Not A Regressor-Chapter 269: Greed And Love (1)

As the hospital room door opened, a familiar voice rang out. “Oh-Jin!”

Just hearing her made him feel like floating on clouds, filled with happiness.

Song Ha-Eun, who had fallen asleep from exhaustion, quickly came trotting over. “Did you go out somewhere?”

“Yeah, I just stepped out for some fresh air.”

Kwon Oh-Jin hung up his coat on the rack and stepped into the VIP hospital room as spacious as a hotel suite.

Song Ha-Eun tilted her head in confusion. “Hmm?”

She stepped up to him and gently caressed his cheek.

“Did something happen?”

No particular incident had occurred. He simply realized something he had never noticed until now. How could he possibly tell her that the Heavenly Demon was none other than himself?

I don’t know exactly how I traveled to the past.

This was clearly different from a typical regression since his past consciousness hadn’t overwritten his current one. It seemed less like regression and more akin to using a time machine to reverse the flow of time. Otherwise, how could two Kwon Oh-Jins exist simultaneously?

“Oh-Jin?”

“Huh, it’s nothing.”

“Nothing, my ass.”

Her hand, gently stroking his cheek, now tugged at it.

Song Ha-Eun furrowed her brow and pretended to scold him sternly. “Are you really going to keep lying to me? You say nothing happened, but it’s written all over your face.”

Was his expression really that obvious? Kwon Oh-Jin bitterly smiled. At this point, he had no choice but to change tactics.

“I heard rumors that the Demon District kings are starting to move.”

“The Demon District kings?”

“Yeah.”

He hid away the truth about the Heavenly Demon and changed the topic to distract her.

“So, are those so-called kings planning to invade Earth?” Song Ha-Eun seriously asked.

Fortunately, she believed that his stiff expression was because of the Demonic District kings.

Kwon Oh-Jin nodded. “Most likely.”

“Then, shouldn’t we contact the assembly right away—?”

“It won’t happen immediately.”

Until now, none of the beings called Demonic District kings had ever personally invaded Earth. In fact, most people didn’t even know such kings existed in the Demonic District. That just showed how little movement they made on the surface.

“They must have some sort of restriction on them,” he said.

Even if the Heavenly Demon had intervened, they likely wouldn’t just pour into Earth overnight.

“Ugh. So, it’s them now after the Black Star Society?” Song Ha-Eun groaned and shook her head as if sick of it. “But earlier, you said kings, as in plural, right? There’s more than one?”

“I think so?”

“Then, how many kings are there?”

Kwon Oh-Jin had only seen one city in the Demonic District that could be described as a kingdom. He had no way of knowing how many more of those cities existed.

“I’m not sure either.”

“We can ask Riarc,” Vega suggested.

“Huh?” Kwon Oh-Jin’s eyes widened at Vega’s sudden interjection.

While he had been absorbed in the conversation with Song Ha-Eun, Vega had quietly appeared and floated in the air. As if it were her rightful place, she casually settled onto Kwon Oh-Jin’s head.

With a deep sigh, she tapped him on the forehead. “I came to scold you after hearing from that Leech child that you regained consciousness... and ended up hearing all this troublesome talk.”

That’s why Isabella hasn’t been around. She must’ve gone to the Sanctum.

“Wait, what do you mean, ask Riarc?” Song Ha-Eun asked with a puzzled expression.

“Riarc is originally from the Demonic District,” Vega replied.

“W-What?”

“Well, it’s already been over a hundred years, but that child likely knows more about the Demonic District than I do.”

Song Ha-Eun’s jaw dropped. “That arrogant little mutt used to be a demonic beast?!”

“To be exact, he’s part of the beastkin race.”

“Huh? I thought only demonic beasts lived in the Demonic District?”

“Hmm... From a human perspective, beastkin could also be considered demonic beasts. You’re not entirely wrong.”

Ten years ago, when the first rift opened and strange life forms began spilling into Earth, people just lumped them all together and called them monsters or demonic beasts. However, that was no different from calling humans and tigers the same mammals without differentiating them. Labeling dozens of distinct species as demonic beasts simply showed how little humanity actually knew about them.

People couldn’t even decide if we should call them monsters or demonic beasts until just recently.

Originally, ordinary entities were called monsters, and mutated ones were called demonic beasts. With the surge in mutated entities, the distinction between them grew blurry. Eventually, people just started calling them all demonic beasts. After all, neither term was really accurate.

“Then, can you call Riarc right now?” Kwon Oh-Jin asked.

“Hmm. Just a moment.” Vega closed her eyes and focused before shaking her head. “It looks like he’s holed up in the training room again.”

“He’s not answering?”

Vega nodded. “I’ll have to go fetch him myself.”

“No, we can just call him tomorrow.”

It wasn’t like they could formulate a counter-strategy right away even if they summoned Riarc right now and asked about how many kings existed.

“If those so-called kings come to Earth, will it be like ten years ago?” Song Ha-Eun asked.

“In the worst-case scenario, yeah.”

Song Ha-Eun gently bit her lip. The demonic beasts that poured through the first rift and the hellish scenes that unfolded on the streets came rushing back.

Kwon Oh-Jin gently placed his hand on her tense shoulder. “It’ll be okay. We’ll stop it before it happens.”

