Not A Regressor - Chapter 145

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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 145
A Man (1)
To my beloved younger sister.
I don’t know if this letter will ever reach you… but I’ll write it anyway.
First, I want to say I’m sorry.
In the name of protecting you, I’ve committed acts that no human should ever commit.
I won’t ask for your forgiveness. I know what I’ve done is unforgivable.
But I don’t regret it.
Even if I could go back to the past… I think I would make the same choice.
I resolved to do anything to protect you.
By the time you receive this letter, I’ll likely be gone from this world, but I’ll shamelessly ask for one thing.
Live happily.
Make many good friends, find a lover, get married.
Haha, I never thought the day would come when I’d say something like this.
But still… I hope you’ll live with a smile on your face.
I’m sorry for being such a pathetic older brother.
I’m sorry.
I’m sorry.
I’m sorry.
* * *
Based on the information Yuji provided, the assault operation on the Digestive Facilities scattered across Osaka and Kyoto began.
Each branch housed between fifty to two hundred Black Star Society members and mid-tier or higher officials, making the raids far from easy.
But with Ha-eun, Kwon O-jin, and Sakaki’s efforts, the Digestive Facilities fell one after another.
Among them, Ha-eun’s performance was particularly brilliant.
With overwhelming firepower, she evaporated the water spray created by the awakeners of the Lyra Constellation, leaving the Black Star Society members fleeing in terror.
By the time they had destroyed three Digestive Facilities.
“Ugh, I’m exhausted, seriously!”
Ha-eun returned to Kuroshi’s hideout and collapsed, her sweat-soaked shirt fluttering around her.
It took only three days to destroy three of the five Digestive Facilities that Yuji had revealed.
Fighting massive battles with hundreds of people clashing almost daily had drained her stamina, despite her superhuman physique.
Especially for her, who had only recently reached the ninth star and wasn’t yet accustomed to her newfound power.
“Sigh, this is really difficult to manage.”
Ha-eun looked down at her chest with frustration.
“…Your chest is difficult to manage?”
Certainly.
Her chest was voluminous enough to significantly hinder vigorous movement.
To be honest, there were times during combat when I’d find myself staring blankly at it without thinking.
‘I can’t help it.’
I couldn’t just sit idle while my older sister was struggling like this.
“Let me hold it in a way that’s easier for you to….”
“What nonsense are you spouting, you lunatic?”
Ha-eun furrowed her brow and struck Kwon O-jin’s head.
Kwon O-jin burst into giggles and asked.
“What’s so difficult to handle?”
“This dragon’s heart. It’s seriously a pain to control.”
“Isn’t it just because you recently became a 9-star?”
“That’s part of it, but….”
Ha-eun sighed and shook her head.
“Honestly, I think the bigger issue is that I’m not truly a proper 9-star yet.”
She had ascended to 9-star upon accepting the dragon’s heart.
But truthfully, her actual level was closer to 8-star.
‘After all, my sister only became 8-star a few months ago.’
Moreover, her ascension to 9-star hadn’t come through any profound enlightenment or grueling cultivation.
She had simply stumbled into 9-star by accepting the extraordinary power of the dragon’s heart into her body.
To use an analogy, she was like a lottery winner who suddenly possessed billions in wealth, not an astute entrepreneur who had earned it through shrewd business acumen.
Even comparing her to Cheon Do-yoon, who was also a 9-star, the gap between them was glaringly obvious.
“You’ll adapt to the power gradually.”
“Yeah, I’m already trying various methods to get used to it.”
Ha-eun pulled out a cigarette and spoke.
“Like using this to solidify the image of ‘fire.'”
“Ah, so that’s why you’ve been pulling out a cigarette before every fight lately.”
The most crucial aspect of wielding a stigma is precisely manifesting the image it carries within one’s mind.
For instance, with the Lyra Constellation stigma, if you imagine the spear as a lightning rod while gathering divine electricity, it accumulates far more effectively.
Still, using a cigarette to solidify the image of fire was unexpected.
