The Regressor Can Make Them All

Chapter 268

There were three layers of protection around the Inoue family’s house.

The first was a massive barrier that spanned the entire sacred mountain. Beneath it was the second layer, a barrier that surrounded most of the mountainside, starting where key facilities were located. And the third, the innermost layer, was a barrier that surrounded the main house only.

They drew on the power of the mountain’s ley lines to maintain themselves semi-permanently so that, together, they could repel all attacks and eliminate any intruders attempting to infiltrate.

And ever since the day they were constructed, the Inoue family had been impervious to enemy incursions.

Today, however, the barriers were of no help.

Boom!

The buildings once shielded by the thick barriers had been decimated by a colossal lightning strike. Fires were breaking out everywhere due to the charged debris, all roaring fiercely.

Flames had engulfed the Inoue estate in the blink of an eye.

“It’s really... burning...”

The Inoue estate, once thought to be an impregnable fortress for decades, had now been set ablaze by their own hands. They couldn’t help but stare at the surreal scene in disbelief, feeling overwhelming satisfaction and... a creeping fear.

What if the family head returns unexpectedly?

The Visionary must be watching this too... are we going to get struck down by her arrows soon?

If it’s ever discovered that we did this...

They had just cast their spells as ordered without much thought, but now, at the sight, the reality of the situation was sinking in.

But just as chaos was on the verge of spreading among them along with the raging fire they set, it was cut through by a calm voice.

“Don’t overthink it.”

They all looked toward Mao, the head of the Amane family, leading them.

“We’re attacking the hideout of traitors who’ve sided with the Demon Force. We’re doing the right thing.”

The elite forces of the Amane family swallowed nervously. They knew better than anyone who the real collaborators were, but that didn’t matter. Right now, the only thing that did was who survived in the end.

Sobered by the thought, they shook off their confusion and steeled their gazes.

“We don’t know when the ley lines might recover, so neutralize all their defenses before advancing.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Heeding Mao’s command, they swiftly prepared the next set of spells, and once again, lightning began gathering in the dark clouds above.

Watching the preparations unfold, Mao’s eyes drifted toward the training grounds, where the first lightning strike had hit.

I hope that was enough to kill them...

Her family's elites managed to prepare the spell relatively quickly, and it was strong enough to disintegrate even an S-rank hero. With a surprise attack that strong, Mao believed the targets were likely gravely wounded, if not dead.

Yet, despite her rational judgment, an inexplicable sense of unease nagged at her.

...I can’t afford to be careless.

Neither the Inoue siblings, praised as geniuses among sorcerers, nor Se-Hoon, who was catching the attention of high-ranking heroes, were talents that could be underestimated just because they lacked experience.

Steeling herself, Mao slowly began gathering her magical power.

“Make sure you leave no trace.”

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

A massive storm of lightning rained down, each strike's sheer power aiming to destroy everything—including people and buildings. Under their assault, even the mountain itself seemed to shake as if it might collapse.

“Having fun, huh?”

Guessing the situation outside, Se-Hoon, hidden deep underground beneath the training grounds, clicked his tongue.

Rumble.

The underground space trembled slightly with each lightning strike. There was a barrier protecting the underground, but the situation still wasn’t favorable.

At this rate... we should be able to hold out for about five minutes... maybe.

There was no telling when the enemy would stop their assault, and Se-Hoon knew they couldn’t hold out for much longer. Glancing up at the ceiling, Se-Hoon turned his gaze to the siblings who had brought him deeper underground.

Woong-

To escape, Erika and Ren were trying to open the tightly sealed exit. They needed to pass through the corridor behind it, but their efforts weren’t really working as intended.

Bang!

Seeing the spell the two attempted bounced off cleanly, Ren grimaced.

“Okay, as expected, only the family head can unlock this.”

Normally, as direct descendants of the family, Erika and Ren both had free access to the underground facilities. But with everything locked down to prevent enemy intrusion, only the family head had access to entry.

“Can’t we just break through it?”

“If we do that, the facility will identify us as enemies and immediately disable the last barrier protecting us.”

It was a desperate situation with no clear escape route.

“So?”

However, Se-Hoon remained indifferent.

“Hmm?”

