The Regressor Only Protects Me [EN]: Chapter 217

217. Finale (4)

While Ha Yunha and Jung Hyunsoo were talking, a bloody battle raged on in the same location.

Silence.

The same place, but existing in separate realities that didn’t intersect.

Within that reality, Kang Junho swung his chain-wrapped fist.

Whoosh- Clang!!!
A deafening roar erupted as his fist collided with Jin Jaehee’s shield.

Kang Junho was an Artifact user who could freely manipulate gravity with his hands.

Therefore, the closer an object was to his hand, the stronger his Artifact power became.

Kang Junho frowned deeply, putting even more force into the blow.

Ughhhhh-!
A sharp, grating sound rang out as the two forces met.

However, Jin Jaehee’s expression remained indifferent as she withstood Kang Junho’s power with one hand.

Suddenly, Jin Jaehee withdrew her shield.

Whoosh-!
Kang Junho stumbled forward, caught off balance.

The most vulnerable moment for anyone is when they lose control of their body in mid-air.

Jin Jaehee didn’t miss the opportunity and slammed her knee into Kang Junho’s solar plexus.

Swoosh- Thwack!
Internal damage. Junho coughed up blood from the agonizing pain that wracked his entire body, even from a single knee strike.

“Puhawk-!”
A stream of bright red blood trickled from under his chin.

But Kang Junho endured.

Junho’s body staggered from the impact.

Jin Jaehee lowered her spear and thrust it into the ground.

Clang-!
The ground cracked from the force of her spear alone.

She narrowed her eyes sharply and stared at Kang Junho.

He clutched his solar plexus, trembling.

Feeling a sense of unease, Jin Jaehee spoke to Junho.

“There’s no need for this. Your brother wouldn’t want this either.”

Jaehee spoke as if she were scolding a younger sibling.

At her calm, beautiful voice, Kang Junho, who had been writhing in pain, chuckled humorlessly.

“There’s no need for this?”

Then, with even more fierce eyes, he glared at Jin Jaehee.

“How arrogant. You’re already getting complacent just because you’re winning a little?”

But after that outburst, Kang Junho coughed repeatedly, as if his insides were on fire.

Even injuries that would normally heal within a minute were healing slower because of the damage inflicted by Jin Jaehee.

Kang Junho straightened his back and took a deep breath. Then, he struggled to speak.

“You don’t know anything. About our brothers. About the past we’ve been through. What would someone like you, born into a privileged, ordinary family, know? I told you. Get lost. Damn it. It just needs to be you gone. It just needs to be you!”

At Junho’s demand for her to leave, Jaehee took a short breath and gathered her thoughts.

In the end, what Sion wanted to do was the most important thing.

And Jaehee hadn’t heard Sion’s answer yet. Therefore, she couldn’t respond to Junho’s words without knowing Sion’s decision.

However, Jin Jaehee was only focused on stopping Kang Junho right now, not subduing or killing him.

Of course, Kang Junho’s intentions were different.

Kang Junho was only thinking of killing Jin Jaehee.

He levitated the streetlights and wrecked cars scattered across the area into the air.

Wooong-.
Even though he had consumed quite a few Artifacts, Kang Junho’s power was still formidable.

“No matter how much you’ve come to control the power of the Colossus, you won’t be able to stop me. I will kill you and definitely fulfill our brothers’ dream.”

Jin Jaehee couldn’t help but frown at Kang Junho’s words.

Brothers’ dream?

No, that was just Kang Junho’s childish fantasy.

A selfish dream of his own, without any consideration for Kang Sion’s true feelings.

‘Without even talking or discussing it, he decides on his own and thinks it’s right. That’s childish.’

A shadow fell over Jin Jaehee’s gaze again. Looking up at the sky, she saw a mass of floating debris rising.

Once again, Kang Junho’s levitated objects hurtled towards Jin Jaehee.

So far, hundreds of these projectiles had been effortlessly blocked by Jin Jaehee’s shield.

Kang Junho probably knew that it was a futile attack. But this time was different.

Green threads began to wrap around Jin Jaehee’s wrist as she started to conjure a shield.

Swoosh.

“?!”

Jin Jaehee’s sacred shield faltered, only partially formed.

The one controlling those green threads was Lee Juyeon.

