Not A Regressor - Chapter 313

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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 313
A Faded Promise (5)
“No… that is…”
Ha-eun found Kelion’s sudden prostration before her burdensome and, like a cat seeking refuge, hid herself behind Kwon O-jin’s back.
She understood why the Dragon-race reacted so excessively toward her.
But there was no way to avoid bewilderment when strangers she’d never met suddenly rushed forward, bowed their heads, and clamored about saviors and dragon maidens while begging her to save their clan’s fate.
“I beg of you.”
Kelion pleaded with a trembling voice, his head bowed at Ha-eun’s feet.
Ever since the Dragon God fell into that endless slumber.
The Draconian Kingdom had begun its inexorable march toward ruin.
They were born from the very beginning to serve dragons.
Just as ants perish when they lose their queen, the Dragon-race too was hurtling toward catastrophe, having lost their central pillar—the dragon.
“We need… a savior.”
Transparent tears streamed down Kelion’s weathered cheeks.
Without the dragon’s protection and knowledge, the Dragon-race could not endure the magical power lingering within their own bodies and would simply die.
During Kailous’s time, they had managed to suppress the rampaging mana through the stigma of the dragon’s seat.
But now that he was dead, there was no being capable of saving the Dragon-race hurtling toward annihilation except the slumbering Dragon God.
“Over the past hundred years… countless Dragon-race have perished, unable to endure the rampage of their mana.”
I remember.
I recall.
The girl who smiled brightly, the boy who ran with vigor, the young man who wielded his weapon with valor, the elder who guided the kingdom with wisdom.
All dead.
Unable to control their rampaging mana, writhing in agony.
“I… I could only…”
Watch helplessly.
Waiting for the Dragon God who would not awaken, crying out for salvation that would not come.
“….”
Kwon O-jin gazed down at the sobbing Kelion, his expression turning bitter.
‘So this was why the Dragon-race fell so easily to the Demon Race’s attacks.’
The Demon Race’s military might was certainly formidable.
But the Draconian Kingdom had been gradually losing its strength and withering over a hundred years.
All the Demon Race had done was forcibly remove the oxygen mask from a dying patient’s face.
“Are there no other dragons?”
Kwon O-jin asked, recalling Cheon Joo-ryong, whom he had fought before coming to the Demon Realm.
If a dragon’s existence was absolutely essential to save the Dragon-race, there was no reason it had to be the Dragon God specifically.
“The dragons…”
Kelion bit his lip as if swallowing bitter medicine.
The wrinkles covering his aged face contorted with sorrow.
“Most are already dead. Even those still alive refuse to leave their lairs.”
“…Most are already dead, you say?”
“That’s how it is.”
Dragons were a complete and powerful race by their very existence alone.
Who could possibly have driven such monsters—each one equivalent to a strategic weapon—to the brink of extinction?
“The Heavenly Demon.”
You again.
An unpleasant sensation spread through my mouth like grinding sand and gravel.
I exhaled deeply and shook my head.
“The evil god revered by the Demon Race… the Heavenly Demon killed the dragons.”
“Did he kill them directly?”
Kelion shook his head.
If the Heavenly Demon hadn’t killed them directly.
“I heard he had The Snake do it.”
“….”
Cassia Colgrande.
The woman who was saved by the Heavenly Demon, only to become a puppet whose consciousness was dominated by his ‘lies’.
‘Was that what she did while in the Demon Realm?’
Now that I thought about it, she had mentioned something like that before.
That while living as the Heavenly Demon’s puppet, she had stained her hands with countless blood.
It was a fact I already knew, but I never imagined that the thick blood clinging to her delicate hands would include that of dragons.
“….”
Suddenly, memories of Cassia surfaced.
The Hospital Rooftop shrouded in darkness.
The woman with eyes so sorrowful they seemed ready to shed tears at any moment, speaking of her departure to atone for her sins.
Lost in profound self-loathing and remorse.
