The Regressor's Burden
Ugh... damn it...
I couldn't help but shiver from the dull ache in my arms and lower back. The shock from blocking that intruder's kick had sunk deep into my bones, still throbbing fiercely. No matter how much I shielded my body with mana, taking a physical enhancer's attack head-on was practically suicide.
But soon the warm energy wrapping my injured area eased the furrow between my brows. It slowly relaxed.
Just hold on a little longer, Agent Yoon Siwoo. It's not a fractured bone, but your muscles and tendons are pretty shaken up, so I have to slowly infuse mana.
The person sitting beside me, emitting soft light over my hurt arm, was the institute's healer, Lee Ahram. She wore a neat white doctor's coat and spoke in a gentle voice, exuding a warm, school-nurse-like aura that reminded me of my old high school nurse teacher.
Healing magic was extremely rare even among awakener. I stared at my arm in awe as the bruises faded and pain subsided in real time.
Hah, if I was going to get awakened, I should have gotten something like this instead. The skill they gave me is just a creepy one that lets you peek into other people's heads. Life really is unfair.
If I had healing magic, I wouldn't have to fight on the front lines. I could have lived peacefully in the rear, treated well and relaxing. While grumbling inwardly and feeling my body grow heavy with the warm touch of healing, that's when it happened.
Jing, jing.
A short, loud vibration came from my pants pocket. I snapped my eyes open from where they had been closing with a cold and grabbed my phone. The second I checked the caller ID, a deep, heavy sigh escaped my lips. The name floating on the screen belonged to my younger brother, Yoon Siyeon, my blood relative.
What's up?
The grumpy voice from the other side of the phone was full of tension, yet sneakily trying to read the situation. It was irritating.
Ah, hyung. Are you busy right now?
No, I'm not busy. So what is it?
Um... actually... could you... borrow some allowance early and send it to me?
What? You crazy bastard. I deposited your allowance just recently. It's been less than a week and you already spent it all?
My voice naturally rose. Lee Ahram, who was helping with the healing, looked at me with startled eyes, but right now it was more important to fix this hot-headed younger brother's behavior.
Ah, that's... this month's living expenses are tighter than I thought... prices have risen a lot, hehe.
Her excuses were shaky and her fake laugh was obvious. I pressed my temples and tried to calm the blood pressure rising in my forehead.
Hah, yeah, living expenses can be tight. But just in case, I need to ask: did you spend every penny I gave you on that vampire-themed streamer?
Hek!
From the phone came a clear gasp of shock, as if stabbed in the heart.
That Siyeon guy was a severe otaku. Especially the trending virtual YouTuber, Jinjoo, with her bloodsucking vampire concept. Not only did she spend her part-time income at convenience stores, but she used the allowance I gave her to bet on the screen.
Hehe... ah, our only hyung! I'm going to die of hunger here, please save me just once, okay? I'll really work extra next month and pay you back!
The shameless whining of my blood relative made me give a cold laugh.
Siyeon. Listen carefully.
Y-yes, hyung?
Did you know that because gates are opening everywhere at once, poverty is increasing worldwide every day in the news? I think you haven't tasted the bitterness of the real world yet.
Eh? Hyung, what do you...
Why don't you experience poverty yourself? You can drink water, so starve for a few days and pray to that Jinjoo or whatever for food.
Ah, hyung! Wait! Hyung, listen to what I say...!
Click.
I hung up without hesitation. Besides, I wasn't old enough to die from a few days of ramen, and I definitely didn't want my wallet to lose useless money.
Shaking off the annoying brother, I exhaled. Around the time, the heaviness in my body vanished as Lee's healing finished, and a new burst of energy surged through me.
The healing is complete, Agent Yoon Siwoo. If you don't overexert your arm for now, you'll recover quickly.
Ah, thanks. Thanks to Teacher Ahram, I survived. I really thought my bones were broken.
I stood up and bowed respectfully toward her. She smiled lightly and waved her hand. With my shoulders feeling lighter and happy, I twirled them around and opened the clinic door to step outside.
Until just a couple of hours ago, the institute had been chaos with loud emergency alarms and screams of people fleeing. But now it had returned to peaceful daily life, as if nothing happened. Broken windows and burned walls were quickly wiped clean by cleaning staff, and through the transparent reinforced glass, researchers were busy decomposing maseoks and testing equipment again.
Watching the quick return to normal, I couldn't help but click my tongue inwardly.
Hehe, this is the speed of national research institute response. Normalization is the best...
Hey, Siwoo! How's your body?
A man who looked like he had just jumped out of the side lab, holding a thick file, waved at me with a friendly smile. Jeong Woobin, the researcher I had gotten along with since joining the institute at the same time.
