Genius Regressor Makes Mythic Items

As if it were a press conference in the entertainment or political world,

Click, click.

Camera flashes went off non-stop. The only difference being,

“Lady Saint! Please, just a word!”

“How could you think of killing your family?!”

“What exactly is happening inside the group!”

This wasn’t a designated place for a press conference. It was the Gangnam police station, preparing to transport a criminal.

“Sigh… I knew this would happen.”

A middle-aged man watching the scene from inside the police station brushed his hair back in frustration.

“After the transport is done, gather all the men. We need to find out who leaked this, today.”

“Yes, Detective Kang. But… what about the reporters?”

“What do you think? We’ll have to break through.”

“But!”

A younger man bit his lips, looking distressed. Detective Kang heaved a deep sigh.

“I know. Even if we push a little hard, they’ll scream about excessive force.”

Detective Kang fumbled in his pocket for a cigarette.

“But what can we do? The person we’re transporting this time, I mean, the criminal, ah damn it!”

His expression twisted, either due to the term he had to use for the person being transported or the lighter that wouldn’t light.

After repeating his words, he frowned deeply.

Then,

Whoosh.

“Whoa!”

A white flame flickered at the end of his cigarette. Startled by the sudden flame, Detective Kang froze in place.

Then, like a broken machine, his jerking gaze settled on the other side of the holding cell bars. Inside, a serene beauty that even top actresses couldn’t compete with was sitting.

“It seems your lighter is broken. Oh! And please, feel free to address me simply. I’m just a criminal.”

She spoke with a calm smile.

“N-no, it’s fine!”

Detective Kang quickly averted his eyes, his face showing embarrassment.

Beside him,

Thwack.

“Ow!”

he smacked the back of the head of the young subordinate who was staring at the beautiful woman, Yujeong, in a daze.

The young subordinate was about to protest, Detective Kang’s tone was threatening enough to imply he would twist his neck.

“Get a grip, you idiot. Don’t you know who that is?”

Detective Kang’s glare was so fierce that the young subordinate lowered his head. Detective Kang took a deep drag from his cigarette, the smoke curling into the air.

‘Damn… I knew I shouldn’t have passed this afternoon’s case to Team B!’

If only he hadn’t, another detective would be handling this situation instead of him.

‘All this trouble for the sake of some famous restaurant!’

He had passed the case off, only to regret it now.

Phew.

Letting out a cloud of thick smoke,

Thud.

“Detective Kang! They are here!”

The door swung open as a subordinate rushed in. Then, “Excuse us.”

A group of well-dressed, formidable figures streamed in.

Thud.

Last of all, a tall man, matching his 2-meter frame with heavy footsteps, walked in.

“Thank you for your efforts.”

With a slight nod towards Detective Kang, he extended his hand.

“I’m Choi Changwook from the Awakener Association. Are you Detective Kang Hyuk-wook?”

“Yes, yes! Nice to meet you. I’m Detective Kang Hyuk-wook, head of the serious crimes unit.”

Kang Hyuk-wook quickly bowed and shook Choi Changwook’s hand. Despite being a sizable man himself, Choi Changwook’s large hand made his feel like a child’s in comparison.

Kang Hyuk-wook broke into a nervous sweat. Of course, he did. It was clear Choi Changwook was from the Awakener Association,

‘Of all people, why does the secretary head of the association come personally!’

Who in South Korea wouldn’t recognize the two-meter-tall man?

Kang Hyuk-wook worried about making any mistakes.

“Are you ready to transport her now? We have a vehicle…”

he started anxiously, but Choi Changwook interrupted.

“Thank you, but we’ll take it from here.”

“I understand. Rookie! Open the cell!”

“Yes, sir!”

However, the newcomer seemed nervous, struggling to unlock the cell as his hands slipped repeatedly.

“Let me.”

Choi Changwook said calmly, putting a hand on the rookie’s shoulder and gently moving him aside. The woman inside the cell, Yujeong, watched Choi Changwook intently.

“I didn’t expect Secretary Choi to come in person. Is this on the President’s orders?”

“Yes, the President did indeed command me to handle the transport personally.”

“Indeed, you say?”