Clinging only to the desperate desire not to be abandoned.
How much blood had she stained those fragile hands with all this time?
I ground my teeth, thinking of the Heavenly Demon who had made Cassia this way.
Deceiving others with sweet lies and turning them into puppets.
‘Is that your way?’
Truly.
‘That’s very much like Kwon O-jin.’
“….”
A bitter taste spread across my tongue.
My chest felt heavy, as if a weighty stone had been placed upon it.
“So… all I need to do is awaken this so-called Dragon God?”
Ha-eun, who had been listening quietly, scratched her head and asked.
Kelion, who had been bowing his head, suddenly lifted it.
“Yes, yes! If the Dragon Maiden possesses the power of the Dragon’s Eye, we should be able to draw the Dragon God’s soul into that body!”
Hope gleamed in Kelion’s eyes.
“If the Dragon God awakens, we will be able to drive back the Demon Race’s army that has engulfed the Kingdom!”
“But where exactly is this Dragon God’s soul?”
“There’s a massive crystal called a Soul Stone in the Lair where the Dragon God sleeps.”
“So we just need to find it and take it?”
“There’s no need to search for it.”
Kelion shook his head and continued.
“The Soul Stone lies right beside the sleeping Dragon God. Once we safely reach that location, the Dragon God’s power will guide the soul into his physical body.”
The method itself was remarkably simple.
If there was one problem.
“…It’s how we get to that Lair.”
I recalled the interior of the Draconian Kingdom, where Demon Races and hordes of demonic beasts roamed.
The number of Demon Races visible at a glance exceeded a hundred.
The demonic beasts numbered in the tens of thousands.
“Where is the Dragon God’s Lair located?”
“It’s hidden deep within the Kingdom. It’s protected by a powerful barrier, so those Demon Race bastards couldn’t have invaded it.”
Kelion spoke with confidence.
“Do you know the way there?”
“Why would I have led the Dragon-race all this time if I didn’t? I naturally know where the Dragon God’s Lair is.”
“…Are there no other Dragon-race members who know the location of the Lair?”
“None. To prevent outside intrusion, the location of the Lair has been passed down in secret only to the elders.”
So Kelion was the only one who knew the Lair’s location.
“Do you happen to have a map?”
“A map of the Kingdom?”
“Yes.”
“Just a moment.”
Kelion lightly placed his fingers on the wooden table.
A blue glow shimmered as a map made of magical energy unfolded across the table.
‘So he stores the map this way.’
Certainly, keeping a map directly in one’s mind was as secure as it got.
“Exactly where is the Lair located?”
“Right here.”
As Kelion indicated, it was positioned at the innermost part of the city carved from an entire Narrow Gorge.
“However, even if you find this location, you won’t be able to discover the Lair.”
“Because of the barrier?”
Kelion nodded.
“I must go there personally and dispel the barrier before anyone can enter the Lair.”
In other words, Kelion himself was the key that could open the Lair’s entrance.
I narrowed my eyes as I gazed down at the map.
‘A frontal assault won’t work.’
I didn’t know the extent of the Dragon-race’s military strength.
But considering they’d been devastated in less than ten days against the Demon Race army, a direct breakthrough was impossible even with the Dragon-race’s help.
“It seems like sneaking in is the only option we have.”
Isabella, standing beside me and examining the map, furrowed her brow as she spoke.
“They wouldn’t be foolish enough to leave the place unguarded.”
If I were infiltrating alone, I could slip in while using Heukcheon’s concealment.
But if Kelion and Ha-eun had to come along, the situation changed entirely.
“The best method to use in a situation like this is… only that.”
A deep sigh escaped Isabella’s lips.
I could discern what method had occurred to her without needing to hear it from her mouth.
The optimal approach to penetrate a key stronghold of the enemy forces.
Effective, but a method that demanded accepting considerable risk.
“We’ll have no choice but to use bait.”
I would need to draw the Demon Race’s attention in that direction through the bait, then slip Ha-eun and Kelion into the Lair.
