The Insane Regressor: Throne of Pride

In the more distant districts, the explosion’s shockwave did not erase the buildings, but it threw the streets into complete chaos.

Windows shattered, the outer walls of old houses collapsed, and carriages overturned, while people were hurled across the roads or took shelter behind anything they could reach.

The shockwave struck one of the watchtowers, causing its upper section to tilt before collapsing onto the adjacent road.

The city guards who were still capable of moving began shouting at the people to flee from that part of the capital, but no one needed convincing anymore.

Everyone was already running.

”The district vanished!”

”What do you mean, it vanished?!”

”There’s nothing left! The streets and houses... they’re all gone!”

”Creator, have mercy on us...”

Screams, sobs, and the cries of the injured overlapped in every direction.

While some residents ran in search of their families, others remained rooted in place, staring at the emptiness where an entire section of their city had once stood.

No one knew how many had died.

And no one dared to guess.

...

Inside the viscount’s mansion, the protection circles trembled violently when the explosion’s shockwave arrived.

”Lower your heads!” the older nobleman shouted.

The wave hurled the guests from their seats, and the chandeliers shattered above them, while blue light spread across the mansion’s walls before filling with cracks.

Bam!

The outer barrier collapsed.

Part of the mansion’s surrounding wall fell, and every window shattered, but the main building remained standing thanks to the protection circles that had absorbed most of the impact.

The young nobleman who had attempted to sense the Descent earlier rose to his feet, blood still covering his mouth.

He staggered toward the shattered window, then froze when he saw what had become of the distant district.

”It... vanished,” the young man said, his eyes wide with the purest form of terror.

The older man stood behind him, his own face having gone pale.

There were no flames, no pillars of smoke, and no rubble from destroyed buildings—only an empty expanse where a district once inhabited by thousands of people had stood.

”How many people lived there?” one of the noblewomen asked, her voice trembling.

Everyone looked at her for a moment, but no one answered.

They didn’t want to know the answer—and even if they did, it would change nothing.

...

At the Veyla estate, the explosion’s shockwave struck the main barrier like a hammer.

The inscriptions extending across the estate’s walls lit up all at once, and a transparent dome of soul energy spread above it.

Grand Duke Alexander Veyla stood in the middle of a vast hall and extended his hand toward the protection circles engraved into the floor.

His soul energy flowed into them, causing the barrier to shine even brighter the moment the shockwave struck it.

Booooom!

The entire estate shook.

Servants and guards fell to the floor, and the pillars cracked as fractures spread across the protective dome like a vast spiderweb.

But Alexander did not retreat.

He planted his feet firmly, keeping both hands extended as he poured more of his soul energy into the barrier until the wave finally passed and the trembling subsided.

Silence fell over the estate.

Alexander slowly lowered his hands and looked around, reassuring himself that he had successfully kept everyone safe.

The servant who had spoken to him moments earlier approached, his face completely white.

”My lord... was that an attack?” the servant asked.

Alexander walked toward the shattered window and looked at the section of the capital that had disappeared.

From where he stood, he could see the edges of the crater and sense the remnants of soul energy scattered above it.

”I can’t say for certain, but it doesn’t appear to have been one,” Alexander replied.

”Then what happened?” the servant asked. Under any other circumstances, he would never have dared approach Alexander so closely, but terror had overwhelmed his caution.

”It seems that... some soul detonated its core,” Alexander answered.

”One soul did all of this?” The servant stared at him, unable to believe what he had heard.

Alexander remained silent for several moments, watching the last crimson and black particles fade from the capital’s sky.

Then he turned toward his servant.

”Open the estate’s storehouses, and send the healers and guards to the perimeter of the devastated area. Take in the injured and anyone who has lost their home, regardless of their social class,” Alexander ordered.

”And the center of the explosion?” the servant asked.

Alexander’s gaze hardened.

”No one is to approach it until I arrive there myself.”

The servant bowed and hurried away to carry out his orders.

Alexander returned his attention to the view beyond the window.

Only moments earlier, he had said that a catastrophe had befallen the capital.

Now he realized that what he had witnessed then had only been the beginning.

...

It took a long time for the dust to begin settling.

The pressure of Truth’s Descent had disappeared completely, but its absence offered no sense of safety.

It had left behind an enormous void within the capital, along with thousands of screams and questions no one could answer.

Everyone who had witnessed the explosion believed the entity responsible for it had been erased completely.

But somewhere unknown within the capital, a white window threaded with red veins and dark shadows continued operating amid the void.

Ravian was not conscious to see it.

Even so, Sovereign Pride continued carrying out its task.

[Ding!]

[The Records of the Ambassador of Truth have been successfully absorbed.]

[Elimination of the Seventh-Rank variable-type target—Riftmaker—has been confirmed.]

[The conditions for the first reward have been fulfilled.]

[Reward: 15 extra lives.]

[The reward has been added.]

[Available extra lives: 15.]

[Warning!]

[Complete annihilation of the Host’s body and collapse of his soul core have been detected.]

