The Regressors are Trying to Kill Me

[Translator - Hestia]

[Proofreader - Kaya]

Chapter 23

Baekya was led to the Vice Guildmaster's office at the Sun and Moon Divine Guild.

A mother-of-pearl nameplate with the three characters for "Vice Guildmaster" was placed on the large desk.

Ryu Haneul took off the durumagi he was wearing and hung it on one side of the wall. Then, he personally brewed tea and offered it to Baekya.

[TL/N: Durumagi — It is a form of outerwear which is usually worn as the topmost layer of clothing, over a jeogori (jacket) and baji (pants).]

"Please, have some. It's from the Tower."

"Thank you for the generous hospitality."

"Please, speak comfortably, Senior. It's hard for me to get used to formalities."

It could have been quite burdensome to have someone stare at him intently without even taking a sip of the tea they offered, but Baekya didn't mind.

"Is that okay?"

He had reigned at the top of the world for 15 years, achieving countless feats.

Many people tried to get close to him, but Baekya often met people without even knowing who they were.

Ryu Haneul nodded his head frantically, like a fan who had become a celebrity after admiring a star and finally stood on the same stage.

"Yes, yes. Please do."

Baekya closed his eyes halfway and finished the remaining tea.

'This is nice.'

He savored the aroma rising from his throat to his nose.

"Then let me ask you a few things."

He threw his first question.

"How do you know me?"

No matter how many people Baekya met or how busy he was, Ryu Haneul was a powerful Hunter, presumed to be S-Rank.

Even if he wasn't Korean, there was no way he could be completely unaware of Baekya.

Haneul answered with a slightly awkward smile.

"Originally, I didn't exist in the Awakened society yet."

Baekya felt a sense of incongruity with the word 'yet.'

"Yet?"

"I was originally supposed to Awaken at twenty. The regression has moved the timeline forward quite a bit."

"So you're about 18 years old now?"

"Yes."

Baekya was surprised once by the casual mention of regression, and twice by the fact that he was 9 years younger than himself.

He carefully examined Ryu Haneul's features.

Although it wasn't very noticeable due to his long hair that reached his waist and the intense appearance typical of high-ranking Awakened, there was definitely a youthful air about him.

'No wonder he looked so young...'

"Then you are..."

"Yes. I'm the disciple you'll take in the future, Senior. You cherished me very much. I climbed the Tower with you and saw things that people in this world couldn't even imagine."

Baekya thought that he definitely would have done that.

The amethyst-like eyes, sparkling like finely cut jewels— the yearning for the Tower evident in his voice, and the self-assuredness radiating from his very being.

These were all the qualities that Baekya valued highly.

He didn't know why he was called 'Senior,' but he would find out in due time.

"So that's why your fighting style felt familiar."

"Yes. You taught me everything, Senior. When I saw the flame arrows, I knew you would aim for the neck. But I didn't expect you to follow up Explosive Regeneration with Hellfire."

"I wouldn't have done that originally. I wouldn't have let my sword break in the first place. It was half improvisation."

"Hehe. It's amazing to hear you say it was improvisation, Senior. You blocked every attack I made, as if you could read my every move."

"Of course. I must have taught you. That was a dilemma for me too. I wondered if I was forcing my methods on you guys when our abilities were clearly different. Was I trying to teach a bird to swim? I had those worries."

"You said the exact same thing!"

"I did?"

"And I said, wouldn't it be good if a bird could also swim? Because... someday, it will fly away. You let Siyeol, Eunwoo, and Jeongwon all become independent, didn't you?"

Gathering information wasn't that difficult.

One side had already completely opened up.

Ryu Haneul giggled.

It was a pure, innocent laugh, completely at odds with the 'Heavenly Demon' who had just wielded the Black Heaven Sword Aura.

"It was the greatest honor of my life to be able to stay by your side until the very end, Senior."

At that moment, Baekya was certain.

Not all Regressors were his enemies.

'Even Na Jeongwon said he would give me a second chance. There are factions within them.'

Of course, Ryu Haneul could turn out like Cheong Siyeol.

Just as Cheong Siyeol had...

