The Regressor Can Make Them All

Chapter 481

Se-Hoon’s expression froze.

Baek-Yeon was dead? Not just anyone, but Perfect One Ha Baek-Yeon had been suddenly killed?

Snapping out of it, Se-Hoon swiftly assessed the situation before speaking. “Where was she killed?”

—At the main house…

“I’m heading there right now.”

If Baek-Yeon truly were dead, it wasn’t the time to talk over the phone.

Ending the call immediately, Se-Hoon turned to Jason, who was staring up at him from his position beneath the crashing waves.

“Something really urgent just came up. I’ll come back some other time.”

“Wait—”

Se-Hoon teleported away at full power, not hearing Jason finish, and naturally, that meant that a recoil unlike anything he had ever felt slammed into him.

Crack!

Instead of gliding smoothly between layers of space, Se-Hoon felt as though he were being violently pulled through them. But because of it, he had traversed a distance nearing ten thousand kilometers in a single breath to arrive at the Ha Sect—where his expression immediately hardened upon taking in the scene before him.

This is…

The massive defensive formation that had once enveloped the estate had completely vanished, and the traditional Hanok-style buildings lining the stairs that reached up to the summit were also all destroyed.

Scanning the devastation, Se-Hoon made a quick deduction about the cause.

They were completely overpowered… and in an instant at that.

If Baek-Yeon or the other high-ranking heroes of Ha Sect had put up an actual fight, the destruction wouldn’t have stopped at just buildings. The entire area hadn’t been razed to the ground, which meant only one thing: everyone at Ha Sect had been taken down without even being able to put up proper resistance.

But even if the other heroes fell, the fact Baek-Yeon was also taken down like this…

What on earth had happened? Realizing there was more to it than it seemed, Se-Hoon landed inside the estate.

Tap-

And no sooner had he touched down than dozens of investigators surrounded him. They clearly recognized who he was, yet their guard remained up. However, that was only natural in such a situation, so Se-Hoon didn’t react and simply waited in silence.

THUD.

Thirty seconds later, after that tense standoff began, a towering gray giant had arrived between Se-Hoon and the investigators.

Clad in thick, stone-like gray armor that looked as though it was carved from marble, the figure’s eyes blazed fiercely beneath a helmet. In one hand’s grip was a brutal weapon that was part greatsword, part mace. In the other, a towering shield that could completely obscure even the figure’s two-meter-tall frame radiated an overwhelming sense of pressure.

By all appearances, the figure was essentially an impregnable fortress in human form—a presence that Se-Hoon was sensing for the first time since regressing.

“Hello, President.”

“…”

“I came at Ha Seon-Woo’s request. If you doubt it anyhow, feel free to go ahead and contact him.”

The gray knight—Gregory—stared at him through his helmet without answering.

The silence thickened, tension rising among the investigators further as they braced themselves.

“…He’s real.”

Only then, having gained confirmation from the rear support team, did Gregory relax his stance with a sigh.

“Return to your posts.”

Seeing the investigators immediately disperse, Se-Hoon got straight to the point.

“Where’s Ha Seon-Woo?”

“He’s resting inside. I can summon him for you—”

“No. First, I want to confirm Ha Baek-Yeon’s body. Where’s the scene?”

“The Celestial Lake Pavilion, at the summit. Follow me.”

Turning, Gregory led the way up the stairs toward the peak. On their way up, Se-Hoon closely examined the ruined buildings along the way.

This is pretty clean…

There were neither bloodstains nor the smallest specks of dust, which should’ve lingered in such a place. Everything had been wiped away. The cleanliness was uncanny, making Se-Hoon fall into thought until he eventually saw the pavilion at the top come into view.

Woong!

Unlike the lower levels, where no defenses were left, the Celestial Lake Pavilion was surrounded by dozens of overlapping seal formations. Furthermore, guards far more powerful than the investigators below—an elite force that could hold off even one of the Ten Evils if they attacked together—surrounded it.

