Regressor Instruction Manual

Chapter 1281. The Right Path (1)

Instead of looking like someone had betrayed him, he looked like he was ready to accept his demise.

‘What a strange bastard...’

It wasn’t easy to understand, but I felt like I could somewhat understand why Jung Jin-Ho had no hesitation in accepting his death. I figured that he had already come to terms with dying here. He wasn’t stupid. After getting hit hard in the back by the masked duo and becoming trapped in this place with the brigade members, I felt like he had to have sensed his fate back then.

Then, Young Death visited him and delivered what was essentially a death sentence. I felt like he had already prepared himself mentally. I believed he thought something along the lines of... "Ah, so this is where I'm going to die."

I had no idea what kind of life he had been living, but no living person could truly be unafraid of death. He felt like someone with a unique philosophy about dying. He was someone cut from a different cloth, but I couldn't really understand it, and I didn't really want to understand it as well.

Regardless, the fact that he was gladly accepting his fate wasn’t normal at all.

‘He was just born different from the start.’

Even a deranged murderer had a philosophy of his own. Of course, I had no sentiment toward his death or beliefs. He was a villain who needed to die anyway, and he had to die here and now.

Regardless, psychopathic killer Jung Jin-Ho, still coughing up blood, was trying to distance himself from Kim Hyun-Sung. He likely knew he didn’t have much time left, and he seemed intent on avoiding meaningless fights that wouldn’t yield any results.

He kept running, and running, like a wolf cub blindly chasing after a flock of sheep.

"Are you watching me?! O Young Death!"

‘I’m watching.’

"The poems and songs I offer you... cough... how are they?! Heh... hehe..."

‘I don’t like it. They’re so cheesy...’

"Ahhhhhhh!"

"Run... ahhh! Run away! That thing’s a monster... it’s a monster!"

"Blaargh..."

"Kehh... aaaaargh!"

Boooom!

Thud!

"Help me! Damn it! H-help me... please..."

"You bastard! Jung Jin-Ho, you asshole!!! Damn it!"

"Heh... hehe..."

"Aaaargh!"

"Ahh! Can you hear it? The sound of a dying ember? O Young Death—cough! Cough!"

‘Why the hell is he talking like that?’

Was he from the 16th century or something? There was a limit to narcissism, for god’s sake. It didn't seem like he was intoxicated with himself, but the fact that he could say things like that with such sincerity was just absurd.

Like a true psychopathic killer, he had probably never experienced a real human connection. Perhaps he learned about society through books and ended up like that.

Back in the tutorial dungeon, I couldn't recall him ever acting like that.

Meeting someone he believed understood him had to have flipped a switch inside him. It pulled out a side of him that was unknown even to himself. Of course, he was the embodiment of pure terror in his enemies' eyes, as he was a lunatic drenched in blood. To make matters even scarier, he was raving about poems and songs while charging forward with a sword.

It was a terrifying sight. He was a big guy to begin with, and now he was charging in like a wolf—no, a lion allowed to let loose among sheep. The dimmer his flame became, the more he pushed himself past his limits.

"Ah... how joyful... so very joyful..."

"Ahhh!

"Ugh... hrrgh... aaaaagh!"

‘Why is he crying? What is his deal? He’s really creeping me out.’

At this point, it was hard to even keep watching this bastard’s madness. I was starting to seriously consider deploying that gray pigeon of ours again—the one who only knew how to lose.

Sure, his life was about to burn out, but his final rampage was just too fierce. If this were all because he became a Templar, then the future would become seriously bad. It wasn't just Kim Hyun-Sung or Cha Hee-Ra. Who could say that some of these people dying right now wouldn't have gone on to shape the future?

‘Maybe five hours left, at most.’

I could see his HP draining away in real-time.

‘How’s Hee-Ra noona doing?’

“It’s already over,” I said.

The brigade members were dropping one by one, unable to withstand the side effects.

"Aaaaargh! Aaaaargh!"

"Ah... ahhh... bleeegh! Ahhh! It hurts... it hurts!"

They screamed as they collapsed. The light around them had long faded away.

I had no idea how much pain they were in, but they were writhing on the ground, hugging themselves. Even the tall, silent one, who had barely spoken a word, was gasping for breath, groaning in pain. That was exactly what I wanted to see.

‘That’s exactly it.’

'Who the hell do you think you are? To crave the blood of a young divine being.'

Even Cha Hee-Ra seemed to have lost her excitement. She quietly looked around, looking puzzled.

"What... the hell... is wrong with them? What’s happening to them?"

"Ahhhhh! Unni! Help me! Ahhhhhhhh! Help me. It hurts... heuk... aaargh!"

"..."

"No... no, just kill me... please kill me! Unni... Cha Hee-Ra! Please... please!"

"..."

"Kyaaaaaaaah!"

In the end, it looked like the woman didn’t even have the strength to speak anymore, as she was just screaming. It was a different kind of reaction from Jung Jin-Ho.

‘Is it the difference between vessels?’

Perhaps that asshole was just enduring the pain. Who could say for sure how many people he had murdered by now?

Even he seemed too out of it to keep count. Bit by bit, I could see his light fading away. And yet that psycho, who knew nothing but murder, kept moving forward, driven by nothing but his instincts.

He wasn’t regenerating anymore. He was strong, but no one could truly decapitate an entire army. He was accumulating more and more wounds as the battle went on.