“Even if the barrier is disabled, we can still get out before it collapses. And if the facility tries to block our way, all we have to do is break through it again. Simple.”

It sounded overly optimistic, but Se-Hoon thought it was entirely feasible. After all, they had two people who knew the facility’s layout, and from what he could tell, the underground setup didn’t seem as heavily fortified as the barriers outside.

“...”

“Looks like there’s another reason we’re not allowed to break through. Just tell me. We’re past the point of worrying about secrets being revealed.”

There were usually only two reasons to build an underground facility like the one they were in: emergency evacuation or concealing something that shouldn’t be known to the public. And if the facility didn’t allow anyone to evacuate in an emergency, then the reason for it was obvious.

Ren locked eyes with Se-Hoon, then, after a moment, he sighed deeply.

“This is why I told him we should expand access rights, but he didn’t listen... damn it.”

Ren composed himself, shedding his troubled look from moments ago, and looked at Se-Hoon calmly.

“To clarify, we technically can break through this door and escape, as you suggested. What I’m worried about is what happens after that.”

“What happens after?”

“As I said earlier, the facility will mark us as enemies if we force our way out. And if we still manage to reach the emergency escape, the entire facility will trigger a self-destruct mechanism.”

Se-Hoon frowned.

Tch, they’re always pulling the same stunts.

Destroying the facility rather than letting its secrets leak—Se-Hoon had seen such a thing repeatedly when he was dealing with Watchers before the regression.

“What kind of self-destruct mechanism? Is it an explosion?”

“Yeah, the entire area within a ten-kilometer radius of the mountain will be vaporized instantly. And if that happens...”

“The nearby villages will be wiped out, too.”

Currently, the danger was limited to the visitors in the area, but if the self-destruct mechanism were activated, all of the nearby villages would be obliterated.

Trying to isolate the explosion with the power of Boundaries... wouldn’t guarantee success either.

It was clearly a failsafe for covering their tracks, so they’d definitely planned for that. Realizing he had to abandon his original plan to explore the underground, Se-Hoon quickly shifted his approach.

It’s better to retreat to the Netherworld for now.

He considered forcing his way through, but with the facility disabled and no support from Baek-Yeon, the enemies were definitely up to something dangerous.

Therefore, rather than fighting recklessly, retreating to the Netherworld and assessing the situation there was the safest option. And if things seemed to be heading toward something catastrophic, the best course of action would be to call in Wurgen.

But just as Se-Hoon was about to tell them about his plan—

Thud.

A deep tremor came from below. It was faint compared to the ones caused by the lightning strikes hitting the ceiling, but Se-Hoon instinctively glanced downward.

“What is this...?”

Feeling an ominous feeling that was difficult to describe creeping over him, Se-Hoon furrowed his brow. He couldn’t tell if it was from some demon or some spell cast by a sorcerer.

Ren’s face turned grim, having noticed the tremor as well.

“Erika, what’s going on?”

Trying to sense something, Erika pressed her hand against the wall and stared at the floor.

Then, after a brief pause, she calmly replied, “It seems someone tried to seize control of the facility through the ley veins but failed. The system’s destabilizing as a result...”

Thud!

Another tremor, stronger than the last, shook the facility. The intensity had now become alarming, briefly halting their conversation until it passed.

“The seal is weakening. If this continues, it will overflow soon.”

From Erika’s words, Se-Hoon found out that something long sealed by the Inoue family was about to break free. And while the specifics were still unclear, it was simple for him to imagine what would happen next.

“And when that happens, will the facility self-destruct?”

“...Yes.”

Getting the answer he expected, Se-Hoon looked around.

Rumble! Boom!

The area above shook as if it would collapse under the relentless lightning strikes, and the ground below was trembling ominously as if it would explode any moment.

Assessing the situation, Se-Hoon briefly pondered the best course of action before turning to Erika.

“Erika, can you accurately predict the self-destruct sequence until just before it triggers?”

“I can gauge it up to thirty seconds beforehand.”

“And you're familiar with the internal structure?”

“Yes.”

Having heard the necessary answers, Se-Hoon turned to Ren next and asked, “Can you go down and stop the self-destruct mechanism?”

“...It’ll be difficult. I don’t have the authority, and even if I tried to force it, the technique isn't my specialty.”

“Then, can you at least stop the people up there from coming down here?”