[Activating the Sovereign Reconstruction Protocol.]

[The Host’s soul core will be reconstructed first, followed by the creation of a compatible body.]

[Cost of fully reconstructing the Host’s soul and body: 5 extra lives.]

[Payment completed.]

[Reconstructing the Host’s soul and body...]

[Remaining extra lives: 10.]

Another window appeared within the darkness, larger than those before it.

[The conditions for the second reward have been fulfilled.]

[The Host has obtained the right to choose a Relic associated with one of the Fourteen Taboos.]

[Relic Rank: Seventh Rank—Riftmaker.]

[Relic Status: Fully purified of the Taboo’s will, anomalous influence, and spiritual corruption.]

[An adequate level of consciousness cannot be detected within the Host to make a direct selection.]

[Sovereign Pride will make the selection automatically.]

[Selection criteria: highest compatibility with the Host, greatest immediate benefit, and most urgent need during the reconstruction process.]

[Scanning the Relics of the Fourteen Taboos...]

[...]

[Selection complete.]

[Classification: Seven Sins.]

[Associated Taboo: Arrogance.]

[Selected Relic: Mask of Loftiness.]

[Status: Purified.]

An image of the mask appeared within the window.

It was an elegant half-mask forged from deep black metal, covering the area around the eyes and extending over the upper portion of the nose while leaving the rest of the face exposed.

Two precisely polished openings had been carved into it, revealing the eyes completely without obstructing the wearer’s vision. Delicate golden filigree extended across the black metal from its outer edges toward the center, converging at the bridge of the nose in a pattern resembling the fragments of a shattered crown.

The gold was not merely a coating upon its surface. It appeared to have fused with the metal itself, pulsing faintly as though something exalted were watching the world from behind the mask.

[Mask of Loftiness—Purified]

[Rank: Seventh Rank—Riftmaker.]

[Type: Relic of the Taboo of Arrogance.]

[Primary Material: Calyps—the hardest known metal, capable of resisting physical and spiritual damage or deformation.]

[Description: A half-mask forged from Calyps, then refined with the soul energy of the Taboo of Arrogance until it became saturated with a fragment of its exalted nature.]

[The Relic possesses two abilities.]

[First Ability—Exalted Identity:]

[Allows the Host to completely reshape his external form, including his facial features, hair, eye and skin color, physique, height, voice, scent, and the detectable signatures of his soul energy and life force.]

[The chosen form is neither a visual illusion nor conventional transformation magic. The Relic rewrites the Host’s detectable identity, causing the chosen form to become the only identity recognized by all means of perception.]

[No spiritual sense, tracking technique, detection tool, analysis or dispelling magic, or personal Domain can expose the transformation or reach the Host’s original form, regardless of rank.]

[The Host may save previously used forms and switch between them, or design an entirely new form at will.]

[Second Ability—Lofty Refinement:]

[Single-use ability.]

[Releases the energy of Arrogance stored within the mask to drive the current grade of the Sovereign Pride Physique to its maximum possible completion.]

[Using this ability will not destroy the mask. Its first ability will remain available after the second has been consumed.]

The windows paused for a fraction of a second.

Then Sovereign Pride began recalculating the reconstruction process.

[Analyzing...]

[Lofty Refinement can be activated during the reconstruction of the Host’s body.]

[Integrating the ability into the reconstruction process will complete the physique’s transformation without requiring a separate process of destruction and reformation later.]

[This will spare the Host the pain associated with completing the physique.]

[The Host’s consciousness is unavailable to grant approval.]

[The option offering the greatest benefit has been approved automatically.]

[Activating the Relic’s second ability: Lofty Refinement.]

The golden filigree across the mask ignited within the window.

A golden radiance threaded with black shadows flowed from it, transforming into strands of energy that merged with the void in which Ravian’s soul was being reconstructed. The filigree remained engraved upon the mask, but its luster faded after releasing the energy stored within it.

[Driving the Basic-Grade Sovereign Pride Physique toward maximum completion.]

[Current progress: 50%.]

[60%...]

[80%...]

[100%.]

[Refinement of the Basic-Grade Sovereign Pride Physique is complete.]

[The Physique has reached its maximum completion rate.]

[Second ability consumed: Lofty Refinement.]

[The Relic’s first ability remains available.]

[Complete compatibility has been detected between the perfected Physique, the Void Element, and the Law of Void.]

[Recalculating the evolution path...]

[The evolution path with the highest compatibility for the Host has been determined.]

[The body will now be reconstructed according to the new structural blueprint.]

[New Physique: Void-Grade Sovereign Pride Physique.]

>>>

— End of Volume 2: Children of Sin —

The next Chapter marks the beginning of Volume 3: Walker.

>>>

Sunglasses’ Note:

My dear readers, I’ve noticed that many of you are reading the Chapters every day, yet the comment section remains strangely quiet. Are you all so immersed in the novel that you forget to leave a comment—or even drop a Power Stone? (╥﹏╥)

Seriously, though, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the story. Your comments and support genuinely motivate me to keep writing!