Chapter 143: The Record of Regression (1)

The wedding ring.

Back when Isaac married into the Helmont family as a son-in-law.

It was the only dowry he had prepared after liquidating all his assets.

Even so, it was a rather humble gift for the eldest daughter of Helmont to wear on her left ring finger.

On the day of their divorce, the couple exchanged their rings before the gods.

A symbol of severance and release.

The Severance Ring was a vow, declaring that they were now completely separate.

Therefore, the wedding ring Isaac now held was not his own.

It was the one that had originally been on Rianna’s ring finger.

Why was it suddenly reacting like this?

A question soared through Isaac’s mind, but it did not last long.

“Kugh!?”

The ring grew so hot that he could no longer hold it in his hand.

He dropped the radiant ring onto the ground.

It continued to assert its presence, emitting light and smoke.

The magic from the Magic Tower had already arched through the air, drawing a parabola toward the ring.

Clench!

Isaac’s hands instinctively gripped his sword.

The sword, resembling a bird spreading its wings, burst forth with Demonic Energy to confront the Magic Tower’s spell.

—Kyaaaaaaaah!

The scream that erupted from the Demonic Energy seemed to resonate with Isaac’s own emotions.

Logically, he knew he should not meet it head-on.

But Isaac did not want to see the ring destroyed.

The Tachi he swung cleaved the spell in two.

Like a star bursting in the night sky, scattering its remnants for all to see, the mana contained within poured out into the surroundings.

“Ugh!?”

The amount of mana was so immense that after just a single swing, Isaac’s arm trembled uncontrollably.

“Nameless! Go and stop the Magic Tower Master!”

At the Grandmaster’s shout, Nameless moved immediately. Another beam of light shot into the sky and came hurtling toward them.

“Let us retreat for now. It is not wise to face that magic directly.”

Countless mages from the Magic Tower were likely being consumed to cast that spell.

While they might be considered useless in direct combat, the sheer firepower of mages could not be ignored.

“…I cannot.”

But Isaac did not back down.

The secret to my regression lies in that ring. Isaac could feel it in his bones. Beyond that, he was emotionally unwilling to abandon it.

“Again! It’s coming again!”

Sharen yelled urgently, pointing at the sky. Isaac gripped his sword again with a trembling hand, but seeing this, the Grandmaster let out a sigh.

“Honestly… how can I call myself a master when I’m this soft on my disciple?”

The Grandmaster stepped forward, pushing Isaac back by pressing a hand on his shoulder.

Placing a hand on her ooodachi, she took a deep breath and looked up at the sky.

“You should also learn to let your master handle things sometimes.”

With a light grumble directed at her disciple, the Grandmaster’s sword was drawn.

A flash of light, far more beautiful and brilliant than the blue stars of the mages that lit up the dark night, flowed out from her blade.

The stars fell no more.

Two massive clumps of mana were split apart, and the surroundings were so saturated that it felt like a gourd had burst, making one’s eyes itch slightly.

Even Isaac felt a slight thrill as he waved his hand and felt the mana in the air.

“Whoa.”

Sharen, too, marveled as her Crimson Essence grew more intense.

Just then, the Magic Tower Master, Legant, and a group of mages, whose steps were somewhat slow, came rushing over.

“What is the meaning of this?”

He aimed his staff, his expression radiating murderous intent.

Legant, in particular, seemed furious, sweeping his hair back with one hand as he glared at them.

Every word he spat out, as if grinding his teeth, was laced with unconcealed hostility.

“We treated you as guests, but to think you were a pack of thieves. And you were living among us, no less. Did we look like such fools to you?”

“You are under a strange misunderstanding.”

Isaac responded calmly, causing Legant to hesitate for a moment.

“I understand you are heated, but if you calm down, you will realize that none of this adds up.”

Isaac glanced to the side.

At some point, the Grandmaster and Nameless had placed their hands on their swords.

If the other side showed any more hostility, they intended to take their heads.

“…”

Legant must have sensed it too, as he swallowed hard. The realization that he was unknowingly standing at the brink of death rapidly cooled his head.

The staff aimed at Isaac began to lower, pointing at the ring on the ground instead.

“That ring reacted to the magic. That alone requires an explanation.”

Feigning composure, Legant pressed on again. But his voice was clearly more restrained now.

