The Regressor Can Make Them All

Chapter 238

A savage wearing a tattered martial arts uniform with bandages wrapped around his body, a thug clad in a black rider suit and a black leather jacket, and an insufferable nerd dressed in pristine traditional attire.

Facing the Three Dogs, who looked identical to the last time he remembered seeing them, Se-Hoon hesitated in nervousness about one thing.

Did it... work?

While the three appeared identical, there was no guarantee that their memories or powers had fully recovered as well. And even if he had successfully replicated them in every aspect, one glaring issue remained: all three had horrendous personalities.

They might decide to kill me right away, suspecting that I'm a spy from the Demon Force or something.

With his younger appearance and new abilities, Se-Hoon had changed enough that it would be strange if they didn't grow suspicious. The thought just made Se-Hoon grow more and more anxious about whether he could successfully leash the Three Dogs as planned. Then, just as his anxiety rose to its peak, one of the trio noticed his gaze.

“Hm?”

The Blast Dog had turned around to look.

“...”

“...”

Silence fell, and the two just stared at each other until the Blast Dog blinked a few times and rubbed her eyes.

“Is this some kind of torture in the afterlife...? This isn't exactly what I expected...” muttered the Blast Dog under her breath. She began rubbing her eyes in frustration as if she'd seen something unbearable.

Glancing toward her, the Frost Dog became puzzled by her reaction, so he turned around.

“What's going on all of a sudden...? Oh...?”

The second the Frost Dog saw Se-Hoon, his eyes grew as wide as saucers, and he inadvertently muttered, “Lee Se-Hoon?”

Contrary to Se-Hoon's expectations, the Frost Dog had recognized him at once.

“How did you recognize me?” Se-Hoon asked, blinking in surprise.

“Huh? Well, you look exactly like you did in your old graduation photo...”

“Graduation photo? Oh, the one from back then.”

Recalling that the Frost Dog was talking about the graduation photo he had taken at the third-rate training institution he had been thrown into after failing to enroll in Babel, Se-Hoon nodded in understanding. But then a question struck him.

“But how do you know about that photo?”

“Oh, I just kind of dug up everything while I was investigating you. There's probably nothing about your life I don't know—even from when you were an infant.”

Seeing how nonchalantly the Frost Dog was being, Se-Hoon frowned. He had long suspected the Frost Dog had done something like that, but hearing it directly from him made him feel a bit disgusted.

“You creepy bastard...”

“Hey, it's just a part of my business. You might not see the value in it, but there's actually quite a demand for this kind of—”

“Shut up.”

Glaring at the Frost Dog, the Blast Dog turned back to Se-Hoon.

“So, who the hell are you?”

Her eyes were full of suspicion. Similarly, the Frost Dog, despite starting the conversation in a friendly manner, was also on edge. If he had even the slightest hint of suspicion, Se-Hoon's limbs would be immediately chopped off.

This won't be easy... as expected.

Se-Hoon racked his brain, trying to figure out how to calm these paranoid maniacs down.

“Move.”

Pushing past the two all of a sudden, the Mad Dog, who had been watching from behind, stepped forward.

“Who am I?” The first thing he did was ask a question out of nowhere.

But Se-Hoon easily understood that it was a test to determine his authenticity.

So, after a moment of hesitation, he gave his answer.

“...A bastard?”

“...”

The Mad Dog narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists.

Crunch.

With his current strength, even a slight graze from his punch was enough to crush Se-Hoon's skull.

Panicking, Se-Hoon hastily added, “...who blames his weapons every time he loses, even though he doesn't even know how to use a toothpick properly!”

At the insult, the Mad Dog stared at him blankly before loosening his fists and nodding.

“Now that sounds like you.”

He just casually accepted Se-Hoon's insult as if it were a legitimate means of recognition, leaving Se-Hoon dumbfounded.

How is he able to tell just by that?

While it likely wasn't just the question that helped him identify Se-Hoon, considering his sharp eyes definitely noticed other clues, it still felt odd that such a stupid exchange had gained him the Mad Dog’s trust.

Unsure of how to take it, Se-Hoon glanced at the Blast Dog and the Frost Dog, who had been watching from the side.

“He's definitely Lee Se-Hoon.”

“I knew that it was you.”

“...”

Both of them were nodding like everything made sense. The Blast Dog seemed satisfied, and the Frost Dog’s eyes were now full of trust, as though he hadn't ever suspected Se-Hoon from the start.

Things had gone much smoother—and in a far more comical way—than Se-Hoon had expected.

Was it really a good idea to call these guys back?

Maybe it would've been better to summon someone a bit smarter...

Clap!

