Chapter 184: The Regressor Who Stamped Out the Embers of Ruin Wants to Live Quietly
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 184: The Regressor Who Stamped Out the Embers of Ruin Wants to Live Quietly
At the magician's warning, the Family had gathered all their forces and prepared for a decisive battle.
This was an opportunity the Family had been waiting for. JJJ, the enemies of the beastkin who wore strange masks and hunted their kind, were coming to them. There was no reason to refuse a fight they were bringing to their doorstep.
Unlike their enemies, for whom this was but a night's amusement, for the Family, it was a matter of survival. To resist, the Family had scraped together every member capable of fighting.
The offices of Black Cat Magazines were filled with beastkin, claws out and weapons in hand.
A beastkin's senses were superior to those of an ordinary human. With this much strength, they should have been able to fight on equal footing even if the Shadow itself came for them….
“We shouldn’t have done it….”
Nehru, the beastkin reporter who served as both editor-in-chief and the public face of Black Cat Magazines, was hiding inside a cabinet, trembling.
It was the first time in the Family's history that so much of their strength had been gathered in one place. Perhaps that was why. Filled with a false sense of confidence, they had picked a fight with someone they never should have provoked.
And the result was….
CRASH!
“Tell me everything you know.”
“I-I don’t know!”
“Is that so?”
“Wait! I don’t mean I can’t tell you, I mean I really don’t know…! I was just called in today!”
“Then that means someone else does. Surely even you know who among you knows the most.”
“Nehru! It’s a black cat beastkin named Nehru!”
“Find her.”
Thud. The sound of a severed foot hitting the ground.
At that sound, a beastkin who had once been devoted to the Family turned informant, his eyes blazing as he immediately began scrambling to find Nehru.
“Nehruuuu! Get out here, now! Are you trying to get us all killed?!”
“Spit out everything you know about the magician!”
“We’re all going to die! The Family comes first!”
‘Idiots! How can you just play right into her hands like this?!’
Hearing the pathetic calls of her comrades searching for her, Nehru screamed inwardly from her hiding spot in the cabinet.
‘Can’t you tell just by looking? The magician brought this upon us! The question itself could be a test!’
She had only prodded the magician as a way to keep him in check and protect the Family from danger. No one could blame her for that. After all, thanks to her proactive negotiations, they had learned that the Shadow was instigating the beastkin-haters to attack.
‘But…! To think he’d planted poison among us, too…!’
She had gotten a little carried away. Instead of keeping the article about the girl the magician was protecting safely in her head, she had made the mistake of writing it down, however briefly.
She’d only done it half-jokingly. She never imagined a strange visitor would recognize the information about the magician and react.
‘This is why I should never have gotten involved with him…! This information was bait laid by the magician!’
Hiding in the cramped, dark cabinet, Nehru recalled the events of a short while ago.
The magazine office was closed today in preparation for the battle. However, the secret window in the back had been left open for any urgent messages.
It was a contact point for secret members. If anyone—especially the magician—needed to get in touch about something urgent and clandestine, this was the place.
But today, an unfamiliar visitor had arrived. They had bluntly asked if it was possible to find someone in the vast city of Amitengrad.
It was a simple but labor-intensive task. Normally, she would have feigned difficulty and drawn out the conversation to negotiate, but today was different.
They were about to wage a battle with the Family's honor and fate on the line; she couldn't accept a request to find a person. Nehru politely but firmly refused the request.
The other party was reasonable and understood Nehru's position, even offering to help the Family. But she couldn't trust an outsider who wasn't a beastkin, so she only accepted their sentiment.
Just when it seemed things would end amicably…
“…Marriage?”
The moment the silver-haired girl, who had been sitting silently, muttered that word, the Family's fate changed.
She was a girl with an indescribable grace, like a noble from the old kingdom. She strode right through the service window. No one could stop her—the thick concrete and steel-grated partition had offered the strongest resistance possible, and it hadn't been enough.
The girl, having smashed through the concrete and torn apart the steel grate, entered and began to leisurely browse the information as if she owned the place.
“Top of his class at the secondary school, the brilliant Huey… Is his name truly Huey?”
So when the girl said that, Nehru was so shocked she nearly jumped out of her skin.
The information on display hadn't mentioned he was the magician, yet she had pointed it out with perfect accuracy.
Was she an acquaintance, or a pursuer?
Either way, she couldn't easily reveal the magician's identity. It was confidential, and it would have been a breach of professional courtesy toward the magician who had provided the Family with crucial information.
Nehru kept her mouth shut. The information on the counter was just a teaser, meant to whet the customer's appetite. Without her saying more, they would learn nothing.
The problem was, this customer was not the patient type.
