The Regressor Can Make Them All - Chapter 594

Chapter 594

Swoosh-

“The Seeker can erase our power—the very reality we live in! We can’t just fight…!”

Se-Hoon’s eyes suddenly flew wide open mid-explanation, and in that same instant he had wrapped his arms around ‌both of them and leapt across space.

To anyone looking, his actions and reactions were far too unnatural. Thus, for the two who knew, the dots were instantly connected.

He regressed again.

A second time? Even more than that?

They didn’t know what had happened, but regardless, if Se-Hoon was showing such urgency, then it could only mean the Seeker’s power had far exceeded all their expectations.

Having grasped the situation, the two of them guarded their surroundings and braced for an ambush, while Se-Hoon continued his explanation as he teleported endlessly through space.

“To be precise, the ‘erasing’ is closer to having all knowledge related to the subject reclaimed…!”

Swoosh-

“It’s not that it just takes away the basic knowledge needed to refine one’s synesthetic mindscape and control mana. No, it strips away the very concepts themselves—even the ‘common sense’ everyone naturally takes for granted…!”

Swoosh-

“That’s why the moment we enter the range of her power, it’s over. Forgetting how to fight aside, you even forget how to resist!”

Common sense, contrary to appearances, was a compound body of accumulated knowledge. For example, to understand the act of reading, one had to first know what the alphabet was, what a book was, and what the utility of reading itself was.

So if the concepts of books and letters vanished all of a sudden? Then not only would one become incapable of understanding reading, but every bit of common sense derived from it would collapse as well.

Swoosh-

“I tried attacking from afar, but every strike was dismantled by her power and failed…”

Swoosh-

“I also tried attacking with other powers and blessings, only for those to be dismantled by her power and fail too.”

Swoosh-

“I tried escaping multiple times, yet I ran out of time every time and failed to leave the world.”

The calmer Se-Hoon’s explanations became, the stiffer Eun-Ha and Aria’s expressions turned. From their perspective, Se-Hoon was simply continuously undergoing trials and failures, retreating from the Seeker each time.

Underneath, though, they knew the painful truth: Se-Hoon was dying over and over, regressing each time.

“You…”

Appalled by the cruelty of the situation, Aria opened her mouth to say something but closed it upon seeing Eun-Ha glance at her and give a small shake of her head.

Would the two of them, during each regression, have been unaware of his state? Of course not. They must have known and must have brought it up to Se-Hoon over and over again. And over and over again, Se-Hoon must have answered that he was fine before throwing himself back into battle—just to witness their deaths and return yet again.

So regression… isn’t as omnipotent as I thought.

Swallowing the bitter words that she knew would become a burden no matter what was said, Aria instead asked calmly, “What’s our next response?”

Clearly the question was for his sake, so Eun-Ha also silently waited for orders.

“…”

Seeing how the two never changed no matter how many times he regressed, Se-Hoon felt a churning mix of gratitude and guilt.

“I’m going to keep fighting and analyze her power. Fight in step with my movements.”

“That’s easy enough.”

“Understood.”

Though they could sense their own deaths, Aria and Eun-Ha said nothing more, and Se-Hoon likewise said nothing about the fact that he would keep regressing.

Ready to resist their fates, the three of them landed on a vast clearing and readied themselves—

Crack!

The sunset-colored sky overhead immediately shattered into thousands of pieces that cascaded down toward them as though it had been waiting for the moment they stopped.

Aria and Eun-Ha moved into action, ready to intercept the crimson fragments raining down over their heads, yet Se-Hoon activated the Celestial Infinity Blade first.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Hundreds of sword aura manifestations materialized in midair, revolving around the three of them, blocking and shattering the falling fragments with practiced ease. Having already gone through such an exchange many times, Se-Hoon defended against it without thought, then smoothly compressed his darkness mana, Midnight Abyss, and water mana, Silver River, into his right hand.

Woong!

The two types of elemental mana meshed together naturally, shaping themselves into a slender spiral spear, while the powers of Perception and Premotion observed every possibility in the surrounding area.

Then, the split-second he locked onto the Seeker staring their way from dozens of kilometers away, the spear in his right hand shot out and pierced through space.

Thud!

The spear pierced through, erupting from the Seeker’s heart. Perception, Premotion, and Space—three powers unfolded simultaneously, turning the attack into an unavoidable strike that was observed and hit in the same instant.