Jin Jaehee immediately created a holy sword with her other hand and slashed at the green threads.

Because it was Jin Jaehee’s final awakened holy sword, there was nothing it couldn’t cut. However, an unexpected situation occurred.

Before the remaining threads could be severed, Lee Juyeon lunged forward and pulled Jin Jaehee into an embrace.

Wrap!
At that moment, Lee Juyeon cried out in pain.

“Ugh!”

Jin Jaehee’s body was surrounded by a sacred aura that burned on contact. Lee Juyeon, who was tightly holding Jin Jaehee, was enduring the searing pain. But she refused to show it.

Thanks to that sacrifice, Kang Junho’s attack landed on Jin Jaehee this time.

Bang-! Kwaaaang!!!
With a tremendous explosion, all sorts of floating debris crashed down on the two women.

Kang Junho saw this as his chance and pushed even harder.

He targeted the ground Jin Jaehee was standing on, and all possible escape routes.

As if turning over the earth with a massive shovel, tons of soil, enough to cover a soccer field, were flung into the air.

How long did the shockwave assault continue?

“Ugh!”

Kang Junho covered his mouth.

There were severe side effects after unleashing such a tremendous amount of power.

“Uweek!”

Kang Junho coughed up blood, wracked with pain. He felt as if his whole body was being torn apart.

He wanted to choose death to escape this agony.

But Kang Junho endured.

Because if he collapsed like this, his brothers would be forced to return to that miserable life again.

His eyes were bloodshot, the vessels bursting.

With those blood-red eyes, Kang Junho searched for Jin Jaehee.

At that moment, the dust cloud that had soared high into the sky began to dissipate in all directions, as if being sucked into a giant ventilation fan.

It was a massive dust cloud that had enveloped the city like a desert sandstorm.

However, when Jin Jaehee spun her spear rapidly like a propeller, all the dust clouds were scattered.

And Kang Junho’s attack, which he had unleashed at the cost of Lee Juyeon’s pain, had no effect at all.

There wasn’t a single scratch on her body.

Kang Junho looked down at her and let out a hollow breath.

“No way.”

Kang Junho had never faced a true opponent until now.

No matter how powerful the player or monster, they all knelt before him. Kang Junho believed he was the strongest existence among the players.

However, the goddess in front of him had transcended humanity. It was like…

“?!”

At that moment, Kang Junho felt goosebumps erupt all over his body.

This power, this aura, this energy.

He had definitely felt it before.

He had felt it not from Earth, but from a higher dimension.

‘Could it be…’

Cold sweat beaded on Kang Junho’s temples.

Jin Jaehee, who was looking at Kang Junho floating in the sky, also waited quietly. In her hand, she held Lee Juyeon, who had fainted from the burning pain.

Looking at Lee Juyeon’s unconscious face, Jin Jaehee thought.

‘Why did it come to this?’

Where did things go wrong?

She had been wandering in the middle of a barren desert for a long time, but there was only one reason she could endure that aimless journey.

It was the unwavering conviction that she would one day escape this desert and find a green meadow.

But at some point, what that green meadow represented to her was no longer simply returning to her original world.

It was about protecting the precious people in her life.

When she first lost her father, she felt like the world was collapsing.

And the same was true when she faced Kang Sion’s death before the regression [time travel/reincarnation].

Friends, family, everything was the same.

She wanted to protect her world.

The Kang Sion she knew. The Kang Sion she talked to. Family, friends, everything was ultimately her world.

A world she always wanted to be with, but not forever.

A world that was even more precious because it was not eternal.

Because she didn’t want to lose anything anymore, she chose to fight.

At that moment, Kang Junho descended from the sky and landed on the ground.

His whole body was already covered in blood, but his eyes were resolute.

Kang Junho slowly scrutinized Jin Jaehee.

Then he took three more steps forward and said to her.

“Did you say let’s talk?”

Jaehee remained silent at Junho’s question.

She could still sense hostility radiating from Junho.

But anyone could see that he needed to catch his breath.

Thud-!
Even though Jin Jaehee didn’t say anything, he simply sat down.

He breathed roughly, like a wounded beast.

“Okay. Let’s talk. But you have to convince me.”

Jin Jaehee tilted her head slightly, confused by his words.

“What?”

