Regressor Instruction Manual

Chapter 1486. Backstage (7) [Illustration]

Given the circumstances, it seemed that Kim Hyun-Sung’s letter was damaged by Lee Ki-Young and couldn’t be read, but there was no difficulty in understanding how the situation was unfolding. From Lee Ki-Young’s letter, it was possible to infer the contents of the letters Kim Hyun-Sung had sent.

To put it simply, it would be fair to say that he also bore some share of the responsibility.

Since agreeing to the purging incident in the first place had already been a mistake, it was meaningless to measure the degree of fault, but perhaps there could have been at least one opportunity to turn things around.

It was natural, in a way, that he harbored doubts about the first letter he had received. He could have considered the possibility that it could be an enemy’s trap.

However, it was hard not to feel a slight suspicion about the somewhat lukewarm responses he showed here and there. Looking at the flow of the letters, he responded while concealing the fact that the plague was a lie, so it couldn't be denied that Kim Hyun-Sung’s response was lacking.

Of course, there had to have been various reasons behind it. Perhaps his earlier doubts weren't fully resolved. If one simply thought about it, his reaction wasn't exactly unnatural.

How could he readily believe a letter that suddenly appeared in his residence one day? He already seemed traumatized by assassins, so it wasn't strange that he couldn’t fully trust Lee Ki-Young. Sadly, that couldn’t serve as a reason for his lukewarm response.

It was highly likely that he had been deceiving himself. Since the other party couldn’t be completely trusted, he had to have told himself to approach it cautiously.

Considering how he became more proactive the moment Lee Ki-Young asked what the Empire had promised him, it was likely that, deep down, he didn’t want to lose what he had obtained.

‘I can understand that, in a way.’

Kim Hyun-Sung wasn’t perfect to begin with. It was difficult to give up the power and authority in one's hands. Perhaps, deep down, he wanted to believe that Lee Ki-Young’s words were false. At the moment, he thought he could finally be safe and had gained the power to protect what was his, so how could he suddenly abandon everything?

If this had simply been about greed, it would have been easier to let go, but for Kim Hyun-Sung, this operation wasn’t about a desire for power but a desire for his own survival as well. Honestly, it almost felt admirable that Kim Hyun-Sung had even decided to open everything up to Lee Ki-Young and actively help him.

It was just regrettable that it didn’t happen sooner.

‘On top of that...’

“...”

“...”

‘He was a completely empty commander.’

What would it have been like if this idiot had even a little more political knowledge?

‘He’s the very definition of incompetence.’

He never really had any political knowledge. Even at this point in time, his pathetic lack of political instinct remained his weakness. After a long war, all he knew how to do was fight, and the very idea that Kim Hyun-Sung, who had just turned twenty-four, could control the entire subjugation force was nonsense from the start.

He likely had never handled troops of that scale before, and I could say with certainty that it was his first time sitting in such a position. People like Jung Yoo-Ra and Song Jung-Wook were under him, and they were veterans who had been through everything the continent had to offer. Commander Kim Hyun-Sung of the subjugation force was, in reality, nothing more than a scarecrow compared to them.

They showed respect on the surface and pretended to follow his orders, but deep down, they most likely saw him as a horse that was easy to rein in. It wasn't just the outsiders; I was sure the Imperial soldiers believed that as well.

‘And this is the result...’

When soldiers who would never listen to their commander’s orders, Imperial troops who had received separate commands from Charlotte, outsiders blinded by the achievements right in front of them, and a commander who wasn’t only incompetent but also incapable of controlling anything were combined, the results were obvious.

Kim Hyun-Sung had yet to arrive, but the vanguard of the subjugation force had already attacked Rahel, and the purge began as planned. Fancy spells shot up into the sky from all directions, and massive explosions echoed, followed by piercing screams.

The outsiders, eager to claim even a little more credit, were even more aggressive in the purging than the Imperial soldiers.

— Seal it all off!

— Aah... Aaaaaargh!

— Fire! Fire!!!

— Don’t let a single one escape! This is the command of Her Majesty the Empress!

— They’re stragglers of Celia! Show no mercy to the enemy!!!

Quite literally, an entire city was being swept away. It wasn’t as if there were absolutely no one resisting the attacks, but such resistance was meaningless. From the beginning, Rahel’s barrier, which lacked the sustenance of mages, couldn’t even block mere arrows. The sight of bombs full of overwhelming destructive power raining down on the city was enough to make one question whether this was truly reality.

To exaggerate slightly, the residents of Rahel weren’t even visible. It was likely a sight that even Kim Hyun-Sung himself had never witnessed. By the time he arrived, everything was probably almost finished.

Rahel wasn’t a large city. Of course, it was by no means small, but it wasn’t capable of withstanding the attacks of the determined Imperial army.

Kim Hyun-Sung was standing there blankly as he stared at the scene.

Just as expected, he was watching a city being wiped out. As a war hero of the Celia civil war, it wasn’t the first time he had seen people die, but war and massacre were distinctly different. It seemed that Kim Hyun-Sung had finally realized that.

He finally understood the absurdity of what he had agreed to.

— Ah... ugh...

It looked as though the words were caught in his throat. It looked as if he had developed aphasia, as he couldn't shout "stop" or call it off. He likely understood that saying such things now would be utterly meaningless.

He finally realized that he was a commander in name only. He thought he had become powerful, but he finally understood that it wasn’t the case at all.

