The Regressor Can Make Them All

Chapter 508

“?!”

Ren’s eyes darted, finding his opponent the moment he appeared right in front of him—before he could think of a way to respond, however, a fist had slammed into his abdomen.

Boom!

The layered barriers Ren meticulously set up in case of emergencies, the dozens of barriers that could have withstood an S-rank ambush for over ten seconds, all shattered simultaneously from that one blow.

And the punches kept coming.

Each blow pulverised his internal organs more, and in a situation where even the slightest touch still triggered some form of mana interference, the danger was at an all-time high.

He had to get away no matter what; Ren activated the teleportation spell he had stored inside his body—

Whack!

Another punch struck him in the stomach again, in the millisecond before he vanished.

“Ugh…!”

His vision rapidly changing like a spinning panorama, Ren’s body folded as the breath was forced out of his lungs.

Thud!

Arriving at his destination, Ren was thrown back once more. He tumbled across a wooden floor, scrambling to steady himself. Once he had, Ren quickly scanned the surroundings to assess where he’d ended up.

This is… the eastern training hall? Ren’s eyes widened.

He had ended up in the place his family used both as a dojo and a sparring area, moving to the eastern wing from the upper floors of the underground research lab. What surprised him, however, was that he had teleported not up but down. His original destination had been the deepest part of the sealed facility, where the Heaven’s Well was stored.

How did I end up here…?

Due to Erika’s kidnapping, a spatial distortion field had been established in the underground lab that was synchronized with the anomaly. Thus, any attempt to teleport from inside the lab—success or failure—should have been forcibly redirected to the deepest sector.

He had been planning to use that to escape temporarily and regroup. Yet it hadn’t triggered?

If that last strike interfered with the teleportation… then that means he must have seized control of the spatial field on the upper floors.

Ren instantly heightened his vigilance. In just a single night, the upper floors of their lab had fallen into enemy hands.

“You sure made a ‘flashy’ exit.”

Seeing the air rippling before him, Ren watched as Se-Hoon approached.

“…It was your sloppy punch that sent me flying.”

Jabbing back sharply, Ren stared at Se-Hoon as he inwardly kept calculating.

That blow would’ve finished me in an actual fight.

The only reason he was still standing was because—for whatever reason—the monster before him had held back. However, what would have been a humiliating moment to most, was actually an opportunity in Ren’s eyes. After all, he had already long known of the vast gulf between them.

I don’t know what you’re planning, but I’m not going down easily.

Suppressing the spasms in his organs with mana, Ren adjusted his stance and started forming hand seals with one hand.

Then, when his hand paused, murmured low under his breath, “Come.”

Swoosh-

The space on either side of him immediately warped, and a red giant wielding an axe and a blue giant cloaked in frost emerged. At his feet, the shadows also rippled as a black serpent rose, coiling protectively around him.

Watching the three shikigami appear—which Ren had shown off during the tournament—Se-Hoon raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

Come to think of it, this is the first time I’m really fighting this guy, isn’t it?

There had been a few clashes in the past, but external interference or Ren backing down had always prevented a proper fight. Unlike then, though, that wouldn’t be the case. Se-Hoon had touched Ren’s reverse scale, bringing him to his breaking point. There was no chance of their confirmation ending half-heartedly now.

It’s about time I stopped playing in the shadows with him.

Right then and there he would rip off Ren’s mask to uncover everything. With that vow, Se-Hoon drew on his mana.

“Struggle all you want.”

Rumble!

A surge of Silver River, pure and unrestrained, burst from his feet and swept across the entire dojo without spells attached. It cascaded toward Ren, who unfurled his Black Moon Fan and slashed it straight towards the immense wall before him.

Fwoosh!

Dozens of talismans spilled out of his sleeves, swirling around him. The two giants—Red Oni and Blue Oni—then moved to stand on each side of him as pillars, forming a circular barrier with the talismans.

Primordial Dyad: Celestial Rotation

Clatter!

The barrier, infused with red and blue light, spun rapidly and redirected the flow of the Silver River in all directions. At the same time, Ren formed another hand seal and activated a second spell.

Five Element Mutual Generation: Tidal Fortress

Rumble!

The mana scattered by the barrier re-converged around Ren, forming five pillars that assembled into a new complete barrier. Just like that, the surrounding space was completely seized and put under his control.

“Wow… that guy really went all out with his preparations,” the Seeker murmured in awe, sitting on Se-Hoon’s shoulder. Even Se-Hoon himself was mildly surprised at how easily Ren blocked the wave.

