Chapter 286
Chapter 286
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 286
Chapter Title: The Regressor (2)
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“Well, well. If it isn't the most forgotten one, Bouichi.”
“It’s been a while, Shuten-dōji. Or... is this our first time seeing each other?”
Gwiryeoknanshin’s eyes scanned Shuten-dōji from head to toe.
Having always been confined, he had never seen anything, so this was his first time seeing Shuten-dōji’s form.
And it was unexpected.
He never imagined Shuten-dōji’s appearance would be so far removed from ‘strength.’
If anything, he looked like a fragile young girl.
“Are you intrigued by my appearance?”
“...No. For us, our outer shell is nothing more than packaging. I was just a little curious as to why you would choose such a form.”
“There are quite a few things I can make use of with a form like this.”
Shuten-dōji smiled bewitchingly and took a drink.
“Isn’t it amusing? Just by having the appearance of a frail girl, humans don't let their guard down. They approach without any suspicion, trying to protect me of their own accord. Sometimes, there are those with impure intentions. Little do they know they're just hastening their own demise.”
From the elegant white porcelain bottle, sake flowed endlessly.
After letting out a breath with a slightly flushed face, Shuten-dōji poured more sake into another cup and offered it to Gwiryeoknanshin.
“Care for a drink?”
“...”
“Oh, my. This cup is probably too small for you.”
Right after she smiled, the cup suddenly grew several times larger.
It was closer to the size of a plate than a cup.
He wasn't in the mood for a drink, but he couldn't bring himself to refuse Shuten-dōji's offer.
Gwiryeoknanshin had no choice but to accept the cup.
He had never tasted alcohol before, and upon smelling it, he unknowingly wrinkled his nose.
“You came here because you have something to ask, didn't you?”
“...So you knew.”
“Drink up first. We can talk while we drink.”
Shuten-dōji smiled faintly.
It was an unsettlingly beautiful smile.
Gwiryeoknanshin tilted the cup, as if trying to force down his unease.
“Did you know? A long time ago, they used to give death row inmates a cup of that exact size filled with alcohol before their execution. As a last supper, you see.”
The moment Gwiryeoknanshin swallowed his first sip, Shuten-dōji’s lips curled into a slight smile.
Gwiryeoknanshin wasn't so foolish as to not understand why she would suddenly say such a thing, but it was already too late.
“Gahk...!”
He collapsed with a shriek that sounded like his lungs were being squeezed.
Something inside his stomach began to expand, pressing against his organs.
Gwiryeoknanshin, his eyes bloodshot, glared at Shuten-dōji.
“Shuten-dōji, you bastard...! You tricked me!”
“And you? Did you really think it was acceptable to send a fake here when you came to say something like that?”
“A fake? What are you talking...”
Gwiryeoknanshin's words were cut short.
Like a firecracker exploding, something burst from within his body, and he could no longer maintain his form.
“Tsk, tsk. This is what happens when you accept something from me, knowing full well what my power is.”
Shuten-dōji clicked her tongue as if in pity and flicked her finger.
At that, the large, blood-soaked grain of rice that had pierced through Gwiryeoknanshin’s body shrank back down until it was barely visible.
Before he knew it, all of Gwiryeoknanshin's fragments had vanished.
“Hmm. So he didn't know himself. That means someone else has had a hand in this. In that case, there's a possibility that this location has also been exposed.”
Shuten-dōji, who had been lost in thought while picking at some fruit, suddenly scattered her sake.
*Fwoosh.*
The moment the sake hit the floor, it ignited, and flames spread rapidly.
Shuten-dōji also rose to her feet.
“I've lived a long time, but I've never seen anything so strange. The power of a Dokkaebi? Heh heh. Those creatures, barely clinging to life, meddling where they don't belong.”
Paying the fire no mind, Shuten-dōji fluttered out of the place like a butterfly.
“What a waste, what a waste. A good piece is gone. It wasn't directly involved in the plan, but there was no better piece for increasing stability. Thanks to this, I'll have to make my move sooner than expected.”
