Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 192

192―――――

“Hey, that way is hell.”

As the Saintly Imprint awakened, the Captain, slightly losing his mind from the backlash, took an offensive stance.

Though not fully recovered physically, his rough life as a sailor and pirate made him appear menacing.

Lucia chose not to attack first, raising her left hand to protect her neck and face.

Swish!

Lucia noticed the Captain’s dagger gleamed with an unusually chilling blue light.

Ordinarily, she wouldn’t recognize a Saintly Imprint, mistaking it for a magically inscribed weapon. But Lucia knew better now.

Her previous conflict with Trisha had taught her a great deal about Saintly Imprints.

It wasn’t mana manipulation or special magic, but a truly inexplicable force.

Yet, she knew it existed.

‘Do you remember Trisha’s power, Lucia?

Not just flames created by magic, but radiant flames that seemed alive, with a will of their own.

The pirate leader likely possesses a similar power.

How did I know?

I didn’t just come to the South to fight and rest as I was told.

I spread people around to gather information.

Trisha suspected him because he wasn’t skilled with mana but fought far better than ordinary people.’

In truth, Sion had known from the start, embellishing the explanation to his advantage.

Adding Trisha, who possessed a Saintly Imprint, Lucia could only exclaim, ‘Ah, I see!’ and nod.

‘However, like Trisha,

He’ll be strong but unprepared.

But his very existence is a threat.

He tried to harm the kingdom’s people, and succeeded, so we can’t leave him alone.

Lucia, you said you’d ask me for a wish if you became as strong as Lia, right?

Now is the time.’

Yes, now is the time.

Lucia engraved Sion’s words in her heart, taking a slow breath and checking the magical formulas she had prepared.

‘Lia showed me how much she’s grown in the North.

So, now it’s Lucia’s turn.

I’ve worked hard too; I deserve my reward.

It’s time to show you that.’

As Lucia remained still, unlike before, the Captain slowly advanced.

Perhaps her aura still seemed delicate.

The Captain grinned and rushed towards her.

Lucia watched him, then dodged the dagger aimed at her neck and punched his unguarded side.

Thwack!

“···?”

Lucia’s beautiful face twisted slightly.

She definitely heard something breaking, but not bones or muscles.

What was it like?

‘It sounded like ice breaking?’

Lucia recalled Sion’s words.

That he would be similar to Trisha.

Could it be that he…? She glanced sideways and leaped backward.

Almost simultaneously, crash! A translucent ice spike flew into the spot she’d occupied.

‘If Trisha is fire, does this man control ice?’

Meanwhile, the Captain hurled small, sharp ice spikes at Lucia like daggers.

Lucia, deciding that blocking them all would only lead to injury, moved quickly as Raido had taught her, considering how to subdue him.

It wasn’t just about throwing ice.

Striking his body revealed that the Saintly Imprint protected him.

Otherwise, he couldn’t attack so nonchalantly after taking a direct hit.

‘···Not good.’

Lucia knew her limitations.

She had learned much from Raido and progressed through her efforts, but a prolonged battle would disadvantage her.

She had to manage mana, continuously activate magic, use martial arts, watch the enemy, process everything, and make decisions.

“Hah!”

The moment the Captain rushed her again.

She lightly extended her foot and forcefully kicked his abdomen.

Unlike other body parts, the abdomen lacks bone protection.

He should have screamed or at least grimaced, but he showed nothing.

Lucia wondered how Trisha and this pirate, with their faint mana, could perform such monstrous feats.

‘Even so.’

The moment the Captain was about to attack again.

Lucia’s fist flew toward his face.

At the sudden blow, he reflexively closed his eyes, bracing for impact.

Everyone closes their eyes to a fist flying at their face, right in front of their nose.

Recalling Raido’s important teaching, Lucia retracted her hand and slammed her other fist into his side.

Crack!

“···Ugh?”

The impact wasn’t on his face but his side again.

“Kugh!”

He realized something he’d never felt before was protecting his body.

He thought he could block the attack without damage, like before, and was about to counterattack.

“···Guh?”

A tremendous shock and pain struck his torso.

The Captain staggered back, clutching his side.

Swish!

The Saintly Imprint seemed embarrassed, as if it didn’t understand.

It had protected him, but the attack bypassed its protection.

‘Thank you, Yoo-hyun.’

She hadn’t only learned from Raido.

Kim Yoo-hyun, Raido’s disciple, had also helped her.

‘Yoo-hyun.

What are you doing right now?’

‘It’s a method I used to use sometimes where I was.

When the external defense is thick and strong and cannot be damaged, it’s a way to ignore it all and inflict damage inside.’

Kim Yoo-hyun concluded it was easier to approach mana differently rather than as a raw material for magic.

So Lucia worked like crazy to use both simultaneously.

With her talent as a magician, she was confident in her mana manipulation.

By engraving magic inside her body and moving mana separately, she could ignore the enemy’s ‘physical defense’ and destroy them from within!

“No matter how thick a wall you build, it’s useless.”

“Cough!”

The damage came straight in, ignoring the wall.

The panicked Saintly Imprint tried to protect him.

Lucia, noticing the wall was gone, aimed at his abdomen.

“Whether I break it from the outside or destroy it from the inside.”

Thwaaack!

