The Regressor Can Make Them All

Chapter 584

Rumble-

Black fragments of now-shattered gears sank beneath the surface.

Is it… over?

Realizing that the Demon King’s power, which had blanketed the entire area, was fading away, Amir scanned his surroundings and became certain: there was no longer a trace of the presence that could be felt no matter where one looked.

Still, Amir remained on guard and watched the Demon King’s realm rapidly collapse.

“Amir,” Sung-Ha called, tapping Amir’s shoulder.

“Yes?”

“There’s something wrong with Se-Hoon.”

“What?!”

Startled by those words, Amir rapidly turned his head to focus on Se-Hoon, whom he had failed to pay attention to until now.

“…”

Amir’s expression stiffened.

Se-Hoon’s eyes were unfocused, seemingly gazing into some far-off distance. With Luize still in his arms, he just stood unmoving.

Could it be… that he is affected by the Demon King’s residual power?

Their current location—where the Forest of Recursion and the blue ocean overlapped—was akin to a pocket world that had been created when Se-Hoon’s synesthetic mindscape was projected onto the Forest. In a certain sense, Se-Hoon had practically spread his heart wide-open and turned it into a room. On top of that, the Demon King’s heart had then been forcibly overlaid.

It was no wonder Se-Hoon was experiencing aftereffects.

“Brother. Can you hear me? Damn it…”

Seeing no reaction, Amir hesitated. Should he freeze Se-Hoon’s synesthetic mindscape as emergency treatment?

Swish-

Before he could decide, Luize slowly opened her eyes. Then, from within Se-Hoon’s arms, she seemed to have realized something as she gently submerged her right hand beneath the surface.

Her lips moved soundlessly.

Woong-

A mysterious wave spread from her right hand, calling forth the souls scattered throughout the blue ocean.

“This is…”

Sung-Ha and Amir stared in amazement, watching the pure white clusters of light surround the four of them. Soon, several familiar souls drifted forward from among the crowd.

Woong-

Three souls—one imbued with crimson-black light, one silver, and one blue—moved as if speaking to the souls gathered around, then converged at a single point.

Under the water’s surface, the souls stretched out like rubber, extending—

Boom!

“Agh!”

The stretched souls snapped back, slamming into Se-Hoon’s solar plexus before breaking apart and scattering in all directions.

Plop- Plop-

Souls rained down from the sky, like falling droplets before the confused eyes of Sung-Ha and Amir.

“Cough…”

Hearing Se-Hoon’s dry cough, the two turned to see his focus had returned.

“Se-Hoon! Are you alright?!”

“Amir? What just—”

“You were completely out of it after witnessing the Demon King’s power. Do you not remember anything?”

At Sung-Ha’s question, Se-Hoon rubbed his aching solar plexus as he tried to piece together his hazy memories.

“I feel like I came to some realization… but you guys punched me awake, so I forgot.”

“Us?”

“Wasn’t it you guys? The voice sounded like…”

Se-Hoon trailed off, realizing who had awakened him as he looked at the three. Immediately, he searched the surroundings for any trace of them left… only to find nothing.

Those damn bastards.

Grumbling inwardly at the three who had left before him like back then, Se-Hoon shook off the lingering sadness and stood up.

“Let’s go to Jason first.”

Woong-

Using the power of Space, Se-Hoon teleported with the others to the boundary of the Demon Realm where Jason and the Demon King had fought their final battle.

“…”

Se-Hoon unconsciously drew a breath upon arriving. Before him was a massive fissure across the blue ocean… and Jason’s motionless back in front of it.

“Amir, start by freezing his synesthetic mindscape!”

It was hard to find a single spot on Jason’s body that wasn’t drenched in blood. His condition was so severe that even the hole pierced through his chest barely registered—and it seemed Jason was fully aware of that as he never once bothered to turn around.

In a hurry, Se-Hoon lowered Luize and rushed forward to administer emergency treatment—

“It’s fine.”

Jason’s calm voice resounded. He was still facing the other way.

