Not A Regressor - Chapter 216

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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 216
The Head of the Snake (9)
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”
Thud! Thud! Thud!
A woman repeatedly struck her forehead against the floor with such force that it seemed the ground itself might crack beneath the assault.
Kwon O-jin narrowed his eyes slightly as he gazed down at Cassia, whose trembling form continued to hammer her forehead against the stone floor, and he swallowed hard.
‘The Snake Zodiac Queen follows the Heavenly Demon with obsessive devotion, or so I was told.’
If that were true.
Then she truly believed him to be the Heavenly Demon.
‘Why?’
His past self might have warranted such reverence, but.
In his current state, he had neither accumulated the power nor demonstrated the deeds befitting such a grandiose title as the Heavenly Demon.
According to Isabella, the Heavenly Demon was a transcendent being who had given birth to the Black Star Constellation itself.
She had witnessed him nearly defeated moments ago by a Holy Spirit who had inherited a fragment of the Black Star’s essence—so how could she harbor such an absurd misconception?
‘Could it be.’
Kwon O-jin placed his hand over his left chest.
The Night Sky slumbering beneath the thin fabric of his garment.
Had she mistaken him for the Heavenly Demon upon seeing Heukcheon?
‘No, that doesn’t make sense either.’
If she had mistaken him for the Heavenly Demon because of Heukcheon.
Then the ‘Heavenly Demon’ who had birthed the Black Star would possess Heukcheon just as he did.
‘Then… there were two Heukcheons, not one?’
What in the world was happening here?
Kwon O-jin bit his lip gently as his mind spiraled through unanswerable questions.
Could it be that his Heukcheon was merely half of something greater, with the other half belonging to the true Heavenly Demon?
Could he himself be some kind of avatar of the Heavenly Demon?
Could it be that in his past life, it was not he who destroyed the world, but the true Heavenly Demon?
‘No.’
Kwon O-jin shook his head.
Any speculation at this stage was nothing more than baseless conjecture without a shred of evidence.
‘Stop thinking.’
In such circumstances, indulging in unfounded speculation often led one to accept the most ‘plausible’ theory as absolute truth.
Reasoning without proper foundation could transform into conviction, and one could become trapped within that conviction, blinding oneself to other possibilities—a pattern he had witnessed countless times throughout his life.
‘What matters now is something else entirely.’
Kwon O-jin’s gaze fixed upon Cassia, who remained prostrate with her head bowed.
While he had been lost in contemplation, she had continued to strike her forehead against the floor without pause.
‘In any case, she believes me to be the Heavenly Demon.’
A quiet laugh escaped Kwon O-jin’s lips.
The memory of his first meeting with Vega surfaced in his mind.
“Raise your head.”
I gazed down coldly at the Snake Zodiac Queen, who lay flat on the ground with her head bowed, and spoke in a blunt tone.
“Yes, Heavenly Demon.”
Cassia, who had been driving her forehead into the earth like a hammer striking a nail, lifted her head.
Despite the brutal force with which she’d struck her head, her pristine forehead bore not a single mark.
“Ah, Heavenly Demon….”
Cassia trembled as our eyes met.
The emotion gleaming in those emerald eyes was neither affection nor loyalty.
It was a fanaticism so boundless it defied comprehension.
That was it.
She gazed up at me with the reverent awe one might reserve for a ‘god’.
“How did you find me?”
“I first discovered traces of you at the Harbor.”
The Harbor.
A short exclamation escaped my lips.
‘The Living Armor.’
Had Heukcheon’s aura leaked out while I was disposing of the demonic beast she’d created?
“At first, I could not be certain. But now… now I understand.”
Cassia crawled toward me on her knees, moving across the floor.
“You are truly… the Heavenly Demon I have been desperately seeking.”
With a radiant smile on her lips, she pressed her mouth against the top of my shoe.
I felt the soft sensation through the shoe and swallowed hard.
Cold sweat trickled down my spine.
‘What the hell.’
The situation was similar to what happened with Vega, but—
The difficulty level was entirely different.
‘Something’s off about her mind.’
I’d heard the rumors about her being unhinged, but I never imagined it would be to this extent.
In any case, staying silent felt far too awkward and uncomfortable.
I looked down at Cassia, who continued to press her lips against my shoe, and spoke in a cold voice.
“Who gave you permission to kiss my shoe without my command?”
“Ah, I-I’m sorry!”
Cassia’s head snapped up as she assumed a kneeling position.
She gnawed at her nails with an expression of extreme anxiety.
She looked like a military clerk who’d accidentally fed classified documents into a shredder.
‘Did I come across too harshly?’
I swallowed hard as I watched Cassia, whose anxiety seemed ready to burst at any moment.
Now she followed me, calling out “Heavenly Demon, Heavenly Demon,” but—
She was far more aware than I was that she possessed several times my strength.
‘I need to do something.’
I opened my mouth, feeling as though I were defusing a bomb that could detonate at any second.
“Wake up.”
“Y-yes!”
Cassia sprang to her feet.
Despite her delicate frame, she wasn’t particularly short.
I extended my hand toward Cassia slowly.
“Huh!”
Did she think I was about to strike her cheek? Cassia squeezed her eyes shut.
I brushed away the dirt clinging to her forehead with my hand.
“…Oh.”
“Stay still.”
After clearing the dirt from her forehead, I wiped away the dust clinging to her knees as well.
“Ah… the Heavenly Demon is… touching this lowly servant’s body….”
Cassia trembled with an expression of overwhelming gratitude.
She immediately dropped to her knees and brought her forehead down to the ground with a loud thud.
