Everyone Else is a Regressor - Chapter 37

◈ Everyone Else is a Regressor (37)

Chapter 8. Overflow (4)

“Engraved… in my soul…”

KiJun reached his destination just as the target was in the midst of chanting a suspicious spell.

First, he stopped the target’s speech by forcefully hitting their back with a shield.

“This… ugh!”

The enemy, interrupted from chanting, gasped for air after being hit by the shield.

While restraining the immobilized enemy, KiJun noticed that Ur’s concentrated laser shot had pierced through where the enemy’s left eye had been, leaving a dark hole.

Since it had penetrated where the eye was, it likely burned a part of the brain.

Despite the fatal wound, which should have certainly resulted in death, only dark blood oozed out, suggesting that the target—though appearing human—was no longer purely human.

“You… dare… to…”

“This won’t do.”

Perhaps they came to attack after learning of their subordinates’ fate through some means.

But what about their reaction after the failed attack?

Even with a fatal wound, instead of burning with revenge against KiJun, they focused all their energy on chanting the spell.

What use was there in questioning such a tenacious and determined enemy?

Even if some information came out, it couldn’t be trusted; it was better to cleanly finish them off before they did anything suspicious.

“Gasp!”

“Draw… forth…”

Without hesitation, KiJun pressed down with his bloodstained fangs.

The target, a young and beautiful woman with black hair, who was hard to believe as the leader of the group…

Her waist was cleanly severed with a snap, and her lower body fell away.

―13,255 points gained.

―Updating civilization information.

While he couldn’t gain experience points from other summoners, points—especially a surprisingly large amount—were definitely earned, and he was certain he had finished off the enemy when he saw conclusive evidence.

“Please… grant…”

“Huh?”

Words spilled from the corpse’s mouth, triggering some kind of magic.

KiJun realized this fact a bit too late.

The woman’s upper body, completely severed from her lower half, disappeared on the spot, enveloped in an eerie light.

“No, what’s this?”

KiJun was so shocked by the absurd event that he froze on the spot for a while.

Killed by splitting her in half, but still speaking? Magic activated and disappeared?

“Is this an escape?”

―Yeah. …It seems like she was gradually turning into an undead since Ur’s attack.

Lucy, sensitive to concepts opposed to her nature as a Light Spirit, like darkness and death, narrowed her eyes and whispered.

―Remember how the developer of the Magic Bomb became a black mage? There’s a similar scent from that woman who ran away. She plunged into darkness. This might be a bigger deal than we thought.

“…I’m on day 2 in Reta, right?”

On the first day, he met a new contract spirit, and on the second day, he got entangled with a black mage.

As KiJun sighed, something rolled out from the belt of the lower half of the body left behind.

It was that damned Magic Bomb!

“No, what is this!”

―Calm down, contractor! It’s inactivated!

“What a stroke of luck…!”

KiJun quickly adjusted his stance and picked it up with swift movements.

The shape was almost a perfect sphere, and surprisingly, it had no device other than a safety catch that could be easily pulled out with a firm push and flick.

Even those with no knowledge, even those who couldn’t handle mana, could easily use this bomb.

Considering how Earthlings were treated as powerless for their lack of mana when first entering the tutorial, this ‘weapon that anyone could use’ seemed all the more amazing and dangerous.

―Hmm… It seems they designed only the detonation device and explosion magic to minimize cost. There’s no way to remotely detonate it, so we can use it, right?

Reassured by the reliable report from Lucy, KiJun put the bomb in his inventory and rummaged through the woman’s belt.

As expected, nothing that could identify the target was found, but a pouch similar to what he had acquired earlier was there.

Opening it, KiJun paused.

Firstly, the internal space of the pouch was much larger than it appeared, and it was divided into compartments like an inventory, allowing for neat storage and retrieval of items.

Inside, there were numerous hearts, likely extracted from orcs.

“…”

―Contractor…

KiJun stared silently at it for a moment.

It was strange.

He had also collected several hearts of Lesser Demons in the past, but why did he feel a tightening in his own heart when he saw these similar-looking ones?

Though he couldn’t understand why, unable to bear the unpleasant feeling, KiJun spilled the contents of the pouch over the remaining corpse of the woman.

“Ur.”

―Kiit!

Flames conjured by Ur cleanly burned everything away.

Lucy watched the flames and murmured absentmindedly.

―Contractor.

“Yeah.”

―I really like you.

“…Thanks for saying that, Lucy.”

Having calmly erased the traces of the woman’s evil deeds, KiJun noticed an item that remained on the spot.

It was an earring with a peculiar ritualistic pattern, similar to the ones worn by the orcs accompanying KiJun.

It might have fallen out when he shook the pouch.

“An enemy’s earring?”

―It’s filled with immense resentment and thoughts. It didn’t burn in the flames and remained intact. Contractor, it’s better not to touch such items.

“But what if our adorable Lucy purifies it?”

―Leave it to me! Actually, I thought it would suit the contractor if you wore it!

―Kiiii…

Ur sent a chilly, contemptuous look at Lucy, who was easily swayed by KiJun’s sweet talk.

