Not A Regressor - Chapter 115

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I Am Not a Regressor Chapter 115
Hunting the Owls (6)
After returning from the Black Star Society’s headquarters.
I began eagerly distributing the information stored on the USB drive to the guilds that were hot on the Black Star Society’s trail.
Of course.
I was meticulous about hiding the fact that the information came from me.
‘If they ask where and how I obtained the information, it would be problematic.’
I couldn’t reveal my fraudulent ability—Dominion—to anyone.
In any case.
The information I spread began to disperse like spilled ink, reaching everywhere in an instant.
Guilds that had initially been skeptical and doubtful pounced on the Black Star Society the moment even one or two of their branches were exposed, tearing into them with fervor.
‘The true hunt for the Owls had begun.’
It wasn’t difficult to predict the fate of a terrorist organization whose safe houses had all been exposed.
Moreover, the core members of the Owl Faction had abandoned their posts to follow Cheon Do-yoon.
Unable to withstand the tsunami of Awakened Users crashing down upon them, the Owl Faction began to crumble in the blink of an eye.
‘The Cheonhye Guild’s contribution was the greatest.’
Cheon Sang-gil, the Greedy Wolf Star—one of the Seven Stars themselves—had moved directly.
Even if Cheon Do-yoon had been present, it would have been difficult to endure such overwhelming force. There was no way mere Owls could contend with a member of the Seven Stars.
━An unstoppable momentum.
The Owls, their bodies exposed beneath the sunlight, were helplessly captured in the hunters’ grasp.
[This is breaking news from Cheonri Eye News! The coalition of major guilds—including the Cheonhye Guild, Hwarang Guild, and Starlight Lake Guild—has completely subdued the Black Star Society’s headquarters!]
The announcer’s voice rang out with resonance.
[Nearly 3,000 Black Star Society members have been apprehended—a number comparable to the combined personnel of all ten major guilds!]
[Where did so many Awakened Users come from? It’s unprecedented for a single Constellation to create thousands of Awakened Users.]
[A specialized team has been formed to investigate the Constellation behind the Owl Faction, and they’ve begun their inquiry.]
The male and female anchors continued their discussion with the most serious expressions they could muster.
While news that captivated South Korea—indeed, the entire world—was being broadcast.
—Crunch, crunch.
I lay with my head resting on Ha-eun’s thigh, munching on popcorn.
“Wow… the Black Star Society just collapsed all at once like that.”
“Right?”
Ha-eun, who had been watching the news, playfully pinched my cheek as I lay with my head on her lap.
“Aren’t you going there?”
“Didn’t seem like I needed to.”
“True. The Greedy Wolf Star moved this time too, didn’t they?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Truth be told, I had initially planned to participate directly in the operation and hunt the Owls myself.
But the coalition of ten major guilds—or more precisely, the eight major guilds excluding Valhalla Guild and Cheonhye Guild—rejected the Association’s participation, so the plan fell through.
‘Well, from their perspective, they must be feeling the pressure.’
With the Association and Valhalla Guild having resolved all the recent civilian terror attacks and the Cheon Woo-sung incident, public opinion was boiling over questioning what the other major guilds were even doing.
For the major guilds who had always looked down on the Association, this was an extraordinarily inconvenient situation.
‘They must have wanted to shift public opinion by arresting the Black Star Society this time.’
On the surface, they spouted righteous indignation, claiming they would punish the Black Star Society’s atrocities.
But there was no way self-interest and calculation weren’t woven into their motives.
‘After all, there’s no justification easier to exploit than justice itself.’
Well, regardless.
For Kwon O-jin, this was news worth celebrating with both hands raised.
‘Why wouldn’t I be pleased when they’re serving me meals without me lifting a finger?’
If Black Lion Lee Woo-hyuk had been a faithful hunting dog, then this time I felt like I’d acquired an entire colony of ants.
The sensation of becoming a queen ant receiving food without moving a single finger brought an involuntary smile to my face.
“Anyway, the Black Star Society is finished with this.”
“It’s not over yet.”
“Because of Cheon Do-yoon?”
“Yeah.”
Even if the Owl Faction was practically dismantled.