“Do you have a plan in mind?”

He nodded slightly at Song Ha-Eun and Vega. “We can’t just sit here and wait for them to strike first.”

Even though he had figured out the Heavenly Demon’s identity, he still didn’t know the Heavenly Demon’s true motives or what his full plan was. One thing was certain. If they just sat and waited for disaster to strike, there would be no way to stop it.

“What are you—”

“Let’s go.” He turned to look out the window, where darkness had already fallen. “To the Demonic District.”

They couldn’t solve this problem by staying still. Before the enemy could fully prepare, they had to make the first move.

Song Ha-Eun dryly laughed in disbelief. “Ha...”

Going to the Demonic District wasn’t something one could easily suggest. For humanity, the Demonic District was a forbidden land that couldn’t even be talked about.

“What will I ever do with you?” Song Ha-Eun asked.

However, no one could stop him if he decided to go. She had no choice but to quietly follow him. No matter how hopeless the mission seemed, a world without Kwon Oh-Jin was worse.

Vega touched her forehead and shook her head. “Even though you’re a Regressor, you really act like you’ve got multiple lives to spare.”

“I know it’s dangerous,” he said.

Even ten years after the first rift opened, less than five percent of the Demonic District had been explored. Going there was basically a suicide mission.

“I’m not planning to play by his rules.”

Kwon Oh-Jin’s eyes narrowed. Whether the Heavenly Demon was his past self or not didn’t matter. Whatever that past self had lost, whatever despair or tragedy he had gone through, why would that concern him now?

He firmly took Song Ha-Eun’s hand as she tilted her head in confusion.

“Hmm? What is it, Oh-Jin?”

No matter what happened to his past self, the one by her side now was his present self.

Song Ha-Eun blushed and lightly coughed. “W-What’s with you all of a sudden?”

She coyly glanced up at him and gently leaned in.

“You don’t have to hold on so tight. I’m coming with you, so don’t worry. Okay?” She proudly puffed out her chest.

Kwon Oh-Jin’s eyes couldn’t help but be drawn to her cleavage.

Watching Song Ha-Eun, Vega crossed her arms. “Of course, I shall go too!”

She tugged hard on Kwon Oh-Jin’s hair from on top of his head.

With a snort, Vega glared fiercely at Song Ha-Eun. “Hmph! You won’t be going with him alone!”

“Ha. It’s not like you can stay with him forever anyway,” Song Ha-Eun said.

“T-That’s...” Vega trailed off and clenched her small fists in frustration. “Still, the restrictions are weaker than before!”

Hearing this for the first time, Kwon Oh-Jin cocked his head. “Huh? The restrictions got weaker?”

“Ah, right. I guess you hadn’t heard,” Vega said with her arms crossed. “Since a few days ago, the restrictions of the Law have weakened.”

“Again? Didn’t they already weaken before?”

“I’m not exactly sure why either. It's been an unimaginably long time since the Titans who created the Law disappeared too...” Vega slightly squinted, unsure of why this was happening.

“Does that mean the Celestials can now directly descend into the world?”

“Not quite to that extent. Ah, but they can indirectly manifest like me now in smaller forms.”

Up until now, manifesting like Vega was something only North Star Celestials could do.

“In any case, it means I can now manifest for longer periods of time!” Vega fluttered through the air before landing on Kwon Oh-Jin’s shoulder and proudly crossing her legs.

Song Ha-Eun pouted, clearly not pleased with Vega’s smug look.

“So, when are you planning to head to the Demonic District?” Song Ha-Eun asked.

“It won’t be right away. There’s a lot to prepare.”

This wasn’t just a trip to anywhere. It was to the Demonic District. They had to carefully prepare since they didn’t know how long they would have to stay there.

“I’ll also need to meet with the other Seven Stars and talk to them about the kings,” he said.

“True. This isn’t something only we should know.” Song Ha-Eun nodded. “Then, I’ll let Mr. Gorilla know.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

“For now, you just stay put and don’t do anything reckless. Stay in your hospital room and rest.” Song Ha-Eun pulled him back toward the hospital bed. “You’re still a patient, remember?”

“And remind me, who exactly jumped this patient a while ago?” Kwon Oh-Jin chuckled.

Well, she wasn’t wrong. He still hadn’t fully recovered from the aftereffects of Open Heaven. Even though the Black Heaven had reached its ninth enlightenment, he wasn’t overflowing with power. On the contrary, he still felt deeply fatigued with something weighing on him.

“Alright, then. I’ll get going now. Get plenty of rest,” Song Ha-Eun said.

“Okay.”

“I suppose I’ll go find Riarc as well.” Vega also left the hospital room.

All alone, Kwon Oh-Jin lay back down on the wide bed.

“Phew.”

Guess I really should rest like Ha-Eun said.

He needed to do a lot of things, but none of them could be done without fully recovering.

Lying in bed, Kwon Oh-Jin slowly closed his eyes.

***

Warm breaths brushed against his lips.

“Haa, haa.”

Platinum-blond hair, like melted gold, tickled his cheeks.

“Mr. Oh-Jin... you’ll keep your promise, right?”

Two voluptuous peaks, with unbelievable volume, heavily pressed against his chest like an avalanche. He felt a soft sensation as if being wrapped in clouds.

What is this? Am I dreaming?