Chapter 533: A Pup Doesn't Know to Fear a Tiger
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 533: A Pup Doesn't Know to Fear a Tiger
There is nothing more meaningless than trying to apply common sense to the absurd. It’s called absurd precisely because common sense doesn't apply. No matter what you choose, it’s not the right answer; conversely, even if you do nothing, it’s not the wrong one.
The Regressor had done nothing, simply watching as people died, but in the end, she had been right. Because she was still alive.
For now.
‘Do I fight? Or not? Tch. What should I do?’
If it was about survival, she should run while San'gun killed the entire Black Tiger Army… but even that gave her pause. Amid the urgency, the Regressor coolly assessed the situation.
‘If I run alone, I’ll just be hunted down and killed. To have even a small chance, I’d have to make everyone scatter in different directions. Or I could just lie flat on the ground and pray the tiger spares me… Dammit! Even that is just entrusting my life to a tiger’s whim!’
I felt the same. As long as I couldn't read San'gun’s thoughts, I couldn't be sure that turning my back on a beast and running was the better option.
‘I can survive. But…!’
The Regressor herself was a being bordering on the absurd. With all sorts of means at her disposal, she had a secret plan to overcome even this crisis. But that was a story that applied only to her.
‘What about Hughes? What about Ende? And Azzy, who’s lost her crown? Should I leave them to die at San'gun’s hands and run away?’
The Regressor could escape. She could flee from the absurdity for a moment, observe the situation, and then use her regression to change the outcome.
But she chose not to run. She, who could die and use this experience as nourishment to start over, wanted to see what came next.
‘No! After everything I’ve done to get this far…! If I run now, this timeline is over! I need to know what will happen to Azzy without her crown, what difference there is in the Wolf King with a complete crown compared to last time. What changed because Hughes intervened! I have to know! If I run, I’ll learn nothing!’
A seven-colored light flickered in the Regressor’s eyes. The lights of the Seven Colored Eyes merged into one, capturing what lay beyond the light. The Revolving Wheel of Heavens, the cursed eyes once called the Eyes of Fate, flashed, illuminating the Regressor’s impossible past.
A state she had once reached. There was a time when she had trained in magic to try and learn a Unique Magic, instead of chasing the Axiom she could never grasp. It had ended in failure, but it had served as an opportunity to better understand the power of her relic.
Reflected in the Eyes of Fate was Shei, the practitioner of magic.
Mana flowed from a nonexistent future. The present diverged from the observed fate. To bridge the gap, it sucked mana from all things. The Regressor’s pocket dimension, Rene's Pocket, opened on its own. Mana flowed from the countless treasures and magical tools she had collected, assisting her.
‘I don’t have to win! Just driving it away from here is enough! Just making it change its mind will do! It’s a desperate plan… but San'gun has always been a desperate existence!’
If it were a real fight, Qi Art would have been better. The Regressor was only a half-baked mage who had failed to learn a Unique Magic. But this wasn't a fight; it was an act of puffing up her body and making noise to threaten San'gun. What was needed wasn't a sword, but a gong.
The Regressor focused the rampaging mana into Chun-aeng. Using Chun-aeng, which held the sky and had swallowed lightning, as a catalyst, she drew out the extremes of wind and lightning magic.
San'gun, who had annihilated the Black Tiger Army and killed the marquis, turned its head. Two of its whiskers twitched.
In response, the Regressor unleashed a strike with all her might.
“Skyblade Art, Storm Eagle!”
The atmosphere unfurled into a colossal storm and beat its wings. The wind raged uncontrollably, sucking in everything nearby and flinging it upward. Sand and dust spread wide, crying out like a flock of birds. The friction between the air and the earth generated static electricity without any special power.
At this point, it wasn't even wind anymore. A mighty waterfall couldn't compare to this force. Within the violent torrent, ordinary humans were in agony just from being exposed. The beastkin screamed as the wind threatened to rip out all their fur.
“Aaargh!”
“Run!”
“No! Get down!”
The saying that a great boulder remains unmoved by a storm must have come about because the storms were weak. At the flap of the Storm Eagle’s wings, the ground buckled and rocks rolled like pebbles. Fortunately, instead of crushing people as they rolled, the rocks got caught on things, creating slanted structures that offered some shelter from the wind.
“We’re alive…!”
“Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurl!”
“Ugh, shut up!”
If not for Kito, dozens would have died from the aftershock alone, but the Regressor had no capacity to worry about that. If she couldn't drive San'gun away, they might all die!
“Get lost!”
