Not A Regressor - Chapter 49

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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 49
Monster Subjugation (5)
“Exhale.”
Before I set out to track Choi Jong-chul by his scent.
I took a moment to organize my thoughts.
“So he’s a 6-star Awakener of Aquarius.”
From what I’d learned earlier, Choi Jong-chul was considered a fairly influential Awakener even within the Starlight Lake Guild.
Of course, he wasn’t influential enough to lay a hand on an Apostle of Polaris and walk away unscathed.
‘Even if his stigma isn’t combat-specialized, a two-star gap won’t make this easy.’
Fundamentally, when star ranks differ, you fall behind in physical specs.
Especially as the star rank increases, the disparity widens—so the gap between 4-star and 6-star was far from negligible.
But.
‘If it’s me.’
My eyes gleamed with sharp intensity.
Any other Awakener would have scoffed at the notion of a 4-star facing a 6-star.
‘I can win decisively.’
I had confidence I could overcome the two-star gap and face him.
No.
Could I merely hold my own?
I felt certain I could crush him overwhelmingly.
“Still, I can’t afford to be careless.”
I recalled Choi Jong-chul’s face, brimming with confidence.
No matter how foolish he was, he wouldn’t wear such an expression without reason.
‘There’s something.’
I didn’t know what yet.
But one thing was certain—he was hiding a trump card.
Something powerful enough to issue such a grand warning to an Apostle of Polaris.
‘Then.’
If he was concealing something.
I needed to have a solid “insurance policy” of my own ready.
“Vega.”
I channeled mana into the necklace.
A soft chime resonated.
Soon Vega materialized in a shimmer of silver light.
[Hmm. Didn’t you say you wouldn’t summon me during the subjugation operation?]
“There’s someone I need to deal with besides the monsters.”
[What?]
Vega’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Choi Jong-chul, the lecher.”
[A lecher…?]
“In his previous life, he was a notorious criminal who forcibly assaulted over three hundred women.”
[What depravity!]
Vega’s expression twisted harshly.
“He won’t begin his serious activities for another year or so. I’m planning to eliminate him before then.”
[I see. You mean to excise the evil before it takes root in the future.]
Vega nodded as if she understood.
But only for a moment.
Her expression stiffened slightly.
[Yet… is there no other way besides elimination? Even if he is a seed destined to become evil, it seems unjust to condemn him for crimes he has not yet committed.]
A fair point.
The logic of “that bastard will become evil in the future, so I must kill him now” made no sense.
‘Then…’
I should add more details to my explanation.
“According to his testimony in his previous life after his arrest, he had been committing these acts for quite some time already.”
[That means…]
“He’s not merely a seed that will become evil in the future.”
He was already evil itself—something that must be eliminated.
[Hmm. Then he must be dealt with immediately.]
Vega nodded and crossed her arms.
She seemed convinced, at least.
Yet her expression betrayed lingering doubt.
‘Of course.’
It was like pointing at a random person on the street and saying “that one’s actually evil, so he must die”—resistance was inevitable.
‘This is different from the Lee Shin-hyuk situation.’
Unlike then, Choi Jong-chul was someone I ‘had to go kill in the future.’
Even if my mind grasped the logic, instinctive revulsion was unavoidable.
Testimony without evidence had its limits.
So then.
‘I’ll simply create the evidence.’
Of course, fabricating evidence right now was impossible.
‘But later, I can make as much as I need.’
I could plant evidence beforehand, then use my authority as a Special Investigator to search Choi Jong-chul’s residence or pin unsolved crimes on him.
Such was this world.
Unresolved crimes were countless beyond measure.
‘Regardless.’
That was something to consider later.
For now, even a half-convincing ‘understanding’ from Vega was sufficient.
“Shall we go then?”
[Very well.]
Vega climbed atop my head and gripped my hair like a handle.
Whoosh!
I launched myself into the air using the wire shooter.
-Shhhhiiing!
I darted between buildings, tracking the scent.
The smell of Choi Jong-chul that I’d committed to memory grew steadily stronger.
‘Found him.’
In the distance, I spotted Choi Jong-chul’s figure.
Despite having lost a comrade to a monster’s ambush, he sat perched atop the Building Ruins with a remarkably composed expression.
‘Should I ambush him?’
Under normal circumstances, I would have struck without hesitation.
But not knowing what he was hiding, I could just as easily fall into a trap.
‘I need to feel him out carefully here and draw out his true abilities.’
I surveyed my surroundings before landing directly in front of Choi Jong-chul.
“What the—?”
Choi Jong-chul’s eyes widened in surprise as he stared at my sudden appearance.
“What brings you here?”
He asked with sparkling eyes, as if intrigued.
“What do you mean, what brings me here?”
My gaze turned glacial.
“You’re asking because you don’t know?”
“Pardon? What don’t I know?”
Choi Jong-chul’s brow furrowed in genuine confusion.
I studied his reaction, swallowing a bitter laugh internally.
‘Of course he’s bewildered.’
Appearing suddenly out of nowhere and then demanding answers—from his perspective, it was nothing but confusing.
‘What choice do I have?’
Awkward as it was, I needed to paint him as guilty here to deceive Vega’s watchful eyes.
I opened my mouth, acutely aware of Vega hovering beside his shoulder.
