The Regressed Magic Swordsman Devours the North - Chapter 2

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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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Episode 2. The First Day of Regression (2)
I had spent a long time thinking about regression. It wasn’t without reason that I’d spelled out all those “what-ifs” and “if-onlys” before the Demon King in my final moments.

What was I trying to say?

From now on, I would correct the mistakes of the past one by one and prevent humanity’s extinction—and that correction had to start with fixing my own shameful history.

Clang!

Yoen hadn’t expected me to deflect his blade, and his shock was understandable. It was a narrow margin—at this point in time, I couldn’t yet manipulate Mana, but he could.
But that wasn’t all.
A street urchin rolling through back alleys would have far more real combat experience than me.

And yet I’d thrown myself at him anyway—driven purely by inferiority complex and recklessness. I had to. Because that was the only way I could face my father afterward and say anything at all.
The problem was that my defeat that day had left me with a trauma. And that trauma had cast a terrible shadow over my entire life.

But.

‘Trauma exists to be overcome.’

Humanity’s final survivor hadn’t won by luck. Not a war hero—I could beat someone like this even without Mana. Without even opening my eyes, if I’m being honest.

“Damn it all!”

Whoosh!

Yoen swung his blade again, but I simply stepped my left foot back and slipped away with ease. My body was pitiful compared to my Resistance days, but the experience carved into blood and flesh and bone remained intact.

I moved in fast, unleashing another strike.

Whishhh——

The arc of the blade traced a path through his right shoulder, his waist, his chest.
The Karsen School High Sword Modification, refined through years of war.

Rip—
Splash!

Yoen’s flesh split open, and blood sprayed forth.

“Gaaaahhh!”

A shredding scream tore from his throat.
But it didn’t last long.

Slice—

A silver line cutting through the air. A crimson thread appeared across his neck, and his head—wearing an expression of shock—crumbled along the line, collapsing to the ground.

Thud—
Thump-thump—

Yoen’s severed head rolled across the floor of Sui Mong Ya Hwa toward the onlookers. Some scattered in panic. Others, drunk on their stupor, clutched their bellies and laughed.

“Idiots.”

My first murder since the regression. I’d thought about this moment and imagined it would feel satisfying, but it left me numb.
As Yoen’s blood pooled across the wooden floor of Sui Mong Ya Hwa, soaking it dark—

——Crash!

The hidden chamber door exploded inward, and a red-eyed man strode through. The sharp click of military boots echoed against stone. Light flooded into the darkness.
The oppressive, sensual atmosphere that had suffused Sui Mong Ya Hwa dissipated in an instant. I waved at the newcomer with a smile.

“Welcome.”
“…”

Lui Daiken. A prodigy who became an Aura user at twenty-one, my vice-commander and soon-to-be official Knight. He had been a promising warrior once, before sharing the North’s fate.

My greeting was meant warmly, but he didn’t answer. His eyes spoke for him.

-What exactly are you doing?

He didn’t voice it directly because, despite my fall from grace, I remained his superior—the third son of the Northern Grand Duke. Of course, once he became a “formal Knight,” such courtesies dissolved like mirages.

A Knight was the word for those who transcended human limitations through strength.

A superhuman who wielded Mana as naturally as their own limbs, who could imbue their weapons with Aura—a being so formidable that absurd titles clung to them: “strategic weapon,” “one-man army,” “deterrent force.”

‘I’d once believed that rank was forever beyond my reach.’

Dozens of Inspection Bureau agents filed in behind Lui, each carrying the “guns” the capital had recently developed.

Lui issued his orders to them.

“Arrest everyone.”
“Yes, sir!”

With synchronized precision, they subdued and bound everyone inside Sui Mong Ya Hwa.
The operation that had failed so spectacularly under my command now unfolded without a hitch. I couldn’t help but laugh—a hollow sound.

If only I’d done this from the start.
What was I even doing back then?

Just then, Lui approached me, holding Yoen’s head—it had rolled between the tables and chairs. Blood still dripped steadily from the severed neck.