Gradually, Shuten-dōji’s form moved away from the building.
Only her voice, like someone humming a song, lingered within the flame-engulfed structure.
***
“Zero deaths, and only a handful of injuries... I can't believe it. It's all thanks to you! To think no one died after something like this!”
Kibou clasped my hands, rejoicing as if it were his own victory.
“Kaede. With these people, maybe, just maybe this time...!”
Kibou’s lover, Kaede, wore a faint, ambiguous smile.
There were probably many things about Kibou's actions she couldn't understand.
She must have felt as if he had experienced the same thing many times, failed, and was trying again.
But that was only natural.
As long as she existed in the position of a regressor's lover.
“He really is one of a kind.”
Jun Bo-ra also had a faint smile, as if she couldn't help it.
“Um, you said you were a Hero, right? Are you really a Hero?”
“Mm. I definitely have the Hero characteristic. Gosh, I'm just doing what's natural, but it's a little embarrassing when the angels insist on calling me a Hero.”
Kibou scratched his cheek, smiling sheepishly.
Among us, only Jun Bo-ra and I knew that Kibou was a regressor.
To the others, he would simply seem like a good-natured person who loved helping people.
An absolutely good person who became a hero because he loved helping others.
Naturally, one couldn't help but feel a sense of favorability toward such a person.
‘Especially one person.’
Jeong Ha-yeon’s eyes were fixed on Kibou.
A clear light shone in them.
They were the same eyes she’d had when talking to Lee Do-hyeon, a senior from her department back in the day.
If she’d taken notice of him, then my purpose in bringing Jeong Ha-yeon was more than half-achieved.
“First, there’s something I’d like to ask.”
“Yes. Anything I can help with.”
“This time, not one, but two Disasters have appeared. Do you know anything about this?”
“...Two, you say?”
The regressor’s face turned grim.
Looks like getting any information out of him is a lost cause.
“There's no way the Yamato Guild doesn't know about this. The fact that they haven't come must mean something has happened.”
Seimei's expression was quite serious.
Even though we had a big fight, they were allies we had to join hands with against the common enemy of the Disasters.
No, in the first place, it would be difficult to resolve the situation smoothly without the Yamato Guild’s power.
No matter how much of an over-spec I had compared to other players, facing two Disasters at the same time was impossible.
‘It’s not efficient for two Disasters to operate in the same place.’
I tried to think from a Disaster’s perspective.
If I were a Disaster, what decision would I make?
Who was a Disaster-level being that would appear alongside Shuten-dōji?
I had to pull out every piece of information and knowledge I had.
“For now, I’ll do what I can.”
As the silence stretched on, Seimei took out a simple talisman.
“Could you wait a moment? I will use this to contact others in different locations and try to gather even a little bit of information...”
“Kyoto.”
“Pardon?”
“If you have people in Kyoto, contact them first. It’s probably there.”
Seimei, though bewildered, followed my instructions.
And a short while later, he exclaimed in an agitated tone.
“It-it's Kyoto! Another Disaster has appeared there, and the Yamato Guild, which was on its way from Tokyo, is holding it back!”
“What? How did you know? That wasn't in that thing either, was it?”
“I looked into Japanese mythology while preparing to take on Shuten-dōji.”
Ibaraki-dōji.
Like Shuten-dōji, he was one of the three great evil oni of Japan, and in the legends, the two had teamed up to try and swallow Kyoto.
In other words, for those two, the place to reappear would be Kyoto.
But since Shuten-dōji had come to Osaka, it was only natural to assume that Ibaraki-dōji was in Kyoto, their primary objective.
“If the Yamato Guild is holding them off there, then we only need to worry about things here.”
“That... doesn't seem to be so simple. It seems the powerful oni known as the Four Heavenly Kings have also appeared there, and they're being pushed back in terms of military strength.”
“But Japan has ten S-rank players, right? And it’s still like that?”
