The Regressor Can Make Them All

Chapter 304

Weapon Eater Ryu Eun-Ha—that nickname, born from her unique ability to gain strength from consuming weapons, always raised a simple yet loaded question in the minds of those who hear it.

“So... how does she fight?”

Typically, a hero’s nicknames reflected their signature equipment or skill. However, Eun-Ha’s moniker offered no such clarity beyond the fact that she consumed equipment. All people knew were from accounts from witnesses, and video footage only showed her devouring a weapon and her hair glowing red-hot afterward.

What actually happened during the battle remained a complete mystery to most, leaving much to speculation.

However, Se-Hoon was able to sum it up succinctly.

BOOM!

She just became ridiculously strong.

RUMBLE!

Her attack unleashed a cataclysmic shockwave that shook the entire Idigna Rainforest, the resulting explosion powerful enough to reach the sky, scattering debris in every direction.

And when the dust settled, the crater left behind finally revealed itself—a massive gouge in the earth, dozens of meters deep.

“She destroyed... a third... with just one blow...”

Even though she was watching destruction unfold through a surviving puppet, Dryas could feel her heart pounding like it was about to burst.

Initially, when she first hid underground, she wasn’t remotely concerned about the high-ranking heroes chasing her. The ground, dense with demonic-aura-infused minerals that made it tougher than steel, combined with the roots of the Verdant Lotus Spear to form an extremely well-fortified ceiling. She was sure that it could endure anything unless a Perfect One showed up.

In the first place, Dryas was only taking her role as bait lightly because she was confident in it.

“Huff... Huff...”

Yet one-third of her supposed ‘fortress’ had just been obliterated with a single strike. Because of that, fear clawed at Dryas’ mind for the first time since she took the role.

Is this place even safe anymore?

Nervous, she shook her head to dispel her panic, reassuring herself.

No, I shouldn’t need to worry. There’s no way she can unleash that kind of attack consecutively.

Eun-Ha’s prolonged absence earlier must have been to locate her exact location and gather strength for that overwhelming first strike. If she acted quickly and escaped before Eun-Ha prepared another, she would still have a chance.

Convincing herself to stick to the plan, Dryas steadied herself and began casting life magic.

Crack-

But the sound of grinding metal echoing from within the crater froze Dryas mid-cast. Still observing through her puppet, she turned toward the source of the sound to observe the epicenter of destruction.

Hidden within the lingering dust, something glowing faintly crimson could be seen. And moments later, a dense wave of pressure rippled outward, quaking the ground.

Woosh-

The oppressive noise carried with it an overwhelming force, gathering at a single point within the dust cloud. Soon, it condensed into a fiery red streak that blazed brighter and brighter.

“Hmph...!”

Eun-Ha’s fist crashed into the ground once more.

BOOM!

A flash of crimson erupted from the crater’s core, accompanied by another deafening shockwave. It rattled the entire Idigna Rainforest, leaving humans and demons alike reeling. And neither needed to think too hard about who was causing such a ruckus.

“Damn it.... Everyone, retreat now!”

“Run! Head for the barriers!”

As both heroes and criminals scrambled to distance themselves from the explosion’s epicenter, the chaos only intensified.

Eun-Ha continued her relentless assault, turning the already colossal crater into a pit that burrowed hundreds of meters into the earth.

She’s still as powerful as before...

Watching it all unfold from above, Se-Hoon couldn’t help but click his tongue in disbelief.

There were two reasons behind why so little was known about Eun-Ha’s fighting style. The first was that she simply often fought alone, leaving few witnesses to recount her battles. And the second was that, when she fought at full strength, she lacked complete control over her power.

Rumble!

Her destructive force, unparalleled even among S-rank heroes, always burst out in all directions, indiscriminately devastating friend and foe alike. She was simply so domineering that her fellow S-rank heroes found her presence unnerving as well.

There’s a reason we used to call her the ultimate weapon.

Before he regressed, the Human Alliance had treated Eun-Ha as a living weapon. They would provide her with coordinates, and she would drop from the sky, erasing everything in her path from existence.

Reminiscing, Se-Hoon was quietly watching the destruction unfold, when Aria, who stood beside him, spoke up and brought him out of his memories. “I think we found them.”

Se-Hoon’s gaze was drawn back to the crater. There, the dust cloud was settling, revealing the scene within.

“Huff... Huff...”

Barely standing, Dryas clutched the Verdant Lotus Spear like a staff, using it to support her trembling body. Her clothing was shredded in places, revealing not flesh but an intertwining mass of wood forming her body.

Having fully embraced life magic, Dryas had replaced her flesh entirely with wood, granting her exceptional regenerative abilities that left her limbs intact even after Eun-Ha’s relentless assault. Yet even with such a recovery ability, her condition was far from ideal.

That attack only grazed me...

When Eun-Ha finished annihilating the roof above her, Dryas had been caught in the resulting shockwave, but just a fraction. Yet, even then, it had almost vaporized her entirely. If her life magic had activated even a second later, she would have met her end right then and there.

