Not A Regressor - Chapter 161

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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 161
Cygnus Constellation (2)
“Long time no see, Vega! How have you been?”
A boy dressed in garishly ornate clothing that bordered on grotesque.
Deneb waved his hand toward Vega with a bright smile.
Behind Deneb, who cheerfully waved his hand, a young man followed like a shadow.
A young man with the same blue-black hair as Deneb.
A sword hung at the waist of the young man, whose hair—grown down to his waist—was tied back in a ponytail.
‘That person…’
Kwon O-jin knew this young man well.
One of Deneb’s twelve apostles and a member of the Seven Stars.
Allen Orca of the Martial Zenith Star.
The British awakener is said to possess such extraordinary swordsmanship that he is known more by the title “Sword Saint” than by his designation as the Martial Zenith Star.
[What brings you here?]
Vega narrowed her eyes and glared at Deneb.
Deneb approached her with a cheerful smile.
“What brings me? I was curious to see how an old friend was doing, so I came by!”
[Old friend… I have no recollection of building such a bond with you.]
“Haha! Is that so? Well, you’ve always been the type to barely speak with anyone except Spica, so I suppose that makes sense.”
Deneb shrugged his shoulders with a carefree air.
His gaze then turned toward Kwon O-jin.
“So you’re the famous Noe-rang? The first apostle of our great and mighty Lyra Constellation.”
He whistled as he gazed at Kwon O-jin, who was resting his head on Vega’s thigh.
“You two look so close together. It’s almost like watching a mother and her child.”
“….”
Kwon O-jin swallowed a groan and sat up.
Of all times, he had to show up while he was resting his head on Vega’s lap.
He hadn’t done anything wrong, yet he felt inexplicably awkward.
[I asked what brought you here.]
Vega asked again in a coldly measured tone.
Deneb burst into a mischievous laugh and answered.
“Come on, don’t be so cold. I just came to see what kind of person the awakener you chose as your first apostle is.”
[Then your inspection is complete. You may leave now.]
Vega issued a dismissal with an icy demeanor.
“Don’t be like that. I could stay a bit longer, couldn’t I? It’s not like I’m here to cause trouble.”
Deneb shrugged his shoulders brazenly despite Vega’s dismissal.
Vega’s brow furrowed slightly.
“Hmm. So you’ve been the Lyra Constellation’s apostle for about a year now?”
Deneb examined Kwon O-jin with an intrigued expression, arms crossed.
As he scrutinized Kwon O-jin carefully, a smirk escaped his lips.
“He’s grown remarkably fast for just a year. Though, of course….”
A sharp sneer played at the corners of his mouth.
“Compared to my children, he’s nothing special.”
He draped an arm around Allen Orca’s waist with unmistakable pride.
It wasn’t baseless arrogance or mockery.
Deneb’s Twelve Apostles.
In terms of influence alone, they were the most exceptional awakeners in the world.
‘The biggest factor is that three of the Seven Stars are actually Deneb’s apostles.’
The seven strongest awakeners in the world.
Three of them bore the stigma of Cygnus Constellation, Deneb’s own constellation.
Considering the other four each bore stigmas from different constellations.
Their existence wielded an influence so extraordinary it transcended normal classification.
‘The other nine apostles were said to be at least seven-star rank as well.’
Moreover, they bore the stigma of the “Polaris”—like Kwon O-jin—not some ordinary constellation.
One could easily understand just how absurd the power of Polaris’s stigma was by merely considering the Lyra Constellation’s stigma.
[Ho. Are you suggesting your child surpasses this one’s offspring?]
“I’m not suggesting it—it’s simply the truth that he’s superior.”
Vega and Deneb’s gazes crossed.
Kugugugugun!
With merely a subtle release of power, the entire colossal Divine Temple trembled as though an earthquake had struck.
“Ugh….”
A battle of wills between two Polaris bearers.
Kwon O-jin’s face contorted under the overwhelming aura emanating from the two transcendents.
‘Insane.’
The oppressive force made it nearly impossible to breathe.
Just as his body felt crushed beneath that suffocating pressure.
“Deneb.”
A voice cold as a winter blizzard.
Blue-black hair swayed smoothly as Allen Orca stepped forward.
Completely unbothered by the transcendent aura pressing down on the surroundings.
