A Regressor's Bucket List

Chapter 285 : Primordial Demon (3)

‘…Damn.’

In fact, U-jin already knew that the original duty of the Exorcists was not to stop things like the Demonic Species, but rather to manage the ‘Primordial Demons.’

It was only natural.

Even without looking back at his previous life, he had already been involved with a Primordial Demon once in this current life during the process of saving Shim Cheong on the Shandong Peninsula.

『It’s the heart of a Primordial Demon.』

『……!』

『…And naturally, the thing embedded right in the center is what we need to pull out.』

At that time, Leonardo Louis Button had been present on the Shandong Peninsula and had intervened at the perfect moment during a touch-and-go situation.

Considering the vast expanse of the Upper Plane, that was an impossibility.

An Inquisitor of the Exorcists didn't have a job like playing territory games; what business would he have in a backwater region of the Murim Empire?

Furthermore, there hadn't been much of a time gap.

In U-jin’s estimation, the reason Louis Button could arrive on the Shandong Peninsula where U-jin was in such a short time was likely because the Exorcists possessed a separate method of detecting the movements of Primordial Demons.

Naturally, his presence there hadn't been because of U-jin either.

『…That’s enough, Seo U-jin.』

『…….』

『Any more than that will become truly dangerous.』

It was because he had perceived that the heartbeat of the Primordial Demon’s heart had changed inside that cave where the Demonic Sword, ‘Chiyou,’ was kept.

If U-jin’s guess was correct, Louis hadn't rushed there and intervened the moment he arrived; he had arrived, watched the situation, and then stepped in just before a truly dangerous line was crossed.

『…It’s not an execution.』

『…….』

『…You foolish human.』

Even to U-jin, that overly dramatic acting back then had certainly felt awkward.

His uncharacteristic behavior added another layer of suspicion.

And that wasn't all.

『…It is in that context, but to be precise, it’s a bit different.』

『…….』

『What I want to ask of you, Seo U-jin, is to mine the “Quark Source Stone.”』

『……!』

The deal U-jin had made with Louis when he was charged with ‘Hero Slaying.’

That, too, was somewhat related to the Exorcists’ actual duty of ‘managing Primordial Demons.’

Louis had made the excuse that the number of Demonic Species appearing had increased, leading to a shortage of Quarks.

In reality, however, the amount of Quark required to defeat Demonic Species couldn't be considered that large.

U-jin had done that work himself once, so there was no way he wouldn't know.

The amount of Quark normally consumed should have been more than enough to handle the Demonic Species.

The self-regeneration of the Quark Source Stone wasn't at such a low level, and the difficulty in dealing with Demonic Species lay in their unique cunning, not their numbers.

Once identified, even a microscopic amount of Quark could suppress the power of a Demonic Species.

Despite this, the reason the Exorcists suffered a Quark shortage was none other than the fact that Quarks were also consumed to maintain the seals of the ‘Primordial Demons.’

In particular, an extreme amount of Quark had been necessary during the aftermath of dealing with the Primordial Demon on the Shandong Peninsula that U-jin had disturbed.

In a way, it was obvious.

No matter if it was the work of the Messiah, as long as sealing was included in the techniques of utilizing mana, there were bound to be limits.

The fact that mana gathered to cause a certain phenomenon meant that a powerful force of compulsion was being exerted.

And mana forced together would naturally scatter over time due to the ‘Law of Mana Entropy.’

In other words, the resurrection of the Primordial Demons that the Messiah had prophesied wasn't talking about something extraordinary, but was actually closer to describing a natural and inevitable progression.

Just as he prophesied, the effectiveness of the Primordial Demons’ seals had weakened over time, and Quarks were used to delay that weakening effect even a little.

Since they were beings on a completely different level from the Demonic Species, the amount required was naturally massive.

From the perspective of U-jin, who knew all these interconnected contexts, it wasn't very surprising that the Exorcists were actually an organization formed to manage Primordial Demons.

…However.

The part that surprised U-jin was the timing of the Primordial Demons’ appearance.

‘…It’s too fast.’

He had expected the arrival of the Primordial Demons to be moved forward to some extent.

No, to be more precise, it would be more accurate to say that U-jin himself had decided to move it forward.

It was true that the seal on the Primordial Demon had weakened during the process of pulling out the Demonic Sword Chiyou on the Shandong Peninsula, and it was somewhat expected that the subsequent flow would follow fiercely and rapidly as they pushed back the Demon King’s Army after the great victory in the Northern Subjugation War.

But.

Even taking those things into account, the speed of the Primordial Demons’ appearance was too fast.

It was a point where the victory of the Northern Subjugation War hadn't even settled down yet.

‘…….’

In his first life, the first time a Primordial Demon broke its seal and showed itself was not after the defeat in the Northern Subjugation War, but during the battle at the Western Demon King’s Castle near the very end.

