Not A Regressor-Chapter 49: Demonic Beast Subjugation (5)

Kwon Oh-Jin took a moment to gather his thoughts.

“He was a six-star Aquarius Awakener, right?”

From what he had gathered, Choi Jong-Cheol had held considerable influence within the Starlight Lake Guild—just not enough to challenge the Weaver's apostle.

Even though his Stigma isn't a combat type, he’ll still be difficult to handle since we’re two-star levels apart.

The difference in star levels between Awakeners translated to a significant difference in strength. The disparity grew exponentially with each level and was nothing to take lightly.

But if it’s me... I can definitely win.

Kwon Oh-Jin’s eyes shone sharply. Other Awakeners might have scoffed at a four-star thinking they could take on a six-star, but Kwon Oh-Jin had confidence he could overcome the two-star gap and face him—no, he was certain he could utterly crush him.

“I shouldn’t let my guard down, though.”

He recalled the confidence on Choi Jong-Cheol’s face. As foolish as he was, he wouldn’t have been so smug for no reason.

He must have something up his sleeve.

Kwon Oh-Jin was sure that Choi Jong-Cheol was hiding a trump card—something powerful enough to give a grand warning to the apostle of the North Star.

If he's hiding something like that, it won't hurt to have a backup plan ready.

Kwon Oh-Jin channeled mana into his necklace and called out, “Vega.” ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

With a shimmer of silver light, Vega materialized.

“Hmm, didn’t you say you wouldn’t call for me during the subjugation?”

“There’s someone I need to deal with besides the demonic beasts,” Kwon Oh-Jin said.

Vega’s eyes widened in surprise. “What?”

“The Sex Maniac, Choi Jong-Cheol.”

“Sex maniac...?”

“He was a notorious criminal who violated over three hundred women in my previous life.”

Vega’s expression twisted with disgust. “How wicked!”

“He’ll become active in about a year, but I plan to deal with him before then,” Kwon Oh-Jin declared.

“So you’re saying you’re going to eliminate future evil?”

She nodded, understanding his reasoning, yet her expression suddenly stiffened.

“But is there a way to deal with him besides killing him?" she asked. "Even if he’s a seed of future evil, punishing someone for a crime they haven’t committed yet doesn’t feel right.”

It's a valid point. Let me add to the story, then.

“When he was caught in the previous timeline, he stated that he'd been doing it for quite some time.”

“You mean...” Vega trailed off.

“He’s not just a seed of future evil, he's already there.”

“Hmm. Then he deserves to be punished immediately.”

Vega nodded, crossing her arms. She seemed mostly convinced but still slightly reluctant.

Well, it makes sense.

This was like pointing to someone on the street and saying, “This guy’s bad, so he should be killed." Naturally, that would make anyone uncomfortable.

This is different from Lee Shin-Hyuk’s case.

Unlike back then, Choi Jong-Cheol was someone he needed to hunt down. Even if Vega understood, she couldn’t completely eliminate her instinctual resistance to the idea. Accusations without evidence always had their limits.

I can just make up some evidence, then.

He could fabricate evidence and use his authority as a special agent to search Choi Jong-Cheol’s house or frame him for unsolved crimes.

Anyway, this is something to think about later. Convincing Vega takes precedence right now.

“Shall we get going?” he asked.

“Alright.” Vega perched herself atop his head, gripping his hair like reins as he used his wire shooter to soar into the air.

Bang! Whoosh!

Kwon Oh-Jin flew between buildings, following the scent trail, sensing he was getting close.

Found him.

In the distance, he could see Choi Jong-Cheol sitting on the remains of a collapsed building. Despite having lost his comrade to a demonic beast, he seemed calm and unfazed.

Should I ambush him?

Normally, he wouldn’t hesitate, but he didn't know what Choi Jong-Cheol was hiding. The tides could turn against him if he acted recklessly.

At times like this, it's best to play it safe. I should try to draw out his tricks.

Kwon Oh-Jin scanned the surroundings before he landed in front of Choi Jong-Cheol, whose eyes widened in surprise.

“Oh, wow. What brings you here?” he asked, amused.

Kwon Oh-Jin narrowed his gaze. Coldly and directly, he asked, “Are you asking because you really don’t know?”

“Huh? Don’t know what?” Choi Jong-Cheol asked, furrowing his brow. Kwon Oh-Jin laughed inwardly.

Anyone would be flustered if they were approached out of nowhere and interrogated without context, but it couldn't be helped.

To convince Vega, Kwon Oh-Jin needed to paint Choi Jong-Cheol as guilty on the spot, even if it meant forcing it.

“Choi Jong-Cheol,” he called out and raised his spear, pointing it at Choi Jong-Cheol. “I know what you’re hiding.”

