The Golden Overseer Peru had, whether she liked it or not, become destined to rule over the nations. For her, who values human life above all else, death is a contradiction to the principles of value. Being a rational philanthropist, she can only act in good faith.
The Healer Lir Nightingale bears a burden. Having broken the cycle of life and death, she must now involve herself in the deaths of others. Therefore, the Healer tends to the wounded, ensuring that no one dies from anything other than her own failings, negligence, or indifference.
The Regressor Shei seeks to save the world. Whether it is to live or to die, even she herself does not know. But regardless of her state of mind, she moves forward for the noble cause of saving the world.
Three individuals, united by their desire to save humanity. They are all connected to the demon lord in some way. They possess exceptional abilities, and their intentions are equally noble. If these three saviors were to put their heads together, surely they would come up with a brilliant solution.
And indeed, a brilliant idea emerged.
Inside a glass coffin, the body of the Thunder Overseer Elkid continuously vomited blood. Like an unending well, it flowed without ceasing.
Elkid's body was formed through the power of the Golden Mirror. The force wielded by Peru was using her body as a factory, constantly producing blood.
"..."
"..."
"..."
For hours, the three of them stood before the scene, each of them silent, processing it in their own way. Some averted their eyes, others clicked their tongues, while a few stared blankly. Their reactions varied, but the emotions in their hearts were the same.
A subtle sense of guilt. An unease at having touched something forbidden.
Despite knowing they had no choice, they couldn't help but feel a vague repulsion that controlled them.
Of them all, the vampire, Lir Nightingale, was the most accustomed to such sights. She did what needed to be done. She collected the blood from Elkid's body using her bloodcraft, placing it under her control. Until it was used for healing, the blood would not clot.
Shei, having nothing to do, followed and asked.
"Is it all collected?"
"Yes. Thanks to using this blood for emergency treatment, no one has died from blood loss."
Her tone almost seemed to defend the origin of the blood, likely a reflection of Lir’s internal thoughts. If even the vampire could speak so, what of Shei, whose emotions were decidedly more human? After all, the body locked in that coffin had once been her vague companion.
Elkid... Shei glanced at it briefly and hesitantly asked.
"So, do we stop making blood now...?"
If she had been a normal human, perhaps she would have been able to empathize, but Lir was a vampire. She shook her head firmly.
"We cannot. Some individuals require surgeries that expose their bodies, and in those processes, much more blood will be needed. Stopping the transfusion here would only increase the risks."
"...Ah, I see."
If Elkid had been a reliable comrade to trust, Lir Nightingale would have been a lighthouse. In a future where war sweeps across the continent, and tragedy spreads into everyday life, where sin pours out to consume mankind, Lir would have been a single red flower blooming amidst the ashes. Only a few wars had been stopped because of her, and even a devout temple had given way to vampires.
...As is the case with flowers blooming in tragedy, Lir too had been ruthlessly crushed and extinguished.
Yet, that moment had not yet arrived. Shaking her head, Shei turned to Peru.
"Golden Overseer. Is there another way to dispose of Elkid's body? I mean, it's just... not something I'd want to keep looking at."
If human life holds value, where does that value lie? Is it in the spirit, in the body housing the vital energy? Peru's belief in the value of human life hadn't changed. But the balance of the scale that measures that value was constantly shaking, just as her eyes trembled, and her heart wavered.
Using Elkid, a being nearly made from the Golden Mirror, as a 'restored' factory for blood—could this truly be the rational philanthropy she sought?
There was no answer until she found it herself. Peru answered, uncertain.
"...It’s impossible."
"Why?"
"...The power of the Golden Mirror is not creation. It's restoration and reproduction. If you don't understand what that means, you can't make it."
"But we already have blood, don't we? Can't we just duplicate it as it is?"
"...No. Blood is a structure, not a material. Without the right process, it would lose its function."
Peru’s explanation was brief, and it was hard for Shei to grasp it all immediately. In truth, if anyone else had been there instead, they likely wouldn't have understood it either.
"You admired Elkid too, didn’t you? Does it have to be Elkid’s body? Isn't there another way?"
Blood plays many roles in the body, and to maintain all those roles, it needs to go through some indirect process of creation. Miraculous things can be achieved using the Golden Mirror's power, but even then, it has limits. The very nature of the Golden Mirror's work—the perfection of the structure—makes it hard to mix with other things. Just as the Golden Mirror's creation of crops had destroyed the imperfection of human bodies, blood made without a base would rebel against the patient’s body.
Thus, Peru had to use Elkid’s body as a refining tool to dirty the blood.
But Peru didn’t have the ability or the emotional energy to explain it all. She, too, was struggling with the situation.
And so, Peru murmured darkly.
"...I wish I could."
Her words were too brief to fully explain, but they carried enough emotion.
She wanted to, but she couldn’t. In the gap between intention and ability, Peru too was suffering, and Shei couldn’t say anything more. She leaned her back against the wall and sighed deeply.
"In the end, is there no way to escape sin...?"
As fate gradually converged, Shei began to recall the past. Not yet happened, but certainly something that had happened in the past.
The King of Sin.
