The Heroine Stole My Regression

42 – Mind (6)

Sung Shi-woo was dead.

‘Ah.’

I wanted to ask the me from ten years ago.

‘Can we kill the Evil God without the protagonist?’

Perhaps I’d have told myself to go eat shit.

In the end, my ten years of planning had turned to foam.

The protagonist couldn’t overcome the Mind’s coaxing and erosion.

If there had even been a sliver of hope, I would have saved him, somehow.

But even the system had shattered.

What that meant was simple. He could no longer be seen as human.

I took a deep breath.

One thing nagged at my mind—

‘Too fast.’

Usually, once corruption begins, one contemplates the abyssal energy within for months.

Then, when the time is right, demonization proceeds.

But look at that violet arm lying on the floor, demonization began simultaneously with the corruption.

This could mean one of two things.

First, that his mana was woefully insufficient to resist the abyssal energy, and he failed.

But while Seong Si-woo lacked talent and everything else, he had plenty of mana. Therefore, that wasn’t it.

Second… a dark god might have taken a great liking to this one.

Usually, dark gods don’t emerge from behind their veils. Not unless something truly interesting happens.

But to intervene, even shattering the system?

This was… unusual.

“What in the—”

The paladin gasped.

Which was what I was doing myself, more or less.

“It was the early stages of corruption. What this is now… it’s not legally much different from killing a person.

Of course, we were aware of the seriousness, but if we don’t get conclusive test results that prove he couldn’t be saved, he may not be able to avoid punishment…”

The paladin’s expression was clouded with worry. She wasn’t blaming me for killing Seong Si-woo.

It felt more like she was concerned about suffering the consequences of my decision.

It seemed best to prove there was nothing that could be done.

I just wanted to lie back down, but in the end, I rose to my feet.

However, Cheon Yeo-wool, who was standing behind the paladin, was a step faster.

She approached Seong Si-woo’s corpse.

She reached out her hand.

But as if loathing to touch something filthy, she approached with her fingers curled, twisting—

Finally, she stopped her hand just before making contact.

A blue aura flowed slowly from her hand.

Cheon Yeo-wool closed her eyes slightly.

And then, silently nodded.

“… So it is.”

She turned to the Paladin, continuing.

“It is late. The inside is already tainted. Quite so.”

The Paladin’s face tightened.

“It seems it was too late to turn back. Lady Haein’s judgment was correct.”

Cheon Yeoul faintly curled the corner of her lips, looking at the Paladin. A demeanor that revealed absolutely no hint of our prior familiarity.

At those words, the Paladin lowered his head in agreement. Meaning he wouldn’t dare to add even a word against the Saintess’s opinion.

Which, in truth, was also correct.

“Furthermore… it seems quite a high-ranking demon was attached. It was almost perilous.”

At that moment, Kang Arin, who had been standing on the opposite side, took a few steps forward.

She glanced down at Sung Siwoo’s corpse before lifting her head and speaking towards Cheon Yeoul.

“So, you diagnosed the Order of Haein’s lukewarm judgment accurately and eliminated the dangerous element, then?”

The Paladin’s shoulders twitched ever so slightly.

Kang Arin, with her arms crossed, propped her chin with one hand and added,

“This… shouldn’t it be a reward, not a punishment?”

The Saints standing behind Cheon Yeoul displayed expressions of discomfort.

Yet, Cheon Yeoul herself smiled at Kang Arin’s words.

Cheon Yeoul turned her gaze sideways, looking at Jeong Haein.

“Indeed…”

Cheon Yeoul tilted her head slightly, the corner of her lips lifting.

“We almost damaged the Order’s reputation. It would be appropriate for our Order to offer some recognition. Wouldn’t you agree?”

She gave the Paladin a kind smile as she spoke.

Just then, I interjected.

“Let’s discuss that later.”

I pointed to the corpse on the floor.

“First, we need to incinerate that body. With the Order’s sacred fire, until not a single hair remains.”

Sacred fire.

The Order’s divine flame that burns the very existence of a demon from its roots.

Not as potent as a fragment, and not designed for combat, but its ability to purify the corrupted was undeniable.

Until that’s done perfectly, it’s too early to feel relieved.

You can’t predict those demon b*stards.

The Paladin nodded.

“Of course. A priest within the Order will oversee the procedure personally….”

A priest….

If a priest of the Order administered the holy flame directly, most magi would simply vanish in the blaze.

But that was only in ‘normal cases’.

This particular instance couldn’t be considered a typical erosion.

A little disappointing, and unnerving too.

As if reading my thoughts, Chun Yeo-ul spoke.

“No, I’ll do it myself.”

The Paladin’s eyes widened. She began to try and dissuade Chun Yeo-ul, flustered.

“Saintess… there’s no need for that. A priest can handle this well enough….”

“No.”

Chun Yeo-ul was resolute.

“It appears a high-ranking demon was involved. I will burn it away myself, with the Order’s holy fire.”

She took a short breath and added,

“You know as well, don’t you, Paladin?”

“What happens when magi isn’t completely eradicated.”

At those words, the Paladin finally took a step back in silence.

