The Heroine Stole My Regression-Chapter 41

It was an unremarkable raid.

At that point in time, there was no such thing as an unusual raid.

Because it was war.

But this time, the location was far from ideal. And the president of the Hero Association had been taken hostage.

In many ways, the situation was grim.

That alone would’ve made it the worst, but all those factors combined forced Jeong Haein onto the battlefield.

Cheon Yeoul asked him,

“You’re going to go in person, aren’t you?”

“I have to.”

He always did.

Because he had to. Humanity was suffering from a severe manpower shortage.

Every single named hero was desperately needed.

And in such times, his presence was a force that could never be left out.

But the demons knew that just as well. They always tried to drag him out and kill him.

Kang Arin lowered her hand beneath the table.

She was clenching her fist so tightly that her nails dug into her skin.

By then, all of them had become weapons meant to eradicate demons.

Personally crafted by Jeong Haein, over years of meticulous work. One by one, they were his creations. His.

Still not enough.

Therefore, with those who had absorbed the Fragments now in existence, Jeong Haein shouldn't have needed to stand at the front lines anymore.

That’s how it should have been.

But a gap had opened.

The man Jeong Haein had raised with the greatest care—

Sung Siwoo.

He had disappeared.

One day, suddenly. Without warning, without reason.

Jeong Haein was heartbroken. He didn’t show it outwardly.

But they knew.

The study at dawn.

In the space cloaked in darkness, the only light came from a single desk lamp.

Under that light, Jeong Haein sat with his head bowed.

His back, always straight and firm, was now bent heavily, unnaturally.

Even as he flipped through the documents spread before him, his gaze lingered too long on each page. Pressing his fingers to his brow, deep in thought.

They saw it.

The way he was faltering.

Cheon Yeoul watched from the crack in the door, tears silently falling.

Yu Hana had walked to the door of the study, then turned away without a word.

Kang Arin silently made her way to the training ground.

Ha Sion bit her lip, grabbed her bow, and ran out.

In the end, to fill Sung Siwoo’s absence, Jeong Haein pushed himself even harder.

He’ll be back soon.

Jeong Haein believed Sung Siwoo would return...

But no matter how much time passed, he didn’t.

His place remained empty.

Fortunately, the raid was resolved more easily than expected.

The demons were hunted down in several locations, and the Hero Association president was rescued ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ safely.

The tense atmosphere gradually loosened.

And then—

Thunk.

A dull sound.

An object rolling on the ground.

A face drained of color, vacant eyes.

The president’s head.

In an instant, all sound ceased. No one screamed.

Before they could even gasp in horror, the next wave struck.

BOOM!

Something flew toward Jeong Haein.

An attack infused with terrifying power.

He twisted his body immediately and assumed a defensive stance. The force of the blow traveled down his spear in a violent jolt.

The ground where he had stood was obliterated.

A deep crater formed with thick cracks radiating out.

And everyone turned their heads in the direction the attack had come from.

A silhouette cloaked in dark energy.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

Red glowing eyes. The demonic energy surging from his body was palpable.

“...Sung Siwoo.”

He hadn’t run away in fear. And he hadn’t come back, either.

His body had turned violet, overflowing with demonic energy far beyond anything human.

He had defected.

But the first thing they all did was not react to Sung Siwoo.

They turned their eyes to Jeong Haein.

Sung Siwoo didn’t matter.

What mattered was whether he was hurting. Whether he was in pain.

Their own emotions came second to his.

But he said nothing.

He simply dusted himself off and slowly rose to his feet. Then, calmly lifted his head and looked at Sung Siwoo.

What he was thinking. What he was feeling.

No one knew.

***

Sung Siwoo tasted a humiliation he could never forget on the very first day of weapon training.

He was furious.

Anger was easy.

But he wasn’t the type to simply lash out.

He was the type who could sharpen his anger into something useful.

To surpass Jeong Haein. That was the only goal.

Jeong Haein’s plan had been to provoke him—and though the method had deviated, the outcome was more or less a success.

“Sung Siwoo...”

“Get lost.”

“...Alright.”

Sung Siwoo didn’t even look at him.

He ignored him like he wasn’t worth acknowledging.

Then, one day.

He saw Jeong Haein during the mock dungeon exercise.

In that moment, his mind went completely blank.

Jeong Haein had overwhelmed two students ranked higher than himself.

His blood boiled.

I have to surpass him.

He made up his mind. He had trained enough.

So for the midterms, he decided—he would defeat him.

On that stage, he would crush him and prove he stood above.

He challenged him directly.

But was rejected.

“You bastard...”

Then, the moment he saw the opponent inside the arena, he froze.

Johan?

Jeong Haein’s opponent wasn’t him, but Rank 2 Johan.

Sung Siwoo clenched his fists and watched the match.

Jeong Haein defeated Johan in a single blow.

At that moment, the Crusader charged at Jeong Haein with madness in his eyes.

Sung Siwoo instinctively tightened his fists.

But someone stood in his way.

“...Why?”

Sung Siwoo’s eyes trembled. Park Gwangcheol was blocking his path.

