The Regressor Plays the Game Too Well - Chapter 159

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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 159
159
The Ancient Skyborn had been sealed away for so long that most of their bodies were rotting away.
Yet among these decaying Celestial People, there was one whose frame was unusually massive and whose body showed virtually no signs of decay.
Wearing a crown, this being radiated an unmistakable presence.
An entity once called the King of the Celestial Realm.
But he was the one who had been cast out and sealed away by the Celestial Statue, stripped of his power.
Garuda.
A human form with the head of a bird.
Even now, bereft of strength, his magnificent visage sent shivers through all who beheld it.
His brow was deeply furrowed.
Most of the Celestial People remained in slumber.
Garuda was little different.
His half-lidded eyes revealed that he had not yet fully awakened.
But that would not last long.
Soon his body trembled, preparing as though ready to move at any moment.
‘My people are dying.’
The screams of the Celestial People outside reached him.
He could sense countless members of his own kind falling.
For now, he could not move.
But he swore to himself again and again that he would soon venture forth and crush those enemies.
And so he gathered his strength.
The Celestial Statue had abandoned him.
They called it a sin, yet the punishment was far too cruel.
He did not believe his transgression warranted the abandonment of all the Celestial People.
It was because of that merciless Celestial Statue that they had come to this state.
The Celestial Statue deserved death.
But how could a mortal, even one transcendent, dare act against such a being?
No.
It was impossible.
But he could make them suffer.
‘Destroy the Celestial Statue by any means.’
Thus Garuda issued his command.
To his people.
Even if they failed, it mattered not.
He told them he was here, was he not?
Soon your king would come.
Take heart.
Garuda waited, his eyes gleaming from within his crouched form, biding his time.
How much time had passed?
When all the sealed people finally vanished.
Only then could I find true freedom.
A lonely king with no subjects left to rule.
Garuda rose to his feet.
-I shall crush the Celestial People.
To fulfill my vow.
* * *
Jin-woo clicked his tongue lightly as the Celestial People swarmed toward him once more.
His expression betrayed surprise at how effortlessly it had gone.
But did he not know?
His own strength was the deciding factor—the difficulty itself was far from trivial.
The evidence lay in Yellow Dragon and Yu Ji-a, both already fallen.
Still, they’d held their ground admirably through stage five.
Yellow Dragon had even endured until stage seven.
I witnessed their true mettle.
Honestly, at only level fifty, holding out that long was no small feat.
Now in stage nine, both the boss and ordinary monsters exceeded level eighty.
Formidable levels indeed.
Without Jin-woo, they likely would have hit their ceiling at stage five.
Yellow Dragon’s survival through stage seven was only possible because Jin-woo bore the burden.
Jin-woo gazed ahead with eager anticipation, wondering what awaited in stage ten.
Then he sensed something peculiar.
“Hmm?”
The message announcing the start had appeared, yet the Celestial People had not surged forward.
What was amiss?
As that thought crossed his mind.
A tremendous footfall echoed from the distance.
Boom—! Boom——!
Massive, deliberate steps.
The Celestial People, winged as they were, moved with uniform lightness.
But this—this was different. Heavy. Ponderous.
Something was approaching.
And it was no ordinary presence.
Jin-woo smiled and gripped Mjolnir firmly.
For some reason, this opponent felt like a worthy challenge at last.
And indeed.
[Warning! Warning!]
[The final stage begins.]
Stage ten had arrived.
How considerate—announcing it as the final stage.
Jin-woo nodded as he observed it.
This level of power was certainly necessary.
With that thought, I stood toward the source of the vibrations.
I could see it from a distance.
A colossal frame.
It appeared to exceed three meters in height.
A winged humanoid with such a massive body, yet bearing the head of a bird.
Even for a Celestial Person, its appearance was peculiar.
Among the Celestial People, none bore the head of a bird.
This creature was exceptional.
‘Could it be royalty?’
I’d stumbled upon the correct answer unintentionally.
But there was no way I could have known.
I’d never encountered such a monster even in the future.
Gripping Mjolnir firmly, I swung it toward the creature.
Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaa―――――!
A thunderous wave more intense than ever surged forth.
The creature’s half-closed eyes snapped wide open, and it spread both wings.
Hyaaaaaaaaaaa!
A colossal gust erupted, completely neutralizing Mjolnir’s thunder wave.
The gust seemed to falter slightly, but it soon swept across the thunder wave.
Simultaneously, both forces dissipated.
Interesting—this might actually be worth fighting.
That was an extraordinarily powerful thunder wave.
Yet it neutralized it with a gust created by spreading its wings.
Curious about just how formidable it truly was, I rushed forward rapidly.
In that moment, I considered switching weapons but shook my head.
I’d been hunting with Mjolnir today.
I’d continue with it throughout.
With that resolve, I charged forward.
The creature regarded me with disdain, extending a fist like an eagle’s talon to strike me down.
“Tch!”
An overwhelming pressure.
A fist wielding force enough to make my body tremble.
But rather than evade, I struck its fist directly with Mjolnir.
Kuuuuuuuuuuu――――!
A tremendous shockwave reverberated, shaking the entire Temple.
With the tremor, both our bodies shook as we retreated backward.
Not pushed back by impact, but both withdrawing in seemingly perfect condition.
Yet the reality beneath was somewhat different.
The creature furrowed its brow while I clicked my tongue in dissatisfaction.
Neither of us had achieved what we desired.
‘Stronger than I expected?’
‘A human with such peculiar energy… interesting.’
