Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Part 4. Autumn (1)
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Yoo Ji-tae gazed at the limp Red Dragon.
Her condition was far from good. Torn skin and exposed scales from the aftermath of her manifestation, with wounds filling the gaps between. The cuts on her forehead, cheeks, and neck were shallow, but the gash from her chest to her shoulder was quite deep. On top of that, recovery wasn't proceeding smoothly due to being crushed by the opponent's mana.
A complete defeat.
The Red Dragon would suffer a considerable shock.
Just like in his past regressions.
But they had avoided the future where she lost her wings and arms.
One element that hastened the apocalypse had been removed.
"You... who the hell are you."
Javier, who had been silently glaring with his mouth agape, frowned and slowly approached.
"Who the hell are you, I asked! What's your relationship with that monster girl?"
"...Well. Guardian?"
He opened his mouth in a slow drawl.
"Guardian? Did you just say guardian? Doesn't look like blood relations."
"That's how it turned out. Circumstances are complicated; can't tell you everything. How about letting it slide?"
"This isn't something to let slide. That monster girl went way overboard."
The regressor didn't like this situation one bit.
Of all people, this guy had crushed the Red Dragon's pride, and in the end, he would become her target.
So he couldn't kill him.
"This kid won't show up here anymore. That not good enough?"
"This is SAN's investigative jurisdiction. As of now, acting as SAN investigator, I place you, the self-proclaimed guardian, and the monster girl under arrest."
"Ears must be clogged."
"Surrender. If you do so peacefully, your limbs will stay intact."
He glanced up at the sky for a moment.
What was about to unfold wouldn't sit well with him.
Suddenly, Yoo Ji-tae's form blurred. Javier tensed and gripped his sword tighter. The instant he lost sight of the man, a massive impact exploded against his chest.
His body was shoved back uncontrollably.
Gritting his teeth, Javier raised Ra's sword for a counterattack.
Kaang!
But the sword halted in mid-air.
'This......'
Javier doubted his own eyes.
Ra's sword, brimming with solar energy. A weapon capable of shredding an S-rank beast's hide and shattering its skull was now blocked at some line in the empty air, refusing to budge. It was like pressing a wooden sword against a boulder.
An invisible sword was caught in the man's hand.
As he swung the unseen blade, Ra's sword was flung away, leaving his grasp.
A brutal kick followed. Struck in the leg, Javier hit the ground and tried to scramble up, but the man stomped down on his chest.
Javier couldn't budge an inch.
"...! Wh-what the......!"
He had clashed with countless rankers, forged by supreme martial prowess. Over time, he'd stopped losing. Yet, across all his past battles, he'd never felt this utterly powerless.
It felt like gravity had multiplied thousands of times over. In this situation beyond comprehension, his heart thundered like it had taken a bombardment.
Javier met the regressor's gaze.
In that instant, his breath caught.
He felt the man's previously hazy eyes sharpen with eerie clarity.
A gaze like that of some beast, instinctively stiffening his entire body.
The beast slowly opened its mouth.
"Listen well."
Yoo Ji-tae tightened his grip on the empty air.
No hilt, no edge, but he clearly held a cold steel weapon.
Formless Sword (SS)
A will to kill a person.
"Today was the unluckiest day of your life."
The formless killing intent honed like a blade touched Javier's eyes.
"You were operating investigations on your own when you unluckily encountered an unidentified monster."
And then it began carving out Javier's eyeball.
"...Unlucky enough that you couldn't react to the preemptive strike, losing your eyes as a result."
The killing intent that slashed and burst one eye crushed the bridge of his nose and headed for the other.
"...The monster fled, so in the end, you saw and felt nothing."
Finally, the other eye was ruined as well.
Yet even amid the agony, the ranker didn't open his mouth.
He couldn't utter a word.
"Got it?"
Terror had sealed his lips.
Javier had lost his eyes, but they could be healed.
SAN had exceptional healing supers.
But they couldn't erase the fear implanted in his mind.
Thus, terror was generally quite efficient.
Yoo Ji-tae scooped up the Red Dragon. Then he stepped into Bom's sub-space.
There, Bom unleashed great nature's healing magic to restore the Red Dragon. Once Javier's ominous mana lifted, the wounds began healing rapidly.
In the midst of it, the Red Dragon faintly opened her eyes. While her body recovered, her mana-rattled mind would take time.
"Red, no need to force your eyes open."
"......"
Cloudy eyes opened blankly. The Red Dragon's gaze shifted from Bom to Yoo Ji-tae, back to Bom, then slowly closed.
Then, with a sigh, a mumble escaped.
"Fuck......"
It was a listless curse.
Regardless, Yoo Ji-tae decided to say what needed saying.
"From now on, you'll live with me at my place. And you'll be under my protection."
"......"
"We'll talk again once you're in your right mind, but for now, just know that. You have no choice. Feel free to think of it as confinement. That said, you'll have plenty of freedom—nothing lacking—and if there's anything you want, I'll support you with whatever it takes."
"......"
"From now on, your name is Summer. Remember that."
The Red Dragon gave no reply.
She mustered nonexistent strength to roll over. Then, showing her back, she said nothing. Lying there so still, her back seemed awfully small.
Soon, her little shoulders began to tremble faintly. Was she crying from anger at the futile defeat?
The regressor pretended not to notice.
Once Summer's wounds had mended, Bom withdrew her hands and looked to Yoo Ji-tae.
"Looks good for now. She'll bounce back quick."
"Thanks for the hard work."
"You too, Ajusshi."
