Regressor Instruction Manual

Chapter 1341. Return (1)

‘Am... am I alive right now?’

There was pain in my shoulders, legs, and lower back, but I[1] realized I barely managed to avoid the golden shower of swords. I looked around, and the first things that entered my sight were the fallen Hunting Dog and Marian. It seemed the mage named Boyle had cast a self-sacrifice spell to deploy a barrier, as they appeared unharmed as well.

They looked as if they could stop breathing at any moment, so I had no choice but to run straight toward them.

"J-Joo-Hyuk...” Marian muttered.

‘They’re alive.’

Of course, the first thing I did was run to Marian and give her a potion I carried with me.

In a situation like this, the priest had to be saved first. After pulling out the golden sword sticking out of her, I poured the potion on the wound, but I noticed it wasn’t healing as well as I thought it would.

‘How...’

“Marian, can you hear me? Marian? Marian!” Kim Ah-Young called out.

“H-huh? Miss... Ah-Young...” Marian muttered.

“Yeah, it’s me. Can you hear me?” I asked.

“Yes. Joo-Hyuk... Where’s Joo-Hyuk...” Marian asked.

“The Hunting Dog is fine. But you two...” Marian answered.

There was no end to the questions I wanted to ask.

‘What on earth was that movement?’

The Hunting Dog was one thing, but the way they fought in this battle was incomprehensible. I knew they had been hiding their true skills. I wasn’t a fool.

However, I hadn’t thought that they would reveal a completely different side of themselves. The Hunting Dog, Marian, and the others in the party all moved as if they had become different people altogether.

I knew all of it was influenced by that great being, but even setting that aside, the way they moved was really shocking.

I never managed to touch that blond-haired angel, but Lee Joo-Hyuk got pretty close to him. When I recalled the battle just now, my thoughts froze as if my mind had stopped working. Then, something else caught my attention.

‘Where’s that apprentice mage?’

“Where’s Ha-Yan unni?” I asked.

I couldn't clearly remember what just happened.

I could only remember seeing countless golden swords falling from the sky, and the party did everything they could to block them.

Since I was barely conscious, I couldn’t even understand what was happening, and I also had no idea how I managed to survive. What I could remember was that I had no choice but to curl up. When I hastily looked around, I saw three large figures. I saw Ha-Yan unni and the young apprentice mage staring at the three figures.

I saw the young apprentice mage pat Ha-Yan unni on the head once before staring blankly at the three.

“Big Boy...”

"..."

“Carlton...”

“...”

“Yoojin...”

Just then, I realized how Ha-Yan unni and that apprentice mage survived the onslaught. Big Boy, Carlton, and Yoojin became their meat shields, suffering devastating injuries as a result of it.

“...”

“...”

There were so many swords sticking out of them that they looked like hedgehogs. A pool of blood so massive that it was difficult to comprehend had pooled beneath them. I was sure all that blood had come from those three.

Ha-Yan unni, who had first thrown herself to shield the apprentice mage, seemed to have a few swords sticking out of her, but the apprentice mage had not even a single wound.

He was bloody, as he had rolled across the pool of blood that the three had left behind.

“Are you...”

I wanted to ask if she was okay. I wanted to rush over and confirm with my own eyes that Ha-Yan unni was alive, but strangely enough, my body wouldn’t obey me.

What drew my attention instead was the apprentice mage quietly pulling the swords out of the three.

The boy wasn’t crying, but he was clearly grieving. His sorrow, his rage, and his frustration—they all reached me. I froze without realizing it, which was strange.

No hostility nor any mana was spreading outward, but I was left paralyzed, even though I was just staring at him.

I couldn’t move while looking at him.

Before I knew it, both Marian and Lee Joo-Hyuk were staring at the same scene.

“Marian...” I mumbled.

“...”

“T-that great being... no... just what is that apprentice mage—”

“Don’t try to understand... Kim Ah-Young...” Lee Joo-Hyuk interrupted me.

“Hunting Dog. You...”

“Marian... is old man Boyle still alive?” he asked.

“No... heuk... I-I think he’s dead,” Marian answered.

“Damn it... and Father Lee Ki-Young...” Lee Joo-Hyuk asked.

“Who the hell is this Father Lee Ki-Young? Is that apprentice mage supposed to be the head of some religious order... No, more importantly, just who in the world are you all...”

“Don’t try to figure it out right now. If a chance comes later, I’ll explain,” Lee Joo-Hyuk told her.

“Joo-Hyuk... Father Lee Ki-Young...” Marian interrupted.

“I see it too,” Lee Joo-Hyuk said.

They checked up on Old Man Boyle’s condition, but they made no move to approach the apprentice mage.

“W-we have to stop that apprentice mage first. Miss Jung Ha-Yan also needs treatment. It looked like she drank a potion, but...” I paused.

“...”

“What are you going to do? Just stand there and watch?” I questioned.

The nonsense I blurted out in my panic was met with—

“The choice isn’t ours to make, Kim Ah-Young. It’s his,” Lee Joo-Hyuk replied.

—a reply I couldn’t possibly understand.

Just then, black tears of blood dripped from the boy’s eyes.

“Huh?”

As if someone had turned on the faucet, tears of blood streamed down his face.

Seeing those tears, Marian shut her eyes tight in shock.

“Ah... aah... aaah... forgive my sins. Forgive my sins. Forgive my sins. Forgive my sins. Almighty Benigoa, forgive my sins,” Marian prayed.

‘Wh-what the hell is she saying?’

