I’M A Max-Level Regressor [EN]: Chapter 167

167

“You son of a bitch, I’m the Grim Reaper!”

Shinwha unleashed a relentless barrage of Explosive Punches at Akero.

Explosive Punch Stance 1 was, as always, the fastest to execute.

Zhiing! Thud!

Akero blocked Shinwha’s attack with his shield.

Having just had the shield’s weakness targeted, he didn’t forget to slightly adjust the angle to compensate.

Fsssse!

“Kuh, damn it!”

Though he managed to block with the shield, Akero was pushed back by the sheer force contained within the Explosive Punch.

Akero was seeing Shinwha for the first time.

But to Akero, it seemed like the guy had held a grudge against him for a long time.

‘But he’s not an Apostle?’

The black eye in Akero’s right socket—more precisely, a black prosthetic eye—twinkled.

It was a higher-level concept than the ring the Apostles had received from Reccerro earlier.

It allowed him to see if others possessed Dark Energy without revealing his own identity.

But no matter how he looked, the man didn’t have it.

He was 100% an Awakened One from this world, with absolutely no connection to the Nas Continent.

‘Could he be an Awakened One minion raised by an Apostle? Was there a traitor among the five dispatched?’

Akero made his own deductions.

Piecing the puzzle together, he could somehow understand the current situation.

“Annoying… Tsk.”

Akero threw off the robe he was wearing and slightly increased the distance between himself and Shinwha.

‘He has a strange eye.’

Shinwha, who had been carefully observing Akero’s changes, identified something peculiar about him.

He had deliberately refrained from attacking, taking the time to observe and figure it out.

‘A ring, too… It seems the guys Reccerro sent all have devices to check their status.’

A faint smile appeared on Shinwha’s lips.

Unlike the left eye, Akero’s right eye clearly had a different focal point and direction. It was definitely a fake eye.

“Which Apostle sent you to kill me?”

“Elijah Low.”

“There’s no Apostle with that name.”

“Ah, it’s someone who looks like this.”

At Akero’s question, Shinwha pulled out a drawing from his subspace and showed it to Akero.

It was the composite sketch of Elijah they had obtained when they killed the trio of black mages.

“Riccanella? That bastard…?”

He had definitely jumped to the wrong conclusion.

From Akero’s perspective, it was a natural reaction.

Suddenly, an Awakened One from ‘Earth’ appeared, fluently speaking the language of the Nas Continent, and was now pushing him hard.

He hadn’t expected to meet Akero, so he thought he’d plant some false information.

Even if he couldn’t capture him alive, he could at least instill some animosity toward Elijah.

“I will execute you in place of Riccanella-nim.”

“You ungrateful bastards!”

Akero was furious.

Everything from start to finish was a lie, but Akero would have no way to verify it.

He knew well enough from his past life’s memories that the guy couldn’t easily come out of the dungeon.

Gooooh!

Dark Energy erupted from Akero’s body, and his eyes began to fill with murderous intent.

‘By now, Akero’s level should be around 7th Class. In Awakened One terms, that’s about SSS-rank.’

He was by no means an easy opponent.

For a typical Awakened One, the safest thing to do would be to run away right now.

This was because the ‘magic’ of the Nas Continent was particularly potent against the Awakened Ones of this world.

It was a kind of matchup advantage.

The Mugang Continent and the Nas Continent would be connected in the future.

They each possessed unique elements: martial arts and magic.

Comparing an Awakened One from Earth, a martial artist from the Mugang Continent, and a mage from the Nas Continent, all with the same skill level:

