The Heroine Stole My Regression-Chapter 27

The snow fell so heavily that it could bury a person in the night. Kang Arin was sprinting madly through the blizzard, fighting against the fierce wind and snow.

In the dark city, only one thing stood out—the top floor of the highest building, its lights shining brightly.

"Hurry... hurry...."

Her breath was ragged, but Kang Arin didn’t wait for the elevator. She raced up the stairs relentlessly, her steps growing more urgent.

Bang!

She slammed the door open, and there he was, the one she loved dearly.

Jeong Haein.

As usual, he was carefully wiping down his blade, preparing his weapon as though nothing had happened, calm as always.

Kang Arin, her voice trembling, called his name.

"Haein...."

Jeong Haein turned to her as the door opened, his signature bright smile spreading across his face.

When he smiled, Kang Arin's heart tightened.

He quietly glanced at the clock and spoke.

"I'm sorry."

He set the blade down and stood up.

"You must have woken up because of me."

He walked slowly toward her.

Tears filled her eyes as she struggled to catch her breath. Her voice was desperate as she asked.

"You said you were going alone...."

Jeong Haein smiled bitterly and nodded.

"Yeah. I have to go."

"I want to... I want to go too. Please, let me go with you."

He slowly approached her, placed a hand on her shoulder, and said.

"You know it’s not possible."

Behind him, on the warboard, names were written everywhere.

Yu Hana, Cheon Yeoul, and Kang Arin. Their names were listed together, but there was no sign of Sung Siwoo.

However, Jeong Haein was alone, placed at the center of Africa. In the front lines, where enemies were pouring in, he was to be the last defense.

"You have to kill the demon. You must go. You, who have gained the shard’s power, can’t avoid it."

Jeong Haein never lost his smile, but there was a sadness in it. Kang Arin shook her head and cried.

Damn shard.

That was the problem. If it were up to her, she’d tear it out of her body.

Or, the shard of that bastard who disappeared suddenly.

"So, Haein, what about you...?"

Jeong Haein cut her off.

"While I hold them off, won’t you all handle things?"

His voice was as calm as ever.

Kang Arin rushed to speak.

"I’ll find the shard soon. Glory is searching everywhere right now...."

"...The shards, there are only four."

This time, his voice was firm.

"How... how can you be so sure...?"

Jeong Haein slowly smiled and looked at her. His eyes were unwavering.

"When have I ever been wrong?"

Kang Arin’s sobs came uncontrollably. She clung to him, crying.

"It’ll all be okay."

He said that, and that moment’s choice became a regret that would haunt her for the rest of her life.

Kang Arin suddenly jolted upright.

Gasping for air, she looked around. Her heart was racing, and cold sweat dripped down her forehead.

‘Again....’

It was the same nightmare she always had.

She covered her face with both hands, trying to steady her trembling breath.

Swish

A small sound brushed past her ear. Instinctively, she turned her head.

And there he was, the one she loved dearly, sitting before her.

He was sitting by a small fire, carefully wiping his blade.

"Haein...."

She quietly whispered his name.

Jeong Haein looked up, a brief moment of surprise in his eyes before a look of regret took over his face.

There was no need for him to make that face.

"I’m sorry."

He set his blade down and stood up.

"I must have woken you up. It was probably noisy, right?"

In her dream, he was heading toward a [N O V E L I G H T] cold death.

But here, he was alive, with warmth radiating from the fire.

Kang Arin clenched her teeth, silently vowing.

She would never make the same mistake again.

***

"It’s true that it’s much weaker than in modern times."

I said, stretching in front of the cabin as I spoke to her.

"Even so, you can’t let your guard down...."

But she didn’t seem particularly interested in listening.

She was squatting, resting her chin on her hands, watching me warm up.

"...What are you doing?"

I asked her.

She stood up and casually responded.

"Just admiring how handsome you are. Shall we go?"

Then she pulled out a fingerless glove from her pocket and put it on.

"...Alright."

‘The act of warming up is something only those who live with a relaxed mindset usually do.’

That’s what the old man always told me.

For a student of her level, it was probably unnecessary.

I wasn’t planning to go as far as the sky and earth today.

I intended to approach gradually.

After a few minutes of making my way through the trees, a large open area appeared ahead of me.

A quiet space covered in pure white snow.

I closed my eyes and felt the flow of the area.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

I slowly drew the spear from my waist and briefly called out.

"Prepare for combat."

"Mm."

Kang Arin responded briefly and stood close behind me.

The moment the spear left my waist, the snowfield trembled.

The snow rose, revealing a pair of blue eyes slowly emerging.

It was as though two sapphires embedded in the snow were staring at me.

A massive shape emerged.

A huge, white-furred monster—the Snow Leopard.

Grrr....

Based on its fur color, it was not a subspecies. It was strong, but manageable.

And behind me, Kang Arin was there.

‘First move.’

The Snow Leopard was a fast and aggressive monster by nature.

But compared to that, its defense was relatively weak.

In other words, the first thing we needed to do—

"Kang Arin, curtain ready?"

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Swish!

Before I even finished speaking, mana gathered at her fingertips, and a curtain of darkness unfurled.

From the inside, one could see outside, but from the outside, nothing was visible—an impeccable blackout.