“Forgive my sins. Forgive my sins,” Marian repeated.

“Marian! What are you doing? Lee Joo-Hyuk! You’re just going to stand there?” I shouted.

“Close your eyes,” Lee Joo-Hyuk ordered.

“What?!” I questioned.

“Close your eyes, Kim Ah-Young,” Lee Joo-Hyuk repeated.

“What the hell are you saying?! Hunting Dog!” I yelled at him.

“Shut up and close your eyes!” Lee Joo-Hyuk yelled back at me.

I knew something was happening, but I couldn’t tell what it was.

Just then, the boy’s hair turned white.

“Huh?”

The strands twisted together on their own, forming the shape of snakes. Just like the Medusa of Greek and Roman mythology, his hair transformed into writhing snakes.

Hissing noises filled the air. His skin, already pale, grew even paler, and his irises shifted to a deep crimson. From his back, wings sprouted, but I wasn’t sure if they could even be called wings.

He was half-naked due to the recent battle, but as he rose into the air, the snakes wrapped themselves around him.

“W-what... what is that...” I asked.

“Forgive my sins. Forgive my sins. Forgive my sins. Forgive my sins. Forgive my sins. Forgive my sins. Forgive my sins,” Marian repeated.

“Marian, Lee Joo-Hyuk! What the hell is that?!” I questioned.

“Forgive my sins. Forgive my sins. Forgive my sins. Forgive my sins. Forgive my sins. Forgive my sins,” Marian continued.

Marian sounded like a broken record. I had no idea what sins she was talking about or to whom she was praying, but her voice carried more desperation than ever.

Soon, I figured out the answer.

[The Monarch of Lust and Eternal Sleep has descended.]

“...”

“...”

“Monarch of Lust... and Eternal Sleep... A d-demon?” I stuttered.

No... that isn’t something like a demon.

“A transcendent being? No... a god...” I muttered.

“...”

“A great being...” I said.

It was an alien sight. It was like I was seeing something really out of the ordinary.

Since arriving on this continent, I had witnessed countless incomprehensible things, but this was the most incomprehensible of them all.

I wasn’t sure if the words were right, but the moment I faced that being, it felt as though my soul itself trembled—no, it was like my soul was being drawn in.

My mind spun, and I felt like I was going to go blind. I couldn’t even grasp what I was looking at. Someone once said that when an ordinary human encountered something transcendent, they would become a madman.

That was exactly what I was feeling right now.

“Ah... what the...” I mumbled.

It took a moment for me to realize that blood was running down my face. I could no longer tell the passage of time, and only one thing was certain—I couldn’t look away.

Something black was pouring from my stomach, and a strange symbol appeared, seemingly representing something. At first glance, it looked like a retainer brand, but it couldn’t be, could it? Corrupted holiness were the words that suited him best; he was lust, reborn.

‘I want it.’

I want it. I want that.

“...”

I wanted that. I wanted to possess that. I wanted to make it mine. However, I knew that I couldn't do that. It was too far away to reach. Too far for an ordinary human to approach.

The realization made me so sad that tears fell down my face without me realizing it.

I knew that was something I could never obtain.

“Heuk... heuuuk... haa... ugh... heuuuuk...”

My head spun, and my mind grew hazy. I couldn't even move. It felt like some strange scent was drifting toward me from somewhere.

Just then, what had risen to the skies turned around.

In a form that seemed to embody lust itself, befitting the title "Monarch of Lust and Eternal Sleep," I heard it murmuring softly.

Frozen stiff angels appeared before me.

They raised their spears to their own necks. One by one, I saw them falling.

'Ah, maybe I could approach it, too.'

Perhaps I could reach it somewhere else if not here. I couldn't help but think that way.

No, I actually couldn’t think of anything at all. I simply couldn’t look away...

Just then, someone pulled me away.

“Get a hold of yourself, Kim Ah-Young,” Lee Joo-Hyuk said.

“...”

“...”

“Kim Ah-Young! Snap out of it!” Lee Joo-Hyuk shouted.

“...”

“Kim Ah-Young!” he called out.

“Huh? Uh... Hunting Dog?”

When I finally forced my head to turn, there was Hunting Dog with his eyes closed.

“Don’t look. Close your eyes. It’ll make it a little bit easier,” he instructed.

“You... you... no... I just...” I stuttered.

“Close your eyes,” Lee Joo-Hyuk said.

“N-no...” I muttered.

I could feel him reaching out and forcing my eyes shut. I knew I wasn’t supposed to look at it, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away.

I struggled, and Hunting Dog held me tight. I had no idea what was happening, and I heard nothing but silence apart from the sound of the angels falling to the ground.

Eventually, I heard nothing. Someone...

“Sub Guild Master!”

A voice echoed, but I couldn’t tell whose voice it was.

Wait...

‘Jo Hye-Jin?’

It was Jo Hye-Jin’s voice.

“Hunting Dog. Hunting Dog! What’s happening?” I asked.

“...”

“Marian? Are you there? Huh?” I asked.

“...”

“Is it over? Is it... is it finally over?” I questioned.

“...”

“Please answer me. Everyone!” I begged.

“...”

“...”

“I-I can open my eyes now, right? Right?” I asked.

“...”

“I’m going to open them. It’s okay if I do, right?” I said.

“...”

The Hunting Dog, the Miracle Priest, and the Monarch of Lust and Eternal Sleep—none of them were in sight. There was nothing before me, as if everything I witnessed had all been just a dream.

1. Kim Ah-Young’s POV ☜