Oh, hyung Woobin. As you can see, I'm fine. Thanks to the healer's skill, she's great.
Lucky. I heard there was a big mess on the 14th floor earlier? Anyway, this time your performance got a lot of talk at the institute. The rookie agent threw his body to save the flame power user and clung until the end to catch the intruder.
Woobin gave a sincere thumbs up, clearly impressed.
Of course, throwing my body was just a calculated move to keep the only fire support safe. Clinging to her was because if I missed the intruder here, I wouldn't be compensated for the damage I suffered.
But I didn't explain that and scratched the back of my head with an awkward smile.
Aigoo, hyung is something. I'm not a hero or anything. I'm just a guy making salary at the institute, so I have to eat and survive. It's not like I'm doing this to get food.
Haha, that's so Siwoo-like. Still, be careful. We're non-awakeners, so we just carry a burden from behind, but you security team always has to crash into bodies.
After exchanging light banter and greetings, building a warm sense of camaraderie, my walkie-talkie on my waist belt crackled with Park Cheoljin's voice.
Hey, Yoon Siwoo. Once the treatment is done, come down to the Special Interrogation Room on B3.
Ah, Cheoljin-hyung called. This is really inconvenient. I feel like there's no time to rest.
Yeah, go quick. I'll buy you dinner later, okay?
I waved at Woobin and turned my steps toward the elevator to the basement.
The security area on B3 felt completely different from the sunlit research area above. The air was cold and damp, with thick soundproof walls blocking noise perfectly. I walked to the special interrogation room at the very back, feeling the cool chill.
In front of the interrogation room door, four core security team agents including Park Cheoljin stood with stiff faces. Especially Cheoljin's expression was three times more wrinkled than usual.
Attention! Security team rookie Yoon Siwoo has returned after treatment! How was the interrogation going?
I deliberately exaggerated the salute to try to lighten the heavy atmosphere a bit.
But Cheoljin didn't even smile at my greeting and rubbed his dry eyes with thick fingers before sighing deeply.
Hah... don't say that. The girl tied up inside isn't ordinary stubborn. She's way more than that.
Eh? Not ordinary stubborn? What happened then?
I tried every form of persuasion and even did some torture to make her reveal proper information. But she didn't say a single word. She's so tough that even during torture, her eyes didn't waver. It's enough to make my teeth grind.
If Cheoljin was clicking his tongue, it meant her mental strength was abnormally high. She was enduring with the tough body of a physical enhancer, but there were humans who wouldn't open their mouths even with physical pain.
Cheoljin chewed his tightly shut lips in frustration and looked at me with expectant eyes.
That's why I called you. It's time for you to step up, Siwoo.
The meaning was clear. If physical pain or coercion didn't work, my skill of reading emotions and shaking their minds was needed. He was trusting me to use my ability to exploit the gaps in their emotions and spirit.
I smirked and lightly stretched my fingers like clapping my hands. A crisp sound rang out in the basement corridor.
Ah, if that's the case, it's my specialty. But Cheoljin-hyung, that woman inside. You sure I can mess with her however I want?
Cheoljin's thick eyebrows twitched at my playful question. He scanned me with hazy eyes up and down and answered in a suspicious voice.
...Why does your question feel weird?
Aigoo, it's not weird at all. Actually, one of my bucket list is to go into a closed room with a rebellious beauty alone and enjoy sticky SM play...
Smack!
Aaaah!
Before my joke was even over, Cheoljin's palm struck the back of my head without mercy. I clutched the back of my head with both hands and crouched on the spot. Tears pricked my eyes.
Ah, C-Cheoljin-hyung! It hurts! It's a joke, a joke!
What kind of situation is this? Stop spouting useless crap. Hey, if you go crazy inside, we might all get naked and get screwed over human rights issues. So use your ability calmly and just extract the information. Got it?
Cheoljin warned and grabbed my collar to pull me up.
Yes yes~ Understood. Don't worry. I'll pull out only the information you want and hand it over.
I scratched my head and nodded. Cheoljin clicked his tongue and unlocked the heavy iron door.
Kki gigi gik...
With a heavy clank, the door of the special interrogation room opened. I wiped the playful smile from my face and entered with cold, dry eyes.
Inside the interrogation room, only one bare bulb hung, making it gloomy and cold. In the center of the room sat the intruder, Yeon Jisu, bound tightly to the steel chair I had been causing trouble for.
Her arms and legs were firmly bound with thick restraints, her hair messy, and a little blood crusted on her lip. It looked like the marks of torture Cheoljin had mentioned. The ugly glasses were removed, her bare face fully exposed. Without the glasses, her face looked younger than expected, maybe only 19.