“Choi Jong-chul.”
I raised my spear, pointing it at him.
“I know everything you’re hiding.”
“…What are you talking about?”
Choi Jong-chul’s expression hardened like stone.
I ignored his reaction, fixing him with a blazing glare.
Boom!
I stomped my foot heavily and shouted.
“Don’t you dare slink away like a coward!”
“…!”
Choi Jong-chul flinched and stumbled backward.
I studied his expression keenly, calculating my next move.
‘Now I’ll probably get some response like, “What do you mean by dodging the question?”‘
It wasn’t difficult to predict up to that point.
Of course, I also knew what I needed to say after that.
‘I’ve known since the moment you approached my sister with those intentions, something like that.’
Since that actually happened, I wouldn’t even need to fabricate false evidence later.
‘Hiding lies within the truth.’
Isn’t that the foundation of deception?
Well then.
Struggle all you want.
I’ll paint you as the worst criminal imaginable with nothing but my tongue━.
“━How did you find out?”
“When you approached my sister with those intentions… huh?”
What?
“I was so careful to hide it from everyone… where exactly did the information leak from?”
What the hell is this bastard talking about?
[You fool!]
Crackle! Crackle-crackle!
Blue sparks flashed as Vega shot into the air.
[Why you got caught is what matters now!!]
She trembled violently, her fists clenched.
“Ugh!”
“Hk! Th-this is…!”
A dizzying aura pressed down on the surroundings.
‘This is insane.’
Shiver.
My legs quivered as if I’d been thrown outside in subzero weather with nothing but underwear.
I could barely breathe.
[No matter how ignorant this one is of the human world, she knows how horrific and vile your deeds are!]
Vega glared at Choi Jong-chul with genuine fury, her golden eyes blazing fiercely.
Rumble!!
Once again, a tremendous aura swept through the area.
“V-Vega…!”
Kwon O-jin desperately squeezed out his voice to stop her.
It was obvious as day that releasing such immense power outside the Star Palace would incur severe restrictions.
[…I apologize, my child.]
Vega withdrew the aura pressing down on her surroundings and continued.
[To be honest, I felt resistance to your words.]
I had unconsciously frowned at his sudden talk of needing to eliminate future evil.
Even though I knew he was a ‘Regressor’.
Even though I knew he was the one and only being who had endured that catastrophic future firsthand.
I couldn’t fully trust his words.
[I should have believed and supported you more than anyone else, yet I doubted you until I could confirm it with my own eyes. How foolish of me.]
Vega descended through the air and gently caressed Kwon O-jin’s cheek with her small hand as she continued.
[Forgive this inadequate Constellation.]
“Uh….”
Well, that was something.
‘What in the world is happening?’
Kwon O-jin turned to Choi Jong-chul with a bewildered expression.
He had expected Choi Jong-chul to deny it outright, claiming it was nonsense, but instead he had confirmed it—leaving him unsure how to respond.
‘How did he know?’
Know what, exactly?
“Huff! Huff! Wh-what is that?”
Choi Jong-chul gasped heavily, his gaze fixed on Vega hovering beside Kwon O-jin.
“A guardian spirit…?”
Could a guardian spirit emit such overwhelming power?
Choi Jong-chul’s expression grew confused as he gnawed at his lips.
It was unreasonable to think that a fledgling awakener who had only been awakened for less than half a year could obtain such a guardian spirit through his own efforts—it was far more likely he had received it from someone else.
“Ha! So you’re an Apostle of Polaris, how truly precious!”
Most likely, just like those fools at the Starlight Lake Guild he once belonged to, he had received it from someone desperately trying to curry favor with an Apostle of Polaris.
-Grind.
Choi Jong-chul gnashed his teeth savagely.
“Don’t you find it truly… utterly unreasonable?”
Some lose everything because they offended a mere brat.
Others strut about their lives simply because they happened to meet a single Constellation.
-When the Black Star covers the night sky, this unreasonable world shall meet its end.
Suddenly.
The words Ashad Khan had spoken echoed in my mind.
At the time, I had thought it merely an ominous prayer, nothing more.
“Yes, your words were right.”
Choi Jong-chul raised the black sphere he held high into the air.
His eyes blazed as he glared at Kwon O-jin.
“Following the will of the Black Star—I shall execute this brat!!”
Uuuuuung!!
Black light erupted explosively from the sphere in his grasp.
Writhing, sinister energy crawled up Choi Jong-chul’s arm and reached his head.
“Hehehehe!!”
This was not revenge.
It was nothing but a ‘holy war’ to create a better world.
“Come forth, demons!!”
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!!
The ground trembled.
At his command, dozens of magical beasts surrounded us from all directions.
“Hahahaha!! I don’t know how you discovered I’m a member of the Black Star Society, but you’ll pay dearly for coming here alone without fear!!!”
“….”
Kwon O-jin surveyed the magical beasts encircling him and clamped his mouth shut firmly.
‘What the hell.’
I was merely trying to frame him as a criminal so I could kill Choi Jong-chul right before Vega’s eyes without suspicion.
But then.
‘Choi Jong-chul is with the Black Star Society?’
And he was controlling magical beasts too?
‘What in the world is this situation.’
Someone please explain this to me.

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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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