The Red Sheep
Everyone goes through it at some point in their long lives—fleeting emotions that fade and lose their color over time.
And I'd endured the exact same shit for 998 loops.
Aside from the rage I'd only just learned about in the previous regression—toward that gatekeeper demon Barbatoss—pretty much all my anger and resentment had long since blurred into the fog.
Even the fundamental questions, like why I'd been saddled with this cursed trait, had become nothing more than fleeting, foolish thoughts that popped up now and then while just trying to get by.
I'd thought that was all that remained: a simple, faded wish, like sediment at the bottom of a glass, to spend at least a few peaceful days with my brother before the final day arrived, now that I'd shaken off the corruption…
No.
No matter how many years passed, no matter how many times life looped back on itself.
Shit was still shit, and thinking I'd forgotten it was just a delusion.
The fury vibrating deep in my soul right now was proof enough.
'Forgiveness is only possible once revenge is complete.'
I glared down at the dean, his head poking out from the writhing tendrils of the Corrupted Demonic World Tree, and maxed out my dark energy, conjuring a massive dark orb around a 2km radius.
To ensure my revenge carried not a single blemish, I'd severed all connections to the outside world.
No one could interfere in this space.
Not the demon realm, not the human world, not even Gaon of Light.
Complete severance from external connections.
No interference possible.
Ku-gu-gu-gu-gung!
The dean stared blankly at the black curtain enveloping everything, then burst into mad laughter.
"Kuhahaha! Finally! At last! Our long-cherished wish is coming true! The great one has descended! The Black Sheep! Lord Black Sheep is right here!"
"What?"
Oh, right. He'd said he was using necromancy to summon the Black Sheep by calling my name.
Apparently, this monster he'd awakened to bring down the no-show Black Sheep was the Corrupted Demonic World Tree.
Now that I thought about it, from high up, the academy grounds looked exactly like a Black Sheep cult summoning circle.
"Ahh! You've come! Where are you? Oh, Black Sheep!"
"Oh! Please reveal yourself and grant us your power!"
Before I knew it, professors including Kim Na-eun had poked their heads out from the tree, chiming in one after another.
Some had already lost their human forms, reduced to grotesque wails.
Grraaaaa!
Kiiiii!
The roars echoing through the space would have knocked out anyone else still around.
"Pathetic. Does the Black Sheep's descent mean it'll share its power with trash like you?"
"Kyaaak! Shut your mouth, hero scum!"
"We'll tear you apart and offer you to the Black Sheep!"
"That's your fate! Your fate! Kyahaak!"
They were so ridiculous, I threw them a line, and they started frothing at the mouth.
"Talking about fate, huh. Silence Out."
Silence Out
All nearby targets silenced.
"Guh…!"
"……!"
"……!"
I silenced the twigs first, then zipped over to the dean, grabbed him by the collar, and yanked him out like pulling a tooth.
"Ugh, ugh! Let go! The Black Sheep won't forgive you!"
"Ah, just shut up…."
I was tempted to kill him right there and end his bullshit, but no—not yet.
Truths I hadn't uncovered even after 998 regressions were finally revealing themselves.
Only after I'd learned every reason I should have known and exacted every price they owed would I grant him the peace of punishment.
"Anyway, let's start with a beating."
"Wha…?!"
Thwack—!!
A dull thud echoed as my kick slammed into his thigh, making him stagger in agony.
"Kuhk! M-my leg…?!"
"It didn't get cut off. Look straight."
"?!!"
The dean looked down at his leg. Pain spun his head like a top, but only pristine white fat oozed out—no amputation.
"Ugh…!"
Bleeding like a fountain, he still backed away, drawing his skill Blood Sword.
As a Blood Sorcerer, all his skills drew energy from the fresh blood of sacrifices offered at Black Sheep prayer meetings.
A crimson longsword materialized in his right hand, rippling with bloody haze.
Biting his lower lip, he forced his damaged leg to move and swung.
But attacks from a crippled stance weren't landing.
I dodged lightly and cracked the back of his neck.
Thud!
"Gack!"
He tumbled several rolls, spewing foam or blood from his mouth.
I'd held back to avoid killing him instantly, but his skill Blood Bubbling kept regenerating his wrecked body, so he staggered back up.
"You bastard… Think this'll kill me?"
Wiping blood from his smirking mouth, he seemed to think his survival was his own doing.
"Nah. If you dropped dead that easy, I'd be the one in trouble."
"What…?!"
Hearing that, his face twisted like he'd seen a ghost, and he flailed his Blood Sword wildly in a last-ditch frenzy—but the result was the same.
Thud!
This time, I smashed his forehead.
"Kuh! Graaaah!"
Reeling, unable to think straight, his eyes rolled back white.
His face and chest were soon smeared with his own blood and filth.
Regaining his wits barely, he clutched his gushing nose, stumbling back with a whine that was protest or sob.
