The Regressed Magic Swordsman Devours the North - Chapter 3

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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 3. The First Day of Regression (3)
A profound quiet filled the Grand Duke’s Office, and silence pressed heavy on his shoulders. His father’s gaze seemed to speak volumes.

—Do you have it in you to do such a thing?

I answered with my eyes as well.

—Yes. I do.

“The North is festering from within. It walks steadily down the path of decline. This cannot continue. The infected parts must be cut away. Otherwise, we perish together.”

I spoke words that should never be uttered before the Grand Duke of the North, and I spoke them without hesitation.
The North and mutual ruin.
At those words, my father’s eyes narrowed, and a chilling pressure that could crumble mountains itself poured forth.

Hisssss—

An oppressive weight that made standing itself an ordeal. Goosebumps erupted across my limbs, and cold sweat trickled down my spine.
I couldn’t breathe. I felt as though I should beg forgiveness at any moment.
My strength was draining in real time. This was no joke—a Grand Master could kill a man with sheer intimidation alone.
Highly compressed, frigid Mana plummeted the temperature of the office exponentially, and my breath crystallized as I exhaled.

Yet I did not waver in my stance, did not shut my eyes, did not avert my gaze. I simply stood firm.

If the infected parts are not cut away from this moment on, the North will fall. After the North crumbles, the continent will be invaded in succession, and that will inevitably lead to the Extinction of Humanity.

I cannot allow that. I will not stand by helplessly again.
Not the extinction of humanity, nor the fall of the North.
Not the deaths of those I hold dear.

How much time had passed?

My father slowly closed his eyes.
His overwhelming presence subsided.
I could breathe again.
Yet the tension remained.

What would my father say to this sudden, unexpected proposal of mine?
Whatever he says, I have no intention of backing down—but still, it would bring me joy if he believed in me.

In that moment.

“Two months from now, the Geumseong Jihoe will be held. If you win there, I will consider it.”
“……!”

The Geumseong Jihoe. It was a martial tournament held once every four years in Seiren, the capital of the North.

Only Northerners under thirty could participate, and the victor was granted entry into the Platinum Knights, the strongest order of knights in the North.

Naturally, it was a stage where promising young knights emerged, and succeeding at it was several times more difficult than merely obtaining a knight’s commission.

Interpreting my father’s words, they meant this:

—Will you persist in this recklessness?

Before the regression, I would have tucked tail and fled. It was obvious. How could I, who couldn’t even manifest an Aura, have such confidence? Unless humiliation was my hobby.

But.
I smiled gently.
Not recklessness, but certainty.

“I’ll win the tournament and return. Ah, and regarding my duties at the Inspection Bureau until the Geumseong Jihoe—”
“Go. I’ve heard enough.”
“Yes, sir!”

I bowed respectfully to Father. Many words crowded at the edge of my lips, but I etched the clearest one into my chest.

‘Thank you, Father.’

Father answered my silence with a flat voice.

“Wash the blood off before you go.”

Right. I’d killed Hashman moments ago and come straight here, so I hadn’t noticed the state I was in. Damn—I should have cleaned up first.

I hurried out of the Grand Duke’s Office.
***

The moment I stepped into the hallway, a familiar face greeted me. Tousled hair, round features, a middle-aged man whose presence radiated warmth.

“…Roman?”
“Yes, young master. Are you unwell?”

Roman had been my dedicated attendant and steward since I was very small. When my mother passed and Father grew distant, Roman filled the void they left behind.

‘In truth, he was family.’

But.
I had never been a good family to him.

On the day when countless Demon Beasts ravaged the territory—the day of the Fall of the North—even the fortress-like Karsen Mansion crumbled.

I had hidden inside then, keeping a Defensive Artifact active out of fear, while Roman threw himself at the beasts to buy me time to escape.

-Young master! Now’s your chance! Run!

He was no soldier, yet he was brave. I was only a coward. The brave one was torn apart by the beasts; the coward lived on, shamefully.

And now.
Roman placed a hand over his heart and spoke.

“The Inspection Bureau officers mentioned it—there was a fierce battle at Chwimong Yahwa with a wanted criminal. I was so worried.”
“……”

Damn Roman. You shouldn’t have worried about someone like me. The concern in his voice cut so deeply that I had to push down the emotion welling up inside and speak lightly.

