Not A Regressor - Chapter 48

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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 48
Subjugation of Demonic Beasts (4)
“I see….”
Park Chang-hyun gazed down at Park Jung-woo’s limp corpse with a look of regret.
A massive gash carved across his chest, and the back of his skull caved in—a horrifying wound.
The injury to the back of his head was particularly severe, enough to send chills down one’s spine.
“Sigh.”
Awakened Users dying at the hands of demonic beasts was so commonplace that counting such deaths seemed pointless, yet seeing a corpse mutilated so brutally weighed heavily on my heart.
“Where might the other Awakened User who was with him have gone?”
“I’m not sure.”
Kwon O-jin shook his head with a troubled expression.
Of course, I wasn’t truly ignorant.
‘They went that way.’
Through the stigma of the Canis Major constellation, I confirmed the direction Choi Jong-chul and the Bald Man had headed.
Their destination was toward the City Center.
It matched exactly with the direction the demonic beasts had fled.
“By the way, did something happen between you and this person before? The atmosphere seemed rather tense earlier.”
“We had a brief argument at the Association’s registration office some time ago.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Sigh. To be honest, I didn’t harbor any goodwill toward him either… but seeing him like this, my heart feels heavy.”
I exhaled a deep sigh.
Had he not anticipated falling to a demonic beast?
I reached out toward Park Jung-woo, whose eyes remained wide open in death.
“There’s no situation suitable for retrieving the body.”
I gently closed his wide eyes and lifted the corpse, laying it flat on the ground.
—Squelch, squelch.
Black murky clouds crept slowly into Park Jung-woo’s left chest.
“….”
I glanced around briefly to see if anyone nearby might notice, but thanks to the effect of the ‘Black Veil’ trait, no one seemed aware.
‘At this rate, I could use it openly without anyone knowing.’
I could once again appreciate just how absurdly overpowered the Black Veil trait truly was.
As the clouds of Heukcheon reached Park Jung-woo’s left chest.
[Heukcheon absorbs the Scorpio Stigma.]
A blue message window materialized before my eyes.
‘As expected.’
The Scorpio Stigma.
The pinnacle of assassin-class performance—freely manipulating dozens or hundreds of types of poison while explosively enhancing bodily agility.
Of course, it couldn’t compare to the Lyra Constellation stigma.
‘The more, the better.’
After all, it was a stigma belonging to the Zodiac Twelve Palaces.
There was no harm in having it.
“I hope you found peace.”
After absorbing Park Jung-woo’s stigma.
I bowed my head and observed a moment of silence.
Park Chang-hyun followed suit in silent prayer, while Ha-eun turned away with a complicated expression.
“…Well then. Let’s move out again.”
“Yes.”
We resumed our journey through an atmosphere that had grown somewhat darker than before.
-Boom!
“Grrrraaagh!!”
“Kwon O-jin!”
“Yes!”
The demonic beasts attacked once more.
This time, it was a creature with mantis-like arms and four legs.
-Whoooosh!!
And on top of that, it could fly.
“Not so fast!”
Boom!!
Park Chang-hyun stomped heavily and swung his hammer with ferocity.
The Taurus stigma inscribed on his left chest blazed with light.
-Crack!
“Screech?!”
A weighty shockwave struck the demonic beast as it tried to take flight.
The creature’s head slammed into the ground.
“If it flies, it’ll be a pain. Let’s finish it in one hit!”
“Got it.”
Ha-eun rushed forward and snapped her fingers.
A net of crimson flames materialized, engulfing the beast’s body.
Sizzle!
A silver spear descended upon the spot.
Azure lightning scorched the creature’s flesh.
“Ki, ki-screech, screech!”
“These bastards sure know how to run.”
The wounded demonic beast staggered to its feet, flapped its wings, and began to flee.
Ha-eun bared her teeth savagely, extending her hand toward the escaping creature.
Crimson flames flickered as if ready to detonate at any moment.
“Wait a moment, sister.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Let it escape.”
I observed the fleeing demonic beast carefully.
As I thought.
The demonic beast was fleeing toward the City Center again.
“Let’s follow it.”
“What are you planning?”
Ha-eun tilted her head curiously and followed behind me.
I chased after the fleeing demonic beast, observing its movements carefully.
And then.
“…Huh?”
Ha-eun narrowed her eyes, watching the fleeing demonic beast.
