I Regressed After Getting Tired of Their Obsession – Chapter 27

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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“Ha… Ha…”

After running for a long time, Lee Seol finally arrived at our classroom. She placed me inside a locker in the corner and started fiddling with an artifact.

-Whir…

A transparent barrier enveloped the locker. Then, closing the door, she muttered,

“Hyeon-ah, stay here for a bit. I’ll be back soon.”

-Thud.

The door closed, and the sound of her footsteps faded away.

‘What the hell? Why is Lee Seol suddenly…’

Had she sensed the danger with her Extrasensory Perception and removed her ring?

But that didn’t make sense. Even if Extrasensory Perception was an amazing skill, it wouldn’t have given her enough time to prepare a locker and an artifact.

Moreover, Lee Seol had only awakened Extrasensory Perception two months ago. She wouldn’t have mastered it yet…

My mind raced with questions. But there was only one thing I could do right now.

‘I have to get the rings.’

I pocketed the defensive artifact and left the building.

‘It’s a mess out here.’

Cult members were attacking students with skills. The professors and Lee Seol were defending the students against the onslaught.

And the most striking sight…

‘They’re being drained.’

Black tendrils were rising from the bodies of 700 students, stretching towards the sky.

Negative energy. Life force. Demonic energy. There were many names for it, but the most important thing was…

‘If they gather that and give it to a Witch, her seed will instantly bloom.’

It was different from normal mana.

It was a demonic energy that couldn’t be touched without special tools. But Witches could handle it effortlessly; it was their exclusive domain.

The 700 black tendrils converged into a single point.

I followed them and found a crystal absorbing the demonic energy.

A black crystal resting on a table. It pulsed ominously, sucking in all the black tendrils.

Four figures stood around it, facing each other.

Irena, two other professors, and the principal.

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Irena couldn’t believe her eyes. The principal, her mentor, was the leader of the Demonic Cult.

“Are you being controlled by the Cult?”

“No. This is my own free will.”

“How could you…”

“Don’t look at me like that. You know as well as I do…”

The principal looked up at the sky, where the black dome shimmered faintly.

“…that the world is already over. Hope and light are gone; only despair and hell await us. I’d rather create a new world with my own hands than wait for the inevitable end.”

“Even so, there’s a limit! This is no different from abandoning your humanity!”

“Indeed. I’d gladly become less than human, a beast, to serve the Witches.”

“You’re insane…”

“This isn’t the man we knew.”

The other professors shook their heads and prepared for battle. There was no more time to waste.

The principal chuckled and took a few steps back.

“What are you doing?”

“Aren’t you here to save the students? Then destroy this crystal. The students are connected to it through the rings.”

“…”

“If you destroy this crystal, which is draining their negative energy, the black dome will disappear, and the students will wake up.”

The professors were hesitant, but they had no other choice.

Two professors, armed with an axe and a spear, leaped towards the crystal and swung their weapons.

B-rank level attacks. They swung so fast their blades were almost invisible. But…

-Clang!

Their attacks were blocked. And the demonic energy flowed into their bodies through their weapons.

“Gah! My… my body!”

“Ugh!”

They clutched their heads and screamed. Their souls were being corrupted. Their faces turned black, and they collapsed.

“Professor Kang! Professor Choi!”

“Kuku! I knew it. Only a chosen one like me can withstand demonic energy! Mere humans stand no chance!”

“You knew that, and yet…!”

“I gave you a chance. A chance to save the students. You lacked the qualifications and threw it away.”

Irena shifted her focus from the crystal to the principal.

Hundreds of mana hands aimed at him. But the principal simply scoffed.

“I’m the only one qualified here. And yet, you dare point your weapons at me, Professor?”

“Ugh…!”

A deadlock.

The principal smirked at Irena, who was biting her lip in frustration.

“Why don’t you join us? I can make room for someone of your caliber, Professor.”

“Don’t be absurd!”

“Don’t get angry. Think about it. If you join us, I’ll spare half of the students.”

“…!”

Irena’s eyes wavered.

“What was his name? Lee Seong-hyun? The student you’ve been protecting lately? I could spare him right now. What do you say? It’s a good offer.”

Irena’s breath hitched, and her body trembled.

A life-altering choice. She was shaken to her core. The principal’s smirk widened.

“I’ll give you three seconds. Three.”

“…”

“Two.”

“One.”

“I… I’ll…”

Just as Irena closed her eyes and was about to speak…

“I’ll what?”

“…!”

It was Lee Seong-hyun’s voice.

They both turned towards the sound and saw Seong-hyun casually standing in front of the crystal.

Irena’s eyes widened in horror.

