Not A Regressor - Chapter 338

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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 338
Black Sky (2)
Upon returning to his companions, Kwon O-jin relayed the information he had learned from Cassia.
Everything from the Heavenly Demon’s current imprisonment in Niflheim to the ritual that would be conducted in a month to break the seal.
“A ritual… you say?”
“A… a month?”
Ha-eun and Isabella’s expressions hardened at the shocking news that only a month remained before the Heavenly Demon’s seal would be broken.
Riak, who had been listening quietly, turned his head toward Kwon O-jin and asked.
“Where on earth did you get such information, kid?”
“I found it while searching through Deimos’s corpse.”
Kwon O-jin withdrew a communication relic from his pocket.
As he channeled mana into the relic, a mechanical voice emanated from it, revealing orders related to the sealing ritual.
Orders commanding Deimos to provide tributes and sacred relics to be used in the ritual.
Of course, the voice coming from the communication relic was a fabricated recording I had prepared beforehand, and I couldn’t honestly tell them that I had learned about the ritual from the Serpens Queen.
“Th-then we’re in serious trouble, aren’t we? We only have a month left!”
“We’ll have to stop the ritual.”
I couldn’t allow the Heavenly Demon to break free from its seal and emerge.
“How do you plan to stop it?”
“First, I’m going to gather every bit of strength we can muster.”
We would need the help of the Beast-human Tribe and the Dragon-race.
No matter how strong our group was, we simply didn’t have the numbers to assault an entire kingdom.
“Me too! I’ll help the good person!”
Baek Moo-gang raised his hand enthusiastically, beaming with a bright smile.
Kwon O-jin let out a soft chuckle and nodded.
“I’m counting on you, sir.”
“Leave it to me!”
Baek Moo-gang thumped his chest and drew the holy sword of Deneb that hung at his waist.
With the recovery of Deneb’s holy sword—such a formidable sacred relic—Baek Moo-gang would become the powerful force I had anticipated.
Since Baek Moo-gang had readily accepted the proposal, all that remained was to inform the Dragon-race and Beast-human Tribe of our plan and seek their cooperation.
“The Draconian Kingdom is relatively close from here… but the problem is the Kan Kingdom.”
One month—a limited timeframe.
To gather the Kan Kingdom’s forces within that time, several conditions would be necessary.
First, knowledge of the path through the Sky Mountain Range and the ability to cross it.
Second, the speed to reach the Kan Kingdom within a week.
Third, enough influence that the Beast-humans would readily lend their strength even if we suddenly appeared asking them to assault Niflheim.
Among our group, there was only one person who met all these conditions.
“There’s no one but you, Riak.”
“Ugh.”
Riak frowned as if his head ached.
With his exceptional senses, he could perfectly remember any path he had traversed once, and coupled with his swift mobility and his formidable influence as the former Khan.
There was no one more qualified than Riak to summon the Beast-human Tribe of the Kan Kingdom.
“Sigh, understood. I’ll go.”
“Will you be alright alone?”
“Hmph, who’s worrying about whom, kid?”
Riak snorted dismissively, his gaze sweeping over Kwon O-jin with disdain.
Kwon O-jin chuckled softly and nodded.
“Then head back to the Star Palace for now. I’ll call you once we escape beyond the volcano. Oh, and let Vega know about this too.”
“Understood.”
Silver luminescence flickered across Riak’s form before scattering into the void like starlight.
“Let’s gather our things and head out.”
“Are you sure you’re okay? You said there were still lingering aftereffects.”
“I’m not fully recovered, but I can move without issue.”
In truth, even the slightest exertion brought waves of exhaustion, and I would have preferred to rest within the castle for several more days.
But with barely a month remaining before the ritual to unseal the Heavenly Demon, I couldn’t afford such leisurely indulgence.
“Should I carry you?”
“Carry me? Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Why not? I’m quite strong, you know.”
Even if Ha-eun specialized in ranged attacks, as a high-tier Awakened One, carrying me would be effortless.
“Enough of that, you old woman.”
The mere image of myself being carried on Ha-eun’s back filled me with an indescribable sense of shame.
At my sharp refusal, Ha-eun clicked her tongue in disappointment.
“I was just hoping to ruffle your hair a bit on the way.”
What was this woman saying?
“You’re joking.”
Ha-eun giggled and gently pinched my cheek.
“Don’t worry so much. Everything will work out.”
Perhaps Ha-eun was trying to ease my tension in her own way.
Regardless of her methods, they were effective.
I let out a hollow laugh, regarding her carefully.
On the surface, she feigned composure and cracked meaningless jokes.
But having lived my entire life alongside her, I could see through her concern for me with perfect clarity.
‘Elder Sister.’
A single ray of starlight descending upon a life as dark and empty as the black sky.
Infinitely precious, boundlessly beloved.
For her sake, I could do anything.
‘You feel the same way, don’t you?’
Recalling the young man who bore my exact face, I smiled bitterly.
“What, what is it? Why are you staring at me like that? You’re making me uncomfortable.”
