Not A Regressor - Chapter 286

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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 286
Dog and Wolf (11)
Crackle, crackle, crackle!
A torrent of surging blue lightning swept through the air.
The tidal wave of electricity transmitted through six wires savagely engulfed Kalike’s body.
“Aaaaaahhhhh!”
Wracked by agony as if his entire body were being torn apart, Kalike convulsed like a freshly caught fish, his eyes rolling back.
“Y-you… how dare you…!”
But it was only momentary.
As two black horns sprouted from Kalike’s forehead, radiating an ominous glow, his inverted pupils found their rightful place.
Kalike grasped the electrified wires with hands that gleamed with colorful nail art on every finger.
Whoosh!
Black flames erupted from both his hands, severing the wires.
Freed from the wires’ restraint, Kalike glared at the culprit who had inflicted such terrible agony upon him with fierce, wide-open eyes.
“Tch, seeing you in person, your face looks even more pathetic.”
A beast-human youth looking down at him with a click of his tongue, as if gazing upon filthy refuse—at him, the Prime Minister of the Kan Kingdom and the true ‘master’.
At words so vulgar they were barely fit to speak, Kalike’s expression shifted to shock, his eyes widening.
“Are you… speaking about my face right now?”
“Who else is here besides you?”
“How dare you utter such vulgar words to a beautiful lady!”
Kalike’s face contorted as he glared at Kwon O-jin as if ready to tear him apart on the spot.
“…What?”
At the shocking truth that fell from Kalike’s lips, Kwon O-jin could only gape in astonishment, his eyes wide.
“A… a woman? You?”
Though the makeup was thick enough to be called a mask.
The overall contours of his face, the protruding Adam’s apple, and the skeletal structure that unmistakably exuded masculinity.
No matter how you looked at it, Kalike possessed the body of a ‘man’.
“Hmph, is there a problem with that?”
Kalike turned his head away with a huff, crossing his arms as if throwing a tantrum.
“Nothing but problems.”
“Oh? What exactly is the problem?”
“You’re a man, you bastard.”
“Well, though my body may be male, my heart is that of a beautiful lady, you see?”
“We decided to call that a man.”
He had no desire to debate gender identity or the rights of sexual minorities after coming all the way to this distant Demon Realm.
Of course, whether on Earth or in the Demon Realm, all sexual minorities deserved respect in this world.
“But rights mean nothing to a bastard who kidnaps children to use as hostages.”
His inner nature, which bore no artifice, was far more repulsive than the makeup applied with such unpleasant thickness.
“You… are not of the Beast-human Tribe.”
Kalike examined Kwon O-jin from top to bottom, his eyes narrowed to slits.
His bearing, manner of speech, and the way he treated me all felt starkly different from the Beast-human Tribe I knew so well.
“Or what? Does it make any difference?”
The black ears and tail prosthetics were merely a means to reduce unnecessary conflict.
In a situation like this where the enemy was clearly defined, there was no reason to hide the fact that I was human.
‘So Kalike is the only Demon Race left.’
I activated the Canis Major Constellation stigma and surveyed my surroundings.
Apart from the two Demon Race members the Silver Wolf Mane Tribe had defeated, no other Demon Race were visible.
‘Three here, two sent to the village.’
If I could just take down Kalike and Horus, this situation would be resolved.
“Riak. You handle Horus.”
“…Understood.”
I drew Dantalian from my waist.
Whoosh, click!
Dantalian transformed into a spear form, azure lightning crackling around its blade.
“Hss.”
I drew in a shallow breath.
Snapping my slightly bent legs straight, I launched myself toward Kalike.
Rumble!
Thunder roared as a blue bolt of lightning surged forward.
“Where do you—!”
Kalike swung his hand toward my charging direction.
Black flames spread like a curtain, blocking my path.
A dizzying heat that felt like it would sear my skin washed over me.
“Thunderburst.”
Crackle!
I chose a direct breakthrough.
The lightning gathered at the spear’s tip exploded, fracturing the wall of flames.
Enduring the searing heat, I hurled myself through the fissure.
Kalike’s shoulders trembled slightly.
But only for a moment—as if he’d anticipated this much, he twisted his body lightly to evade the spear blade aimed at his throat.
