Regression Guidelines For the Supporting Character

Cover slowly blinked, then raised his head. The chaos that once flickered in his black eyes was gone—replaced by the calm and clarity he always carried.
There was no time to zone out.
The rift had closed, but the Baphomets and the Leviathan were still here. Until they were dealt with, there was ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ no room for any other thoughts.
“You’re right. Killing the Leviathan isn’t the hard part.”

He placed the flower into his inventory, gripped his sword tightly, and passed by Eun Woojeong.
“What matters more… is minimizing the damage.”
The Leviathan, being a demon-type, had toxic blood and bodily fluids. And with a body that massive, if they weren’t careful, the entire city could be leveled.

Sure, with four S-ranks on the field, they could take it down. But that didn’t mean it would be easy. It was likely none of them had ever even seen a Leviathan before, much less fought one.
…No choice.
Normally, Cover would’ve stepped back and let others handle it. But this wasn’t just anywhere—this was the center of the city, and outside the front gate, there were still countless civilians who hadn’t been evacuated.

If they wanted to protect them and kill the Leviathan, there was only one way.
“Follow me.”
Cover sprinted back toward the Bridge of Eternal Relief and shouted at Kwon Taehyuk and Ryu Sunghyun.

“We have to pin the Leviathan down before it can move elsewhere. I need your help!”
Kwon Taehyuk turned around, catching his breath after finishing off the last of the Baphomets. His icy gaze narrowed with confusion.
“You have a plan?”

“Yes. First—”
He didn’t get to finish.
Lightning struck from the sky, and a monstrous roar tore through the air.

KRRRRRNNK!
The Leviathan stirred, finally beginning to move.
Its massive body writhed, and then it lowered its head. All seven of the grotesque faces turned toward Cover and the S-ranks around him.
Kwon Taehyuk, seeing the Leviathan up close for the first time, swallowed hard and tightened his grip on his weapon. Each face was covered in eyes—countless black scleras and blood-red irises. The sight alone was enough to induce nausea.

“Ah… ugh!”
“Guhh…”
As the heads lowered, several Hunters collapsed in fear, gasping for breath, unable to move under the pressure and primal terror.

But Cover, Kwon Taehyuk, Ryu Sunghyun, and Eun Woojeong stood their ground.
“At least it’s paying attention to us,” Cover said. “While we keep it focused, we need to find something.”
“Find what?”

“Its weak point.”
As he answered Kwon Taehyuk, he pulled a new outfit from his inventory and slipped it on.
It was a white robe—one he recognized. The same kind Cha Seohu once wore.

“We call it the reverse scale,” he continued. “Among all those scales, there’s just one that grows in the opposite direction. The color’s a little different, too. We need to find it.”
“And once we do?”
“We strike it. If we can’t hit the reverse scale, we’ll have to cut up that entire massive body or take its head—but that would spill too much blood.”

That was the one thing they had to avoid. Cover’s face twisted in determination as he looked at Ryu Sunghyun and Eun Woojeong.
“Vice Guildmaster, help hold the Leviathan in place. Same to you.”
He assigned their roles effortlessly, then placed a hand briefly on Kwon Taehyuk’s shoulder.

“Guildmaster, you find the reverse scale.”
Kwon Taehyuk narrowed his eyes. The confidence in his orders was unsettling—especially since his hat and mask still concealed his face.
Leviathan-type S-rank demons were exceedingly rare. There was almost no research on them. So…

How the hell does he know this stuff?
GRRRRNNK!
“Now!”

Cover’s shout snapped Kwon Taehyuk to attention just in time to dodge. The Leviathan had lunged at them—and in that instant, golden light and silver chains wrapped around its massive body.
“Pull! Don’t let it move!”
Cover grabbed one of the chains Eun Woojeong had summoned and held it with both hands, bracing his legs.

The Leviathan thrashed like a fish out of water, its colossal form twisting violently. Cover, Ryu Sunghyun, and Eun Woojeong were dragged across the ground as they tried to restrain it.
“Urgh…!”
The pull was stronger than expected.

Chains burned against their hands as they were yanked forward. Even gripping with all his strength, the metal slipped from Cover’s fingers.
Unlike the others, he wasn’t wearing any gloves or equipment. His bare hands were shredded, blood dripping freely from torn flesh.
While the three of them fought to restrain it, Kwon Taehyuk dashed in and scanned the Leviathan’s scales.

The creature’s hide was covered in thick, serpent-like armor. Searching for a single, inverted scale among thousands was like finding a needle in a haystack.
Time was short, and the tension was mounting.
He gritted his teeth and decided to climb the creature’s body—but before he could—

KIIIIIIIIII!
With a horrific screech, all the chains and ropes snapped at once.
“Tch—!”
THUD!