“I’ll go unlock the seals—”

“No need. I’ll go by myself.”

Raising a hand to stop Gregory from releasing the seals, Se-Hoon wrapped himself with a Veil of Whitespace and walked directly into the Celestial Lake Pavilion.

Swish-

Passing through the thick seal barrier with only a faint sense of resistance, Se-Hoon was instantly hit by a thick stench of blood—something he hadn’t sensed from the outside.

He quickly located the source, laying his gaze on the lifelessly slumped Baek-Yeon. Both her signature pure-white coat and fedora were stained a deep red.

“…”

There was no warmth, no trace of the unique pressure a Perfect One should exude. All there was… was a hollow, emptied shell that made Se-Hoon’s eyes tremble.

That really is Ha Baek-Yeon…

The body before his eyes wasn’t a fake created through illusion or suspended animation—it was genuinely Baek-Yon’s after a very, very real death. Se-Hoon was absolutely certain. After all, he had seen the bodies of Wurgen, Li Kenxie, and the Seeker before.

“…Whew.”

He had hoped Seon-Woo had been mistaken. Alas, confronted with reality, Se-Hoon could only shut his eyes and let out a long sigh.

Where did it go wrong?

Things had been progressing relatively smoothly, if not perfectly. Just where had it all started unravelling? From the inexplicable changes in his own body to Baek-Yeon’s sudden death, events were cascading out of control.

Just then, Se-Hoon’s gaze sharpened.

No way…

Could it be because the Golden Ring started interfering with fate just to obstruct him?

…No, that’s too far-fetched. He shook his head.

It was clear the Golden Ring didn’t favor his existence, but killing a Perfect One to get in his way? That sounded way too excessive. There had to be another reason, whether it was simple misfortune or a fated inevitability he hadn’t realized.

Calming himself, Se-Hoon brought himself back into focus.

First, I need to examine the body.

Spreading a Veil of Whitespace across the floor to avoid disturbing the scene, Se-Hoon approached Baek-Yeon’s corpse.

Cause of death… is a sniper shot.

A fist-sized hole pierced her solar plexus. There were no signs of collateral damage, and blood had sprayed widely behind her. She had likely been struck through the heart while standing inside the Celestial Lake Pavilion.

Judging from the shape of the blood spray, she didn’t turn around mid-attack… meaning she was already facing whoever entered the Celestial Lake Pavilion?

Whoever it was, they had bypassed Baek-Yeon’s power of Perception, subdued everyone at the Ha Sect with ease, and arrived to pierce her heart directly. Of all the enemies Se-Hoon knew, there was only one being that could pull something like that off.

Heaven Eye.

The scene back then, when Heaven Eye had killed Baek-Yeon before the regression, was far too similar.

If it were really him, there was one way to find out. Se-Hoon reached toward Baek-Yeon’s eyes.

Tap-

Behind her closed eyelids, there was nothing. Her Cursed Eyes—imbued with the power of Perception—had been extracted.

“That confirms it…”

If the culprit had been Tuner or Puppeteer, they wouldn’t have wasted effort just to take her Cursed Eyes. Eliminating those two, the most likely suspect became Heaven Eye. After all, he was the one who had long hunted down and stolen Cursed Eyes from hundreds of heroes and demons alike.

But…

How had Heaven Eye even managed to kill Baek-Yeon? Back then, Heaven Eye had fought alongside other members of the Ten Evils and was far stronger due to collecting far more Cursed Eyes.

Now though? Se-Hoon had already killed the other Ten Evils who might have helped. And the version of Heaven Eye now was weaker than the one from before the regression to the point that they weren’t the same demon.

The only possibility would be…

Recalling the strange traces he’d seen around the Ha Sect, Se-Hoon sank into thought.

“There’s no sign of resistance.” Jason said, looking down at Baek-Yeon’s body. “Was someone taken hostage?”