He gently placed a hand on Deneb’s shoulder.
“Calm yourself.”
“Mm. Well, if our Allen says so.”
Deneb smiled broadly and nodded.
The oppressive aura vanished like melting snow.
“Forgive my rudeness, Goddess of the Lyra Constellation.”
Allen Orca bowed with movements as precise as if measured by a ruler.
His blue-black hair, grown down to his waist, flowed smoothly along his body, obscuring features handsome enough to rival Lee Woo-hyuk’s.
[That will suffice.]
“However.”
I lifted my head slightly, casting a gaze as cold and sharp as frost toward her.
“I hope you understand that the Goddess’s attitude toward Deneb was equally discourteous.”
A rhetorical style that acknowledged fault while simultaneously cutting through the other’s mistakes with surgical precision.
Combined with a voice devoid of emotional inflection, it made him seem even more mechanical.
“I see. Perhaps you misunderstand the meaning of the word ‘discourteous’?”
[My child?]
Kwon O-jin stepped forward.
He couldn’t simply stand by and listen while Deneb openly provoked Vega right before his eyes.
“What do you mean?”
“This is the Divine Temple of Vega. If we had met outside, that would be one thing, but as the master of this place, doesn’t she have the natural right to issue a banishment order to unwelcome guests?”
“…That is—”
Allen Orca’s words trailed off.
Deneb burst into a giggling laugh and stuck out his tongue.
“This is Vega’s Divine Temple, you say?”
He spun around in a full circle before continuing.
“I wonder… how much longer it will remain Vega’s Divine Temple?”
“…What do you mean?”
Kwon O-jin’s eyes narrowed.
How much longer could it remain Vega’s Divine Temple?
It wasn’t as if a lease contract had expired—could the ownership of the Divine Temple actually change hands?
I turned to look at Vega with questioning eyes.
[….]
Vega kept her lips firmly sealed, glaring intently at Deneb.
“Vega, you know this too, don’t you? Right?”
[…Your tongue remains as careless as ever.]
What?
Was it really a lease?
“Vega. What’s going on?”
“Vega became bound by the Divine Law this time, didn’t she?”
Deneb hummed a little tune, speaking with evident delight.
“A Constellation bound by the Divine Law loses its ‘divinity.’ Especially for a Constellation with only a single Apostle and limited means to maintain its ‘divinity,’ the effect is even more pronounced.”
A sinister smile spread across his face.
Kwon O-jin’s brow furrowed.
He understood well what the Constellations meant when they spoke of ‘divinity.’
‘Not all Constellations are of equal rank.’
The three Constellations with the highest divinity were Polaris.
Below them existed the Constellations of the Zodiac Twelve Palaces, and beneath those were Constellations of a lower tier.
Even in the Star Palace, the height at which a Divine Temple was located varied according to a Constellation’s ‘divinity.’
Constellations with temples in lower positions possessed lower divinity, while those with temples in higher positions possessed correspondingly higher divinity.
‘The method by which Constellations could elevate their divinity was.’
Granting stigmas to humans capable of accepting them, thereby increasing the constellation’s power and influence.
To use an analogy, it’s similar to an orchard.
I select humans—fertile ground for nurturing trees—and plant ‘seeds’ in the form of stigmas.
Those seeds grow vigorously into trees, and as they do, the constellation’s divinity rises accordingly.
Currently, Vega’s orchard contains only a single tree.
Though it’s growing at a steep rate, that number leaves me hopelessly outmatched by the other constellations.
“Besides, the hierarchies you call Polaris and Zodiac Twelve Palaces are merely rankings established before Awakeners even appeared, aren’t they?”
Deneb continued speaking carelessly, his laughter tinkling like wind chimes.
“Times have changed, so it’s about time these stuffy hierarchies changed too.”
[What are you trying to say?]
“Vega. Why don’t you step down from ‘Polaris’ now? Haha! Zodiac Thirteen Palaces—that has a nice ring to it!”
Deneb clapped his hands together, laughing, while Vega regarded him with an icy glare.
‘What nonsense is this.’
Kwon O-jin’s expression twisted involuntarily.
Demoting Vega from Polaris and placing her in the Zodiac Twelve Palaces?