'My idol, my hero, my sun! I will kill you with my own hands before you fall!'

Ryu Haneul could do the same.

Baekya left that as a possibility and pondered his next question.

'I need to ask about the regression.'

Just as he was about to speak...

"Then..."

Knock, knock.

There was a knock at the door.

* * *

"Team Leader Park?"

"Vice Guildmaster. I apologize."

It was Team Leader Park who had entered.

He couldn't even look Baekya in the eye and fidgeted nervously.

"I was blinded by personal reasons and pride, and I made the wrong choice."

Ryu Haneul spoke coldly.

"Explain yourself in detail."

Team Leader Park continued, bowing at a 90-degree angle.

"We were managing a Gate in Namhansanseong with a mining company called 'Woori Mining.' My younger brother, who was an executive there, unilaterally provoked Mr. Ilha and tried to take his brother, Mr. Wolha, hostage. My defeated brother tried to use my name to smooth things over, and I felt humiliated that the situation wasn't resolved even after my name was mentioned. So, I made the grave mistake of attacking Mr. Ilha when he visited the headquarters today."

Ryu Haneul looked at Baekya, and Baekya extended his hand to Team Leader Park.

Team Leader Park respectfully held out a paper bag he had brought.

Baekya could feel the sincerity within it through its weight.

He could also feel it through the amount printed on the green bankbook.

'500 million won in cash, another 500 million in the bank account... I can gladly overlook this for this much.'

From the beginning, he had no intention of receiving any reward or compensation from the Guild.

Frankly, he would have been satisfied with a 1 billion won receipt just for show.

'Brother, where did you get this money?'

'The Divine Guild gave it to me.'

'Brother, where did you get this elixir?'

'The Divine Guild gave me that too.'

'Brother, how did you get so strong?'

'With the help of the Divine Guild...'

I could use it to launder the slush fund in my subspace ring.

Even for a team leader of a large guild, it wouldn't be easy to gather 1 billion won in cash in less than an hour.

This was a sincere enough apology.

"Team Leader Park."

Baekya put the paper bag down on one side.

"Yes."

"Do you know exactly what you did wrong?"

"I couldn't control my pride and drew my sword first..."

"Don't give me that press conference nonsense."

"....."

"Do you still have any shame? Your mistake was losing to me. If you had won, there wouldn't have been any problem. But you lost, didn't you?"

"....."

"Don't lose. If you do, you'll create sins where there were none, and you'll lose everything you have."

Baekya didn't entirely agree with that way of thinking.

But he had learned something during his time as the chairman of the Hunter's Association.

Awakened individuals were governed not by the existing social laws, but by the laws of the Aitel system that had suddenly appeared 15 years ago.

If they lose to monsters, they lose everything.

When an A-Rank monster roared in front of them, the only thing that allowed them to stand their ground was their pride.

There was no benefit in needlessly provoking that pride.

He opened his wallet.

He returned all the checks he had taken earlier.

"Take this. I was being rude."

* * *

The door closed.

Baekya was about to bring up the Regressor topic again, but Ryu Haneul spoke first.

His lowered voice was filled with anticipation and a hint of playful cunning, like a mischievous child plotting something.

"What are you going to do now?"

"Now?"

"You must have plans for the future, right? Are you just going to stay quiet? Or are you going to seek revenge? Or maybe you'll just stay holed up in the Tower?"

His tightly clenched fists reflected his anticipation.

After countless regressions, Ryu Haneul had finally reunited with his senior and grabbed his hand tightly.

"Any plan is fine. Take me with you. I'll tell you everything I know and do everything I can."

Baekya tried to shake his hand off, but it was no use.

So he decided to strike a mental blow.

"Didn't you also try to kill me?"

The unspoken words were, "So what makes you think I will trust me?"

But neither of them felt those words were missing.

Ryu Haneul's shoulders slumped, like a dejected hunting dog.

"But... you said it back then. That I was like an immortal bird, reborn from the flames even after dying once."

Baekya had no recollection of this.

'Well, it sounds like something I would say. But I don't remember it.'

However, the scene from that day was still etched in Ryu Haneul's eyes.