“Hand it over. Now that I know you have information about him, there is no reason to delay. I will pay the price, so sell me the information.”
She knew how powerful this person was; she had just witnessed it. But Nehru wasn't sure if this girl was someone who should be allowed to have that information.
It was information the magician had openly given her. She couldn't be sure what kind of poison it would become if she sold it for a high price. As Nehru hesitated, other members of the Family, having heard the commotion, burst in.
“What’s going on?! An attack?”
“How many enemies?”
“To think they’d attack us here…!”
“They’ve walked right into their own graves!”
‘Wait! No! This person is…!’
Puffed up with bravado, they surrounded the ethereal, white-haired girl and were about to threaten her… when pitch-black knights made of shadow swarmed out from all directions.
And that was the end of it.
“Nehruuuu!”
“Come out!”
“I knew it from the moment you started acting all high and mighty running this magazine!”
The voices from beyond the cabinet sounded like distant echoes. Nehru closed her eyes and leaned against the wall.
The cabinet was comforting. The small, dark space put Nehru at ease.
Darkness, closed in on all sides. As long as she was in this space, Nehru was safe. No one could find her, hurt her, or torment her.
It didn't matter that she couldn't see out of one eye. In this darkness, everyone was equal.
She thought she understood why cats sought out small spaces. It was so cozy and comfortable….
But the egg is the world, and it exists to be broken.
“She’s here!”
CRUNCH.
The cabinet was ripped apart, and light flooded in. Nehru groaned under the ear-splitting noise and the blinding light.
What appeared next were the furious members of the Family. And behind them, sitting like a queen, was the girl.
“Nehru, you bitch! Aren’t you going to talk?!”
“We’re in the middle of preparing for a battle!”
“Do you have any idea how much damage you’ve caused?!”
Dragged out by the collar, Nehru was instantly surrounded by the Family. She was met with their hostility.
The members of the Family she had loved, and who had loved her, now had their faces twisted in malice as they blamed her.
“Hurry up and spit out everything you know!”
“We put you in charge of this, and you just did whatever you wanted!”
“If you weren’t up to the task, you shouldn’t have started this in the first place!”
It had taken less than an hour for her to go from a bold reporter to a heinous traitor. And all she had done was her best.
Overcome with sorrow, tears welled up in Nehru’s eyes.
Nehru sobbed.
“Sob… sniff…! You idiots, it’s the magician…!”
“What?”
“The magician…! You worms! This whole situation…! Hic! It’s all his doing!”
At the word “magician,” all the Family members glanced around and looked at each other.
The silver-haired girl, presumed to be a vampire, was powerful, but she hadn't been excessive. The proof was that while she had easily torn through steel rebar, no one had suffered a similar fate.
But their opponent was a heartless vampire. She didn't kill the Family not out of mercy, but because she didn't see the value in it. Thus, the beastkin of the Family had been forced to become the girl's limbs and diligently search for Nehru.
A disaster that, while not life-threatening, felt like the world was turning upside down.
“Somehow, this does seem like exactly the kind of thing the magician would do.”
“It’s too late to act like you knew all along…!”
“Sorry. But why did you mess with the magician?”
Nehru wiped her tears and sniffled. “Sniff…! I’m sorry…!”
“Well, I’ll be. An apology from Nehru. Is this magic?”
An apology was something a paparazzi reporter never did and never should do, but in this situation, Nehru had no defense.
In any case, the tension eased slightly. The other Family members exchanged glances and slowly backed away. The atmosphere of blame had dissipated, but now Nehru was left to face the girl alone.
The girl with glowing red eyes, dressed in a slightly old-fashioned style, who reigned over them like a queen.
“The magician. It must be him. He called himself a magician, too. He used to play mischievous pranks with his cards.”
The girl murmured as if reminiscing. The faint longing in her voice didn't seem to carry any negative feelings.
Right, that must be why she hadn't been too harsh….
“I never thought I’d hear such good news so soon after my return….”
It didn't seem like she was here to congratulate him on his marriage. Nehru shivered.
‘What in the world have you been up to…? This goes way beyond a casual acquaintance.’
Even a passing storm would be gentler than her. A general of the Military State… no, she possessed a strength that made even that seem trivial.
If the magician had this kind of backing, not just the back alleys but all of Amitengrad would have fallen into his hands.
Regardless, this was a disaster Nehru had brought upon them. Thanks to her, most of the weapons and traps they had prepared were now useless.
Nehru had to take the lead and assume responsibility.
“…I can tell you. But, for us to have a quiet conversation, you’ll have to stop the intruders attacking from outside.”
“Outside, you say.”
She had to protect the Family, even if it meant using this person. Nehru spoke, her body tense.
