The Regressor Can Make Them All
Chapter 366

Chapter 366

Clatter-

The skull, once surrounded in darkness, helplessly fell to the floor. Then, from the coffin standing before it, an old man emerged.

Swish-

Dark mist naturally flowed from the old man’s body, the same darkness that Wurgen had wielded moments earlier.

Did it work...?

Julia’s expression became tense. According to what Tuner had said, Wurgen was dead, and the old man before her—the Eternal Nocturne—should have successfully stolen his power. Now, all that remained was for her to put a leash on the Eternal Nocturne and wield his power for herself.

However, the moment she moved to take action, Tuner’s voice echoed in her ears.

“You’re seriously going to lose your life if you keep that up.”

Whoosh!

Before her brain had even processed what had happened, Julia had already instinctively activated the emergency escape device hidden in her body and fled to a nearby rooftop—a decision proven correct immediately.

Boom!

The spot where Julia had been standing was crushed by a mass of black thorns, turning Julia’s face pale upon the realization that it was the Eternal Nocturne who had attacked her.

No way...

Did the Tuner fail? Panic setting in, Julia began preparations to flee to another location.

“Everything’s under control.”

Whoosh!

However, a black void opened next to her, from which Tuner stepped out with words of reassurance.

“It’s not a complete failure.”

He appeared unscathed, as if he’d never been hurt. It was a sight that made Julia stiffen, but she recovered quickly and demanded answers. “Then what was that attack just now?”

“You know how even a sleeping person reacts if they’re disturbed? It’s the same thing. You let your hostility leak out, which got countered.”

Turning her gaze back to the Eternal Nocturne, Julia found him motionless atop the half-destroyed headquarters building. He hadn’t moved since the attack and showed no sign of acknowledging their presence, either.

She frowned. “So, what exactly happened?”

“It’s simple. The fundamental image Wurgen had of himself was his past form, now recreated as the Eternal Nocturne. But since he’d grown used to being a skeleton, he wouldn’t fall for illusions so easily. To solve that, I split his consciousness to weaken his perception and then used dream mana to—”

“Can you make it concise? We don’t have all day.”

With his excited rambling cut off, Tuner let out a sad sigh before continuing. “I tricked him into believing he was fake. I made him think that everything up to now was just a dream and that the real Wurgen Kruger—the one with flesh and blood—is the body standing before him.”

To be able to trick Wurgen, Tuner created hundreds of clones to fragment Wurgen’s consciousness first, and only then used a dagger made from the Dream Demon’s heart to sow confusion. With everything in place, the prepared artificial lifeform made from Wurgen’s bones inherited his awareness, resulting in the current situation.

“Then Wurgen is truly dead?”

“If you mean the one you called your father, yes. He’s now in eternal sleep.”

Tuner grinned in satisfaction. Everything had played out exactly as planned. Wurgen, who had lived even in death, was now asleep forever. And the Eternal Nocturne, dead but still alive, had taken his place.

Still in slight disbelief, Julia inadvertently muttered, “What exactly... are Perfect Ones?”

What could exist at the top of the Tower of Heroes that would transform a human into such a powerful and surreal being?

She had said those words to herself, a soliloquy, yet Tuner replied with a shrug. “It’s not that complicated. People go on about laws and rules, but really, it’s just a ‘wish.’”

“A wish?”

“Right before reaching the peak of the tower, Wurgen’s strongest, most desperate desire imprinted itself onto the world.”

Tuner looked up at the sky, seemingly gazing at something through the lenses of his mask.

“That then fused with the world, becoming a law. And when that law descended to the Earth, it turned into what you all call a Perfect One.”

It was a revelation that could shake the entire world, yet Tuner had so casually explained it.

“Are you saying... they’re no longer human?” Julia asked, completely stunned.

“Of course not. There’s no way a human could become something like that. From the very beginning...”

Rumble!

A massive tremor shook the city, drawing Julia and Tuner’s gaze downward. The Eternal Nocturne was erupting with a wild, overwhelming darkness from its entire body.

“It seems like it’s starting. It’s a bit disappointing we’re just throwing away that power...”

Hearing Tuner’s mumbles to himself, Julia’s expression hardened. “That wasn’t part of the agreement.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know. Don’t worry.”

Waving dismissively, Tuner turned away.

“We kill Wurgen, and you get his legacy. It’s a contract bonded by life; of course I’ll uphold it.”