It wielded the power of all the demons. It broke the earth, split the sky, threw lightning, shot light, and twisted perception. Before the King of Sin, humans had to doubt everything. Illusions blinded their eyes, and the whispers of demons deceived their ears. With no sense of direction, humans could not know what was true.
Let alone... even their companions before their very eyes.
One of the Druids, Nebida. A priestess who served the King of Sin. The only living demon.
Her power was that of a tree bearing the fruits from which beasts are born.
The King of Sin, at the top of the tree, had brought forth humanity.
Neither life nor death existed. Everything visible was both truth and illusion. The ones who died yesterday greeted the next day, smiling and waving their hands, while those who cried out in faith turned to the King of Sin instead of the gods, unable to tell the difference between the created and the genuine. Humans lost their sanity.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.
The only way to resist that was to attack the King of Sin.
...Though she had never won.
Perhaps that was why Shei felt a greater sense of repulsion toward this method. The King of Sin is completed by blurring the boundaries of humanity. And most certainly, Peru and Lir's collaboration... was undoubtedly a shortcut leading toward the King of Sin.
"But there's no choice. It has to be done."
What had already occurred couldn’t be undone. Destroying the glass coffin, cremating Elkid's body, and silencing Peru to ensure such things didn’t happen again—this was the way of the Imperial Court, not Shei’s way. If she failed, she'd simply have to regress again. If that was the case, it was better to observe how this future unfolds.
Instead, Shei compared the present with the past. In truth, the answer had already been determined.
The self-proclaimed King of Humans, Hughes.
Though he claimed to be a common criminal caught in the Abyss, he was, in reality, the hidden King of Humans. It was clear he had come to the Abyss in search of demons. Anyway, once he got involved, the demons were dragged into the mix like a lie. The Earth Mother Demon, Nebida, the Golden Mirror, the Thunder God—everything passed by in that short time. Whether he sought out demons, or they came to greet him, Hughes would surely continue to be entangled with them.
...And the wealth of the Mage Federation and the twisted forests of the Imperial Court would undoubtedly become turbulent as well.
"My instinct wasn’t wrong. I sensed it from the start. Something was off."
If Shei had been a normal person, saying it now would be meaningless. However, Shei was a Regressor. She had no regrets. Since she could reverse the events, there was no point in lamenting what had passed. Her regrets over the past had already become a step toward her future.
However...
"Damn it. The Mist Duchy... What should I do?"
The power of the Mist Duchy was on a different level compared to the military powers. In the darkness of the Duchy, which neutralized the Thunder God's Six-Colored Eyes, vampires—beings that were nearly mystical by their very existence—lurked in abundance. Even Shei, as strong as she was, could only face one Elder at a time, and if they were from the martial arts sect, there would be no chance of victory.
Shei was a tactician. She excelled in combat utilizing power and synergy, but when it came to raw martial prowess, like in the case of Zhen, she was at a disadvantage. Once stripped of overwhelming strength and skill, Shei was just a fortunate genius, not a prodigy. Without the Heavenly Fist she learned from the Sword Saint, twelve regressions would have been insufficient.
...Against someone like Valdamir, who possessed both overwhelming talent and power, the Heavenly Fist would still fall short. But Shei, with neither a solid foundation nor sufficient power, had no chance against the Mist Duchy. To forget the devastation in front of her, she immersed herself in other thoughts.
"Ugh. The Mist Duchy will remain intact until the Storm of Day arrives. Wait, when is that supposed to happen...?"
At that moment, Shei placed her hand on her waist and straightened her back. Her body reacted before her mind, and Shei trusted her instinct and extended her senses. From a distance that could not be easily noticed, a powerful presence was slowly walking toward her, moving with no intention of hiding its identity.
Shei recognized the presence through the Six-Colored Eyes and murmured.
"Erzebeth, Dogo?"
A single Elder could destroy a city. And now, two more Elders were coming to the same place? Optimistically, they might have hidden their identities to avoid causing trouble. If it were Runken or Kabilla, those familiar with them would have caused an uproar.
But who could fail to recognize the Countess Erzebeth and the Monk Dogo, whose portraits were spread all across the continent? There had only ever been thirteen Elders in history, and while their faces may not be known, their features were ingrained in people’s memories. At the very least, the Elders wouldn’t avoid conflict. Perhaps they were even subtly hoping for it.
If that were the case, Claudia would be finished. Shei clicked her tongue.
"Erzebeth, maybe. But Dogo? That’s impossible to win."
The resurrected Monk. The Immortal who chose corruption instead of ascension. The ascetic who walked around with his skin burned by sunlight.
Even when alive, he was known as an immortal. After becoming a vampire, his martial skills reached new heights. Though somewhat outdated, his raw power, combined with vampirism, turned his Blood-Fighting Techniques into an invincible martial art if used properly. Technically, he was second only to Valdamir.
One Elder was difficult, but two? Shei couldn’t win in her current state. However...
"Wait. If it's Erzebeth and Dogo... maybe there’s a chance."
If it’s those two, with their unparalleled arrogance, Shei might be able to handle them. Not in terms of victory, but in resolving the situation.
After all, Shei didn’t have the power to save anyone. She decided to do what she did best. She jumped over the lightning rod railing.