Regressor Instruction Manual

When I opened my eyes, I saw a few people who were pleased to see me.

“It’s Father Lee Ki-Young.”

“Father Lee Ki-Young has returned.”

“The operation is a success. Hahaha. It’s a success!”

“Contact headquarters. Tell the commander things went as planned.”

“Are you okay? I’ll check your condition…”

I instinctively looked around.

Most of the priests were praying while crying, the mercenaries cheering while hugging each other, and expedition members were clapping. I was out of it because they were so loud, but I could clearly see that the members of the Blue Guild weren’t here.

I couldn't even see Kim Hyun-Sung.

Kim Hyun-Sung had used the invitation at a different location, so I understand why he wasn't here. Had he ordered the reserve forces to be on stand-by here in case I return?

While I was puzzled, I was trembling for some reason. My body wasn't behaving like normal, and tears wouldn’t stop flowing down my cheeks.

An unknown feeling took over me. It didn’t make sense, but…

‘I must be calming down.’

In the end, my plan to become Altanus failed, and… my body was relieved that it ended up that way. I managed to be safe, but I felt a strangely unpleasant sense of relief.

‘No, that can’t be it.’

'This is anger, damn it. If this wasn’t anger, it was a side-effect of crossing space and time. That must be burdensome for both the body and the mind.'

I stayed in the past for a long time, so it was only natural for me to sustain mental damage. In other words, it was not strange that I couldn't think properly.

“Father Lee Ki-Young, are you okay?”

“This place… Why am I here…” I asked.

“I think Commander Jin’s plan worked.”

“What plan…” I questioned.

“I’m sorry I can’t tell you the details. The only order we received was to be on stand-by here…”

‘Yeah, of course you wouldn’t know.’

“Anyway, we’ll take you to a safe—”

“No, I’ll get going now,” I interrupted them.

“What? But…”

“The expedition group…” I said.

‘You scummy bastard.’

It was highly likely that the Morse code in the middle of all this was a bluff as well. This was probably the bare minimum of effort he needed to put in so that he could be in control.

“Jin Cheong, you bastard…” I mumbled. ‘No, don’t let it get to you.’

He’d be happy to see me get worked up. Honestly, I got backstabbed, so he’d probably tease me. While I was trying to calm myself down a little, a message arrived.

— Looks like you’re back.

"..."

— In the end… you've returned, Lee Ki-Young. Did you think things were going to go your way? Haha. Did you really think you could defeat me?

‘Crazy bastard.’

I was prepared to sacrifice for my comrades while carrying out that ridiculous plan about becoming Altanus. In his eyes, it had to have been a desperate maneuver on my side to win the game.

'I want to win the game, but do you really think I'll go through all that just to win? Who would be crazy enough to do that?'

"How… did you do this?"

— Who knows… How did I do it?

'This jerk.'

— You sound curious. You really can't think of anything? What should I do? Should I give you a hint…

I had an idea because I had come up with many possibilities earlier, but my pride would get hurt if I were to ask for confirmation from him. I was also scared to speak confidently, as it was possible that I actually had the wrong answer all this while.

I couldn’t even imagine how happy he'd be if my assumption was wrong.

— You’ll find out once you look through the dungeon raid records later. Since this is the era where we leave video records, it’s the best way for you to get answers.

"You must have your head in the clouds to be talking like this… but… I have an idea. I’m honestly not that curious… and I asked because there’s a process to everything, and you could have made a mistake as well. It’s your specialty to ruin things while trying to resolve it."

— You sure talk big. What would you know when you’ve seen nothing? About that distorted spacetime, and how to control it… you might’ve guessed those correctly, but it doesn’t change the fact that your nature remains unchanged. Basically, you know nothing.

"You seem more confident than I thought. You said you didn’t like my method, but you used it pretty well."

— Ha… hahahahaha. Ah… you’re talking about the code. Hmm, I wonder. Was it a bluff? There’s too much to explain. It’s true that I was in dangerous situations, but… what do you think? Hahahaha! Are you curious? You must be… really curious! Who knew you'd be the type to be this curious?

“You bastard!” I yelled.

— Hahahaha!

I really wanted to kill that bastard.

Naturally, I started talking to Lee Ji-Hye.

"Noona, I have something I want to ask you. Could you share… the work you did with Jin Cheong."

— I have nothing to discuss with you right now. I’ll contact you later.

— Noona, how could you…

— Shut up.

Shit.

— Entertain me more, Lee Ki-Young. Hahahahahaha!

“You scummy bastard!” I yelled.

— Hahahahaha!

“You jerk! You bastard! You dirty copycat!” I shouted.

“Father… Lee Ki-Young?”

“Go away, damn it!” I yelled.

I wouldn’t exactly consider this venting out my anger, but right after I got up, I grabbed a sword and started hitting stuff. I heard clank, clank instead of kaboom, kaboom. My hands were hurting, but my actions helped me calm down.

