The Regressor Only Protects Me Chapter 142

Episode 142. Traces of the Witch

In Bitnam, preparations for the festival were in full swing.

“Madam! Here’s some firewood.”

“Haha. Okay, good job. Thank you.”

It was such a peaceful scene that if someone saw it, they would believe it was a scene of preparations for a festival in a rural village.

The town was bustling.

Everyone was laughing and chatting, encouraging each other.

The ghouls were each filled with anticipation for the banquet that was about to begin.

And the same was true of a ghoul boy who carried firewood.

The boy was regretting his reckless behavior in front of the girl he had a crush on.

“Ugh! It looks like it’s going to pour down.”

“You’re pretending to be strong again. If you work that hard, you’ll get tired quickly?”

“Don’t worry about it, mister! I’m going to be an adult soon!”

The man who was putting firewood in the stove snickered and scolded the little boy.

The boy was constantly staggering because he was carrying more firewood than he could handle.

Today is the village's feast day.

The ghouls were excited at the thought of eating humans.

At that moment, an axe flew in from somewhere.

Whirl, swoosh-!

The flying axe struck the boy in the chest.

Bright red blood sprayed into the air.

A man carrying firewood and women gathering forest berries to eat with the human meat.

Everyone was surprised.

Beginning with the boy's small body rolling on the ground along with the firewood, silver pillars of light rose up throughout the village.

Kuuung-! Boom! Boom!! Kwaang-!!!

In an instant, the village was engulfed in silver flames.

A man walked out from among the flames.

It was Choi Myeong-jun who was very excited.

“We have to kill them first. The bugs.”

Choi Myeong-jun slowly approached and pulled out the axe stuck in the boy ghoul's chest.

Churruk-.

The ghoul's thick blood soaked the boy ghoul's neck and face along the axe blade.

Looking at Choi Myeong-jun, who was starting to get more and more excited at the sight of blood, Choi Hyeon-ji stuck out her tongue.

“진짜 사이코 새끼.”

Still, Choi Myeong-jun did not hide his smile.

“Let’s have some fun.”

Choi Hyun-ji shook her head slightly and summoned a black object.

anyway.

Now it was cleaning time.

“Let’s finish quickly. I want to shower.”

At Choi Hyun-ji's words, the ghouls began to run away.

“What happened to the hunters?!”

“Ah… … . Ah… … . How could this happen!”

Most of the ghouls that remained in the light were elderly or children who could not fight.

They died without being able to put up a proper fight.

Black objects, pillars of light, hand axes, etc.

The village soon became a sea of blood.

Silver pillars of light rose throughout the town, destroying houses.

One-sided massacre.

The ghouls were no match for Kang Shi-on and his party.

He didn't even lunge at the group.

In the face of overwhelming force, I began to run away into the forests on all sides, just to save my life.

It was a stark contrast to the hunters of the forest who charged at us like beasts.

but.

Push!

The ghoul that was running towards the forest at the very front fell down with a small hole opening between his eyebrows.

He was a master of shining stars.

And the ghouls that were running after him could spot a small sphere floating in the air.

and.

The sphere began to move again.

grasp!

With another frown.

With another heart.

With another eyeball.

So the ghouls fell down one by one.

Choi Myeong-jun slashed the neck of an old ghoul who was holding onto his shoulder, which was bleeding profusely.

On the day that Kang Shi-on and his party first arrived at the village, there was an old man sitting in the center of the village, basking in the sunlight.

The wooden house that was once Chang's home was blown to pieces.

Debris flew in all directions and embedded itself in the ghouls' bodies.

There were also ghouls who were being gnawed at from under their feet by an invisible black object and fell down.

The ghouls of the village lost their lives too easily.

Battle or massacre.

Such words might not have suited the village scenery.

Perhaps, words like pest control or cleaning would be more appropriate.

* * *

Swaaaah… … .

The rain slowly stopped.

The last raindrop fell from the sky and broke into pieces on the tip of a leaf.

How many people must have died?

One ghoul, unable to overcome his fear, took his own life.

After that ghoul, nothing living or moving was seen inside the glow anymore, except for Kang Shi-on and his party.

Kang Shi-on stood in the middle of the ruins that had once been shining.

And he scanned the ruins with bored eyes.

There was nothing in good condition.

All the houses in the village were destroyed.

The blood of the ghouls spread into a puddle on the floor, and the smell of blood filled the air.

The group sharpened their weapons, each covered in bright red blood.

Choi Myeong-jun wiped his face with a piece of cloth lying around.

at that time.

A voice mixed with tears was heard from somewhere.

Kang Shi-on focused on the sound and walked towards the pile of rubble in one corner of the village.

And he lifted the wooden plank.

“Eek!”

A young ghoul hiding inside flinched and groaned softly.

"one……."

Choi Hyun-ji, who recognized the last remaining ghoul, muttered its name as if groaning.

One of them was cowering in fear.

Kang Shi-on looked down at that figure with an expression that showed no emotion.

'If a pig you brought home to eat killed your entire family, you'd be scared.'

I didn't particularly feel pity for the person in front of me.

All I could do was gain a little more understanding of the behavior of the ghouls who were running away in fear.

The ghouls have been behaving no differently than humans.

'It's not my job, though.'

Zion felt a tingling sensation in his head and pressed his temples.

It's been like this ever since I came to this forest.

I'm seeing things, my head is spinning, and I can't even stand.

Seeing that everyone else was fine, it seemed like Kang Si-on was the only one who felt that way.

Is the air in the forest strange?

Or… … .

