The 7th-Run Regressor Collects Calamities - Chapter 9

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 9. The Association Chairman (1)
VIP Waiting Room, Hospital.
Song Jihu sat deep in a sofa with his eyes closed, waiting for the person from the Association after finishing his examination and treatment.
A throbbing ache radiated from various parts of his body, yet his expression betrayed nothing.
“…… Water.”
Eun Seojin carefully handed him a glass of water, and Song Jihu opened his eyes. Ash-gray pupils fixed on Eun Seojin.
“Thanks.”
He accepted the water and drained it in one go. The cool liquid soothed his burning throat as it descended.
“Are you alright?”
“I’m used to it.”
A brief answer. But those words shook Eun Seojin’s pupils.
‘Used to it… what?’
To an extreme situation like this?
To fighting without pause, to battling until every ounce of strength drained away? He was used to that? How could such pain ever become familiar?
‘I couldn’t get used to it even after years.’
Eun Seojin tried to fathom the overwhelming depth of emotion he had sensed in Song Jihu’s mental world.
‘He can’t be more than his early-to-mid twenties…’
How could someone that young carry such profound suffering?
“Um…”
Eun Seojin’s lips trembled. He had mountains of questions he wanted to ask.
‘Who on earth are you.’
‘Why did you save me when we had no connection.’
‘Where did that terrible torrent of emotion come from.’
“May I… ask you just one thing?”
Song Jihu turned his head to look at him, and Eun Seojin saw eyes whose depths could not be measured, eyes whose depths could not be measured.
The moment he met that gaze, Eun Seojin had no choice but to close his mouth.
Not yet.
He was not yet worthy.
He had sworn to become his sword, yet all he had done was bluff in front of the suppression team.
“…… No. I’ll ask when I become worthy later.”
Song Jihu’s lips curved up faintly.
“A wise decision.”
At that brief praise, Eun Seojin felt a tightness in one corner of his chest. The relief of being acknowledged.
And an intense instinct to follow this man.
Creak—
Then the door opened, and a man in formal attire entered. His hair was neatly combed back, and sharp features were visible behind his glasses. He was the Association Chairman’s secretary.
‘It’s been a while since I last saw Yun Youngsu.’
It was a face he had encountered several times in his previous life.
Though he harbored ambition for advancement, he was not a bad person.
Rather, his practical ability was among the finest in the entire Association.
“Are you Hunter Song Jihu?”
“I am.”
Song Jihu rose from his seat. It was a clean motion that made it hard to believe he had been depleted of strength just moments before.
The secretary bowed respectfully.
“I am Yun Youngsu, secretary to the Association Chairman. I’ve come to coordinate the details regarding your meeting. We’ve prepared a separate space. Please follow me.”
“Understood.”
Song Jihu nodded as if he had expected as much.
“Let’s go.”
Eun Seojin reflexively stood as well, but the secretary raised his hand to stop him.
“My apologies, but Hunter Eun Seojin should first undergo a detailed medical examination from our staff…”
“Eun Seojin is coming with me.”
Song Jihu cut off the secretary’s words, and Yun Youngsu silently swallowed a sigh. He had lost count of how many times Song Jihu had pushed back against the Association’s process.
What infuriated him most was that every single objection was correct, and he had nothing to say in return.
“But there is procedure…”
Song Jihu’s gaze did not waver.
“He is my colleague. His own resolve is firm. Is there a problem?”
A low, measured voice. Yet what lay beneath it was unmistakable pressure. Yun Youngsu’s lips trembled. He wanted to push back, but for some reason, the words wouldn’t come.
His instinct was warning him. Don’t argue with this man.
And notably, Eun Seojin had not uttered a single word since then, as if Song Jihu’s opinion were his own.
“…… Understood. I will escort both of you together.”
In the end, Yun Youngsu stepped back. Song Jihu walked toward the door first, and Eun Seojin followed half a step behind as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
As the two men left the waiting room, the gazes of medical staff and hunters alike poured toward them.
“Is that the one with the Mental Barrier?”
“And that’s Eun Seojin next to him! He’s actually recovered?”
“What in the world did he do?”
“Exactly. Wasn’t he in the terminal stages of Mental Contamination?”
“Isn’t that guy the Association chairman’s secretary? I’ve seen him on TV before.”
An endless murmur trailed behind them. But Song Jihu paid it no mind. He didn’t turn his head once, simply moving forward.
The ease of a seventh life.
An indifference forged across centuries. Eun Seojin watched that figure from behind and wondered.
‘What is this person?’
Rank C. In the hunter world, rank was more than mere classification—it was caste itself.
Yet despite Song Jihu’s C-Rank designation, he possessed a power that defied explanation. The strange charisma that made even S-Rank Eun Seojin naturally fall into step behind him was proof of that.
“Here we are.”
The moment the secretary opened the door, Song Jihu’s lips curved slightly upward. He understood now why they’d come all this way instead of discussing it in the waiting room.
“They seem to take security seriously here. The soundproofing, for instance.”
“There are more than a few people who’d drool all over themselves if word got out. Though I imagine you already know who knows what.”
When Eun Seojin answered as though Song Jihu already understood, Yun Youngsu nodded in acknowledgment.
“The Association certainly understands the importance of treating Mental Contamination.”
“Of course. That’s precisely why Hunter Song Jihu spread it around so publicly, isn’t it?”
“It was a bit much, wasn’t it?”
Song Jihu grinned, and Yun Youngsu simply stated what needed to be said while consulting his documents rather than offering a reply or question.
“Today we’ll proceed only with schedule coordination and basic identity verification. The formal interview is set for tomorrow at 3 p.m. Is that acceptable?”
