The Regressor Can Make Them All

Chapter 474

It was early morning, before the sun had risen.

Monks and disciples holding lanterns in their hands were slowly walking down the mountain from the front gate of the Muren Monastery. They formed a long procession of lights stretching through the darkness, almost looking like a ceremonial ritual.

Overlooking them all, Se-Hoon quietly observed from the gate.

“All the people in the training quarters have been evacuated,” reported Tenzin, following the last few who walked out. “There’s no one left who might be in the way of the fight.”

“In the way? We’re the ones causing trouble,” Se-Hoon replied, looking over.

Despite having a wide, open plateau nearby, their group was insisting on fighting inside the temple grounds. From the monks’ perspective, it must’ve been an absolutely absurd request.

Thankfully, though, nothing serious has resulted due to Tenzin’s careful persuasion. If the real reason had been revealed, some stricter monks would most likely have stayed until the end.

“It’s not really your fault. If we trace the cause back far enough, it all stems from my own lack of virtue…”

Perhaps feeling conflicted over how it all began when he allowed Doppelganger into Muren Monastery once upon a time, Tenzin looked as though years had passed from how much deeper his wrinkles had gotten.

Seeing that, Se-Hoon opened his mouth to say something but subsequently closed it.

I’m not in a place to say anything.

Whether Tenzin had done it to protect the others in the temple or simply out of selfishness, either way, the only thing Tenzin could do now was to take full responsibility for what had happened. Because in the end, it was his own choice.

Maybe I’m the same…

Up until recently, everything Se-Hoon had done had been justified under the grand cause of protecting humanity. But last night, the forging he had assisted with… was something that could end up harming humanity.

Unlike everything before, he had made that decision for the sake of one sole person: his master, Meirin.

Like Tenzin, no one knew what the consequences would be. However, regardless, Se-Hoon would have to take responsibility for his choice.

Does it feel weird because I’ve never done something like this before?

Should he say it was unlike him? Or had he, for the first time, just done something that truly reflected who he was? Unable to even define himself, Se-Hoon just stared at the procession of lights heading down the mountain, lost in thought.

“Se-Hoon.” Tenzin turned and bowed deeply. “I’m entrusting this to you.”

He didn’t specify what he was entrusting, but Se-Hoon didn’t feel the need to ask. Instead, for the old monk weighed down with worries, Se-Hoon just reassured him with his usual confidence.

“Don’t worry about it. Just go on ahead. The other monks are waiting for you at the foot of the mountain.”

“…I’ll be leaving then.”

Bowing once more, Tenzin started heading toward the gathering lights under Se-Hoon’s watchful gaze.

[A bond has been successfully established with the subject ‘Tenzin’.]

“Hm?”

Seeing the familiar window, Se-Hoon narrowed his eyes at the newly formed bond notification.

I still can’t grasp what my unique skill encompasses.

For the longest time, he had thought it just materialized something ambiguous like “bonds” into ore. However, now he knew that it actually involved drawing out a part of the other person’s soul.

To extract something like that just because the relationship had gotten a little closer… felt too powerful, even for a unique skill.

There’s the mixing of souls that can cause side effects, too, so it’s not quite all-purpose.

Even considering the drawbacks, Se-Hoon had a feeling he needed to think more deeply about his unique skill.

Wrapping up his thoughts, Se-Hoon turned his gaze down the mountain again.

They’re all gone.

With the monks and disciples having teleported to the nearby city, Se-Hoon double-checked before turning around and entering the monastery through the main gate. Unlike yesterday, though, he didn’t take a side path and just walked straight along the road leading from the gate. Naturally, that took him to the main sanctuary at the heart of the temple before long.

It’s been a while since I last came here…

Se-Hoon stared up at the grand structure. Just as he remembered, the building was so tall he had to crane his neck to see the top.

“You’re here.”

Hearing Kwang-Soo’s voice, Se-Hoon looked over to see him approaching from nearby, having gotten there first.

“The monks?”

“They evacuated to the city with the disciples. They won’t get caught up in the battle.”

At Se-Hoon’s answer, Kwang-Soo looked around. The monastery had always been spacious, meaning seeing people truthfully wasn’t that common. But the sanctuary was different—the monks and disciples were always present. Yet, there wasn’t a single soul remaining except for the two of them.

Thump-thump-

The vivid stillness made Kwang-Soo’s heart pound harder. Instinctively, he felt it: the battle was right before his eyes. Feeling as though a thick scent of blood lingered in the air, Kwang-Soo let out a brief sigh and looked resolutely toward the sanctuary.

“Let’s go.”

“Okay.”

The two entered the sanctuary, where the rich scent of incense filled the space, and a wide interior unfolded before them. Thick pillars stood at even intervals on both sides, and a towering Buddha statue standing several meters tall at the far end overlooked a polished sparring arena at the center.