[You still possess enough divinity to maintain Polaris’s rank. Speak no further foolishness.]
“Is that so? From what I hear, it’s pretty precarious.”
Deneb laughed with a sharp edge.
“How about this then, Vega. Want to make a wager with me?”
[A wager?]
“Yeah. If you win the bet, I’ll give you a portion of my divinity so you won’t lose your rank.”
[….]
Vega’s lips pressed firmly shut as her eyes narrowed to slits.
[What sort of wager are you proposing?]
“When constellations speak of wagers, there’s only one kind, isn’t there?”
He let out a giggling laugh and casually shifted his gaze toward Kwon O-jin.
“Having the apostles we’ve granted stigmas to face off against each other.”
[That is unacceptable.]
Vega shook her head without hesitation.
Though Kwon O-jin had achieved remarkably rapid growth, he was still woefully inadequate to face Deneb’s Twelve Apostles.
“Oh, I’m obviously not thinking of having him fight Allen. I’m just thinking of having our youngest ones go at it.”
Though he called them his ‘youngest,’ Deneb’s Twelve Apostles were a different matter entirely.
Even the weakest-starred Awakener among Deneb’s Twelve Apostles had reached Seven Stars, the same rank as Kwon O-jin.
“Or are you perhaps afraid? Afraid that my children will utterly crush your one and only apostle, the great Lyra Constellation.”
[Silence your tongue!]
“Wait a moment, Vega.”
Kwon O-jin stepped forward, restraining Vega as her energy began to explode outward.
“Could you explain the specifics of this wager you mention?”
[My, my child!]
“Hmm, unlike that cowardly goddess, you seem rather interested.”
Deneb continued with a faint smirk playing at his lips.
“Well, the rules are simple. One-on-one duels—beat three of my children and you win.”
One-on-one against three people?
[How petty, Deneb!]
“It’s not petty at all. Vega, the reason you haven’t created many apostles is because you couldn’t find humans capable of accepting the stigma of the Lyra Constellation, right?”
Deneb shrugged with a cunning expression.
“While the strength of apostles matters, numbers are also a crucial element in forming ‘divinity,’ so I can’t end this with just one duel. Honestly, asking you to only beat three is already a huge concession on my part.”
He wasn’t wrong.
In war, you wouldn’t call an enemy petty simply because they commanded ten times your forces.
‘If I win the duel, Deneb will hand over part of his divinity to Vega.’
My gaze shifted toward Vega.
She claimed she still maintained sufficient divinity to uphold her position as Polaris, but the fact that she couldn’t properly refute Deneb’s words made it clear she wasn’t in as comfortable a state as she pretended.
After all, her divinity had diminished because she’d expended power in her previous battle with Cheon Do-yoon.
‘To some extent, that’s my responsibility.’
If that were the case.
Then restoring Vega’s lost divinity would be my role as well.
‘And.’
My eyes narrowed.
My gaze fixed on the jewels adorning Deneb’s body.
They weren’t mere luxuries like diamonds or sapphires that glittered with nothing but superficial value.
Each one was a premium-grade stigma stone.
‘No being possesses stigma stones and stigma artifacts as valuable as Deneb’s.’
Three of his Twelve Apostles alone belonged to the Seven Stars.
The treasures Deneb possessed were immeasurable in quantity.
‘Then.’
The corners of my mouth lifted.
“In that case, how about this: if I defeat three of your apostles, you grant me the divinity you promised.”
“Hihihi! Now that’s the spirit!!”
Deneb clapped his hands in delight.
[Did I not say this was impossible!]
“It’s fine, Vega.”
I turned my attention to Deneb, leaving Vega behind as she tried to stop me with a pallid expression.
“However, I’d like to request that the duel take place one month from now.”
“Hmm. You think something will change in just one month?”
Deneb, who had been sneering, nodded his head.
“Fine. I’ll grant you that much.”
“Thank you.”
“But you accepted the duel without even hearing what you’ll have to give me if you lose. Do you know what I’ll demand?”
Deneb asked with a playful expression.
“No need to tell me in advance.”
“…Why?”
Kwon O-jin gazed at the Cygnus Constellation and broke into a grin.
“Because I’m going to win.”
“….”
Deneb’s expression, which had been wearing a cunning smile, twisted ever so slightly.

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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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