Not A Regressor - Chapter 317

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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 317
Faded Promise (9)
Brilliant flames blazed with radiant intensity.
The fire that had filled the vast Cavern Chamber began to swirl and flow into Ha-eun’s body.
“Ugh!”
Ha-eun’s expression twisted in agony.
A colossal surge of magical power was pouring into her body.
“Kgh!”
“W-what kind of heat is this!”
The Demon Race warriors locked in fierce combat with Kwon O-jin groaned and stumbled backward, overwhelmed by the terrifying heat radiating from Ha-eun.
“Sister!”
Kwon O-jin rushed toward Ha-eun with an urgent expression, watching her absorb the flames.
Sizzle!
With each step closer, I felt my skin burning away from the unbearable heat.
“Kelion…!”
Seeing the situation unfold differently from the prophecy, I glared at Kelion with a fierce scowl.
Of course, when we devised this operation, I had considered the risk of Kelion’s betrayal.
Yet I proceeded with the plan because, after carefully observing Kelion over the past several days, I determined he was not lying.
That said, I couldn’t see through every lie at a glance.
But in all my years of thorough investigation into suspicious individuals over days, I had never failed to detect a lie.
‘Kelion didn’t deceive us.’
Then what in the world was happening here?
“Why… how could this be?”
Kelion stood pale and dazed, staring blankly at Ha-eun as she absorbed the Dragon God’s soul.
According to Kailous’s prophecy, the woman bearing the dragon’s visage was supposed to awaken the Dragon God from slumber.
But.
Even now, with the Dragon God’s soul released, his eyes remained firmly shut, showing no sign of opening.
No, it wasn’t merely that his eyes refused to open.
Crackle, crackle.
The sleeping Dragon God’s body was melting away in the heat that filled the Cavern Chamber.
The breath that had periodically escaped from his nostrils had ceased, and the overwhelming pressure that had been suffocating to witness was fading.
Yes.
The Dragon God Caleos was dying.
“This contradicts the prophecy, does it not?”
Something had gone terribly wrong.
It was as if scattered puzzle pieces had been assembled into an entirely different picture.
“Lord Caleos….”
Tears streamed down Kelion’s cheeks.
Rising to his feet, he stumbled toward the dying Dragon God.
Sizzle!
The agony of flesh burning away.
Even as my mind felt consumed by white-hot flames, I did not stop walking.
Dragon God Caleos.
The dragon who remained alone in the Kingdom to save the Dragon-race, mere slaves though they were.
A merciful deity who endured the scorn of other dragons yet never abandoned the Dragon-race until the very end.
It was when the vast armies of the Demon Race descended upon us.
More than a century had passed, yet the conversation I shared with Caleos that day remained etched vividly upon my heart.
-This place is in danger!
At the urgent warning, Caleos nodded quietly, as if he already knew.
-You must abandon the Kingdom and flee!
Though not immortal like dragons, the Dragon-race possessed lifespans of considerable length.
Kelion had led the Dragon-race even when the Demon Race invaded a century ago.
At that time, Kelion had proposed abandoning the Kingdom and fleeing with the surviving remnants.
But.
-Is this not the foundation of your lives?
Caleos’s answer was resolute.
Born as a noble dragon, he declared he would stake his life to protect the homeland of the Dragon-race, who existed to serve him.
A foolish dragon indeed.
Like a king drawing his sword and marching to battle to protect his retainers.
Or perhaps even more so.
For the relationship between dragons and the Dragon-race was not one of mutual complementarity like that between king and subject.
A king cannot exist without subjects, but a dragon can exist without the Dragon-race.
To dragons, the Dragon-race were nothing but convenient slaves to command.
For such worthless beings.
Why did he stake his life?
-You are not slaves.
To Kelion’s unspoken question, Caleos continued with a warm smile.
-You are my proud children.
Even as a century of endless time flowed past.
-My most precious treasures.
Those words that would never fade.
“Why… why… will you not open your eyes?”
Tears streaming down Kelion’s cheeks evaporated in the heat.
When the woman bearing a dragon’s visage came to find me.
I had swelled with hope that I would finally meet the Dragon God again.
“You said that with the dragon’s eye, you could open your eyes.”
Hope, they say, is despair’s greatest seasoning.
In the void left by fading hope, thick despair welled up.
Kelion stared at the Dragon God’s body gradually melting away with hollow, vacant eyes.
One step, two steps.
I move toward the Dragon God, dying in the searing heat that scorches flesh.
When his entire body becomes engulfed in burns.
“Snap out of it, you bastard!”
A hand grabs my shoulder and pulls Kelion backward.
Kelion collapses like a wooden puppet with its strings cut.
“…Damn it.”
I watch the flames being absorbed into Ha-eun’s body, my expression anxious as I bite my lip.
Seeing Kelion’s hollow reaction, I can tell for certain that he didn’t intend this situation.
Then.
Who.
‘This isn’t the time to think about that.’
Rather than who orchestrated this situation, I need to first confirm whether it’s harmful to Ha-eun or not.