Cover was thrown backward, tumbling to the ground. Freed, the Leviathan immediately lunged at him with its massive jaws wide open.
“Cover!”
Ryu Sunghyun’s light burst out, but the Leviathan was faster. Like a bird snatching prey, it devoured him in one bite—and took off into the sky.

“Haa… urgh…!”
Half his body was trapped inside its maw as it soared upward. The wind howled past him.
Looking up, he saw all seven heads staring down at him.

“Shit. I knew this would happen.”
Drawing his sword, Cover flipped it downward like a stake—then drove it into the Leviathan’s snout like a crucifix.
“I wore this for a reason!”

The blade sank deep, and black blood gushed forth as the monster screamed in agony.
KIIIIIIIII!
Its jaws flew open in pain, and Cover slipped free, barely avoiding being crushed.

If he hadn’t worn the protective robe, he’d be a mangled corpse.
Still dangling from the blade lodged in its snout, he looked down. The ground was impossibly far away.
If he let go now, he’d fall to his death.

His body tensed in terror—but he moved anyway.
Gripping the Leviathan’s fur, he climbed upward toward its heads. The wind thrashed around him. The beast writhed wildly beneath his feet. It was almost impossible to stay balanced.
“What are you looking at? Eyes down!”

He growled and gave the dozens of staring eyes the middle finger as he surveyed the area.
Kwon Taehyuk already checked the midsection…
If the reverse scale wasn’t there, it had to be in one of two places—tail or head.

If it was the tail, he was screwed. But if it was the head…
Opening his eyes against the fierce wind, he advanced. One slip, and he’d be thrown into the sky or plummet to the streets below. His hands and feet trembled in fear—but he kept moving.
He stabbed his sword into its skin like a walking stick.

Every time the blade pierced its flesh, black blood hissed and white smoke billowed up. His legs and feet were burning, but he pressed on.
One minute felt like an hour.
For the next agonizing five minutes, he climbed through sweat and pain, past all seven faces, and finally reached the creature’s neck.

“Hah…”
And then—he saw it.
Just below one of the horns, between the black scales, glowed a faint red shimmer—one scale growing in the wrong direction.

“There you are.”
Smiling at the memory of Kwon Taehyuk’s confused expression, he grabbed the horn for balance and rammed his sword into the reverse scale.
GRRRNNK!

The Leviathan thrashed violently beneath his feet.
A grotesque rumble built in its chest as blood boiled beneath its skin. Scales popped off one by one starting from the impact point.
KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!

A scream like shattered glass ripped through the sky.
Its entire body froze—then began to plummet.
“Damn it—shit—!”

Cover clung to the horn and glanced downward.
If it keeps falling like this, it'll crash into a building!
Realizing the Leviathan was going to hit the city center, he gritted his teeth and yanked the blade free—then grabbed both horns.

“This way…!”
He pulled with all his strength, twisting the creature’s head to the left. The serpent-like body followed.
As the wind battered him from the front, he adjusted—then pulled hard to the right.

It was like steering the bow of a ship.
And his effort paid off.
The Leviathan veered away from the tall buildings, stumbled into the front gate of the Royal Palace—and crashed.

KRRRACK! THUUUUD!
The moment the reverse scale was struck, the Leviathan had died instantly. Its corpse skidded violently across the ground, dragging through the earth until it finally came to a stop near the Bridge of Eternal Relief.
“Hah… hah…”

Still clinging to its horn, Cover finally realized he had survived the crash—and collapsed where he stood.
He looked around, breathing hard. Thankfully, the Leviathan’s body had landed inside the Royal Palace—far from civilians.
But the aftermath wasn’t pretty.

Hunters lay scattered everywhere—injured or poisoned by the demon-types. Some had likely been caught in the Leviathan’s descent.
“…Hah…”
“Cover!”

He heard Ryu Sunghyun, Kwon Taehyuk, and Eun Woojeong rushing toward him. As he slowly opened his tired eyes, he watched them approach and thought:
I need divine power.
His skill—divine energy—could heal both injuries and demonic toxins. It could even purify the demon blood splattered across the field.

These were police, soldiers, and Guild Hunters who had risked their lives to protect civilians from demon-types. He couldn’t just leave them like this.
The problem is…
Cover sighed as he looked at the three S-ranks heading his way.

How was he supposed to disappear and become Cha Seohu again without being seen?
[Main Quest: Capture the research facility member hiding somewhere at the event. (Time remaining: 4 hours 38 minutes)]