It seemed Ur had forgotten that it too had been fawning over KiJun, influenced by his spirit power, just a moment ago.

―Ugh, how humiliating.

After a few minutes, surprisingly, Lucy sent a signal of surrender.

Even with her regained Legendary-grade power, she failed to purify it? KiJun was astonished, and Lucy explained defensively.

―Maybe it’s an item with a story, and black magic was added to grant it special power. It enhances its own power when facing its original owner, or makes it easier to find the earring’s owner… All magic specialized for revenge. It’s the kind of magic that can only be endowed if there’s an underlying resentment.

“…Right.”

―I purified all the malice. Despite the purification, the abilities added later still remain, fused with the grudge. Touching it wouldn’t be dangerous, but it’s better not to wear it. Don’t forget it holds the deep grudge of a human.

“Got it. …I’ll just keep it for now. For now.”

The woman had committed crimes against orcs out of hatred for a specific orc.

KiJun had neither reason nor leisure to sympathize with her.

But still, there was something troubling about just discarding it.

After stowing it in his inventory, KiJun decided to forget about it and finished cleaning up the scene before returning.

“Jun, to think you saved our lives again without us knowing!”

There, the orcs who had been on guard—now bald—were kneeling, awakened.

Charbanbesh, representing them, shouted in a resonant voice.

“We are deeply indebted! In the honor of orcs, we will repay this debt!”

“We will repay the debt!”

“No, don’t worry about it too much.”

“We cannot but do so!”

KiJun felt slightly uneasy receiving their gratitude.

He had just found an item practically evidence of a crime committed by orcs of a similar culture.

Of course, it was no longer his concern.

It was that woman who indiscriminately massacred other orcs out of hatred for one.

Perhaps the origin of that grudge was her own fault.

Even if that specific orc was truly bad, it didn’t relate to these orcs.

Knowing no more, he cut off his interest.

That was the wise thing to do.

What’s important now, right.

“If you’re not short on sleep, we should hit the road again. The woman turned undead and fled. I have a bad feeling.”

“Undead?!”

Charbanbesh reacted strongly.

“I thought it was strange since she used the Magic Bomb…! Those bastards joining hands with a black mage! We must report this to the guild immediately!”

“It is indeed a serious issue.”

“But to make even an undead who knows not death flee, Jun is truly remarkable!”

“Jun is a true warrior who wields fire against darkness!”

The bald orc warrior echoed Charbanbesh’s words.

While doing so, he seemed to recall the recent crisis, stroked his bald head, then turned to KiJun with a sly smile.

He was moved.

Jeong Yak-yong, a Confucian scholar of the late Joseon Dynasty known for staying positive despite suffering from baldness, wrote in his posthumously compiled “Yeoyudangjeonseo” about the convenience of baldness, avoiding the trouble of combing and the shame of white hair.

This orc, despite having his hair completely burnt, was happily smiling for having his life saved, truly inheriting the spirit of Jeong Yak-yong!

“Then let’s go! Let’s inform Turris about this and prepare everyone to face the black mage!”

“Let’s go!”

The orcs, having woken up in the middle of the night, showed no signs of sleepiness as they hurriedly marched.

Only KiJun, who usually kept a strict sleep schedule, felt like dying, but even with his unbreakable internal clock, he couldn’t resist sleep in such a situation.

―Contractor, are you okay?

‘I’m fine. Actually, if I can just get to the city, report, and then sleep, I should be okay. But…’

But why this unease?

And why does such uneasiness always turn into reality?

When the group, moving at a near full sprint across the plains, reached the road leading to a small town.

Suddenly― a violent vibration shook both the earth and sky.

“Kuk?!”

The orcs, running haphazardly, tumbled to the ground, with only KiJun and Charbanbesh managing to stay upright.

Charbanbesh’s pupils trembled violently, as if in an earthquake.

“Ma-ma…”

The orc warrior, respecting the strong but not cowering, knowing honor but unforgiving to enemies, spoke with a trembling voice.

“It’s a mana quake…!”

“Yes, a mana quake.”

The term was familiar to KiJun, having recently learned it through Bice’s message.

What to do when a mana quake occurs?

What did Bice say would happen?

Right, remembered.

“Overflow!”

Charbanbesh exclaimed again.

“An overflow is coming. All dungeons in the region will flood…!”

“Monsters spilling out of all dungeons? …Every dungeon?”

“Yes, even the unique dungeon that has been unexplored for three years.”

Charbanbesh spoke, shaking with deep fear.

“A massive energy accumulated in the dungeons is about to burst, right now!”

Could this be related to the woman who just turned undead and escaped?

It must be related.

Whether she intended to conquer the dungeon or cause the overflow.

KiJun’s killing of the woman surely triggered the event.

‘Bice said to find a place that won’t be immediately surrounded during a mana quake.’

KiJun recalled Bice’s advice and looked around.

Of course, on the open road, there was no tactical position to take.

To make matters worse, he began to faintly sense monsters from beyond.

Silhouettes barely visible at the edge of his sight… seemed to number in the hundreds of thousands.

―Contractor, run.

Lucy, seemingly sharing the same thought, shouted in a strained voice.

―Right now!