The Regressor Can Make Them All

Chapter 536

BOOM!

Se-Hoon’s fist created a shockwave that let out a thunderous roar. Without a special power released—solely the sheer power of his body—the Sanctuary helplessly quaked to its core as fissures spread throughout.

And before that shockwave could even fully expand, Se-Hoon’s next punch had already been thrown.

Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!

His fist kept flying out, layering shockwave upon shockwave like ripples surging outward and tearing apart the lingering afterimage of the last. Then, when they all overlapped, Se-Hoon widened his eyes and detonated the mana within his body in quick succession.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

With Sacred Flame adding propulsion, Midnight Abyss helping him focus his strength, Divine Power enhancing his body, and Silver River perfectly harmonizing them all, Se-Hoon’s punch of brute force ended up being able to shatter time itself—it had stepped into the same realm as the power of Premotion.

Rumble!

What he had achieved was a level of martial prowess only attainable by activating Unity of Mind and Body with the power of Perception. In simpler terms, it was a barrage that rivaled the greatest.

“Ah.” Yet, upon meeting Se-Hoon’s gaze, the man surrounded by a golden veil just indifferently murmured, “You’re unable to use your powers freely, right?”

Woong!

The crown atop Karl’s head—the Crown of Original Sin—shone with golden light, and the world shattered by Se-Hoon’s onslaught was reconstructed in an instant

Swoosh!

The dilapidated church became awash in white light, pillars started rising from the earth, and the stained glass windows began radiating prismatic brilliance. It was an eerily beautiful scene; the entire church had been seemingly painted with divine light.

And in that church, Karl slowly raised his right hand.

Blasphemy Spear

A black spear, condensed from all the darkness in the world, hurtled toward Se-Hoon’s heart.

BOOM!

Se-Hoon was flung backward, no longer able to continue pressing his attack. Instead, his hands were occupied with the violently trembling black spear that tried to continue toward his chest.

This power must be…!

Just as Se-Hoon’s eyes began narrowing at the overwhelming force, Eun-Ha and Aria rushed in from both sides. Eun-Ha immediately grasped the spear’s shaft firmly, halting it entirely. Meanwhile, Aria’s Dawnlight, infused with starlight, was swinging toward the center of the spear.

CRASH!

Her slash reached the realm of ascension, cleaving through the world itself. And yet… Aria frowned. She had sensed a faint ripple that made it seem as if her strike had missed, deflected by something in the void—which it did.

Before they could even react, the black spear had been one-sidedly retrieved and was now floating by Karl’s side.

“You’ve grown strong, Dean Ryu. I’ve never imagined anyone could catch the Blasphemy Spear with their bare hands,” Karl said softly, gazing at the stiffened party.

“…”

“As for you, Miss Aria, your blade seems to have grown even sharper. If you’d been even a second faster, I might’ve lost the spear completely.”

Karl was admitting personally that they posed a threat, yet both women’s expressions only grew more tense.

“That Blasphemy Spear… it’s a skill that guarantees a kill.”

Se-Hoon’s voice cut through their tension. Through the earlier exchange, he had gleaned that every single one of Karl’s skills was absolutely extraordinary.

“If you’re pierced by it, forget about regeneration—you’re just outright dead. Only the Dean and Aria can withstand a hit from that. That’s why, Jake, Erika, you two remember to stay close to each other. Luize, you stay by me.”

With Se-Hoon taking command through Incantation Magic, everyone began shifting stance.

“And that crown—I’m not certain, but it seems to have reality-altering power. As you saw, anything less than the power of the Perfect Ones won’t cut it. No, we need to strike him with something that exceeds the realm of ascension.”

While Se-Hoon’s chained punches rivaled the power of Premotion, that was the limit. They were barely enough to endure Karl’s power, much less overcome it. That was proven when Se-Hoon hadn’t been able to shatter even the golden veil cast by the Crown of Original Sin.

“Dean Ryu and Jake will stay here and defend. Aria and Erika, you guys take the offense. Don’t aim for Karl directly: neutralize his weapon and divine artifacts.”

“And me?”

“Luize, you’ll be with—”

“It seems you’ve used a puppet to replace yourself, Lee Se-Hoon.” Karl’s voice interrupted his orders, his eyes boring into Se-Hoon.

