Regressor Instruction Manual

Chapter 1513. Extinction (23)

‘Just like I thought, the ones above are all the same. Look at how deep he has fallen...’

I had no way of knowing the exact situation inside, but I was certain that Michele was gradually dying inside Mikael. In the literal sense, only the final blow remained. Whether Michele was trying to resist or simply unable to resist, gaining the upper hand against a transcendent being with sheer willpower in a mental world was something that only happened in comics.

The years they lived, their experiences, and their depth of existence were on entirely different levels.

If one were to compare the size and density of Mikael and Michele’s souls, even describing them as a firefly and a nuclear reactor wouldn’t be enough. Michele had come to this peaceful era and settled in without going through any great hardships, so how could he possibly resist Mikael, who had endured countless trials?

Of course, there were exceptions.

‘Ji-Hye noona was the strange one.’

The fact that she captured Dominions was already abnormal. Unfortunately, Michele was the kind of person who couldn’t step outside the bounds of the ordinary.

‘It’s a little pitiful, but in the end, it worked out pretty well.’

I didn’t know what kind of conversation they were having, but judging by the flow, he had to have started questioning Lee Ki-Young. He probably couldn’t directly say that it looked like an act, but he had to have tried to coax him by pointing out the many suspicious things.

Of course, our devout Mikael wouldn’t so much as blink at Satan’s whispers. If anything, I could picture him pressing and cornering Michele instead.

‘And this is the result of it.’

The owner of the room was crouched in the corner, wary of the guest’s mood. This was a situation that could only be described as advantageous for us. His face was filled with venom. It was also stained with anger and impatience. He used to look like someone who had never known the hardships of the world, but now, he looked worn down.

It was easy to guess that he was heading toward the pigeons’ nest, so I roughly matched the heading of his journey. It seemed he had even received support from a few rangers in exchange for maintaining the barrier over Castle Rock, but since he was following our trail, his progress was bound to be slow.

On top of that, he also had to stay prepared for possible pigeon attacks. But in truth, there was another reason he couldn’t catch up with us.

‘These guys... are actually... pretty useful.’

The Alex trio. I knew they had a lot of miscellaneous skills, thanks to my Mind’s Eye, but they were better than I had expected. They weren’t even rangers, yet they could read maps and find paths through forests or ruins. They could sense danger like ghosts and hide with impressive skills. They weren't that bad as combatants either.

They had handled the recent pigeon attacks quite well. Of course, Ryu Han had taken care of most of the fighting, but if they hadn’t done their part, how could we have reached Mesla Castle this quickly?

“It would be better to rest a bit here, Great Warrior. A-and also, sacred being chosen by the gods,” Alex suggested.

‘Sacred being, my ass. What the hell is that supposed to mean?’

“It’s right in front of us. Can’t we just go?” Kennen asked.

“Don’t say foolish things, Kennen. You know there are plenty of monsters around here, don’t you? Of course, it wouldn’t be a big problem, but there’s always the risk that the pigeons might discover our location. It’s best not to move after nightfall if we can help it,” Alex explained.

“Ahhh, is that so? Hey, Alex! Get the meal ready,” Kennen said.

“Alright.”

“I’ll scout the area a bit. George, you set up camp,” Kennen instructed.

“Leave it to me. How long are we staying?” George asked.

“Not sure. Wouldn’t it be best to leave as soon as the sun rises? I don’t really know, so let’s take a nap and think about it,” Alex answered.

“Hmm, got it.”

‘Their division of work is clear too.’

They felt like max-level veteran adventurers who had been through countless battles. If the Big Boy Family were still alive, they would be like these guys. Of course, the Big Boy guys were a bit more clumsy and crude, and their cooking tasted terrible, but the overall feeling would be similar.

‘Still, unlike them, these guys can actually cook, which I like. At least it’s not hambier skewers.’

“The meal is ready,” Alex announced.

“Ah! Thank you,” I said.

“I only did what was natural.”

Even though they had only a minute to prepare, they somehow managed to dish out a balanced and decent meal. The menu even varied slightly. Perhaps it was because they spent all day wandering the continent, fighting wars, camping, and sleeping rough, but even in such a garbage environment, the quality of food was surprisingly good.