It’s been a long time since I was here, too…

The sanctuary was where he and the Mad Dog had once fought the Destroyer of Perception, except back then, everything except the arena had been soaked in blood.

Se-Hoon took in the view, which, thanks to the monks’ cleaning, had a mystical feeling rather than the ghastly atmosphere he remembered. Looking around, Se-Hoon’s eyes then landed at the far end of the sparring area.

“…”

Doppelganger, in the form of Ha-Rin, stood there. She looked even more natural than when he last saw her a month ago at the Black Arms’ base, almost to the point where it was as though she had returned to her true form.

Come to think of it… she might be similar to Apostate.

Just like how Apostate had viewed Pilgrim Karl Andersen as his god and ended up taking on his exact appearance, perhaps Doppelganger, too, admired Ha-Rin so deeply that it had altered her form.

As for Kwang-Soo… he seems calmer than before.

Unlike when Kwang-Soo had burst into a fury over the insult to his master’s honor, he now simply looked at Doppelganger with a sense of pity.

“…I’m heading in.”

Having seemingly made his final decision, Kwang-Soo stepped toward the arena.

“Do your best. I’ll take care of everything afterward, so don’t worry about a thing.”

“Thank you.”

With that short word of gratitude, Kwang-Soo’s footsteps continued until they stopped upon entering the arena—on the other side, facing where Doppelganger awaited.

The two opponents had the appearances of a master and disciple, but in reality, it was a strange confrontation between a senior and junior disciple.

“…”

“…”

As they stared at one another, ‌tension settled. Then, after a pause, it was Kwang-Soo who opened his mouth first.

“Sophia.”

“…”

“Why are you standing here?”

Meeting Kwang-Soo’s gaze indifferently, Doppelganger calmly declared her answer.

“To complete what Master couldn’t finish.”

“…”

“That’s the only reason I’m here.”

She stood there not as Doppelganger of the Ten Evils, but as a disciple continuing her master’s will—which made Kwang-Soo’s expression harden.

“Did Master ever tell you to kill innocent people?”

“…”

“Did she ever teach you that anything is justified in the pursuit of martial strength? Answer me, Sophia.”

“…”

Kwang-Soo’s pressing questions made Doppelganger remain silent. It was only after a moment of thought that her flat, emotionless voice sounded through the sanctuary.

“An unavoidable sacrifice.”

She was not a genius like Ha-Rin, meaning there was no way she could ever achieve Ha-Rin’s ideal without accepting such sacrifices.

“…So you’ve ended up saying the exact same things as the ones who killed Master,” Kwang-Soo quietly said, staring at Doppelganger with a bitter expression.

“…”

Doppelganger’s expression fell.

“When the head monk told me what happened here, I wondered if you still had a trace of humanity left.”

“…”

“But it’s not humanity you have. It’s just an obsession with Master, clinging to you like a leash.”

His fellow disciple, Sophia Green, had already vanished that night all those years ago. Accepting that reality once again, Kwang-Soo slowly reached for the scabbard at his waist with his left hand.

“As promised, I’ll end your suffering with my own hands, Sophia.”

Although he had not yet drawn his sword, a chill that felt like blades grazing every inch of his skin swept over him. Detecting the newly sharpened momentum from Kwang-Soo—which was far sharper than in his prime—Doppelganger met it with an unchanging expression and slowly gripped the scabbard at her waist.

“Sure, if you even can.”

Clang!

In the center of the arena, Kwang-Soo’s Celestial Night Blossom met Doppelganger’s Nameless Sword. And from that moment, sword aura projections bloomed all around them.

Cl-Cl-Clang!

Colorful sword manifestations created by Kwang-Soo clashed with the formless, colorless ones conjured by the Doppelganger. Each blade flew toward another, their extremes colliding violently. Dozens of sword aura manifestations wreaked havoc as they unleashed their unique abilities.

Even while exchanging blows, Kwang-Soo and Doppelganger kept their eyes moving to analyze the battlefield. They tracked the properties, combinations, and trajectories of each other’s summoned aura blades, calculating their next move as they navigated the chaos.

“Hmph!”

“…!”

Hundreds of thousands of potential outcomes bloomed between them, only to crash into another and crumble. Fragments of shattered sword auras scattered in a torrent, slowly chipping away at the arena and sanctuary.

It had been less than a minute, and yet, the two had exchanged nearly ten thousand attacks.

So this is a battle between the true successors of the Celestial Infinity Blade…

A sword dance on the verge of godhood—one that only those who had reached the pinnacle of sword control could perform—left Se-Hoon spellbound, visibly stunned.

But then the mood of the battle suddenly shifted when the two, locked together, separated.

Woong!