“Attack me!”

Confirming the hit, Se-Hoon’s sharp shout responded, followed by Aria and Eun-Ha unleashing the attacks they had already been preparing according to instruction without hesitation.

Golden sword aura that severed all things and scarlet flames that burned all things.

Facing the two attacks rushing toward him with the might to kill him outright, Se-Hoon immediately activated the power of Boundaries.

Swish-

A Nether Eye emerged from the spiral spear piercing the Seeker, separating the surrounding area beyond the boundary. In the next smooth motion, he shifted Aria and Eun-Ha’s attacks through the power of Space, redirecting the golden sword aura and scarlet fire to erupt from within the Seeker’s body.

BOOM!

An exacting strike executed by sniping a target immobilized by the power of Boundaries with the power of Space. Under the might of the threefold assault, the Seeker’s entire body was torn apart and set ablaze.

Akashic, True Law: Infinite Manifestation

Yet a riot of multicolored eyes fixed precisely upon the three of them.

Thud!

An orange spear burst forth, piercing ‌Se-Hoon’s solar plexus. Glancing to his sides—and seeing that not only he but Aria and Eun-Ha had also been struck—Se-Hoon moved—

“Reclaim.”

The Seeker’s incantation preceded him by a step. It was a single, short utterance that rang through their ears, yet Aria and Eun-Ha’s bodies twisted and collapsed onto the ground.

Stripped of their synesthetic mindscapes and mana, a human could never survive the fatal wound of a destroyed heart for even a moment.

“Cough…”

Even Se-Hoon coughed up blood and dropped to one knee, unable to look up at the Seeker landing leisurely before him with her wounds fully regenerated.

“Looks like all your escape routes have been blocked by now. Right?”

“Huff… huff…”

“How many times have you regressed so far? Ten? Twenty? Doesn’t feel like it’s hit triple digits yet.”

“Huff… huff…”

The Seeker’s question was denied any response besides the sound of Se-Hoon’s labored breathing, making her let out a short laugh.

“Right, right~ You don’t just blab to someone who’s aware of regression. You’re annoyingly strict about that.”

“…huff.”

“Welllll~ I don’t know how many more times you’re going to regress, but go ahead. Keep trying until you’re satisfied.”

Pointing her finger at Se-Hoon’s head, the Seeker smiled brightly.

“I’ll just kill you until you get sick of it.”

Bang!

With the shattering of his head, Se-Hoon’s broken heart began beating once more as everything reversed into the past.

Swooosh-

The darkness that had briefly swallowed his vision peeled away, and the clearing returned. Wasting not even a breath, Se-Hoon immediately prepared another Celestial Infinity Blade and braced for the attack that would descend from the sky…?

Woong-

An enormous multilayered magic array—one he had never seen before regression—appeared overhead instead, rotating with a terrifying roar as pillars of light rained down.

“What?!”

If they had been outside, he could have gathered ambient mana or drawn mana from the Netherworld to counter it head-on. Unfortunately, in the Seeker’s world, neither was possible.

Thus, his decision was another instant one. Se-Hoon grabbed the others and used spatial teleportation once more—his eyes shot wide-open upon seeing the Seeker standing before them.

Huh-

Had the Seeker followed them?! No, the coordinates of his spatial jump had, at some point, been changed to a point directly in front of her!

His mind racing, Se-Hoon’s response ended up being late. However, Aria and Eun-Ha had already moved.

Boom!

Still holding Se-Hoon, Eun-Ha kicked off the ground and retreated, while Aria swung Dawnlight and stood in the Seeker’s path. Since the distance between the Seeker and them was so tight, someone had to die. To the two of them, that only meant Se-Hoon would survive.

“Impressive.”

The sight of Aria casting aside her life without a second’s hesitation just to save Se-Hoon made the Seeker reach out with genuine admiration.

Akashic, True Form: Universal Assimilation

Woong!

A hand transmuted into orange-colored mana casually caught Dawnlight’s blade; from that point, Aria’s golden sword aura was eaten away.

“Ugh…”

Aria’s body stiffened, frozen together with her sword.

“Hmmm~ Have you ever thought your behavior was strange?” the Seeker asked, intrigued at her resolution.

