Not A Regressor - Chapter 284

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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 284
Dog and Wolf (9)
A vast Palace.
Beyond the corridor where the hides of various magical beasts were taxidermied and displayed on the walls, an empty throne sat solitary in a cavernous hall so desolate it seemed devoid of any decoration.
Beside the throne.
A dark-haired man with a rough-hewn face stood in silent contemplation of the vacant seat.
“Isn’t it about time you took your seat upon the throne?”
A young man walked into the hall, his words dripping with mockery.
His voice was cloying, as if a man were forcing himself to mimic a woman’s tone.
The man turned his back to the youth without answering.
“Hmm. Ignoring me again?”
The young man withdrew white powder from his garment and dabbed it across his face.
Lips painted as crimson as if he’d devoured a mouse, eyes shadowed in violet, skin so pale one might believe plaster had been poured over his face—it all created a sickening revulsion to behold.
The young man touched the black horns protruding from his forehead and asked.
“Are the war preparations proceeding well?”
“Yes.”
The man answered curtly, standing like a wooden statue.
“Hmm, couldn’t you be more specific about it?”
“I did as instructed.”
The young man’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Sigh, Horus. If you continue being so uncooperative, that becomes a problem, doesn’t it?”
“I have done nothing but what I was told to do.”
As always.
The man swallowed his retort and clenched his fists.
“Oh, by the way, have you heard? The movements of those Silver Mane Tribe bastards have been rather suspicious lately….”
The man’s shoulders flinched.
“…They are irrelevant.”
“Irrelevant? The Silver Mane Tribe are also legitimate Beast-humans, are they not?”
The young man continued, his words laden with bitter derision.
“They must be gathered under the name of ‘Khan.'”
“I am not Khan.”
“Come now, there you go again. Over a hundred years have passed since the previous Khan died—does it make sense to leave the throne vacant still?”
“I will say this once more.”
The man’s gaze turned toward the youth.
“I am not Khan.”
The young man’s eyes narrowed to slits.
He withdrew a red lipstick and applied it to his lips with irritable haste.
“Well, whether you are Khan or not hardly matters. After all, the master of this Kingdom belongs to us Demon Race.”
His grotesquely reddened lips twisted upward.
“In any case. Gather those Silver Mane Tribe bastards as military forces as well. If they cannot serve as military strength….”
Black miasma billowed forth from the horns protruding on the young man’s forehead.
“Kill them all.”
A voice dripping with eerie madness.
The young man burst into cackling laughter, his shoulders trembling with mirth.
“Is that the will of the Heavenly Demon?”
“….”
The man turned his gaze away without a word.
Thick veins bulged across his clenched fists.
“My, are you about to throw a punch?”
The young man erupted into cackling laughter.
“Well, I’ve made special ‘arrangements’ to ensure you don’t end up killing the Silver Mane Tribe, so don’t worry.”
“…What are you plotting?”
“Who knows? Isn’t it you who should be asking what you’re planning?”
The young man spoke in cryptic riddles, his laughter tinged with something sinister.
“Horus. Don’t forget.”
The young man drew close to the man and whispered in a honeyed voice.
“You are our loyal ‘dog’—one who obeys whatever command is given.”
The young man’s laughter echoed through the vast hall.