“An explanation, if you please.”

His tone carried an implicit rebuke: why kill him on the spot instead of waiting for capture and trial? By procedure, arrest and court proceedings were correct. But.
‘I didn’t act without thought, damn it.’

“He attacked first. I dealt with him on site. Check the Afterimage Stone if you need proof.”

My calm response made Lui furrow his brow. He reached into his pocket and withdrew an emerald-green Afterimage Stone—a magical artifact that analyzed lingering Mana at a scene and projected a vision of recent events.

Lui poured his Mana into the stone.

Whoosh—

Green light radiated outward in all directions. Complex formulae unfolded across the space, gathering every scattered fragment of Mana that had dispersed throughout the chamber.

Whine—

The Afterimage Stone blazed, projecting the fight between Yoen and me into the empty air. The image was clear: Yoen attacking first, me counterattacking. Sound didn’t replay, of course.

“Well?”

Lui stared at me with a slightly startled expression. The wavering in his pupils seemed to say something.

-You shouldn’t have been able to defeat Yoen Hashuman with your strength.

I answered with an easy smile instead of words.

“The results speak for themselves, don’t they?”

But.
Lui spoke as though he couldn’t accept it.

“It seems Yoen must have been under the influence of something, sir.”
“Think what you like.”
“In any case, it appears to be self-defense, so I’ll submit this footage as evidence.”

Lui’s words came out calm enough, but his eyes were wavering. Whatever else was true, my swordwork must have been quite a shock to him.

‘If the bastard had been amazed, he’d just say so. No flexibility at all, this one.’

I hadn’t told Lui, but there was a reason I’d executed Yoen on the spot.

Before the Regression, that man had broken into a home, murdered the husband, raped the wife, and was caught by police. After a sordid trial, he went to prison.

But.
He was released quickly.

The judge presiding over the appeal declared him not guilty.
It came to light later that Yan Hashman, Yoen’s older brother, had paid the judge an astronomical bribe to overturn the conviction.

The North is rotting from within.
It all needs to be torn down and rebuilt.

And. If I follow every procedure one by one, I’ll run out of time. By then, the Demon Race will have invaded and destroyed everything.

“Lui.”
“Yes?”
“I need to take an extended leave. I’m putting things in your hands.”
“······Yes?”

Lui was taken aback.
His expression seemed to say it all.

-The newcomer made a name for himself with his first achievement, so I figured he’d spend his time traveling around, boasting about his exploits. But now he’s suddenly stepping away?

I spoke gently, a soft smile on my face.

“That’s how it is. I’ll speak with Father directly and explain. Keep that in mind.”
“······You’re going to meet the Lord in person, sir?”
“Yes.”
“But weren’t you afraid of the Lord? That’s why you’ve always sent me in your place whenever it’s time to report to him.”
“······.”

This time, even I couldn’t answer easily.
Because what he said was true.

Father was one of only five Grand Masters in the world, the Sword Saint of Snow Mountain, a hero of the continent, and the sovereign of the North.

The very embodiment of honor in the Karsen Family, a house renowned for its swordwork. And back then, I couldn’t even manifest an Aura through my blade, so I had no face to show him.

So I had avoided him.
I had feared him.
But now.
I want to see him.

“This time, I’ll go myself.”
So it was.
Lui asked with a puzzled expression.

“Did something disagree with you today, sir?”

I answered him without missing a beat.

“Aruna Noble. It was delicious.”

I left Lui standing there with a dazed look and slipped out of Sui Mong Ya Hwa.

Wheeeee—

A cold wind swept past. Yet the landscape reflected in my eyes was different from before the Regression. Instead of a pristine snowy expanse, there were houses huddled together. Territory dwellers moved about in thick leather coats.
A smile spread across my face unbidden.

‘I really have come back.’

***

The Karsen Family Mansion.

This place, also called the Lord’s Castle, was teeming with people. Retainers attending to my father, servants managing the mansion’s countless tasks, Knights guarding the house.
The figure they all feared most was naturally my father, the Lord—and that was true for me as well.

