Not A Regressor - Chapter 207
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
I Am Not a Regressor Chapter 207
Interlude – A New Hope (4)
“The Heavenly Demon… is not human?”
If that were true.
Then what in the world was the Heavenly Demon’s true identity?
‘A Constellation?’
No.
If it were merely a being revered by the Black Stars, I could assume it was a Constellation of Polaris-tier like Vega.
But if it had actually ‘created’ the Black Stars, that changes everything entirely.
Even a Constellation cannot create another Constellation.
As far as I knew, there was only one being capable of creating Constellations.
‘A Titan.’
The primordial giant born at the dawn of creation.
The being that forged the world itself and created the Constellations who serve as its administrators.
A Titan was the closest thing to the image of a ‘Creator’ that one could imagine.
‘The Heavenly Demon is a Titan?’
If that were the case, then in my past life.
Had I killed a Titan and then stolen the name ‘Heavenly Demon’ from it?
“….”
“Kwon O-jin?”
I continued my thoughts without answering.
‘Something… feels off.’
The puzzle pieces fit together, yet the completed picture seemed grotesquely warped.
An unsettling sense of discord crept down my spine and spread throughout my entire body.
‘What is it? Where did I start thinking incorrectly?’
It felt like walking through a pitch-black night street devoid of a single star.
I could instinctively sense that something was wrong, but I couldn’t pinpoint what it was.
“Why do you look like that, Kwon O-jin?”
“Ah.”
I lifted my head from my thoughts.
Isabella was gazing at me with worried eyes.
“It’s nothing.”
I shook my head with a bitter smile.
Even if I racked my brain further, I doubted I would find the answer.
But one thing was certain.
‘The Heavenly Demon.’
Who that being truly was, what its real identity was.
I needed to find out.
“You don’t know where the Heavenly Demon is located?”
“I’ve heard it’s in the Demon Realm.”
“The Demon Realm?”
A land of demonic beasts, less than five percent of which had been revealed.
“Yes. They say the master of that world is the Heavenly Demon.”
“The master of the Demon Realm, then….”
At least several things had become certain now.
‘The Black Star, the Heavenly Demon, and the Black Star Society—they’re all connected to the Demon Realm.’
To learn more definitively about the relationships between them, going directly to the Demon Realm would have been ideal.
‘But it’s dangerous.’
There was far too much about the Demon Realm that remained unknown.
All I knew were rumors steeped in vague terror—whispers that humans dare not set foot in such a place.
Regardless, it wasn’t somewhere I could venture to right now.
‘I need to grow stronger.’
At minimum, I needed to reach nine stars.
I had to attain that realm where the body undergoes reconstruction and power surges dramatically upward.
“By the way, how many stars is Isabella at now?”
“Oh, me? I’m at ten stars.”
Ten stars.
“The same as Demian, then.”
“That’s right.”
Isabella nodded.
“Though even at the same ten stars, there’s quite a difference.”
“That’s true.”
I was well aware that as the star tier increased, the disparity between those at the same level grew wider.
“If you’d fought Demian one-on-one, how do you think it would have gone?”
“Hmm. I’m not sure.”
Isabella pressed her full lips together thoughtfully.
“If it were daytime, I think I would have lost. If it were night, I think I would have won.”
“The difference between day and night is that significant?”
“It’s a characteristic of the Leech Constellation stigma.”
“I see.”
It was certainly an inconvenient restriction.
“But… it doesn’t matter anymore.”
“It doesn’t matter?”
“Because I have you, don’t I?”
Isabella smiled seductively and gently drew my arm into her embrace.
Caught between her vast, ocean-like warmth, I could only flounder helplessly in an indescribable softness.
“What does my presence have to do with—”
“If I drink your blood, I can use my full power even during the day, just like at night.”
“If you drink my blood, you can use your full power?”
“Well… to be precise, it’s even more than that.”
Ordinarily, while her strength grew at night, the overwhelming urge to feed would surge uncontrollably, making it nearly impossible to maintain reason.