As soon as the iron door opened and I entered, Yeon Jisu's head, which had been bowed low, snapped up. Her eyes flew toward me with fierce gaze. Those eyes held resentment and injustice toward me, the one who ruined her plan.
I accepted her gaze leisurely and plopped sideways onto the steel desk opposite her.
Oh, the world's end. A girl with barely dry tears already trying to steal. If your parents saw this, they'd be so happy, right?
I deliberately chose a sarcastic tone to scratch at her nerves. If I provoked her to get emotional, my emotion reading skill could more easily target her weakness.
But even with my sarcasm, Yeon Jisu bit her lip tightly and didn't say a word. She just shot me a cold look, which was the only proof she was alive and breathing.
Ho, so you're sticking to your right to remain silent? Well, if that's how it is.
I shrugged casually and reached for the control panel attached to the desk. There was the power button for the high-voltage electric torture device connected to the chair she was sitting on.
Click.
With a light operation sound, a sharp current flowed through the chair.
Ugh...!
The moment the torture device activated, Yeon Jisu's body flinched sharply and trembled slightly. Her jaw was white from clenching her teeth to endure the pain, and sweat began to pour from her forehead.
But she still kept her mouth tightly shut. Even a normal adult man would scream at this level of pain, but her resolve was beyond imagination.
I leaned back on the chair and folded my arms, looking down at her trembling body. And with a very lewd and cold smile on my lips, I whispered directly.
Your endurance is quite pathetic. But what can I do? Even if you clench your teeth and don't open your mouth, I don't really care. I didn't care about your answer from the start, whether you open it or not.
By making her silence meaningless, thick bewilderment finally appeared in her eyes for the first time. I felt her inner turmoil surge. It was not physical pain, but the psychological pressure that her silence might be meaningless that was breaking her.
The current intensity increased by one level, and finally her suppressed patience reached its limit.
Cuk...! You... you bastard...! Just kill me! That was the first word she barely spat out in a trembling voice. The solemn and unrealistic line almost made me burst into laughter.
Just kill me? Hah, this is ridiculous. You think you're some elf knight captured by an orc? Unfortunately, we're in reality. And I have no intention of killing you. I'll just play with you until you pass out.
With my sarcastic mockery, I turned the control dial on the desk to the maximum.
Ziiiing!
With a horrific spark sound, a massive high-voltage current covered her body.
Aaaaaah!
Finally, a scream that sounded like it would tear her mouth from the body she had been enduring erupted. The pain was at a level even the tough body of a physical enhancer couldn't handle. Her waist bound to the ropes arched like a bow and convulsed violently.
And within just a few seconds, when the current cut off, her body collapsed with a thud. She had fainted completely, her head slumped against the chair back.
Phew, my ears are ringing.
I rubbed my ear with my little finger and slowly stood up. Then I approached close to Yeon Jisu's nose, which was hanging limp without any movement.
The publicly known version of my ability was just reading emotions through mana waves in the air. But that was just a shell for show. My real ability was separate.
When in contact with the target, if they were conscious, I could only skim the shallow fragments of thoughts that surfaced in my mind. Like when I grabbed her wrist in the corridor earlier.
But if the target was unconscious and their mental defense completely collapsed, it was 180 degrees different. If I poured my mana into the brain of an incapacitated person, I could fully see their deepest inner self and the entire hidden past memories as if unfolding a book in a huge library.
Well, then, shall I take a look? What grand secrets did she bring into this research institute?
I smiled meaningfully and placed my right hand over Yeon Jisu's forehead, who had fainted and hung down.
The moment my palm touched her skin.
Zzit, with an unfamiliar sensation, my mana dove into her defenseless mind. With a dizzy spinning vision, the cold interrogation room scene of reality turned black in an instant and sucked into the endless abyss of darkness.
And in my mind, a huge wave of memories I had never even imagined began to rush in like a flood.
[It still... isn't over. This time... I will definitely...!
A miracle where the time facing her death was forcibly twisted and rewound to the past.
Once, twice, three times... a total of eight times.
Countless deaths, countless failures, repeatedly watching her comrades' horrific deaths, yet she stubbornly opened her eyes, gritted her teeth, and returned to the present with her regression.
Huk...!
I quickly pulled my hand off Yeon Jisu's forehead, holding my breath. Overwhelmed by the massive amount of information and the weight of the emotions she carried, I unconsciously took a step back and slammed my back hard against the wall of the interrogation room.
This crazy...
Sweat poured endlessly down my forehead. My fingertips trembled. The identity of that woman I had been mocking and mocking just moments ago.
She was not a simple intruder. A person who had constantly turned back time to save the world from a destroyed future.
Her identity was a regressor.