“As you can see. I’m fine. Let’s go to my room.”

I smiled awkwardly.
A thin, strained smile.
Roman followed close behind, hurrying along with me.

As I walked, watching him, I made a vow. Never again would I let you sacrifice yourself. But as we went on—

“Sion? I heard there was a fierce battle at Chwimong Yahwa. Yet here you are, in one piece?”

A blonde man with a goat’s beard twisted his mouth into an ugly smile as he addressed me. I knew who he was: Guseto of the Guseto Earldom.
The second son of the Guseto Earldom, one of humanity’s traitors who would plunge the North into ruin.

“What is it, Guseto.”
“…Not Guseto. Guseto. So you joined the Inspection Bureau and have already made a name for yourself? I knew you had it in you, Sion. I really did.”
“What do you want?”

My cold reply made his brow furrow. Before the Regression, I’d fallen for his tricks and indulged in all manner of pleasures with him. In other words, we were quite close.
I thought he was truly my friend. The truth was he’d only pretended to cheer me on while stoking my recklessness, only pretended to console me while planting self-doubt and inferiority deep inside. Thinking about it now made my skin crawl.

“You’re in quite a hurry, aren’t you?”

He drew closer with casual ease. Then he leaned in and whispered in my ear. Truly repulsive.

“Tonight. Come to our secret chamber. I’ll show you something worthwhile.”
“I don’t need it. I’ll be busy for a while.”
“What?”

He seemed startled by my refusal—it was probably the first time. But my interests had shifted elsewhere now. To your neck.
However.
Unfortunately, capturing him now was premature, so I simply turned and walked away.

“Well, I’m leaving. Guseto.”
“No, it’s not Guseto, it’s—”

I didn’t wait to hear the rest, just walked forward with heavy steps. The muttering behind me suggested he was angry, but what did that matter?
Even if I was a half-wit and the Karsen Family’s failure, I was still of ducal blood, while he was of an earl’s line. Not just any ducal line either—the Karsen Family effectively ruled the entire North like a royal house.
I simply hadn’t grasped it in those days. The Karsen Family’s standing was absolute. I would exploit the family’s prestige to the fullest.

I hadn’t been able to do so before.
And so I’d lived as an outcast.

But still.

‘How could I ever have gotten along with someone like that?’

A bitter taste flooded my mouth.

Creak—

I opened the door to my room. Yesterday’s me must have opened it too, but for me, having Regressed, it felt like an age since I’d last stepped through.

“Wow.”

A Crystal Chandelier hung from the ceiling.
Furniture crafted from fine ebony wood.
Silk Curtains embroidered with gold thread.
And.
An Ebony Piano—one I’d loved since I was very small.

I nearly lost myself in the sight of it all.
My room, which I’d forgotten for so long.

After the Fall of the North, I was reduced to abject poverty. Whether on the roadside, in the mountains, or high in a tree—any place I could lay my head became my bedroom. I washed myself with rainwater that fell from the sky.

Afraid of being attacked by Demon Beasts, the Demon Race, or bandits while I slept, I’d survived on fitful fragments of rest.

After I joined the Resistance, things improved somewhat, but it was an organization obsessed with maximum efficiency, so I had to adapt to its brutal communal life.

‘That was another ordeal altogether.’

Whoosh—

I turned my head, taking in the room around me. An elegant, comfortable space. Yes, this was where I’d lived. One more reason to save the world had just been added.

A family photograph hung on the wall in a frame made of Karsen blackwood, showing his father, mother, and siblings.

A lump rose in his throat.

The moment his eyes found his father and mother in the photograph, their faces, his siblings’—the emotion he’d been holding back came surging up through his throat.
His heart had wavered when he saw his father. But not now. He pressed it down. It wasn’t the right time.

“Roman, I’m going to wash up first.”
“Ah, yes! Young master.”

He stripped off his blood-soaked clothes. After showering and changing into fresh garments, he walked slowly to stand before the full-length mirror.

He gazed quietly at his reflection.
His still-youthful face met his eyes.

“Everything is here.”

He’d already inspected these things by moving his body, but seeing his complete form in the mirror was different somehow.
His right eye, which had been scarred by a Demon Beast’s claws and hidden beneath an eye patch, was intact and unmarred.
His left shoulder, which had been torn away by Dark Magic, was whole and sound; both his legs, which had been prosthetics, were his own flesh once more.
Merely confirming through the mirror that his entire body was unharmed filled him with such gratitude.