Had she noticed it too?
“That thing… doesn’t something seem off about it?”
“Right?”
The fleeing demonic beast would twist its body left and right unnaturally and slow its pace whenever the distance between us grew beyond a certain point.
That’s right.
As if it were deliberately ‘waiting’ for my group to catch up.
Now I was certain.
I clicked my tongue and raised my arm, aiming at the twisting demonic beast.
Thwang!
The wire shooter erupted with flame.
-Crackle, crackle, crackle!
“Kiiieeeek!”
The demonic beast that had been twisting and fleeing collapsed with a thud.
“Only one appearing at a time from the start… and this? Could it be…?”
“Your guess is probably right.”
Demonic beasts appearing sporadically one at a time despite controlling the entire urban area.
Fighting adequately until things became dangerous, then fleeing toward the City Center.
This was.
A lure. They were herding us.
Drawing us naturally toward the center of the city.
Could demonic beasts possess such intelligence?
I furrowed my brow, unable to comprehend.
Demonic beasts.
In other words, mutant monsters possessed a ferocity several times greater than ordinary monsters.
The trade-off was that they were somewhat lacking in intelligence.
Yet they were using bait tactics to guide our direction like this?
A premonition washed over me that something was amiss.
An unpleasant premonition, sticky and suffocating like damp clothes clinging to skin.
“Hmm. I’m not sure what’s strange about it, honestly.”
Park Chang-hyun scratched his head and tilted it in confusion.
The fact that even someone as experienced as him failed to notice meant the demonic beasts were moving with meticulous precision and concealment.
It was precisely because Kwon O-jin understood deception better than anyone, and Ha-eun, who had once served on the front lines, that they could detect something amiss.
‘If they’re doing the same thing to other Awakened Users…’
There was a high probability that the Awakened Users were being led toward the City Center without even realizing it.
‘Is that why Choi Jong-chul headed to the City Center?’
Judging by the demonic beasts’ behavior, it seemed quite likely.
“Ha-eun.”
“Yeah.”
I turned to look at Ha-eun, whose expression had grown rigid, and nodded.
Now that it was certain the demonic beasts were luring the Awakened Users toward the City Center.
“Park Chang-hyun. Let’s head back.”
“Huh?”
Park Chang-hyun turned to look at me as if questioning what I was saying.
“We’re leaving already? Everyone still has plenty of stamina left….”
“The demonic beasts have been luring us toward the City Center since earlier.”
“Demonic beasts have that kind of intelligence?”
“I’m not certain. But just to be safe, it seems dangerous to venture any deeper.”
“But. There are still demonic beasts remaining….”
Park Chang-hyun’s lips moved slightly, his expression unconvinced.
“We’re not retreating entirely. We’ll deal with the demonic beasts from the City Outskirts instead.”
“Hmm.”
“Exterminating the demonic beasts is important, but isn’t it equally important to prevent them from escaping Sokcho and attacking other cities?”
I persuaded Park Chang-hyun with a reasonable excuse.
“Hmm. You make a good point. Understood. Let’s move toward the City Outskirts then.”
Fortunately, Park Chang-hyun accepted the proposal without further complaint.
“You’ll head out right away then?”
“Ah… wait, before that.”
I turned my body toward the City Center.
There was still something I needed to do.
‘I can’t miss the stigma of Aquarius.’
A thin smile crossed my lips.
It was a bloodthirsty grin.
“I’ll give the other teams a heads-up first. It seems the demonic beasts are luring the Awakened Users toward the City Center.”
“Ah. If that’s the case, I’ll go with you.”
“I’m coming too.”
Park Chang-hyun and Ha-eun stepped closer.
“No. I’ll go alone. If an emergency situation arises, I can escape the fastest.”
My overwhelming mobility using the Wire Shooter had been demonstrated more than sufficiently through all the battles so far.
There would be no objections coming back.
“Hmm. If that’s the case.”
“Understood.”
As expected.
The two of them nodded in understanding.
“…If you feel like something’s wrong, you need to get out of there immediately, got it?”
Ha-eun approached with a worried expression.
Kwon O-jin chuckled and nodded.
“Don’t worry. I’m confident I can take care of myself.”
“Come on, promise your sister. Come back without getting hurt.”
I hooked my pinky finger with the one she extended.
“Got it. I’ll contact you in a bit.”
I raised my arm and aimed at a nearby building.