Hearing those words—which mirrored his own thoughts—Se-Hoon spun toward Jason, who had quietly appeared by his side, with a startled look.

“How did you get here?”

“I ran.”

He had teleported at full power, yet Jason had caught up by simply… running after him? Considering the distance, it was definitely the kind of thing only a Perfect One could do. It was something so absurd that it left even Se-Hoon momentarily speechless.

“No, I mean… why did you come here?”

“You cut the conversation short mid-sentence. So I followed.”

“…I see.”

Se-Hoon had assumed, at the very least, that Jason had come out of curiosity about who had died—but it turned out he had been thinking too rationally again. Once again, Se-Hoon was reminded that Jason was likely the most unhinged of all the Perfect Ones.

“Do you also see no signs of resistance?” Se-Hoon followed up, changing back to the topic.

Jason nodded and gestured at the wreckage throughout the pavilion.

“If the Visionary intended to resist, there would’ve been signs of killing intent around here. But all that’s left are traces of resignation.”

“Meaning… the moment she saw Heaven Eye, she had already chosen death.”

“Most likely.”

Se-Hoon looked silently down at Baek-Yeon’s corpse. He quietly deliberated over something for a moment, then turned toward Gregory outside once his decision was made.

“President, could you ask investigator Ha Seon-Woo to come here for a moment?”

“Understood.”

One of the nearby investigators headed off and soon returned, guiding a familiar presence toward the Celestial Lake Pavilion.

“I’ll bring him in.”

Activating the power of Boundaries, Se-Hoon parted the seal like a curtain and pulled Seon-Woo inside under the dumbfounded gazes of the investigators watching outside.

What the…? He’s peeling open the Division Chief’s barrier like it’s a shower curtain…

I heard rumors he was close to the Perfect Ones in power, but this is… beyond that.

Realizing the rumors they’d heard were not exaggerated but, in fact, downplayed, the investigators could only click their tongues internally.

Meanwhile, the subject of that rumor was checking on Seon-Woo’s condition.

No injuries…?

His limbs were intact, and his Cursed Eyes—which housed his skill Enhanced Vision—were untouched. Though his complexion was a little pale, his blood flow seemed normal. That suggested the issue likely stemmed from his synesthetic mindscape.

To Seon-Woo, Baek-Yeon wasn’t just family.

She was the origin of his lifelong archery and… the goal he had hoped to one day reach. With her death, a pillar of his synesthetic mindscape had collapsed.

Even for a high-ranking hero, such a loss would leave a deep psychological wound.

“…”

At that moment, as if to confirm Se-Hoon’s assessment, Seon-Woo’s pupils quivered and his face turned even paler when he saw Baek-Yeon’s corpse. His worsening state made Se-Hoon consider sending him back out.

“…I-I’m fine.”

But it was only briefly as Seon-Woo steadied his breathing with effort, tore his eyes away from the corpse, and focused on Se-Hoon.

“Please tell me why you called me here.”

Looking into Seon-Woo’s eyes, Se-Hoon acknowledged Seon-Woo’s apparent attempt to brace himself mentally and got straight to the point.

“Can you tell me what happened before the Visionary passed?”

“Yes…”

Seon-Woo slowly nodded and began explaining the events of the day in sequence.

“Everything was normal until the morning. I went through my usual morning training with my grandaunt, brought her breakfast, and we ate lunch as usual too. But around 2:00 p.m., my grandaunt suddenly canceled a scheduled spar and climbed up to Celestial Lake Pavilion alone.”

“Out of the blue?”

“Yes. She said it was a personal matter and strictly told me not to follow her.”

If it were before, Se-Hoon would have brushed it off because it was like a whim of hers and she had just forgotten. But she had died, so he couldn’t do that.

“Has she done such a thing before?”

“Well… once or twice a month, maybe. That was why I didn’t think much of it.”

“I see. Please continue.”