“Yes. We’re beastkin, so as you can see, we have many enemies. We can’t have a disturbance while I’m speaking with someone as incredible as you, milady. So.”
For Nehru, it was the negotiation of a lifetime, but the other party answered as if she had expected it from the start.
“Do not worry about that. A reliable child is blocking the way here.”
*
Shei was loitering around Black Cat Magazines when she noticed the noise from inside had stopped. She glanced in that direction.
It seemed Tyrkanzyaka had finished cleaning up inside.
“Tyrkanzyaka won’t break everything, will she? Hmm, I feel kind of bad. This wasn’t what I had in mind.”
She had intended to negotiate normally, but Tyrkanzyaka had acted faster. In any case, as long as the result was good, it didn't matter. Shei had left Tyrkanzyaka to it and come outside.
To make sure this unruly mob didn't interfere while she was getting the information.
Shei spoke nonchalantly, even in front of the masked thugs.
“We’re using this place for a bit. If you have business, come back later….”
“Shut up…! A beastkin just attacked our comrade! Look at this arm!”
“That’s your problem… wait.”
Realizing that Nabi was nowhere to be seen, Shei glanced at the wound. Just as she suspected, the gash looked similar to one Nabi would make.
Feeling a slight sense of responsibility, Shei muttered, “If you’re hurt like that, you should go to a hospital, not come here.”
“Because we have to get revenge! Move it. If you stand there, we’ll consider you a beastkin too!”
Their menacing aura was so strong it seemed they wouldn't stop unless Shei showed them her power.
So, Shei decided to show them her power.
“Hmm. One moment.”
Shei replied nonchalantly, then took out Jizan and struck the ground.
A localized earthquake shook Amitengrad. The concrete ground that supported people, automaton carriages, and even buildings cracked like a thin sheet of ice.
That wasn't all. Shei flicked a piece of concrete into the air with the tip of Jizan, then struck its side.
The shattered concrete rained down like a meteor shower. The pieces were small, but each one flew with the force of an arrow.
Those hit by the fragments and dust were all knocked backward.
“Gahk….”
“Ugh….”
The rule of this world, which they had briefly forgotten by gathering in a mob: there are a few strong individuals in the world, those who can overturn the earth and shatter rock by themselves. No matter how many rabble gathered, they could not win.
“This isn’t… why I came here….”
The pain, as if their entire bodies had been battered, cooled their heads. Once the heat subsided, all that remained was self-loathing and regret.
“I… I wanna go home….”
“Mooommy….”
Fear seeped out from beneath their masks. This should be enough. Shei slung Jizan over her shoulder.
“Now. We’re using this place. If you have business, come back later.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Today, the beastkin-hating group learned the value of life.
The ordinary people retreated. Shei watched them go without much emotion, then her eyes suddenly flashed red. Her gaze turned to a corner.
“Alright. And you, the one peeking. If you have business, come on out.”
The Fifth, who had been hiding around the corner and watching the situation unfold, quickly finished his calculations.
Fight? He would lose. In his injured state, he couldn't even buy time.
The Fifth, who had been injured by Nabi, immediately clutched his wound and fled into the darkness. Watching the thug disappear, Shei sighed with Jizan still on her shoulder.
“Guess he didn't have any business. Anyway, were the back alleys of the Military State always like this? It’s especially noisy today….”
Of course, Shei wasn't one to talk. After all, it had only been a day since she herself had raised hell in District 1, the very heart of the Military State.
“Still, I don’t think this incident was our fault…. Ah, could this be that time? The Military State’s 51st Random Questioning?”
Shei tried to recall more but gave up. It was the event where the Military State, on the verge of war, repeatedly subjected its people to random questioning and media suppression, gradually revealing its weaknesses.
“Ah, what’s the point of counting? It’s all just bullshit anyway.”
It was a continuous process, like cloth soaking up water, so there was no single moment one could point to and say, ‘This was the trigger!’
If things proceed to a war with the Fallen Dominion over the Abyssal Wastelands, the Military State will last longer. If its weaknesses are poked and prodded and chaos erupts from all sides, it could collapse.
“It’s about time I decided what to do…. Right. I’ve decided. This time, I’ll just gather the power I need and quietly observe the situation.”
It would be best to watch how the world changes when the Abyss disappears peacefully before planning for the future.
Shei was mentally calculating what she would need to live quietly.
Just then, a shadow with a faint presence passed by Shei. It was a being she knew well.
“…? A dark knight?”
Tyrkanzyaka’s familiar. An echo of knights of old, without consciousness but faithful to its orders.
There wasn't just one. As many dark knights as there were shadows in the world were spreading out across all of Amitengrad.
Their purpose was probably….
“So much for living quietly.”
As if hearing the sound of all her plans falling apart, Shei sighed.