“This body is already past the point of recovery. Don’t waste your strength here and save it for the battles to come.”

“But if I use my power—”

“Then my mind would also regress along with my wounds, wouldn’t it?”

“…”

Se-Hoon—who thought he could maybe restore Jason’s dying body to some extent with the power of Regression—couldn’t finish his words.

“I don’t want to return to that time. I hope you can understand.”

“…”

Facing the choice of living on and forgetting everything or dying with all of his memories once more… Jason’s refusal of treatment made his choice clear.

“Please trust me—just this once. I’ll take responsibility and remake it with you.”

Se-Hoon clenched his fist tightly, remembering how he had spoken so confidently to Jason within his synesthetic mindscape—yet this was how it ended. It felt like he had lied to Jason’s face, stopping Se-Hoon from saying anything—

“Don’t regret it,” Jason’s firm voice interrupted his thoughts as though seeing through him. “This was the path that I chose to follow. The future I decided. It wasn’t something you imposed on me.”

“…”

“I defeated our enemy and protected you all. And you’re still making such a face?”

Still unable to find words, Se-Hoon struggled to answer. And that was when he heard voices from behind.

“There’s no reason to regret a win once you’ve staked your life, no matter how it ends.”

“Even more so if it was to protect others. I believe that is something truly admirable.”

Hearing Sung-Ha and Amir’s solemn answers, then seeing Luize nodding since she was still unable to speak, Se-Hoon’s thoughts calmed.

He realized his mistake.

Facing Jason once more, Se-Hoon bowed deeply.

“…Thank you.”

His face still facing away from the four, Jason softly smiled at those words.

“I believe in you. I still trust that the future you seek will be one where everyone can be happy. So…”

Jason slowly raised his blood-soaked right arm and thrust his fist into the empty air as though he were punching through all those that blocked their way to the future.

“Advance without hesitation.”

Swoosh-

Hearing the waves once Jason’s voice faded, Se-Hoon lifted his head and looked ahead. The blue ocean rippled gently in farewell as the souls drifted toward the direction Jason reached toward.

Watching that calm sight, the four remained silent for a long while in a moment of mourning.

“He’s gone.”

“…!”

Startled by the hoarse voice that echoed from their side, Se-Hoon turned. There, standing with a body that was cracked like shattered porcelain, the Demon King was staring at the place Jason had stood.

“One of us abandoned everything to gain power… while the other gained power without abandoning everything. Don’t you think it’s a bit unfair, no matter how you look at it?”

Snapping out of their shock, Sung-Ha and Amir reflexively moved to strike—but were stopped by Se-Hoon’s extended hand.

“It’s fine. He’s already dead.”

Although the Demon King had preserved himself within the pocket world as an immutable existence, Jason, by surpassing the present and striking the future, had pierced straight through it.

Thud!

A blow from the past crashed into the Demon King’s regenerated body, breaking off a piece. Jason’s fist—one that had outrun the future—continued to arrive until complete death was achieved.

In other words, the Demon King before them was, in truth, no different from a corpse.

“Despite barely surviving thanks to the Trailblazer, you seem awfully smug. Anyone watching might think you were the victor.”

The Demon King sneered at Se-Hoon, ignoring his own crumbling body.

“Know this: in this battle, you accomplished nothing. The one who defeated me wasn’t you—it was the Trailblazer. Do you understand?”

The clear taunting made Sung-Ha and Amir frown while Luize narrowed her eyes and stepped forward.

“Yes.”

However, Se-Hoon immediately nodded without reacting..

“You’re right. The one who defeated you was him.”

Who could deny Jason’s role in this battle? Yet, such an honest answer made the Demon King stare for a moment before letting out a short laugh.

“At least you have some conscience.”

“Unlike someone else.”

“A regressor saying something like that… tsk.” Shaking his head, the Demon King turned away. “Tuner’s goal is to become a transcendent who is not bound by the rules of the world.”

“What?”