Her tone was tinged with irony. As Yujeong’s one eyebrow raised slightly, seemingly aware of something,

“…It’s orabeoni, isn’t it?”

She whispered, her lips barely moving.

“Yes.”

Crack.

Like tearing open a box, he ripped apart the cell bars.

“Sigh.”

For the first time since being detained, Yujeong let out a deep breath.

“We’re meeting much sooner than I expected. Let’s go.”

As if removing a cheap bracelet, she effortlessly broke the enchanted handcuffs and followed Choi Changwook. The remains of the high-level Awakener handcuffs and cell bars lay scattered on the ground.

“…….”

“…….”

Detective Kang and the rookie were left speechless.

*

“Please, just say a word! The whole nation is watching!”

“Why did you kill Chairman Lee? What was your motive?”

“They say it was a premeditated murder based on the details. Is that true?”

“Did Vice Chairman Dohu know about this? Did you two collaborate?”

“What exactly did you discuss with Dohu?”

The flashes from countless cameras and the shouts of reporters poured in. But that’s as far as it went. Unlike usual, they couldn’t push in or press further for interviews.

“Step back.”

“We are transporting an awakened criminal.”

The men in black suits. The association’s representatives were forces that even the boldest reporters dared not confront.

The reason was simple.

“If you take one more step forward, we will use force as permitted by the Awakener laws.”

“This is your only warning.”

When transporting an awakened criminal, the law allowed for the use of force even against civilians.

Thus, the reporters, “I’m not crossing the line!”

“I’ll just take pictures from here! It’s within the allowed distance!”

could only stand and watch the hottest topic in South Korea.

Yujeong, the center of attention, slipped into the Awakener Association’s vehicle without any interference.

With that,

『In other news, the global Awakener Federation is closely watching the incident…』

the screen shifted to a news anchor.

Beep.

The sharp-featured middle-aged man switched off the TV.

“Things have really gone to hell.”

Kim Muyeol sneered.

“So, how long do you plan to keep your mouth shut?”

He glared at the figure who had appeared nonstop on TV, Yujeong.

“Do you think we didn’t put you in a villain prison because we wanted you to stay silent?”

“…….”

Even under Kim Muyeol’s fierce admonishment, Yujeong remained silently with her head bowed.

“Fine.”

Kim Muyeol’s gaze shifted behind the seated Yujeong.

There stood, “Now, let’s hear it from you two.”

a striking young man and a rough-looking man.

“Why did you assist in this foolish act? No, you were waiting together outside the building, so you must have conspired together.”

Shaking his head slightly with a sharp sneer, Kim Muyeol continued,

“Why on earth would you commit such a disgraceful act?”

He glared at the two men.

“…….”

“…….”

Like Yujeong, Kim Shihyuk and Park Jinwook remained silent.

This agitated Kim Muyeol further,

“Silence, eh…”

Veins bulged on his temple.

“If you’re going to remain silent, there’s no reason for you to be here. Choi Changwook! Take these idiots to prison immedia—”

Just as he was about to send the three off to prison,

“Calm down, Uncle.”

A clear, distinct voice interrupted his tirade. Kim Muyeol, still fuming, turned sharply toward the source of the voice.

“You didn’t call them here to punish them.”

“Punish them? Do you think this is some kind of child’s scolding session?”

Kim Muyeol’s voice grew louder.

“This is a murder case.”

He pointed at the three silent individuals.

“A case of an Awakener killing an unawakened person! And their grandfather at that!”

“Uncle.”

“Kim Shimun. Why are you so calm about all this?”

Kim Muyeol glared at Kim Shimun, bewildered.

“Have you forgotten the proposal you made to me?”

“How could I forget?”

“Then why aren’t you reacting? If you think about it, they’ve ruined your plans…”

Kim Muyeol’s voice trailed off. His eyes narrowed with suspicion.

“Could it be… Did you orchestrate this?”

At that, “It wasn’t orabeoni.”

“Hyung had nothing to do with it.”

Yujeong and Kim Shihyuk, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke. Kim Muyeol turned sharply to face the two, but they said no more.

“Uncle, you really need to calm down.”