But was that all?

Brilliant golden hair, firm and supple skin, eyes holding the depths of an abyss, dark brows drawn as if by a brush, a nose sitting proudly upright, a sharp jawline.
Gifts granted by nature at birth. The face was the spitting image of his father in his youth—or perhaps, he thought, he inherited half of it from his mother.

Then Roman, who had been watching him from behind, spoke.

“Young master, you’re truly handsome.”

He spun around to face Roman.

‘He’s not good at flattery,’ he thought.

When he stared at Roman, the servant lowered his head in dejection. Seeing Roman’s manner, memories from before the regression surfaced.

……
……

Days full of regret brushed across his memory.

In those days, he had been harsh with his servants.
It was because his heart had known no peace.

‘I’m truly sorry.’

Roman had served him faithfully and truly.
Yet he had taken it for granted.
He was Roman’s master.
Roman was his servant.

But Roman’s loyalty was never a given. Roman was a capable servant; he could have gone anywhere else and earned enough to live comfortably.

“Roman.”
“Yes, young master.”
“I’ve been sorry for all this time. And I’m truly grateful.”

Roman tilted his head in confusion.
That was exactly the look on my face.

What had I eaten wrong?
Or was I dreaming?

Either way, I spoke my true heart.

“From now on, I’ll do better.”

I’d considered showing it through action rather than words, but I chose to speak it aloud anyway. Not just to Roman. From this point forward, whenever I met anyone, I resolved to voice my gratitude and apologies directly.

Before the Regression, there had been countless sincere feelings I never managed to convey. I’d always put them off—later, I’d think, in a better mood, under better circumstances, when things were more settled.

That “right moment” never came.
Everyone I might have told was dead.
So now I refuse to wait.

The first step to avoiding regret is opening my mouth and sharing what I feel. And the second is becoming strong enough to prevent the things I would regret.

Of course.
I cannot be strong alone.

No matter how exceptional one’s talent, there are clear limits to what an individual can accomplish. Before the Regression, even the greatest heroes—those renowned far and wide—ultimately had to place themselves under the banner of the Resistance.

Alone, no one could stand against the cunning of the Demon Race.

So my task became clear.

[Organize an army capable of toppling the Demon King’s Army.]

A general skilled in strategy and tactics.
A master of Magecraft Engineering to develop new weapons.
A merchant to secure the funds.
An administrator to manage everything efficiently.
Heroes to lead the charge in battle.

To achieve this, the first steps were clear.

1. Win the Geumseong Jihoe.
2. Establish a special investigation unit.
3. Set the North in order.

First, I’d need to grow strong enough to claim victory at the Geumseong Jihoe.

“Roman, write down everything I’m about to say.”

Becoming the strongest knight under thirty in two months? It would have been absurd.

‘If I weren’t a Regressor, that is.’

But now, as the final survivor of humanity from the future, I carried within me every scrap of knowledge that humanity had accumulated to survive—and I had already devised plans to use it.

First, I would gather every opportunity scattered across the North. Undiscovered ruins at this point in time. Magic circles. Artifacts. I would claim them all and put them to good use.

“What would you like, sir? You need only ask.”
“Sulfur. Oil. Torches.”

Roman was momentarily taken aback by my unexpected requests. But true to his nature as an excellent servant, his surprise was brief, and his pace was swift.

Some time passed. Roman returned with the supplies I’d mentioned, and after packing them into a bag, I spoke.

“Thank you. I’ll be back in a moment.”
“……Young master. Where are you going?”

Roman asked with concern at the sudden shift in my demeanor, and I assured him there was nothing in the world to worry about.

“I’m taking a brief leave.”

The first opportunity I needed to seize was……
coincidentally located within the Karsen Mansion itself.
The Regressed Demonic Swordmaster Devours the North
Author
: Bangshim
Date of Production
: June 16, 2026
Publisher
: (주)ACESMEDIA
Editor
: ACESMEDIA Editorial Team
Address
: 10F Urban Bench Building, 325 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Email
: [email protected]
※ This work is published by ACESMEDIA in accordance with a contract with the copyright holder.
The content may not be used in any form or by any means without the permission of the publisher and author.
This e-book is protected by copyright law, and 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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