— You’re not taking your anger out on anyone, are you? Hahahaha.

“Whoo… whoo… this jerk. If it fails this time…”

— Angry? It sounds like you’re angry…

"No, I'm not…

— Hahaha!

"Well… I don’t know what to say…"

—...

"Thank you, Commander. I honestly thought it was all over."

—...

His reply didn’t arrive right away.

— What?

"Thank you. Thank you… very much."

— What are you up to now…

"It’s nothing like that. I’m telling you this because I’m really grateful."

—...

—...

"I’m busy… so let’s talk later."

I was pretty sure Jin Cheong had never received any love from someone, as he was the type to get shocked whenever people were nice to him.

“Excuse me… Father… Lee Ki-Young?”

I decided to smile brightly.

“Yes? Is something wrong…” I asked.

“No… it’s nothing.”

“Can you tell me the current raid status?” I requested.

“S-Sure.”

‘Is it safe to assume Plan B was executed?’

There were many things I had to handle about the expedition group—no, I had many things to worry about.

‘What’s going to happen in the end?’

Plan B had ended up failing. it had to have happened a bit early, but Altanus had probably entered the iron maiden and watched over everything. The Benigoa I knew still existed, and the future that Kasugano Yuno had seen hadn't happened yet.

‘It’s the most perfect way to decrease the number of variables.’

The surest way to avoid facing the future Kasugano Yuno had seen was no more. That damned, wicked demon summoner had brought danger to the continent, but I had no time to resent him or look back on the past.

‘I've failed, but…’

“It’s not like I didn’t do anything,” I said.

I had created an incomplete picture. If this succeeded, it’d be better than Plan B.

At least I could ensure that my babies wouldn't forget me.

I unknowingly looked at the mirror and saw that my golden eye hadn't lost its light.

“Tell Kim Hyun-Sung not to come here,” I ordered.

“What? But—”

“Tell him,” I interrupted them.

“Y-Yes, sir.”

I started walking away.

‘I did something.’

“Father Lee Ki-Young!”

I could clearly see what I needed to do at this point. I needed to harvest the seed that I had sowed a very long time ago. I shook off the people trying to grab me and ran away.

“Father Lee Ki-Young! Damn it! Get him!”

I ignored their shouts and ran as fast as I could. Soon, I was approaching my destination.

“What? But—”

“Damn it! Move! Move while protecting Father Lee Ki-Young!”

‘It’s time to get my reward.’

“What the hell am I supposed to do… Damn it… it’s over…” I mumbled.

“You must rest, Father Lee Ki-Young. Please…”

‘If I end up in the room with no windows, everything will be for nothing.’

They seemed to be worried that I could get hurt by their dirty hands, so they couldn’t stop me at all. They were busy protecting me, and they seemed worried about how they were going to report this to their superiors.

However, I wasn’t the one who was going to be punished for it, so I couldn't care less.

‘This is good for you guys as well.’

I was running out of breath, but I felt energetic when I saw a familiar back.

“Hyung-nim?” Park Deok-Gu said.

“You’re…”

“Haa… haa… The Priest of Prophecy has returned! Heuk… Father Draktaris…!” I sobbed.

— …

“The Priest of Prophecy has returned… Heuk…” I repeated.

And then…

— Ahhhhhh! The Priest of Prophecy! Heuk… The Priest of Propheeecyyyyyy! Heuk…! Heuuuuk!

Our reunion scene popped into my head.

‘I’m scared to see you die.’

— The Priest of Propheeecyyy! Heuk! Heuk!

‘I’m afraid!’

My precious… my extremely precious…

"I know better than anyone that you’re not supposed to die here. In the far future… In the very far future, you’ll do something great, Father. I can’t tell you the details, but you… will save this Underground Temple… and Saint Altanus. You’ll do greater things than stabilizing this place right now."

Our precious memories.

"I trust that you’ll keep your promise and be the single ray of light that shines in darkness. No matter what hardship comes your way… even if there’s a situation you can’t endure, you must do your best, but today… today isn’t your time to die."

These were words I couldn’t tell anyone else…

"Swear on Lady Lucifer's name that until they find you, even if it’s not me… I'm talking about the people who truly love Lady Lucifer, people who want to reform the Underground Temple, people blessed by the Goddess, and those who have been selected by the light… swear on Lady Lucifer's name that until they appear before you…!

"You must survive and wait… be patient until they appear before you… be patient for the sake of the hope that will come someday. Swear that you’ll live… for the sake of that day!"

It was short, but it was a beautiful and precious connection.

"Promise me!"

The dungeon's spirit crumbled, and he kissed my feet.

— I've been waiting… for you… For the day of your arrival. I've been living and enduring… hardships again and again…

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