“…”

“I was wondering how you escaped while suppressing Max and my Final Revelation… but to think you’d send a projection.”

Realizing Karl’s gaze had pierced through everything, Se-Hoon adjusted the body serving as his stand-in.

Woong-

Originally stationed underground to channel the congregation’s faith and laws during the prayer ritual, the Warhound had been semi-sealed by Karl’s Sanctuary. Yet Luize’s Divine Speech had transcended it to summon Se-Hoon into it as a projection.

“That means you’re fighting on two battlefields at once right now. How amazing, as expected of Wurgen’s successor.”

Currently, Se-Hoon was simultaneously facing Karl and another battlefield. On top of Apostate, who was trying to break free from the dream conjured with Dream Manifestation, Se-Hoon was also defending against the Apostles that were trying to purge him as an intruder of the Sanctuary.

“It’s such a reckless gamble: fail on either front, and both will collapse. And yet, you have chosen to accept such a risk… which means that puppet has a purpose you cannot leave unfulfilled.”

Karl overlooked the battlefield, having finished voicing the conclusion he had come to.

A total of six people—none of whom had ascended—had gathered to defeat him. For it to be such a group was reckless, especially considering his skills had already exceeded what a Perfect One could do.

However, the situation somehow seemed not too impossible. Unlike himself, who had long ago found out just how far his single “hope” could bring him, those six still held infinite potential.

Although this might be a bit of a stretch, if they have Lee Se-Hoon with them… then perhaps they may truly be able to pull it off.

Karl watched them quietly, lost in thought.

“O God.”

A voice suddenly echoed in his ears: the last human, the believer who had once guided him to the divine seat. That pitiful devotee’s desperate prayer resonated deeply with Karl.

“O God…”

The plea from the ignorant and powerless self begging for an answer despite having grabbed onto godhood—yet it changed nothing.

Karl slowly opened his mouth.

“I shall deliver you.”

Responding to the prayer, the God of that lone human scattered miracles across the world.

RUMBLE-

The Crown of Original Sin once again shone golden, rewriting the world according to Karl’s will. Before such absolute power, not even the Perfect Ones could remain unbending.

Everyone froze, revering the sheer divinity.

“LUIZE!”

However, Se-Hoon’s cry shattered the reverence and moved them into action.

“⏹⏹⏹⏹⏹”

Luize’s Divine Speech rang out across the world, opposing Karl’s miracle. A harsh grinding noise then followed, accompanied by a gray light bursting from Se-Hoon’s body.

WOOONG-

A gray radiance pushed back the golden light to seize half of the Sanctuary.

“…!”

Karl’s eyes widened. The divine power that had been flowing toward him was splitting in two and surging into Se-Hoon?

Dream Manifestation: Crown of Original Sin

Upon forming a mudra, a crown of gray thorns also appeared above Se-Hoon’s head and immediately clashed directly with Karl’s miracle.

CRACK!

When two identical forces collided, they annihilated each other. Now, with the falling shards of the failed miracle as their backdrop, four figures charged in without hesitation.

BOOM!

Eun-Ha’s fist slammed into the golden veil with full force, prompting Karl to retaliate with his Blasphemy Spear.

Wooosh!

The fatal spear that could neither miss nor be blocked tore through space straight toward Eun-Ha’s forehead.

“Hmph…!”

Clang!

Intercepting, Jake’s sword slipped through the gap and struck the Blasphemy Spear in one swift motion.

Creak!

Alas, the spear, which should have been deflected far away, twisted at a right angle and shot back like a serpent. Seeing that, Jake summoned six sword auras and struck again and again without pause.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Jake’s seven blades danced, precisely deflecting the jet-black trajectories coming in from all directions. In the end, even if Jake wielded a sword imbued with the power of Premotion, moving faster than the spear’s inevitable strike was impossible for anyone but the Trailblazer himself.

Woong!

With Primal Unity and its absorption feature, though, Jake somehow managed to match the spear’s speed. Slowly, his sword was absorbing the inevitability from the Blasphemy Spear.

As expected, I still can’t keep this up for long…!

Unfortunately, matching and enduring it were two starkly separate things. The spear’s causal certainty was swelling over time like a snowball.