“…What?”

“You’re not blood-related. You’re not lovers. And you’re not even lifelong friends. Yet you choose to give up your life for him this easily… doesn’t that seem odd?”

The Seeker glanced at Aria, then at Eun-Ha fleeing in the distance.

“I’ve felt this before. The bonds centered around Lee Se-Hoon are abnormal somehow. As if decades had passed… no, as if the people themselves have changed entirely.”

“…”

“Is that the power of Se-Hoon’s unique skill? Something that binds synesthetic mindscapes or souls together to form unnatural bonds? Actually, thinking of it that way does clear up quite a few questions…”

Watching the Seeker mull over Se-Hoon’s actions and continue her deductions regarding his unique skill, Aria let out a short laugh.

“You’re probably the same.”

“Oh? What do you mean by the same?”

“Just as you changed when you reached the summit and became what you are now, we too changed after meeting Se-Hoon. The direction was simply a little different.”

Looking at the Archmage, someone who had been reduced to nothing but obstinacy and madness by her long-cherished wish, Aria’s eyes never wavered.

“I have one question, too. If you turn Se-Hoon into a new god, do you really think you’ll be satisfied?”

“…”

The Seeker’s silence made Aria’s lips curve slightly upward.

“You, who supposedly broke free from the Golden Ring and reclaimed your freedom… do you really think the ‘human’ once called Natalia Kanayeva could accept an ending like that?”

“…”

“You know it too. There’s no way that—”

Slash!

The Seeker’s gaze followed Aria’s eyes downward. A second later, she looked ahead again as she casually flung aside the limp corpse.

“You never know until you see the ending…” she softly murmured as she continued her pursuit.

***

Despite Aria’s sacrifice buying him some distance, Se-Hoon and Eun-Ha were caught by the Seeker in less than a minute.

Thud!

Eun-Ha, having tried to protect him until the very end, had her head fly off. At the same moment, the light bullet that blew it off, which had burrowed into her, blew up to destroy her upper body entirely.

Caught in the crossfire, Se-Hoon’s vision blackened as a heartbeat echoed from somewhere. Like the many times before, the gray ring that appeared within the darkness rewound time once more, and Se-Hoon, returned to the past, lunged at the Seeker once more.

Swoosh-

He fought, died, regressed, and adjusted. With regressions repeated every few minutes, Se-Hoon ended up trying countless methods to bring down the Seeker. Alas, not a single one succeeded.

Swoosh-

The result of maneuver warfare centered around the power of Space: total annihilation at two minutes twenty seconds.

Swoosh-

The result of a battle of firepower centered around the power of Anatta: total annihilation at one minute, forty-seven seconds.

Swoosh-

The result of a sniping battle centered around the power of Perception: total annihilation at one minute, eleven seconds.

Swoosh-

The result of a battle of suppression centered around the power of Boundaries: total annihilation at forty-four seconds.

Swoosh-

The result of a short, decisive battle centered around the power of Premotion: total annihilation at twenty-one seconds.

Swoosh-

The more he regressed, the fewer tactics Se-Hoon had left. At some point, he even began feeling as though his counters were being countered in turn.

Something is wrong here…

The Seeker should only be able to perceive the occurrence of a regression. Unless he told her himself, she shouldn’t have any way of knowing which regression it was nor what had happened before.

And yet, the Seeker responded as though she knew exactly what techniques he would use? Because of that, the cycle of regression was gradually becoming faster and faster.

This…

How was the Seeker perceiving his regressions? Why did the Seeker know his tactics? Why could the Seeker state with certainty that even if he regressed, Terra would not return?

Swoosh-

Endless regressions occurred over and over, and questions continually flooded Se-Hoon’s mind—until one power answered him.

“Because you told me!”

“…!”

Hearing the whisper inside his head, Se-Hoon froze in place. Meanwhile, the power of Omniscience continued explaining while borrowing the Seeker’s voice. “You interpreted and gained the powers of the Perfect Ones—the laws of the world—in your own way. The power of Omniscience was no different.”

“…Don’t tell me.”

“Just as your past self once took my knowledge through the Akashic, this time I am taking your knowledge through the Akashic. Fair. And. Square~”

Since Se-Hoon throughout the cycles of regressions, the knowledge born from those memories was naturally being passed through the Akashic to the Seeker. In other words, the mole leaking information to her was himself.