Isaac looked at the ring calmly and asked,

“First, I would like to confirm one thing. Is there any possibility the magic was flawed?”

He thought that was the most likely possibility. But Legant denied it instantly.

“Once, perhaps. But our magic fell precisely on that ring twice.”

“…”

“If it were an error in the spell, they would have landed in different places. But the magic clearly targeted your ring… there is no problem with the spell.”

The conclusion was that the Mana Core was somehow related to the ring.

“Very well.”

The final confirmation was made.

Isaac, who had been considering this last possibility, nodded calmly and said,

“I believe the picture is finally coming together.”

It felt as though the veil over the impenetrable secret of his regression was finally being lifted.

They entered the Magic Tower.

Vivian had mentioned that the cylindrical tower was now a purely symbolic building with no practical use.

But contrary to its appearance, the Magic Tower was much larger than it seemed.

Buildings were erected on the sunken ground behind the tower.

Isaac had expected to have to climb up to enter the Magic Tower, but surprisingly, the actual entrance was underground.

The space they entered underground exuded a mysterious and somber atmosphere, as if it were hiding the Magic Tower’s greatest secrets.

Legant, who created a light in his hand, stepped onto a massive magic circle on the floor and spoke.

“The Mana Core falls from above.”

His voice echoed off the long, cylindrical walls of the building. He shone the light upward, but the ceiling was so high that it remained shrouded in darkness.

“We handle magic here using the fallen Mana Core. The mana within it is so vast that a person cannot easily wield it.”

“…”

“‘Mana Core’ is just a name. In reality, it’s a kind of—.”

“Wait a moment.”

As he listened, something felt strange.

“If a person cannot wield it easily, why did you think it was stolen?”

As Isaac interjected, Legant gave an awkward laugh and replied,

“When such a massive amount of it suddenly disappears, what else could we think but that it was stolen? A homeowner usually lives thinking their house is safe, but thieves always find a way to strike where they’re vulnerable and steal things, don’t they? It’s like that.”

“…”

“With the appearance of a unique method like Sorcery, and the fact that using that much mana for a spell would have left a trace, the only conclusion we could reach was that someone had stolen it. And it’s not entirely impossible to move… though it would cost the lives of five or six mages.”

The mages had agonized over the sudden disappearance of the Mana Core and ultimately concluded that someone had stolen it through an unknown method.

But it seemed there was no other way to explain it.

“However, hearing your story, I finally understand.”

Having heard Isaac’s explanation about his regression, Legant nodded and looked at the ring.

The ring had already lost its light and returned to its original state.

“The Mana Core wasn’t gone. It had already been used. To turn back the world once.”

And the one who likely used such magic was…

“Me, I suppose.”

Legant scratched his cheek, embarrassed.

“If what you say is true, it must have been at a point roughly ten years from now. The me of that time must have used the magic. To prevent the extinction of humanity.”

Of course, that was assuming Legant hadn’t died by then. But he seemed fairly confident.

Confident that he would have survived.

“Well, well. Does this mean we owe you our lives?”

To Legant’s jesting question, Isaac replied politely.

“The feeling is mutual.”

“Haha… in any case, it seems a fact that thanks to your efforts, the current situation is much better than the last time around.”

Legant added under his breath that their mages hadn’t even sensed the crisis.

He knew well that peace was not built for free.

“Then wasn’t the regression magic a success? It may be a forgotten history that no one remembers, but either way, until now—.”

“There are still questions that remain.”

He understood the reason for the regression.

He understood that the Magic Tower’s spell was a last resort used to save humanity.

“I need to know why it was me. And why our wedding ring was used as its medium.”

“…”

If dying while holding Rianna’s wedding ring was the condition for activation…

Then conversely, why hadn’t the deceased Rianna, who was wearing her ring, also regress?

“Could it be that I was not the only one who regressed?”

Isaac asked, just in case, but Legant shook his head.

“That’s impossible. The spell is triggered by death in the first place. By that logic, you would have had to die at the exact same moment to regress together.”

“…”

“Give me the ring.”

Isaac placed the ring in Legant’s palm.

He examined it from all angles, muttering to himself.

“So this was a ring imbued with magic that used the Mana Core. This means the ring also came from the future. If I was the one who used it, there must be something—.”

While Legant muttered, the rest of the group looked at Isaac with rather complex expressions.