‘But I can’t send just the two of them.’
What if Ha-eun came under attack while she was guiding the Dragon God’s soul into his body?
Unless the situation with Kelion was one of complete trust, someone had to accompany her to protect her.
‘I have to go with them.’
In terms of raw power alone, Isabella was still stronger than me.
But I possessed Heukcheon—a transcendent force.
There was risk involved, but in a critical situation, I was the one who could protect Ha-eun more safely.
The problem was that if I left, the “bait” would become that much more dangerous.
“I’ll take on the role of bait.”
Isabella volunteered, raising her hand.
“Will you be alright?”
Acting as bait against over a hundred Demon Race members and tens of thousands of demon beasts was a task that demanded Isabella accept considerable danger, no matter how formidable she was.
“Yes. Directly fighting an army would be difficult, but drawing their attention and escaping should be well within my capabilities.”
“…Still, we need more personnel.”
No matter how powerful her abilities were, it was impossible for Isabella alone to draw the attention of an army occupying an entire city.
“We’ll lend our strength as well.”
Kelion clenched his fist, his expression filled with grim resolve.
I turned to look at him and warned him in a low, grave voice.
“…You’ll die.”
Isabella could escape even if pursued by the Demon Race because of her individual combat prowess.
But the other Dragon-race members…
“Even if you’re fortunate enough to escape, most of you will die.”
“….”
Kelion’s expression darkened.
After a moment of contemplation, he opened his mouth with a faint smile crossing his weathered face.
“I’ve already made peace with death.”
The elderly Dragon-race member touched the stigma on his left chest and rose to his feet.
“Heh. But this is the land we’ve lived in, is it not? If we can shed blood to protect it, there’s no greater honor than that.”
That’s what he said, but.
Kelion’s eyes had darkened with a heavy shadow.
“….”
I exhaled a short sigh as I observed the elderly Dragon-race elder steeling his resolve.
A homeland built within a community held such profound importance.
Sometimes it demanded sacrifice, even of one’s own life.
“There is a way to minimize casualties.”
“…What method?”
“If we use not one bait, but multiple, it would work better.”
I pointed to three locations on the map spread across the table.
They surrounded the massive circular structure where the captured Dragon-race members were being held.
“We’ll create disturbances at three locations in total.”
“If it’s those places….”
“Yes. If disturbances occur there, the Demon Race will mistake it for a rescue attempt of the captured Dragon-race members.”
Then their forces would have no choice but to disperse toward the building where the Dragon-race members were imprisoned.
“If we flee toward the outskirts rather than the city center in that situation, the chaos will only intensify.”
From the Demon Race’s perspective, the forces causing the disturbance should naturally head toward the building holding the Dragon-race captives, so their confusion would be inevitable when we flee elsewhere.
“There will still be casualties, but at least the chances of survival will increase.”
“But while the entrance near the city gates might work, the other two locations are deep within the Kingdom… How do you plan to infiltrate forces there?”
“I’ve already thought of something.”
There was a way to draw the enemy’s attention without sacrificing the Dragon-race.
“…Thank you.”
Kelion bowed his head, his voice trembling.
Not only was I helping awaken the Dragon God, but I was also devising ways to minimize the sacrifice of the Dragon-race.
It was difficult to believe this was the consideration of a stranger we’d met mere hours ago.
“May I ask one thing?”
“Yes.”
“…Why are you helping us this much?”
It wasn’t my place to ask, having been the one to request salvation for my people.
In truth, the bait strategy could have simply been left to the Dragon-race.
After all, bait was most effective the more lives were sacrificed to it.
“…I’m not sure.”
I let out a small laugh and shrugged my shoulders.
Suddenly, the image of Cassia’s face, distorted by tears, flashed through my mind once more.
Speaking as if recounting someone else’s story, I murmured softly.
“Perhaps I want to change.”
From being the human called ‘Kwon O-jin’.

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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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