Ha-eun’s shoulders trembled as her cheeks flushed crimson.
Had she sensed something in my gaze?
I stole glances at him with eager anticipation written across my face.
“It’s nothing. Let’s start packing soon.”
“How disappointing.”
Ha-eun’s expectations deflated visibly as she pouted and turned back toward her room.
Kwon O-jin watched her retreating figure with a faint smile.
“…Kwon O-jin.”
A voice, cold and measured, reached his ears.
He flinched.
This time, Kwon O-jin’s shoulders trembled noticeably.
Of course, unlike Ha-eun, it was pure fear coursing through him.
“Could we talk alone for a moment?”
“Huh? Oh, yes. Of course.”
He swallowed hard and followed Isabella into the room.
Click.
Once inside, Isabella locked the door behind them.
“Um… Isabella?”
Wondering if perhaps her jealousy over Ha-eun had flared up again, I regarded her with a tense expression.
“The information you mentioned earlier—you heard it from Elder Sister, didn’t you?”
What came from Isabella’s lips was entirely different from what I’d anticipated.
“…How did you know?”
“Such important orders wouldn’t have been sent through a communication relic. And….”
Isabella’s eyes narrowed.
She stepped closer to me and sniffed the air.
“I smell another woman on you.”
“….”
What, is she a dog?
I stared at Isabella with an expression of utter bewilderment.
Now that I thought about it, Cassia had said the exact same thing before.
‘Why are these two sisters so similar in every way?’
How could she detect a scent that even Riak, a Beast-human, couldn’t perceive?
“You met Elder Sister, didn’t you?”
“…Yeah. You’re right.”
After a brief moment of hesitation, I conceded with a nod.
I knew it! I just knew it!
Isabella stomped her foot indignantly and drew closer to me.
“Did Elder Sister do anything to you?”
As she spoke, Isabella’s hands moved to my thigh, feeling it over.
‘Why is she touching there?’
I exhaled deeply and shook my head.
“Nothing happened, so don’t worry. She only gave me information about the Heavenly Demon before leaving.”
“…Really?”
Isabella regarded Kwon O-jin with suspicious eyes.
Kwon O-jin watched Isabella, tense as a cat that had touched fire, and asked.
“Weren’t you and Cassia on good terms before?”
“That was in the past….”
Isabella trailed off, biting her lip firmly.
The memory of her last encounter with Cassia before entering the Demon Realm surfaced in her mind.
-Or should I take him for myself?
The sinister gleam in Cassia’s eyes as she boldly declared before her that she would claim Kwon O-jin.
There was no trace of the gentle kindness she had shown in the past.
And even if Cassia had approached her with the same affection as when they were younger, Isabella could not have accepted her so readily.
“Elder Sister tried to kill you.”
“That was because the Heavenly Demon had….”
“I know.”
I knew that Cassia hadn’t been in her right mind at the time.
But even though my mind understood it, whenever I recalled how close Kwon O-jin had come to death, a thick murderous intent welled up within me.
Kwon O-jin stroked Isabella’s cheek as she stood with a conflicted expression, her lip caught between her teeth.
“Nothing happened anyway, so don’t worry.”
“…Yes.”
As he caressed her cheek, the fierce expression on Isabella’s face softened considerably.
I briefly considered whether to tell her that Cassia had been concerned about her, but I decided against it.
‘This is something the two of them need to resolve.’
Their sisterhood had become tangled in various ways.
But given the right opportunity, they could return to their former relationship.
“With such a small chest… what does she even have to boast about?”
They could return… couldn’t they?
“Ahem. We should start packing our things soon.”
The Draconian Kingdom wasn’t terribly far away, but neither did we have enough leisure to dawdle.
One month remained until the ceremony was to be held.
There was a mountain of preparations to be made in the meantime.

* * *
A space filled with roiling black clouds.
“Haah.”
A faint sigh echoed hollowly through the vast darkness.
Eyes brimming with profound exhaustion.
A withered smile played across the man’s lips.
“Still… I’m grateful I could speak with you.”
The man murmured in a subdued voice, laying his body upon the black clouds.
Churrrr.
The black clouds surged forward, enveloping his form.
“Ugh…!”
The man groaned in agony.
His body, wrapped in the black clouds, began to dissolve and liquefy gradually.
Like ink dispersing through water.
His form was being consumed by the black clouds bit by bit.
As he was consumed, he recalled the other ‘Kwon O-jin’ he had just encountered.
‘If only I had possessed the Lyra Constellation stigma like you… would things have been different?’
A final bitter laugh escaped his lips.
It was a meaningless hypothetical now.
No amount of reinforced steel could prevent the collapse of a building already crumbling.
But.
“Just a little longer.”
The seal would break soon.
A dry smile formed at the corners of his mouth.
“Now… everything is prepared.”
Churrrr.
Even as he was consumed by the black clouds, the blue radiance burning in his eyes blazed fiercely.
“It’s time to keep my promise, Vega.”
His final voice resonated through the darkness.

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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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