Even the campsite that George was setting up looked impressive.

‘What the hell, why is a one-touch tent popping out? How did someone on this continent even develop that?’

At this rate, perhaps Hyun-Sung Camping ought to recruit them. Perhaps they had even worked there in a previous life. I expected a brutal expedition, but somehow, it turned into something like a cozy camping trip, and these guys even...

“A carrier pigeon just arrived,” Alex said.

“What?”

‘Seriously, how did they even get carrier pigeons through?’

If I had to classify them, I'd say they were mid to upper tier, even among adventurers. Anyone who survived this long would obviously have a few tricks up their sleeve, but every time I peeled back a layer of them, I'd see something new.

“Thronus is dead,” Alex announced.

‘Now that’s actually new information.’

“W-what?!” Kennen shouted.

“Didn’t you hear me?! Thronus is dead!! Hahahaha!” Alex laughed.

“Shh! Quiet! Quiet! Is that really confirmed?” Kennen asked.

“Yes, Kennen. During the pigeons’ eighth attack, Lindel entered a defensive battle. After a fierce fight, Blue Guild Master Kim Hyun-Sung brought down Thronus. The Blue Guild Master isn’t in perfect condition either, but they expect he’ll recover within a few days,” Alex explained.

“H-holy shit, really?! Ha... is something really about to happen now?! That pigeon is really dead?!” Kennen shouted.

“They even confirmed the body. Finally... finally, it looks like this long war might be coming to an end,” Alex commented.

“No wonder I haven’t seen those pigeon bastards around lately... They must’ve all gone to Lindel... then things should be quiet for a while, right? Isn’t that how it is?” Kennen asked.

“That doesn’t seem to be the case. They say the Union of Kingdoms and the Federation have been completely wiped out. The surviving troops and refugees seem to be heading toward Lindel and Everia, but even their numbers don’t look very large.

"It also appears that those two cities are in no position to send forces to help them either,” Alex answered.

“That means...”

“The odds are most of them will die. A few might survive if they’re lucky...” Alex answered.

“Is the Everia front really that bad?” George asked.

“Yeah, George. It seems Seraphim and Dominions finally pushed the allied races all the way back to the World Tree... The pigeons took devastating losses in the process, but the allied races didn’t get off lightly either...” Alex answered.

“...”

“And we can’t tell anything about Castle Rock because of the fog... Judging by the fog still covering the area, the Mist Summoner is probably still alive, but it bothers me that there are rumors about how the Sniper was killed,” Alex continued.

“Those bastards really went all in,” Kennen commented.

“Yeah, of course they’d be going all in around now,” George said.

“Still, the fact that Thronus is dead is encouraging for our side, especially considering how many adventurers those named pigeons have taken down so far.

"Even Valentin Alexandro of the Republic had his head chopped off instantly by Cherubim, and many fighters who were supposed to be strong were wiped out in seconds.

"When you think about that, it really shows how times have changed. At least, this means humanity still has cards left that can stand against them,” Alex explained.

“...”

“It might be a small victory, but for us, it’s a big step forward. Morale will rise for sure, and the other pigeons will probably be more cautious now, too, don’t you think?” Alex added.

“Well, we should just hope they don’t start rampaging for revenge. I don’t know about the others, but that blue one especially...” Kennen said.

“Even so, it’ll buy us time until we reach there,” Alex said.

As I listened to their conversation, I pushed a spoon toward Ryu Han’s mouth. There was no reaction, but when I pushed it a little further, his mouth slowly opened.

“Instead of this, it might be better if we head straight to Mesla Castle,” Alex suggested.

“R-really? Didn’t you say we should rest a bit earlier?” Kennen asked.

“If the pigeons are focusing on the attack on Lindel, this is our chance. They won’t have the spare capacity to worry about the Republic,” Alex replied.

‘These guys really think we’re going to do something.’

“...”

“...”

‘We’re literally just heading straight into the pigeons’ nest.’

