A Regressor's Bucket List

Chapter 293 : Demon King (1)

“…We have arrived, Seo U-jin.”

U-jin didn’t need Louis to tell him.

In the distance, a pitch-black Western-style castle stood tall.

U-jin had visited this place once before—a place that radiated a uniquely gloomy aura.

It was the final destination that would conclude the grand epic spanning since before his regression.

The Demon King’s Castle.

U-jin had arrived at the Demon King’s Castle.

“…I never imagined I would use the relic left by the Messiah in this way.”

Louis muttered as he looked down at the four sheets of faded paper.

“I suppose everything has its purpose.”

The relic left by the Messiah.

As Louis’s low murmur suggested, the four sheets of paper he held were among the traces of the Messiah that the Guardian Cross Order had preserved since ancient times.

Though not publicly known, it was an item hidden in the deepest depths of the Order’s treasury.

To the naked eye, it looked like nothing more than scraps of paper with crispy, fraying edges, but its true nature was something no one could ignore.

“Is that so?”

“It would have been impossible without this relic. It was a sublime holy magic that I wondered if I was even worthy of casting.”

For it was none other than the ‘First and Last Memorize Paper’ drawn by the Messiah himself.

It was the hyperspace magic he had used to face the actual Primordial Demons.

The magic was so complex and high-dimensional that even Louis, who was considered quite skilled in magic within the Order, found it difficult to grasp its exact mechanism.

It was thanks to this hyperspace magic that U-jin was able to move across the vast continent in an instant.

With Louis’s skill alone, he wouldn't have been able to cast hyperspace magic with so few restrictions or risks.

…Well, of course.

“This is the end of it. There is nothing left to use for the return trip, Seo U-jin.”

The fact that it was limited to four uses was a bit regrettable.

“…It doesn’t matter.”

However, U-jin didn’t mind.

Having come this far, the option to go back didn't exist anyway.

If he couldn’t settle the score here, he wouldn't be able to return regardless. Even if he did manage to escape the Demon King’s Castle and go back, it would be meaningless, as the Primordial Demons would have already trampled the entire continent by then.

No matter what.

He had to see it through to the end here.

Rustle.

“Will the West… be alright?”

Louis, tucking the Memorize Paper into his robe, asked U-jin cautiously.

One might wonder why he was asking when they were currently in the western lands, but he wasn't referring to their current location—he was talking about the ‘Western Front.’

To stop the Primordial Demon ‘Leviathan’ that appeared in the South, they sent the Vermilion Bird.

To stop the Primordial Demon ‘Behemoth’ that appeared in the East, they sent the Azure Dragon.

To stop the Primordial Demon ‘Baal’ that appeared in the North, they sent the Black Tortoise.

However, they hadn't been able to send a corresponding Divine Beast to the Primordial Demon that appeared in the West.

“…Abaddon is not an entity to be taken lightly either. According to the apocrypha, although it is relatively small compared to the others, that just means it excels in other areas…”

Shake, shake—

U-jin shook his head at Louis’s concern.

“It’ll be fine.”

“……”

It might have seemed like baseless confidence, but U-jin truly believed it.

The moment the Primordial Demons appeared, he already knew which ones would show up in each direction.

To an outsider, it might look like he had just sent any Divine Beast to each region, but he had considered the characteristics and strengths of the Divine Beasts, as well as their compatibility with the Primordial Demons, when assigning them to their respective positions.

Since no one understood the situation better than U-jin, there was no better alternative.

Furthermore.

“…Although it’s a bit different, the Western Front has its own way of dealing with it.”

Unlike the other regions, even if a Divine Beast hadn’t appeared, it didn’t mean the West was excluded from the influence of the Xuanuan Sword.

No, strictly speaking, in terms of the ‘influence of the Xuanuan Sword,’ it was more accurate to say that the Western Front received the most direct impact.

After sending the Divine Beasts to the South, East, and North, the last place U-jin visited before heading to the Demon King’s Castle was the Western Front, and U-jin had left the ‘Xuanuan Sword’ there.

Of course, if it had been possible to send a Divine Beast to the Western Front, U-jin would have chosen to do so.

After all, the Divine Beasts were entities that had accumulated power and proven their divine efficacy since the ‘Age of Antiquity.’

In terms of power and influence, choosing them was obviously the right thing to do if the option was available.

…That is, if the option ‘was’ available.

‘…Because the White Tiger wasn’t there.’

The moment he assembled the fragments of the Xuanuan Sword, U-jin realized something.

The Phoenix, the Azure Dragon, and the Black Tortoise had all been sleeping for an eternity, holding their breath and waiting for the time of their reappearance.

However, the White Tiger—the guardian of the West and the ruler of Metal and Autumn—did not exist anywhere in this land.

But that didn't mean the ‘energy of the White Tiger’ had completely vanished from this world.

