Chapter 93
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: Regressor's Karma
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"Disappear."
BOOM!!
With those words from Shin Ji-ui, the black dragon exploded. Ji-ui deftly dodged the dragon's remains and checked her status window. Even after 98 regressions, nothing had changed.
She glanced around. This dungeon of unknown origin was a rift accidentally created when the Creator forged the Hell Path.
'And I've fallen into this rift 99 times.'
A string of absurd coincidences brought a bitter smirk to Ji-ui's lips.
Screeech—
Ji-ui tore her clothes slightly with her hand, then lay face-down on the ground and closed her eyes. She knew Min would come to rescue her. If she pretended to be injured, Min would take her to the hospital. That would put her right back at the starting line, at least.
Ji-ui rubbed her face against the dirt floor. A sharp stone fragment scratched her cheek, drawing blood.
Bam!
The sound of a gate opening rang out, and Ji-ui went limp like she was dead. She felt Min lift her body amid a wave of warmth. His sigh brushed her forehead, followed by the gentle touch on the wound on her face.
'This person is always so consistently kind.'
Unlike herself, who was losing emotions with each regression, Min remained steadfast. Ji-ui bit her lower lip hard and mentally scripted out scenarios to avert the world's end.
Thud.
As Ji-ui let go, the Apostle "Mask"'s body hit the floor limply. All his joints were twisted unnaturally, and massive holes gaped across his body.
"Hah, ha, ha..."
With him gone, all the Creator's Apostles were dead. The fragments of the Creator they held had vanished with them.
She hadn't planned to kill them from the start. When she first learned their identities, she asked them to destroy the fragments themselves. But once they realized destroying the fragments would nullify the wishes they'd made to the Creator, the Apostles refused Ji-ui's request.
So this time, she chose the simplest method. The absolute best way that didn't even require dealing with the fragments separately.
'Should've done this from the beginning.'
Ji-ui pulled Ego's trigger a few more times, reducing Mask's body to dust.
Knock knock.
Someone tapped on the window. When Ji-ui turned, Min stood on the balcony in a hood, staring at her. Ji-ui grabbed her shoes from the entryway, stowed them in her inventory, and headed over.
"Perfect timing. I just finished."
"..."
"All the fragments are gone, so the Hell Path should weaken a lot."
Min looked down at Ji-ui silently.
"Choi Min Hunter?"
"...No. Let's go."
Min scooped Ji-ui up and leaped off the balcony. The Prometheus heart transplanted into his body aided his flight.
"No regrets?"
Mid-flight toward the airport, Min finally spoke. Ji-ui lifted only her eyes to meet her partner's gaze.
Choi Min—the Apostle of the Adjuster and the only one who knew of the world's end. That's why Ji-ui always asked her to be her partner. Min had never once refused.
And she'd never asked a question like that before.
Ji-ui looked back down at the scenery below.
"No regrets."
"I see."
As long as she could avert the end like this, it would all be worth it. All her efforts up to now would bear fruit.
Dallas's city lights at night reflected in Ji-ui's empty eyes. The only light in those brown irises.
Crumble.
With the Da Nang S-rank Gate cleared last, the Hell Path in the sky shattered. The pitch-black heavens, flickering like they might collapse any moment, began slowly regaining their original light.
The catastrophe 'Hell Path' has been annihilated.
'It's done.'
As the status window faded, Ji-ui slowly lowered her head to look at the people around her.
Not a single one was unscathed, but this was the most survivors she'd seen yet.
"Woooah!!"
"We did it! We stopped it!"
"We're alive! We survived!"
The hunters shouted, embracing each other in the joy of survival.
"...Hah."
Amid the celebrating crowd, Ji-ui let out a hollow laugh. Emptiness overshadowed any joy or relief.
Tap.
Se-bin approached and placed a hand on her shoulder. Her face was a mess of monster blood and her own, but her eyes sparkled as they looked at Ji-ui.
"It's finally over, right?"
Ji-ui turned to her childhood friend. Her face was so gentle, it was hard to believe she'd coldly shredded monsters throughout the battle.
"Yeah. Finally over."
'Finally.'
She emphasized that word.
With the Creator's fragments—the core material of the Hell Path—gone, it was no more than patched-together vanished gates. No tricky border monsters appeared. With a solid plan and textbook tactics, the gates fell one by one.
