Chapter 27

I am not a Regressor, Chapter 27

A Night Without an Aggressor (4)

Swish, swish.

The refreshing mint-scented liquid spread through his throat and throughout his body.

A tingling sensation filled his mouth, similar to when he brushed his teeth.

After a moment, the intense pain that had been tearing through his body began to rapidly subside.

“Ugh.”

“Mr. Oh Jin, are you feeling better?!”

When he opened his eyes, he saw—

“...A gorilla?”

It was not a gorilla, but Team Leader Han.

“Joon-man Team Leader…?”

“Phew. I’m glad you’re conscious.”

“Where am I?”

“This is where you fought the culprit. I’ve called the emergency team, so they should be able to take you to the hospital soon.”

“...No.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m fine.”

Oh Jin slowly got up.

The wounds that hadn’t been completely healed by the potion throbbed, but he couldn’t just lie down and rest here.

‘There’s still something I need to do.’

And it was the most important part.

“J, just lie down a bit more!”

“I’m really fine, Team Leader.”

“Hmm.”

Team Leader Han let out a sigh, looking troubled.

Oh Jin walked past him towards where Yujin’s body lay.

“...”

There, he saw Ui-hyuk standing, staring down at Yujin with a cold, hardened expression.

As Oh Jin approached, Ui-hyuk’s gaze turned to him.

“Mr. Oh Jin… right?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Did this guy say anything before he died?”

Ui-hyuk bit his lip anxiously.

His clenched fists were visibly trembling.

‘Of course.’

No matter how thoroughly he searched around the observatory, he wouldn’t have found Shin-hyuk, so it was natural for him to react this way.

The only hope left for him was the testimony of the one who had cut off Yujin’s breath.

“No, he didn’t say anything.”

“...Ah.”

Ui-hyuk’s expression was filled with despair.

With this, all means of finding Shin-hyuk’s whereabouts had disappeared.

“But.”

Oh Jin walked to a spot a little away from where the battle had taken place.

There, he had prepared the ‘final twist’ before fighting Yujin.

The grand finale.

A twist that would resolve all the mysteries and foreshadowing at once.

“The culprit who fled was heading in that direction.”

He pointed to a small cave hidden in the bushes.

“T, thank you!”

A lifeline of hope was thrown to Ui-hyuk.

He turned his body urgently and ran into the cave.

Inside the cave—

“—Ah.”

A body so crushed that it was unrecognizable.

The stench of decay filled the air, indicating that decomposition had already begun.

“No, no.”

Ui-hyuk fell to his knees and collapsed on the spot.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no!!!!”

He clutched the unrecognizable body and screamed.

“Brother, brother, no…!”

From the beginning.

Shin-hyuk had not been kidnapped, but had been killed by them.

Used only as bait to draw him in.

Miserably.

Horribly.

He had been rotting here.

“Aaah, aah, aah, aah, aah, aah, aah!!!!”

The roar of the black lion echoed in the small cave.

‘...Damn it.’

Watching Ui-hyuk’s roaring, Oh Jin frowned.

It was something he had expected.

Something he had intended and guided.

But.

‘Why does this feel so uncomfortable?’

A maddening sense of guilt.

The sight of Ui-hyuk’s screams felt like a knife slicing through his heart.

‘Logically, I’m the victim here, right?’

He had no connection to Shin-hyuk’s death.

He had regressed on his own and investigated on his own.

Before regressing, Shin-hyuk had even pushed him into the Ant Horns and tried to escape alone.

‘Well... I don’t plan to make any excuses, but.’

Even if he had no connection to Shin-hyuk’s death, he had used it to his advantage.

Ethically, it was a condemnable act.

But.

So what?

‘It’s a ridiculous thing for a con artist to be concerned about ethics.’

He would use anyone if necessary.

Whether it was the seat of Polaris or a brother who had lost his sibling.

As long as it helped him achieve his goal, he would place them on the tip of his tongue and suck out all the sweetness.

That’s how he had lived.

And that’s how he had survived.

“...Mr. Oh Jin.”

Team Leader Han, who had been watching the sobbing Ui-hyuk, grabbed Oh Jin’s shoulder.

Shaking his head, he spoke.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

There was nothing he could do here anyway.

“The emergency team will arrive soon.”

“No, I’ll walk down.”

Shaking his head, he started walking down the mountain.

His not fully healed wounds throbbed, but for some reason, he felt like walking.

“But.”

“Ha ha. I’m fine.”

Leaving the restraining Team Leader Han behind, he walked down the mountain path.

He looked up at the sky.

“Phew.”

The dim morning sky.

A night without an aggressor was coming to an end.

* * *

One week later.

“Valhalla Guild called me?”

[Yes, that’s right.]

Receiving a call from Team Leader Han in the late morning, Oh Jin wiped the sweat from his forehead.

‘Is it about the reward?’

But if it was, why call him to the guild?

He tilted his head, pondering for a moment.

“I understand. I’ll go once.”

[The location of Valhalla Guild will be sent to you via Kakao.]

“Got it.”

A moment later, a message with the location of Valhalla Guild arrived.

‘I should take a shower first.’

He had been training since dawn, and his body was drenched in sweat.

-Click.

He went down from the rooftop and opened the front door.

“Hm?”

Song Haeun was standing there, wearing earphones and listening to something with a very serious expression.

Her smartphone screen was off, so it was unclear what she was listening to.

“What are you listening to?”

“Kyaaah!! Damn it!”

Why was she so startled?

“Y-You scared me, you brat!!”