As long as the King of the Owls remained, it wasn’t truly finished.
‘I need to find out what he’s doing.’
Only after killing Cheon Do-yoon could I say the Owl Faction was truly destroyed.
“Well… wouldn’t Tamrang Constellation handle that on their own?”
“Maybe.”
Even if that were the case.
I had no intention of handing over such a delicious prey as Cheon Do-yoon to them.
‘It’s still too early to hunt Cheon Do-yoon now.’
But someday.
No, soon I would gain the power to hunt him.
‘That’s why I orchestrated this whole affair.’
Kwon O-jin watched the news flowing from the television and smirked.
“But how long are you planning to lie around?”
“Goo goo.”
“Goo goo my ass.”
Ha-eun stifled an exasperated laugh and stretched out Kwon O-jin’s cheek with her fingers.
“Seeing you like this makes me wonder if you’re really the same guy as back then.”
“When are you talking about?”
“That’s…”
Ha-eun’s cheeks flushed crimson as she lightly tapped my forehead.
“I’m not telling you, you bastard.”
“No, what is it? Now I’m even more curious.”
“I won’t tell you even if you’re curious.”
She stuck out her tongue and sat up.
“Anyway, let me go shopping with your sister and come back. Let’s just eat dinner together.”
“What? You’re making it, sis?”
“Hehe. I’m going to try a new menu today, so look forward to it~”
“No.”
What’s going on?
I clearly came back then and kissed her to seal the curse.
Why hasn’t the curse been lifted?
‘Is it because I kissed her on the cheek?’
The image of Ha-eun pouting her lips as if disappointed came to mind.
“You need to eat while considering nutrition. If you keep eating the same thing every day, you’ll get tired of it.”
Please make it with some consideration for taste too, sis.
“Then I’m heading out~!”
Thud.
Ha-eun left the room.
“Off she goes.”
I sat on the sofa and watched the news flowing from the television.
The news continued with a conversation between two announcers.
[There’s also news that the arrested Black Star Society members were criminals imprisoned at the time of the Cheolwon Prison disappearance incident three years ago.]
[Yes. According to identity verification, approximately 70% of the arrested Black Star Society members are said to be criminals who disappeared at that time.]
[That’s horrifying. How are the arrested Black Star Society members currently being managed?]
[According to an official announcement from the Guild Alliance, Black Star Society members confirmed to be former Cheolwon Prison inmates who disappeared are being held separately in prison, and they’re currently investigating how the rest came to join the Black Star Society.]
[Right. They may have joined the organization against their will.]
[Even so, it seems difficult for them to avoid punishment.]
The announcer was right.
Even if they were forced to join the Black Star Society, it would be difficult to completely avoid punishment.
Though some leniency would be granted, of course.
[So the Black Star Society members currently undergoing identity verification are being managed by the Guild Alliance?]
[Yes. The Association requested cooperation, but they rejected it, it seems.]
[The tension between the Association and major guilds is quite fierce.]
The two announcers continued their discussion with serious expressions.
“They’re really struggling to monopolize the credit.”
Kwon O-jin shrugged while watching the news.
‘But what about this?’
Whoosh.
I leaned back against the sofa armrest and crossed my legs.
“The one monopolizing things won’t be you all—it’ll be me.”
A faint smile formed at the corners of my mouth.
* * *
An Awakened User-exclusive prison located in Paju.
The Owls of the Black Star Society, whose identities had been verified, were imprisoned there.
Criminals who had disappeared during the Cheolwon Prison disappearance incident three years ago.
They had received the stigma of the Owl Faction and become members of the Black Star Society, trampling on countless lives—now they sat imprisoned in special restraint suits designed exclusively for Awakened Users.
“Damn it! Release this thing right now, you bastards!”
“I told you! We were forced to follow the Black Star Society!”
“We’re innocent!”
The captured Black Star Society members screamed at the guards.
“…Sigh.”
The guard watching them furrowed his brow and exhaled heavily.
“Innocent?”
He approached the man who had just shouted his innocence.
As he flipped through the thick file in his hands, his finger stopped at the section listing the man’s criminal record.
“Armed robbery three times, rape and murder twice, plus numerous other charges including theft and assault.”
