The Regressor Only Protects Me [EN]: Chapter 194

194. Farewell and Reunion (2)

Lee Ho-seung crouched down, holding his breath as he waited.

He had been waiting inside the dark space for a full eight hours, huddled and still.

Finally, he heard footsteps again.

This time, the footsteps were definitely approaching Lee Ho-seung.

However, the beautiful voice coming from the box reassured Lee Ho-seung.

“Kiwi.”

At that moment, Lee Ho-seung hurriedly pushed the box away and came out.

Woo Ji-hye, wearing a blood-stained military uniform, was smiling brightly.

“Did you wait long?”

Lee Ho-seung nodded, panting.

His whole body was stiff as a rock.

Woo Ji-hye took off her combat vest and said.

“I’m sorry. The battle was longer than I thought. I tried to come as quickly as possible. Come on out, Oppa [an honorific term used by a younger woman to address an older brother or male friend]. You can relax now, it’s okay.”

Woo Ji-hye handed Lee Ho-seung the plastic bottle that was on the desk, and he took it and gulped down the water.

She seemed exhausted, leaning against the wall and sweeping back her sweat-soaked bangs.

Lee Ho-seung had been through enough, but Woo Ji-hye had gone through even more difficult things.

The physical recovery of an Artifact Player was incomparably faster than that of an ordinary person, but the recovery was accompanied by that much more pain.

His whole body ached and throbbed.

Lee Ho-seung, while drinking water, looked at her and asked.

“You… you came from a battle?”

“Yes. Well. It was especially difficult this time. There was a strong Player.”

“…You suffered.”

Lee Ho-seung was surprised at himself for saying that.

She was clearly the enemy.

For the enemy to have come from battle meant that she had killed allies.

But when Woo Ji-hye said it, something was different.

Looking at her youthful face in military uniform, her sad eyes, and her leaning against the wall to rest her tired body, no one could help but feel sympathy.

Woo Ji-hye looked at the water droplets precariously hanging from the ceiling and said cautiously.

“…Oppa.”

“Yes?”

“Today, I killed someone. It was a Player too. Maybe it was your comrade.”

“….”

At her words, Lee Ho-seung lowered his head silently.

Woo Ji-hye said.

“Oppa. Tell me. Am I a bad person? Or… a villain? An evildoer… a bad guy…?”

Her voice was trembling slightly.

Lee Ho-seung couldn’t say whether she was a villain or not.

Was there such a thing as perfect good in this world?

After organizing his thoughts, Lee Ho-seung spoke carefully.

“…Where is perfect good in wartime? And there is no perfect evil either. I… I just think this way. We are just fighting this League to kill each other. And the really bad guys are the ones who organized this League. What’s wrong, Ji-hye?”

“Thinking that the person I killed today was a human being with the same thoughts and dreams as me… it hurts. I’m so sorry… so… so sorry…”

“It’s our fate to kill each other.”

“But I can’t help but be sad. …Actually, I don’t want to do this. I really hate it.”

Woo Ji-hye leaned against the wall, hugged her knees, and lowered her head.

Her back was shaking.

She was truly a vulnerable creature.

Even such a weak creature was turned into a weapon of war, a killing machine.

Who is this League for?

Woo Ji-hye began to sob at the overwhelming sadness.

The sound of water droplets occasionally falling from the ceiling of the underground passage, her sobbing, and Lee Ho-seung’s faint breathing filled the silence.

Woo Ji-hye still hugged her knees and said with her head down.

“…Hug me.”

Lee Ho-seung hesitated for a moment, then approached her and hugged her tightly.

After some time, Woo Ji-hye said in Lee Ho-seung’s arms.

“Next battle. I might not be able to come back.”

“….”

“You’re going to Mangyeong, right?”

Lee Ho-seung nodded slightly.

Woo Ji-hye took something out of her pocket and fiddled with Lee Ho-seung’s handcuffs.

“It’s dangerous right now, so go a little later.”

Clang-, rattle.

Woo Ji-hye released Lee Ho-seung’s handcuffs.

And she looked at him and finished speaking.

“Oppa, live as long as possible. Because you’re a good person.”

* * *

“Ugh… Uaaaaaaah!”

Ha Yun-ha let out a scream close to a shriek.

She had heard the news that Choi Hyun-ji had died today, and she began to wail.

Beside her, Jung Hyun-soo was silent, his whole body wrapped in bandages.

“Aaaaaah…! Aaaaaaaah! Kyaaaaaaaak!”

Ha Yun-ha collapsed on the floor and burst into tears.

