Chapter 133
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 134
Chapter Title: The Regressor Makes Everything
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After the mass-produced sword energy armaments were unveiled, Lee Se-hun slipped out of the exhibition hall right away. He pulled on a staff jacket and tugged a baseball cap low over his face before heading for the staff-only passage.
"If those bastards are targeting the convention center, the moment the crowd thins out is their perfect window."
Even with confidence in his plan, he wanted to minimize variables as much as possible—it was only human nature.
Especially since the Watchers, for all their extremism, had prepared meticulously in advance. There was no way they'd miss an opportunity like this.
That's why Lee Se-hun figured the chaos from his exhibit drawing the crowd would create his opening, and sure enough, it did.
Kwaaaang—!
A thunderous explosion roared from outside.
Realizing the full-scale assault by Myriad Demons' Mire and the Watchers had begun, Lee Se-hun bolted down the passage, acting the part of a panicked staffer.
"Wh-what's going on?!?"
He ran into a management staffer at the end of the corridor. Lee Se-hun scanned him quickly before closing in.
"Th-this is bad! There's an explosion outside…"
Whoosh!
Before the words finished, an awl stabbed toward his brow.
The staffer's expression stayed perfectly composed right up to the end as he lunged to kill—a textbook assassin's move.
But all it snagged was the baseball cap.
Sgak—
"Ugh!?"
The moment he realized his strike had missed, a searing pain ripped through his thigh. His legs buckled, and he dropped to his knees.
Puk! Kwak!
Then something sharp gouged both his shoulders, sapping strength from his arms. Finally, a dagger wreathed in pure white light pressed against his throat.
"Wha…"
"Shh. Scream, and you die."
The blade bit just enough into his neck to prove it was no joke.
A chill of deadly intent dripped from it, mingled with his own blood. The staffer—a Dawn operative—froze solid.
'Wh-what the hell…'
He'd hidden his movements perfectly with illusion magic. How had he been made? As the operative reeled in confusion,
"Which group are you with? Dream Haze? Or Dawn?"
Lee Se-hun asked calmly.
"…What?"
"Ops got leaked externally—causing chaos. Orders from above: anyone unverified gets treated as hostile and eliminated."
The sudden claim left the operative bewildered. Chaos in an operation that had just kicked off?
Incredible as it sounded, the guy knew too much about them for comfort.
'No way he interrogated someone else that fast…'
The attack on him wasn't unusual either, given their loose alliance. They all targeted Babel, but with different goals.
"Hmmm. No good answer…"
The dagger pressed indifferently into his neck. The operative racked his brain desperately before blurting,
"I'm Dawn."
"Target secured?"
He even knew their objective. Relieved inwardly, the operative answered swiftly.
"Not yet. We're prioritizing safe recovery to avoid damage."
Going for persuasion first? With a bit of breathing room confirmed, Lee Se-hun withdrew the dagger.
"Plan's leaked—delaying is risky. Report in and accelerate."
"…After messing me up like this?"
"You must have healing on hand. Quit pretending and move."
Biting his lip at Lee Se-hun's curt words, the operative cast his prepared recovery spell.
Whoosh!
His wounds sealed in an instant. Rising, he grumbled,
"We didn't set the loose timeline—the blacksmith bastards did…?!"
The moment he turned and saw Lee Se-hun's face, his mask of composure shattered. His eyes went wide.
"You…"
Sgak!
The white-light dagger sliced clean through his throat before he could finish. Lee Se-hun narrowed his eyes at the collapsing corpse.
'These guys… were after me too?'
A standard Watcher would've reacted with "You were one of us?" upon seeing his face.
They operated in isolated cells, blind to each other's members.
But this one showed instant recognition of something off. Meaning Dawn—or someone else—had marked him as a target.
'Hmmm… that could be useful.'
With a rough grasp of the situation, Lee Se-hun dashed deeper into the corridor.
Most staff and crew had rushed toward the exhibition hall commotion.
So encounters here were rare—and mostly Dawn operatives.
"Wha… what hap…"
Puk!
"Guh…!"
Spotting a sudden target, most tried securing him discreetly while disguised. Their complacency let him close, then throats and hearts were pierced before they could react.
'Guys posing as regular staff really are rusty in a real fight.'
Constant cover as civilians dulled their reflexes.
After thinning their numbers with ambushes, Lee Se-hun ducked into the boiler room he'd scouted with Louise earlier—instead of pressing deeper.
