Five Time Regressor Walks the King’s Path - Chapter 27
Chapter 27
I stood there for a moment with a slackened jaw, dazed by the situation progressing regardless of my will. The Degenerate God reared its head.
When they tried to devour my stock-still body, I angrily smashed their head with my transformed arm.
“Kek.”
The Degenerate God previously had no problem restoring its head, but this time it squirmed around in pain and struggled to do so.
I watched the scene unfold with a questioning look before glancing down at my lowered hands.
“I see. Attacks from the same type get through.”
Immediately, I began to beat up the Degenerate God with the transformed monster arm.
Unable to withstand my attacks, the body shriveled up and crumbled into bits. Covered head to toe in blood, I spat at the remains.
[Congratulations. You are the 32nd participant to clear Floor 25.]
[The ‘Proprietor of Floor 25’, ‘Cruelty-Stained Greeting’, shows a teeny bit of interest in you and rewards you.]
Following that, a notification of clearing the Floor sounded.
I thought ‘So easy?’ and turned my eyes toward the Degenerate God.
Well, come to think of it, normal attacks didn’t work on this guy.
If the goal was to capture that Degenerate God, it wouldn’t have been easy.
“Rather than that, this arm…”
The Constellation must’ve intended for it to happen, but the unpleasant feeling of having my body changed against my will didn’t fade.
Constellations basically want participants to play a role in the world they have created.
And this time, there was definitely a role they wanted me to play.
[The ‘Proprietor of Floor 25’, ‘Cruelty-Stained Greeting’, begins to explain Floor 26.]
[You, having killed a Degenerate God, are standing at a crossroads of fate. The most powerful Phantom, the Preeminent Fury, is waiting to meet you.]
As soon as the explanation continued, a chilly air filled the high oriental-style buildings that looked like temples.
I noticed a number of people were watching me while hiding their presence.
‘Although I don’t really know what is happening here.’
When I pinpointed where my opponents were, I swung my Heavenly Star Sword.
Third Form—
Lightning Sword Extraction.
The Heavenly Star Sword returned to its starting position.
When the sounds of electricity sparked, those who were hiding rushed out to avoid the attack.
Two people came into view. One was a martial-like woman wearing a bone gauntlet, and the other was a calm-looking man with a bone spear.
I could assume that the bone weapons were used to catch Phantoms or the Degenerate Gods.
And when they made their appearance, a number of masked people showed themselves one after another.
“We came here after hearing the sounds of a Degenerate God, but I didn’t know there’d be a humanoid Phantom here.”
“Be careful. Humanoid Phantoms are as dangerous as they are rare.”
Nervous voices chatted back and forth.
I pondered while rubbing my chin.
They were obviously Phantom Hunters.
If so, there was no reason for me to be hostile.
‘First of all, I think I need to visit the headquarters first.’
While I was observing the people watching me, I put a hand inside my pocket. I tilted my head when I felt something solid in it.
I took the item out of my pocket and found a certificate proving that I was a Phantom Hunters.
It had my name, Ha Chun-Sung, and my rank, F-class.
Then, from here…
“Hey.”
I showed the two wary Phantom Hunters my certificate.
“I’m a Phantom Hunter, not a Phantom.”
But even with that, they didn’t show any sign of lowering their guard.
‘I am a Phantom Hunter right now, so the situation will only grow more difficult for me if I hurt these people for any reason.’
That dark night, I frowned as I felt like we were going to keep up this tense atmosphere.
“Just believe me, will ya? I’m only in this state because I was trying to deal with the Degenerate God. I’m also a victim.”
“Whether you’re a Phantom Hunter or not, it doesn’t change the fact that you’re a Phantom with the power to kill even a Degenerate God.”
I could only sigh in response to the man standing in the center, speaking with a glare.
Then, I scowled and gave them a warning. I wouldn’t tolerate any more.
“So what? You wanna go at it with me right here and now?”
My aura-filled voice reverberated throughout the area.
All of them noticed the aura and froze, but they hurriedly tried to hide their reactions.
They didn’t want their opponent to look down on them, because the moment they showed weakness it would be over for them.
They weren’t afraid of death, which was something I liked about them.
“Would you believe me if I said I was a half-Phantom?”
Once more, I tried to be honest.
“Also, there’d be no reason for me to kill a Degenerate God if I were a Phantom.”
“Phantoms often fight amongst themselves.”
“Catch on, will you? If I wanted to kill you, I would’ve done so already. You must’ve felt it, yeah?”
The man could not refute.
That was because everyone present had just experienced how powerful my aura was.
“Until when are you going to confront me? At least figure out how to fix my arm.”
“…Alright, we’ll call over a Phantom Hunter who can detect lies. If what you’re saying is true, the situation can be resolved.”
To some extent, simply waiting patiently for the lie detector to arrive would show I have no hostile intentions toward the Phantom Hunters.
It was catching two birds with one stone, so I nodded.
“If what you say is the truth, I will apologize for doubting you.”
He didn’t seem like a bad guy, just suspicious.
While the man walked away to make his call, a woman snuck up next to me. Unlike the man, she wasn’t wearing a mask.
“Ms. Sung-Ah! No!”
Everybody shouted to stop her, but the woman named Sung-Ah didn’t stop. Her status seemed to be quite high.