To realize “piercing Eun-Ha,” it would continue to accelerate endlessly.

Clan-Cla-Cl-

Before the sound of one impact faded, the next had already begun. Each moment was split and compressed repeatedly, not one spared by the hurricane of acceleration.

It was a near-eternal clash, yet Jake continued to swing his blade relentlessly; he forgot even his limits.

I’ll hold on.

Until the Dean’s fist broke the Pilgrim’s veil.

I’ll hold on…!

Until his sister came back with her sword.

I’ll hold…

Until Erika finished preparing her spell to support him.

In a moment that seemed to drag endlessly on, Jake’s sword continued chasing the Blasphemy Spear.

“Linked Star Unity.”

The light of Primal Unity flowed into Dawnlight.

Woong!

Created as twin swords, Dawnlight and Primal Unity merged perfectly through the siblings’ synesthetic mindscape skill.

Together, Aria—who entered that eternal moment as well—and Jake surpassed their limits and stepped beyond the constraints of the world into the domain of ascension.

Myers Style Star Sword Technique: Primal Dawnlight Unity

CLANG!

A starlit slash cleaved the black spear into two, splitting even the very laws of the world.

BOOM!

In the blink of an eye, the sword dance of the siblings ended. They had opened up the stage for Eun-Ha, whose fist slammed into the golden veil protecting Karl.

Crack!

Karl stared at his barrier. It hadn’t even flinched against Se-Hoon’s full power—the miracle flowing from the Crown of Original Sin—yet was now crumbling beneath Eun-Ha’s flame-infused punch.

“…”

His gaze moved, locking onto Se-Hoon in the rear instead of the three attackers.

How… is he using the Sanctuary’s power…?

What was supposed to be a miracle stolen from God, a power that even Perfect Ones couldn’t wield, was used by Se-Hoon? How? Had he redirected the power used to block his Final Revelation? No, if that were the case, there would’ve been a gap in the other battlefield.

Unable to comprehend how it all had played out like so, Karl turned his gaze to the gray light emanating from Se-Hoon.

“May… return… peace…”

When he focused on it, he could hear countless voices echoing from far away.

This sound…

He recognized those voices: the prayers of the believers.

“May the Pilgrim awaken.”

“May the Archbishops return safely.”

“May the new pope be protected.”

“May peace return to mankind.”

The monsters he abandoned, the believers forsaken by the Pilgrim, were all still praying for him.

…So that’s how.

Now he understood. Luize’s Divine Speech had gathered those prayers and infused them all into Se-Hoon, who in turn used their will to seize the Sanctuary’s power and nullify the miracle.

It was them. Even though he had turned his back on them so easily, they were still putting their entire faith in him…. Karl was unable to tear his gaze away from the foolish, unshakable faith.

Just a little more…!

In the meantime, Eun-Ha’s fist had now fully broken through the golden veil and pierced deeper. It would end if she destroyed the Crown of Original Sin, allowing them to seize control of the Sanctuary from the Pilgrim and seal him away.

Woong-

Repeating the goal over and over in her mind, Eun-Ha pushed her Soul Furnace to the limit as she stretched her hand toward the crown atop Karl’s head.

Crack-!

Alas, her arm was slowing and the flames racing through her body were fading—the power she’d stored before the battle had run dry. But there was no guarantee such a chance would ever come again. Knowing that well, Eun-Ha clenched her teeth and pushed her hand further.

However, that wasn’t enough. Her body creaked; her Soul Furnace burned out. Right before the crown, her hand was falling back—

“Open Gate.”

Last to act, Erika extended her hand and unleashed a skill in Se-Hoon’s place. From Erika’s fingertips, a blade of chaotic colors was forged and transferred directly in front of Eun-Ha’s face.

Eun-Ha’s eyes widened. Seeing a sword though, Eun-Ha instantly knew what needed to be done—she bit into the blade Se-Hoon had sent and swallowed it whole.

Crunch!

[The third furnace ‘Radiant Core’ has reached its critical point.]

[The final furnace ‘Soul Forge’ has been activated.]

BOOM!

With a fist blazing in all the colors of the spectrum, Eun-Ha struck Karl’s face—and the Crown of Original Sin—with all her might.