If it had, the Xuanuan Sword, which only exerts its true power when the energies of all four Divine Beasts are gathered, wouldn't have worked at all.

Unlike the other three Divine Beasts, which had maintained their original existence and appearance since ancient times, the White Tiger had chosen to leave its bloodline to future generations.

Whether it was a choice or an inevitability was unknown, but it was a certain fact that its bloodline continued to exist today.

‘…Valencia.’

She, who sat on the throne of the rebuilt Beastkin Nation, was one such example, and even the thought form of ‘Allen Tigris III’ dwelling in the fragment of the Xuanuan Sword had admitted that he carried the bloodline of the White Tiger.

They were the White Tigers existing on this land now.

…Of course, that didn't mean they could exert as much power as the other Divine Beasts.

Valencia herself, having undergone little martial training, might be better than other mediocre Beastkin, but her personal prowess wasn't something to boast about.

So, comparing her to the other Divine Beasts who could face a Primordial Demon one-on-one was logically impossible.

…However.

The energy left behind by the White Tiger didn't stop at the individuals of the royal family.

In legend, the energy governed by the White Tiger is Metal.

That didn't just refer to gold that sparkles with a yellowish light, but all things made of ‘steel.’

Or rather, it referred to a symbolic property of the Five Elements that included all such energies.

More directly, it meant ‘teeth and claws harder than steel.’

Muscles tougher than rock and hide more resilient than metal.

A body so sturdy it was said to cleave the sky and the earth.

Yes.

It didn't just mean the royal family of the Beastkin; it referred to the race of half-man, half-beast that inherited the properties of Metal.

The ‘entirety of the Beastkin.’

Thus, all existing Beastkin were, in fact, no different from the incarnations of the ‘White Tiger’ that existed in ancient times.

This wasn't just said to praise or uplift them.

The abilities of the Beastkin, enhanced through the Xuanuan Sword, were by no means inferior to the other Divine Beasts.

The moment the white energy emanated from the Xuanuan Sword, their dead eyes regained their spark, and their lost physical abilities were immediately restored.

In particular, the enhancement of the abilities gained by their leader, Valencia, was formidable.

The White Tiger’s ability, which she had shown before, the ‘Golden Eyes that pierce through the essence,’ shone even more brilliantly, allowing her to see beyond physical forms and into metaphysical realms.

From what he had briefly confirmed on the field, she could immediately pick out demons hidden among the magical beasts and read the flow of the battlefield at a level almost akin to ‘future sight.’

And that wasn't all.

Her enhanced ability unified the Beastkin as one, allowing her to command them with such perfect coordination that they moved like a single entity with one body.

It was an organic and flawless combat system unique to the Beastkin, one that even the trained soldiers of the Order couldn't hope to emulate.

It wasn't something that could be reached through mere training.

It was a higher-dimensional realm where minds were unified beyond simple physical coordination.

Furthermore, the Primordial Demon ‘Abaddon’ they had to face was not an entity whose strength lay in its size, unlike the other Primordial Demons.

Rather, like what Shim Cheong did to magical beasts, it was a Primordial Demon characterized by seizing control of targets, enchanting them, and forcing them to serve as its subordinates.

Of course, on some battlefields, such an enemy could be far more dangerous than Primordial Demons with massive bodies and immense regenerative powers, but that didn't apply to the Beastkin.

They were already under an influence similar to powerful mental control through Valencia.

In terms of level, the Primordial Demon ‘Abaddon’ would be several steps higher, so they couldn't resist forever.

But since what U-jin expected from the Western Front was the same as the other regions—to hold out rather than to defeat the Primordial Demon—at least in terms of holding out, they might show an even better performance than the regions where other Primordial Demons existed.

U-jin’s decision to leave the Xuanuan Sword there was based on a similar context.

The West was the place where the effect would be greatest when receiving a stronger energy.

“…I see.”

Of course, since U-jin hadn't explained all of this in detail, Louis could only accept it with a bit of hesitation.

However, Louis didn't press U-jin further.

The reason was simple.

From the first time he met U-jin, through the Hero assassination incident, the Darkest Dungeon, and the subsequent Northern Subjugation War.

In all the events, big and small, that occurred during that process, Louis couldn't remember U-jin ever being wrong.

In Louis’s experience, U-jin had never been wrong so far.

No, beyond that, he had always saved the Order from crises with predictions and reasoning that were almost prophetic.

So he couldn't help but think that U-jin’s words would be right this time too.

Well.

Even if he were wrong, there was no other way to handle the situation anyway.

Louis simply nodded in silent agreement, took a deep breath, and spoke to U-jin.

Whew—

“Then.”

“……”

“Let’s move immediately. It seems we don’t have much time.”

Crunch—

The sound of dry grass rustling could be heard.

The two men stepped into the ‘Black Forest.’