“Each of the oni is said to be S-rank. So, Kyoto is currently in a state where one Disaster and four S-rank demonic beasts are leading a rampage of oni and yōkai. We don't have time for this. We have to do something!”
“But we don't know when such powerful enemies might appear here too, right? They might even be waiting for us to split off and go there.”
“But if we just stand by and the Yamato Guild gets wiped out, there will be massive casualties.”
A situation where we can't do one thing or the other.
The regressor, who had been listening to our conversation, bit his lip.
If only he, with his title of regressor, had been overwhelmingly strong, we could have left Shuten-dōji to him and made a move.
But that was impossible.
Because he was kind.
Too kind.
That's why he wasn't the strongest.
He didn't try to monopolize hidden pieces, nor did he eliminate the root of evil before a wrong was committed, nor did he shrewdly manage his assets.
He was just honest, steadfast, and upright.
Repeating the same thing, over and over.
*This method didn't work last time, so I'll have to try another way this time.*
That was all.
To him, regression was just being given another chance, nothing more, nothing less.
[Little brother, I found out.]
Cheonryang's voice echoed in my head.
Hearing this... meant that persuading Gwiryeoknanshin had failed.
‘How is it?’
[Basically, it's invincible.]
‘...Invincible?’
[Hmm, to explain in detail, it's not that you can't deal damage. But you can't kill it. The entire body of that evil demon is under the effect of something like a barrier.]
The one who went to meet Shuten-dōji wasn't Shuten-dōji herself, but a kind of clone created through astral projection.
A special clone that shared memories with the real one, created by extracting the soul and projecting the power of its existence.
So Gwiryeoknanshin, even after waking up, couldn't realize he was a clone.
Cheonryang had made one alteration to it, allowing him to see what Gwiryeoknanshin saw.
In essence, Gwiryeoknanshin had served as an observer.
‘And this barrier is?’
[It won't be lifted unless the caster who created the barrier dies. In other words, to kill Shuten-dōji, you have to kill someone else first. Until then, no matter what you do, you can't kill her.]
I had a good idea who it was.
Only Ibaraki-dōji, who had a close relationship with her, could do something like that.
‘It's decided.’
I quickly gave my orders.
“I'll go to Kyoto alone. The rest of you, please defend this place to the best of your ability.”
“That's...!”
“It's the best option. We don't have time to coordinate among ourselves.”
I pointed a finger upward.
The sky was turning a shade of purple.
The entire area was gradually being consumed by demonic energy.
The more we delayed, the stronger the Disaster would become.
Because the beings known as oni used human negative emotions as their driving force.
“Since all Four Heavenly Kings have appeared in Kyoto, that level of oni won't appear here. The only thing to be wary of is the legendary Disaster, Shuten-dōji. You can't kill her until the other Disaster in Kyoto is defeated, so even if she appears in person, don't fight with the intent to kill. Focus on minimizing damage.”
“Shuten-dōji...? Th-then, don't tell me the other Disaster that appeared in Kyoto is...!?”
Seimei’s face turned pale.
Being an onmyōji by trade, he knew right away.
The only fortunate thing was that, according to the legends, Ibaraki-dōji's power was considerably weakened.
If Kyoto was taking the form of an all-out war, then a stage where I could shine had been created.
“Hwang Yu-jin. The thing I told you before we came here, make sure you stick to it. It's up to you.”
“Yes!”
Hwang Yu-jin nodded vigorously.
The twins would always be by Hwang Yu-jin's side, so there was no need to worry about her safety.
“Se-hyeon-nim!”
Just as I was about to leave, the regressor called out to my back.
“I'm counting on you!”
His eyes were pleading.
They were also tinged with a self-loathing that came from having no choice but to borrow someone else's strength because his own was insufficient.
I didn't bother to answer, instead picking up my pace.
Regressing ultimately means you've failed.
If you had succeeded, there would be no reason to regress.
‘He's repeated it 99 times, was it?’
That number won't be reaching triple digits.
The regressor’s regression ends here.