'I've killed enough—they can't be that dumb.'
If their goal was seizing the exhibition, key facilities would be locked down tight. So he slipped outside instead.
No point fighting hand-to-hand now; he'd prepared to avoid that entirely.
Kuung—!
A massive quake shook from the convention center.
Sensing the ominous rumble and mana surging wildly through the pipes, Lee Se-hun pulled a black box from his Dream Storage.
Wuuung—
A milky-white orb trembled faintly in resonance: the South Flower Pupil, Vermilion Bird's eye. Lee Se-hun's eyes gleamed.
'They used the Vermilion Bird's heart after all.'
MT Industry's Flame Heaven Furnace—and various fire- and mana-control devices.
Seeing them arrayed at the center, he'd instantly pegged their scheme: leveraging the heart for something big.
'Now, what exactly with that heart.'
Too many variables before to be sure, but the heartbeat-like pulses and fire-attuned mana seeping into the air clicked it.
'Reviving the Vermilion Bird.'
All their moves confirmed.
Lee Se-hun countered instantly with their prepared materials.
Wuuung!
The mana supply pipe quaked violently, ferrying immense power.
Lee Se-hun placed his hand on it, slowly infusing his own mana.
'The center's setup assists the heart like an organ. This pipe's mana is the blood driving it.'
A little extra mana wouldn't do much, but Vermilion Bird-related power changed that.
Fwoosh!
He drew the South Flower Pupil from the box, controlled its pure white flame with crimson flame mana, and trickled it into the pipe.
That faint power mingled and raced to the end: the Flame Heaven Furnace aiding the heart.
Kugugung—!
Vast mana backlashed up the pipe, surging through his hand into him.
Kwaduk!
It tore up his right palm and arm like a living beast. Lee Se-hun's eyes flashed at the aggressive surge.
'It bit…!'
Artificial mana didn't react like this.
The reviving Vermilion Bird—via the furnace—had come for its eye through him.
Chiiiik!
Steam rose as his body's moisture boiled off.
Even a fraction of its power brought scorching heat, but Lee Se-hun clenched his teeth instead of recoiling.
'Insolent fledgling—know your place!'
Hot as it was, it was a candle to the flames he'd wielded pre-regression.
Confirming the intruding mana, he composed himself and forged a temporary circuit to contain it.
Chwajajak!
Eternal Flame Magic etched new paths inside him.
The Vermilion Bird rushed in, thinking defenses broken—only for Lee Se-hun to slam the gate shut.
Kang!
Kang!
Mental hammers sealed the fresh circuit.
Realizing it was trapped, the Bird flinched—then thrashed wildly inside.
"Hoo…"
Lee Se-hun invoked earthen mana to reinforce the circuit, quelling the backlash.
Like a wild horse forcibly bridled, the Bird struggled—but weakened, unable to seize the eye or return via pipe.
Then, grasping its plight with incomplete intellect,
"[Release…]"
A faint murmur echoed in Lee Se-hun's ear—not true speech, more a mumble. Recognizing the Vermilion Bird, he replied.
'Hands off my stuff first.'
"[That… my eye… you… thief…]"
At the Bird's indignant response, Lee Se-hun said flatly,
'That was when you were alive. Long dead now—what good is it?'
"[Then… I'll kill you…]"
'If you can. But you'll have to give up reclaiming the eye.'
Less vital than the heart, the South Flower Pupil wasn't to be dismissed.
It pierced souls, incinerating guilt.
Beyond physical traits, it embodied the Bird's authority like the Ascension Lord's ring—too tempting to pass.
'And since you're reviving anyway, you'd want the most intact form possible.'
As a living being with desires, perfection in revival was inevitable greed.
Vermilion Birds were milder and smarter than most mana beasts, so negotiation over brute force seemed likely.
'Assuming revival leaves it sharp enough.'
As Lee Se-hun awaited while pondering its post-revival wits,
"[State… your demand…]"
The voice murmured again. Sensing willingness to deal, the Bird proposed terms.
'I'll return the eye. But I control it.'
An outlandish condition drew puzzled reaction.
"[Strange… proposal…]"
'No point asking for your body—won't happen. So just the eye. You still get the power back.'
"[….]"
The Bird pondered.
True—yielding eye control changed little; other eyes could regrow with time.
Priority: revive stronger now. Weighing it all, it decided.