The blazing world and Baekya's back turned to him.

That back, as always, was broad, but it was unusually cold.

'Senior!'

'…….'

'Why, why are you doing this?'

'…….'

'Please, just say something. Then I'll follow you. I'll kill whoever you want me to kill, and I'll save whoever you want me to save. You know I'm capable!'

He was Ryu Haneul, the 'Heavenly Demon.'

He was meant to break the existing heavens, transcend them, and open up a new world.

But this era of the Aitel system was too chaotic.

'Believe in the Aitel God and go to heaven!'

'The conflict between the ruling and opposition parties over the Awakened Mobilization Act is intensifying day by day.'

'The Republic of Korea must stop exploiting other countries using its superior mana stone refining technology...'

'Which country's politician are you!'

'A Grade 1 Gate has opened on Mount Baekdu! North Korea has used nuclear weapons, and the Shenyang Military Region of China has mobilized its tank units.'

He couldn't even tell what heavens he was supposed to break.

That was when Baekya became his heaven.

'Follow me.'

'Where are we going?'

'To the Tower.'

'Why?'

'I need to know. What's up there. And why this is happening to us.'

As much as Baekya, or perhaps even more.

'...Then I'll find out first and let you know, Senior.'

Whether it was good or evil, it didn't matter.

The only heaven he aimed for, the only heaven he needed to stand on, was his Senior.

Ryu Haneul's eyes welled up with tears.

"Please take me with you, Senior. Don't abandon me this time. Don't leave me alone."

Baekya knew he was weak to the tears of promising youngsters.

'This kid is just as crazy as Cheong Siyeol. Now I understand why I left him behind.'

It was also natural for a master to step aside for their disciple, a senior for their junior.

'Well, all my disciples are like that.'

As if he couldn't help it, he asked.

"Then tell me about the Regressors. You're one of them, aren't you?"

Ryu Haneul averted his eyes, looking uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry. I'm not a proper ally, so I don't know much."

"What?"

"I only joined them during the 99th-floor raid. So many Awakened had died by then that even I, who was labeled pro-Baekya and put on the wanted list, was needed. I barely managed to follow them when they were originally planning to regress without me."

Baekya changed his question.

"Then at least tell me why I fell."

Ryu Haneul answered without a second's hesitation.

"If I knew that, I would have fallen with you, Senior."

That answer was satisfying in its own way, but it wasn't the answer Baekya wanted.

"No, there must have been some incident or information, right?"

"That's... I'm sorry."

"Is there some kind of system restriction? Will your lifespan decrease if you tell me?"

"No. I really don't know. That's why no one understood you, Senior."

Ryu Haneul's shoulders drooped.

Baekya extracted as much information as he could from that answer.

'I'm not the type to brood alone. I always discussed important matters with those around me. But if no one knows, it's likely it was a personal matter. Maybe someone was taken hostage, or there was a need to reduce the population, or I was hit with a mental attack. Or maybe I actually died, and a flame-type demon or foreign god disguised as me descended.'

Then, as if to tease Ryu Haneul, he asked.

"Then what can you do for me?"

Ryu Haneul trembled all over with a sense of helplessness.

"Th-th-that's...!"

He stuttered, his mind seemingly crumbling, then held up one finger.

"I-I'll get you a new identity!"

"Identity?"

"If I say it's for one of my alternate accounts, it'll be ready in a day! Then you can enter the Tower again, right?"

Ryu Haneul pointed at the handkerchief tied around Baekya's wrist and reached out his hand.

'His fingers are really slender, aren't they?'

His touch was careful as he retied the loosened part of the handkerchief.

"As you know better than anyone, Senior..."

"Yes, the Tower's efficiency is incomparable to dungeons. Especially if it's a power-leveling zone."

"Yes. I'll even lend you a private hunting ground!"

Baekya imagined himself entering the Tower right in front of Cheong Siyeol.

'Not bad.'

If he trained in a power-leveling zone within the Divine Guild, recovering his stats to the 800s within the year wasn't a dream.

[Translator - Hestia

[Proofreader - Kaya]