By the time they were mopping up the Hell Path systematically, the traitor tried pulling out a few hidden gates. But Ji-ui caught him red-handed. She shoved him off the association building's roof and dove right back into the fight, clearing the rest.
"Ji-ho, it's over. Hey? Open your eyes..."
"Teacher... sob... "
That didn't mean there were no sacrifices. Countless lives were lost stopping the Hell Path, leaving Korea in ruins. Rebuilding would take who-knows-how-long.
Ji-ui pulled a stamina potion from her inventory. Her mouth was parched and bitter, but she didn't show it.
As her foggy mind cleared, the sky had turned clear blue.
'Is my role finally done?'
As a regressor, as the world's designated savior, she'd done all she could. The only thing she hadn't managed to protect in this timeline was her little sister's final moments.
"Haaa..."
Ji-ui hugged her knees and sank to the ground. The cramped space between her body and legs gave a strange sense of comfort. She breathed slowly, steadying herself.
"W-Wait. Up there!"
A hunter pointed at the sky. Ji-ui looked up to see the blue heavens turning crimson again. A massive rift tore open at its center.
Fizzle.
The status window she'd thought gone reappeared abruptly.
The Regressor's karma recreates the catastrophe 'Hell Path'.
Time until recreation: 6 hours
Complete annihilation of 'Hell Path' upon Regressor's death.
The silence was deafening, heartbeats audible. No one could process it, mouths frozen shut.
Ji-ui stared blankly at the window. Her heart pounded like it would burst. Agonizing pain struck like a hammer to the skull.
Fizzle.
Another window appeared before her.
[Regressor's Karma]
[The sin of creating a timeline that should not exist]
Only then did Ji-ui understand why the world had chosen her as its savior.
'It planned to sacrifice me to stop the catastrophe.'
From the moment she failed and regressed, her death was fated. One regressor's life to sustain the world—the most rational solution.
Just like how she'd killed all the Apostles.
"Pft, heh, hahaha..."
Ji-ui chuckled. Not from rage-induced madness.
She found her prepared-to-sacrifice self ridiculous.
Ji-ui rose slowly and met Min's horrified eyes. Min's hands twitched, ready to deploy her Air Raid Shelter any second.
'Still trying to protect me to the end.'
Ji-ui smiled faintly and turned to the other hunters.
"Regressor...?"
"L-Like in those comics?"
"What the hell does that mean...?"
The hunters began murmuring, mostly about the regressor's existence.
Clap.
Mi-jun clapped sharply, drawing attention. The usually laid-back man was deadly serious now. His eyes gleamed like a predator's, mouth unsmiling.
"Time to talk regressors? Hell Path reopening is the issue."
"R-Regroup and—"
"Prince, how many hunters do you think survived?"
Mi-jun cut off Jin-woo. Jin-woo bit his lip—he had no rebuttal. Fewer than 100 Korean hunters remained, by rough count.
"Truth is... it's a dire situation."
The hunters spoke in resignation. Some collapsed, weeping in despair.
"Would be nice if the regressor just popped up and died for us."
Mi-jun muttered. Everyone agreed inwardly but stayed silent, wary of seeming cruel.
Step.
Ji-ui stepped forward.
"Ji-ui...?"
Se-bin's voice didn't register. Ji-ui stood amid the hunters and grinned.
"That's me."
"Shin Ji-ui Hunter, what are you—"
"I'm the regressor."
Everyone gasped. Then they recalled the battles.
Each time Hell Path spat new gates, Ji-ui issued near-perfect commands. As if she'd seen the future.
Her words rang true. All eyes locked on her.
"Arghhh!!"
A hunter charged with a dagger. Ji-ui closed her eyes, awaiting the blade at her throat.
Crack.
Bones snapped. Thud—something hit the ground. Ji-ui opened her eyes and turned.
The charging hunter lay dead, neck twisted. A black hand around his throat receded into his shadow.
"Looks like we need to talk."
Crunch.
"Guh!"
"Khek!"
Every hunter except Ji-ui clutched their throats. Black hands from their shadows strangled them.
Thump, thump, thump.
Ji-ui's heart raced. She turned to see Se-bin staring blankly ahead, face chillingly cold.
"K-Kang... Se-bin...?"
Ji-ui rasped her name. Se-bin's shadow swelled, devouring every hunter's shadow here.
Even after dozens of regressions, Ji-ui had never seen this.
One thing was clear: What followed would be crueler than anything she'd endured.