“What are you listening to so seriously?”

“Eh? W-Well, it’s...”

Song Haeun stammered, looking flustered.

“I’m... listening to a song.”

“A song?”

What kind of song did she listen to so seriously?

“Yeah, there are such things, you jerk!”

“Alright, alright.”

It was obvious she was lying, but he didn’t press further.

‘Even my sister had her wild days.’

Just because she couldn’t see didn’t mean her desires disappeared.

He had heard that there were many things to enjoy through audio these days.

“...You’re thinking something perverted, aren’t you?”

“No, I’m not.”

“Anyway, are you done with your training already? You’ve been up on the roof until evening lately.”

“I have to go out for a bit.”

“Where?”

“Valhalla Guild.”

Haeun’s mouth dropped open.

“Eh? Valhalla Guild, the one that’s super famous these days?”

“You knew about it?”

“I listen to the news, you know.”

She waved her smartphone.

“Not just the news, but other things too.”

“Do you really want to die?”

“Hahaha! Sorry. I’ll get ready to go out then.”

Stopping his teasing, he went into the bathroom.

Click.

“...”

Silence fell in the room.

A sad emotion lingered in Haeun’s faded eyes.

Click.

Pressing a button, the smartphone screen lit up.

[Planned artifacts for the December auction at Yongsan Auction House.]

[Dragon Demon Eye purchase.]

She closed the awkwardly typed search videos.

Hugging her knees, she buried her head.

“...Sigh.”

A deep sigh echoed in the silent room.

* * *

After taking a shower, he headed to Valhalla Guild.

Valhalla Guild was located near Seoul Station.

“Are you Mr. Kwon Oh Jin?”

In front of the building stood a woman with a neat appearance and glasses.

A beautiful woman who looked good in her crisp black suit and shoes.

‘Wasn’t her name Kim Se-yeong?’

At some point in the future, she would be the one to whom Ui-hyuk would give his heart.

“Yes.”

“Please follow me.”

Following Kim Se-yeong’s lead, he entered the Valhalla Guild building.

The building wasn’t large, befitting a guild of elite members, but it exuded a luxurious feel from the entrance.

-Knock, knock.

“Come in.”

A cold voice came from the other side of the door.

Creak.

A room filled with documents.

The furniture was so simple that it was hard to believe it belonged to the master of a rising guild.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Oh Jin.”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t properly greet you before.”

“Well... the situation didn’t allow for it.”

“...”

Ui-hyuk clenched his fists, his mouth tightly shut.

A chilling aura filled the room.

“Guild Master.”

Kim Se-yeong called out to him urgently.

Ui-hyuk’s body trembled.

“...I’m sorry.”

“No, I understand completely.”

It was impossible to recover from all the emotions in just a week.

Phew.

Ui-hyuk took a deep breath and bowed his head.

“The reason I called you here... first, to express my gratitude.”

“Gratitude?”

“Yes. If it weren’t for you, we might have missed the one who killed my brother.”

Indeed.

It was about the reward.

“I heard you were badly injured at the time... are you feeling better now?”

“I’m fine.”

It was just a performance to emphasize his efforts; there were no lingering injuries.

“That’s a relief. Then...”

Ui-hyuk turned his head to look at Kim Se-yeong.

She brought in a large trunk.

“What’s this?”

“The 30 billion won the kidnappers demanded.”

“...!”

Oh Jin’s eyes widened.

‘No way.’

No way, no way, no way.

No way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way!!!

“This is your reward for capturing Yujin.”

“...”

Shudder, shudder, shudder.

He suppressed his body, which seemed to be having a seizure.

‘Crazy.’

30 billion won.

A chill ran down his spine.

‘But this... doesn’t make sense.’

Even if he had caught the fleeing kidnappers, giving 30 billion won as a reward was too much.

Oh Jin narrowed his eyes.

“That seems a bit excessive as a reward.”

“I won’t deny it.”

“...There’s another reason, then.”

Ui-hyuk nodded, his eyes cold.

“I heard you are an apostle of Polaris... is that true?”

Was it from Team Leader Han?

Of course.

Given their close relationship with the Association, it was likely he had heard.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“I also heard that you were attacked by the Black Star Society recently.”

“Oh.”

So that’s how it was.

‘I see, that’s why you suddenly offered 30 billion won.’

The corners of Oh Jin’s mouth curled up.

“You wanted to ask me about the Black Star Society, didn’t you?”

It seemed the hungry hound wasn’t satisfied with just Yujin’s death.

“If I just wanted information, I wouldn’t have gone to such lengths.”

“Then what?”

“Valhalla Guild plans to find and root out the Black Star Society. I would like your help as an apostle of Polaris.”

“Sure.”

He nodded without a moment’s hesitation.

‘This is a great catch.’

He had already planned to deal with the Black Star Society eventually, and having a reliable ally like Ui-hyuk was a bonus.

‘And to get 30 billion won on top of that.’

No matter how he thought about it, it was a huge deal.

“So... do you have any information about the Black Star Society?”

“I do.”

He smiled and searched his pocket.

‘I didn’t expect to use this like this.’

Since they were willing to take the lead, there was no reason to stop them.

“I found this while investigating on my own.”

He slid the paper across the table.

Ui-hyuk, who received the paper, emitted a cold, icy aura.

“The contact information of one of the Black Star Society’s officers.”

Go, Ui-hyuk.

“His name... yes.”

Go and tear him apart.

Bite and kill him.

“His name is Ashad Khan.”

My loyal hound.