IPERIML 5

Chapter 5

There are countless endings in Infinite Regression War besides the true one. Among them were sad endings where the story cut short long before reaching the conclusion—and Hakar becoming a Demon King was one of those routes.

So Celesia thought: If I follow that specific route, I can gain even greater power and authority than I have now. Unlike the game where I had zero help, maybe I can save Hakar under much more favorable conditions.

“Alright then.”

When she looked back up, her expression was significantly firmer.

“Time to start farming.”

Without a second’s hesitation, she strode straight forward toward the melted remains of Morckald. Lumpy masses were scattered across the pool of bright red liquid.

‘It’s gross, but I have to do it, right?’

Taking a deep breath, Celesia knelt down. She didn’t hesitate. As she reached out, the sticky liquid seeped between her fingers. Even though time had passed, the lukewarm heat lingering in the sludge gave her goosebumps, but she stubbornly dug through the remains anyway.

Squelch, squelch.

She kept shoving her hands in and churning through the mess until finally…

“…Found it.”

Her fingers wrapped tightly around something.

[Acquired: Red Thread (T)!]

Carefully pulling it out revealed a condensed, glowing red crystal that looked like a ball of yarn.

When you kill a Chapter 1 boss, a piece of farming loot spawns in its place. Since Morckald’s primary weapon—his needles—was crafted by carving his own bones, a replacement item was provided instead.

That was this Red Thread.

“It really just looks like red string.”

It might have looked ordinary on the surface, but its uses were practically endless. By controlling its density, it could slice through diamonds like paper, weave together like a spiderweb to bind enemies, or spread out thinly to construct a spatial barrier.

Since it was formed from my own mana, summoning and recalling it was completely seamless. Best of all, it had the overwhelming ability to attach to an opponent’s nervous system and manipulate them like a puppet.

Of course, it had its downsides. In the game, if your mouse cursor jittered even a tiny bit, the thread would wildly veer off course, earning it quite a bad reputation. Because of this, the ‘Clear Infinite Regression War Using Only Red Thread’ challenge went viral among players.

Naturally, I was the one who came up with that challenge and made it blow up in the first place.

“Controlling it should be similar to the game, right?”

That was why I had confidence. Confidence that I wouldn’t be looked down on anymore, and that from here on out, I’d be the one issuing threats instead of receiving them.

It had been a mere two days since the coronation.

Even though my succession was recognized under the law of the jungle, everyone suspected foul play, doubting how a bottom-tier demon could suddenly rise to the throne of a Demon King.

Every single day felt like walking on thin ice.

Tonight was no exception. Right on cue, the handle to the quiet sewing room rattled.

I immediately froze.

Creak—

The door pushed open slowly, revealing a maid holding a tray.

“I don’t recall calling for you.”

The maid promptly bowed her head, offering an excuse in a trembling voice.

“I-I apologize. Since you didn’t return to the bedroom until late… I brought some snacks for you.”

It was a terrible excuse. In fact, ever since she stepped into the sewing room, the translucent light-gray aura flowing down her right arm was driving me crazy.

It was a wave of mana.

“Put your right hand back.”

“…Pardon?”

With only a few lanterns lit, I faced the maid directly against the backdrop of the dark sewing room.

Then, I repeated myself:

“I said, don’t do it.”

The maid’s breathing hitched instantly. A brief silence hung in the air before she placed the tray on a nearby side table and backed away.

“I apologize…”

Slide. The door closed once again.

I rubbed my tired, bloodshot eyes with my fingertips, muttering under my breath, “As if I’d actually eat something you left behind.”

A plate of delicious-looking cookies sat on the tray, but all it did was make me scowl.

How many times had this been now? Every time I dropped my guard or got ready to sleep, someone would drop by under the guise of an accident to pull a surprise attack—or try to poison me in their spare time. I couldn’t relax for even a second.

Morning wasn’t any different.

“Today…”

“We will be waiting outside the dining hall, so please enjoy your meal.”

As you can see, far from having a conversation, they were too busy ignoring and avoiding me. Yet all the while, they kept sneaking glances at me, clearly calculating when and how to strike—or maybe just checking why I hadn’t dropped dead yet.

“Haaah…”

I let out a heavy, exhausted sigh.

At the same time, I dipped my index finger into each item of food on the lavish table, pulling it out repeatedly. Every single time, my fingernail stained a completely different color.

“Can I please just eat a meal in peace?”

