Genius Regressor Makes Mythic Items

An analog TV that exuded a nostalgic feeling.

Inside it,

『”I… I am Madam Dayna, a founding member of Desperado.”』

A middle-aged woman’s voice echoed.

Shockingly,

『”This attack on the Korean branch of American Dream is not solely linked to us Desperado.”』

Introducing herself as a founding member of Desperado, she did not fit the infamy attached to that name. Her dress was tattered, covered in scars, and even her voice trembled with fear.

However, the pitiful appearance of Madam Dayna did not attract much attention.

Because,

『”We committed this attack with the help of Derick, the guildmaster of American Dream.”』

The content of what she was saying was far more shocking.

『”He assisted in our terrorist activities as a condition for the capture and transfer of Winter Queen’s custody.”』

Before being the master of the world’s top guild, Derick was recognized as America’s superhero.

The fact that he had colluded with Desperado, the world’s worst criminal organization, to carry out this attack was unbelievable.

And,

『”He disguised members of American Dream’s executive board to infiltrate, collaborating with our spy, Reyna, who is on the executive committee there.”』

She revealed that there was a Desperado spy within American Dream. Every word she said was hard to believe even if one tried.

And then,

“Kya! I never imagined this!”

In an old-fashioned bar that matched the ancient TV,

“Middle boss, isn’t it quite something?”

A man, leaning with his arm on the bar,

“It’s hard to believe that feisty Madam ended up like that. And now a confession video?”

A man of East Asian descent laughed continuously while watching Dayna’s confession.

“Even though I went overboard last time, I feel great knowing I survived the Sword Saint’s grip!”

To that, “Acting boss, Haruto.”

A deep voice came from across. Haruto responded,

“Hey! Even seeing that, you’re thinking about such trivial things? Give me an opinion.”

He looked toward a strangely darkened seat, Where only the overall outline and a hand holding a glass could be seen in the dim light.

“…It is indeed surprising.”

The man with the deep voice raised his glass with a thick hand, matching his voice. Haruto’s eyes sparkled as he leaned toward that direction.

“Right? What exactly surprised you? Madam being in tatters? Or that awkward confession?”

“Both. What do you think about this incident, Haruto?”

In response to the man’s question,

“For me, it’s like watching a killing porno! I mean, I could never imagine this…”

Haruto started to ramble on immediately, but that was it.

“Haruto. This is no time for jokes.”

The man’s voice, although calm, carried a heavy tone.

“Whew! Don’t be too scary~ Don’t speak so frighteningly. After all, she’s the weakest among the founding members, isn’t he?”

Haruto shrugged nonchalantly.

“If we solely examine the video, there seems to be no possibility of manipulation.”

Although the smile remained on his lips, Haruto’s playful eyes quickly sobered up.

“Why do you say that?”

“You know exactly where that is, middle boss, right?”

“Yes, the Edge, isn’t it?”

“More precisely, it’s just before the boundary of the Edge. The Edge isn’t just related to space, but time as well.”

Haruto refilled the empty glass of the man sitting across from him as he spoke.

“Anyway, that place was shown to me by a beast from the Edge, my backing entity. Except for me and those close to me, no one else can enter.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

The man with the deep voice took the refilled glass and responded.

“If what you say is correct, wouldn’t that increase the likelihood of manipulation? Since no ordinary person can enter there.”

“Normally, yes. However…”

Pulling out a worn remote from somewhere unnoticed, Haruto pressed a few buttons.

『”Ameri… Madame… Tran…”』

The video that had just played, featuring Madam Dayna’s confession, fast-rewound swiftly. Haruto stopped the video at the very first frame.

“Look at this.”

Madam Dayna appeared torn and frightened.

“See how frightened Madam looks?”

“Haruto, I’ve told you before, no jokes…”

The man growled immediately after.

“No, no. Middle boss, look closely at why Madam is frightened.”

Haruto flicked his index finger and pointed at the TV screen.

“Look at Madam’s hand. The Indian artifact I gave her is missing, isn’t it?”

“…Indeed.”

“Boy, even the middle boss must have been quite shocked, huh? Ha-ha!”

Haruto chuckled, but the man just stared at the screen silently.

Then,

“Haruto, I understand what you’re trying to say.”

He nodded slowly.

“The person who filmed the video stole the Indian artifact from her?”

“Yes! And because of that, to avoid being twisted alive in the void, she made such a confession.”

“Hmm.”

“It’s certain. Being twisted alive in the void is painfully terrible, I know that all too well.”

Haruto shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, concluding his point cleanly. The man stroked his chin pensively.

“Your reasoning has merit. No, your thoughts are probably spot on. But there’s one thing that bothers me.”

“What’s that? How the person who filmed this was there in the first place?”

“Exactly.”

The ice clinked softly in the man’s glass as he held it.

“That place is twisted by the void. Without the power of a Constellation, like your backing entity, no one can withstand it. Besides…”

“How did they get there without an Indian artifact? If Madam had been robbed of the artifact from the start, she shouldn’t have been able to enter that space in the first place.”

“Exactly.”

Haruto nodded, recognizing the logic in the man’s query.

“Here’s my personal take. There’s a high possibility that the person has powers related to the void.”

“A void-related ability? Then someone we might not know of…”

The man’s words trailed off. Did something just occur to him?

Clack.

A glass of liquor was placed strongly on the table.

Then, “Daniel.”

He mentioned the name of a crucial member who had already died. Daniel, the Void Wanderer.

At those words, “Oh? Come to think of it, Daniel’s death occurred in Korea too, right?”

Haruto’s eyes widened in realization. The man nodded slowly.