I couldn’t help but admire its perfection.

However, there was no time to admire.

Right now, defeating the creature in front of me was the priority.

The Snow Leopard appeared startled by the black barrier it encountered for the first time.

For a brief moment, it lowered its posture, crouching low and preparing to spring into action at any moment.

I raised my spear and bent my body to its limits.

I pulled my whole body like a bow, gathering tension.

And as I released that tension, I threw the spear and shot my body into the air.

It was a form of applying the "bow-body rebound" technique, using the body like a bow.

Bang!

The spear tore through the curtain and flew in an instant.

The Snow Leopard, as if expecting it, swiftly dodged the spear and leaped into the air.

Its movements were almost instinctive.

But where it jumped, I was already there.

“Good.”

The distance between me and the Snow Leopard was perfectly aligned as I shot up into the air.

Gray mana swirled from my fingertips and gathered into a powerful force.

“It’s here!”

The Energy Strike technique, which I had failed to deploy earlier.

The gray mana condensed into a powerful blow and struck down upon the Snow Leopard’s head.

Crash!

A loud shockwave rang out, and the Snow Leopard was slammed into the snow.

The surrounding snow flew in all directions, revealing the ground beneath.

But this wasn’t enough to finish it off.

It was already getting up and preparing to counterattack.

I shouted into the air.

“Kang Arin!”

As my shout cut through the air, Kang Arin dashed across the snow, rushing toward the Snow Leopard.

The Snow Leopard, struggling to stabilize its body, barely managed to keep its balance.

Before it could react, Kang Arin’s palm landed squarely on its forehead.

Tap

Silence enveloped the area.

The perfect stance of her attack landed firmly on the creature's forehead.

There were no explosions of mana, no threatening roars.

At first glance, it seemed as if she had just placed her hand there.

But I was falling through the air, watching the scene unfold.

‘Wow...’

Crack, crack!

The Snow Leopard’s body vibrated, and the sound of its bones shattering from within echoed across the open space.

It was a chilling, terrifying sound.

‘Internal explosion.’

I watched her attack.

The technique she used forcibly injected mana to tear and destroy the enemy's insides.

As I watched the fading light in the Snow Leopard's eyes, I was certain it was dead.

I landed lightly on the ground and approached her.

She was standing over the Snow Leopard’s corpse, casually brushing off the snow that had gotten on her hands.

“Not bad.”

At my voice, she turned to look at me.

A mischievous smile spread across her face.

“You’re first, right?”

She answered nonchalantly.

***

The path to the sky and earth was progressing faster than expected.

My condition, enhanced by the elixir, was better than anticipated, and Kang Arin’s assistance was flawless.

Honestly, today, she had been obedient.

I had expected her to be the one calling the shots and bossing me around, but this was unexpected.

Whenever I have a satisfying fight, it always leaves me in a good mood.

We trapped a wild boar in the wilderness and feasted.

Some of the meat was smoked, preparing for a week’s worth of food.

When we returned to the cabin in the evening, the rain started pouring down outside.

It was a completely different scene from the snow-covered morning.

The weather here was certainly abnormal.

Then, suddenly, everything before my eyes flashed.

Crash!

“Whoo!”

Now the lightning had begun.

The thunder and lightning roared relentlessly.

I turned to prepare for bed.

But there, Kang Arin was trembling, covering her ears.

‘Ah, damn.’

Her appearance made my head spin.

Kang Arin had a trauma.

On a day when thunder and lightning struck, her mother had been horrifically killed by a demon.

It might seem like a typical setting, but for her, the memory was etched with a deep and personal pain.

So, she was terrified of thunder. And there were no earplugs or anything here, so it made it worse.

Later, she would tear the demon apart herself and overcome this trauma.

But right now, we were still at the very early stages of the story.

Remembering that I was the one who created that setting made me feel a strange sense of guilt.

‘She won’t be able to sleep...’

We needed to climb higher tomorrow.

If she couldn’t rest properly, it would cause significant problems for the expedition.

I cautiously approached her.

“Are you okay?”

She lifted her head.

Her red-rimmed eyes and trembling gaze.

She tried to act fine, but she looked even more fragile like that.

A heavy sense of guilt crept into me.

At that moment, she quietly spoke.

“Can we sleep together?”

Her voice was incredibly soft, shaking.

“Huh?”

“Just... for a moment. Stay next to me.”

She lowered her head and quietly spoke again.

My mind went blank for a moment.

Before Kang Yuseong became tainted by the demon, he used to comfort his younger sister like this.

Though she was now an adult, there was no inappropriate desire.

She just seemed so fragile in that moment.

“...Alright.”

In the end, I quietly lay down beside her.

She immediately burrowed into my arms as if she had been waiting.

Huff... Hoo...

She buried her face against my chest and inhaled deeply.

I couldn’t help but feel the tension, given how close we were.

Crash!

Thunder and lightning struck again.

But she was too focused on breathing deeply to notice.

I sensed something odd and cautiously asked.

“...Are you okay?”

In that moment, her body flinched as if startled.

Then, trembling, she burrowed even deeper into my embrace.

And then again.

Hoo...

‘Tch.’

Looks like I wouldn’t be able to sleep peacefully tonight.