The Regressor Can Make Them All

Chapter 533

Swish-

A bizarre and ominous intangible aura unlike anything in the world spread outward from Se-Hoon to sweep across the plain in the blink of an eye.

Rumble!

The Final Revelation of the Pilgrim, powered by the might of the Golden Ring, manifested miracles directly into reality. Because of that, it was no exaggeration to say it was the most overpowered Final Revelation among those Se-Hoon had ever faced before.

And yet, despite that, the result was not much different from before: the golden light it poured down was still being driven back.

Woong!

Salvation Radiance manifested miracles according to Apostate’s will, only for Dream Manifestation to rewrite the world and reverse the miracles.

Golden, then normal, golden again, then normal again. The desolate wasteland’s repeated transformations were essentially akin to the sight of someone opening and closing their eyes repeatedly.

Se-Hoon’s successful interference enraged the monstrous hymn-singing beings, making them spread their four wings and take to the sky. Overlooking Se-Hoon below, the creatures formed countless golden glyphs and launched them all like artillery shells.

BOOM BOOM BOOM-

Although more than half of the glyphs disintegrated into dust before even reaching the ground, the rest still crashed down onto the desert, unleashing massive shockwaves. Each shockwave was a culmination of a surreal amount of physical force, the result of layering and compression through divine mana.

Naturally, the relentless bombardment was enough to destroy the planet. And on top of it all, from the craters, new monsters were emerging.

Ah- Uh- Eh-

Humanoid monsters seemingly forged from sulfur crawled out, still emitting smoke as miracles manifested on their bodies.

Ooooh- Aaaaah-!!!

Their crumbling bodies hardened, armor forming and weapons appearing in their hands. Then, from beneath the golden sand, massive warhorses burst forth and charged toward Se-Hoon madly with the sulfur soldiers on their backs.

Rumbleee-

The sulfur warrior cavalry shook the entire desert, joining the continuous barrage from above. However, despite the two-pronged assault, Se-Hoon watched it all with a faint smile.

So you want a complete apocalypse, don’t you?

Each individual shell hurtling toward him indeed could destroy the planet. But the Golden Ring? Not even a chance. Like Apostate had once said, on a cosmic scale, everything was but a mere speck of dust that could be wiped away—pitifully insignificant.

Swish-

In Se-Hoon’s eyes, it was nothing compared to seeing the world being devoured by the Destroyer of Seas. Now that was a true annihilation of everything.

It was an experience engraved not just in memory or knowledge, but in his very soul. Because of that deep understanding of nihility, Se-Hoon didn’t even bat an eye at the pitiful strikes of Apostate. He met it all head-on, not even bothering to dodge.

A flash from above vaporized his entire body. He began regenerating, but that was when the sulfur army arrived, slashing with their divine swords and thrusting with spears. The assault intensified.

Se-Hoon’s body was being destroyed faster than it could regenerate, creating a lingering mist of scattered blood that could only form a hazy afterimage.

It was clear to any observer: Se-Hoon was at a disadvantage, on the verge of death.

Splurt!

And yet, no matter how many times they killed him—even if they dismembered him so thoroughly that not even a drop of blood remained—Se-Hoon’s body began regenerating again; over and over, his body underwent a complete resurrection from the absolute void.

How is he…?

Apostate was in utter disbelief. In the middle of the ceaseless bombardment and sulfur army’s onslaught, the ever-shifting red mist that formed Se-Hoon’s shape was absorbing all attacks with ease? And it was even continuing to block the miracles attempting to spread across the desert?

Such a surreal sight could only be…

“A demon…” Apostate inadvertently muttered.

Who but a demon could embody such monstrosity? That was a true evil, definitely one who sought to slay God and annihilate the world.

In an instant, Apostate was consumed by hatred, disgust, and fear. His eyes went bloodshot.

“You… YOU MUST DIE HERE!!”

Seraph Apocalypse

Tarata-taaa—RUMBLE!

Heralded by a majestic trumpet, the entire desert quaked violently as a colossal golden giant—rivaling a planet in size—revealed itself in the sky.

Whoosh-

The void of space was revealed, the planet’s atmosphere torn open by the giant’s six wings. Staring down at Se-Hoon, the giant raised its hands above its head.

Woong!

Clutching the massive fiery golden sword formed from condensed light in a reverse grip, the giant brought it down upon the planet. The blade, vast as a continent, intended to annihilate everything.

WOOOOOOSH!

The transcendent strike was powerful enough to obliterate not just the entire planet but even Salvation Radiance itself swung down—the red mist that was Se-Hoon lifted its head toward the sky and waved its hand.

Dream of the Butterfly

Flutter-

Everything was transformed into a swarm of purple butterflies. The falling greatsword, the giant who wielded it, the atmosphere that had been torn open—all of it became purple butterflies that fluttered away without a trace.

In the end, it was an utterly hollow spectacle that made Apostate go blank.

“This… this… can’t be…! This shouldn’t be possible!!!”

Apostate was driven into madness. While he feared Se-Hoon would block the attack, that… that was… it was simply beyond reason. What Se-Hoon had just pulled off needed a transcendent power rivaling the miracles of a god. His action was so blasphemous that his very existence desecrated the Divine.

“Nononononono it should—no, it must be impossible! Even if you’re a demon, something like this could never—!” Apostate’s mad screams abruptly went silent; his gaze scanned everything around them.

Whether it was the miracle-filled sky or the golden desert, all of it felt so vividly real. But… but… a suspicion had bloomed, and it kept gnawing at his instincts.