“Those who ascend through the Towers or descend into the Abyss—Perfect Ones and Harbingers of Destruction alike—are bound to the world and cannot escape their roles. That is why research on a way to break free has been ongoing.”

Se-Hoon was speechless. Even though he had suspected as much, hearing it confirmed directly was different.

“Until a few years ago, progress was slow. Then, thanks to observing you, someone who freely wields the powers of Perfect Ones and a Harbinger, we finally found a direction.”

“…”

“With my awakening, the relevant data should have been transmitted as well. The research will be completed soon. If you don’t wish to lose as pathetically as this again, you’d better move quickly.”

“…”

Hearing Tuner’s secrets so calmly revealed by the Demon King, Se-Hoon paused.

“…Why are you telling me this?”

He couldn’t understand. Someone who abandoned everything just to kill him was revealing such information now?

To answer that question, the Demon King looked up without turning his head.

“Respect and courtesy for the Trailblazer. And…” Pausing, the Demon King’s voice became bitter. “…A measure of pity for the Creator.”

Psh-

The Demon King’s body turned to dust and sank beneath the water. Despite being incapacitated long ago, he had stubbornly clung to the world and hindered them. Now, however, he had acknowledged defeat and let go.

“…”

Watching his end, Se-Hoon felt an emotion he couldn’t quite name.

The origin of the power of Regression and an enemy from the past whom he had sworn to defeat—reflecting on that individual, Se-Hoon soon realized the feeling was a kind of kinship.

If I had been consumed by regression… I might have ended up like him.

The Demon King… made him truly understand that a regressor must never regress more than once. Reaffirming his resolve not to repeat the same tragedy, Se-Hoon turned to the others.

“Let’s get out of here.”

What had ended was merely the conquering of the Forest of Recursion. Thinking of their comrades still fighting in the Garden of Void and the Abyss of Demons, Se-Hoon immediately called out to Terra.

But perhaps due to the lingering power of the Forest of Recursion, there was no response, leaving Se-Hoon wondering what to do.

Tap. Tap.

Looking down, Se-Hoon saw Luize tapping the Hero’s Ring with her index finger. She was still unable to speak, so she only gazed at him. But that was enough for Se-Hoon to understand her intent.

“Alright. I’ll try.”

Summoning his mana, Se-Hoon imbued it along with a small wisp of will into the Hero’s Ring.

Woong-

Moments later, it became a beam of light and shot into the sky. Right after, as soon as it vanished, a thread-thin ray of light descended back down from above and connected to the ring.

“Administrator—are you—”

Terra’s voice came through in broken fragments—along with a clear sense of urgency.

Se-Hoon hurried to reply. “I’m fine. The conquest was successful. Jason passed away, and the other three are critically injured. What about you?”

Hummmm-

The white light wavered briefly, then Terra’s voice echoed once more in his mind.

“Currently—power—in use—”

Had something happened outside that required the use of a power? As unease crept over him, something massive fell from the sky.

BOOM!

A towering white structure smashed down, shattering the already weakened Forest of Recursion. Looking at it, it didn’t take long for the four to realize it was a Tower of Heroes.

“What the—”

“Administrator! Hurry inside!”

Terra’s shout was full of urgency, practically screaming that there was no time. Because of that, Se-Hoon quickly scooped up the unsteady-looking Luize.

“Get in now!”

“Not even a moment to rest.”

“True.”

Once the four hurried into the Tower, their surroundings trembled violently. And in the blink of an eye after that, they found themselves in a completely different location.

They were now high above, with Earth spread out below them. Looking around, Se-Hoon figured out they had moved into the orbit of the Garden of Void and quickly looked toward the Demon Realm itself.

“That’s…”

A massive floating island was pierced clean through by a white tower. Fragments of shattered islands drifted around it like Saturn’s rings, and between them, faint black noise flickered.

Is the battle in the Garden of Void over, too? Then why call me here…! Don’t tell me…

Just as realization dawned upon him, a system message appeared before his eyes.

[Do you wish to enter the Trial ‘Legacy of the Emperor of Ascension’?]