“...”

“Well then, see you next time, future president.”

Placing a hand over his chest in a mock salute, Tuner vanished into a black void.

With a frown, Julia’s gaze lingered where he disappeared and let out a deep sigh.

Right. There’s no need to worry about them anymore.

The Demon Force’s job had ended moments ago. Now, all that remained was to recover Wurgen’s legacy: the power of Boundaries.

Resolved, Julia activated her communication device, which was linked to her siblings scattered around the world.

“Get ready.”

It was time to deal with the chaos caused by Wurgen’s death, which was rippling across the globe.

Boom!

A massive black light shot skyward, piercing through the clouds. It then seemed to have reached an unknown point, and darkness began pouring down like sand falling through an hourglass.

Rumble-

The darkness spread outward, flooding the roads and buildings. Soon, only the skyscrapers had yet to be swallowed by the encroaching shadow.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.”

Letting out chilling screams, undead began emerging one by one from the darkness. Gone was the rationality they’d shown under Wurgen’s command, replaced solely by the endless hatred and desire for death of all living things.

Rampaging, the undead army, after a very long time, had once again become enemies of humanity.

Furthermore... their advance wasn’t limited to Frankfurt.

“That light...”

“The un—undead! The undead are attacking!”

The undead turned into Wurgen’s clones, now identical to the Eternal Nocturne, went berserk, engulfing Danger Zones worldwide.

With the surge of countless undead, the Heroes Association’s leadership—already on edge due to the terrorist attack from the Demon Force—was thrown into utter chaos once again.

“This... this can’t be happening!”

“It’s all the Demon Force’s doing! Contact the UD Group immediately—”

“They’re also being overrun by undead! We’ve also lost contact with Wurgen Kruger!”

The demons they thought responsible were nowhere to be found, and the undead were without a single trace of demonic aura corruption.

With contact with Wurgen severed too, a terrifying realization began to dawn on the Heroes Association.

“No way...”

“It can’t be...”

This cannot be allowed to happen. No, it must never happen.

Everyone shared the same thought, but no one dared to voice it—except one person, that is.

“As of this moment, Wurgen Kruger is classified as a traitor of humanity. In accordance with the Humanity Protection Accord, he is to be eliminated immediately.”

“P-President! You can’t say such things...”

Panicking, one of the association’s executives tried to dissuade him, but Gregory ignored the protest.

“I’ll take full responsibility for this decision. Move now!”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

The resolute command sent the executives scrambling into action. Watching them all hurry away, Gregory’s eyes darkened.

So, it has come to this.

Though it was a shocking development to others, Gregory, who had worked with Se-Hoon before, was already aware of the danger Wurgen posed. However, due to the involvement of Perfect Ones, he hadn’t been able to broach the topic lightly.

And in the end, he failed to prepare any measures before disaster struck. Frowning at the thought of his inability to act in time, Gregory turned to move. Just then, an executive rushed up to him.

“President! We’ve received contact from Julia Kruger of the UD Group. She claims to have a solution to this crisis!”

“Bring her to me immediately.”

***

Far above the tumult caused by the unprecedented betrayal of a Perfect One, Ludwig stood in the skies near Babel, gazing out at the ocean.

They really don’t want me getting involved, do they?

Around Babel, thousands of monsters prowled the surrounding seas, many giving off toxic vapor or making strange vibrations. The creatures, created by Tuner and Puppeteer, weren’t designed to attack but to stall.

“What are you going to do?”

Debating on how to respond to the voice from the white hole, Ludwig replied, “What choice do we have? We’ll just wait here.”

As long as the Tower of Heroes remained connected to Babel, leaving was impossible. While severing the connection was an option, doing so with the Tower in its current unstable state was too risky.

“Tsk... Everything goes wrong when that guy gets involved.”

“Trial and error are a part of life. Be patient,” Ludwig said with a faint smile.

“I’ve been plenty patient. I told you to only use him when absolutely necessary, but you just had to let that bastard loose.”

Chuckling bitterly at the grumbling voice, Ludwig turned his gaze back to the Tower of Heroes.

What will Lee Se-Hoon discover in the shadow of a Perfect One that has been left behind in the Tower?

As the Tower changed, so did the Perfect Ones—and the world itself. Standing in the eye of the storm set off by one young man, Ludwig patiently awaited its conclusion.

