The Regressor Can Make Them All

Chapter 525

Despite the contents of Benjamin’s sudden report, Se-Hoon headed for the Netherworld without much concern.

Well, she probably just pretended to hit it.

After Wurgen’s death, Se-Hoon had occasionally taken time to investigate the Black Tower, which, of course, included durability tests. And the result of his investigation was clear: no matter how much mana was used, unless one used the powers of the Perfect Ones, the tower couldn’t be broken.

That was why he was confident that even Meirin couldn’t have caused that big of a mess.

“…”

But that confidence‌ didn’t take long to shatter. When Se-Hoon arrived in front of the Black Tower, his mouth gaped in surprise.

Sizzle-

Like someone had slammed a massive axe into it, the base of the Black Tower had been gouged out by nearly a third. Black particles leaked uncontrollably—mana infused with the power of Boundaries—causing Se-Hoon to stare utterly dumbfounded.

How… how the hell did this happen?

No matter how many times he blinked, the sight he couldn’t believe didn’t disappear.

“Sir… Will you be able to restore it?”

Hearing Benjamin’s cautious voice, Se-Hoon snapped out of it.

“Huh? Ah… One moment.”

Though still flustered, Se-Hoon reached out his hand, and the Netherworld’s mana surged up from the ground to fill the Black Tower’s gap.

Whirr!

The tower shook slightly, then, as if it had never been damaged, restored itself perfectly.

Seeing that, Benjamin and the surrounding undead collectively exhaled with relief.

“Truly… thank goodness.”

“If it couldn’t be restored…”

“Sob…”

“…”

Se-Hoon scratched his cheek awkwardly at the sight of a few undead shedding blue flame-like tears. The whole mess was caused by a guest he had asked them to look after—it was hard not to feel responsible.

“Ahem… Where’s Miss Meirin now?”

“I’ll bring her right away.”

Benjamin glanced at the undead at his side, and soon after, Meirin appeared with her arms bound tightly in black iron chains.

“Long time no see.”

“Yes… um, it has been a while.”

As Se-Hoon stood there awkwardly, clearly not expecting such a reunion, a nearby undead stepped forward to unchain her.

“Due to the situation, we kept her restrained until your arrival. If you don’t find the order justified, please direct your punishment at me…”

“No, if I were in your shoes, I’d have done the same. You did well.”

Reassuring the undead first, which was acting like it was about to be executed, Se-Hoon then turned to Meirin.

“Um, Miss Meirin. What even happened here?”

His master could be impulsive, but even she wouldn’t recklessly damage something as obviously important as the Black Tower.

“Hmm…”

Yet instead of answering, Meirin made a subtle glance toward the undead that caused Se-Hoon to let out a sigh.

“Could everyone give us a moment?”

“Understood.”

When Benjamin and the undead stepped back, only then did Meirin rub her once-bound arms.

“Finally, I can breathe again…” Merin said with a sigh, loosening her arms.

Seeing her rummaging through her sleeves next, Se-Hoon instinctively lit a flame on his fingertip and held it out.

“What are you doing?”

“Huh? I mean… huh?”

He’d fully expected her to pull out a pack of cigarettes, but there was a red sphere in her hand instead?

“Are those edible cigarettes?”

“It’s candy.”

“…Nicotine candy?”

“Normal strawberry-flavored candy, you idiot.”

Rolling her eyes, she unwrapped the candy and popped it into her mouth under Se-Hoon’s baffled gaze.

“Why are you eating candy all of a sudden…?”

“I’ve decided to quit smoking.”

“Oh, I see… wait—quitting?!”

Eyes wider than ever, Se-Hoon nearly shouted in surprise. He’d seen countless butterfly effects since returning, but none were as unbelievable as that.

“Why are you so shocked?”

“I mean… you always used to smoke non-stop…”

Even when pulling all-nighters, she would skip meals before she skipped her cigarettes. That same person was quitting cold turkey? It felt more like a dream than reality.

“Can I… ask why you decided to suddenly quit?”

“…”

Meirin swirled the candy in her mouth, staring at Se-Hoon for a long moment.

“I don’t think I am required to tell you why.” She smirked.

“Huh? But—”

“Enough chit-chat. Let’s get to the point.”

Forcefully changing the subject, she nodded toward the Black Tower.