* * *
“Horus is protecting the Silver Mane Tribe, apparently.”
Kwon O-jin furrowed his brow in confusion.
It couldn’t be to preserve his own power.
Protecting the Silver Mane Tribe would only undermine his authority and offered no benefit whatsoever.
[…Could it be guilt?]
“Guilt?”
Vega nodded slowly.
Vega fluttered down and perched on Kwon O-jin’s shoulder.
[Did he not betray the Silver Mane Tribe, who fought the Demon Race to the bitter end, and surrender to them?]
“…That’s certainly possible.”
Kwon O-jin’s gaze shifted toward Riak.
Riak sat with his lips pressed firmly shut, lost in contemplation.
His eyes held a mixture of sorrow, regret, and anger.
How must it feel for him to see the traitor who had cast his own kin into the abyss of despair now become their only shield and protector?
Kwon O-jin lowered his head, uncertain what words could possibly comfort Riak.
“Anyway, let’s set aside the matter of Horus for now.”
He shifted the conversation and turned his gaze toward Ha-eun.
“Did you manage to uncover anything useful?”
“Hmm… I didn’t really find much, to be honest.”
Ha-eun scratched her head as she spoke.
“The atmosphere here feels a bit ominous, I suppose? Even those with black fur get harassed by quite a few people.”
“I also felt the overall security wasn’t very good.”
Isabella nodded in agreement.
She flipped through the densely written papers one by one as she continued.
“I think the biggest cause is probably the mass exodus of the Demon Race.”
“Huh? That’s why things are like this?”
Ha-eun’s eyes widened in surprise, as if she hadn’t known at all.
“Yes. As the Demon Race members withdrew en masse, conflict began between the Pro-Demon Faction and the Anti-Demon Faction.”
“You said there were only five Demon Race members left, right?”
“That’s right, Elder Sister.”
The Demon Race was the area I had investigated most thoroughly.
I unfolded a map and spoke.
“These are the locations of the Mansions where the remaining Demon Race members in the Kingdom are living.”
The Mansions where the Demon Race lived were so lavishly grand and conspicuously different that it didn’t take long to investigate them.
“But there are only four here?”
“One of them is the Prime Minister of the Kingdom, so he’s at the Royal Palace.”
[Essentially a watchdog, wouldn’t you say?]
“That’s probably it.”
There was a good chance the Prime Minister held more actual power than Horus.
“The Prime Minister’s name is Kalike, I heard.”
I pulled out a portrait and handed it over.
Since he was always staying at the Royal Palace, it was difficult to confirm directly, but I managed to obtain a portrait from a Beast-human who knew him.
“Ugh, what the hell is this guy?”
The moment Ha-eun saw the portrait, her face contorted.
The portrait depicted a man’s face with makeup so heavy it was oppressive.
“Is this kabuki or something? Why is the makeup done like that?”
These days, it’s natural for men to wear makeup, they say.
But this was makeup so heavy that it would feel unpleasant regardless of gender.
“His appearance is already famous for being quite unique.”
“Are all the Demon Race bastards like this?”
“That doesn’t seem to be the case.”
I had obtained portraits of a few other Demon Race members, but none of them had such distinctive features as Kalike.
The only commonality was the black horns protruding from their foreheads.
“Anyway. Among the Demons remaining in the Kingdom, this one has the highest rank.”
Kalike had served as Prime Minister for the past hundred years, reigning as the de facto ruler.
“And about the Demon Race members here. According to Riak, they’re not at a very high level.”
“If they’re not at a high level, what level are they at?”
“In terms of Awakeners, they’re at the level of just reaching 9-Star?”
“…That’s not considered high?”
A hollow laugh escaped Ha-eun’s lips.
If someone had just reached the 9th Star, that would still be considered a high-tier awakener, yet apparently that’s not a high level at all.
“When you consider the average power level of the Demon Race, even 9th Star isn’t considered high.”
“What a ridiculous species.”
Ha-eun shook her head in disbelief, as if the notion was absurd.
“Still, at our current level, they’re not enemies we can’t handle.”
“So this Kalike fellow is also 9th Star?”
“Probably a bit higher than that.”
Since he held the highest rank among the remaining Demon Race members, the odds were good he exceeded 9th Star.
“Either way, they shouldn’t be opponents we can’t face.”
“That seems right.”
Isabella nodded while reviewing the portraits of the Demon Race members.
The true combat strength of those who had received the Heavenly Demon’s power remained unclear.
But fundamentally, Kwon O-jin, Isabella, and Ha-eun all occupied the highest echelon among awakeners.
[So you intend to face the Demon Race before that Beast-human named Horus?]
“Yes.”
The Demon Race were the true rulers of the Kingdom.
Confronting them first rather than Horus would yield far greater gains.
“Let’s start by capturing the ones living in the Mansion, one by one.”
“That would be better than heading straight to the Royal Palace.”
The more we diminished the Demon Race’s strength, the more the Anti-Demon Faction within the Kingdom would grow bold, and the more freely we could operate.
“Then shall we move immediately?”
Strike while the iron is hot, as they say.
With our objectives clear, there was no reason to delay.
“Yes.”
“We’re just going to roast those bastards, right?”
Ha-eun rose to her feet with a wicked grin.
Kwon O-jin’s group headed toward the nearest Demon Race Mansion.
[I shall enter first and scout the interior.]
Vega’s body was small, and since she used a magical construct rather than a physical form, she left no scent.
Perfect conditions for evading the keen senses of the Beast-human Tribe.
Even if discovered, she could simply return to the Sanctuary, so the risk was minimal.
“I’m counting on you.”
[Hm! Trust me and wait!]
Vega placed her hands on her hips and snorted.
She soared over the high wall and fluttered into the Mansion.
About ten minutes passed.
Vega returned with a slightly dejected expression.
“What? Did something happen?”
[There’s no one there.]
“Huh? Inside the Mansion?”
[Not a single demon could be seen outside the Mansion.]
Kwon O-jin’s brow furrowed.
Just days ago when I had checked, I had confirmed that the Demon Race was indeed inhabiting this place.
“Did the timing slip away from us?”
“Tsk. This fellow’s luck is remarkable.”
“Should we try heading to another location?”
“Let’s do that.”
Kwon O-jin’s group headed toward the location of the next Mansion.
But.
[This place too was devoid of anyone.]
“….”
Kwon O-jin’s eyes narrowed in incomprehension.
How could two Demon Race members have simultaneously abandoned their Mansions?
“…Something feels wrong.”
While I stood with arms crossed, contemplating how the situation was unfolding,
Kwaaaaaaang!
A violent explosion echoed from far away.
Black smoke billowed upward as if a bomb had detonated.
“Kwon O-jin, that place…?”
Isabella’s expression hardened rigidly.
The location where black smoke was rising.
It was the heart of the Kan Kingdom, a place that could be called the very center of everything.
The Royal Palace.

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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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