Just as Nebida was about to obliterate Meiel's phantom, the Regressor burst out from behind her, who was completely off guard.
'An opening...!'
YW9peUx5cktZYXhyU2hzY1VsMkQ0V3dDWFdPclRkRzZ1UG1xRnByOGdLeVQvMVFSMkt1VlMvTVY1ZWVJdmZ5Mw
Squelch. Cheoneung dug into Nebida's back. Tearing through her silk clothes, a scar nearly a handspan long was carved into Nebida's back, which was like an old tree. It was a successful surprise attack taking advantage of the moment Nebida completely let her guard down. The Regressor tried to twist the blade as it was to sever Nebida's neck.
However, too many trees had already grown. Nebida was already this forest, and as long as one was inside the forest, it was no different from being in Nebida's grasp.
Branches extending from the small World Tree swallowed the Regressor. Wooden vines entwined around her arms, legs, and wrists. The grown branches intertwined at crossroads, hindering the Regressor.
The Regressor was also a powerhouse who had mastered Gamgigong. Wooden vines could simply be shaken off with force, but losing momentum in that moment was inevitable. And against a strong foe like Nebida, that opening was far too large.
Nebida's palm strike buried itself into the Regressor's empty abdomen. The Regressor didn't even see when she launched the attack, and with her limbs bound by the thicket, she couldn't even react with the Cheonbangyeong. The Regressor could only wrap her entire body in Qi and shrink back.
"Ugh!"
With a single blow, the Regressor's waist folded in half, and the aftershock of the impact traveled to her back. Half-buried in the ground, the Regressor vomited blood.
[Shei... You should have run away even if you were alone. If you were alone, you could have escaped.]
"If you wanted to help that much, you should have come yourself. At least you are better than that. For you have the courage to stab my back directly."
Nebida mocked Meiel as she encroached upon her existence. Meiel's form grew hazy like a firefly greeting the dawn. Nebida's forest eventually blocked the light and brought forth darkness.
"Disappear, ghost of Tangnyeo. When you come next, come in your true body. With the will to risk your life."
This was merely Meiel's angel. Meaning she was watching the future of this space.
What Nebida faced was nothing more than a single dream Meiel was having in that faraway secret place of the Seonghwangcheong.
Petals bloomed, and Meiel's form vanished like a midsummer night's dream. Nebida was not intoxicated by the victory. For she too knew that the victory she had just achieved was merely a fleeting spring dream.
Instead, Nebida immediately moved her limbs. She kicked the back of the Regressor's knee and covered the Jijan that was aiming at her diagonally with the small World Tree. It was a situation where all her limbs were sealed. The Regressor squeezed out her last ounce of strength and threw Cheoneung. An invisible blade rose up and grazed Nebida's skin.
Even her trump card was meant to kill the opponent. Nebida looked at the Regressor and smiled faintly for the first time.
"Impressive."
Before she knew it, tree bark had sprouted on Nebida's skin. Bark skin. It was a primitive sorcery devised by humans who envied even tree bark when they lacked armor, but when used by Nebida, the incarnation of trees, it was harder than any armor. The Regressor's final move ultimately failed to reach her.
"But this is the end. It is a pity. If only you were not Tangnyeo's subordinate, I could have spared you."
"...Shut up! This isn't the end!"
"No. It is the end. The Tangnyeo who would help you is not here, and there is no reason to let you live either. Your time ends here."
Nebida aimed at the Regressor's hollowed abdomen and raised her hand. Her old-tree-like arm absorbed spiritual energy and transformed into that of a beast with sharp claws. Nebida thrust out the massive arm that could effortlessly tear a human body apart, without any hesitation.
Even in the desperate situation with death right before her eyes, the Regressor glared fiercely.
'I still haven't reached it...! But there is hope! Because there has already been enough harvest in this loop!'
Sensing the threat, the Cheonbangyeong urgently moved her body. However, her limbs bound by the wooden vines wouldn't move as she wished. The Qi technique that had learned countless deaths, and the body that had not yet experienced death in this loop, fired off warnings.
Countless flashes of memory flickered through the Regressor's mind. She etched the moment of this death deeply into her brain.
'See you in the next loop! Now that I know Hughes is the King of Humanity, I won't just go around in circles for nothing!'