The Regressor swung Chun-aeng down with all her strength. The Storm Eagle, now dark enough to have a visible form, shot toward San'gun, like an eagle greedily snatching up everything on the ground as it flew.
It resembled an eagle, but it had no substance. Waving a hand through the air a few times only created large ripples in the wind; the storm itself did not dissipate. San'gun narrowed its eyes and lowered its body. Its jeogori and chima [traditional Korean top and skirt] fluttered madly.
But it was not pushed back. Its feet gripped the ground, and though it was pelted by flying stones, San'gun lowered its stance and walked slowly toward the Regressor. Even as the wind obscured its vision, San'gun’s two glowing eyes pierced through everything to stare at her.
It was a sight that would make anyone flee in terror, but instead of running, the Regressor drew out even more power. Lightning flashed from Chun-aeng.
“Skyblade Art, Thunderhawk!”
A bright yellow light flashed from the Storm Eagle’s beak. It was the lightning the Regressor had collected from the lightning falls of Claudia. That power now rose within the storm.
She had no intention of inflicting damage. How much pain could San'gun possibly feel from being zapped by lightning in a storm of swirling dust? Instead, the Regressor focused her power on the thunder. The lightning strike rode the wind and created vibrations.
Ruuuuuumble.
A noise as loud as San'gun’s own roar tore the world apart. As if to echo across the entire vast Enger Plains, a colossal force converted entirely into sound and raced across the land and sky. The vibrations caused rocks and sand to bounce in place, and even the air shimmered with a visible haze.
She used Chun-aeng to refract space, firing that sound directly at San'gun. A deafening roar that should have made any beast clutch its ears and flee with burst eardrums ripped through the world.
For a moment, as if all the sound in the world had been spent, a dull silence filled her ears.
Storm, light, noise. Having unleashed every power a beast would hate, the Regressor suddenly lifted her head.
‘…Huh? Where’s San'gun?’
San'gun had vanished from her senses. The Regressor’s senses were almost as keen as a beast’s. Moreover, with her Eyes of Fate seeing ‘everything’ right now, there was nothing she shouldn't be able to see.
‘Did it run? I hope so. Please tell me it did! But, if it didn’t run…!’
Still, the Regressor couldn't relax her guard.
A tiger is fast and strong. And above all, it is silent. It conceals its presence, approaches its prey, and in an instant, bites down and snaps its neck.
San'gun’s ability to hide its presence was almost a power in itself. With her Eyes of Fate open, the Regressor spread her Qi Sense wide. She had lost it for a moment, but her eyes were also a treasure beyond compare.
Three powers—seeing temperature, seeing depth, and seeing through things—pierced the storm and noise and found something rushing toward her. And it was terrifyingly fast! In the cloud of swirling dust, she had the illusion that the tiger’s stripes were gradually growing larger.
The Regressor moved the instant she sensed it. At that moment, San'gun burst from the darkness and charged like a bolt of lightning.
“Chun-aeng…!”
Even though she deployed space, unleashed the wind, and reacted with the Heavenly Counter Domain.
San'gun’s forepaw pierced through everything and struck the Regressor.
Her small body shot through the storm and dust like a bullet. The Regressor, still clutching Chun-aeng, was swept up by the storm, fluttering like a kite without ever touching the ground.
‘Ugh…!’
But her situation was better than Marquis Raphaeno’s. The Heavenly Counter Domain, the peerless Qi Art created by the Sword Empress, had reacted even to San'gun’s blow. Her Qi, mana, muscles, strength—everything moved to deflect the strike of a being of unfathomable power, managing to save her life.
No one could match the Regressor in the number of life-or-death battles she had fought against overwhelmingly superior opponents. The experience she had accumulated through her regressions allowed her to maintain consciousness even within this storm.
‘Don’t fall! This won’t kill me! No, even if I die, it’s not over! Compared to the King of Sins, its will to kill and its strength are both lacking!’
Floating into the air, she rode the wind and surveyed the scene below. Fortunately, San'gun was focused solely on her.
‘I can buy time if I hold my position in the air! Even a tiger doesn’t have wings, so it can’t jump this high. If I buy time and then escape…!’
However, even for the Regressor, she had no experience fighting San'gun one-on-one. There was no need to stick her head in the tiger’s maw.
The great tiger shot up, piercing the storm. It bounded off floating stones and pebbles, snatching tree roots and pieces of wood to propel itself upward. By the time the Regressor had gathered her wits, San'gun had already leaped within arm’s reach.
It was too fast, too powerful to dodge. Feeling the pure difference in ‘power’, the Regressor gritted her teeth.