Splurt!

Se-Hoon immediately drove his hand through his head, obliterating away every scrap of knowledge that had originated from the Seeker. Of course, that included the power of Omniscience.

Woong-

However, to his dismay, the power of Omniscience forcibly restored the knowledge back into him before he could finish eliminating it all.

“After alllll the time we’ve spent together, do you really think it’ll disappear that easily? My power has already seeped deep into your soul.” The Seeker’s mockery rang out in his head.

“Well, since it’s you, maybe you can even somehow manage it. That’s why I simply will never let you.”

“What do you think would happen if you keep repeating the cycle with less than one second between regression and death?”

“You won’t die, since you’re a regressor. But once your mind reaches its limit, you’ll lose consciousness the moment you regress.”

“And when you wake up again, you’ll see a new world—and yourself as a god within it.”

The Seeker’s whispers were both in his mind and ears. At some point, without him noticing, she had come right up to him. Now, she was even tilting up his chin with the tip of her finger to meet his gaze from above.

“You don’t seem to have any way of getting away from this. Wouldn’t it be better to end it here?”

“…”

“You must be tired… and more than anything, those two are pitiful too, aren’t they? Just how many times are you planning to make them die?”

Se-Hoon’s eyes drifted to Eun-Ha, lying collapsed behind the Seeker, and Aria in the distance. If he had learned anything, even the slightest bit, then he wouldn’t have cared no matter what the Seeker was saying.

Yet he hadn’t.

They had sacrificed themselves for him time and time again. And he still knew nothing.

“They’re accepting death for your sake, knowing that the one who will reach the future is not the current them. How many times do you need them to continue to commit suicide before you’re satisfied?”

He knew he shouldn’t listen. He knew. Yet, even so, Se-Hoon’s eyes faintly trembled.

Seeing that, the Seeker smiled.

“If you still can’t understand… then it’ll be faster to see it for yourself~”

Bang!

A bullet of light from her fingertip blew his head apart.

Swoosh-

Now that the Seeker could blatantly peek into Se-Hoon’s head with the power of Omniscience, she pressed him without leaving the slightest opening the moment the next cycle started. From then on, every single battle ended in less than ten seconds.

Swoosh-

Aria was already dead when his eyes opened; Eun-Ha was dead when he tried to retaliate.

Bang!

Once more, all he had was reclaimed by the power of Omniscience right as his head shattered.

Swoosh-

Regressing once more, Se-Hoon changed the point he regressed to in order to escape the endlessly repeating failures and deaths.

“Next respon—”

That turned out to be a mistake.

An orange blade pierced through space and severed Aria’s neck, then continued on to pierce Eun-Ha’s heart. Both were killed in a single blow.

Swoosh-

Now, the deaths of the two women that he had only seen from behind repeated endlessly right in front of him. Furthermore, what was even worse was that Se-Hoon simply had to accept that horrid sight.

If I take one step back, she closes that distance…!

He couldn’t change the point of regression. Even if he climbed farther back into the past, his hand would not change. In contrast, the Seeker would regain the cards she had once lost and make her position ‌even more solid.

He was trapped. He endlessly watches the two women die before dying himself.

What… am I even doing?

They continually sacrificed themselves, yet he couldn’t fight back. He could save them from that hell by accepting the Seeker’s proposal, yet he didn’t. He just stood there watching failure repeat itself before dying.

It was so stupidly incomprehensible even to himself.

What do I… even want?

Did he simply not want to accept a sudden defeat? Was it because the countless repeated regressions had ground away his mind and now he was an idiot?

Unanswered question after unanswered question piled up, and eventually, his vision distorted until all he could see was a single line under his feet.

This is…

The strange line ran horizontally, stretching all the way to the edges of the world on his left and right. Looking down at the line, Se-Hoon soon understood: his synesthetic mindscape had arrived at a new branching point.

Woong!

If he stepped over the line, he could create a new law and create a world of his own once he moved forward.

Swoosh-

Conversely, if he stepped back instead, he could come to understand the ultimate destruction that returned everything to the origin.

“…”

Both choices held more than enough possibilities that could defeat the Seeker. What mattered was Se-Hoon’s—his—choice. Which of the two was the transcendent path he sought and would continue to walk in the future?