To be at least a little helpful when she moves on to the next loop.
Huh, wait a minute.
Then the Regressor shouldn't die?
"Wait!"
I blocked Nebida with all my might. Stopping Nebida with my meager power was impossible, but with Nebida's power, it was possible!
"Tree of Origin!"
Accessing Nebida's Demon God through my Demon God, I moved the origin that dominated this green barrier. I couldn't seize control of the entire space like Nebida! But if it was just around Nebida and the Regressor, I could move it a little!
The wooden vines that had been binding the Regressor instantly changed direction and blocked Nebida's foreleg. The beast's foreleg smashed onto the lushly grown grass. A strike that pierced through space itself. It was too heavy and intense for mere wooden vines to withstand.
Still, a Demon God was a Demon God. It was enough to create a single momentary opening. Even in that brief gap where the Regressor's hands and feet were freed, the Cheonbangyeong moved to protect her body.
"Urk...!"
Without even letting out a proper scream, the Regressor was crushed as she vomited blood. Her two arms that blocked the attack broke powerlessly, and it was an intense shock that almost blew her consciousness away, but despite receiving a fatal blow, the Regressor was still alive.
I urgently rushed over before Nebida could finish her off.
"Wait a moment. Miss Nebida! Stop! You can't kill that person!"
"My Lord. This humble servant shall dispose of her without leaving even a corpse."
"No, really, you can't!"
I'm telling you the world will rewind! She'll regress! The Regressor will return to the past without any issues and open her eyes, and the past me will meet this disaster called the Regressor knowing nothing! It means the situation will slip out of my hands!
Nebida didn't really care about my will, but she stopped her attack at my suddenly desperate attitude and quietly asked.
"My Lord would not say such things without a reason. For what reason should I not kill that Tangnyeo's subordinate?"
Because she'll regress...!
I couldn't say that. This was the Regressor's secret that no one knew, and the fact that I knew this itself was too important a weapon. Revealing it carelessly meant giving up one of my advantages.
Besides, didn't Nebida just use a bizarre technique that repeated infinite deaths to turn a person into a tree? If she knew about the regression and used that attack... I couldn't even imagine what would happen.
Then what should I say? That she's related to the Saintess but is a good person, so spare her? That was none of Nebida's business. That maybe she could betray the Saintess and join our side? Nebida wasn't stupid enough to play mind games with a Saintess who could see the future.
Ugh. I had no choice. When I couldn't give a reason, I had to appeal to emotions. I shouted, mixing in half-genuine feelings.
"I've grown attached to her!"
Perhaps she hadn't expected an answer appealing to affection, as Nebida tilted her head briefly. Her contemplation wasn't very long.
"Tangnyeo's subordinate harbors a black heart and follows Tangnyeo's will more than her own, so leaving her alive will only endanger you, My Lord. Please cast away your lingering affections."
"No, no. How can I just cast away my feelings? That's easier said than done, you know?"
"Then this humble servant shall sever it directly."
"No, no, no! I told you to endure it! Who are you to talk about severing my connection with Shei or whatever?"
This wasn't working. I didn't want to say this much, but I yelled at Nebida.
"When I was trapped in the Bottomless Pit and on the verge of death, it was Shei who saved me! I almost died because of that 'Lord of All Creation' or whatever you made, but I survived because Shei blocked those bastards! Shei also helped me escape from there! While traveling all the way here, she saved my life multiple times!"
Truthfully, at our first meeting, my right arm was almost cut off right away. There were also near-death crises because of the Regressor, and as the Saintess kept intervening, my tracks were exposed and I was put in danger.
Ah, come to think of it, I suddenly feel aggrieved. I've suffered because of her, so why am I covering for the Regressor? Just as my self-esteem was taking a slight hit, Nebida's voice was heard.
"My Lord. I am ashamed to ask, but do you truly not know of Tangnyeo's schemes?"
"Schemes?"
"Tangnyeo twists karma to move people. She saves lives in desperate crises and demands repayment for it, but hides the fact that she actually created that crisis. The affection you felt, the grace as well. If it is related to Tangnyeo, it all loses its meaning and is corrupted."