Kang Shi-on reached out his hand toward Hana while thinking about that.

“Hee, heek!”

One of them crouched even further to avoid being caught in the debris, but eventually, with nowhere to run, he was grabbed by Kang Shi-on's hand and dragged out of the debris.

Bang.

Choi Myung-jun stepped forward toward the one who was lying on the floor with a violent hand.

He was still breathing heavily, perhaps because he was still excited.

"My brother doesn't have to bury the dirty blood of the X."

Choi Myeong-jun raised the axe he was holding high.

It was an axe soaked in blood, its original color nowhere to be found.

but.

"good."

Kang Shi-on let go of one.

Choi Myeong-jun opened his eyes wide and looked at Kang Si-on, then quickly hung the axe back on his waist without saying a word.

One of them, who saw the sight, had an expression of disbelief on his face and glanced at Kang Shi-on and his group in turns.

“Is that true? H, one. Alive?”

One said in a voice that was neither a cry nor a scream.

Kang Shi-on gestured to the people around him as if telling them to step back.

The group looked puzzled, but they did not spit on Kang Shi-on's instructions and instead gave way.

“Huhhh… … . Huhhhh… … . Thank you! Hana! Live! Thank you!”

One of them kept bending down while shedding tears.

And then, without looking back, he ran straight into the forest.

“But if you keep doing that and later on, you’ll get revenge… … . Back when I was living there… … .”

The group approached Kang Shi-on with uneasy expressions, but he spoke with an indifferent expression.

“I never said I would save you.”

Kang Shi-on looked in the direction where one had disappeared.

The silvery flames gradually died down, and the shadows of the forest became as dark as ash.

Kang Shi-on, who was watching the scene, staggered.

It was becoming increasingly difficult to hold on.

It felt like someone had a firm grip on my head and wouldn't let go.

The world began to blur and my consciousness gradually became blurred.

Kang Shi-on fell backwards.

Thud-!

The one who held him as he fell was Jin Jae-hee.

* * *

Along with the rain, the sliver of sunlight that had been pouring into the forest also set.

The day, filled with small disturbances, passed and a suffocating silence descended on the forest.

A pair of young feet were running through the forest.

“Whoa… … .”

The only one who survived the light ran through the dark forest.

Come on!

It was an incredibly quick movement for a child.

One of them pushed through branches and climbed over rocks, going deeper and deeper into the forest.

They moved along paths that were so dizzying that no outsider could find them, paths that only the ghouls knew about.

And as we got closer to our destination, one tear stopped falling.

One shouted in a tearful voice.

“Witch! Save me! Please… … .”

An ancient language now known only to ghouls.

In the old language spoken by their elven ancestors, one shouted as if possessed by evil.

The witch was strong.

The ghouls all believed that the witch was absolutely powerful.

One thought brought back to mind when a witch had come to town.

That time when several village elders lost their heads in an instant for not properly meeting their quota.

One of them shivered slightly.

“If you’re a witch… … . If you’re a witch, maybe she’ll help you… … !”

One of them recalled what Chang had said before.

Hana. If you have any difficulties, be sure to tell the adults. Hana is the cutest in our village, so anyone will help her.

Chang's warm voice.

One briefly wondered whether witches were also included in the category of 'adults', but quickly shook the thought away.

Because now the only one they could trust was the witch.

Soon, a familiar cabin came into view.

A cabin hidden deep in the forest.

One of them reached the front of the hut and wiped away the tears that were flowing down his sleeves.

And then one of them put his hand on the cabin door and was about to knock.

Squeak-!

The door to the cabin opened by itself with an eerie sound.

“Eek!”

One of them jumped back in surprise.

"quiet……."

One of them regained his courage and entered the cabin.

The cabin was dark.

So much so that I couldn't see even an inch ahead.

And then.

A woman emerged from the darkness of the dark cabin.

A woman wearing a dress made of elegantly woven leaves, holding a staff in one hand that resembles a branch of an old tree.

She was a woman of breathtaking beauty.

She was a witch.

“Little child. What brings you here?”

The witch asked softly, a seductive smile on her lips.

One was startled, but recognized the witch and shouted in an urgent voice.

“W-Witch! The food killed all the villagers! The fire went boom! The marbles went boom… … .”

The witch approached Hana, who was still rambling in a relaxed manner.

And then he stretched out his arms and hugged one of them warmly.

“That’s right. That’s right, child. Calm down. There’s nothing to be afraid of anymore.”

“Ugh… … Witch! It was so scary.”

One of them finally felt completely relieved and began to cry sadly.

The witch stroked one of her hairs while waiting for the crying to slowly subside.

How much did I cry?

Hiccup.

Just as one of them stopped crying and started hiccuping, the witch opened her mouth again.

“Child. So, all the ghouls are dead?”

“All the townspeople are dead… … . Hiccup! The witch is going to scold them… … . Those people… … . Hiccup! Those people… … . It was scary! It was scary… … .”

“Right. That’s right. But don’t worry, kid. You’ve done your job well. So… … .”

The witch wrapped one of her long fingers around a head. Crunch!

Soon the sound of bones twisting and cracking was heard, and silence returned to the cabin.

Only one neck was bent at a bizarre angle, hanging limply behind her shoulder.

One fell sideways.

“… … Now, rest comfortably. Your usefulness has ended.”

The witch held in her hand a small sphere that was wedged between one of her hairs.

The witch looked at the sphere and smiled sweetly.

The sphere belongs to Kang Shi-on.

It was something he left behind to track where the one running away was headed.

(Continued in the next episode)