Her fist struck his abdomen, and flames shattered in all directions, unbelievably for a simple punch.

“Guh!”

The Captain screamed, as if spitting out blood, and staggered.

He had fought many times, but this was the first time he felt such a heavy, chillingly painful blow.

Being stabbed by a knife?

He would rather that.

‘If I get hit by that, I’m really gonna die!’

Swish!

The Saintly Imprint urged him to come to his senses, but pain blinds, blocks ears, fear stiffens, and stops thoughts.

From the moment he stepped back, it was ‘showtime’ for Lucia.

Pow!

The Captain hastily turned, thinking she’d aim for his side again.

But Lucia’s foot aimed for his calf.

With a powerful kick, he felt a piercing blow that scraped away flesh and bone, and screamed, collapsing.

A shock and pain that felt like his leg was breaking.

She was an opponent he couldn’t handle in his current state.

‘N, no way.

How can such a frail, delicate body have such monstrous power…’

Thud!

Her fist, driven down like a guillotine blade, struck his face and slammed it down.

With the shock of his brain shaking, he felt something falling out of his mouth.

“Kuh-ugh…”

Red, blood-mixed saliva and corn kernels flowed from his mouth.

He moved his tongue and realized there was still corn rolling around in his mouth and now please stop!

He opened his mouth to say.

“Kkeueoeeo…”

“I have no personal feelings.

But I won’t apologize.”

With a merciless kick, his neck bent to the other side.

He tried to resist, but Lucia, as if not allowing it, grabbed his hand, preventing movement, and slammed her elbow inward.

Crack!

“Kkeueoeeok!”

The arm bent grotesquely.

He was about to resist again, begging her not to do this, but Lucia’s kick bent his knee backward.

How to incapacitate a person.

Pick out only the vital points and hit them two or three times.

And smash all the joints to make them like earthworms.

Lucia was faithfully following Raido’s teachings.

“Jeeuba…”

Looking at the broken man, Lucia wore a bitter expression, as if unhappy with the situation.

As in the original novel, Lucia was a warm, benevolent woman who cared for others.

Even now, seeing the man brutally destroyed by her, she felt sorry.

However, Lucia steeled her heart and raised her fist.

He was an enemy of the kingdom, a villain who harassed its people, and an unjust person.

And more importantly, something even more important was at stake.

“Clench your teeth tightly.”

“Eueo…?”

“From now on, it will hurt more.”

It’s not just anything; it’s a matter of a wish ticket.

So she can never back down or weaken here.

Thwaaack!

―

“Look.”

“I, I’m okay, I told you?”

“You might have hit it too hard and gotten hurt?

Let’s take off the bandage and take a look.”

At Sion’s words, Lucia blushed and unwrapped the bandage on her hand.

Her once beautiful hands were now full of wounds and scars.

Perhaps secretly concerned, Lucia tried to pull her hand away, but Sion immediately went into public sentiment management.

He stroked her hand slowly, his voice filled with suffering and sorrow.

“I’m sorry, Lucia.

It seems like you’ve suffered because of me.”

“···You know?

That I’ve suffered a lot.”

“Ahem.”

“If you know, don’t apologize for suffering; whisper that I’ve suffered like last time.

I like that better.

And please smile.”

Not as much as Lilith, but a strangely proactive magician.

No, should I call her a martial artist now?

It was a woman who should be called that.

Sion smiled as Lucia asked, gently hugging her, stroking her hair, and whispering in her ear.

“You’ve suffered.

As expected, you didn’t disappoint me.”

“Then… is it done now?”

“Of course.

Let’s talk when the work in the South is over.

What do you want.”

“You’re asking something obvious.

Embarrassing.”

“···Ugh!”

Raido, watching his daughter and future son-in-law flirting, screamed ‘Ugh!’ and ran away.

Lucia, annoyed, said she would go to Raido for a while.

“Hmm.”

Sion looked at Sardenas, which was being cleaned up, and approached the head lying alone on the beach sand.

Not content with bending all his arms and legs, Lucia had neatly planted the Captain on the beach, leaving only his head, as if planting a radish.

“Kkeueueu…”

Fortunately, he didn’t die.

That meant the Saintly Imprint hadn’t flown away and was quietly inside him.

However, he was so broken that he thought it would be better to die.

“Eueu… Wh, who…”

His lips were torn, the sand was red with nosebleeds, half his hair was pulled out, and his eyes were bruised blue.

The Saintly Imprint had just awakened, and before that, he had been active in the navy, and even after that, his career ended at the level of a pirate, but he still had decent skills, so he easily subdued the ace of the pirates who had pushed Erader Prince.

Sion checked Lucia’s progress and shouted ‘Nice!’ and wondered what would be the best fit in this situation.

‘···After all, in this situation.’

Sion, having decided, squatted in front of the Captain, stroked his balding hair, and smiled.

“Ha ha!

General Guan [Reference to Guan Yu, a famous general from the Three Kingdoms period, often depicted as only having his head remaining after death]!

Why did you only come with your neck and leave your body behind!”

“Gheu… Moose… Soy…”

Mind your own business, you bastard.

Muttering, Sion lightly slapped his cheek.

―――――――Author’s Note―――――――

Originally, the ultimate skill cool time would have turned once by now···.

My acid reflux esophagitis has worsened again since Sunday···.