“Tell me with your own mouth whether your world is better than the world I envision.”

Kang Junho spoke as if he were issuing an order.

Jin Jaehee scoffed at his demand.

At that moment, Jin Jaehee withdrew her power. Then everything returned to normal.

From her appearance to the energy surrounding her, everything was ordinary.

Jin Jaehee slowly approached Kang Junho.

The city center was completely in ruins.

In the middle of that devastated landscape, Kang Junho was sitting cross-legged.

He was tired of sitting upright, so he rested one elbow on his thigh, his upper body leaning slightly.

Jin Jaehee, having approached Kang Junho, stood directly in front of him.

Kang Junho looked up at her.

Jin Jaehee put her hand on one hip and looked down at Kang Junho, saying.

“I’m not trying to make you understand. No matter how much I explain, you won’t be able to grasp it. But what is it that you understand?”

“Then we can’t talk. You stupid bitch. Didn’t you tell me to resolve this with a conversation?”

Kang Junho was clearly at a disadvantage, but he wasn’t intimidated in the slightest.

Instead, he confronted Jin Jaehee aggressively. And Jin Jaehee also seemed annoyed, clicking her tongue and retorting.

“Who said anything about talking to me? Talk to your brother.”

“My brother is not himself because of you.”

“Ah- Is this a broken record? Please, Junho.”

Jin Jaehee sighed deeply, touching her forehead in exasperation.

At that moment, Junho exploded in anger and shouted.

“Don’t call me by my name! You crazy bitch!”

Junho’s voice echoed like a roaring lion in the ruined space.

He tried to get up and attack Jin Jaehee immediately, but his body wouldn’t cooperate.

Kang Junho managed to raise his upper body slightly, but soon collapsed back down.

The battle was undeniably Kang Junho’s defeat.

If Jin Jaehee had truly considered Kang Junho an enemy and hadn’t been determined to keep him alive until the end, the fight would have been over long ago.

In fact, Jin Jaehee hadn’t even used half of her power.

She was at the pinnacle of everyone participating in the League [a group or organization].

That was a realm of ‘absolute power’ that even Kang Junho couldn’t overcome.

Jin Jaehee knew how to control that power.

But Kang Junho didn’t know how to manage it. So he suffered from various side effects, including coughing up blood.

Anyone could see that Jin Jaehee was far superior to Kang Junho. The duel was over.

Jin Jaehee looked down at Kang Junho, who was still panting heavily.

Really, such a disobedient younger brother. She didn’t see him as anything more or less than that.

In the first place, Kang Junho’s opinion was irrelevant to Jin Jaehee.

If Kang Sion chooses to return, he returns, and if he chooses to stay here, he stays.

Kang Sion was not someone easily swayed.

Jin Jaehee knew that well because she had been by his side far longer than Kang Junho.

Jin Jaehee clenched her fist and said.

“You should be grateful that you were born as Sion’s younger brother. Sion is going to scold you for being so disobedient and having a case of middle school syndrome [acting out/rebellious behavior].”

“Shut up! You bug-like bitch! Before I tear your mouth apart!!! What do you know! You crazy bitch!”

Kang Junho screamed and lunged at Jin Jaehee, but she simply glanced at her clenched fist and sighed.

“If you were born as my younger brother, you would have died a long time ago. I don’t educate my younger siblings with words. Younger sibling education is all about tough love. Oh, it’s not abuse. My tough love is love.”

“You son of a-!”

In the end, Kang Junho couldn’t contain his anger and mustered his last reserves of strength to attack Jin Jaehee. But Jin Jaehee’s expression didn’t change.

She said.

“So just sleep now. Don’t be cocky.”

Jin Jaehee slammed her fist into the face of Kang Junho, who was charging at her.

Boom! Pow-!

“Cough!”

Kang Junho, struck squarely in the face, fainted instantly. Then he fell backward helplessly.

Blood streamed from his nostrils, and Jin Jaehee looked at Kang Junho’s fallen form and unclenched her fist.

She had adjusted her strength appropriately.

Just the right amount of tough love.

Of course, the force of the blow that hit Kang Junho’s face rippled outward, shattering the ground around him.

Clang-! Crackle!

Kang Junho, embedded in the cracked earth, lost consciousness and collapsed.