This Southern Invasion itself was an event that originally hadn't existed.

The aftermath of the ‘Northern Subjugation War Victory’ that U-jin had worried about was already beginning to take effect.

U-jin didn't know by what mechanism the appearance of the Primordial Demon and the event of the Southern Invasion were operating simultaneously, but what was certain was that this was a future he had changed.

That meant it was a task he had to handle.

U-jin focused more on Louis, who was giving a briefing in front of him.

“Then, from here, I will give you a specific briefing.”

Snap—

When Louis snapped his fingers, a magic circle glowed from the papers placed in front of each person, forming a tangible cluster of light.

What unfolded was a map.

A map depicting the entire Upper Plane, including the surrounding areas centered on Eden in the Central Continent.

Because it was a map of such a vast territory, classification by Order Territory or Demon King’s Territory units was impossible; instead, the boundaries were roughly drawn, and the factions were categorized in black and white.

The Order Alliance, protecting an elliptical area centered on the Order Headquarters, and the Demon King Alliance, which roughly surrounded the Order Alliance centered on the Western Demon King’s Castle.

But that wasn't the core point.

Snap—

As he snapped his fingers again, a red light glowed on the islands existing in the periphery of the continent.

And at the same time, people instinctively realized.

Those islands were the places where the Primordial Demons were sealed.

—Heh… eight of them……?

—Those places are…….

It was truly astonishing.

The content regarding Primordial Demons written in the scriptures people carried around, claiming it was the teaching of the Messiah, was limited to a mention of them being ‘Abominations of Desolation.’

Even adding a bit more, it was just a short mention that the Messiah had sealed them and that they would one day break the seal and be resurrected.

People talked about Primordial Demons, but their locations, names, and specific appearances were all things that existed in the realm of imagination in their minds; no one expected anyone to have such specific information about them.

Naturally, all this information only existed within the ‘Apocrypha’ that Leonardo Louis Button had brought.

Information known only to the Exorcists, who had directly managed the Primordial Demons until now.

Leonardo Louis Button shared it with everyone seated there.

And it suggested one important fact.

That even if they somehow resolved the current emergence of ‘Leviathan,’ the situation would not flow in a positive direction.

‘…….’

If the situation had ended after resolving Leviathan, there was no reason for Louis to go out of his way to reveal the locations of the other Primordial Demons.

In the first place, if it was information that could be thrown around so carelessly, there would have been no need for the Exorcists to manage it separately, and doing so could naturally cause unpredictable variables, so it was right not to do it.

But the fact that Louis revealed this anyway meant that there was an event so grave before them that it was worth risking all of that.

Or it meant that it had already become meaningless.

Of course, one couldn't bicker about a future that hadn't happened yet, but the Exorcists were the ones who knew the most about Primordial Demons among those in the Upper Plane.

In the case of the Inquisitor ‘Leonardo Louis Button,’ who directly possessed and managed the Apocrypha, he had plenty of opportunities to read it, so without a hint of exaggeration, he was likely more of an expert on Primordial Demons than anyone else in the Upper Plane.

Therefore, the probability was high that Louis’s judgment was correct.

The brows of the people who grasped that sequence of context furrowed at almost the same time.

“…Then, Lord Button, are you saying that this situation will not end immediately?”

One of them even raised a hand and asked directly.

Rather than answering immediately, Leonardo Louis Button continued what he was saying.

He wasn't ignoring the man; he had left a slight nod to the one who spoke.

“The four islands surrounding the Central Continent, Eden, are all spaces where ancient Primordial Demons are sealed.”

“…….”

“You can think of the representative island regions that symbolize each area, such as the Shandong Peninsula of the Southeastern Murim Empire, the Beelzeb Archipelago in the north, and Amon Island in the west, without me having to explain further.”

The reason he continued his story without directly answering was simple.

It was because the content Louis intended to tell the audience through this map was in line with that question.

“I believe that all the Primordial Demons sealed on these four islands will be resurrected.”

“……!”

It was shocking news.

The fact that one Primordial Demon had appeared was shocking enough, but Leonardo Louis Button’s words meant that the current situation was merely the ‘beginning.’

Of course, people had guessed that there would be more since he revealed four locations.

However, imagining it in one’s head and hearing it directly with one’s ears were separate matters.

Louis Button hadn't even said there was a possibility; he used definitive language, saying they ‘will all be resurrected.’

From the perspective of people who had expected to hear that a few other Primordial Demons were showing signs of resurrection, they couldn't help but let out gasps of shock.

“…It may be hard to believe, but that is indeed what will happen.”

“…….”

“According to the records in the Apocrypha, one is only the beginning, and once that time begins to arrive, the breaking of the seals on all Primordial Demons is a predetermined sequence.”

Once again, silence fell over the surroundings.