She clenched her fists while lying down.

And with eyes full of anger, she shouted.

“I’m going to kill them-! I’m going to kill them… I’m going to kill them!”

Ha Yun-ha staggered towards the gun that was next to her.

Jung Hyun-soo grabbed her wrist.

Thud-!

Ha Yun-ha shouted at Jung Hyun-soo.

“Let go of me!”

“Get a grip! If you’re so emotional…!”

“Let go of me! What do you know! What do you know! I hate it! I hate it! I’m going to kill them all… I’m going to kill them all…!”

At that moment, the sound of a sharp slap echoed in the room.

Slap-!

Ha Yun-ha stroked her cheek, which was red and swollen, even as she shed tears.

Jung Hyun-soo withdrew the hand he had swung.

He said.

“You said you were prepared…?”

“….”

“If you collapse here, we all collapse. You are the supreme commander defending Mangyeong. Don’t be emotional. Everyone is sad. Everyone… Everyone, damn it! I want to kill that bastard too!”

“….”

“Where do we have time to be sad? Or do you want to experience even more painful sadness? If this place collapses, everything is over. The five years we’ve built up in the past, and the future ahead.”

With those words, Jung Hyun-soo unwrapped the bandages that were plastered all over his body.

His body was still covered with countless bullet marks.

The doctor next to him tried to stop Jung Hyun-soo.

“If you move now…!”

Jung Hyun-soo ignored the doctor’s words and asked the defense commander.

“What’s the situation?”

“The enemy has begun to push in towards the Bisan area that Choi Hyun-ji was blocking, and the defense line around Anyangcheon has already been breached. We’re holding them back with Ogres [large, monstrous humanoids], but I don’t know how long we can last…”

“What troops are available?”

“200 infantry and 5 Ogres.”

“Gather everyone.”

Ha Yun-ha got up from her seat.

Thanks to Jung Hyun-soo’s shouting, she was barely able to come to her senses.

He was right.

It was Ha Yun-ha who was responsible for this place.

In fact, anyone in the stadium would want to give up.

But they were cheering up and holding on, looking only at Ha Yun-ha.

They were all citizens of Mangyeong gathered around Kang Si-on.

Mangyeong was their hope, and the moment it collapsed, there would be no future.

Ha Yun-ha swallowed her tears and strengthened her resolve.

Before leaving the room, Jung Hyun-soo said to her.

“Do it your way, like you’ve always done. Don’t whine. Like a little brat.”

Thud-!

With those words, Jung Hyun-soo kicked the door open and left.

Ha Yun-ha remained in the room and clenched her fists.

This room was originally a viewing room for VIPs watching the game, and one wall was entirely made of glass.

Ha Yun-ha looked out over the stadium through the glass window.

It was broken in places, but it looked solid.

The citizens of Mangyeong, who were trying to defend this place, were moving in an orderly manner, and Ha Yun-ha, looking at them, reaffirmed their united will.

She roughly wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

* * *

My army, advancing in the Seocho area, slowly but surely eliminated the enemies and advanced forward.

I commanded the soldiers at the front and massacred the enemies.

Yesterday.

To be exact, I heard the news last night that Choi Hyun-ji had died.

The news was quite a shock to me as well.

The emotional shock of Choi Hyun-ji’s death and the rational shock that the Metro forces had a Player strong enough to kill Choi Hyun-ji created two subtle, intertwined emotional lines.

I clenched my fist and looked to the side.

Jin Jae-hee was standing there silently.

After the Poison Mushroom incident, our relationship had definitely become strained, but she faithfully engaged in battle.

Of course, it was true that she had become much less talkative.

The reason was probably because of Choi Hyun-ji’s death, but also because her friend Lee Ho-seung had disappeared.

I looked ahead and asked.

“Are you okay?”

At that time, Hunters tied with ropes were walking in a row from the front.

They were all naked and being taken away with their heads bowed.

I was still looking at them, and Jin Jae-hee’s voice was heard from behind.

“I’m okay. You told me that I need to be rational. I’m in the middle of a battle right now, and I’m focused.”

It was the first conversation in almost two days.

Until then, we had only indirectly delivered and carried out orders, and there was no particular need to talk.

I let out a small breath.

Then she asked me.

“There’s something I’m curious about.”

“…Tell me.”

“Why do you think this war is dragging on like this?”

Even if you ask me that, I had nothing to say.

“I don’t know.”

In fact, the reason why the war was prolonged was very simple.

The strategic tactics of each commander were not working at all.