From their hands, Celestial Night Blossom and the Nameless Sword exploded with black and white light. The surrounding sword projections resonated in unison with the twin lights.

Seeing that, Se-Hoon immediately understood what was about to happen.

They’re about to go all in.

What had so far appeared to be an all-out battle was, in truth, merely a probing exchange. Up to that point, both Kwang-Soo and Doppelganger had only used the basics of the Celestial Infinity Blade technique: projection, transformation, and elemental alteration.

But… Establishment is a whole different matter.

The essence of the Celestial Infinity Blade technique was to observe others and mimic, expanding one’s synesthetic mindscape wide and shallow. Once that was achieved, one had to condense that expanded synesthetic mindscape into a single point—that final form, the culmination of martial pursuit—in a step that was what Ha-Rin called Establishment, the secret art of the technique.

Doppelganger has been able to use Establishment for a while, but Kwang-Soo has been unable to since being plagued by his inner demons…

Se-Hoon watched with bated breath. If Kwang-Soo failed to use Establishment now, he would lose without even being able to put up a fight, just like before. The first major turning point had arrived.

BOOM!

Doppelganger lunged forward. Her colorless, formless swords trailed behind her and converged on the Nameless Sword. Now, only a single gleaming blade remained, as if containing dozens within it, radiating with a density magnitudes higher than anything before.

On the other side, facing the perfected Establishment—which had yet to be overcome by any technique—Kwang-Soo gripped Celestial Night Blossom tightly.

I can do this.

Back when he first learned about Establishment, he hadn’t understood how one could just steal another’s realization and make it their own. How could something he didn’t have the chance to learn formally, merely observing and copying whatever he could, become a part of him?

His path ahead was blocked, and when he consulted Ha-Rin, she had given him a simple answer.

“Isn’t that how everyone goes about their days?”

It was human nature to shape one’s own identity by observing their parents and friends, continually absorbing aspects of others’ lives. That was Ha-Rin’s definition of humanity and her direction toward martial mastery.

Even now, he still didn’t fully understand. But he felt it—and that was already enough.

Woong-

Opposite ‌the Nameless Sword, the light from Celestial Night Blossom dimmed. The surrounding sword projections also turned pitch black, one by one, and when they had unified into a single color, they merged into Celestial Night Blossom to create one completed sword.

Celestial Infinity Blade: Celestial Night Blossom

Celestial Infinity Blade: Ultimate Singularity Blade

CLANG!

A razor-thin shockwave swept across the entire sanctuary. The collision of the two blades focused into a singular point was so compressed it was barely visible to the naked eye.

Even Se-Hoon, who instinctively snapped his head back, was still grazed by it.

Swish-

Barely able to dodge, the strike had sliced through strands of his hair that had fallen behind.

This… this isn’t a joke.

Processing what happened, Se-Hoon’s eyes widened. Although nothing looked changed, everything along that trajectory had definitely been cut. Who knew how far it extended—perhaps across the entire monastery?

If the slash hadn’t been level, the building might have collapsed entirely.

Thinking it was a good thing they had evacuated the monks and disciples, Se-Hoon turned his focus back to the battle.

Clang!

Doppelganger was pressing the Nameless Sword firmly against Celestial Night Blossom, unable to cut through it as the force was dissipated along the blade.

“…So you didn’t come here empty-handed.”

Finally, upon seeing that Kwang-Soo had also successfully activated Establishment, Doppelganger had spoken first.

“If I couldn’t manage even this… I would’ve just given up and let him take my place.”

Krr-

Rather than swinging, they kept their swords locked together, applying pressure. Their respective completed blades represented the full realization of its wielder—if either shattered, the fight would be over.

Gritting his teeth, Kwang-Soo tightened his grip on Celestial Night Blossom.

I’m not losing much ground… but I’m not gaining any either.

Matching Doppelganger, after being unable to fight back before, was already an achievement of its own. However, unless one side broke through, there would be no conclusion. And above all, Doppelganger still hadn’t unleashed her true strength.

“Good.” Observing the insight embedded in Celestial Night Blossom’s blade, Doppelganger’s chilling tone resounded. “With this, we can move to the next step.”

Krrrk-

Twisting the Nameless Sword, she redirected the angle of Celestial Night Blossom. The stalled battle resumed.

Pulling back, Kwang-Soo recovered Celestial Night Blossom and lunged toward her heart—

Thunk!

Two blades burst out through Doppelganger’s back.

“…What.”

Kwang-Soo’s eyes widened in disbelief. Not only had Celestial Night Blossom pierced Doppelganger’s chest with ease… the Nameless Sword had also been reversed by Doppelganger and thrust into herself?

What… is she doing?

Barely after that question was formed, Kwang-Soo found out the answer.

Genesis Break

The Nameless Sword began opening the path toward Doppelganger’s ascension.