episode_0151

“······Thank you, Yujin. I won’t give up. Not giving up.”

“I can’t give up. You’ve come too far for that.”

“······Yes.”

Mi-jeong, closing her eyes and smiling softly, gently pats my chest.

A variety of expressions that I hadn’t seen before.

But her voice is noticeably tired and breaks off frequently.

As soon as I heard her voice, I realized.

Regardless of the activation of the Guardian Knight, this is the Mi-jeong I know.

But it’s not the same as before.

Mi-jeong used to avoid and refuse to talk about the past, but not anymore.

She faced the past and conquered it.

I am with Mi-jeong in her past.

And I will be with her now and in the future.

Mi-jeong, who chose to suffer with me instead of taking the path to happiness.

I must bear that responsibility.

I have no intention of abandoning her.

“You. How much do you know about this facility? Alicia probably doesn’t know about it either······.”

“Well, how much does Lord Matap know about me?”

“······.”

The old man’s lips trembled slightly.

Although he is a genius when it comes to magic, he doesn’t seem to be good at hiding his emotions.

At least it’s certain that he has seen me before today.

Now the question is whether he is a regressor like me or not······.

“Lord Matap. How many times is this now?”

“······!”

I took the bait.

Despite his efforts to suppress it, the slight trembling of the facial muscles caught by my enhanced vision.

It’s not as sharp as mine, but since I have entered the ranks of the superhumans, I can detect lies or hesitation to some extent.

‘He knows about regression.’

A reaction that is too bewildering to be completely ignorant.

He understood what I was talking about just by hearing the word ‘times.’

This man. It’s certain that he knows something about regression.

“Zeroth time. So, you haven’t succeeded in regression yet.”

“Huh?”

“But why are you surprised that I am researching regression? Ah, I see······. So, were you also researching regression? I have devoted my life to believing that separating the soul and defying the flow of time is the right way, but you were trying to send memories instead of the soul! I now understand the meaning of our dialogue! Indeed, that method seems more economical and faster······. However, even if successful, it will only create a second person with the same memories, and the fatal problem is that I, myself, will remain in this timeline-”

Suddenly muttering to himself, the old man seemed to have an epiphany and entered his own world.

He stumbled.

This man is not a regressor.

Just a normal wizard researching regression.

And ultimately, he was studying the soul for the purpose of regression.

It seems he has experienced a past he wants to turn back.

After a while.

When the old man calmed down, I could speak to him again.

“Can I leave now? I appreciate the facility you provided.”

“No. I have learned more. It’s not the soul but memories, right······. A method I never thought of has emerged. It’s worth researching. I should be the one to thank you. But one last thing. Can I look at the talisman in your bag just once? If you allow me to do so, I won’t have any more wishes.”

Is he talking about Cali’s soul?

I felt a slight movement from inside, and the old man also sensed it and showed interest.

Revealing Cali’s soul outside could risk being tracked by Velfegor or Luna, but······.

This is the underground of Matap.

A completely isolated and shielded facility, so there is no need to worry about being discovered.

I opened the wooden box without hesitation.

The old man’s eyes widened.

He thought to himself, “I must be seeing such a large magic stone for the first time.”

“Hehehe… Please close it again! I’ve never seen something so dreadful before!”

“Why is that?”

“Who did you kill? Whose soul is this that it looks so ominous?!”

“…?!”

The old man, terrified and screaming, his eyes wide with fear.

My body stiffened at his words about seeing souls…

“Kali’s soul?”

This lump of magic.

The magic stone is Kali’s soul.

“Now please go away! You’ve seen enough!”

“Yes. Thank you…”

Leaving the old man waving his hands behind, we proceeded towards the white tower.

With Mi-jeong, who boldly held my hand, and the nameless one, still trembling under my sleeve.

“If this is Kali’s soul…”

I have enough hints.

The true identity of this magic stone is Kali’s soul.

And when enough energy is accumulated, it transforms into ‘some form.’

That form being…

“Kali’s true resurrection?”

Returning to the form of a soul.

The Kali resurrected by Luna was an incomplete being.