Choi Jong-Cheol’s face stiffened. “... What?”

Kwon Oh-Jin glared at him with fuming eyes. Stomping hard, he said, “You coward, are you pretending not to know?!”

“...!”

Choi Jong-Cheol flinched and took a few steps back.

Kwon Oh-Jin carefully watched his every expression; his reactions were predictable so far.

Now, he'll ask me, ‘pretend not to know what?’ And I'll respond with something like, ‘I knew what kind of man you were ever since you approached Ha-Eun for her body.’

Since that was an actual event, there wasn't even a need to fabricate evidence for this act.

Hiding lies within truths is scamming 101, after all. Go on, try and deny it as much as you want. I’ll still turn you into a despicable criminal with just my words—

“How did you find out?” Choi Jong-Cheol asked, shocked.

“When you went after Ha-Eun—Wait, what?”

What did he just say?

“I was certain I covered all my tracks and left no traces... How did you find out?”

What the fuck?

“How dare you?!” Vega shouted, flying up. Blue lightning sparked up around her.

Crackle!

Clenching her fists, she furiously quivered, yelling, “Does it matter how you got caught?!”

“Argh! W-What the...!” Choi Jong-Cheol screeched.

The sheer aura of her wrath weighed down the air, making it hard to breathe.

Agh! This is insane!

Kwon Oh-Jin’s legs trembled as if he'd been thrown into a blizzard stark naked.

“Though I may be unfamiliar with the human world, even I understand the sheer horror and vileness of what you have done!” Vega shouted. Her golden eyes burned fiercely as she glared at Choi Jong-Cheol.

Boom!

Another fierce wave of energy swept around them.

“V-Vega...!” Kwon Oh-Jin barely managed to utter, attempting to calm her down. Releasing such massive energy outside the Sanctum would surely come with serious consequences.

Vega suddenly withdrew her oppressive energy and mumbled, “... I’m sorry, my child. To be honest, I felt hesitant when you first told me all of this.”

The talk of eliminating future evil had left her uneasy. Even though she knew he was a Regressor, the only one who had experienced the world's tragic future firsthand, she hadn’t completely accepted his claims.

“I should be the one who believes in you and supports you more than anyone else, yet... I allowed myself to remain doubtful before I could make sure,” she continued. Floating closer, she gently stroked Kwon Oh-Jin’s cheek. “Please forgive this foolish Celestial.”

“Uh...” Kwon Oh-Jin muttered.

The thing is, I have no idea what the hell's going on.

Bewildered, he stared at Choi Jong-Cheol, having fully expected him to deny everything. The unexpected admission caught him off guard, leaving him unsure of how to respond.

What do you mean, how did I find out? Find out about what exactly?

Choi Jong-Cheol struggled to catch his breath, glaring at Vega floating beside Kwon Oh-Jin.

“Hah! Hah! W-What is that? A Guardian Spirit...?”

Can a Guardian Spirit really have this kind of energy? Choi Jong-Cheol thought, confused, and bit his lip.

He couldn’t imagine that a rookie Awakener could summon such a powerful spirit, so he figured it must have come from someone else.

“Haha! Making good use of your influence as the Weaver's apostle, aren't you?”

He probably got the spirit from someone who would do anything to curry favor with the apostle of the Weaver, like my Starlight Lake Guild.

Choi Jong-Cheol gritted his teeth and muttered, “Isn’t this... truly unfair?”

One lost everything just because they got on some jerk’s nerves, while the other lived a luxurious lifestyle simply because they met a good Celestial. Suddenly, he recalled Ashad Khan's words.

When the Black Star takes over the night sky, this unreasonable world will meet its end.

He had dismissed it as an ominous prayer back then, but now...

“Yeah, you were right,” Choi Jong-Cheol grumbled, eyes fixated on Kwon Oh-Jin, and raised his black orb high. “Following the will of the Black Star, I will punish this brat!”

Woong!

A surge of black energy burst out from the orb and traveled up Choi Jong-Cheol’s arm till it reached his head.

“Heh, hehehe!”

This is no longer just revenge—it's a holy war for the sake of a better world.

“Come forth, demonic beasts!”

The ground shook as numerous demonic beasts gathered all around him.

“Hahahah! I don’t know how you figured out that I’m a member of the Black Star Society, but coming here alone... You’ll pay for your foolishness!”

Kwon Oh-Jin pursed his lips as he scanned the demonic beasts surrounding Choi Jong-Cheol.

What the fuck?

All he wanted was to frame Choi Jong-Cheol as a sex offender so he could kill him in front of Vega without any concerns.

But this dude's part of the Black Star Society?

On top of that, he was controlling the demonic beasts too.

Just what the hell is going on? Can someone explain? Please?