— Mr. Kim Hyun-Sung!

— Mr. Kim Hyun-Sung! W-wait!

Like a zombie, he trudged into the city, and the devastation brought by his own hands filled his vision. He saw bodies burned so black that it was impossible to identify them, yet not so unrecognizable that one could fail to notice the elderly and children among them.

Kim Hyun-Sung saw all of it. Around him, cheers of victory rang out. Of course, there were soldiers like Kim Hyun-Sung who seemed to be feeling doubtful about the incident but had decided to keep their mouths tightly shut at the horrific sight.

Some of the outsiders wore faint smiles at the corners of their lips.

— Good job, Commander of the subjugation–

I saw the face of the outsider patting his shoulder. In an instant, Kim Hyun-Sung whipped around and swung his fist into the man’s face. Judging by the circumstances, he had to have been at the center of the subjugation force’s vanguard. Perhaps he was someone Kim Hyun-Sung had somewhat trusted.

To stop this massacre, he needed some "hands and feet," so he had no choice but to entrust the task to someone else. With a heavy thud, the man fell straight backward, but...

— Haa... haa... whoo...

— Keke... you fool.

Only a snickering, mocking laughter could be heard from the man.

— ...

— Whoo... whoo... whoo...

— Just remember this, Kim Hyun-Sung. Actually, Count Kim Hyun-Sung.

— ...

— I’m the one who helped you, you bastard.

— ...

— I’m the one who helped you! You idiot! So?! Are you going to take it or not?! Huh?!

It seemed that Kim Hyun-Sung wanted to get as far away from him as possible. As Kim Hyun-Sung hurriedly left the scene, the man’s voice continued to echo from behind him.

— Are you not going to take it?! Count Kim Hyun-Sung?! Huh?!

— ...

— Don’t forget! I’m the one who helped you! Don’t forget that! Got it?! I’m the one who did it! You bastard!!!

Kim Hyun-Sung hurried into a narrow alleyway, and tears welled up in his eyes. Then, he bent over and vomited as if he had realized—once again—just what exactly he had agreed to.

— Urk... blegh.

— ...

— Bleegh...

I heard sobbing. It was likely the first time he had shed tears since the tutorial. As I stared at the twenty-four-year-old Kim Hyun-Sung, the image of his twenty-two-year-old self came into view. He looked as though he'd collapse at any moment, but after some time passed, Kim Hyun-Sung seemed to have made up his mind.

He wanted to change, or perhaps he wanted to change things. He wanted power.

He seemed to be thinking about many things, but one thing was certain—this moment had to have led Kim Hyun-Sung into becoming a mediator of goodwill.

At this moment, a somewhat unimpressive swordsman who once thought of nothing but survival stepped onto the staircase toward becoming a hero. However, this story wasn’t his alone.

While he gained a lot and stepped onto the staircase toward becoming a hero, someone else lost everything and was cast down to the very bottom.

I saw Park Deok-Gu and Lee Ki-Young fleeing in a panic.

It was a scene I had already witnessed through Kasugano Yuno.

‘I’ve already seen this.’

— I can’t tell you to leave me behind, you pig.

— I knew you’d say that, hyung-nim.

— Still, it’d be better if you left me here. This body’s stupidly tough. You’ll survive. Well... it’s a bit scary, sure, but it’s not like I’ve lived a life full of regrets... If you just get revenge for me, that’d be enough...

— Isn’t that just a trick to make me feel sorry for you so I won’t leave?

— You little...

— No matter what you say, I’m not leaving you, so stop talking crap. I’m the one saving you, hyung-nim.

— Stop running your mouth and put me down.

— I’m not bluffing. I mean it. I’m going to save you. Do you remember?

— Remember what?

— How many times you saved my life. Do you remember?

— I never really moved with the intention of saving you. You just seemed promising, so I took care of you. That’s all...

— I don’t see it that way. No matter what you say, you still saved me. Mentally and physically. Thanks for taking hits more than once for your useless little brother.

— You can’t die... Do you know how much I’ve invested in you... I need to get a return.

— Thank you for defending me in the dungeon, and for choosing me. No matter how much I dig through my memories, it feels like I’ve only ever been saved by you. No matter how much I think back, those are the only memories I have. All I remember is being indebted to you... That’s what I’m saying. So this time, it’s my turn.

— We’re both going to die...

— I told you, I’m going to save you. Don’t forget that, hyung-nim.

— What?

— If you can do it... I can do it better.

— ...

— If you can do it, I can... do it better.

— ...

— If you... can do it... I can...

— ...

— Do it... better...

— ...

— If you... can do it...

— ...

— I can... do... it...

— ...

— Do... it...

— ...

— ...

Right, it was a scene I had already seen through Kasugano Yuno. A scene that had nothing to do with the current me. For someone who had come to understand that the first and second lives had to be clearly separated, the scene before me ought to mean nothing.

I understood how foolish it was to empathize with it, but tears fell from my eyes.

Even I found my emotions impossible to control. Tears fell down my face as if a faucet had been left running. They poured down so heavily that I could barely see what was in front of me.

My mind went blank, and I couldn't see anything other than the pig holding me.

He took the brunt of every attack and forced himself to endure the great torment they brought just to protect me. He did all that, even though he could no longer feel anything. He continued until the very end.

“...”

One by one, large tears dripped down my face.