Eun Seojin made eye contact with Song Jihu, then nodded.
“3 p.m. works.”
Of course, no matter how important the matter of Mental Contamination treatment might be, even the chairman couldn’t be expected to haggle over scheduling and procedures indefinitely.
‘Not bad. Actually, this gives us time to prepare.’
When Song Jihu acquiesced readily, the secretary’s expression brightened considerably. He quickly moved on to the next item.
“And regarding the Regression procedure for Hunter Eun Seojin….”
The secretary turned his gaze toward Eun Seojin.
“Given the three-year isolation period, reassessment and a health evaluation will be necessary. We’ll schedule those separately….”
“Eun Seojin’s Regression procedure.”
Song Jihu cut him off, setting down his teacup. The clink rang out unusually loud.
“We’ll discuss it directly with the chairman at tomorrow’s meeting.”
“Pardon?”
The secretary’s eyes widened. Was this C-Rank hunter really about to skip the Association’s administrative procedures on a whim?
“Hunter Song Jihu, that’s protocol. The operational staff must first conduct verification….”
“Who conducts that verification?”
Song Jihu looked up at the secretary steadily. His eyes shone with a chill.
“And who grants that approval?”
“That is, well….”
“Isn’t an S-Rank hunter’s Regression a matter decided directly by the chairman?”
Yun Youngsu fell silent at Song Jihu’s question. There was no flaw in the logic.
“And if you run tests today, Mental Contamination levels can be measured immediately.”
S-Rank hunters were national strategic assets. Their return to active duty wasn’t merely an administrative matter—it required the chairman’s direct approval.
“…Understood.”
In the end, it was the secretary who surrendered. He wiped cold sweat from his brow and took a step back.
“I’ll add it to tomorrow’s agenda.”
This wasn’t the manner of speech one expected from a C-Rank hunter. The man understood the Association’s mechanics, the structure of power, far too well.
“Well then… you two….”
“We’ll see ourselves out.”
As Song Jihu stood, Eun Seojin rose naturally as well.
.
.
.
.
.
After completing the remaining procedures and leaving the hospital, the sun was setting.
The sunset painted the forest of buildings in shades of orange—or perhaps, if one looked at it a certain way, the crimson of blood.
“3 p.m. tomorrow.”
A strange heat simmered beneath the low murmur of his voice.
“There are things that need to be settled.”
Eun Seojin, standing beside him, asked carefully.
“What exactly will you be settling, sir?”
Song Jihu turned his head to look at him.
In his ash-grey eyes, caught against the backlighting, something luminous flickered and passed.
Song Jihu twisted his mouth into a smile.
“Everything.”
Before meeting with the Association chairman, he needed to finish preparing to overturn the board.
***
Song Jihu returned alone to his shabby one-room apartment.
Eun Seojin had wanted to follow, but given the cramped space and the Hospital’s earnest request, they decided he would stay one more night for observation.
A man who had been all but a vegetable for three years suddenly walking around perfectly fine — it was only natural the medical staff had been shocked.
Creak—
The rusted hinges shrieked as the door swung open. The smell of mold filled the meager five-pyeong space.
Song Jihu slumped onto the bed and stared blankly at the ceiling.
“……”
As the tension drained away, physical pain rolled in like a tide.
It was the price of recklessly tearing through an S-Rank Mental World with a C-Rank vessel. His joints creaked like rusted machinery, and one side of his head throbbed as if being pierced by an awl.
Yet ironically, his mind was sharp. In fact, it was operating more keenly than usual.
He pulled out his phone and opened the memo app. Records of the future, written down habitually right after his Regression, filled the screen.
– March 12: Lottery – operating funds.
– March 14: Complete destruction of a Hunter-specialist hospital due to late-stage Mental Contamination rampage.
– March 21: Incheon C-Rank Gate (A-Rank mutation – all personnel killed)
…
Song Jihu’s finger swiped across the screen without hesitation.
[Delete this?]
“All previous routes are scrapped.”
When he tapped confirm, the text vanished without a trace.
‘Mental Dive.’
The moment this game-changing variable fell into his hands, all six previous strategies became worthless paper.
In his past lives, Song Jihu had obsessed over preventing and suppressing what would come to pass. He scraped together as many S-Rank Hunters as he could, organized the strongest army, and clashed head-on with the Abyss Lord.
The result?
Six total annihilations. Six soul harvests.
A catastrophic defeat without a single exception.
‘But this time will be different.’
Now he could eliminate the source. He could heal a fracturing soul and straighten a broken blade.
Song Jihu began drafting a new list in the empty memo app.
‘I have far more options now.’
– Eun Seojin – Complete
– Yu Hangyeol
– Matsumoto Leo
– Ollie Backley
He wrote down the names of Hunters scheduled to be harvested by Mental Contamination. He might not be able to save all of them.
Each dive had restrictions, so there would certainly be limits.
‘If I can just end that thing….’
A situation unchanged across more than a century and six previous lives had shifted now.

The Seventh-Turn Regressor Collects Calamities
Author
: Song Tan
Production Date
: July 13, 2026
Publisher
: Asys Media Co., Ltd.
Editor
: Asys Media Editorial Team
Address
: 10F, Urban Bench Building, 325 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Email
: [email protected]
※ This work has been published by Aesis Media Co., Ltd. in accordance with a contract with the copyright holder,
and the contents may not be used in any form or by any means without permission from the company and the author.
This e-book is a copyrighted work protected by copyright law, and unauthorized reproduction or copying may result in legal liability.
UCI
: G720:N+A129-20260709064

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————