“Indeed, you possess the skill to back up your audacity.”
Kalike seized the spear shaft as it grazed his neck and twisted it roughly.
My palm split open as the spear was sent flying.
Whoosh!
A fist wreathed in black flames swung toward my philtrum.
I hastily raised my arm to block the attack.
“Ugh!”
Boom!
With a sound like an explosion, the ground beneath me caved inward.
The skin on my forearm that had blocked Kalike’s punch twisted grotesquely.
Kwon O-jin retreated backward, pulling a potion from his sling bag and pouring it over his forearm.
“Payment for wounding the heart of a delicate girl.”
Kalike drew a sword from his waist and aimed it at Kwon O-jin.
“I will collect the price with your life.”
“Cut the crap, seriously.”
Hack, spit.
He spat out thick phlegm and tightened his grip on the spear in his hand.
[Be careful, my child. Despite appearances, I sense an aura that is far from ordinary.]
“I know.”
If he were some other rabble Demon Race member, perhaps.
But I had never underestimated Kalike’s strength—the one who had effectively ruled the Kan Kingdom for the past hundred years.
“Hup!”
I drew a sharp breath and planted my feet firmly.
I reached toward Dantalian, which had been sent flying far away.
The pitch-black spear rose into the air as if possessed by its own will, returning to my hand.
I adjusted the trajectory of the spear returning to my hand to pass behind Kalike’s back.
At this rate, it would pierce through Kalike’s back and return to my hand.
“Resorting to parlor tricks, are we?”
Kalike swung his sword backward as if he had eyes in the back of his head, without even looking.
Clang!
The spear, blocked by the sword, was sent flying far away once more.
“Well then.”
I fired a wire toward the distant spear.
Three strands of wire wrapped around Dantalian.
“Let me show you what real parlor tricks look like.”
“…!”
My body was pulled upward into the air as Dantalian was yanked backward.
I swung my arms while my body flipped upside down, as if performing acrobatics.
The spear bound by the wire swung toward Kalike like a clapper striking a bell.
Boom!
Kalike was pushed back by the explosive force contained in the spear.
In mid-air, with my body still inverted, I used a brain-shaking stomp.
I descended rapidly like a bungee jumper and grabbed Kalike by both shoulders.
Crackle!
Blue lightning gathered in my palms, burrowing roughly into Kalike’s body.
“Gaaaaaahhhhh!”
While Kalike was overwhelmed by the cascading lightning, I grabbed his horns and pulled with all my strength.
I tried to rip out the horns outright—the source of the Demon Race’s power and the vessel of the Heavenly Demon’s strength.
But from the horns I gripped, a dark, ominous light erupted, and black flames created from all directions poured down upon me.
[Be careful!]
Vega burst forth from the inner pocket where she had been hiding.
Spreading her arms wide, Vega conjured a barrier of azure lightning to shield me from the assault.
Lightning and flame collided, unleashing a violent shockwave that swept across the surroundings.
“Ugh!”
My body was hurled backward by the impact.
A dizzying pain radiated through my entire frame.
Clear fluid seeped from my flame-scorched skin.
“Ho, it seems this is your first time fighting the Demon Race.”
Kalike’s eyes gleamed as he stroked the black horns protruding from his forehead.
“For the Demon Race, these horns are both the source of power bestowed by the Heavenly Demon and our most formidable weapon, you see?”
So the horns weren’t a weakness after all.
I clicked my tongue and reached toward Tantalian.
The wire contracted, and the obsidian spear returned to my grasp.
“Well then, shall we move past the warm-up?”
Kalike’s mouth split into a wide grin.
The two horns protruding from his forehead blazed with an ominous black radiance.
His eyes, now pitch-black, ignited with ghostly blue flames.
“Shall we begin in earnest?”
Boom!
Kalike’s form shot forward at tremendous speed.
Sword strikes converged from all directions.
Though he wielded but a single blade, the cascading strikes multiplied as if the sword had fractured into dozens of fragments.
“Hnn!”
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
I barely deflected the torrent of strikes using the subtle techniques of the Compass spear art.
With each exchange, my body was driven back one step, then another.