Twang!
Using the wire shooter, I soared between the buildings.
After reaching an appropriate building rooftop.
-Whoooooosh!
I activated the Canis Major constellation stigma.
“Sniff sniff.”
Countless scents burrowed into my nostrils.
Among them, I found Choi Jong-chul’s scent.
‘That way.’
He wasn’t far away.
My eyes gleamed with sharp intensity.
* * *
Ruined City Center.
A middle-aged man surrounded by dozens of demonic beasts wore his characteristic sly smile.
“Heh, hehehehe! No matter how many times I see this, I can’t believe it.”
He carefully extended his hand toward the demonic beasts, which remained unresponsive like puppets.
Stroke, stroke.
The demonic beasts, creatures that were never known for anything but ferocity, accepted his touch as meekly as lambs.
“I can actually control real demonic beasts…!”
Choi Jong-chul trembled with exhilaration.
From the black orb in his hand, an ominous light that was unsettling to even look at radiated outward.
‘With this power alone!’
Clench!
He clenched his fist and burst into cackling laughter.
“Hehe. Life truly is full of unexpected turns, isn’t it?”
Three months ago.
My life had hit rock bottom.
‘Because of that damn bastard…!’
Grit.
Merely thinking of Kwon O-jin’s face made my insides twist involuntarily.
“Heh heh heh. Well, thanks to that, I was able to meet him.”
Wandering in the depths of despair, having lost everything.
Grasping at straws, I visited the Pandinius Guild office and encountered a man there.
Ashad Khan
—a man by that name.
Choi Jong-chul recalled that fateful meeting in his mind.
-Looking for a place that will take you in?
-Y-yes, sir!
-Hmm.
The bronze-skinned man nodded with a sinister smile.
-Very well. But there is one condition.
-A condition, you say…?
-Take this and move according to my instructions.
What he received was a sacred relic imbued with the power of Black Star.
That sacred relic held the power to control ferocious demonic beasts as obediently as a dog.
‘No, that’s merely a fraction of this relic’s true power.’
The genuine power of the black sacred relic emanating ominous light was far more than simply commanding demonic beasts freely.
This relic possessed a deeper truth.
“Heh. Hehehehe!!”
Choi Jong-chul laughed tenderly, caressing the black sphere.
-When Black Star shrouds the night sky, this irrational world shall meet its end.
The words Ashad Khan had uttered like an incantation lingered in my mind like an echo.
Dark and ominous words they were.
‘What does it matter.’
Black Star or whatever—it was irrelevant.
What mattered to me now.
‘I’ve seized the opportunity for revenge against that bastard.’
Choi Jong-chul’s eyes gleamed as he clenched the black sphere.
“Demonic beasts! Continue luring the Awakened Users toward the City Center!”
Snap!
He issued the command to the demonic beasts with unnecessary flourish.
“Grrrrgh!”
“Screech!”
The demonic beasts, which had shown no response like corpses, erupted in savage shrieks and scattered in all directions.
“Master Jong-chul.”
Then.
The Bald Man approached cautiously and asked.
Choi Jong-chul furrowed his brow and asked irritably.
“What is it?”
“Will that bastard Park Jung-woo be alright?”
“Not this again.”
The Bald Man chewed his lip anxiously.
“Do you know how much that bastard owes me?!”
“Sigh. Haven’t I explained this before?”
Tsk, tsk.
Choi Jong-chul clicked his tongue.
“To avoid suspicion, we need to have casualties on our side too.”
The Pandinius Guild could not be identified as the perpetrators of the coming “massacre.”
We had to conclude this operation while remaining victims ourselves.
To accomplish that.
“Someone has to be sacrificed.”
“Ugh.”
The Bald Man scratched the back of his head.
“Well, there’s no need to worry. I deliberately inflicted wounds to ensure he wouldn’t die.”
There might be aftereffects, but at least he wouldn’t perish.
“Fine. Understood.”
“Then please scout the perimeter until the Awakened Users gather at the center.”
“Yes, sir.”
The Bald Man turned and left.
About fifteen minutes passed.
“Gasp! Gasp! J-Jong-chul, sir!!”
“What is it now?”
I frowned at the Bald Man approaching with ragged breath.
“H-He’s dead!”
“Who’s dead?”
“J-Jung-woo!! That bastard is dead!!”
“What?”
Why is he dead?

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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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