‘…Even with all this, it’s not enough…?!’
A tiger is no different from a disaster, which is why it’s called a hwan—a tiger calamity. Death, which no human could resist, emanated a baleful aura before her eyes. Its forepaw descended at a speed she couldn't even see. The Regressor felt a sense of powerlessness and despair, but… with the momentum of her ascent, she swung Chun-aeng.
The sharp blade of Chun-aeng sliced San'gun’s paw. Tough fur was cut away, and a tiny scratch appeared on its skin.
A tiny wound. The price she paid for it was horrific.
KWA-ANG. The Regressor’s body fell like a lightning strike. Her skin burst and her frame twisted. Spewing blood from her mouth, nose, and ears, she plummeted toward the ground. She was on the verge of death even before she hit the ground, but it was even more terrible after she landed.
“Aaaaaaaargh!”
Blood gushed from her mouth like an oil well. Unable to move, she trembled in extreme agony. A clear paw print was visible on her body, and a red aura shimmered through her clothes.
‘It… hurts…!’
Thanks to Chun-aeng and the Heavenly Counter Domain, she had reacted to the fall itself, but the blow she had taken was too great to mitigate all the impact. Her capillaries burst, turning her eyes red with blood, not with the Seven Colored Eyes. The mana that had filled her entire body scattered in all directions.
And San'gun, having struck her down, had hit her so hard that it was still rising into the air. When it landed, the Regressor would be gone.
To the next timeline.
“No, if San'gun is here…”
In the end, nothing was the right answer. If she had run away with Azzy while the Regressor was buying time, would she have survived? To be defeated this quickly, it wouldn't be strange to be chased down and killed.
I hadn't read its mind or seen the future. I just recalled a slim possibility in a desperate situation.
The wolf, the promise. San'gun had made a promise with the wolf. It must have been a king’s promise. In that case.
“Azzy!”
There was no need to say it. Azzy, having finished her healing, was already running toward San'gun. However…
“Woof?!”
Her whole body blurred, and she momentarily lost her balance and fell. She tried to get up and run again, but her gait looked clumsy.
It was a slim possibility. Azzy was a dog, not a wolf, and she had even passed on the crown. To assume San'gun would judge her as qualified to be involved in the promise was far too optimistic.
Still, I had to do it.
I ran, glaring at the falling San'gun. Even a tiger was subject to the laws of gravity, it seemed, as it fell through the air with its skirt flipped over.
Even so, its gaze remained fixed on the Regressor. It was filled with killing intent, as if it had sensed a threat.
I looked at San'gun and shouted.
“Tiger!”
What did I even have right now? My cards? They wouldn't work. The Divine? I wasn't the Divine itself, and using it as a tool would just be a tickle.
Dammit, I have nothing. All that’s left is the hollow symbol of being the King of Humans… I don't know if this will work, but.
“I am human! The promise has been kept. The wolf is gone! That one is a wild dog!”
I shouted desperately, but it didn't even look at me. I wondered if my voice was too quiet, but with its keen hearing, there was no way it hadn't heard. It was simply ignoring me because my presence was weak, because I didn't represent anyone.
Then how about this. I slammed Jizan into the ground and scooped upward like a snow shovel. Clumps of dirt and rock shot into the air.
I might be nothing, but Jizan isn't. San'gun finally looked my way. Having caught its attention, I yelled.
“Tiger, stop! The other party to the promise is gone, so you have no reason to leave the mountain any….”
As I shouted, San'gun suddenly curled its body. Then, it powerfully extended its limbs, and its body accelerated toward the ground in an instant. What the. What did it just kick off of? It looked like it was swimming through the dust.
I got its attention, so it should be fine, right? I'm a king, too, in name at least. It wouldn't just kill me, right?
The moment I thought that, San'gun touched the ground and vanished. Before I could even react, it was staring at me from point-blank range. A terrifying, leg-numbing aura was directed at me.
My limbs wouldn't move. Cold sweat drenched my body. Facing this instinctual fear, I desperately tried to greet it.
“Tiger, nice to meet….”
The words were cut short. San'gun’s blow made my sternum collapse.
My chest and back met. Blood sprayed from my crushed lungs. A single, annoyed punch, and my flesh and bone were twisted. I could see on my retina something bright red flowing out of my torn skin, like filling bursting from a dumpling when you press down on it. A shockwave erupted over my clothes, and my body was sent flying as if I’d been hit by a horse.
Fuck. To think I'd be killed by a tiger.
This is why I shouldn't have gotten involved with the Regressor.