I, too, was satisfied. If it was Chun Yeo-ul, she could finish it for certain.

Then, Kang Yun-hyeok emerged from behind Kang Ah-rin.

His mere presence seemed to dominate the entire space.

Such an intense presence, it unconsciously drew everyone’s gaze to him.

He spoke.

“They say they’ve just eliminated the last Moras. They have failed to track down the original body, however.”

I gave a short nod.

That we missed the Moras was unavoidable. Even in the original work, his hiding place was never described.

He’s not a being you can capture in one fell swoop to begin with.

Whether he contacted them or not, members of the Association and Gaon, along with other members of the Order, rushed to the scene.

And began to recover Seong Si-woo’s body.

“We will recover him.”

The Order’s members prepared a coffin imbued with holy power.

To move the corpse, they cautiously lifted Seong Si-woo’s arm.

That instant.

– *Tsssk!*

Traces, blackened and tainted, blossomed forth.

Smoke arose. As if impurities were being burnt away, skin cracked with a sharp *pajik*.

“……”

Slowly, oh so slowly, Seong Si-woo’s skin crumbled.

Even in death, the diabolic energy lingered within him.

I sighed softly and turned my head away.

It was not the death I had envisioned, by any means.

To watch the demise of someone I held affection for, someone I had placed expectations upon…

Well, it wasn’t exactly a delightful scene.

*

I returned to the dormitory and collapsed onto the bed.

Blankly, I stared at the ceiling.

My mind was a tangled mess.

The exam was suspended. Temporarily halted.

The television, left on, continued its coverage of the attack that had transpired today.

– The casualty count is one… confirmed to have died while engaged in battle with the demon, until the very end….

Objectively speaking, my preparations for this attack had been successful.

The swift dispatch of Medusa, the natural transition into chasing Moras.

The fact that there was only one victim was, in itself, a remarkably significant outcome.

However, that ‘one’ was…

“Why did it have to be you, damn it….”

Still lying down, I clutched my head.

The person I considered most important, sent away in the most senseless way possible.

I don’t know what to do. I even wonder if it’s my fault.

‘Could there have been a better way?’

‘Or perhaps, should I have stayed by Seong Si-woo’s side?’

A swarm of thoughts buzzed within my head.

Then.

-Beep-

An alert chimed from my watch.

I shielded my face with one hand, surreptitiously raising the watch.

The exam may have been suspended, but ridiculously, the guilds’ bidding wars hadn’t ceased.

The bulletin board streamed endlessly with videos of the students who shone today.

This too, was a strategy of the Academy.

To divert the public’s attention from this incident, naturally guiding them towards a different topic.

And those clips, they were starting to inflate their prices.

I sorted the posts by view count.

The post boasting the highest views.

[4 hours ago, 3,353,211 views]

Floating at the very top was,

the video of me severing Medusa’s head.

From a blind spot in the frame, a figure surged like lightning. I tried frantically to rewind, but the cameraman lost the subject.

Then, after the screen rocked, the scene was barely recaptured. The cameraman hastily swung the camera skyward.

Five doppelgangers lunged toward Medusa.

And, with a single stroke, severed her head.

-Whoa…

The cameraman’s exclamation could be heard.

The comment section was exploding.

[sdff221]: Who is this student? Not even on the rankings?

[GrilledScallop]: Look at the bids coming in, this is Warrior Hero level stuff.

[alex588]: come to America.

I checked the bidding ranks.

“Heh…”

[Cheongpung Clan] → [Jeong Hae-in] 800,000,000 KRW bid.

[Arcadia Order] → [Jeong Hae-in] 1,000,000,000 KRW bid.

[Supreme Lord Guild] → [Jeong Hae-in] 1,200,000,000 KRW bid.

[Lotus Guild] → [Jung Hae-in] Bid: 1,500,000,000 KRW.

The uproar was beyond anything.

‘Cheongpungdae…?’

The Yu Hana family’s escort corps, notorious for their seclusion.

Even they had entered the bidding.

But the grand finale was yet to come.

[Vanquisher] → [Jung Hae-in] Bid: 5,000,000,000 KRW.

Insane.

I let out a hollow laugh, sighing.

Wasting time lying here was out of the question.

I rose from the bed and went straight to the desk.

Opening my notebook, I assessed the situation.

I had to admit it.

The Seong Si-woo Chadoji Account, prepared for ten years, had failed.

I could no longer borrow another’s blade.

In the center of the notebook, Seong Si-woo’s name was written.

Around it were Yu Hana, Kang Ah-rin, Cheon Yeo-ul.

And various fortuitous encounters and martial arts techniques, all directed towards him as arrows.

It resembled a kind of mind map.

I tapped my pen against the paper, lost in thought.

For the last time, I considered it truly, deeply.

And then, I gripped the pen decisively.

I crossed out Seong Si-woo’s name in the center.

And in its place, I wrote a new name.

‘Jung Hae-in.’

I had absorbed the splinter.

The only one who could realistically fill the position Seong Si-woo had occupied was me.

I tossed the pen onto the desk.

“I don’t even know anymore.”

This was, perhaps, the best course of action.