***

Atop a massive boulder on the mountain peak, Se-Hoon was reflecting on his situation.

I know I also entered the Tower of Heroes, but... how did I land in Wurgen’s trial instead of my own?

Somehow, he had ended up in the middle of the trial of the 444th floor—the very last one Wurgen faced before conquering the Tower.

There are over 400 floors, and I landed here, of all places...

With a frown, Se-Hoon reviewed what he had heard. Having challenged the tower himself before the regression, he had the confidence to overcome most trials.

But the one he landed in—the most brutal trial of all—was one that had been attempted by countless S-rank heroes across the past and present. However, only eight had ever passed.

At least I know Wurgen somehow passed it in the past, so it shouldn’t be impossible. It's just... he doesn’t even know how he did it.

According to Wurgen, Wurgen had sustained serious injuries during the trial and blacked out, only to wake up at the peak. In other words, he had no memory of how he cleared it.

If only I could go outside...

When Se-Hoon realized he was in the final trial, his first instinct was to exit. It was clearly too dangerous to proceed, and with Wurgen outside, he could gather intel before making a move.

However, much like the first semester, leaving simply wasn’t an option. Only after an hour of futile attempts did Se-Hoon finally understand that.

I’m... trapped in here.

He didn’t know the exact cause, but it was clear something had gone wrong after the Tower’s restructuring.

“Whew...”

Heaving a deep sigh, Se-Hoon turned to Wurgen, bound tightly beside him.

“What do you think we should do?”

“...Are you seriously asking me that right now?”

Wurgen, tied up with a soul-binding rope, looked at Se-Hoon in utter disbelief. The brat before him had restrained him without warning, and now he was asking for advice?

Under Wurgen’s glare of a mixture of contempt, distrust, and fury, Se-Hoon raised an eyebrow.

“You tried to pick a fight with that monster out of nowhere. What did you expect me to do?”

“I wouldn’t have attacked if I wasn’t confident. Do you think I’m some idiot who fights losing battles?”

“Yes.”

“...”

Wurgen’s expression darkened further, but Se-Hoon refused to back down.

If you had had a chance of winning, you wouldn’t have been overwhelmed like that.

Although he didn’t know the full details, it was clear Wurgen had miscalculated. That was why Se-Hoon had restrained him, trying to avoid things spiraling further.

“Taking a disciple like you... I must’ve gone mad after becoming a Perfect One. Damned brat...”

“I wasn’t your disciple, though.”

“Shut up!”

Embarrassed by his quick defeat, Wurgen snapped irritably. Unlike the Wurgen he knew, the one inside the Tower had reactions far more human.

Hmm. So there are some differences.

For now, Se-Hoon wasn’t sure whether the man before him was truly Wurgen from the past or just a remnant left in the Tower. Regardless, one thing was certain: the old man before him was the Wurgen in his human form.

Organizing his thoughts, Se-Hoon spoke again. “You said we need to subdue or control that thing down there, right?”

“...Yes. Avoiding it doesn’t work; it’ll just teleport in front of us.”

Looking down the mountain, Se-Hoon saw a black mist slowly approaching—a mysterious entity that served as the source of power for all necromancers.

“Then we need to figure out what it is first.”

Just like how one had to understand the materials before they could use them, Se-Hoon analyzed the mist. Activating Dream Storage, Se-Hoon drew out the Sin-Eclipsing Blade.

Fwoosh!

The blade ignited fiercely as soon as it left its sheath, the intense flames making Wurgen’s eyes widen.

“That blade...”

“Just watch.”

Gripping the Sin-Eclipsing Blade in his right hand, Se-Hoon raised it like a spear, aiming it at the approaching entity below.

“Infernal Purge.”

With that quiet whisper, the blade then shot downward like an arrow, leaving a streak of light that split the darkness.

It seemed like a simple strike—barely a pinprick to the vast expanse of shadow.

Can this even hurt that thing? Wurgen frowned in doubt.

Fwoosh!

But then flames erupted, engulfing the entire landscape. The dark clouds, the shadowy mist, and even the concept of “death” itself were indiscriminately consumed by the translucent inferno.

The soul-scorching flames made the undead and even the black mist itself scream in agony as they burned.

Staring at the purgatory below in stunned silence, Wurgen slowly turned his head to Se-Hoon.

“Flammability test... clear.”

A triumphant grin was on Se-Hoon’s face.

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