But drinking Kwon O-jin’s blood made that vampiric compulsion vanish entirely, allowing me to wield power beyond my normal capacity.
On top of that, the stigma’s mana deepened as well.
“With Kwon O-jin’s blood alone, I think I could reach around 10.5 stars, if not quite 11 stars.”
“Heh.”
Of course, no such stage as 10.5 stars actually existed.
But it meant I’d gained power in the upper echelon even among 10-star ranks.
‘Is this also thanks to Heukcheon’s influence?’
Since she said her strength grew at night, it seemed Heukcheon must be involved somehow.
In any case.
“I’ve gained a dependable ally.”
For her, the day-night constraints that had been a penalty were now gone, meaning I’d essentially acquired a force worth ten thousand soldiers.
“Mmm… just a dependable ally, is it?”
Isabella pouted her lips with a dissatisfied expression, then pressed herself even closer against Kwon O-jin.
She slipped her hand between his clothes and gently caressed the stigma inscribed above his left chest.
“If Kwon O-jin desired it, I could become far more than just a dependable ally.”
She whispered temptingly, breathing warmly against his ear.
As Kwon O-jin’s expression began to stiffen, Isabella smiled brightly and swiftly withdrew her hand from his clothes.
“Whenever you need my strength, just say the word. I’ll stake everything and fight for you.”
Isabella spoke with the solemn voice of a Christian crusader marching into holy war.
The intensity in her eyes—thick with emotion bordering on madness—made Kwon O-jin let out a strained laugh.
“You don’t need to stake everything.”
“No. My body, my heart, my very life—all of it belongs to you. Nothing else matters to me anymore except Kwon O-jin.”
“Uh….”
What is this?
This is a bit frightening.
“Because Kwon O-jin is my new hope… No, my only hope.”
As she said this, resting her head against him, Isabella seemed somehow precarious.
“So you don’t have any separate plans going forward?”
Kwon O-jin hastily changed the subject and asked.
The dangerous light in Isabella’s eyes faded, and her blue irises returned to their normal state.
“Well… our faction will need to lie low for a while, and the Colgrand Family has suffered such tremendous damage.”
Isabella, continuing her thoughts, smiled faintly and took Kwon O-jin’s hand.
“I want to help you fight the Black Star Society.”
“But you’re part of the Black Star Society yourself—is that alright?”
“Well, it’s only the name that’s the same. In reality, we’re practically a different organization.”
That much was true.
“Then should we start with the Cat faction? You said you had their contact information, right?”
“Ah, the Cat faction is fine.”
“Fine? What do you mean?”
“That faction doesn’t engage in the kind of ‘Black Star Society’ behavior that we do.”
I see.
So that’s what she meant.
“If the opportunity arises, I’ll introduce you to Kwon O-jin as well.”
“Got it.”
So setting aside the Cat faction.
That leaves only the Fly and the Snake.
“You said the Fly Constellation Faction was in South America, right?”
“That place… you can’t go there right now.”
Isabella shook her head with a stern expression.
“I’ve never met them myself, but the King of Flies is said to be one of the strongest Black Star Society executives. And his temperament is apparently quite twisted.”
“Even with your help, it wouldn’t be possible?”
“Yes.”
Isabella nodded with a grave expression.
“Understood. Then let’s go there later.”
If Isabella was saying so much about it, avoiding it for now was the right call.
‘And even if we went, we couldn’t find them right away anyway.’
With South America’s vast landmass, how could I locate the Fly Constellation Faction with just the information that they were somewhere there?
“For now, I need to focus on growing stronger.”
I’d grown faster than anyone could compare, but.
Considering the enemies I’d have to face ahead, this was woefully insufficient.
“I’ll help you, Kwon O-jin.”
Isabella pulled my hand toward her, her eyes gleaming with allure.
“Of course… I can help with other things too.”
She slowly drew the hand toward her chest.
Just before it sank into the vast sea.
Bang!
“What, you’re going to spend all day organizing luggage?”
The door burst open and Ha-eun entered.
Ha-eun glared harshly at Isabella, who was clinging tightly to me.