Terrified, Dryas looked ahead of her with trembling eyes.

“...”

There stood Eun-Ha, her red hair shimmering like flames, and her glowing orange eyes burning with intensity. Despite unleashing such devastating power just moments earlier, she wasn’t even winded—her expression was still as cold and detached as before, her gaze fixed squarely on Dryas.

She didn’t demand the Verdant Lotus Spear. Eun-Ha simply stared at Dryas, her mere presence radiating an icy chill that seeped into Dryas’s core.

She’s... not even looking at me.

Though Eun-Ha’s eyes were pointed in her direction, it was clear Eun-Ha wasn’t even considering her. To Eun-Ha, Dryas wasn’t even alive anymore—just a corpse waiting to fall.

Gripping the Verdant Lotus Spear even tighter at the realization, Dryas cursed internally.

Where the hell are they?! Why haven’t they shown up yet?

The reinforcements she had been counting on were nowhere to be seen. Now, her earlier confidence was far gone, replaced by fear and desperation. Panic began consuming her, and at that moment, Eun-Ha prepared to move again.

Crack-

But just as Eun-Ha was about to strike, a shadow burst forth from underground, shooting toward her.

Boom!

Blocking with her arms, Eun-Ha was sent flying backward, the assailant hot on her heels.

With both hands clenched into fists, the assailant—a towering three-meter-tall figure with limbs covered in sharp scales and a dragon-like face—dragonkin Fafnir, launched a crushing blow.

CRACK!

The ground splintered, sending fractures rippling outward. The strike was so destructive that it could deal catastrophic damage to even S-rank heroes if landed properly, but Fafnir didn’t stop. It relentlessly swung its fists, slamming them into Eun-Ha repeatedly.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Each strike fractured the earth beneath them more and more, sending seemingly unending tremors and shockwaves through the battlefield. Finally, the Weapon Eater was faltering under Fafnir’s relentless onslaught.

“Yes! It’s working!”

Dryas let out a cry of triumph.

Meanwhile, Aria, who was watching the scene unfold from afar with Se-Hoon, just calmly asked, “Are you sure she’ll be fine?”

Unlike Eun-Ha, who was engaging the enemy directly, Aria and Se-Hoon remained hidden between the boundary of dreams and reality, watching from the sidelines. It allowed them to analyze the enemy’s traps before stepping in.

And now that one of the hidden threats had revealed itself, Aria thought it was time to act.

However, Se-Hoon remained nonchalant. “Don’t worry, that guy’s just a warm-up for her.”

Crack-

As soon as he said that, the sound of crunching metal started reverberating across the battlefield, with Fafnir’s ceaseless barrage of punches coming to an abrupt halt.

What...?

Fafnir couldn’t move its fists—neither forward nor backward. All it could do was stare at them, frozen midair as if held there by an invisible force. And when it looked down to figure out why, its eyes widened in disbelief.

RUMBLE!

There stood Eun-Ha, clutching Fafnir’s massive fists in each hand, with a well-worn dagger between her teeth. Her body unscathed, Eun-Ha rose slowly, her strength forcing Fafnir to stumble back.

“Grr...!”

Even though it tried to resist, Fafnir found itself helplessly pushed further and further backward. Soon, Eun-Ha emerged fully from the crater, her cold gaze locked onto it.

Crack, Crunch!

Like the bones of a chicken wing, Eun-Ha spat out the remnants of the Hero-tier dagger, the once-pristine weapon now nothing but a mangled hilt.

[The second furnace ‘Crimson Eye’ has reached its critical point.]

[The third furnace ‘Radiant Core’ has been activated.]

“It’s my turn now.”

The fiery energy enveloping her body gathered into her chest, glowing red-hot like molten steel.

WHOOSH!

Her punch shot through the air, and two-thirds of Fafnir’s midsection simply disappeared in an instant—erased as if an unstoppable laser pierced through it.

“?!”

The missing part of Fafnir’s midsection didn’t seem like it resulted from a physical strike. The cut was so impossibly clean, like the part had genuinely just vanished.

“Hmph...!”

The overwhelming pain belatedly hit, making Fafnir tremble as it desperately tried to regenerate. It needed to decide now—whether to retaliate or flee.

Unfortunately, however, its fate was already sealed.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Eun-Ha’s fists lashed out with unrelenting power, each blow landing like a vengeful echo of Fafnir’s earlier attacks. Every strike blasted through its massive body, leaving gaping holes that sizzled and disintegrated into nothingness.

In just mere moments, ninety percent of its form had been obliterated.

“Aaaargh!!”

Fafnir screamed, the realization of its impending demise sinking in. It hadn’t escaped that hellish breeding capsule just to meet such an unceremonious end.

Sizzle-

Desperation spurred its body on, frantically absorbing the ambient demonic aura to heal. Its attempts, however, were futile—shattered again before they could do anything. If her assault were to go on for five more seconds, death would surely take over Fafnir’s fate.