“Like I said before, the reason I’m staying in the Netherworld is to confirm a few things. One of those is analyzing the Black Tower.”

Despite the reshaping of the Netherworld after Wurgen’s death over six months ago, no significant discoveries about the Black Tower had emerged. Even the little that was known amounted to vague statements about it relating to the power of Boundaries or amplifying Netherworld power. Its origin remained entirely unknown still.

“You may see it differently, but I concluded that the Black Tower was structurally unnecessary. The Netherworld, as I see it, is already perfect.”

Apart from the fact that the sea was pitch black, the Netherworld didn’t seem special at first glance. However, it was essentially a mechanical system designed specifically for the dead. It defined the minds of the deceased as souls, interpreted their information, gave them new bodies, and revived them by meeting specific conditions—the single, unified structure for the afterlife was the ultimate creation of Wurgen Kruger.

“So why would Wurgen create something that risked external interference? My conclusion was simple.”

Meirin smirked again as she looked at Se-Hoon.

“The Black Tower wasn’t created by Wurgen.”

“…”

Se-Hoon’s expression subtly changed. The Black Tower wasn’t Wurgen’s creation…? To most, it would have been an absurd claim; however, to Se-Hoon, one possibility did come to mind.

“You think… I made the Black Tower?”

“Seems likely. The undead recognize you as Wurgen’s successor, after all.”

While Meirin based her theory on pure speculation, Se-Hoon had a faint idea of how the tower might actually have been created.

When the laws were rewritten… was the revised synesthetic mindscape formed in the Black Tower?

Wurgen was the creator of the power of Boundaries, the Netherworld, and the Blessing of the Eternal. But it was Se-Hoon who had independently interpreted them all, connected them to the Towers of Heroes, and convinced Wurgen to grant him editing rights. Thus, everything was all arguably a co-creation of Wurgen and Se-Hoon.

If the Black Tower originated from me, that kind of explains it… but still, isn’t this kind of overkill?

All he did was remind Wurgen of a forgotten wish, yet something like that emerged from it. No matter how laws were defined in the world, the result seemed ridiculously outsized for the input.

“Hmm… Could you continue with your explanation?”

“Sure. Once I figured out the source material, the next part was easy.”

She approached the tower and placed a hand on it.

“I treated the Black Tower as you. And since I needed to confirm something, I convinced it that it had to be destroyed.”

“Convinced… it?”

“Yeah. Like this.”

Meirin activated her Demonic Blood Art and focused, faintly exchanging excerpts of her synesthetic mindscape with the tower. A moment later, when an unknown wave flowed out from within the Black Tower…

Click.

The part of the tower her hand was touching popped out.

“Cool, huh?”

A cube-shaped segment cleanly cut from the tower sat in her palm. Se-Hoon let out a hollow laugh.

“That’s… seriously amazing.”

No matter what he did, the tower hadn’t so much as budged, yet now it could be processed so cleanly?

I remember trying something similar before. Did it not work for me because I considered it part of Wurgen back then?

Although he was stunned by the development, he was still able to connect the dots after hearing everything.

“If it can be processed like this, then adding new functionality to it should also be possible.”

“Exactly. For example…”

Tossing and catching the cube piece in her hand, Meirin grinned.

“A facility to stabilize someone who wields multiple powers.”

The Black Tower had the potential to become the core facility of the Planetary Reinforcement Project via Terra. If they used it well, they might even be able to prevent the runaway effects of the power of Boundaries at the very least.

And if Terra is ever struck down by the Demon Forces, this could serve as insurance…

Se-Hoon’s thoughts paused as the new blueprint in his head was taking shape.

Use an existing power… as insurance?

Since the beginning, the biggest risk of the plan was the world itself interfering, like when Doppelganger reached ascension through exploits. So, what if he used existing powers and infused some of his synesthetic mindscape to create the rules that would protect the planet?

It’d still be risky, but much less so.

Up til now, Se-Hoon had altered three powers: Wurgen’s Eternality, Li Kenxie’s Sacred Flames, and Baek-Yeon’s Foresight. If he could find more elements influenced by his own synesthetic mindscape—like the Black Tower—and connect them all to Terra, then not only could he stabilize those three powers but he could even secure additional “lives” for the planet.

If I can make this work, I could protect the planet from both the Demon Force and the Perfect Ones.