There wasn't even time to feel the pain. Like an ordinary person encountering an angry tiger, I was crushed by that massive paw and became another victim of a tiger attack.
With that, my consciousness was severed….
I felt as if I had fallen backward into warm, soft water. A sense of buoyancy enveloped my body, and I couldn't tell if I was rising or sinking.
It was comforting. Just like not wanting to get out of bed in the morning, I felt the urge to just keep sinking. But suddenly, I thought of San'gun, kicked my feet, and forced myself to consciousness.
What is this? When I came to my senses, it was pitch black all around. I flailed my arms and legs, but they hit nothing. My feet weren't touching anything either, just kicking at empty space.
Is this the afterlife? That can't be right.
That this unrealistic place—where the consciousness of a dead beast is transported, leaving only its body behind, to be judged on good and evil by religious standards and then given eternal punishment or reward—actually exists? Regression is more realistic than that crap. At least regression is simple.
But I am just a beast. If such an unrealistic place did exist and had dragged me here, I had to adapt to the situation and act like the most devout believer, starting now. No, not even act. If it was real, I should repent right now, believe, and follow.
[What an unpleasant thought.]
What? Who’s there? Someone who can read a mind reader’s thoughts!
If you are a god, I apologize. This foolish beast, in its ignorance, could not believe in anything it could not see and thus could not accept your teachings. As punishment, I was torn apart and killed by San'gun, so please, with your generous heart, forgive me.
[You're not dead yet. Don't close your eyes.]
…I wasn't dead? No way. I don't have the Heavenly Counter Domain, or holy power, and I'm not a vampire. How could I have survived that blow?
[You can. Because I am inside you.]
What are you?
[I am you. You are me. I am the me that has entered you.]
What are you talking about? There can't be two of me. Show yourself.
[…Alright.]
And what appeared before my eyes was a beautiful girl with silver hair, red eyes, and skin so pale it was almost pure white. I was quite taken aback, not expecting to see her here.
What? When you said ‘I am you,’ I thought it was something about the King of Humans, like the dog and the wolf… Why do you look like Tyr?
Tyr spoke to me in a tone that was nothing like her own.
[You must not die. You cannot die. You have to live. Because we have to meet again.]
Thanks for the sentiment, but words alone can't keep me alive. You need a lot of things to live.
[Open your eyes. Breathe. Move your heart.]
You think that’s as easy as it sounds?
[You have to.]
No, I told you, I don't have the strength.
[You do.]
What do I have?
[Power.]
I felt something in my empty hand. The Six of Spades, the card of the Divine. It probably contained Tyr’s Divine, but all it had done was make my body a bit sturdier. Even if I understood my own body, without Qi Art, there was no way to use it…
[You will not die. You will remain unchanged. Just as you gave me a heart, I have given you a Divine.]
The Divine is not perfect. The Divine is a universal concept and an excellent tool, but it doesn't provide perfect help to all humans. Like the vampires who steal free will or the Golden Lord who causes bodies to disintegrate, it ignores the minor differences between individuals and pulls them into its own flow.
…No.
It is not the Divine that is imperfect, but humans. The universal principles of the Divine are too vast and wondrous to care for each and every human. In the process of the Divine being used, individuals are crushed and oppressed, and harm is born.
This is why it is called the Divine.
[Live.]
But Tyr’s Divine was pulsating within me.
A vampire? No. If I were a vampire, the Heart potions would have had no effect. This wasn't preventing me from changing; it was solely keeping me alive. Keeping me from dying.
Normally, being revived like this should have subjected me to the Homunculus Dilemma, altering me. Just like the Golden Lord’s homunculi or Tyr’s vampires, my essence should have changed, a transformation I had desperately resisted.
[Because we have to meet again, just as you are.]
Unique Magic, Hu.
In the darkness, Tyr’s shadow spoke with Tyr’s face.
Just as I had given Tyr a heart, Tyr had given me a Divine. Just as I had perfectly recalled her heartbeat and gifted it to her, Tyr had perfectly etched my body and breathed it into me.
The reason I could give Tyr a heart without alteration was because I am the King of Humans. Conversely, the reason Tyr’s Divine could revive me without causing alteration was because I am the King of Humans. Because I can read the Divine and make it my tool.
Thanks to becoming a Divine, I had gained regenerative powers. Or perhaps Tyr had become a Divine to give me those powers.
I wasn't sure, but at the very least, it meant I wouldn't be beaten to death. It didn't prevent change itself, so if my body was torn to shreds, it might be a different story.
For now, that was enough.
With the sensation of my body surging back to life, I opened my eyes and was reborn.