From what he could tell, the intricate spell sequence had clearly been crafted to bring him, or rather, Akasha, down. With it, Ren stood his ground against what overwhelmed even hordes of S-rank heroes and had even seized the momentum to complete his followup spell.

Woong-

In the blink of an eye, a grand barrier of seven pillars had risen around Ren under the torrent of Silver River, making space itself shimmer faintly.

Ren had taken advantage of the phenomenon caused by high-grade barriers, spatial isolation to create a miniature world of his own. Using Silver River, Ren forced his unique skill to bloom, casting his next spell with it.

Self-Transfiguration: Lord of a Thousand Demons’ Night Parade

Boom!

The Red Oni and Blue Oni simultaneously slammed giant banners into the ground, and unfamiliar familiars began emerging behind them one by one. Unlike the first three, however, the new beings were but faint and blurry outlines.

Observing it all, Se-Hoon’s eyes narrowed, and he soon deduced what Ren had done.

So he manifested his future self, huh.

Ren had distorted the laws of the world to summon power from a hypothetical future. There was no time manipulation, though, as he had embodied a belief instead: “I’ll be capable of this someday.”

It was a unique skill that required natural talent, extraordinary computation ability, and an immense amount of mana to maintain it.

I wondered what he was thinking, charging in like that. I guess he thought this through after all.

Ren had used a strategy built to exploit the overconfidence and brute-force fighting style of the monster that stood before him. Even Se-Hoon genuinely admired the seamless coordination.

Thud – Thud- Thud-

Red Oni and Blue Oni marched forward, leading the Night Parade. They cut directly into Silver River, marching against the tide to break out.

Rumble!

What started as the equivalent of two or three S-ranks quickly gained momentum, growing explosively stronger. In no time at all, Ren’s parade could rival the combined strength of the Heroes Association’s strike force from the coastal battle.

Since he’s using Silver River to sustain them all, they’ll vanish once I stop the mana flow… but then he’ll probably deploy some counter-spell; I bet he’s prepared for that too.

Making a rapid deduction, Se-Hoon chose a different response—specifically, one that was tailored to Ren’s methods.

Distorted Law: Oceanic Reincarnation

Bubble bubble-

Ancient glyphs spread outward from Se-Hoon, forming countless patterns in every direction that soon became clear: the techniques passed down through the Inoue bloodline, the Reincarnation Art of the Seeker.

The patterns spread throughout Silver River, and once they dissolved into it, the mana began boiling like rising foam as countless forms of life bloomed.

Fish, butterflies, birds, deer, wolves, and more—lifeforms sculpted from Silver River emerged in a seemingly never-ending stream. The life-creation experiment Se-Hoon had once attempted when he first awakened Silver River had gone through an evolution, reborn into a more complete technique through its fusion with the Seeker’s reincarnation magic.

Boom!

The wave of life crashed head-on into the Thousand Demons’ Night Parade. For the first time, the army of shikigami—which had advanced without obstruction—was forced to halt.

“…”

Previously, all Ren had to do was maintain the barrier and direct mana outward. Now he had to have them clash with the living beings born of Silver River. And those blue-glowing creators were not only matching the Night Parade, they were even gradually overwhelming it.

At the sight of creation, Ren, who knew he shouldn’t be distracted, couldn’t help but stare in a trance..

So this… is the Seeker’s successor.

Unlike himself, who always needed to borrow the power of others, the enemy before him had twisted the laws of the world all by himself, surpassed the limits of mana, and even created new life.

Ren was unable to deny the transcendent authority, one that only the all-knowing who had reached ascension and grasped the secrets of the world could manifest.

Facing the devastating disparity, Ren couldn’t stop his synesthetic mindscape from wavering. And because of that, the unique spell he had painstakingly set up began collapsi—

“Ren.”

Fragments of other old memories came back, amplifying the weak whisper that had always lingered in his ears.

“You must protect your sister and carry out your father’s will.”

A mission had been entrusted to him—one he had sworn to protect, even in death. Jolted back to awareness by the memory, Ren forced his eyes open and forcibly stabilized his faltering psyche before activating a new spell.

Swish-

The black serpent coiled around Ren and bit its own tail, forming a massive ring. A black ring then appeared in each of his eyes, resonating with the one surrounding him.

Woong!

He had never successfully cast the spell he was about to use. But to break through the current moment, he just had to. To protect the mission entrusted to him, the mission he valued more than his own life, Ren gathered every single last ounce of mana into his eyes.

Eye Opened: Black Serpent Ring Eye

He forcibly awakened the Cursed Eyes granted by the Blessing of Prevision.

