Not A Regressor-Chapter 32: Underworld (5)

Rumble!

The flesh-covered chamber quaked violently, a spine-chilling screech tearing through the air like an ancient curse brought to life.

What the...

Kwon Oh-Jin's jaw dropped as he witnessed the fleshy giant monster thrashing around violently.

Why is this thing moving?

His legs trembled uncontrollably as major warning signs lit up in his head.

It can’t be, right? It's just one movement... it’ll stop any second now. Right?

He clung desperately to that hope, eyes glued to the towering figure. But—

Thump! Thump! Thump!

It was moving again just fine.

Sealed, my ass. This thing’s rampaging like it just downed an industrial dose of steroids!

Lee Shin-Hyuk had stated that he could’ve stopped the monster if he'd known about it beforehand.

How the hell am I supposed to stop that thing?!

Kwon Oh-Jin reckoned there was no way Lee Shin-Hyuk could’ve stopped that monster. It was nothing but a bluff, just as ridiculous as if Kwon Oh-Jin were to say, “I could ace all my exams if I went back to high school now.”You useless bastard! How are you incompetent even in death?

The writhing giant turned its gaze toward him.

“Karrrrr...”

Should I run? No, I can’t.

Vega was looking at him with eyes full of suspicion. How could he just run away here?

“Regressor...? What’s happening?”

“It’s okay.”

It’s nowhere near okay.

“I expected something like this to happen.”

Never in my wildest dreams did I see this coming.

“Just wait, Vega.”

Please save me.

“It’ll be over soon.”

My life will, yeah.

“Haha! I knew you had it all under control! I never doubted you for a second!”

Vega crossed her arms, nodding with a satisfied smile.

Kwon Oh-Jin took a deep breath and tightly gripped his spear.

“Hoo.”

Fuck.

If he couldn’t run, he had to fight. He forced his heated mind to cool and focused on the giant before him.

It’s at least smaller.

The giant he'd seen in Lee Shin-Hyuk’s memories was about twenty meters tall, like a small building come to life, but it was only half that size right now.

It's still pretty fucking huge, though.

Ten meters was massive enough to make a tank feel like a Mario Cart.

It only has four arms too, instead of eight. Wait, does that mean...?

He observed the black Starstone embedded in the giant’s forehead.

It’s definitely smaller.

The Starstone that should have been the size of a basketball was now only about the size of a coconut.

It’s a bit disappointing but also a blessing in these circumstances.

The smaller Starstone meant that the giant was weaker than when it destroyed Seoul Station in Lee Shin-Hyuk’s previous life.

It’s still a monster, but there's a chance I can defeat it.

Kwon Oh-Jin took a deep, low breath as he lowered his stance and raised his spear.

The giant let out an ear-splitting roar.

“Karaaaaa!”

It planted all four of its arms on the ground, and—like a sprinter—lifted its hips high and bent its knees.

Here it comes.

Thud!

With a terrifying tremor, the giant charged forward.

“Shit!”

It’s fast! Unbelievably fast!

Kwon Oh-Jin hastily raised his spear to block the attack, but the impact was too strong. He was sent flying backward like a skipping stone.

Whack!

“Kugh!”

He tumbled across the ground as his hands clawed desperately at the fleshy red walls. Disgusting as they were, the walls absorbed some of the impact.

“Phew!”

Quickly creating some distance from the monster, he positioned the wire shooter attached to his right arm.

I can’t bind its body.

He knew he would just get pulled along by its incredible strength if he tried to.

If that’s the case...

Bang! Bang!

He fired two anchors that lodged into the wall. He then hunched over, channeling his mana into the shooter. With a sharp, metallic sound, he shot upward.

Shhhhh!

“Hmph!”

He flew behind the giant and drove his spear down, causing its flesh to tear and spray blood everywhere.

Azure Lightning!

Crackle!

Blue lightning surged across the giant's form, and the stench of burning meat filled Kwon Oh-Jin’s nose.

The giant violently swung one of its arms.

Whoosh!

But Kwon Oh-Jin yanked on the wire, shifting his trajectory mid-air. The monster's massive arm sliced through empty space.

“GuRUKaaaAAAA!”

Its roar shook his eardrums.

I’m in trouble—

The giant’s other arms swung ferociously, sending wind ripples through Kwon Oh-Jin’s clothes.

Bang!

He quickly fired the wire toward the ground and poured a great deal of mana into it. He plunged to the ground in an instant.

Thud!

He couldn’t help but groan from the impact.

“M-My child!” Vega shouted.

“I’m okay!”

I’m not okay, but I have to be!

The giant's arms had barely grazed his hair. A thrilling chill ran down his spine.

Thump, thump.

His heart pounded like it might burst; he felt as if he were dancing on the edge of a razor-sharp blade.

“KaRaaaaaaa!”

All four of the giant's arms slammed down like hammers.

Using his wire shooter, Kwon Oh-Jin dodged the giant’s attacks and landed perfectly on one of its arms.

Boom! Boom!

“Nice!”

Now, we run!

He sprinted along the arm towards its head, where the Starstone was.

Blue lightning flared as his hand with the spear trembled slightly.

Crackle! Zap!

“Ahhhhhh!”

With a battle cry, he kicked off with all his might and leaped into the air in an arc. Raising his spear above his head, he shouted, “Die, you bastard!”

With all his strength, he stabbed the giant.

[Lightning Strike has reached Lv2]

Crackle!

Blinding lightning struck the giant’s forehead, creating sparks as its flesh charred black. However—

“KARaCccccc!”

The giant let out a roar and violently shook its head, throwing Kwon Oh-Jin to the ground.

“Argh!”

He quickly reached out to fire his wire shooter, but the giant's hand snatched him up before he could.

“Damn it!”

“Krururururu!”