Just like before, another poisoning attempt accompanied every single meal.

For context, my index finger was stitched with the ‘Arachne’s Fingernail’ obtained from the poison spider beast Arachne, allowing me to absorb and identify different toxins. Thanks to that, I had successfully survived for two straight days.

[Poison Detected: Muscle Relaxant] Symptom: Loss of muscle strength

[Poison Detected: Neural Paralytic] Symptom: Loss of sensation, full-body paralysis

‘I knew it.’

I didn’t stitch Arachne’s fingernail planning to use it like this, but to think it’d end up being my most used feature.

Finally, I dipped my fingernail into the glass of water. Without fail, it turned pitch black.

[Poison Detected: Heart Toxin] Symptom: Rapid drop in blood flow, cardiac arrest

“Wow. Unbelievable.”

This time, it was a brand-new heart toxin that hadn’t appeared before. My appetite completely evaporated.

“Is poison a seasoning or something? Why do they keep adding new ones?”

On top of everything, I hadn’t slept a wink for two days straight, leaving my fatigue at an all-time high. I walked away from the table without a single shred of regret.

“…Let’s just hold out until today.”

I walked straight to the dining room door, but as soon as I opened it, low whispers echoed out.

“Word is that tomorrow, Tasha’s gonna… Oh!”

“Ahem.“

“…D-Do you happen to need anything?”

There were endless things to call them out on—starting from waiting outside instead of inside the dining room, all the way to the poisoning attempts.

“……”

But once again, I chose silence.

“I’m done eating.”

Yeah. Wasting my energy on minor crap like this wasn’t worth it—especially since today would be the last day of this treatment anyway.

My preparation wasn’t anything overly grand. For three days straight, I had been in the process of stitching the Red Thread into my own body. Since it was the ultimate item of Chapter 1, the stitching difficulty was sky-high, making the long duration unavoidable.

Still, to keep the promise I made to Hakar, I needed to end this tedious standoff as quickly as possible. And to do that, the most necessary asset in this survival-of-the-fittest realm was, without a doubt, power.

[Stitching Complete: ‘Red Thread’!]

Finally, after spending three days and nights meticulously carving out time, the results bloomed right from my hands alongside a welcome notification.

[Red Thread Controls Guide]

1. Utilize the tension and relaxation of your fingers to manipulate the Red Thread.

2. It will respond directly to your intent.

3. To cancel, issue the command by exhaling deeply.

From the tips of my touching fingers, crimson threads pulled out like a game of cat’s cradle. I transferred the threads onto one hand, stretching them out long.

When I tossed them toward the pile of Morckald’s test subjects stacked in the corner, the thread spread out like a cloth, wrapping completely over them.

Soon, the red cloth lifted.

Rattle, clatter—

Like stringed marionettes, the carcasses of the magical beasts stood up, moving in awkward, robotic motions.

The sight sent a shiver straight down my spine.

“…Ah.”

I was completely spellbound for a moment. But quickly wanting to get used to the feeling, I kept my fingers moving frantically.

I wrapped thread around the door, sealing it tight. Pulling the carcasses together and manipulating them with the string, I even set up a mini waltz performance as a brief playful distraction.

And just like that, I pulled a complete all-nighter until dawn.

“Lady Celesia!”

As if waking my mind from its dopamine-fueled, exhaustion-dazed state, a booming voice bellowed from outside.

It was Hoken.

Rattle—

“What the… Why is the door…”

Hoken—who hadn’t shown his face once since the succession ceremony—had suddenly made an appearance. It definitely wasn’t a good omen.

Rattle—

“Just how horribly did you maintain this place?!”

Amidst his complaining, Hoken shook the door even harder, looking like he was about to tear it off its hinges while calling out to me repeatedly.

“Lady Celesia!”

“……”

Instead of answering, I quietly recalled the Red Thread covering the iron door. The threads dropped to the floor in a loose heap.

Immediately, the door burst open. Hoken, who had been shoving against it with all his weight, lost his balance and tumbled forward.

“T-There’s a commotion outside—”

Hoken couldn’t finish his sentence. His eyes landed on the bizarre, intricate web of threads stretching out behind me.

“A commotion…”

Hoken’s mouth hung half-open. ‘Stunned’ was the exact word to describe his look right now.

“A commotion… what?”

“……”

His ears might as well have been stuffed, considering he offered zero reply.

Up until yesterday, I would have swallowed my anger and let it slide, but not anymore.

Now, it was my turn.