Before Se-Hoon even noticed, the Blast Dog had suddenly wrapped an arm around his shoulders and was playfully pinching his cheek.

“Damn, your skin is so elastic. Youth really is something.”

“You look much better than before.”

“And you seem stronger, which I like.”

Chattering away, the trio casually assessed Se-Hoon's new youthful body, adapting to the situation unnervingly quickly.

“Don't you think you're all acting a bit too casual about this?” Se-Hoon asked, slapping away the Blast Dog’s hand.

“Well, what does it matter? We've already died once.”

“It doesn't seem like some sort of illusion, so I might as well enjoy it.”

“Is there a reason to be anxious?”

Seeing how none of them felt even the slightest bit of tension, Se-Hoon was about to remind them of the enemies they were up against when—

Whoosh!

Massive spheres of electricity appeared around them. They crackled with lightning, forming chains that connected and created an intense electric current. It was the advanced magic developed by a resident from the Pleasure District in their dreams, an attack designed to rain down endless thunderbolts on its target.

Clap!

Before the spheres could become a prison of lightning, the Mad Dog had already clapped his hands lightly.

Bang!

A wave of energy radiated outward from his palms. Though weak compared to the sheer force of lightning, the wave slipped through the gaps between the electric spheres and twisted the chains' orientations ever so slightly.

Crack!

One by one, the spheres crumbled and unleashed their electricity into the empty air.

“...”

Observing the effortless dismantling of such intricate magic, the Destroyer of Fragmentation promptly began its next move.

Swoosh!

Dozens of its clones abruptly emerged from the ocean, all using different deadly skills perfected in their dreams. It was a coordinated attack meant to take down a high-ranking hero in seconds, but...

Slice-

The clones were sliced into pieces and had all crumpled to the ground before they could even blink.

“...?!”

This time, the Destroyer of Fragmentation froze in shock, having been unable to even see what had attacked them.

Noticing the confusion in its eyes, the Frost Dog looked down at the fallen clones and curiously asked, “Wasn't this the guy standing across from us earlier?”

“Seems like it.... It's damn weak, though.”

“Tsk, I thought it was going to be tougher than this.”

Utterly unimpressed, the trio couldn’t be bothered to show even a hint of tension. And that infuriated the Destroyer of Fragmentation. It began altering reality once again, unleashing another round of attacks.

Rumble!

Creating a city suspended in the sky, the Destroyer of Fragmentation flipped it upside down and sent it crashing toward them, attempting to crush the four by dropping an entire city on their heads.

“Gravity Core.”

Unimpressed, the Blast Dog casually chanted an incantation which formed a black orb that shot into the sky.

Crunch!

Making contact with the falling city, the black orb immediately sucked it in completely and compressed tightly to create a massive sphere. Dumbfounded by the unimaginable sight unfolding before him, the Destroyer of Fragmentation just stared at the sphere that had once been an entire city.

“This is yours, right?”

BOOM!

With a casual flick of the Blast Dog’s finger, the sphere smashed into the Destroyer of Fragmentation with a crushing force, slamming it into the blood sea and causing the entire area to surge with blood. But before the wave of blood could sweep them away, the four leaped onto the platforms the Blast Dog had created and looked down at the aftermath.

“Hmm. You think it's dead?”

“I'm not sure. Judging by how it keeps coming back though...”

Rumble!

A colossal monster emerged from beneath the water, looming over them. The Destroyer of Fragmentation, having revived with a body that could rival even the Ten Evils and Perfect Ones, glared at the four with murderous intent and let out a deafening roar.

“RRAAAAAARGH!”

Thinking it was about time to explain the entire situation, Se-Hoon turned toward them and then saw the Mad Dog rotating his right arm while staring at the Destroyer of Fragmentation.

“So, all I need to do is kill him, right?”

Whoosh!

Without waiting for an answer, the Mad Dog leaped down, gathering fire mana in one hand and darkness mana in the other. He then crudely shaped the mana into twin spears and spun his entire body, slashing the spears at the giant hand the Destroyer of Fragmentation had swung toward him.

BOOM!

The Destroyer of Fragmentation's left hand exploded. But Sung-Ha wasn’t done, so the battle continued.

It was truly a surreal sight; a small human was fighting equally against a massive monster. However, what made it even more unfathomable was that it was the massive monster, the Destroyer of Fragmentation, being overwhelmed.

Observing the one-sided battle, the Frost Dog raised an eyebrow.

“It has so many tricks up its sleeve, but none work.”

“Yeah, but it's way too persistent for it to be a regular demon.... What exactly is that, Se-Hoon?”

At the Blast Dog's question, Se-Hoon sighed.

