Regressor Instruction Manual

Chapter 643: The Crazy Crow (2)

‘What’s your purpose?’

“…”

‘Are you listening? What’s your purpose?’

Of course, I didn’t hear Lucifer’s voice. If I had intended to inform her in the first place, I wouldn’t have had to try to connect to her so suddenly. No, come to think of it…

‘Maybe it’s not so sudden.’

It was no exaggeration to think of the possibility that everything was planned from beginning to end. At that point, I didn’t know what she was aiming for, but I thought she wouldn’t have done that if it wasn’t planned.

There were more than a few strange things going on.

There were many suspicious circumstances, from the Holy Sword choosing Raphael to the current situation. Of course, it could be passed on lightly, but I doubted that Lucifer would invest time in such a stupid thing without any purpose.

‘Do you invest in stocks that are going down the drain?’

It wouldn’t be strange if Benignore did something like that, but Lucifer was far different.

If there were any sign of survival, I wouldn’t have had second thoughts.

‘But that’s not it…’

It wasn’t like small investments were being made to prepare for any possible situations. Naturally, I was surprised when I saw Raphael widely spreading gray light.

I was worried about Kim Hyunsung, who was fighting alone, so what else did I need to say?

‘This is really ridiculous.’

Such words were inevitable in that situation. That was when Kim Hyunsung immediately charged towards Raphael.

Although he wielded his sword as before, his mana output was different.

Rafael used his gray light to combat the blade that was coming for him with the intent to kill. In the meantime, another one of his wings was cut off, but…

‘Immediate recovery.’

The wings were covered in gray and returned to their original form. I thought that could have been Lucifer’s influence.

Even if it was a mythic-grade sword, it was impossible to show something to that extreme. It was obvious to anyone that he was fighting with someone else’s help.

– With this power… I can protect him.

‘That’s not your power.’

In a way, it was similar to when Belial poured mana into me.

I was certain that it was no different from what happened then.

At that time, I only received mana, but he borrowed power from a demon that was ranked higher than Belial through the mythic-grade weapon.

Obviously, his output was better than mine. My poor body couldn’t absorb all the mana Belial had put in me in the first place.

However, he was different. Raphael was a talented person.

No, there was a possibility that he could be a genius, and he actually came to that position on his own.

I didn’t know if he was a match with Lucifer, if he had side effects, or if it was gnawing on his own body, but he looked close to perfection.

When Raphael swung his sword, a loud ‘BAAAAANG!’ was heard, and everything around him started to break.

It looked like he invested a lot in magic control and the high-end operational magic knowledge, and what he was displaying was the outcome. His relatively weak durability and physical strength were no longer a problem. At the moment, he was completely surrounded by gray light.

At that point, Lucifer wanted to get rid of Kim Hyunsung. That thought occurred to me, but I shook my head.

‘No, it’s not… It can’t be.’

Wasn’t she the one who eagerly wanted Kim Hyunsung?

Kim Hyunsung didn’t know what’s going, and he hadn’t decided which stance to use yet.

Lucifer had no reason to make such an unreasonable move since she could recruit a talent named Kim Hyunsung instead.

Crucially…

‘I don’t want to be her enemy either.’

Trying to get rid of Kim Hyunsung and putting Raphael on the spot was the worst idea.

Even if Lucifer supported the Holy Sword and was backing him up, he could never replace Kim Hyunsung.

I started to get worried and banged on the door, but no other feedback came back from Park Li-ahn.

Meanwhile, Kim Hyunsung and Raphael busied themselves with their battle. It took less than a few minutes for the fairly large hall to quickly turn into ruins. The giant gray light continued to aim for Kim Hyunsung, and Kim Hyunsung still stared at him with cold eyes as he fought back.

Despite his wings being cut off and his wounds piling up, he continued recovering and facing Kim Hyunsung as if he was a fallen angel.

‘This is going on right now, and there’s no response from the top? Is that not the power of Lucifer?’

With that kind of output, it was right to think that Lucifer had set foot on the continent.

[A common-grade forced quest had been invoked.]

[Believer Lee Kiyoung… Believer L-Lee Kiyoung! (0/1)]

‘I knew it was Lucifer. Yeah, Shit. I wasn’t so incompetent that I couldn’t notice it.’

[A common-grade forced quest had been invoked.]

[No, now the inspectors… The inspectors are on their way. What do I do? Uh, what do I do? You’re not ready for trial yet, are you? Let’s start with the telescope. The telescope. (0/1)]

‘…’

[I’m in trouble, Lee Kiyoung. The telescope, hurry… (0/1)]

‘I’m a moron for expecting more from you, Shit. Do you think they’re coming for trial and inspection? Can’t you see what’s going on?’

[A common-grade forced quest had been invoked.]

[Oh… Oh! Wait, what’s happening? What? (0/1)]

‘Can’t you see? Shit?’

[W-wait a minute. I’ll… I’ll figure it out. Wait… (0/1)]

[For unknown reasons, the common-grade forced quest has been canceled.]