"The next part—you know, right?"
"Yeah. Leave it to me."
Bom nodded, recalling the plan.
At any rate, this tiresome mess was over. Yoo Ji-tae closed his eyes and pressed a finger to his temple.
'Incident resolved. My lord.'
Then he transmitted the memories to his main body far away.
Memories flooded his mind. Yoo Ji-tae closed his eyes briefly and skimmed through them rapidly.
The clone had been through the wringer. Well, dragging some wastrel across the desert in sandstorms wasn't easy.
He'd sent a clone precisely because the guy looked like such a hassle.
"Huh? What's wrong, Ajusshi?"
As he sat with eyes closed, a girl looked at him and asked.
Bright yellow hair like a chick's down. And a face beaming with giggles.
If Bom looked late teens, this one was a couple years younger. The same inhuman beauty graced her features.
She was the Gold Dragon.
While dispatching the clone to the Red Dragon, Yoo Ji-tae had headed to the Amazon rainforest. There, he'd found this baby dragon who couldn't even conceal her presence.
Unexpectedly, she was thrilled to see him. 'Ajusshi smells familiar.' Probably Bom's scent.
"Why? Why? Something happen?"
"Nah. More importantly, if you've seen enough, hand it back."
"Eh? Already?"
Her yellow eyes rolled around.
In her hand was Yoo Ji-tae's latest smartwatch.
During their brief chat after meeting, the Gold Dragon had been fascinated by it. So he'd unstrapped it from his wrist and handed it over.
"Can't play with it a little longer?"
"No."
"Ehhh. It's so cool. Like, the screen just floating in air......"
She claimed to have lived in society, yet she was amazed by this.
Maybe because it was the latest model.
"Give it here."
"Ehhh......"
She extended her watch-holding hand slowly. An extremely slow motion. Meanwhile, her golden eyes gauged his reaction.
Even as Yoo Ji-tae grabbed the watch, the chick wouldn't let go.
Pulling gently, she resisted. With that feeble grip strength.
"Like it that much?"
"Yeah. Totally, totally!"
Yoo Ji-tae let go.
"Wow, thanks, Ajusshi!"
Actually, he'd brought something to ease her mind—or drop her guard.
Recalling the Gold Dragons from past loops, she always had some snack in hand. So he'd stopped at a bakery for various breads, cookies, and such.
But it looked like he didn't need them after all.
'Wow, wow. So tiny but it does this...?' Fiddling with the watch, she started snapping photos.
Click!
Her face appeared on the hologram display.
Pictures straight out of a painting, even snapped haphazardly.
"Wow. Ajusshi. The quality is insane."
It's expensive for a reason.
Eyes sparkling, she began photographing everything in sight.
Click! Tree, one shot.
Click! Mushroom, one shot.
Click! Passing snake, one shot.
Click! Gloomy regressor, one shot.
Then the chick burst into laughter at his face on screen. A sound like glass beads rolling.
He briefly recalled past loops.
In six lives, she'd become a celebrity three times.
The Gold clan naturally craved attention. In Ascalifa, they served as guardian deities of kingdoms. A future fitting her disposition.
But conversely, she'd triggered the most apocalypses thus far.
For the attention and love of others is flashy yet laced with poison.
A sudden question arose.
"You."
"Yeah?"
"Why are you here."
Her golden eyes went wide and round.
"Huh?"
"If you're out playing, you should live among people. Nothing here but beasts and bugs."
"Eh, ehhh? H-how'd you know?"
She jumped in surprise.
"Heard from the Green Dragon."
"Ah......"
The chick pressed her nose to him and sniffed. Then clapped her hands.
"No wonder!"
"So why are you here."
"Ah, well. Actually, I did try living among people once? But... um, it was kinda scary, and I did this V-log thing, ah, some company? Signed a contract? But earning money was hard, um......"
The chick rambled incoherently. Some backstory, but hard to follow.
"Got it."
"Anyway, that's how it went. Got a bit scared......"
"Yeah. It's fine."
The lively mood dipped a little. Not the vibe he wanted.
So Yoo Ji-tae snapped his fingers and sank into his inner sub-space.
Shallowest Abyss (S)
A colossal sub-space capable of devouring a city, now used like a backpack.
Dozens of arms burst from the darkness, halting before him.
Then, in unison, they bowed their wrists.
"Bring the bread."
One arm nodded its "head" (wrist). It retreated into the dark and returned with a small bread bag.
Back in reality, Yoo Ji-tae pulled the bread bag from thin air. A sweet aroma spread instantly. The yellow eyes, glued to the camera, snapped to his hand, drawn by the scent.
"Smells good."
"Gift."
"Wow, really? What kind?"
What were they? He wasn't sure himself. He'd asked the baker for kid-friendly breads. Ah, but he remembered one—macarons had been pricey.
The Gold Dragon devoured the breads, cookies, and macarons he handed over.
'Mmm, hmm......' She fidgeted and stomped her feet with each bite, at a loss for joy. Sweets were king for kids, as expected.
The bag emptied in a flash. 'Thank you, Ajusshi. Best ever.' Greeting him, she eyed the empty bag sadly. Timing it perfectly, the regressor spoke up.
"Instead of hanging out here, wanna come with Ajusshi?"
"Huh?"
"I'll buy more bread."
At Yoo Ji-tae's words, the Gold Dragon pondered.
"Um... sounds nice, but......"
"But."
"Mom said to be careful of strangers......"
Gauging his reaction, the kidnapper sweetened the deal.
"I'll buy macarons too."
The chick's eyes went wide.