After all, how could the Perfect Ones—who were still part of the world—turn their backs on the fundamental laws that the Golden Ring had set up?

“Add more powers… strengthen as a fallback… use the power of Omniscience…”

Se-Hoon’s mind raced as thoughts rapidly took form, with countless diagrams forming and reforming in his mind.

“…”

Meanwhile, Meirin, who was watching him, narrowed her eyes. From Se-Hoon, there was a strange energy that wasn’t mana, a skill, or even a power—something else entirely—flowing out from his body.

He’s changed a lot again in the past few months.

Back when they last met, she sensed something changing. What she was seeing now must be the result.

But why is it manifesting like that?

If it were mana, it should appear as mana. If it were some power, then like a power. Why couldn’t it be properly perceived? It was as if… the Golden Ring lacked the data to represent whatever was coming off of Se-Hoon.

Meirin silently observed—

“…Got it!”

The strange power abruptly vanished the moment Se-Hoon finalized his plans.

“Tsk…”

“Hmm? Is there something wrong?”

“…It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

While she didn’t like dodging questions, she knew half-baked information could lead to dangerous assumptions. Because she kept quiet, though, Se-Hoon looked at her curiously.

She would’ve just told me what it was if it was before. Looks like Master has changed too.

He considered asking again but ultimately let it go. And in that time, it seemed Meirin understood what he was thinking too, as they shared an awkward cough.

“…So, what’s the problem now?”

“I have a good grasp of how to use the Black Tower; it’s just that a new issue has come up.”

Recalling the six anchors in his latest design that would bind Terra to the planet, he made a troubled look.

“I need to convince three more Perfect Ones.”

To escape the Golden Ring’s influence and stabilize the powers, at least six powers were required. In other words, he had to persuade Ludwig, Karl, and Jason to change their powers in the same way as the first three.

“Hmm. You think you can pull it off?”

“It won’t be easy, but I have to try.”

He could technically start now, without theirs, but the chance of a misstep resulting in Terra’s annihilation or planetary corruption was still there. To avoid that, even if convincing all three was too much, at least two were essential.

“Alright. In any case, there’s nothing I can do to help with that, so I’ll leave it to you.”

Meirin returned the cube to its place, then looked at Se-Hoon.

“In return, leave the processing of the Black Tower to me. I’ll make it perfect—and use this chance to come back strong.”

Perhaps thanks to her successful tower analysis, she looked proud and was once again full of confidence.

It was a sight that made Se-Hoon smile faintly.

“Sure. I’ll send you the design and materials later.”

“Good. Then I’ll see you when it’s done.”

“Or maybe I’ll drop by earlier if I get curious~”

“Cough! Stop spouting nonsense! Just go already!”

Choking on the candy, Meirin shoved him out in a fluster, and he left the Netherworld with a chuckle.

“I’ve entrusted Miss Meirin with a very important task, so please treat her as you would treat me,” he said, having contacted Benjamin.

“Yes, sir. Then we’ll contact you only if anything unusual occurs.”

“Thank you.”

Closing the Eye of the Nether, Se-Hoon thought of the three Perfect Ones he still had to convince.

Ludwig will probably cooperate if I explain it well… but Jason’s a bit of a wildcard.

Could someone who didn’t even know what their own power was even alter the Blessing that already existed? Perhaps that may make it easier—but the risk felt too great.

Karl actually seems like the safest bet…

Until recently, he’d have gone straight to Karl. But the strange hostility from the archbishops he met at the Inoue family estate still troubled him.

It’s also been a while since I last heard from him…

Maybe something had changed within the Pilgrimage Church in the meantime?

Vrrr-

While he had been deep in thought, his phone vibrated. Glancing over and seeing Luize’s name, Se-Hoon immediately picked up.

“What’s up—”

—Turn on the news! Any channel!

Taken aback by her urgent tone, Se-Hoon turned on the TV to a familiar face filling the screen: Kamal Sharma standing before reporters with a solemn expression.

Wondering what was going on, Se-Hoon’s gaze shifted to the bold headline at the bottom of the screen.

“Pilgrim Karl Andersen Announces Resignation!”

「—and thus, the election for the second pope will be held one week from today.」

The winds of change had begun to stir within the Pilgrimage Church.