The Insane Regressor: Throne of Pride

In the forest at the edge of the camp, right outside its gate.

Ravian stood waiting, bored but wary, for the guard who had left a short while ago for some reason, leaving him with the others.

He was genuinely worried about the consequences of his actions, knowing that dying now, whether at Karius’s hands or anyone else’s, would force him to repeat the entire day. That meant returning to the moment just after his teleportation, preparing the sedative again, and repeating the massacre he had inflicted on the orcs, which had undoubtedly taken something of a toll on him.

That was only natural; Ravian was no hardened butcher who could do something like that without feeling a thing.

Do not misunderstand him. He felt no pity for his enemies, but the act itself, from poisoning them to killing them, carrying their bodies to the cave, and absorbing every last one, had required unwavering composure. Had Ravian not forced himself to remain calm throughout it all by controlling his heartbeat with Absolute Focus, he would have hesitated at any number of moments.

Phew...

Ravian sighed, remembering the pressure he had felt weighing on him every time he came close to failing while assassinating the orcs in their tents. A single mistake would have cost him another life.

But Sovereign Paradox had not disappointed him in the end.

And indeed...

History had been made: a Ninth-Rank human had defeated an entire camp of a hundred and fifty orcs, ranging from ordinary orcs all the way to an Eighth-Rank commander, without suffering so much as a scratch during the operation or leaving any significant traces behind.

Yet if someone asked Ravian now what the hardest thing he had done since midnight was, he would never say it was the massacre of the orcs. It was the agonizing transformation his body had undergone.

A shiver ran through him whenever he remembered the sensation of his skin falling away and his bones shattering without anything to numb his nerves.

Which was why Ravian hoped... just hoped that Karius would not kill him on sight.

While he was thinking about all this, the guard who had left earlier returned, this time with a strange look in his eyes that made Ravian frown slightly.

’What’s going on?’

Judging by his expression, something unexpected had happened, but what could it have been?

”What did the higher-ups say?”

The man who appeared to command the guards addressed the one who had just returned.

The returning guard glanced briefly at Ravian before looking back at his superior and leaning close to whisper into his ear.

Naturally, Ravian was not foolish enough to let things happen behind his back without knowing about them.

’Absolute Focus!’

He activated Absolute Focus and directed his attention entirely toward his hearing, pushing it to its limits in conjunction with his body’s new capabilities, until he could even hear rabbits running through the forest behind him.

Then a human voice reached him, unmistakably belonging to one of the two guards standing before him.

”Sir, I’ve been informed that Sir Karius is on his way here. He could arrive at any moment.”

Ravian’s ears caught every word immediately.

He blinked once, then again, staring at the guard who had just brought him the worst news he could hear. Unfortunately, it was exactly what he had expected when he came here, though he had hoped for a slightly less dramatic reception.

’...He’s planning a surprise, isn’t he?’

’...’

’At least I hope it’s a good surprise for ME.’

Ravian was already getting ahead of himself, but there was no point in running after dropping a bombshell like that.

Then he noticed most of the guards looking back at him as they began drawing closer.

’Hmm? What’s this now?’

’Why are they approaching me?’

Their behavior had suddenly become suspicious, and Ravian had no intention of staying silent until they reached him. Human or not, they needed to understand that he would not hesitate to defend himself.

”Oi, what do you think you’re doing?” Ravian asked, tilting his head slightly as he stared at the guards. ”Because whatever you’re planning, trust me, it isn’t a good idea... for you, of course.”

The moment those words left his mouth, his eyes began gleaming crimson, and although a flicker of hesitation appeared in the guards’ eyes at that look, their steps remained steady, with no fear showing on their faces.

They were trained soldiers, after all, not a pack of stupid mercenaries with a few weapons.

Ravian noticed that they had not even slowed down.

”I’m not joking, guys. This is really starting to piss me off.”

He warned them, not wanting to hurt them when he had only just returned, especially with his master due to arrive at any moment. It would hardly be a good thing for Karius to show up and find him knocking the guards under his command to the ground and beating them senseless.

In fact, Ravian did not even know how his newfound strength would affect his fighting. A single slap might now be enough to kill someone at the Ninth Rank.

Fortunately, the guards did not seem intent on leaving their purpose a mystery for much longer.

Their commander spoke, continuing to advance despite Ravian’s warning.

”Don’t resist, Mr. Ravian. We won’t hurt you. We only intend to take you into custody until a certain person arrives.”

Ravian’s expression darkened immediately, then he opened his mouth.

”You?” His voice was louder and far more mocking than it had been a moment earlier.

”You want to take me into custody?”

”Yes,” the guard commander replied, paying no heed to the sudden change in Ravian’s expression.

”Pfft. Bwahahahaha!”

Ravian abruptly burst into laughter, clutching his stomach at what he had just heard.

The guards frowned at his reaction.

What made someone who appeared to be a Tenth-Rank Awakened so confident that he could stand against a group of Walkers?

”Let me guess.” Ravian suddenly stopped laughing, drawing their attention back to his words.

”You just wondered how a Tenth-Rank Awakened could be so confident about standing against you, didn’t you?”

...This time, it was the guard commander’s expression that darkened.