Awakened One < Mage. Mage < Martial Artist. Martial Artist < Awakened One. They had a relationship where they preyed on each other in a cycle. This had been verified with data from numerous individuals, so there was no room for debate. The reason so many lives were sacrificed to kill Reccerro was because they were too strong. "I will subdue you and extract all the information from your head to clarify the whole story." "As if you could." Shinwha nonchalantly accepted Akero's declaration of war. The next moment! Ppaajjijik! Huge spheres of electricity formed in Akero's hands, and numerous lightning bolts were discharged toward Shinwha. Paaaat! Shinwha maximized Transcendental Acceleration and retreated as far back as possible. His most vulnerable attack pattern, given the composition of his talents, was electricity. He would have liked to endure it with Steel Enhancement, but that would have turned him into a lightning rod. 'It's faster than Haste by far. I've never seen such rapid movement before.' Akero was inwardly impressed by Shinwha's swift response. He had met countless Awakened Ones who boasted about being A-rank or S-rank in the Awakened One world. Of course, he had sent them all to the afterlife. They bragged about being quite skilled in the Awakened One world, but the result was always a tragic sad ending, unable to withstand even a minute before dying miserably. The Chain Lightning Akero had just used was a 6th Class spell. However, he had increased its destructive power to the 7th Class by mixing in Dark Energy, but Shinwha skillfully evaded it. Hwareureureuk! This time, he created a Flame Strike filled with the heat of hellfire. The blazing fireball was so powerful that it could melt anything it touched. "Die!" Kwaaaaa! The raging flames, released from Akero's hand, flew fiercely toward Shinwha. Because it was a homing magic that targeted its prey, it was impossible to avoid with the retreat he had just made. But just then. "Ah...?" Akero was taken aback. With a 'pop' sound, Shinwha's figure flickered as if teleporting, instantly closing the distance. 'He's using Blink?' Only the activation mechanism seemed different, but it was undoubtedly the same technique as Blink [a short-range teleportation spell]. Of course, his surprise was only momentary. Kasasak! He quickly regained his composure and immediately deployed Wind Cutter, a ferocious magic that sliced the enemy with hundreds of wind blades. But. "Euratsya...!" With a mighty shout from Shinwha. Peong! He accurately struck the core of the Wind Cutter sphere, which was explosively expanding, with Magic Emission. Fssseut! At that, the Wind Cutter collapsed like a sandcastle before it could even realize its full power. "...!" Akero's expression turned ashen. It was certainly theoretically possible to disrupt the core of a spell just before it expanded. But it was a calculated move that required truly bone-grinding practice and an awareness of timing. Even Akero himself would have difficulty responding like that. Yet Shinwha had done it in one go. 'I'm breached.' In an instant, Shinwha's figure was right in front of him, with a blazing fist at the forefront. Kkudeudeuk. In a hurry, Akero chose Iron Skin. A magic that transformed the entire skin into a steel form to absorb physical impacts externally. Akero expected a smooth defense, but Shinwha's expression brightened even more. "How can your responses be so simple?" "...?" Teoeop! Shinwha withdrew the Explosive Punch he was about to unleash with force. And at the same time, he lowered his body and used both arms to hug Akero's steel-hardened legs. Up to this point, it might have looked like a touching farewell scene, like grabbing the hem of someone's pants as they were about to leave, but... Reality was harsh. Kkudeudeuk. In an instant, Shinwha's muscles bulged as he grabbed Akero's legs and slammed him down. It was an attack that mercilessly slammed Akero into the dirt floor as if he were pile-driving him. "Ugh! Ugh!" Akero, who hadn't anticipated such an aggressive response, groaned. Pain aside, it was the most humiliating sight in the world. He was known as the unparalleled successor to Reccerro. Yet he was being grabbed by some unknown guy and slammed into the ground like wet laundry; it couldn't have been more mortifying. "Are you just going to keep groaning? You're going to die, you know?" In the meantime, Shinwha's movements accelerated even more, and he relentlessly pummeled Akero left and right. At this rate, he really would die as Shinwha said. The problem wasn't just that. Shaaaaa. Shaaaa. Shaa. The dimensional gate was gradually losing power and closing. It was a dimensional gate that would disappear in just over 10 seconds due to its short duration. It was originally created without even considering that such a troublemaker would appear. The situation, in which he was being unilaterally beaten in a sudden battle, was truly embarrassing and humiliating. However, Akero valued the destiny and fate given to him, as well as the mission entrusted to him by Reccerro. If he were to die here, some of Reccerro's plans would be disrupted. "Damn it...!" Akero suppressed his resentful and humiliating feelings and took out a necklace, throwing it at Shinwha. His intention wasn't to 'bribe' Shinwha with the necklace, but to use the artifact's power to push him away. Teoeop! The moment the necklace Akero threw was attached to Shinwha's chest. Deudeudeudeu! "Kuh!" For a short duration of a few seconds, Shinwha's entire body was paralyzed. It was an impromptu measure using an artifact engraved with a paralysis magic circle. A very expensive artifact. Of course, now that it was attached to Shinwha's body, there was no way to retrieve it. More important than retrieval was preserving his life and quickly escaping this place. Even if he tried to downplay its significance as a reconnaissance mission. It was Akero's dark history that he couldn't deny being unilaterally 'schooled' by Shinwha. "Ugh." Akero groaned, frowned, and hurriedly threw himself into the dimensional gate. But the next moment. "You're a coward to the end, you XX!" Shinwha had broken free from the paralysis much faster than Akero had expected. Then, he was sprinting toward him at a furious pace. 'How the hell is this happening...?' Akero didn't know. That Shinwha had already anticipated Akero's attack pattern. And in a split second, he had used Steel Enhancement to absorb the Paralysis magic and then returned to normal. It was Shinwha's response that happened so quickly that he couldn't even follow it with his eyes. 'To think all the experiences from my past life would be so valuable! If you're a Regressor, you must relentlessly exploit your advantages.' Shinwha was satisfied with his clean and flawless response and aimed at Akero again. However, it seemed he wouldn't be able to catch Akero. To catch a mage who was determined to escape, even sacrificing one of his artifacts. Akero's skills were definitely outstanding. Akero was already in front of the dimensional gate. 'You sly bastard!' Shinwha followed Akero with all his might. And with the thought of smashing at least his head, he unleashed Explosive Punch with all his strength towards the back of the head of the guy who was trying to squeeze into the dimensional gate. The next moment! Bbeoeok! "Keuheok!" Akero, struck in the back of the head by Shinwha, groaned. He spewed out thick red blood like a fountain and was thrown into the dimensional gate. And. Thud. Thuk. Thuk. The prosthetic eye that had come out of Akero's right eye rolled powerlessly on the floor. A means to distinguish the identity of the Apostle. It was the moment he lost the gift and symbol of pain that Reccerro had given him. And. Seureureureuk. The dimensional gate closed. Thus, Akero's right eye departed on a path of no return.