I understood the logic, but I couldn’t help wondering if it actually worked.
“Yeah, before this I could handle stigmas just fine without anything like that, but after becoming 9-star, my mana flows much more smoothly when I have this.”
“I thought my sister had suddenly come down with a case of middle school syndrome out of nowhere.”
“Middle school syndrome? What are you talking about?”
“Well, you’re probably too old to catch that….”
Crack!
Ha-eun’s fist, swung like lightning, drove into Kwon O-jin’s solar plexus.
“Ugh.”
A suffocating pain wracked his body.
Ha-eun grinned widely and grabbed Kwon O-jin’s hair.
“What did you say about my age?”
“An age that radiates the fresh, vibrant charm of new leaves blooming in spring, ma’am.”
“That’s right, that’s right. Our O-jin is so well-behaved.”
She smiled contentedly and gently stroked the hair she had been gripping.
“Alright, if we’re done here, let’s head inside. We’ve got a brutal fight ahead of us tomorrow.”
“Actually, there won’t be any fighting tomorrow.”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
“Such things exist. Anyway, go rest first, sister.”
“Mm. Well, fine. I’ll wash up and take a nap until dinner, so call me if anything comes up.”
Ha-eun headed toward the bathhouse in the main building.
Watching her receding figure, I turned to search for Sakaki.
Sakaki and the Kuroshi organization members were carrying corpses by the armful, moving them outside.
“How is the situation?”
“As you can see… it’s utterly grim.”
Sakaki set down the corpse of a Black Star Society member he’d been carrying and released a heavy sigh.
“No matter how heinous these bastards were… seeing them die in such numbers weighs on the heart.”
He gazed with bitter eyes at the mountain of Black Star Society corpses piled before us.
Black Star Society members lay dead with eyes rolled back white, white foam spilling from their mouths.
Among them, I could make out Mika’s form—the one who’d picked a fight with Ha-eun before getting thoroughly beaten and knocked unconscious.
“Is it the seahorse toxin?”
“Likely.”
Sakaki nodded with a stern expression.
During the operation to eliminate the Black Star Society branch, we’d confined captured members to the Annex Building, and after three days without access to “water,” deaths began occurring among them in rapid succession.
Of course, we’d found several bottles of the “water” they’d mentioned in a safe hidden within the Digestive Facility, along with some from higher-ranked Black Star Society members.
But the quantity was woefully insufficient compared to the number of captives, so we couldn’t save all the dying members.
‘There was no reason to save them anyway.’
Most of the captured Black Star Society members were criminals who’d committed atrocities just as vile as the Owl Faction.
And even if they weren’t criminals by origin, considering what they’d done, there was no justification for using our scarce “water” to keep them alive.
“That bastard Yuji said something earlier—that Sosuke would’ve started moving by now.”
Sakaki clenched his fist, massive as a pot lid, radiating fierce intensity.
“Probably tonight… we’ll finally get to fight him.”
“That seems likely.”
I stared blankly at the mountain of Lyra Constellation awakeners’ corpses before speaking.
“Have you heard which of the two remaining locations Sosuke is at?”
Of the Digestive Facilities Yuji had informed us about, two remained.
One was located in Osaka, the other in Kyoto.
“Since the Digestive Facility in Osaka is supposedly much larger in scale, he said it’s probably there.”
“I see.”
“Oh, by the way, could you deliver this to Yuji?”
Sakaki produced a small glass vial from his pocket.
Clear liquid sloshed inside the vial.
“That bastard’s got only one day left on the ‘poison’ deadline.”
“You’re saving Yuji?”
“I gave it considerable thought… but yes, that’s what I’ve decided.”
Watching Sakaki nod with a serious expression, I burst into quiet laughter.
“…Is this something to laugh about?”
Sakaki’s eyes narrowed in displeasure.
“Ah, my apologies. Then I shall deliver this water myself.”
Taking the glass bottle from Sakaki, Kwon O-jin playfully spun it in circles across his palm.
“Kwon O-jin, you….”