‘When the hell is this bastard going to die?’

"Ugh... cough! Where... where’s the next one?! O Young Death!"

‘Your friends are all dying, so why the hell are you still alive?’

"I can still move. I feel like I can still move! Hahaha!"

‘Man, seriously. What the hell are you? Why are you suddenly acting like some crusader of justice who just refuses to go down?’

"Heh... hehe... cough!"

‘Why do you sound like the damn protagonist, huh?’

"I’ll kill you... I-I’ll kill you."

Embarrassingly enough, his pitiful, almost tragic, state was starting to make him look like the protagonist on a grand stage. If someone played some dramatic background music, he could even pass for a hero of light standing against the demon horde.

He took a fireball head-on and was engulfed in flames, yet he still managed to move his scorched figure, chop off the mage’s head, and throw it aside. Even after being impaled by a spear, he took another step forward and drove his blade straight into the spearman’s skull.

Sometimes, he cast healing spells, but that was it. Even Mind’s Eye was telling me that he had long reached his limits. Like a shounen manga protagonist, he was moving forward through sheer willpower alone.

‘Does he think he’s Hyun-Sung or something?’

"Hehehe... Not yet! It’s not over yet..."

‘Just die already. Please. You’ve done enough. It was cool, so just die.’

"..."

‘Hurry up and die, man.’

"More... more!"

Honestly, I wished Kim Hyun-Sung would just show up and beat Jung Jin-Ho to death with one attack, but the idiot wouldn't stop getting lured in by the bait Jung Jin-Ho was leaving behind.

I thought he had no conscience or emotions left, but he was busy taking care of the wounded.

Apparently, Jung Jin-Ho knew that about him and laid out the perfect bait. As expected, Kim Hyun-Sung couldn’t bring himself to ignore those people. He could only give them the bare minimum first aid, but even that was enough to waste precious time.

At this rate, there was no way he could keep up with Jung Jin-Ho.

‘Even here, he’s still the same Kim Hyun-Sung. Dumb as ever.’

Why couldn't he understand that if he were to give up on the few in front of him, he'd be able to save many more people? No, he probably knew that. The fact that he agreed to the purge plan proved that.

Of course, I believed that he just couldn’t bring himself to abandon the people before him.

‘He really is just him.’

And just like that, Kim Hyun-Sung gnashed his teeth and took another step toward where Jung Jin-Ho was located.

Just then, an arrow came flying out of nowhere and struck Jung Jin-Ho in the shoulder. It was a blind spot. It wasn’t aimed with precision but released in panic. It was a lucky attack that happened to hit him.

“What... the hell is this...” I mumbled.

Naturally, Jung Jin-Ho snapped the arrow in half like it was nothing.

“What the...” I said.

Then two more arrows pierced his back. They came from behind, and they were followed by a rain of arrows from all directions. The archers collapsed one after another because of Jung Jin-Ho’s spells, but the arrows kept flying.

There were so many that it was hard to count them with the naked eye. They didn’t attack like a scattered group of sheep. An actual organized force had shown up.

“This is...” I said.

They had to know that Jung Jin-Ho was feeling exhausted, but they still dared not get close to him. Instead, they maintained their distance and unleashed wave after wave of arrows. Another one pierced Jung Jin-Ho, but he clenched his teeth and forced himself to swing his sword.

"W-why isn’t that monster going down?

"Heh... hahaha... hahaha... This is it... gasp... This is the place. You led me here... O Young Death! So you've finally decided to take me with you."

"Fire! Keep firing! Don’t stop! Keep firing! That monster... aaargh!"

"Just a little more... just a bit more..."

"Kill him! Fire, damn it! Keep your distance! What the hell are you idiots doing?! Can’t even take down one exhausted freak!"

"Heh... heh... hahahaha! Hahahahaha! Hahahahahahahahaha!"

"Th-that insane bastard..."

Whether he was a guild master or some officer, the guy was staring at Jung Jin-Ho in absolute horror, and it made sense. The man was still moving, even with arrows sticking out of every inch of his body. Even I couldn’t believe the sight before me.

"Is this enough for you?! Or is it still not enough?! Cough... Answer me! Young Death!"

"Kill him! Kill that bastard!"

"Let me hear your voice! Death! Is it still not enough?! Hehe... cough. Even now?! Is it not enough?!"

And for a moment, Kim Hyun-Sung’s voice echoed in my head again.

“Murderer Jung Jin-Ho died after getting shot with hundreds of arrows. He screamed, howled, and cried tears of blood. Then, looking at the sky, he laughed, and then he died. He said it was a shame that he couldn’t kill one more person. It was honestly a terrifying sight.”

I thought everything had gone wrong, but the sight before me told me that perhaps I was mistaken. The bastard was edging closer and closer to the exact death Kim Hyun-Sung had described to me.

Regardless of what I had done, the result would have been the same.

My so-called “mistake” wasn’t really a mistake. It was probably something that was meant to happen. Things hadn't gone wrong because I entered the first life.

It was different from the Mole Saint’s Cozy Sanctuary, where multiple options were possible.

My arrival here was the right future.

Even the small obstacles and expected deviations were all just stepping stones toward the timeline that had always been set in stone.

“This was... canon,” I mumbled.

“...”

“This is the path that we're always supposed to take,” I added.