The Heroine Stole My Regression

38 – The Mine (2)

Deep within the forest, at its heart.

Only the moonlight to rely on.

People were present, but their presence was unfelt.

“You have come.”

From the shadows of the forest, a voice carried.

Darkness rippled, and one, then two, then three— they emerged in turn.

The masked one, the hooded one, and a man of towering build.

The masked man stood at the center.

A presence palpable even in the gloom.

The very air around him seemed to subtly shift and waver.

The hooded majin cautiously spoke.

“Is the plan proceeding smoothly?”

Moras.

Few within the majin ranks did not know his name.

A mid-ranking member, he was.

Specializing in seduction, he was among the most troublesome of foes.

The hooded majin, tense, regarded the masked man.

“We are… honored, of course, that Moras-nim lends his aid… but Medusa has proven a difficult one to secure.”

A soft chuckle echoed.

The masked man tilted his head slightly, and replied.

“And so?”

His tone was languid.

“You proposed the plan, and I prepared the best course to see it through. To question its feasibility now… what does that signify?”

The hulking majin interjected carefully.

Wringing his massive hands, he continued as if offering an excuse.

“… That is not what we meant. Moras-nim, we merely seek reassurance…”

“Reassurance?”

The masked man chuckled softly, as if intrigued.

Then, he began to slowly pace.

“Reassurance, you say….”

As his fingertips brushed through the air, faint mana rippled within it.

“If you can merely keep their attention occupied, all else will be easily resolved.”

When he finished speaking, a brief silence fell.

The hooded majin whispered lowly.

“Truly… do you think the students will cross over?”

At that moment, the masked one laughed.

His expression was hidden behind the mask, but the subtly twisted sound of his laughter was clear as day.

“As long as desire exists, they won’t be able to resist.”

He reached out his hand.

The lingering resonance of magic in the air writhed with an ominous energy.

“They will,”

“Fall into the delusion that they chose it themselves.”

“And ultimately, they will defect.”

At those words, the two demons nodded their heads.

The larger demon clenched his fist, swallowing down his excitement.

“So, please. Just summon Medusa properly.”

Moras’s voice was quiet, but the command within it was absolute.

The leaves of the forest rustled gently. The demon’s plan had already begun.

*

I am now, sitting atop the VIP room, located at the highest point of Gaon Academy.

From here, the entire Gaon campus spreads out before my eyes.

The reason I’m here is simple.

“Because I can see everything.”

I looked down.

The teeming crowds of students seen from this dizzying height.

The currents of movement flowing from place to place, and the faint roar of cheers reaching my ears.

First, I cannot pinpoint the exact location where the demon will summon Medusa.

There are four potential candidates.

Arena Square A, Arena Square B, Arena Square C, and Central Square.

Medusa will be summoned to one of those four candidates, chosen at random.

Therefore, since there’s no way to know where she’ll appear, I came up here where I can observe all the locations at a glance.

It was worth the hard climb since dawn.

This operation hinges on speed. Medusa is, after all, merely a ‘distraction’. The real danger lies elsewhere.

‘Moras.’

He wasn’t a cadre, nor particularly skilled in combat, but he possessed a mind that was considerably difficult to contend with.

Allure and Doppelgangers.

That was the core of his abilities.

While every hero within the grounds was fixated on Medusa, he’d approach the students who were either brilliant or…lacking.

Perceiving their deficient desires, he’d tempt them as if they were within reach, urging their defection.

Among the students targeted, the key figures were Chun Yeo-ul, and Yoo Ha-na.

To Chun Yeo-ul, he offered the highest position within the Order as her desired reward, and to Yoo Ha-na, he stimulated her desire with overwhelming *Moo.*

Beyond them, many other students would be targeted.

But I couldn’t block every avenue. Therefore, I had to swiftly eliminate Medusa and refresh the atmosphere, preventing him.

That was the reason I obtained Harpe.

Faintly, the emcee’s progress report drifted in from afar. By now, the battles in each arena would have already begun.

Slowly, I crossed my arms, narrowing my eyes as I gazed upon the plaza.

From now on, I had to observe the situation.

*

“Just… just what have you done.”

Inside the lounge prepared within the VIP room.

There stood Archbishop Sung Young-il, a hero of the Arcadia Order, and Crusader Jayden.

Several documents were strewn haphazardly across the table.

One was a petition from within the Order to strip ‘Crusader Jayden’ of his title.

Another was a formal protest and disciplinary request sent from Gaon Academy.

The seals stamped across the documents signified an official pressure.

Jayden stood silently before the Archbishop, his hands clasped behind his back.

One side of his cheek was already swollen and red.

-*Smack!*

The Archbishop’s palm struck Jayden’s face once more.

Blood beaded and smeared from the corner of his lips.

“You dared to do such a thing in front of so many people?”

“If you had to do it, you should have done it quietly.”

That was the point that infuriated the Archbishop.

Not the act itself, but the fact that he had caused such a commotion in front of so many witnesses.

It was a reprimand for the foolishness of not foreseeing it would lead to an attack on the Order.

Jayden bore the blows silently.

But, this time, he spoke.

“…I am a Crusader. I only acted for Johan.”

His gaze did not waver.

“The opponent went too far, and I judged that if I didn’t stop him, the Order’s standing would fall. I had no intention to kill him.”

The Bishop gritted his teeth.

The Bishop also had not expected Johan to be defeated to that degree. It was the first time he’d witnessed such a thing. But he quickly regained his composure.

The problem was Jayden.

They had taken in an ignorant fool and raised him. He knew it. This guy, blindly devoted to the Order and the Hero, was an easily wielded sword, but a ticking time bomb ready to explode at any moment.

But he had not expected him to act this recklessly.

And to top it off, that sly fox, Cheon Yeoul.