‘You got the right idea. Shit.’

Lucifer had also blocked Benignore.

I had accused the top of being stupid, but at that moment, I didn’t really think so. I didn’t want anything in the first place, and that was really how sneaky Lucifer’s plan was.

If the response were one step behind from the top of Benignore, it would be right to say that she planned everything in detail.

‘It was planned. So that’s your way of doing things…’

I could imagine Lucifer enjoying the situation while sitting on a chair.

‘Planning everything from above… Ha.’

I almost gagged when I thought that Lucifer might’ve been mocking and laughing at me right at that moment. I didn’t know what her plan was, but she didn’t seem to have expected that she would be hostile to the devil’s camp if she did something wrong.

Or was she confident about that investment enough to embrace it all?

‘How much time do we have?’

I wouldn’t be able to isolate myself from the top for a million years, but if it were only the Benignore Division, there would be room for longer intervention. Still, a superior would be coming from Benignore’s side.

As that was Lucifer’s second visit, he would’ve already prepared thoroughly from the top.

It was obvious that the unknown reason for preventing the creation of the quest would disappear soon.

The question was when that would happen and whether it would at the right time. The idea that I had to try something came into my head, and I was hooked on it.

‘I’m getting really anxious… What’s Park Li-ahn really doing right now?’

As soon as I put that thought in my head, I saw the huge door opening with a bang.

What I saw beyond it was Park Li-ahn’s face soaked in sweat. I wanted to compliment her, but I couldn’t afford to do that right at that moment.

Kim Hyunsung’s expression was getting darker.

“Hoo… I’m sorry I’m late. V-Vice Guild Master… Are you feeling well? Where are you hurt? You… You don’t look well….”

“Please help me.”

“I’ll get us out of here right now.”

“No, I have a place to go. Before that… Oh…”

‘My eyes… Shit, my head.’

“Vice Guild Master, you should take a break for now…”

“No, come on. It’s urgent.”

“But…”

“Let’s go, come on!”

“Okay.”

As soon as I took a step forward, I felt the same pain as before.

To be honest, the pain was enough to make me want to lay down on the ground, but the problem was that I had no choice but to endure it for the time being. Taking even one step was hard, but I managed to endure it because of Park Li-ahn, who was supporting my body.

Looking ahead, I could see the battlefield still in action.

Kim Hyunsung’s face was gradually seeming colder.

Blood continued to flow from my lips that I’d bitten, and blood flowed from the grasp of the sword. Whenever he swung his weapon, he damaged Raphael’s body, causing parts of his body to be cut off, but he recovered quickly with the gray light.

Although he still looked like he could manage, Kim Hyunsung’s physical strength began to worry me.

-I’ll never forgive you. Never!

‘Stop talking bullshit, you crazy bastard.’

-…

-Never!!

The fight was long and rough. Kim Hyunsung’s body wasn’t hurt at all, but I could definitely feel some kind of burden.

There were nervousness and anger on his face, and little by little, his breathing started to get heavy. It would be no exaggeration to say that targeting Kim Hyunsung was part of Lucifer’s plan, not Raphael’s.

As such, Lucifer’s provision of energy continued.

‘Is there a limit to that? Is there an end?’

I knew she had a lot of power, but I wondered if it would be okay to give that much away.

Raphael repeatedly got hurt, recovered, and somehow spilled gray light to create a gap. Kim Hyunsung was still busy swinging his sword with his eyes fixed on his opponent.

Unlike Raphael, whose resources continued to be resupplied, Kim Hyunsung continued to consume his without earning anything back.

I wanted to give some help, but honestly, I didn’t know what I could do.

Using Tactic Kim Hyunsung was meaningless. He was the one dominating the situation in the first place.

For the time being, I thought I simply had to stop the fight.

“Stop, Raphael. You’re being manipulated. Stop fighting. There’s been a misunderstanding…”

However, it took less than a few seconds to realize that it was the wrong choice.

-No, you’re being manipulated, Hyung. Just stay there and watch. I’m going to get rid of him and turn you back to normal. I’m not going to give you any more trouble. No more… headaches…

‘Huh?’

-Your memories…

‘Don’t do it, you madman. You said you weren’t going to talk.’

-Your memories…

‘Hey, you shit… Don’t do it! Don’t do it!’

-There’s nothing you can lose anymore.

‘Fuck…’

What?

‘…’

It felt like time had stopped.

Perhaps I was the only one who felt that way, but the battle scene was suspended for a moment.

The expression of Kim Hyunsung was frowning as if he heard something wrong.

-What did you just say?

-He won’t lose his memory anymore. Don’t pretend that you didn’t know, you piece of shit, Kim Hyunsung.

-What… Did you just say…

-You turned him into that. You turned him into that!!!

There was a mixture of emotions.

When I saw Kim Hyunsung’s face, I became certain about what Lucifer really wanted and why she invested in Raphael.

‘He’s fallen.’

“…”

“…”

“Lucifer…”

It might’ve been the Doom Hyunsung that the crazy crow was aiming for.