Broken Possessors of Infinite Regression Academy

“Mira Crate.”

…

Until the moment the Demon King uttered my name, I kept my mouth shut. The sheer magnitude of the power gap was a shock in itself. I had heard she was strong, but I never expected it to be to this extent. She casually caught my Lunar Drop, a skill I had thrown with the intention to kill.

Judging by the redness on her palm at first glance, I can’t say she was completely unscathed, but she recovered quickly.

“Do you now understand the disparity?”

The Demon King dragged Eternity towards her. My body lurched forward. Up close, I could see that she was quite imposing herself.

She wasn’t significantly taller than me, like the Chairman, but even accounting for the 7-8cm heels she wore, our eye levels matched.

“However, you don’t seem to be scared. I like that determination.”

Instead of Eternity, the Demon King grabbed my hand. Her fingers slid between mine, clasping my fingers like Priscilla had done. It felt like she was comforting me, stroking my hand as if trying to lull me.

“Ah… as expected… my intuition was right…”

For a while, she murmured incomprehensible words while still holding my hand. Confusion clouded my mind. Meanwhile, her other hand reached out towards my face.

I couldn’t fathom how she exerted such force, but her delicate, slender fingers began to gently caress my face. Starting from my cheeks, then moving along my cheekbones, jawline, and ears, before returning to my cheeks.

It was like the delicate touch of a spectator examining a valuable artifact, meticulously and gently. The Demon King continued to stroke me like that for quite some time.

‘…Should I attack?’

I was lost in my thoughts. The Demon King seemed completely uninterested in killing me, which puzzled me.

‘Why?’

The woman before me was undeniably evil, casually rewarding her demon underlings with the skins of captured soldiers to eat while they were still alive.

But now, she was different. Her current demeanour was so unlike the image of the Demon King I had always imagined. Whether it was an act or genuine, I had no clue why she was behaving this way.

After a while of gently touching me, the Demon King spoke.

“Mira Crate. I have a proposal for you.”

“A proposal? What kind of proposal?”

“Become mine.”

“…What?”

I questioned if I misheard, but the Demon King’s expression remained resolute.

“If you want to convince me, at least explain it in a way that makes sense…”

“Listen, Mira Crate.”

The Demon King pulled me closer. Her pink eyes burned with indiscernible emotions.

“I am willing to fully respect your opinions. If you wish to become stronger, do so. If you want to nurture warriors, do that. And if you seek to challenge my forces to save humanity, that too is acceptable. Watching you grow could also become an enjoyable pastime for me.”

“…”

“One thing to remember. In this world, there is no one besides you who can understand me. Similarly, there is no one else besides you whom I can understand. We—”

Thwack!

Before she could finish her sentence, my fist landed on the Demon King’s cheek. Her head turned slightly, and taking advantage of the momentary weakness, I swiftly retreated. With Eternity in my right hand, I pointed the blade towards the Demon King.

“…”

The Demon King, perhaps not expecting to be hit at all, gently caressed her slightly swollen cheek with a vacant expression. However, the swelling disappeared within seconds.

“If you keep rambling incomprehensible nonsense, my patience won’t last long.”

“Pain… This is…”

“If you keep talking like that, I might as well… Huh?”

I stopped what I was going to say. It was because the the fiery emotion that had been burning moments ago in her eyes now vanished, then the devil king turned away and disappeared transforming in red energy..

“What the…?”

I couldn’t fathom what just happened—her sudden appearance, her interrupted words, and the reason for her retreat. The woman was an enigma from start to finish.

‘Could she be a possessor too, or something like that?’

I hesitated to entertain the thought. It seemed like a half-hearted joke, but it weirdly fit into the puzzle in various ways—her words, her behaviour, everything.

‘…Let’s just consider it as a possibility for now.’

I couldn’t fully affirm or deny it yet, but for now, I decided to keep it as a possibility. I shook off the complex thoughts and approached Priscilla and Rosalia.

“Are you okay?”

“Not really. I couldn’t even breathe properly.”

Rosalia, wiping her sweat, suddenly exclaimed, “Oh! Do you know her? What kind of relationship did you have with the Demon King for her to say such things to you?”

“I have no idea. If I did, I wouldn’t have reacted like that.”

The idea that the Demon King might be a possessor remained in the realm of speculation for now. Except for suspicion, there wasn’t enough evidence. If only I had thought of asking her directly a bit earlier, but alas, it was a missed opportunity.

“Ugh… There really seems to be something…”

Rosalia trailed off, her face suggesting she had seen something unimaginable. I followed her gaze, which landed on Priscilla.