“It’s a Harbinger—the Destroyer of Fragmentation.”

Startled by Se-Hoon's answer, the two stared in disbelief at the ongoing fight with newfound understanding.

“That thing... is a Harbinger?”

“But I thought there were only six Harbingers of Destruction? What's going on here?”

Instead of answering, Se-Hoon bit his thumb and created a crystal with the blood.

“Here, take this.”

It was an application of Soul Honing that he occasionally used in the past when time was of the essence to transfer his own memories to others using the stored memories in his blood. In the current situation, it was perfect.

“Ugh... gross.”

“Still as unhygienic as ever, I see.”

But despite their complaints, they swallowed the crystals quickly and began viewing Se-Hoon's memories. While doing so, their expressions briefly started out as grimaces before changing to continuous shock.

“You...”

“Isn't this...”

The memories, which ranged from the point of regression to the present moment, quickly filled them in. It was a difficult story to believe, but having witnessed the events from their past that only they should have known, it was impossible to deny as the truth..

“I understand how this all might look nonsensical, but it's the truth.”

Falling into deep thought, the two went quiet before simultaneously letting out a deep sigh.

“I can't believe there's a harsher punishment after death than being turned into a ghost.”

“Exactly.”

Not only had the three of them died, but their entire timeline no longer existed. It was difficult to believe and they couldn't fully comprehend it, yet they set those questions aside for now, knowing they were facing an actual Harbinger of Destruction.

“A growing type with reality-warping abilities... if we don't kill him now, he'll be just as much trouble as the Destroyer of Perceptions.”

Right now, the Destroyer of Fragmentation couldn't even handle the Mad Dog alone, but if it somehow escaped, there would be no stopping it without massive sacrifices.

But...

The Blast Dog looked over at the Frost Dog.

“What about you? What are you going to do?”

Realizing that she was asking about how he would deal with Zayed's consciousness trapped within the Destroyer of Fragmentation, the Frost Dog responded, “Well, I'll just have to follow along.”

Calm, the Frost Dog gazed down with his Winter Sky Eyes to peer deep inside the Destroyer of Fragmentation's body and spotted the faint remnants of Zayed's consciousness. The soul, which he hadn't seen in decades, was unlike himself, who had lost all traces of his past.

Remembering the young version of himself he had seen in Se-Hoon's memories, the Frost Dog smiled bitterly.

“I don't think getting hated by your own self would feel too good.”

“Really? I'd probably be pissed if my former self did.”

“Well, that's because you've got the emotional range of a rock...”

Boom!

Leaping into the air, the Frost Dog dodged the Blast Dog’s kick.

“I'll leave the rest to you!” he shouted while falling toward the Destroyer of Fragmentation.

Crunch-

A massive ice statue slammed into the Destroyer of Fragmentation, pushing the battle into a new phase. Left behind, Se-Hoon turned to the Blast Dog who still had her arm slung around Se-Hoon's shoulder.

“What about now? What are you going to do?”

If the Frost Dog’s habit was weighing the pros and cons before deciding anything, the Blast Dog’s was always sticking to her own principles and being stubborn. But while those habits made both difficult to handle, the Blast Dog was still in a league of her own.

She doesn't trust anyone but herself.

It wasn't just because of her deeply ingrained mistrust of others; it was also the mental conditioning she used to strengthen her Incantation Magic, combined with the trauma she experienced as an experimental subject of Dawn. Together, those things made it nearly impossible to sway her, no matter the situation.

Even though I treated her younger self well, knowing her, she'll probably say, “What's that got to do with me?”

Wondering how he would convince her to join the fight, Se-Hoon fell into thought. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“What else would I do? I'm also going in there,” the Blast Dog suddenly answered.

“...Seriously?”

Seeing the incredulous look on Se-Hoon’s face, the Blast Dog narrowed her eyes at him.

“What, did you think I'd say? ‘I'm already dead, so why should I fight’?”

“Ahem. No, I just...”

Watching Se-Hoon awkwardly clearing his throat, trying to find an excuse, the Blast Dog chuckled.

“You're cute.”

“...What?”

“I said you're cute, you bastard. You used to sigh and frown all the time...”

“What the—agh!”

Pinch!

Yanking on Se-Hoon’s cheeks with a smirk, the Blast Dog removed her arm from his shoulder and turned her attention to the battlefield below.

“So, what's the plan? Got any ideas?”

Snapping back to reality, Se-Hoon looked down at the Destroyer of Fragmentation. The creature was constantly regenerated based on its dreams, an ability unlike Wurgen's straightforward immortality.

“If that thing is something merged together, then we'll just have to break it apart again.”