It was the choice of a lifetime. Yet Se-Hoon couldn’t help but question that choice.

Is now really the right time to choose…?

The Seeker was undoubtedly a powerful transcendent. Among all the foes he had fought until now, she was, without question, the most dangerous. But if he made a choice, either option, even such a Seeker would supposedly be brought down with absurd ease. All he had to do was choose.

Feeling that through his intuition, Se-Hoon simultaneously felt an inexplicable sense of deja vu.

What do I lack?

What would be completed by choosing one or the other? Something pure, untouched even by the Seeker’s knowledge? Something he had endlessly refined, forged, and honed from his first life until now? A power that only he, and no one else in this world, could complete…?

Thump.

The heart in his chest pounded violently, feeling as though it would burst. His blood surged, violently coursing through his veins like the flames of a furnace..

Clang!

He snapped awake, feeling like he had been doused in cold water. The illusion in front of his eyes shattered to pieces. No longer was his thought process drooping and slow. Every question could be answered.

Why had he kept regressing without accepting defeat?

Because I haven’t lost yet.

Why was the Seeker, despite holding such an overwhelming advantage, continuing to urge him to surrender?

Because she can’t stop my regressions.

All that remained now was one question: what did he need to do to escape from the endless cycle of failure and death? His head clear, Se-Hoon looked at the orange bullet of light flying toward his brow—

Splurt-

With a smile on his face, he destroyed his own heart.

“You!”

The Seeker realized instantly upon seeing that smile.

Swoosh!

But that realizationcouldn’t follow her into the next cycle.

Crack!

Taking control of his heart the instant upon returning, Se-Hoon forced his blood flow and mana to rush through a pathway down his body that he had never once moved them through before.

Why? Because it was an absurd refinement method performed with his life as collateral.

Having figured that out, the Seeker was horrified.

“You crazy bastard…!”

Akashic, True Law: Infinite Construction

The countless healing spells stored in the Akashic were released all at once in the form of an aurora, forcing death back and dragging Se-Hoon back to life.

Crack-

In the blink of an eye, the same Seeker who had killed Se-Hoon countless times over was now paradoxically forced into reviving him instead. And that exchange, upon seeing it, made Aria and Eun-Ha look at one another. —and then, as if neither needed to say it first, thrust Dawnlight and Eun-Ha’s right hand toward Se-Hoon.

Splurt-

With neither saying anything, Dawnlight pierced Se-Hoon’s heart in a burst of golden light at the same instant Eun-Ha’s blazing right hand pierced through Se-Hoon’s heart.

The two of them looked straight at him. Had… their judgment been right?

At that moment, Se-Hoon died with a smile.

“Well done.”

Swoosh-

He returned to the instant Aria’s Dawnlight and Eun-Ha’s right hand simultaneously destroyed his heart.

Aria’s sword aura, Eun-Ha’s flames, and his own soul. Through the endlessly repeating instances, he refined the materials that had never once been completed despite having reached the realm of transcendence.

Clang!

The first blueprint created by Meirin had its framework reinforced by Erika’s sorcery and Jake’s swordsmanship.

Clang!

Sung-Ha’s flames and Amir’s ice forged the three pieces, as Luize’s incantation prevented them from deforming.

Clang!

Finally, Lea’s enchantment drew out their full potential.

[The host’s bond has grown to Lv. 4]

[Skill ‘Bond Fusion’ has been added.]

Confirming that the bond with himself—a measure of his soul’s level of completion—had grown once more, Se-Hoon immediately activated the newly gained skill.

Bond Fusion

WOONG!

A riot of multicolored lights burst out, centered on Se-Hoon’s heart.

Aria and Eun-Ha’s eyes widened. From their perspective, not even a second had passed since they pierced Se-Hoon’s heart. Yet feeling the bonds seeping into them through the sword and hand, they knew just how unbearably long had passed for the sake of the current moment.

“…”

“…”

Such a feeling could never be put into words.

“You two are only just barely complete, but I’m still a little short on materials. Could you help me?” Se-Hoon asked, smiling serenely at them.

Carefully, Aria withdrew her sword, and Eun-Ha pulled back her hand. Unlike before, the golden sword aura and flames dazzled with a brilliance beyond anything ever seen.

“Of course.”