“Yes. He was killed while returning after assassinating Chairman Lee Suncheol. And…”

Unlike Haruto, who had dimensional abilities and manifested them in the magical realm, Daniel, the Void Wanderer, used his abilities in the realm of assassination.

“Daniel too had the Beast of the Edge as his backing entity, just like you.”

Due to their shared background of controlling dimensions, Both Haruto and Daniel had the same backing entity.

Based on this,

“It’s certain that the person who filmed the video has void-related abilities.”

“The level of those powers must be comparable to our backing entity’s authority.”

“And considering the timing of Daniel’s death and other commonalities…”

“The person linked to this is once again Kim Shimun, huh? Gosh, this is getting scary!”

Haruto’s certainty brought the man’s words to a pause.

Tap. Tap.

The man’s fingers gently tapped the worn stand next to his glass.

Then,

“It seems like this is not something that we can just overlook.”

Creak.

The man stood up, dragging his chair with him.

“I’ll report to the boss. You go to Derick and help manage the situation. He can’t afford to be sidelined just yet.”

“Ha~. Another errand?”

Haruto grumbled slightly at the man’s order, but that was all.

“Isn’t it better than ending up like that?”

The man pointed his chin towards the screen with a worn TV showing the video.

“Scary! Yes, yes~.”

Haruto nodded playfully and waved his hand.

Swoosh.

Then, The two men by the stand disappeared like ghosts.

*

New York, often referred to as the world’s capital, beyond just America.

Boom!
At the top floor of a skyscraper overlooking the vast expanse of Central Park, A loud explosion echoed.

However, since it was built with Arena-grade materials, And being the guild house of one of the world’s top guilds, American Dream, The explosion caused no significant damage.

“Pl-please! Calm down, Derick!”

But, There was one person it did affect.

A middle-aged black man was drenched in cold sweat. It was Colin, the vice-guildmaster of American Dream.

“No one believes that crazy video anyway! The entire nation supports you!”

Colin said, continuously wiping his sweat with a blue handkerchief.
Rumble.

Then, The muscular fist that had exuded masculinity.

Pulling his fist from the wall, a square-jawed man slowly turned to Colin.

“… They support me?”

“Of-of course! No one believes that foolish video! See for yourself!”

Colin immediately held out his phone to answer guildmaster Derick’s question.

On it,

『”The world’s superhero working with villains?”』

『”Nonsensical villain confession video, what’s the source?”』

『”American Dream won’t tolerate tarnishing their heroes!”』

The headlines were clear.

-Madam’s words are true?

-Crazy nonsense. Hahahaha. Do you know what kind of person Derick is?

-I wondered what kind of crazy act they were up to this time… It’s Desperado, as expected.

-Say something that makes sense. If Derick really had such intentions, wouldn’t he have terrorized the guild house himself?

-Right. Why would he terrorize an insignificant Korean branch?

-Talking about Winter Queen doesn’t even make sense. The whole world knows how close those two superheroes are!

Showing the overwhelmingly negative public opinion of those who watched the video.

“See? No one believes it at all!”

Colin raised his voice as he thrust his phone with the screen facing Derick.

Still, “… Right? Huh?”

He cowered, offering it like meat to a beast but still shrinking his shoulders in fear.

“…”

Derick silently gazed at the screen Colin held up to him.

Then, “Ha.”

He scoffed, seemingly calming down. He didn’t swing his fists again.

‘Whew…’

Colin inwardly sighed in relief, looking at the over twenty holes pocked in the wall.

‘One or two more blows and it would have been dangerous…’

Although the guild house was constructed with all sorts of Arena-grade materials and techniques, It couldn’t withstand dozens of strikes from America’s top-ranked individual.

He glanced around the top floor’s interior, which was split with cracks like a ruined spiderweb, and gulped.

“As you can see, no one believes that video. Instead, they’re questioning illusion magic or tampering…”

As Colin was trying to further reassure him,

Buzz.

His phone, which he was still holding out, vibrated. Colin glanced at the screen and then.

‘Why of all times now!’

Colin frowned deeply but quickly answered the call.

“I’m so busy, what… what?! Is that true?!”

He exclaimed in shock before realizing the gravity of the situation and who was standing right in front of him.

“Brother, what’s going on?”

Derick’s face turned pale as he quickly realized the situation.

However, “Why did the emergency response team contact you?”

Derick had already seen the words on the phone screen Colin handed him.

To that, “Th-that… um…”

Colin stammered, his lips trembling as he struggled to speak.

“They’ve caught a Desperado spy from the executive team. A-and there are others from different departments too…”

Eventually, he forced out the breaking news from the emergency response team.

—

Breaking News! American Dream’s Shadow?

Have we unknowingly been supporting villains?!

Desperado operatives found throughout American Dream!

Villains infiltrated the executive, administrative, and even Diamond Players department!

The President’s Demand! Full investigation into American Dream!

The screen was filled with sensational headlines.

A blonde woman watching it,

“Ha…”

Olivia Denson laughed hollowly.

Understandably so.

‘So it was true…’

American Dream. The organization that not only gave her a new life but also shaped her current self. A guild that had always walked the path of justice and heroism.

‘To think so many villains were hidden within…!’

Villains, or exponents of awakening crimes, were deeply embedded within the guild.

Moreover, ‘The reported figures are only half the list I gave to Andrew, aren’t they?’

Those reported were merely half of the names she had passed to Andrew, one of American Dream’s promising members.

There were many departments yet to be mentioned by the media.

“Just how…”

Her gaze naturally shifted.

“How did you know so many villains were hidden within our guild?”

To Shimun, who had handed her the list to begin with.