Its savage eyes turned toward him. It tightened its grip with overwhelming pressure.

“Aaaargh!”

Kwon Oh-Jin felt like he was in a hydraulic press, his insides about to burst out of his mouth.

“My child!”

Vega’s urgent cry rang in his ears. For a fleeting moment, he considered calling out for her help, abandoning the whole pretense of being a Regressor. However...

Not yet.

He felt like he could escape this danger on his own.

Azure Lightning!

Crackle!

He surged with lightning, unleashing it in a powerful outward burst.

The giant’s grip loosened slightly, though insufficient for him to fully escape.

“Take this, motherfucker!”

He pulled two flash grenades from his waist and threw them toward the giant.

Blinding lights exploded right in its sight.

“KuRaaaa!”

The giant clutched its eyes with its other arms, twisting in agony. Its hold on Kwon Oh-Jin loosened completely, and he was thrown to the ground.

Thud!

“Agh!”

Kwon Oh-Jin coughed up blood from the sudden impact. The pain kept him from thinking straight.

Damn it!

He needed a moment to catch his breath and gather his thoughts. While the giant was distracted by the flash grenade, he quickly pulled out a smoke bomb and tossed it on the ground.

White smoke rapidly began filling the entire chamber.

Black Curtain.

Using one of Black Heaven’s traits, he concealed his presence and entered the area of smoke.

“GuruaaAAAAaa!”

He could hear the giant's enraged roars, but it didn’t know where he was.

I can use this chance.

He pulled out a potion and downed it. Steadying his breathing, he cooled down his head, which was heated from the fight.

I don’t have enough power.

He had managed to land some effective blows on the giant, but that was it. Even after driving his spear into its forehead and unleashing Azure Lightning, it was still healthy enough to rampage. No matter what tricks he pulled, he just wasn’t strong enough to take it down.

Kwon Oh-Jin gripped his spear tightly with a stern look in his eyes.

I need something stronger than Azure Lightning. But what?

He didn’t have time to ask Vega anything. He had to rely solely on his instinct and intuition, not logic.

Can I pull it off?

He didn’t hesitate for long.

Yeah, I can.

Although he hadn't personally felt it yet, Vega had mentioned that he possessed extraordinary talent. If that was true, then surely, he could do it. Rather, even if Vega hadn’t said that... somewhere deep inside, beyond the dark clouds in his subconscious, a voice whispered to him that this was nothing—that he could handle it.

He took a deep breath and drew the giant’s attention with a fierce battle cry.

“Ahhhhh!”

He kicked off the ground and charged towards the fleshy giant, tightening its fists menacingly.

Now!

He fired his wire shooter at its arm.

Bang!

It was a dangerous gamble that could easily backfire, causing him to be dragged toward the giant.

But if I can use that power to my advantage...!

“KaRuaaaAA!”

Whoosh!

As the giant lifted its arm high, it violently yanked Kwon Oh-Jin with it.

“Hup!”

Lengthening the wire as much as he could, he slid right between the giant’s legs with momentum.

Swoosh!

He barely passed through its legs, and the tension in the wire launched him up at the giant’s back.

“Haa.”

This was the perfect opportunity. Kwon Oh-Jin aimed at the monster’s exposed nape and shoved his silver spear deep in, tearing through flesh as blood gushed out. Blue lightning surged forth and burned its skin.

This won’t do.

He needed something stronger; something decisive enough to end the giant in one blow.

Focus. I’ll end it with this final strike.

He had plenty of mana within him.

It didn’t matter if he was being efficient or not. All that mattered was creating a single, powerful strike. He had to pour everything into this one shot.

Simply using more mana won’t cut it.

Starting with the arm holding the spear, he extended his mana up to his shoulder, readying to release the spear like an arrow. He quivered like a bowstring stretched to its limit.

More!

He pulled the mana tighter, nearing its breaking point.

Let's go!

Crack!

Kwon Oh-Jin unleashed the tension of his mana, firing it all at once like a bow at full draw. His mana exploded from the spear’s tip!

Boom!

Ring!

[Thunderbolt has reached Lv4!]

[Kwon Oh-Jin has acquired the skill Explosive Lightning Lv1!]

The name said it all; the concentrated blue lightning violently erupted. The giant’s flesh burst into the air, and blood gushed down like a waterfall.

It worked...!

Just as a smile of triumph began to creep onto Kwon Oh-Jin's face—

“KuRaCcccccaaaAAA!”

The giant convulsed like it was having a seizure.

“Holy shit! It’s still not dead?”

“KAGAGAGAGAGAGAGA!”

“Hey, hey, hey!”

What the hell is it doing now?!

The giant began to thrash around, running blindly.

Kwon Oh-Jin frantically pulled out a knife and stabbed it into the giant’s shoulder, holding on for dear life.

I’m fucked if I fall off!

With the wire still wrapped around him, falling off would turn him into a human yo-yo flinging in all directions until he becomes a bloody mess.

“Ughhhh! Stop! Stop, damn it!”

He couldn’t think straight on top of the quaking giant.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The giant crashed across the ground, not forward or sideways, but upward.

No way.

Kwon Oh-Jin's eyes widened in shock as the red flesh covering the ceiling split open, revealing the blue sky above.

People screamed in panic, scrambling to escape.

“Aaaaaahh!”

“W-What is that?!”

“Aaaaahh! A monster! It’s a monster!”

“Wait, over there...!”

“That's a person, right?”

Kwon Oh-Jin looked around, stunned.

“Shit...”

Suddenly, a memory from Lee Shin-Hyuk’s past flashed into his mind.

Right in the heart of Seoul Station, a giant monster had appeared amidst the bustling crowd of thousands of people going about their day--this time with Kwon Oh-Jin on its fleshy back.

What the hell do I do now?