“Hehehehe! This is the blessing the Heavenly Demon has bestowed upon us!”
An unpleasant laugh echoed in my ears.
Even as I retreated, a faint smile crossed my lips.
“Is that so?”
The Heavenly Demon’s blessing, he says.
If the Heavenly Demon stands behind Kalike…
[Oh, star of the Lyra Constellation shining high above.]
Vega clasped her hands together as if in prayer.
[Illuminate with your radiant starlight the darkness that shrouds the path before my child.]
Behind me stands Vega.
Whoooooosh!
Brilliant silver radiance poured forth from Vega, seeping into my body.
Power surged explosively within me.
Clang!
Kwon O-jin deflected the blade and stomped forward with a rough pivot, swinging his clenched fist with all his might.
The fist, wreathed in azure lightning, crashed against Kalike’s solar plexus.
“Ugh… hah…!”
Kalike’s body arched like a drawn bow as he was hurled backward violently.

* * *
While Kwon O-jin and Kalike’s fierce exchange continued elsewhere.
“Grrrrrrr!”
A black wolf surged forward at breakneck speed.
Riak leaped nimbly into the air and lashed out his front paws savagely toward Horus.
Clang!
Horus deflected the attack with the gauntlet on his forearm and drove a heavy straight punch forward.
The fist whistled through the air with a sharp crack.
Riak pivoted his body mid-air using a lightning step, then whipped his tail across Horus’s cheek.
Though the tail was covered in soft fur, the power contained within it was devastating.
Horus’s head snapped violently to the side from the tail strike.
“Hngh!”
Horus twisted his body in the direction his head had turned and unleashed a spinning back kick at the airborne Riak.
Horus’s leg swept through the air at a dizzying speed, barely grazing Riak.
Boom!
Despite the glancing blow, Riak’s body was sent flying as though struck by a cannonball.
Riak landed smoothly, dissipating the impact through a falling technique, and let out a soft chuckle.
“…Fortunately, my body hasn’t stiffened.”
I muttered quietly and slowly raised my front paw.
Boom!
I dug my claws in sharply and struck the ground again.
Moving in a dazzling Z-pattern, I lashed out my front paw toward Horus’s neck.
“Grrrrgh!”
Horus twisted his body to evade the claws and drove his shoulder into Riak with a ram.
Just as the devastating shoulder tackle—powerful enough to pulverize solid stone—was about to strike Riak.
Riak twisted the front paw he had been swinging at the neck and brought it down hard on Horus’s shoulder instead.
A technique as masterful as bending a full-force punch into a right angle in an instant.
Having struck the shoulder, Riak tumbled over Horus’s head and aimed for his back.
“Not so fast!”
Horus fell forward and planted both palms against the ground.
With both hands planted, he kicked his hind legs like a horse, lashing out toward the brow of Riak who had claimed the space behind him.
Riak, who had been aiming for the back, clicked his tongue and twisted his body away.
Riak placed his hind paws precisely against Horus’s sweeping leg.
Like a stone launched from a catapult, Riak’s body traced a parabolic arc through the air.
The dazzling movements seemed less like combat and more like acrobatics.
“W-what…?”
Leoru watched the battle unfold, his mouth falling open in shock.
Leo had mentioned that one of the Beast-human Tribe members traveling with Kwon O-jin was quite skilled.
But he never imagined someone capable of matching Horus in combat.
“You are…?”
Horus’s voice trembled.
Why was it?
The black wolf’s movements felt strangely familiar.
Yes, like opening an old photograph album.
“No, that can’t be.”
Horus shook his head, denying the thought that surfaced in his mind.
It was impossible for ‘him’ to be here now.
Because.
“But… you died back then…?”
Horus stared at the black wolf before him with trembling eyes.
The fur color and appearance differed slightly from ‘him’ in his memories.
But he could tell instinctively.
He could sense it intuitively.
“Riak…?”
The black wolf before his eyes was the ‘dear friend’ he had killed with his own hands over a century ago.
That very fact.
“…”
Riak gazed at Horus in silence.
“It’s been a long time, Horus.”
At the familiar voice that echoed softly in his ears, Horus’s eyes widened.

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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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