The topmost floor of the mansion.
I arrived before my father’s study.

“I shall announce your arrival, sir.”

The Knights guarding the door addressed me with deference. Not out of respect for me, but because my father stood behind that door. Their reverence belonged to him, not to me.
Knights are inherently noble beings. Men like that paid me no mind. Rather, they regarded my noble bloodline with contempt and scorn—seeing me conduct myself like a half-wit despite my illustrious heritage.

“No. I’ll do it myself.”

I stood still for a moment, eyes closed.
Then I recalled the distant past.

‘How I feared opening this door.’

A swordmaster’s bloodline unable to kindle an Aura in a blade? It was shameful, despairing.
And the more I felt that shame, the more desperately I craved recognition in any form.

I joined the Inspection Bureau seeking to make a name for myself.
I threw myself recklessly into affairs beyond my capability.
That was where it began.
The unraveling of my life.

Tasked with work beyond my skill, I failed repeatedly. Each failure bred inferiority and self-loathing in equal measure.
I convinced myself my father despised me. When he called for me, I found every excuse not to go. I was pathetic.

But then.

The day Demon Race overran the land.
The day the North fell and our house was destroyed.

My father dragged me from where I hid in cowardice and forced our escape. He thrust me into a secret passage known only to him and spoke to me.

Live. You alone must live.

Those were Father’s last words.

“Sigh.”

Father still frightened me even now, but without breaking through this wall, I could not see the future.
To change the North, I needed Father’s cooperation, and I trusted in the man he had shown himself to be at the end.

Knock. Knock.

“Father. I’ve arrived.”
“Come in.”

His voice was flat, devoid of warmth.

Creak.

Slowly, as though nothing was amiss, I opened the door and stepped inside. Father didn’t so much as glance at me.

‘He’s always been like this.’

After Mother passed, he had ceased all external activities and buried himself in documents. Before the Regression, I hadn’t understood why. Now I did.

‘Father’s grief was deeper than I knew.’

“What brings you here?”

His cold tone snapped me back to attention.

“I have captured Yoen.”
……

Father showed no reaction, as though he had already received the report. His silence spoke volumes.

And so what?

He was right. One victory changed nothing. True change moved with time itself.

“I’ve come to ask your permission for something.”
“Speak.”
“I wish to establish a special investigative division within the Inspection Bureau of the Territory. Will you allow it?”

The Inspection Bureau.

Powerful in theory, yet infamous for the rigid orthodoxy of those who wielded its authority, rendering it little more than a hollow shell.
That was precisely where I would begin my transformation after the Regression.

“You find the Inspection Bureau insufficient?”
“Yes. I need an organization that applies Special Lord’s Authority to simplify all procedures, one capable of acting first and reporting afterward once evidence is secured. And I wish to staff this special division entirely with Knights.”
“Knights?”

Father lifted his eyes from the documents to look at me. His gaze was one of utter disbelief. I met it steadily and continued.

“I don’t mean to assemble them at once, of course. First, I myself will become a Knight. Then I will carefully select the right people.”
“Nonsense.”

Father cut me off sharply, but I pressed on regardless.

“In the next two months. If I achieve the qualifications of a Knight within that time, will you consider my proposal favorably?”
“………”

What must Father think of me now? Recklessness born from inferiority complex. That’s what he sees. And he’s right.

But.

I am not who I was before. I have returned from a distant future. Every step I take carries certainty. At least now, there is not a shred of inferiority or self-doubt in the words I speak.
The Regressed Demon-Slaying Swordsman Devours the North
Author
: Bangshim
Date of Production
: June 16, 2026
Publisher
: Aces Media Inc.
Editor
: Aces Media Editorial Team
Address
: 10F, Urban Bench Building, 325 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Email
: [email protected]
※ This work is published by Aces Media Inc. under contract with the copyright holder,
and the content may not be used in any form or by any means without the permission of our company and the author.
This e-book is protected under copyright law. Unauthorized reproduction or duplication may result in legal liability.
UCI
: G720:N+A129-20260615032

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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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