Not A Regressor-Chapter 288: Dogs And Wolves (13)

“Ghhk... Let go!” Leoru writhed in pain, his neck still caught in Horus’s grip. Turning toward Riarc, Leoru forced out a strained cry. “Don’t... kneel...!”

Riarc flinched at Leoru’s desperate plea.

“I told you to be quiet.” Horus struck Leoru across the face once more.

Smack!

Leoru coughed up blood and weakly dropped his head.

“Kneel now, Riarc.” Horus’s eyes blazed as he stared at him. “If you kneel here and now, I promise to release the captured Silver Mane Tribe.”

“Horus...”

“Make your choice!”

The same choice Horus had once made, the choice he had been forced to make. Now, he demanded the same from Riarc, who bit down on his lip and ground his teeth.

Watching him wrestle with the decision, Horus laughed hollowly. “In the end... you’re no different, are you, Riarc?”

To protect those he loved, what was a little pride worth? No matter how disgraceful or humiliating becoming a dog was, getting on one’s knees meant nothing if it meant keeping your loved ones safe.

“Sometimes... you need to become a dog,” Horus said to Riarc, whose head hung low. Perhaps, he was speaking to himself.

Riarc bitterly chuckled. “Sometimes you need to become a dog, huh?”

Horus frowned at him.

“Then there’s no need to worry, Horus.”

He’d already been living as one.

“I’ve already... been living as a dog for far too long.”

Riarc bitterly looked at the sky as if recalling a distant past.

“What do you mean by that?” Horus asked.

“Exactly what it sounds like. For the past hundred years, I’ve lived as a dog instead of a wolf.”

He had tried to deny it and justify it as something inevitable, but finally understood what he had done for the past century.

“You asked me earlier what I’ve been doing all this time,” Riarc said.

“That’s right...”

“Nothing.”

“What?”

“I did nothing.”

The restrictions of the Law preventing him from leaving the Sanctum were all an excuse. Perhaps Celestials couldn’t leave, but a Star Spirit could access the outside world to some extent. And yet, he never left the Sanctum.

After becoming Vega’s Star Spirit, he shut himself away in the Sanctum and trained obsessively to become stronger. He told himself that it was to avoid regret this time. That he needed power to protect those he cherished. He swore to Vega that once he surpassed his limits and broke through the wall, he would set out to undo his past mistakes.

“It was all nonsense.”

In the end, he never broke through that wall. No matter how desperately he trained, he never grew stronger. Of course, he hadn’t because not once had he actually intended to surpass that wall.

“I was afraid of failing again.”

After being given a second chance, he felt terrified of repeating the same failure.

“I was scared that my choices would once again get my people killed.” 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

So, he gave up trying. He curled up within the wall he had built and told himself that one day, when he broke through that wall and grew stronger, he would go out into the world. He repeated that empty vow over and over again.

“I... chose to become a dog, not a wolf.”

Just like Horus, he had lived in excuses and justified his cowardice with pitiful reasons for one long century.

“Riarc...”

“Then, I met a crazy kid.”

Even now, he could recall it vividly. Kwon Oh-Jin, soaked in blood, staggering to his feet. The lunatic who smiled like nothing was wrong even after suffering injuries that could have killed him several times over. If the problem could be solved by enduring, then it was nothing? What kind of mad nonsense was that?

No matter how much one tried to ignore it, pain was real. Fear was real. Those things didn’t just disappear because one gritted their teeth and pushed through it.

“But that kid managed to do it.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“After meeting that kid, I couldn’t help but see it.”

“See what?”

“The things I never wanted to see.”

Truthfully, he had known all along. Maybe he had known from the very beginning that he was just a coward spouting excuses because he was afraid of taking responsibility. He had known it, yet chose to look away. He kept his eyes shut and turned away because he feared failing again and causing more deaths.

After meeting Kwon Oh-Jin and witnessing that radiant Heaven-Defying Star in the dark sky, he could no longer look away. He could no longer live with his back turned to the things he didn’t want to face.

—Are you a dog or a wolf now?

He had never been able to answer, but now, it was time to respond.

“This is my answer, Horus.”

Blue lightning enveloped Riarc. His black fur burned away, replaced by a new coat shining a brilliant silver.

Crack! Crack!

With a bone-chilling crunch, Riarc transformed into a werewolf.

“Grrrrr!”