“…That, that’s…”
“Innocent my ass, you scum.”
And that was merely his record before joining the Black Star Society.
Over the past three years under the Black Star Society, the horrific crimes he must have committed were beyond calculation—yet he claimed innocence.
“You’re all the same kind of bastards. Got it?”
The guard glared fiercely at the restrained Black Star Society members.
Only differences in degree.
Most of the criminals imprisoned in Cheolwon Prison carried similar criminal records.
For them to now claim they were forced to follow the Black Star Society, that they were innocent—it was infuriating.
“Keep talking and I’ll gag every last one of you. Understand?”
“….”
The guard swept his gaze across the now-silent prison and looked up at the clock on the wall.
‘Shift change is coming soon.’
Deep exhaustion shadowed his eyes as he stared at the clock.
Monitoring nearly two thousand criminals was no trivial task.
Especially now, with orders from the Guild Alliance to maintain the strictest surveillance possible.
As he stood there vacantly watching the clock tick by.
-Beeeeeeeeeep!!!!
A loud siren wailed throughout the entire prison.
“What, what is it?”
“What’s happening?”
The guards, who had been eagerly anticipating shift change, looked around with urgent expressions.
-Crash!
“The siren’s going off and you idiots are just standing there!”
“D-Director?”
Then the door burst open violently as a man rushed in.
Prison Director Choi Jong-chul.
He was the chief administrator of the prison currently holding the Black Star Society members captured at the Guild Alliance’s request.
“Mass escape in Block B! Move! Move it now!!”
Choi Jong-chul contorted his thick, caterpillar-like eyebrows as he bellowed.
“Yes, sir!”
“W-we’ll deploy immediately!”
Startled by the warden’s roar, the guards rushed out in a stampede.
“….”
Warden Choi Jong-chul watched the guards’ retreating figures as they bolted away, then slowly made his way into the prison interior.
The inside of the prison resembled a chicken coop.
Crammed into the cells were Black Star Society members bound in specialized restraint suits.
“Let’s see.”
Warden Choi Jong-chul took the thick file folder a guard was holding and flipped through it methodically.
“A total of 2,192 people.”
As the warden reviewed the criminal records of the captured Black Star Society members, a sinister smile crept across his lips.
“Time to start preparing.”
Screeeech.
Warden Choi Jong-chul dragged an enormous gas canister across the floor and brought it inside.
“Wh-what is this?”
“What are you trying to do?”
The Black Star Society members bound in restraint suits watched Warden Choi Jong-chul’s bizarre behavior with menacing expressions.
“What do you think?”
Thump.
Warden Choi Jong-chul sat down on the massive gas canister and licked his lips.
“Now that the hunt is over, shouldn’t we move on to the cooking?”
“━What?”
The Black Star Society members stared at the warden with expressions of utter bewilderment.
Warden Choi Jong-chul shrugged lightly, then turned the valve on the gas canister.
-Ssssshhhhh!!
Purple smoke began pouring from the canister, filling the prison interior.
“Cough, cough! Wh-what is this?!”
“P-poison gas?”
“Y-you insane bastard!!!”
The Black Star Society members bound in restraint suits glared at the warden in horror.
“Are you planning to kill everyone here?!”
“St-stop! You crazy son of a bitch!!! N-no, please stop! I’m begging you!!!”
The prison interior descended into chaos.
Warden Choi Jong-chul rose to his feet, surveying the wailing Black Star Society members.
“I’ve heard plenty of pleas to stop.”
“…What?”
“I’ve grown tired of hearing people beg me to stop, to spare them. Haven’t I?”
“….”
“Did I ever stop when I heard those words?”
“…That… that’s…”
The Black Star Society members’ faces drained of all color.
“Well, if it had stopped, I wouldn’t be here in the first place.”
Choi Jong-chul spread his palm wide and pressed it against his face.
Crack, crunch!
With the sound of bones twisting, Choi Jong-chul’s face contorted grotesquely.
His visage shifted like kneaded clay, reforming before their eyes.
And from within it…
“See? I told you we had something in common.”
Kwon O-jin’s face emerged, smiling brilliantly.
“I’ve never stopped either.”
Pop.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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