“Leave it to us.”

Turning to face the Seeker, the two kicked off the ground and charged.

“Reclaim.”

Seeing the fierce offensive once again, like the many times before, the Seeker immediately reclaimed all knowledge through the power of Omniscience. And just like before, the concepts of synesthetic mindscape and mana vanished from their minds.

Woong-

However, the golden sword aura gathered around the blade continued shining brighter than ever, while the scarlet flames coiled around the fist burned on without wavering.

Their souls had brought forth everything they needed once more to forge their own absolutes.

Aurora Blade: Zenith Flash

Inferno Fist: Zenith Flare

The golden slash split apart the sunset covering the sky; the scarlet sun incinerated and erased everything in its path.

CRACK!

The Seeker’s paradise, one perfectly dominated by her, shattered pathetically.

“How is this even possible?! There should be a limit to even your skills…?”

Just moments ago, didn’t she have the absolute advantage? How could the situation have changed so completely? Frantic, the Seeker searched the Akashic to find out what had happened to Se-Hoon, yet she couldn’t find any knowledge regarding it anywhere…?

Is this really how it all ends?!

Was her long-held wish, and the countless sacrifices made to attain it, really about to disappear into meaninglessness? Grinding her teeth, the Seeker refused to accept such an irrational conclusion and drew upon all her strength as orange horns once more invaded the world.

Akashic, Terminal Law: Myriad Divine Extermination

CRACK!

The final Harbinger Shard that had dwelled in the Abyss of Demons was forcibly bloomed by the Seeker, turning into a baleful orange star that radiated ominously in her hands—a crystallization of resentment that denied and erased everything created by the Golden Ring.

Feeling its terrifying wave of power washing over them, even Aria and Eun-Ha stopped short. They couldn’t recklessly approach such a thing.

“This one’s dangerous…”

“At this rate…”

Rumble-

The Seeker’s world shook on the verge of collapse as the light of Myriad Divine Exterminationstretched endlessly to destroy reality itself—

Woong-

Se-Hoon stepped forward; his preparations were complete. In his hand was a single flying sword that shone in every color, an iridescent of all colors merged into one.

“…Is that your unique skill?” the Seeker asked, forgetting even the fact that she had been preparing for self-destruction. She just blankly stared at the blade.

“No, I’m reinterpreting it through the Celestial Infinity Blade. It’s not meant for combat.”

“Not meant for combat… I see. So that was what your unique skill was.”

Only now did the Seeker look down briefly at the baleful star in her hands, having gotten the answers that she needed.

“After all that… it’s become a head-to-head fight between us.”

“Unintentionally.”

“Then you’re giving up on Terra?”

“I’ll tell you if you surrender right now.”

“Hah! You really are an infuriating bastard to the bitter end. Tsk.”

With a final sigh, the two looked at each other before rushing forward with their final strikes.

The light of the baleful star that denied all things versus a total-spectrum light that embraced all things. Two opposing concepts going head to head, unfolding to devour one another, and splitting the world in half.

Crack-

As time passed, the light of the baleful star only shone brighter and brighter, whereas the total-spectrum light shook unstably and slowly split apart.

Would… would she truly win? The Seeker reached out toward the victory she was barely able to seize at the very end—

Swoosh-

A single ray of light stretched up from the tip of Se-Hoon’s sword. Compared to the baleful light covering the world and the total-spectrum light opposing it, it was absurdly faint, barely noticeable.

And yet that ray of light bored straight through the baleful star’s radiance without the slightest difficulty to wrap itself around the Seeker’s fingertip.

Is that… a fragment of a soul?

What was he even planning to do with such a shabby fragment? Just as that question emerged, as though to answer her, the fragment sank into her soul and perfectly filled the gap left after her resurrection.

“Lee Se-Ha.”

The ratio of Terra—no, Lee Se-Ha—rose from beneath the conscious and now occupied exactly fifty percent.

[Extracting bond from subject ‘Lee Se-Ha’]

The orange bond flowed along the ray of light around the Seeker’s fingertip into Se-Hoon’s sword aura, stabilizing the total-spectrum light that had been wavering.

And the moment that light spread out and dyed the entire world…

Genesis Break: Celestial Infinity Blade, Primordial Heavenblade

The orange horns split in the sky together with the baleful star.