She strode toward me without care. I quietly stared at her as she neared me.
Since she kept glancing at my arm from time to time, it seemed she was interested in it. She carefully took another step and made a request.
“Um, can I touch your arm?”
“No.”
She appeared to sulk when I sharply rejected her.
“Your name is Ha Chun-Sung, right? Judging from earlier, you seem to be strong. How strong are you?”
She approached me in a friendly manner by first referring to the name on my uniform.
Unlike her, the people around her seemed nervous at her attitude.
“Strong enough to take on tens of thousands of kids like you.”
Her eyes shone with curiosity after hearing that.
“That’s a lot of confidence. Then let’s arm wrestle. Even though I look like this, I’ve never lost in arm wrestling.”
I thought for a moment after seeing her look of confidence before stretching out my transformed Phantom arm.
The woman showed a wide grin like a Cheshire cat, grabbing my hand, and I showed her my strength.
Whoosh.
Bang.
In an instant, she somersaulted in the air and crashed to the ground. Her expression faltered.
“Ms. Sung-Ah!”
The Phantom Hunters watching on the side quickly pointed their weapons at my neck.
They were all glaring at me with the intent to kill, but I only stared at the woman named Sung-Ah without a change in my expression.
Her own expression said it all. She did not expect my strength to be so high. She stood up and stretched out her left hand.
“One more time.”
“Please, Ms. Sung-Ah!”
“That’s enough! We can’t stand it anymore!”
Stubborn, isn’t she?
Sung-Ah’s subordinates didn’t know what to do, but she didn’t care and kept her hand out in front of her.
I casually pushed the men away and grabbed her left hand. This time, she made the first move.
Did she use aura?
However, I didn’t budge an inch. Just like before, she somersaulted in the air and crashed onto the ground.
The jaws of everyone watching dropped. They stood still like they’d been struck by lightning.
They couldn’t believe the fact that Sung-Ah somersaulted in the air, and twice at that.
But unlike them, she was only shocked for a moment. She clenched and unclenched her hand repeatedly, with an expression as if she was feeling a lingering sensation.
“Build up your strength, then come back.”
“Wow, wow. Wow, wow, wow.”
She continued to clench and unclench her hands while repeatedly spouting ‘wows’ and gazed up at me with sparkling eyes.
“It’s my first time losing in terms of strength. My name is Ho Sung-Ah. If it’s you, I think you can do it to my dad.”
“What are you talking about?”
The man returned while Sung-Ah was staring at me with those big puppy-dog eyes, which made me uncomfortable.
When he looked at us questioningly, I said…
“She’s a little weird.”
“She’s like that.”
He totally accepted it.
“So, when is that lie detector coming?”
“He’ll be here in a minute.”
“I am already here.”
As soon as the man spoke, an old man wearing a bucket hat appeared.
He came forward, glancing at me with curious eyes.
“You were in the process of becoming a Phantom when it stopped. Would you explain the situation one more time?”
It was annoying, but when I explained it once again, the old man nodded.
“The clock is not responding. Everything is true.”
Then the man who called the old man immediately bowed his head.
“I formally apologize. I’m sorry for the accusations.”
“Mr. Lee-Han, there’s no need for you to bow your head!”
These subordinate goons…
They were overreacting at every single action.
As I looked at Lee-Han with a tired expression, he gave a wry smile.
* * *
After that, they decided to trust me for now and take me to the headquarters.
“Can you wear this, just in case? I think others will feel more at ease that way.”
With an apologetic look, Lee-Han took out a pair of handcuffs that a police officer would use.
“Is there a reason to? Even a small movement from me will tear those apart.”
“It’s just for show.”
Sung-Ah also seemed to think the idea was pointless.
Well, it wouldn’t do anything even if I let them put it on, but for the sake of trust, I held my arms out.
Lee-Han handcuffed me, and I realized he didn’t do anything to the handcuffs.
‘That’s how much they trust the lie detector.’
With that, Lee-Han took out a key made out of bone.
Then I watched as Lee-Han inserted the key into the air and turned it clockwise, causing a door to suddenly appear in front of us.
The door opened with a creak. Behind it, I saw a grassy field with a lake, and floating in the center of that lake was a building, which Lee-Han pointed to.
“Let’s go.”
The scenery I saw after walking inside with them was beautiful.
An emerald lake was shimmering under the bridge that led to a quite large building, and a forest could be seen in the distance.
Sung-Ah stopped in front of me and made a gesture of welcoming with open arms.
“This is the Phantom Hunter headquarters, Phantasma.”
Unlike the easygoing Sung-Ah, the rest of the group looked at me nervously.
They seemed very uneasy, or afraid that I might infiltrate their headquarters to do something.
“First of all, the higher ups have requested you to do an examination. Will that be okay with you?”
“I came this far. There’s no reason to refuse.”
I spoke with a tone of indifference and Lee-Han continued to look sorry.
While he was one of the wariest people here, he also seemed to be the most soft-hearted.
“More than that, can you come with me later? I would like to ask a favor of you.”
“We’ll see.”
After I responded appropriately to the clingy Sung-Ah, I was able to enter the Phantom Hunter headquarters while under strict surveillance.
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