“It’s dangerous! Get away from there!”

“This thing? You said if I destroy this, the students will be saved? Then I have to destroy it.”

“Kukuku! Go ahead! Destroy it if you can! I wouldn’t mind watching a little melodrama between master and disciple!”

The principal’s laughter was filled with madness. Irena frantically extended her mana hands. But before she could reach him…

-Hum.

Lee Seong-hyun’s hand touched the crystal first.

“No!”

With Irena’s scream, the dome trembled.

-Rumble!

“What?”

For the first time, the principal’s voice was laced with confusion. Lee Seong-hyun, who should have been corrupted and dead, was still standing.

And not only that…

“Impossible!”

The crystal began to emit negative energy, glowing brightly.

“You can control demonic energy?! Could you be…!”

Lee Seong-hyun smirked and gave the principal the middle finger.

“Your tongue’s too long, bitch.”

-KABOOM!

The area was engulfed in an explosion.

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Demonic energy explosion.

Having been tormented by the three Witches, I was very familiar with demonic energy. Or maybe even before that.

Although I couldn’t control the demonic energy within my own body, if it was someone else’s, gathered in a concentrated form…

‘Controlling them was as easy as my own energy.’

The acrid smoke began to dissipate. My vision cleared, and I could see my surroundings.

‘Wow, it’s all gone.’

The explosion had obliterated everything except the spot where I was standing.

Irena was safe thanks to the defensive artifact she’d thrown, but she was unconscious. And our dear principal…

“Cough… this can’t be… this is impossible…!”

…was lying on the ground, his upper body mangled, coughing up blood. I approached him, smirking.

“You were talking about being a chosen one, and yet you’re blown away by a single demonic energy explosion? This is too anticlimactic.”

“Anticlimactic? Kuku… only you could use that word… cough!”

Why the sudden formality?

The principal’s eyes, still coughing up blood, began to close.

“Heh… you are… loved by the Witches… especially… by ‘her’…”

He was dead.

I’d been prepared for a boss fight, but he’d died so easily.

‘A large amount of demonic energy is lethal to humans.’

I shrugged and took the Ring of Origin from his finger. It shimmered like a starry night sky. A smile spread across my face.

‘All that suffering was worth it.’

As I turned to leave…

…I noticed the crystal lying on the ground. The black tendrils were gone, probably because of the demonic energy explosion.

‘A crystal ball filled with demonic energy…’

A brilliant plan flashed through my mind. I suppressed my smile and pocketed the crystal ball.

I’d gained another trump card. My strongest one yet.

I returned the defensive artifact to the locker and went to where the professors were.

The situation was still ongoing.

The Cult’s attack had been fierce; the defensive line had been breached, and several professors and students lay wounded on the ground.

The good news was, the students who’d been drained were starting to wake up, although they weren’t in their right minds.

As I scanned the area, I heard shouting.

“Don’t come any closer! I’ll kill these bitches if you move!”

“C-calm down! Let’s put down the knife and talk!”

I assumed it was more Cult members and headed towards the sound. Lee Seol spotted me and rushed over.

“Seong-hyun-ah! Are you okay?!”

“Yeah, I’m fine. But what’s going on…?”

As I got closer, the figures came into focus.

Professors facing off against fifteen Cult members. And two girls held hostage by the Cult.

One of them was someone I knew.

‘Choi Ah-hyun.’

She was still dazed, unable to control her body. The Cult members held knives to her throat and were slowly backing away.

“We’ll release them once we’re all clear!”

“Ugh! This is inhumane!”

“Shut up! You killed our leader!”

Their eyes were bloodshot. They were blinded by rage, unable to think rationally after the death of their leader.

The distance between us widened.

But the professors didn’t pursue them.

They weren’t in top condition either. Having already suffered heavy casualties, they wanted to regroup.

If the hostages had been Han Yuri or Lee Seol…

‘They would have charged in without hesitation.’

Choi Ah-hyun, the lowest-ranked student. An expendable pawn.

Choi Ah-hyun seemed to realize she was being abandoned. Tears welled up in her eyes. Silent tears, as if she couldn’t believe what was happening.

“…”

Our eyes met. Her pupils dilated, then she gave a small smile.

The same smile I’d seen when we first met in the plaza.

Despite the danger she was in, she smiled reassuringly, as if telling me not to worry. I chuckled bitterly.

‘It’s the opposite now.’

The first and second timelines.

The stark contrast in my relationships. I thought to myself,

‘I’m glad I regressed.’

And then, closing my eyes, I placed my hand over my heart.

My body…

‘Just hold on a little longer.’

Thunder roared in my ears.

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