“Sister!”
I call out to Ha-eun, whose form is obscured by the raging flames.
Could she have lost consciousness from the massive surge of magical power?
No answer comes from within the flames.
‘Damn it.’
I take a step toward Ha-eun, engulfed in flames.
The terrible heat pushes me back, as if warning me not to approach further.
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
I push through the scorching heat and take another step.
Rumble!
Walking into the raging inferno, I draw upon the power of Black Heaven.
‘There’s no way but to absorb the flames with Black Heaven.’
As long as I don’t know what effect the massive magical power dwelling in the dragon’s soul will have on Ha-eun.
There was no choice but to consume that power myself instead.
“Haah.”
I place my hand over my left chest.
Beyond the thin skin, the Black Heaven sleeping within my pulsing heart.
As Black Heaven’s power awakens, black storm clouds pour forth.
The clouds of Black Heaven begin devouring the raging flames ravenously.
‘It works.’
I feel the magical power contained in the flames flowing in through Black Heaven.
It’s good news that I can absorb the flames flowing into Ha-eun instead.
‘It’s not enough.’
The amount being absorbed is woefully insufficient.
Or rather, to be precise, the magical power contained in the flames is far too vast.
I bite my lip.
In the end, only one card remains.
‘I have to use Gaecheon.’
There was no other way.
“None shall pass me….”
I placed my hand over my left chest and uttered the final incantation.
Then.
“Oh, O-jin, you’re really going to use that technique?!”
Ha-eun’s voice rang out from within the flames.
“…Sister?”
“I’m fine, so don’t use it!”
Fine?
How could she possibly be fine while accepting such enormous magical power into her body?
“You’re lying….”
“I’m not lying, you bastard! You’re good at telling when people are lying!”
“….”
She was right.
Ha-eun’s voice coming from within the flames sounded far more composed than I expected.
“Just wait a moment—this is almost done!”
The flames that had been burning as if to incinerate the entire world gradually began to fade.
Through the settling inferno, I could see Ha-eun walking out.
“…Sister.”
The Ha-eun who emerged from the flames looked far more like a Dragon-race than human.
Crimson scales covered her neck and part of her cheeks.
Pointed ears and reptilian pupils slit vertically like a reptile’s.
Around Ha-eun’s body, transformed into Dragon-race form, blazing flames roared.
Or rather, to be precise, parts of her body itself had become “fire.”
It was similar to when I used Heavenly Body or Divine Body.
From her body, now burning as living flame, tremendous heat radiated in all directions.
“Wow, I nearly jumped out of my skin when it suddenly got absorbed into me. Is this how it’s supposed to work?”
Ha-eun looked around with a bewildered expression.
Her eyes fell upon the Dragon God’s body melting away.
“Huh? Why is he dying?”
“I don’t know.”
“…Is it because of me?”
“….”
I clamped my mouth shut.
It appeared to be a result of the soul that should have gone to the Dragon God being absorbed into Ha-eun instead.
But I couldn’t understand why the soul had been absorbed into Ha-eun rather than the Dragon God in the first place.
“Hold on, let me adjust the heat output.”
Realizing that the Dragon God’s body needed to stop melting, Ha-eun drew the flames radiating in all directions back into her body.
The intense heat that had been warming the entire Cavern Chamber dissipated in an instant.
But.
“…Is he dead?”
Once the Dragon God’s breath was severed, it did not resume.
Even the flames that had periodically erupted from his nostrils—proof that he still lived—ceased their flow.
The Dragon God Caleos.
The merciful deity who had sacrificed his life for the Dragon-race.
Had perished completely.
“Ah, ugh. Ahhh…!”
Kelion approached the half-melted corpse of the Dragon God.
“Caleos…! Caleos!!”
Unable to open his eyes in death, he embraced the fallen god and wept bitterly.
Sorrowful cries echoed through the air.
Ha-eun watched Kelion’s anguished wails with a conflicted expression.
“Haa, haa!”
“What, what was that heat just now?”
The Demon Race members who had retreated from the terrible heat approached once more.
“…So you’re still here after all.”
Ha-eun’s gaze shifted from the wailing Kelion toward the Demon Race.
Whoosh!
The flames that had been absorbed into her body erupted once more, blazing with savage intensity.
“O-jin, let me handle these bastards alone.”
“You sure?”
Though their numbers had dwindled considerably from fighting O-jin, nearly thirty Demon Race members still remained.
The Ha-eun of old could never have faced such a force alone.
“Yeah, I think I’ll be fine. Right now.”
Ha-eun nodded with confident resolve.
Leaving O-jin behind, Ha-eun walked slowly toward the Demon Race.
With each step, the flames absorbed within her burned more fiercely.
“Damn it!”
“She’s insane!”
The Demon Race members, hesitating before the terrible heat, drew their weapons and rushed at Ha-eun.
And then.
“Holy crap, I’ve gotten way stronger, haven’t I, O-jin?”
It took less than ten minutes for nearly thirty Demon Race members to become ash.

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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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