"[Agreed…]"
Chiiiik!
Acceptance burned a pattern onto his left hand's back amid smoke.
A flickering eye motif like flame—linked to the Bird's authority. Lee Se-hun grinned.
'Take it.'
Fwoosh!
The sealed circuit opened; the South Flower Pupil blazed white and raced via pipe to the hall.
Wuuung!
His hand's pattern glowed faintly.
Focusing intent, his vision shifted to overlooking the convention center.
'Total mess.'
The hall was fully segmented by lattice mana barriers and space magic.
Dawn had hijacked all functions—save one exception.
Kwagagang!
"What the hell is that guy?!"
"Why's he the only one casting spells?!"
Ran Fay gripped dual mana-tech pistols, shielding staff and guests while battling Dawn operatives.
Behind him, remaining personnel huddled. Lee Se-hun looked mildly surprised.
'Huh. Magic-tech prof lives up to the name.'
Unclear if prepared, but he'd escaped formula disruption—solo against Dawn, holding the line.
Without him, they'd have swarmed Louise already.
Fwoosh!
The Bird's body fully formed; its formerly mumbling will sharpened.
"[I'm alive! Really alive!!!]"
Thrilled at resurrection, it cried out powerfully.
Too innocent for an S-rank mana beast. As Lee Se-hun felt a touch absurd,
Kiiiing
A red magic circle summoned a black stake piercing the Bird's neck.
"[Kweeeek!]"
Even its flame body convulsed in agony like a twisted chicken.
A fierce will transmitted via stake formed words.
-Burn the enemies' minds.
Including Louise, all remaining civilians in the hall.
The command forced the Bird—quasi-S-rank in raw power despite incomplete revival.
Smart enough to resist, but the furnace and devices fired relentlessly.
Wuuung!
"[Grrrgh…!]"
No way they'd revive a beast like the Bird without controls.
Defying its will, flames rose—and it turned on the ordered foes.
'Heh.'
Through its sole existing 'eye'.
Kwaaaang!
Immense flames engulfed the entire hall.
The blast was devastating—but swept the controlling setups and Dawn operatives like Charles too, against initial intent.
'No need to control the whole body.'
The Bird was alive after all. Wrong target meant 'friendly fire' inevitable.
Kwagagang!!
Missing foes, blasts continued. Lee Se-hun twisted aim relentlessly, wiping out hall-seizing enemies.
To signal Louise the plan's smooth progress, he winked lightly.
"…You mad bastard!"
She shot back a grin of utmost praise. Satisfied, Lee Se-hun scanned anew.
'First exchange went well.'
Key now: their next move. How to handle the Bird? As he pondered,
"—Ha."
A bizarre laugh escaped Charles amid his roars.
"—Haha—HAHAHA!"
Torn screams alternating with hearty guffaws. Tension gripped Lee Se-hun and Louise as,
Pasuk
Charles' charred body crumbled in green mana.
Revealed: gaunt bones etched with enchantments and circles. A black cube in the ribs pulsed green mana.
'Cube… puppeteer.'
Goods forged from human organs and circuits. Charles was long a puppeteer's 'puppet'.
"To think you'd turn the trap against us. You keep surprising me."
Seeing his attacker—the Bird—Charles admired purely.
Invisible culprit, but clearly Lee Se-hun's influence.
An unforeseen blow costing mana and sanity—yet joy outweighed rage.
'Such sway over a beast like the Bird… true heart-candidate material.'
Talent transcending candidate like Louise—near ideal. Body irrelevant confirmed.
But that potential made it tragic.
"Wished we'd taken you all…"
Wuuung!
The circle at the Bird's feet expanded in light. A stake dwarfing the neck one impaled its whole body.
────!
"[────!]"
With its screech, the skewered form rocketed upward, smashing the ceiling into open sky.
Overlooking the exhibition surrounds: initial blast flames formed a vast barrier—like a giant magic circle.
'This pattern…'
Recognizing the array instantly, Lee Se-hun knew their backup.
Reviving the Bird was mere consciousness fodder. They sought one power housed in its body.
Wuuung—!
Stakes in the Bird resonated violently. Then, crimson beams lanced skyward from Borsippa spots afar.
Converging on the Bird, they wove a colossal cage over the area.
"[Crimson Heaven Soulstain]"
⟨ 주천염혼 ⟩
The sky blazed vermilion like burning heavens.