As he stomped, a massive crater formed beneath him like a window shattered by a hammer.

Boom!

The entire castle trembled as if an earthquake had struck.

“In the name of Riarc Khan! I swear this!” Riarc’s fierce roar thundered across the battlefield. Even if he failed again, even if his choices cost the lives of those he held dear. “I will be a wolf!”

A storm of blue lightning exploded around Riarc and radiated outward.

Crackle!

With another stomp, he charged at Horus.

Boom!

Riarc’s fist slammed squarely into Horus’s philtrum with terrifying force.

Smack!

“Grgh!” Horus’s head snapped back.

He went violently flying across the ground, skipping like a stone across water from the blow’s sheer force.

“Lord Horus!”

Horus’s personal guards rushed toward Riarc. A warrior with a red mane threw a punch, but Riarc slightly tilted his head and easily dodged it. Then, he grabbed the warrior’s arm with brutal strength.

Crunch!

With a sickening snap, the arm bent at an unnatural angle.

“Out of my way, you amateurs.”

With a rough swing, Riarc hurled the warrior at another approaching guard. Like a missile, the flying warrior collided with the rest of Horus’s guards and sent them sprawling.

One of Horus’s personal guards held a Silver Mane Tribe member hostage with a sharp claw to their neck. “S-Stop! If you move, I’ll kill him—!”

Without even responding, Riarc swung his claws at the guard holding the hostage. Lightning-formed claws materialized in the air, and the blazing blue current shot forward at a blinding speed toward the guard.

The guard’s eyes widened in horror. “What the—?!”

The lightning claws didn’t just target him. It would pierce through both him and the hostage.

“Y-You crazy bastard!” Realizing Riarc would kill even the hostage, the guard cursed and flung himself to the side.

“Aaaaagh!” The Silver Mane Tribe member couldn’t avoid the attack and screamed.

“Don’t worry. You won’t die.” Riarc lunged at the guard who had dodged.

Like kicking a ball, he drove his foot into the guard’s abdomen.

Wham!

“Guhk!” The guard flew dozens of meters before smashing into the castle wall, reducing it to rubble.

Horus wiped the blood from his lips and charged. “Riaaaaarc!”

Their fists collided again and again. The entire castle shook from their thunderous blows.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

“So, you don’t care even if your own people die now, is that it?!” Horus punched Riarc on the cheek. “Even if everyone who believed in you and followed you dies, you're going to protect your pride as a lone wolf?!”

“And what did you earn after abandoning that pride?!” Riarc delivered an uppercut to Horus’s chin, causing his head to snap back.

Still gripping Riarc’s shoulders, Horus brought his forehead down like a hammer. “I earned a life.”

“But that’s it.” Blood gushed from Riarc’s torn brow as he grabbed Horus by the shoulders and slammed his own forehead down.

With a dull thud, Horus spat out blood and fell back.

“You became a dog to save your people?” Riarc asked.

“Kugh!”

Riarc stomped hard on Horus’s stomach.

“Don’t spout nonsense.” His eyes burned like flames as he looked down at Horus. “You were just afraid to fight.”

Because he couldn’t bear the weight of the lives that could be lost due to his own failure, he had chosen to give up fighting.

“What the hell do you know!” Horus shouted.

“Did you forget who I am?” Riarc’s silver mane fluttered in the rushing wind. “I am a Khan, Horus.”

He had carried the crushing weight of those lost lives more than anyone. Still, or rather, because of that—

“I had no choice but to be a wolf.”

If I fall, everyone falls. If I give up, everyone gives up. If I collapse, everyone collapses.

“That’s...” Riarc’s fist came crashing down on Horus’s face. “... the weight Khan must bear.”

Boom!

Just before the blow landed, Horus tilted his head to narrowly avoid it. Riarc’s fist slammed into the ground and carved out a deep crater.

Horus rolled away and created some distance between them. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth as he gasped for air. “Haa, haa!”

Riarc slowly walked toward him. “You’ve sat in that seat for a hundred years. You should know this by now.”

“I—”

“What? You’re not a Khan?” Riarc bitterly chuckled and glared at Horus with cold, unflinching eyes. “How long do you plan on running away?”

Horus could only remain silent.

“I gave you my answer, Horus.”

Now it was Horus’s turn to answer.

“Are you a dog or a wolf?” Riarc asked his old friend.