Then, a spark: a long-ignored incongruity came to mind.

There was no… response?

Miracles had manifested according to his prayers, but never once had he heard God’s voice or received His will. Belatedly realizing the truth, Apostate’s mind raced to arrive at a single, natural conclusion.

“Is this all… a dream?”

Crack-

A massive crack split the sky—

“Ah ah. Not yet.”

Swoosh-

Se-Hoon, now fully regenerated, waved his hand to erase the rift without a trace before Apostate’s blank gaze.

“…”

A long second passed, then, Apostate’s face contorted and the desert once again quacked violently—it stopped abruptly, bringing everything to a standstill.

“Since when?” Apostate was completely calm.

“I don’t follow—”

“I see. From the very beginning, then.”

Eyes narrowing into a glare at Se-Hoon’s facade, Apostate’s voice dropped to a frigid chill.

“From the moment the first miracle was cast by the Divine. You had already overwritten the entire plaza with a dream.”

The basic ability of dream mana was dream substitution. Using that simple effect—pushing objects into the realm of dreams—Se-Hoon separated the Pilgrim’s Final Revelation from reality itself.

“How… no, never mind. That’s a pointless question. If it’s you, of course you’d pull it off.”

Whether Se-Hoon used some other Perfect One’s power or borrowed power from some artifact, it didn’t matter. That was already in the past and wouldn’t help him escape the dream.

However, there was something important that would.

“Still… it seems you haven’t completely mastered it.”

Crack!

Having realized everything was a dream, cracks were forming everywhere despite Apostate doing nothing. Just as one naturally wakes upon realizing they’re dreaming, the dreamscape Se-Hoon had created with Dream Manifestation was unraveling.

“You could leave it be, and it would fall apart on its own… but if you’re still trying to stall for time, then you must be waiting for something.”

The moment Apostate was separated from reality, he felt that there was a sudden lack of divine response. From that alone, he knew what was happening outside.

“You bastard… You intended to harm Him from the very start, didn’t you?”

What Apostate had thought the truth was—that Se-Hoon was here to defeat Him and restore order—was actually the opposite. To kill the maddened Pilgrim for good, Se-Hoon had trapped both Apostate and Salvation Radiance in a dream to buy time for his allies in the real world to finish the job.

“Such… betrayal…”

Apostate trembled, humiliated by the sense of betrayal. His God had served humanity under that false god all this time, only to be repaid in that way?!

In response, however, Se-Hoon just stared at him incredulously.

“So what? Should I have just obediently let myself die after being betrayed?”

“YOU SHOULD HAVE BEGGED FOR FORGIVENESS!” Apostate erupted in fury. “You abandoned Him in your arrogance, drunk on the power from a false god?! If you had only repented, everything could have returned to how it was!!!”

“…”

“Do you truly believe this world is right?! That a world where humans pierce the skies, destroy mountains, and part seas is just?!”

A world that could be obliterated by a single whim, by a single rogue act. What meaning was there in living within such a fragile sandcastle?

“That is why He—the one true God who watches over humanity—stood up to correct it! If you could not assist Him, you should have at least—”

“I’m not sure about that.”

Se-Hoon calmly cut off Apostate’s impassioned speech.

“In my eyes, you all don’t seem much different from the so-called false god.”

“…What?”

“I learned from my classes that the old world was safer than this one. But it wasn’t without its flaws either, right?”

Both the world before the emergence of the Towers of Heroes and the current one had their share of problems. So long as people live together, that was inevitable.

“Sure, maybe if the Pilgrim truly answers prayers, things might get better. But even so… how different would that world really be from now?”

A world where those who followed God’s will were blessed while those who opposed were cursed—that already described reality in many ways.

“The only thing that changes is who we look up to. So no, I don’t really support a ‘reform’ on such a surface-level.”

Se-Hoon looked toward Apostate, meeting his gaze directly.

“Especially not if it’s a god who denies us.”

“…”

Apostate fell silent, hanging his head without moving. Then, after a pause, he slowly looked up at the sky again with eyes full of resignation.

“Oh Lord…”

Rumble! Crack-

Salvation Radiance trembled ominously, shaking the dream as its seams cracked under the pressure.

“Please…”

Apostate’s eyes trembled, blood bursting from every vessel to create a stream of blood tears that flowed down his cheeks and chin. Like that, he lowered his head again and prayed more fervently than ever before.

“Deliver us from the adversary before us.”

His face twisted with emotions—rage, humiliation, and killing intent—Apostate called upon the Pilgrim’s desert to clash with the regressor’s dream with full force.

***

Rumble!

As deafening roars echoed in all directions, Jake looked at the four pillars rising in the four cardinal directions. North, south, east, west—black, iridescent, white, and orange—were lit up with light, each imbued with a different Perfect One’s power.

Combining might, the four formed a boundary around the plaza that sealed off the power that should have manifested in full force.

If that had been deployed in reality… far more people would’ve died.

Jake grimaced at the eerily silent empty plaza, now cleared of all civilians.

“Jake. Get ready,” Aria said, tapping his shoulder after approaching.

“Understood.”

It was hard to see the Pilgrim in such a state, but they couldn’t waste the chance their friend was buying for them. Steeling himself, Jake turned toward the gaping hole where the golden cross had risen from.

In front of it, his comrades stood ready.

Crunch- Clang-

Standing closest to the hole, Eun-Ha took a bite of a dagger before tossing it aside.

“From this moment forward, the Pope’s subjugation operation will commence.”

Fwoosh!

Her hair burning fiery bright, Eun-Ha leapt into the underground chamber.