Lately, his position within the Order had been wavering because of her.

And now Jayden was adding fuel to the fire by causing trouble—

-Smack!

An even stronger blow landed.

Jayden’s head tilted slightly.

But he still stood motionless.

“How long do you think that kind of logic will protect you?”

The Bishop’s fingertips, gripping the desk, were bone-white.

“There are wolves everywhere.”

“Even within the Order, they are already demanding your suspension. A petition to strip you of your position has been filed. Gaon as well. The actions you took thinking of the Order, are tarnishing the Order.”

He bitterly picked up the documents, shook them, and threw them at Jayden’s feet.

“I blocked it as far as my connections would allow, but since Gaon officially sent the documents, there’s no more avoiding it… You will have to take responsibility.”

But Jayden did not move.

He calmly stared at the Bishop, and uttered a single phrase.

“Understood.”

The Bishop let out a hollow laugh.

Then, with a weary gesture, he rubbed his forehead and muttered.

“Just my luck… of all people, it had to be a Vanguisher’s whelp.”

The air hung heavy, thick with a silent dread.

The Bishop slumped onto the sofa, a heavy weight landing with a thud.

-Aeeeeee-eeeeee!

Just then.

A siren shrieked, a piercing wail that vibrated through the entire lounge.

Instinctively, the Bishop lunged for the window.

He snatched the vibrating watch from his pocket and answered the call.

“…Yes, yes. Understood.”

His response was clipped, concise, then he ended the call.

Turning abruptly from the window, he strode quickly towards Jayden.

“Grab your weapons. Head to Plaza A. Now.”

Jayden looked up, startled.

“Sir…?”

The Bishop snatched the remote control roughly, and the large TV mounted on the wall flickered to life.

Emergency news bulletins flashed across the screen, detailing a critical situation unfolding inside Gaon Academy.

“…Medusa.”

Jayden murmured, barely audible. The Bishop bit down on his lip.

“This is your last chance.”

He stared directly at Jayden, his eyes hard.

“Your actions have sullied the Order’s name. Redeem it with your own hands. Even the smallest sliver of it.”

“….”

“Go now, damn you, go!!!!”

*

By the time Jayden reached the plaza, the earth was already a battlefield.

The academy’s vast plaza was scarred with shattered pillars and gaping fissures. Professors and Heroes lay strewn about, fallen.

Hair sculpted into the grotesque form of gigantic serpents.

Cold, reptilian eyes glinting from beneath a shadowed face.

Medusa.

Jayden stopped dead in his tracks, his instincts screaming.

Even from afar, the raw power emanating from her sent a chill crawling down his neck.

“Don’t meet her gaze! You’ll turn to stone!”

A hero’s cry echoed out.

If one couldn’t look directly – the method of battle became severely limited.

Medusa slowly turned her head in place. A long tongue flicked out, sharp fangs glinting in the sunlight.

She raised a hand.

– *Pwheeeeeeng!*

In that instant, a petrifying wave shot forth from her eyes. A metallic tremor ripped through the air, and those nearby screamed, stumbling back.

“…Tch.”

Jayden averted his gaze slightly.

In the distance, he saw the Order’s heroes bringing something towards him.

What they carried was –

“They brought the shield!”

The Order’s most sacred treasure.

A shield forged with holy power, capable of blocking any attack.

[Aegis (Αἰγίς)].

Jayden gripped the Aegis, raising his mace from behind it.

He advanced slowly.

He was resolved.

He would use this shield to reclaim the Order’s tarnished honor.

At that moment.

– *Tadadadak.*

The sound of something rushing forward at high speed from behind.

Not human, but with the swiftness of a beast.

– *Thwump.*

And then, a heavy pressure bore down on his head.

Jayden reflexively looked up.

A silhouette, using his head as a foothold, soared into the air.

“Thanks.”

The voice came.

It was Hae-in.

He leaped, a light, springy bound, and soared high into the air.

A form silhouetted against the sun, descending mercilessly towards Medusa.

Medusa seemed yet unaware of the situation.

But—

In the air, Jeong Hae-in, Harpē gripped in his hand, was already aiming for precisely the right spot.

He cradled Harpē close.

‘Catenaccio.’

Jeong Hae-in twisted his body mid-air.

Defying gravity, he plummeted, exuding ash-grey mana.

Perhaps, the greatest height of his life. But failure was not an option.

Jeong Hae-in recalled the day he first used this technique. And after, practiced it countless times, every day.

Though it was Harpē now, not a spear—the principle remained unchanged.

He wrung out the mana from his entire being, erupting it outwards.

And, four doppelgangers, patterned after his own form, materialized in the air.

One more than last time. Jeong Hae-in was satisfied.

Sensing the killing intent, Medusa finally snapped her head up. Before her eyes, five figures surged forward.

Medusa thrashed her body from side to side, darting her gaze. But she couldn’t decide where to look.

“Take a guess.”

Jeong Hae-in gripped Harpē tightly.

Medusa was ultimately forced to choose. From her eyes, the light of petrification erupted once more.

One of the figures solidified into stone.

But then,

-Crumble…

It crumbled. A doppelganger.

In that instant, a low whisper reached Medusa’s ear.

“Wrong.”

Medusa gasped, whipping her head around.

However, it was already too late.

— *Shwack!*

Along an ash-grey trajectory, Harpē sliced across her neck.

Medusa’s head spun once in the air before it fell. The snakes within her severed hair writhed, screaming.

Her body stiffened, a bloom of crimson spreading through the air.

“Missed it.”

He flicked the harpe.

The bloodied blade glinted coldly.

This time it wasn’t an illusion.

It was the real Jeong Hae-in.

Jayden stared blankly at the sky.

He held the Aegis in his hand, but—

The main player on the battlefield wasn’t the Order, or even Jayden.