the future.

There’s no guarantee that just because it has always been that way it will remain so, but the high probability that things will continue to be as they have been is more or less accurate.

Therefore, she must pay extra attention to the conclusion.

You know that saying, don’t you?

A beautiful person leaves a beautiful spot behind.

Having had more than enough fun till now?

She had to ensure that the final moment was tidy.

That’s why she was pondering like this now.

“Yeah, let’s say they both barely dodged.”

After all, having lost one person coming this far meant that instead of the originally planned ten, there would be nine left, and if one more were to drop out, it might lead to the remaining ones wearing terrified expressions rather than solemn ones.

When the moment finally came for humanity, who had suffered for ages at the hands of Another, to strike back, there couldn’t be anyone sulking like a coward with their tail tucked between their legs.

Thus, the fate of the two was decided.

Although it took a fair amount of time to reach a decision, the speed at which that decision was reflected in reality was overwhelmingly fast compared to that.

The shriveled bodies returned to their original state.

The slender white tentacles that had pierced their sides and backs vanished.

And instead, the image engraved in reality began to show the slender tentacles barely brushing against the faces and upper bodies of the two.

“Does it seem a bit plain…?”

Just as Miss Almighty murmured that, thin scratches appeared on the forearms and cheeks of the two who had just regained their original forms.

Was that not enough to satisfy her?

Following the scratches, droplets of blood began to form.

Among those starting to appear, the climax was marked by the crimson droplet hanging from the tip of the thin white tentacle, clearly showing that the two had narrowly managed to evade the attack.

It was a thrilling sight that undeniably conveyed how close they had come.

As if affirming her satisfaction, Miss Almighty lightly clapped her hands, her expression floating the words, “Yes, this is more like it!”

And that became the signal.

Things that had been unnaturally halted began to flow once more.

The two with expressions that clearly spelled danger, who had been in the middle of leaping backward in apparent distress, acted right after.

“Ugh…!”

“What’s happening all of a sudden…!”

Naturally, the people’s reactions towards those two were significantly different from before.

While before, everyone had been too busy being astonished, now they showed a far stronger display of wariness.

“That’s fast, absurdly so.”

“I missed that movement for a moment.”

“Thank goodness they reacted immediately; if they had been even a tad slower…”

“…they would have been hit.”

“I honestly didn’t believe that Lightning Lady was struggling—”

“Now, I think it makes sense. That kind of speed…”

Yeah, this is it.

This is what the atmosphere of a boss battle should feel like.

It must have been a moment when someone was inwardly pleased.

Without any preparatory movements, the Queen’s tentacles had been retracted in an instant, and her head tilted to the side.

As if someone had sensed something odd,

“…Strange.”

However, few took seriously the Queen’s actions.

Everyone was too busy feeling uneasy about her human-like behavior.

“Another mimicking humans? I felt the same when facing that ‘Girl’-type, but to say it’s disgustingly unbearable.”

“Exactly. If it’s a monster, it should behave like one…”

“It’s likely aimed at inducing complacency, right? If it looks human, it inevitably weakens the resolve of those who must confront it.”

“So, is the reason the unique entities we faced on the way here, and this so-called Queen, appear girl-like…?”

“Could it be that they learned that this is the most effective way to induce distraction in their opponents?”

“Plus, if they look human, they can blend in with people easily. It would be nearly impossible to distinguish by mere appearance.”

“Now that you mention it, that’s horrific. An Another posing as a human among our ranks.”

Of course, if such a situation were to occur in reality, humanity would eventually find a solution as they always had.

After all, what were once the mysteries of calamities lurking in the cracks, unpredictable and dangerous, had been greatly mitigated once devices to forecast fissures became widespread.

Therefore, even if such events were to actually occur, eventually, there would surely be a ‘method’ found, but… how many lives would be sacrificed in the process?

For now, they seemed only able to take on the form of a girl, but what if they advanced further and gained the ability to change their appearance at will?

Did everyone come to such a conclusion?

“Then, even more, we should deal with this here and now, right?”

“Yeah, let’s do this.”

A solemn atmosphere began to circle the faces of those glaring at the Queen.

Thus… perhaps a battle that could become the punctuation mark in humanity’s survival competition against Another was about to begin.

Even with the glaring stares of those who looked ready to kill, the ‘Queen,’ standing expressionless and motionless in her place, finally showed a change.

“I see.”

That was… emotion.

“I think I finally understand something.”

A raw emotion, one that could never be created by consciously mimicking someone else’s, appeared vividly on the Queen’s face.

“You… have something incredibly interesting, don’t you?”

People called it ‘ecstasy.’