"How dare a hero strike his master like this! God won't forgive you!"
"Ha! Weren't you worshiping the Black Sheep? Where's 'God' come from?"
"Fine, you said it right! The Black Sheep will lop off your head, stake it up as an example to the world! Got it?!"
Fuming, he spun and slashed at the professors clinging to the tree, absorbing their blood.
Shwaaak—
"Kaaaak!"
"Kaaak!"
Silence Out had worn off while I beat him, so the professors, now able to scream, shriveled like dead branches.
His belly swelled on one side from their blood and vitality.
"We must cut down this filthy hero!"
True to a veteran hunter who'd survived countless brushes with death, his movements were sharp and powerful.
But.
Since he was using dark energy, to me he was just a yapping pup.
I seized him with crushing pressure and lifted him afloat.
"Wh-what?!"
Panicking, he flailed to escape the squeeze.
Futile.
"This is payback for planting 'thorns' in my friend Chang-seok."
Crack!
His waist snapped backward.
"This is for planting black seeds in all those kids over the years."
Legs, arms, head—each twisted in turn, crumpling him into a ball.
"Kuh, kruk… Just… kill me…!"
I snapped his neck but spared his breath.
I still had scores to settle.
"Wait here."
⯈ Dark Resistance -500
⯈ Defense -70
⯈ Movement Speed -99%
⯈ Inflicts temporary movement speed reduction on target (Duration: 5 min)
I sealed the dean in the crap item Samgyeopsal had picked up and approached the lava-like writhing Corrupted Demonic World Tree.
"Gotta clean this up first. No more kids getting dragged in."
Time to uproot the parasitic plant spewing darkness across Earth.
A real deep clean.
UHN Chairman Karl Rutley.
Atop the vast cavern, he gazed indifferently into the abyss, muttering hoarsely over and over.
"Great evil one… grant me the power to crush the hero…."
The scene below was a hellscape of blood and screams.
"Kwaaaah!"
"Kyaaaak!"
"Kak! Spare…!"
Vampire trees filled the wide corridors, wriggling like maggots as they devoured people.
Packed floor-to-ceiling, these snake- or worm-like horrors existed only to consume, chewing and swallowing everything around them.
Human or ally, no distinction.
Soon, the screams faded; only the trees remained, turning on each other.
Grgrgrg….
Kiiiii!
Lacking vocal organs, they emitted only rusty wind-howls in endless "screams."
At last.
The final vampire tree, having devoured all life in the cavern, remained—its body swollen mountain-sized, twitching.
"Oh! It's complete at last!"
The chairman descended blood-smeared stairs with a splat, approaching it.
"Blood Terraforming."
Muttering, he extended his hand; vital essence surged from the bloated tree into him.
Kwaaaaa—
"Kuhahaha! Yes! This is it!"
Level-up chimes rang incessantly with surging euphoria; he howled in ecstasy.
As the bloody glow faded, he checked his status window with a satisfied smile.
"Now… no one can deny I'm the Black Sheep."
Mastering Blood Terraforming—a knockoff of the Black Sheep's skill—he was claiming demonic lord dominance for himself.
The more he used it.
The mounting thrill of growing control left him in awe.
This ultimate dark dominance was plenty powerful.
Even as a degraded version of the Black Sheep's.
He'd seen countless hunters and skills in his life, but nothing this perfect.
If he could fully make it his own, he'd swallow the world and stand as the last power.
"Congratulations, Red Sheep!"
Turning, he saw his direct shadow subordinate at his side.
"What is it? I said no interruptions."
"The Corrupted Demonic World Tree in the Korean branch has gone berserk."
"Hm? I see. Pity, but no matter. I'll ascend as Demon King soon—no need to plant more seeds."
"But the hero is blowing up every Corrupted Demonic World Tree connected underground."
"What!!! Kraaak! That mad hero bastard!"
Rage twisted the chairman's face demonically.
Even without the Black Sheep, scattering dark seeds worldwide expanded the cult and solidified his position.
Korea's seeds yielded no black fruits—just trash like saints and heroes—so ripping them out was fine, but the ones in other countries had to keep seeding to become his faithful slaves.
"What will you do? Just watch?"
"Think I'd let that slide?"
"Then…?"
Snarling, he smirked faintly and snapped his fingers.
"Lea."
A secret door in the cavern opened; Lea Shed, the future-sight ability user, entered.
"Isn't this the vile Gaon of Light's lackey?"
"Indeed. But now, just a mindless doll."
"Oh! Then…!"
"I'll shatter everything that gave the world's humans hope, one by one. Until they all kneel at my feet."
Lea knelt blankly, kissing the chairman's hand.
He gripped her chin hard, forcing her gaze to meet his.
"You know your task, Lea?"
"Yes, Red Sheep."
"Kuhahaha! Good! Go! Crush the hero!"
In the blood-clotted cavern, his hoarse laughter echoed long.