“Y-your grace is immeasurable!”
“….”
No.
I just cleaned her, and now she’s doing this?
“…Get up.”
“Yes!”
Cassia sprang up, her emerald eyes gleaming as she gazed at me.
Her eyes brimmed with anticipation.
This time, I continued without brushing away any dirt.
“You haven’t forgotten what our purpose is, have you?”
“Of course not, Heavenly Demon.”
Is that so?
I had no idea.
“Tell me.”
“To devour every star arrogantly floating in that night sky and turn it into a black void. That is… your grand ambition, Heavenly Demon.”
I see.
I’m only learning this now.
‘Well, I suppose I did hear it before.’
When I first heard those words, I thought they were just needlessly elaborate nonsense.
Now I could finally understand their meaning.
‘So it meant devouring all the Constellations.’
If the Heavenly Demon truly possessed Heukcheon like I did, I could understand why such a goal was set.
The pleasure and exhilaration I felt when absorbing a fragment of a Constellation’s soul was more intense than anything I had ever experienced.
‘In other words, the Heavenly Demon’s goal is to use the Black Star Society to devour all the Constellations.’
My eyes narrowed.
For someone with such a grand objective, I had never seen anyone from the Black Star Society factions I’d faced so far willing to fight the Constellations.
‘Fighting a Constellation itself is absurd, but still.’
If the Heavenly Demon’s goal in creating the Black Star Society was to fight the Constellations, wouldn’t it be strange for the factions to be torn apart like this, each pursuing different objectives and agendas?
Kwon O-jin turned to face Cassia, his voice cold and cutting.
“For someone who claims to understand the purpose so well, I see precious little action to back it up.”
“That, well…!”
“Was your loyalty merely words?”
“N-no, it wasn’t!”
Cassia shook her head, her face drained of color.
“During the time the Heavenly Demon was absent… those who dared to doubt the Heavenly Demon’s existence began to multiply. Some even had the audacity to call themselves the Heavenly Demon.”
She must be referring to Huan Sukothai.
“To restore the fractured factions to their rightful purpose, I personally eliminated those who defied the Heavenly Demon’s will.”
Cassia’s eyes gleamed like a dog seeking praise.
“Of course, it’s not entirely finished yet. There’s the Cat and the Fly, and… oh, the Leech as well.”
She smiled with an eerie coldness, a thick murderous intent radiating from her.
“Fear not, my god. Soon I shall present the severed heads of those heretics who have forgotten the Heavenly Demon’s will.”
“Wait.”
Stop, you mad woman.
“Spare the Leech.”
“…Pardon?”
“That one is at my side now, assisting me.”
“Ah.”
Cassia’s eyes widened in surprise.
“…Is that so?”
Her voice grew dejected.
‘Now I’m beginning to understand the situation.’
So the Heavenly Demon had indeed founded the Black Star Society, but for some reason had vanished, leaving the organization in its current fractured state.
‘Which means the Snake Zodiac Queen doesn’t know the Heavenly Demon’s whereabouts either.’
Had she known, she wouldn’t have mistaken me for the Heavenly Demon.
‘If I can use this situation to my advantage…’
Perhaps.
I might be able to bring Cassia to my side, just as I did with Isabella.
“I shall obey the Heavenly Demon’s will.”
Cassia bowed deeply before Kwon O-jin.
Though her expression suggested she wasn’t entirely pleased.
Still, it seemed she would follow without question if it was the Heavenly Demon’s command.
‘With the right approach, I might actually bring her fully to my side.’
Of course, I’d need to keep hidden the fact that I’m calling myself the Heavenly Demon and the existence of Heukcheon.
But with such fanatical loyalty on display, I could certainly put her to good use.
‘If I can only bring the Snake Zodiac Queen into the fold…’
The corners of Kwon O-jin’s mouth curved upward in a subtle smile.
I recalled Cassia’s figure, how she had driven a Holy Spirit—one that had inherited a portion of a Constellation’s soul—to death with merely a single, brief word.
If I could obtain her.
She would become a tremendous asset not only against the Black Star Society but even against the threat of the true Heavenly Demon.
‘For now, she may seem like she’s missing a screw or two.’
But truthfully, wasn’t that the same when I first met Isabella?
Perhaps Cassia, like Isabella, possessed a fundamentally virtuous nature.
If I could persuade her by any means.
If I could only change her before it was too late.
Cassia could become like Isabella—
“Ah, that’s right! I have a gift for the Heavenly Demon!”
“A gift?”
“Yes!”
Cassia, who had been downcast, suddenly lifted her head as if a brilliant idea had struck her.
As she extended her hand to the side, a green serpent crawled out from within the elongated shadow.
The snake, emerging from the shadow, held something in its mouth and deposited the ‘gift’ upon her outstretched hand.
“Hehehehe. A humble gift prepared by a lowly servant.”
Cassia presented the gift to me, holding it up reverently with both hands.
“….”
My expression froze solid as I beheld the ‘gift’.
“Please do partake, Heavenly Demon.”
Cassia’s face brimmed with anticipation as she flicked out a long, serpentine tongue.
Drip, drip.
Crimson blood dripped steadily between her delicate fingers.
“It is the heart of Tamrang Star.”
Thump, thump.
She extended the pulsating heart resting upon her palm toward me, her laughter ringing out in a delighted chirp.
I stared at the heart lying upon Cassia’s hand, swallowing back a hollow laugh.
‘I thought I could draw her to my side like Isabella if I played my cards right?’
A cold mockery directed at myself.
‘It’s too late.’
She is not like Isabella.
The Snake Zodiac Queen was already corrupted beyond redemption.

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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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