With training canceled due to Baek-Yeon’s “whim,” Seon-Woo returned to his room, dealt with some investigation tasks, and rested. And then, out of the blue, his Enhanced Vision picked up on a vague and ominous presence.

Trusting his instincts, Seon-Woo armed himself and dashed outside—to be greeted by a shapeless mass of black slime that was devouring the defensive formation as it swept over the Ha Sect.

“It was an amorphous, black, pulsating slime…. Grotesque in form, it was so repulsive I couldn’t identify it even with my Enhanced Vision.”

The creature was too faint to be considered a living organism, yet was writhing too violently to be a simple fluid; regardless, it was something unspeakably repugnant. Instinctively repelled, Seon-Woo tried to attack upon sensing the danger. However, in the instant right before, his Enhanced Vision pierced the slime to show him what lay inside.

“Inside the slime were… the people who had been attacked first, unconscious and absorbed. All of their lives were interconnected, like they’d become one body…”

Bound to the mass, the lives of his fellow sect members would be lost if he had let loose even a single arrow at the slime. Because of that, he hesitated—and was engulfed by the slime when it surged from beneath him.

“When I regained consciousness again… everything was already over.”

The buildings were in ruins. His fellow sect members lay collapsed around him. Surprisingly, though, there was only minor damage, which made him analyze the scene immediately. Even then, he was true to his role.

He thought to look for Baek-Yeon first and foremost, of course, causing him to sprint to the Celestial Lake Pavilion and find her corpse before anyone else.

“If I had only acted more wisely back then…”

If he hadn’t hesitated to attack and had instead looked for a way to save the people inside—if he hadn’t been taken hostage like a fool—he might’ve been able to help her.

Overwhelmed with guilt, believing his mistake had contributed to Baek-Yeon’s death, Seon-Woo clenched his fists tightly.

“That’s not it.”

However, Se-Hoon denied his thoughts by shaking his head with conviction.

“You know what the power of Perception is capable of, Seon-Woo. If nothing else, the Visionary wouldn’t fall for something that meaningless.”

Of all people, Baek-Yeon was fully capable of seeing her desired future and actualizing it. Her getting killed in a hostage crisis without being able to resist? That was impossible.

Because I saw it before.

Even when innocent citizens were used as shields, even when her sect members were taken hostage, even when Seon-Woo himself was murdered and Cursed Eyes were extracted by Heaven Eye, Baek-Yeon had always acted with cold rationality to make the best possible move.

Regression or not, her essence hadn’t changed. That was why Se-Hoon didn’t believe that Heaven Eye’s hostage tactic had been the decisive factor.

“Are you saying… my grandaunt chose to die?”

That sending him away during training and making no attempt to resist the enemy were all part of Baek-Yeon’s own intentions?

Hearing Seon-Woo’s tone, Se-Hoon hesitated.

There must be some reason she did… but I just don’t know what it is.

There were two possibilities he could think of. First, Heaven Eye found a way to nullify the power of Perception, and in that moment, Baek-Yeon made the calculated choice to die. Second, her death had simply been part of her own will—something necessary to achieve her happiness.

The first one makes sense… but the second…

Her death was the path to her happiness? It sounded absurd, and yet—when one considered how cruel predictions and prophecies could be—it didn’t seem completely implausible either.

Se-Hoon sank into thought, uncertain which possibility was true…

“Hm.” Having been listening quietly, Jason finally spoke up in a calm tone. “You figured it out that quickly. The Visionary was indeed right about you.”

“…”

His sudden remark brought silence to the room. Both Se-Hoon and Seon-Woo took a moment to process his words before turning to him.

“You mean the Visionary said something about me? Did she tell you anything before this happened?”

Jason shook his head. “No. Nothing.”

“Huh? Then what did you mean just now…?”

“There.”

Following Jason’s casually pointed finger with their eyes, Se-Hoon and Seon-Woo looked at the ground beside Baek-Yeon’s body—and saw nothing.

“She left a will. That’s what she told me just now.”