From Mangyeong’s point of view, they didn’t know that the enemy’s attack would be this strong.

From Metro’s point of view, they didn’t know that Mangyeong’s defense would be this strong.

What I realized from Choi Hyun-ji’s death was that Metro had also made thorough preparations for this war, just like me.

The important thing now was attrition warfare.

Whether the enemy gets tired first, or we get tired first.

That alone would determine the victory or defeat of the war.

‘We can’t recklessly deploy Jin Jae-hee on this side.’

Jin Jae-hee is Mangyeong’s last resort.

I was careful when dealing with her.

Even though she said she would act rationally on her own, she was not doing so at all now.

Her voice was trembling, and her shoulders were shrinking.

Jin Jae-hee was now like an incomplete storm.

She was definitely a powerful being capable of swallowing everything, but she was also a being who could not distinguish between water and fire.

If she couldn’t control her emotions, she could be defeated in reverse.

Choi Hyun-ji had just been defeated, so I was even more convinced that I should keep her by my side.

If I lost even Jin Jae-hee, everything would be over.

My plan, this war, and my life.

She had no choice but to advance slowly by my side.

Even if I thought this way, my army was accelerating its advance on Mangyeong.

At least today or tomorrow, it is expected that we will be able to reach Mangyeong.

Choi Myung-joon’s elite troops will soon arrive in Mangyeong after finishing their subjugation.

The final battle will soon take place.

* * *

Choi Myung-joon was bleeding as he advanced forward.

Even as bullets and arrows rained down around him, he took them with his body.

“Is that… damn human?”

“Aim for the head! The head!”

To the Hunters, he was like an unyielding iron fortress.

And the more he was attacked, the stronger he became.

The Hunters, who had been shooting bullets at Choi Myung-joon from at least 200m away, were startled when he suddenly disappeared.

“?!”

“Ah…!”

At that moment, Choi Myung-joon instantly moved 200m and swung his fist at the Hunters.

Thud-! Crack-!

Choi Myung-joon’s two arms passed through the heart and stomach respectively.

His fist already had more destructive power than a gun.

Even though he just swung his fist lightly, it easily tore and pierced through human skin.

At that time, Hunters in formation began to walk in unison on the distant road.

They were all Metro’s elite close combat troops dispatched to capture Choi Myung-joon.

Choi Myung-joon quickly approached them slowly.

The Metro commander shouted.

“Shields-!”

They held their shields forward, ready to face Choi Myung-joon.

There were 100 of them.

On the other hand, Choi Myung-joon was just one person.

Choi Myung-joon was silent.

Burning with anger, he was only thinking of killing every Hunter who came at him.

The Metro commander shouted again.

“Spears-!”

Thrust-! Thrust-!

At the commander’s command, the Hunters all thrust out their spears.

Despite their threatening reaction, Choi Myung-joon did not hesitate at all and walked towards them.

The commander swallowed hard.

The figure of Choi Myung-joon in the commander’s eyes was truly a slaughterer.

He had long spears and arrows stuck in his back.

His stomach was full of knife wounds.

His thighs and hands were pierced with bullets, and blood was flowing down, which oxidized and created red smoke.

Even the way he walked was not human.

He was like a beast, a monster.

Crack, crack.

Choi Myung-joon only moved his fingers to loosen his knuckles.

The commander shouted at the top of his lungs as he approached.

“Shields forward!”

The Metro Hunters began to walk towards Choi Myung-joon, aligning their ranks.

In response, Choi Myung-joon took a step forward.

Thud-.

And at that moment, he flew forward.

Making the meaning of the shields meaningless, Choi Myung-joon jumped over the shield wall and targeted the commander behind him first.

The commander hurriedly tried to take out the pistol he had on his waist, but it was already too late the moment he realized it.

Splatter-!

The commander’s head burst with one punch from him.

Choi Myung-joon landed right in the middle of the Hunters as if to show off.

Around him, countless Hunters were wearing gas masks and sweating profusely.

After a moment of silence, a young Hunter plucked up his courage and rushed at Choi Myung-joon.

“Uaaaah-!”

However, the young Hunter’s spear cut through the air in vain, and Choi Myung-joon began to swing his fists indiscriminately.

Exactly 20 minutes.

20 minutes later, this place was full of only the corpses of Hunters.

The corpses were piled up so high that the road could not be seen.

“….”

Choi Myung-joon walked again.

There was only one goal.

The monster of the Mapo Metro forces.

And the leader of the Underground Church who mocked his older brother and brutally murdered his younger siblings.

(Continued in the next episode)