“Sakaki. So you’re planning to raid the Digestive Facility in Osaka this evening, correct?”
“…That’s right.”
“I have something I’d like to discuss regarding that plan.”
“What is it?”
Sakaki tilted his head, studying Kwon O-jin.
“It might be a lengthy conversation, so let’s step inside and talk.”
Kwon O-jin turned and headed toward the main building.
* * *
That evening.
As the crimson sunset that had set the sky ablaze faded, and a curtain of darkness draped across the heavens.
Kwon O-jin slowly made his way toward the Annex Building.
Humming a tune as he walked, a glass bottle filled with clear water was clutched in his hand.
-Click.
The basement of the Annex Building.
Beneath the dim lighting, a young man bound to a chair came into view.
Gaunt and frail in appearance, with a fragile demeanor.
Kwon O-jin dragged over a chair and sat before the youth.
“You are…?”
Yuji, who had been hanging his head as if unconscious, looked up at Kwon O-jin seated before him.
“I’m Kwon O-jin.”
“Weren’t you supposed to go to Osaka?”
“I decided to sit this one out.”
Kwon O-jin pulled a glass bottle from his pocket.
Yuji’s eyes widened at the sight of the bottle filled with clear water.
“That’s….”
“Sakaki asked me to give this to you.”
“….”
Yuji’s mouth clamped shut as if words had abandoned him, and soon tears began streaming down his face.
“Thank you… thank you… *sob*.”
Regardless of the circumstances, I had ultimately played a part in capturing and killing those dear to Sakaki, yet he showed me such mercy.
I couldn’t help but shed tears born of both guilt and gratitude.
“You mentioned your younger sister was kidnapped by the Black Star Society, correct?”
“…Yes, that’s right.”
“I too have experienced someone precious being taken from me, so I understand that feeling well.”
Kwon O-jin leaned back against the chair’s backrest as he continued.
“Your vision turns white, and it feels as though you might lose your mind at any moment.”
“…Kwon O-jin.”
Yuji stared at me with trembling eyes.
“Yes… I felt the same way.”
“Really?”
“Yes?”
“Did you truly feel that way?”
I recalled the memory of when Ha-eun was kidnapped.
The memory of my breath catching in my throat, my entire body trembling violently.
Nothing else occupied my mind except saving her.
“Then why did you do it?”
I twirled the glass bottle in my hand playfully.
Yuji regarded me with an awkward expression.
“I’m not sure what you mean….”
“Do you remember when you first said you had one last request?”
I let out a soft laugh as I asked.
The words Yuji had cried out desperately while kneeling on the ground.
-Kurosaki Sosuke… that monster… that demon in human form… please… please kill him!
That final plea, uttered in sheer terror.
“Don’t you find that strange?”
“What exactly…?”
“If I were in your position, I would have asked me to save my younger sister, not to kill Kurosaki Sosuke.”
“….”
Yuji’s pupils trembled.
He shook his head while forcing an awkward smile.
“Once Kurosaki Sosuke dies, the Seahorse Poison will naturally disappear.”
“Is that so? That’s strange.”
I twisted my lips into a sinister grin.
“Didn’t you say Kurosaki would have an antidote?”
“…!”
“If the poison disappears naturally when Kurosaki dies, there would be no need to obtain a separate antidote, would there?”
“That’s… well….”
I removed the cap from the glass bottle in my hand.
A clear sound echoed through the Basement shrouded in dim lighting.
-Hey, by the way, Kwon O-jin, don’t you do that? You know, making people do the opposite of what they said.
-There’s no need to do that this time.
A conversation I’d had with Ha-eun not long ago came to mind.
That’s right.
What was the point in confirming whether his lies were lies or not?
I already knew from the beginning.
That they were lies.
“Right? Even you have to admit it’s a bit strange, don’t you?”
Kwon O-jin poured the water from the glass bottle onto the floor.
“Kurosaki Sosuke.”
Toward Kurosaki Sosuke, whose eyes had turned cold and piercing as he glared at me, I hurled the empty glass bottle.

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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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