“Bind.”

A black projectile suddenly streaked through the air from a distance.

Hidden all this time, the massive serpent Apophis, another S-rank monster of Exuviation, finally revealed itself. With its four glowing eyes all narrowed, it observed the attack it launched: a bone bullet materialized using the Eternal Nocturne’s phalanx implanted in its core. If anything could bring down an S-rank hero, it would be that.

Certain of its victory, Apophis slithered forward, aiming to reach Fafnir and assist in his regeneration.

Bang!

However, contrary to its expectation, the black bullet shattered in midair, obliterated by the direct punch.

“...What?”

Both Apophis and the partially regenerated Fafnir stared in shock.

Disregarding them, Eun-Ha just reached into her void pocket without a word, pulling out three pieces of Hero equipment. She then took a bite out of each, swallowing them like snacks.

Crunch- Crunch- Crunch-

Recharged, the energy in her chest surged once more, brighter and fiercer than before. And once again, Eun-Ha fixed her cold gaze on her enemies, now the two S-rank monsters standing against her.

“Die.”

BOOM!

Another deafening explosion erupted from the crater, shaking the entire rainforest.

So this is her full power?

Observing the fight with narrowed eyes, Aria let a slight expression of surprise slip.

When they had fought Demon’s Edge together, Aria knew Eun-Ha was holding back. But she hadn’t thought the difference between them would be so vast. Observing Eun-Ha as she was now, Aria realized she had deeply underestimated Eun-Ha’s strength.

She was only restrained because I was there.

Eun-Ha’s strength came from overwhelming firepower, meaning that if she had an ally nearby, she would have to control her output, restricting her from unleashing her full potential.

The realization brought a complicated expression to Aria’s face, now needing to reconsider the true extent of Eun-Ha’s abilities.

In contrast, Se-Hoon simply grinned.

She’s not called the next Perfect One for nothing.

Most of those who quickly reached S-rank or displayed outstanding talent were typically labeled as future Perfect Ones. A majority of them, however, hit their limits, revealing themselves as ordinary geniuses who couldn’t cross the threshold.

Eun-Ha, however, was not part of them—an S-rank powerhouse who remained in contention for years.

Though she did fail to conquer the Tower of Heroes in the past...

Why she fell short was unknown. Regardless, one thing was clear: neither Fafnir nor Apophis could handle her.

Our enemies should start revealing the next phase of their plans soon.

Continuing to survey the battlefield, Se-Hoon soon noticed two figures running toward him and Aria from a distance.

“Gasp! Huff... Huff!”

When they got closer, the figures turned out to be Raphael and the Seraphim Guild members. Their armor all bore heavy damage, suggesting they had just come from a fierce battle.

And upon noticing their trajectory, Aria’s eyes narrowed.

“Suspicious.”

Of all places in such a vast rainforest, why were they heading straight toward their concealed position? Unsheathing her sword, Aria got ready to strike, but Se-Hoon stopped her.

“It’s fine.”

“But—”

“Look closely. They don’t even realize we’re here.”

Indeed, the group’s erratic movement suggested panic rather than intent. They were running blindly, terrified and desperate to escape.

“...”

Though reluctant, Aria lowered her sword, and the fleeing group soon passed by their hidden position without incident, disappearing into the distance.

“So it really was a coincidence,” Aria said, letting out a small laugh.

“See? Anyway, now that we’ve confirmed it’s just the two of them here, it’s time for us to move.”

“Got it.”

Ready to move to the next phase, Aria rested a hand on Se-Hoon’s shoulder, and Se-Hoon activated his ability, bringing them back into reality. But at the moment their bodies fully materialized—

Thunk!

Five weapons pierced through them simultaneously—a sword, a saber, a spear, a scythe, and an ax—spraying blood everywhere.

Seeing their bodies skewered in all directions, one of the Offering attackers, the Flameblade Demon, smirked and twisted the blade in his hand.

“So much for ‘just a coincidence.’”

Their plans had accounted for Se-Hoon’s concealment ability, thanks to intel from a previous victim. Preparing devices that could detect dream mana, they used them and pinpointed his position while manipulating Ruphael’s group to deceive Se-Hoon into dropping his guard.

Then, as soon as the duo’s movements became restricted during the moment they broke concealment, the strike was executed.

I should clean up before that monster over there notices.

Reaching for the blade piercing Se-Hoon’s neck, the Flameblade Demon paused.

Tap.

There was a faintly unnatural sensation. He hesitated, noticing something odd about the bodies impaled on the weapons. Despite being skewered, they bore no wounds.... There were no signs of injury, not even a scratch.

And the moment Se-Hoon deactivated Metamorphosing Dream, the truth dawned on the assailants.

This... is not real.

The supposed corpses dissipated like mist, revealing that the attackers had struck empty air.

“Too late.”

SLASH!

A blinding flash of golden sword energy tore through the assailants, accompanied by the suffocating darkness of the Netherworld.