A Regressor's Bucket List

Chapter 166 : White Tiger (4)

Valencia gritted her teeth.

It was because of a headache that squeezed her temples as if they would shatter.

Nausea churned in her stomach, and the information from her dizzying vision became even more painful.

She was in a state of utter confusion.

Although Valencia had experienced headaches many times before, this was the first time she had felt pain so intense it seemed to paralyze all five of her senses.

And it was self-evident where this unprecedented level of pain originated from.

“…….”

The Thought Form of Allen Tigris III, which was breaking apart and scattering into countless particles.

The moment U-jin had plunged the sword into his brow, her headache had vanished for an instant and he had regained his complete form, but after a momentary flicker, he was returning to his previous state.

No, to be precise, it was more accurate to say his appearance was even worse than before.

It was the same in that a bundle of tentacles extended from the stab wound on his side and his eyes were cloudy and vacant.

But at least before this, his very existence hadn't shown signs of scattering.

‘…It’s different.’

Clutching her throbbing head with one hand, Valencia knew intuitively.

That this headache was of a different nature than the ones before, which would pass if she just endured them.

In other words.

The end she had so desperately wanted to avoid was approaching.

If asked for proof, she had none to offer.

But if she had to give one reason, it was the form of Allen Tigris III's Thought Form visible before her eyes.

The Thought Form clearly had a single shape, but in Valencia's eyes, its appearance seemed to overlap.

One was a grotesque mass of tangled, reddish-brown tentacles; the other was the form of the Thought Form, rapidly scattering and diminishing its presence.

Neither was the conclusion she desired.

‘…No.’

The father who had been the only one to stay by her side…

…was disappearing.

* * *

Ssk—

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Valencia stood up despite the head-splitting pain.

She didn't know what she had to do, but she felt she had to do something.

— …Ah!

— Al…….

She heard something loud, but.

Valencia's five senses were already in a state of paralysis from the intense pain.

Sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch.

All five senses were jumbled, providing a mess of information, and Valencia was no longer in a mental state to distinguish between them.

Having risen to her feet, Valencia began to trudge forward, her feet dragging in the direction of U-jin.

Even if she couldn't understand the specifics.

She knew for certain that the current situation had all stemmed from that man.

Honestly, events had unfolded so quickly that Valencia hadn't grasped anything, but the Thought Form's existence had begun to fade right after that man had plunged the sword into its brow.

Because her mind had cleared for a moment, she didn't know exactly what effect it was having, but even so, stopping that man was the only method Valencia could think of at that moment.

Trudge, trudge—

Thud—

But as Valencia moved, her hazy vision faintly tracking U-jin's form, her steps came to a halt before she had even taken ten paces.

The reason was simple.

Something had hit her head.

Something that had appeared suddenly had physically blocked her head.

“…Princess.”

Then, a low voice muttered.

It was a familiar voice.

Thomas Lycan Hardist.

He was the one blocking her path.

“…Move. Thomas.”

Valencia commanded without even looking up, but Thomas did not comply with her order.

“…I cannot.”

The reply came back immediately.

…It was the first time.

The first time he had ever disobeyed Valencia's command.

Back when he was in charge of the Royal Guard, Thomas had never been able to disobey any of her mischievous orders.

No matter how absurd or ridiculous the task she gave him, Thomas had always ended up pretending to give in and following her words.

He had never once refused her command so promptly.

Moreover, the current situation was on a completely different level from the silly orders she used to give out of childish whims.

Tom Hardist was the one among the Beastkin who could understand her feelings better than anyone.

There was no way he hadn't realized how much sincerity her command held.

That meant he was blocking her path fully aware of how serious she was.

“…I said, move.”

“…….”

Even when she spoke again, Tom remained motionless.

Ssk—

This time, Valencia pulled her head away from Tom's chest, which was blocking her path, and looked up at his face.

Flinch—

The moment her golden eyes met his, Tom Hardist's body trembled for an instant.

“Move.”

The moment she met Tom's eyes and uttered the word again.

A strange thing happened.

Thunk—

Tom, who had been holding his ground, ignoring her command to move, stepped aside on his own accord, following her words.

However, the strange thing was.

The movement of his body was extremely unnatural, like a robot's, and an expression of unwillingness was fixed on his face.

That wasn't all.

As if resisting an unwanted movement, Tom's body trembled faintly, his muscles tensing tightly.