Although she spoke and acted like Kali, her obsession with strange things showed that she was not exactly the same as the Kali from her past life.

That’s why he was interested as soon as he saw this magic stone.

If she obtains her soul, Kali can be fully resurrected.

But what if it was taken away then…?

Maybe Sol would have been killed and suffered a terrible fate at the hands of Kali.

Thinking about it sends shivers down my spine.

“This must be sealed.”

This is not like a random box where you anticipate what will come out.

It’s a dreadful and terrifying object.

The atrocities of Kali that Mi-jeong witnessed in the past only strengthened my conviction.

“I’m sorry, but resurrection seems difficult.”

“Huh?”

I whispered to the nameless one who peeked out from my sleeve, gently stroking his head with my finger.

Once the soul is released, his body will be the nameless one.

Kali’s wish will not come true.

The nameless one will not become the successor of the monster disguised as a high druid.

He will never be allowed to become that.

The vast Great Plains.

Suddenly, dark energy began to gather on the peaceful meadow.

A space opened up, and a grim figure emerged from within.

“Ah, ahh! Aaah!!!”

The black figure fell to the ground, screaming.

The dignity of the archdemon disappeared, and he pitifully cried out in pain, barely managing to move his hand to close the opening in the space.

“Jil Diner, you bitch! You’ll remain a pretty idiot until the end, why did you interfere…!”

Black blood flowing from his abdomen.

It was a serious, life-threatening injury.

He had fallen into this state, thinking he had been played by the saint’s scheme.

But when he arrived in Kaeln, he found Sol imprisoned and awaiting execution on the gallows.

The thought of losing Sol if time dragged on made the archdemon anxious.

His impatience robbed him of time to think.

The archdemon stepped into the saint’s trap in his haste.

In an instant, dozens of layers of barriers surrounded the archdemon.

At the same time, Sol, freed from his restraints, drew his sword and charged.

Hundreds of wizards revealed themselves and unleashed their magic on the archdemon.

Up to that point, there was no problem.

It was confusing, but it was a surprise attack that was enough to break through the encirclement and escape.

Perhaps there could have been a stronger trap prepared than this, but fearing exposure as the scale increased, they intentionally reduced it.

That’s why they fought back and immediately attempted to escape.

As the holy maiden’s sacred magic scattered, the grand demon’s plan crumbled in an instant.

Every time the grand demon tried to use magic, the holy maiden’s magic clung to it, preventing any spells or incantations from being cast.

A fierce melee ensued.

The grand demon tried to break through the encirclement and escape, while Solra pursued relentlessly, intent on cutting off its escape.

The grand demon was repeatedly slashed in the neck.

Its limbs were slashed dozens, hundreds of times.

But the grand demon constantly regenerated its flesh and attempted to flee.

Although it lost a lot of strength, the holy maiden’s magic running out was the first concern rather than the grand demon becoming exhausted.

After a pursuit lasting dozens of hours, the grand demon was able to use magic.

Immediately opening a rift in space, it successfully escaped to an unknown great plain.

“Damn bitches! How did you manage to hold hands! Luna was destroyed for what reason!”

It lost all its power so anticlimactically.

Solra, who was supposed to be elevated to the position of the Four Kings, turned her back on it.

Following the recent retrieval of ‘that person’s’ power, losing so much strength due to such a massive hemorrhage…

“That bastard’s scheme!!!”

The mastermind behind this scheme was obvious.

If it involved the Four Kings, it was a man who appeared at every turn, causing trouble.

Accompanied by the bloodsucking girl, that unfortunate fellow who looked like a parasite had clearly caused this.

“If I get caught in this state, it’s obvious that I won’t be able to pull out a single bone…”

In an instant, the balance of power shifted.

With most of the plans relying on ‘that person’s’ power now in ruins, the methods to capture it were also very limited.

At this rate, it’s only a catastrophic future of being hunted down by him one by one like prey.

A solution is needed.

And the only solution that doesn’t rely on ‘that person’s’ power was to join forces with Luna.

“Joining hands with Luna is the only way…”

It’s not ideal, but now is the time to pull out the ultimate move.

The undead army.

It was time to unleash Luna’s final weapon.