We regarded each other warily, each assessing our opponent.
And it was the creature who spoke first.
-My name is Garuda. You possess a most unusual aura.
“Oh, you can sense that?”
I didn’t recognize the name, but one thing was certain.
This boss was different from the ordinary Celestial People bosses I’d faced.
Perhaps this was their king?
With that thought, I gripped Mjolnir once more.
My hand trembled slightly as I held the hammer.
I hadn’t completely blocked the impact.
And Garuda was in the same situation.
I felt satisfied—finally, I could create worthwhile content.
I turned to Gia, Yellow Dragon, and Luna and spoke.
“I’ll handle this alone, so wait for me.”
If I needed help, I would call them then.
They all nodded in agreement.
Honestly, I wondered if they could even participate in such a battle.
But I didn’t bother saying that.
Garuda, observing my demeanor, furrowed his brow.
A human bearing divine energy.
Garuda’s expression twisted as he sensed it.
-You’re no ordinary human. You’re connected to the divine.
“You could say that.”
-Not Celestial energy, which confused me, but that distinctive, repugnant aura unique to gods.
Garuda spoke with evident disgust as he glared at me.
I met his gaze and replied.
“Then I suppose I should share that repugnant aura with you.”
With that, I gripped Mjolnir and activated a skill first.
The first skill I used was Weapon Spear.
Mjolnir blazed white in an instant, launching a white spear forward.
A Weapon Spear forged from white energy.
Garuda attempted to block it, but realizing he couldn’t, he twisted his body and barely evaded the attack.
The brief opening created by his twisted form was all I needed—I rushed forward at tremendous speed.
But in that moment, he spread his wings and generated a violent gust, riding the wind backward before sweeping his wings once more.
Countless feathers came flying toward me.
Then countless feathers came flying down.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
An overwhelming torrent of feathers filled the entire corridor, their edges razor-sharp and menacing.
Jin-woo, witnessing the feathers materialize in an instant, channeled the power of Sixfold Radiant Slash into Mjolnir and unleashed a wide-area attack.
Crack-crack-crack! Crack-crack! Crack-crack-crack-crack-crack!
Waves of thunder rippled outward in six successive surges, sweeping away every feather in their path.
Two waves remained, surging forward to engulf Garuda.
-Not a chance!
Whoooosh!
Garuda’s two wings suddenly burst into flame, and a fiery tempest swept across the thunder waves.
Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!
Heat so intense it could melt the entire corridor.
Witnessing this, Jin-woo’s expression darkened slightly, but such things were possible.
After all, he possessed skills to match.
Jin-woo gripped Mjolnir and brought it down hard against the ground, his voice ringing out.
“Howling Frost Gale!”
Crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack!
From the point where Jin-woo struck, frost began to spread as a fierce, biting wind swept through the corridor.
Massive ice formations erupted from the ground.
Sharp spikes of ice extended toward Garuda in an instant, threatening to engulf him.
But the intense heat radiating from his two wings, wreathed in raging flames, proved insurmountable.
The moment the ice rushed forward.
Sizzzzzzzzzzzzzzz—!
It melted away, filling the corridor with steam.
As the entire passage became obscured by vapor.
Jin-woo quickly gripped Mjolnir and charged forward.
Garuda did the same.
As they both rushed in, the steam filling the corridor rapidly dispersed, and they collided.
Garuda hurled a fist wreathed entirely in flame toward Jin-woo, while Jin-woo channeled his power into Mjolnir to meet him.
He layered Sixfold Radiant Slash with the Weapon Spear skill and swung with devastating force.
What would have been impossible before, the God of War’s Blessing made achievable.
And in that moment, he activated his newly acquired Blood Battle Sense to read his opponent’s movements.
Seeing the red trajectory revealing the creature’s path, he smirked and swung Mjolnir accordingly.
Jin-woo moved Mjolnir first, demonstrating Sixfold Radiant Slash immediately.
Six sweeping strikes.
Mjolnir, imbued with thunder’s power, swung six times in succession, pressing Garuda relentlessly.
Realizing that mere flame-wreathed fists could not break through.
Garuda retreated backward.
As he withdrew to evade and regroup for another attack, he spread his wings and released feathers without hesitation.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
Countless feathers, infused with flame, streaked through the air toward him.
But it didn’t matter.
Mjolnir, swung six times in succession, unleashed its thunder waves unabated, and alongside those discharged waves, the Weapon Spear likewise came hurtling forward.
The six successive thunder waves swept through the feathers first, and the remaining waves struck Garuda together with the Weapon Spear.
-Krraaaagh!
Garuda finally took a direct hit.
But it wasn’t over.
“God of Thunder.”
A formidable skill embedded within Mjolnir.
I activated God of Thunder.
And in that state, I used another skill.
There was no need to resort to Fusion Combat.
In that moment, Garuda panicked.
Sensing the overwhelming power of lightning, he instinctively realized he had to evade.
If he swung his wings with enough force, he could escape.
He moved swiftly, attempting to break free from the domain.
Unfortunately, I could see every bit of it.
“Divine Retribution.”
Using my blood-combat sense to swiftly discern his escape route, I unleashed Divine Retribution, and through Mjolnir’s God of Thunder amplifying all lightning-attribute skills, I directed the Divine Retribution straight at Garuda.
Azure lightning filled the entire corridor.
It surged toward Garuda, and he slowly closed his eyes as he witnessed it.
So this is the Divine Retribution of a Celestial, he thought.

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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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