“…Keuk.”

With a small groan, Tom tried to tense his muscles once more, but.

It was no use.

His body, having stepped aside, only managed to bulge its muscles without performing any other meaningful action.

To put it simply, Tom's body was being completely controlled by Valencia.

This strange, sudden event was based on a power granted only to the Beastkin royal bloodline.

The Master of All Species.

An authority that exerted powerful control over all bloodlines of the Beastkin, it was the fundamental reason why the royal lineage, which had continued for well over several hundred years, had been maintained without a single coup d'état.

Of course, the ‘Eyes that Pierce Through Essence’ granted to the White Tiger bloodline had also contributed significantly to the succession of the throne and the maintenance of royal authority, but power alone does not always guarantee that authority is maintained.

As the Beastkin forces grew in size, various powerful individuals emerged, and the reason they remained loyal to the Beastkin royal family was not simply because the king possessed a strong ability.

Fundamentally, the fact that no powerful Beastkin who had ever appeared could defy an order from the royal bloodline was the reason its absolute authority had been maintained for so long.

Even so.

“…….”

The power Valencia had just manifested was only half of its true potential.

The succession, which should have been completed long ago, had not been properly carried out due to the existence of Allen Tigris III's Thought Form.

Thus, only half of the ability had been transferred.

Originally, it was an ability that held such powerful control that it could sway not only the body but also the mind.

No matter how strong Tom Hardist's physical strength was, he shouldn't have been allowed to show even this slight sign of resistance.

Proof of this was the expression on Valencia's face; despite Tom having moved aside, she was frowning, looking somewhat dissatisfied.

“…….”

…And.

That incomplete ability brought about another variable.

Throb—

“Keuk……”

As a throbbing headache once again squeezed her head, Valencia closed her eyes, and in that instant, the power restraining Tom's body weakened.

It was only for the brief moment that Valencia couldn't concentrate, but Tom, who had been trying desperately to break free, found his body could momentarily move as he wished, as if a rope that had bound him had been untied.

Realizing he had regained control, however briefly, Tom rushed toward Valencia without a moment's hesitation.

He wasn't daring to attack her.

However.

‘…As far away as possible.’

It was to make the best choice he could at this moment.

Attacking Valencia was out of the question, and simply standing in front of her to block her with his body was meaningless, as he had just done.

He didn't know how long the headache would last, but he was sure that the moment it ended and she came to her senses, Valencia would regain her ability, and his body would once again lose control.

In that case, the most appropriate thing he could do during this fleeting moment of freedom was to take her and move as far away as possible.

It was a short time that could literally be called a fleeting moment, but for him, that was enough time.

“…I apologize, Princess.”

Muttering softly as he swept her into his arms, Tom Hardist bent his knees once.

Simultaneously, the ground caved in deeply.

Then.

KABOOM—!

With his characteristic sonic boom, Tom Hardist leaped from his spot and vanished in an instant.

SWOOOOSH—

The sound of parting wind filled the air.

In that noisy silence, Tom looked down at Valencia and thought.

‘…For the Princess's sake.’

Given the guilt he felt towards Valencia, confronting her like this was excruciatingly painful for him.

After all, Tom believed he was the cause of the situation escalating to such an extreme.

Because he had been powerless back then.

If, on the day of Count Dracula's attack, he hadn't lost his senses and run home.

If he had gone to the palace.

He might have been able to save his lord, Allen Tigris III, and Valencia might not have been left all alone.

He might have even been able to prevent the fall of the Beastkin Nation.

…He could not let the events of that day repeat themselves.

‘…I’ll trust him.’

Honestly, Tom couldn't guess what solution U-jin had, what its chances of success were, or what kind of result it would bring.

But even though U-jin wasn't kind enough to explain everything, he had at least never deceived him.

He didn't know the specifics of the current circumstances, but he had a feeling that U-jin would produce a decent result.

He didn't know for sure, but he knew at least this much: Valencia was a necessary person for him as well.

Above all.

‘…….’

The bundle of tentacles that had appeared through the stab wound on the Thought Form was certainly something beyond Tom's ability to handle.

…It was a powerless situation, just like 100 years ago when the Beastkin Nation fell.

The only thing he could do now was to trust U-jin.

Krrrr-krak—

KABOOM—!

Covering an immense distance in a single leap, Tom landed on the ground once more, readjusted his hold on Valencia's body, and leaped far away again.