Thinking, Ren paused momentarily and then answered, “Five minutes, tops. My skills counter theirs, so I should be able to hold them off for that long.”

With the new information, Se-Hoon recalculated which course of action would benefit him the most and what roles each person should take. Finishing, he looked at the siblings, who were awaiting his plan.

“Erika, you’re coming with me to stop the self-destruct sequence, one way or another. If you're against it, say so now.”

He couldn't afford to deal with any reluctance at a critical moment, so he demanded clarity before proceeding.

Prompted, Erika hesitated. But not long later, she nodded.

“I'll do it.”

“Good.”

Se-Hoon then turned to Ren and narrowed his eyes. Though Ren claimed he could hold out for five minutes on his own, neither his abilities nor his character convinced Se-Hoon of that.

So, making a quick decision, Se-Hoon summoned the power of Boundaries and reached out to his side.

“I’ll send you some backup.”

A black void connected to the Netherworld appeared before the two of them.

***

Boom!

The buildings had been almost destroyed completely, battered by relentless lightning strikes that left nothing but scorched remains. With them gone, a faint barrier covering the ground below became visible amidst the debris.

So they had a separate underground facility.

Despite the absence of mana from the ley veins, the facility was holding up well, though it had started to show signs of strain.

If they’ve escaped underground, things might get tricky, but... I believe the Himuras can at least handle that.

Their strategy was simple: while Mao and her group attacked head-on, the Himura clan, experts in talisman magic, would seize control of the ley lines and wrest control of the facility from the Inoues. However, judging by the still-active barrier, they had failed to take over fully. Still, they’d likely figured out the layout by now.

Things are going smoothly, but we can’t get too comfortable.

Though Doppelganger had promised to prevent the Visionary from interfering, there was no telling how long that would last. They needed to kill Se-Hoon as soon as possible and retreat with his body.

Reminding herself of the goal, Mao began preparing a new spell.

Rumble!

A massive tremor shook the ground beneath them. Feeling the ominous vibration, Mao’s eyes widened, and she quickly turned to her elite soldiers.

“They’re coming! Prepare for interception!”

She didn’t know what the enemy had in store, but she was confident their spells could crush anything thrown at them. Feeling absolute certainty, she channeled more mana into her spell while looking down at the ground.

Boom!

A gigantic snake skull burst through the earth.

“A-attack!!”

However, Mao and her elite troops didn’t even identify the creature, immediately unleashing their most powerful spell.

Crack!

A colossal lightning strike—one in the shape of a dragon—descended upon the fractured ground, sending out sparks in all directions and blinding their view. The attack was so powerful that it seemed able to split the entire mountain in half.

With such power, whatever had emerged should have been thoroughly suppressed or severely injured.

Rumble...

However, to Mao’s dismay, the massive shadow hidden by the dust was still moving. Then, as the dust slowly settled, it revealed itself—an enormous skeletal snake, one large enough to wrap itself around the entire mountain.

At the sight, Mao immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

Did the Inoue family have such a shikigami...?

Could it be the ultimate weapon hidden underground? Nervous, Mao watched the dust settle, to reveal the snake’s skull once again.

I can't believe he genuinely lent me a Planet Devourer.

Standing atop the skull, Ren looked down with an incredulous expression.

He knew Se-Hoon had connections with the Eternal Nocturne, but never in his imagination had he thought the Eternal Nocturne would lend out an undead that hadn’t even been passed down to the Eternal Nocturne’s own children.

All he could do was chuckle at the unimaginable support.

Rumble!

He abruptly looked up, feeling a terrifying surge of mana. Initially, the enemy had only been pooling their strength together, but now they drew on the immense energy from the ley veins deep within the earth.

“Oops... maybe I overdid it.”

Having unintentionally provoked their opponent into using their full force, Ren shook his head and glanced back at the underground entrance where Se-Hoon and Erika had descended.

I don’t think I can hold out for too long.... I wonder how they’re doing down there.

Thinking of Se-Hoon and Erika, Ren smiled faintly before returning his gaze to the enemies before him. Then, bending slightly, he lightly tapped the snake’s skull with the black fan in his grasp.

“If you would excuse me.”

With a flick of his wrist, he snapped open the black fan with a crisp sound.