They looked completely resolute, as if all of humanity’s hope had gathered here. Of course, since they had a rough idea of how things were going across the continent, their reaction was understandable.

“If you’ve finished eating, can we move right away?” Alex asked.

“Yes,” I answered.

The pigeons were tightening their grip on humanity’s throat. Humanity just had only a few resisting cities left, but a small ray of hope had just appeared. They probably felt like the puzzle pieces were finally coming together. They probably believed that the adventurers gathered at Mesla Castle would launch a raid on the pigeons’ nest, while humanity held the line elsewhere.

In the very end, they believed it would all conclude with a happy ending.

“Then let’s get moving.”

“Okay.”

Since I even said there was no time...

‘They think it’s some kind of time attack. From the bigger perspective, we’re basically just going there to die...’

Of course, Alex, Kennen, and George weren't the only ones running on faint hope. The people gathered at Mesla Castle spun even more ridiculous fantasies. The ones who could directly hear the voice of God were the defeated soldiers of the Republic.

“Move! Move! Faster!!! Lift it! That’s it! Lift it!!!”

“It’s humanity’s ark! We’re building humanity’s last ark! The voice of God! I can hear the voice of God!”

“Up! Up! Over here!”

“We’re short on materials... damn it...”

“Strip the castle if you have to! Utensils, weapons, anything made of wood or iron, bring it all!”

“Push! Puuush!”

I was the one who gave the orders, but even I felt a strange emotion swelling in my chest.

‘Wow... this is insane. Seriously... this is...’

What stood before us was a massive ark—an absurdly massive ark. It was even larger than the Nice Boat that the pig had commanded in the first life. I had seen it through the Telescope several times, but seeing it standing there in person was still overwhelming.

It wasn’t strange at all that Alex and the others who had just arrived at Mesla Castle were staring at it with their mouths hanging open.

“What... is that...” Kennen mumbled.

“A ship? No, can you even call that a ship?” Alex asked.

“Th-there’s no sea, so why are they suddenly building a ship? George?” Kennen asked.

“Maybe they’re planning to ride that to the pigeons’ nest,” George answered.

“I-is that even possible?” Kennen asked.

“If something like this is being built at Mesla Castle... what can they not build?” Alex questioned.

“This is insane... This really makes no sense... We only left Castle Rock a month ago... just one month... How, when did they even start building something like this here? Y-you can’t just decide to build something like this and have it appear overnight. What about the pigeons? Did they really hold off their attacks while building this?” Kennen rambled on.

“...”

“Is something like that really possible...” Kennen mumbled.

“I don’t know about the rest, but there’s one thing I’m sure of, Alex,” George said.

“What?”

“Those puzzle pieces you were talking about,” George paused.

“...”

“Haven’t they finally come together now?” George continued.

“...”

“...”

‘It’s kind of sad... but the puzzle pieces didn’t come together. This is basically a suicide squad...’

“I can hear the voice of God,” Kennen said.

“Yeah, we should join them,” Alex said.

After giving a brief bow in my direction, the three of them threw themselves into the work. A simple quest to move or gather materials, along with many other subdivided tasks.

The entire force at Mesla Castle that received these quests moved like a swarm of ants. It was absurd, but seeing that pig build boats over and over again had clearly paid off for me.

Of course, this one wasn’t meant to cross the sea, so it didn’t need to be that refined, but the sight of workers clinging to the massive ship and moving in perfect coordination was impressive nonetheless.

Right then, I spotted a familiar face.

‘Chang-Ryeol... your arm’s properly reattached!’

I saw Lee Chang-Ryeol and Alps, his long-time travel companion. Neither of them had noticed me yet, so I quietly moved toward them. However, I felt an oddly warm atmosphere emanating from them, which made it hard for me to approach them.

More precisely, the warm mood was coming from Alps. Her face looked brighter than usual, and she sported a shy smile with her cheeks flushed red.

I waved at the indifferent Lee Chang-Ryeol, but he didn't notice me.

“...”

“...”

‘It’s not you two... right?’

“...”

‘This isn’t what I think it is, is it?’

For a scene unfolding right before a decisive battle, it was absurdly out of place.