Priscilla was sitting on the floor, hugging herself tightly, muttering incessantly as if she were out of her mind.

“No. He’ll be stolen. It’ll be taken away. Stay away. If he stays away, He won’t be able to touch me. He won’t hold me. Then what will I do? What will happen if Mira is not here? It’s cold. I don’t want to be left alone. I hate it. It’s not allowed. I don’t want him to be stolen. But is there a way? There isn’t. I can’t defeat the Demon King. I couldn’t just now. Then what should I do? Should I let her steal him? Should I let myself be taken away? Will I be left alone? I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it…”

The sound of her teeth clenching was audible. Rosalia trembled, signalling urgently for me to do something.

I didn’t need her gesture to understand. I approached, kneeling down and aligning myself with her eye level. Placing my hands on her shoulders, I straightened her posture. Our gazes met. Her pupils seemed somewhat clearer now.

“Priscilla.”

“I hate it. I hate it. I hate it…”

“Priscilla.”

“…”

I gripped her shoulders firmly, and her eyes regained a bit of life.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“…Really, Mira?”

“Of course. You trust me, don’t you? Didn’t you say that?”

At my words, Priscilla vigorously shook her head.

“No, I trust you. I believe in you. Yeah. I’m not going anywhere… I’ll stay by your side.”

With a trembling face, she extended her arms, and I embraced her tightly. I felt her arms wrap around me. From behind, Rosalia nodded approvingly.

“Is she okay? She doesn’t seem to be in her right mind at all.”

“I’m not sure. I can’t lie and say she’s fine. She admitted herself that it’s hard to stay sane without me.”

Rosalia looked at Priscilla, who was trembling in my arms, with a troubled expression before cautiously speaking.

“Um, you see, I’ve been feeling this way for a while. I’m really grateful that I could meet you quickly? I mean, I’ve only regressed four times so far, but honestly, I think I would have regained my sanity much later than Priscilla if it weren’t for you.”

“Because of what Original Rosalia did?”

“Of course. If it weren’t for you, I would still be locked in the underground of the Papal Palace, tearing apart the nuns with my own hands, breaking bones, tearing out intestines, and torturing them until they were on the brink of death. I would have had to listen to their screams, watch the blood flow, and laugh while their flesh burst open.”

Rosalia chuckled bitterly.

“I know this isn’t the right time to bring this up, but since it came to mind, I had to say it. Thank you, Mira. If it weren’t for you… I can’t even imagine what would have happened to me.”

“If you’re thankful, then do better in the future. Make sure to pay back the Papal Palace handsomely.”

I teased Priscilla as I comforted her. Rosalia, understanding my intentions, chuckled softly.

Then, as I went to sit down, I adjusted my sweater, which had ridden up to reveal my white underwear, with a slight shift of my hips.

“Um… So, what are we going to do now? Just turn back?”

“What else? We have to accomplish our mission before leaving.”

I gestured with my chin towards the inner cave. There were still humans who hadn’t been rescued yet. They were those who were selected as sacrifices and couldn’t return to their original state just yet.

So, there was work to be done.

.

.

.

Elysier sat alone in her room, brooding over the events that transpired in the cave. She had lost count of how many times she had touched her left cheek, which had long since healed and shown no sign of the blow she had received. But touching it wasn’t enough. She longed for the tingling, chilling sensation that had spread through her body at the moment of impact.

It had been so long. The feeling of her head going numb, and the sweet, aching pain of the spot where she had been struck. As the strongest being among the demons, nothing had been able to touch her, and throughout the repeated regressions, the only attack she had permitted had been the sacred sword plunged into her heart, delivering excruciating pain.

Reliving that brief moment over and over again, Elysier raised her fist.

—Thunk!

She struck her own face. Her cheek swelled rapidly, only to heal at an incredible speed. It hurt, but it didn’t. This wasn’t the feeling she wanted.

—Thunk!

She struck again. Still not right. She struck herself repeatedly. Elysier pummeled her own cheek with her fist over and over again.

“…It’s not enough.”

But the tingling, sweet sensation eluded her. Elysier raised her fist once more. She wanted to say it better. She wanted to express it properly. She knew her words were unnecessary embellishments, she was well aware of that.

Yet, even now, after having reclaimed full freedom of her body, the remnants of the Demon King Elysier clung to her stubbornly. The essence of the Demon King, who had reached the pinnacle of all demons but had been endlessly lonely because of it.

—Thunk!

A notebook fell out of the inner pocket of her coat. Finally, she had been able to complete it as she wanted, to write what she wanted. The notebook was filled with tally marks.

A total of 89.

The number of regressions remembered by Kang Yena, the soul possessing Elysier.