They exchanged a few words, and then he lightly patted Jeong Haein on the shoulder and threw an arm around him—looking as if they were close friends.

The place he had always believed he would enter.

The world’s strongest group: Vanquisher.

Sung Siwoo had always longed to join them.

But even that belonged to Jeong Haein.

In that moment, an overwhelming sense of emptiness surged through his chest.

That night.

Sung Siwoo couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t get Jeong Haein’s image out of his head.

Even the next day, he wandered aimlessly.

He didn’t know where he was going.

He just walked. And walked some more.

He didn’t want to meet anyone. So he ventured deeper into the forest.

There, he met the one who had been waiting for him.

Wearing a mask, the man introduced himself as Moras.

“Are you lost?”

He whispered to Sung Siwoo.

“I’ll give it to you. Power.”

In that instant—

His heart trembled.

Ecstasy surged up within him. Finally, the opportunity had come.

From behind Moras, a black hand extended toward him.

And he was just about to reach for it.

—Slice!

“Hey, you bastard!!”

That voice rang out.

The one he least wanted to hear.

It happened in an instant.

Just one more step and he could’ve had the power.

A splitting pain surged through his skull.

You again.

Once again, he had stolen his power.

Had taken his chance.

His vision distorted.

Above his head, a holy light flared.

The system had intervened.

[Threat detected. Protecting the user.]

Divine energy wrapped around Sung Siwoo.

His body jolted, convulsing.

“Fuck...!”

His eyes trembled.

Pain surged through him.

“You okay?”

He rushed over and checked on Sung Siwoo’s condition. A sigh of relief followed.

—Still okay...

—The system’s holding up...

His voice grew faint.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

And then, from beyond the hand that had reached out, a whisper echoed.

Accept it.

Accept what?

My child, accept this power.

And then, his heart began to calm.

It was such a simple problem.

He just had to accept it.

[Warning. Abnormal magic detected.]

[Danger. System error has occurred.]

[Forced purification—]

[...Failed.]

The light shattered.

Jeong Haein’s eyes flew open.

His mind screamed.

The system—

Was completely broken.

Despair flooded his expression.

“......”

Jeong Haein stared at him in silence.

Sung Siwoo smiled. Slowly, excruciatingly slow.

Thick, murky darkness rose from his body.

He reached out.

—Clench!

His hand wrapped around Jeong Haein’s throat.

“...!”

The shock made Jeong Haein’s body jolt.

Sung Siwoo’s arm turned steadily more purple—the sign of demonic energy swallowing him whole.

His grip tightened.

Even breathing became difficult for Jeong Haein.

Even so, he stared directly at Sung Siwoo.

“Snap out of it... you idiot...”

He knew too.

What it meant when the system shattered.

But he couldn’t accept it.

The end of the story’s protagonist—this wasn’t how it was supposed to be.

He was denying his own sense of reality.

“Kh.”

Sung Siwoo sneered. His glowing red eyes burned.

“Just die already.”

His grip tightened even more. Jeong Haein’s own hands clenched.

And then—

BOOM!!!

Clang!

Light poured down from the sky, immense pressure crushing the air.

A massive hammer wrapped in divine radiance, and a black spear, crashed down from above.

—Tear!

One of Sung Siwoo’s arms was ripped clean off.

“AAAGHHHH!!!”

He let out a blood-curdling scream.

Black-red blood splattered to the ground.

At that moment, a voice cut through the air.

“Corruption.”

A calm voice.

She was the paladin who had once met Jeong Haein.

And behind her, the saints arrived—led by Cheon Yeoul.

“...That was close.”

Across from them, Kang Yunhyeok, Guildmaster of Monarch, had his hand outstretched. Kang Arin stood beside him.

Kang Arin looked down at Sung Siwoo without a word.

There was a chill of contempt in her eyes.

Sung Siwoo writhed on the ground, overcome by the pain of his torn arm.

At a signal from the paladin,

White restraints began to bind his body, one by one.

Kang Yunhyeok asked,

“What do you suggest we do?”

When dealing with demons—or those brainwashed or corrupted by them—the standard procedure was to follow the Church’s doctrine.

Killing them was easy, but the lingering traces of demonic energy could pose problems.

The paladin hesitated.

If it was early-stage corruption, there might still be hope.

But judging from his purple-drenched arm, the demonification had progressed too far.

In cases like this, execution and imprisonment each had pros and cons.

In the end, she opened her mouth.

“Most likely... confinement—”

Crack!

But she couldn’t finish her sentence.

Jeong Haein’s spear pierced Sung Siwoo’s heart cleanly.

“He’s a demon.”

He spoke briefly.

And collapsed.

Jeong Haein had accepted reality at last.

“There’s no way to bring him back.”

If the system was destroyed, that was the end.

He couldn’t care less about the Church’s advice.

When it came to corruption, the one who knew best—

Was Jeong Haein himself.

Everyone fell silent.

But in that space, two stood apart.

Only Cheon Yeoul and Kang Arin—had their gazes twisted.

Their expressions—

Were filled with quiet joy.