“She said she was organizing luggage, but like a leech, she couldn’t resist and is already latching onto O-jin.”
“….”
I thought sparks might fly between them again.
“I’m sorry, Ha-eun. You must be tired from cleaning up alone?”
“Huh?”
“Please, sit here.”
Isabella quickly stood up, grabbed Ha-eun’s arm, and sat her down on the bed.
“Now that I look at you, Ha-eun….”
“What, what is it?”
“You’re truly so beautiful. This crimson hair of yours… and oh my, your skin is so lovely too?”
“Ugh!”
Ha-eun tensed like a cat caught by the tail, watching Isabella suddenly caress her cheek.
“What, what are you doing! Why so sudden?”
“Hehe. I just want to get closer to you, Ha-eun. After all, we’ll be living under the same roof from now on, won’t we?”
Isabella settled beside Ha-eun with a gentle smile, pressing close against her.
“Oh, by the way, how old are you, Ha-eun?”
“Me? I’m thirty—no, wait, twenty-nine.”
Ha-eun added the last part in a very small voice.
“Ah, so you’re three years older than me. Would it be alright if I called you Elder Sister?”
“Huh? Um, Elder Sister?”
“…Is that not okay?”
“Well, it’s fine, but…”
Ha-eun wore a bewildered expression at Isabella’s sudden shift in demeanor.
Isabella was so delighted she practically cheered, then planted a light kiss on Ha-eun’s cheek.
“Thank you, Elder Sister Ha-eun!”
“Um, uh, yeah. S-sure.”
“Oh, by the way, Elder Sister, what lotion do you use?”
“Me? I don’t really use lotion separately…”
“What? You don’t use lotion?”
Isabella raised her eyebrows as if Ha-eun had said something absurd.
She rummaged through her trunk and pulled out cosmetics that looked expensive at a glance.
“This is a product from a brand called Cosme Decorté. Please try using it, Elder Sister.”
“Con-consommé teriyaki?”
“Cosme Decorté. It’s a brand I use frequently.”
Ha-eun accepted the cosmetics from Isabella with a dazed expression. “How much is one bottle?”
“How much is one bottle?”
“Well, I’m not entirely sure, but it’s probably around 3,000 euros.”
“Let me see, 3,000 euros is…”
About 4 million won.
“Are you serious? These highway robbers are selling a single bottle of lotion for 4 million won?”
Ha-eun searched the exchange rate on her smartphone and opened her mouth in shock.
“Hehe. This is nothing. Here, I’ll give you a mist and a face mask too. Oh, and Elder Sister, you smoke, don’t you?”
“Um, well, yes I do…”
“Just wait a moment.”
Beep beep beep.
Isabella pulled out her smartphone and made a call to someone.
“Ah, Roberto? You mentioned you were collecting Cuban cigars before, right? Can you bring all of them to the house right now? My goodness, why does that matter? Bring every single one without exception. Hmm? You said it’s a collection you gathered with difficulty? Hmm. When did our Roberto become so bold as to talk back to me like that?”
Isabella’s eyes gleamed coldly.
“Bring them all. Right now.”
…Roberto sure has it rough.
“Hehe. Just wait a moment, and I’ll bring you some Cuban cigars as well.”
Ha-eun’s expression grew flustered as the barrage of gifts continued, her feet shuffling nervously.
“Is it… is it really okay to accept all of this?”
“Of course. You’re one of us now, after all.”
“R, right?”
Ha-eun swallowed hard, her gaze fixed on the cosmetics.
Though she had shown no interest in makeup until now, it became clear she was not without desire—her eyes burned with intensity as she beheld the luxurious products before her.
“Here, everything in this collection… it’s all for you, Elder Sister.”
Isabella whispered in a honeyed voice, extending the expensive cosmetics she had retrieved from the trunk toward Ha-eun.
“….”
A memory suddenly flickered through my mind as I observed the scene.
-I’m fine with being second, even.
Surely not.
…She couldn’t have meant it sincerely, could she?
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————