Woong!

As the black rings in his eyes made one rotation, the massive ring around him emitted a black light that swept through the entire Night Parade.

Crackle!

The artificial shikigami, overwhelmed by the lifeforms of Silver River, distorted into noise upon contact. One by one, they mutated into new forms and then counterattacked.

RUMBLE-

The army that had been slowly pushed back advanced once more, tearing through the oncoming lifeforms that scattered in all directions. Seeing that, Se-Hoon responded by altering the form of his life creations to match, but the results didn’t change.

Crack!

Every time Se-Hoon launched a new attack, the black ring behind Ren glowed and transformed the Night Parade again, allowing it to advance faster and faster. It was almost as if… Ren had “realized” a victorious future each time and made it manifest—a realization in and of itself that surprised Se-Hoon.

Here I was, starting to wonder… he’s actually using the power of Perception, huh.

Among the various utilizations of the power of Perception, there was a technique known as White Ring, which allowed for the immediate realization of a specific future within a very narrow scope. It seemed Ren replicated that technique by limiting it to the Night Parade, leveraging his spells and Cursed Eyes.

Realizing breakthroughs and transforming the army into optimal forms each time…. I guess the synergy isn’t too bad.

While it lacked the flexibility of the White Ring, it was more than enough for battle scenarios. Back then, when Se-Hoon saw him taking classes from Baek-Yeon, he had already thought that Ren had some sort of potential—though not to such an extent.

Drip. Drip.

Black tears of blood streamed from Ren’s eyes as he pressed the attack with the Night Parade. Watching, Se-Hoon fell briefly into thought.

Although Ren’s imitation of White Ring had caught him off guard, unfortunately, it wasn’t a winning move. The technique, hurriedly and incompletely executed, could easily be overridden by simply countering with the original; he could just realize a future that would entrap and defeat him.

Using a power tied to my true identity… no, that isn’t the best choice right now.

With unpredictable consequences ahead, it was better to hold back ‌anything connected to his real self. That was why, just as he had during the reconstruction of the lab, Se-Hoon turned to the assistant perched on his shoulder.

“Do you know of a clean way to take him down without crippling him?”

“You’re one twisted bastard,” the Seeker remarked, swinging her legs idly. “You’ve been toying with him all this time but now want to play nice?”

Hearing the Seeker mocking him, clearly enjoying the situation, Se-Hoon just cooly handled her with one line.

“Are you asking to get scolded again?”

“…”

“No? Then stop with the nonsense and tell me what you know already. Otherwise, I swear I’m never calling you agai—”

“OK, OK! I’ll tell you, alright?!”

Grumbling about being silenced, the Seeker recommended one of the spells stored in the Akashic Record.

Hmmmm, not bad.

Se-Hoon mentally reviewed the spell he had received through the power of Omniscience. Typically, he would have to learn and master the technique—which would take ages—but with Akashic transmission, he just needed to check it first.

Woong!

The once unrestrained Silver River began shaping itself according to the recommended spell, rapidly spreading across the entire dojo.

In the blink of an eye, the ceiling, walls, and floor were all swallowed in a radiant blue glow that made them seem as if they had been cast adrift in the middle of a vast ocean.

Not yet… I can’t give up yet…! Ren clenched his teeth in the face of the irresistible power.

All he had to do was use the spell that imitated the power of Perception again, then surely he would find a way to break through this situation… right? Ready to burn everything to unleash Black Serpent Eye once more, Ren drew on his mana—

“Twisted Law.”

For the first time since the battle began, Se-Hoon formed hand seals.

“All-Form Observation.”

Thousands upon thousands of eyes rose from the blue-lit mana that filled the dojo. In an instant, every spell Ren used was analyzed and unraveled.

Swish-

Everything dissipated so naturally, as if Ren had done it himself. But before he could even react, his strength had already vanished.

“…”

In utter disbelief, Ren swayed unsteadily as the dojo that had been engulfed in chaotic mana and spells returned to its original state.

Step- Step-

Ren didn’t even flinch. Soon enough, Se-Hoon reached forward and grabbed the Black Moon Fan still clutched in Ren’s hand.

Smack.

He snatched the fan, then examined it casually.

“Any last words?”

Ren stared at him silently. Then, with a bitter smile, he opened his mouth.

“…I’ll be waiting in hell.”

“Hell, huh…”

Se-Hoon chuckled at the cliched words.

“I go down there so often that it’s gotten dull.”

Slice!

He swung the black fan at Ren and severed his neck.