Kim Shimun continued, “If I intended to kill him, I would have done it myself. I would never have the kids do it. You know that, don’t you?”

“Tch.”

Kim Muyeol clicked his tongue in annoyance, pulling out a cigarette. Choi Changwook, who had been standing like a statue, stepped forward to light it.

Kim Muyeol turned away towards the window, clearly done with the conversation. As he watched his uncle, Shimun’s gaze naturally shifted to the three who had been under scrutiny.

Flinching, the three who hadn’t even blinked under the association president’s stern gaze, shrank back. Especially Yujeong and Kim Shihyuk, who, despite their high-ranked positions, fidgeted with their lips and hands.

Seeing his younger siblings, ‘Really. They’ve grown physically, but they’re the same as when they were kids.’

He remembered when they were younger. Whenever Kim Shimun scolded them, the two would always fidget with their fingers or lips just like now.

Especially.

‘When she’s fidgeting like that with her lips…’

Kim Shimun, lost in the past for a moment, asked,

“Yujeong.”

“…Yes, orabeoni.”

“Did you really kill Chairman Lee Suncheol?”

Yujeong remained silent for a moment. Then, “Yes, I did.”

She confessed to the crime.

“Ha! How noble of you.”

Kim Muyeol’s sneering voice was heard from behind. Kim Shimun ignored it, “Yujeong.”

and asked calmly.

“I’ll ask again. Did you really kill Chairman Lee Suncheol?”

He wasn’t trying to escape reality. He had grown up with his younger siblings. He knew them better than anyone else.-Even better than their parents, he could confidently say. That’s why he could tell.

“Yujeong.”

When she fidgeted like that with her lips, “Be honest. Did you really kill him?”

she was lying.

“Orabeoni…”

Yujeong raised her head. Her eyes were moist with tears. Then,

“If I say I didn’t kill him… would you believe me?”

she said with a self-mocking smile.

Echoing her sentiment,

“Unbelievable.”

a cold voice came from behind.

“You didn’t kill him? Yujeong, as a Ranker, do you think the world is that simple?”

Kim Muyeol stepped forward and crushed his cigarette on the table.

“There are dozens of witnesses who saw you enter the chairman’s office before his death. And that’s not all.”

He continued with a look as if he had heard the most absurd thing.

“There’s CCTV footage of all your movements from the entrance to the chairman’s office. And you say you didn’t kill him? Why don’t you claim that the person in the footage was someone with a shapeshifting trait?”

“……”

Yujeong couldn’t say a word.

Listening quietly, Shimun asked, “Uncle. Did you check all the CCTV footage?”

“It’s obvious, isn’t it? All the CCTVs except for the one in the chairman’s office were operational at that time. There’s no reason not to.”

“Why was the chairman’s office an exception?”

“Who knows. Maybe your foolish group conspired to turn it off…”

“We didn’t touch the CCTV.”

A deep voice abruptly interrupted. It was Park Jinwook, the Night Hunter.

Kim Muyeol glanced at him before continuing, “Or maybe that old man turned it off himself to do something shady like human experiments.”

“How long was the CCTV off in the chairman’s office?”

“One minute. From just before Yujeong entered until the moment she came out.”

“The cause of death?”

“Decapitation.”

Kim Shimun rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

‘Chairman Lee was alive until Yujeong entered, a one-minute CCTV blackout, and decapitation?’

Something smelled fishy. A very strong odor. Kim Shimun’s eyes grew deeper.

‘Just before Yujeong entered the chairman’s office, the CCTV was turned off and Chairman Lee Suncheol was beheaded…’

Isn’t this timing meticulously arranged?

Almost like, ‘they’re trying to assassinate the chairman and frame Yujeong for it.’

But what I’m curious about isn’t this conspiracy itself.

‘How did they fool Yujeong’s senses?’

Yujeong is a Ranker, on par with my younger brother, the Sword Saint. Could she really not notice her grandfather being beheaded from just a door away?

‘At this point, there’s only one assassin capable of such a feat.’

Of course, it’s not impossible, and Shimun had a good guess about who it might be.

‘I’m starting to see the bigger picture.’

Kim Shimun nodded slowly and responded,

“Uncle.”

“What is it?”

“Yujeong is not the culprit.”