Nebida spoke neither with certainty nor with doubt. It was as if she were explaining a natural phenomenon like rain or clouds.
You're talking about that. I know it too. Just as Hilde couldn't abandon the Seonghwangcheong that saved her, and the agonizing Urehoiju eventually chose faith. The Seonghwangcheong sows the seeds of faith even within crises.
"The crisis you faced, My Lord, is also a pit dug by Tangnyeo, who is like the dusk. Do not worry too much, My Lord, and just watch this humble servant's actions."
"Come to think of it, there were indeed crises I faced because of Shei. Hmm. You're right, Miss Nebida."
I know. I know that. But the reason I'm trying to save the Regressor isn't just because of simple affection.
Because if she dies, she regresses!
"Still, there's such a thing as hateful affection, you know. It's sad to see someone you know die right before your eyes."
"I shall dispose of her out of your sight, My Lord."
She's planning to completely ignore my words! Damn it, what should I do? Let her die? But if I do and regression happens?
No. The Regressor must not die! At least not until I regain my power!
"It's a royal command!"
At my sudden outburst, Nebida stopped her actions faster than I expected. Withdrawing her hand that was about to tear the Regressor apart, Nebida stared at me quietly like a startled deer.
"If you are the King's warrior, can't you grant my request just once? Spare Shei's life."
"...A royal command, you say. You remembered that."
In the distant past, the barbaric era when humans were still beasts. The King of Humanity only reigned and did not rule. The King of Humanity, who was nothing more than a beast king, did not give orders to anyone or make them serve him. The followers simply served and revered him as king according to their own will.
However, even the followers needed a token of loyalty. If the king demanded nothing, their loyalty was nothing more than unrequited love.
Therefore, the King's warriors demanded a promise from the King of Humanity.
To give them, even just once, a chance to prove their loyalty.
It didn't matter how important or how trivial it was. Only the fact that the King of Humanity had 'requested' it remained, making them the King's warriors. Because they received a reward for their loyalty.
And Nebida had yet to fulfill a royal command. Receiving the Lord's royal command once again. That was Nebida's lingering regret, and the driving force that allowed her to endure the aeons of time.
Of course, she probably didn't want to hear it from a half-baked king like me.
"Since My Lord has yet to sit on the Dragon Throne, this is merely a desperate measure to escape this situation. This humble servant cannot fulfill that royal command."
Nebida didn't entrust her wish to me. She already had the ability to fulfill her wish. Nebida walked toward the Regressor who had fallen in the middle of the thicket.
"However, I shall follow your will, if not your royal command. I will spare this one's life, at the very least."
"Wow. Thank you. I'll repay you greatly later."
But wait, what? "At the very least her life"? The wording is a bit scary.
Nebida stepped on the Regressor's chest with her foot. The gap in their strength was vast. The only thing left for the Regressor was the one chance to start the next loop. Though that was indeed significant.
Panting in pain, the Regressor still didn't lose her rebellious attitude. She looked up at Nebida with unyielding eyes.
"...Just kill me. That way you won't regret it, you know?"
"It is My Lord's will, so thank him."
"Hmph. You think I'd thank him...?"
Instead of answering, Nebida grabbed the Regressor's shoulder just like that. It was too fierce to be simply described as resting a hand on her shoulder. The hand gripping her shoulder transformed into that of a beast.
I get an ominous premonition. Even though I'm no prophet, the scene about to unfold draws itself before my eyes. I desperately wish for anything but that, but the ominous premonition wasn't avoided.
Nebida wordlessly twisted the Regressor's right arm and pulled it out in one swift motion. Like snapping a branch from a tree.
The forest shook greatly. Hot blood was sprinkled over the cold wind flowing between the trees. The Regressor let out a terrible scream.
Holding the Regressor's right arm as if it were a toy, Nebida impassively brought her hand to the other shoulder. The Regressor shook like a leaf, yet desperately shook her head. Even for a Regressor who didn't fear death, looking at Nebida's handiwork, which was barbarism incarnate, she felt terror.
However, the opponent was the human closest to a beast. A disaster of civilization that preserved the barbaric era. She felt no thrill nor hesitation at the fact that she had pulled out a person's arm. Nebida applied more force and muttered.
"Then, blame My Lord."