“Well, now that everyone knows, isn’t it a relief?”

“One’s level of intimacy is determined by who knows about Isaac’s regression and who doesn’t! Hah!”

The Grandmaster offered comfort while Sharen preened.

In contrast, Nameless and Damian wore complicated expressions.

It wasn’t that they were upset, but they seemed fascinated by Isaac, who had personally experienced the phenomenon of regression.

And then.

“…It really is here.”

Legant muttered, looking at the ring.

He let out a hollow laugh and explained.

“Usually, mages have their own ways of—.”

“The explanation is unnecessary. Please be brief.”

Isaac cut in sharply, knowing mages had a tendency to add useless tangents to their explanations.

Looking disappointed, Legant spoke succinctly.

“It’s here. A trace I engraved with my mana. So it was true? Honestly, I was half in doubt.”

“…”

So he never fully believed me.

“I probably left it to help understand the situation. I may not look it, but I am the Magic Tower Master. I can see a few steps ahead of others.”

Pleased with the competence of himself from ten years in the future, Legant placed the ring in the center of the underground magic circle.

“We can view the record immediately. Thanks to a certain someone, we have plenty of mana to spare.”

Since the magic to find the Mana Core was cut off as soon as it began, they had an abundance of mana.

There was no hesitation.

Isaac slowly drew closer.

Soon, mana began to spread from Legant’s body.

His body remained where it was.

But Isaac’s vision drew closer and closer to the ring until finally, he was completely pulled inside.

A narrow lectern, worn-out pews, and motes of stale dust floating in the air, illuminated by faded stained-glass windows.

This place is…

It was a familiar location to Isaac.

The capital of the Kingdom, Evergard.

The church managed by Sister Helia Bell, the same nun as Jonathan’s mother.

However, one thing was different from what Isaac knew: it was completely neglected.

It was as if the woman who managed this place had been gone for several years.

The place where we were divorced.

The memory of that day still left a bitter taste on his tongue.

The blurry scenery gradually gained color.

In the center of the church stood two women with red hair.

One of them was the woman Isaac had ultimately laid to rest.

Rianna Helmont.

Which meant the red-haired woman standing opposite her was—

[Sharen, where is Legant?]

The woman Rianna called Sharen looked quite different from the one Isaac knew.

The pigtails she used to wear were now tied into a single ponytail, and her expression held not a trace of innocent liveliness, but only a cold-hearted pragmatism.

[Why are you here instead of Legant?]

[Because I had a feeling what choice you would make, Sister. I asked Legant if I could meet you first.]

Sharen’s voice was filled with hostility. The iciness emanating from her emotionless features could have been mistaken for hatred toward Rianna.

But to Isaac, who knew her well, the deep concern hidden within was her true feeling.

[You’re going to make Isaac regress.]

[Sharen—.]

[I’m against it, Sister.]

[…]

[You should be the one to regress.]

[Sharen, you know as well as I do. You know how many people Isaac is saving, now that they call him the Ink Sword.]

Sharen fell silent.

She could not deny it.

The books published under the name ‘Isaac’ served as highly effective manuals for soldiers.

Sharen herself had learned from them, so she could not blindly object.

[Even so, you should be the one to regress.]

Sharen was resolute.

[If it’s you, Sister… you could do better.]

At her icy voice, Rianna offered a faint smile.

It was so bitter that it made even Isaac’s chest ache, though he already knew the outcome.

[My dear sister, Sharen.]

[…You have to live, Sister.]

[Thank you.]

[You, at least, have to live.]

[This isn’t just an emotional decision. If Clarisse were alive, I would have asked her… but it’s too late.]

[Sister!]

Rianna did not answer further.

She knew why Sharen was speaking this way, which made it difficult to simply deny her.

But Rianna had already made up her mind.

[Isaac will surely succeed.]

[Now of all times! You’re going to play the wife now?! It’s been ten years since he left! Why, for a man you haven’t seen in a decade—!]

Rianna did not answer.

Because Sharen already knew the answer.

Grit.

The expression on Sharen’s face, as she clenched her teeth, slowly faded away.

[The regression is triggered by death, they said.]

She looked at the ring on Rianna’s left ring finger, her expression hardening with cold resolve.

[I’m going to kill you now and make you regress.]

Sharen declared.

[Because I want you to live, Sister.]