“…What?”

Kim Muyeol’s face twisted as if he had heard something absurd.

“You! Even now, you blindly side with your sibling…”

“No. Yujeong did not kill Chairman Lee Suncheol.”

However, Shimun’s confident demeanor prompted a more measured response.

“…Proof?”

After pausing to take a breath, he asked in a calmer tone,

“If Yujeong had killed Chairman Lee Suncheol, she wouldn’t have beheaded him.”

She would have smashed him with a blunt weapon like a hammer. This wasn’t just because of her profession.

‘In my past life, when Yujeong actually killed Chairman Lee, she smashed his head in with a battle hammer.’

It was a scene broadcast worldwide, unforgettable. Recalling that moment, Shimun looked at Yujeong.

“She would have used a blunt weapon. Especially a hammer. Yujeong, am I wrong?”

Like a child whose secret was exposed,

“…Y-yes.”

Yujeong answered, her eyes wide like a rabbit’s. Then, “It’s true that I intended to kill Grandfather with a hammer. I did head to the chairman’s office with that intention.”

She continued, her voice trembling slightly.

“But when I entered the office, Grandfather was already… dead.”

“Then why didn’t you report it immediately? Why did you admit to killing him?”

Kim Muyeol interjected sharply.

“Because the outcome would have been the same.”

Yujeong answered with a sorrowful smile.

“I had made up my mind to kill Grandfather and went to carry it out. Just because someone else acted first, doesn’t change anything.”

“Ha!”

Kim Muyeol roughly brushed his forehead.

“I’ve seen a lot of crazy things in my life, but this takes the cake.”

It was unclear whether he believed Yujeong or not.

Whether he believed Kim Shimun’s words or not, “So, what now?”

Kim Muyeol asked in a voice full of irritation.

“Even if Yujeong didn’t kill him, there’s no way to prove her innocence. Besides, she kindly confessed to the crime herself.”

As Kim Muyeol pointed out, the situation was dire.

Kim Shimun answered calmly,

“We need to sort this out.”

“Sort it out? Didn’t you see the news? Even the Global Awakener Federation is paying attention to this case.”

“I know. I have a way to handle that. Uncle, you just need to focus on the domestic side. That much is within your capability, isn’t it?”

“You—!”

Kim Shimun cut Kim Muyeol off before he could explode. He looked at Yujeong with unwavering eyes.

“Yujeong, I have something to ask you.”

She looked back at him.

Then he asked, “What do you want to do?”

“W-what?”

Kim Shimun nodded silently.

‘Even though the circumstances have changed from my past life, the fact that Yujeong attempted to kill her grandfather remains the same.’

And she had taken the blame upon herself.

‘She probably considers it her own sin. After all, she did go there with the intent to kill.’

It was likely an act of self-abandonment, or an intent to bear all the burden and disappear.

Just like in the past life.

So, “Do you want to bear all this alone, or do you want to go back to how things were?”

More than any other fact, Yujeong’s own wishes mattered most. As Kim Shimun watched her quietly, “I…”

Tears began to well up in Yujeong’s eyes. What kind of tears they were, no one could tell. But one thing was certain.

“I want to go back… to how things were.”

She didn’t want the current situation.

“If I had personally executed Grandfather, that would be one thing. But to end things this way… Honestly, I don’t like it. Even if I’m punished, I want to know the truth.”

“Okay. Understood.”

That was all Kim Shimun needed.

‘In my past life, I couldn’t protect you, but now it’s different.’

Yujeong killed her grandfather and vanished. That’s what it looked like externally. But now, things were different both externally and internally.

‘I can change this.’

Now, he had the power to alter that tragedy and protect his sibling.

“I’ll handle the federation. Uncle, please just focus on the domestic situation.”

“Don’t talk nonsense! How do you plan to manage the Global Awakener Federation…”

Ignoring Kim Muyeol’s protests, “Jinwook.”

“Yes?”

“Get in touch with all the guilds we rented growth buffs from.”

“All of them? Suddenly? Ah! Understood!”

Kim Shimun instructed Park Jinwook and then put his phone to his ear.

“Yes, Olivia. It’s me. I have a proposal for you.”